The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-01 00:00:00

LETTERS FROM THE CRIMEA.

Marshal Pelissier and General Niel both men-
tioned in their reports the gallant conduct of Com-
mandant Ration, of the Engineers, on the Bth.
The Constitutionnel now publishes the following
letter from that officer to one of his friends :

" Malakhoff Redoubt, 11th Sept.
"My brave friends—l cheerfully pay the tax you have
imposed on me of a short letter to set your mind at rest.
It was I, Louis-Dominique-Auguste Ragon, one of your
oldest and best friends, who had the honour of command.
ing the engineers of the column of assault on the for-
midable work of Malahhoff. I entered it at the head of
the sappers conjointly with the regiment of Zouaves of
the Ist division of the 2d corps d'armee. We climbed the
ditch like cats, dislodged the enemy, forced the lines,and
carried the redoubt with an enthusiasm and rapidity
perfectly French. Our standards planted on the
parapet were assailed and vigorously defended for
more than six hours. After this heroic struggle our
column had alone the honour of remaining masters of
its conquest; the four others, two on our right and two
on our left, were compelled to give way, leaving the
ground covered with their killed and wounded. But
our triumph sufficed to deprive the Russians of the power
of holding their ground. At midnight, from the top
of our conquered work, and mounted on heaps of
dead Russians, we were witnesses of one of the
grandest spectacles that can possibly be conceived—the
town in flames, lighted up all the roadstead, where the
Russian vessels were disappearing one after the other be-
neath the waves, lurid by the glare of the fire on shore.
To this terrible picture was added the successive explo-
sions of forts, batteries, and powder magazines, which
the enemy blew up in their retreat. At daybreak, we
had nothing around us but ruins, with the dead and dy-
ing beneath our feet, a routed army before us on
the north shore of the roadstead, and our triumph-
ant soldiers regarding with a gratified eye the mag-
nificent results of their courageous efforts. The
first of these explosions, to which I found myself
rather too close, caused me some little injury ; the
whole of my epaulettes were carried away, my
sword was bent at the hilt, my left arm and hip
bruised, and I received a scratch on the head, just
sufficient to give me a right to say that I had shed
blood for the honour of Prance in this day of tri-
umph. I seal my letter with the seal of a Russian
officer, which I obtained in the Malakhoff Tower,
and it is a valuable spoil. I must request you to
communicate this letter to my mother and to M.
T---; they will be pleased at my thinking of them, and
I have not now time to write to them, the courier by
whom I send this being about to start immediately. I
embrace you, &c.,

"A. RAGON."

An officer of ono of the regiments engaged in the
;aliing of the Malakhoff Tower writes as follows :

"At last we were enabled to examine at our ease
those prodigious earthworks, those admirable master-
pieces of fortification, those enormous parapets, 8 or 10
metres high, those formidable traverses offering secure
shelter to the enemy at every point. How could the de-
fenders of such works ever allow themselves to be
expelled from them ? Not the least curious episode of
this memorable day is this : that at the very moment
our four regiments penetrated into the works of Mala-
khoff, a Russian General was preparing a distribu-
tion of crosses of honour. We made him prisoner, and
a good number of his men too."

The Mayor of Stockport has ieceived the follow-
ing interesting letter from a correspondent in the
Crimea :

" Balaklava, Sept. 12.
"My dear doctor,--You will long since have heard
of our glorious success on the Bth, and I take the first
opportunity of sending you a few particulars of that
eventful day.
Since the battle on the 16th Aug. a sharp cannonade
had been kept up to facilitate the pushing forward of
the trenches, and for several days last week a regular
bombardment was made, and with such effect that the
enemy were able to reply only comparatively feeble.
We knew great events were impending, but so secret
was the matter kept, that it was only at 10 o'clock in
the morning we were sure the assault was to take place
at noon. The plan was for the French to take the Mala-
khoff, Little Redan, and adjoining works on the right,
and then for the English to attack the Redan. The
French trenches were quite close to the ditch of the
Malakhoff, and nearly so to the Little Redan. Our
advanced sap was still about 180 yards from the
salient angle of the Redan. A gale of wind was blow-
ing all day and such clouds of dust that it was almost
impossible to see what was taking place. The French
took the Malakhoff at the first rush, then the double line
of works between it and the 'ittle Redan, and established
themselves there ; then the f jilting was tremendous, and
continued all the afternoon, but all attempts to drive
them out were in vain. In the meantime the English
storming party had got into the Redan, which is an
enormous place, but, after holding it for a long time, the
reinforcements not coming up quickly enough,,or not in
the place where they were most wanted, our people
were compelled to retire from the severity of the flank-
ing fire upon them. No further attempt was made that
afternoon, but a plan of attack for the next morning was
arranged. However, during the night the quietness in the
Redan was noticed. Some of our men crep , up and found
it feebly defended. Soon after a tremendous explosion
took place, shaking our huts eight miles away. This
was followed by others. They were blowing up their
works and retreating, and before daylight our troops
walked into the Redan almost without opposition. The
enemy, finding they could not hold out against the French
possession of the Malakhoff, retreated during the night
across the bridge of boats and broke it up. During the
previous night two ships had been set on fire and burned,
and on the night of the Bth the enemy sunk all the rest
of the sailing ships, as we expected they would. They
set fire to the town in several places, leaving mines to
explode as the fire reached them. On the next day I rode
up. The town was burning fiercely, explosions taking
place occasionally, one of which crumbled Fort Paul into
a heap of ruins. I rode up to the Malakhoff and was
surprised at the immense strength of it. The gunners
were admirably protected by places built for them, and
there were regular little rooms built in the parapet, with
beds, chairs, &c., for the officers. There was no lack of
ammunition, and no words of praise are too great for
the admirable way in which the French have managed
the matter. The works from the Mamelon constitute
a distinct siege in themselves, and have all been
done since the 7th June ; and, considering the rocky
ground and the fire upon them, are quite a marvel of
engineering skill. This portion commands the whole of
that side of the Military Harbour, and the Redan could
not have been held long after its possession. I could see
the mastheads of several of the ships last sunk ; in fact,
the harbour is quite obstructed with them. The enemy
have kept their steamers, and I counted seven or eight
in a creek on the opposite (north) side. These can be
destroyed when batteries are got up.
"On the following day I was fortunate enough to get