The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-24 00:00:00

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

(Froa the Morning Herald Correspolident.)
ENGLISH. CAMP, HEIGHTS OF
SEB..kSTOPOL, MAY 9.

The feeling of general disgust at our inactivity,
which I mentioned in my letter of yesterday, seems
rather to increase than otherwise. lam informed
that some of the regiments,
on being disembarked
from the Kertch expedition, actually hissed and
groanea, and that one, a French regiment, was
almost in a state of mutiny. Admiral Lyons and
Sir George Brown did their utmost to induce the
French Admiral Bruat to disregard the order, and
proceed, but he declined, though quite as much
chagrined and disappointed as the rest, the respon-
sibility of such a step.
We are in a state of the most perfect idleness at
present. Except during the night, when the work-
ing parties go down to the trenches, there is not
even the semblance of active hostilities going for-
ward. From sunrise to sunset, our attacks never
fire a shot, and the French are as quiet as ourselves.
Only our large mortars fire once every hour, in•re-
ply to about a dozen guns from the enemy. We
are in short doing absolutely nothing, and as far
as we aro able to judge, we are not likely to do
much more for some time to come.

I do not suppose another expedition to Kertch
will be attempted, yet no other place is open to us.
At Theodosia a blow might be struck, but to be
effectual it should be done at once, for as soon as
Kertch is secured the Russians are sure to throw
up strong works round Theodosia. The general
opinion seems to be that 35,000 or 40,000 of the
French will take the field, accompanied by the
Turkish and English cavalry ; but no one can for
a moment conjecture in what direction they would
or could move. It is impossible to go two miles in
any direction from our lines without coming upon
the entrenched camps of the enemy. In the mean-
time, however, the cavalry are being drilled and
inspected as if something was really on the tapis.
Yesterday the whole of the French cavalry were
inspected by Canrobert and Raglan near the Eng-
lish head-quarters. They turned out between 4000
and 5000 effective horsemen, all; both men and
animals, in good hard-working condition. To-day
the Turkish cavalry were reviewed, and in point of
discipline and efficiency made the best appearance
of any. There were only about 800 of them, but
the men were stout active fellows, clean, and well
equipped ; the horses small, but high-spirited and
in fine condition. There was one regiment of
Turkish Dragoons, and one of Lancers. Both went
through their evolutions slowly, but with a pre-
cision and good order which I have seldom seen
surpassed ; and the well ordered, compact, and
rapid charge they made at the close of the day's
manoeuvres was most brilliant.

A couple of days since the English cavalry was
inspected on the heights above Kadikoi. The light
and heavy bridge, united with the 10th Hussars,
who have just arrived, and muster 650 sabres,
made a total force of 1,400 men. To this force the
11th Hussars could only contribute one serjeant
and two privates ; but, as the weather is now ap-
parently settled fine, the sick horses are fast reco-
vering, and each day will add to our cavalry
strength. The 12th Lancers, part of whom have
already landed from the Himalaya, muster 850
sabres. So that before the end of this week we shall
be able to show at least 2,000 effective horsemen ;
and these united with the French and Turks would
make a very respectable figure in a pitched battle.

Some of the o-fficers and staff of the Sardinian
contingent landed at Kamiesh yesterday. A few
of the officers have been down to Balaklava and
the English camp, but as yet none of the troops.
It is said that the safe keeping of our lines at Bala-
klava is to be confided to the Sardinians ; and the
Highlanders, rifles, and marines, moved to the
front. None will more rejoice at such a movement
than the Highlanders themselves. Up to the pre-
sent time they have had but little of the hardships
of the campaign, and still less of the actual fighting,
and they long to be again in the front, taking their
share of the struzgles in the trenches. It is very
probable that as soon as all the Sardinians are ar-
rived our line will be extended to its old position
along the Woronzow-road. With the large force of
cavalry which is likely to be kept at Balaklava some
such stop will be absolutely necessary to give us
camping room. At present our ground is exceed-
ingly crowded, and with the arrival of fresh troops
will become still more so.

