The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-20 00:00:00

EARL OF CARDIGAN•

Before Sebastopol, Nov. 16, MI.
My Lord,—l beg to 'report to your lordship the Mate of
the regiment under my command ; the clothing and equip-
ment of both men and horses being in such a bad and in-
efficient state as to be altogether inadequate to meet our
present wants.
Having landed in the Crimea on the 17th of September,
each dragoon only carried with him a change of things
rolled in his blanket •, his valise, containing the remainder,
being left on board the steamer.
No opportunity having ever offered of replacing or re-
pairing any part of the dracooos' kits since our arrival
from England (since which we have been constantly on the
move and exposed), every portion is now worn out n- de
ficient ; the consequence is, that I have now men without
either boots or shoes—without shirts or drawers—and very
few with stockings ; those that have boots are quite out of
repair ; the overalls are nearly iu the same state, and a
few weeks will render them unserviceable.

The sufferings of the men, frorn&i;;;fficient clothing,
is now, therefo►e, very great, especially from being con-
stantly wet in the feet and legs, the resnit has been a vety
great addition to the number of sick ; 36 cases out of our
small number having been reported to me yesterday and
to-day. _ _

The horses, likewise, cannot be properly fed or dressed ;
most of the corn sacks, nose bags, picket ropes, and posts,
being worn out and lost in the numerous moves ; and sub-
sequent to the action at Balaklava on the 25th ult., at which
time, when the troops were absent from their lines, a
variety of articles of camp equipage and equipments have
disappeared.
The men have therefore no means of making their tents
comfortable, or having their meals regularly, from defici-
encies in tent pegs, entrenching toots, and means of cut-
ting wood and drawing water. .
On leaving England I brought with me a supply of every-
thing in the shape of necessaries, together with a bootmaker,
boots, and shoes, but no transport being afforded any of
the regiments for the smallest article, everything was loft
on the beach at Varna on first marching t 3 Devna, with a
view of their being sent to Scutari. Whether th,,,v are now
safe and in store there I have no means of ascertaining. In-
stuctions having hem received by me to land the men's
valises the first opportunity, th's I shall do as soon as they
can I e obttiine 1 from the Trent steamer ; bit as the sup-
ply thereby obtained will be but a t smporary assisfanc,,
and in no way make no for the want of hoots and shoes, the
position of the men will be little alleviat d thereh- .
The duties of a dragoon requiring in his lines (now al-
ways wet and muddy froth the tread of horses) such con-
stant exposure to the w lather, and entailing great extra
wear to his clothing, compare] to the infantry sol linr. I
cannot contemplate without dre ul, on the bleak position,
the result to the dragoon, unless every man is immediately,
suitably to the datiei required of him, suppliel v i h warm
ale, sufficient clothing, both outer and und, r, horses, &c.,
to meet the inclement weather he will be exposed to this
winter.

Yesterday and to-day, at the parade at daybreak, the
men could scam 3lf saddle their horses they were so be-
numbed with cold ; and this morning those men that had
boots, and bad taker them off, could not put them on from
chilblains and wet. A few weeks more, under such cir-
cumstances, will render us quite unfit for service, and I
cannot any longer bo responsible for the efficiency of my
regiment unless me ms are placed at my disposal suitable
to meet-the position in which we are now placed ; and I,
therefore, consider it my duty to place the foregoing facts
before your lordship with as little delay as possible.—l
have, &c , (signed) J. DOUGLAS,
Lieut .Col. commanding 11th Hussars.

No. 6.

MAJOR R. DE SALIS TO MAJOR-GENERAL THE EARL OF

CARDIGAN.

Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 16, 1854.
My Lord, beg leave to represent to you the state of
the regiment and its equipments, that I may not be under
the responsibility of not having done so, and in the hope
that something may be done.
We landed in the Crimea on the 16th of September in
patrol order, leaving on board, amongst other things, our
valises, second overalls, and stable jackets ; in fact, besides
the things they had on the =en only brought with them a
change of linen and shoes. These are nearly all worn out,
the jackets are opening, and the overalls to tatters. We
have no means whatever of repairing anything.
The men's valises are on board the Himalaya, which is
disabled ; and even the help they would afford ns would
not be sufficient, for next week will complete six months
since my regiment landed in the East, and since then, as
we have been always in the field, or on the move, we have
been debarred the opportunity of replacing deficiencies of
clothes, shoes, or necessaries from any stores whatever, nor
were we able to carry any with us, from the stringent limi-
tations of baggage.
Our horses' nose-bags and corn sacks are completely gone,
and we feed even in fine weather with difficulty. We
applied for new ones to replace those worn out in August
last, but as yet have got none.
Our tents were issued to us without proper pegs, nor had
we the means of making them. The tents are consequently
much damaged, and many of them almost useless.
When I consider we are now on the top of a bleak hill,
without natural shelter of any sort, and under great diffi-
culties of procuring a little brushwood for fuel, as our en-
trenching and other implements are long ago worn out I
cannot foresee the end to which we shall be reduced from
all the above-mentioned wants, but can only say that a
supply of warm under and over clothing, and boots and
shoes, and gloves, is absolutely indispensable to the very
existence of the men.
The muddy work required from the dragoon in wet wea-
ther about his lines, has in the last three or four days nearly
used up our clothing, and a week more of inclemently wet
or severe weather would completely make an end of our
men in their present denuded state. I shudder to think of
it. And I doubt whether, even now, of a very sharp cold
morning, many of them would not be quite benumbed by
cold before they could get their horses saddled and bridled.
I feel quite in helpless amazement of what services may
be required of my regiment, and the utterly unprovided
state it has been left in to meet so many and trying diffi-
culties.---I have, &c.,

(Signed) DE SALTS,
Major commanding Bth Hussars.

No. 7.
CAPTAIN MORGAN TO MAJOR-GENERAL THE EARL OF
CARDIGAN.
Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 16, 1854.
My Lord,—Tho command of the 17th Lancers having
devolved on me since the 25th of last month, and as I find
the present position of the corps in a tnost deplorable state,
I have the honour to acquaint yon with the facts existing,
and causing its almost unfitness for service.
Most of the men's kits left in the several abips—Simla,
Himalaya, Jason, Trent, and transport ship London—the
London only having left them, :which by chance were
found in an open field some days after.
2. The boots, shoes, and stocks of the men in many cases
quite worn out, and their clothing generally so much so,
that, having to go about almost barefooted and ill-clothed,
the sick list the last two days has increased fearfully, and
the few loft to turn out aro so benumbed with cold that
they can hardly saddle their horses.
3. The want of tents sufficient in strength and number
increases the sufferings of all ranks ; nor has the requisi-
tion for a sufficient supply yet been attended to.
4. The worn-out state of the camp-kettles and the want
Of wood is also a positive calamity to the iron, and half