The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1855-05-18
rIRsr pAY-oPEN1NG OF THE FIRE.

| bastopOl up to The IAN OF APHl. we Ma"e '"'
following selections:
] FIRST DAY-oPENING OF THE FIRE.
BEFoRE SEBAsTopoL, Easter Monday, April o
I 1855 This morning at daybreak the allied BAT
| teries simultaneously oponed fire on the detence'
! OF Sebastopol. 1t is now O'Clock IN the aiter
noon, and the rain, which began to fall last night
| is descending in torrents, accompanied by hlgt
breeze of wind. The enemy were taken com
| petely by surprise when opened FIRE. They
replied, indeed pretty brisky at once to the French
fire left, and the flagstaff Battery and works
were manned Immediately. The Garden Battery
and Redan Battery came into play soon after we
opened fire, but time elapsed before the
Round Tower works or the Mamelon answered,
| and for half an hour their guns were weakly
handled.
SECOND DAY-THE HAIL OF SHOT.
April IO.-Durng the whole of the morning
the firing continued on our side with little inter-
mission-while that Of the Russians was evidently
sIackening. AT about o'clock. however, all the
enemy's lines and batteries suddenly sprung into
life and vgor. Volleys of from 100 to $50 guns
were fired at once from the Redan, the Flagstaff,
Barrack, Garden and Malakoff batteries even the
Mamelon, which all thought destroyed and unten-
able, fired five or six guns in succession. Their
shot came in upon our works like hail. On every
point along our lines balls were to be seen bound
ing and plunging, and shells bursting like fire.
works in the Dir. Never, perhaps, was such a
concentrated and destructive cannonnade witness
ed since the commencement of the siege. All felt
that if it continued two or three hours our works
would be lie yelled with the dust, as, though both
English and French kept up terrific fire. the
enemy, in spite of our utmost efforts, gave five
guns IN reply 10 our one. The rapidity and dea-
lening uproar Of the fire bEought all who were at
leisure to the front, and the oldest and most exper.
fenced artillery officers augured very unfavorabIy
of our prospect of taking fortress which could
command such fierce cannonade. Suddenly,
and in the midst of such remarks, the enemys
batteries made dead pause. For nearly a QUAR-.
ter OF an hour not gun was fired.
Our long guns ceased airing little after seven,
the enemy's about eight. and then both Russians
and Allies resorted to their morrurs. The fire oil
these latter was maintained all night.
1t is something awful to stand upon the hills
which overlook The town and watch The progress
OF the nightly bombardment. The Congreve rock.
cts rush from the French batteries with deafen.
ing roar, leaving trail Of fire behind just suffi.
cent TO trace the of the missile as it darts
vaguely hher and thither through the air. set.
Ting down at last with loud crash in the Flag.
staff. This wild, errac course occasionally lands
them outside the Russian line, and now and then
forces them clear over everything into the very
centre OF the town. From both right and left the
mortars are discharged with heavy painful OK.
posion and with flash which, enen al a distance,
is almost binding. As the dull boom shakes your
very frame, and hear the she'll with a kind OF
whstIlng roar, mount higher and higher INTO the |
air, till having reached its zenith it descends with
fedoubIed speed and force into the enemys works.
The shock with which it strikes the ground can |
De distinctly heard even in the Allied camp, fol. |
owed in second after by the sharp ringing ex.
'losIon, IN the bright glare of which The earth is
brown up like cloud. The casualties in the
batteries to-day have been sghter than those of
yesterday. The left attack has sustained some
injury IN guns and works; both will be repaired
o'nIght. Captain Sinclair OF the Royal ArtiIle-
y was severely wounded with splinter of
hel! through the thigh, but is doing we'll. I be.
Ievc no other officer was wounded
THIRD DAY-EFFEcr OF THE SHOT.
April 1l.-At day break this morning the fire
vas resumed by the Allies and Russians. and
or some time with equal vigor on both sides. In
pie oil the hre OF our mortars, the enemy durInu
ne past night have managed to repair much Of
be damage which the Mamelon sustained. and
lso the works of the Flagstaff Battery opposed 10
he French
% the extreme left, where the French are at.
acking' much harm has undoubtedly been done. ;
ne Mud Fort has received some hard knocks ;
overall OF Its guns have been dismounted and are =
W. Il.
: delensible. Next to this came the Flagstaff, .
ne OF ;he most formidable ofthe Russian defences,
nd the same which blew up all the French bat
'rIes on 18th Of October last Since that a,tack
strength has been increased four fold then il =
ouhted forty five, now it mounts upwards of one =
undred and sixty heavy guns at some parts in
ree tiers, and at others in two. This work has
's'a'ned much damage, more perhaps than all a
re other Russian batteries put together. its lower
ID more advanced tier OF guns quite senced
he guns themselves are overthrow, the embra. "
res destroyed, in some cases shot quite awsv
ID III others so damaged as TO be mere piles OIL :"
ack earth from which the remnants of white
nd bags peep out here and there. The second Z
7r is ulso much knocked about, and one or two
lie guns silent, and the slopes of the eartb.
orks much damaged. Still this portion is good II
% serV1ceabIe and some thirty or forty pieces of c.
dnance IN position in it maintaining hot can. a
made. The upper tier Of about thirty guns was I
most unInJured, certainly none Of IFS guns were e
uched. They had suffered very little, aud con. u
'ueo 10 lnflIct some mischief upon the French. +
De lace oil the Barrack Battery, which adioins o
e Flagstaff, had been hit hard bv the French n
Il was still firing. The other two sides OF il y
ire almost unscathed, and seemed even to be d.
akng head against the French battery on our M
IT, and part oil our left attack Next TO This III
me the Garden Battery. Il suffered much YES. CT
DAY, but from its position in rear of the other al
'rks the Russians have been able to renair !, to
SIIY, and This morninp =, tn,