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

LONDON, TH Ull SDAY EVENING, APRIL 26, 1855.

BOMBARDMENT

SEBASTOPOL.

(From the Times' Special Correspondent.)
FOURTH DIVISION CAMP, FRIDAY Ev .NING,

• 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 Wester,
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 effect-
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
!ong 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 MamelOn, and, the two earthworks
on the south side of Inkerman, which are called by
the French the batteries 1 Avril and 2 Avril, would
attended with success, if made with sufficient force,
Although the loss of life would be very considerable
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 t'he 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
wear 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 conjunet;on with the two-deckers off Port
Paul or Karabelnaia, inflict great damage on any troops
in possession of the Round Tower and Mamelon, and
our batteries cannot get at them. Night after night
there is a rumour that next • morning there is to be an
assault, and the. bravest may turn pale at the thought
)f the loss of life that must take place if the Russians
defend their works with their usual pertinacity and
logged courage when placed on the defensive. Last
night, iadesd, the scaling ladders and pontoons at the
engineers' parks were prepared, fitted with ropes, and
4.0 t ready for service, and a considerable number of
them were sent down to the trenches. It was, of

,worse, imagined that the assault was certain, but pro-
bably no intention of the kind existed. , It is always
usual to have scaling ladders in the trenches in case
,f the explosion of a magazine, or some sudden event
occurring to paralyse the enemy, and to afford an oppor-
tunity of an immediate assault on any important 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
to Captain Lushington to know whether the sailors'
division could take the guns of the right attack and work
them, and it is underat,ood that the batteries on French-
man's-hil 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 cat'-
tying down ammunition, and in other work connected
with the siege operations. The men—brave, noble
fellows—Ere all actuated by the best spirit and by
the most entire devotion, and any work they may be
c4lled upon to do wili be done if man can do it.
They are sometimes sadly tasll6:l, however. For
instance, some of our gallant Rifle Brigade were
put into pits quite unfitted to protect them. The
roundshot from the enemy's batteries went right through
the parapets of sandbags, and killed and wounded ten
riflemen, including a most exemplary and excellent non-
commissioned officer. Again,. 300 men under the com-
mand 'of Major Blunt, 68th Regiment, were employed
last night to get four 8-inch guns into position, on the
advanced parallel of the left attack. They found on
coining to work that the passages cut through the para-
pets fort he guns were wide enough to let the wheels
through, but that the naves stuck fast, as the breadth of
the 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
ropes were rotten and that they broke in their hands.
The result was that after a night's hard labour they only
succeeded in getting one of the four guns into the place
assigned for it.
There have been frequent close and long conferences
between the allied generals, in which Omer Pasha has
taken a part. His Excellency dined with Lord Raglan
on Tuesday. On Monday and on Tuesday there were
lengthy councils at our head-quarters, at which Omer
pasha, General Canrobert, and General Bosquet were
present. lam not aware whether or not Sir George
Brown attends these councils ; but it is pretty certain
that neither Sir Colin Campbell, General Pennefather,
Sir Richard England, or Sir John Campbell are much in
'Lord Raglan's secrets, and that he keeps his counsel -as
close as it had been his wont 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
with the plan of future operations as any of our Generals
of Division, and whatever renown and glory Lord Rag-
lan may gain from any daring enterprise or skilful coup
will be all his own. 'His lordship is understood to
let Major-General Airey share his counsels, and it is
Probable 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 position to
undertake any offensive operation against the enemy
outside, but the efficient reinforcement it has received
of 20,000 of Omer Pacha'e 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
the gorges near Mackenzie's farm. On Tuesday the
enemy received a large convoy of stores. To-day they
have received fresh supplies, apparently of ammunition,
but there is no appearance of any increase to the army
encamped between the Belbeck and 'the Tchernaya.
The arrival of the Turks put an end to all fear for
Balaklava, and the lines may now be held against as
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 daily,
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 ol
,hem.

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 p.m.

