The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-26 00:00:00

SEBASTOPOL.

( From the Times' Special Correspondent.)
FOURTH DIVISION CAMP, FRIDAY EVENING,
APRIL 13.
Up to the present moment our batteries have succeeded
in establishing a superiority of fire over the Russians,
but it is not very decided, and the silence of the enemy's
guns may arise, in some measure, from want of ammu-
nition, or from confidence in the strength of their earth-
works. It would seem, indeed, as if our fire was almost
thrown away on the enormous mounds of earth cast up.
at the Redan and before the Round Tower and Western
Batteries. lam forcibly reminded to-day of the old
simile of the butt at Woolwich which I was compelled
to resort to six months ago to illustrate the effects
of our artillery on the earthworks of Sebastopol. The
whole of the parapets of the Redan and Round Tower
are jagged and pitted with holes several feet deep,
where the shot have sunk, the sharp angles of the
embrasures are knocked away, and the abattis in
front is considerably damaged here and there, but
the real strength of the place is unimpaired ' • and, so
long as the Russians can find new guns, fresh supplies
of ammunition, and *men to fight the batteries, we are
not one inch nearer to the town than we were in last
October, so long as we rely alone on the fire of our
artillery to make us masters of it. There are great dif-
ferences of opinion among those officers to whom I
have spoken respecting the chances of an assault, but
there can be little doubt but that an attack on the
Round Tower, the Marnelon, and the two earthworks
on the south side of Inkerinan, which are called by
the French the batteries 1 Avril and 2 Avril, would
be attended with success, if wade with sufficient force,
although the loss of life would be very considerably
until guns could be got; up to reply to the fire of the
north forts, the shipping, and the bastion face of
the Redan. Far be it from me to arrogate to myself
the smallest military knowledge, or to pretend to
criticise the operations of our Generals, but I use the
words of many officers when I say that these places
are not invulnerable, and that the possession of them
would most materially conduce to a successful termina-
tion of our labours. It may be that our Generals see
some surer and less bloody path into Sebastopol. They
may well hesitate to sacrifice the gallant fellows who
oust fall in such an arduous and terrible undertaking as
the storming of these positions; but, if Great Britain
has set her heart on the reduction of the stronghold
which has already cost her so much precious blood and
treasure, she must be content to pay the price to the
last farthing. The exact result of the ships fire it is
impossible to calculate, but at present there does not
appear to be any probability of its effect being paralyzed
by the action of our fleet off the mouth of the roads. It
may be observed, by the way, that what we call the
" Harbour" of Sebastopol is called "the Roads" by the
Russians, and that the harbour, properly so called,is that
which we term the dockyard creek or harbour. Directly at
the back of the Round Tower there are eight small ships
and some steamers, and several are moored close in to
the north side. If these vessels are heavily armed,
they can, in conjunction with the two-deckers off Port
Paul or Karabelnaia, inflict great damage on any troops
in possession of the Round Tower and Mameloo, and
our batteries cannot get at them. Night after night
there is a rumour that next morning there is to be an
tssault, and the bravest may turn pale at the thought
at the loss of life that must take place if the Russians
lefend their works with their usual pertinacity and
bogged courage when placed on the defensive. Last
night, indeed, the scaling ladders and pontoons at the
engineers' parks were prepared, fitted with ropes, and
4ot ready for service, and a considerable number of
i.hens were sent down to the trenches. It was, of
course, imagined that the assault was certain, but pro-
mbly no intention of the kind existed. It is always
usual to have scaling ladders in the trenches in case
of the explosion of a magazine, or some sudden event
occurring to paralyse the enemy, an I to afford an oppor-
i,unity of an immediate assault on any impartant por-
tion of their position. To-day the report is revived. It
is quite certain that preparations have been made at all
the hospitals to provide for the accommodation of
wounded men. We hear also that Lord Raglan applied
.0 Captain Lushington to know whether the sailors'
livision could take the guns of the right attack and work
hem, and it is understood that the batteries on French-
man's-hi!' will be manned by them to-morrow. The
Artillery will, of course, be employed elsewhere. All
the horses of the Artillery will be used to-night in car-
rying down ammunition, and in other work connected
with the siege operations. The men—brave, noble
fellows—Fre all actuated by the best spirit and by
the most entire devotion, and any work they may be
abated upon to do wili be done if man can do it.
They are sometimes sadly tasked, however. For
instance, some of our gallant Rifle Brigade were
put into pits quite unfitted to protect there. The
roundshot from the enemy's batteries went right through
the parapets of sandbags, acd killed and wounded ten
riflemen, including a molt exerupisry and excellent non-
commissione,l officer. Again, 300 men under the com-
mand of Major Blunt, 68th Regiment, were employed
list night to get four 8 inch guns into positron, on. the
advanced parallel of the left attack. They found on
coming to work that the passages cut through the pars-
vets for, he guns were wide enough to let the wheels
r, a rough, but that the naves stuck fast, as the breaeth of
th cut had only been calculated from the outside of the
tire• of one wheel to the outside of another, and when
they .came to haul and lower the guns they found the
r ,pes were rotten and that they broke in their bands.
the re s ult we-s that after a night's bard labour they only
ilieceed d in getting one of the four guns into the place
assigned for it.
There ave been frequent close and long conferences
between th e allied generals, in which Omer Pasha has
H is Excellency dined with Lord Raglan
taken a part.•
on Tuesday. On M n lay and on Tuesday there were
quarters, a
la tßwo which t Owme erer
Pash
lengta, hyocounenereai.:B at
nr oolibrer lit,eaad n
uresent. lam nof aware whether or not Sir George
da.
Brown attends the se councils ; but it is pretty certain
that neither Sir Cth'in Campbell, General Pennefather,
Sir Richard England, or Sir John Campbell are much in
Lord Raglan's secrets, and that he keep his counsel as
close as it has been his ~vent to do from the time he as-
sumed the command of the army. In fact, I believe
that any subaltern in the army is as well acquainted
‘w,fitphitvhiseiopnl,ananodf fwuhtuarteevoeprerrea.ntioownns aasxygloofryouLroG,denßeraagls.
lap may gain from aay darin3 enterprise or skilful coup
will be all his own. His ,lordship is understood to
let Major-General Airey share his counsels, and it is
nrobable that General Simpson and General Jones,
from their respective positions, must have a certain de-
gree of the Field-Marshal's confidence reposed in them.
Hitherto our army has scarcely been in a posi
enemy tion
to
undertake any offensive operation aaainst the
outside, but the efficient reinforcement it has received
of 20,000 of Omer Pacha's best troops should render our
chiefs able to direct a reconnaissance against Baidar,
unless an assault is imminent. The Tchernaya is now
flooded, and could not be crossed by artillery,
and it
would not be prudent or safe to push a small force into
ethneengvorrgeecesivneedara Mlaragcekecnozniveorsy foafrnist.oreOsn . Tuesday Today
.dayththeye
have received fresh supplies, apparently of ammunition,
but there is no appearance of any increase to the army
,ericamped between the Belbeck and the Tchernaya.
The arrival of the Turks put an end to all fear for
13alaklava, and the lines may now be held Nainst
many Russians as can be deployed to attack them with-
out the smallest fear of the result. The railway brings
up 28 waggons full of shot, shell, and ammunition
more than halt way to the terminus, and its services
have been invaluable, though they may not have realised
the extravagant expectations which had been formed of
them.

