The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-19 00:00:00

TILE ARMY.

The military invalids from Corfu, Malta, and
Gibraltar, who reached Portsmouth in the screw
steamer Himalaya, Capt. J. Seccombe, arrived at
Fort Pitt Hospital, Chatham, yesterday afternoon,
in charge of Lieut. D. B. Moriarty, 2d battalion,
6th Regiment. The number of invalid troops who
reached Chatham was 105 non-commissioned officers
and men. No death occurred among the troops on
board during the voyage. On their arrival at Fort
Pitt yesterday afternoon the invalids were medically
inspected by the staff at that establishment, when
27 non-commissioned officers and men were taken
into hospital for medical treatment, and the remain-
der forwarded to the invalid establishment, St.
Mary's.

In the announcement which appeared in The
Sun of yesterday, quoting the regimental order
issued by Colonel Charles Bingham, it should have
been stated that Major Field had been appointed
"Deputy-Assistant Quartermaster-General," in-
stead of "Deputy-Assist. Adjutant General," to
the Royal Artillery on the staff at Woolwich, on
the retirement of Capt. Freeth.

SUICIDE OF THE HUNTSMAN OF THE DURHAM
COUNTY HOUNDS.--Intelligence has just reached us that a
well-known character, whose death will be much deplored
by all those who know him—we mean " Torn, the hunts-
man" of the Durham County. Hounds—committed suicide
yesterday morning by hanging himself at Sedg efield.—
Newcastle Chronicle.

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" The operations of the allied forces at Peiho,"
says the Moniteur, " have assumed a character
which has strongly excited public attention, and as
the details brought by the last mail are eagerly
sought after, it appears useful to point them out.
" The embarkation of all the French troops took
place on the 26th July at Che-Fu ; they arrived,
after a fortunate passage, on the 28th in the Bay
at about 12 miles froW the pass of Peh-Tang.
" The Peh-tang river, lying to the north-west of
the river Peiho, is a stream that falls into the gulf
of Petchili. Three leagues from the coast it passes
through an agglomoration of 500,000 souls, and
one of the largest corn markets in the Empire. As
far as the eye can reach all round, the country ap-
pears to be one vast marsh. Every way, when the
tide is up, there is nothing but water ; and when
the tide has ebbed nothing but mud.
" A reconnaissance composed of officers of the
navy and army was sent by General de Montauban
into the river of the Peh-Tang, which is very little
known ; they left during the night, and were able
to ascend three miles up the river without meeting
with anything besides fishing boats.
" On reaching that distance, the officers endea-
voured to land on the right bank of the Peh-Tang,
but they met with great difficulties.
" After having waded for about 200 yards in
the water, on a.muddy bottom, they met at low
water with a layer of mud, through which a man
might walk up to the ankle ;_the layer,extended
over a width of 300 yards, as kix as the firm ground.
The pass of Peh-tang at high water is ten feet deep,
and the gunboats alone could cross it.
" The sea having become rough, the troops were
obliged to remain on board until the Ist August.
On that day the weather appeared calm enough for
the light steam vessels, drawing less than nine feet
water, to tow the different boats having on board in
French troops 2,000 men, a battery of 4-pounders,
one of mountain guns, a section of engineers, one of
ambulance, and 200 coolies. It had been arranged
between the commandants of the allied forces that
the English should land the same number, minus
the artillery.
"At half-past 12, the time of high water, the bar
was crossed ; the flotilla, having advanced as far as

the point at which the reconnaisancetook place, re-
ceived orders to anchor. The water still covered
the banks of the Peh-tang to a great distance, and
_ _

the forts on the right and left banks as well as se-
veral large but poor-looking villages could be dis-

tinctly seen. In the midst of the latter might be
distinguished that of Peh-Tang-Tcheu, which com-
municates with the Peiho by means of a rode from
six to seven feet wide.

" It was important to surprise the forts by a vi-
gorous movement, and more particularly to prevent
the Chinese from destroying a bridge which united
the above road to the village. The troops re-
ceived orders to get into the water at half-past
three; and. it was decided that the gunboats only
shou.ld leave at midnight, pass under the fire of the
forts, and then turn and take them in the rear,
while the land force, composed of 4,000 men and
two French batteries, should take them on the flank
by following the road.
" General de Montauban got into the water at

the head of his troops. General Grant followed his
example, and soon the allied forces touched the firm
ground, so difficult to reach, and which will not be
quitted until after the capture of the forts of the
Pei-ho. Cries of Vive l'Empereur !' to which the
English replied by an enthusiastic hurrah, proved
. .

that this improvised sea bath and the tiresome
march through the mud of the river, had only

ended to excite the energy of the assailants.