I had scarcely written the above lines, after having
looked out of the hut to listen to the reports, when the
rolls of musketry on the left roused me out once more ;
and I have just now come back from Cathcart's Hill with
the painful impression that our noble allies have sustained
a serious check. Five minutes' run brought me 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 flickering
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
spectators 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 unable 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 failed to
take them, or they may have spiked the guns. Heaven
grant for the success of 'the expedition it may be so l-
and may they then have retired. However, the Russian
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. They certainly would have
opened 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-
favouralile to the supposition that the Russians have
made a softie. , 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.M.
Sive 11,10 the Oght have boon raging oxvi I have

returned once more to my den in despair as to Re
cause. lam now'inclined to think it was a sortie
in the trench, which was unsuccessful, was renewed,
and was finally repulsed victoriously and with great loss
to the enemy. It appears that at first, about 10 o'clock,
drums were heard beating a charge, or alarm, all along
the French lines at first ; but whether they were Res-
.:inn or French drums no one can say. The cheers were
undoubtedly Russian. Sir John Campbell despatched
Capt. Hume, Aide-de-Camp, to head-quarters to learn
the cause of the firing, but as nothing was known there
respecting any attack to be. made by the French, it is
almost certain that this busy night has been the work of
the Russians. There is now a profound silence—not a
gun can be beard, and the horrid die of shot and shell
screaming and whistling through the air, the bursts of
cannon and bombs, the cheers, and rolling volleys, have,
all died allay, and the deadly lights have died out and
left all the black waste in darkness. While the fight
lasted the quantities of shell thrown by both sides were
prodigious. They might be seen 6 and 8 at a time
seaming the sky with .their fiery curves, and then
bursting with 'a bright red flash which lit up for an
instant the smoke, and flashed through it like a beam
from the setting sun through a murky cloud. The
French threw "bouquets," two, three, and four shells
from one mortar in flights at a time, and must have
caused fearful havoc in' the enemy's lines. At every
crashing volley our Ten used to grow quite excited, and
many a " Bono Franceese" ran through the crowd, but
the few Frenchmen who were there talked in subdued
and eager tones, with a deeper interest in the fate of
their gallant comrades than we could feel. Towards the
close of the struggle the Russians fired angry volleys
from their cannon, and threw a multitude of shells into
the French lines, which were paid back with interest. It
must have been the most sanguinary affair we have had
since Inkermann and no doubt the Ilioniteur will let us
know the truth of it, and give us additional reason to
admire the gallantry of our allies. Our ineei,eeernefl to
think it was a French attack, and one fellow exclaimed,
"Oh ! when are we to get a chance I" Another eit-
claimed, " When we do, Jack, I hope to the Lord
they'll let us go at it by daylight, I like to see my
inimy !" The progress of the battle was watched with
the most intense anxiety, and many were the specula-
tions and arguments respecting the lines of fire—as to
whether they were from friend or foe, and as to which
was which, and who were gaining and who were losing.
At last with the silence we all dispersed, and the camp
is once more profoundly quiet, for the reports from the
rifle pits are deadened b' the wind. There is less cre-
dence attached to-night to the rumour that we are
" going in" at daybreak. The last nail on which it
hangs is the fact that the Caradoc 'has been ordered
to get ready to carry Lord Raglan's, despatches to-mor-
row.

SATTJRDAY, 3 O'CLOCK, A.M.
There is a tremendous cannonade on our left. The
Light Division bugles are sounding close at hand.
3.ls.—There is an awful crashing roar from the Rus-
sian batteries. The,Light Division are on the alert. I
must close my despatch for the present. And now to
my diary.

TUESDAY APRIL 10.
I was obliged to send off a very hasty despatch'
;his morning, as the fatigue and the wet of Monday
had nearly incapacitated me from writing. It was nearly
noon before the Russians recovered their surprise and
manned the whole of their guns, and we gained a decided
advantage by the secrecy with which the day of opening
fire was kept, and the excellence of our arrangements.
In the extreme right Inkerman Battery, manned by our
artillerymen, the guns, in consequence of a message from
our allies that they were suffering from our silence, were
opened before all was quite in readiness, and the result
was that the enemy inflicted some damage on us in con-
sequence of their being able to concentrate their fire
before it was taken off by the other batteries. A valu-
able man—a corporal of Sappers—was killed, and several
men wounded here. Some of our batteries are as yet
unfinished, but exertions will be made to complete them
at night during the siege. I have not been able to get the
armament of the right attack as yet, but I send you a
statement of the armament of the left attack, which
it cannot be dangerous to publish, as our cannonade
and bo►nbardment will have failed utterly if Sebastopol
be not taken before these lines are in print, and the
whole dreary process of dragging up more guns, getting
up fresh platforms and throwing up new batteries, will
have to be gone over again. The French have, it is
said, about 300 guns and mortars in position, but I be-
lieve such an estimate to be exaggerated. At 120 rounds
a-gun per diem, we can fire for about 10 days without
much damage to our guns. If the place does not fall
then, it is not in the power of artillery to take it, and we
must either get' ready to invest the north and south, or
try the dreadful alternative of a general storm, unaided
by the ships, which seem at present all but useless.
Our armament in Chapman's batteries is as follows :
Left Attack.—No. 1 Battery.—Ten 24-pounders, two
8-inch guns.
No. 2 Battery (Sailors).—Eight 32-pounders, two 8-
inch guns.
No. 3 Battery (Sailors).—Eight 24-pounders.
No. 4 Battery (Sailors).—Two 32-pounders, four 24-
pounders, two 8-inch guns, one 10-inch gun.
No. 5 Battery (Sailors).—One f3-inch gun, one 10-inch

