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

the position commanded that of the hill on which
the Second Division were encamped—were of very largo
calibre. They threw their shells thickly among the tents
of this division, and notwithstanding they were struck at
an early hour of the day, they have been literally riddled
with the fragments of the shells which burst among them.
h the early part of the morning, as column after column
advanced from the direction of the town, the Lancaster
gun, the only one which remained in the 5-gun battery,
was brought to bear upon them, and did great execution.
The Russians made a very determined assault to secure
this piece, but were repulsed. Some of our troops, in turn
advancing, drove the gunners away, and had actually
taken possession of four of the enemy's brass field guns
which they had advanced, but a large body rose which had
been previously concealed among the brushwood, and com-
pelled them by their fire to relinquish their possession.
At one time the Second Division, having advanced toe
far to the right, were in a very groat hazard of being cut
off, and were in a great measure saved by the rapid ad-
vance of a large body of Z)uaves and other French troops,
which, coming rapidly upon the Russians still more to the
right, prevented them from making a further attack
against our troops on their flank.
In the early part of the day—indeed, almost simulta-
neous with the commencement of the grand attack on the
right—cannonading was heard in the direction of Balak-
lava. It soon became evident that no very serious advance
was intended in this direction, and that part of the troops
previously lying in the plain had been withdrawn during
the night to assist in the execution of the principal object
of the engagement, carried on by the force against our
right. The attack on the left was of a more determined
character, and was made by several columns of Russian
infantry, supported by artillery. The French went out to
meet them, and though they received them with a heavy
fire of musketry, two hours elapsed before they were finally
driven back within their fortifications. Some of the Rus-
sian columns marched along the sea shore, and had one of
our ships been within range much execution might have
been done among them.
It will be impossible until the returns are collected to
estimate tie number of killed and wounded who have fal-
len this day. It is well known that the list will be a very
serious one. Sir George Cathcart, commanding the 4th
Division, is among the killed, as is also poor old General
Strangways, commanding the Ordnance Department.
Ilis fine form, and snow white hair, had long made
him conspicuous among his troops ; equally, as he is said
to have been, ,for his amiable and estimable qualities
among the large circle of his friends and acquaintances.
He lost a leg, which was earried away by a round shot,
aad died soon afterwards from the effect■ of the injury.
General Goldie is also killed. Sir George Brown was
wounded in the arm. It was a flesh wound, but he has
been lately suffering from general indisposition, and, acting
upon the advice of his friends, he has quitted his com-
mand, and gone for treatment on board the Agamemnon.
He was removed on a litter in one of the commissariat
carts. Brigadier General Adams is wounded, as is also
General Torrens, in command of a brigade of the 4th divi-
sion. Major-General Bentinck, commanding the brigade
of Guards, is also wounded, but, it is reported, not severely.
Brigadier-General Buller, commanding the 2d brigade
Light Division, received a contused wound in the leg from
a mind shot. The ball went through the body of his
horse ; it entered its chest, and bruised the general's leg as
it passed out of the animal's flank.
The official returns will alone enable the names of the
many officers of other grades killed and wound in this
astion to be known. All the Regiments of the 2d Divi
ken have suffered severely, and the Coldstream regiment,
particularly in the Brigade of Guards. The regiments
which happened to have been detached for duty in the
trenches alone escaped without considerable loss.
General Sir de Lacy Evans, whose gallant defence of the
position under his command on the 26th nit. was so favour-
ably noticed by Lord Raglan in orders, was unfortunately
ea invalid, and on board ship at Balaklava. Subsequent
to the action alluded to he had a fall from his horse, but
he had previously been weakened by suffering from
illness. Hearing of the attack he came up to the front,
and was present on the field ; but he was too weak to
assume command.
The less of the Russians must have been immense. Their
dead aro lying up to the very doors of the tents of the
Second Division, and they aro thickly strewed among the
bushes around. The high road leading up to this position
from the direction of the Inkerman ♦alley, and which
winds along ono of the precipitous sides of a very deep
ravine, is covered with their bodies. The wounded are
being collected, but numbers will have to lie where they
are until daylight shall again afford an opportunity for re-
moving them. About 600 prisoners are at present under
guard, and this number does not include the wounded
itaasians who have been taken to the various hospitals.
