Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1855-08-01
t,oreiou Neus.
[ RON SEBAS T0P0L.

FuU particulars at The attack on tie Re /
dan and IM0lak0f I01cerS-Ite repatlse 7
Of tie BcsiegerS Thrilling Scenes aaad /
I5lciaentS-ItyribIe.S Slaughter
Correspondence of the London Newsl
HEIGHTS BEFORE SEBAsToPoL, }
June 81, 1855.
The original plan of attack contempla- |
ted a joint English and French assault of
the Malakoff, which, as commanding the
Redau, and forming the grand key to the |
whole net work of redoubts and batteries !
in front of the place, would if taken, have
at once rendered the former urtenable, and
placed the town and harbors at the mercy
Of the captors. For reasons, however,
which nobody can understand, this very
sensible, and apparently most practicable
design was abandoned. and the plan was
changed into one of a simultaneous attack
upon the two great works, the Malakoff
being undertaken By the French and the
Re3an by ourselves. The frst manifest
disadvantage of this arrangement was the
spreading of our forces over a field of
difficulties of nearly double in extent, and
enabling the enemy to bring a vast num-
Der of their big guns into play against
&
have injured a man To vastly enhance
! the chances Of failure involved in this plan
10 ourselves. our whole attacking force, in
cluding supports and every body else, was
. limited to some four thousand men, whilst
/ the French with a much iuster apprecia-
ton Of the difficulty that fell to their
share, told off twenty-five thousand.
! OF our handful, again large proper
! ton consisted of raw recruits, recently
arrived to fill up the gaps III the regiments
selected for the service-Tegiments which,
with one or two exceptions, have borne The
whole brunt of our trench fighting, and
suffered accordingly. This was done
through no want Of old soldiers, of whom
the third and fourth divisions could have
/ furnished abundance-men who have been
/ kept constantly idle while their compan-
ions Of the Light and Second Divisions
have worked like galley-slaves. Sir Geo
Brown, [ believe, is to be thanked for this
selection; anxious as he was to gain fresh
laurels for his own command, though be
well knew the material of which so large
a proportion of its strength is composed.
have already mentioned that the 23rd
/ Regiment had been chosen to lead the at
tack, and that, through a similar motive
of mistaken desire to bring glory to his
own favorite corps Gen. Airey was, at the
eleventh hour, permitted to assign this
place of honor to the 34th-a regiment
which, whether justly or not, enjoys only
a moderate reputation amongst the others
now III camp.
Later still in the evening preceding the
assault, Sir George discovered that the
Major commanding the 23rd was still laid
UP with a wound received in the attack OIL
the Quarries, and that the senior captain
an officer, by the way, of some Is year
. service-would have charge of the corps
!. during the storming :" Impossible; thi
e will never do," said the FREUD of apoplec
: tic neck furniture, "'another regiment
with field officer in command, must b.
: substituted
4 Amessage to this effect was telegraplgI
!; J; to head quarters, Lord Raglan, with a.
i. gree of common sense which was quit
: military, overruled his seconds obi 49,
and replied that an officer of Capt :.
y length of service, be his rank :.
might, should be quite as fit Is eau nis
regiment into action. as any <o oincer
in the service, and, accordifg, .na' no
substitution should be mac, l mereiy
mention these trifes to sb/ the state OF
=. uncertainty and coufusio,in "nicn our