Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1854-11-04
for tho Baltimore American,
THE GREAT BATTLE OF ALMA,
Interesting Incidents CONNECTED
With the Ejght.

Interesting incidents Connected
with the Ejght.
We occupied yesterday considerable
space with tho narrative furnished by
witnesses Of the battle Of Alma
We coudense to-day. from various sour
ces, further interesting details.
Scenes after the Battle.
Our opa CorrespOadeat' on The field.
had remained in the rear of the
Guards and Highlanders until they COM
menced crossing the vineyard, when the
Russian shot which began ploughing
through the ranks, told me, in language
not to be mistaken, that, us non.com-
blatant, it was madness my going any
further. ! accordingly returned to q
conspicuous eminence on one side Of
the valley, from which ! could survey
the whole scene of carnage aud destruc.
ton. Directly the heights were gain.
ed gallopcd across, and was shocked
and sickencd at the sight Of the battle.
field. In the commencement of the &c.
ton one feels nothing but fierce excite
ment, which increases as the battle
grows hotter. Fear Of wounds, even
pi.y for the wounded, is seldom felt, SO
intense, so brcathless, is tho eagerness
with which every feature of tho great
game is watched. But crossing the field
afterwards is quite different atair-
The anxiety is over, the battle is won,
and the reaction Of the spirit has Sc, in.
In such mood | found myself. as |
moved on, parched with thirst. ready
to sink from fatigue, aud my head lhrob-
bed as If it would burst.
A Dreadful Sight...Nearly ten Thousand Dead
Bodies.
It was terrible aud sickening sight
to 90 over tho battle field. Till depri.
we'd Of my horse by a chance shotl rode
about to ascertain, as far as possible,
tho loss of our friends, and in dung so
| was often brought to stands,ill by
the difficulty Of getting through tho
niles of wounded Russians, mingled too
often with our own poor soldiers. The
hills of Greenwich Parkin fair time are
not more denseIy covered with human
beings than were the heights Of the
Alma with dead and dying. On these
bloody mounds fell 2,l96 English off.
GERS and men, and upwards of 5000
Russians, while their western exlrcmi.
ty was covered with the bodies Of l,400
gallant Frenchmen, and of more than
5000 of their foes.
How Long the Fight Lasted.
When Lord Raglan and his staff and
the Duke of Cambridge rode round to
the top of the bill, the troops cheercd
them with thrilling eiTect-a shout of
victory-which never can be forgotten.
The enemy, who were flying in the dis
lance, might almost have heard its
echoes as it rolled among the hills
Our men had indeed done their work
we'll, for the action, which commenced
at twenty-five minutes past one o'clock
on our part, was over about 4 P. NJ, in
fact, the actual close continuous tight
ing did not last two hours.
The Russians.
Tho Russian regiments engaged Il.
gainst us, judging from the numbers on
the caps and buttons Of the dead and
wounded, were some Of the Imperial
Guard. The Russian regiment consists
of four bat,alions, and each bptulion
may be said to be ESQ strong. The SOL
diers were mostly stout strong men.'-
Several of the regiments, SGD aud l6.
for example, wore a black leather he'll
met, handsomely mounted with brass,
and having brass cone on the top, with
a hole for the reception of tuft, feath-
err or plume; others wore simply a
white linen foraging cap. They were
all dressed in long drab coats with brass
buttons. hearing the number of tho re-
gimen,. These coats fitted loosely, were
gathered in ut the back by small strap
and button, descend to the ankles, aud
seemed stout comfortable garments,
though the cloth was coarse in texture /;
the trousers, of coarse blue stuff, were
,hrus, inside pair of Wellington boots,
open ut the top, to admit of their being
comfortably tucked down; the boots
were stout. well.made, and serviceable.
Their Enapsaeks and Rations.
Their knapsacks astonished our SOL
diers On opening them, each was
iound,oconrain the dress uniform coa,ee
Of tho man, blue or green, with white
facings. aud slashcs like our own, pair
Of clean drawers, a clean shirt, a pair
of clean socks, pair of stout mits, a
case containing good pair Of scissors
marked Sapin," an excellent penknite,
with one large blade, Of Russian manu-,
facture, ball Of Irvine, roll of leath-
er, wax, thread, needles aud Plus, u
hair-brush and comb, a small looking.
glass, ruzor, strop, aud soap, shoe.brosl,,
es aud blacking. The general remark
Of our men was that the Russians were
very "cIean soldiers;" and certainly
the men on the field had white fair skins,
TO justify the expression. Each man