The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-17 00:00:00

THE BATTLE OF ALMA

The following Letter was found on Lieuti ,nant
Poidevin, the French officer mextioned in k Le de-
spatch of Marshal St. Arnaud as having bea7 a. shot
while planting the French flag on the tealegra.ph
tower. It was forwarded to his family by his -bro-
ther officers. It is dated from the bivou as near
Eupatoria, 18th ult.:—
"My dear Sister,—l have just received yoi ay :letters
of the 25th and 28th nit. lam very well. 1 ffe have
all landed in the Crimea without any opposit ion. from
the enemy. We march to-morrow at 7 o'clock wi th the
English and the Turks. We are to effect the p itirsagl of
a river defended, it is said, by 50,000 Russians. All the
villages supply us with omen, sheep, and carria ger i with
the best possible good will. The women of Eupa tea de., all
dressed in the French style, are charming ; they I :is s their
hands to us, regarding us as their saviours. The 3.l,:arshaa
has announced that any one found pillaging
sha 31 be im-
mediately shot without trial. For the last three days we
ave had nothing but brackish water to drink. I'4a-mor-
row we hope to get a little better from Messieurs the Rus-
sians, who, if they had liked, might have made, its lose
10,000 men at the time of landing. We do lie t rely
much on the provisions which we may get from ti is Cos-
sacks, for they live in the greatest misery. I'h e Mar-
shal, in reviewing ns yesterday, said to me : Yon carry
you will being me a Russian one
a flag, Sir, but I hope
with it.' I replied that I would do my best i satigfy
him. The porte-drapeau is a passed lieutenant, I ant as we
have not yet had a general inspection, it is prob able ',hat
he who was proposed for the post last year is a,pprnnted
(he is now at the depot). In any case, he will not sur-
vive until after the battle, and, if lam killed, lam know
not what may happen. There is no longer ai iy cholera
in the army. We have lost two sub-lieutenar its by it—
Gu6r3r and Gnignard. The latter made a •rrieech over
the tomb of the former. We 'hope to corn rnence the
siege of Sebastopol on the 21st or 22d. All, the popnla-
Con of the. Crimea are for us ; every monta:nt the, vi(-
corns to make their submission, and bring us cattle.
Yon think perhaps that we can save me./Ley, hut you are
inist7ken ; the inhabitants cannot supply us with every-
, tiling, and the Greeks make us pay 3f. a bottle -for very
ha,; wine. You may judge the rest. I will write
atoz;rl from Sebastopol or from the entrenchment. Your
,th Pr who loves you,
" POIDEVIN, Sub-Lieutentant, 39th

bottom of the letter, which ,is now a real
relic for the family of the writer, in tte blank which
be had left to. add further details, is writteqk this
simple and affecting postcript r , .
kladeinoiselle—lt is with the deepest grief t'iat
write these few lines, which are to announce to rou tKe
loss of the br4ther who, three.days- ago, wrote t.) 'Jon
the .a'?ove letter. This worthy friend was taken.-frrdn us
in the hatt:e of the tlath while filling tl,te gioria,m
'finns of pone-drapeau. If the regrets whicil
poinfq all the otfyiers and soldiers of the 3501 C,,„
any part of the grief which that death vk cainso to
1-.sppy to have a good Fazt, i 0 it. A
frisnd-who

