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

September 22 (to the French Ministerof War) :

The battle of Alma, in which more than 120,(X)0 men,
with 180 pieces of cannon, have been engaged, is a brilliant
victory, and the Russian army could not have raised its
head again if I had had cavalry to cut up the broken and
disjointed masses of infantry as they were'retiring before us.
This battle consecrates in a signal manner the superiority
of our arms at the beginning of this war. It has discon-
certed in the highest degree the self.conadence of the Rus-
sian army, and especially their reliance on the positions they
had prepared long beforehand, and where they awaited us.
This army was composed of the Iflth and 17th divisions of
the Russian infantry, of one brigade of the 13th, of one
brigade of the 14th division of reserve of the foot chas-
sours of the 11th corps, armed with rifles carrying oblong
bullets ; of four artillery brigades, two of which were
horse ; and of one battery taken from the siege park of
reserve, comprising 12 pieces of heavy ordnance. Their
cavalry was about 5,000 strong, and the whole force may
be estimated at about 564000 men, commanded by Prince
Menschikoff in person.
It is difficult for us to compute the losses of the Rus-
sian army,hbut they mustbe considerable, if we may judge by
the dead and wounded they could not remove, and who re-
main in our hands. In the ravines of the Alma, on the
plateaux in front, on the ground forming the position
carried by the English army, the soil is covered with more
than ten thousand muskets, knapsacks, and different
articles of equipment. We have devoted the whole of this
day to bury their dead where found, and to tend their
wounded, whom I cause to be conveyed along with our
own to the vessels of the fleet in order to be taken to Con-
stantinople. All the Russian officers, including generals,
are clothed with the coarse overcoat of the soldiers, and it
is, consequently, difficult to distinguish them either among
the dead orthe small number of prisoners we have been able
to make. However, it remains certain that the English
arrcy have captured two general officers.
The battle of Alma, in which the allied armies have re•
ciprocally given each other pledges they cannot forget,
will strengthen the bonds that united them. The Ottoman
division, that marched to the support of the Bosquet divi-
sion in its flank movement, did wonders in speed to get
into line, following the while the route along the border of
the sea that I had traced out for them. It could not take
an active part in the combat that was being fought before
it ; but these troops showed an ardour equal at least to our
own, and I am happy at having to tell you all that I expect
rom the aid of these excellent auxiliaries.
The following letter was written on the same day.
It is the last despatch which the marshal lived to
prepare. In its concluding paragraph there is an
evident presage of his approaching death :
My official report gives an account to your excellency of
the details of the splendid day of the 20th, hut I cannot
allow the courier to start without saying a few words about
our brave soldiers.
The soldiers of Friedland and Austerlitz are still under
Our colours, Monsieur le Marechal; this the battle of Alma
Las proved. There is the same glow, the same brilliant
courage. Everything can be done with such men whoa