The Express.
London, England, 1859-09-14 00:00:00

(Stamped ld. Additionl)

18. Y. Artillery; Dustman Coto►,. E. B. Beigede;
Lieutenant Carrington, B, Y. Brigade • Lieatenaut Smith,
info& ; lieateeent Betrayal, Fury, ellgtuly.

Tend MIMI sad weeded 464; Prank Skilled
end HO wounisd, facleding Captain Triesalt (Da Cbayls),
wounded la lie era. Total of Marino Brigade °eh :
Mons, 121001,16 wounded; wrgewsle, 2 kaled,l3 resided;
buglers, 3 wottaded ; corporals, 1 killed, $ wounded; nak
sad Ills, 34161 ed. 104 wounded; total Mal sad wosaded, 120.
From a letter of the 10th July we kern that the
troop ship Assistance wee then off Saddle Islands,
near Shanghae, having brought down 160 of the
worst cases of the wounded. It wee to start early
next morning for an anchorage near Ningpe, among
the Chtuan Islands, where it was expected there
would be a favourable place for lying in until the
hot weather should be put. Magicians* and the
Coromandel arrived at Shangirae from the Niko on
the 10th inst. Poor Captain Vansittart, we regret
to say, was scarcely expected to live. His leg had
been amputated beneath the knee, and it was
thought that another amputation would be neces-
sary, as affording the only Autos be his life. The
last accounts of the admiral were that be was doing
well. There had bees only three death, on board
lie Ambtereeratter eke left the Pea*, and the gnat
majority of the wounded on board were getting on
wonderfully well.

(From the North CAM. ilirold.)
Golf of Peclelll, haly 1.

Oa the 26th of Ines, the nagotistioas with the Chinn
hayloft creme to nothing bet apt eff to gain time, the Ad-
miral, with his flag flying in the Plover, followed by the
gun-boats Lee, Nimrod, Cormorant, Opossum, Banterer,
Starling, Forester, Beare!, Janne, and Haughty, proceeded
to take up a pretties off the Pal-ho forts, reedy to attack is
owe the Chinon should offer any resistance to clearing away
the barriers. At 2p.m. the stations being pretty well ob-
tained with the exceptions of Starling and Banterer, who
were on shore—the former on the ninth and the latter
on the north bank—the Finer and Opossum weighed ;
the latter proceeded to deer away a wane through
the iron stakes which composed the first obstruction. Two
of these having been drawn, the Plover followed by Opos-
sum, passed through them, and also tisseecatd boom which
had been destroyed by the flag captain an the previous night.
On arriving at the emend she attempted, together with the
Opossum, to break through it, but without effect ; almost
Immediately a sine' gun wee fired at her, sad directly all
the sinks we., rolled up, a treeneudeus fire was opened an
the momthron, and the action hams gmenal. The Lee, by
signal from the Plover, peened through the stakes to the sup-
port of the Admiral. 7lte Plover and Opossum were, how-
ever, moos obliged to slip, the firs being too heavy for then,
sad, Mowed by the Lee, dropped clear of the stakes at
8.16. The gunboat Plover suffered very numb In tailed and
wouoded. An officer was went to the mauve to order up re-
inforcements, but the tide wee too *mg for the boats to
attempt to pull up. The American flag onions very kindly
offered to tow the boats up toe position to noble them to
reach the gunboats. At 4.80 the enemy's fire was
alackened considerably, orders wets sent down to the reserve
for the marines sad naval brigades to prepare to lend,
sad the Forester and Opossum, together with the Ti try
wan, proceeded and towed them to the Nimrod, the pine of
randeavous. At an early period of the action the admiral had
been wounded en board the Plover by a splinter in the thigh,
and that nisei wee almost entirely disabled. He shifted
his Gag to the Oporto ; when them he took hie station on
the caboose and from thence issued his orders until a round
shot cut the mainstay on which he wee leasing at d canoed
him to fall I. the deck, • height of some eight fret, bnakieg
• rib and severely shaking him. After a shorktime he
left the Opossum in the Do Chsyla's gig and proceeded
to the Cormorant where he remained. At 5.45, the boats
having assembled alongside, Nimrod pushed for the shore
as new to the stakes es passible and opposite to the left
bastim, about 600 yards distance from it. The landing
tun woo composed aimed shoat inn deep end the greaten
difficulty was expert/need in getting up the eating ladders
and bridges. The marines and naval brigade, a small Fete&
of which had only jut l,ndtd, pushed to the front, under a
heavy fire from six guns in flank and in Soot. The fire
from the wall., of gingalls, rifles, and arrows was ale, very
Dewey.
No check bad hitherto taken glum but here a ditch five
feet deep and ten broad occurred, and the men, having no
choice, plunged *crow and thereby wetted their wrisnualifon.

