Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1855-08-24

which directly faced ours, and whose
guns could only be attacked by direct
fire.
1t was an experiment on the largest
scale, proving beyond all cavil the
proposition for which Mr.. Ferguson
coniended so earnestly in his publish
ed works, and at the United Service
Institution in 1553-lhat when the
guns of a fort are equal in number
TO those Of the attack, they cannot
be siienced by The beSieger and as
he has further shown how every fort
can easily be made TO mount twice
the number of guns that can be
brought against it, this part of the
problem may be considered as solved.
Ii remains TO be seen whether places
can oe taken without this hitherto in
dispensable preliminary. During the
fire we were. no, able to seize single
position, to destroy single work,
nor TO advance the sap beyond the
snairs pace at which it had been
creeping for months past and 1t now
remains to be seen what science can
do TO restore to the attack lis vaunt-
ed superiority over the art Of defense.
THE THIRD BoJBARDMENT.
With this great bombardment
ends the second, and let us hope the
only tragic act, as we are concerned,
in the siege of Sebastopol. The
third opened more brilliantly, though
ii is somcw hat hazardous 10 predicate
on results while the action is still
pending. The bombardmcnt of
April had SO little effect, either in
terrifying the Russians or IN dcpriv-
ing them Of their means of defense,
that on the ooh of May they COM
menced a new work oil counter-ap-
proach against the extreme left of
the French, Just above the Cemetery,
at the head of the Quarantine Har-
Dor. Had they been allowed TO
complete this place ddrmes as the
French dispatches call it, they would
have been able to take the more adj
vanced parallels of the besiegers in
reverse, and TO prevent further APP
proach on this side. This was per-
ceived by General Pelissier, and an
attack was ordered on the night Of
the 22d May, the intention, fcoursc,
being not only to destroy the Rus
sian work, but TO turn II into an adj
yanced parallel against the town.
The defense was, however, con-
Quoted with such obs,lnacy and by
SO large a body of the garrison, that
J although the French remained mas
tiers of the field, they were obliged
to retire before the day broke to
prevent their being exposed to the
fire from the ramparls, which they
could not have wlthstood, as they
: had been able 10 do nothing during
the night towards covering them
selves. Al soon as il was dark the
attack was renewed on the following
night, when the garrison, dlsmayed
| by the carnage of the preceding
night, and finding it impossible TO
maintain themselves in an unfinished
work, gave up the contest, altera
very slight resistance, aud the French
established themselves securely on
the contest ground.
From this time ill the 9th of June
nothing of importance was UNDER
taken by the Allies against the works
of The place, but on the afternoon Of
! that day the bombardment RECON-
menced for the third time, but on
| this occasion from even more pow
erfnl artillery and with greater vigor
( than before. The English seem to
have had l57 guns and mortars in
i position. The French not very
n much less than twice that number,
and they seem TO have fired for
= twenty eight hours as rapidly as they
e could with safety. AT q O'Clock on
: evening of the 9TH, large bodies Of
the French advanced against the Ma.
melon, and rushing over It's ruined
+ parapeis hand-to-hand fight COM
!, menced, and was continued with
A varied success till the larger body Of
M the assailanis drove out the garrison,
, and the fight was transferred TO the
n gorge in front of the MalakoH Tow
e er, where it ragged nearly all the night
G long.
b AT times the French penetrated
0 almost TO The Molakoh but were as
often repuIsed; by daybreak, how
a ever, they had fairly established them
3 selves in the Mamelon and the ad-
$ joining works, and had captured six
ty-two guns which were found in po-
silion there. While this was going on
the English attacked the Quaries,
which had been occupied by the
Russians as an advanced parallel in
, front Of the Redan, and after a most
, obstinate and sanguinary fight they
> too maintained their ground, and the
: morning found them in undlsputed
possession of the contested works.
The redoubts on Mt. Sapoune, on
the other side of the CareenIng Bay,
were also attacked by the French and
evacuated during the night, being in
| fact unlenable after the Mamelon had
, fallen.
I THE RESULT.
BY these two operations Of the
ED of May and 7lh of June, the
Allies obtained possession OF all the
works of counter-approach which
the Russians had erected outside
their original lines after our lombard
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