The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-10-17 00:00:00

ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.

ADMIRALTY DESPATCHES

(Copy, No. 498.)

Sir,—l beg you will acquaint the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty that, by the request of his Excellency
General Lord Raglan, I have ordered 1,000 Marines of
the fleet to be lent to the Agamemnon, in the harbour of
Balaldava, to relieve a Omitar number of the British

In the action of the Alma, the colours of the Scotch
Fusilier Guards had 26 bullets through. them. The staff
of the colours was broken ; but Mr. Lindsay held fast
as cool as a cucumber, and escaped without a wound.
It appears that a certain class of visitors made a pro-
fitable day's work by visiting the field of battle ; almost
every one " found" something. One boasted that he had
picked up nine revolvers and fifty sovereigns • and one, a
Maltese, is reported to have realised upwards of £l5O
in gold. _ _ _ _ _ _

E. large plan was found* the house Lord Raglan slept
in at Katcha, and in Menschikofrs carriage were found
the fall particulars of the English army, their strength.
&e., showing how well the spies in the English camp
must have done their treacherous work. In this de-
spatch Prince Mensehikoff assures the Emperor, that he
could make good the defences of the Alma for three weeks
against 100,000 men., _ _ _

The Russians had evidently been some weeks on the
ground, and the remains of their camp prove it to have
been very commodious. There were long rows of skil-
fully constructed ovens and mess-tables formed of flat
stones.

—.
A corporal of the 23d found himself alone in the
enemy's battery, and actually bayoneted three men before
assistance came to him ; he was at once promoted to be

sergeant,
One officer lay dead, with a little dog sitting between
his legs, a position from which no persuasion could move
the dog. He had been mortally wounded, and given
his gold watch to a soldier who kindly gave him a draught
of water. Another, quite a boy, lay with his hands
clasped in the attitude of prayer ; near him lay one only
wounded, who spoke French, and there nestled in his
bosom a little kitten, which seemed unwilling to leave him.

Sub-Lieutenant Poitevin, colour bearer of the 39th
Regiment (French), went and planted the colours on a
fort which the Russians had not had time to finish, and
there he stood superb in the midst of hosts of Russian
sharpshooters. A. moment afterwards he fell, pierced by a
dozen balls. All those brave soldiers whom the cholera
had for a moment thrown into consternation, were radiant
before the battle. After the victory they were seen
bestowing the most touching care on the wounded
BRITA.NNIA, OFF TICE KATCHA, SEPT. 28. Russians.

An officer says :—" A letter I took from the pocket of
a Russian officer I sent to the admiral, thinking it might
contain some useful information ; but the interpreter has
!discovered it was only a leve-letter from the mistress of
9TIQ Qf the officers, wtshin Um a speedy *Wry over

enemy, and a quick return to her arms. This dream,
however, will not be realised : he was shot through the
heart."
There have been some extraordinary wounds. A
private in the Guards had a button of his coat struca in
the centre by a Minie rifle ball ; the button, partially
entering, caused a severe contusion of the rib, but saved
his life. One was struck by a cannon ball at the moment
of raising his hand ; the ball drove the hand and arm
right through the body.
A Russian general was captured after the battle under
rather singular circumstances. He had heard the firing,
and, confident that the action must have resulted in
our repulse, came with a single attendant to the heights
to congratulate, as he believed, Prince Menschikoff,
upon his victory. To his intense surprise he was made
prisoner.
_

Another general officer was captured in the redoubt.
He was stretched on the ground beside his fallen horse,
apparently dead. An artilleryman, who had taken a
violent fancy to his coat, was about to divest the sup-
posed corpse of it., when the body -began to move and
nearly frightened the man off. It was soon discovered
that no harm had come to the general, and, on his coat
being opened, two stars announced his rank. The gene-
ral's object was evidently to lie quietly until night, and
then make off.
Loss ox xHE ALMA. —The actual loss at the battle of
the Alma, on the side of the allies, was 606 killed, and
2699 wounded. There were engaged in the battle
not less than 100,000 French, English, Turkish, and
Russian troops. One regiment, the 23d, had 200 put
hors de combat. How many the Russians lost it is im-
possible to say. No doubt it is a heavy list of killed and
wounded, but the public will be greatly misled if it
believes that such a loss equals the average of great
battles. When the English met the French on the
plains and mountains of the Peninsula we lost a much
greater proportion by their impetuous bravery. The
Russians prove less destructive to us than the French
did in the great war ; and considering the position of the
enemy, it must be allowed that the loss on the side of the
allies was proportionately small. Take a few facts :
At the combat on the Co de Maya, in July, 1813;- when
the total number engaged did not exceed 45,000 men, the
grand total of killed and wounded was 2900 men - while
of the 92d Regiment two-tbirds went to the ground. In
the first battle of Sauroren, where the whole force en--
gaged did not equal the number engaged on the Alma,
the total of killed and wounded on the side of the English
alone was 2600. In the five days, fighting on the Nive
the loss in killed and wounded on both sides was upwards
of 10,000.

