The Press.
London, England, 1855-09-01 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

fully five thousand in number, unless he were supported
by French or English. A message was accordingly sent
to General Maurice, the French general commanding the
cavalry, requesting him to push forward a body of his men
in the rear of the Piedmontese, but he declined, alleging
that he had positive orders not to pursue, having returned
a similar answer to a similar request on the part of General
Erbillon, who commanded on the heights. The greater
part of the Russian artillery now retired, followed up for a
short distance by the French Chasseunt de Vincennes : the
cavalry then advanced in an immense line, forming a
crescent, from out of which issued three guns, which tired
away to protect the retreat, till the last column had wound
its weary way up the road to Mackenzie's Farm, or disap-
peared amongst the hills towards Tchionlion.
Nothing now remained but to visit the field of battle, on
which the Zouaves had already descended like vultures,
and were removing everything portable. The scene which
presented itself on the banks of the river, below the canal,
was something fearful beyond description, much more
fearfel than the ordinary horrors of a battle-field. The
canal itself was choked with dead, most of whom had
doubtless fallen into it living, after rolling down the hill-
side, and found repose in its muddy waters ; broken
muskets, bags of bread, cartridges, or dark-red stain on the
white chalky gravel, often alone marked the spot where
the men first fell. On towards the bridge the dead lay
thicker and thicker. On the banks of the river about it,
and in the river itself, they were " heaped and piled,"
mostly fine men, in the prime of life—many with a vies:
grognard air, which bespoke long years of service. Nearly
every one had a brandy-bottle, either actually in his hand
or lying near him, or broken under him in his fall. I was
riding with a Polish officer, who conversed with a great
many of the wounded, who informed us that large quan-
tities of brandy had been served out to the soldiers before
the action, except the artillerymen. There were a great
many small platforms lying about, some resembling ladders
with the rungs very close, and carried by rope-slings at-
tached to each end, as bridges to be thrown across the
aqueduct. The great majority, however, passed without
them. Some very fine rifles, quite new, and now seen for
the first time, were found on the field, but were instantly
taken possession of by the military authorities, and the
sale prohibited.
The Russian divisions engaged were the sth, 7th, 12th,
and 17th, most of them belonging to different corps
d'armie. One bad never been under fire before, and bad
made a rapid march from Backtchi-Serai and rested eight
hours before the attack. One man, who fell high upon the
hillside, assured us that he was in the last battalion of the
reserve, and that every single soldier had been sent down
from the heights ; so that had we pursued them we might
have gained the Mackenzie ptateau along with them, and
held it. Prince Gortschakoff commanded in chief, and
General Martinaloff the assaulting columns. The whole
force, including cavalry and artillery, is calculated at 60,000
men. Theme were sixty guns in the field,
There were only ten or twelve officers left on the ground,
which proves that a great number must have been carried off
in the retreat. The Piedmontese have lost 300 men killed
and wounded ; amongst others, General Monte Vecchio,
commanding one of the brigades, who was shot through
the body, and was not expected to survive through yester-
day. The French have about 1,100 men hors de combat.

I was standing at the bridge while the French were col-
lecting the wounded from the other side, and placing them
in the ambulances. The Russians could see perfectly well
what they were about, from the Mackenzie heights, and
nevertheless had the barbarity to fire from one of their bat-
teries right into the crowd on the road. A scene of great
confusion ensued ; the ambulance mules galloped off,
causing the wounded they were carrying to shrink with
pain. It was little short of a miracle that no one was hurt
by the shot, which continued to be fired at intervals during
the whole day.

The Times correspondent writes on the 18th ult :
The attack has not been renewed, and the French have
been for the last two days busy in bringing in the wounded
Russians, and burying the dead. Up to yesterday evening
1,800 wounded and prisoners have been brought in. The
number of dead, of whom I have not heard any official es•
timate, cannot be less than from 1,200 to 1,500. Of course
the bridge and the banks of the aqueduct are the spots
most crowded with them The latter is quite choked up
with them, so that it has been forbidden to water the
horses from it for fear it should be injurious to their health.
The French had three divisions engaged—the Division
Faucheux to the right, the Division Erbillon in the centre
of the bridge, and the division (Camoux ) on the left; their
loss is about 1,000 in dead and wounded. The Sardinians
had only one division engaged (the division Trotti ), and
suffered very little loss—a few hundred men : but they have
to regret the loss of a distinguished general officer, the
Brigadier General Count Monte Vecchio, who is severely
wounded and not expected to live.
Not protected by any intrenchmenta except that small
ipaulement near the bridge, which, moreover, could be
turned on all sides, our gallant allies, although taken by
surprise, showed once more that the Russians have no
chance against them in the tield—that they must remain
behind their earthworks, and be protected by siege guns,
in order to establish a kind of equilibrium with the allies.
It is worthy of remark that the greater part of the Russians
were old soldiers, scarcely one under 35.
According to the account of the prisoners, many of them
came from Baktehi-Serai, and they had to attack without
resting after their march. They had all large quanti,ies of
bread in their foraging sacks hung across their shoulders,
but no knapsacks.
The official despatches which have been published
in London and Paris furnish a few additional par-
ticulars, and give the authentic results of the battle.
I General Simpson thus reports to the War-on ce

