Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-10-28
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
THE WAR In THE cRIMEA.


reach us, we substitute the following from the New
York Commercial Advertiser:
Lospox OoroBEH 6, 1854.
It is almost hopeless attsmpt g soma oy
this mail since Europe i In state q unparalleled per-
plexity The last steamer snnouhceu inc oaue 9, lne
ama The defeat and retreat OF the Russians, and the
nbaeonen fall Of Sebasfopo The of the victory
al Alma was Official and authentc but that of the fall Of
raouired confirmation. No doubt of it, howev
er was entertained either in France England, Austria
and durng the three succeeding dayshat is to say, up
70 Yesterday morningit continued to be supported not
only by Indirect evidence but by announcements from
Vienna 70 positive leave nothing to be added ex
cont tho formal ratification of the Allied commanders
This ratification however, looked for from hour to hour
botat Paris and London failed to arrive and the Greeks
and others in both capitals began to assert boldly that
thereported taking Of Sebastopol was pure fiction
At length rumor commenced yesterday afternoon
Vat the Government had received despatch from the
Allied armies which, while it left every thing else in
Estate Of ambiguity with regard to their operations after
the battle of the Alma considered plainly to demon
srate that sebastopol had fallen. This despatch
purports to have been by Lord STRATFoRD the Bril-
tsh Ambassador at Constantnople and to contain
nouncement from the Crmea late the 28th Of Sep
TENDER or days subsequent to that which the final
struggle al Sebastopol alleged to have taken place
1t not only makes mention Of that event, but speaks
of the armies being forthwith about to march upon the
tress from distance Of some miles.
To understand the utter perplexty created by this
message partial glance at the map Of the Crimea will
be necessary 1t win be remembered that the Allied
mics landed at place called Old Fort about twentysx
miles north Of Sebastopol that they advanced about ten
miles to the Alma where the defeat Of the Russians took
place the Goth Of September and that the report
that they had aerward advanced nearly ten miles fur
ther, namely to the Belbek, where struggle
begun and carried on until the Russians driven to
their entrenchments around Sebastopo The whole Of
this statement involved, at oil events natural order Of
progression But every idea which would be gathered
estimating their most possible and likely route has
been overturned South OF Sebastopol and about eight
or ten miles distant from it, lies the port of Balak-
lava From the spot at which the previous accounts left
the Allies this place could only be reached by coastng
voyage round Sebastopol, or by marching distance
of thirteen miles road in which Sebastopo stands
almost halfway The establishment, therefore, may be
conceived with which an announcement that the Allied
armies were at Balakava on the 2sh Of September and
were preparing to march without delay upon Sebas'
topo was received Yet this is the precise nature Of
Lord Stratford's despatch!
Its additional points are, that Prince Menschko
stated to be in the field with 10000 men, expecting rein
foreements that Anapa, the last Russian stronghold
the coast Of Circassa has been burnt by the Russians
themselves that its garrison marching to the
of actions and that convoy Of ammunition escorted by
Cossacks had been taken and destroyed by an English
detachment.
Every word Of this (although the intelligence convey
ed, except from the disappointment OF its being appa
rently ireconceable with the former accounts is highly
favorable adds only to the existing confusion If Prince
Menschiko is in the field with but twenty thousand men,
he have lost more than half his force Anapa
has been the Russians that event is the most
important that would have remained for the Allies to
achieve perhaps with loss of fe after the fall of
Sebastopol and if convoy of ammunition has been de-
stroyed by the English the Allies must be possession of
the road by which Prince Menschkof could alone hope
for reinforcements.
The port Of Baakava, moreover, is believed to be
of the finest in the Crimea, and the that the Allies
would have chosen Of all others for their landing it had
been originally deemed practicable especially as it
opens the road for attack Sebastopol from the SOUTH
where Its means of defence have been regarded ex
tremely weak
But how is the statement to be accounted for that
Prince Menschikof was understood to be in the field
with twenty thousand Surely after the battle of the
Alma the Allies must have known whether he was in the
field Again. why should the army after having
ed by Sebasopo from the north have gone eight
miles the south Of that place merely for the purpose
Of "marching upon it without delay 2? IT. after arriv-
ing Sebasopo they had been driven south by any
reverse, the thing might be applicable; but after re-
verse; they would not be in position to capture ammu
milton trains, and much less to take possession of inn
poran port which they had previously deemed unsafe to
venture upon. Moreover English Generals in reports
their Government in the habit Of concealing
reverses; and at the time the possibility of any
thing of that sort is placed Of the question: since
already beaten army reduced to twenty thousand men
and waiting for renorcemens cannot have inflicted any
damage upon victorious forces Of than double their
number .sf
Under these circumstances driven to every
ceivable theory mpar consistency to any of the
contradictory statements before The only tan
gbe supposition to be that instead Of oil being
false the whole will be found in degree capable Of
being put together
1t is known that after the landing Of the Allies part Of
the feet returned to Varna for the Of $4,000
The possibility is that these ordered to dis
embark at Balakava, which would then be rendered
safe place, by the Russian troops being engaged else
where The enemy would likewise be threatened in their
rear and their communication also would be cut off from
their expected reinforcemens This portion Of the army
landing early in the morning of the 2Sh might BIO wholly
ignorant Of the events which had taken place the other
side Of Sebastopol between the Goth and the GOTH
Whatever may prove be the real facts Of the case,
the uncertainty astonshmen that have been created
at all the courts of Europe will rank among the st