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THE HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA: 
 
 GIYING FULL DETAILS 
 
 OPERATIONS OF THE ALLIED ARMIES. 
 
 BY HENRY TYRRELL, ESQ. 
 
 COMPRISING PORTRAITS OF CELEBRATED COMMANDERS; EVENTS OF THE WARj BATTLE SCENES; 
 VIEWS OF CELEBRATED PLACES IN THE SEAT OF WAR ; MAPS, PLANS, Etc. 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 7IIINTXD AMD PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY (LIMITED), 
 
 LONDON AND NEW YORK. 
 
^"^ 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The title of a took often very slenderly indicates its contents, and frequently rather 
 points to than describes them. Yet the reader who does not comprehend his author's 
 plan and intention, may lose much of the benefit to be derived from a perusal of his 
 labours. We propose, therefore, by a few prefatory observations, to trace faintly the 
 track we are about to pursue. 
 
 The urgent necessity of a truthful record of the events now distracting Europe, will 
 not be questioned by any reflective mind. We would fain, as far as lies in us, anticipate 
 the labour and the verdict of posterity. We desire to blend into one united, inteUigible 
 whole, the facts in connexion with the war which, one by one, have arisen, been dis- 
 cussed, and then turned from as some newer incident engrossed the public mind. 
 The history of the present time — of the hours that are now silently gliding by us, 
 and fading, like spectres, into the venerable past — is of more importance to the 
 present generation than the records of buried ages, and the recapitulation of the 
 deeds of the illustrious dead. We look with reverence to the past : we shudder at 
 its crimes, and applaud its virtues; but to those now living and treading their way 
 forward with unsure footsteps in the great jarring world, the words and deeds of the 
 living must be of the greatest moment. The period that most interests us is the 
 eternal Now ! The men we live amongst, and the great stream of events passing by 
 us, are those by whom and by which our happiness is most affected. If we would 
 act wisely, we must try to understand the age in which we live, and the events by 
 which we are surrounded. 
 
 Russia has provoked a great war, ostensibly in defence of the Cross against the 
 Crescent; the true against the false. This pretension — subtle and rotten as it is — 
 must be unveiled, not to statesmen alone, , but to the whole world. To every Ame- 
 rican citizen it must be important to learn the history of the rise and progress of 
 this war. The struggles of a brave people to prevent their being subjected to the 
 thraldom of a powerful despot, cannot fail to be interesting to a nation of freemen. 
 Connected as we are with England by the ties of consanguinity, speaking the same 
 language and professing the same religion — looking as we do to England as the home of 
 our fathers — it is impossible that we can feel otherwise than deeply interested in the 
 great contest which is at present being carried on in Europe. Again, Americans are 
 not likely to forget that the same generous aid which France at present holds out to the 
 Turk, was at one time extended to themselves, when they also were struggling for inde- 
 pendence. Apart, then, from the objects of this great contest, the parties engaged in it 
 render it a subject of intense interest to the American public. 
 
 The mismanagement of the war at its commencement, seriously impaired the effect 
 of the noble heroism and endurance of the allied troops. The old system of routine 
 which has been so long prevalent in England has broken down in action ; the aristocracy 
 
 i 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 have failed in their attempt exclusively to perform the work of the nation ; and the mode 
 of government by family statesmanship and narrow cliques, trembles to its foundation. 
 The people of that great empire are awakened, and the time has arrived for unrecog- 
 nised legislative or military genius to assert itself. Britain is in want of true and strong 
 men — men powerful alike in mind and will. The nation misses the military and naval 
 heroes who have adorned the pages of its history, and who now sleep in honour. The 
 internal consequences to England of this war, promise to be as great as those that occur 
 abroad. It has had an intellectual influence upon the people, and will doubtless be 
 the precursor of great and necessary reforms. A national self-examination is taking 
 place, and it is felt that the basis of government must be widened, and the House of 
 Commons fairly opened to the representatives of the people. The war of arms abroad 
 is scarcely less exciting than the political war which has aroused the people at home. 
 A revolution of opinion is at hand, is even now taking place, — a constitutional and 
 peaceful revolution, yet one that is searching, sweeping, and powerful — a revolution 
 which has for its aim the task of tearing command in the state and in the field 
 from feeble incapacity or unwillingness, and placing it in the hands of intellect and 
 merit. 
 
 We shall relate, fully and impartially, all the conflicts that have taken place in 
 connection with this great question ; — wars abroad, and fierce contentions at home ; the 
 wild shocks and struggles, military and political ; the patient and heroic endurance of 
 the brave troops in distant lands, — how they bore, unrepiningly, the terrible visitation 
 of the blue, corpse-like, inexorable pest, cholera; how they died with the wish upon 
 their lips that they had perished for their country on the battle-field; how their 
 spirits rose when they sailed from Varna across the Euxine, to smite the aggressor on 
 his own soil; how, on that dismal peninsula (for ever memorable in the records of 
 European history), the soldiers of England and France fought side by side, and mingled 
 their blood in its wild valleys and grassy tracts; how, by their heroic bravery, their 
 impetuous charges, their adamantine endurance, their resistless valour, they swept the 
 Russian hosts from the heights of Alma; how, at Balaklava, that devoted band of 
 English cavalry, like the classic heroes of remote or mythic times, charged a Russian 
 army, and sped forward like the lightning's flash upon fifty instruments of destruction, 
 whose iron mouths poured out flame, and death, and mutilation ; how, in the bloody 
 valley of Inkermann (now the sepulchre of thousands, whose mangled remains moulder 
 beneath its sod), the noble English, in cold, hunger, rain, and darkness, beat back the 
 multitudinous Russians, until the arrival of the brave French upon the ground helped to 
 decide the deadly conflict; how that storms, and bitter cold, and incessant toil, and 
 want, and nakedness, and neglect, fell upon that poor and gallant army, and wrought on 
 it that destruction the enemy could not efi'ect; — how these things startled the 
 English people (drawing from them tears of pity and bursts of anger), crushed a cabinet, 
 produced a ministerial interregnum, and threatened a national convulsion. 
 
 All these things, and many more that we cannot now allude to, including the pro- 
 ceedings of the giant fleets in the Black Sea and in the Baltic — the insulting of the 
 enemy's shores — the crippling of his commerce — the destruction of the grim fortresses 
 of Bomarsund and Sweaborg — the coward skulking of the Russian fleets within their 
 protected harbours — and the long, dreary siege of the almost impregnable Sebastopol : 
 
fUEFACE. 
 
 these matters, of deep interest to every heart, will, we repeat, be related with truthful 
 yet picturesque colouring, and stern impartiality. We need not give pledges for the 
 truth of these assertions. We are of the people — attached to no party, not interested in 
 the existence of any faction, but simply lovers of the truth and of our country. Standing 
 apart from the struggles of the world, we strive to read and collect the lessons taught by 
 them, and in some measure to make history the handmaid of philosophy. 
 
 From what we have already said, the reader will understand that, in these pages, we 
 shall utter the truth in its simple majesty, even though that truth may not always be 
 flattering and acceptable to the ears of the powerful. Assuredly we shall do this, or we 
 had better hold our peace. Outspoken fearlessness, and a sacred regai'd of truth, is our 
 first obligation as a man, and our imperative duty as an historian. Yet shall we write in 
 a hopeful and patriotic spirit. We shall record the defects and errors of a great country 
 with sorrow, while we proclaim hef victories and triumphs with grateful joy. That, also, 
 we recognise as a duty ; for, though we regard all mankind as our fellow-creatures, yet 
 we cannot forget that English blood runs in our veins. Whatever may be the failings of 
 their statesmen, generals, or military system, we have a firm, enduring, ever-springing 
 faith in the power and intelligence of the English people at large. We believe In the 
 happy and ascendant destiny of that country ; we rely on the heroism, endurance, and 
 perseverance of her children. Ntirsed in freedom, loving justice, detesting political 
 hypocrisy, aggression, and despotism, — ready to succour the Weak, and to defeat the 
 unjust pretensions of the powerful ; such a people, engaged in a righteous war, must 
 eventually triumph. That they may do so is our dearest hope, our firmest faith. It is 
 our trust that this wild storm of war, which counts its sacrifices by hundreds of thousands 
 — which absorbs the treasures of Europe, and threatens the tranquillity of the World, may 
 lead to a speedy peace,— to peace, that 
 
 " Dear nurse of arts, plenties, and joyful births :" 
 
 to a peace, just in itself, and lasting in its nature. We trust that it may strengthen the 
 bonds which unite nations, and promote the rational liberties of Europe. We trust that 
 it may stagger the dangerous power of a vast semi-barbarous empire, and teach the future 
 Czars of Eussia to tespect the weak, that they may not arotise the indignation and 
 hostility of the strong. The severity of the struggle ia like a thunder-storm on a 
 summer's night — it clears the air. 
 
 On the restoration of peace, Russia will have learnt to know and respect the power 
 of combined Europe. Dangerous, indeed, has been the policy of the great empire of the 
 North. In the time of Peter the Great, the frontier of the Russian territory was formed 
 by the river Dnieper; In 1774, it was extended to the banks of the Bug; in 1793, it 
 stretched to the Dniester ; in 1812, to the Pruth ; and in 1829, the line was made to 
 include the mouths of the Danube. If, in 1853, England and Prance had permitted 
 further aggression, the two-headed eagle of Russia Would have displaced the silver 
 Crescent, and waved in unholy triumph on the waters of the Bosphorua, and over the 
 gilded minarets of Constantinople. 
 
 For a long period Turkey has possessed but a sickly and spasmodic life. Since the 
 battle of Navarino, it has existed only by the forbearance and through the protection of 
 Europe, because it was well known that its extinction would leave a dangerous void in 
 
 ill 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 the community of states on that famous continent. The difficulty is one which time 
 must solve, and which, we trust, it will solve gently. The late Czar would have violently 
 settled it at once by seizing the richest portion of the possessions of " the sick man," and 
 thus brought about his dissolution. The preponderance of power which such an act would 
 give to Russia, considered in connection with her known crafty and aggressive policy, 
 would have destroyed the balance of power in Europe, and endangered its peace and 
 independence. France and England united to succour Turkey, and thus to prevent so 
 alarming a result ; and notwithstanding the equivocal attitude and apathetic conduct of 
 those great German states most interested in reducing the towering might of Russia, 
 they will prevent it, though at the sad cost of the blood of thousands and tens of 
 thousands of the bravest of their sons. The sophisms of the Czar Nicholas have been 
 exposed; the hypocritical fraud he would have perpetrated in grasping at the defence of 
 the interests of religion as a cloak for his godless ambition, has been held aloft to the 
 withering scorn of Europe ; and speedily, we trust, Russia will have received that whole- 
 some check which is necessary for the welfare of the civilised world. 
 
 Still the result of the war with respect to the Ottoman empire can be but guessed 
 at, and seen as through a glass darkly ; its final settlement is an event of the future, — an 
 act which will be related by some perhaps yet unborn historian. If the allies are as 
 triumphant as all just men wish them to be, still it is to be feared that the internal 
 condition of Turkey will remain the same. Her superstition, her apathy, her stagnant 
 commerce, the decline of her population, and the prevalence of her nameless vices, — all 
 tend to drag her down, and to unbind the bonds of empire from the petty states of which 
 she is composed. It has been truly observed, that a state may be protected against 
 violence, but not against decomposition. The greatest enemies of the Ottomans are 
 themselves. We have but one hope that Turkey may yet renew its youth and regain 
 something of its departed strength and greatness; that is, if the connection of its 
 subjects with France and England stimulates them into renewed activity, and implants 
 in them a desire for extended commerce, and for turning to account the many prolific 
 sources of prosperity contained in their rich, uncultivated lands, and in the hidden 
 treasures of their unworked mines. 
 
 Here we draw our prefatory remarks to a close. We have expressed a settled 
 conviction that it is the duty of all men — a duty for the discharge of which they will reap 
 an abundant, intellectual reward — to make themselves familiar with the history of the 
 causes and progress of this great war ; and we would now fain say a word on the claims 
 our own literary labours on the subject have to public attention. Modesty fetters us in 
 this direction ; yet, we may honestly assert, that if unwearied industry in the collection 
 of facts, prolonged reflection in the arrangement of them into historic proportion, added 
 to an attempt to draw from them such philosophic teachings as may benefit humanity, 
 give us a claim upon the attention of our fellow-men, that we shall have no cause to 
 complain of a want of public appreciation and patronage. 
 

 -^ 
 
 (' Ill-a£ii'iQaiii.,DKimiJt£ngriiTe'l bjB "Vfiuiies 
 
 THP, LOHTjOM" PRIIirriNG 1 
 

 ^D BUBLISHIHG COMPANT 
 
 Hie ]Vlap,Dra\ni i^^- Z,iigl\^"7Pd V J Rap]?m , 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PRESENT 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSI 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REFLECTIONS. 
 
 " Before mine eyes thou hast set, and in mine ear 
 Vented much policy, and projects deep 
 Of enemies, of aids, battles and leagues." — Paradise Regained. 
 
 England is engaged in a struggle of para- 
 mount importance and of engrossing in- 
 terest. After nearly forty years of peace, 
 it has entered on a war which threatens 
 eventually to involve all Europe in hostili- 
 ties. But the question is of still larger 
 import : for if the interests of Europe are 
 involved in it, the destinies and future con- 
 dition of Asia actually depend upon its 
 solution. The might of Russia, growing 
 with a startling rapidity, and ever exercised 
 in the extension of its vast dominions, has 
 for a long period created uneasiness in the 
 cabinets of Europe. Eussia is essentially 
 a military power, and aggression on the 
 territory of its weaker neighbours is coeval 
 with its history as an empire. The designs 
 of its rulers upon the possessions of the 
 Ottoman, have descended from one sove- 
 reign to another as a sort of political heir- 
 loom. The conquest of Turkey, by fraud 
 or by force, or by a combination of both, 
 was a matter never to be lost sight of by 
 its princes, until opportunity should serve 
 for its accomplishment. 
 
 The Russian empire, with its enormous 
 territorial possessions" both in Europe and 
 in Asia, and its rapidly increasing popula- 
 tion, is a dangerous neighbour to adjacent 
 kingdoms. It smote Sweden, engulphed 
 the Crimea, seized on Finland, and first 
 divided, and then extinguished, bleeding 
 and quivering Poland. The late czar, in- 
 toxicated by the possession of despotic 
 power in his own dominions, gave way to a 
 wild Napoleonic dream of universal empire. 
 His design upon the territory of the sul- 
 tan, fortunately discovered before the op- 
 portunity was ripe for its execution, made 
 the nations inquire — what would Russia 
 be if her subtle despot succeeded in ac- 
 
 quiring another territory almost as large, 
 and infinitely more fertile, than his own? 
 If he became lord of the East, would the 
 freedom of the West long repose in secu- 
 rity? "With Constantinople in his grasp, 
 the independence of Prussia and of Aus- 
 tria would have cause to tremble. Not 
 only would the balance of power between 
 the great European states be destroyed, 
 but many politicians feared that the liber- 
 ties of nations might be torn up by the 
 roots, or washed away in crimson seas of 
 blood. The prospect, however remote, was 
 an awful one. In the judgment of the 
 statesmen into whose hands England had 
 at that time trusted its national honour 
 and freedom, there was but one alterna- 
 tive. A solemn one, it is true ; an alter- 
 native between national humiliation on the 
 one hand, and on the other, a decision 
 which has painfully taxed the endurance 
 and self-denial of Englishmen, and led to 
 a frightful loss of life and treasure. In a 
 word, WAR,, or submission to the aggressive 
 designs of a barbarous power, and the pos- 
 sibility of beholding the independence of 
 Europe trodden beneath the feet of the 
 Cossacks. It was feared that, unless the 
 allied powers of France and England raised 
 a hand of iron against the encroachments 
 of Russia, and forbade its progress with 
 the roar of cannon and the dread crash of 
 war, another generation might behold the 
 sight to which we have alluded. The Rus- 
 sian empire, made stronger by success, and 
 bolder by additional conquests, might — 
 
 " be like a tree 
 
 Spreading and overshadowing all the earth ; 
 
 Or as a stone that shall to pieces dash 
 
 All monarchies besides throughout the world." 
 
 The question of the war is a complicated 
 
 1 
 
INTaoDtJCTlON.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 one. " Three centuries ago," said an able 
 writer in the Edinburgh Review, " the first 
 vow of Christian statesmen was the expul- 
 sion of the Turks from the city of Con- 
 stantine, and the deliverance of Europe 
 from the scourge and terror of the infidel. 
 In the present age, the absorbing desire of 
 the same cabinets is to maintain the mis- 
 believers in their settlements ; and to post- 
 pone, by all known expedients of diplomacy 
 and menace, the hour at which the Crescent 
 must again give place to the Cross." The 
 reasons for this political paradox will be- 
 come apparent to those who peruse our 
 introductory chapters on Turkey and Rus- 
 sia. A glance — swift and sweeping — of 
 the history of the past is necessary to a 
 justification of the belligerent powers of 
 Europe in the present. Many people, 
 indeed, ar6 surprised, if not shocked, at 
 our alliance with a Mohammedan power 
 against a Christian one. Some have re- 
 garded the association as unnatural, and 
 the war as unoalled-fol- and unnecessary. 
 Statesmen of unquestioned reputation, and 
 long experience of Eutopean politics, have 
 concurred in the latter censure. Earl 
 Grey blamed the Aberdeen ministry for 
 allowing itself to be drawn into the quarrel 
 between Russia and the Porte. " I agree," 
 exclaimed the earl, "in all that has been 
 said in condemnation of the conduct of 
 Russia towards Turkey in this case ; but it 
 does not follow, because Russia has done 
 wrong, that it was expedient or pi*oper for 
 Us to undertake the defence of Turkey. 
 It is no part of our duty as a nation, to 
 undertake (like knight-errants of old) the 
 general redress of grievances, and to pro- 
 tect every weak state which may be op- 
 pressed by a more powerful neighbour. 
 "We have no business to interfere in the 
 disputes of other nations, unless we are 
 called upon to do so, either by some en- 
 gagement which we have contracted, or by 
 some great interests of our own which are 
 involved." 
 
 The noble earl added, that it was univer- 
 sally admitted that we were not bound by 
 any treaty to assist Turkey, and that an 
 enlightened regard for our interests coun- 
 selled us to abstain from interference. He 
 also considered the prevalent apprehen- 
 sion of Russia to be a delusion. " A nation 
 of slaves," he truly exclaimed, " never can 
 have the energy, intelligence, or wealth of 
 a nation of freemen : and, in modern war. 
 
 it is not the mere brute strength of so 
 many millions of men which is really efi'ec- 
 tivej intelligence and wealth enter into 
 the conflict more effectually than mere 
 numbers ; and that is becoming more ap-* 
 parent every day." 
 
 These observations were entitled to se- 
 rious consideration, and are so still. They 
 should be employed to temper any extrava- 
 gance of feeling that may exist on the part 
 of the nation. Yet we conceive England is 
 j ustified — and more than j ustified — in takin g 
 the belligerent position it has assumed. 
 Assuredly the interests of the British em- 
 pire are involved in the present question, 
 and must ever be concerned in every ques- 
 tion which threatens to overturn the equi- 
 librium and peace of Europe. Our sym- 
 pathies are not strongly enlisted in favour 
 of the Turks : the aSair is less one of Tur- 
 key than of Russia ; and the former must 
 be supported, unless Europe is willing that 
 it shall fall a prey to the latter. Such an 
 event as that, or even a near approach to 
 it, must be regarded as a step which casts 
 an ominous shadow over the tranquillity 
 and civilisation of Europe. The war cer- 
 tainly might have been deferred; but there 
 is every reason to believe, that if we had 
 deferred it, the struggle would have fallen 
 with increased severity upon our children. 
 Evils that are evaded instead of being 
 wrestled with, ever return with a more 
 alarming aspect. The weak tremble in the 
 presence of danger, the strong glare de- 
 fiance at it." Though tyranny and violence 
 will assail " the sick man," they are abashed 
 in the presence of the armed, strong man, 
 "who keepeth his house as a castle." It is 
 better to strike a distant foe with a sense 
 of respect for our power, than to wait until 
 our immediate interests are assailed, our 
 naval supremacy disputed, or our territory 
 invaded. At present Russia is but as a 
 youth among the ancient and civilised na- 
 tions of Europe; and the powerful allies 
 who have drawn the sword against it, are 
 engaged in a necessary strife to prevent its 
 manhood from becoming dangerous. Free- 
 dom forbid that any power should rise 
 paramount in Europe, and reduce the other 
 nations to dependence upon it ! But, if 
 such a calamity ever should befall the 
 world, let us trust that such dominant 
 power may be the most civilised and 
 liberal — not the most barbarous and des- 
 potic. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 TURKEY — ^ITS EXTENT, NATURE, AND POPULATION. 
 
 The dominions of Turkey comprise a por- 
 tion of three-quaxters of the earth — Europe, 
 Asia, and Africa. Altogether, it is estimated 
 to contain 35,000,000 inhabitants, and to 
 embrace a surface of upwards of 600,000 
 square miles. The subjects of the Turkish 
 empire consist of many nations and races. 
 According to the census of 1844, there were 
 — Ottomans or Turks, 12,950,000 ; Greeks, 
 2,000,000; Armenians, 2,400,000; Jews, 
 150,000; Sclavonians, 6,200,000 ; Eoumani, 
 4,000,000; Albanians, 1,450,000; Tartars, 
 66,000; Arabs, 4,700,000; Syrians and 
 Chaldseans, 250,000; Druses, 30,000; 
 Kurds, 1,000,000; Thurcomans, 90,000; 
 Gypsies, 214,000 : making a total of 
 35,500,000. 
 
 Turkey in Europe is 910 miles in length, 
 760 in breadth, and contains 182,560 square 
 miles. It is situated between 16° and 32° 
 east longitude, and between 36° and 49° 
 north latitude; is bounded on the north 
 by Hussia, Buckovina, Transylvania, and 
 Sclavonia; on the east by Little Tartary, 
 the Black Sea, Marmora, the Hellespont, 
 and the Archipelago; on the south by the 
 Mediterranean; and on the west by the 
 same sea and the Austrian dominions. 
 ' The Turkish empire is divided into ejalets 
 or eyalets — that is, large provinces ; in the 
 same manner as England is divided into 
 counties. European Turkey contains fifteen 
 of these ejalets. 
 
 Turkey in Asia is 1,120 miles in length, 
 1,010 in breadth, and contains 470,400 
 square miles : it is situated between 26° and 
 45° east longitude, and between 28° and 
 44° north latitude; is bounded on the north 
 by the Black Sea and Circassia ; on the east 
 by Persia; on the south by Arabia and the 
 Levant ; and on the west by the Archipe- 
 lago, the Hellespont, and the Sea of Mar- 
 mora. It is divided into eighteen ejalets. 
 
 Turkey in Africa contains only three 
 ejalets ; namely — Egypt, Tripoli, and Tunis. 
 Algiers was also a Turkish province ; but it 
 now belongs to the French, though the 
 sovereignty has never been ceded to that 
 nation by the sultan. 
 
 Constantinople (formerly called Byzan- 
 tium, and then the chief city of that moiety 
 
 of Imperial Rome familiar to us at, the 
 Empire of the East) is the Turkish capital. 
 It is situated on the banks of the Bosphorus, 
 between the Black Sea and the Sea of 
 Marmora, on the verge of the narrow chan- 
 nel separating Europe from Asia, and is 
 considered one of the finest harbours in the 
 world. It is the residence of the sultan, 
 the mufti, the ministers, and of all the digni- 
 taries of the empire. The city is built upon 
 an undulating declivity, and three-fourths 
 of it face the sea. Seen from a little dis- 
 tance, it presents a noble and beautiful ap- 
 pearance. Its mosques, cupolas, and mina- 
 rets, interspersed with dark waving cypresses 
 and gaily-painted houses, surrounded by 
 luxuriant gardens containing mulberry, 
 acacia, palm, and fig-trees, together with 
 the placid sunlit sea, on which ride thou- 
 sands of vessels and gondolas, produce an 
 effect not to be seen in any other city in the 
 world. On entering Constantinople, how- 
 ever, you see the reverse of the picture. 
 Internally, it consists chiefly of a labyrinth 
 of crooked, ill-paved, and dirty lanes, and a 
 crowd of low-built and small houses, formed 
 of wood or roughly-hewn stone. The 
 streets are cleared of filth and offal by 
 an immense number of dogs, which con- 
 stantly parade them, and act as scavengers. 
 Constantinople contains fourteen imperial 
 mosques, and 332 others; 183 hospitals, 
 thirty-six Christian churches, several syna- 
 gogues, 130 public baths, 500 fountains, and 
 eighty bazaars. The extreme point of the 
 city is occupied by the seraglio, or private 
 domain of the sultan, which comprises an 
 area of about three miles in circuit. Within 
 it are the divan, the hall of justice, the 
 arsenal, and all the state-offices. The court 
 is entered from the city by a large and 
 heavy gate, called the Porte, a name which 
 has thence been applied to the divan of the 
 Turkish sultan. It was an ancient custom 
 of eastern monarchs, when administering 
 justice, to sit, as the scriptural expression 
 runs, "at the gate." The term "gate" 
 thus became synonymous with court or 
 office ; and for the sake of distinction, the 
 sultan's court was called the Exalted or 
 Lofty Gate. This phrase, in the transla- 
 
 3 
 
TOWNS IN TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tions of the Dragomans, who were mostly 
 Italians, became La Porta Sublime, whence 
 the title of the Sublime Porte. Scutari, 
 situated on the Asiatic shore, and just 
 opposite to Constantinople, is regarded as a 
 suburb of that city ; so also is Pera, on the 
 European side. The harbour of Constan- 
 tinople, called " The Golden Horn," is so 
 constructed, that ships may anchor close to 
 the houses. 
 
 It is necessary also to mention the other 
 principal cities and towns in European 
 Turkey. Adrianople is the second metropolis 
 of the empire, and possesses 160,000 inhabi- 
 tants, of whom about one-half are Turks ; the 
 other, Greeks, Jews, and Armenians. Still 
 Adrianople is considered the most essentially 
 Turkish town in the empire. It is beauti- 
 fully situated on the Maritza river, in the 
 centre of a country possessing great natural 
 wealth. Around it is Tschirmen, with 
 8,000 inhabitants ; Dschisr Mustapha, on 
 the banks of the river Maritza, with 200 
 inhabitants; Demotika, with 15,000 in- 
 habitants, and the seat of a Greek arch- 
 bishopric; Kirkhilissi, with 16,000 inhabi- 
 tants ; Burgas, a little town on the Black 
 Sea, containing only 7,000 inhabitants, but 
 possessed of a harbour, which renders it im- 
 portant in time of war. 
 
 In the interior of Eoumelia (that division 
 of the empire containing Constantinople) is 
 the large town of Philippoli, containing 
 80,000 inhabitants, and important manu- 
 factures of silk, cloth, and cotton : also 
 the towns of Tatar-Basardschick,with 10,000 
 inhabitants; Eski-Sagra, near the Balkan 
 Mountains, with 20,000 inhabitants ; Kasan- 
 lik, at the foot of the Balkan, with 10,000 
 inhabitants ; Selimnia, situated near that 
 important pass of the Balkan called Demir- 
 Kapu, or the Iron Gate, containing 20,000 
 inhabitants, a considerable manufactory of 
 arms, and one of the most important fairs 
 of the empire; Urudschowa, possessing an 
 important fair and a considerable trade ; 
 and Enoss, a port with 7,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Gallipoli, now rendered famous by the 
 present contest, is also situated in this im- 
 portant province. It stands on the penin- 
 sular of Gallipoli, at the entrance of the 
 Dardanelles, across which the ancient poets 
 tell us that the love-inspired Leander swam, 
 night after night, to meet the beautiful 
 priestess of "Venus. It has a harbour, an 
 extensive trade, a victualling magazine for 
 the supply of the Ottoman fleet, and 70,000 
 inhabitants. 
 4 
 
 Kilid-Bahr, the most important fortress 
 on the European side of the Dardanelles, 
 has 155 cannons; the opposite fortress, 
 Sultani-Kalessi, in Asia, has 196 cannons. 
 The batteries on the European shores 
 number 333 cannons and four mortars; 
 those on the Asiatic coast have 814 cannon 
 and four mortars : making, together, 1,497 
 cannons and eight mortars. 
 
 Eodesto is a flourishing commercial town, 
 and the residence of a Greek archbishop. 
 It contains 35,000 inhabitants. 
 
