The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-06-26 00:00:00

THE MASSACRE AT HANGO.

Ox the morning of the 26th of May, the Cossack and Esk,
two of the British squadron, perceived several Russian vessels
among the islands near Hango, and dispatched armed boats to
take them. The Russian crews ran their vessels ashore and
nearly all made off; one or two, however, were captured, and
the vessels were burned. On the sth of June, early in the
day, the cutter of the Cossack with a flag of truce on board,
and carrying ten Russian prisoners to be set at liberty, pro-
ceeded to the shore. In that boat (the cutter), was the crew
of nine men, Lieutenant Genesee in command, Mr. R. Easton,
the surgeon, Me. Sullivan, master's-assistant, three stewards
(who went in hopes of buying some provisions), and the ten
prisoners. On nearing the shore they found about 500 or 600
soldiers on the beach, and as the boat ran alongside a sort of
jetty the three officers jumped upon it from her, when the
officer in command of the soldiers called out in English, "that
he :would have nothing to do with the d—d flag of
truce," and immediately ordered his men to fire. Mr.
Geneste, Mr. Easton, and Mr. Sullivan, fell at the first volley.
One of the prisoners then held up the flag, which Mr. Geneste
had when he fell, but he was instantly shot; some of the men
then jumped ashorei to assist the others, but only to meet the
same fate, for volley after volley was mercilessly poured upon
them and the boat, until it was supposed all were killed, when
the Russians came down and robbed them of everything worth
taking away. The Cossack, after waiting some time for the
boat, sent another in search of it, which picked it up a short
distance from the land, with one poor fellow in it struggling
with one arm to scull the boat, while the other dangled at his
side with three bullets in it. When wounded he had fallen to
the bottom of the boat, and as the water came in through the
shot holes it revived him, and, finding himself alone among
his dead comrades, he, with an almost superhuman effort,
managed to get the boat to sea, until he was picked up. In
the same boat were four of his dead messmates. This deli-
berate massacre, for no attempt was made to take them pri-
soners, and both friends and enemies were killed indiscrithi-
nately, will never be forgotten, should we have an oppor-
tunity of taking vengeance for the murders. Neither men nor I
officers were armed, though some muskets were in the boat.
John Brown, ordinary seaman, a young man of colour, the
only survivor, after being helped up the side into his own
ship, said, " They are all killed." Afterwards, in the sick bay,
he made the following statement :
" On the cutter, with a flag of truce flying, getting alongside
the jetty or landing-place, near the village of Hango, the
officers and liberated prisoners jumped out, and Lieutenant
Geneste held up a flag of truce to a number of Russian troops,
who had suddenly sprung up from the cover of houses and
rocks,—about 500, dressed as riflemen, and armed with
muskets, swords, and bayonets,—and told them what it meant,
and why they landed; they replied ' that they did not care a d—
for flags of truce there, and would show them how the Rus-
sians could fight,' or words to that effect. A volley was then
fired at the officers and liberated prisoners, and afterwards on
the boat, until all were supposed to be killed. The Russians
jumped into the boat, and, after throwing several dead bodies
overboard, lying on the arms in the bottom of the boat they
found Henry Gliddon, A. 8., who was only wounded; they
took him out of the boat and bayonetted him on the wharf ;
John Brown, lying beside him, and severely wounded, feigned
death; he was dragged from one end of the boat to the other,
but luckily not thrown overboard. They then took the arms,
magazine, colours, &c. The officers were shot down, and the
liberated prisoners first. Dr. Easton was the first who fell,
and the Finnish Captain took the flag of truce from Lieutenant
Geneste, and waved it, shouting A flag of truce !'—which
had been preidously explained to them before they fired.
The Russians spoke English, and the person who led them,
from his dress and appearance, seemed to be an officer. The
Russians yelled, and fired on the men before they could defend
themselves; indeed, there was not an attempt made."