The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-08-01
european Nens,
TIE WAR
The British Killed and Wound
> ed en- the Eighteenth Of june
Energy of the Russians.

The actual number of our own killed
and wounded in the recent attack on
the Redan is not of that terrible amount
which was at first supposed. When it
was stated that the loss of our noble ar
my was not less thar 1000, that was
interpreted to mean the British loss
alone ; and it was inferred that, il we
had lost so many the loss of the French
must have been 10000, or more. It
now appears that the total loss of killed
and wounded in the whole allied army
does not exceed 1000, of which our por-
tion was just under 1900. The num-
Der of non commissioned officers and
men killed is IA, and wounded is l,05s;
the total number of officers killed and
wounded is 93-making the exact total
.I,295. The enemy. it appears, boast
that they have taken 600 French priso-
ners, which in the present state of our
knowledge, W. can only suspect to bea
Russian ezaggeration.
The whole loss is numerically not SO
great as what We have suffered in the
space of a few days, without glory and
without any addition to the roll of hon
or, by cholera or by frost. It is lament
able, not so much for its number, nor
yet for such men as Campbell, Yea, and
Shadforth, who, having done so much,
have fallen outside the walls they de-
served to enter, as because this is q re-
verse, a cheek, a delay. 1t cannot real
~ affect the ultimate fate of Sebastopol, !
but it must prolOng a struggle, every
day of which SO much lost to the interest
OF peace, to the happiness of many ma
lions, and the cause of humanity. So
far as regards the more material part of
the question, no doubt we are already
In a better position than We were in on
the morning of the 18th. No doubt
our batteries are in better order, our
guns heavier, our knowledge of the po-
sition and Of the obstacles before as
greatly increased and the force in the
front augmented. To concentrate our
army IN the siege, we have been obliged
toleave the inhabitants of Kertch in the
hands of our allies.
As the siege continues, one consider
alton after another will be sacrificed to
the necessity of our position, and it may
even come to pass that they shall be
driven to the most cruel and wasteful
of all curses-investment ard block
ade.
It depends on ourselves whether this
afair is to operate as = warning, or is to
be . sample of all that we do, and are
still to do, in the course of this Siege
Are va always to accept from tho enc
my the terms Of the combat ? Are We
to confne ourselves to marching up .
hill created by his artillery standing
Oon our defence against his advancing
columns, carrying the works hat he
throws up IN u way, and attacking,
after many days of actual and muture
preparation, the particular points on
which he has Concentrated all his ener-
gy, skill and ? It is very
clear that if we are to be the enemy
take the imitistive, stake the lists and
impose all the conditions of the conflict,
we a hardly expect to escape heavy
losses, ever if not actually defeated.
For aught We know, that is, for aught
that has ~transpired, the Russians were
able not only to devote all their strength
for ten days to rendering a comparative
~ small length of defence utterly i'm
p~regnable, and full of such snares as no
forethought could provide against but
also to employ their whole garrison in
the defence.
We have v yet been able to sur
prise the Russians. They know the
time of our intended movements as soon
as our W army I; the point and mode
of attack, then the result is reduced to
the lowest condition of success; the de-
fence is raised to the most favorable,
not to say an absolute certainty of sue
cess. As far as the nature of the de-
fences is known in this country, there is
no reason why three or four simultane-
Gus assaults should not have been made
on various points of the Notifications
from the Flagstaff battery to the Quar-
antine bay, why the feet should not
have taken its share in the work, and
Why a threatening demonstration should
not have been made by the portion of
our army on the Tchernaya. When the
details arrive, it may turn ont that
more vas there done in this way than
has been commnni Gated in the necessa-
rily brief messages of the electric tele-
graph but we cannot disguise our fear
that from want of some such ordinary
and safe ~precaution, there has been a
wastful sacrifice ofmen.
The siege has lately assumed the SOL
emn pace of a grand heroic war. It
would seem as if the auguries had been
taken the DEGREES Of Heaven had been
read, and that Sebastopol is not to be ia
ken till the third, or possibly the tenth
year. Meanwhile We are to have a sue
cession of engagements, in which the vic.
tory il to incline to this or that side,
with all the vacillation of the ancient