 The principal town in Macedonia is 
 Salonica, its capital, which possesses a very 
 imposing appearance, with its domes and 
 monuments, and is second only to Constan- 
 tinople in commercial importance. The 
 others are Sedes, a village possessing mineral 
 baths ; Jenidsche-Vardar, a town with 6,000 
 inhabitants ; Karaferia, a manufacturing 
 town with 20,000 inhabitants ; Vodina (the 
 ancient Odessa), containing 12,000 inhabi- 
 tants; and Seres, with 30,000 inhabitants. 
 Near to the latter is Mount Athos, which 
 has sixteen monasteries, and more than 300 
 chapels, cells, and grottos, containing as 
 many as 4,000 monks. 
 
 Thessaly is a mountainous region with 
 deep valleys, such as Tempo, and plains that 
 appear like dried-up lakes. Its capital is 
 Larissa, containing a population of 20,000. 
 It is the residence of a Greek archbishop. 
 
 Albania is a picturesque region, and has 
 been the theatre of incessant revolutions, 
 in consequence of its having been divided 
 into several independent pachalics. Much 
 of it is only nominally dependent upon the 
 Porte. The Albanians mostly profess to be 
 Christians of the Greek or Roman churches ; 
 but many of them are Mohammedans. In 
 the north and on the table-lands, maize 
 and potatoes are grown. Smoked mutton, 
 sheepskins, wool, cheese, tallow, bacon, wax, 
 and live-stock are sent to Cattaro in return 
 for wine, spirits, salt, oil, iron, and manu- 
 factured goods. The climate is exceedingly 
 beautiful, though very hot in the summer; 
 but destructive storms are frequent in the 
 south. The olive, orange, and citron thrive 
 in the maritime plains of Albania. Its chief 
 town is Janina, a meanly-built place, with 
 a population of 36,000 inhabitants. Its 
 principal edifice is the fortress, containing 
 the palace of the pacha. Mezzova, Delvino, 
 Suli and Paramithia, Argyrocastro, Ochrida, 
 Dukagin, Perserendi, Alessio, Croja, Dul- 
 cigno, Antivari, and Scutari are the other 
 important towns. The latter is a wealthy 
 
A.D. 1854..] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [danubian paiNciPALiTiBs. 
 
 and flourishing town, containing about 40,000 
 inhabitants. Immediately adj acent is a lofty 
 height, crowned by a citadel, and containing 
 the residence of the governor, with an arsenal 
 and barracks. Scutari has a large bazaar, 
 many mosques, Greek and Roman Catholic 
 churches, several bridges, yards for building 
 coasting-vessels, and manufactories of cotton 
 goods and fire-arms. 
 
 Bosnia is a partially mountainous district, 
 and the soil is in general not very well suited 
 for cultivation, except in the valley of the 
 Save. On the north slopes of the Dinaric 
 Alps are extensive forests, yielding valuable 
 tiiuj)er ; and the pasturage is excellent. The 
 mountains contain mines of gold, silver, mer- 
 cury, lead, and iron; but the government 
 only permit the working of the two latter. 
 Bosnia-Serai, the capital, has 70,000 inha- 
 bitants, and a considerable trade ; indeed it 
 is one of the principal industrial towns of 
 Turkey. The other most important towns 
 are Travnik, Vraduk, and Maglai, Zivornik, 
 Mostar or Monastir, Bihaez, Novi, Jaicza, 
 Banjaluka, Derbir, Livno, and Trebinje. 
 
 Servia is a mountainous province, in many 
 parts densely wooded, and interspersed with 
 numerous fertile valleys. The vine is cul- 
 tivated, bat the people make but indifferent 
 wine. Hemp, flax, tobacco, and cotton are 
 also reared. Ten millions of hogs, fed upon 
 acorns in the grand old oak forests, are an- 
 nually exported. Valuable mines are to be 
 found; but few, if any of them, are wrought. 
 Belgrade, its capital, is an important fortified 
 city on liie right bank of that noble river, 
 the Danube. The city had formerly quite 
 an oriental appearance ; but it is now almost 
 abandoned by wealthy Turks : churches are 
 taking the place of mosques, and new build- 
 ings are being constructed after the German 
 fashion. Servia was conquered by the Turks, 
 and annexed to the Ottoman empire in the 
 year 1385. The Servians are descendants 
 of the ancient Sclavonians, and are described 
 as a high-spirited and majestic people. 
 
 Bulgaria is a province of some interest, as 
 it is only separated from the Danubian prin- 
 cipalities by the broad waters of the Danube. 
 It is subdivided into the pachalics of Widdin, 
 Varna, Silistria, and Sophia, besides which 
 it comprises the towns of NicopolLs, Rust- 
 chuk, Sistova, Shumla, Babatag, Kustendje, 
 &c. From the seventh century till 1018, 
 and again, from 1196 till the middle of the 
 fourteenth century, Bulgaria formed an in- 
 dependent kingdom ; it then became subject 
 to Hungary, and was finally conquered by 
 
 the Turks in 1393. Varna, its capital, is a 
 fortified port on the shore of the Black Sea, 
 and one of the best on that coast. Bulgaria 
 is generally well wooded, and abounds in 
 rich pasturage; its inhabitants are mostly 
 attached to the Greek church, and are a very 
 industrious people. 
 
 Moldavia and Wallachia, the Danubian 
 principalities, are Turkish provinces accord- 
 ing to the map; but although dependent 
 on the Porte, still they are governed by 
 their own hospodars or princes, and, upon 
 payment of an annual tribute to the sultan, 
 enjoy perfect freedom of internal adminis- 
 tration. In this condition they have re- 
 mained, overshadowed on one side by Russia, 
 and on the other by Turkey, and retained 
 their limited independence for above 300 
 years. The yearly tribute which Moldavia 
 pays to the Porte is 1,000,000 of piastres, or 
 £10,250 ; that of Wallachia is double the 
 sum. This tribute was confiscated by 
 the Russians, to pay themselves for their 
 late military occupation of those provinces. 
 Let us relate a few particulars concerning 
 these now interesting districts. 
 
 Moldavia is bounded, east and north, by 
 the river Pruth, which separates it from 
 Russia ; south by Wallachia and the Danube, 
 which separates it from Bulgaria; and west 
 by the Austrian empire : it comprises 17,020- 
 square miles, and contains 1,400,000 inha- 
 bitants. With the exception of a consider- 
 able number of Jews and Gypsies, they are 
 followers of the Greek or Roman Catholic 
 churches. The country is covered with vast 
 forests and pasture lands, on which great 
 numbers of horses and cattle are reared. In 
 summer the heat is very great ; and the soil 
 produces grain, fruits, and vines in great 
 abundance. Jassy, the capital, is the seat of 
 a Greek archbishop, and the residence of the 
 foreign consuls. 
 
 Wallachia is bounded on the, south-east, 
 south, and south-west by the Danube, which 
 separates it from Bulgaria and Servia, and 
 on the north by Moldavia and the Austrian 
 empire : it contains a surface of 27,500 
 square miles, and a population amounting to 
 2,600,000 inhabitants. It is well watered, 
 and generally very fertile ; but the greatest 
 part remains uncultivated. The chief crops 
 are wheat, maize, barley, rye, hemp, tobacco, 
 and vines. It has immense forests and fine 
 pasture-lands, on which cattle and sheep are 
 extensively reared. The climate is hot and 
 moist in the summer, and extremely cold in 
 the winter. The inhabitants are chiefly 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 tc 
 
AGRICULTUKB.] 
 
 HISTOHY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 "WaHachians ; but a mixture of Gypsies, Jews, 
 Greeks, and Armenians reside amongst them. 
 They are adherents of the Greek church, and 
 speak a corrupt dialect of the Latin language. 
 Bucharest, the capital, bears some resem- 
 blance to a large village ; for the houses are 
 surrounded by gardens ; but it is badly paved, 
 badly buUt, and very dirty: it possesses 
 ninety-five churches, a foundling, and six 
 other hospitals, a college, a museum, and a 
 public library. It is the entrepdt for the 
 commerce between Austria and Turkey. 
 
 The climate of European Turkey is mostly 
 temperate, and well adapted to the activity 
 and perfect development of the human race. 
 Extreme cold, however, prevails during 
 •winter; and in the recesses of the highest 
 mountains, the snow lies the greatest part 
 of the year. With a more active population, 
 the most prolific parts of Turkey might be- 
 come the paradise of Europe. It is diversi- 
 fied by mountains, valleys, forests, plains, 
 rivers, and arms of the sea. - Its chief river 
 is the Danube, which (including its many 
 windings) is 1,725 miles in length : with the 
 exception of the Volga, it is the largest in 
 Europe. Its principal mountains are the 
 Balkan, the Hellenic, the Acroceramian, and 
 the Dinaric Alps. Some of these mountain- 
 ranges are covered with noble forests, and 
 abound in deep ravines and wild romantic 
 scenery. The Balkan is an important chain, 
 extending from the plain of Sophia to Cape 
 Emineh, on the Black Sea. The summits 
 of many of its peaks are covered with grass 
 and fruit-trees. The deep and narrow gorges 
 permit of paths difficult even for beasts of 
 burden. 
 
 Agriculture, in Turkey, is conducted in a 
 very rude and imperfect manner, and the 
 greatest part of the country is forest and 
 waste land. The principal wild animals are 
 the brown bear, the wolf, the wild boar, the 
 chamois, the stag, and the hare. The 
 buffalo is common in some parts of Turkey ; 
 and cattle are reared very extensively. The 
 horses are small, but active. Goats are 
 more abundant in Turkey than in any 
 other country in Europe. Ksh are plentiful 
 in the rivers, and leaches (which abound in 
 the marshes) form an important article of 
 export. Turkey has valuable mines, but 
 none of them are worked to advantage. Its 
 manufactures comprise saddles, copper and 
 tin utensils, fire-arms, swords, coarse woollen 
 cloths, linen and cotton spinning. Shawls 
 are made only in the Asiatic provinces, 
 especially at Damascus. The carpets of 
 6 
 
 Turkey have become famous j they are 
 wrought by hand in the style of the Gobe- 
 lins tapestry, and are largely manufactured 
 in Bulgaria and Servia. The women of the 
 south are also very expert at embroidery. 
 Cotton-printing works exist in some locali- 
 ties. Tanneries are numerous; and esta- 
 blishments for the distillation of brandy 
 from prunes are common throughout the 
 country. 
 
 We have spoken thus fully of European 
 Turkey, because some brief knowledge of it 
 is necessary to the comprehension of the war 
 of which it is at present the theatre, Turkey 
 in Asia we shall dismiss in a few words ; J;he 
 more so, as the sovereignty of the sultan is 
 so much weakened in that quarter, as to be 
 little more than nominal. It includes Asia- 
 Minor (Anatolia, Karamania, and Eum-ili, 
 Trebisonde, Marash, Adona, &e.), Syria and 
 Palestine, Armenia, Kaizik, Kars, Al-Jezee- 
 rah or Mesopotamia, Koordistan, and Irak- 
 Arabi. The population of Asiatic Turkey 
 has been estimated at 20,923,900 ; of these, 
 not more than 6,000,000 are actually sub- 
 ject to the Ottoman government. On the 
 shores of the Black Sea, Turkey has some 
 valuable ports, amongst which is Sinope, the 
 scene of a recent tragedy, which we shall 
 shortly relate. 
 
 Amongst the chief towns or cities of 
 Asiatic Turkey are Bagdad, Aleppo, Tripoli, 
 Akre or St. Jean d'Acre, Damascus, and 
 Jerusalem. The interest attaching to < this 
 celebrated and sacred city, and its connexion 
 with the original cause of the war now 
 waging against Eussian aggression in the 
 East, demand a few words of brief description. 
 The modern city is about two miles and-a- 
 half in circumference, and surrounded by 
 stately walls of hewn stone. Its popula- 
 tion does not exceed 40,000 inhabitants, 
 most of whom are extremely poor. All its 
 public buildings are of a religious character. 
 Amongst them is the gorgeous church of 
 the Holy Sepulchre, erected by Helena, the 
 mother of Constantine the Great, over the 
 reputed site of the sepulchre of the Saviour. 
 The church of St. Anna, and the supposed 
 birth-place of the Virgin Mary, on Mount 
 Bezetha ; the elegant mosque of Omar, or 
 " dome of the rock ;" and the mosque of 
 El Aksa, also attract attention. Outside 
 the walls of Jerusalem, to the north lie the 
 Mohammedan cemeteries and the edifices 
 known as " the tombs of the kings and the 
 judges :" to the east, in the valley of Jeho- 
 sophat, are numerous other tombs, together 
 
A.n, 1389.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [tuiikish rulers. 
 
 with the garden of Gethsemane, beyond 
 which rises the Mount of Olives. 
 
 At the period of its almost total destruc- 
 tion by Titus, a.d. 70, Jerusalem was re- 
 garded as the most famous city of the whole 
 East. In 135, the Jews were finally dis- 
 persed, and the city rebuilt by Adrian. It 
 was subsequently captured by the Persians, 
 
 in 614 ; by the Saracens, in 637 ; and by 
 the Crusaders, in 1099. After the lapse of 
 eighty-eight years it was again taken by the 
 Saracens, and has since (except for a short 
 time in 1832) remained subject to the 
 Turkish government. An account of the 
 Ottoman territories in Africa is unneces- 
 sary, and would lead us from our subjects 
 
 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY. 
 
 Tradition tells us that Turk, a mighty 
 king, dwelling in Central Asia in the time 
 of Abraham, is the common ancestor of aU 
 the Turkish races. 
 
 The kingdom was first founded by Seljuk, 
 who lived towards the end of the fourth 
 century. The Seljukians were a fierce, war- 
 like people, who made an irruption into the 
 territories of Byzantine Asia, and succeeded 
 in establishing themselves in Asia Minor. 
 They even fixed their capital at Nice, within 
 a short distance of Constantinople. It was 
 against these barbarians that the efforts of 
 the early Crusaders were directed. Satisfied, 
 however, with their Asiatic acquisitions, 
 these Seljukian Turks never ventured into 
 Europe. Their monarchy was overwhelmed 
 and destroyed in 1307, by the tremendous 
 irruptions of the Mogul conqueror, Zingis 
 Khan. 
 
 The present Turkish empire was founded 
 not long after the destruction of the first, 
 by Osman, or Othman, who is the ancestor 
 of the reigning dynasty, to which he has 
 given his name. That name is a native 
 epithet for the royal vulture, and signifies a 
 bone-breaker. We presume it was agree- 
 able to the fierce nature of the Turks ; for 
 it was accepted and retained by them as 
 symbolical of their national character. 
 
 Othman, after a reign of twenty-seven 
 years, spent in aggressions on the dominions 
 of his neighbours, ^ied in 1326. He was 
 succeeded by his eldest son. 
 
 IIbghan began to reign in 1326. Like 
 his father, he was distinguished by his 
 military prowess and his conquests. He also 
 established some important military and 
 political institutions. Amongst these was 
 the formation of a standing army out of a 
 body of Christian children, forcibly con- 
 verted to the faith of Mahomet. They 
 were called Jani-tcheri, or the new troop, 
 a term which has been corrupted by Euro- 
 peans into Janizaries. These new troops 
 
 soon became very famous, and decided the 
 victory at the battle of Philocrene, where 
 the Emperor Andronicus the Younger was 
 defeated by Urchan, — driven for shelter 
 across the Bosphorus, and compelled to 
 surrender his conquered provinces in Asia. 
 Urchan crossed the Bosphorus with a power- 
 ful body of troops, and was the first Turkish 
 sultan who set his foot on the soil of Europe. 
 The Grecian emperor, John Cantacuzemus, 
 bought his forbearance by bestowing his 
 daughter on the barbarian. Notwithstand- 
 ing this, he afterwards effected the conquest 
 of Gallipoli. 
 
 MuRAD, or Amurad, or Amurath the 
 First, succeeded his father in 1360. His 
 military triumphs obtained for him the title 
 of Lord and Conqueror. He transferred the 
 seat of his empire from Broussa to Adri- 
 anople, in Thrace, and devoted himself to 
 the extension of his father's European con- 
 quests. Lazarus, the King of Servia, at- 
 tacked the Turkish dominions with an enor- 
 mous army, but was utterly defeated by 
 Amurath. The latter, however, was stabbed 
 to the heart in the very hour of triumph by 
 a Servian nobleman, who approached him 
 under pretence of kissing the feet of his 
 victor. 
 
 Bajazet succeeded in 1389, and for the 
 rapidity of his movements, and the impe- 
 tuosity of his charges, obtained the surname 
 of Ilderim, or the Lightning. He suc- 
 cessfully pursued the career of conquest 
 marked out by his ancestors. He ordered 
 his younger brother Yakub to be put to 
 death, and excused his cruelty by a pas- 
 sage from the Koran, which says that death 
 is better than uproar. The imitation of 
 this crime afterwards came to be regarded 
 as a sort of state-necessity in Turkey. Ba- 
 jazet laid siege to Constantinople, but 
 failed in his attempt upon it: he defeated 
 Sigismund, King of Hungary ; but the vic- 
 tory was purchased by the loss of 60,000 
 
 7 
 
TUKKISH DYNASTY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1520. 
 
 Turks, who were left dead upon the field. 
 In revenge, Bajazet massacred 10,000 Chris- 
 tian captives. After a savage career, he was 
 defeated by the famous Tartar prince Ta- 
 merlane, or Timur — that is. Iron — and died 
 in captivity, in 1403. Some say that his 
 barbarous conqueror kept him in an iron 
 cage, in which he perished. An interregnum 
 of ten years succeeded. 
 
 Mahommed the First ascended the 
 throne in 1413. He was gifted with beauty, 
 strength, courage, and talents, and obtained 
 from his subjects the title of Kurishji Che- 
 lebi, or the Gentleman. In 1421, he paid 
 a visit to the Emperor Manuel, in Constan- 
 tinople, and was received with extraordinary 
 splendour. He died the same year, leaving 
 to his son an empire of greater extent than 
 he had^received from his father, Bajazet. 
 
 Amurath the Second took possession of 
 the throne in 1431. Amongst other mili- 
 tary exploits, he laid siege to Constantinople; 
 but the Turks were eventually compelled, to 
 raise the siege. Unlike his predecessors, 
 he was a lover of peace and philosophical 
 studies, and twice renounced the throne in 
 favour of his son ; but was recalled to it by 
 events which demanded his energy and 
 ability. Amurath became engaged in a 
 quarrel with Ladislaus, the King of Hungary, 
 by whom the Turks were defeated at Missa, 
 in 1443. The following year the war was 
 renewed, the Turks were victorious, and 
 Ladislaus slain. 
 
 Mahommed the Second began to reign in 
 1451. He may be regarded as the founder 
 of the Ottoman empire in Europe, and with 
 him commences that part of Turkish history 
 which is called modern. He attacked Con- 
 stantinople with an army of 250,000 men, 
 and a fleet of 450 vessels. Such a power 
 was irresistible, and on the 29th of May, 
 1453, the last of the Greek emperors, Con- 
 stantine Palseologus perished under the 
 swords of the Janizaries, the ancient empire 
 of the East was overturned, Constantinople 
 became the capital of the sultan, and Turkey 
 an European power. " This event," says an 
 able writer, " delivered over to a state, which 
 already wanted little but a seat of central 
 power, one of the oldest and most famous 
 capitals of Europe. It gave to the house of 
 Othman, in a single day, exactly the status 
 which it needed, and which years of success- 
 ful invasix)ns and forays would have failed 
 to secure.'" Mahommed obtained the sur- 
 name of the Conqueror, a title which well 
 described him ; for during his military reign, 
 8 
 
 he subdued two empires, fourteen kingdoms, 
 and 200 cities. He died in 1481, after 
 having made the Ottoman empire one of 
 the most powerful in the world. 
 
 Bajazet the Second ascended the regal 
 seat of the Ottomans in 1481. His reign 
 was distracted by foreign wars and domestic 
 rebellions. His brother, whose life, in de- 
 fiiance of the usual practice of the Turkish 
 sovereigns, he had spared, rose against him. 
 A long civil war ensued, which terminated 
 by the flight of Zizimus to Italy, where he 
 was poisoned by Pope Alexander the Sixth. 
 During the latter part of the life of Bajazet, 
 his youngest son, Selim, headed a rebellion 
 against him. The unhappy father was com- 
 pelled to resign the empire, and died soon 
 afterwards of grief or poison. 
 
 Selim the First became sultan in 1512. 
 His brief reign is distinguished by his vic- 
 tories and cruelty. Remembering his own 
 conduct to his father, he put to death his 
 two brothers, and five of his nephews. He 
 defeated Ismail, the Shah of Persia, and 
 took Tabriz. He conquered Ala-ed-dewlet, 
 and annexed Armenia, Kurdistan, Syria, 
 a;nd Karamenia to the Turkish empire. 
 His third conquest was that of Egypt, the 
 sultan of which he caused to be hanged. 
 On returning to Constantinople, he brought 
 with him 1,000 camels, laden with the spoil. 
 Like most cruel men, he was very intolerant, 
 and resolved to put to death all the Chris- 
 tians who would not adopt the Mohamme- 
 dan religion. From this savage scheme he 
 was diverted by his ministers, who implored 
 him not to violate the Koran, which com- 
 mands toleration to all non-believers who 
 are quiet subjects. His death was caused 
 by his excessive use of opium. 
 
 SolYman the First, called the Great or 
 Magnificent, began to rule in 1520. He is 
 regarded as the most illustrious of the sul- 
 tans of Turkey, and by his conquests and 
 wisdom, raised it to the summit of its power. 
 In the second year of his reign he captured 
 Belgrade, the key of Hungary. He after- 
 wards repeatedly invaded the territories of 
 that kingdom, and annexed a considerable 
 part of them, including Buda, the capital, to 
 the Turkish empire. In 1522, he expelled 
 the Christian knights from their seat in the 
 island of Rhodes, and compelled them to 
 retire to Malta. In 1529, he penetrated 
 into Germany, and laid siege to Vienna; 
 but was forced to retire after losing 80,000 
 men. During his reign the Turkish navy 
 was regarded as the first in the world, and 
 
r 
 
 A.D. 1566—1649.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [TURKISH DYNASTY. 
 
 feared as the scourge of the Mediterranean. 
 Solyman resolved on the conquest of Malta, 
 and sent a powerful fleet there for that pur- 
 pose in 1565; but the expedition failed, 
 after a siege of five months. The following 
 year he again marched into Hungary and 
 laid siege to Szigeth, before which he died 
 suddenly in his camp. In his domestic go- 
 vernment, Solyman was a great reformer, 
 and. a liberal patron of poetry, the arts, and 
 sciences which flourished during his reign. 
 Notwithstanding the greatness and power 
 of Solyman, the decline of the Turkish 
 empire dates from the time of his death. 
 Wealth and power introduced luxury and 
 sensualities, which slowly but surely brought 
 about their inevitable results. 
 
 Selim the Second succeeded his father 
 Solyman in 1566. He crushed a dangerous 
 mutiny of the Janizaries; conquered the 
 island of Cyprus; and annexed Tunis to 
 his dominions. At the battle of Lepanto, 
 he experienced a great reverse, his navy 
 being almost annihilated by Don John of 
 Austria. 
 
 Amurath the Thied ascended the throne 
 in 1574, and immediately caused his five 
 brothers to be strangled. He was a weak, 
 lascivious monarch, and governed by favour- 
 ites and women. Notwithstanding this, 
 Turkey was enlarged during his reign by 
 some important conquests. Amurath had 
 the almost incredible number of 102 chil- 
 dren, of whom twenty-seven daughters and 
 twenty sons survived their father. He died 
 after a reign of twenty-five years. At the 
 period of his dissolution, the Turkish empire 
 in Europe included the whole of what is 
 now regarded as European Turkey, beside 
 Greece and the greatest part of Hungary. 
 
 Mahommed the Third became sultan in 
 1595, and for the sake of securing his suc- 
 cession, immediately put to death his nine- 
 teen brothers, and seven female slaves of 
 his father who were pregnant. His reign 
 of eight years was one unceasing scene of 
 conflict. 
 
 AcHMBD the Fikst succcedcd his father 
 in 1603. In his reign, the weakness and 
 decline of the empire became apparent. 
 Acbmet's troops were defeated in many 
 savage battles, both by the Persians and 
 the Hungarians. In 1606, he concluded a 
 peace with the German emperor, Rodolph 
 the Second, which is regarded as the first 
 trace of an international law between Turkey 
 and the European powers. In this reign, a 
 body of Cossacks descended the Don in a 
 
 fleet of boats, crossed the Black Sea, and 
 fell upon Sinope, which they plundered and 
 destroyed. 
 
 MusTAPHA THE FiEST, the brother of 
 Achmet, ascended the throne in 1617, but 
 was deposed and imprisoned six months 
 afterwards in consequence of a revolution 
 in the seraglio. He was succeeded by his 
 nephew. 
 
 Othman the Second became sultan in 
 1618. He soon incurred the hatred of the 
 nation, and was deposed, imprisoned, and 
 finally strangled by his rebellious subjects. 
 Mustapha was then restored, but he soon 
 showed symptoms of insanity, and in about 
 a twelvemonth was again deposed by the 
 Janizaries. 
 
 Amurath the Eoxtrth began to reign in 
 1623, at the tender age of twelve. For the 
 first ten years he was governed by his 
 mother, Mah-peiker, or Moon-Face. He 
 then grasped the regal reins himself, and 
 became a cruel, but enterprising tyrant. 
 He is the first sultan on record who broke 
 the commands of his religion by indulging 
 in the use of wine. It is related, that he 
 was accustomed to parade the streets at 
 night in disguise. On one of these occa- 
 sions, he met a cobler in a state of intoxica- 
 tion, and was persuaded to taste his liquor. 
 The tasting was repeated so frequently that 
 the next day the sultan was suffering the 
 penalties of drunkenness in the shape of 
 sickness and headache. Sending for the 
 cobler, he resolved on putting him to death, 
 but was persuaded by the man to get rid of 
 his depression by taking another draught 
 of wine. The sultan, it is added, became 
 a confirmed drunkard, and the cobbler was 
 made one of his ministers. Amurath waged 
 a destructive war against Persia. After 
 having thrice laid siege to Bagdad, he took 
 it in the year 1638. Ten thousand Persians 
 lost their lives during the siege, and 20,000 
 were massacred afterwards. 
 
 Ibrahim, the youngest brother of Amu- 
 rath, succeeded in 1640. He was a weak 
 and cruel prince, who spent his time in 
 luxury and debauchery. His passion for 
 women surpassed everything on record, and 
 their influence over him was unbounded. 
 The Janizaries frequently rebelled during 
 his reign, and at length deposed and 
 strangled him. 
 
 Mahommed the Fourth, sod of Ibrahim, 
 succeeded him in 1649, being then but seven 
 years of age. During his minority, much 
 disorder prevailed in the state. The pros- 
 
 9 
 
TURKISH DYNASTY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1678— 1757. 
 
 perity of Turkey was afterwards restored by 
 a wise minister. The Turks were, however, 
 defeated by the Austrians, with whom they 
 had resumed hostilities. In 1678, a brief war 
 with Russia ended in the conquest of CJierin 
 by the Turks. In 1683, the latter were 
 completely defeated by the allied Austrians 
 and the Poles. This and other disgraces 
 produced great discontent amongst the 
 people; the Janizaries revolted, and the 
 sultan was deposed and imprisoned. 
 
 SoLYMAN THE SECOND became sultan in 
 1687. He was frequently defeated by the 
 Austrians, who took Belgrade. During his 
 reign the empire was distracted by rebel- 
 lions. He died of dropsy, having occupied 
 the throne scarcely more than three years. 
 
 AcHMET THE Second succceded him in 
 1691, and died after a brief but disastrous 
 reign. 
 
 MusTAPHA THE Second asccnded the 
 Turkish throne in 1695. During his reign, 
 Peter the Great of Russia, anxious to have 
 a free communication with the Black Sea, 
 entered into an alliance with Austria against 
 Turkey, and obtained possession of Azof. 
 In the year 1697, Prii^ce Eugene, the rival 
 of our great general, Marlborough, obtained 
 a great victory over the Turks at Zenta. 
 The slaughter was tremendous: 9,000 car- 
 riages, 6,000 camels, and all the artillery 
 and baggage fell into the hands of the victors. 
 This event led to the peace of Carlowitz, 
 by which Mustapha was compelled to sur- 
 render Transylvania, Kaminiek, the Morea, 
 and Azof. Turkey had not been thus 
 humbled since the time that the kingdom 
 of Bajazet was shattered by the iron hand 
 of the Tartar Tamerlane. The people ap- 
 peased their irritation by deposing their 
 sultan. 
 
