The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-14 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

out, and left multitudes of dead behind them. The
Guards had stormed the right of the battery ere the
Highlanders got into the left, and it is said the
Scots Fusilier Guards were the first to enter. The
second and light division crowned the heights.
The French turned the guns on the hill against the
flying masses, which the cavalry in vain tried to
cover. A few faint struggles from the scattered
infantry, a few rounds of cannon and musketry, and
the enemy fled to the south-east, leaving three
generals, three guns, 700 prisoners, and 4,000
wounded behind them. The battle of the Alma
was won.

WANT OF CAVALRY.
At five o'clock the Russians were flying in every
direction, ploughed up by the splendid fire of our
guns, leaving on the field an immense number of
dead, three guns, drums, and ammunition. The want
of cavalry prevented cur getting more prisoners or
capturing a greater number of guns. The Russian
cavalry covered itself with disgrace. It never gave
our horse a chance of a charge, and the nature of
the ground forbade our attempting a demonstration
against a very superior force manceuvring in a higher
position. The Russians, indeed, barely covered the
retreat, and our squadrons were too weak to try a
dash at them.

THE SHOUT OF VICTORY.
When Lord Raglan and his staff and the Duke of
Cambridge rode round to the top of the bill the
troops cheered them with a thrilling effect—a shout
of victory—which never can be forgotten. The enemy,
who were flying in the distance, might almost have
heard its echoes as it rolled among the hills. Our
men had indeed done their work well, for the action,
which commenced at 1.25 on our part, was over about
4 p.m. In fact, the actual close continuous fighting
did not last two hours !

THE FIELD AFTER THE BATTLE.
It was a terrible and sickening sight to go over the
battle-field. Till deprived of my horse by a chance
shot I rode about to ascertain, as far as possible, the
loss of our friends, and in doing so I was often
brought to a standstill by the difficulty of getting
through the piles of wounded Russians, mingled too
often with our own poor soldiers. The hills of Green-
wich-park in fair time are not more densely covered
with human beings than were the heights of the
Alma with dead and dying. On these bloody mounds
fell 2,196 English officers and men, and upwards of
3,000 Russians, while their western extremity was
covered with the bodies of 1,400 gallant Frenchmen
and of more than 3,000 of their foes.

NEXT DAY.
The army halted the whole of this day. They
were busy collecting the wounded, bringing in pri-
soners, and burying the deed. The wounded who
were able to bear the journey were sent down on
arabas to the shore, about three miles distant, and
sent on board ships. Nothing could exceed the zeal
and kindness of the sailors, officers and men, in
attending to them and taking them on board. All
the naval surgeons were in attendance, and did
everything that skill and kindness could suggest to
relieve the sufferings of the poor fellows after their
painful journey. A temporary hospital was estab-
lished in the village of Burliuk.
Corps of soldiers from each regiment were told off
to bury the dead. The Russians were buried out-
side the mounds, the English and French inside.
There was great spoil on the field—coats, dresses,
swords, guns, rifles, &c. &c., and in some instances
large sums of money. Everbody brought off some
memento, either a sword, casque, or musket. It ap•
pears that a certain class of visitors made a profitable
day's work by visiting the field of battle: almost
every one " found " something. One was heard to
boast that he had picked up nine revolvers and fifty
sovereigns ; and a Maltese is reported to have realised
upwards of 1501. in gold. Coats, boots, &c., were all
taken off by pillagers, and in many cases the gold
lace ripped off the uniforms of the dead.

THE RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.
The Russian regiments engaged against us, judging
from the numbers on the caps and buttons of the dead and
wounded, were the 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th,18th, 31st, 32nd,
33rd, and some of the Imperial Guard. The soldiers were
mostly stout, strong men. They were all dressed in long
drab coats with brass buttons, bearing the number of the
regiment. These coats fitted loosely, were gathered in at
the back by a small strap and button, descend to the ankles,
and seemed stout, comfortable garments, though the cloth
was coarse in texture; the trousers, of coarse blue stuff,
were thrust inside a pair of wellington boots, open at the
top. to admit of their being comfortably tucked down ; the
boots were stout, well made, and serviceable. Their knap-
sacks astonished our soldiers. On opening them each
was found to contain the dress uniform coatee of the man,
blue or green, with white facings, and slashes like our own,
a pair of clean drawers, a clean shirt, a pair of clean socks,
a pair of stout mits, a case containing a pair of scissors, an
excellent penknife with one large blade, of Russian manu-
facture, a ball of twine, a roll of leather, wax, thread,
needles and pins, a hairbrush and comb, a small looking-
glass, razor, strop, and soap, shoe brushes, and blacking.
The general remark of our men was that the Russians
were very " clean soldiers ; " and certainly the men on the