The following is an interesting letter from an officer in
the• Crimea, to his wife who is residing in Exeter :
" Kalamita Bay, C I rimea 20th Sept.

"Oh the 17th we were to land, and I had prepared
everythinc, to go on shore, when I was" suddenly ordered
to proceed to the town of Eupatoria by' ir man-of-war (the
Retribution.) Thereason of my being'rent was to make
a report upon the resources of the town and district, and
to form a depot, as the place was to be occupied by Eng-
lish and French. I felt at first rather sorry at being
ordered: away from head quarters, fearing: I might be
absent from the taking of Sebastopol, which I should not
like to miss, having gone through so much' already, but
my fears- were premature;. as you will hereafter perceive.
After a very pleasant voyage of only two hours we arrived,
and remained on shore all day inspecting the town, &c.,
and in the'evening I made' a report to the Commissary-
General. We found Eupatoria the most civilised place we
have visitenn these parts: All the Russians- had de-
camped, but some respeetablelleles and Germans retained.
These, with the Tartars, received us very kindly, andto go
there you could hardly believe yourself in an enemy's
country. A governor is
appointed, who rules andaraws
up laws. There are several very nice houses there; more
in the English style than those hitherto seen in the East.
One house that belonged to a Russian family was beauti-
fully furnished. The family had fled with the valuables,
leaving most of the furniture behhtd. We found glasses,
pictures, grand piano, beautiful velvet-covered chairs, beds,
sofas, tables, books, china, &c., &c: They must have left
great haste, as hr a lady's oudoir, I found gold fish.still
swimming in the vase; they had even. left cold meat inthe
larder, a cow in the yard, and carriage in coach-house, &e.
It was quite melancholy to see such astate of things, albeit
in the case of an enemy. In Eupatorla you can get a fine
sheep for 65., bread 41- the 51b. loaf, eggs 4d. per dozen,
fruit and vegetables without limit and cheap. It is the
great place from which, the people at Sebastopol receive
their flew. We captured 70 waggons laden with flour on
their, way to Sebastopol ;- this morning we had bread made
of it anti it was very goat
" 21st, off Alma River:A—About half are hour after writ-
ing the'above we came in sight of the army and fleet, and:
just in time to witness a battle fought by the English and.
French against the Russians. The latt3r, about 40,000'
with 1007 cannon, posted themselves on the heights on the'
banks of the Alma River, and we had to force the passage.
Our troops had to get the brunt of it and did their work.
nobly, and after four hours, hard fighting the Russians-.
were defeated and driven back. The loss on our side was
96 officers-,-25. of them killed, the rest wounded ; 116 non-
commissioned officers, 26 drummers, and 1820 soldiers ;
36 horses, The loss of the French was 600 killed and
wounded.

"Alma Rker, 22nd.—Having a few minutes to spare;
I will give you a more minute aeeount of the battle of the
20th. On the' 18th the troop; encamped about three
miles from the' Alma River, and the next morning when
they advanced found the Russians on the opresite side of
the river on. the heights, a position naturally stronger than
many a fortress.. I enclose a little sketch ;. the hills are
as steep as walls, in many places about 500-'or 600 feet
high, and in.front, a river very deep in some places. On
the hills the-Russians were posted', about 30,000 with 100
guns, some- of them 34-pounders; our largest were
9-pounders. The place was taken,. and all our troops -on
the heights ih lour hours ; the French on the right, ours
on the left. The battery marked N. 1, was a very strong
fortress position, and taken by the Guards, -the 95th,
23rd, and 7th.. The hard fighting was all on our own side,
and awful at this spot. The Russians expected to detain us
three weeks; they stopped us only two days, as we move
on to-morrow.. Done but English troops could have stood
the fire which; :ours, did, and the loss is not great, consi-
dering the position. This has been one of the most bril-
liant things ever done by our troops,

