The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-26

st. ADge, descriptive OF the battle OF mkefmsnn.
The Ds6ats states (and this is nsw) that the plan
the Emperor Nicholas himself, was to take the
height to the right OF the English, then 70 descend
like torrent on the siege works, TO cut OF the com.
munications Of the bssiegsrs with Bal.klava, and
to take in reverse the line Of decentralization, whilst
General Liprandi, advancing by the road Of BAla-
klsya, should make junction with the assailants.
II, 1t says, this great and able manGuvre had sue
ceeded, the combined army, attacked in the rear,
ks, and to fight Its way through the enemy's
army to reach Balaklava and the Bay Of Kam'sh.
Tha Debats then says that In execution Of this
plan, the height to the right of the English became
the terrible combats which were sustained for the
possession of 1t, 1t shows that . great fault was
committed in not having that height properly for.
tilted.
SCENES PRESENTED BY THE BATTLE FIELD.
Our men have acquired shocking facility in their
is shout, "Come here, boys; see Russian !" Cor
~ Frenchman;" or zone Of our fellows."l One Of
the party comes forward, raises the eyed, If It be
ssys S S1s fiS hs Ws. and
back to the litter; others pull the feet and arrive
at equally correct conclusions by that process. The
dead are generally stripped Of all but their coAts
The camp followers and backguards fromB alskiava,
and sesmen from the ships anxious for trophies,
carry off all they can take from the field At par
toular spots you see 4 party of men busy at work.
Groups Of them are digging away 81! along the hill
side, at the distance Of forty or fifty yards apart
trench, thirty feet in length by twenty feet in
breadth, and six feet in depth at the bottom of
which, In every conceivable attitude, lie packed
together with exceeding art, some thirty or forty
tho mounds by the sides, waiting for the arrival Of
some bearers to complete the number Of the dead.
They speculate on the appearance OF the body
which is being borne towards them. "Its Corporal
- r Il ~ MAJ ~
nv rear rank ssn Sc XXI Is 0n rsd hair pss
enough" and 80 on. They discuss the merits Or
dement's Of dead sergeants or comrades. well,
he was hard man many's the time was drilled
shISug him sTt it's al over
never stepped.n This scene Is going on all about
the hillside. Frenchmen with litters are also busy
looking out for their dead and wounded, and In
sharing the sad labors Of the day. AT last the
number in the trench is completed. The bodies lie
% closely az they can be packed Some Of them
have appraised arms, in the attitude Of taking aim
their legs stick up through the mould as it is thrown
upon them; others are bent and twisted into shapes
like fsntoccn Inch after inch the earth rises upon
them, and they are left "alone in their glory" No.
not clone, for the hopes, and fears, and affections Of
hundreds Of human hearts lie buried with them.
For about one mile and half in length, by half q
mile in depth, the hill side offers such nights as
by these men; few remain above ground now.
AN ARTsToCRAT IN QUEST OF A FEW POTATOES.
Since have been here think have been pa
tronized by all the British aistocracy in the Crmsa,
and some Of the French. Colonel the Hon. -
beg some few things fer himself and Lord Raglan
he loaded himself with "a much az he could carry
In bis havereack, and ham over his shoulder. A
he was leaving be asked II could spare him few
potatoes. All had was dozen cold cooked ones,
which showed him, and he accepted most thank
fully, and begged me 70 put inem IN his beautifu
dress coat which ne bad on; and away he went with
greasy ham over bis shoulder and his cold p0tl
toes in bis pocket. Every one is obliged to be hi
on shore with Lord Raglan and the Duke Of Cam
bridge and all Of them thanked me for the potatoes
they said they had them fried, which were theft
they bad tasted for three weeks.
RUSSIAN NOTIONS OF THE CouRTEsIEs OF WAR.
After the battle Of the InkermAnn General Can.
robert wrote to Prince Menschikoff to apprise him
that if he wished to bury his dead he might send
unarmed soldiers to do 80. The General likewise
complained Of the savage cruelty of the Russian
officers and soldiers in killing the wounded French,
contrasting such barbarity With the great care be.
slowed by the French on the Russian wounded. The
Prince 10 said to have returned very short answer
TO the effect, that the care Of burying the dead re-
manned with those IN possession Of the field Of bat.
te and that IS to any cruees practised BY his SOL
diers he the Prince) was not responsible for them
ARMS OF THE RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.
considerable number Of the Liege double
gfooved rifles we're found on the field Many Of the
muskets bore the date Of lS4l and had evidently
been flint guns originally, but had been altered into
detonators. l remember juvenile superstition, IN
my sparrow. killing days, that such guns "shot
stlonger than either flint or detonator pur sang.
Every part of the arm is branded most carefully.
The word "bsk' occurs on each separate piece Of
it. The imperial eagle is on the brass heelplate,
ard on the lock is ''TYAA, 184l." | am now speak.
ing OF fire lock with which most Of two divisions
at least were armed. The bsyoncts are long,
but are not well stseled. They bend Il ndely
I'd ctvuo Vutfh fors
ground. The long and polished gun barrels are
made of soft, but tough iron. They can be bent to
an acute angle without splitting From the trigger
guard Of each musket there Is q thong depending
fastened to cap Of stout leather, which Is put over
the nipple in wet weather. This seems simple
and useful expedient. Beyond all understanding
however, are the of piece of stick shaped like
bsyonet, without handle, which we found in she
coilapsiDg; but when the bayonet is in the sheath
where is The long wooden skever putt As write
Thought occurs to me. 1t is placed In the gun o.
Plug for IL is round for an inch a. the end, and Il
ornan,ented therest by brass button. Wei, If thai
be the solution, am glad Of it, for soldiers lose
great deal OF time in hot arguments over this mat
ter, and most OF my friends must plead guilty to lu
cubratiDg In vain upon 1t.
PECULIAR ORGANIZATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY.
From Q prisoner whom we examined to-day
cleaned some interesting particulars respecting the
formation Of the Russian army. The man was mol
very "bright," but he told the truth according Ia
the light that vas in him, and believe the state
ments he made were tolerably correct. IL has long
been puzzle 70 ignorant people like ourselves Why
the Russian soldiers had numbers on their shoulder
straps different from those on their buttons or on
their caps. In recording my observations on the
appointments Of the men killed at the Alma re
msrked, 1t may be remembered, that certain regi
ments were present judging by the shoulder straps
II will appear that these numbers referred not ia
regiments, but 70 divisions So let our Pole-he ia
a deserter--ons Of the few who came In lately
speak for himself through an interpreter :-"What
does the number on the strap on your shoulder in
dicater' at is No. 16. It shows that I be-
long to the 16sh Division of the army "Who
commands Il? al don't know general
dWhat does the number 81 on your buttons mean?''
at means that belong to polk 81 of the 10th Divi-
sion.r "What does the number on your cap,
with after it. nnsen?" at indicates that belong
to the 18th rota Of the polk "what does rota
mean?r at means company Of $50 men," "How
many rotas are In q polk?n "There are 16 rotas in
each POLK "And how many polks are in divi-
sion?" "There are four polks in DIVISION "If
thst is 80, why have .you 81 on your buttonss" "a