" TitIGNON.
I been parlonfor openire7 your lettar to in-
,
t lllf cad news.'
The editor of the Vienna Press.; win) was for-
merly an -Aostrinn Captain of Engineers, is pro-
indebted to one of his forrai,‘r coinra ie for
the "authentic intelligence" to to
the motli ecl -plan of the Allies.
" AftPr the battle of the Alma had•been fearzht, the
allied forces remained in the position whit ta they ha•l
gained f,r a fad i days:" They subsequent.l7 marched
elem., the coast, aeres3 the Katcha, to the Bribeck, from
whi,th river there i 3 a decent road leading to the north-
ern fortifications of Sebastopol. 'True pa were sent to
reconnoitre the fort; Constantine and, Catherine. The
be;ieging; ' remained close to the coast, but the main
army marched to the north-cast of Sebastopol. From
this- position the allied army can keep the Russians at
Bakshi.Serai from disturbing the operations of the siege,
and can, if necessary, support the besieging corps on
the south and north sides of the fortress. • .
" A part of the fleet is in the neighbourhood of the
Btlbeek, -in complete communication with the besieging
corps in the north. Another division of the fleet sailed
to the_ south, and landed 6,000 men at Ba.lak lava,
The operations of this corps will first be directed
against the Quarantine Fort, and when that has fallen
an attack will be made on Fort Alexander. At the
same tine the
.besieging corps in the, north will at-
tack Fort Constantine and the batteries which are near
it. When Forts Alexander and Constantine are
taken the entrance to the port of Sebastopol will be free,
and an attack may be made on the city, which is de-
fended on the south side by a battery of 50 guns, and on
the north by Fort Catherine. The Allies are of opinion
that the battery may be more easily- managed than the
fort. As soon as the battery is taken, the ships will be
able to send their shells into the city. The next rein-
forcements are said to be destined to land under the
protection of the tuns of the fleet at Perekop, in order
to cut off the Russian troops which are advancing from
Khtrson,"

A corporal of the 42d, whose letter is publinheci
in the Scotsman, writes :

The light division advanced in front of the heavy one
e:, Tay one—and they did great havoc with the rifle.
They were in line and went even to the cannon's Inouth.
We were then ordered•to take ground to our left, and
f'u•rn four deep. When formed in line, wo adveneed
over hedges, ditches, houses, and all. We crone into a
wood or orchard, where the shot and shell were trying
over• our heads and bursting fearfully. We came to a
river, and the water was ploughed with the shot. One
of our officers said to his company, "Come, you. must
cross the water." I was among the first of the regi-
ment to jump in, firelock and all. I leaped in up to the
neck, and was much refreshed by it after comng out.
So we all got scattered in the wood. But the old briga-
dier says—" Come on, my boys, the 42d never turn their
backs to the foe." So up the hill we go,
.every man
calling out " Su-and-so company"—we being all scat-
tered.. He got us formed after we had passed a regment
that had to retire, and the only thing he had to regret
was, that we were too keen to get at the enemy, and he
could not get right time to form us. The Duke canie
up in front of un and said, "Here I am. Come,' says
the old General, " Come on, my boys, lam going to
make you charge." So on we go as firm as rocks, the
shot showering like rain. When we came withsn 80
yards of a large column we halted, fixed bayonets:, and
gave a British cheer, long and loud, and wher they
heard us, they were amazed, and fled from the battery.
The whole retired, keeping up a murderous fire. But
didn't we pay them back ?—the Minid rifle :laying
hundreds low at once. They crossed a valley belf •w us,
and after they began to retire up the opposite height,
up comes the horse artillery, and comment ;ed to
bombard them. Oh if you had seen the b•aautiful
practice of the artillery ; they first went in front of
them, and then roar, roar went the guns, and you
could see the shot and shell landing in the black -masses,
and sometimes you would think you saw the column
falling in like a house. Just at this time the :French
made their appearance on the crest of a hill above • hem,
driving about 20,000 or 30,000 in front of then and
met those we were driving up the hill ; and oh ! if you
bad heard the cheering we gave the French when they
came in sight. Both they and us bad a hard job .1 it,
but both of us did our work in glorious style. I felt
what I never felt but once, an•i that was when a r-rioy at
Fchool, and fighting with another. I felt poosesse dof a
nerve and resoluti:m which I Dever believed wasi: in me,

thrmg.h 1 winoerl a little when I ?Avr a ennnon 1,41: ~r a
shell c,min.4. direct in my way, and seeing some
ownrade4 cut, in two by it. ;The bullets were s o thick,
it .w,:uld make you think you were in a heavy sl w wor of
hail-tone,. Alter we bad taken the heights - -mind
"t'Le Forty-twa" was the firE.:, t-) crown it—we .-3ort of
half fell out, and were half permitted. As I was iooking
• at the awful carnag•,P, I came across a poor Pole- -lie was
shot in the belly and was in great agony. Iwe at down
on my knees and the tear stood in my eye, and . I cried
like a child. • I clapped him and gave him a lriak. of
water, which was all I could do for him.