gun.
Picket-house, or No. 6 Battery.—Two 32-pounders,
one 24-pounder, and three 10-inch mortars.
No. 7 Battery.—Six 32-pounders.
No. 8 Battery.---Six 32-pounders, two 8-inch guns.
Irrespective of the guns in the above batteries, there
are in position the following mortars-10 13-inch and 4
10-ineb, intended .for bombarding the remoter works,`
and the storehouses and magazines of the enemy.
The casualties in the first day's cannonade on our
side were net numerous. In the Naval Brigade one
most excellent and zealous yoi.ng officer, Lieutenant
Twyford, of the London, lost•his life. He was killed
on the spot, and a piece of stone knocked up by the
same shot, struck Lord John Hay on the face, cut his
mouth, and knocked two of his teeth down his throat, be-
sides wounding him in the shoulder. The remains of Lieu-
tenant Twyford were buried to-day, and they were fol-
lowed to the grave by many officers and sailors. The
chaplain of the Diamond performed the funeral service.
Lord John Hay's wound is not very serious. Of the
men of the brigade 9 were killed and 13 wounded. The
artillery of the siege train and men in the trenches lost
about an equal number killed and wounded. This morn-
ing a promising young officer, Lieutenant Sinclair, Royal
Artillery, received two very severo wounds from the
fragments on the recoil of a gun carriage struck by a
shot, and he is, I regret to say, in rather a precarious
state. The loss of Lieutenant Twyford is the more to
be deplored, inasmuch as it took place at the close of the
day, when he had done his work and was about being
relieved. The shot which killed him hopped in over the
parapet from the angle of the Flagstaff Battery, which
almbst rakes the left over Chapman's Batteries, and
struck him on the back as he was leaning against the
traverse, making up his day's expense paper of ammu.

nition.
The losses in the Naval Brigade have been severe
within these last two days, but our covering parties have
not suffered much, as they have been placed out of fire,
in shelter close to the batteries. In this respect we seem
to have taken a lesson from the Russians, who only keep
men enough to man the guns in their works, and draw
them from the reserves as they may be required. The
cannonade on both sides commenced at dawn to-day, and
it was apparent that the Russians had quite recovered from
ttrheemend
surpriseous salvoes
eps from their batteries. Oarrecedingday,forthey opened
aneudnwnietrhs
`gearls t
ehseoym
eg
guns.ot " and
The
practice
soon
ev
the left of the left attack and from the right of the right
attack, which was more under observation than other parts
of our works, was admirable, and at every shot the earth
`sarsei themoftheir as
most
tod troublesome
was knocked up out of the enemy's parapet and embrasures.
Our shell practice is not so good as it might be, all
on account of bad fuses. If the fuse burns properly the
direction and flight of the shells are unerring, but a large
proportion burst in the air. Some of our, fuses were
made in 1802 and subsequently. I have heard of some
belonging to the last century, but they are not the least
reliable, and some of very recent manufacture have
turned out the worst of all. At 12 o'clock at noon the
fire slackened. The French have silenced eight or nine
of the guns of the Bastion-du-mat (Flagstaff), and had
inflicted great damage on the outworks and on the
buildings inside the batteries in the western tower.
They had also-almost shut up the Inkerman batteries.
On our side we had silenced half the guns in the Redan
and Round
RoluenftdthTe melon owearm only one out of seven guns to, anal bad in conjunction with the
French
reply to us, but the Garden Battery, the Road Battery,
and the Barrack Battery were comparatively uninjured,
and kept up a brisk fire against us all day.
Our guns were restricted to eight shots an hour each.
The sea service mortars fired only once in every 30 mi-
nutes. The Russians, with great sang froid, repaired
the batteries outside under fire, and appear to have ac-
quired confidence and courage, but their fire was by no
means as brisk as it was when the siege commenced
last year. On our side six guns were disabled, including
one large mortar. From 2 till 4 o'clock the firing was
very heavy on both sides. It then slackened for half an
hour, and at 4 30 it recommenced, and there was one
continuous roar of cannon and mortars till darkness set
in. Then the French began to throw in shells by five and
six at a time, and discharged quantities of rockets into
the town, and our mortars kept up a- steady fire at the
d t
the °
Redaa and Mamelon till daybreak. We are about arm-
ing a battery in the advanced parallel with eight-inch
position
erna night,
nt. calculatedbHui st
E owing
Excellency
eadnoc
:Ta o immensetmh e
er
rain
Pasha mischiefa
visited
the enemy. This operation should have been effected
in
state of the ground, it was found impossible to
gunsoeffect thea
Monday
operation.
pLord Raglan to-day, and a council of
wartook place at
head-quarters, at which the French Generals assisted.
The day was dark, and drizzling mists fell at intervals ,
in the early morning it rained heavily. A. large convoy
•
was observed coming into Sebastopol to-day from Sim.
pheropol. Several deserters came in from the town, but
they had no intelligence of importance to communicate.
An interpreter was taken up in one of our haft • eries on
suspicion of being a spy, but was disch aaged on exami.
nation at head-quarters.

