The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-10 00:00:00

A VISIT TO THE TURKISH CAMP.

SHUMLA, JUNE 12.—There are now from
50,000 to 60,000 Turkish troops in Shumla and
the neighbouring camps, but there are unmis-
takeable signs that they will not long remain
where they are. The clothes of these troops are
rather the worse for wear, and their faces and
bodies show signs of the exposure and privations of
a campaign which for them has now lasted many
months, and those months some of the severest
and most trying that had been known for years past.
Nevertheless tho physical condition of the troops is
good ; there are but 1,800 men in the hospitals of
Shumla, and among the number of these are all
the wounded in the last skirmishes, and the patients
that were in the hospitals which have been re-
moved from the Dobrudscha. The deaths from
wounds and disease average about fifteen or twenty a
day ; and the diseases, typhus, variola, and camp
fever, are less malignant than the experienced re-
gimental surgeons to whom I spoke have found
them in other countries and campaigns. Altogether
the condition and morale of the Turkish army
under Omer Pacha's command is most satisfactory;
'and, slightly as these troops have been spoken of
of late, they will form an important and reliable
element in the operations of the allied armies.
Omer Pacha has hitherto done all in his power to
promote a good undcrstanding with the leaders of
the auxiliary corps ; and his generalship, tried and
proved in many a critical position, will no doubt
weather the dangerous rock of professional envy
and false ambition.

Shumla will soon be deserted. Already has the
Turkish army commenced its movements, which
will finally bring the head-quarters of the Mushir
in the immediate vicinity of the Russian lines.
On the 7th instant the advanced guard of the
Turkish army, accompanied by Colonel Canon,
and Mr. Meynell of her Majesty's 73d Regi-
ment, left the camp to occupy part of the forest
of Deli Orma, near Silistria. This forest, a
most important strategetical feature, though not
mentioned on any of the maps which I have
seen, is 19 miles long and three miles broad, and
stocked with high oaks and dense brushwood. It
opposes almost insurmountable difficulties to the
march of a regular army, but it offers the greatest

facilities to the operations of troops accustomed to
guerilla warfare, who in these dense glades can play
at hide and seek with their enemies, harassing them
within an inch of their lives, and yet never stand-
ing to accept a fight in the plain. Another divi-
sion left the camp this morning, and followed in
the track of the first, while several other corps are
under marching orders for the next few days.
While the light division of the English army, serv-
ing as an advanced guard to the two allied armies,
uses Devina as its pivot, from where it may either
turn upon Silistria direct, or create a diversion in
favour of that fortress by marching upon Bazalt-
shik and the Dobrudscha, Omer Pacha is about to
remove his own corps from the heights of Shumla
to the banks of the Danube to relieve Silistria, and
if a battle is offered, to accept it and fight it out.
His Krajova, division, late of Kalafat, is mean-
while advancing upon Slatina, and Halim Pacha,
who commands at Rustchuk, has, obedient to
Omer Pacha's instructions, crossed the river to
Giurgevo, evidently for the purpose of diverting
the Russian army in front of Silistria by a threatened
advance upon Slatina, or Bucharest. Now that the
matter is nearly over, I can safely say that the
Russians have committed a grievous fault in not
taking Silistria. They should have taken it at any
price, and at any sacrifice of lives and men. The
fortress is one of third-class order ; its works are
wretched. Its strength lies in the devotion of its
garrison, and the prudent management of Major
Geach, the chief engineer. Our own officers who
have returned from Silistria are astounded. Cap-
tain Symons, of the Engineers, who came in yester-
day, declared that the renowned defence of Sara-
gossa was as nothing compared to the defence of
Silistria. That may be so, but since neither the
Turks nor the Russians are historical nations,
since the latter never tell the truth about any-
thing, while the former never say anything at all,
the glorious defence of Silistria will scarcely
be known and appreciated by the generations
that come after us. I will, however, do my
best to make it known for the day and the time
being. Let it therefore be understood that the town
of Silistria has long since been destroyed by the
hailstones of bombs and shells which, for weeks
past, have incessantly fallen upon it ; that the
works, not very strong even at the best of times,
have for weeks past resisted the assaults of a large
army, conducted by General Schilders, and encou-
raged by the presence of Prince Paskiewitch and
Gortschakoff. And yet after many weeks the
Russians have gained no advantage, as the very
outer works have resisted them ; if taken by the
Russians, they were at once retaken by the Turks.
The Arab Tabia (or stones) for instance, a mere
earthwork, has been taken and retaken half-a-dozen
times, and is now occupied by a party of Arnouts,
who, by deeds, have pledged their word that they
will never leave it. Whatever bits of wall there
may have been have long since been smashed by
the artillery, and nothing remains but a few mounds
of earth, behind which these brave fellows have
dug holes, in which they lie, and from which they
repulse all attacks. You will no doubt have been
informed of the death of the commander of Silistria.
A shell struck him while he was at prayer. His
death has not even slightly discouraged the garri-
son. He was but one brave man among many.