SATURDAY,

Before Sebastopol, August 18.
In my despatch of the 14th inst., I informed your lord.
ship that I had reason to believe at the Russians would
attempt, by a vigorous attack, to force us to raise the siege.
This they endeavoured to do on the morning of the Nth,
but the result was most glorious to those of the allied
troops who had the good fortune to be engaged.
The action commenced before daylight, by a heavy
column of Russians, under the command of General Li-
prandi, and composed of the 6th and 17th Divisions, with
the 4th and 7th Divisions in reserve, attacking the advanced
post of the Sardinians.
The ground occupied by them is on commanding hills
on the right of the position, on the left bank of the Souhid
river, where it forms its junction with the Tschernaya, with
two advanced posts on the opposite side. These were held
with very determined gallantry for a considerable time,
but being separated from their supports by the river, mid
not having the protection of artillery, they were com-
pelled to leave the most advanced one.
About the same time, the bth and 12th Divisions, to
which was added a portion of the 17th, advanced against
the bridge of Tractir, held by one batallion of French
infantry of the line, who were for a short time obliged to
yield and fall back upon the main au; orts ; with these
however, they quickly retook the bridge at the point of the
bayonet.
Again the Russians attacked with persevering courage,
and were enabled to follow up their advantage by gaining
the heights which rise precipitously on each aide of the
road : their success was but momentary ; they were driven
back across the river, leaving the ground covered with
dead and wounded.
The Russian general, in no way daunted by the failure
of his two attempts, ordered a second column, of equal
force to the first, to attack ; they advanced with such im-
petuosity, covered by the fire of their numerous artillery,
that a third time the bridge was carried, and the heights
above it crowned, but they were again repulsed and retired
in great confusion into the plain, followed by the bayonets
of our gallant allies.
The general officer who commanded the Russian column,
and who is supposed to be General Read, was killed, and
in his possession was found the orders for the battle, signed
by Prince Gortschakoff, who commanded in person.
From these it would appear that it was a most deter-
mined attempt to force us to raise the siege. Had they
succeeded Balaklava was to have been attacked by one
portion of their army, whilst the heights on which we now
are were to have been stormed with the other ; at the
same time a vigorous sortie was to have been made from
the town on the French works on our extreme left from
the Quarantine, and another on the works on our extreme
right on Mount Sapoune.
The action which I have endeavoured to describe is moat
glorious to the arms of the French and Sardinian troops.
To meet the force of the Russians the former had but
12,000 infantry, and four batteries of artillery engaged, the
latter had 10,000 men in position, 4,500 actually engaged,
and twenty-four pieces of cannon.
The Russian force consisted of from 50,000 to 60,000
men, with 160 pieces of artillery, and cavalry to the amount
of 6,000.
This disparity of numbers will readily explain to your
lordship the difficulty that would have been experienced
had au attempt been made to follow up the advantage by a
pursuit. The Russian retreat, moreover, was protected by
the fire from the heavy guns in position on the Mackenzie
heights.
The loss sustained by the Russians is estimated at be-
tween 5,000 and 6,000 men, including 600 prisoners, while
on the part of the allies it does not amount to more than a
thousand men.
This brilliant affair has caused the greatest delight
amongst the ranks of the allied evilly ; and while it adds
fresh lustre to the gallant achievements of the French
arms, it is with the utmost pleasure that I have to record
the intrepid conduct and gallant bearing of the Serdinian
troops, under General de la Marmara, who have for the
first time met, conquered, and shed their blood against oar
common enemy, who is now disturbing the peace of Europe.
Captain Mowbray's battery of 32-pounder howitzers was
placed in advance with the Sardinian troops, and did most
excellent service in preventing the advance of the enemy's
artillery.
Our cavalry, under Lieutenant-General Sir J. Scarlett,
K.C.8., was placed in the plain of Balaklava, prepared to
take advantage of any circumstance that might present
itself, but the opportunity did not arise for calling upon
their services.

regret that I am unabled to give a more detailed account
of the part performed by the Sardinians, as up to this time
I have not received General de la Marmora's report.
JAMES SimrsoN, General Commanding.
General Pelissier, after the victory, issued the sub-
joined General Orders to his army, which were re-
published in the Moniteur on Wednesday:—
Soldiers,—Yon fought valiantly on the 16th of August,
and punished the Russian army for its adventurous attempt
against our positions on the Tschernaya.
Your victory does not the less worthily celebrate the
fete of your Emperor that it was won the day after St.
Napoleon. Nothing could be more gratifying to his great
soul than the new laurel with which you have decorated
your eagles.
Five divisions of Russian infantry, supported by •
numerous artillery and considerable masses of cavalry,
presenting an effective of about 80,000 men, made an
effort against our lines. The enemy counted on driving
you from them, and rolling you back on the plateau of the
Chersonese.
You confounded his presumptuous hopes. Ile failed on
his whole line of attack, and the Sardinians on your
right showed themselves your worthy emulators. The
bridge of Tractir was the theatre of a glorious struggle,
that covers with glory the brave regiments who took part
in it.

