The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-07 00:00:00

TIM MASSACRE AT HANGO HEA.I).

The following official report of the circumstances
attending the attack upon the boat of her Ma-
jesty's ship Cossack, at Hango Head, has been fur-
nished by Lieut. Geneste, at the request of the
Lords Commissioners of the Board of Admiralty •r
London, Nov. 29, 1855.

Sir,—ln compliance with the order of the 22d inst.,
received from you, directing me to transmit 0 you, for
the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Ad-
miralty a full and detailed account of the circumstances
attending the landing from the boat of H.M.S. Cossack,
at Hauge Head, and of the attack made upon her by the
Riissian soldier?, I have the honour to state that, on
Tuesday, sth June last, when lying .off Range Head, in
H.M.S. Cossack, I received orders from Capt.Faushawe
to proceed on shore in the cutter of that ship, with a
flag of truce, to land five Finnish captains, Russian sub-
jects, and to communicate with the Russian .officer or
officers at that place, to inform him, for what purpose I
had come on shore, and also to acquaint him that we had
received orders to take or destroy all the small Russian
coasting vessels or boats found passing and repa sing
along the coast.
Capt. Fanshawe also informed me that he had given
permission to the stewards to go in the boat, and that if
the Russian officer whom I Should meet on shore had no
objection, and the inhabitants were willing to sell any eggs
or poultry to them, I was to permitthem to purchasethese
articles, but I was on no account to permit their being
with me to interfere in any way with the performance
of the duty on which I was sent ; nor, if the things
which they wished to purchase were not immediately at
hand, were we to wait for them, nor on any account to
permit them to detain the boat.
Having received my orders I found the cutter at the
gangway manned with the ordinary harbour boat's crew,
of boys and young hands, she having another fighting
boat's crew of older and stronger men, who were always
sent in her when going away from the ship for warlike
purposes, but who were not employed in this instance ;
the Finnish prisoners, wirh their luggage, being in the
boat, as also the three stewards, Mr. Sullivan, midship-

man of the boat, and Dr. Easton, who had obtained leave
to come with the boat for the pleasure of the pull and

his own amusement.

The muskets belonging to the boat were in her, as is
customary whenever a boat is sent away from the ship
in war time in an enemy's waters. The boat's magazine
was also in the boat containing its usual complement ;
that is, only cartridges for the muskets, two small blue
lights for signals, one small rocket for the same purpose,
and one slow match. The muskets were in the bottom

of the baac, under the baggage belonging to the priso-
ner; ; the crew had not their cartoucha boxes on, they
being attached to the muskets, and with them in the
bottom of the boat. _ _ . .

-----
As soon as we hai left the ship the coxswain of the
• -

boat asked me if he should serve out the ammunition to

the men, and it the muskets should be loaded, as is the
usual custom on going away from a ship in War time. I
replied, " Certainly not ; that as we were going with a
flag of truce we should not require them." In conse-
quence of this order the magazine was not unlocked, and
no ammunition was given out, nor any musket loaded.
When a little distance from the ship, and at least a
mile and a-half from the shore, I ordered the flag of
truce to be hoisted in the bow of the boat, it being the
most conspicuous place, and it remained there during the
whole time of our approach to the shore, equally visible
as the boat herself.

Theflag was of white bunting, attached to the end of a
boarding-pike. As the boat approached the shore I
examined most attentively with my glasses the beach
and neighbouring coast and rocks, to see if I could dis-
cern the presen.ze of any Russian force, bat nothing
whatever could be observed to indicate there being any
troops in the neighbourhood. I was not, therefore, sur-
prised that the flag of truce was not answered, as we had
no reason to suppose that we should find any soldiers
there. _ _

The flag of truce not being answered in any way, and
no signal of any kind being made, I of course concluded
that there could not be any Russizn troops in the neigh-
bourhood, and therefore proceeded slowly to the shore to
fulfil my mission, the flag of truce being still kept in the
most conspicuous position. . . .

On arriving at the jetty, no person being visible ex-
cept two women standing at the door of one of the
houses, and one peasant who ran across between two
houses, I landed the Russian prisoners and their bag-
gage, and giving particular orders t U Mr. Sullivan not
to let any of the boat's crew leave the boat, proceeded to
accomplish the remaining part of my mission by com-
municating with the Russian lieutenant at the telegraph
station, to acquaint him with the reason of my coming
on share close to his station, a,n,d to tall bim our orders
to put a stop to the coasting trade, as I have before
mentioned.

The telegraph station was on the hill, immediately
above where we landed on the jetty ; the road to it ran
round the bottom of the hill ; in so doing, approaching
the houses on the beach, and being under three minutes'
walk from the boat. The Russian prisoners accompa-
nied me (in order to be delivered to the officer), as did
also Dr. Easton. I also permitted the three stewards
to follow me, but ordered them particularly to keep
close to me, not to communicate with the inhabitants
or attempt to purchase anything, even if offered, until
I had given them permission, after having, in the first
place, obtained the sanction of the Russian officer.