10 P.M.
The batteries have been nearly silent since dusk. The
fire has now recommenced. There is a smart affair going
on between the Rifles and advanced parties in the trenches
on our left.

10.50 r. 31.
I had scarcely written the above lines, after having
iooked out of the hut to listen to the reports, when the
rolls of musketry on the left roused me out once inure ;
and I have just now come back from Cathcart's Hid with
the painful impression that our noble shies have sustained
a serious check. Five minutes' run brought we to Cath-
cart's Hill. where numerous groups of officers and men had
already assembled. It is a starlight night, but dark, that
is, the stars do not light up the deep blue sky
sufficiently to enable one to see the guns before us very
distinctly, or to trace the outlines of the country. But
on our left, it seemed, when the hill was reached, as
though all the constellations in heaven had settled on
the earth, and were twinkling in flashes and flickerioe
threads of fire in front of the Russian lines. The effect
of the desperate work which has been going on between
the French and the Russians can be compared to nothing
that I can think of save a broad street, as seen from a
distance, brightly illuminated for some festive occasion,
with the wind playing fiercely and irregularly along the
fretted gaspipes. It was quite unknown to any of the
epectatore whether this conflict was the result of a sortie
by the enemy or of an assault by the French on the Flag-
staff Battery and its outworks, and at this moment
I am quite unabie to determine the question ; but I
am sorry to say—and sincerely do I hope I may
be wrong—my opinion is 'that the French have
attacked the Russian works, and have faileo
take them, or they may have spiked the guns. Heaven
grant for the success of the expedition it may be so!
and may they then have retired. However, the Ru-sian
cheers—those horrible shrill ringing yells which have
haunted my ears ever since Inkerman--have reached us
even here against the wind, and the Redan and Garden
Battery have not fired. Toe), certainly would have
epened their guns on the place had the French succeeded.
Again, no mines have been sprung. All these are signs
of failure if our ailies made an attack, and are also un-
favourable to the supposition that the Russians have
made a soitie. That the contest has been fierce and
bloody there cannot be the smallest doubt, and as I write
the fire has commenced again.
•
SATURDAY MORNING, 12.30 A. 31.
Since 11,10 the fight has been raging, and I have