The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-24 00:00:00

(Front another Correspondent of the Times.)

Sunday morning seems ties choice day for a battle. Very
early we were awakened iu the harbour of Balakiava on
the sth ky the report of great guns before the valley which
communicates with the town. As you looked out you
could wee the shells bursting in the air, and there could be
no doubt that the great Russian army which covered the
small bills and valleys near us was in motion. Balaklava
had long been threatened by this force, and we made up
our minds that there was to be an attack. We could see
the Turkish troops drawn up in a line on the rising ground
that faced us about three•quarters of a mile away. All
were on the alert. Orders were given to the steamers in
harbour to got up steam and. be prepared to leave, should
there be occasion for it.

Ia the harbour you can hear the bombardment of Sebas-
topol at all tines; but there was a heavier and a nearer
fire this morning, mixed with what we had set heard be-
fore—faint discharges of musketry. It was soon apparent
that Balaklava was Rot the real object. of attack. There
was something going on " to the front" more than usual ;
but we made -up our minds that it was not the long
looked-for storm of the town. It was not until noon,
hewever, that the news first reached us, " The Russians
have attacked us ;" and as stragglers came down for com-
missariat stores or ordnance the news grew into shape,
" There is a desperate action on our right, Sir George
Cathcart is killed, Sir George Brown is wounded, the
enemy are aot repulsed yet, the French are moving fast to
our support, more Generals wounded, the Second Division
fearfully cut up, the Guards have tremendously suffered,"
and by evening our anxieties were ended. We saw Sir
George Brown pass out under our bow with his staff
mound him, and we were glad to coo that he was not dan-
gerously wounded, as ho was sitting up uusupperted. We
learnt that lie was bound to the Agamemnon. The sum of
the news that we went to bed with was, that we had been
surprised, and some of our regiments were dreselfully cut
up, but that the Russians had retired with great slaughter
and that we had recovered all the guns which had fallen
into the hands of the enemy.

It need not be said that there was great anxiety to learn
hew it had all gone ; and the information that was
gathered from different sources, from those who had gone
to the field the next day, and from many of the wounded
the writer had an opportunity of seeing, xa ay be summed
up into some such narrative as this of the seeming events of
the 6th of November before Sebastopol. There wore no offi-
cial returns made up when the writer left Balaklava, on
the 7th, and every one was giving his description of the
day, in the fewest words, from his own point of sight, all
agreeing that, though it had cost, us ranch, we had given
the Russians a fearful lesson.

You may trust to the following narrative, as lacing
as nearly correct as the time will allow to collect infor-
mation for it :

The 4th of November was a wet day. During the night
those in camp who did not sleep heard the ringing of the
bells of Sebastopol, the stir of distant noise, a silence, and
then the bells ringing again, something like cheering, and
the hubbub and suppressed noise of crowds moving in the
streets. Our men had a report among them the day after
the battle, that the army must have been attending ser-
vice; and they were probably blessed for the coming bat-
tle, of which there was no idea evidently in our camp.
Sunday morning broke in very heavy mist. As it broke
the battle began. The enemy rushed down the height,
which they had crept up unknown to us in the
night, and surprised first of all a picquet of the 30th
Regiment. Surrounding them of a sudden, they
were all taken prisoners. One officer escaped after
a detention of two hours, and gallantly brought in
the Russian who had kept him prisoner. The
*lowly were up into the very tents of the Second Division
before suavely an alarm was raised ; and then began to
play some 15 guns, which had been quietly moved up in
the night, facing the heights on which our extreme right
rests. Their shot and shell swept through the lines. It
had been beautifully pre-arranged—the very shipping were
brought out of the shelter into which they had been moored
away from our bombardment right into the middle of the
harbour, and poured their fire on our camp, and riddled
our tents, and cut our cattle to pieces.
There seems to be no secret about it; there must have
been some want of caution, or this large force could not
hare surprised us as it did. It was known to be the weak
end of our position, aid there were no supports near. For
some time, then, the regiments in the Second Division
were fighting bayonet to bayonet with the Russians. There
was a fog, and. our men did not knew where the enemy
were, except those immediately near them, Very early
there was a rush upon the batteries in that neighbourhood,
and the gunners were killed at their pests. One field bat-
tery was also taken, with great loss on our side, so that
we could not answer with our artillery. When the mist
cleared a little, and there was some recoveryfrom the rush
and confusion, and our supports came up, back we
drove the enemy, and retook our guns. But three dif-
ferent columns, or, from their numbers, you may say
three different armies, threw themselves, one after the other
as one was driven back, in desperation on our mon. They
yelled to the very skies, as if they were maddened with
drink. And so it seemed they had been stimulated to the
charge, from the appearance of the prisoners and the can-
teens of raw spirits each man serried. In the early part
of the day it was bayonet to bayonet. As our brave fel-
lows pushed on, one man told us, " Why, every bush
seemed alive with them ; they was as thick as the leaves
on 'em." But when the mist cleared .off, and our men
could better see their own and the enemy's position, the
combat does not appear to have been se close. But still
it was but a handful of men keeping thousands at bay at
the point of the bayonet. Staff officers wore seen gallop-
ing about for assistance. The Guards early threw them-
selves upon the advancing columns and helped to stern the
torrent manfully, with the Duke of Cambridge at their
head, but they lost an untold number ; how great their
loss was may be gathered from their burying eight officers
(the Coldstreams) in one grave ; and the Fame number
wounded of the Fusiliers. The sergeant who gave the
writer the names of the killed could not keep from tears.
The 88th Regiment sent out five companies in advance,
and are said to have come back with but 70 untouched,
out of 350 men. Your after particular
moats, of the woutated belot%ing to them, and how they
came off, especially of the Second and First Divisions,
were only 112 et with the answers, " No ono knows the