" The remainder of the troops and the battery
of mountain guns were landed while waiting until
_ _ _

the state of the ground would allow of the four-
pounder four-
pounder guns being got on shore.
" The Ist Brigade occupied the Peh•Tang road ;
the 2d encamped at a short distance from them,
and the English were on the riFht. A detachment
of 200 men from each army took up a position on
the bridge of communication between the road and
the village.
" An order had been given? for the troops to be

under arms at three o'clock in the morning, when
General de Montauban was informed that the Eng-
lish General (Grant) and Lieut.-Colonel Dupin had
penetrated into the fort, which had been evacuated
by the Chinese, who had only left there two wooden
canon hooped with iron.
" The Chinese took the precaution of under-
mining the fort and of depositing in six different
places shells of the largest size with fusees carefully
disguised. Our men in walking would have in-
evitably caused them to go off if General de Mon•
tauban had not adopted the precaution of sending a
company of sappers to look for any mines made by
the besieged.
"At five o'clock the allies occupied the fort, and
the flotilla anchored under their protection.

" The troops entered Peh-tang Tcheu, a large
town of 30,000 souls. All the authorities had taken
to flight, and the inhabitants appeared greatly
alarmed. The populations become more savage or
more timid as we advance towards the north. In
this country fresh water is ♦ery difficult to find ;
the boats which supply the place with it had all
left, but the naval officers took measures to obtain
a supply.
" On the 2d August several groups of horsemen
were seen on the road which leads from the Peh-
tang to the Pei-ho, and a Tartar camp having been
perceived the allied generals agreed to make, very
early next morning, a reconnaissance in the direc-
tion of that camp, under the orders of General
Collineau.

" A rather sharp cannonade was heard at
about eight o'clock in the morning ; the troops
. _ _ _

had fallen in with about 2,000 or 3,000 horse-
men and infantry, who protected an entrenched
camp at five miles from Peh-tang, and at less
than a mile from the point of junction between
the road of that place and those of Tien-tsin and
the Pei-ho, The frequent discharges, the noise of
which put on the alert the English and French
garrisons of the fort of Peiho, arose in great part
from a battery of large rampart guns placed in front
of the enemy's camp, which swept the road by which
the troops engaged in the reconnaissance were ad-
vancing in good order.
"As the forts on the left bank of the Pei-ho were
not far from the scene where the action appeared
to he taking place, General de Montauban mounted
his horse, and went in that direction with another
section of mountain artillery and a company of in-
fantry. He found General Collineau, who, with his
customary energy, had taken the best dispositions
to fulfil the mission confided to him, the object of
which was a simple reconnaissance, not a serious
engagement.

" After it was clearly proved to the Tartars that
we had driven them from their advanced posts, and
that we remained firm under their fire the troops
returned to Peh-Tang without having lost a single
man; and only a very few English and French
soldiers received wounds which were without
gravity.

" The entrenched camp, which was defended by
the Tartar cavalry, was occupied by the infantry ;
it is placed in advance of a rather large village,
which appears to be Ta•ku.
" These Tartar horsemen remind one of the Arab
goums, exclusive of the courage of the individuals ;
they appear to manage their horses with facility ;
their weapons consist of bows, arrows, and muskets.

They have well organised advanced posts, and no
one can leave Peh-Tang without the cavalry of those
posts making signals which must be seen at a great
distance.

" The firmness of the European troops appears to
surprise the Chinese soldiers. The attack of the
entrenched camp was to have closely followed the

reconnaissance of General Collineau-; the occupa-
tion of that point by the allied troops was the

" The carrying by force of the entrenched camp
was to have taken place on Aug. 10.
" At the moment the despatches were sent off,
a mandarin with a blue button, escorted by two
horsemen, had displayed a flag of truce, and brought
propositions on the part of the Chinese Govern-
ment ; but it was not known what the nature of
those propositions were. The nary and the troops
of the allies were rivalling each other in devoted-
ness, impatience, and ardour, and were preparing
for a decisive conflict. The next accounts can-
not, then, fail to be important and of great in-
terest."