A party of some fifty (Score and men again probed on and
mused another wet ditch, which tmk them within twenty
yards of the wall. In the meantime, Captains Shadwall
sad Vaneittart, as also Colonel Lemon, having been
woods% the amanita develved upon Commaoder Comme-
nt! and Major Parks. It was now about nine o'clock, sad
darkness bed set in. The position of the landing party wee
most precarious, fifty tillers' and men alone terealeed In
the first ditch, and about 150 In the second. Many
had been billed and wonniltd, and with the ox.
caption of a small body one hundred and fifty yards farther
tack, no reinforeementa appeared to be offering, and the men
already at the front were perfectly *clanked and without
dry ammunition or rifles fit to use. The officers in vain en-
marsged their men to charge to the wall, but it
was ineffectual; the men were few and done up,
and even if they had, they never could have au-
tried them against the thousands that lined the walla.
Under Is.. drown/fences, the commanding offi-
cers despatched an officer to the rear to ask !tor
instructions, and the senior officer sent him back immediately
with orders f.•r the force to withdraw, as no reinforcements

could be sent. Directly this order was received the wounded
were despatched to the rear by twee and threes, and two
hours having been given them to get to the boats the mall
advanced party retreated in good order from ditch to ditch,
examining the ground in their retreat for soy wounded that
might have been overt oohed. Many poor fellows, alas, in
the retreat fell to rire no more, but the wounded were saved
and brought off.
In the meantime the boats of the squadron under Captain
Willis employed themselves in embarking the wounded and
lendleg party, and et 1 o'clock or a little after they were all
off. The gunboats did their duty ably, and covered the land-
ing party up to the latest moment it waa prudent to fire, mod
shortly after, u • testimony of their hard-fought day, the
Lee and Kestrel sunk, and the Haughty fast managed to
keep herself afloat till the morning, when she went
down, but fortunately out of range. At 3 a.m. the Cormo-
rant, with the admiral on hosed, and fall of wounded, wee
so feat aground that it was considered necessary to leave
her, as she was right under the batteries, and at
daylight the enemy would doubtless concentrate their fire in
her, whereas, if she were temporarily abandoned, it was hoped
that the enemy would cum firing on her and the next night
we should be able to get her off. For the same reasons the
Plover and Starling, both immoveably aground, were cleared
of their crews. The morning of the Roth showed our squadron
in sad condition—hardly • gunboat was =disabled. How-
ever, during the day the carpenters of the squadron
were employed latching them up temporarily, and
the Starling having floated, her second master pro-
ceeded In • dingy and cut her cable, when abe
drifted out of ramp with the ebb. That night attempts
were made ,by Captain Willa" to recover the Cormorant and
Plover, but without success. The Cormorant's ship's com-
pany having remained till 11 p.m. to endeavour to float her,
a most teed& fire was opened upon her from batteries both
north and south, and it moon became evident that abe was
sicking. Orders were therefore sent down to Com-
mends, Wodeloorme, ordering him to abandon her
if he had no hopes. Her ship's company and
officers were embarked accordingly, but not before
the water eras up to the lower deck; and half-
en-beer afterward' she went down head foremost. The
same night huh attempts were made on the Plover, but it
was found Impracticable, as ohe was full of water, and her
shot holes between wind and:water gave no hope of her being
able to float. At daylight, the Kestrel, sunk on the Roth
under the batteries, was observed drifting out, and having
been towed by the Janus Into shoal water, was even-
tually 'wavered. During that day the enemy got on board
the Plover, over the mud, and saved us the trayble of de-
straying her by settleg her on fire themselves, but not before
a vest portion of stores had been recovered.
The seat two or three days the buts of the Chesapeake