exact numbers," " We are fearfully cut up," " We have
suffered dreadfully," " There has been awful loss."
Our men were keeping the enemy back, in the midst of
this carnage, until 11 o'clock. The French had been sent
for, and there was no telling what might come worse. To
the honour of our men, the feeling among them seems to
be to give our allies their full glory of the day. They came
up at a double ; they deployed beautifully into line ; they
spread themselves over the hill, and there was an evident
check. " They drove the Roossians," said one man, " like
shepherds after a flock of sheep." But it was not until 2
o'clock and later, and not until our allies had suffered fear-
fully too, could you say the day was quite secure.

In the ebb and flow of the action our guns were not
always in our hands, so they could not be directed always
on the enemy. But, as we kept our position more firmly,
and were aided by the French, these guns committed
dreadful havoc. For, though the Russian guns were pro-
bably more numerous and more heavy, and though their
fire may have been more than five to one shot of ours, yet
directed against our handful of men, out in skirmishing
order, they did not do the same execution as our shot,
shell, and grape ploughing and bursting through the mas-
sive columns in which they were launched on our position
It is impossible to gather an idea of their loss. The num-
bers given varied from 6,000 to 17,000 ; but we always love
to exaggerate the harm we have done to the enemy. Cer-
tain it is that all accounts agree in making it out as neces-
sarily great, from the number of bodies which blackened
the hill-sides and valleys where the action took place, from
the number of muskets packed up in our camp and brought
away to the ships, from the herd of prisoners taken, and
from the circumstance that our mon fired at close quar-
ters the whole of their sixty rounds, and dealt fearfully
with the bayonet at each Russian charge. 1
There can be no doubt that they poured three torrents
of men upon us, and that it was a desperate attempt by I
the army which had reached there but the day before from
Odessa or the Danube, and commanded by the Grand
Duke Nicholas, to raise the siege. Lord Raglan is said to 1
t have considered himself attacked by 60,000 men.
They behaved with barbarous cruelty t o our wounded ;
every fallen man was bayonetted. One English officer was
wounded slightly, but unable to leave the spot with his
men, as they retired for a while overwhelmed. When our
troops recovered the ground, they found the poor fellow
stabbed all over and stripped I Ono Russian officer was
seen to halt and limp about the field ; he had been wounded,
but ho was stabbing the fallen with his sword ! An
orderly of the Duke of Cambridge went up to him and
took him prisoner, and his Royal Highness was heard to
promise the wretch that ho would do his best to have him
shot for his inhumanity. It is to be feared that this Rus-
sian barbarity provoked our men to give no quarter. They
would throw down their arms, and, calling themselves
Christians, beg for mercy; and if they were spared they
would take up their muskets and shoot the man who had
saved them. The French Zouaves also took no'prisoners.

