The Press.
London, England, 1855-12-29 00:00:00

THE SURRENDER OF KARS.

The official report of General Mouravieff to the
Government at St. Petersburg, upon the capitulation
of Kars, has appeared in the Invalide Busse. The
report is dated Quarters of Vieth (fortress), Kars
(17th) 29th of November:—
After the assault on Kars of the 17th (29th) September,
the Turks, momentarily encouraged, expected to see our
troops retreat, and were astonished to see, on the contrary,
that the blockade became stricter than ever, and that our
camp was turned into regular organised quarters, receiving
daily provisions of every description.
The besieged still founded their hopes on the arrival of
aid from Erzeroum. In fact, Vely Pacha, coming from
Trebizond. had attempted to advance on Kars, but at each
attempt he was met by General Sousloffs detachment,
which threatened his rear. Our patrols skirmished with
these troops, keeping them in a state of alarm as far as the
vicinity of Erzeroum. Meantime the provisions of Kars
were diminishing, the cold weather was coming on, snow
had fallen on the Saganlong, cases of death from weakness
for want of nourishment occurred in the garrison, desertion
increased, and despondency became general.
All these circumstances decided General Williams, who
directed the defence of Kars, to surrender the fortress.
On the 12th (24th) of Nov., Major Teesdale, General
Williams's aide•de•camp, waited upon General Mouravieff,
and handed him a letter, in which General Williams asked
leave to proceed on the following day to the camp, to enter
into conference, to which General Mouravieff gave a verbal
reply to Major Teesdale, telling him that he would be
happy to see General Williams the following day, the 13th
(24M) November, at noon.

1233

On the 13th (25th) of November, at the appointed hoer,
General Williams presented himself to the Commander-in-
Chief of the Army of the Calicaaus, as Plenipotentiary, t•
negotiate, in the name of the Mushir Vomit* racha, t'om•
mander-in-Chief of the Army iu Anatolia. Having settled
the conditions for the surrender of the place, those oontli-
thins were signed by General Williams, and approved by
General Mouravietf.

General Williams was to return next morning to our
camp to bring the definitive reply of the Mushir ; the regu-
lation, however, of affairs inside, and the announcement to
the garrison of the surrender of the fortress, which the

leaders received with agitation, rendered his presence no-

cessery iu the fortress. "He scut hie aids-de:amp to ex-

plain these circumstances.
On the evening of the same day Major Teesdale brought
the full powers given by the lilualiir to General Williams to
draw up the final conditions of the capitulation of Kars,
with the list of the paellas of the army of Anatolia shut up

in the fortress.
On the 15th (27th) of November, in the afternoon,
General Williams arrived at our camp with his staff and
three pashas, and signed the final condition of the sur-
render of Kars.
On the ltith (28th) of November, conformably to the
stipulations agreed upon, the remainder of the army of
Anatolia, which had formed the garrison of Kere, were to
leave the fortress, carrying their muskets, with flags flying
and drums beatiug; but, at the request of the Turkish
commanders themselves, the whole army left their arms
piled, and placed their ammunition in their camps, leaving
only a small Turkish guard until it should be relieved by
our men.
Although it had been arranged that the Turks should
be assembled at ten o'clock in the morning, near the ruins
of the village of Oumbel, it was not till two o'clock in the
afternoon that the Mushir of the army of Anatolia pre-
sented himself to General Mounivieff, accompanied by
General Williams and the English officers. Our troops
were drawn up in line of battle on both backs of the Kars-
tchai. The colours of the Turkish regiments were then
brought to the front of our lines by a detachment of Tonle
Chasseurs, and received with the bands playing and re-
peated cheers from our troops.
Pi portion of the Turkish army, consisting of the older
and most feeble of the men, soldiers on unlimited leave
(Redifs), and militiamen (liashißazouks, and Lases) ,
altogether about 0,000 men, were sent back to their homes
after the capitulation, with the obligation not to take up
arms against his Imperial Majesty during the whole course
of the present war, and were accompanied the first stage
by a military escort. After the defile of the Redifs, the
commander-in-chief received a deputation consisting of
the most notable inhabitants of the town.
Raving passed along the front of the line of the Turkish
regular troops who surrendered prisoners, to the number
of from 7,000 to 8,000 men, General Mouravieff ordered
the repast to be given to them which lie bad previously
prepared for them in the military kitchens on the Left bank
of the Kars•tchai.
On the same day (2Ath of November) the fortress wss
occupied by our troops under the command of Colonel di
Saget, and the Russian standard was hoisted on the citadel,
Thus, with the surrender of Kars, the last remnant of
the army of Anatolia, which in last June numbered 30,000
men, has vanished. The Mushir Vesta Pacha, commander
in-chief of that army, is himself a prisoner of war in our
hands, without counting eight paellas, a great number of
superiorr and subaltern officers, including the English
general Williams, and his whole staff. In the Mitres(' we
took 130 cannon and a great stock of arms.

