The Press.
London, England, 1854-11-25 00:00:00

BATTLE OF INKERMANN.

The official despatches describing the battle and
victory fought and gained on the sth inst., in the
lnkermann valley, were received in England on
Wednesday and published in an Extraordinary
Gazette. Lord Raglan writes as follows :
Bacon, Sebastopol, Nov. 8, 1854.

My Lord Duke,—l have the honour to report to
your grace that the army under my command, power-
fully aided by the corps of observation of the French
army, under the command of that distinguished
officer General Bosquet, effectually repulsed and
defeated a most vigorous and determined attack of
the enemy on our position overlooking the ruins of
Inkermann, on the morning of the sth instant.
In my letter to your grace of the 3rd, I informed
you that the enemy had considerably increased their
force in the valley of the Tschernaya. The following
day this augmentation was still further apparent, and
large masses of troops had evidently arrived from
the northward, and on two several occasions persons
of distinguished rank were observed to have joined
the Russian camp.

I have subsequently learnt that the 4th corps
d'armee, conveyed in carriages of the country, and in
the lightest possible order, had been brought from
Moldavia, and were to be immediately followed by
the 3rd corps.
It was therefore to be expected that an extensive
movement would not be long deferred.
Accordingly, shortly before daylight on the sth,
strong columns of the enemy came upon the advanced
pickets covering the right of this position. These
pickets behaved with admirable gallantry, defending
the ground toot by foot against the overwhelming
numbers of the enemy, until the 2nd division, under
Major-General Pennefather, with its field guns,
which had immediately been got under arms, was
placed in position.
The light division, under Lieutenant-General Sir
George Brown, was also brought to the front without
loss of time ; the Ist brigade, under Major-General
Codrington, occupying the long slopes to the left
towards Sebastopol, and protecting our right battery,
and guarding against attack on that side; and the
2nd brigade, under Brigadier-General Buller, forming
on the left of the 2nd division, with the 88th Regi-
ment under Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffreys, thrown in
advance.
The brigade of Guards, under his Royal Highness
the Duke of Cambridge and Major-General Bentinck,
proceeded likewise to the front, and took up most
important ground to the extreme right, on the aligne-
inent of the 2nd division, but separated from it by a
deep and precipitous ravine, and posting its guns
with those of the 2nd division.
The 4th division, under Lieutenant General Sir
George Cathcart, having been brought from their
encampment, advanced to the front and right of the
attack ; the Ist brigade, under Brigadier General
Goldie proceeded to the left of the Inkerrnann road ;
the 2nd brigade, under Brigadier-General Torrens, to
the right of it, and on the ridge overhanging the
valley of the Tschernaya.
The 3rd division, under Lieut.-Gen. Sir Richard
England, occupied in part the ground vacated by the
4th division, and supported the light division by two
regiments under Brigadier. General Sir John Camp-
bell, while Brigadier-General Eyre held the com-
mand of the troops in the trenches.
The morning was extremely dark, with a drizzling
rain, rendering it almost impossible to discover any-
thing beyond the flash and smoke of artillery and
heavy musketry fire.
It., however, soon became evident that the enemy,
under cover of a vast cloud of skirmishers, supported
by dense columns of infantry, had advanced numerous
batteries of large calibre to the high ground to the
left and front of the 2nd division, while powerful
columns of infantry attacked with great vigour the
brigade of Guards.
Additional batteries of heavy artillery were also
placed by the enemy on the slopes to our left; the
guns in the field amounting in the whole to ninety