Tho writer was telling a French officer that the conduct
of his men was the theme of our soldiers' enthusiastic
praises. They had not only been signalising themselves
by their gallantry in the field, and by the admirable man-
ner in which they had been handled, but they had out-
shone all by the kindness, courtesy, and attention to
our wounded in the evening. The French officer's re-
ply was, " Ah, but your men stood like a wall ;" and,
turning to his neighbour, ho paid us the compliment,
" It was, perhaps, as well that the English had to b ear

the first shock." One gallant incident needs a record in
the description of this day. A serjeant of our 33d or 30th
Regiment was loft alone for a short while in advance some-
how. Celouel Herbert had noticed his daring, and told
him to come to him in the evening. He was alone, and
fivo Russians were on him. Ho shot one, bayonetted
another, and fell before the attack of the other three. They
had given him five wounds, when ho felt a horse's hoof
near his head. The Russians fled; he jumped up as he
could, and in a moment found himself dragged up on the
horse, and being carried to the rear for some 200 yards.
When in safety the officer took hold of the serjeant's hand
and kissed it, left him, and returned to the front. That
serjeant would give a great deal, he told the writer, to
know who that general officer was. With such incidents,
can you be surprised at our men being in enthusiasm about
the French?
You will hear from other sources, probably, what our
losses were. It is to be sincerely hoped that official returns
will lessen the numbers now in circulation. 2,200 men
cannot be spared, nor can our allies give 1,700 every day.
600 of this last number fell in gallantly repelling a sortie
from the town; the remainder shared the day's honours on
our right.
Whatever' the loss of the Russians, they carry away
with them the lesson, that though we may ,be surprised,
and though we may bCout-generaled, the English soldier
will not be beaten. The word that passes through our
camp is still, "Sebastopol must fall."
And, if they carry away that moral, we have to learn
that we have a stubborn and cruel enemy to deal with,
very full of craft, and vastly overwhelming in numbers,
and therefore it needs that we exercise more caution, and
that our generals must learn something more than the mere
order, " Fix bayonets and charge." So many and many a
private soldier thinks.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
(Front the Correspondent of the Morning Post.)
HEIGHTS ABOVE SEBASTOPOL, Nov. a