WEDNESDAY, April 11..
' Our men were not able to get the guns from which so
much is expectedinto position last night, owing pried-.
poy, r belioyo, to the, tvil ;214nreof tie grows; comer

quent upon the recent rains. The expectation which the
outsiders entertained that "the fleet would go in" this
morning at daybreak has not been realised. At daybreak I
was up at Cathcart's-hill to witness the opening of our fire,
and with some hope that I might see, too the first broad-
sides of our wooden walls. It was a thick morning, and'
the view was obscured by vapours and drizzling rain,
but the dark hulls and rigging of the steamers and line
of battle ships were visible through the mist, and, though
clouds of steam were flying from the funnel pipes, it was
quite evident that the fleet were only off the port, and
had no intention of taking part in the bombardment.
Only one officer, Col. Nercott, of the Rifle Brigade, was
up at Ott part of the front which is close to the lines of
his regiment, and a few stragglers had crept out of the
adjoining tents to look at the town and its long lines of
battery. Through the gray light the flashes of`the guns
lighted up the embrasures, and the shot cleft the air with
a dub, hearse icier, and struck with a heavy throb into
the earthworks. Our shells were bursting right into and
over the Mamelon, which the French were also plying
from their Inkerman batteries. The Round Tower now
and then fired one of the three or four heavy guns
which are placed in the west angle works, but the Redan
and Garden Batteries were worked with vigour. On the
left the whole of the outlines of the town and of the
French batteries were obscured by the smoke from the
guns, which hung in heavy white wreaths on the ground.
The fire was very heavy, and the riflernhn in front of the
batteries kept up a sharp- fusillade on the embrasures,
which was sometimes audible in the lulls of the cannon-
ade. It was tolerably evident that the Russians bad
more than recovered from their surprise, and that they
had laboured to recover the ground they had lost with
all their might. Their batteries were fully manned,
and their fire, if not, so precise as our own, was very
quick. They occasionally resorted to their old prac-
tice of firing off six or seven guns in a salvo—a
method also adopted by the French occasionally. It
is laid down, indeed, in some books of authority that
salvo firing is more effective than independent firing,
but I take it that the dictum can only refer to breach.
ing operations, and not to those which are directed for
the purpose of silencing guns. As the rain set in again
soon after 6 o'clock, nothing more was to be seen, and
we returned to our tents. The cannonade continued all
day uninterruptedly, but irregularly, and as soon as the
rain ceased and the batteries were visible I returned to
Cathcart's-hill. I could not see that any marked change
had been made in the profile of the enemy's works.l
Several of the - embrasures in the Redan had been de-
stroyed, and the Round Tower works were a good deal
"knocked about;" but there was no great reduction in
the weight of the enemy's fire. The Allied fleet was
quietly stationed to the south of the Quarantine Forts.
Their presence there bad, however, the effect of drawing
off a number of the Russian gunners, for the sea batteries
on the north and south sides were all manned, and we
could see the artillerymen and sailors inside the parapets
standing by their guns. Large reserves of infantry
were drawn up near the north forts, and the corps
over Inkerman were under arms. The Russians were
seen carrying their wounded men across too the north
side in boats, and it is probable they also get the relief
for the batteries in the same was, and that they keep
the bulk of their magazines in the forts at the other side
of the Roads. General Bizot received a very severe and
dangerous wound to-day. He was struck by a rifle ball
under the ear, and it tore right across his face and lodged
close to his eye in the temple at the opposite side. Some
. hopes are entertained that his life will be saved. No. 2
battery, left attack, suffered severely to-day from the
heavy fire directed against it, and the Barrack Battery
proved very troublesome, but its fire was not so mis-
chievous' as that of the Garden Battery. The service
has to deplore the loss of Captain Luce, R.A., who lost
both his legs by a round shot, and died soon after-
wards. He'was a promising and zealous officer. Lieu-
tenant Urmston, of the Queen, was wounded in one
of the sailors' batteries, but is likely soon to recover. A
strange and almost unexampled accident occurred in one
of our batteries. A. 13-inch mortar, with a moderate
charge, and not over-heated burst on being fired, and
flew into two pieces, splitting up longitudinally. One
of the huge masses was thrown 30 yards to the right,
and another a great distance to the left, and yet, won-
derful to relate, though the fragments flew along the
traverses and parapet, not one man was killed or
wounded. We were less fortunate in the case of the Lan-
caster gun, which was struck by a shot and went to
pieces, killing and wounding severely six"men. Several
engineer officers to whom I have spoken, while express-
ing regret at the accident, have declared their satisfac-
tion at getting rid of the gun in which they placed no
confidence, on account of its wild and uncertain firing.
Omer Pasha visited Lord Raglan again to-day, and
there was another council of war or conference, at
which General Canrobert and General Bosquet were
present.
Lord Raglan visits the front every day, and spends
sonie time examining the effects of the fire, and Sir John
M`Neil, Colonel Tulloh, General- Pennefather, and Sir
George Brown are frequently visible among the specta-
tors on the advanced mounds commanding a view of the
siege operations. I have not yet seen Sir Cohn Camp-
