The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-30 00:00:00

got the range or our boats, fire with merciless pre-
cision.

" Same of the guns require to be reinforced with
new crews, and in one or two instances the vessels
themselves are so shattered and riddled that it be-
comes doubtful whether they will not have to be
abandoned.

" Still, for two hours or more the battle rages
fiercely; the white foamy smoke wreathes itself
into fantastic curves, or slowly rises like a distorted
column high over ships and battlements till at
length a thick misty cloud of smoke almost shrouds
the canbatants from our view. Now and then an
explosion takes place, andsthe mingled mass of fire
and smoke and dust, forms itself into some grand
spectral form, and slowly ascends to the npper re•
glens.

"The attack still continues, but the shot,and
shell are not flying about so fast and furious as at
first, and after some three hours the enemy's guns
abate the rapidity of their fire. There comes at
length almost a lull in the dull bellow of artillery,
and boats are prepared to land for the purpose of
storming one of the forts. Our landing party con-
sisting of marines and sailors, are eager for the as-
sault ; soon as the boats touch the shore the men
jump out and try to form. The boats are exposed
to the enemy's guns, and many a man lost his life
before even he could take up a position on shor
Steadily officers and men struggle up, for thde.,
ground is deep wiry mud, all eagerly striving foe
the post of honour.
" Moe and officers begin to fall in all directions ;
still boldly do they bear themselves up, and reso-
lutely strive to gain the ramparts. The ditches have
to be crossed, and though full of water, ammunition
must be preserved—powder must be dry—until the
scaling ladder can be planted against the walls of
the fort.
" Of the few who cross the first ditch, the men
whose muskets will go off are the exceptions ; it)
there they stand, food for powder, anxious to do
something, yet impotent for defence.
" And now a perfect storm of bullets and arrows,
shot and shell, whistles through the ranks; the
carnage is terrific, for, as some of the men who were
there said, 'they mowed us down like grass.' Night
is fast closing in ; our advance is slow, owing to
the sticky clayey mud ; many of our leaders are
down ; Captains Shadwell aard—Vansittart, Colonel
Lemon, Lieutenant Clutterbuck, Captain Masters,
among others, fell wounded in front of their men.
To force them across the ditches under such circum-
stances is neither courage nor discretion. but a
simple and useless risk of human life. They re-
treat, but still ' they fall,' for the darkness is illu-
mined by ' fire balls' which render the position of
our men as plain as daylight, and then the storm
of bullets, and arrows, and ball of all sizes is re-
newed with fatal precision. The boats are at length
reached, and they scramble into them as best they
can, and are then towed to their ships. The day's
work is over, but we have got no trophy to show
except the mutilated forms of wounded and dying
men.
" The forts were firing at intervals till after mid-
night, and early on the next morning were they
making target-practice at the gunboats which were
on shore. Sunday morning dawns calm, a russet-
coloured mist hanging along the horizon, just like
those calm Sunday mornings you get in England.
" But what is the result of yesterday's fight ?
Where are its effects ? The gunboats lie in very
much the same position, but some are ' high and
dry,' and some are almost sunk, but still we know
not the whole. And when' told that more than
one-fourth of the force engaged is included among
killed and wounded,' you may easily imagine that
we were almost incredulous.
" Among the killed are Capt. Mackenzie, of the
Royals ; Lieuts. Clutterbuck, Rason, Graves, R.N.,
Mr. Herbert. Lieuts. Wolridge and Inglis. But it
is unnecessary to give you a list as there will be

one published by authority: Poor Clutterbuck !
he fell leading on his men. He was working for
his promotion, and had intended to scale the
walls, if any one could scale them. The only con-
s3lation for his untimely death is that he has
left many a friend behind him who knew-his fine,
manly, genial qualities, and not an enemy who can
tell a bad one.