One of the most obvious and serious deficiencies in our
arrangements—one which led to the unnecessary loss of
many valuable lives— was the absence of any earthworks,
a line of entrenchments, to protect the camp of the Second
Division. Its position on our extreme right—on the side
of the hill, with a gentle slope, and directly connected
with the high mountain which descends upon the valley of
the Tshernaya river where it falls into the head of the Se-
bastopolt reedited, is necessarily very much exposed. The
Absence of such works can only be attributed to our hay-
lug underrated the strength of the Russian troops, or to
having held a too low estimate of their courage. At oae
time our men had to rally in front of their tents to save
the camp itself, and the numbers of Russian dead who are
now lying within ten yards of the advanced row of them
proves how close was the struggle, The rapidity with
which the French fortify a post as soon as it is occupied,
offers a striking contrast with our neglect of the pre-
eautien in the present instance. A high road from the
Inkerman valley passes up to the camp by one of the ra-
vine; Across this road was drawn a simple stone breast-
work, but beyond this the defence appears to have been
wholly entrusted to the courage and arms of the troops.
The courage has not been wanting; and the position has
been retained, but it has been at a fearful sacrifice of life.
Another misfortune was that, owing to the continuous
damp of the night and day previous to the attack, many
of the percussion caps missed fire, and the men wore unable
to discharge their muskets. This was found to be the
case particularly at the early part of the morning. The
french observed, too, that our men in repulsing advanced
too far without sufficient support.
It is said that the Russian soldiers had been liberally
supplied with raki previous to the commencement of the
attack. Their continued loud shoutings and the impetu-
osity of their attack render it probable they wore under
the influence of some artificial stimulus of the sort. In
the canteens, also, of many of the killed on the field was
found a mittare of raki and water. The men who have
fallen into our hands, though generally of short stature,
are of sturdy frames, with broad chests, and well-developed
muscular legs. Their clothing is well-made and warm ;
and, though coarse in texture, an amply sufficient
protection against the weather. Tho ♦oluminous folds
of their great coats, the sleeves of which are
doubled back as nearly as far as the elbows, while
the skirts descend to the ankles,—throw the " skimp-
ing" ordnance groat coats issued to our troops completely
in the shade as regards comfort and warmth. To prevent
the length of the coat inconveniencing the wearer when
walking, the skirt all round is made by a very simple con-
trivance to loop np above the knees. So, also, the coat
can be worn loose like a cloak, or drawn in at the waist.
The men carry with them mittens of thick black cloth, the
four fingers being together in one, the thumb in another
division of the glove.
Great advantages resulted from the employment of the
ambulances in the removal of the wounded during the pro-
gress of the action. It is to be lamented that ■o few of
these ♦ehicles have been sent out—two only to each divi-
ition—and that the army is not provided with some contri-
vance similar to the mule ambulances of the French. Oa
each side of the mule is an iron frame, which can be either
used as a seat or unfolded into a reclining couch, thus else
abling two wounded to be carried either in a sitting pas-
ture or lying at full length. Numbers of these were (Amu-
' pied is carrying the wounded to the roar. Their peculiar
advantage is that no irregularity of the groin(' prevents
their being able to arrive at the spot where the service of
an ambulance may be required. The hospital rnarqaees
and tents were a great comfort in preventing the exposure
which occurred after the action at Alma. I need hardly
add that the surgeons have been fully employed all day,
and Are likely to continue so for several days to come.

CAMP ABOVE SEBASTOPOL, Nov.
I have just returned from the field of battle yesterday
The numbers of the dead far exceed
the what were to be seen
in a like space at Alma. From doors
. of tie
tents of the 2d Division over the hills, on the high road,
and along the ravine, down to the very' below the
Inkerman rains, the earth is strewed with dead, wounded,
arms, and ammunition, clothing, and all the debris' of the
d theth
fight. At the angle of the hill which jut:hon. wherewin
Inkerman valley opens to the plain along
Tchernaya river, was sometime ago constructed a twos.
battery. The guns have been removed, but the workgrun
mains. Within, and fora wide distance in front and on
each side of this battery, the ground is literally, not
figuratively, covered with dead and dying. More of the
grey colour of the Russian groat coat meets the eye than
does that of the hill or law brushwood itself. Here took
place one of the fiercest struggles of the day. The Guards,
who were occupying this work, were at one time over-
powered by the Russian force, and compelled to retire ; but
after re-forming they returned to the attack, and not only
expelled their assailants, but drove them down the sides of
the hill with fearful slaughter. The breastwork of the
battery was 7 feet high, so that the guards could not fire
over the parapet, and no sandbags had been placed to
enable them to do so. When the Russians for a short time
held it, they seized a few lying about, and made a step,
which was afterwards used against themselves. There has
evidently been much neglect hero—it seems like infatua-
tion. The Russians themselves ought never to have been
able to have advanced so far as they did, much more to have
brought their guns with them. Now, when the evil
has happened, the Ottoman troops are being actively
employed in throwing a line of entrenchments around the
camp ; breastworks are being raised in various positions
and the high road, which winds down the side of the 'A-
nne to the head a the harbour, and up vitioh the Russian