The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-21 00:00:00

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•

LONDON, FRIDAY CVENING, SEPTEMBER 21, 1855.

BOM BARDMENT OF SEBASTOPOL.

brightness by the breeze, and the charred ribs were all
that remained visible to th'e teleeCope. from the Picket.
House bill. Long before this consummation, however,
two ether fires broke nut within the town itself—the
first, and smaller of the two, amongst some houses near
the cemetery, and the larger in the . part of the town
lying in the rear of the Redan. The locale of the former
had been severely shelled by the Greenbill battery dur-
iag the afternoon and evening, and to this it is said the
fire in that quat ter is to be attributed. Atter sunset a
French battery on the left commenced throwing rockets
over the Redan into the town ; and to this, I be-
lieve, the second burning in that direction is to be
traced. This last raged with peculiar fury over
a very considerable space, and when I turned
away from looking at it long after midnight,
the wind was extending the flames to several other
buildings adjacent to that in which it first broke out.
To aid the breeze, our own Quarry battery threw 3large
number of shells into the spot ; whilst the French at the
same time continued to contribute rockets for a similar
purpese. A shell from one of our own mortar batteries,
however, accomplished a still more valuable result, by
blositi'ng up a Russian magazine in the sin-all six-gun
work on the proper right of the Malakhoff. This oc-
curred between 9 and 10 p.m., and from the terrific force
of the explosion the quantity of powder ignited must
have been great. At a distance of more than a mile and
a half from the spot the earth shook again, whilst the
anise resembled a thunder peal. The full extent of the
t.'arnage cannot be known till deserters reveal it ; but
that it quite balances the loss sustained by the French,
through the late accident in the Manaelon, there can
be little room to doubt. Throughout last night the fire
continued to be delivered with unabated energy—the
enemy, as before, giving scarcely a shot or shell in re-
turn. This silence on their part, however, is far from
proving that their batteries are therefore effectually shut
up—the delusion into which we fell and suffered from so
calamitously on the 18th of June. We have reason
rather to suppose that their guns have been withdrawn
into shelter, ready, if necessary, as before, to vomit forth
grape and canister when we least expect either. But
that they have suffered most heavily during the past
three days, in men and materiel, is certain, whilst our
own loss has been much lees than during any previous
bombardment. During the whole of Thursday after-
noon an almost unbroken string of stretcher-bearers,
carrying away the dead and wounded, could be seen
from our advanced trenches winding out of the Re-
dan ; and several times as they crossed a point within
the town where four streets meet, and which our
guns in the Quarry Battery command, two of these last
gave them discharges which added considerably to
the casualties of the day. The humanity of firing on
men so employed may be questioned ; but it should be
remembered that in war the first principle of action
should be that which will inflict the greatest loss on the
enemy at the smallest cost to ourselves ; and to carry
cut this refined considerations of humanity must often
or always be set aside.
Thus the last three days have been full of action and
incident. Even while I write every one is on the qui
vice of expectation as to the next move on the part of
the generals. Camp rumour declares that the assault,
which in the usual course of things should follow all this
bombarding, will be made to-day ; but beyond this gene-
ral impression I can as yet state nothing. To bring
down my account of the firing and its consequences to
the latest hour I have delayed writing till the last mo-
ment in time for post, but even before I close it is not
improbable that something decisive may occur.
In the meantime I may add to this rapid sketch of
our operations since the outgoing of the last mail a
few further particulars of some of the occurrences
shortly referred to in my letter of the 4th. When I then
mentioned the affair in which the 97th Regiment had
one officer killed and two wounded in the trenches a
night or two before, and added that the matter had since
