Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1855-10-13


mitted Very respectfully,
AN OUTSIDER.
From the Correspondent of the London Times.
The Final Bombardment of Sebastopol.
SEPT. 5.-At dawn the morning of the 5th of
September the French opened fire. The air pure
and light, and gentle breeze from the southeast,
which continued all day, drifted the steppe, and
blew gently into Sebastopol. The sun shone serene
ly through the vaporS early morning, and wreaths
of snowy clouds on the long lines of white houses
inside those rugged detenceS OF earth and gabonade
which have 50 long kept armies gazing in vain
on this "august city" The ships lay floating the
waters of the roads, which were smooth mirror,
and, like it, reflected them, and outside
feet and that of the French equally inactive, and
not quite useful to us, reposing from ka-
catch to Constantine idly though they were
''painted' upon "a painted ocean,.
From Cathcart' s-h i'll the eye embraces portion
Of the Quarantlne-the French approaches to it and
to the Flagstaff Batteries up to their junction with
our left attack across the raVne at the end of the
Dock. yard. creek. One sweep over the Flagstaff
Batteries works-the suburb of ruined houses,
rather the sites Of cottages and residences, which
all that is left of long streets by the fire of
allies, inclosed between the Flagstaff and the
nellacd sea-wall and, looking the WALL take in
at coup GGii the civil town behind it. still present
ing stately appearance as it rises OH the hillside
tier tier full of churches stately MANSIONS and
public buildings of fine white red sandstone with
gardens ntersperscd and trees growing in the walks.
buildings. y church, decorated with many small
pinnacle. the angles of the roof has been struck
by shell, which has burst in the roof Some of
the best mansions have been split open, cape from
their cracked walls the day, others perforated
right through with shot holes, through which the
light ii visible-windows, doors, pillars, and col
umns broken or destroyed.
From Cathcarts hill, therefore, the right front
of the fourth division camp, gain adnira-
BILE view of certain points of the position from the
on the left to our extreme right at inkermann.
That advantage is, however, rarely attainabe when
there is any heavy firing, the smoke gruera,iy
hangs in thick clouds between the eartnwurkS,
can it be dispelled unless by brisk wind II
of the few persons who We're i'll the secret ot the
opening of the French batteries had been Cat
hearts hill on the morning of the 9TH he would have
beheld then, just D! o'clock, the whole of the
marked out in Keen detail in the clear mOrn-
ing air. The men in our trenches can be seen sit
ting down behind the travcrSeS strolsing about
the Of the parapetS. Small trains of aniIna.S
and files Of men are passing over the ground be-
tween the trenches and the camp and the only smoke
that catches the eye arises from the kettles of the
soldiery or from rifle in the advanced works.
On the left however, it be that the French
treachcS crowded with men, and that their bate
ries all manned, though the men keep well out
of view, and the mantets and screens yet down
before the muzzles of some of their guns The men
beneath the parapets swarm like bees y few gray
coated Russians in view repairing the works of
the Flagstaff Battery, engaged in throwing up
new work, which promises to be of considerable
strength i'll front of their second line of deences-
Suddenly along the earthen curtain, between Nos.
Z and Bastions, three jets of flame spring up into
the air and hurl up many pillars of earth and
dust, which warmed into ruddy hues by the
horizontal rays of the The French have
ploded three fougasses to blow in the counterscarp
and to serve as as signal to their men.
Instantly from the sea to the Dock yard creek
there to stream of fire, and feecy, curl
ing, rich white smoke though the earth had sud-
denly been rent in the throcs of earthquake and
was vomiting forth the material of her volcanoes.
The lines of the French trenches at
cred as though the very clouds of Heaven had set
tied down upon them and whirled about in
spiral jets, in festoons in clustering bunches in COL
umns and in sheets, all comminged, involved to-
gether by the vehement flames bcnath. The crash
of such tremendous fire must have been appalling,
but the wind and the peculiar condition of the at
mosphere did not permit the sound to produce any
great effect on our camp the city for the same
reason the noise must have been terrific and hor
rible
The iron storm tore over the Russian lines, toss
ing up it in SPORT jets of earth and dust, rend
ing asunder gabions, and 'squelching the parapes,
bounding among the houses and ruins in
their The terrible files of iron, about four
miles in 'front.' rushed across the plain carrying death
and ruin with it. swept with its heavy and irressti-
BILE wings the Russian tanks, and searched their
center to the core. volley so startling so stimuli
taneous and tremendously powerful was probably
yet uttered since the found its voice.
The Russians seemed for while utterly paralyzed.
enough to enable them to reply to such an over
tapping and crushing fire but the French, leaping
to their guns with astounding energy, rapdity and
strength, kept filling the air with the HURTING
storm, and sent it in unbroken fury against their
enemies.
More than 200 pieces of artillery of large calibre,
admirably served and we'll directed, played nces-
sanity on the hostile lines. In few moments
great veil of smoke-''a cloud rolling dun.
spread from the guns the left of Sebastopol
but the of the shot did not cease, and the
nonade now peaed forth in. great irregular bursts,
now died away into hoarse murmurs, again sweed
up into tumult, ratified from end to end of the
line like the fleGre of infantry Stone walls went
down before the guns at once, but the earthquake
yawned to receive shot and shell alike. However.
SO swift and incessant the passage of these
missiles through the embrasures and along the tops
OF the parapets that the enemy had lie close and
could scarcely show themselves the front line of
defences. syss sszs $3.50 S5stas
For few minutes, then, the French had it all
their own way, and appeared to be on the point of
sweeping away the place without resistance but af
ter they had fired few rounds from each of their