 AcHMET THE Third grasped the sceptre 
 in 1703. He generously sheltered Charles 
 the Twelfth, after the defeat of that " heroic 
 madman" at Pultawa by Peter the Great. 
 Peter and the Russians were, in their turn, 
 almost annihilated, in consequence of their 
 penetrating into the Turkish dominions as 
 far as Jassy, where they were surrounded 
 by the Turkish troops. Peter was only 
 saved from destruction by the address of 
 his Empress Catherine, who bribed the 
 minister of Achmet. The sultan himself 
 obtained no other advantage than the reco- 
 very of the fortress of Azof. Achmet at- 
 tacked Venice in 1714, and then led his 
 army into Greece, where he conquered the 
 Morea in one campaign. In 1716, the 
 10 
 
 Turks were defeated by Prince Eugene at 
 Peterwaradin, and again the following year 
 at Belgrade. The humbled Turks were glad 
 to conclude a peace, by which they ceded 
 much territory to Austria, and restored 
 their Venetian conquests. A war with 
 Persia followed, in which the Turks were 
 successful. The Persians, however, again 
 commenced hostilities, and recovered the 
 provinces they had ceded. A revolt of. the 
 Janizaries, in which Sultan Achmet was 
 deposed, was the result. During his reign 
 of twenty-seven years, European arts and 
 sciences found their way to Constantinople, 
 and the first printing-press was established 
 there. 
 
 Mahmoud, his nephew, succeeded in 1730. 
 He defeated the Persians, and concluded a 
 peace with them which was not satisfactory 
 to his people. He became implicated in 
 another war with Austria and Russia, both 
 which states were bent on dismembering 
 their now enfeebled neighbour. The Aus- 
 trians were defeated in several battles, and 
 glad to purchase peace with the Turks by a 
 restoration of that territory which had been 
 taken from them by Prince Eugene. The 
 Russians, however, obtained many advan- 
 tages over the Turks, and the peace which 
 concluded hostilities was highly advanta- 
 geous to the former. The latter years of 
 Mahmoud were troubled by a war with 
 Persia, and by disturbances in Egypt and 
 other subjected provinces. 
 
 Othman the Third, his brother, suc- 
 ceeded Mahmoud in 1754, and his brief 
 reign is not distinguished by any remarkable 
 event. 
 
 Mustapha the Third ascended the 
 throne in 1757. The increasing power of 
 Russia induced him to declare war against 
 the Empress Catherine the Second. The 
 power of the Ottoman had been slowly de- 
 caying, while that of Russia had been rapidly 
 advancing, and the arms of Catherine were 
 pre-eminently successful. Her troops took 
 possession of the Crimea and Circassia : her 
 agents fomented an insurrection in Greece ; 
 and her infant fleet destroyed that of the 
 Turks, in the bay of Chesme. The sultan 
 died during the war, but during the same 
 year, 1774, a peace was concluded at 
 Kainardji by his son Abdul Ahmed, or 
 Achmet the Fourth. This humiliating peace 
 has been frequently referred to during the 
 present struggle, of which it has been the 
 partial cause. By it Russia obtained the 
 Great and the Little Kabarda j that is, the 
 
A.D. 1774—1826.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [navaeino. 
 
 sultan engaged not to oppose the Kussian 
 occupatio'n of those countries, which had 
 previously been declared independent. Ca- 
 therine also obtained for Russia the pos- 
 session of Azof and other fortresses; the 
 country between the Bog and the Dnieper ; 
 the free navigation of the Black Sea, and a 
 free passage through the Bosphorus and the 
 Dardanelles ; the co-protectorship over Mol- 
 davia and Wallachia; and the protectorship 
 over all the Greek churches within the 
 Turkish empire. 
 
 Abdu L-Ahmed, or Achmet the Fourth, 
 succeeded in 1774. He renewed the war 
 with Russia, but Catherine was again tri- 
 umphant. The sultan died suddenly, after 
 a reign of fifteen years. 
 
 Selim the Third became sultan in 1789. 
 He was one of the most enlightened men of 
 the East, and formed a plan for the regene- 
 ration of his country. Beaten at Martines- 
 tie by the united Russians and Austrians, 
 Turkey would have been overrun but for 
 the intervention of England, Prussia, and 
 Sweden. Peace was then concluded with 
 both Austria and Russia. Buonaparte's 
 invasion of Egypt involved Selim in a war 
 with France, in which his army was utterly 
 defeated, and Egypt conquered by the 
 French, but it was afterwards restored to 
 the sultan by the English. At length Selim 
 began his reform. To the troops he gave a 
 new organisation, called the Nizam Jedid, 
 which placed them on a footing similar to 
 that of European armies. His object was 
 to create a counterpoise to the Janizaries, 
 who incessantly disturbed the peace of the 
 empire. He also changed the system of 
 taxation and the constitution of the divan. 
 These alterations created an insurrection 
 among the Janizaries, who deposed Selim 
 and confined him in the seraglio, where he 
 was soon afterwards murdered. 
 
 Mtjstapha the Fourth was placed upon 
 the throne by the turbulent troops in 1807, 
 and immediately afterwards abolished the 
 reforms of his predecessor. He soon lost 
 the favour of the Janizaries, who, in the 
 following year, besieged his palace, and de- 
 posed him. 
 
 Mahmoitd the Second, the brother of 
 Mustapha, pupil of the ill-fated refor- 
 mer, Selitn, and the father of the reign- 
 ing Sultan of Turkey, ascended the throne 
 in 1808. He was a man of remarkable 
 energy and brilliant talents, but they were 
 unhappily stained by great cruelties. Mah- 
 moud ow'ed his life to a prevalent supersti- 
 
 tion, that the empire would terminate with 
 the race of its warlike founder, Othman the 
 bone-breaker. He became the only living 
 member of that house, by causing his de- 
 posed brother to be strangled, together 
 with his infant son. Four of Mustapha's 
 pregnant female slaves were also sewn up 
 in sacks, and drowned in the Bosphorus. 
 Mahmoud's life was then regarded as a 
 sacred thing upon which depended the 
 national existence of his people. Having 
 put an end to the rebellion by conciliating 
 the Janizaries, he renewed the war with 
 his old enemies the Russians, and prepared 
 to meet a rebellion of the Greeks. The 
 last event brought upon Turkey a great 
 calamity. Several European powers took 
 the Greeks under their protection, and the 
 Turkish navy was destroyed by the com- 
 bined fleets of England, France, and Russia, 
 on the 20th of October, 1827, at the battle 
 of Navarino. This was spoken of by the 
 people of England as a glorious and bril- 
 liant achievement; but in the speech of 
 George the Fourth from the throne, it was 
 alluded to as an untoward event; and an 
 untoward event it has certainly proved, for 
 it broke the right-arm of Turkey, and en- 
 couraged the Russian court to persevere in 
 their present scheme of dangerous aggres- 
 sion. Besides the total loss of her navy, 
 Turkey was yet further weakened by the 
 largest part of Greece being wrested from 
 her dominions and erected into an indepen- 
 dent kingdom, under the rule of the Bava- 
 rian prince Otho. 
 
 Mahmoud bore his loss with wonderful 
 heroism ; for nothing crushed his brave and 
 elastic spirit. Finding that the turbulent 
 Janizaries, and not himself, were the real 
 masters of the empire, he resolved to adopt 
 one of those extreme and awful measures for 
 which only one plea can be urged — that of 
 an inevitable necessity. -His plan was to 
 destroy the Janizaries by a sudden and 
 terrible blow, and thus deliver himself and 
 people from a capricious military tyranny. 
 During the night of the 15th of June, 1826^ 
 80,000 of the Janizaries rose in insurrec- 
 tion, burnt the palace of the grand vizier, 
 and proceeded to storm the seraglio of the 
 sultan. Mahmoud was soon prepared : the 
 people sided with him; and falling upon 
 the rebels with an army of 50,000 men, 
 he put to death 20,000 of them ; banished 
 the rest to different places in Asia Minor ; 
 and abolished the order. From that event 
 begins a new era in the history of Turkey. 
 
 11 
 
TREATY OF SKELESSI.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1839. 
 
 A ruinous war with Russia was concluded 
 by the peace of Adrianople in 1829. A 
 war with Egypt followed, in which the pride 
 of Turkey was further humbled by his vassal 
 Mehemet Ali, the pacha of that country, and 
 his brave son Ibrahim. Constantinople was 
 only saved from the victorious arms of the 
 latter by the help of the Russian emperor, 
 Nicholas, whose assistance Mahmoud was 
 glad to implore. The result of this aid 
 was the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, by 
 which Russia bound herself to assist Turkey 
 with an army whenever she should require 
 it ; in return for which, the Porte promised 
 not to allow any armed vessels inimical to 
 Russia to pass the Dardanelles. This pro- 
 mised protection of Turkey was a delusive 
 snare, which the czar trusted would mate- 
 rially advance the ambitious project of ter- 
 ritorial extension bequeathed to him by his 
 ancestors. 
 
 During this period of reverses, Mahmoud 
 was stiU busy in carrying into practice the 
 reforms meditated by his predecessor Selim. 
 He introduced the European costume and 
 discipline into the army, and startled his 
 apathetic subjects by the establishment of 
 a newspaper at Constantinople. He re- 
 paired the Greek churches; abolished the 
 barbarous practice of sending the ambas- 
 sador of any foreign power with which war 
 was declared to the Seven Towers, a state- 
 prison, which may be called the bastile of 
 Constantinople. A religious objection to 
 copy the human form had existed, which 
 Mahmoud endeavoured to overcome by sit- 
 ting to several artists for his portrait. He 
 caused a school of surgery to be founded; 
 patronised a series of anatomical engrav- 
 ings; and placed the institution for luna- 
 tics under the care of an Hungarian phy- 
 sician, with directions to treat his patients 
 according to the best European systems. 
 He induced the Turks to take precautions 
 against the plague and other infectious dis- 
 eases, instead of regarding them as an in- 
 fliction sent by the Deity, which human 
 skill could not possibly avert. Contrary to 
 the practice of former sultans, he sat in 
 council with the members of his divan, 
 and removed every custom he considered 
 worthless or opposed to the progress of his 
 people. Finally, he set at defiance the reli- 
 gious prohibition of wine, an example in 
 which he was imitated by most of his offi- 
 cers and dependents. This might be re- 
 gretted by some Europeans ; but it must be 
 regarded as a slight step towards breaking 
 
 down that false religion which has converted 
 the greatest part of Asia into a camp and 
 a temperance society. With respect to re- 
 ligion, the toleration of Mahmoud was re- 
 markable, and might be advantageously 
 followed by many Christian prelates, both 
 of the catholic and protestant churches. 
 " Let protection," said he, " be equally ex- 
 tended to every one. Mussulmans must 
 only be distinguished from other men at 
 the mosque, Christians at the church, and 
 Jews at the synagogue." 
 
 Dr. Walsh has given a very interesting 
 word-picture of this interesting Turkish re- 
 former. " I had an opportunity," says he, 
 " of knowing much of the habits and private 
 life of Mahmoud. He takes two meals 
 a-day ; one at eleven, a.m., and the other at 
 sunset. He has exchanged the Turkish 
 stool and tray for a chair and table, which 
 is laid out exactly in the European fashion. 
 The table is furnished with a cloth, and 
 knives and forks, which are English; to 
 these are added golden spoons, and a de- 
 canter of wine. The wine is usually cham- 
 pagne, which he is fond of, and is greatly 
 amused when the cork explodes and the 
 wine flies up to the ceiling. He always sits 
 alone at his meals. The dishes are brought 
 in one at a time, in succession, to the number 
 of fifty or sixty, all covered and sealed. He 
 breaks the seal himself, and tastes the dish ; 
 if he does not like it, he sends it away. In 
 his domestic habits he is mild and amiable, 
 to a degree quite astonishing in a character 
 marked by such fierce vigour. He is a cor- 
 dial friend and a gentle master. Hte is 
 remarkably fond of his children ; enters into 
 all the sports of his sons ; and suffers them 
 to take great liberties with him, such as 
 riding on his back. He is himself a profi- 
 cient in manly exercises." 
 
 Sultan Mahmoud's reign of thirty-one 
 years was disturbed, during the close of it, 
 by a new war with Egypt, but he did not 
 live to hear of the total defeat of his armies 
 by Ibrahim Pacha. 
 
 Abdul- Med jiD, the son of Mahmoud, 
 and present sultan of the Ottoman empire, 
 was born on the 20th of April, 1823. He 
 succeeded his father on the 1st of July, 1839, 
 when but in his sixteenth year. He is the 
 thirty-first sovereign of the family of Oth- 
 man, and the twenty-eighth since the taking 
 of Constantinople. He was delivered from 
 his dangerous Egyptian enemy by the inter- 
 vention of England, Russia, and Austria. 
 Admiral Napier took Beyrut and St. Jean 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the sultan. 
 
 d' Acre, -and Ibrahim Pacha was driven out 
 of Syria, which was restored to the authority 
 of the youns sultan, who, on the restoration 
 of peace, addressed himself to furthering the 
 reforms commenced by his father. Abdul- 
 Medjid is quiet, cold, and silent in his man- 
 ners, and generally worn and downcast in 
 Lis aspect. 
 
 Tlio following portraiture of the sultan, 
 from the pen of a recent French writer, will 
 be read with more than ordinary interest : — 
 
 " Sultan Abdul-Medjid, the twenty-first 
 child of Mahmoud, was commencing his 
 seventeenth year when he ascended the 
 throue. He looked a little older than he 
 really was, although his appearance was far 
 from announcing a robust constitution. 
 Some months previously an inflammation of 
 the lungs had endangered his life. He had 
 been saved by the care of an Armenian Ro- 
 man catholic, Meriem-Khadoum, who was 
 renowned for his cures. Slender and tall, 
 he had the same long, pale face as his father; 
 his black eyebrows, less arched than those 
 of Mahmoud, announced a mind of less 
 haughtiness and of less energy. His lips 
 are rather thick, and he is slightly marked 
 with the small-pox. At this epoch of his 
 life his features did not present a very 
 marked expression, as if no strong passion 
 had yet agitated the young breast. ]3ut his 
 eyes, large and very beautiful, sometimes 
 became animated with a most lively expres- 
 sion, and glistened with the fire of intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 " Abdul-Medjid was much indebted to 
 nature : he afterwards perfected his educa- 
 tion, and has become a most accomplished 
 prince, remarkable above all for his pas- 
 sionate love of literature and the arts. 
 
 " The first time the young sultan pre- 
 sented himself to the eyes of his subjects, 
 he was dressed in the European trowsers 
 and coat, over which was thrown the impe- 
 rial cloak, fastened by a diamond aigrette. 
 On his breast he wore the decoration of the 
 Nicham-Iflichar ; his head was covered with 
 the fez, surmounted by a diamond aigrette. 
 The new king, while thus continuing the 
 costume of his father, nevertheless presented 
 only a pale resemblance to him. Simple 
 without affectation, he cast around him 
 glances full of softness and benevolence. 
 Everything announced in him the ddbonnaire 
 successor of an inflexible ruler; nothing 
 hitherto had indicated what great and pre- 
 cious qualities were concealed beneath that 
 modest and tranquil exterior. He was re- 
 
 TOL. I. to 
 
 ceived favourably by his people, but without 
 any demonstration of enthusiasm. It was 
 feared that this delicate youth could scarcely 
 be equal to the importance of his duties. 
 People pitied him, and, at the same time, 
 trembled for the future prospects of the 
 country. The women alone, touched by his 
 youth and his appearance of kindness, mani- 
 fested their sympathy for him openly. When 
 he went through Constantinople to the 
 mosque of Baiezid, they ran towards him 
 from all parts. ' Is not our son handsome?' 
 they cried, adopting him with affection. 
 
 " The sultan alone is deprived of the four 
 lawful wives which the Koran allows to 
 those who can support them. The harem is 
 composed of av^out thirty cadines, or ladies, 
 and a still greater number of odalesques, or 
 waiting-women. Amongst the cadines, two 
 or three only are looked upon as favourites. 
 There are also dancers and singers, who, by 
 a caprice of the master, may sometimes be 
 raised to the rank of sultana. The women 
 belonging to the sultan are never either 
 Turks or Greeks. The seraglio is re- 
 cruited exclusively from Georgians, Malays, 
 and Abyssinians. Accordingly, the sultan 
 having only slaves for his wives, is himself 
 the son of a slave — a reproach which the 
 Turks do not spare him when they are dis- 
 contented with him. At the moment of our 
 writing, Abdul-Medjid has already nine chil- 
 dren, amongst whom five are daughters. 
 Abdul-Medjid has only one brother. 
 
 " If Abdul-Medjid loves literature, he 
 wishes to have his taste for it shared by his 
 subjects, whom he is always endeavouring 
 to rescue from their ignorance. It is from 
 his reign that the reorganisation of pubUc 
 instruction must be dated. 
 
 " In 1846, an imperial decree ordered the 
 formation of a council, to which were in- 
 trusted all questions of public instruction, 
 and the task of erecting a building to serve 
 as a new university. 
 
 " The state of the muktebs, or primary 
 schools, is satisfactory enough at the present 
 day. Elementary instruction in Turkey is 
 gratuitous and obligatory. The law ordains 
 that each Mussulman, as soon as his sons or 
 daughters have reached their sixth year, 
 shall have their names inscribed in the 
 books of one of the public schools, unless he 
 proves his intention of educating them at 
 home, and shows that he possesses the 
 means of doing so. At Constantinople there 
 are now existing 396 muktebs, or free-schools, 
 frequented by 23,700 children of both sexes. 
 
 13 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Ca.d. 1854 
 
 After four or five years passed in the muk- 
 teb, the child who wishes to continue his 
 studies further enters a secondary school, 
 where instruction on all points is also gra- 
 tuitous. There are now six of these schools 
 at Constantinople, containing 870 pupils. 
 The superior instruction has been divided 
 into several branches : the school of the 
 mosque of Ahmed, and that of Suleiman, 
 for the young men who are intended to fill 
 public appointments ; the college of Valide- 
 Sultana, founded with the same view; the 
 normal schoolj for the education of the pro- 
 fessors ; the imperial school of medicine, the 
 military school, the naval school, and the 
 agricultural school of San Stefano. 
 
 "Abdul-Medjid himself superintends these 
 different schools, and visits in person at the 
 frequent examinations by which the progress 
 of the pupils is tested. The young Turks 
 are very intelligent and very docile ; without 
 vanity ; exceedingly conscientious, and bent 
 upon doing their duty. They are grave but 
 polite in their demeanour, and never quarrel 
 or dispute. There are numerous libraries at 
 Constantinople ; the number of volumes 
 which they contain may be estimated at 
 80,000, reckoning both MSS. and printed 
 books. The literature of Arabia, Persia, 
 and Turkey is represented in them ; and 
 the collection includes philosophical and 
 theological works, poetry, history, books of 
 science, and an immense number of those 
 treatises on conduct and manners, to which 
 the Turks attach almost as much importance 
 as the Chinese themselves. The printing- 
 press does its work at Constantinople, but as 
 yet but slowly. The periodical press has 
 produced a sufficiently large number of jour- 
 nals, printed sometimes in French, some- 
 times in Turkish or Greek. 
 
 "The reign of the sultan Abdul-Medjid 
 has been sullied by no execution, by no act 
 of cruelty. None of his ministers have ever 
 lost their lives when they have lost their 
 power. In the West the despotism of the 
 East has been ill understood, and much ex- 
 aggerated. 
 
 " The deaths, by poison and the rope, 
 which are so often spoken of in Oriental 
 
 history, only happened to the vizirs, the 
 pachas, the ulemahs, and scarcely ever to 
 simple subjects. 
 
 "If Abdul-Medjid has not been cruel, 
 like the greater part of his predecessors, he 
 has known how to employ a just severity 
 when there has been cause for it. He has 
 often shown that the laws are to be exe- 
 puted with firmness, and that the guilty 
 cannot escape under any pretence. Thus 
 Hassan, the Pacha of Koniah, was con- 
 demned, by the high court, to perpetual 
 labour at the galleys, for having killed his 
 servant upon a very slight provocation." 
 
 Of the GOVERNMENT of Turkey we will 
 speak very briefly. It has been happily 
 called a despotism tempered by rebellions; 
 for they are the invariable resort of the 
 people, when they consider themselves op- 
 pressed or injured by their monarch. The 
 sultan is absolute ; that is, there is no check 
 to his power corresponding to the English 
 houses of parliament. He is also the chief 
 ruler of the Mohammedan religion, but is 
 compelled not only to reign conformably to 
 the precepts of the Koran and other reli- 
 gious books, but also to defer to the unani- 
 mous decision of the mufti and the assembly 
 of the ulemahs. The mufti is the highest 
 legal dignitary — the patriarch and high chan- 
 cellor of the empire. The sultan neither 
 makes war, concludes peace, or takes any 
 important step without inquiring of him and 
 the ulemahs whether his intention is confor- 
 mable to the laws. Ulemah is the name for 
 all doctors of law and theology, and for 
 members of the learned class generally. 
 The mufti is assisted by a council of the 
 judges and other distinguished functionaries 
 — "the dignitaries of law" or the " dignita- 
 ries of science." They are called the assem- 
 bly of the ulemahs or wise men. The aris- 
 tocracy of the empire is divided into the 
 dignities of the pen and the dignities of the 
 sword. The members of the former com- 
 pose the sublime porte or state-council of 
 the sultan, the president of which is the 
 grand vizier. To the latter belong gover- 
 nors of provinces and high officers of the 
 army. 
 
 RELIGION m TURKEY. 
 
 European Turkey contains somewhere about 
 12,000,000 Christians to 3,000,000 Mussul- 
 mans or Mohammedans. These proportions 
 are exactly reversed in Asiatic Turkey, where 
 14 
 
 there are supposed to be 12,000,000 Mu8- 
 sulmans to 3,000,000 Christians. 
 
 Mohammedanism is the established reli- 
 gion of Turkey. It received its name &om its 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 LTHE KORAN. 
 
 founder, Mahomet, who was bora at Mecca 
 in Arabia, in the year 569. It is deism 
 blended with some superstitious observances; 
 its primary doctrine being that there is but 
 one God, and that Mahomet is his prophet. 
 The precepts and principles of this Eastern 
 religion are contained in the Koran, which 
 is asserted to have been written by the 
 angel Gabriel, and delivered by him to the 
 prophet a verse at a time, over a period of 
 twenty-three years. The Mussulmans ven- 
 erate three other books, which they regard 
 as being almost as sacred as the Koran. 
 These are the Hadiff, or Sunneth, containing 
 an account of the conversations and dealings 
 of the prophet ; the Jdjhay-ummeth, or ex- 
 planations and decisions of the most eminent 
 disciples of Mahomet j and the Kiyas, or 
 canonical decisions of the imauns, or priests 
 of the early centuries of Islamism. 
 
 The Koran is written in the Koreish 
 Arabic, a language of great capabilities, and 
 believed in the East to be that used in 
 Paradise. The Mohammedans assert that it 
 is eternal and uncreated, and that the origi- 
 nal is written in heaven on a gigantic table. 
 It is held in the most superstitious venera- 
 tion, and no good Mussulman so much as 
 touches it without first performing certain 
 ablutions. That this reverential custom may 
 not be infringed upon, a label is placed on 
 the cover, containing the following inscrip- 
 tion : — " Let none touch but they who are 
 clean." TheKoran is divided into 1 14 sections 
 and 3,000 verses. Its contents are chiefly 
 precepts on religion, law, and morality. To 
 every section there is a title, as follows : — 
 The Table; the Spoil; the Thunder; the 
 Prophets j the Pilgrimage ; the Resurrection, 
 &c. The following unexceptionable, if not 
 admirable prayer, is attached to it as an 
 introduction: — "Praise to God, the Lord 
 of all created things, the all-merciful, the 
 King of the day of judgment. We pray to 
 Thee and supplicate Thee for assistance. 
 Lead us into the right way — into the way 
 of those to whom Thou art merciful ; not of 
 those with whom Thou art wrath, or of 
 those who go astray." 
 
 Mahomet died in the year 622, in con- 
 sequence of a fever brought on by poison 
 administered to him in his favourite dish — 
 a shoulder of mutton — by a Jewess, who 
 took this severe mode of testing his divine 
 and prophetic character. He held that 
 Moses and Christ were prophets, but that 
 there were none between the latter and him- 
 self. His favourable opinion of Moses, and 
 
 of the founder of our own religion, may 
 probably arise from the circumstance of his 
 having been assisted in the composition of 
 the Koran by a monk and a learned Jew : 
 such at least is the assertion of many writers. 
 His ideas respecting futurity are romantic 
 and sensual. The usual title for the Moham- 
 medan Paradise is Jaunat-al-Nain, the gar- 
 den of voluptuousness. It is situated, say 
 the faithful, above the seventh heaven, and 
 immediately under the throne of God. 
 There the blest will pass their time in dal- 
 liance with black-eyed girls of superhuman 
 beauty, called Hur-al-Oyun, corrupted by 
 us into Houri. To account for the ex- 
 quisite purity and perfection of their per- 
 sons, it is added that they are not formed from 
 clay, like mortals, but from musk. They 
 are said to reside in pavilions formed of 
 pearls, one of which is sixty miles long. 
 Some enlightened Mohammedans consider 
 that these sensual pleasures are to be re- 
 garded as allegorical. The Mussulman 
 notion of a place of future punishment is 
 just as extraordinary. It is divided into 
 seven compartments or pits, for difierent 
 orders of criminals; the lowest being for 
 the hypocrites. The spirits of the dead are 
 all obliged to pass over a bridge called Al 
 Sirat, which is as fine as a hair, and as sharp 
 as a razor. The just and faithful perform 
 this unpleasant feat easily enough ; but the 
 wicked and unbelievers fall over into the 
 place assigned for them. 
 
 The Christians of Turkey belong mostly 
 to the Greek church, which is bitterly op- 
 posed to the Latin or Roman Catholic one. 
 The Greek church does not recognise the 
 pope, or any one else, as the visible vicar of 
 Christ upon earth. It also contends that 
 the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Supreme 
 Deity alone, and not from the Father and 
 the Son. It acknowledges the seven sacra- 
 ments of the Roman church, venerates 
 relics, graves, and crosses, but rejects the 
 doctrine of purgatory, works of supereroga- 
 tion, indulgences, and dispensations. The 
 clergy, with the exception of the monks and 
 the bishops, are permitted to marry once. 
 They must not, however, contract a second 
 alliance or espouse a widow. The service of 
 the Greek church consists almost entirely of 
 forms, and is extremely tedious. Their are 
 four patriarchs in the Greek church ; those 
 of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and 
 Jerusalem. The patriarch of Constanti- 
 nople acquires his authority by purchase 
 from the Porte. 
 
 15 
 
EXTENT or RUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 RUSSIA— ITS EXTENT, NATURE, AND POPULATION. 
 
 The Russian, empire is the largest in the 
 ■world, of which it forms a ninth, or, ac- 
 cording to other calculations, a seventh 
 portion. It extends over the north-eastern 
 part of Europe, over the whole of Northern 
 Asia, and the north-western coast of North 
 America. Its entire area is supposed to 
 include the enormous space of 7,700,000 
 square miles. 
 
 Russia in Europe is situated between 
 43° to 71° north latitude, and from 20° to 
 63° east longitude. It is bounded east by- 
 Siberia and the Caspian Sea; south by Asia- 
 tic Russia, the Black Sea, the Ottoman 
 and the Austrian empires; west by Mol- 
 davia, Austria, Prussia, the Baltic, and 
 Sweden; and north by the Arctic Ocean. 
 Its length is 1,960 miles, and its breadth 
 1,850. Its magnitude may, perhaps, be 
 more readily understood by saying, that it 
 is about thirty times as large as England. 
 
 Russia in Asia embraces Siberia, Kamts- 
 chatka, and the region of the Caucasus. 
 It, however, includes some countries which 
 are only nominally subject to the czar, and 
 others which do not recognise his power, 
 and are almost constantly at war with him. 
 Its capital is Jeflis, which stands in a nar- 
 row valley on the river Kur. Siberia is 
 divided into three extensive governments, 
 namely, Tobolsk, Irkutsk, and Tomsk. The 
 climate of Asiatic Russia is in many places 
 so severely cold as to be unfit for the resi- 
 dence of man. Altogether, it is so thinly 
 peopled, that the average gives little more 
 than one inhabitant to each square mile. 
 In many places, any attempt to raise grain 
 would be useless; and in some, nothing grows 
 but spungy moss, or low stunted bramble. 
 Siberia, however, is valuable to Russia on 
 account of its mines. Gold is met with in 
 small quantities, iron and copper are plenti- 
 ful, and antimony, cobalt, mercury, and 
 zinc are met with. Russian America in- 
 cludes the whole of the north-west of that 
 great continent. We only refer to these 
 possessions to show the enormous territory 
 beneath the sway of the czar, and the capa- 
 bilities of extension of the Russian empire. 
 