" But in addition to a list of killed and wounded,
embracing 30 officers and 300 men, we have lost the
Cormorant and the gunboats Plover and Lee, and
some five or six boats belonging to the different
ships lying in the gulf.
"It should also be stated that both the French
and Americans sent in a small force, though so
small in number as to render them of almost infini-
tesimal importance. They worked well,. however,
with great energy and good-will, have a list of
killed and •wounded, and express most earnest sym-
pathy for our loSs.
" The termination of this most disastrous affair
must necessarily excite discussion, and the whole
management will be brought to a searching scrutiny.
The way to meet danger is preparation—to avoid
defeat, investigation.
,‘ In the first plant:, tin overweening confidenoo in
the well-tried pluck of Englishmen, and an unrea•
sonable depreciation of Chinese skill in fortification
and gunnery, was the main cause of our failure.
" Under equal advantages there can be only one
result in a fight between English and. Chinese, but
when English troops are exposed to a murderous
fire from an enemy behind mud walls, it is not a
matter of surprise that courage, and valour, and de-
termination succumb to their persevering though
inferior opponents. When our fleet came up to the
Gulf of Pecheli there was only one opinion as to
our fight with the Chinese in case they should prove
obstinate. Every officer and man would have volun-
teered his services for landing, for assault, for the
gunboats, or any duty whatever. Two hours' bom-,
bardment, an assault, and then it was believed the
Chinese would abandon their guns, and leave the
place in our possession.. Casualties on our side
were scarcely anticipated ; some two or three killed
and nine or ten wounded would form a very fair
estimate. •
"Chinese courage was thought to lie chiefly in
' discretion ;' but the result of our last engagement
with them has given the lie to such opinions, and
for the future we must treat them with the consi-
deration which an energetic and civilised enemy
al ways commands.
" The undaunted and gallant conduct of officers
and men is a subject of.constant remark. The per-
sonal courage of every man engaged was conspicu-
ous—no holding back, no cowardice. They fought
like lions; and though the battle is Tor us a defeat,
yet there was much personal honour and glory de-
servedly won. To mention names is almost invidi-
ous under such circumstances, yet one cannot re-
frain from it. The admiral was wounded rather se-
verely early in the fight, yet still remained, quite
indifferent to pain and danger, in the middle of the
fire; a second Wound failed to subdue his incredible
energy and determination • and for a day or two
afterwards it.was feared that his delay in allowing
himself medical assistance would endanger his life.,
Officers and men were shot down at their guns, and
as quickly replaced. On shore there was the same
gallantry, both officers and men pressing on to the
fatal spot, regardless of danger and death. Capts.
Shadwell and Vansittart were wounded in the front
of their men—as was Col. Lemon ; and, in truth, to
tell you how bravely they behaved would require
me to recount the names of many besides the killed
and wounded. The name of Lieut. Evans, R.M., has
keen mentioned in the highest terms. The Plover
appears to have been the most unfortunate of all
the gunboats. Her lieutenant was killed with a
round shot early in the engagement, and his place
supplied by the flag•lieutenant till she was aban-
doned.
" Let me attempt to give you a description of the
entrance to the river and the fortifications erected
to defend it. The Chinese assert that the name of
the river which we have been attempting to force
is not Peiho, but Wangler), or some other oh, the
Peiho running into the gulf about 10 miles further
north. There is a river emptying itself at the
point stated, and communicating with the ,Tien-
Sing ; but whether we are right or. the Chinese I
do not pretend to say, and for the present I shall
proceed on the supposition that we are right. The
Gulf of Pecheli covers an area of something like
16,000 square miles ; its shores on the west side,
and especially in the neighbourhood of the Peiho,
being very low ground. There is a low shelving
mud-bank, extending for several miles from the
shore, carrying not more than from two to three
fathoms water, the bar of the river at low water
having only two feet of water on it, and • at high
water something like 10 feet. Nature has thus de-
fended the entrance to the Peiho against the ap-
proach of ships of war, except such as are of very
light draught. Our gunboats and despatch vessels
can enter the harbour; but men-of-War, frigates, and
sloops are entirely excluded. They must anchor
some six miles from the fortifications.
"The river is not a large one, its aver age breadth
for 50 miles from its mouth being not more than 600
yards, and is thus rendered easy of defence against
the advance of any vessel along its whole course
from the' mouth right up to Pekin. In short, if
the general, or mandarin, in command under-
stands the mere elements of fortification, he can de-
fend the harbour, and the whole navigation of the
rive-r, against an attack from the most powerful
naval force that can be brought up.

" The booms, as at present arranged, consist of
four distinct barriers or barricades, each one pre-
senting a formidable appearance, and, independent
of their intrinsic value, are commanded by several
heavy guns. It should also be known that the state
of the defences here in June, 1859, is very different
from what they were in June, 1858. The numbpr
of booms has been increased, the forts rebuilt, en-
larged, and strengthened--there has been some
science in the work, either Chinese or foreign—and