been made the subject of an official investigation, I was
not aware of the extent and direction of the blame at-
taching to those concerned. Since then I have learned the
facts more accurately, and they are briefly these :—On
the night in question, when the party of the enemy who
surprised and drove in our sentries before the advanced
approach leading from the fifth parallel, dashed into the
sap, the officers of the covering party rushed forward to
meet them ; but the men first hesitated, and then turned;
only some 8 or 10 of them remaining with their officers.
The immediate result was the death of one of the latter,
and severe wounds to two of the remainder. These run-
aways were mostly fresh drafts belonging to the 97th and
(I believe) the 17th Regiments. Fortunately, Major
Turner, of the 7th, who was field officer of the attack
for the night, succeeded in mustering a strong party
from other regiments close at hand, and with these
promptly attacked and drove out the Russians. On the
following morning Major Turner reported the conduct
of the runaways, and having made good his charge before
the committee of officers appointed to investigate it, a
most severe and well-deserved rebuke was administered
to the peccant regiments in a general order of last even-
ing. On the night after this disgraceful behaviour,
another excellent officer, Captain Ross, of the 3d Buffs,
was shot down in repelling another sallying party from
the Redan, who carried him off as they retreated. It
is since reported that he has died within the town.
Forty-eight hours later still, on Monday night, Cap-
tain Pechell, of the 77th, was killed on the same
ground, in a most injudiciously ordered attempt
(with only eight men) on a Russian rifle-pit some
thirty yards in advance of the further extremity of
the sap. They had scarcely emerged from the shel-
ter of the parapet before a volley knocked over five
men and the captain, whose body was dragged back
into the trench by one of the three survivors. Again,
on Wednesday night, Capt. Anderson, of the 31st, who
leas for several months been doing duty with the Engi-
neers, was shot dead by a rifle bullet inside the same
work ; and on Thursday night, Capt. Buckley, of the
Grenadier Guards, met with a similar fate almost on the
same spot. Thus within the short period of a week, this
trumpery approach has cost us the lives of five most
valuable officers and many men. These have constituted
the main weight of our fatal casualties since this day
week, but in all sad earnest the list is heavy enough.
I have more than once had occasion to refer to the dis-
graceful behaviour of very many of the young soldiers
who are being continually sent out hither from the
home depots, and this conduct of the 97th and 17th
furnishes another painful illustration of the truth of
my remarks. With such multiplied examples of the
great inferiority of these raw levies before their eyes,
it may be worth while for the home authorities to con-
sider whether or not some plan be practicable by which
none but old troops should be sent out hither—at least
till all such now on home service have been drafted to
this army. As it is, I have heard more than one com-
manding officer declare that he would prefer short num-
bers of the latter any day to a full complement made up
for the most part— as is the case with many regiments
now in the front—of these green youths, who are sol-
diers only in appearance and name.
9 a.m.—As was to be expected, the assault is to be
made in the course of this forenoon. Since early dawn this
morning a terrific fire along the whole line, left and right,
has been kept up on the enemy's works from every gun
and mortar that could be brought to bear on any part of
them. In addition to the Russian batteries on the pro.
per right of the town, the Redan and its mischievous
six-gun neighbour have replied vigorously, as have also
a couple of batteries from the north side. Only one gun
has played from the Malakhoff, and for its rare shots
filly fifty for one have been returned. All through the
night the allies kept up a murderous cannonade, and at
this moment while I write the combined discharges re-
semble one long unbroken peal of thunder. This is to be
continued till the signal for the assault is given, when the
enemy will have barely time to greet the advancing
columns with one discharge of grape. This time the ar-

