The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-12-21

Admiral Dundas (Oct. 49, says, "the feet
made the attack in consequence of the most
urgent request of Lord Raglan and General
Canrobert; such an action could not be main
tanned against such formidable and well armed
works without serious injury; we lost GO killed
and 266 wounded; the ships, masts, yards and
and rigging, suffered more or less; two ships
were sent to Constantinople to be repaired,
and others suffered much in hull and masts !;
and the French also suffered considerable
loss.'
The Russian accounts agree with the above
in the main. During the night of the 18th the
Russians repaired all damages, and all the dis
mantled pieces were replaced.
On the 18th the canOnade was resumed
Menchikoff says, "the French batteries scarce
ly firing at all, the English firing less lively
than yesterday.
The town remained without serious damage
and the batteries answered the enemyis fire
with success"
The result of these two days and of the
succeeding six days has opened the eyes of the
allies, to the magnitude of the works before
them. About this time (Oct. 25,) the Russians
appeared in heavy masses on the hills in the
rear of the allies.
Down to Oct. Is, Menschikoff states that he
has acted mainly on the defensive, but in a let
ter of that date to the Emperor Nicholas he
says, "Our offensive operations against the be-
siegers commenced to-day. Up to this time,
the artillery of the ramparts of SevastOpOl
has not at all yielded to the batteries of the
besiegers, but the shells and the incendiary
projectiles of the latter have burnt forty small
houses in the locality of the artillery"
On the morning of the 25th, about twenty
Russian batalions with artillery and cavalry,
went from the mountain gorges, overran the
four redoubts defended by the Turks, dashed
down into the plain, and were met by the
British cavalry and Scots Greys, in splendid
manner, and driven back. Menschikoff in his
official dispatch says, "Four redoubts, and
eleven pieces of artillery are now in our hands.
Of the four redoubt captured from the enemy
two will be demolished and tie other two will
be more strongly fortified, in order to maintain
that position, from which an attack may be
made upon the village of Kadekoi, where the
route passes which leads from the enemys camp
to Balaklava."
So serious was this moment Of the Russians
that Lord Raglan was obliged to withdraw
from before Sebastopol two divisions under the
bake of Cambridge and Sir George Cathecart
If the Russians had succeeded the allies would
no longer have had an open road to the sea;
have become deprived OF their magazines and
at once been the besieged Nothing but the
indomitable courage and discipline of the allies
checked their assailants. The Russians still
retained possession of the two redoubts and
the heights, overlooking Balaklava and COM
handing that portion of the fleet that lay
there.
Letters from the feet, of the date of Oct
%, give accounts ofthe Russians planting gun
after gun on the heights of which they remain
ed in possession.
:. Oct. &c, the right of the army before Sevas-
topol was attacked by a body consisting of
several columns of infantry, supported by ar
tillery, and covered by large number of Skin
mishers- &c or 1000 in number. The allies
forced them to retire with great loss and threw
the infantry into complete disorder.
Eighty prisoners were taken, and 100 Rus
slams left dead.
The dispatches relative to those two actions
are the latest we have of an official nature
we however have accounts of two terrible
struggles, of Nov. 5, aud the allied despatch
says that the Russians attacked the right of
the English position, (thc same that was at
tackled on the 26th.) The allied forces again
fought bravely, and beat the Russians back,
but with heavy loss. Taking into account all
the dispatches received from the theatre of &C
ton up to the present date, and nothing is
more tallacious than the idea that the allies
have made any serious impressions of the
RUSSIAN STRONG HOLD OF SEVAS-
TOPOL!
n