 Russia is divided into fifty governments, 
 thirty-three of which are in Europe. The 
 16 
 
 enumeration of them here would be unne- 
 cessary, as it is not probable that the inte- 
 rior o? Russia will become the seat of war. 
 The surface of Europeau Russia is one 
 almost unbroken plain ; and geological phe- 
 nomena, confirmed by tradition, warrant 
 the conclusion that a great part of ceutral 
 Russia once formed the bed of the sea. It 
 has a greater variety of soil than any other 
 country in Europe: some portions are almost 
 as fertile as any in the world; while others 
 are scarcely more adapted for agriculture 
 than the great African desert. Its climate 
 is extremely diversified ; in fact, it is gene- 
 rally said to possess three climates — the cold, 
 the hot, and the temperate. '1 he winter in 
 the northern districts lasts from seven to 
 eight months, and in the southern from five 
 to six months. The thermometer usually 
 descends to 22° below zero at the end of 
 December, or in January; even at St. Peters- 
 burg, and farther inland, the cold is much 
 more intense. During summer the heat for 
 a few weeks is very great. 
 The population consists of about 60,000,000: 
 it is composed of people belonging to 100 
 nations, and speaking forty difierent lan- 
 guages. They belong either to the Caucasian 
 or the Mongol race, but chiefly to the 
 former. The Sclavonians or Russians amount 
 to 40,000,000, or two-thirds of the entire 
 population. They are divided into Great 
 and Little Russians. The Cossacks, a pecu- 
 liar people, who form a species of democratic 
 republic, are properly descended from the 
 latter. The population is divided into four 
 classes — namely, the nobility, clergy, free- 
 men and peasants, or serfs, wiio are literally 
 slaves, being bought and sold with the laud 
 they cultivate. It is asserted that through- 
 out European Russia there are not more 
 than a million and-a-half of free men. If 
 this statement is correct, that vast people 
 must be strangely deficient in that moral 
 power and manly spirit which constitutes 
 the real strength of nations. 
 
 The character of the Russian people par- 
 takes something of that of the Ereuch, but 
 it has many points entirely its own. They 
 are generally hospitable, industrious, tole- 
 rant, cheerful, and good-tempered in their 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 dispositions ; quick, elegaut, ostentatious, 
 and polite to excess in their manners. The 
 ostentation and gorgeous luxury of the nobles 
 probably exceeds that of any other country. 
 The profusion of rare flowers, wax-lights, 
 and servants in livery, exhibited at the soirees 
 of the nobles, are almost fabulous. The 
 people are generally handsome, hardy, and 
 brave; Buonaparte once said, that next to 
 the French, they were the best soldiers in 
 Europe. They are exceedingly subtle and 
 Gunning ; the ingenuity of the moujik {i.e. 
 serf) exceeds that of tiie Jew. Peter the 
 Great went so far as to declare, that a single 
 Russian is a match for three Jews. Their 
 greatest vices are their drunkenness and 
 that dishonestj' or propensity for theft which 
 prevails throughout Russia, and which the 
 late Emperor Nicholas made such perse- 
 vering but ineffectual attempts to reform. 
 Venality and corruption pervade every grade 
 of society, bat are singularly apparent in the 
 Russian officials. The dishonesty of these 
 functionaries has become proverbial. They 
 seem to be insensible to the guilt or shame 
 of it; and when a general is degraded to a 
 common soldier, or an admiral to a sailor, 
 for peculation of the public money entrusted 
 to them, the usual comment is, "Wljat 
 fools to allow themselves to be discovered \" 
 It is said, that public functionaries who 
 possess an annual salary of a 100,000 
 roubles, will sometimes raise it to as much 
 as 2,000,000. A German writer, after re- 
 marking that corruption is the worm that 
 dieth not in the Russian empire, relates what 
 follows as the result of his own experience : 
 " One officer, instead of instructing his sol- 
 diers, makes them devote all the time they 
 ought to pass in learning their exercise, in 
 labours profitable to himself. Another re- 
 ceives pay for men who have never existed,-^ 
 save on paper. A third sends his horses to 
 grass, and pockets the .money intended for 
 forage. A fourth defrauds the troops of 
 food and clothing, without troubling himself 
 about the number of deaths and diseases 
 that result from this scandalous abuse. The 
 majority put into their pockets the money 
 destined to repair and complete the materiel, 
 which accounts for the frequent and sudden 
 decay remarked in Russian armies. Every- 
 where you find robbery — organised robbery 
 — hierarchical robbery; for in Russia every 
 ofiScer robs according to his rank : so that 
 a dignity is less valued on its own account 
 and for its honour, than for the plunder it 
 may bring in." The ships comprising the 
 
 Russian navy speedily rot and become un- 
 seaworthy, from being built of green timber, 
 on account of the cheating of commanders, 
 contractors, and subordinate officials. 
 
 Passing from the people of Russia, let us 
 briefly consider a few of its principal cities, 
 &c. St. Petersburg, its capital, was built 
 at the commencement of the last cen. 
 tury by Peter the Great. It stands on 
 both banks of the river Neva; and although 
 great part of the houses are built of wood, 
 yet its noble public buildings, the width of 
 its streets, and its grand public squares 
 make it one of the finest cities of Europe. 
 Its dimensions, no doubt, contribute to its 
 reputation : it is larger than London, being 
 about twenty miles in circumference. It is, 
 however, extremely cold and damp, and 
 subject to dangerous inundationsof the Neva. 
 In one that occurred in 1824, no less than 
 15,000 lives were lost. It is feared that 
 the city may at some period be altogether 
 destroyed by these terrible floods. Its 
 population amounts to about half-a-railiion, 
 and is said to be composed of twice as many 
 men as women. Amongst the noble monu- 
 ments which ornament the city is the 
 bronze equestrian statute of its founder. 
 It stands on a huge block of granite, and 
 looks like the presiding genius of the nation. 
 The finest buildings are the Winter Palace, 
 the Hermitage, the Senate, the Admiralty, 
 and the cathedral of St. Isaac. The latter 
 is a building of extraordinary magnificence. 
 For its construction, Finland supplied its 
 beautiful granite and porphyry, Italy its 
 finest marble, and artists of all climates 
 mingled the efforts of their genius. Next 
 to London and Hamburg, St. Petersburg 
 has the most important trade of any city in 
 Europe. Tlie Neva is generally frozen over 
 for six months in the year; and during the 
 winter, the thermometer is sometimes thirty 
 degrees below zero. This bitter time is, 
 however, preferred to the brief summer, 
 which is so hot as to be painfully oppres- 
 sive. 
 
 In the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, 
 and about thirty-one miles from St. Peters- 
 burg, of which it is the defence, stands the 
 famous island and fortifications of Cron- 
 stadt. Its harbours, docks, and basins 
 have cost many millions of roubles, - and 
 many thousands of lives. Its vast port is 
 divided into three parts; one is the military 
 port, and usually contains the greater part 
 of the Russian fleet; the second is used for 
 refitting ships of war; and the third for 
 
 17 
 
MOSCOW.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 lading and discharging large merchant ships, 
 ■which, on account of the shalloTvness of the 
 ■water, cannot approach St. Petersburg. All 
 the ports are strongly defended by ramparts 
 and bastions. In summer, Cronstadt has 
 a population of more than 50,000 persons. 
 In winter, during several months of ■which 
 the port is ice-bound, it is nearly deserted. 
 
 Moscow, the ancient capital of Russia, 
 stands almost in the centre of the empire, 
 and is stil' the seat of its nationality. Its 
 population is probably at present not less 
 than 400,000. It is the residence of many 
 of the ■wealthiest and most ancient families 
 among the nobility. The Kremlin, formerly 
 the residence of the czars, is at once a for- 
 tress, palace, castle, and cathedral. It is a 
 giant amongst buildings, with ■walls sixteen 
 feet thick, and from thirty to sixty in height, 
 ■with battlements, embrasures, towers, and 
 gates. The Marquis de Custine observes, 
 that the Kremlin is the Mont Blanc of for- 
 tresses. " I have been," he adds, " over 
 the public gardens planted upon the glaciers 
 of the old citadel of the czars. I beheld 
 towers, then other towers; flights of walls, 
 and then other flights; and my eyes 
 wandered over an enchanted city. It is 
 saying too little to call it fairy-land I" 
 Within the walls of the Kremlin, which is 
 in itself a city, are as many as four cathe- 
 drals and thirty-two churches. Within the 
 cathedral of St. Michael are contained the 
 tombs of aU the Russian sovereigns to the 
 time of Peter the Great. A railway con- 
 nects Moscow with St. Petersburg. The 
 former is the most industrious city of the 
 empire, and is regarded as the Manchester 
 of Russia. It has an arsenal, a large public 
 library, an observatory, a botanic garden, 
 an university, and many literary and scien- 
 tific institutions. 
 
 Odessa is a celebrated seaport town on a 
 fine bay of the Black Sea. Late events have 
 secured for it a permanent mention in the 
 historic records both of England and Russia. 
 Odessa, however, has purchased its distinc- 
 tion at a price which has ruined its inhabi- 
 tants, and struck a doubting tremor to the 
 heart of the arrogant czar. It lately con- 
 tained upwards of 70,000 inhabitants, ex- 
 clusi^ve of its garrison; and in 1849, the 
 amount of its export and import trade was 
 valued at about four millions and-a-half 
 sterling. The prosperity of the town is, 
 of course, entirely suspended since the re- 
 cent bombardment; a part of it being 
 burnt and left in ruins. The fortifications, 
 18 
 
 batteries, and military magazines were de- 
 stroyed; but in consequence of the more 
 humane principles which guide our modern 
 warfare, in comparison with that of past 
 times, the commercial harbour was spared. 
 
 Sebastopol is a strongly-fortified seaport 
 town and arsenal, standing in the Crimea, 
 on a deep and sheltered creek of the Black 
 Sea. It is defended by a citadel and 
 batteries. Its large and well-protected har- 
 bour is the station for the Russian fleet in 
 the Black Sea, — a circumstance which led 
 the allies to attack its fortifications. While 
 they exist, the Russian fleet in the neigh- 
 bouring sea has ever a place where it 
 can retire in safety from the grim threat- 
 ening mouths and loud thundering of 
 the French and English cannon. The 
 population of Sebastopol is about 30,000. 
 The port is defended by eleven batteries, 
 mounting 1,500 cannon. No stranger may 
 approach the city without a special permit, 
 or reside in it without a special order, 
 which must be renewed every four-and- 
 twenty hours. The fact that the fortifica- 
 tions of this famous port have nearly all 
 been erected by the late emperor, will 
 make their destruction, should it take 
 place (and . we doubt not it will do so), 
 a work of warlike retribution. Sveaborg, 
 Toola, Nijni-Novgorod, Kason, and other 
 great towns do not demand description. 
 
 The Crimea, however, must not be for- 
 gotten ; for it will ever be remembered as the 
 theatre of the sternest, the most brilliant, and 
 we trust the most decisive events of the war. 
 It is a peninsula of South Russia, formed by 
 the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea. Sim- 
 feropol is the chief town. In 1837, the 
 population of the peninsular was estimated 
 at 190,063. The soil of the south-east part 
 is rich and fertile, and abundantly produces 
 all the fruits and grain of southern Europe. 
 The north-west forms a vast plain, impreg- 
 nated with salt, and only fit for pasturage. 
 Enormous herds of cattle are reared in the 
 Crimea : it is estimated to possess more 
 than 7,000,000 sheep; and its honey is 
 much esteemed. Its mountains are covered 
 with noble and valuable forests, and present 
 a beautiful and romantic aspect. 
 
 Circassia is now declared independent of 
 Russia; but unhappy Poland still remains 
 subject to it. Circassia has been described 
 as a nation of heroes, whose long-continued 
 and bravely-sustained efforts for freedom 
 against its tyrannic neighbour, have long 
 been the admiration of every well-constitut^ 
 
A.D. 850-1682.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [peter the great. 
 
 mind. On looking to a map, the reader 
 will at once perceive, that to sustain the 
 peace of Europe by wresting the Black Sea 
 from the domination of the Russian flag, 
 the freedom of Circassia must be upheld. 
 The Circassians are regarded as being physi- 
 cally the finest specimens of the human 
 race. Notwithstanding, civilisation is in 
 a very low condition among them, and 
 parents sell the most beautiful of their 
 female children to gratify the sensual plea- 
 
 sures of the wealthy Mussulmans of Con- 
 stantinople. The population is estimated at 
 220,000. 
 
 The principal river of Russia is the Volga. 
 It is the largest in Europe, and its course, 
 including windings, extends for 2,000 miles. 
 It is frozen over for 170 days in the year. 
 The Don, the Dnieper, Dvina, and the 
 Neva are the other most important ones. 
 Russia would like to add the broad Danube 
 to the number, or choke it up with mud. 
 
 HISTORIC VIEW OP RUSSIA AND ITS AIMS. 
 
 The origin of the Russian nation is generally 
 dated from about the year 850. At that 
 time a freebooter of the Baltic, named Ruric, 
 who had been aalled in by the people of 
 Novgorod to defend them against their 
 neighbours, seized a great part of their 
 country, and founded a Norman dynasty. 
 In the proceedings of these barbarous people, 
 the modern reader will find but little to in- 
 terest him. 
 
 In the middle of the thirteenth century, 
 the Tartars of Kapchak burst into Europe 
 and overspread the eastern and southern 
 provinces of Russia. After two centuries 
 and-a-half of bondage, the yoke of the 
 Tartars was shaken off, and in 1462, Ivan 
 the Great succeeded to the regal dignity of 
 his ancestors. Some years afterwards he 
 assumed the title of czar, announced him- 
 self to the other states of Europe as an 
 independent sovereign, and Russia came to 
 be numbered amongst the nations. Con- 
 stantinople had but lately fallen into the 
 hands of the Ottomans, — an event much de- 
 plored by the superstitious Russians, who 
 regarded it with feelings of religious venera- 
 tion. To the great delight of his subjects, 
 Ivan married Sophia, the niece of the last 
 of the Greek emperors, and adopted, as the 
 ensign of his state, the two-headed eagle of 
 the eastern empire, — that symbol having been 
 replaced at Constantinople by the victorious 
 crescent. The alliance of Ivan with the 
 Greek princess, Sophia, is regarded as an 
 event of great historic importance ; for by it 
 Ivan and his successors pretend that they 
 have acquired some sort of. claim to be re- 
 garded as heirs to the rights of the ancient 
 Greek emperors of Constantinople. This 
 sophism has been used to colour, with at 
 least some faint tint and blush of justice, the 
 many aggressive acts which Russia, in its 
 
 growing strength, has from time to time 
 inflicted upon Turkey, in its increasing 
 weakness. From the year that Ivan wedded 
 Sophia, have the Russians kept an evil lust- 
 ing eye upon the domes and gilded minarets 
 of Constantinople. 
 
 The royal family of Ruric at length failed 
 to produce a prince to wear the imperial 
 diadem of Russia; and in 1613, Michael 
 Romanofl], the founder of the present royal 
 house of Russia, was elected to the vacant 
 throne. 
 
 Peter the Great, the fifth sovereign of 
 the house of Romanoff, is regarded as the 
 founder of the present greatness of Russia, 
 and venerated as the father of his country. 
 This extraordinary man succeeded to the 
 crown in 1682. His eccentricities, his dis- 
 guises, his contempt of all regal convention- 
 alities; his industry, perseverance, energy, 
 and grasp of thought, are familiar to all 
 readers of biography. His first political act 
 revealed his design (as yet dim and shadowy) 
 upon the empire of the East. It was the 
 taking of Azof from the Turks, in 1694. 
 He was recalled from a visit to England by 
 the information that the Strelitzes (a body 
 of troops resembling the Turkish Janizaries) 
 were in rebellion. He speedily crushed the 
 insurrection, disbanded the Strelitzes, and 
 caused 2,000 of them to be executed. Some 
 writers say that he struck off the heads of 
 many of these wretched men himself, and 
 that he was delighted at the dexterity with 
 which he performed this savage and un- 
 kingly deed ; but this has been denied. In 
 1701, he struck a heavy blow at the over- 
 grown power of the clergy, by abolishing 
 the dignity of patriarch of Moscow, and de- 
 claring himself to be the head of the Rus- 
 sian church. After being several times 
 defeated by Charles XII., of Sweden, he 
 
 19 
 
CATHERINE THE SECOND.] 
 
 HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1763. 
 
 utterly defeated that ftiTHOus soldier at the 
 battle of Pultowa. Peter's difficulties, when 
 he pursued Charles beyond the Pruth, and 
 his humiliation in Turkey, we have already 
 referred to.* During his wars he never lost 
 sight of the internal improvement of his 
 country, and the creation of a navy, which 
 he justly considered essential to its advance- 
 ment. The latter part of his life was em- 
 bittered by a domestic tragedy. His weak 
 and vicious son, Alexis, had incurred his 
 strong resentment. The father decreed the 
 arrest of the son, who was tried and con- 
 demned to death on a charge (real or pre- 
 tended) of conspiracy. Alexis died in prison : 
 some say in terror of his sentence ; others, 
 that he perished by poison, administered at 
 the command of his relentless parent. Peter 
 was the first czar who assumed the title of 
 Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias 
 He died, 1725, after a reign of six-and- 
 thirty years. During that period he had 
 raised his country from a state of barbarism 
 to a degree of military strength and political 
 importance which placed her on a level with 
 the first powers of Europe. It is said that 
 he bequeathed to his cabinet an injunction, 
 that they were never to omit an opportunity, 
 by extending their conquests in the direc- 
 tion of the East, of effacing the memory of 
 his disgrace beyond the Pruth. 
 
 Peter's widow, Catherine I., succeeded 
 him ; and was herself succeeded by Peter II. 
 The events of their reigns are not of much 
 historical importance, and do not bear upon 
 the question of the war. During the reign 
 of the Empress Anne, Crim Tartary was 
 seized and incorporated with Russia. 
 
 We pass over the brief reign of Anne's 
 grand nephew, Ivan, and that of the accom- 
 plished Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the 
 Great. Peter III., previously Duke of Hol- 
 
 stein-Gottorp, succeeded in 1763. He 
 abolished torture in criminal proceedings, 
 and issued admirable regulations for the 
 protection of commerce. His startling re- 
 form, however, in the army and the church, 
 excited the disapprobation of the people. 
 He was an imitator of his illustrious com- 
 peer, Frederick the Great of Prussia, whom 
 lie admired extremely. It is said that he 
 wanted to alter everything, and that without 
 regard to the opposition of his subjects. 
 After a reign of six months, he was de- 
 throned and cruelly murdered in prison by 
 the conspirators against hrra. 
 
 Catherine II., his widow, succeeded him 
 in 1762; not without incurring the suspi- 
 cion of having sanctioned the murder of her 
 husband. This brilliant, ambitious, and 
 unscrupulous princess gave a fresh impulse 
 to Russian pohcy, which, in her reign, as- 
 sumed that steadily aggressive course it has 
 ever since maintained. That policy was the 
 extension of the Russian empire in all direc- 
 tions; especially towards Constantinople 
 and the Mediterranean. A close study of 
 the reign of this dissolute but gifted woman 
 will amply repay the historic reader. It is 
 one of the most extraordinary among the 
 records of modern nations. She was con- 
 stantly at war with the Turks, and almost 
 always successful. Her troops took posses- 
 sion of Moldavia and Wallachia, but were, 
 however, unable permanently to retain them, 
 Russia had hitherto only been powerful on 
 land ; but now a Russian fleet appeared for 
 the first time, and at once signalised itself 
 by the destruction of the Turkish navy. 
 The encroachments of the empress caused 
 the war to be renewed in 1787. It lasted 
 for five years, and was rendered memorable 
 by the frightful carnage at the taking of 
 Ismail, and for the sanguinary triumphs ot 
 
 * The devotion of his wife Catherine, who had 
 accompanied him on this expedition, is both inter- 
 esting and touching. Her history is a romantic 
 instance of the wild caprices of fortune. Catherine 
 was a poor orphan, the natural daughter of a peasant 
 girl, and brought up from motives of charity by a 
 Lutheran minister of Marienberg. For a time she 
 lived as a servant in his family, and at an early age 
 married a Swedish dragoon. Marienberg was be- 
 sieged by Peter's troops, who carried away all the 
 inhabitants. CatVierine, or Martha (as she was then 
 called), was amongst the prisoners, and her husband 
 had perished during the siege. The beauty of the 
 ■widowed orphan attracted the notice of the Russian 
 general, Bauer, who took her for his servant, and 
 also, it is supposed, for his mistress. Prince Ments- 
 thikofT then became enamoured of the beautiful low- 
 born girl, and received her under his protection. 
 She lived with him for some time, when the emperor 
 
 20 
 
 accidentally beheld her, and was so captivated by 
 her graceful appearance and manners that he made 
 her his mistress. While in that position, she ob- 
 tained so much influence over him, that a few years 
 afterwards he n-arried her. When Peter was hemmed 
 in near Jassy by an overwhelming army (a vain at- 
 tempt to break through which had cost him 18,000 
 men), he shut himself up in his tent, gave orders 
 that no one should approach him, and abandoned 
 himself to despair. Catherine disobeyed the com- 
 mand, and found her husband in strong convulsions, 
 brought on by extreme agitation. Exerting her 
 womanly tenderness, she succeeded in calming him, 
 and wisely proposed that he should negotiate with 
 the enemy. Stripping herself of her jewels, and 
 collecting all other articles of similar value in the 
 camp, she bribed the minister of the sultan, and 
 saved the life of the man who had raised her from 
 the dust to an imperial diadem. 
 
A.D. 1795-1815.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA, 
 
 [RUSSIAN DYNASTY. 
 
 Potemkin and Suwarrow. In 1795, the 
 final dismemberment of Poland took place, 
 by which its nationahty was extinguished, 
 and the greatest part of its territories an- 
 nexed to Russia. Catherine indulged in 
 sensuality to an extent that seems almost 
 incredible. She kept her male favourites 
 more openly than some monarchs of the 
 other sex do their mistresses. They were 
 installed into office with as much formality 
 as were her ministers, and changed much 
 more frequently. She was a great patron 
 of literature, and herself wrote and con- 
 versed with grace and intelligence. It was 
 during her reign that the apprehensions of 
 the Christian states became first excited for 
 the security of the Turks. Statesmen began 
 to have a dim idea that eventually the Otto- 
 man empire might be overwhelmed by and 
 swallowed up in Russia. Indeed, Catherine 
 had bestowed the name of Constantine upon 
 her second son, with the view of eventually 
 placing him on the throne of Constantinople. 
 
 Paul succeeded in 1796. Catherine, his 
 mother, had hated him, and a suspicion was 
 entertained that he was a Finnish foundling, 
 and ,not of royal blood. His singularity, 
 caprice, boundless extravagance, and frantic 
 tyranny have led to the supposition that he 
 was insane. He joined the second grand 
 coalition against France, but afterwards 
 abandoned his allies, and concluded peace 
 with Buonaparte. He was about to engage 
 in a war with England, when he was seized 
 and strangled in his palace by a band of 
 conspirators. The murder was supposed to 
 have received the sanction of his own son 
 and successor, Alexander, and no attempt 
 was made to punish the regicides. Paul left 
 four sons : Alexander, afterwards emperor ; 
 the Grand Duke Constantine, who died in 
 1831 ; the late emperor, Nicholas ; and 
 the Grand Duke Michael, who died in 1849. 
 
 Alexander became emperor in 1801. 
 He adopted pacific measures towards Eng- 
 land, and disbanded an army of 45,000 
 Cossacks, whom his father had collected for 
 the insane purpose of marching overland to 
 India. Alexander refused to acknowledge 
 the imperial dignity of Napoleon, and joined 
 the Austrian alliance against him. The 
 great Corsican, however, humiliated his 
 enemies at the gigantic and brilliant battle 
 of Austerlitz. In 1806, the Russian troops 
 were poured into Moldavia and Wallachia. 
 The defeat of the Russians, in 1807, at the 
 battle of Friedland, led to an interview be- 
 tween Buonaparte and Alexander, on a raft 
 
 \OL. i. fE 
 
 at Tilsit, and peace soon followed. Napoleon 
 opened a scheme for the division of Europe 
 between them ; but the two lions could not 
 agree as to their respective shares of the 
 spoil. In 1809, Alexander wrested Fin- 
 land from the chivalrous Gustavus of Swe- 
 den, and annexed it to Russia. Alexander 
 also pursued the aggressive policy of his 
 ancestors against the Turks, whom, after 
 three savage but indecisive campaigns, he 
 stripped of Bessarabia. Napoleon's " conti- 
 nental system," by which England was to 
 be reduced, by having all the ports of Eu- 
 rope closed against her, inflicted enormous 
 injury upon the trade of Russia. Alexander, 
 therefore, refused to support it, and this led 
 to a quarrel between him and the French 
 emperor. The result was, the invasion of 
 Russia by Napoleon in the autumn of 1812, 
 with an army of nearly half a million of 
 men. Such an array of armed hosts had 
 not been seen in Europe since the time 
 when every nation poured forth its thou- 
 sands to Palestine to rescue the tomb of 
 Christ from the Turks. The fearful battle 
 of Borodino -followed: 10,000 French, and 
 15,000 Russians, were left dead upon the 
 field, while the wounded were too many to 
 be numbered. The victorious Napoleon 
 pushed on to Moscow, and took up his 
 quarters within the stupendous walls of the 
 Kremlin. The next night the city was dis- 
 covered to be in flames ; and a nonth after- 
 wards commenced that awful retreat of the 
 French army, the details of which can 
 scarcely be read without sensations of sick- 
 ness, shuddering, and horror. The result is 
 well known. Nine-tenths of that vast host 
 either perished by the freezing blasts of the 
 north and the lances of the Cossacks, or 
 were taken prisoners. Napoleon himself 
 fled back to Paris, his heart wrung with 
 agony at the colossal reverse he had sus- 
 tained ; and in his public announcement of 
 his calamity, confessed that, with the excep- 
 tion of the imperial guard, he had no longer 
 an army. Alexander had his revenge by 
 afterwards entering Paris in triumph. 
 
 After the downfall of Napoleon, Russia 
 became the head of what is termed the Holy 
 Alliance. It was a sort of bond entered 
 into by herself, Austria, Prussia, and France, 
 for the suppression of revolutionary prin- 
 ciples. That despotic combination, wliose 
 name of Holy reminds us of Mephistopheles 
 in the cathedral, listening with a sardonic 
 smile to the chanting of the vespersj'set its 
 iron feet on the neck of liberty, and sedu- 
 
 21 
 
THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1796-1839. 
 
 lously rebuilt every shattered tyranny 
 throughout Europe. The heart of the Rus- 
 sian czar was no doubt cheered by the holy 
 and congenial work. The latter years of 
 Alexander's life were haunted.by fears of that 
 spirit of liberty which he and his holy com- 
 peers — forgetful that it is immortal — had 
 tried in vain to slay. Many of his officers 
 and nobles had visited Prance and England, 
 and there imbibed principles which made, 
 them uneasy under despotism ; and, to 
 the alarm ot the czar, they wished to intro- 
 duce constitutional forms of government. 
 Alexander died suddenly at the age of forty- 
 eight, not without suspicions being enter- 
 tained that his death was caused by violence. 
 An insurrection immediately broke out, but 
 was suppressed by Nicholas, though not 
 without bloodshed. The Grand Duke Con- 
 stantino was the legitimate successor; but 
 Alexander had left a sealed packet, which 
 contained a peremptory command to pro- 
 claim Nicholas as the future emperor. Ni- 
 cholas hesitated; but, from some mysterious 
 cause, Constantino renounced the sovereign 
 dignity, and declared that he%cuild acknow- 
 ledge none but his brother asjhe czar. 
 
 Nicholas, the late Emperor of Russia, 
 was born on the 6th of July, 1796; united 
 to the sister of the King of Prussia on the 
 13th of July, 1817 ; and succeeded his 
 brother, Alexander, as emperor, on the 1st 
 of December, 1825. His coronation took 
 place at Moscow, in 1826 ; and during the 
 subsequent year he was also crowned as 
 King of Poland. On the latter occasion, 
 Nicholas knelt before the altar, and, with 
 dramatic hypocrisy, uttered the following 
 prayer — admirable indeed in itself, but 
 which cannot but be regarded as a blas- 
 phemous mockery, when proceeding from 
 the lips of a despot, who had enslaved the 
 people he was about to govern with a rod of 
 iron, and correct with a whip of scorpions : — 
 " May my heart," said the unblushing czar, 
 " O, my God and master, be in thy hand ! 
 and may I reigu for the happiness of my 
 people, and for the glory of Thy holy name, 
 according to the charter granted by my 
 august predecessor, and sworn to by me, in 
 order that I may not fear to appear before 
 Thee in the day of Thy eternal judgment." 
 Nicholas had too clear a head not to be 
 aware, that hollow pretensions to religion 
 ever form the firmest supports of despotism. 
 