bell, who is probably too much occupied by his own
division at Balaklava to be able to spend much time in
the front. Every one who can gets away, however, for
a few hours and gazes on this extraordinary spectacle
from the ridges over Sebastopol. Up to to-day the Naval
Brigade has lost 40 men killed and wounded. A clever,
energetic officer, Captain Crofton, R.A., was severely,
but not dangerously wounded to-day by a round shot,
which struck him on the lea, close to the knee. There
are some slight hopes of saving his leg. Lieutenant
Armit, R.E., while engaged in repairing ,an embra-
sure, was struck by some stones-in the legs, thrown
up by a round shot, and is slightly wounded.
The firing this afternoon was extremely heavy and irre-
gular on the part of the Russians. In the early part of
the day an electric telegraph was sent up to head-quar-
ters to say that a body of Russians were marching from.
the, heights of Mackenzie's-farm towards Tehorgoun,
hut no one seems to know what has become of them.
The enemy show a considerable number of watch-fires
over the Tchernaya this evening. General Bizot is in a
dangerous state. We hear that the smallpox in the
fleet is very much better. The French poured inces-
sant volleys of shells into the western part of the town
after dark, and we aided them with bombs from the
mortars into the enemy's batteries.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12.
At dawn this morning the Allied batteries and
the Russians recommenced their terrible combat as
usual, and it was evident the enemy had exerted
themselves greatly to repair damages during the
night, and that they had replaced four or five da-
maged guns, mended broken embrasures and injured
parapets, and were, in fact, nearly as ready to
meet our fire as they had been any time for the last six
months. On our side four of the guns for the advanced
parallel, which for the previous two nights we had failed
to get into position, were at last brought down after
dark, and it is expected that material results will be pro-
duced by their fire when they are in position. Broken
platfoi MP were removed and damaged guns replaced by
others. The morning was hazy, and rain fell at times,
but towards the afternoon the weather cleared up again,
and the heights were crowded with spectators, many of
whom were Turkish officers recently arrived from Eupas
toria. An English lady on horseback, who rode up to
Cathcart's-hill, attracted nearly as much attention from
these gentlemen as the cannonade. Our batteries
throughout the day fired steadily, and if their cannonade
was less imposing in appearance than when they sent
forth salvoes and irregular bursts of fire and smoke, it was
probably more effective. Orders were sent to all the batteries
to restrict the firing to 120 rounds per gun each day. The
vivacity of the sailors' batteries has been diminished by
that order, but their practice is splendid, and the enemy
have directed their heaviest fire on them in reply. The
13-inch mortar battery fires parsimoniously one round
mortar every 30 minutes, but it requires a long time to
cool the great mass of iron heated by the explosion of
121 b. or 161 b. of powder. Every one is most anxious to
see the effect of the shells when they burst ; but, owing
to the smoke, and to the great distance of the objects at
which they are directed, it is impossible to tell where
they alight or what they do unless one happens to be in
the battery, and is enabled to know their flight. The
English battery on the right at Inkerman has been
very well served and has caused great damage to the
enemy, and the Round Tower has been almost shut
up ; nor did the Mamelon fire a shot for the four
hours I was watching it. The portion of the town
opposite the French is a heap of ruins. The inces-
sant shelling at night has done much mischief to the
private houses. Our allies fire to-day with great
energy. Their Inkerman and Tshernaya batteries are
admirably served, and they have not only kept down the
firing of the Mamelon, aided by Gordon's Battery, but
they have also answered the batteries at the north side
of the harbour, the Inkerman Cave Batteries, and have
silenced for the present the Lighthouse Battery, No. 2.
Our fire from Gordon's Battery and its advanced works
has swept away the rifle pits, has damaged some six or
seven guns in the Round Tower, and has kept und.r the
fire from one face of the Redan, whilethe firefrom Chap-
man's Battery has been vary successful against the Redan,
the Barrack Battery, the Road Battery, and the Garden
Battery. The French on the left have done great mischief
to the Garden Battery also, and their fire has crushedthe
guns of the Flagstaff Battery (Batteriedu Mat) completely,
but they suffer considerably from the Quarantine Fort
and its outworks, and from the Dockyard Harbour Bat-
tery. We have quite destroyed the small but heavily
armed and destructive battery called that of " Careening
Bay," recently constructed by the Russians; but of course
we have sustained considerable losses in a contest of
artillery waged with a skilful and determined enemy.
Our sailors- -men and guns—have suffered especially.
It is reported that seven guns have been dismounted or
rendered unfit for use for the time in the left attack, and
four have been damaged in the right attack. Our Bat-
tery No. 2 in the left attack, has been exposed to a pecu-
liarly heavy fire.
The cannonade has never ceased all day. It is nreot so
heavy on the whole as it has been for
firing,
newed they
re_
ti
days. At 4.50 the batteries relaxed
newed it at 6, and the fire was very d saenvderleastitleldnightfall,
when the bombardment coname22(•__
break. Lieutenant Douglas,.
which carried
as Dia
away
ywahsis khilelaedd. to-1(117s
by a round shot, the Naval
loss is severely
have been sent fteolt_thine
De ladtla
prepare 4061 -
autliNeearvsal thisß rigaaftdeernoOorndetros
pontoons, and they

