The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-08 00:00:00

Sebastopol, Oct. 23.
My Lord,—•l have the honour to transmit the copy of
a h.:— '-om Lieut.-Col. Ready, of the 4th October, and
its enclosure, giving an account of the proceedings of a
detachment of the force which was sent to Taman for
tle.pty2sse of collecting firewood and Wilding materials.
ser'7'iWirtis"tatisfaVittripiliOria'ilf.
nately three soldiers of the 71st lost their lives, in conse-
quence of their having strayed. beyond the limits pre-
scribed to them.
I transmit the nominal return of the non-commis-
sioned officers and men of the 10th Hussars who were
taken prisoners on the 21st of September, in the affair
with the Cossacks, reported by me in my letter of the
20th September.
I have reason to believe that the greater portion of the
Turkish Contingent are now assembled at Kertch.
No further intelligence has been received from Bin-
bourn.

The health of the army continues very good. A few
cases of cholera have occurred during the past week,
but it is confined entirely to the new comers.
I have, &c.,

JAMES SIMPSON,
General Commanding.
P.S.—Since I commenced writing this despatch, I
have received the accompanying report from Brigadier-
General the Hon. A. Spencer.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c.

(Signed)

J. S.

Enclosure 1.
Yenikale, October 4, 1855.
Sir,—l have the honour to inform you that the joint
French and English Expedition to Taman returned from
thence yesterday, the 3d inst., and that three companies
of the 71st Regiment, under the command of Major
Hunter, which formed the British part of the force,
have resumed their former quarters in Kertch.
Enclosed is the report of Major Hunter of his pro.-
ceedings during his stay in Phanagoria. The arrange-
ments ho made for executing the duties entrusted to him,
and providing against the desultory attacks to be ex-
pected from the enemy, gave me complete satisfaction.
I regret, however, that I have, notwithstanding, to re-
port the loss of three men, who were surprised by the
Cossacks whilst stragglingfrom their party, one of whom
was killed and his body found, and the two others sup-
posed to have been captured.
The French and English gun-boats, having been sud-
denly recalled, placed us under the necessity of abandon-
ing a large quantity of timber, procured from the public
buildings in Phanagoria. We, however, collected and
transported to Yenikale a very fair supply; the rest was
burnt, and the enemy will find it difficult to provide
shelter for any number of troops there during the winter.
• I have, &c.,
(Signed) C. READY,
Lient.-Col, 71st Light Infantry.
Lieut.-Gen. Sir R. Airey, K.C.8.,
Quartermaster-General, &c.

Enclosure 2.

Kertcb, Oct. 4, 1855.

Sir,—l have the honour to report the return to Kertch
of the French and English troops under my command,
from our joint expedition to Taman. It is with much
pleasure that I recur to the assistance rendered by one
to the other, but I have to regret the loss of three sol-
diers of the French Marine, and three soldiers of the
71st Highland Light Infantry; each party having strayed
beyond the limits prescribed to them, was surprised by •
the Cossacks. The bodies of the three French and the
body of Corporal 111‘Dougal alone were found murdered,'
each having received several wounds from ball and
lance. The other two men of the 71st Regiment are
still missing.
Having proceeded in quest of the missing men with
both the French Chasseurs and the Hussars under my
command, I was still unable to obtain any clue as to
their fate.

Duringsluig:
i
ey
succeeded in approaching within 4 (four) yards of my
advanced sentry, was killed ; but, owing to the dark-
ject which was lower than our level.
The assistance rendered by the naval officers who no.
coinpanied the expedition could not have been ex-
ceeded, particularly by Lieutenants Ainslie and Fitzroy ;
and the despatch with which Mr. Williatns invariably
returned v.ith the Minna, after landing her supply of
th
wood at Yeni-Kaleh, was the admiration of all. The
acksn
the
hand.o n P l la,: nu argonri
lines
ecs
Cossack
a cm Cossacks o
night,
alone,
havingek,s
w f
hr e-
o
gltt
ily ,N, o ouru maden d e
ad tstay
in t
wounded one naval officer, French, and one naval offi-
cer, English, also one private 71st Regiment, who was
ness of the night, it was impossible to discern any ob.
value of this boat on such an expedition is very great.
The gun-boats being suddenly reca:led for some other
active service, a large quantity of valuable wood was

burnt.
The buildings at Taman and the large storehouses in
Phanagoria are completely destroyed by fire and gun-
powder, and I cannot conceive the possibility of any
t the destructionwo oi:aaj sorb:
7oi
being
gs
tt the
eif
hi
objects
baj
Highland
Light
naflasnotrtyh.e
body of troops receiving shelter in that neighbourhood.
There being several squadrons of Cossacks constantly
naects of the expedi-
around us on the different heights, I did not consider it
prudent to make any movement towards the hills, con-
sideringtion.—l have, &c ,
(Signed) R. F. HUNTER,
Lieut.• Colonel Ready, Commanding her Britannia
Majesty's Forces, Yeni-Kaleh,
collection