 Constantino was appointed viceroy of 
 Poland, and by his tyranny and repeated 
 infractions of its constitution, provoked a 
 22 
 
 general insurrection of the people. The 
 history of the awful campaign by which 
 it was crushed, and Warsaw taken, should 
 be written in letters of fire and blood. 
 Finally, many thousands of Poles were sent 
 to wear out their wretched lives in the 
 inclement regions of Siberia ; and the ven- 
 geance of the czar, after being sated with 
 bloodshed, was content with incorporating 
 Poland with Russia. It has since been 
 governed as a conquered country. England 
 and France looked on with indiff'erence 
 while Poland perished, and the present war 
 is the penalty they have to pay for their 
 ungenerous apathy. 
 
 Before this sad event, the Greeks had 
 rebelled against the dominion of Turkey, 
 and England concluded a treaty with France 
 and Russia to interpose in their behalf. It 
 was asserted that the interference of the 
 European powers was demanded by hu- 
 manity and the common interest of all 
 nations. The evacuation of Greece was in- 
 sisted on ; and also that something little short 
 of absolute independence should be granted 
 to its people. The astonished Sultan Mah- 
 moud replied, through his minister, " ' God 
 and my right ! ' — such is the motto of Eng- 
 land : what better answer can we give, when 
 you threaten to attack us ? " The battle 
 of Navarino and the destruction of the 
 Turkish fleet.followed ; — no doubt, greatly to 
 the delight of Nicholas, who must have 
 chuckled in secret to see England and 
 France unwittingly forwarding the aim of 
 his guilty ambition.* The following year 
 (1828) a Russian army invaded Turkey; 
 and though repulsed at first, eventually 
 succeeded in crossing the Balkan, and occu- 
 pying Adrianople. By a treaty concluded 
 at that place in 1829, Russia acquired many 
 frontier fortresses on the Black Sea, and the 
 protectorate of Moldavia and Wallachia. 
 
 That unfortunate treaty — one of the 
 heaviest blows dealt by Russia at Turkish 
 independence — has been much referred to 
 and discussed during the existing war. 
 Lord Aberdeen had been charged, not only 
 with indiff'erence to the Ottoman cause, but 
 with being strongly prejudiced in favour of 
 the Russian emperor. So much so, that 
 a powerful feeling of angry irritation was 
 excited against him, and a large moiety ot 
 the press and the people called loudly for 
 his dismissal from the august position of 
 
 * Lord St. Helen's once humorously a.nd acutely 
 observed, that Navarino was a capital battle,— only 
 we knocked down the wrong man. 
 

 .-.^,ev 1} 
 
 
 Drawn £i l!rigrn.\'Cii 
 
 r.ONlJGH I'TilN'flN'O 
 
A.D. 1829.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [treaty op adrianople. 
 
 premier of the British cabinet. In his de- 
 fence, Lord Aberdeen produced, in the house 
 of peers, a copy of a criticism on the treaty 
 of Adrianople, in which he analyzed, one by 
 one, the concessions which it extorted from 
 the Ottoman government. It is in the form 
 of a despatch addressed by him when serving 
 as secretary of foreign aifairs in the ministry 
 of the late Duke . of Wellington, to Lord 
 Heytesbury, then ambassador at Russia. 
 It is so masterly and statesmanlike an 
 analysis of the treaty of which we are speak- 
 ing, and it possesses such an historical inter- 
 est as regards the past, and such a political 
 interest in reference to the present, that we 
 shall offer no apology for its introduction 
 unabbreviated. To quote the language of a 
 contemporary writer, " we rejoice that this 
 despatch has been produced, and we hope it 
 will be circulated in every language of 
 Europe, and will become as well known to 
 the world as it has long been to the Russian 
 cabinet :" — 
 
 " Poreign-office, October 31, 1829. 
 
 " My Lord, — I have received from his impe- 
 rial majesty's ambassador at this court a copy 
 of the definitive treaty of peace between Russia 
 and the Porte, together with the manifesto of 
 the Russian cabinet, and a circular despatch 
 from Count Nesselrode, dated the 4ith of 
 October. 
 
 " These papers have engaged the serious at- 
 tention of his majesty's government. The con- 
 sequences of the transaction to which they refer 
 are so various and important, and influence so 
 powerfully the future happiness and tranquillity 
 of all nations, that it would be inconsistent with 
 the station which his majesty fills among the 
 sovereigns of Europe, as well as with that frank- 
 ness and sincerity which he is desirous should 
 characterise all his relations with the cabinet of 
 St. Petersburg, if he were not at once to com- 
 municate to his imperial majesty the sentiments 
 which have been produced in his "mind by an 
 examination of the treaty of Adrianople. 
 
 " The first desire of his majesty is to express 
 the satisfaction which he has experienced from 
 the restoration of peace. He sincerely rejoices 
 that a state of warfare should at length have 
 ceased, the existence of which he has constantly 
 deplored, and the prolonged duration of which 
 had only increased his majesty's apprehensions 
 of the evils to which it must finally have led. 
 
 " Count jSTesselrode, at the conclusion of his 
 circular despatch, expresses an opinion that the 
 treaty now concluded holds out to Europe a 
 long prospect of tranquiUity and repose. _ That 
 this judgment may be fully confirmed is our 
 most anxious desire. , In the meantime, it will 
 be an object worthy of the solicitude of his 
 
 imperial majesty to strengthen the confidence of 
 his allies, and to remove those causes of alarm 
 to which, if not discovered in the treaty of peace 
 itself, the present state of the Turkish empire 
 cannot fail to give rise. 
 
 " When his imperial majesty announced his 
 intention of declaring war against the Ottoman 
 Porte, upon grounds affecting exclusively the 
 interests of Russia, his majesty's government, 
 without pronouncing any opinion respecting the 
 justice of the war, expressed their conviction 
 that the most complete success in the justest 
 cause would not entitle the stronger party to 
 demand from the weaker sacrifices which would 
 affect its political existence, or would infringe 
 upon that state of territorial possession upon 
 which the general peace had rested. They also 
 observed that demands of indemnity and com- 
 pensation might be carried to such an extent as 
 to render compliance scarcely practicable, with- 
 out reducing the Ottoman power to a degree of 
 weakness which would deprive it of the character 
 of an independent state. 
 
 " His imperial majesty, in carrying into exe- 
 cution his threatened invasion of the Ottoman 
 dominions, declared his adherence to that disin- 
 terested principle which had characterised the 
 protocol of St. Petersburg and the treaty of 
 London. He renounced all projects of conquest 
 and ambition. His imperial majesty frequently 
 repeated that, so far from desiring the destruc- 
 tion of the Turkish empire, he was most anxious 
 for its preservation. He promised that no 
 amount of indemnity should be exacted which 
 could afiect its political existence ; and he de- 
 clared that this policy was not the result of 
 romantic notions of generosity, or of the vain 
 desire of glory, but that it originated in the true 
 interests of the Russian empire, in which inter- 
 ests, well understood, and in his own solemn 
 promises, would be found the best pledges of his 
 moderation. 
 
 " His imperial majesty added that his thoughts 
 would undergo no change, even if, contrary to 
 his intentions and his endeavours. Divine Provi- 
 dence had decreed that we should now behold 
 the termination of the Ottoman power. His 
 imperial majesty was still determined not to ex- 
 tend the limits of his own dominions ; and he 
 only demanded from his allies the same absence 
 of all selfish and ambitious views, of which he 
 would himself give the first example. 
 
 " Does the treaty of Adrianople place the 
 Porte in a situatioil corresponding with the ex- 
 pectations raised by these assurances ? The 
 answer must be left to the judgment of Europe : 
 it might be left to the dispassionate judgment 
 of the cabinet of St. Petersburg. 
 
 " Undoubtedly, if we look only at the relative 
 position of the two belligerents, the fortune of 
 the war might have enabled the emperor to 
 exact still harder terms. The sultan, threatened 
 by a formidable insurrection in Constantinople, 
 
 23 
 
TREATY OF ADRIANOPLE.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.b. 1829. 
 
 having lost his army, and having ordered the re- 
 maining Asiatic troops to retire to their homes, 
 was unahle to offer any effectual opposition, and 
 threw himself under the mercy of the Eussian 
 commander. By the persuasion of the British 
 and French ambassadors, and of the minister 
 extraordinary of the King of Prussia, the de- 
 feated monarch was induced to place entire 
 confidence in the moderation of hia imperial 
 majesty. 
 
 " It may not be easy to accuse of want of 
 generosity the conqueror who checks the unre- 
 sisted progress of success, and who spares the 
 defenceless capital of his enemy. Nevertheless, 
 the treaty in question, certainly not in conformity 
 with the expectations held out by preceding de- 
 clarations and assurances, appears vitally to 
 afl'eot the interests, the strength, the dignity, 
 the present safety, and future independence of 
 the Ottoman empire. 
 
 " The modes of domination may be various, 
 although all equally irresistible. The indepen- 
 dence of a state may be overthrown and its 
 subjection effectually secured without the pre- 
 sence of a hostile force, or the permanent occu- 
 pation of its soil. Under the present treaty the 
 territorial acquisitions of Russia are small, it 
 must be admitted, in extent, although most im- 
 portant in their character. They are command- 
 ing positions, far more valuable than the posses- 
 sion of barren provinces and depopulated towns, 
 and better calculated to rivet the fetters by 
 which the sultan is bound. 
 
 " The cession of the Asiatic fortresses, with 
 their neighbouring districts, not only secures 
 to Bussia the uninterrupted occupation of the 
 eastern coast of the Black Sea, but places her in 
 a situation so commanding as to control at plea- 
 sure the destiny of Asia Minor. 
 
 "Prominently advanced into, the centre of 
 Armenia, in the midst of a Christian population, 
 llussia holds the keys both of the Persian and 
 the Turkish provinces; and, whether she may 
 be disposed to extend her conquests to the east 
 or to the west, to Teheran or to Constantinople, 
 no serious obstacle can arrest her progress. 
 
 "In Europe the principalities of Wallachia 
 and Moldavia are rendered virtually independent 
 of the Porte. A tribute is, indeed, to be paid 
 to the sultan, which he has no means of en- 
 forcing, except by the permission and even the 
 assistance of Eussia herself; and a prince, elected 
 for life, is to demand investiture which cannot 
 be withheld. The Mussulman inhabitants are 
 to be forcibly expelled from the territory. The 
 ancient right of pre-emption is abolished ; and 
 the supplies indispensable for Constantinople, 
 for the Turkish arsenals, and for the fortresses 
 are entirely cut off. The most important for- 
 tresses upon the Danube are to be razed, and 
 the frontier left exposed and unprotected against 
 incursions which at any future time may be at- 
 tempted, 
 
 34 
 
 " It is sufficient to observe of the stipulations 
 respecting the islands of the Danube, that their 
 effect must be to place the control of the naviga- 
 tion and commerce of that river exclusively in 
 the hands of Eussia. 
 
 " Servia, by the incorporation of the six dis- 
 tricts referred to in the treaty, is erected into 
 an independent and powerful state ; and when 
 the allied powers shall have finally decided upon 
 the character of the government, and the limits 
 to be assigned to Greece, the circle will be com- 
 pleted of territories nominally dependent or tri- 
 butary, but which must be animated with the 
 most hostile spirit ; and the recognition of which 
 by the powers of Europe is scarcely compatible 
 with the security, perhaps not with the existence 
 of the Turkish empire. 
 
 "The commercial privileges and personal im- 
 munities which are secured by the treaty to the 
 subjects of Russia appear to be at variance with 
 any notion we are able to form of the authority 
 of a sovereign and independent prince. It is 
 true that by capitulations with the Porte, in 
 consequence of the defective administration of 
 justice by the Turkish government, rights have 
 been obtained by European nations of such a 
 description as would not have been conceded by 
 the states of Christendom. These rights have 
 not only been still further extended by the pre- 
 sent treaty, but the stipulations, so far from 
 being drawn up in the spirit of peace, are to 
 all appearance rather calculated to invite and 
 justify the renewal of hostilities. What reason- 
 able prospect of ' eternal peace, friendship, and 
 good understanding' can be afforded by an in- 
 strument which contains a special provision, 
 making the calamities of war almost dependent 
 upon the capricious extortion of a Turkish officer, 
 or the unauthorised arrogance of a Eussian 
 trader ? 
 
 "His majesty's government are persuaded 
 that it will be impossible for his imperial ma,iesty 
 to reflect upon the terms of Article 7 of the 
 treaty of Adrianople, without perceiving at once 
 that they must be utterly subversive of the in- 
 dependence of the Ottoman power. 
 
 " This article stipulates that merchant vessels 
 of all nations, without any restriction of size or 
 tonnage, shall be admitted to pass freely through 
 the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. 
 The right of visit on the part of the Turkish 
 government is expressly excluded. This provi- 
 sion not only deprives the Porte of the exercise 
 of a right in its own waters, inherent in the very 
 nature of independent sovereignty ; but it also 
 destroys a necessary protection against the 
 effects of foreign hostility or domestic treachery. 
 The power of marching a Eussian army, at any 
 moment, through any part of the Turkish terri- 
 tory, without the permission of the government, 
 could not-be more degrading or more dangerous. 
 
 " Sach stipulations are not only destructive 
 of the territorial rights of sovereignty, and 
 
A.D. 18:29.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [treaty op adrianofle. 
 
 threatening to the safety of the Porte, but their 
 obvious tendency is to affect the condition and 
 the interests of all maritime states in the Medi- 
 terranean, and may demand from those states 
 the most serious consideration. 
 
 " How is the true character of the vessel to 
 be ascertained? In former treaties the bulk 
 and the amount of tonnage to be admitted had 
 been fixed by Russia herself, and was regulated 
 by what had been found to be most usual and 
 most advantageous in the navigation of those 
 seas. The right of search, for the purpose of 
 ascertaining the nature and value of the cargo, 
 with a view to fix the duties to be levied on im- 
 portation, was very generally relinquished by 
 the Porte in its practice towards the vessels of 
 foreign powers ; the ship's manifest transmitted 
 from the consul's office being admitted as suffi- 
 cient evidence of the nature of the cargo, instead 
 of proof derived from actual inspection. But the 
 right of visit, in order to ascertain the character 
 of the vessel, and the object of the voyage, has 
 never been relinquished, and can never be relin- 
 quished by a state in any degree careful of its 
 own independence and of its safety. 
 
 " The Porte is not only prohibited from ex- 
 ercising any interference with the free passage 
 of the straits by Russian ships, but it is also 
 divested of this indispensable attribute of sove- 
 reignty in its relations with all other powers, 
 and that, too, by virtue of a treaty concluded 
 with the Emperor of Russia. 
 
 "If the Turkish government should detain 
 and visit a ship belonging to any foreign state, 
 the injury would not be offered to that state, 
 with which, perhaps, no treaty may exist, but to 
 the Emperor of Russia, who, according to the 
 terms of the article in question, would at once 
 be furnished with a justifiable cause of war 
 against the Porte. But suppose any such state 
 were fraudulently to send an armed vessel, or a 
 vessel carrying armed men, into the waters of 
 the Turkish dominion, and under the walls of 
 the seraglio, with purposes the most hostile, 
 would his imperial majesty, by the treaty of 
 Adrianople, become responsible for such an act ? 
 In either case the sultan would be entirely de- 
 pendent upon Russia in a matter in which the 
 dignity and security of his government were 
 vitally affected. 
 
 " Is it too much to say that such stipulations 
 are inconsistent with the desire of his imperial 
 majesty to preserve the independence of the 
 Turkish empire. 
 
 " His majesty's government have always been 
 persuaded that the power of imposing a pecu- 
 niary burden upon the Ottoman Porte, as a com- 
 pensation and an indemnity for the expenses of 
 the war, would be exercised in the promised 
 spirit of equity and of moderation. His imperial 
 majesty cannot fail to reflect that, in judging of 
 the character of such a transaction, it is necessary 
 to compare the sum exacted, not only with the 
 
 expenses of the war, but with the means of the 
 power upon which the payment is imposed. 
 The cabinet of St. Petersburg will undoubtedly 
 acquiesce in the principle that indemnities, whe- 
 ther pecuniary or territorial, ought not by their 
 operation to crush the Power by whom they are 
 given, or to expose by their consequences the 
 military security of neighbouring and allied 
 states. The emperor is too wise not to desire, 
 even in the midst of conquest and success, to 
 maintain inviolate that system established for 
 the general tranquillity of Europe, in which his 
 imperial majesty's august predecessor took so 
 prominent and so honourable a part. It is, 
 therefore, with sincere satisfaction that his ma- 
 jesty's government have learnt from the declara- 
 tion made by Count Nesselrode to your excel- 
 lency, for the purpose of being transmitted to 
 your government, 'that it was in contemplation 
 not only to diminish the amount of the sum 
 stipulated, but also to make a different arrange- 
 ment with respect to its guarantee.' It is by 
 such conduct that his imperial majesty will 
 really manifest his generosity, and his regard 
 for those principles of just and enlarged policy 
 by which alone can be secured the confidence of 
 his allies and the respect of Europe. 
 
 " Even if the emperor were not thus to yield 
 at once to the impulse of his own disposition, 
 the same determination would still be recom- 
 mended by considerations of prudence, as being 
 essential to the success of objects which he has 
 professed to have much at heart. His imperial 
 majesty has declared, that a regard for the true 
 interests of Russia induced him to feel more 
 desirous than any other European power of 
 maintaining the independent existence and in- 
 tegrity of the Ottoman empire. He has also 
 repeatedly avowed, that the condition of the 
 Christian subjects of the Porte demanded his 
 constant soUcitude, and that the obligations both 
 of his own conscience and of public treaties 
 imposed upon him the special duty of consulting 
 their welfare and providing for their protection. 
 These objects, at ail times difficult to reconcile, 
 would, under the strict execution' of the treaty, 
 become altogether incompatible with each other. 
 The real situation of the Turkish power is too 
 obvious to escape the most common observation 
 The sultan is surrounded by independent states, 
 formed out of his own territories, and with the 
 great mass of the European population of his 
 empire anxiously waiting for the moment when 
 they may profit by this example, and shake oS. 
 his dominion altogether. Defeated and reduced 
 to the lowest degree of humiliation, he has re- 
 tained his throne and political existence by the 
 mercy of his conqueror. The disaffection of his 
 Mohammedan subjects of all ranks, whether pro- 
 duced by repeated disgrace or the effect of a 
 gradual change long since in operation, has be- 
 come general. In this condition, with a broken 
 authority and exhausted resources, he is called 
 
 25 
 
THE EMPEROR NICSOLAg.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1839. 
 
 upon to provide for tlie indemnity which is 
 exacted from him. In what manner ia the sultan 
 to relieve himself from this burden, and by whom 
 must the sacrifices principally be made P If the 
 Turkish government be still permitted to act at 
 all as an independent power, it is clear that the 
 necessary sums must be raised by fresh imposi- 
 tions upon the people, and by such means as are 
 authorised by the law and customs of the empire. 
 It is equally certain that the Christian subjects 
 of the Porte must largely contribute to furnish 
 these supplies. Compliance with the demands 
 of the government will be difiScult, but the 
 urgency of the case will justify severity. Ee- 
 sistance may be attempted ; if successful, leading 
 to general confusion and revolt; if otherwise, 
 spoliation and oppression will follow. At all 
 events, new scenes of calamity will be opened 
 calculated to frustrate the admitted objects of 
 his imperial majesty, and fatally destructive both 
 to the independence of the Porte and to the 
 happiness and prosperity of the Christian sub- 
 jects of the empire. 
 
 " There are other considerations which ought 
 to have their due weight in the mind of his 
 imperial majesty. 
 
 " It cannot be doubted that the result of the 
 war has been such as to change entirely the 
 relative position of the belligerents towards each 
 other, as well as towards the neighbouring states 
 and the rest of Europe. This change, it may 
 be admitted, is to a certain extent the natural 
 consequence of an unequal contest ; for at the 
 termination of hostilities, characterised on one 
 side by the most signal success, and on the 
 other by continued disaster, it would be unrear 
 Bonable to suppose that the parties could in 
 every respect resume their former relations. It 
 is, therefore, not exclusively to the conditions of 
 the peace, but also to the events of the war, 
 that we are to ascribe the change which has 
 taken place. In whatever manner it may have 
 been accomplished, the fact is sufficient to justify 
 some anxiety on the part of these powers, who 
 have always felt a deep interest in the preserva- 
 tion of the system of the European balance 
 established by the treaty of Paris and at the 
 congress of Vienna. This anxiety must be 
 greatly increased when, in addition to the una- 
 voidable weakness and prostration of the Turkish 
 power, it is found that fresh causes are brought 
 into action which are obviously calculated to 
 hasten and ensure its utter dissolution. The 
 evils attending upon uncertainty, expectation, 
 and alarm must be universally felt throughout 
 Europe. Encouragement will be afforded to 
 projects the most adverse to the general tran- 
 quillity ; and the diiferent powers, so far from 
 disarming, will probably augment their warlike 
 preparations, already too extensive for a state 
 of peace. 
 
 " It is only by a frank and cordial desire on 
 the part of his imperial majesty to remove all 
 26 
 
 reasonable grounds of suspicion and apprehen- 
 sion — it is only by a sincere endeavour, in con- 
 junction with his allies, to confirm and perpe- 
 tuate the repose which has hitherto been enjoyed, 
 and by making this the main object of European 
 policy, that we shall be enabled to avert the 
 threatened dangers. In this salutary work his 
 imperial majesty will assuredly call to mind the 
 example of his illustrious predecessor; and he 
 will recollect that, whatever may have been the 
 glories of his reign, the last ten years of his life, 
 devoted exclusively to the preservation of peace, 
 eminently entitled him to the gratitude of 
 Europe. 
 
 "I am to instruct your excellency to read 
 this despatch to Count Nesselrode, and, if de- 
 sired, to give his excellency a copy. The senti- 
 ments of his majesty are expressed without 
 reserve, but with cordial and friendly feelings. 
 They are expressed, too, without previous con- 
 cert or communication with any other power 
 whatsoever. 
 
 "lam, &c., 
 
 " Abeedeen." 
 
 The efforts of Nicholas had, ever since 
 his accessioHj been constantly directed to 
 the extension of his already overgrown ter- 
 ritories. His proceedings had, on several 
 occasions, excited a jealous and hostile feel- 
 ing in England. The march of a Persian 
 army, headed by Russian officers, in 1838, 
 against Herat in Cabool, was looked upon 
 as being a proper preliminary to the inva- 
 sion of our Indian empire. These appre- 
 hensions were tranquillised by the repulse 
 of the Persians, and subsequently still fur- 
 ther so by the conquest of Afghanistan by 
 the British arms. Such was the state of 
 things previously to the breaking out of 
 the present war. 
 
 Some account of the personal appearance, 
 and some estimate of the mental powers and 
 moral character of Nicholas, will afford an 
 interest alike to the philosopher, the politi- 
 cian, the light reader, and the man of the 
 world. The late Emperor of Russia was of 
 colossal proportions, about six feet two or 
 three inches high, and possessing a great 
 breadth of chest and shoulders. His 
 features were handsome, his face of the 
 Grecian cast ; and the general expression of 
 it that of calmness, coldness, and dignity. 
 The glance of his eye was singularly com- 
 manding. Many writers declare it to have 
 been absolutely magnetic. A Russian noble, 
 Ivan Golovin, said of him, " His eye is 
 that of a despot ; and nothing delights him 
 so much as to see people stand in awe of 
 him. The man who looks at him with a 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [the emperor Nicholas. 
 
 steady eye, will never be one of his favour- 
 ites." Amongst other ai;iecdotes of the 
 same kind it is related, that when Nicholas 
 landed suddenly at Stockholm without 
 being announced, a Swedish admiral, who 
 did not recognise him, got mixed with the 
 throng of his attendants. The emperor, 
 turning suddenly round, fixed a searching 
 glance on the face of the mariner. The ad- 
 miral was so disconcerted and impressed by 
 the commanding gaze fixed upon him, that 
 he involuntarily uncovered his head; and 
 afterwards observed, "What a devil of a 
 man ! and what eyes I On my faith, as a 
 sailor, I never saw his equal \" Mr. Thomp- 
 son, in his Life in Russia, makes mention of 
 these wonderful eyes. He observes, "At 
 Tsarkoe Selo I had the fortune to meet the 
 emperor in a retired garden, en neglige ; I 
 say fortune, because, demi-god as he is, it is 
 unusual to see him in mortal guise, undis- 
 tinguished by the trappings of royalty and 
 the proud bearing and theatrical deportment 
 habitual to him. I went at his side without 
 recognising him in his loose surtout and 
 travelling cap, strolling along in contempla- 
 tion ; and it was not till our eyes met, that 
 I felt his presence — yes, felt is the only ap- 
 plicable term ; for it is impossible to with- 
 stand his eagle glance without an undefin- 
 able sensation of awe." It is said, that his 
 mouth sometimes smiled, but his eyes never. 
 They were as cold, stern, and unsympathis- 
 ing as those of the fabled sphinx of Thebes. 
 Like the sphinx, he also has proposed a ques- 
 tion difficult to be solved ; but England and 
 France will doubtless play the part of 
 CEdipus, and answer his riddle. Colonel 
 Cameron observed, " that if any human 
 being was ever qualified for a monarch by 
 the exterior advantages of majestic figure 
 and high and kingly bearing, it is the 
 Emperor Nicholas." 
 
 Such was Nicholas in appearance while 
 in the pride of his power. The anxiety of 
 the war which his ambition had created, 
 and the fears that must have obtruded into 
 that stern mind, that his unjust schemes 
 might terminate disastrously, wrought a 
 remarkable change in him. Some English 
 engineers, who saw him at St. Petersburg 
 (where they were waiting for passports to 
 return to their native country) shortly after 
 the breaking out of the war, describe him 
 as having looked twenty years' older than 
 when they had seen him at Cronstadt a 
 few months before. He who had been so 
 conspicuous for his erect and haughty 
 
 bearing, appeared bowed with age and in- 
 firmity. Little, however, was it then sup- 
 posed that the emperor was so speedily to 
 pay the penalty of his ambition. Mental 
 excitement, produced by the military re- 
 verses he had experienced, incessant activity 
 in mind and body, and the bitterness of 
 knowing that his armies had been baffled, 
 his coasts invaded, and his fleets compelled 
 to slink behind stone batteries for protec- 
 tion against the navies of the allies, arrested 
 him suddenly in his career, and laid the 
 mighty despot in the dust. He died soon 
 after midnight of the 1st of March, 1855, 
 after a few days' illness. The cause of his 
 death was an attack of pulmonic apoplexy. 
 In this place we shall do no more than men- 
 tion the fact. The particulars of his de- 
 cease, the causes which led to it, and the 
 results to which it gave rise, will be fully 
 detailed in this work in the place which 
 the historical order of events assigns to 
 them. 
 
 It is said that Nicholas aficcted, in some 
 matters, to imitate the great Napoleon ; but 
 though a man of far more than average in- 
 tellect, he could not for a moment stand com- 
 parison with that extraordinary individual. 
 Nicholas was indefatigable in his attention to 
 business : he controlled and inspected every 
 department of the state afiuirs himself, and 
 frequently travelled from place to place with 
 so much rapidity, and made his appearance 
 at difierent government offices at times 
 when he was so little expected, that, to his 
 astonished officials, he seemed almost to 
 possess the power of ubiquity. The absolute 
 despotism pervading every branch of his 
 government, depended almost entirely on 
 his personal activity and intellectual energy. 
 It must be admitted that this was but a 
 frail support against the dangers that 
 threaten the colossal but unstable fabric 
 both from within and without. The con- 
 stitution of every despotic government may 
 be likened to the house built upon sand 
 spoken of in the scripture parable. When 
 the rain falls, and the wind arises, and the 
 storm beats heavily against that house, it 
 falls to ruin. The mansion built upon the 
 rock that resists the hurricane, — that stands 
 firm amidst political troubles at home, and 
 startling wars abroad, — is the state whose 
 constitution is based upon justice, and whose 
 soil is imprest by the feet of the genius of 
 freedom. 
 
 Nicholas was described as a kind husband 
 and father. His attention to his invalid 
 
 27 
 
HIS CHAKACTEK.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 empress, who for many years has been suf- 
 fering from a nervous affection, was very 
 great. He treated her with compassionate 
 affection, and sometimes even carried her in 
 his arms up the staircase to her chamber. 
 Ou the other hand, his adulteries were 
 spoken of as being numerous, and in some 
 cases heartless. He usually kept at least 
 one mistress ; but that, we presume, is to be 
 regarded as a matter of coiirse for a Rus- 
 sian emperor. Indeed, until the reign of 
 George III., few English sovereigns were 
 without their one or two mistresses. 
 Nicholas was sometimes very affable and 
 condescending, especially towards foreigners 
 of ability. It went far towards creating him 
 a- good name in Europe — a point on which 
 he was very susceptible. He was, however, 
 harsh and cruel, and frequently presided in 
 person at military executions. It is said he 
 never altered sentences, except to add to 
 their severity. Of course he did not origi- 
 nate the barbarous punishments of the 
 knout and the plitt, but he sanctioned the 
 continuance of them in all their hideous 
 severity. The infliction of the knout is a 
 torture infinitely worse than the rack, and 
 the wretched victims frequently die under 
 it. They are carried away to the hospital 
 with the blood gushing in all directions 
 from the lacerated green and blue flesh, 
 and frequently with their bones broken by 
 the strokes of the dreadful instrument. 
 Barbarous punishments bespeak a savage 
 nation and a merciless prince. 
 
