The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-12 00:00:00

fourtt l:bittan

SUN OFFICE, Seven, o'clock.

THE LONDON GAZETTE.

(THIS EVENING.)

BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA.

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES.
ADMIRALTY, MAY 11.
Despatches have been received at this office from Vice-
Admiral Thindas, Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty's
ships and vessels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, of
which the following are copies : _

No. 172. v Britannia, off Odessa, April 22.
Sir,—l beg you will lay before the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty the accompanying Correspondence, rela-
tive to the fire of the batteries at Odessa on the Furious
and her boat, when flying each a flag of truce, which will,
I trust, fully explain to their lordships the exact nature
of this uncivilised act of aggression, and the false statements
by which General Osten-Sacken has been led to justify it.
And as, in addition to the fortress of Odessa, the P
g Russians
were labouring day and night in strengthening
and erecting formidable sea defences, enand had also
collected between 20 and 30,000 men for the protection of
this military depot, as well as for the security of vessels
seeking shelter under the guns of the place, Admiral
Hame-
lin and I decided on sending the joint demand to the Go-
vernor, of which the Enclosure No. 5 is a copy.
As no answer had been received up to 7. a.m. this morn.
ing, the combined steam division noted in the margin,*
with 6 rocket-boate, under the immediate orders of Capt.
Jones, opened fire on the Imperial Fort and Mole, and
Russian vessels lying there- By 3 p.m. the magazine was
blown up, the forts were destroyed, and the ships sunk or
burnt.
The city of Odessa, and the Mole containing the mer-
chant-vessels of all nations were not molested, agreeably
to the commands of her Majesty to respect private pro-
perty as much as possible.
Our loss has happily been small—one killed and ten
wounded ; and the damage to the ships by the enemy's fire
can be repaired at sea.
It is my pleming duty to state, that between the two
squadrons the greatest cordiality exists, and that the con-
duct of the French steam-frigates calls for my warmest
praise. The Yank, lin was set on fire by red-hot shot, but
by the cool courage and activity of her captain and crew,
the fire was extinguished.
I recommend all the officers, seamen, and Royal Marines,
employed on the service, to their lordships' notice, parti-
cularly Captain Jones, the senior of the steam division,
and Commander Dickson, of the Britannia, who, in charge
of the rocket-boats, did good service.
I enclose a copy of a letter which I have received from
Captain Jones, and a list of the killed and wounded.—l
have, tic.
(Signed) J. W. D. DIINDAS, Vice-Admiral.
The Secretary of the Admiralty.

(Enclosure No. 1.)
Translated Copy.
Odessa, Aprill4, 1854.
The aide-de-camp, General Baron d'Osten Sacken be-
lieves it his duty to express to Admiral Dundas his sur-
prise to hear it asserted that from the port of Odessa they
have fired on the Fury-}' frigate when covered by a flag of
truce.
On the arrival of the Fury, two blank guns were fired,
in consequence of which the vessel hoisted the national
flag, and stopped out of gun shot : immediately there left
her a boat under a white flag, proceeding in the direction
of the Mole, where it was received by the officer on duty,
who, on the question of the English officer, replied that
the English Consul had already left Odessa. Without
further conversation, the boat retook the direction of the
vessel, but as it went to rejoin her, the frigate, in place of
awaiting her, advanced in the direction of the Mole, leaving
the boat to the left, and approached the batteries within
gun-shot.
It was then that the Commandant of the Battery of the
Mole, faithful to his orders to prevent all enemies' vessels
of war to come within shot, felt it his duty to fire, no
longer on a flag of truce, which had teen respected until
the end of its mission, but on an enemy's vessel which ad-
vanced too near the land after having received, by the
two first blank guns, intimation to stop.
This simple exposition of facts, such as they have been
"sported to his Majesty the Emperor, ought to destroy of
itself the supposition, otherwise inadmissible, that in the
ports of Russia they do not respect a flag of truce, of which
the inviolability is guaranteed by laws common to all civi-
lised nations.
(Signed) BARON D'OSTEN SACKRN,
Aide-de-Camp General of H.M. the
Emperor.
Vice-Admiral J. W. D. Dundas, &c.

