The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-21 00:00:00

THE CAPTURE OF BOMARSUND.

Several telegraphic despatches from Dantzic,
Stockholm, and Copenhagen, announcing the
taking of Bomarsund, have been received since
Saturday last, but they add little to what by the
kindness of the Admiralty we were enabled to
publish in our first edition of that day.
The following are among the latest despatches :
" COPENHAGEN, Sunday.—Bomarsund was at-
tacked by land troops alone. Heavy artillery de-
stroyed two detached forts : the head fortress then
hoisted a flag of truce, and capitulated. General
Bodisco and the Vice-Governor Turuhielm, with
the whole garrison of 2,000 men (with the materiel
and provisions), were made prisoners of war, and
are on board the fleet.
" The loss of the Allies was 50 men."

STOCKHOLM, Sunday.—Before Bomarsund fell
her Majesty's ship Penelope grounded close to the
fort, which kept up a terrific fire on her. The
Penelope lost one killed and two wounded. Two
English steam-frigates got her off in an hour with
but little damage.

General Baraguay d'Hilliers had a narrow escape.
A cannon-ball passed between him and his aide-de-
camp.

The Russian prisoners, it is understood, are to be
sent to France in British ships.

The English and French flags are flying from the
towers of Bomarsund ; 1,900 prisoners have been
taken. The bombardment lasted from 5 a.m. of
the 15th until 2 p.m. on the 16th, when the Rus-
sian General surrendered.

The Russians blew up a fort containing state
prisoners, and also, it is said, the secreted Aland
pilots.
DANTZIC, Saturday.—La Reine Hortense and her
Majesty's ship Basilisk have arrived from Bomar-
sund.

The fortress has surrendered, and 2,000 Russians
are made prisoners. The Russians lost 30 killed.
The loss of the allies was 28 killed, of whom the
greater number were officers.

A private telegraphic despatch received in Paris
from Dantzic, states that the casualties on the side
of the allied troops were 120 killed and wounded.

The group of the Aland Islands, which formerly be-
longed to Sweden, was acquired by Russia in 1809, and
the fortress now captured by the allied armament has
been erected since that time, obviously with the view of
threatening Stockholm, and of extorting further conces-
sions whenever a convenient season and pretext might be
found. The effect of excluding the ships of England and
France from the Baltic Sea would be to convert all the
waters inside the Sound into a Russian lake, over
which the fleets at Cronstadt and Helsingfors would do-
mineer, as that of Sebastopol lately did upon the Black
Sea. But the eagerness of the Czar's Prussian partisans
is doomed to disappointment, and the speedy reduction
of the Aland Islands is the first step towards securing
the freedom of the Baltic.

A map of the locality will show a multitude of islands
of every size and shape, scattered over the greater part of
the entrance •to the Gulf of Bothnia. Only a small por-
tion, however, of the actually existing rocks and islets
are laid down in any of the charts; and the alliedcomman-
ders have had to supply the deficiency by exploring
and sounding with ceaseless diligence—sometimes, as in
the case of the Valorous, at the cost of serious damage
to the vessels employed. The mingled boldness and
prudence with which our ships have been handled in this
unknown and intricate navigation have been so striking
as to command the admiration even of the enemy. A
further difficulty with which the admirals have had to
contend is the sudden variations in the depth of water ;
to which it may be added that the channels are, in many
instances, exceedingly narrow.
The Aland Islands form an archbishop's see of about
eighty inhabited islands, and a vast number of rocks and
islets, in the province of Abo, in the Gulf of Bothnia, at
the entrance, between lat. 59 deg. 55 min., and 60 degs.
32 min. N., and long. 19 degs. and 21 mins. E. The popu-
lation is 15,000, and they are all of Swedish descent.
Rye, barley, pot,stoes, and flax are raised sufficient for
the population. The manufactures are wool and sail-
cloth for home use. The exports are salt beef, butter,
cheese, hides, cured fish, and firewood. The imports are
salt, colonial produce, and manufactured goods. These
islands, taken from Sweden in 1809, are of great political
and military importance to Russia, and contain several
fortified ports, generally the station of a part of the Bal-
tic fleet. Near them Peter the Great gained his first
naval battle over the Swedes in 1714.

•The chief island, Aland, has an area of 28 square miles,
a population of 9,000, and a good harbour (Bomarsund)
on its west side.

ENTRANCE OF AUSTRIAN TROOPS INTO
WALLACHIA.

The ilioniteur of yesterday publishes the fol-
lowing :
" VIENNA, August 18.—The first Austrian corps
destined to enter Wallachia has received by tele-
graph its orders to march. It is thought the fron-
tier will have been crossed this very day, through
the Red-Tower Pass, by two brigades that set out
from Hermannstadt. This movement has been
combined between General Hess and Omer Pasha,
in conformity with the Austro-Turkish treaty."

The Russian Government has cut off the com-
munications on the Austrian frontier. Since the
6th, no one has been allowed to enter Austria from
Russia or Russia from Austria.