[TWOPENCE.

wars employed destroyise the sb ladened rams% is musk as
Petlle•

Ism so tine to acid more, as I hest s vessel is going to
ISbasstisL

The Admiral was wormied In the enly pert of the action,
het ratmed to leave the desk ; his ganboaM were 'Mend, a
mark for the enemy, math he shifted to the Cormorant.
The tide felling smell of the vent& grounded, and
the masesy's fire wee now Gutting them to *eel
below the water Um ; the southern batteries, how-
ever, hid begun to slickest their fire, sad, it being thought
that a lending might be Wasted with a good prospect of
sumen, an officer wee sent to tweet the proposed spot for
the lending, sod reported it practicable—the signal was im-
mediately made for the landing partite, and the two brigades
approached in tow of womb for some distance and they
pulled towards the shore. Directly they commenced landing
they were walled bye tremendom fire from all the batteries
end a dreadful carnage matted ; the mud wan so heavy that
the men could mealy struggle through it, and they were
mowed down by dogma, many who were wounded fell and
were smothered in the mud, others were intmliy drowned la
Mb dreadful zooms from pure fatigue. Keay marecontrivid
to push on towards the batteries, but aereely omen had a dry
cartridge. The two ditches were emend, but the otter im-
possibility of bringing up waling ladders or bridges through
each a see of mud balled all attempt it storming. The
Chisels threw out fireballs, which, in the darkness that bid
any come cm, showed very distinctly the position of our
people. Caplets ehadwell,who commended the naval teigade,
having been severely wounded, and many oter ofiloers and
men killed and wounded, It wee but too evident that any
further attempt would only mull a still greeter sawlike
of life, and, therefore, the "retreat" was reluctantly
ordered. The Chimes gave a yell of triumph when they saw
this movement, and, if pone* redoubled their it., whilst
our poor fellows retraced their steps ea beet they could, many
having to crawl on their hands and knees to prevent staking
into the mud altogether. By 1 a.m. the wounded and the
remains of the landlog party were embarked. To return to
the gunboats,--the duel between them and the forte recom-
menced with great fury, ant continued until long after dark,
when at length all the ammunition being expended, and
the vessels all being in a sinking condition, the firing
gradually ceased, and by ten o'clock the action may be said
to have ended,—the Lee and Kestrel had already sunk, end
the Cormorant wee following their example, and they, with
two or three other gunboats, had to be deserted during the
night.

Thus ended this most &estrous affair; the only redeeming
point in ft is, that our men, though beaten, fought every-
where with the meet desperate resolution, and had them been
firm footing for the merles and naval brigades there
can be no doubt that the forte would have been
carried; aa it was, their part of the fighting wee
a struggle against mud and not ageing Chinamen. Br
teem the 26th June and this day we have managed In
rescue all the vesotla from under the guns of the batteries
adopt the Cormorant, Lee, sod Plover ; they or. utterly
destroyed, but the reursiader have been patched up suffi-
ciently to make them feat. The Heir rel Boated ,out in the
most extraordinary manner, end managed to steam out
and join the rest of the squadron tut evening, and the
Chinese, who kept up a desultory are on our vowels ever
sktos the 25th, ere now left in the quiet enjoyment of their
vletory. The Atualearia, though they took no part in tpe
melon, have beers extremely kind la ablating our wounded,
and to various other ways have eterned the good wishes of
the whole squadron.