The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-27 00:00:00

THE BALTIC FLEET.

OFF SESKAR, June 18.—At 7 o'clock on the
morning of the 11th the Magicienne retnrned from
a cruise along the coast of Finland between Hel-
singtors and Viborg ; on the 9th, when passing
between the island of Rivansari and the mainland,
she came suddenly upon an encampment of about
3,000 of the enemy, who had with them six
heavy field-pieces ; she came to an anchor
about 1,200 yards from the shore, when the
Russians opened fire upon her, which she imme-
diately returned with such rapidity and correct-
ness of aim that the enemy were forced to retreat
to the woods, out of range of her guns. They must
have suffered severely, for the Magicienne fired
more than 100 shot and shell in less than a quarter
of an hour, and at that distance the execution must
have been very great. The ship escaped without
the slightest accident, except that the first shot
from the enemy cut through her chain cable and
lodged in her stem, where it now remains as a
trophy, and, continuing her cruise, she captured
and destroyed several schooners and galliots laden
with hewn granite for the forts at Cronstadt.

JUNE 15.

At 4 30 p.m., the Merlin parted company on a
mission to Helsingfors, with a flag of truce from
Admiral Dundas, most likely concerning the mur-
der of the boat's crew at Hango. _ _

JUNE 18.

At 2 a.m. this morning the Vulture arrived with
the mails, having accomplished the distance from
Dantzic to Seskar in 62 hours. The Merlin and
the Driver arrived almost at the same time, the lat-
ter from cruising, and the former with the answer
to the Commander-in-Chief's despatches to the Go-
vernor of Helsingfors. She arrived off there on
Saturday at 1 p.m., when a boat came out of the
harbour to meet her, and, having received the de-
spatch, hastened back again ; but it was not until
Sunday at 2 p.m., during which time the Merlin
lay at anchor within 3,500 yards of the fortress,
that an answer was returned. It is with great
pleasure I am now enabled to correct a part of my
last letter, the incorrectness in which was owing to
the confused account given by the only man who
was supposed to have escaped death at Hango. It
now appears that only four of our men were killed;
the others have been made prisoners. I believe
none of the officers were wounded, and two of those
killed were the stewards.

We are most anxiously awaiting the arrival of
mortar vessels and batteries. The people from the
village on Seskar have returned from the island
they had fled to. There are about 150 women and
children ; not a boy above 12 years old has been
left, husbands and sons having been taken away to
serve the Emperor.
(FROM ANOTHER LETTER.)

SESKAR, June 18.
The squadron of observation, comprising three
small steamers, and of which the Merlin, Captain
Sullivan, is entitled to special notice, have accu-
rately ascertained by their several cruises off both
shores of Cronstadt the present strength of the de-
fences of that stronghold, which have been consi-
derably augmented since the withdrawal of the Al-
lied fleets from the Gulf of Finland towards the
close of the past year. The principal fortresses on
the south side are those of Constantine, Alexander,
Peter the Great, Risbank, and Cronslot. They
command the narrow channel, and from their rela-
tive positions can pour in a heavy cross fire on
ships forcing the passage. The most formidable of
them is the Risbank battery. It has 217 guns, of
the calibre of eight and ten inches, arranged in four
tiers. Fort Alexander mounts 120 guns, Peter the
Great 132, Constantine 35, and Cronslot citadel
100, making a total of 604 guns. Of the 1 trge
flotilla of gun-boats in the harbour 17 ars propelled
by steam power, and are of a much larger descrip-
tion than those of the Allies. On the north side
several earthworks have recently been thrown up,
and several line-of-battle ships sunk across the
mouth of the harbour. Since the combined naval
forces were off Cronstadt in 1854 the Russians
have availed themselves of the interval in rendering
it as impregnable as possible.