THE BALTIC FLEET.

A private letter from an officer in comnaaind of
one of the vessels of the Baltic fleet gives th e fol-
lowing interesting particulars :
" All the small steamers are on their way hot ti from
the Baltic, including the Wrangler. The seal mg. fleet
• under Admiral Plumridze are now in Kiel Ba y, 'v.-hits
• some of the steamers which are in attendance eon t'aem
are completing with coal at Faro Sound and at I tlsinnre.
The whole of the French fleet are on their Neal- 1 tome.
Sir Chas. Napier, with the screw line-of-battle el lip, I, has
moved from Nargen to Baro Sound, to watch the Piet.
eingfors fleet ; Admiral Martin, with a small f team
squadron among the Aland Islands and in the GI elf of
Bothnia ; while we have a squadron, under Ca ptain
Watson, of the Imperieuse, cruising off the Gulf of 'Fin-
• land, Rigs, and Courland.
"The Porcupine, which had been engaged for two
years in the protection of the fisheries •n the cog .at of
Scotland, was ordered, early in April last, to joit4 the
fleet in the Thai,. Proceeding there with all des patch, '
she joined Sir Charles Napier's flag, off the Gulf of Fin-
land, on the 17th of that month, when she was senl;, with
a Russian prize in tow, bate
aro Sound, Got bland,
there to take charge of all prizes that might be s ent in
to prepare for their voyage
blish and arrange thec to England, and also t o est: ,-
coaling of the fleet. virkeoserte has they came out i 'or tt' 0
e steam fleet procee•ded • rip
• the Gulf of Finland at the latter
them, and while they lay in Baernod.sof Mday
she S"ir 'ed
ployed with the Master of the Fleet°aun-otsheerswi: sur-
veying
veying the neighbourhood, particularly"
round the north coast of Mello, where tnheEtPheaegs;f.3o:s,:ficiliagl:.
officer succeeded in snaking a drawingao-f
tions of Sweaborg, within four miles.
• "After this she accompanied the screw eft' of the
fleet off Cronstadt, and, after their return toi Bair". „'";
she was sent up the Gulf of Bothnia (which she °r
er.?:,,.-ri''';
as far as 64 deg. N. latitude), to recall Admit alci),;erc
ridge's squadron to the Aland Islands, where
thesh ,e..„-:::
employed with that portion of the fleet in bl,oek6al-a;
and cruising among this interesting group
ventiun of reinforcements being thrown into DoinarE;u:d.
from Abo, and remained there with the fleet
wetoi a
tilll after t
ae
tr
tthhoe
re-embarkation of the troops, at which, as
landing of them, she assisted. After the final durst ruc-
tion of the fortifications, she was ordered again to :faro
Sound to make final arrangements for the colliers 14 wo.
ing. The small ateainers I- aing all ordered home,. s.he
was relieved by the Cruiser, 14 (screw), and ::.lied
thence on the Bth inst., putting into Copenhag, as for
n Tr 7foals, whence she sailed on the 11th, and has arm 'ed at
e,,,,,,A17-v., ' XS!seernese.
4„..`"7 .;,';l77:4:::,:''',A.r, Elsinore, 4.:r; Hor.qa and Driver wer?, col-di nfg. to
,4:_'_%4Y f147-,--.4;7-4-:----Ati,t\e f-1,-.; at liis4,, and tow them through /1.1,e BtAt ;
:-,::47,&.!:,.::.•:.,:44.... illhttlitir, a!su on her way to England, ha.,ni a g left
,--1WV":,•;.-.i.::: . , hiX41011*(1 Sullivan on board the Duke of \Yellin
,e,„: to
,-:;; ,„ y ,-,.;..- 1..,.., - - i
.?1,M,;.L-e-' ',.,1114,e-, the fleet."
• Vir..V:r 47 7 .i. -•:: ' ' '
• 4.:•,:lilkiS:
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