The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

THE EXPEDITION.

The arrival of the fleet, consisting of six En-
glish liners, seventeen steam - frigates, ten gun-
hosts, and six mortar-vessels, mounting in all 859
guns and six mortars, in addition to a French
fleet of four liners, several steam-frigates, gun and
mortar boats, and three floating batteries, besides an
enormous number of transports and tenders, off
Odessa, caused the liveliest alarm in that city, and its
detention there from foul winds and bad weather
gave rise to no less anxiety on the part of the allied
commanders, for fear the real object of the expedi-
tion should be discovered by the Russians, and Kin-
burn be immensely strengthened. The fleet left
Kamiesch on Sunday, Oct. 7, and anchored off
Odessa the next day :
Tuesday was spent in preparations for the sailing of the
expedition, the reconnaissance and sounding of the banks
oft Kinburn having been effected previously by the spi(fire;
Ihutd, on Wednesday, the fleet would have got under way,
so as to have been in a position to attack the forts at day.
break on Thursday morning, but that unfortunately one of
the dense fogs so common in the Black Sea set in, and
precluded any attempt to move for the day.--Times Special
Cor., Oct 13.

On Friday and Saturday a heavy sea and a foul
wind still detained the fleet at anchor ; but on
Sunday, the sailor's lucky day, the whole fleet weighed
and stood over to Kinburn, where they arrived about
three p.m. The same night the Valorous, with the
French and English admirals on board, forced the
passage round the spit in order to reconnoitre, and
the next day the troops were disembarked:—
The troops were landed without the smallest oppo-
sition, or even the appearance of an enemy, about four
miles below the fort, the 17th Regiment being the first to
land, and the French being for a wonder behind us. The
mortar and gun boats bombarded the forts for three hours,
but did not produce any apparent impression. The
weather was fine, and the troops set to work intrenching
themselves on the sandy spit ; only a few Cossacks were
visible towards Kherson. The wind rose and sent a surf
on the beach towards evening and suspended operations.—
Times Cor., Oct. 16.

Tuesday was too windy to open fire with any accu-
racy, and a heavy surf on the beach materially inter-
fered with the landing stores for the troops. An
advanced French picket on shore had a slight en-
counter with some Cossacks, killed two, and took two
more prisoners. The allied troops commenced
throwing up intrenchments, the French advancing
towards the town—the English guarding the rear.
The next morning, Wednesday, 17th, the French
had reached within seven hundred yards of the fort,
which opened fire upon them at daylight. The fire
was briskly returned by the French from a couple of
field-pieces :
It was a dull grey dawn, with a wind off the shore, and
the sea was quite calm. The fleet was perfectly still, but
the mortar•vessels, floating batteries, and gun-boats were
getting up steam, and ere nine o'clock they were seen
leaving the rest of the armada and taking up their position
on the south side of the fort ; the three floating batteries
being close in with the casemates, and the mortar•vessels
and gun-boats being further away and more to the eastward,
so as to attack the angle of the fort, and fight the guns
which were on the curtains en barbelle.-11.