4%.

SEPT. 1, 1855.

Soldiers,—This affair, in which the Russians lost
more than six thousand men, with several generals, and
left in our hands more than 2,200 wounded or prisoners,
with the materiel so long prepared for the passage of
the river, does the greatest honour to General Erbillon,
who commanded the lines on the Tschernaya, and to his
division.
The Camoux and Faucheux divisions maintained to the
full their high reputation. Generals of Brigade de Failly,
especially, Cler, and Wimpifen, and Colonels Loney,
Dannes, and Castagny, have a claim to the grati-
tude of the army. I cannot now name all the rivals of
their valour, but I must particularly signalise the able
direction which Colonel Forgeot gave to the exertions
of our energetic cannoneers, and the brilliant conduct of
the artillery of the Imperial Guard and the divisions.
An Engish battery of position, from the hill looking
down on Tchorgoun, powerfully aided in deciding the
enemy's movement of retreat without engaging our re-
serves. The Turks, disembarrassed of a false attack,
brought us the support of six battalions and a battery.
The English cavalry was ready, with the Sardinian
squadrons, to second the brave African Chasseurs of
General Morris, if the pursuit of the enemy could have
usefully extended our success. But I did not lose sight of
our great enterprise, and I wished to spare our blood after
having obtained a result which once more establishes your
superiority over the so much vaunted Russian infantry,
presages fresh victories, and augments your claims to the
gratitude of the country.
A. PELISSIER, General-in-Chief.
The general-in-chief thinks it his duty to make the army
acquainted with the very cordial order which General
Simpson, the worthy chief of the English army, has just
addressed to his troops, and which that of has hastened
to communicate to him :

The Commander of the Forces congratulates the army on the
brilliant success which attended the arms of the French and the
bardinian troops engaged yesterday with the enemy.
Their attempt to pass the Techernaya, though made with over-
whelming numbers, met with a mur-t decisive repulse.
Our gallant allies have added fresh lustre to their arms by
their intrepidity and daring, and on this the that occasion of the
bardinian troops meeting the enemy, they have proved them-
selves in every way worthy of fighting side by side with the
greatest military nation of Europe.
Atter reading this order, the army will find another
motive for fraternally uniting its efforts to those of our
noble allies in the great enterprise the accomplishment of
which we are pursuing.
A PELISSIEIt, General-in-Chief.
Head-quarters before Sebastopol, Aug. 17.
LETTER OF THE EMPEROR.

The II f oniteur publishes the subjoined letter from
the Emperor Napoleon to General Pelissier:—

General,—The fresh victory gained at the Tschernaya
proves, for the third time since the commencement of the
war, the superiority of the allied armies over the enemy in
the open field; but if it does honour to the courage of the
troops, it evidences no less the good arrangements you had
made. Address my congratulations to the army, and
receive them also yourself. Tell your brave soldiers, who
for more than a year have endured unheard-of fatigues
that the term of their trials are not far distant. Sebastopol,
I hope, will soon fall beneath their blows, and were the
event delayed, still the Russian army, I know it through
information that appears positive, would no longer be able,
during the winter, to maintain the contest in the Crimes.
This glory acquired in the East has moved your com
panions in arm. here in France ; they all burn to have a
part in your dangers. Accordingly, with the two-told
object of responding to their noble desire, and of procuring
some repose for those who have achieved so much, I have
-n such orders to the Minister of War, that all the regi-
me its remaining in France may proceed in due succession
to eelieve in the East others which will return. You know,
ge eral, how afflicted I have been at being detained away
fro n that army which has again added to the fame of our
ea4les ; but at this moment my regrets diminish, since you
enable me to perceive the spec dy and decisive success
destined to crown as many heroic efforts.

Whereupon, General, I pray God to have you in his holy
keying.
Written at the Palace of St. Cloud, August 20, 1855.
NAPOLEON.

SHELLS have lately been cast in thousands, weekly,
at the Vauxhall Foundry, in Liverpool, and shipped
for Woolwich, where they are tested. At Fawcett's
foundry mortars of large size are being cast, and
the shells and the mortars are superior to those
supplied from other places. The mortars are all
proved by hydraulic pressure before they leave the
foundry. One of the engineers at Fawcett's has
made an important discovery in the construction of
a shell, and the Admiralty and War-office are stated
by the local journals to be delighted with the im-
provement. The shell is cast very thin, and lined
inside in a way, which is a secret, to resist the influ-
ence of molten iron. With molten iron the shell is
to be filled, and, while in a fluid state, fired. Each
shell will contain 50lbs. of iron in a state of fusion,
and where the shell falls destruction extends
around ; if on damp ground, no man can lie within
fi,ty yards of it. The filling of each shell will take
twenty-five minutes, and there will be no difficulty
either in ship or trenches of preparing the molten
metal.

A PENSION has been granted' by the Government
to the mother of Dr. James Thomson, of the 44th,
who distinguished himself so !signally in waiting
upon the Russian wounded after the battle of the
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