The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-09-20
BATTLE OF TCHERNANA.

BATTLE OF TCHERNAYA
Encouraged, it may be, by the arrival of
portion of the Grenadiers, and probably urged
on by the Impotence Of high personages at st.
Petersburgh, the Russian General determined on
an attack on the Allied position, aud made prep
aratOns for many days, with a disregard of
caution which revealed his plans, and but for
extraordinary rcmisSness, should have caused
their more easy discontinue
AT last, on the morning Of the 10th, the Rus
slams, pouring down the steep sides of their
position, and favored by the mist, without cry
or beat of drum, burst upon the Piedmontese
position; driving in the outposts, they reached
the Tchernaya, fOrded the narrow stream, and,
Notwithstanding a heavy fusilade from the
Zouaves, rushed upon the Allied camp. They
attacked two French regiments in front and
flank with a desperate bayonet charge, and
hot contest ensued, in which Gen. D'derbillon,
with 10000 men, had to sustain the attack of
the Russians, who probably by this time had
brought much larger force into action.
The first rush did not last more than ten
minutes. The Russians fell back, but they had
scarcely gone few hundred yards when they
were met by the second column, which was ad-
vanclng q pas de charge to support the first
and both united and again rushed forward
This second attempt was more successful than
the first. At the bridge they forded the river
on the right and left, and forced the defenders
Of it to fall back scarcely was the bridge free,
when two guns of the Fifth Light Brigade of
Artillery crossed it, and took up position on
the other side, in an open space which divides
two of the hillocks, and through which the roads
lead to the plain of Balaklava. While those
two guns passed the bridge, a third crossed the
river by ford, and all three began to sweep
the road and the heights.
The infantry in the mean time, without wait
ing for the portable bridges, rushed breast deep
into the water, climbed up the embankment,
and began to scale the heights on both sides.
They succeeded on this point in getting up
more than one half of the ascent, where the
dead and wounded afterwards showed clearly
the mark which they had reached but by the
time they arrived there, the French were fully
prepared, and met them in the most gallant
style. Notwithstanding the eXertions and the
perseverance of the Russians, they were by
degrees forced back, and driven, after an OBJ
stinate resistance, across the bridge, carrying
away their guns.
While this attack took place on the bridge,
the other column again attacked the French
right. This time they came on in such a swarm
that they were neither kept kack by the aque-
duct nor cowed by the Sandman guns, which
were ploughing long lanes through their scat
tered lines. On they came, as it seemed, r-
resistible, and rushed up the steep hill with
such fury that the Xouaves, who lined the sides
Of it, were obliged to fall back for a moment
before the multitude. You could plainly see
the officers leading the way, and animating their
soldiers. | particularly observed one gallant
fellow, who, at least twenty yards in advance of
the whole column, was the first across the aque-
duct, and | could still see him on the side of
the hill. This furious rush brought the adj
vancing column in incredibly short time to
the crest of the hillock, where it stopped to
form.
But the French had not been idle during the
time that the Russians we're ascending the HILL
The Zouaves had only fallen back from the side
Of the hillock to the main body, which had been
drawn up behind the top. Scarcely did the
column of the enemy show its head, when the
guns opened on it with grape, and murderous
fire was poured down upon it by the French in
tantry. This Immediately stopped the advance
of the column, which began to waver; but the
impetus from those behind was so powerful that
the head of it, Notwithstanding the unexpected
reception, was pushed forward few yards
more when the French, giving one mighty
cheer, rushed upon the advancing enemy, who,
shaken already, Immediately turned round and
ran down, if possible, faster than they had come
up. But the mass was so great that all the
hurry could not save them, and more than 200
prisoners were taken on the spot, while the hill
side, the banks of the aqueduct, the aqueduct
itself, and the river side, were filed with dead
and wounded. The Sandman and French artil-
lery poured, moreover q murderous crossfire
into the scattered remains of the column, of
which scarcely shot missed. 1t was a com
pleteyout. The French rushed down the hill
side, and drove them far across the plain. The
defeat seems to have so completely cowed them,
that nothing more was attempted against this
side.
Not so on the bridge. Notwithstanding the
heavy loss suffered by the second attack, the
Russians concentrated once more all their
forces, collected the scattered remains of the
column which had been routed on the right of
the French position, and brought up all their
reserves to attempt one more attack. They
again crossed the river, and the aqueduct too,
and tried to take the heights-but in vain ; the
French were now thoroughly prepared, and the
tenacity of the Russians served only to aug
ment their Losses. They we're soon flying in
all directions, followed by the French. This
first attack was decisive, and Immediately the
usual Russian preparation for retreat-namely,
the advance Of the artillery-showed clearly
that the Russians acknowledged themselves
defeated, and were on the point of retiring.
Three batteries, each of II guns, which during