Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-04-26

Mamelon, which they direct against the Frcncl
| approaches towards the pits. and we may expcc
| that the work east of il will SOON be armed also
/ Its fire will enfade portion of our lines an,
the Mamelon will be able 10 direct from one hanl
an awkward fire on the funk Of our right attack
TheRussian engineers have displayed consumat,
ability in their works, and it is well for us the
artillerymen are not expert : those who plac,
them in the batteries. Conscious of the strength
they have gained by the possession of those posi-
iious. aud the advantages they have secured in
defending the town. the Russians appear deter
mined to nuke the most Of their new attack
The Mamelon is exposed TO the fire Of the gun,
in the right az our night attack and TO the fire OF
the second French redouhi over lnkennnn. and
every two or three minutes a shot or shell is
thrown into the work. but the enemy maintain
their ground. though the deserters inform ~ that
they lose 100 men every 81 hours within the par
npct- Of the Mamclon. The practice of our ar
tllerymen Is splendid Scarcely a shot fails in
striking thu top of the parapet just at the right
place. aud black pillar of loose earth shoots up
into the air from the work after every discharge
from guns; but the Russians hold it still.
aud they nro determined to keep their hold as
long a. they can. The defence of the place is
conducted on new principle, and we shall he Sc
ycrely tried with our present numbers, In doing
the work cut out for
The ease with which the Russians get in be-
tween the advanced and second parallels on the
left attack is proof of the weakness of our
works; and believe it has been sugge sted,
though hitherto without success that some sort
of protection should be given 10 men Mt the
point OF our works opposite and close TO the
Russian picket house. on the Woronzof road -
The engineer officers allegc that there is great
difficulty in finding men to execute the necessary
works, Notwithstanding the improved condition
of our army and the dmnution of work and la
Dor which has taken place since the cooperation
of the French on right. As steps are about
to / taken 10 remedy the evils which have arisen
from the weakness of the force on duty in the
trenches, il be no harm to state that we have
frequently had not more than 900 men for duty
in the trenches of the left attack, although it is
considered that they ought to he defended by at
least 900 men, and that 800 men would be by
no means too many for the duty. | saw one par
nllel in which the officer on duty was told to
cover tho whole line Of work He had about $40
men with him, and when he Ind extended his
ilne they were each nearly 30 PAGES apart. This
was in work exposed TO attack at any moment.
Notwithstanding the ground taken by the French
we are obliged to let the men stay for "a hours
at time i'll the trenches. On an average the
mon have three or four nights out of seven in
bed. The French have five nights out of seven
in bed. With reference To the observations
which have been made at home on the dstribu
ton Of labor between the two armies, it must be
borne IN mind that when the French and English
first broke ground before Bulaklaya we were as
strong as ouI ales, and that it was some time
after the siege began ere the relative proportions
of the two armies were considerable altered to
the advantage of the French by the arrival of
their reinforcomeuts. With that single remark
all my comments ON this portion of our proceed
ings here must cease for the present.
The news OF Prince Menshikoifas death is gen
orally believed 1t will be strange if 1T is true
for the hand of Heaven will then have removed
at tho very eiieis of this bloody struggle the two
men from whose evil passions and ambition it
originated. The Russians consider this war us
Prince Menschikoif"s doing. lie mainly created
the detences of of Sebastopol. and never ceased
his exertions TO mike it what it is from the time
he became Governor of the Crimea till he was
removed from the conduct of the defence.
THURSDAY, March 22.--1he contest for the
rifle pits terminated this morning, amid blaze
of iiretrom the forts in the pale light of dawn.iu
favor of the French who now occupy three of the
pits, aud direct a sharp fuslade against the
Mameon Round Tower from the sandbags. Tho
Russian Rfemon are in one of the pits STILL two
seemed to be unoccupied. The enemy have also
placed rihemen in the Mamelon and the new
works on the right. and gun from Gordons
trenches and one from the French redoubts on
the right are constantly engaged in firing round
shot and shell into the former place throughout
the day to reduce the fire and impede the men in
their works. Our two sea service mortars fire
seldom but surely; their range is very great
One shell yesterday evening went far over and
beyond the Round Tower and burst among the
buildings in the rear of it. Another burst through
the ROOT of one of the public buildings, and it IN
stantly collapsed into cloud of dust and rubbish
There arc all kinds of absurd stories ahoat to-
day, with which you hsvo probably met in some
phase othor ere this through the electric tel
cgraph, TO the effect that there has been mutt
ny in Sebastopol, that Russian General march
ing his troops down to the city has been assas sn-
ated by them, and that Prince Gortschakof had
informed the army in the Crimea that he is to be
supported by an Austrian corps to drive the al
lies out of the country. We hear that General
Admiral Istomne has been killed in tho town,
while experimenting the works of the Mamclon,
and that the enemy want Generals. A Poll n
soldier, who has 1eserteu, gives information that
.aere is plenty of ammunition, but the gunners
have been ordered not to fire. He says the Rus
slams don't care for French or English; but would
rather attack the former than the latter. Pro-
visions plentiful in the town, according to his
account, but the garieon in great fear, and
have very few hours in bed. The men are kept
constantly employed on the works, in the bat
tories, OF in the trenches and sorties.
For the last half hCur--it is now 10. as p. Nj
furious fight has been raging all along our front
To person standing on Cathcarts hill in front
of the 1th Division the whole of the Russian
lines revealed in successive glimpses by
bursts of red flame, and the bright star-lke
flashes of musketry, twinkling all over the black
expanse between us and the town for three or four
miles in length. show that fierce contest going
on before the trenches of the allies. Shells,
each marked by distinctive point of fire where
the fuze is burning describe their terrible curves