Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1855-10-13
The Final Bombardment.

A correspondent of the London Times gives
q graphic description of the bombardment pre-
vious to the last assault upon Sebastopol, and
probably the greatest storm of shot and shell
which ever fell upon a city
The French exploded three fougasses, to
blow in the counterscarp, and to serve as a
signal to their men. Instantly, from the sea
to the dockyard creek, there seems to run a
stream of fire, and feecy, curling, rich white
smoke, as though the earth had suddenly been
rent in the throes of an earthquake, aud was
vomiting forth the material of her volcanoes.
The lines of the French trenches were at once
covered as though the very clouds of Heaven
had settled down upon them, and were whirl-
ed about in spiral jets, in ~festoons, in cluster
Ing lunches, in columns and in sheets, all com
mingled, involved together by the vehement
flames beneath. The crash of such a tremen-
dous fire must have been appalling, but the
wind and the peculiar state of the atmosphere
did not permit the sound to produce any great
effect upon our camp in the city, for the
anne reason, the noise must have been terrific
and horrible. The iron storm tore over the
Russian lines, tossing up as if in sport, jets of
earth and dust, rending asunder gabions, and
" squelching" the parapets, or bounding over
among the houses and ruins in their rear. The
terrible files of iron, about four miles in front,
rushed across the plain, carrying death and
ruin with it, swept with its heavy and @irresis-
tible wings the Russian TANKS, and searched
their centre to the core. A volley so startling,
simultaneous and tremendously powerful, was
probably never yet uttered since the cannon
fonud its voice. The Russians seemed for q
while utterly paralyzed ; their batteries were
not manned with strength enough to enable
them to reply to such an overlapping and crush
ing fire but the French, leaping to their
guns with astounding energy, rapidity and
strength, kept on filling the very air with the
HURTING storm, and sent it in unbroken fury
against their euemies.
More than 200 pieces of artillery of large
calibre, admirably served and well directed,
played necessarily on the hostile lines. In a
few moments a great veil of smoke-"a war
cloud rolling dun"-spread from the guns
over on the left of Sebastopol but the roar
OF the shot did not cease, and the cannonade
now pealed forth in great irregular bursts, now
died away into hoarSe murmurs, again swelled
up into tumult, or ratified from end to end of
the line like the file fire of infantry. Stone
walls went down before the guns at once, but
the earthworks yawned to receive shot and
shell alike. However, so swift and i~ncessaut
was the passage of these missiles through the
embrasures and along the tops of the parapets,
that the enemy had to lie close, and could
scarcely show themselves in the front line of
d~efences. For a few minutes, then, the French
had it all their own way, and appeared to be
on the point of sweeping away the place with
out resistance but after they had fred a few
rounds from each of their numerous guns, the
Russian artillerymen got to work and began
to return our allies fire. They made good
practice, and fred slowly and with precision.
Us if they could not afford to throw away an
ounce of powder. After two hours and a
half of furious fire, the artillerymen of our
allies suddenly ceased, in order to let their
guns cool and to rest themselves. The Rus
slams crept out to repair the damages to their
works, and shook sand-bags full of earth from
the parquette over the outside of their par
apets. Their gunners also took advantage of
this sudden cessation to open on our sailors
in the left attack, and caused us some
little annoyance from the "crow's nest
fire was kept up all day, only stopping at
to take rest.