Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-10-18
The Defeat Of the En- glish at the Redan The
Recall of Gen Simpson Demanded
From the London Times, Sept 20.

The honor of England must be preserved at
any cost TO personal feelings. The safety of the
brave men she has sent out must be u considera-
ton superior to all notions Of delieaey. Why
should we not speak plainly what has been pass
ing in the minds ofmen of all classes during the
last few dnysl When the telegraph sent the
first news of the fall of Sebastopol, the words
''Our attack on the Redan did not succeed pre-
pared the public for some misfortune, and min
gleda gloom with its rejoicing. few hours
more made known loss of officers US great as
At lnkermann, and many household had to
mourn II member struck down in conflict which
ii knew was not victory. Then, for long
fortnight the nation awaited with deep anxiety
the arrival of details.
The official despatch came at last, brought by
an officer of the Staff if such narrative as it
contained must insure the bearers reward. 1t
will he seen by last nights Gazette that Major
Curzon has received the reward for his job tldings
General simpsons is get 10 come, and y pe are
correctly informed, the governments are in some
pfrpietity as to its nature. Ne can tel them
lie deserves recaH How meagre how obscured
that despatch will be testified by all who read
II. Bat what ii contained and what 1t omitted
led to the same conclusion. The British army
had been beaien and beaten, IL ,cas reasonable 10
suppose, through The incdpdcity Of the General
,eho could send home such despatch on such an &c
cdsioH. Two days more elapsed, and the full truth
was told. The calamity was deeper, darker, more
| Illuminating than even the most Responding had
ieared, The story OF that terrible day. related at
such length, and with such power, i'll these col
| umns, has been read in every corner of the Brit
! ish islands, translated into many languages and
is now before our friends aud foes all Eu
! rope. What has been the feeling of the public
! during the last two days let each man judge for
! himself. Let him also consider whether it is
time to keep silence. A comparison of Gen.
simpsons account of the attack with that
given by our correspondent. will show
how far the commander in chief in
| formed of what actually took place. 1t
may be that British military custom requires
u bald, unadurncd style,and that a generals des-
patch is to he considered analogous to royal
speech. The full and interesting narratives of
! Marshal Pellssier and General Neil show, how.
ever, that allies have not arrived at this rigi
dty of etlquette; aud even the lIorse Guards must
admit that generals brevty ought not to excuse
impo' tant omissions, and that despatch may be
u,s"itd without being nnintclligible. The Brit
ish General led every one to believe that only
1900 were engaged at first at the kedan,and states
positively that these were 'supported to tho ut
most OF Colonel Windhams repeated messa-
ge' Tor help; ot his personal return and his inter
view with Sir Edward Codrington; of his perms
SION to take the Royals. and of the unhappy route
which made this meBgre assistance too late to be
any use, the COMMANDMENT Chief does not
breathe word The assertion that the ssault-
| ihS party was supporter to the utmost, we know
I be ut variance with the fact. The number of
men engaged is not stated clearly, nor is an APP
lroMmate calculation of the loss given. Even
II the duration of the contest the General is
ignorant. lie says it maintained for near
y an hour"
we learn from our correspondent aud from
general testimony that it lasted for nearly two
hours. 1t l. strange that IA commander in Chief,
With all his advantages should be in error Us to
iacts Which strangers and civilians could easily
ascertain The Hon. Leicester Curzon, the bear
or "t tins obscure and inaccurate despatch is
recommended to Lord Panmure as capable of
giving more minute details than the Generals
eet-imposed limits will allow-but, if the assis-
tait military Secretary had any opportunity OF
learning the true history of that fatal fight, we
doubt not that his narrative will convince the
secretary OF War of the valueless nature of the
document he brought
why Is General Simpson thus brief and enron.
'oua III his communications There is h ut one
"hs"er-he was ignorant of what pas ed, or de-
srous TO conceal it. We believe the former
row should he be aware of the scenes enacted
! III ,he hedani ''He sat in trench with his nose
ana eyes Just facing the cold and dnst. and his
, ''oaN urawn over his head tn protect him against
"o'h' lie makes arrangements which cause e,-
cry one to exclam, This 10 another 18th of
June he chooses the assaulting column from
inc second and light divisions, for tue prepost-
GUS reason that they had been SD often and 50
desperately engaged; aud when the moment is
eo',e that these regiments. conss ting of raw lads
ana win hardly one man in twenty who had
fought at the Alma-are to advance to the dead