The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-09-29
The Siege Of sebastopol-The Losses OF the
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Means ana Materials
or War, Land and Naval, Destroyed.

The Siege OF scbastopoi-The Losses OF the
BcniYercnts- Rasssan Means ana Materials
or War, Land and Naval, Destroyed.
We published yesterday from the confused
aud imperfect details of the military opera
tions Of the last twelve months, in and about
the Crimea, summary, month by month, OF
the losses of the belligerents. But we may
safely assume that this record of the events in
connection with the siege of Sebastopol does
not tell one-half the fearful story of the fatali-
ties Of this sanguinary and disastrous war.
If the truth were all known we have no doubt
that the loss of life to the parties involved in
this struggle before, and chargeable to, Seoas-
topol would exceed the fearful aggregate of
three hundred thousand able bodied men.
There have probably been slaughtered out
right, within circuit of a hundred miles of
that devoted city, not less than seventy-ive
thousand soldiers; and to these must be added
the formidable bills Of mortality on all sides
from the diseases and sufferings of the climate
and the camp. BY referring to the official IT,
ports of our late war with Mexico, it will be
seen that to every American there killed in
battle there were more than five who died from
the swift diseases incident to the climate and
the camp. And when it is remembered that
our troops in Mexico were neither decima-
ted by the Asiatic cholera, nor by the rigors Of
a Crimean winter, we may justly assume that
frost, heat pestilence, famine, and the extreme
hardships and privations OF the Crimean camp,
winter and summer, have been to the Russians
and the Allies equally fatal as the same
causes among our armies in Mexico. The Com
parison is fair in every view, for in proportion
to the numbers engaged, our killed and wound
ed in the Mexican war were as numerous as
those Of the Allies in the Crimea. Upon a
basis then, Of seventy-fve thousand men,
French, English, Turks, Sardinians and Rus
sians killed in connection with this siege,
there has been an aggregate loss of three hun
dred and seventy-five thousand to the general
mortality, from the diseases and casualties OF
the climate and the camp, which would give u,
four hundred and fifty thousand men, sacri-
feed in the desperate and protracted strug-
gle for Scbastopol. OF this grand total from
their greater recklessness of human life, and
from their larger supplies Of the raw material
tne lluSslau iOsS uaS uceu perhaps " Iuuu SIcttt-
er than that of the Allies; but in proportion to
their reserves and the resources of their mill
tary system, it has been immeasurably less.
In fact, from the seventy millions of Russia,
scattered over the empire in agricultural viii
lagos larger proportionate military force
may be drawn, without detriment to the gene
raj Industrial interests of the State, than from
any other nation in the world.
But in the loss of Sebastopol, Russia has
lost in a more vulnerable point than in the
destruction of her armies. The labors and eX-
penditures of half q century upon the spacious
docks and gigantic Notifications of Sebastopol
are destroyed-the key of the Euxne, of Con
stantinople and the East has fallen into the
hands of her encmies-hcr Black Sea squadron
| is annihilated and her road to the Golden
Horn, as traverscd and laid down by Catherine
and Potemkin, has ceased to be by way of the
isthmus of PerekOp and the ruins of mixer
| mann.
The regular Notifications on the South side
of Sebastopol harbor, built for its defence
against naval attack, are as follows begin
ming on the sea side