ORDER OF THE DAY.
On the 28th of November General Mouravielf
issued the fallowing to his troops :

Camp of Vladi-Kars, Nov. 18 (2R), 1855.
Companions in arms, I congratulate you. As lieutenant
dour Sovereign I thank you.
At the price of your blood and your labour the bulwark
of Asia Minor has been placed at the feet of his Majesty
the Emperor. The Russian standard floats on the walls cf
Kam It proelaims the victory of the Cross Of the Saviour.
'the whole of the army of Anatolia, 3(),000 strong has
vanished like a shadow. Its commander•in•chief, with all
his paellas and officers, and the English general who
directed the defence, with his staff, are our prisoners.
Thousands of Turkish prisoners, who return to their
limes, will proclaim your deeds of arms.
No inventory have as yet been made of the vast stock of
arms and Government property at Kars ; but, without
counting the cannon and flags captured by us in the
course of the campaign, 190 new cannon will enrich our
arsenals. Numerous flags will adorn the holy temples of
Russia, and recal the memory of your constant warlike
virtues.
Companions in arms, I thank you again, from the first
man to the last.
Brave comrades, T also thank you again in my own
name. I owe to you the happiness of procuring a joy to
the heart of our monarch. You have this year achieved
what you prepared to accomplish iu the course of the two
preceding years.
Unite your thanksgiving with mine to the God of armies
who in His impenetrable secrets now gives ns victory in
the very hour of trial to which we have recently been put.
May taith in Divine Providence maintain the martial
spirit within you, and double your strength. We will un-
dertake new labours with hope in the protection of the
Almighty.
Mouttartr.rr, Commanderin-Chief,
Aide-de-Camp General.
The official act of the surrender of Kars is pub-
lished in tho Journal de St. Petersbourg of the 18th
December. It is preceded by a letter of Vassif
Pasha, the Commander in Chief of the Army of
Anatolia, dated the 14th (28th) of November, giving
full powers to General Williams to negotiate :

1234

Most eminent, most worthy, sagacious, and most noble
General Mouravieff I.,—
His Excellency the Ferik Williams Pacha, a dignitary of
the great English power, being in this country, is appointed
by us and provided with full powers to negotiate the
evacuation of Kars ; this letter is written by me to inform
your Excellency of the circumstance.
The lath of Itaby-el•Aouel, 1272.
Sealed with the seal of

MEIIMED VASSIF PACHA.

Act of the Surrender of the Town and Fortress of Kars on
the Stipulations agreed upon between the Commander-
in-Chief of the Army of the Caucasus, Aide•de•Camp

- -
General Mouravieff, and General Williams, Commissary

of her Majesty the Queen of England; the 13th (25th)
of November, Head• Quarters of Tchiftli.Kaya.
Art. 1. Surrender of the fortress with all its materiel in-
tact. The gins surrendered are not to be spiked; the
stores and arms are to be given up in the same state u
they are actually in ; the ammunition, powder, arsenals,
deposits of military clothes and stores are to be given up
as they stand in the official returns up to the day of
surrender. Nothing is to be detracted or taken from the
archives.