By the way, has it ever struck the authorities
that even the facilities of Balaklava harbour are
limited, and that now we have exceeded them? We
have at present 30,000 English troops here. With
the drafts of cavalry and infantry that are expected,
the land transport corps, and 15,000 Sardinians, we
are likely, before a couple of months, to be 60,000
strong ; and for such a force, and all its stores and
provisions, Balaklava is too small. Already it is
overcrowded in every way, and each day becomes
more so. Another place must soon be selected, as
for the provisions and munitions of war for even
4000 men it will not contain a sufficient number of
vessels, much less afford them sufficient room to
disembark their stores. _

Lieutenant Beale, RE., who was dangerously
wounded in the trenches a few nights back, sunk
under his injuries, and died yesterday evening. He
is very deeply regretted, not only by the officers of
his own corps, among whom he was distinguished
for ability and zeal, but by all who know him.
I am also very sorry to say that several fresh
cases of Asiatic cholera appeared in different regi-
ments in camp to-day ; three of them proved fatal.
Fever and other diseases generally seem on the de-
cline, except among the 79th Highlanders, where
most malignant typhus is still very prevalent.
The 71st Highlanders have been moved up to
the front, and, with the 48th Regiment and 3d
Buffs, occupy the ground between the light and
fourth divisions.

THURSDAY, MAY 10.

About one o'clock this morning the camp in front
was roused up by an extremely heavy fire of mus-
ketry and repeated cheering along our Right At-
tack. The elevated ground and ridges in front of
the Third and Fourth Divisions were soon crowded
with groups of men from the tents in the rear. It
was a very dark night, for the moon had not yet
risen, and the sky was overcast with clouds, but
the incipient flashing of small arms which lighted
up the front of the trenches, the yell of the Rus •
sians (which our soldiers have christened " the
Inkermann screech"), the cheers of our men, and
the volume of the fire indicated the position,. and
showed that a contest of no ordinary severity was
taking place. There is an earnestness and reality
about the musketry on such occasions which
has a language of its own that cannot be mistaken.
The regularity and precision of. the jeu de joie, the
platoon or fire firing of our reviews, have little kin
with the passionate, intense, and startling bursts
of rifle and musket, - and give but an imperfect
notion of the deadly rattle and fitful roll of
small arms in action, where every man is loading
and firing as rapidly as he can, and where th e
formation of the line Is altering every moment.
For a mile and a-half the darkness was broken by
outbursts of ruddy flame and bright glittering
sparks, which advanced, receded, died out alto-
gether, broke out fiercely in patches in innumer-
able twinkles, flickered in long lines like, the elec-
tric flash along a chain, and formed for an instant
craters of fire. By the time I had reached, the
front—about five minutes after the firing began—
the fight was,raging all along the right of our posi-
tion, and as some extra men had been sent down
to the batteries when the relief marched down it
was thought that we might have made an attack on
the Russian works close to our advanced trenches,
but it was soon tolerably certain that the enemy
had either made a sortie upon Gordon's new works,
or a vigorous assault upon tho men in front of the
trenches. I cannot now ascertain the particulars of
the affair, even if one could have the heart to dis-
turb the poor fellows who may have come up from
the trenches, and I can only describe what I saw.
It seemed as if the fiercest and most determined
struggle took place on the lett of our right attack,
but the ground is so very deceitful at night that it
is impossible to determine localities with anything
like precision. The wind was favourable for
te
hear-
ing,h and the cheers of the men, their shouts,
our
voices of the officers, the Russian bugles and
the
own, were distinctly audible. The
.bugles of
Light Division and of the Second Di.vihsiton
were
sounding the " turn out" on our ri
as we
alarm sounded through the French camp
reached the high ground, and soon afterwardsclesetltiee
sea ndsoldiersth the hnaido most got up,
twerehom drawn. u nudpr,e watching tocfh nh wi
it. The tents of the Fourth Division were lighted
in-
terest the fight before them, as.fa.r.as they could see
up, and the old Inkerman men were all anxious
and ready for the word to march, should their
services be required. The musketry, having rolled
incessantly fora quarter of an hour, began to cease
at intervals along the line. Here and there
it stopped for a moment altogether ; again it burst
forth. Then came a British cheer, which thrilled
through every heart. " Our fellows have driven
them back ; bravo !" Then a Russian yell, a fresh
burst of musketry, more cheering, a rolling volley
subsiding into spattering flashes andi broken fire, a
ringing hurrah from the front ; and then the Rus-
sian bugles sounding the " retreat" and our own
bugles the
" cease firing,"
and. the attack, after
half-an-hour's duration, was over. The enemy
were beaten, and were '
retiring
to their earthworks;
and now the batteries opened to cover their re-
treat. The Redan, Round Tower Garden
, —a
Batte-
ries, and Road_
Battery, aided probably by the
'ships, lighted
up the air from the muzzles of their
guns. The batteries at Careening-bay and at the
north side of the harbour contributed their fire,

