Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1855-09-13
The War.

Inc W al
Our 6les Of English. French and German
journals, received on Friday morning by the
mail Of the Canada, shed no additional light on
the 10 lie Of August 10. on the Chenaya, where
Eprandi vas repulsed by the Allied forces and
q number Of Russian prisoners taken. With re-
gard 10 this affair. we must wait for the next
seamer before we can receive any satisfactory
details. 1t is rather suspicious, however that
so little was known about il at Paris and Lon
don previous to the sailing Of the Canada. Had
it been really as decisive as the English jour.
nals represent. omething more than the very
incomplete stat me nts now ir our possessio ion
would naturally have been made public.
It appears that the assault on the Malakof
which was expected 10 have taken place on
the 15th, had 10 be postponed, and that the
preliminary bombardment did not commence
tilthe 18th. Indeed, there is reason to suspect
that the siege works are not in so forward as
the journals Of Paris and London have report
ed. Though the allies had worked hard at
them through the month Of July, and though
we we're constantly told that they were at
least quite close 10 the Russians. we have the
best Of authority for the statement that on the
4th af August the head Of the sap was still
I15 metres, or 484 feet, from the Russian
main ditch It is certainly satisfactory to see
Hotspur Pelissier brought down to the acknow-
lsdgment that his system Of assault has failed,
and that regular siege works must pave the
way for his c,lumns; but for all that, to leave
sOO, 900 men quietly in their tents to wait for
the completion of these trenches, and to die in
the mean time Of cholera and fever, is singular
management. 1t must be confessed that from
from first to last this has been war OF inca
pacities on both sides. Todtleben is the only
man in either camp who has shown spark OF
genius.
With regard TO the attack on Sweaborg,
we are also still without full official reports or
newspaper correspondence. The facts. how.
ever, appear on careful examination of all
the information at hand to be as follows;
The Allied fleets, six liners, four or FIVE
large frigates, and about thirty mOrtar'vessels
and gun.boats, crossed over from the Revel to
SweabOrg on the 7th August. On the 9th they
took up their positions. The vessels of light
draft passed through the shoals and rocks west
of the fortress, where no large ship can pass,
and drew up at long range from the islands or
which Sweaborg is situated. The large yes;
sells retained outside. and as far as we CO
Judge out Of range of the forts, Then the gun
boats aad mortar vessels opened fire. No d.
rect firing appears to have been attempted. II
was all::shelng from mortars or shell guns al
the highest elevation possible. The lombard.
ment lasted fOrty~fve hours. AS to the a.
mount Of damage inflicted it is not possible to
estimate it without detailed accounts from beth
parties. The arsenal and various magazines
of powder (apparently small OnesJ we're des
troyed. The town of SweabOrg. (so far as
we know only few houses inhabited by peO-
ple connected with the fleet or the works, J
was burnt, As to the Notifications themse-
yes, the damage done to them cannot but be
significant. for tie fleets, as both Admirals
state, had not man killed /, only few wound
ed, and no loss whatever in material. No
better proof could be given that they kept out
of harms way. In that case they might bonn
bard, but could not act by direct fire, BY which
alone Notifications can be destroyed. Dundas
who is far more honest and collected in his
report than the French Admiral, (at least as
his dispatch runs in the official publication, a.
vers that the damage inflicted was confined TO
the three islands. out of the seven constituting
Sweaborg. which are situated west of the
main entrance to the bay Of Helsrngfors. The
entrance does not even apPearto have been at
tempted. The large vessels can scarcely have
acted at all, and the decisive shot in such an
attaOk-the landing of troops to possess them
selves Of the works and destroy them-was en-
tirely out of the question. Thus the damage
inflicted falls upon stores and storehouses ex
clusvely--that is upon property easily replac
ed; and il the Russians avail themselves Of thei
time and means. SweabOrg may in three weeks
be in as good a condition as ever. Military
speaking, il has not suffered at all; the materi
al results of the whole affair are hardly wortl
its cost 10 the Allies; and il seems to have beer