Amongst the many exploits of the British troops-few sur-
pass in cool daring the conduct Lieuts. Lindsey and
Thistlethwaite, of the Scots Fusilier Guards; the Queen's
colour being carried by the former and the regimental
colour by the-latter gentleman. At the moment before the
heights were- gained, and when the deadly struggleraged
so fiercely as•to make it almost impossible to tell.friend
from foe, the two lieutenants became separated from. their
battalion, and:fotmd themselves, with the four sergeants
whose duty it was to support them, attacked by- a bedy of
Russians, whose-commanding officer-had led them- against
the colours. A desperate conflict ensued ; the • four ser-
geants quickly fell under a shower of balls.-• The Queen's
colour, carried by Mr. Lindsey, western into stripes, being
pierced by a cloud of bullets. The shaft was shot in twos.
still the gallant officers persevered, and succeeded in cutting
their way through the enemy which t surrounded them.
They were ably assisted, and at the right moment, by
Captain Drummond, the adjutant of the regiment„whese
horse was- shot under him. Captain Lindsey, seeing the
danger to-which the colours were- exposed, rushed to the
relief, and -with a revolver pistol shot three of the assail-
ants. The • successful bearers of • the standard escaped
almost miraculously, and succeeded .in planting their
colours or„the heights, which had been then justwon from
the Russians, Mr. Lindsey having climbed the steep face
of the-hill with the aid of the broken staff, while he exult-
ingly waved what remained ef. it with Her Majesty's
colours over his head ; neither this.gallant gentleman nor
his companion, Mr. Thistlethwaite, received any hurt.
Colonel Haygarth's escape was also a singular instance
of the . chances of the battle-field. He received his first
wound almost at the same moment when the incident we
here just stated occurred, and;he was in such close quar-
ters-with the enemy that his shoulderi,which was shot
through, was burned by the discharge of the Russian mus-
ket. While lying on the field, close to the river's bank,
which he had but just ascended, and in an unconscious
state,. another shot fractured his:leg, and, in the struggle
produced by this concussion, he rolled ever and down the
bank into the stream of the. Alma.. The sudden shock.
and the coldness of the, water staunched the blood, which,
was flowing from the arteries of the shoulder, and so saved
his life, although, in, scrambling- out of the water, its
received another woundlrom a ball,which grazed his liesid.
The following officers are under orders to proceed forth-
with to the Crimea :7—The Hon. Ashley Ponsonby,
Grenadier Guards;; Lieut.-Colonel De Bathe, Lieut.-Colo-
nel Fordyce, Capt.. 111.• Paget, Capt. Lord Adolphus. V.ane
Tempest, Lieut. Gregory, and Lieut. Farquharson. Scots
Fusilier Guards, with• drafts of those regiments. In addi-
tion to the drafts of the Guards, the following detachments
will embark next week in. the Robert Lowe, for the Crimea.:
—7th Fusiliers, 2sergeants and 80 men ; 19th Regiment,
2 sergeants and 80men ; 23d Fusiliers, 2 sergeemts and 100
men; 33d Regiment, 2 sergeants and 100 men; 88th,
Ensigns Kenny and Preston, and about 80 men ; 95th,
Lieut. Probart, 2 sergeants, and 80 men. Maior-General
Hay, who succeeds Lieut.-General S,utherland at the ,
Mauritius, is to sail on the 22d inst. Viscount Melville
having accepted tho command of the forees in North Bri-
tain, Major-General Allen Maclean, an old Waterloo officer,
succeeds to his lordship's command in India. A circular
has just been issued to commanding officers from the
Horse-guards, to the effect that the General Commanding-
in-Chief has decided that the distribution into service and
depot troops, when employed in the field abroad, shall be
as follows : namely, 4 Service Troops, 26 sergeants, 4 tram-
peters,4 farriers, 16 corporals, 290 privates, and 300 horses ;
2 Depot Troops, 8 sergeants, 3 trumpeters, 2 farriers, 7
corporals, 128 privates, and 72 horses ; total, 34 sergeants,
7 trumpeters, 6 farriers, 2a corporals, 427 privates, and
372 horses. In the list of deaths from cholera in the
army in the Crimea, is the name of Lieut.-Colonel Beck.
with, of the Ist battalion Rifle Brigade.
PRINCE MENSCIIII;OPP'S CAERIACE.—A letter from an
officer serving in the Crimea, dated Camp, Balaklava,
Sep. 28, 1854, states :—" Poor Menschikoff, who com-
manded, left behind him his carriage and horses, the
former being full of boxes, containing most magnificent
Hussar uniforms, and also portmanteaus of valuable
articles. These were quickly ransacked. Watches and
jewellery,arms,and fine clothing of every kind were found,
which soon exchanged possessors in the persons of our
men. The officers came in but for a small portion, though
I deemed myself lucky in appropriating to my special

keeping a very compact and -isefUl. portmanteau, manu-
factured from the most esteemed Russia leather. Among
the various articles found was a pair of white satin slip-
pers, which made us suspect that the gallant chief was
most agreeably attended in his campaign sojourning."
FIRST NIGHT IN THE CRIMEA.—The following (says
the Devizes Gazette) is an extract from a letter from a
brave noble youth (son of an ancient Wiltshire family), to
his parents :—" As soon as our division (the Ist) was
formed on landing, and the light division had marched off,
we started, and marched five miles over a large flat plain,
with a ridge of high rugged-looking hills facing us, and
encamped at half-past four, p.m., in a large ploughed field,
with a quantity of bushy weeds on it, which luckily made
very good bedding when pulled up and heaped together, so
a general rush took place as soon as we had piled arms,
and not a weed was left in half an hour ! So we had our
chip of cold pork and biscuit and go-down of whiskey, put
our cloaks over us, and, with our bear-skin caps for a
pillow, laid down on our ' bed of rushes; and slept like a top,
though it rained a good part of the night pretty sharpish.
Now I will tell you 4 ;cccipt for talc ping under airy cir