Saturday was a day of ordinary movements; the cover-
ing and working parties were about, and in the batteries
picquets were duly posted; rations were distributed and
cooked by hungry soldiers; the usual amount of on dits
were handed from camp to camp; dragoons carried from
and to head-quarters instructions into which many a
curious eye wished to penetrate. These, and the thousand
and one other proceedings of a besieging army, went
,on
apparently with clock-work precision, for certain hours
have certain duties and certain scenes. I was not quite
so comfortable as usual, as the rain poured in tor-
rents during the early part of the day, and I was com-
pelled to make for head-quarters. In vain did I cover
myself with Macintosh greaves, coat, and south-wester
the penetrating flood rushed 'into the crevices; and, ere
my return, I found chilly circles and patches which hinted
the necessity of an immediate change. Let me tell all
new campaigners never to trifle with damp clothing ; at
times a soldier gets thoroughly wet through, and he has
from necessity to take his chance. Of such troubles I
speak not, but what I say is this—if possible, let damp
clothes be at once changed, and let the body be over rather
than under clad. In warm weather—never mind how hot
the climate put on a flannel shirt, and when the
cold has set in, put a linen shirt ever it. True, the
linen shirt cannot be starched and ironed ; but what
signifies that—the soldier on service requires merely
a clean skin and clean tinder-clothing. The former
he can insure himself, the latter his servant can supply
by means of soap and water and a little labour; and
the two combined will preserve far more strength than
all the tonics in the world can restore. I was sorry
to find that Captain Somerset, of the Rifles, was sick
at head-quarters. He is, now, however, recovering.
Many of the officers are ailing, and among the rest that
best of soldiers, Lieut.-Col. Blake, of the 33d. Regiment.
My belief is that the cause is to be traced to the action of
the night air upon the system during daty in tho trenches
or on pioptet. So long as a man is well, he can bear any
amount of roughing ; but ne sooner does diarrhcaa or dy-
sentery, or rheumatism, or fever threaten, than exposure
has a terrible effect upon body and spirits, and too fre-
quently nature sinks under it. Among those who have
found an early grave frees laboaring hard under trying
circumstances, I am sorry to enumerate poor Mr. Webb,
the Roman Cath olio chaplain. I am devotedly attached to
the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, but
that does not prevent me from admiring the faithful ser-
vices of one who, if his creed was in some of its doctrines
erroneous, had the heart of a faithful servant of his Master.
Night and day he was at the call of the sick and suffering,
and died at last, broken down by labours wrought under no
common difficulties. I have every reason to believe tha
the chaplains of oar own Church have throughout this
campaign bees blessings to the army of the East. The
only thing has been, they were too few in number (a state
of things which is by the autherit'es being most satisfaoto-
rily altered) ; but with all their energy and good example,
the best of them may consider Mr. Webb as a pattern of
seal worthy their imitation. It is currently reported that
General Osten-Sacken has arrived from Odessa with a por-
tion of the Wallachia' army, and that artillerymen have
been forwarded by post. That the Russian army of the
Crimea has been lately much increased is evident, for we
see encampments in all directions. Not that you can
judge numbers from appearances ; quite the contrary;
for °Mimes rows of bashes, arranged for covering
during the night, are run between linos of troops, so
that from a distance the army
may appear vast in-
deed ; but yen may be quite sure that reinforcements
have come in, when an army lately trembling before
us has dared to assume the aggressive. My firm
belief is, that we shall in the end overthrow tho Rus-
sian force, and bring our
lmd, and requires
ea .
Of this
great enemy to his senses ; but
it will be only after many a bloody battle, for the mate-
rialrea againstgreat
p o un dwi
n 1 tg before
i ch
we
bare i
t i sto
thoroughlystrive
is
br ten
we had good proof yesterday, when our little army fought
ono of those trying engagements in which British courage
so wonderfully and successfully prevails. I have stated
that the greater part of Saturday was wet ; towards the
evening the sky cleared a little, and small patches of blue
were here and there visible, but as night set in a heavy fog
came over
us,
it was
so thick that apparently it might he cut. Under
the cover of it, the enemy placed,
upon the hill op-
posite our 2d Division, heavy guns, some of them
brass '32lh. howitzers ; and vast columns crept up the
rlvine from the ankorman, with all the cunning of
tho Russian. Our outlying picquets did their utmost, but
that at first was little, as they could hear much, but saw
nothing, save when masses came close down, ready as ii
wore to crush them. This was about five a.m. ; and, al•
though all means of judging the state of things was out o 4
the question, the sharp firing of the picquets soon cause,
the alarm to be sounded throughout the camp, and o'
•,ian were all under arrrs and T-Pady :44 o'elo-'
fog still tryingly thick. As the 2d Division had lost many
men atAlma, not a few during the repulse of the first sortie,
and 001110 hUlldrede had been carried off by the picknoos of

lz, ire

Bulgaria and the Crimea, it mustered but a very small(force
to act againstan army of the enemy, numbering at the lowest
calculation 45,000 men, but small though it was, well did it
do its duty. I must observe that the ravine along which the
Inkerman road runs is covered with brushwood, so that
our troops laboured under the serious disadvantage that
they could not charge with full weight. The 30th, 41st,

-17th, 49th, and 95th proved themselves heroes; wherever
the foe could be found, there did our gallant fellows pour
in their withering fire, and when the fog allowed a column

of Russians to get close upon them, the bayonet was down

to the charge, and on rushed our men with that cheer of
determination, before whom the stoutest enemy must quail.
At a very early hour the P battery came into position ; but