On evacuating Kars the troops are to leave posts, each
of three men and a corporal, at the following points :—at
each fort, redoubt, or battery armed with artillery ; at each
powder-magazine, arsenal, or military depot, hospital,
archives, treasury and mosque. Commissaries shall be
appointed by the Turkish authorities for each part of the
materiel, as the treasury, arsenals, artillery, hospitals, pro-
vision stores, and archives, charged to hand over the same
to commissaries appointed for that purpose by the Corn-
in..n der-in Chief of the Russian Army.
Immediately the troops have left the place the above-
mentioned posts are to be relieved by Russian posts in the
presence of the above-named Turkish commander and of
the newly-appointed Russian commandant. The Turkish
soldiers are to give up their arms and accoutrements to
the Russian posts, and under the orders of their com-
mander are to march towards the Mainly Redoubt, to await
instructions for their further movements. The remittal of
the above-mentioned articles by the commissaries is to
take place the day after the evacuation of the place.
Art. 2. The garrison of Kars surrendering prisoners of
war, with the Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army
and all the military authorities, will leave the place with
the honours of war, and deposit their arms, flags, (Itc., in a
spot agreed upon previously, whence they will proceed to the
destination indicated to them by the Russian commander-
in-chief. As a testimonial of the valorous resistance made
by the garrison of Kars, the officers of all ranks are to
keep their swords.
All the troops forming the garrison of Kars, except
those actually in hospital from illness, are to leave the fort-
ress in full uniform, with drums beating and colours
flying, having first discharged their muskets, and are to
assemble at ten a.m. near the ruins of the village of
Gumbel They are to deploy in a single line, in columns,
by battalions. The artillerymen are to form separate
columns by regiments. The Redifs, Lazes, and Bashi-
Bazouks are to form separately at half a verat distance
from the other troops. The garrison are to pile their arms,
flags, and accoutrements, and to form in the preceding
order in front of the line of muskets.
The Mushir Commander-in-Chief of the Army of
Anatolia is then to wait upon the Russian commander-in-
chief and hand him the muster-roll of his troops, and a
report of all the materiel stipulated in the act of surrender.
Delegates of the Russian army will then call over the
muster-roll, and enregister the officers and men of the
Turkish army, for which object the Turkish authorities are
called upon to present the registers of their respective
commands. The enregistration finished, all the prisoners
of war, headed by their officers, will proceed in columns to
the bridge of Tchiftli-Kaya, where they will be met by the
Russian troops appointed to serve as their escort.
The Turkish troops mentioned in the subjoined articles
as having permission to return to their homes will take
the Tamra road, under an especial escort, and will halt
for the night near the village of Kotanly ; they bind them-
selves to respect the inhabitants of that village, and not to
commit any excess. The column will continue its march
the following day in the same order, and halt for the night
at the village of Tosanly. On the third day, when they
will have reached the foot of the Sagauloug, the Russian
troops will stop and the Turks continue their march across
the chain of mountains in the direction of Erzeroum. The
Turks engage themselves not to enter the village of Bar-
dours, occupied by militiamen of the Russian camp. The
Turkish stragglers who within twenty-four hours of the last
day's march should not have crossed the Sagami() ug will be
considered as prisoners of war.
In evacuating the town and fortress of Kars the military
authorities of the Turkish army engage themselves to
leave there a sufficient number of medical men and nurses
. _ . .

to take care of the sick left in the hospitals until their

recovery.
Art. 3. The private property of members of the army of
every rank is respected.
Each individual belonging to the personnel of the army
is authorised to sell his property or take it away at his own
cost of carriage.
Art. 4. The militia (Redifs, Bashi-Bazouks, and Lazes),
their number having first been accurately ascertained, will
be allowed to return to their homes.
The Redifs, Baahi•Bazouks, and Lazes in hospital will
have the same right under the same conditions, as soon as
well enough to leave.
Art. 5. The non combatants of the army, as scriveners,
interpreters, nurses, are allowed to return to their homes
as soon as their number has been accurately ascertained.
Art. 6. To General Williams is reserved the right of
designating at his choice in a list, which must be previously
submitted to the approval of General Mouravieff, of a