.

i"

and the sky w ii 7 4747iiiii-4.• '
innu-
merable shells. n.:100;i" --1-tirt=4:l74• .a: tktiomfesth
vlloshee arou
411;411.- 2, .;• ,-" 4 0.: ;;saes. of the
roar, and shells burst almos
cgaronnunond.
lines. The Ru -3 n Lalilreyweitahleanghaersuhr
ssfiacinr`thwere avenging themselves as
of their mortification c.-terndrdePatinlYer
best they might
and
mighttlie extent
Wn t
in-
ferred from the rigour weight of their can-
nonade. The instant thne
ever active allies the French, '
from their batteries over inchkneeg.
raninauto
and from
frooumr
our right, opened
the redoubts to draw off the Russian
lguns from
our men ; and our own batteries also replied,
sent shot and shell in the direction of theprweitert and
enemy. The effect of this combined fire
formidable to look at, but was probably not nearlyve
so destructive as that of the musketry. From
half-past 1 till 3 o'clock the cannonade continued,
but the spectators had retired before 2 o'clock, and
tried to sleep as well as they might in the midst of
the thunders of the infernal turmoil. This conflict
must have caused considerable loss, and it is a time
of painful suspense while one is in a state of uncer-
tainty respecting the fate of friends and the result
of such an encounter. Soon after 3 o'clock a.m. it
began to blow and rain with great violence, and on
getting up this morning I realy imagined that one
of our terrible winter days had interpolated itself
into our Crimean May. The tents are dank with
wet, the whole
.camp looks black and miserable,
and one step out of doors takes you over the shoes
in mud.

aolffr.e.
ratohdayadni3 o'CLocic P.M.
The rain has ceased, and the soil is beginning to
lesslvo r seriousnz
dry
stated that the fight last night or this morning was
bwbueut
imagined.
tt
tahsgteii
nl lteid.troops
blowsps The s. t
Russians
p u.sn strongly..
ay .n.s
ca It
came
is
on us on the left of the right attack, close to the
were ready for
them, and drove
heavy musketry. A.Light Division
part • • •
took them in flank, andalthoughof the
kept
up a heavy fire from a
distance, the enemy
d.dbut
little injury. It does not a hey usena
sortie, or even a premeditatepdPe
attack;
tok
. haveb t
what-
ever it was, the Russians were completelya°u
They had pushed out a strong column of
troops, and proceeded, it is supposed, to execute
some works in the rear of the advanced parties
which were sent on towards our lines to shield
the works from observation. Our sentries were
on the alert and gave the alarm, and as
the enemy drew near the men were in rea-
ness for them. The Russians crept upon
their bellies, delivered a volley at the parapet,
which did no harm, and then rushed on, but they
were received by a very heavy and well-directed
discharge of Minies, which killed and wounded a
considerable number of them. They then lay
down again, loaded, and fired from the ground,
but their officers in vain endeavoured to lead them
up to our lines, from which our troops kept up an
incessant fire. A portion of the Light Division,
moving towards the left, charged another party of
Russians coming up close to the Woronzoff-road,
and utterly routed them. The enemy, who lost
at every volley, notwithstanding their caution,
after uttering repeated cheers and yells, principally
raised, one may imagine, by the officers, retreated
down the hill, and it could be seen that they bore
great numbers of dead and wounded along with
them. It is supposed the Russians had 150 hors
de combat. The tremendous cannonade they opened
was unattended with much effect, considering its
weight and intensity, and was only so much waste
of ammunition, but our fire on their retreating
columns must have added considerably to their
casualties.