r PRICE SD.

have been engaged ever since adjusting the ladders
fitting them with ropes and sending a certain portion of
them to the trenches where they will arrive after dusk.
Up to this date we have barely lost 100 men in killed
and wounded, and we can see that the Russians suffer
frightfully, judging by the wounded they send acr.ots to
the north side.

FRIDAY MORNING, 13TH.

At 4 o'clock a.m. the Russians opened -a powerful and
destructive on our 6.gun advanced battery, which was
in a very imperfect state, and by concentrating the fire of
20 guns on it dismounted some of the pieces and irjured
the works severely, so as to render the battery useless, for
the day. Our working party only succeeded in getting one
gun into the new battery this morning, owing to causes 1
cave already mentioned-, although they worked till it was 1
nearly dawn. Our mules were lost, 50 of them, at least, by
the Land Transport Corps, returning from the trenches
last night, as the officers could not find their way and the
animals got loose. On every side I hear loud complaints
against the ramrods of the Enfield rifles, or rather
against the mode in which they are fixed in the weapon.
The least rain or damp so swells the wooden stock into
which the steel ramrod runs, that it is impossible to draw
the latter, and it has been also said that the locks are
very apt to become wood-bound, en which state of course
they will not act. I have been assured by an officer
who had the command of a party in the trenches on
Monday morning last, that if the Russians had some
upon them they could only have been met by the bayo-
net, inasmuch as not one ramrod could have been drawn
to load the rifles in consequence of the wet having swelled
the wood round the steel. General Jones is a good deal an-
noyed at the delay which occurred in getting the gunsinto
the advanced batteries, and he was still more displeased at
the neglect of an officer or officers who ought to have
provided nsantlettes for the embrasures of one of those bat-
teries, the want of which led to our guns being rendered
useless,