LAST HOURS OF THE SIEGE.
(Fr(m. the Correspondent of the Daily News.)

C,.t.,111P BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, SKET. 8.

After 'Long weeks of comparative idleness the allied
batteries have again opened upon the besieged town, and
for the gi 'eater part of three days havekept up an almost
continuo' as bombardment along nearly the whole of the
attacking: line. This time, at ail event; the attention of
the gene rals commanding was kept sufficiently secret ;
for till tl le thundering cannonade began at dawn on
Wednesd lay morning from the batteries on the French
left, I ha we been unable to hear of any one, out of the
narrow c circle of cenfidents at head-quarters, who was
at all a% c are of its approach. About four o'clock on
the morn ing of the sth, however, our allies opened the
ball from, the guns of their left attack, and maintained
a most 'vigorous fire on the enemy's works in that
direction till about an hour and a half after
noon, - when our own batteries and those on the
French r ight opened on the Redan, the Malakhoff, and
its adjac ,ant supports in Careening Bay. From that
hour unt it shortly before 5 o'clock, a feu d'enfer was
kept up along the whole line, to which only the Russian
batteries opposed to the French left replied with any-
thing lik e sustained vigour. The gunners in the Redan
and Roo aid Tower contented themselves with throwing
occasion II shells into our advanced works and the Mame-
lon, and is few hollow shot which came bounding up to
the close neighbourhood of the tents along the front.
About a quarter' before 5 o'clock the fire on both sides
slackened 1, and an hour later it . almost ceased, when a
calm—in ,striking contrast to the stormy thunder which
had filled the air and clouded the sky during the day—
succeedeo L, and remained almost undisturbed till the light
of dawn ;',gain came to guide the aim of the-combatants.
Some ts co hours later, however, about 8 o'clock, a.
lent
the occurredscene. toA givelarge
rg e t
wo decker, picturesqueness
ecker,
lyingand
innetweresii
moored cff the dockyard shears, suddenly burst
into limn, e ; ; and in considerably less than half-an-hour
her whol, ) hull and rigging were one mass of waving fire.
None but a most graphic pen could describe the grandeur
of the cot tflagration, as it brightened and extended in
relief aga b ist the pitchy darkness of the night, throwing
up clouds of smoke, which hung in lurid masses over
and aron: a d the burning ship, till the whole harbour, from
Fort Pau I to the north shore, was covered with the
fleecy vol runes, which there was not a breath of wind to
stir. Th a red glare of the flames threw its reflection
over all t b e adjacent buildings and shipping, creating a
picture of ' lights and shadows such as only the pencil
of Rembi sindt himself could have worthily reproduced ;
whilst al ). we the vapoury canopy that overhung the
vessel, tl to sky was lighted up with a brilliance which
rendered the outline of the various siege works before
the town. almost as visible as at noonday. The only
sky-scene. I ever saw which surpassed, or even
equalled it, was an autumn -sunset in Mesopotamia,
when the long even line of the desert horizon was
crowned p 'ith a glory of which no combination of artifi-
cial colons s could ever afford an adequate resemblance.
About twx hours after the first outbreak of the fire there
were two trifling explosions, as if caused by the ignition
of spirits to r the firing of a couple of powder casks ; but
beyond tht se, and the discharge of a single cannon, there
was no rep ort. Shortly before midnight the decks fell
in, after ati hich the side timbers continued to burn for
some coup' e of hours, when the wreck settled down, and
at daylighit ; no trace of her remained visible above the
water.

With tll e grey light of early morning on Thursday the
bombardu ent recommenced, and continued throughout
the day, Iv ith some, periods of intermittent slackness.
As on the ; previous day its strength was confined to the
French an d our own left--the batteries on the right
doing little more than to keep up a dropping fire on the
Malakhoff: and Little Redan, the former of which did not
answer wi th a single gun. Soon after sunset, however,
nearly ewe 75, mortar along the whole line of attack was
brought i a to play, and till nearly 9 the thunder of their
discharge s rolled through the air in almost unbroken
peals ; the sky was literally alive with shells, vomited
forth froi n their fiery beds at every angle from fifteen de-
grees up to seventy-five, whilst showers of the still
grander a n d more terrific rockets darted across the dark-
ness like wenging comets. As illustrating the briskness
of the fire about this time I may mention that within
four minus tes I counted as many as thirty-one shells fall-
ing inside the Malakhoff alone, whilst an almost equally
warm prrbc ace was being kept up upon its formidable
neighbour the Redan. As throughout the previous day
the Mala k Koff scarcely fired a shot in reply, almost its
only disci u erges being a few cohorns thrown over the pa-
rapet into ;the French sap, whose occupants generally gave
back two fc,r one. The Mamelon to a great extent also re-
served its fire, leaving its vis-a-vis to be dealt with by our
21-gun ar ic-1 mortar batteries on its left. About half-past
nine o'clo k another fire broke out behind the Round
Tower, 'b.icb, though inferior in extent and brilliance
to that of -the previous night, threw up volumes of smoke
and flame, that' cast a flood of lurid light over a great
part of t'tie harbour, the Arsenal, the Redan, and our
own and the French advanced trenches. After burning
for about a n hour, however, it rapidly died out, having
been in ail probability one of the buildings on the slope
of the hill, leading down from the rear of the Malakhoff
to the barb our. During the hour for which this had lasted
one of the three-deckers, which had been drawn up dur-
ing the p revious night, with their broadsides to the
Round T a wer, threw several shells into the trenches near
the Mam E lon, as well as into our own advanced mortar
batteries -on its flank, but as the French replied with
some die c harges of rockets, this fire from the shipping
was not I.‘ mg continued. The glare of a second fire within
the town was visible in the rear of the Redan ; but this
appeared to have been soon got under, and did not
last for ) nom than half-an-hour. As on Wednesday,
so again during this day's practice, the enemy fired seve-
ral shells at the camp, two of which, that I have heard
of, took effect. The first fell into a canteen-hut in the
Third Diovision, and demolished the whole concern, at
the same time wounding the luckless Maltese to whom
the store belonged ; whilst the second exploded within
, and killed the only man
as teat n
hap
oopf
paned the F
to
ou rbt
eh D
insidei vi s i oa
tn
the time, besides wound-
ing three. others in the neighbourhood,