The total loss in the Ught Division last night, I
am glad to say, turns out to be only 14 hors de
combat: Lieutenant Lawrence, of the 34th Regi-
ment, and three men were wounded. The gallant
7th Regiment had five men wounded; the 88th had
three men ; the 00th, one man ; and the 23d, one
man wounded. The Russians have succeeded in
getting five mortars to bear upon our right attack,
which are likely to increase our casualties. We
have never had so many mortars directed against
this one spot at any time previous to the present.
FRIDAY, May 11.—Last night, about 10 o'clock,
there was another alarm along our lines. It was
exceedingly dark, and the wind was high. The
sentries in front challenged and gave the alert, and
the men who were in the advanced parallels began
to fire with steadiness and rapidity at a body of
Russians who were trying to get up to them in the
darkness. The enemy replied, and for a time there
was a desultory firing, the flashes from which were
visible, but it was impossible to hear, owing to
the violence of the wind. The fight took place in
front of our right attack, and was over in about
half-an-hour or less. The instant the enemy re-
tired their batteries opened as before, and threw
very heavy and repeated flights of shot and shell
upon our works. The 2d Division were the prin-
cipal sufferers. The newly-arrived battalions of
the Royals received their baptgote dc feu, and had
three men killed and four wounded, principally by
shells—altogether wo hal nine men killed and
seven wounded. Most of the wounds are of a very
serious character, being inflicted by jagged pieces
1 of bombs.

Omar Pasha visited Lord Raglan yesterday, and
rode out with the Field-Marshal subsequently
towards Balak-lava. It was Lieutenant Rochfort,
of the 49th Regiment, who was wounded the other
night, and not Corbau, as I was erroneously in-
formed. The last-named officer went home some

time ago.
SATURDAY MORNING, May 12, 10 a.m.—Last
night, in the midst of an awful storm of rain and
wind—so thick that no one could see a yard be-
yond him—a body of Russians came up on our
left attack, but the sentries gave the alarm just
in time ; and Colonel Macbeth, of the 68th Regi-
ment, got his men into order and received the
first fire of the enemy as they came up to the
trench with perfect steadiness. Some of the Rus-
sians lept up on the parapet and jumped into the
battery, where they at once met their fate. There
was a desperate struggle between the Russians
and the men of the 68th outside the lines, in which
the bayonet was freely used on both sides ; but the
enemy were repulsed by our fellows, led by Col.
Macbeth, Lieutenant Hamilton, and a sergeant of
the 68th. I regret to say that Captain Lloyd Ed-
wards and six men of the 68th were killed, and 22
men of the same regiment were wounded. We
took some wounded prisoners. It is, of course,
impossible at this early hour to ascertain the par-
ticulars of the attack, as the men have not come

up from the works yet. Some of our men were
wounded by stones flung by the Russians, whose
guns would not go off owing to the wet. The
enemy lost heavily, and they were seen dragging
off their dead during the night.
It is now blowing hard, and it has rained all
night. The camp is a mass of mud, and has re-
sumed its old wintry aspect.