The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-11-08

prived of my horse by chance SHOT 1
rode about to ascertain as far as possible,
the loss Of our friends, ard in doing so
was often brought to stand still by the
difficulty of getting through the piles of
wounded Russians, mingled too often
with our own poor soldiers. The hills
of Greenwich Park in fair time are not
more densely covered with human be-
ings thaniwere the heights of the Alma
with dead ard dying. +. On these bloody
mounds fell 2l96 English officers ard
men, gand upwards of 5000 Russians
while theE western extremity was cover
ed with the bodies ofs-14o0 gallant
FreRchmeh, and of more than 5000 of
their foes. When Lord Raglan and his
staff, aud the Duke of Cambridge rode
round to'the top Of the hill, the troops
cheered them with thrilling effect-a
shout of Yictory-which can never be
forgotten. The enemy, who were flying
in the distance, might almost have heard
its echoes as it rolled among the hills
Our men had indeed done their work
well, for the action, which commenced at
| ,25. son our part, was over at about 4
p. M. In fact, the actual, close con-
tinuous fighting did not last two hours.
Many of the Russians were shot in
three or four places; few of them had
only one wound. They seemed to have
general idea that they would be MUIR
dered-possibly they had been told that
no quarter would be given, and several
deplorable events took place in conse-
quence, As our men were passing by,
two or three of them were shot or stab
bed by men lying on the ground, and the
cry was raised that wounded Rus
sians'' were firing on our men, There
is story, indeed, that one officer was
severely injured by man to whom he
was in the very act of administering
succor, as he lay in agony on the field.
Be this as it may, there was at one time
near chance of massacre taking place;
but the men were soon controlled, and
confined themselves to the pillage which
always takes place on battle field
| One villain with red coat on his back,
regret to say, saw go up to wound
ed Russian who was rolling on the earth
in the rear of the 7th regiment, and be-
fore he could say word he discharged
his rifle right through the wretched crea-
ture's brains. Col. Yea rode at him to
cut him down; but the fellow excused
himself by declaring the Russian was
going to shoot him. This was the single
act Of inhumanity 1 saw perpetrated by
this army flushed with victory and ami
mated with angry passions, although the
wounded enemy ha unquestionably en-
dangered their lives by acts of ferocious
folly. Many of the Russians had small
crosses md chains fastened around their
/ necks. Several were found with KoraHs
in their knapsacks-most probably re-
cruits from the Kasan Tartars. Many
of the officers had portraits of. wives or
mistresses, of mothers or sisters, inside
their coats The privates wore the little
money they possessed in purses, fastened
below their left knees, and the men, in
their eager search after the money, often
caused the wounded painful apprehen-
sions that they were about to destroy
them Last night all these poor wretch
es were in their agony; nothing could be
done to help them. The groans, the
yells, the cries of despair and suffering,
were a mournful commentary on the eX-
ultation of the yictors and on the joy
which reigncd along the bivouac fires OF
our men. .-- s..,,
The attitudes of some of the dead
were awful. One man might be seen
resting on one knee, with the arms ex-
tended in the form of taking aim, the
brow compressed, the lips clenched-
the very expression of firing at an enemy
stamped on the face and fixed there by
death a ball had struck this man in
the neck, Psychologists or anatomists
must settle the rests& Another was lying
on his back with the same expression
and his arms raised'in a similar attitude,
the Minnie musket still grasped in his
hands undischarged Another lay in a
perfect arch, his head resting on one
part of the ground and his feet on anothI
er, but the back raised high above it.
| Many men without legs or arms were
trying to crawl down to the water side
Some of the dead lay with calm, placid
smile on the face, as though they wer(
in some delicious dream.
| EQUIPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN SOLDIER e
The Russian soldiers were mostly
stout, strong men. Several of the regt
ments, 32d and 10th for example, wore
black leather helmet, handsomely
mounted with brass, and having a bras:
cone on the top, with a hole for the re
ception of the tuft, feather or plume,
others wore simply white linen foragins
cap. They were all dressed in long dral
coats. with brass buttons, bearing thu
number of the regiment. These coat
fitted loosely, were gathered in at tn,
back by small strap and button, de
scend to the ankles, and seemed stout
comfortable garments, though the clotl
was coarse in texture the trousers o
coarse blue stuff. were thrust inside
pair of Wellington boots, open at tn
top, TO admit of their being comfortabl..
tucked down; the boots were stout, wei
made, and servicable. Their knapsack
astonished our. soldiers. On opening
i, them, each was found to contain tn
! dress uniform coatee of the man, blu
, or green, with white facings, aud slashe
like our own, a pair of clean drawers,
J clean shirt, a pair of clean socks, pal
} of stout mits, case containing goo
pair of scissors, marked "Sarun," a
excellent penknife with one large blade
' of Russian manufacture, ball of twin
| roll of leather, wax, thread, needle
!, and pins, a hairbrush and comb, small
: looking-glass, razor, strop and soap, sho
5 brushes and blacking. The general re
. 1'mark of our men was that the Russian
e were very clean soldiers - and cer
e tainly the men on the field had whit
0 fair skins to justify the expression
5 Each man had7a loaf of dark brow
e bread, of a sour taste and disagreeabl
odor, in his kuapsack, and linen rol