Washington telegraph., 1855-10-03
brilliant Description of
OF TCHERNA AVA.

z the 18Th OF August, tsays the memphis
r,qls J- Enquirer we extract the follow
no brilliant account of the battle of Tcher-
,,ya emitting some of the preliminary pas
sges:
reIo.On of Chasseurs d'Afrique went
.-+ "a patroI during the night, and on the
-, = the river fell into an ambuscade and
-. sU made prisoners except two men,
Va sseaped and gave the alarm but even
srse treated as one OF the ordinary in
.:J.,ts '.Ir Of night duty in the presence OF the
~ ~ About an hour before daybreak K
Ia French sentinels in front of the bridge
- thew could perceive shadows gliding
-.st 49,. them in the darkness. and fired There
=. No reply. and silence deep as death fol-
- about the same time a few shots
Cav. heard from the hill occupied by the
p;.5montese Outposts, but as the utmost
..;TIness prevailed afterward on every side
~ nracsu;ions we're taken, till just as the
erst s-7eak Of light made itself visible in
tbs horizon, sharp fire vas opened from a
r.r-v Of sIkirrlishers against the tete de po,,t,
and = regular assault made upon the Sardin-
ian picket
Gen della MaTmOra was already on the
,-,u,d and sent battalion of bersaglieri
70 re-enforee the post. SO that they might de-
fsnd themselves till the troops could be got
npisr arms. and the necessary arrangements
,a,9e When the Te-enforeements arrived
I,Iftbe PICKET vas already hors du combat,
and the asszilants we're upon the parapet oe
the little redgubt firing down upon them.-
Ia rraI9ag the conflict here would only have
esused 1 useless massacre. and the SariiUi-
auseonsequentlv withdrew behind an epaul-
cmeaf On the other side Of the river, near
the aaueduct. and there defended themselves
till de day broke clearly. and the stack
became general On the side of the French
tbe tete De pant was assaulted IL great force
and carried very soon after the enemy's first
showing himself on the ground. notwithstand-
inc the heroic resistance of the 10Th Regi-
meDt. which in one battalion alone lost II
cfeers
The bridge was now occupied. two bate
rieS Of artillery were brought across 50 IS
to sweep the road leading between the two
le:-t,s toward Balaklava, and strong col
umu was pushed on to the assault, and
r5l7-e3 tb. 3eeIizity. Strange 10 say. al
;55urh General Pelissier had received full
Elruiur the previous night, be refused TO
believe In an attack until II actually COM
meneed. and consequently 10 dispositions
were made. and nobody was ready The
Russians had already reached the crest of
the hill. Ebile tIe French were still asleep:
man7 oi6cers we're awakened by the round
shot passing through their tents: a sergeant
lad lis head taken OF while writing the or
der, Of the Dag for the division At This
critical mJ-Uen; two battalions alone Of she
u Regiment Of the Z0uaves held the whole
as,aulting column in check, and contested
the ground inch by inch till they were fore
ed back upon their own tents In The
meantime the alarm was sounding, ;he
troops got into order, the artillery into pcsi-
ton, and most vigorous onset drove the
2ussians down the deciivity, leaving ii coy
cred with their dead and wounded
All this. It viii be recollected, occurred
u the gray Of morning, which the smoke of
the action converted into something ike pos
Tive darkness, leaving everybody in COM
Plete ignorance as TO the force they had to
contend with, OF the dangers they had to
lear. In the short pause which followed,
however, and during which both sides pre-
pared for a renewal Of the struggle, the sun
cane out from behind the hills, the smoke
rOse, and the valley OF Tchernaya lay be-
teTe Us like a picture. The tract of table
land lying at the foot of the Mackenzie
heights was covered with masses Of cavalry,
infantry and artillery About 10 guns
were arranged IN a crescent outside the
bridge, and Numbered increasingly against
the French position On the hill from
which the Piedmontese picket had been
driven, were crowds Of men round battery
Of held artillery. which fred incessantly,
though against what conld rot clearly make
cut.
must not forget to mention, however,
mat they had previously shelled two bat
'aAons OF Turks encamped in the hollow
near the WOrOnzOff road. and forced them
% retire This retrogade movement was
.le only part the latter bore in the whole af-
lalr; but It Is right TO add they were already
under arms in case the positions had been
attacked The PiedmOntese were drawn
up IN line behind small eminence close to
,ne 'oId on the Chorgoum road. and their
Oa''erles On the heights to the right were
Vigorously replying to the Russian fire
I1e three divisions Of French, Camoux,
hr0llLOnr and Faueheux. were under arms,
mont line little way back from the brow
o. 'ne hIil, and great number of ZOuaveS
were lying down in shelter behind small
ridge Below. on the plain. along the hol
low On which the English light horse died
= calamity last winter, every turf beneath
Inelr feet soldiers sepulchre. were ranged
the English and French cavalry. squadron
amer squadron. extending back to the Turk
iSG redoubts, ready to act in case the enemy
should force the Piedmontese position and