Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1855-09-11
Bombardmeut of sweaborg.
ENGLISH ACCOUNT.
Extract rom a private letter:

Extract from private letter:
At3.S0a. m. on the 9th, the first shell was fred
and before IL O'clock three OF the enemy's maya
zines were blown up, the last one was tremen.
douS explosion, or rather succession of exp!o-
SONS, of powder aud she'll magazines, and forth
fcation apparently destroyed within it. 1t was a
grand sight, and for the time everything was hid
from view. When the smoke and dust cleared
away, it was seen that the place was on FIRE in
three places, burning furiouSly, and at O'Clock
the whole place, more or less, was in flames. all
the store houses for 60 gunboatS were destroyed,
and what the fire didnOt consume the shells beat
down. 1t was an exciting and beautiful sight to
see our little gmnboats goin, creeping and stealing
in right under the walls in some places, firing the
| bow gun, turn on their heel, FIRE the stern gun,
and then steam out again. literally lodging the en-
emy'S fife; but some never came out till want of
ammunition compelled them.
About O'Clock p. m. tie mortar boats sacken-
ed fire, and the gunIOatS ceased. and at 10 p. IN.
the rocket boats went i'll and threw rockets into
the place till 9 a. N. The mortarS never ceased
firing. neither did the French battery, which was
the admiration of all; and at daylight on the 10th
the gun and mortar boats repeated the dose of the
previous day. until everything that could be was
burnt and beaten down. The rocket boats went
in again also the second night, and at a. m. on
the 18th the firing ceased, having gained the most
glorious result with only the combined gun and
mortar boats and three-gun mortar battery. Some
of the English and French mortaIS fired 80 rounds
per hour the first two hourS-au unheard of pTac-
tice, believe. On examining The serviceabIe ones
| left we hear there are English and about ma
| ny French. Some burst during the engagement,
but strange TO say, no one was hurt. All this was
done without life being lost on our side, and the
only casualties are few scratches; but the loss
of life and property to the enemy must have been
enormous.
''rhe Arrogant. COSSack, and the Cruizer fired
shells, rockets. &C., into an island (DrumSiO)
where they saw some troops, who returned the fire
with Minnie rifles, but OF course, without doing
any injury.
"rhe CORVALLIS, Hastings, and Amphion then
engaged some earhworks, and did great deal of
mischief, ard they large numbers of either
dead or wounded carried oil. 1t is reported that
the first snip lost one killed and eight or ten
wounded.
"Tee combined force was l6 English gun boats
and I6 mortar boats.
Give French gun boats and mortar boats, and
3 mortarS landed.
'The Duke, Exmouth, Pembroke, Euryal. s,
&c. were present, and sending parties to relieve
the men, every four hours, TO their respective
boats.
cat Shoss Holm, an island in the rear of Abra.
ham Holm, the French battery, were congrpgated
Admiral Sir NJ. Seymour, Capts. Seymour, Hail,
and toSken, besides numerous other officers of all
grades, and several yachtmen.
1t now clearly proves that Sir Charles Napier &C.
led most dScretely last year in not taking line Of
battle ships agnnst fortreSses and earthworks of
such magnitude as those in the Baltic The Corn
wallis aud Hastings were obliged to haul of, af-
tier being severely handled; W hereaS notwith-
Standing the Tremendous fire of shot, red hot shot
and shell, the gun and mortar boats were scarcely
touched. And if the government had done their
duty, and had SO gun and so mortar boats in the
Baltic this year, Cronstradt, Revel, and perhaps
he Russian fleet also, might have been destroyed;
but we know the towns and magazines might have
been.