_
The stewards were dressed in plain clothes, as were
the Russian prisoners, and they could in no way be dis-
tinguished from them. I beg to state that the stewards
being with me did not in the least influence my proceed-
ings • that I should have advanced to communicate with
the officer at the telegraph station equally whether they
had been with me sr not ; the consideration as to whe-
ther they should obtain a few eggs and poultry not being
of the smallest moment. My intention was, on finish-
ing my official communication with the Russian officer,
to ask him if he had any objection to their obtaining
anything that was for sale on the spot, and, if he had
consented, I should have permitted them to do so, but
should not have allowed them to go away from the sta-
tion or detain the boat.

On moving from the boat I gave the flag of truce to
Lorton, the midshipman's steward, who carried it beside
me, high and conspicuous in the air.
Being thus in the act of carrying out my obvious and
imperative duty, and bona fide proceeding V) find the
nearest military authority, with whom the duty required
me to communicate, under the full protection of the flag
of truce, my astonishment may be imagined when, before
we had proceeded 40 to 50 paces from the boat, a heavy
fire was suddenly opened upon our small and utterly de-
fenceless party, from all sides, by Russian soldiers, who,
having hitherto lain carefully and treacherously con-
cealed, now first gave notice of their presence as, after a
murderous volley, they leaped from behind rocks and
advanced on us, uttering the most furious cries and firing
rapidly as they came.
Of our small party who were on the pier several fel at
the first fire ; Lundstrum, one of the Finnish captains,
called out in Russian to stop the firing, but was immedi-
ately shot down with a bullet through his head ; three
of the other Russian prisoners Uso fell wounded, and
one, with Dr. Easton, leaped into the wat.:r and got
under shelter of the pier.
The captain's and gun-room steward were both killed.
The midshipmen's steward, who carried the flag of truce,
was shot down with a ball in the hip the first fire. I
immediately took the flag of truce from him, and, hold-
ing it up in the air, and pointing to it, called out in
French and English, and did all I could to prevent them
firing on the boat.
Of the party who had landed, I was the only one left
standing in less than half-a-minute after the fire opened.
Fora moment the soldiers seemed puzzled, and partially
stopped their firing, but immediately afterwards resumed
it harder than ever, advancing upon us with frightful yells.
Of the poor fellows in the boat many fell at the first
fire, killed or wounded, one jumped immediately into
the water and got under the jetty, by which means he
escaped being hit ; the others seeing the numbers of the
soldiers and the impossibility of resistance, not having
even a loaded weapon or the powder to load one with,
also jumped into the water, and hung on the off-sido. )f
the boat, keeping as far down in the water as po"°_l°_
for protection. But even there they were not safe,re a 3
on
although not a blow had been struck or thman-
ner to fire through and through the boat,
several of the
Russianour part
soldiersan d no t a
continuedm an w was now
the visibleln o smost
hina
rnui
rho:it? busoshaet , w a
s
completely riddled, killing and woanding
off-side.
poor fellows who were in the water on the
and not having succeeded
in kilkn-resistance from their
rushed at me with the bayoneteess;l 20 being close round
numbers was, of course,
d at this moment, when their
In the meantime, on shore, the
me, and many more behind
few'
feet of my breast, the Rus-
sianweapons were within
almost breathless, and just got be-
tween officer ran up
infuriated soldiers in time to keep
me and his
I immediately showed
and spoke to him in French and
gsomldeiewrsitrhas
thheedirdboawnns:
andwithgood
replied
French,
English ; be
le pas Francais.
" By his directions I was
je ee par
the soldiers, who at once deprived
ssatvoepinhyis life.
firing, who still in the
and took the b •
of my sword and glasses,
me f truce attached to it out of my hand.
with the flag o
then commenced pulling me off to the houses, I, of
They
htionhiffisme
tacnietnrhbt eilaynnfltkesaerga nifzeoerdfde ttrbooeye ep.
course, endeavouring to remain, trying to make the
tmhorsotugcholttbeloboodate,dinmwahnincehr
ncoopnetirnsounedwatso
,liosaibdiea,nads
thefire
killed and wounded men were in the bottom of the boat.
They did not cease firing for some time, and then
went down and got into the boat, and took prisoners
the poor fellows who were on the other side of her, only
two of whom had not been hit. They then took the
weapons which were in the bottom of the boat, and
which they could not possibly have seen before they got
into the boat, as also the magazine ; and with these, and
dragging tbeirprisoners, wounded and unwounded, along
with them, came up from the boat to the houses. Mr.
Sullivan had also a most extraordinary escape ; be was
on the jetty, close by the boat, when the firing s
com-
menced, and moved up towards the end of it afterfaeartrd
all round him, and was taken prisoner almost at the
same moment as myself,
to an orders or wish
I do not attribute out escape y
li
be was not hit, although the balls ploughed up the