 Of the moral character of such a man it 
 is difficult to speak otherwise than in lan- 
 guage of condemnation. Ivan Golovin (the 
 Russian noble whose work has been already 
 quoted), however, after bitterly condemning 
 the emperor, says — "Notwithstanding all 
 that I have said, I do not think Nicholas is 
 a tyrant by nature, but only from convic- 
 iiorii:. He is persuaded that if he acted 
 otherwise, public affairs could not succeed. 
 The habit of governing upon this principle 
 has given him a taste for cruelty. The 
 Russians say that it requires an iron hand 
 to govern them, but that the hand should 
 be gloved. Nicholas has the iron hand, 
 but he has forgotten the glove." It must 
 further be admitted, that though the em- 
 peror ruled with a sleepless despotism, that 
 he directed his great energies to the ad- 
 vancement of his f ountry. He did much 
 towards the introduction into it of manufac- 
 tures, the arts, and improved modes of 
 agriculture. As a statesman he was utterly 
 28 
 
 without principle : always ready to obtain 
 the objects of his crafty ambition by the 
 sacrifice of his honour. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas left four sons and 
 two daughters. Alexander Nicolaiwitch 
 Cesarewitch, and hereditary grand-duke, 
 was born on the 29th of Aprils 1818, and 
 married, on the 28th of April, 1841, to 
 Maria Alexandrovna, formerly Maximi- 
 lienne Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria, 
 daughter of the late Louis II., Grand-duke 
 of Hesse. By this lady the present em- 
 peror has had three children — Nicholas, 
 Vladimir, and Alexis. The other sons of 
 the late emperor were — Constantine, born 
 on the 21st of September, 1827; Nicholas, 
 born on the 8th of August, 1831; and 
 Michael, born on the 25th of October, 1832. 
 The Grand-duchess Maria, the late emperor's 
 eldest daughter, was born on the 8th of 
 August, 1819 ; married on the 14th of July, 
 1839,to Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg 
 and Prince of Eichtedt, and became a widow 
 on the 1st of November, 1852. The Grand- 
 duchess Olga, the second daughter of the 
 late czar, was born on the 10th of Sep- 
 tember, 1822; and married to Charles, 
 Prince-royal of Wurtemberg, on the 13th 
 of July, 1846. Nicholas was survived by 
 his empress and by two sisters — Maria 
 Paulovna, Dowager Grand-duchess of Saxe- 
 Weimar; and Anne Paulovna, widow of 
 William II., King of Holland. 
 
 Alexander assumed the government at 
 St. Petersburg on Saturday, the 3rd of 
 March, and received homage as emperor. 
 He was reported to be averse to the aggres- 
 sive warfare which his father had com- 
 menced ; and it was added that, on that 
 account, he was unpopular with the more 
 influential portion of the military nobility. 
 His brother Constantine, nine years his 
 junior, inherited his father's traditions con- 
 cerning the extension of Russian power; 
 and it was feared that a strenuous effort- 
 might be made to place him on the throne, 
 instead of his wiser and more pacific 
 brother. 
 
 A word or two respecting the most dis- 
 tinguished official persons attached to the 
 service of the Russian court, may be both 
 appropriate and acceptable. Charles Albert, 
 Count Nesselrode, the chief adviser of the 
 late emperor, is regarded as one of the most 
 able statesmen of Europe. He is now (1854) 
 at the advanced age of eighty -four, and 
 cannot therefore be expected long to direct 
 the measures of the new sovereign. Count 
 
A.D. 1834. J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Gregory Orloff, the minister of police; is a : Alex3,nder, and other persons of distinction. 
 young man in comparison with Nesselrode, Prince Mentsehikoff is the minister of 
 being only in his sixty-seventh year. Evil i marine j Prince Paskewitsch and Prince 
 
 rumours blacken his name; and it is 
 whispered that he poisoned the Emperor 
 
 Woronzofif both enjoy high military reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND EDUCATION IN RUSSIA. 
 
 The government of Russia is despotic : the 
 emperor is absolute, and Jiis decrees are re- 
 garded as laws. The business of the country 
 is carried on by three councils. 
 
 First. — The Council of the Empire, which 
 is presided over by the czar, or by a member 
 specially appointed. It is compdsed of forty 
 persons, comprising the imperial princes, 
 the statesmen, generals, and admirals. The 
 latter are named by the emperor; and all 
 the proceedings of this assembly are sub- 
 mitted to him. The council is divided into 
 four departments : — first, the legislative ; 
 second, the military and naval; third, the 
 civil and ecclesiastical affairs; and fourth, 
 the financial. 
 
 Second. — The Directing Senate, which 
 consists of about a hundred members, also 
 chosen by the emperor, who presides at its 
 meetings, and can annul its decisions. It 
 is divided, into several departments, the first 
 of which superintends the general affairs of 
 the country, and the others try civil and 
 criminal cases. 
 
 Third. — The Synod, or as it is officially 
 called, the Most Holy Directing Synod, 
 which is the supreme administrative and 
 judicial court for all ecclesiastical affairs. 
 The emperor, as head of the church, con- 
 trols its decisions. 
 
 The affairs of the empire are immediately 
 attended to by the following ministries : — 
 1. Ministry of the imperial household : 
 
 3. Ministry of foreign affairs : 3. Ministry 
 of interior affairs, or home department : 
 
 4. Ministry of war : 5. Ministry of marine : 
 6. Ministry of national education : 7. Min- 
 istry of finance: 8. Ministry of justice: 
 9. The board of control of the empire, 
 which audits the accounts of all moneys ex- 
 pended for the public service : 10. Ministry 
 of the post department : and 11. Ministry 
 of the general direction of land and water 
 communicati on . 
 
 Nicholas, immediately after he ascended 
 the imperial throne, declared that a systema- 
 tically arranged collection of the existing 
 laws and ordinances should become the 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 tP 
 
 basis of legislation. The result was a col- 
 lection of them from 1649, until the death 
 of the Emperor Alexander, in 1825, which 
 were published in forty-eight quarto volumes. 
 They were followed by a collection of the 
 ordinances of Nicholas, from his accession 
 to 1833, in eight quarto volumes. 
 
 The established religion of Russia is a 
 branch of the Greek church ; for an account 
 of which see page 15. It differs from that 
 form of Christianity chiefly in the fact, that 
 the emperor is its head and protector. 
 Alexander is thus the pope as well as the 
 sovereign of his people. The Russian church 
 was governed by a patriarch, but Peter the 
 Great contrived to abolish that office. His 
 reason for so doing was, that the common : 
 people, not understanding the difference that ' 
 exists between spiritual authority and that \ 
 of a secular king, were dazzled by the hon- I 
 ours paid to the patriarch, and so came 
 gradually to regard him as a second poten- i 
 tate, whose authority was equal to that of ' 
 the czar. 
 
 The Russian church contains forty dio- 
 ceses, divided into three classes. The first 
 is governed by metropolitans ; the second 
 by archbishops ; and the third, by bishops. 
 There are four ecclesiastical academies in 
 Russia, besides numerous seminaries. All 
 the sons of the clergy are compelled to be 
 educated at the latter, many of which con- 
 tain colleges where the poorer students are 
 maintained gratis. This compulsory educa- 
 tion has the effect of producing some learned 
 men ; but the clergy generally are described 
 as ignorant and servile, " The Russian 
 people," observes the Marquis de Custine, 
 " in the present day is the most believing of 
 Christian nations : yet its faich has but little 
 fruit; because, when a church abjures its 
 liberty it loses its moral efficacy: a slave 
 itself, it only engenders slaves." He adds, 
 that the Christian religion has lost its virtue 
 in Russia, and become merely the tool of 
 despotism. The service in the churches is 
 performed in the old Slavonic, now a dead 
 language. It is full of repetitious; is generally 
 
 29 
 
RELIGION.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 recited in a very slovenly manner, and forms 
 a most unedifying mumbling. Probably the 
 emperor may have a desire that the worship 
 of the Deity should be so conducted. The 
 precepts of Christianity clearly read to the 
 people, and understood by them, might in- 
 duce a state of mind not favourable to des- 
 potism. If the common people were familiar 
 with the records of the Old Testament, 
 they might soon talie a lesson from its 
 pages, and rend the frosty air of Russia 
 with the ominous shout that startled Reho- 
 boam— « To your tents, O Israel 1" That 
 cry once echoed through England; and some 
 time after, a perjured monarch perished on 
 the scaffold. 
 
 It may seem strange, that notwithstanding 
 the mental apathy of the great mass of the 
 Russian people, and their blind submission 
 to authority, that dissenters are very numer- 
 ous amongst them. They are called Ras- 
 kolniks, from the Russian verb raskolot (to 
 split.) Some sects entertain the most wildly 
 extravagant notions. One sort consider 
 shaving such a deadly sin, that the holy 
 blood of the martyrs will not purify the 
 rash man who commits it. Another party 
 are distinguished by their occasional desire 
 to burn or starve themselves to death. 
 Suicide they justify from the following text 
 from St. Mark, c. viii., v. 35 : — " For whoso- 
 ever will save his life shall lose itj but 
 whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and 
 the gospel's, shall save it." Some of these 
 unhappy wretches perish in a vain attempt 
 to fast for forty days, in imitation of Christ 
 in the wilderness. A third sect choose a 
 man from among their number to repre- 
 sent the Saviour, and a woman to personate 
 the Virgin, and then worship them. Among 
 the Cossacks of the Don exist a numerous 
 sect called Chinkmen, because while saying 
 their prayers they keep their eyes fixed on a 
 chink, through which a ray of light is pass- 
 ing. They never go to church, because 
 God dwells not in a house made with hands, 
 but is omnipresent. But perhaps the climax 
 of fanatic absurdity is reached by the mem- 
 bers of a certain sect, many of whom believ- 
 ing that by calculation they had discovered 
 the very day and hour of the final judgment, 
 dug their graves, and dressing themselves in 
 their shrouds, lay down in the earth to meet 
 it becomingly. As the time rolled on, and 
 the expected destruction did not arrive, 
 these superstitious idiots were compelled by 
 
 30 
 
 the cravings of hunger to got up and attend 
 to their usual business. 
 
 Education in Russia is under the direction 
 of the state. It is probable that this is to 
 prevent the growth of liberal ideas j for an 
 ukase of 1831 prohibits all Russian subjects, 
 except those who are employed on diplo- 
 matic service, from educating their children 
 abroad. But whatever the motive, the result 
 is a favourable one ; and it must not be for- 
 gotten, that in Russia, civilisation and the 
 instruction of the .people have originated 
 with the government. The following ex- 
 tract from a manifesto of the Emperor Ni- 
 cholas, of the 13th of July, 1836, is credi- 
 table to him : — " Let the fathers of families 
 direct all their attention to the moral edu- 
 cation of their children. It is certainly not 
 to the progress of civilisation, but to vanity 
 (which produces only idleness and vacuity of 
 mind), to the want of real instruction, that 
 we must attribute the licentiousness of 
 thought; those unbridled passions — that 
 confused and fatal half- knowledge — that 
 tendency to extreme theories and political 
 visions, which begin with demoralising, and 
 end by ruining their victims. Let the fear of 
 God, and solid and patriotic instruction, be 
 the basis of all hope of improvement — the first 
 duty of all classes." Although we do not 
 fully concur with these sentiments, still 
 there is much to approve in them. The 
 English government might take a hint from 
 the emperor on the subject of popular edu- 
 cation. In this country, the church oppose 
 a grant for the purpose of national educa- 
 tion, unless the clergy are made the sole 
 guardians of it. The dissenters also oppose 
 a grant of so one-sided a character; and, 
 in the meantime, the lowest orders in Eng- 
 land are becoming the most illiterate in 
 Europe. 
 
 In Russia, the institutions for public edu- 
 cation are public schools of all classes, under 
 the minister of national instruction ; military 
 schools, ecclesiastical schools, and special 
 schools, depending on different branches of 
 the administration. The latter alone are 
 1,622 in number, and the government con- 
 tributes about 10,000,000 roubles* to their 
 support. As the reader may suppose, that 
 greatest teacher of a people — the press — is 
 subject, in Russia, to a severe censorship. 
 
 • The value of the silver rouble is nearly 3s. 3d, 
 of English money; that of the paper rouble thirty 
 to forty per cent, lower. 
 
CHAPTER m. 
 
 CAUSES or THE WAR; THE HOLT PLACES; THE MENTSCHIKOFF NOTE; THE VIENNA NOTE; TURKISH 
 
 DECLARATION OF -WAR. 
 
 We have shown that the Russian potentates 
 had, for a long time, cast their eyes upon 
 Constantinople, and were only waiting a 
 convenient opportunity for its annexation to 
 their broad dominions — by war, if war eould 
 not be prevented ; but, if possible, in a quiet 
 diplomatic sort of way ; — in a way that was 
 not calculated to alarm the great powers of 
 Europe, until the czar had transferred the 
 capital of his empire from the cold, damp, 
 cheerless city of St. Petersburg, with its 
 bitter frosts and dangerous floods, to Con- 
 stantinople, with its warm climate, its bril- 
 liant skies, its palm-trees, gardens, and olive- 
 groves. Such a change would, no doubt, 
 have been very pleasant and desirable in the 
 eyes of the emperor ; but, for manifest 
 reasons, very objectionable to the rest of 
 Europe. 
 
 At length an event arose that seemed to 
 promise the wished-for opportunity. The 
 tomb of the Saviour of the world— of the 
 Prince of Peace, was made the subject of 
 incessant disputes between the Christians of 
 the Greek church and those of the Roman 
 catholic one.* In a religious view this was 
 a matter of serious regret ; but, in a political 
 one, we had nothing to do with the bicker- 
 ings of two sets of monks at Jerusalem. No 
 human eye could discern that so small a 
 question would give rise to another large 
 enough to disturb the peace of Europe, and 
 probably, in the end, rock the towering em- 
 pire of Russia to its foundations. Yet it was 
 to be so. In 1851, Louis Napoleon — not 
 then Emperor of the French, but probably 
 contemplating his famous coup-d'eiat, and 
 wishing for something to divert the minds 
 of the people — sent M. Lavalette to Con- 
 stantinople, with an imperious demand that 
 certain privileges should be granted to the 
 • The extent to which these disgraceful quarrels 
 were carried may be judged of from the foUo-vfing 
 anecdote : — An English missionary having attempted 
 to convert the Turkish Pasha of Jerusalem, to Chris- 
 tianity, the latter inquired, " What are the advan- 
 tages of your religion- over mine ?" " Peace on 
 earth, and glory after death," was the reply. " As 
 to glory after death," said the pasha, " our prophet 
 promises that too; and I doubt not "he is as likely 
 as yours to keep his word. As to peacQ on earth, 
 the church of the sepulchre has a band of Greek 
 Christians on the one side, and a band of Roman 
 
 Latin or Roman Catholic Christians. The 
 startled sultan, threatened with the appear- 
 ance of a French fleet in the Dardanelles, 
 conceded the privileges demanded by the 
 representative of the French government. 
 
 The Emperor of Russia was instantly on 
 the alert. He regarded himself as the repre- 
 sentative of the Greek Christians, and he 
 immediately interposed in their behalf. He 
 conceived (or pretended to conceive) that 
 the privileges granted by the sultan to the 
 Latin Christians derogated from the rights 
 of the Greek ones, and especially from cer- 
 tain privileges recently granted to them by 
 special flrman. Upon the matter in question 
 the sultan was indiSerent ; he did not regard 
 the Greeks more than the catholics, for, in 
 his eyes, they must of necessity both appear 
 as infidels, contending for a worthless ob- 
 ject. The dispute was between France and 
 Rxissia, and the sultan was merely anxious to 
 satisfy two powerful rivals without ofiending 
 either. The courts of Russia and France 
 grew warm upon the subject, Russian 
 battalions began to muster on the confines 
 of the Turkish principalities. The emperor 
 expressed his determination to have an 
 equivalent and compensation for the privi- 
 leges of which the Greek church had been 
 deprived, and a security by which those 
 privileges should be fixed in future, while a 
 Frenchfleethoveredabout the Mediterranean. 
 These events, of course, attracted the notice 
 of the English government, but it very pro- 
 perly observed a strictly impartial attitude. 
 Its views are admirably expressed in the fol- 
 lowing despatch of Lord John Russell (then 
 foreign secretary) to the English ambassador 
 at Paris : — " Your excellency will under- 
 stand therefore, — 1. That into the merits of 
 this dispute her majesty's government vrill 
 
 Christians on the other, and in the centre is a Turk- 
 ish guard, to keep them from cutting eaph othei^s. 
 throats." We are tempted to exclaim with Mr. 
 Cobden, " Truly, it is h.eart-sickenjng to find, upon a 
 question connected with the Christian religion, that 
 Europe was now, in our day, to be deluged with 
 blocdl It was enough to confirm the doctrine of the 
 cynic, — that we made no progress in this world; that 
 we were perpetually going through a cycle of in- 
 stincts ; that, we were going back to the times of the 
 Crusades." However, though religion stirred meu'a 
 passions, it is ambition that has drawn the swor ^^ 
 
 31 
 
MENTSCHIKOFF AT CONSTANTINOPLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 not enter ; 3. That her majesty's government 
 disapprove of every threat, and still more 
 the actual employment of force; and 3. That 
 both parties should be told, that if they are 
 sincere in their professions of a desire to 
 maintain the independence of the Porte, 
 they ought to abstain from the employment 
 of any means calculated to display the weak- 
 ness of the Ottoman empire. Above all, 
 they ought to refrain from putting armies 
 and fleets in motion for the purpose of 
 making the tomb of Christ a cause of quar- 
 rel among Christians." 
 
 Such was the state of things when Prince 
 Mentschikoflf arrived at Constantinople as a 
 special ambassador from St. Petersburg. 
 Soon after his arrival, the Russian diplo- 
 matist (on the 2nd of March, 1853) paid 
 his official visit to the grand vizier, but in a 
 very pointed manner omitted the same com- 
 pliment to the minister of foreign affairs. 
 The arrogant and mysterious bearing of 
 Prince Mentschikoff alarmed the sultan ; and 
 Colonel Rose (a gentleman who had the 
 charge of British interests at Constanti- 
 nople during the temporary absence of 
 Lord Stratford de Redcliffe), was informed 
 that "his highness {i.e. the sultan) enter- 
 tained strong apprehensions that the mis- 
 sion of Prince Mentschikoff, far from being 
 of a conciliatory character, as pretended, 
 v/as, on the contrary, intended to involve 
 the Porte in serious difiSculties, and that 
 the emperor's object appeared to be to 
 trample under foot the rights of the Porte 
 and the dignity and independency of the 
 ■sovereign." 
 
 Colonel Rose shared these apprehensions, 
 and sent a requisition to Admiral Dundas to 
 bring the squadron of her majesty's fleet, 
 stationed at Malta, to the Dardanelles. The 
 admiral considered Colonel Rose's demand 
 as precipitate, and declined to comply with 
 it. In this he met the approval of the 
 English government, who were disposed to 
 place reliance on the Emperor of Russia's 
 solemn assurance to uphold the Turkish 
 empire. Anxious to preserve peace, they 
 had no desire by a suspicious bearing to 
 provoke war. The dispute stiU seemed to 
 refer only to the Holy Places, and the 
 interests of Europe were apparently not 
 involved. 
 
 When Lord Stratford returned to Con- 
 stantinople, he was informed by the Turkish 
 ministers that Prince Mentschikoff had made 
 a demand for a secret treaty, which, besides 
 settling the dispute concerning the Holy 
 32 
 
 Places, was to define certain general rela- 
 tions between B.ussia and the Porte. These 
 proposals, he added, must on no account be 
 permitted to transpire. The suspicions of 
 Lord Stratford concerning the conduct of 
 the Russian government were awakened, 
 and he advised the Turkish mimisters to 
 keep the question of the Holy Places sepa- 
 rate from the ulterior proposals, and to 
 avoid entering upon the latter until the 
 former had been adjusted. To pacify the 
 Porte, he added, "the personal character 
 of the Emperor Nicholas, his obligations in 
 common with the other great powers of 
 Christendom, and his frequent declarations 
 of respect for the independence of the 
 Turkish empire, exclude the suspicion of 
 any attempt to carry his point by mere 
 arbitrary force. He lies under the restraint 
 of moral as well as political considerations. 
 He could not throw off the mask, and 
 compel the Porte to accept, on no distinct 
 grounds of treaty, propositions materially 
 affecting the sultan's relations with a largie 
 portion of his subjects, and consequentlyi 
 to a certain degree, his position in the 
 general scale of power, without exposing 
 himself to severe censure, and risking in- 
 terests of the most important character. 
 Were it, however, to turn out, contrary to 
 all reasonable calculation^ that his ambasr 
 sador was authorised to proceed to extre- 
 mities, the Porte would still have the re- 
 source of reserving its compliance until it 
 had consulted with those of its allies, who, 
 together with Russia, were parties to the 
 treaty of 1841." 
 
 Notwithstanding the suspicions excited, 
 and the vague conduct of Prince Mentschi- 
 koff, the moderation of the French govern- 
 ment was so great when it learnt that the 
 peace of Europe was likely to be disturbed, 
 that it withdrew its demands, and the dis- 
 pufe died away. On the 25th of April, 
 1853, it was announced that the misunder- 
 standing respecting the Holy Places, was 
 virtually adjusted. Both France and Russia 
 announced themselves satisfied, and the Bri- 
 tish ambassador received the acknowledg- 
 ments of the latter power for his valuaUe 
 offices in restoring a good understanding. 
 Still there was a certain mystery about the 
 conduct of Russia ;• and the Russian forces 
 remained upon the frontiers of Turkey, on 
 the excuse that the emperor wanted an 
 equivalent to the Greek church for the pri- 
 vileges he had lost. The mystery soon be- 
 came apparent, and a few days afterwards, 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [mjjntschikoff note. 
 
 on tbe 5th of May, Prince MentschikoflF pre- 
 sented to the Ottoman minister a communi- 
 cation, which is properly regarded as the 
 immediate cause of war, and has given rise 
 to events that have sent many thousands to 
 premature and blood-stained graves. This 
 was the now famous document called the 
 " Mentschikofp Note." 
 
 By this production, Turkey was made a 
 principal in a disagreement originally exist- 
 ing only between Russia and France. The 
 object for which the emperor interfered was 
 no longer the protection of the Greek priests 
 at Jerusalem, but to obtain a power over all 
 the subjects of the Ottoman empire who were 
 attached to the Greek church, amounting to 
 about 12,000,000 persons. The Mentschikofif 
 note demanded, with stern politeness, that 
 the protectorate of the Greek Christians 
 in Turkey be conceded to the Emperor of 
 Russia. Other objectionable demands were 
 made, but this was the principal. In impe- 
 rious language. Prince Mentschikoff desired 
 an answer within five days, and concluded his 
 note with the following threatening sentence : 
 — "He cannot consider a longer delay in 
 any other light than as a want of respect 
 towards his government, which would im- 
 pose upon him the most painful duty." 
 The sultan felt that his assent would invest 
 the czar with a perpetual right of interven- 
 tion in the concerns of nearly one-half of 
 his subjects. Indeed, the Turkish minister 
 correctly described the result of such a 
 compliance as "a virtual partition of the 
 empire." 
 
 The government of the sultan, though 
 evidently alarmed at the strange demand 
 made upon it, acted with great spirit. It 
 replied, that the privileges granted to its 
 Christian subjects were its own act, and not 
 dictated or regulated by treaties with any 
 foreign power. It therefore resolved to 
 reject the demands made by the Mentschi- 
 kofif note, as incompatible with the preserva- 
 tion of Turkish independence. 
 
 The Porte, however, laid the case before 
 the ambassadors of both England and 
 France, who immediately sent off couriers 
 with the intelligence to their respective 
 governments. The ministers of both coun- 
 tries considered the demands of Russia as 
 inadmissible, but were anxious to prevent 
 any misunderstanding which might give rise 
 to hostihties. On the 31st of May, Lord 
 ! Clarendon conveyed the opinions of the 
 I British government to our minister at St. 
 Petersburg in the following terms of ex- 
 
 postulation : — "No sovereign, having a proper 
 regard for his own dignity and indepen- 
 dence, could admit proposals so undefined 
 as those of Prince MentschikoflF, and by 
 treaty confer upon another and a more 
 powerful sovereign a right of protection over 
 a large portion of his own subjects. How- 
 ever weU disguised it may be, yet the fact 
 is, that under the vague language of the 
 proposed sened, a perpetual right to inter- 
 fere in the internal affairs of Turkey would 
 be conferred upon Russia j for, governed as 
 the Greek subjects of the Porte are by their 
 ecclesiastical authorities, and looking, as 
 these latter would in all things do, for pro- 
 tection to Russia, it follows that 14,000,000 
 of Greeks (i. e., members of the Greek 
 church) would henceforward regard the 
 emperor as their supreme protector, and 
 their allegiance to the sultan would be little 
 more than nominal, while his own indepen- 
 dence would dwindle into vassalage." The 
 French ambassador also admitted, on the 
 part of his government, " the validity and 
 force of the objections taken by the Ottoman 
 minister«." The Prussian minister expressed 
 a similar opinion. And Austria, although 
 careful and hesitating, considered the pro- 
 ceedings of Prince Mentschikofif as dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 Thus strengthened, the Turkish govern- 
 ment refused to accede to the demands of 
 Russia, and Prince Mentschikofif imme- 
 diately left Constantinople. The Porte had 
 a perfect right, according to the laws of na- 
 tions, to resist such a demand as had been 
 made upon her j but the coveted opportunity 
 had arrived, and the czar resolved not to 
 omit endeavouring to profit by it. In his 
 extreme anxiety, however, to throw from 
 himself the odium of disturbing the peace 
 of Europe, he caused Count Nesselrode to 
 address a final ultimatum, in the form of a 
 letter to Redschid Pasha, minister of foreign 
 affairs to the sultan. From it we extract 
 the following important passage : — " The 
 emperor, my master, has informed me that 
 Prince Mentschikoff was obliged to quit 
 Constantinople, after a stay there of three 
 months, without having been able to obtain 
 the guarantees which he demanded for the 
 rights and privileges of the Greek church. 
 The emperor considers the refusal of the 
 Porte as a complete want of consideration — 
 as an affront offered to his person. He ap- 
 proves completely of the conduct of his 
 ambassador. In his solicitude for the pre- 
 servation of the Ottoman empire, he recom- 
 
 33 
 
KTJSSIANS CROSS THE PRUXH.J HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 mends the Porte to reflect once more on 
 the disastrous consequences of its refusal, 
 the whole responsibility of which must rest 
 upon it ; and he accords, for the purpose, a 
 final delay of eight days. At the expiration 
 of that period the Eussian troops will cross 
 the frontiers, not to wage war, but to obtain 
 from the sultan the concessions which he 
 refused to accord by the way of' a friendly 
 arrangement. Count de Nesselrode hopes, 
 however, that the Porte, better advised, will 
 yield before the emperor shall need to have 
 recourse to means which are repugnant to 
 his sentiments for the sultan, Abdul-Medjid, 
 but the employment of which is imperatively 
 imposed on him by his conscience and by 
 that of his people."* The eight days having 
 expired, and the Turks remaining firm, the 
 emperor gave orders that the Russian armies, 
 under the command of Prince GortschakofF, 
 should cross the river Pruth, which divides 
 Russia from the Danubian provinces. The 
 order was given on the 25th of June, and 
 instantly obeyed. The Russian troops des- 
 tined for the occupation of Wallachia passed 
 over the river at Leova ; those intended for 
 Moldavia crossed at Skouliany. The deci- 
 sive step was thus taken, and the two-headed 
 eagle made its first swoop. War was not 
 declared, but an act of military aggression 
 was performed. A deed was done which 
 threw the Porte into consternation, the Turk- 
 ish people into a state of fury, and which 
 rendered the maintenance of peace impos- 
 sible. The czar also issued the following 
 manifesto to the Russian people : — 
 
 " By the grace of God, we, Nicholas I., 
 Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, 
 &c., &c., 
 
 " Making known to our faithful and well- 
 beloved subjects, that from time immemorial 
 our glorious predecessors took the vow to 
 defend the orthodox faith. 
 
 " From the moment that it pleased Divine 
 Providence to transmit to us the hereditary 
 throne, the observation of those sacred duties 
 which are inseparable from it has constantly 
 been the object of our cares and solicitude. 
 Based on the glorious treaty of Kainardji, 
 confirmed by the solemn transactions con- 
 cluded afterwards with the Ottoman Porte, 
 those cares and soHcitude have always had 
 for their object to guarantee the rights of 
 the orthodox church. 
 
