Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1855-10-06

Means of retreat had be.t,,. secured by o
long bridge of RATS across the great harbor,
and for many hours large masses OF troops
were removed by this passage TO the northern
side but at eight o'clock in the morning o.
the 9th this communication was stopped, the
whole Of the works and town being then
evacuated. If as is propable, any of the
Russians remained on the south bank after
| that hour, they must either have perished in
the fire or fallen into the hands Of the besie-
gers. About 500 Of the wounded, we know,
remained in the Fort St. Paul, and for them
an armistice was asked but, with their ac-
customed indifference to the preservation of
| life and property, the Russians were deter
mined TO destroy the city rather than to ca
pitulate, and they executed their design.
The position of Prince Gortschakoff'sa sarmy,
after the main body had effected its retreat
| across the harbor, was, therefore, as follows .
His extreme right, consisting of the corps
most actively engaged in tho defence of the
place, rests upon the Severnaia work. or Star
Fort, and holds the strongly intrenched po-
sitions on the north shore, where, no doubt,
considerable preparations have been made
for this emergency. His centre covers the
Belbek, and is protected in front by the field
works thrown up along the ridge Of Inker-
mann. His left wing consists of Liprandi's
corps, occupying the ground from Macken-
zie's Farm to the heights of Aitoder on the
Bakshiserai road.
The mere occupation of the north side of
the port is q barren advantage, for, though it
might hold garrison, it cannot shelter a
defeated army and it is obvious that, after
the failure OF the main object all the ability
and gencralship of the Russians will be re-
quired to save the whole body of their forces
in the Crimea from destruction. We there
;,fo hat ba ,.4e ,,;l
be held for time by limited garrison, or,
moro probably, altogether abandoned, in the
hope Of saving the army.
Prince Gortschakoff's plan of campaign
has long since been made judging, therefore,
from the accustomed tactics of tho Russian
army, as well as from the extreme difficulty
of his present position, we incline to the opin-
ion that he will adopt the course of general
and immediate retreat To hold the Crmea
without Sebastopol, and even after the har-
Dor of Sebastopol itself has been transformed
by conquest into the base of operations of
the invading armies, would be n bootless and
Improbable task, and the danger is greatly
aggravated by the fact that the whole body
Of the Allies, with unlimited means Of naval
transport at their command, will shortly be
at liberty to advance upon any part OF the
Peninsula which is accessible from the coast.
own success in the siege operations musthave
been considered by the allied Generals, and
the moment is now arrived when they may
proceed to open the campaign Of which the
reduction of Sebastopol was the first prelim-
| mary. That field operations Of this nature
have long been contemplated by the allied
Governments, is obvious from the large
cavalry force they have continued to send to
the Crimea. The British army alone can
bring upwards of 5000 sabres and lances into
the field, and the French cavalry is still more
numerous and impatient of the inaction to
which it has hitherto been condemned.
Fighting, rs they are, in closed lists, with
out the means of escape, the defeated Rus
sian army should be compelled to lay down
its arms, or to fight general action, which
would crown the series of our successes by q
still more decisive victory. The peninsula
itself is besieged and we'll nigh invested by
our fleets and armies, and if tho command OF
q single road be lost, the whole line by which
supplies and communications can reach the
Russians, is gone. Such we take to be the
relstive position Of the belligerents in the
Crimea, and, with the means Of action at the
disposal of the French and English Generals
we have confident hopes of o glorious result
FRANCE.
On the night of the 9Th inst, whilst the
Emperor Of the French was at the door Of the
Theatre Italien, at the moment the carriage
containing the Ladies of Honor of the En-
press stopped at the entrance Of the theatre,
an individual who was standing in the trottoir
discharged, without taking aim, two pocket
pistols at the carriage. No one was struck.
The man, who had more the appearance of O
maniac than an assassin, was Immediately ar.
rested. The name of the individual arrested
is Bellemarre. lie is about % years of age
and was born at Rouen. When l6 years OF
| age he was sentenced to two years imprison-
ment for swindling.