The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-06 00:00:00

ral-Admiral Istomine has been killed in the town
while superintending the works of the Mamelon,
and that the enemy want generals. A Polish sol-
dier who has deserted gives information that there
is plenty of ammunition, but that the gunners have
been ordered not to fire. He says, the Russians
don't care fo'r French or Euglish, but would rather
attack the former than the latter. Provisions are
plentiful in the town according tohis account, but
the garrison are in great fear, and have very few
hours in bed. The men are kept constantly em-
ployed on the works, in the batteries, or in the
trenches and sorties.

For the last half hour—it is now 10.45 p.m.—a
furious fight has been raging all along our front.
To a person standing on Cathcart's-hill in front of
the 4th Division the whole of the Russian linei are
revealed in successive glimpses by bursts of red
flame, and the bright starlike flashes of mus-
ketry, twinkling all over the black expanse be-
tween us and the town for three or four miles in
length, show that a fierce contest is going on before
the trenches of the Allies. Shells, each marked by
a distinctive point of fire where the fuse is burning,
describe their terrible curves in the air and
seem to-mingle with the stars, and fiery rockets
with long trails of dropping sparks rush like comets
through the air. Above all the pale crescent moon
is shining from a deep blue sky, covered with the
constellations of he wen. The roar of the cannon,
the hissing of the shells, the intermittent growl of
the musketry, the wild scream of the rockets, and
the whizzing of the round shot form a horrid concert.
It is curious to note the eagerness of the men on such
occasions ; they swarm out of their tents to the lines
in front, and watch the progress of the fight as far
they can make it out with the deepest interest, and
their whispered comments are most amusing—
" That's a lively shell from the French." " Mosso°
is getting his bellyful." " I wish they'd 10 us go
at that, and we'd not waste so much pewder," &e.
The-flashes of the cannon mark pretty distinctly
the flowings and ebbings of the tide of war. If
the Russian guns are thundering away we may be
sure their men are falling back. If our guns are
more •briskly served than usual, we are either
covering an attack in the pits or are protecting the
withdrawal of the allies. Most of the generals on
nights like these come out to the front and watch
the fight; and the officers form in little greups on
all the elevated knolls before the camps. It is
now 11.15 p.m., but the conflict is still going on.
No- one kuows what it is about. To-morrow I
hope to be able to learn something about it, but
the difficulty-of ascertaining the particulars of at-
tacks like these is utterly incredible.
We know the particulars of the fight. Between
11 and 12. o'clock last night columns of Russian
infantry came suddenly upon the men in our ad-
vanced trenches, and rushed in upon them on the
right-with the bayonet ere we were quite prepared
to receive them. When they were first dis-
cerned they were close at hand, and, on being
challenged, they replied with the universal shibbo-
leth " Bono Franciz." In another moment they
were bayonetting our men, who had barely time to.
snatch their arms and defend themselves. Taken
at a great disadvautap, and pressed by superior
numbers, our men met the assault with undaunted
courage, and drove the Russians out at the point
of the bayonet after a smart fire. The Russians,
pursued by our shot, retired under cover of our
batteries. •

The attack seems to have been general along the
line. At half-past 8 o'clock last night the French
batteries began to shell the town, while their
rockets were poured every five minutes in streams
into the place. At 10 o'clock our sentries in ad-
vance of Chapman's attack gave notice _that the
Russians were assembling in force in front of the
works. The 20th, 21st, and the 57th Regiments
were in the trenches on the left attack, and they
were, to a certain extent, prepared for the assault
of the enemy. About the same time the French on
the right of our right attack, which is separated
from the left attack by a deep ravine, were
assailed by masses of the enemy. As our allies
were hardly pressed, orders, were given to advance
the troops in a portion of the trenches, consisting
of a part of the Light Division, to their support.
On the left attack the Russians, advancing with
impetuosity through a weak part of the defence,
turned the third parallel, and took it in reverse.
They killed and wounded some of our men, and had
advanced to the second parallel, when our cover-
ing party and the men in the trenches of the bat-
teries came down upon them and drove them over
the works after a sharp conflict. The 20th Regi-
ment lost 2 men killed, 6 wounded badly, and 3
missing. The 57th lost 3 killed, 4 wounded, and
18 missing. The 21st lost 3 killed, 5 wounded,
and 1 missing. These are the returns so far as I
can ascertain: the truth at an early hour this morn-
ing, but it is probable that some of the missing men
will turn up, as these regiments have not yet come
out of the trenches. On the right the attack was
more serious and sudden. Our men had been
ordered out to the support of the French from one
part of their lines, and while they were away, the
Russians came up to the flank of the works, and
took them in reverse, so that they had to fight their
way back to get to their position. The gallant old
7th Fusiliers had to run the gauntlet of a large
body of the enemy whom they drove back a la
fourchette. 'One brave, young fellow, Dr. Caven-
dish Brown, of the 7th, spas killed. Two or
three musket balls passed through his body.
The 34th Regiment had an enormous force to con-
tend against, and as their brave Colonel Kelly was
leading them on, he was shot down, and carried off
by the enemy. His dead body was found outside
the trenches this morning. The 77th behaved
most gallantly, and the 97th proved themselves
worthy of their position in the glorious old Light
Division. In the midst of the fight Major Gordon
of the Royal Engineers displayed that cool courage
and presence of mind which never forsake him. With
a little switch in his hand ho encouraged the men to
defend the trenches, and standing up on the top of
the parapet, all unarmed as he was, be hurled down
stones on the Russians. He was s truck by a ball which
passed through the lower part of his arm, and,
from the same or from a different musket, at, the
same time,he received a bullet through the shou'd'r.
We are all rejoiced that he is not dangerously
wounded, and that the army will not long be de-
prived of his services. After an hour's fight the
enemy were driven back, but we have to deplore
the loss of the following officers, killed, wounded,
or missing.—Colonel Kelly, 34th Regiment, killed ;
Lieutenant Jardan, 97th Regiment, killed ; Cap-
tain Cavendish Brown, 7th, killed ; Lieutenant
Vicars, 97th Regiment, wounded ; Captain Mon-
tague, Royal Engineers, missing; and Major Gor-
don; Royal Engineers, wounded.

MA RcH 19.

Two Greek or Albanian chiefs, in full costume,
who seem to have led on the Russians last night,
were among the killed. The town was set on fire
about 1 a.m. this morning in two places towards
the west ; a part of it—at least one large house-7
was burning till 12 o'clock to-day.