(Enclosure No 2.)
Her Majesty's ship Furious, off Odessa,
April 21, 1854.
Sir,— I have carefully read the letter of the Governor of
Odessa, on the subject of the batteries having fired at the
flag of truce, on Saturday, April 8.
His statement is entirely untrue. On that occasion her
Majesty's ship under my command made Odessa at day-
light, and at 5.50 a.m., when at about four miles' distance,
the English colours and a flag of trace were hoisted.
It was not until at least 20 minutes afterwards (about
past 6 a.m) that two blank guns were fired from the
battery.
As I considered these guns as an intimation that I was
Mot to proceed any further, the engines were immediately
stopped, and the helm put hard a-port, and from that
time until the return of the boat the wheels were not
again moved, and the ship gradually drifted off shore, in
consequence of the moderate N.W. wind which was blow-
ing off the shore and on her port beam.
Her stern was towards the Lazaretto, and I carefully
abstained from opening the main-deck ports, or clearing
away the upper deck bulwarks, so that there should not be
the slightest indication of hostility on my part.
Seven shotted guns were fired ; the first one was evi-
dently intended for the boat (then about a mile off shore),
as it fell about 60 or 70 yards short of her, and she was
then somewhat to the southward of the line between the
battery and the ship. The remainder, which all fell short,
may have been intended for either boat or ship, as she
pulled more into the straight line.
Lieutenant Alexander when at the mole asked to see the
English Consul ' • he was told that he was not down there,
and that it was too early, and that the captain of the port
would be sent off, and he was desired to return to his
ship. He asked if the English Consul was still at Odessa;
he was again told by the officer of the guard to return to
the ship, and by a person who acted as interpreter in Eng-
lish, " that he was not permitted to say anything more."
Throughout the whole proceeding the English colours
and the flag of truce were conspicuously displayed on both
ship and boat.
These statements can be verified by the evidence of the
officer of the watch, the chief engineer, and the engineer of
the watch, and indeed by every person on board of the
ship.—l remain, &c.
(aigned) WILLIAII LORING, Captain.

(Enclosure No. 3.)

Evidence taken with regard to the Russian Forts at Odessa
firing on the Boat of her Majesty's Steam-frigate Furi-
ous with a flag of truce.
On the morning of Saturday, the Bth April, I saw au
English man of war come into the Roads of Odessa, with
a flag of truce flying at the fore. I 'then observed a boat,
with a flag of truce in the bows, leave the ship, and pull
towards the shore.
I was present when the boat arrived at the back part of
the Mole. There were two Government offiers there, when,
through an interpreter, the officer of the boat was asked
his business. He replied that he had come to take the
English Consul away. He was informed he had left several
days ; and, to the best of my belief, the following was the
conversation that passed between them. Afterwards the in-
terpreter said the authorities were not down from the town,
and that he had better return to his ship, and come back
again in an hour, or an hour and a half. The boat then
left the shore, and set sail towards the ship. I walked a
little distance from the spot where the above conversation
took place ; in a few minutes I observed some excitement
and bustle on a six-gun battery at the back of the Mole; I
then turned and looked towards the battery, and from
thence to the boat she was about three-fourths of the dis-
tance between the shore and the man-of-war steamer ; at
that moment a shot was fired from the battery before men-
tioned, and I observed it nearly struck the boat ' • a soldier
then ran down from the six-gun battery towards the bat-
tery on the Mole head, and immediately shotted guns were
bred from both batteries to the steamer ; as nearly as I can
recollect seven shots were fired at the man-of-war and the
boat ; it was reported on shore that one shot struck the
steamer's paddle-box; when the boat reached the ship the
steamer left the roads without firing a shot.
J.a.ted on board the Britannia, off Odessa, April 21,1854.
(Signed) JNO. CaUTWELL, Barque Lavinia.
I hereby certify that the above statement is perfectly
*meet.