as the gunners could not see ten yards before them, a
column of Russians was upon it as it were in a moment,
and we had no infantry near to defend the guns. Fortu-
nately the Russians had no means of spiking them. At
this they were infuriated ; they put dust into the touch-
holes, beat the iron with their muskets, and at last
stuffed the vents with wood. All this was the work of a
few minutes; the guile were for the time gone, but at the
crisis, up came come some infantry, and bore down upon
the foe, retook the guns, and swept the attackers from the
brow of the hill far down into the valley. When the bat-
tery was first in danger, Lieut. Miller gallantly tried to
protect the artillerymen by dashing against the enemy,
sword in hand. Three shots were fired at him, but which
providentially missed their object, and he escaped to re-
turn with his men and do geed service during the rest of
the day. The Guards were encamped near the 2d Divi-
sion, so they at an early period were up and at work ; so,
I indeed, were the Light Division, under Sir George Brown,
and the 4th division, under Sir George Cathcart.
The Guards were principally engaged on the right,
near a battery, and the slaughter there made was
something incredible—the ground is literally heaped with
the enemy's dead. Without the slightest exaggeration, I
should say that, in and around the battery, 1,500 dead are
lying ; and in the valley below, towards the broken bridge,
where the 2d and 4th Divisions and the French fought,
the destruction was equally severe—the Light Division
was to the left, and many of them fell while nobly fight-
ing against fearful odds. It is calculated that the Eng-
lish engaged never exceeded 7,000, and that during the
day the 45,000 Russians were opposed by not more than
10,000 men; and here it must not be forgotten that a
powerful artillery were sending in shot and shell like hail,
from which we necessarily suffered much, as our artil•
lery was not able to silence guns of so mach heavier a
calibre. It was a glorious day for the Allied Armies,
and never shall I forget the sight when the Zouaves came
up, and some French regiments. Our brigades, in a hard
fight of several hours against seven times their numbers,
were, of necessity, sadly weakened, and most acceptable
was the assistance of the Allies. As to advancing in order,
that was impossible. French and English, side by side,
dashed forward like a mighty wave of the sea, and carried
all before them. To the right, some 800 French rushed
upon a retiring column, and with this the day was ours.
From six in the morning to half-past four in the afternoon
had the enemy, with great doggedness endeavoured to turn
our position but vain was their hope. They recei red a lesson

that will not be forgotten in a'', hurry, and the allied troops
once more proved to the world at large that nothing can
surpass the courage which is engaged in the defence of the
freedom of mankind. At sunset the French occupied the
ground held at sunrise by the Russians, and a goodly
number of prisoners, ammunition waggons, and horses,
fell into our hands. But this glorious victory has been
attended by losses which cannot be repaired, although,
at least, six Russians have fallen to each one of the Allies.
We have suffered, as regards general officers, in an un-
paralleled manner. Sir G. Cathcart was struck down by
a grape-shot. I saw his body, and I think the wound
was too large for a rifle ball; the deadly missile entered
low in the chest, and close to the orifice were three bayonet
wounds, given in malice by a brutal enemy. I need

not say that Sir George Cathcart the country has lost
a general of the highest character. Cool and determined—
eautious, yet dashing—keen, and ever prompt, he know
his enemy well, and the whole army looked up to him as
an all-sufficient leader, should anything occur to deprive
us of those holding higher command. Now, however, he
is gone ; having died a warrior's death. We will not grieve
for him as men without hope, but we will rather condole with
those dear relatives that he and so many other officers have
left behind to sorrow over noble spirits departed. The Fourth
Division also lost one of its Brigadier-Generals', the beloved
Goldie. The Duke of Cambridge, although his coat was
tern to ribbons, was only slightly struck. Our loss is
calculated at 91 officers killed and wounded—some say
131—and 2,360 non-commissioned officers and privates.
I must not forget to mention that the 400 Marines who,
with the Light Division, were engaged en the left near
the Lancaster Battery, kept up nobly their high reputa-
tion. They were at times pressed upon by vast columns,
but no ! nothing could move them ; faithfully they fought,
and the enemy were compelled to retire leaving behind
hundreds of dead to tell of the determined courage of the
small force opposed to them. Alma was deemed a great
victory—the fight lasted for three and a half hours ; but
this battle was ten times more glorious. 10,000 of the
Allies repulsed 45,000 Russians during a hard strife
of ten long and trying hours. All that we want w
is men to recruit our weakened army ; let, then, France
and England send at once 50,000 men, and we will soon
teach Russia her position, and tear from her her strong-
hold. We can and will stay hero, and endure any priva-
tions, if necessary, but let there be no delay—overdo rather
than underdo the matter, and bid Austria for her life's
sake join with the noble against the cruel and presumptu-
ous. After the battle the troops of the Russians retired
into Sebastopol, and steamers were at once busily engaged
conveying them across the harbour. This has been done,
we suppose, to avoid our shot and shell.
Nov. 7.--Our batteries were directed to fire 60 rounds
a-gun to-day, instead of 20, so that there has been a terri-
ble din from dawn to dewy evo, and right glad am I that
all is now quiet. Burying the Russians has been still the
great work of the day, and the 'larks have been busily
engaged throwing up a breastwork to defend us in the
event of another attack on our right. About two o'clock
the alarm was sounded, and all our troops were soon under
arms and in position. Happily it was a false alarm, and
after sundry wanderings hither and thither of staff officers,
the men were allowed once more to go quietly to their
teats, and be at peace.