The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1855-09-08


every act was an offence to their prcdjudiccs
The bait was too tempting to be resisted
LIrEANDI crossed the ichcrnaya, and pounc-
ed on these devoted troops. They held their
posts longer than they ought to have done,
but at last fled, and were cut down by the
Russian cavalry before they could reach their
supports.
Immense Was the obloquy heaped on these
poor fellows for their conduct on this occa-
sion, and the prestige of the Turks for time
was lost; but if blame we're fairly appropria-
ted, the whole of it should on this occasion
be thrown on those officers who placed men
in a position where their services were USE
loss, and their destruction inevitable. The
attempt to retake the captured guns by send
ING 100 light cavalry to charge 20.OOo men
in position was less mistake than the first,
and was redeemed by the heroic briliancv
with which it was executed Had half the
ia'~r been speEt on tor:ityi ing the sorges of
lnkermann tina; had been thrown away on
these rcdonbts at Balak lava. the battle of
the 9th OF November would probably never
have been fought The Russians. however.
seem always to have been kecnly alive to the
Deficiencies OF our scientific departments, and
they watched their opportunity on tins occa-
SION with cOnsummate skill. They saw that
the very key OF our position was overlooked
and neglected; and they planned their at
tack with such secrecy, that had it been exc
cuted as designed nothing could have saved
us. As 1t was, We We're conn pletely surprised
10y their approach, and at 9ociock on that G.
vcntiul morning the fate 0. the Allied armies
hung on the sien1crc>t thread; had th,. Il Is
SLAMS been able to penetrate hundred yards
further, and dcploy their superior forces Oh
the plateau, they could have marched over
our thin and dccm,tcd ranks and If dctcat
ed IN front, with the town in our flank, moth
inS could have saved our being driven into
the sea. The lines of B,laklava were not
closed IN the rear, not soul had been turn
cd III front OF kamiesch Bay, and there was
not rallying point in the whole plateau
where even 1000 men could make a stand
We We're saved, however. partly by the mis-
take OF General Soimonoif, who mstook his
orders and lost his way, bat far more bv the
inloInitable hcrOIsm of our own troops. who.
though surprised an surrounded. defended
themselves with a cOn,tancv and courage
which ha, seldom been equalled, and probat-
ly never surpassed in the annals OF war-
With the 9th OF November ended the first a j,
in this great drama. llrhrrto We had moth
in- 20 regret. The mistakes were not great
CT than probably happen in al past wars, ami
they had been molly rciecmci
IHE RE>ULTS.
When the battle OF Inkermann was fourht
the bomtar,lmcnt had continued nearly thr..
weeks without doing anv dalnare to the enc
inN> works, which were. IN tact. stron yer
than the day our hrc commenced and Their
armament becoming more and more torlu,;,
tie. and the inner dcicllccs OF tn. town had
- iir been completed that il was evident that
an assault was becoming daily less practical
tie. Ii was. III fact. certain li,t W.. had nut
the means % taking the town then. and there
was 'o fca>onh.c pro-l'cr; Of our being aide.
10 do 50 during the Winter uonths. [; was.
indeed. admitted that We must winter on ll,,.
spot. and wait the return ui fine weather to
resume active operations.
| ndcr these circumstances the Obyiou,
policy was 10 remain ON the defensive. Tn,
more advanced parcllel of attack ought at
once to have been turned INTO a defensive
parcllcl by putin: It's ditch outside, and pro-
>ldiny ii with tla"k>; and shelter ought to
have been constructed in its immediate rear
Tor the guard OF the trenches. The lines
a.. Ba,dllava ought To have b-cn closed iu
tn" rear and kam,,>ch BAY fortified. Ii
these pre- :auilon> had been taken, not an I'M !.
of ground would have been ios., and the ar
IN, might have winicrcd in security, and
guarded their position without fatigue or cx
po>urc This would also have lcit leisure
Tor the repair Of roads, the construction of
hats, the establishment OF dcpots, and all
those indispensable measures which werc ncc-
and more than this, it would have a!:uwrd
time !or the reorganization of department.,
anl tlr. reformation OF dciai!S-ali of which
were impossible while every man ia the cau,;,,
from the chlct O! the ,,Lli to the drummer
ho,,, were worked beyond the power OF Iu-
man endurance. \ uiicrcnt policy was e.
dor,cI, and onchait The arm sa,r.liccd 10
the ot>tlnacv with which Ii was pciscvcrcl
III. The front ui our trcncv> was alwa,,
,cii open 10 the g..rrison, and guards were
required which it was far beyond the strer.r, |,
OF our army to supply; while the works were
pushed forward with rccklessne,s which
was fatal to the men employed in them. Had
1t been that our engineers had discovered
that the distance Of 200 yards, at win, h
their first batteries were placed, was too Tar
oil to do any damage, there might be some
excuse for seeking more advanced POSITION
IN which to place them before attcniptin.
, "rther operations against the place. Bul
when the fire opened again on the 9th OF \
prll. it was from the identical batteries from
. which 1t was thrown on the l'tn ot October
All We had gained, at the expense OF such
suffering and misery. and 10y the loss of =,
many brave men, was, that on our lett tn,
saps had been pushed forward to within 90,
yards OF the euemies works, but at the eic,
OF a ravinc, beyond which further procre,.
in that direction was impossible. On on,
right very little progress had been made
and although in the centre We had advanced
some 400 or 500 yards. We could no: preven,
the Russians from occupying the Mamclon
600 yards in advance OF their original lines
and within about 400 o: our most advanced
trenches.
THE SECOND BOMBARDMENT
! During the Winter the French had con
, vcrted the whole ground III front of the line,
, they were attacking with a network of parcl-
: el>. and advanced them to within about 2o1
yards of the Russian works. But it is still
: questionable whether it was worth their while
to do this. II they could subdue the fire OF
, the place, they could as easily have done this
in three weeks as six months and if they
cannot sublue the fire Of the place, they are
hardly more advanced towards taking the
place than they were.
Such was nearly the position of matters,
when, on the 9th Of April, the second great