The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-08 00:00:00

THE BOMBARDMENT OF DUNAMUNDE

AND BULLEN.

RIGA, Sept. 29.—As the season is getting so far ad•
vanccd, without our seeing anything of the allied fleets,
we were beginning to think there wonld be no bombard-
ment this year, when yesterday morning at an early
hour the inhabitants of this city were suddenly awak-
ened by a loud and severe cannonade. It appears that
during the night eight British men-of-war—four line-of-
battle ships, a frigate, and three corvettes—had ap-
proached our coast unperceived, and at daybreak opened
their fire upon our batteries at Dunamunde, the mouth of
the Duna. The bombardment was kept up for nearly
three hours, without, however, inflicting much damage
on the batteries, except dismounting a few guns, after
which the hostile squadron stood off to the westward,
and took up a position opposite the colony of Bullen,
situated at the mouth of one of the channels of the
Duna. Here they opened a heavy fire on the bat-
teries, which was but feebly answered by the Russian
artillerymen. This second bombardment lasted for two.
hours, and the damage done was considerably Torein
portant than at Dunamunde. About noon the ships
drew off altogether, and disappeared in a north-easterly
y
direction.
Intelligence has this day been received here of a simi-
lar hostile visit at Old Salts, a small town situated at the
mouth of the river Salle, about 50 miles higher up the
coast. On Tuesday last, the 25th of September, a couple
of large steam-frigates, under the British
.nag, arrived off
the mouth of the river Salis, and cast anchor within gun-
shot of the town. A boat was immediately lowered,
which, manned by an officer and seven sailors, pro-
ceeded to sound and reconnoitre the mouth of the river
and the channel. On hawing accomplished this, they
gave a signal to the ships,d when four
more boats,
containing four officers and e
natn, pushed off and
joined the first boat. These five boats then pulled in
towards the shore, the foremost of them displaying a
white flag in her bows, which was answered by a
similar one hoisted on the flagstaff on the shore, in the
hope of thereby saving the ten timber vessels lying at
anchor about a werst up the river, without their masts
and rigging. Whilst the lastly-arrived four boats lay on
their oars, the first ono approached the landing-place,
and the English officer in command inquired of Herr
von Behaghel, the principal proprietor and inhabitant of
Old Salis, whether the vessels lying in the river belonged
to the government or were private property. This gen-
tleman replied that they belonged to him and his people,
upon which the lieutenant expressed his regret, but his
positive orders were to destroy them and all others they
might find along th oast. Representations and en-
treaties were of no= ail; the sailors set fire to all the
vessels, after which ' y returned to the frigates. As
soon as the latter wire out of sight, attempts were made
by the inhabitant's of Old Sails to extinguish the flames
and save some of the burning vessels, but without much
success, as only two were partially saved, whilst the re-
maining eight were burned to the water's edge and to-
-1 tally destroyed.