 • This docuEcent well deserves the fierce and sting- 
 ing epithets applied to it by the venerable Lord 
 Lyndhurst ; namely, that it was " offensive, illogical, 
 and insulting." 
 34 
 
 " But to our profound affliction, notwith- 
 standing all our efforts to defend the inte- 
 grity of the rights and privileges of our or- 
 thodox church, latterly numerous arbitrary 
 acts of the Ottoman government attacked 
 those rights, and threatened finally to de- 
 stroy entirely the whole order of things 
 sanctioned by centuries, and so dear to the 
 orthodox faith. 
 
 " Our efforts to dissuade the Porte from 
 such acts have been fruitless, and even the 
 solemn word which the sultan had given to 
 us on the occasion has been violated. 
 
 " Having exhausted all the means of per- 
 suasion, and all the means of obtaining in a 
 friendly manner the satisfaction due to our 
 just reclamations, we have deemed it indis- 
 pensable to order our troops to enter the 
 Danubian principalities, to show the Porte 
 to how far its obstinacy may lead it. Never- 
 theless, even now it is not our intention to 
 commence war. By the occupation of the 
 principalities we wish to have in our heart 
 a pledge which will guarantee to ns in every 
 respect the re-establishment of our rights. 
 
 " We do not seek conquests. Russia does 
 not need them. We demand satisfaction 
 for a legitimate right openly infringed. We 
 are ready even now to stop the movement of 
 our troops, if the Ottoman Porte engages to 
 observe religiously the integrity of the pri- 
 vileges of the orthodox church. But if ob- 
 struction and blindness obstinately desire 
 the contrary, then, invoking God to our aid, 
 we will leave to His care to decide our dif- 
 ference ; and, placing our full hope in His 
 all-powerful hand, we will march to the 
 defence of the orthodox faith. 
 
 " Given at Peterhoff, the 14th (26th) of 
 the month of June, 1853, in the twenty- 
 eighth year of our reign. — (Signed) — Ni- 
 cholas. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas was anxious to 
 keep up the mask to the last. If the states 
 of Europe were no longer to be deceived, he 
 desired to appear, at least in the estimation 
 of his people, as the religious protector of 
 their fellow-christians of the Greek church. 
 He would cover his ambition with the dim 
 veil of superstition. He would persuade his 
 priest-ridden subjects that his eyes were not 
 cast upon the fertile lands of the Ottoman, 
 but raised in devotional longings to the 
 plains of Paradise. This manifesto was 
 addressing the cry of a crusade to a people 
 blindly led by their priests, and scarcely 
 better informed than were the European 
 masses in the ages of the crusaders. 
 
A.D. 1853.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [eukopean interference. 
 
 ^With powerful Russian armies in Mol- 
 davia and Wallachia, it was evident that the 
 independence of Turkey was at stake. What 
 was to be done ? The great powers of 
 Europe hesitated to interfere, and it seemed 
 as if the Porte must submit to any demands 
 the Russian government might impose, or 
 enter single-handed upon a ruinous contest 
 with that gigantic power. France, though 
 fully admitting the rights of the Porte, at 
 first declined the responsibility of advising it 
 how to proceed; and the English govern- 
 ment also held aloof. No doubt all parties 
 felt that it was not a light matter to com- 
 mence a contest which might convulse Eu- 
 rope. The great nations had been so long 
 at peace, that the prospect of war seemed 
 new and strange. There was an ominous 
 and uneasy pause, like to that strange silence 
 in the sultry air which so often precedes a 
 storm. France was the first to declare her- 
 self. The manifesto of the emperor had 
 filled the government of that country with 
 indignation, and its ministers declared that 
 they were ready to fulfil every object im- 
 posed upon them by treaty, and desirous to 
 co-operate with England in upholding the 
 Turkish empire. The government of this 
 country soon came to the same resolution, 
 and the union between the two western 
 powers was thus virtually estabUshed. 
 
 To give effect to their views, and to pre- 
 pare for contingencies, the combined fleets 
 ■ of England and France anchored in Besika 
 Bay, near the straits of the Dardanelles. 
 This, however, was done merely as a precau- 
 tionary measure, and without any desire for 
 war. England and France had, indeed, both 
 decided upon pursuing a forbearing policy ; 
 so much so, that the members of the Eng- 
 lish government have been much censured 
 for the pacific character of the advice they 
 gave to the Porte. 
 
 As the czar occupied the Danubian prin- 
 cipalities without resistance, he next ad- 
 dressed himself to the difficult task of justi- 
 fying his conduct in the eyes of Europe. 
 At his master's direction. Count Nesselrode 
 addressed a circular note to the Russian 
 envoys at foreign courts. It was dated on 
 the 20th of June, and, after reviewing the 
 question at length, described the passage of 
 the Pruth by the Russian troops, and the 
 occupation of the principalities, as a result 
 of the attitude of France and England. 
 "They," said the note we allude to, "at 
 once sent their fleets into the waters of 
 Constantinople. They occupy already the 
 
 seas and ports of the Ottoman empire at the 
 entrance of the Dardanelles. By that ad- 
 vanced attitude the two powers have placed 
 us under the weight of a threatening demon- 
 stration, which, as we forewarned them, has 
 added new complications to the crisis." It 
 added, that the Russian troops had not en- 
 tered the principalities in order to make 
 offensive war on the Porte, but because the 
 Porte, in persisting to refuse the moral 
 guarantee sought by the emperor, obliged 
 him to substitute for it a material guarantee. 
 It was, however,- to be only temporary, and 
 to serve as a pledge until better counsels 
 prevailed in the minds of the sultan's min- 
 isters. This sophistical production was ably 
 reviewed and answered by M. Drouin de 
 Lhuys, the French minister for foreign 
 affairs. A similar reply was also made by 
 our ministers, and transmitted to St. Peters- 
 burg. 
 
 Though England and France had alone 
 interfered to protect Turkey against the 
 ambitious designs of her northern neigh- 
 bour, yet all the important states of Europe 
 had an interest in the dispute, and none 
 more so than the two great European powers 
 that border upon Russia; namely, Austria 
 and Prussia. Probably, their very proximity 
 to Russia is the reason that, although alarmed 
 at its proceedings, they held aloof from com- 
 mitting themselves in favour of the Ottoman 
 Porte. But the proceedings of the czar had 
 produced an excitement amongst the diplo- 
 matists of Europe, and almost every court 
 and every ambassador had projects of his 
 own for the adjustment of existing differ- 
 ences. At length Count Buol, the Austrian 
 minister, called upon the representatives of 
 the great powers at Vienna to consult toge- 
 ther, with the view of arriving at the adop- 
 tion of some proposal which could be sub- 
 mitted to .the Porte with the sanction of all 
 their governments. That suggestion ended 
 in the meeting of the conference of Vienna. 
 
 In the meantime the Russian army re- 
 mained in the principalities, the Turks pre- 
 pared vigorously for the coming storm, and 
 the sultan issued a proclamation to his 
 people, which, after giving an account of the 
 dispute between him and the emperor, ex- 
 pressed these liberal sentiments : — " The 
 Sublime Porte has tranquillized all her sub- 
 jects, and has enjoined them to remain quiet 
 in their several occupations of agriculture 
 and commerce ; and she requires of them to 
 obey all her commands. As has been already 
 mentioned, the claims of Russia relate to the 
 
 85 
 
THE VIENNA NOTE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 '' 
 
 religious privileges of the Greeks. The 
 Greek sect and their chiefs have personally 
 nothing to do with this affair, but have, on 
 the contrary, expressed their gratitude and 
 thanks to their government, and are sorry 
 that such a question has ever been mooted. 
 They must not, therefore, be looked upon as 
 enemies. Armenians, Catholics, Protestants, 
 and Jews are also the true and faithful sub- 
 jects of our lord and padishah ; the Greeks 
 are so also, and they must, therefore, live in 
 peace with each other." 
 
 The representatives of the four great powers 
 assembled at Vienna (namely, England, 
 France, Austria, and Prussia) to adjust the 
 differences between Russia and the Porte, 
 framed a document or " note," as it is tech- 
 nically called, which they considered the 
 sultan might agree to give, and the czar to 
 accept, without affecting the independence 
 of the one, or the dignity of the other. 
 After much consideration, the following note 
 was produced, which, on account of its im- 
 portance, we subjoin : — 
 
 " H.M. the sultan, having nothing more 
 at heart than to re-establish between his 
 majesty and the Emperor of Russia the rela- 
 tions of good neighbourship and perfect 
 harmony (entente), which have been unhap- 
 pily disturbed by recent and painful compli- 
 cations, has carefully undertaken the task 
 to find the means to efface the traces of 
 those different points. 
 
 " A supreme irade, of date , having 
 
 made known to him the imperial decision, 
 the Sublime Porte, &c., congratulates itself 
 at being able to communicate it to H.E. 
 Count de Nesselrode. If at all times the 
 emperors of Russia have shown their active 
 solicitude (1) for the maintenance of the 
 immunities and privileges of the orthodox 
 Greek church in the Ottoman empire, the 
 sultans never refused to confirm them anew 
 by solemn acts, which attested their ancient 
 andconstant benevolence towards theirChris- 
 tian subjects. 
 
 " H.M. the sultan, Abdul-Medjid, now 
 reigning, animated by the same dispositions, 
 and being desirous to give to H.M. the Em- 
 peror of Russia a personal proof of his most 
 sincere friendship, only listened to his un- 
 bounded confidence in the eminent qualities 
 of his august friend and ally, and has deigned 
 to take into serious consideration the repre- 
 sentations (2) of which H.E. Prince Ments- 
 chikoff rendered himself the interpreter to 
 the Sublime Porte. 
 
 ' The undersigned has consequently re- 
 36 
 
 ceived the order to declare by the present that 
 the government of H.M. the sultan will re- 
 main faithful to the letter and the spirit oftlie 
 stipulations of the treaties of Kuscuijki-Kai- 
 nardji (3) and of Adrianople, relative to the 
 protection of the Christian worship (4) ; and 
 that H.M. regards it as a point of honour 
 with him to cause to be preservedfor everfrom 
 all attacks, either at present or in future, the 
 enjoyment of the spiritual privileges which 
 have been accorded by the august ancestors 
 of H.M. to the orthodox church in the East, 
 and which are maintained and confirmed by 
 him ; and, moreover, to allow the Greek 
 worship to participate in a spirit of high 
 justice in the advantages conceded (5) to 
 other Christians by convention or special 
 agreement. 
 
 " Moreover, as the imperial firman which 
 has recently been given to the Greek patri- 
 archate and clergy, and which contains the 
 confirmation of their spiritual privileges, 
 must be regarded as a new proof of those 
 noble sentiments; and as, moreover, the 
 proclamation of that firman, which gives 
 every security, must dispel for ever every 
 anxiety as regards the worship which is the 
 religion of his majesty the Emperor of 
 Russia, I am happy to be charged with the 
 duty of making the present notification. As 
 regards the guarantee, that in future nothing 
 shall be changed at the place of visitation at 
 Jerusalem, it results from the firman pro- 
 vided with the Hatti Houmayon of the 15th* 
 of the moon of Rebbi Ulakir, 1268 (Feb- 
 ruary, 1852), explained and corroborated by 
 
 the firmans of • ; and it is the formal 
 
 intention of his majesty the sultan to cause 
 his sovereign decisions to be executed with- 
 out any alteration. 
 
 " The Sublime Porte, moreover, officially 
 promises that no modification shall be made 
 in the state of things which has just been 
 regulated without a previous agreement with 
 the governments of Russia and France, and 
 without prejudice whatever to the Christian 
 communities. 
 
 " In case the imperial court of Russia 
 should demand it, a suitable locality shall 
 be assigned in the city of Jerusalem, or in 
 the vicinity, for the construction of a church 
 consecrated for the performance of divine 
 service by Russian ecclesiastics, and of a 
 hospital for indigent or sick pilgrims of the 
 same nation. 
 
 " The Sublime Porte engages itself even 
 now to subscribe in this respect a solemn 
 act, which would place those pious founda- 
 
A.D. 1853,1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the VIENNA NOTE. 
 
 tions under the special surveillance of the 
 consulate-general of Russia in Syria and 
 Palestine." 
 
 The emperor accepted this note ; the di- 
 plomatists at Vienna were highly gratified ; 
 and it was generally considered that the dis- 
 pute was at an end, and the war-cloud dis- 
 pelled. Such was not the case. To the 
 astonishment of Europe the Porte reopened 
 the debate by refusing the note, unless with 
 certain modifications of its own. The pas- 
 sages to which the sultan objected we have 
 printed in italics, and numbered. What he 
 proposed to substitute in the place of them, 
 were the following alterations : — 
 
 " (1) For the worship of the oj-thodox 
 Greek church, the sultans have never ceased 
 to watch over the maintenance of the im- 
 munities and privileges of that worship and 
 of that church in the Ottoman empire, and 
 to confirm them anew by solemn acts which 
 attest. Sec 
 
 " (2) The communications. 
 
 " (3) Of Kouschouk-Kainarji, confirmed 
 by that of Adrianople, relative to the protec- 
 tion by the Porte of the Christian worship. 
 
 " (4) And to make known that H.M. the 
 sultan, &c. 
 
 " (5) The advantages accorded, and which 
 may be accorded, to other Christian com- 
 munities, Ottoman subjects." 
 
 The note thus altered was sent back to 
 the representatives of the four powers at 
 Vienna, with a despatch containing the 
 reasons of the Porte for the proposed sub- 
 stitutions. The diplomatists were surprised 
 and displeased ; and politicians of all nations 
 thought the conduct of the Turks to he 
 rash. It was considered, that as they had 
 placed their cause in European hands, that 
 they ought to have been satisfied with a 
 decision which, it was universally admitted, 
 had been dictated with a sincere desire for 
 their benefit : the more so, as these Turkish 
 corrections appeared somewhat trivial, and 
 to involve no principle. Still, though the 
 representatives of the Western powers con- 
 sidered . the alterations unnecessary, and 
 therefore injudicious, yet, as they did not 
 think them in any sense opposed to their 
 own views, they consented to recommend 
 them for the adoption of the emperor. It 
 
 • The following is the Bussian analysis of the 
 three principal modifications introduced by the Ot- 
 toman Porte into the Vienna note. Though some- 
 what lengthy, its importance demands its inser- 
 tion, for it is a necessary link in the chain of his- 
 tory:— 
 
 VOL. I. to 
 
 was now the turn of Nicholas ; and he re- 
 fused to accept the note with the modifica- 
 tions attached to it. His reasons for so 
 doing are contained in the following des- 
 patch from Count Nesselrode to Baron 
 Mayendorfij dated the 18th of September :— 
 
 "We have just received, together with 
 your excellency's reports of the 16th (28th) 
 of August, the alterations which the Otto- 
 man Porte has made in the draught of a 
 note drawn up at Vienna. 
 
 "'Count Buol will only require to recall 
 to mind the expressions of our communi- 
 cation of the 25th of July, to form a clear 
 idea of the impression these alterations have 
 made on his majesty the emperor. 
 
 " When I, in his majesty's name, accepted 
 that draught of a note which Austria, after 
 having previously procured it to be approved 
 and accepted by the courts of France and 
 England, described to us as an ultimatum 
 that she intended to lay before the Porte, 
 and on the acceptance of which, the con^ 
 tinuance of her friendly offices was to de- 
 pend, I added, in a despatch which you, 
 baron, were instructed to communicate to 
 the Austrian cabinet, the following remarks 
 and reservations : — ' I consider it to be super- 
 fluous to remark to your excellency, that, 
 whilst we, in a spirit of conciliation, accept 
 the proposal of accommodation agreed to at 
 Vienna, and of sending a Turkish ambas- 
 sador, we assume that we shall not have 
 further changes and fresh propositions to 
 examine and to discuss, which may happen 
 to be contrived at Constantinople under the 
 warlike inspiration which seems at present 
 to influence the sultan and the majority of 
 his ministers; and that, should the Otto- 
 man government also reject this last ar- 
 rangement, we should no longer hold our- 
 selves by the consent which we now give 
 to it.' 
 
 "Expressions so precise as these could 
 leave the Austrian government no dqubt 
 as to our present decisions. 
 
 " I will not at the present moment enter 
 into the alterations of the wording which 
 have been made at Constantinople. I have 
 made them the subject of special remark in 
 another despatch.* I will, for the moment, 
 confine myself to asking whether the em- 
 
 " 1. In the Vienna draught it is said,.' If the em- 
 perors of Bussia have at all tipies evinced their active 
 solicitude for the maintenance of the immunities and 
 privileges of the orthodox Greek church in the Otto- 
 man empire,' &c. This passage has been thus modi- 
 fied :— ' If the emperors of Bjjssia have at all times 
 
 37 
 
THE VIENNA NOTE.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 peror, after having for himself renounced 
 the power to change even a word in that 
 draught of a note, which was drawn up 
 without his participation, can allow the 
 Ottoman Porte alone to reserve to itself 
 that power, and whether he can suffer 
 Eussia to be thus placed in an inferior 
 
 evinced their active solicitude for the religion and 
 orthodox Greek church.' The words, ' in the Otto- 
 man empire,' as well as those, ' the maintenance of 
 the immunities and privileges,' have been struck out, 
 in order to be transposed to a subsequent passage, 
 and applied to the sultans alone. This omission de- 
 prives the mutilated passage of all its meaning and 
 sense. For no one assuredly disputes the active 
 solicitude of the sovereigns of Russia for the religion 
 which they profess themselves, and which is that of 
 their subjects. What it was designed to recognise 
 is, that there has ever existed on the part of Russia 
 active solicitude for her co-religionists in Turkey, as 
 also for the maintenance of their religious immuni- 
 ties, and that the Ottoman government is disposed to 
 take account of that solicitude, and also to leave 
 those immunities untouched. The present expression 
 is the more unacceptable, since, by the terms which 
 follow it, more than solicitude for the orthodox reli- 
 gion is attributed to the sultans. It is affirmed that 
 they have never ceased to watch over the maintenance 
 of its immunities and privileges, and to confirm them 
 by solemn acts. However, it is precisely the reverse 
 of what is thus stated, which, having more than once 
 occurred in times past, and specifically in the affair 
 of the Holy Places, has compelled us to apply a 
 remedy to it, by demanding a more express gua- 
 rantee for the future. If we lend ourselves to the 
 admission that the Ottoman government has never 
 ceased to watch over the maintenance of the pri- 
 vileges of the Greek church, what becomes of the 
 complaints which we have brought forward against 
 it ? By doing so, we admit that we had no legiti- 
 mate grounds of complaint j that Prince Mentschi- 
 koff's mission was without motive ; that, in a word, 
 even the note which it has addressed to us was wholly 
 superfluous. 
 
 " 2. The suppressions and additions of words in- 
 troduced into this passage, with marked affectation, 
 are evidently intended to invalidate the treaty of 
 Kainardji, while having the appearance of confirming 
 it. It was said in the note originally drawn up at 
 Vienna, that, ' faithful to the letter and to the spirit 
 of the stipulations of the treaties of Kainardji and 
 Adrianople, relative to the protection of the Christian 
 religion, the sultan considers himself bound in honour 
 . . . . to preserve from all prejudice .... 
 the immunities and privileges granted to the orthodox 
 church.' These terms, which made the maintenance 
 of the immunities to be derived from the very spirit 
 of the treaty, — that is to say, from the general 
 principle laid down in the seventh article — were 
 in conformity with the doctrine which we have 
 maintained and still maintain. For, according to 
 us, the promise to protect a religion and its churches 
 implies of necessity the maintenance of the im- 
 munities enjoyed by them. They are two insepa- 
 rable things. These terms, originally agreed upon 
 at Vienna, were subsequently first modified at Paris 
 and at London ; and, if we did not object to this at 
 the time, as we should have been entitled to do, it 
 is not that we misunderstood the purport of that 
 38 
 
 position vis-ci-vis Turkey? We hold this 
 to be inconsistent with the dignity of the 
 emperor. Let us recall the whole series of 
 events, as they took place. In the place of 
 the Mentschikoff note, the acceptance of 
 which, without alteration, we had stipulated 
 as the condition of our resuming our rela- 
 
 alteration. We clearly perceived the distinction 
 made between two points which, in our estimation, 
 are indissolubly connected with each other; bflt 
 this distinction was, however, marked with sufficient 
 delicacy to admit of our accepting, from a spirit of 
 conciliation, and from a desire of speedily arriving 
 at a definitive solution, the terms of the note as they 
 were presented to us, which we thenceforth looked 
 upon as unalterable. These motives of deference no 
 longer apply to the fresh modification of the same 
 passage which has been made at Constantinople. 
 The line of demarcation between the two objects is 
 there too plainly drawn to admit of our acceptiijg it 
 without falsifying all that we have said and vrritten. 
 The mention of the treaty of Kainardji'is superfluous, 
 and its confirmation without object, from the time 
 that its general principle is no longer applied to the 
 maintenance of the religious immunities of the 
 religion. It is for this object that the words ' the 
 letter and the spirit' have been suppressed. The 
 fact that the protection of the Christian religion 
 is exercised 'by the Sublime Porte' is needlessly 
 insisted on, as if we pretended ourselves to exercise 
 that protection in the sultan's dominions ; and, as it 
 is at the same time omitted to notice that, according 
 to the terms of the treaty, the protection is a promise 
 made and an engagement undertaken by the sultan, 
 there is an appearance of throwing a doubt upon the 
 right which we possess of watching over the strict 
 fulfilment of that promise. 
 
 " 3. The alteration proposed in this passage of the 
 Austrian note is altogether inadmissible. The Otto- 
 man government would merely engage to allow the 
 orthodox church to share in the advantages which it 
 might grant to other Christian communities, subjects 
 of the Porte. But if those communities, whether 
 catholics or others, were not composed of native 
 rayahs, but of foreign monks or laymen (and such 
 is the case with nearly the whole of the convents, 
 hospitals, seminaries, and bishoprics of the Latin 
 rite in Turkey), and if, let us say, it should be the 
 good pleasure of the Porte to grant to those esta- 
 blishments fresh religious advantages and privileges, 
 the orthodox communities, in their character of Otto- 
 man subjects, would not, under the terms which it is 
 desired to introduce into this note, have the right of 
 claiming the same favours, nor would Russia have 
 the right of interceding for them. The malevolent 
 intention of the ministers of the Porte will become 
 still more evident, if we cite an instance-^a possible 
 contingency. Let us suppose the very probable case 
 of the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently ex- 
 tolled, obtaining from the Porte prerogatives not 
 enjoyed by the Greek patriarch. Any claim on the 
 part of the latter would be rejected, in consideration 
 of his character of ' subject.of the Porte.' The same' 
 objection would be made by the Ottoman ministry 
 with reference to the catholic establishments of 
 Palestine, in case any fresh advantage or right not 
 specified in the last firmans should hereafter be 
 granted to them to the prejudice of the native 
 communities." 
 
A.I) 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the VIENNA NOTE. 
 
 tions •with the Porte, a different note was 
 proposed to us. On this ground alone we 
 might have refused to take it into conside- 
 ration. And even after entering upon it we 
 might have found occasion to raise more 
 than one objectioUj to propose more than 
 one alteration in the expressions. You 
 know, baron, that from the moment we 
 consented to give up our ultimatum, no 
 note of any form whatever was what we 
 desired — that we should have preferred 
 another plan, another form of agreement. 
 We did not insist on this plan; we have 
 laid it entirely on one side. Why? Be- 
 cause, as soon as we should have made 
 counter-propositions, we should have exposed 
 ourselves to the reproach of protracting mat- 
 ters, of intentionally prolonging the crisis 
 which is disquieting Europe. Instead of 
 this, as we wished to put an end to the 
 crisis as soon as possible, we sacrificed our 
 objections both as regards the contents and 
 the form. On the receipt of the first draught 
 of a note, without waiting to learn if it had 
 been approved in London or in Paris, we 
 notified our accession to it by telegraph. 
 Subsequently the draught was forwarded to 
 us in its final form; and although it had 
 been altered in a direction which we could 
 not misunderstand, we did not retract our 
 consent, nor raise the smallest dif&culty. 
 Could greater readiness or a more concilia- 
 tory spirit be shown ? When we thus acted, 
 we did so, as a matter of course, on the con- 
 dition that a draught which the emperor 
 accepted without discussion should be ac- 
 cepted by the Porte in a similar manner. 
 We did so under the conviction that Aus- 
 tria looked on it as an ultimatum, in which 
 nothing was to be changed — as the last 
 effort of her friendly mediation, which, 
 should it fail in consequence of the perti- 
 nacity of the Porte, would thereby of itself 
 come to an end. We regret that it was not 
 so. But the Vienna cabinet will admit, that 
 if we had not to do with an ultimatum, but 
 with a new draught of a note, in which either 
 of the parties concerned was at liberty to 
 make changes, we should thereby recover 
 the right — of which we had of our own 
 accord deprived ourselves — of proposing 
 variations on our part, of taking the pro- 
 posal of arrangement into consideration, and 
 not only changing the expressions, but also 
 the form. 
 
 " Could such a result be intended by 
 Austria? Could it be agreeable to the 
 powers, who, by altering and accepting her 
 
 draught, have made it their common work? 
 It is their affair to consider the delays 
 which will result from this, or to inquire 
 if it is for the interest of Europe to cut 
 them short. We see only one single means 
 of putting an end to them. It is for Aus- 
 tria and the powers to declare to the Porte, 
 frankly and firmly, that they, after having 
 in vain opened up to it the only road that 
 could lead to an immediate restoration of 
 its relations with us, henceforth leave the 
 task to itself alone. We believe, that as 
 soon as the powers unanimously hold this 
 language to the Porte, the Turks will yield 
 to the advice of Europe, and, instead of 
 reckoning on her assistance in a struggle 
 with Russia, will accept the note in its pre- 
 sent form, and cease to compromise their 
 position so seriously for the childish satis- 
 faction of having altered a few expressions 
 in a document which we had accepted with- 
 out discussion. For of these two positions 
 only one is possible, — either the alterations 
 which the Porte requires, are important, in 
 which case it is very simple that we refuse 
 to accede to them ; or they are unimportant, 
 and then the question arises, why should the 
 Porte unnecessarily make its acceptance de- 
 pendent on them ? 
 
 "To sum up succinctly what we have 
 said, the ultimatum drawn up at Vienna 
 is not ours. It is the work of Austria and 
 the powers, who, after having first of all 
 agreed to it, then discussed it, and altered 
 its original text, have recognised it as such 
 as the Porte could accept without its in- 
 terests or its honour being compromised. 
 We, on our part, have done everything that 
 depended upon us to shorten unnecessary 
 delays, inasmuch, as when the arrangement 
 was laid before us, we renounced aU coun- 
 ter-propositions. No one will refuse to bear 
 this testimony to the loyauU of the emperor. 
 After our having long exhausted the mea- 
 sure of concessions without the Porte's having 
 as yet made a single one, his majesty can 
 go no further without compromising his 
 own standing, and without exposing him- 
 self to a resumption of his relations with 
 Turkey under unfavourable auspices, which 
 would deprive them for the future of all 
 stability, and must inevitably produce a 
 fresh and signal breach. Even now, fur- 
 ther concessions with regard to the expres- 
 sions of the note would be of no use ; for we 
 see, by your despatch, that the Ottoman 
 government is only waiting for our consent 
 to the alterations made in the Vienna note, 
 
 39 
 
TURKEY DECLARES WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 to make its signature, as -well as its sending 
 off an ambassador to convey the latter 
 hither, dependent on fresh conditions, and 
 that it has already made inadmissible pro- 
 posals with respect to the evacuation of the 
 principalities. As regards the latter point, 
 we can only refer to the assurances and de- 
 clarations contained in our despatch of the 
 10th of August ; and repeat, that the arrival 
 of the Turkish ambassador, bearing the Aus- 
 trian note without alterations, will suffice at 
 St. Petersburg for the orders to be issued to 
 our troops to retire over the frontier." 
 