-
FRIDAY, 12 AT NooN.
The Sailors' Brigade have again suffered very severely.
Although they only work 35 guns in the various batte-
ries, they have lost more men than all our siege train-
working and covering parties put together, and up to
half-past 3 o'clock they had 73 men killed and wounded,
two officers killed, one wounded, and two or three con-
tused. The sailors in No. 2 Battery, Chapman's attack,
silenced three of the best guns in the Redan yesterday,
but the Russians replaced them during the day, and
actually opened fire at 5 p.m. from the very embrasures
which had been knocked to pieces. The reports of in-
jury done to our batteries have been greatly exagge-
rated. In addition to the 13-inch mortar, which was
burst, and the Lancaster destroyed by a shot, there
have been only four guns disabled by the enemy's fire,
and one of our 9-pounders, directed against the Rifle-
pits, has been " dinted" by a shot. One of our
24-pounders was burst by a shot which entered right at
the muzzle as the gun was being discharged. Another
gun was struck by a shot in the muzzle, split up to the
trunnions, the tall then sprung up into the air, and, fall-
ing at the breech, knocked off the button. There are
only three guns firing trout the Round Tower this morn-
ing, but the enemy has mounted a heavy gun in the
Mamelon, at which we are at present directing our fire.
The Redaa is very much damaged on the right face and
front already, and three of the embrasures, at least, are
knocked to pieces. It is impossible to deny to the Rus-
sian engineers great credit for the coolness with which
they set about repairing damages under fire ; but words
cannot do more than justice to the exertions of our
own men, and to the Engineer officers and Sappers en-
gaged in this most perilous duty. • When an embra-
sure is struck and injured it is the business of the
Sappers to gc. up into the vacant space and repair
the damage, removing the gabiocs, &c., under fire, and
without the least cover from shot, shell, or riflemen.
Our engineer officers have frequently set the example to
their men in exposing themselves when not called upon
to do so, and I believe, that as yet, there has not been a
single instance in which a gun has been silent owing to
damage done to an embrasure. The officers and men
charged with this dangerous work have not waited for
the cover of night to effect repairs, but have carried them
on in face of the enemy. Our Allies, also, exhibit the ut-
most coolness and gallantry in a similar manner. Poor
Jack pays the penalty of his excessive courage in the loss
which he sustains. The sailors will not keep under cover.
When they fire a gun they crowd about the ernbrqsures
and get upon the parapets to watch the effect of the shot,
and the result is that they are exposed to many more
casualties than the artillerymen, who are kept under
cover by their officers. Yesterday, under the very heat
of the fi-e, a Russian walked through one of the em-
brasures of the Round Tower, cocPy descended the
parapet, took a view of the profile of the work, and
sauntered back again—a piece of bravado which very
nearly cost him his life, as a round shot struck witnin a
yard of him, and a shell burst near the embrasure a he
re-entered it. Lieut. Dougl.as was buried today close
to poor Twyford and young Spalding. The Rev. Mr.
Freeman read the funeral service over Lis remains. It
will scarcely be credited that for nearly eight months
the Naval Brigade, mustering 1.200 men, has been left
without any chaplain, and the officer's have to " borrow
a chaplain," or do without one, whenever a comrade's
remains are to be interred.

