The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-11-10
The II ssian War-sehastopaI not yet I'asan--
Eonibnrdnent or pcfsonoicvyid.

By the smnltaDeon. arrival Of the Agierica !.
Al Halifax. and the North Star at this porx from
Asninwsn, we bave inie lig nee oil The progress
Of the war the Cri pea, and Of an .ttacl1 made
by The comhiDeu squad ons of the, allies q tie
Pacific on one of the 0sts on he coast cf
KamscLatka Sebssiopo has rot as yet fallen,
and to all appearance is no likely to surrender
until after pro rac.ed sAege, the batteries Of
the allies bav ng as yet made but it lie imores
sion upon the Notifications The garrison
makes frequent sCrties AM has succeeded on
several occasions in destroying The works of the
besiegers. Letters from Constantinop Q men,
ton that five steamers had arrived from Bala-
klava, containing troops wounded in repelling
one Of these sailies. The allied gener ,ls had
| formally summoned the place to surrender,
and demanded that the women, children
| and sick should be sent out OF the town.
The Russian army, under Mensch;koff, was
concen rating on the Belbeck, and was sup
posed to amount to $4,000 strong. The garri-
son of Sebas'opol is stated to be now 10000,
, and the forces CT the allies are estimated at
about 1000. 1t seems that the siege works
are attended with more difficulty than was at
first anticipated. The nature of the ground,
foot of earth on solid rock, renders scientific ap-
prosches impossible, and it was thought thatia
consequence of this an attempt would be made
to storm the Notifications. Should this idea be
carried out the carnage will be frightful.
Ofgeneral news in connection with the war,
the most important is the statement that there
! probability Of immediate hostilities break
| ing out between Russia and Austria. The
entry of the Russians into the Dobrudscha is
not confirmed. There is rumor of another
defeat of the latter near Gumri, in which they
are stated to have lost all their guns and bag
gage.
The San Francisco papers bring us the de-
tails Of the first naval operation OF the allies
| against the Russian possessions in the North
Pacific. Petropolovski, the point selected for
| the attack, Is post situated on the eastern
shore Of Kamschatka, and from the description
given Of it, appears to he place Of considera-
BILE Importance. A strong garrison has always
been kept up there, and in anticipation of
visit from the combined fleets, energetic efforts
had been made to strengthen its defencea On
the 25th of July the English and French fleets,
numbering in all six vessels Of war, with
an armament of one hundred and ninety-six
guns, left the Sandwich Islands for the Kams-
chatkan coast and arrived of Petropolovski on
the 10th Of August. They met with warmer
reception than they were prepared for, for no
sooner had they hove in eight than the guns of
the place were opened upon them. Before the
bombardment commenced, an incident occurred
yvhinh nf
crews of the English squadron. Whilst the Eng
lsh Admiral Price was loading his pistols, one
Of them accidentally went of, the ball passing
through his heart. Out of respect for his mem
DRY the attack was postponed until the fol-
lowing day.
On the 5lst Of August the ships OF the allies
opened fire. The town Is situated on q kind of
inner bay, and the Russian frigate Aurora, of
40 guns, and the Dwina, were sheltered behind
a sort Of sand key or bank in front of it. The
outward bay is protected by three forts, one of
which stands on the extremity OF the narrow
peninsula which contributes to form it, and the
other two on the main land opposite. The town
itself is built on rising ground, the top of
which wns covered with batteries. The affair
seems to have been desperate one, and it is
admitted on all hands that the Russians con-
Quoted themselves with great GOODNESS aud
bravery. During the four days that the bonn.
bardment lasted, the batteries from the heights,
as well as the guns from the Aurora and Dwina,
did great execution, and from the descripti N
given of the condition of the French vessels
which put into San Francisco to reit,
they must have suffered considerably. After
three Of the Russian batteries had been silenced,
o detachment Of six hundred marines were
landed for the purpose of spiking the guns and
completing the destruction of the abandoned
forts; but owing either to mistake or treach-
cry on he part Of their guide, they got en-
tangled amongst thick bushes, which emba'-
raised their movements and exposed them to q
raking fire from the Russian marksmen. After
a desperate conflict the allies succeeded in de-
stroying one Of the forts, and capturing forty
three of the Russians As it became evident,
however, that the town could not be taken
without fearful loss, the order TO re-embark
was given, and the fleets sailed southwark.
capturing the Sitka, vessel belonging to the
Russian American Company, on their way
From the nearly equal losses which TOOK
place on both Sides and the imperfect results
attained by the operations the Russians will
no doubt claim the credit Of victory in this
affair. Whatever exception may be taken to |
it's justice, 1t must be admitted that the defence
which they made was characterized by great
skill and bravery, and redeems in some degree,
the errors which their generals have committed
the south. If the garrisons of the ports in !
the Baltic and the Black Sea only exhibit the |
same obstinate yalor, the Russian war is likely |
to be Of indefinite duration.
New PARTY DENOMINATIONS The results Of |
the recent elections have knocked into squash |
all our old political classifcations The hard |