Washington sentinel., 1855-02-06
pnuFrom am A.si.tant Surgeon.

complain of is living in tent and the abomi-
nable trench work. which kills half our men.
-Four weeks back all the regiments in this
(the 3d) division had their full complement Of
assistant surgeons, and now few regiments
have more than one; the others are Knocked
up.
All ones friends being sick is not at all
pleasant. / am myself, at present, in excel
lent health, thank God, and hope may remain
so. do my best, and buy every sort of luxury !
can, but there ia very little to be got. hope
! shall not again have to live on salt pork and
biscuit for fortnight, as am persuaded it is
that, with the wet that gives the officers and
men dysentery. We lose at least FIVE hundred
and should think nearly one thousand men q
week from disease. They are sent to Scutari
and never seem to return.
The Men in the Trenches.
CAMP BEFORE SEBAsToPoL, Dec. 20.-Again
We are half drowned with wet; but, althou Oh
raining as if it had never rained before, we
can't complain, for we have actually had six
days OF fine weather We sent 100 sick from
this brigade down to Baaklava Yesterday, to
be forwarded to Scutari; if this goes on we
shall soon be done up. Last night was furiously
wet never saw anything like it before
coming down in torrents and flooding eyery.
thing. The rain changed to snow this morn.
ing, and it was three or four inches deep, but
it has all become slush now: we had taken ad-
vantage of the dry weather to dig hole in the
| ground, and put roof over it, hoping that
with fire in it we should be able to dry our
things, and cook. Our only material for the
root was mud, which, tomorrow, we find let's
IN the water like sieve, so this plan will not
| do. We are anxiously looking forward to the
Il arrival Of ha vuOodav, hareoc xyl IL
toned in the papers but we hardly dare be.
| ieye in them, as we have been so deceived
about fuel, vegetables, materials for hutting,
DC. We have very little fuel, and are obliged
to grub up roots.
Since the battle of Inkermann nothing of mo.
ment has taken place beyond few vigorous
sorties from the garrison. In one about a week
ago the enemy was repulsed with great loss.
Another, which was made the night before last,
was, however, attended with more disastrous
consequences to us. True the Russians were
beaten back, but saw l3 dead Englishmen in
heap in one of our parallels stripped to their
shirts and drawers.
In the last week of November and December
cholera made most fearful ravages among our
already thinned ranks. My Varna experience
OF sickness became as nothing when compared
with the awful scene which took place.
wandered over blood-red battle fields with
almost perfect indifference, feeling intoxicated.
as it were, thinking of the glorious victories we
had won; but when mortal disease was hourly
laying hold of my comrades on every side
when almost constantly, day and night, men
were borne yelling with agony to the hospital,
and in few hours their bodies thirst into holes.
dozen at time, sometimes felt my heart
sink within me at the dismal prospect around
me.
One hundred and twenty-five of one draught
landed in November. / write monthly sort
OF MS. newspaper, designated the "Sebastopol
journal" for the edi6cation of few surviving
comrades, and give you the following extract:
"The men are all very young, and appear
little suited to brave the hardships Of q winter
campaign in the Crimea-n
Alas! they are less adapted to the Crimean
warfare than even the editor had anticipated.
In IA days, between so and 60 of these boys
were in their graves, about 20 hors de combat,
and the remainder anything but efficient sol
diers
From the Star Omcsr..
The only bed for weeks in the hospitals in
camp was an inch and half of mud; the onlv
transport a springless artillery wagon, or q
worse arabaf After the French have lent us
aid we are now employing the cavalry horses
to convey the men on board ship poor fellows,
who cant stand, and possibly have never rid.
den; are hoisted on half starved horses, and
thus conveyed. The French, on the contrary,
do we'll, they are organized for war-we for
nothing; the result is that out of an army en-
ployed in the East of $4,000 men, we cannot
produce above $4,000 under arms, and those
not half fit to fight, and the whole in such a
state Of dirt and apparent disorder that no one
would take them to be English soldiers.
Another Loud GrumbIe,
can scarcely write, my fingers are so cold
and / don't wonder that the Russian officers
are said sometimes TO pull off their toes with
their boots. There are one or two things for
which our genersls deserve to be well punished
One is, expecting pickets to stand such weather
as this-everasiing rain and snow-when
common prudence might have ordered huts to
be made for them, and a week would hut all
Of them; but no, nothing is done. The gen.
erals have all had houses built for themselves
but the poor men who are stationed out night
and day, every third day, may do without
There is also great deal Of grumbling because
Lord Raglan has ordered portions Of the town
to be spared; part Of the usual temporizing
polcy--and among other parts the arsenall so
that directly q gun is injured the Russians
have it repaired in few hours We are also
now making a very advanced work, without
any approach td it, aud the men are quietly
shot down by Russian rihemen as they come
and 60 to it on lhkermann heights Yesterday
four men we're thus killed.
From q Soldier ofths 03d Highlanders.
"My dear wife:-I received your kind and
afectionate letter ] am happy to see by it
that you are in good health, as health is a
precious thing here. There is still great deal
Of sickness here yet on account Of our lying
out so often at night on the damp ground
and IT is my opinion that, il we are not ost Of
this place soon, we shall lose more by sickness
than If we were to storm Sebastopol. Last
night was picket, and had TO sit till
o'clock a. m, half way to the knees in mud,
and wet TO the skin with the heavy rain. We
were forced to sit as the ground was so muddy
that we could not walk about. In wet weather
the men are very little better in their tents.
don't know what we are TO do when the winter
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