Two divisions of Turkish infantry have just marched
from Kamiesh, past the head-quarters camp, towards
Balaklava. They mustered about 15,000 men, and
finer young fellows than some of the soldiers of the
crack regiments I never saw. Very few of the
privates wore decorations or medals, but many of the
officers had them, and had evidently seen service
against the Muscovite., They had had a long march,
and their sandal shoon afforded sorry protection against
the stony ground ; and yet it was astonishing that so
few men fell out of the ranks or straggled behind. One
regiment had a good brass band, which almost alarmed
the bystanders by striking up a quick step (waltz) as
they marched past, and playing it in very excellent style,
but the majority of the regiments were preceded by mu-
sicians with drums,' fifes, and semicircular thin brass
tubes, with wide mouths, such as those which may have
tumbled the walls of Jericho, or are seen on the sculp-
tured monuments of primaeval kings. The colonel and
his two majors rode at the head of each regiment richly
dressed, on small but spirited horses, covered with
rich saddle-cloths, and followed by pipebearers and ser-
vants. The mules, with the tents, marched on the
right ; the artillery marched on the left. The two
batteries I saw consisted each of four 2,11 b. brass
howitzers and two 91b. brass field-pieces, and the
carriages and horses were in a very serviceable state.
Each gun was drawn by six horses. The ammunition
boxes were rather coarse and heavy. The baggage ani-
mals of the division marched in the rear, and the regi-
ments marched in columns of companies three deep, each
company on an average with a front of 20 rank and file.
One of the regiments had Minie rifles of English make,
the majority, however, were only armed with flint fire-
locks, but they were clean and bright. Theyall displayed
rich standards, blazing with cloth of gold, and many-
coloured flags with the crescent and star embroidered on
them. All the men carried their blankets, squares of
carpet for prayer or sitting upon, cooking utensils, and
their packs were of various sizes and substances. As
they marched along in the sunlight over the undulating
gro.ind, they presented a very picturesque and warlike
spectacle, the stern reality of which was enhanced by the
thunder of the guns at Sebastopol, and the smoke from
shells bursting high in the air. On ascending the range
of hills towards Balaklava, they must have been seen by
the Russian army over the Tchernaya, and by the Cos-
sacks on Canrobert's-hill. The Zouaves, who were for-
merly encamped near the artillery and cavalry at Kadee-
kovka (which is erroneously called in our maps, &c.,
Kadikoi), have been moved to the left, and replaced by
Turks. The heavy field battery which bas just arrived
from England is packed at Karany, but I believe Sir
Colin Campbell objects to parting with the guns, which
are, he considers, required at present for the defence of
Balaklava. Every night the plain is swept by a strong
picket of our cavalry, under the command of a field-
officer, a captain, and two subalterns, but as yet they
have met no marauding Cossacks, though they have
gone right up to Canrobert's-hill and past the lines of
;he redoubts.

A letter from an officer of the French army be-
fore Sebastopol ; it is dated the 10th "
God protect France ! The great duel between civili-
sation and barbarism has commenced. By the time this
letter reaches you the decisive blow will have been
struck. The weather was frightful yesterday. The wind
blew from the South with extreme violence, accompanied
by pelting rain, but we were ready. It was the date an-
nounced beforehand for the opening of the fire. At day-
break 500 guns opened at the same time, and mingled
their thunders with the din of the tempest. Our fathers
have seen on the battle-fields of the empire some hundreds
of cannon thunder for some hours; but these pieces did not
equal ours in calibre. To the soldiers of the Crimea only
it is given to see in line 1,200 guns, and to hear their
tremendous bellowing night and day. Yesterday the
wind drove tha rain on our backs ; the Russians had it
full in their face. The fire, commenced at dawn,swtaes
kept up with the greatest energy. For some hours
enemy replied viorously. At 8 o'clock our superiorityemon
was evident ; in the afternoon we commanded th
at all. During the night of the 9th the y
the whole line, and towards evening they scarcitelyarnedp
hcelmed with
works of the Russians were literally.
ies and dressing
sians, occupied in repairing their. ltibede
shell and shot. Our cannonade cobnattitnueurveedrwand the Rus-
s magnificentforus,
the result of thi' first day wa
insignificant. This morning
their wounded during the day, did not reply.
our loss was comparatively
efiring, 1u a
oar:4
at first sharply,
the Russians again commenced firing,
(8 o'clock a.m.), that
but I can see, at the hour I
considerably ; and I hope to see it, as
their fire slackens col
yesterday, almost
sailswsir eintnBacseeydto, tnahnti shdeessvteeearillmiun
rgur.ipe,dl
lines n see
lfrtoi7e
and some are
to move. I suppose they will
sthhieptseonftt e
thee fleet,r where
I beginning
atnot fail to take partici the action. If the 3,000 guns of
this moment
Admiral Bruat and Admiral Lyons mingle their roar
w eni
lay-break
hi eeu
rs ors, r noe
cue
ovr I
ne r
mdei
nd c hedu
workmen. mt
ha
enwi
reea hear
rer
approachesu n desuch a n
r th
ea
tnoligse
walls
h.t.
of ThetAhet
place at some metres distance from the Russians. Our
blood is up—and I do not think they can arrest us.
Mines will probably explode to night or to-morrow, and
I think that the exterior works, or rather the first
=OW% Will ilO oocopioda Lugo bleaches were easily