The Northern star. [volume] (Warren, R.I.) 1849-1855, 1855-07-13

Reconnaissance 0f Cro,ssiadt. e. Jlfernui
.MacAines. At noOn oa the 9Th of June,
The Merlin, carry ing ihe French Admiral
PsnuSd anh several French ~ Il English
cal,inins. proceeded To reconnoitre Cron-
s'adi. They were attended hy the Dragon,
Fi'efi,, rnl corvette D'Assns. Gong frat
nl"ns The north side of the i-land they ap-
preached wmh:n 1900 yards Of the block.
ships lying in The open winter t~iween
Cronstn'Ii md ST. Peiersinnrg. They cun-
sisted of four ia,ers, five friga'es, nn'l two
rors etlcs. ,noore.l in line nl"ng the three
iaiho,n bank. with their broad>ides bear
ing upor the northern passage. Inside
these, ID steam gnnhoais iny at anchor,
aud under the wull Of Man. Of Mar HarLor,
nnchored in thee lines, we're % row gun
boats. Nhen the Merlin went in 80 close
two Of The sicm,n gunbonts came onr, nnd
one fired heavy shot at her, but il fell
shori.
IN tho Mmn-Gf-Wnr ha, Der were az line
of-Ia,,le ships, four of them fully rigge,l,
and the Others in I'r0gi css. Between this
hni i,vr mnd Fort X on-lot were 40 steamers
of varions sizes, some Of then, screws, and
between KrOnslot and Fart MenschikOh
two ihree-,ieckcrs are nIuored hOv t0 bow,
with their hrOnisidrs commanding the only
entrance. The island seems full OF soldiers,
for, besides those qnnricred in the town
aud batteries. three large rarnps were
formed outside, iva on the North nnl The
otter on the South eide. Immense new
cnrihwo,ks have been crested this Spring:
complete chain of them runs from the
Govern0r'- house across the island to 'le
"II Kesseli Battery, dividing il into halves,
one foi titled, the other without u gun upon
IL.
Just ns The Merlin was returning, and
" hen going aiou; I knots m hour, severe
shock was felt, as il she had strnck upon n
sunkcn pile. II made .i.s ship quiver from
stc,n 10 stern. The engines we're instantly
stepped a,nl reversed, hut beiore -he had
>Iern way np0n her, anoihrr bl"w, ten
times more severe than the FIRST, struck her
"n the siaiboarI how, just before the pad
die wheel, scnshly lifting her q, er to port,
and making her masts head aud shake as IL
they would topple down.
The Firrhy was immediately in ihe Mer-
lin's wake, nnd before she could stop, she
ran To stuboard of lhe Merlin, and partly
turned routh, when n Tremendous exrlO-
sion took place unier her bows, causing
her To siagsrr, nni proving very plainly
thar they we're over II nest of Professor
Jacohi's Internal machines, the existence of
whirh is now heyOnd a doubt, and also that
they are not such aeiy Formidable afars,
after all,
They then proceeded carefully until they
got into deep water without meeting with
any more, AMI then reconnoirre'l the South
idle, getting so near the shore IA To witness
a sort Of review Of the Russian horse artil
icry, und nfterward returned 10 The fleet.
A diver was Immediately gent down 10 en-
anime ,he Firtfy, and not the slightest in-
jury could be detected, hut inside the ship
almost every BIT Of crockeryware was
broken, and the bulkheads thrOwn down or
displaced.
On examining the Merlin, eight sheets Of
her copper were blown, not scraped, of,
a,rI the side appeared .charred. All the
inside fitngs OF the enXneers' bathroom,
mess room aud store-rOon., were conplets.
ly demolished. An iron tank, which was
bolted to the ships side, and contained .
cwf. Of tal"w, was knocked q distance Of
four leet. Shst were shaken out of the
racks, AMI utmost everytlsing inoveuble IN |
the ship was displaced.
II H. supposed these machines have bceD
laid down sire Admiral Dnndas recon-
nohercd the place the last time; for, after
he returned, TWO steamers came from the
ha'bor, and were busily employed for some
iiiuc.
IL the information / have received lie cor.
rect, which believe it will prove to he, all
ideas Of attacking either Sweabn.g or Cron-
staIt nrc abandoned. AT the for mer, the
Russians since last year have erected no
less than Id additional batteries, some OF
them mounting rs mahy As so guns. The
,lefenccs Of the latter have been coDsi,lera-
lily strengthened, and both are deemed un-
assailahIe ay naval fnrces.
The ports OF Revcl and Riga are Of greni
importance to the enemy, anh Ia wrest
them from him would be u step in The right
direction, AMI would show that the most
magnificent und most powerful fleet which
hns ever been congregnte,l on the waters.
had performed some Of the impoi tant oh
jects Of its mission. .-(Correspondence OF
the London Times.