During Thursday night the firing again slackened,
but was resumed on Friday at daylight, and kept up
vigorously throughout the day—its main force being,
as c,n the two preceding days, from the left. On
looking at the Malakhoff about noon I was able, with
the aid of a good glass, to perceive the full extent of
the external injury which it bad sustained from Wednes-
day's and Thursday's fire, and of the entire number of
its embrasures only two remained open. The rest
had been literally bunged up, and their gabions

shattered and knocked about in all directions inti
and outside the ditch. The abattis, which bad proved
so formidable an obstacle to our Allies on the 18th of
June, was also swept away in various places, and open-
ings, varying from one to ten yards, were visible through-
out the greater part of its length from the six-gun battery
up to the parapet of the French sap. Similarly, though
to a much less degree, the embrasures of the Redan had
been damaged, and its fascines and gabions blown out of
place ; whilst the small flanking party under the wing of
the Malakhoff appeared but little injured. Passing on
to the town itself, on the left, a vast number of houses
which had before escaped uninjured were seen reduced
to ruins, roofs being knocked in, side walls shattered, or
gables blown clean away. From the roofs of several of
the public buildings, however, the sheet lead appears to
have been purposely stripped ; and I also perceived a
scaffolding at present round the dome of the small tower
that rises out of the Admiralty buildings, leading to the
impression that it is undergoing the same denuding
process. Altogether, a much greater proportion of the
fire appears to have been this time directed against the
town itself than on any previous occasion, and the da-
mage inflicted seems to be commensurately great. Why
this had not been done long ago has been a standing
matter for remark and wonder since the earliest months
of the siege. One per cent. of the shot and shellthrown
resultlessly into the Redan and Malakhoff would have
laid the town in ruins, and not have left the garrison
as much shelter as would have given cover to a rat.
About 5 p.m. yesterday another ship was discovered
to be on fire near the middle of the harbour, and almost
hidden from our view by the crest of the Malakhoff bill.
From the masts, which were at first all that could be
seen, we judged her to be a frigate ; soon after the first
outbreak of the flames she appeared to be to wed out far-
ther from the south shore, for her deck and one tier of
portholes became visible above the brow of the slope,
and the impression as to her size was then confirmed.
Though the evening was windy, and an impetus
therefore given to the flames, she continued to burn
steadily till nearly an hour before midnight, when the
blaze gradually subsided to a smoulder, fanned into

rangement is, that our attack on the Redan shall not be

made till the Malakhoff is actually occupied by the French
—then, and not till then, our stormers shall dash on to

the Redan, the French supporting them by a simultaneous
rush upon the small flanking battery which worked us so
much mischief on the 18th June. Our assaulting force is
to be composed of the whole of the Second Division, and
the second brigade of the Light Division, with the
first brigade as a reserve. As a punishment for
its recent conduct in the trenches the 97th has been
told off to lead. General Markham, of the Second
Division, commands the whole. Such, briefly, is to be
the order of this final attack, and the strength of our
own force to be employed in it. With the lesson of the
fatal 18th fresh in all minds we have little of the un-
duly sanguine confidence of success which then ani-
mated everybody ; but with our advances pushed so
much nearer the points to be attacked, and with ar-
rangements free from the complications which bore such
disastrous fruit thf.,), the general disappointment will
still be great if before sunset to-day the Tricolour and
Union Jack do not float in triumph over the Malakhoff
and Redan. This accomplished, the south side of Sebas-
topol is our own.