The true Democrat., 1855-11-06

piled them with stones, grapeshot and the bay onet but were soon forced to retire by the fire of our batteries and ridemen, and under cover of this lire many of our men escaped to the approaches. In some instances the enemy per sisted Tn remaining outside in order to plunder the bodies of those who were lying on the slope of the parapet, and paid the penalty of their rashness Tn being stretched beside their foes; but others came forth On holier errand, and ac- tually brought water to our wounded. If this last act be true, It Is but right to dscredit the story that the the Russians placed our wound. cd over the magazine in the rear of the Redan. near the barrack battery, ere they fired 1.-the only foundation for which, as far as can disco yer, Is that many of the bodies of our men found in the Redan were dreadfully scorched and burned; but there were many Russians ly- ing there in a similar state.
 Our attack lasted about an hour and three quarters, as we'll as I could make out, aud in that time we lost more men than at InlIer- mann, where the fighting lasted for seven hours
 It is difficult as have had occasion to ob- serve on former occasions, to give, with any pre- tensions of accuracy, the details of battle, but It becomes almost impossible to attain correct ness in describing such an affair as the assault on the Redan under the peculiar circumstances which attended 1t. In addition to the smoke of battle, there were flying clouds of dust. mingled with sand, which blew right into the faces of the men and swept the hills in their rear, which were crowded with spectators, or those who tried to be so, and the irregularity of the ground offered other impediments to their view; but greater than all these obstacles was thls-that no one could, from any conceivable position Tn front see what was going on inside the Redan, which seemed to engulf our soldiers within It's huge, dun-colored and rugged para pets, only to vomlt them forth again, in dlmi- hlshed numbers It was all along but too plain to understand what Was taking place within from the external aspect of that ill-fated work, the slope of which has astonshed the world with the sight of the British troops in flight twice In two successive attacks on its formida- ble defences
 This Redan has cost us more lives than the capture of Baadoz, not to speak of those who have fallen in the trenches and approaches to it; and, although the enemy evacuated it. we can scarcely claim the credit of having caused them such loss that they retired owing to their dread of renewed assault. On the contrary. we must ln fairness, admit, that the Russians main tanned thelr grip of the place till the French were larly established in the Malakof, and the key of the position was torn from their grasp. They might indeed, have remained in the place longer than they did, as the French were scarcely in a condition to molest them from the MaIakoH with artillery, and could not be per mltted to interfere with our attack had they been able to send re-iuforcements to us; but the Russian general is a man of too much genius and experience as a soldier to lose men in de- lending an untenable position, and his retreat was effected with amasterly skill and with per- feet ease III the face of victorious enemy Covering his rear by the flames of the burning city, and by tremendous explosions, which spoke Ill tones of portentous warning to those who might have wished to cut off this retreat, he led his battalyons ill narrow files across deep arm of the sea, commanded by our guns and n the face of most powerful fleet par aded them ln our sight as they crossed, and car red off all his most useful stores and munitions oI war. He left us few trophies and many bit ter enemies.