 Count Nesselrode's despatch in justifica- 
 tion of the conduct of the czar, proved fatal 
 to his cause. From it, it appeared that 
 the apprehensions of the Turks were well 
 founded; and that the meaning they had 
 detected in the Vienna note could not only 
 have been placed upon it, but had actually 
 been relied upon by the quick - sighted 
 emperor in giving his consent to it. The 
 eyes of the representatives of the four 
 powers were opened, and they then, approved 
 of the conduct of the Porte in proposing 
 these seemingly trivial substitutions in the 
 note that had been submitted to the czar. 
 " It cannot be denied," said an able writer 
 in the Times, "that in this matter of the 
 Vienna note there had been a singular 
 amount of diplomatic blundering. Four 
 trained diplomatists had drawn up a docu- 
 ment to secure a certain object, which object 
 such document left substantially unsecured j 
 and, what is more, the oversight remained 
 undetected by their respective governments, 
 and even unappreciated after its detection 
 by Turkey, until Russia herself came for- 
 ward with a demonstration of the fact. It 
 is evidently not credible that either the 
 Vienna negotiators or the Western cabi- 
 nets should have assented to the note, if 
 they had believed it to contain what it did 
 contain ; for such a course would have been a 
 gratuitous sacrifice of the very principles for 
 which they were taking the trouble to con- 
 tend. If they had designed to let the czar 
 have his way, they might have done so 
 without any conference at all, and their 
 labour would have been saved. All that 
 can be said is, that when the mistake be- 
 came really apparent, they did their best to 
 remedy it ; and, as they were not in the 
 position of accepted arbitrators, whose award 
 was to be final, they were left at perfect 
 liberty to support the Turkish government 
 in a refusal which had been thus unex- 
 pectedly justified. This course the eovern- 
 40 
 
 ments of France and England promptly 
 adopted; and while still earnestly advo- 
 cating a pacific settlement, they resolutely 
 backed the Porte in its rejection of the 
 Vienna note." 
 
 The Russian occupation of the Dauubian 
 principalities created an intense excitement 
 amongst the Turks, and excited a dange- 
 rous feeling of religious enthusiasm. They 
 were divided into two sections — the old 
 Mussulman party, and the new reform one, 
 Redschid Pasha was the acknowledged 
 leader of the latter, which embraced the 
 less fanatical and less influential portion- of 
 the Mussulmans, and had any negative 
 advantage that might accrue from the good- 
 will of the Greeks and Armenians. The 
 Mussulman, or war-party, was led by Me- 
 hemed Ali Pasha, and comprised all the 
 ulemahs and strict followers of Mohammed. 
 Indeed, it possessed the sympathy of the 
 most energetic and enthusiastic of the 
 people. " In the first place," reasoned its 
 followers, " we can overcome the Russians 
 single-handed; and in the second, should 
 adverse fortune befall, and Constantinople 
 be endangered, fear of Russia will compel 
 England and France to support us actively. 
 In the one event, our strength will effect 
 our protection ; and in the other, our weak- 
 ness will secure us powerful allies." 
 
 Animated by this feeling, the Turkish 
 people called loudly for war; inflammatory 
 placards were posted on the walls of Con- 
 stantinople; the lives of the Christians 
 were considered to be in danger; the storm 
 of revolution was gathering ; and even the 
 throne of the pacific sultan was in peril. 
 The passions of the people were aroused, 
 and they heroically spurned all thoughts 
 of danger arising from a contest with an 
 enemy more powerful than themselves. 
 They would vindicate their nationality ; 
 assert their independence; and expel the 
 invading Russians from their borders. The 
 cry was war — a holy war: a war in the 
 cause of freedom and their prophet. Red- 
 schid Pasha even expressed his apprehen- 
 sions to the English and French ambas- 
 sadors, that their countrymen might be 
 exposed to serious dangers, arising from 
 the religious fanaticism of the people — 
 dangers from which the government was 
 not powerful enough to protect them. 
 Vessels were detached from the combined 
 fleets and sent to the Turkish capital, to 
 provide for the safety of the European 
 Christians. As the reasons for this cir- 
 
1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [turkey declares war. 
 
 cumstance were at the time generally un- 
 known to English politicians, it excited 
 some suspicions in this country of the sin- 
 cerity of the intentions of our government 
 towards Turkey. For a time many clear- 
 headed men were inclined to adopt Mr. 
 Urquhart's wild notion, that our ministers 
 were acting in collusion with Russia, in- 
 stead of being honestly hostile to her in- 
 sidious policy, and that a secret understand- 
 ing existed between the governments of 
 England and Russia for the partition of 
 Turkey, by which Russia was to have Con- 
 stantinople, and England Egypt and Candia. 
 The onward course of events soon vindicated 
 the integrity of our ministers, and de- 
 monstrated their sincerity in the cause of 
 Turkey. 
 
 A report was spread that the ulemahs at 
 Constantinople had, with stern abruptness, 
 oflfered the sultan his choice of war or abdi- 
 cation, and given him only two days, until 
 the feast of Kurban Bairam (the 14th of 
 September), for his decision. This may be 
 an exaggeration ; but on the 26th of Sep- 
 tember, 1853, the grand council of the 
 Turks solemnly pronounced itself for open 
 war, and left the declaration of the fact to 
 the discretion of the sultan. Abdul-Medjid 
 would not longer withstand the desires of 
 his people, and he adopted the decision of 
 the council. On the 4th of October (the 
 first day of the year in Turkey), his mani- 
 festo, containing a declaration of war against 
 Russia, was read in all the mosques to the 
 approving people. This document was 
 penned jn such a spirit of calm dignity, 
 and contains so clear and impartial a re- 
 view of the whole question, that, unlike 
 many state papers, it is invested with con- 
 siderable interest. It will amply repay an 
 attentive perusal. Its reasons for the adop- 
 tion of war are thus expressed : — 
 
 "In the present state of circumstances, it 
 would be superfluous to take up from its very 
 commeneement the explanation of the difference 
 which has arisen between the Sublime Porte 
 and Russia, to enter anew into the detail of 
 the divers phases which this difference has gone 
 through, or to reproduce the opinions and judg- 
 ments of the government of his majesty the 
 sultan, which have been made public by the 
 official documents promulgated from time to 
 time. In spite of the desire not to restate the 
 argent reasons which determined the modifica- 
 tions introduced by the Sublime Porte into the 
 draught of the note prepared at Vienna (motives 
 exposed previously in a note explanatory of the 
 modifications), yet new solicitations having been 
 
 made foi^ the adoption, pure and simple of the 
 eaid note, in consequence of the non-adhesion 
 of Russia to these said modifications, the Ot- 
 toman government, finding itself at present 
 compelled and forced to undertake war, thinks 
 it a duty to give an exposition of the imperious 
 reasons for that important determination, as 
 well as for those which have obliged it not to 
 regulate this time its conduct according- to the 
 counsels of the great powers, its allies, altJiough 
 it has never ceased to appreciate the ienevolent 
 nature of their suggestions. The principal points 
 to which the government of his majesty the 
 sultan desires to give prominence are these : — 
 That from the very beginning his conduct has 
 furnished no motive of quarrel, and that, ani- 
 mated with the desire of preserving peace, he 
 has acted with a remarkable spirit of modera- 
 tion and conciliation from the commencement 
 of the difference unto the present time. It is 
 easy to prove these facts to aE who do not 
 wander from the path of justice and equity. 
 Even supposing that Russia had a subject of 
 complaiut in relation to the Holy Places, she 
 ought to have circumscribed her actions and 
 solicitations within the limits of this question 
 alone, and ought not to have raised pretensions 
 which the object of her complaints could not 
 sustain. She ought not, moreover, to have 
 taken measures of intimidation ; such as sending 
 her troops to the frontiers, and making naval 
 preparatidns at Sebastopol, on the subject of a 
 question which might have been settled amica- 
 bly between the two powers. But it is evident 
 that what has taken place is totally contrary to 
 an intention of amicable settlement. The 
 question of the Holy Places had been settled 
 to the satisfaction of all parties ; and the go- 
 vernment of his majesty the sultan had testified 
 favourable dispositions on the subject of the 
 guarantees demanded. In short, Russia had 
 no longer any ground for raising any protest. 
 Is it not Seeking a pretext for quarrel, then, to 
 insist, as Russia has done, upon the question of 
 the privileges of the Greek church granted by 
 the Ottoman government, privileges which the 
 government believes its honour, its dignity, and 
 its sovereign power are concerned in maintain- 
 ing, and on the subject of which it can neither 
 admit the interference nor the surveillance of 
 any government ? Is it not Russia which has 
 occupied with considerable forces the princi- 
 palities of Moldavia and Wallachia, declaring at 
 the same time that these provinces should serve 
 as a guarantee, until she had obtained what she 
 desired ? Has not this act been considered 
 justly by the Sublime Porte as a violation of 
 treaties, and consequently as a casus belli f 
 Have the other powers themselves been able to 
 come to any other decision i* "Who, then, will 
 doubt that Russia has been the aggressor? 
 Could the Sublime Porte, which has always ob- 
 served all her treaties with a fidelity known to 
 
 41 
 
DECLAKATION OF 'WAR..] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 La.d. 1853. 
 
 all, never infringing them any way, do more 
 than determine Eussia to a proceeding so 
 violent as that of herself infringing all these 
 treaties ? Again, has there arisen, contrary to 
 the promise explicitly given in the treaty of 
 Kainardji, such facts in the Ottoman empire 
 as the demolition of Christian churches, or ob- 
 stacles opposed to the exercise of the Christian 
 religion ? The Ottoman cabinet, without de- 
 siring to enter into too long details on these 
 points, doubts not that the high powers its 
 allies, will judge with perfect truth and justice 
 on the statement just exhibited. As to the 
 non-adoption of the Vienna note in its pure 
 and simple form by the Sublime Porte, it 
 is to be remarked that this project, although 
 not in every point conformed to the note of 
 Prince Mentschikoff, and while containing, it is 
 true, in its composition, some of the paragraphs 
 of the draught note of the Sublime Porte, is not 
 as a whole, whether in letter or spirit, essentially 
 different from that of Prince Mentschikoff. The 
 assurances recently given by the representa- 
 tives of the great powers respecting the appre- 
 hended danger from hurtful interpretations of 
 the draught note in question, are a new proof 
 of the kind intentions of their respective go- 
 vernments towards the Sublime Porte. They 
 have consequently produced a lively satisfac- 
 tion on the part of the government of his ma- 
 jesty the sultan. It must be remarked, however, 
 that while we have stUl before our eyes a strife 
 of religious privileges raised by Eussia, which 
 seeks to base its claims on a paragraph so clear 
 and so precise in the treaty of Kainardji ; which 
 wishes to insert in a diplomatic document the 
 paragraph concerning the active solicitude of 
 the Emperor of Eussia for the maintenance in 
 the states of the Suhlime Porte of religious im- 
 munities and privileges which were granted to 
 the Greek rite by the Ottoman emperors before 
 Eussia so much as existed as an empire, to 
 leave in a dark and doubtful state the absence 
 of all relation between these privileges and the 
 treaty of Kutschuk Kainardji to employ in 
 favour of a great community of subjects of the 
 Sublime Porte professing the Greek religion, 
 expressions which might make allusion to trea- 
 ties concluded with Prance and Austria relative 
 to the French and Latin religions — this would 
 be to incur the risk of placing in the hands of 
 Eussia vague and obscure paragraphs, some of 
 which are contrary to the reality of facts, and 
 would offer to Eussia a solid pretext for her 
 pretensions to a religious surveillance and pro- 
 tectorate — pretensions which that power would 
 attempt to produce, affirming that they are not 
 derogatory to the sovereignty and independence 
 of the Sublime Porte. The very language of 
 the employ^ and agents of Eussia, who have 
 declared that the intention of government was 
 no other than to fulfil the office of an advocate 
 with the Sublime Porte whenever acts contrary 
 42 
 
 to existing privileges might be done, is a patent 
 proof of the justice of opinion of the Ottoman 
 government. If the government of his majesty 
 the sultan have judged it necessary to require 
 that assurance should be given, even if the 
 modifications which it introduced into the 
 Yienna note were adopted, how in conscience 
 could it be tranquil if the note were to be re- 
 tained in its integrity and without modification ? 
 The Sublime Porte in accepting that which it 
 has declared to all the world it could not admit 
 without being compelled thereto, would com- 
 promise its dignity in view of the other powers ; 
 would sacrifice its honour in the eyes of its own 
 subjects ; and would commit a mental and 
 moral suicide. Although the refusal of Eussia - 
 to accord the modifications required by the 
 Sublime Porte has been baSed on a question of 
 honour, it cannot be denied that the ground of 
 that refusal was simply and solely its desire not 
 to allow explicit terms to replace vague expres- 
 sions, which might at some future time furnish 
 it with a pretext for intermeddling. Such con- 
 duct therefore compels the Sublime Porte to 
 persist, on its part, in withholding its adhesion. 
 The reasons which have determined the Otto- 
 man government to make its modifications 
 having been appreciated by the representatives 
 of the four powers, it is proved that the Sub- 
 lime Porte was right in not purely and simply 
 adopting the Yienna note. It is not with the 
 view of criticising a project which obtained the 
 assent of the great powers, that we enter upon 
 a discussion of the inconveniences which the 
 Yienna note presents. Their efforts have always 
 tended to the preservation of peace, while de- 
 fending the rights and independence of the 
 imperial government. The endeavours made to 
 attain these objects having been as laudable as 
 can be conceived, the Sublime Porte cannot 
 sufficiently acknowledge them. But, as evi- 
 dently each government must possess, in con- 
 sequence of its peculiar knowledge and local 
 experience, more facilities than any other go- 
 vernment for judging of the points which con- 
 cerns its own rights, the examination which the 
 Ottoman government makes, is prompted en- 
 tirely by its desire to justify the obligatory 
 situation in which, to its great regret, it finds 
 itself placed, desiring, as it has done, to con- 
 tinue following the benevolent counsels offered 
 to it by its allies ever since the commencement 
 of the differences, and which, until now, it has 
 followed. If it is alleged that the haste with 
 which the Yienna note was drawn up, results 
 from the backwardness of the Sublime Porte to 
 propose an arrangement, the government of his 
 majesty the sultan must justify itself by stating 
 the following facts : — Eefore the entrance of 
 the Eussian troops into the two principalities, 
 some of the representatives of the powers, ac- 
 tuated by the sincere intention of preventing 
 the occupation of those provinces, urged upon 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [declaration of war. 
 
 the Sublime Porte the necessity of framing a I just reprisals against the violation of the trea- 
 draught note, occupying a middle place between ties which it considers a casus belli. It notifies, 
 
 the draught note of the Sublime Porte, and that 
 of Prince Mentschikoff. More lately the repre- 
 sentatives of the powers confidently commu- 
 nicated diflerent schemes of arrangement to 
 the Sublime Porte. None of these latter re- 
 sponded to the views of the imperial govern- 
 ment; and the Ottoman cabinet was on the 
 point of entering into negotiations with the 
 representatives of the powers, on the basis of a 
 project drawn up by itself in conformity with 
 these suggestions. It was at this moment that 
 news of the passage of the Pruth by the Rus- 
 sians, arrived ; a fact which changed the face of 
 the whole question. The draught note pro- 
 posed by the Sublime Porte was then set aside, 
 and the cabinets were requested to express 
 their views of this violation of treaties, after 
 the protest of the Sublime Porte. On the one 
 hand, the Ottoman cabinet had to wait for 
 their replies, and, on the other, it drew up, at 
 the suggestion of the representatives of the 
 powers, a project of arrangements, which was 
 sent to Vienna. As the sole answer to all 
 these active steps, the draught of our note at 
 Vienna made its appearance. However that 
 may be, the Ottoman government, fearing 
 rightly everything which might imply a right of 
 interference in favour of Ilussia in religious 
 matters, could do no more than give assurances 
 calculated to dissipate the doubts which had 
 become the subject of discussion; and it will 
 not, after so many preparations and sacrifices, 
 accept propositions which could not be received 
 at the time of the stay ef Prince Mentschikoff 
 at Constantinople. Since the cabinet of St. 
 Petersburg has not been content with the 
 assurances and pledges that have been offered ; 
 since the benevolent efforts of the high powers 
 have remained fruitless ; since, in fine, the 
 Sublime Porte cannot tolerate or suffer any 
 longer the actual state of things, or the pro- 
 longation of the occupation of the Moldo-Wal- 
 lachian principalities, they being integral por- 
 tions of its empire — the Ottoman cabinet, with 
 the firm and praiseworthy intention of defend- 
 ing the sacred rights of sovereignty and the 
 independence of its government, will employ 
 
 • The career of Omar Pasha is a romantic one. 
 He is a native of Austria, and was born in 1801, at 
 the village of Vlaski. His family name is Lattas, 
 and his father was lieutenant-administrator of the 
 circle. Having received a military education, he en- 
 tered the army of his native country j but in con- 
 sequence of a misunderstanding with his superiors 
 in rank, he left for Turkey, and embraced Islamism. 
 K.hosrew Pasha, then seraskier, took him under his 
 protection, and attached him to his personal staff. 
 He even gave him his ward in marriage— a young 
 lady who was one of the richest heiresses of Con- 
 stantinople. Lattas, who had taken the name of 
 Omar, rose rapidly in the Turkish army, and ac- 
 quired considerable distinction. In 1848 he was 
 
 then, officially, that the government of his 
 majesty the sultan finds itself obliged to declare 
 war, that it has given most precise instructions 
 to his excellency Omar Pasha to demand from 
 Prince Gortschakoff the evacuation of the prin- 
 cipalities, and to commence hostilities if, after a 
 delay of fifteen days from the arrival of his 
 despatch at the Eussian head- quarters, an an- 
 swer in the negative should be returned. It is 
 distinctly understood that should the reply of 
 Prince Gortschakoff be negative, the Eussians 
 are to quit the Ottoman states, and that the 
 commercial relations of the respective subjects 
 of the two governments shall be broken off. 
 At the same time, the Sublime Porte will not 
 consider it just to lay an embargo upon Eussian 
 merchant vessels, as has been the practice. 
 Consequently, they will be warned to resort 
 either to the Black Sea or the Mediterranean 
 Sea, as they shall think fit, within a term that 
 shall hereafter be fixed. Moreover, the Otto- 
 man government being unwilling to place hin- 
 drances in the way of commercial intercourse 
 between the subjects of friendly powers, will, 
 during the war, leave the Straits open to their 
 mercantile marine." 
 
 At the same time, Omar Pasha,* the 
 commander of the Turkish army of the 
 Danube, communicated the resolve of his 
 master, the sultan, to Prince Gortschakoff, 
 the general of the Russian forces in the 
 principalities, by the following note : — 
 
 " Monsieur le General, — It is by the order of 
 my government that I have the honour to ad- 
 dress this letter to your excellency. Whilst 
 the Sublime Porte has exhausted all means of 
 conciliation to maintain at once peace and its- 
 own independence, the court of Eussia has not 
 ceased to raise difficulties in the way of any 
 such settlement, and has ended with the viola- 
 tion of treaties — invading the two principalities 
 of Moldavia and Wallachia, integral parts of 
 the Ottoman empire. True to its pacific sys- 
 tem, the Porte, instead of exercising its right 
 to make reprisals, confined itself even then to 
 protesting, and did not deviate from the way 
 
 appointed to the command of the forces sent to the 
 Danubian provinces, where he made the authority 
 of the sultan respected, while at the same time he 
 regarded the susceptibilities and privileges of the 
 inhabitants, placed as they were under the double pro- 
 tection of Turkey and ilussia. In 1851 he greatly 
 distinguished himself in Bosnia, the principal chiefs ot 
 which had refused to recognise the tanaimat, or new 
 organisation of the empire. After the insurrection 
 of Hungary, he undertook the defence of the refu- 
 gees whose extradition had been demanded by Aus- 
 tria and Ilussia. He interfered zealously with the 
 sultan on behalf of these unfortunate men, many of 
 whom Abdul-Medjid received into his service. Omar 
 is much esteemed for his resolution and bravery. 
 
 43 
 
REPLY OP NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 that might lead to an arrangement. Eussia, 
 on the contrary, far from evincing correspond- 
 ing sentiments, has ended by rejecting the 
 proposals recommended by the august me- 
 diating courts — proposals which were alike 
 necessary to the honour and to the security of 
 the Porte. There only remains for the latter 
 the indispensable necessity of war. But as the 
 invasion of the principalities, and the violation 
 of treaties which have attended it, are the veri- 
 table causes of war, the Sublime Porte, as a 
 last expression of its pacific sentiments, pro- 
 poses to your excellency, by my intervention, 
 the evacuation of the two provinces, and grants 
 for your decision a term of fifteen days, to date 
 from the receipt of this letter. If within this 
 interval a negative answer shall reach me from 
 your excellency, the commencement of hos- 
 tilities will be the natural consequence. "While 
 I have the honour to make this intimation to 
 your excellency, I embrace the opportunity to 
 offer the assurances of my high esteem." 
 
 To this summons, Prince Gortschakofif 
 returned the following brief and not very 
 explicit reply : — " My master is not at war 
 with Turkey ; but I have orders not to leave 
 the principalities until the Porte shall have 
 given to the emperor the moral satisfaction 
 he demands. When this point has been 
 obtained, I will evacuate the principalities 
 immediately, whatever the time or the 
 season. If I am attacked by the Turkish 
 army, I will confine myself to the defen- 
 sive." Omar Pasha prepared to oppose the 
 Russian forces should they attempt to cross 
 the Danube, and the Russian soldiers were 
 busily employed in throwing up entrench- 
 ments for their protection at every place 
 where the Turks could possibly cross the 
 river. After the declaration of war, the 
 representatives of the various powers paid 
 a visit to the sultan. He received them 
 with great courtesy, and requested them 
 to assure their respective sovereigns, that 
 his wish was to settle his differences with 
 the Emperor of Russia amicably; but, he 
 added, that his ancestors had captured Con- 
 stantinople with sword in hand, and that if 
 fate ordained that it should fall to another 
 master, the Turks would quit the country 
 sword in hand, or die as soldiers for their 
 national faith. 
 
 Nicholas, extremely fond of making de- 
 clarations and publishing manifestos, would 
 not omit replying to the Turkish announce- 
 ment of an appeal to arms. Accordingly, 
 he issued the following statement in the 
 Gazette of St. Petersburg. Its demure hy- 
 pocrisy is absolutely startling, 
 44 
 
 " By the grace of God, we, Nicholas I., 
 Emperor and Autocrat of all the Eussias, &c., 
 make known as follows : — By our manifesto of 
 the 14th (26th) of June of the present year, we 
 made known to our faithful and dearly-beloved 
 subjects the motives which had placed us under 
 the obligation of demanding from the Ottoman 
 Porte inviolable guarantees in favour of the 
 sacred right of the orthodox church. "We also 
 announced to them that all our efibrts to recall 
 the Porte, by means of amicalile persuasion, to 
 sentiments of equity and to the faithful observr 
 ance of treaties, had remained unfruitful, and 
 that we had consequently deemed it indispen- 
 sable to cause our troops to advance into the 
 Danubiaij principalities ; hut in taking this step 
 we still entertained the hope that the Porte 
 would acknowledge its wrong doings and would 
 decide on acceding to our just demandSi Our 
 expectation has been deceived. Even the chief 
 powers of Europe have sought in vain by their 
 exhortations to shake the blind obstinacy of the 
 Ottoman government. It is by a declaration 
 of war, by a proclamation filled with lying 
 accusations against Russia, that it has responded 
 to the pacific efibrts of Europe, as well as to our 
 spirit of long-suffering. At last, enrolling in the 
 ranks of its army revolutionary exiles from all 
 countries, the Porte has just commenced hos- 
 tilities on the Danube. Russia is challenged to 
 the combat ; and she has no other course left 
 her, than, putting her trust in Grod, to have 
 recourse to force of arms, and so compel the 
 Ottoman government to respect treaties, and 
 to obtain reparation for the insults with which 
 it has responded to our most moderate demands, 
 and to our most legitimate solicitude for the 
 defence of the orthodox faith in the East, pro- 
 fessed also by the people of Russia. "We are 
 firmly convinced that our faithful subjects will 
 join their prayers to those which we address to 
 the Almighty, beseeching him to bless with His 
 hand our arms in this just and holy cause, which 
 has always found ardent defenders in our an- 
 cestors. In te, Pomine, speravi ; non confun- 
 dar in seternum. — Done at Tzarskoe Selo, the 
 20th day of October (1st of Nov.), in the year 
 of grace, 1853, and the twenty-eighth of our 
 reign. Nicholas." 
 
 Simultaneously with the appearance of 
 this statement of the Emperor Nicholas to 
 his people. Count Nesselrode dispatched the 
 following note to the diplomatic agents of 
 Russia in foreign countries, to be commu- 
 nicated to their respective governments : — 
 
 " St. Petersburg, Oct. 19 (Oct. 31, n.h.)— 
 Sir, — The efibrts which we have not ceased to 
 make for the last eight months for the arrange- 
 ment of our difiTerences with the Ottoman 
 Porte have, unfortunately, been without effect 
 I to the present day. Nay, more, the situation 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [NICHOLAS AT OLMUTZ. 
 
 seems to become more aggravated each day. 
 "Whilst the emperor offered, during his inter- 
 view with his intimate friend and ally, the 
 Emperor Francis Joseph, fresh facilities to the 
 Austrian cabinet to explain the misunderstand- 
 ing which attaches to the motives stated by us 
 for rejecting the modifications which the Porte 
 desired to introduce into the note drawn up at 
 Vienna, the Porte yielding, notwithstanding 
 the counsels of the European representatives at 
 Constantinople, to the warlike ideas and the 
 fanaticism of the Mussulmans, has, as you will 
 have learned, formally declared war against us. 
 That rash step bas, however, in nowise changed 
 the pacific disposibion of the emperor. We 
 still do not abandon, on that account, the reso- 
 lutions announced from the beginning in our 
 circular of the 20fch of June. At that period 
 his imperial majesty declared that in occupying 
 provisionally the principalities as a material 
 security for the satisfaction he demands, he was 
 unwilling to carry any further the measures of 
 coei'cion, but rather to avoid an offensive war, 
 so long as his dignity and his interests per- 
 mitted him to do so. At the present moment, 
 and notwithstanding the fresh provocation 
 offered to him, the intentions of my august 
 master remain the same. In possession of the 
 material pledge which the occupation of the 
 principalities gives us, though still ready, in 
 fulfilment of our promise, to evacuate them the 
 moment that we obtain satisfaction, we shall 
 content ourselves with maintaining our position 
 there, remaining on the defensive so long as we 
 are not forced to abandon limits within which 
 we desire to confine our action. We will wait 
 the attack of the Turks without taking the 
 initiative of hostilities. It will then entirely 
 depend on other powers not to widen the limits 
 of the war, if the Turks persist in waging it 
 against us, and not to give to it any other cha- 
 racter than that which we mean to leave to it. 
 That situation of expectancy does not place any 
 obstacle to the carrying on of negotiations. 
 After the declaration of war, it is not to Eussia 
 that it belongs to seek for new expedients, nor 
 to take the initiative in overtures of concilia- 
 tion. But if, when better enlightened as to its 
 interests, the Porte shall manifest a disposition 
 to propose or to receive similar overtures, it is 
 not the emperor who will place any obstacles 
 to their being taken into consideration. Such, 
 Monsieur, is all that, for the moment, it is per- 
 mitted me to inform you of, in the uncertainty 
 as to whether the Ottoman Porte will give 
 effect to the warlike project it has just adopted. 
 Inform the cabinet to which you are accredited 
 of our eventual intentions. They furnish an 
 additional proof of the desire of our august 
 master to limit as much as possible the circle of 
 hostilities, if they should unhappily take place, 
 and to spare the consequences of them to the 
 rest of Europe. Receive, &c. — Nesselrode." 
 
 VOL. I. tH 
 
 In conformity with the treaty of 1841, 
 by which the Dardanelles were closed to 
 foreign vessels, except on requisition of the 
 sultan in time of war, the combined fleets 
 of England and France had remained out- 
 side the straits. Now that war was de- 
 clared, the sultan, on the 8th of October, 
 made a formal request for> the presence of 
 the allied fleets. The ambassadors of the 
 two western powers immediately gave orders 
 to that effect. A further demand was also 
 made by the sultan ; namely, that the allied 
 fleets should cruise in the Black Sea — a cir- 
 cumstance which would serve as a protection 
 to the towns on the Turkish coast. As 
 England and France were both nominally 
 at peace with Russia, and as such an act 
 would probably have been construed by the 
 czar into a declaration of war, the sultan's 
 desire was unfortunately not complied with. 
 
 Notwithstanding that such hostile steps 
 had been taken, the great powers of Europe 
 still hoped that the dispute might be peace- 
 ably settled. At the very time when the 
 Turkish council pronounced itself for war 
 (in the last week of September, 1853), the 
 Emperor of Russia paid a visit to the Em- 
 peror of Austria at Olmutz. This visit led 
 to a diplomatic conference, at which the 
 czar breathed nothing but peace and good 
 wishes to all the world. He announced 
 personally that Russia desired to meet 
 " every legitimate wish" of the mediating 
 powers, and a new project of settlement, 
 called the Olmutz note, originated in the 
 confidence thus excited. Nicholas was 
 doubtless embarrassed by the opposition 
 which his ambitious plots had excited, and 
 would perhaps have been glad to tranquillise 
 the rising storm. An alliance between 
 England and France to frustrate his aims, 
 was an event he had not deemed possible ; 
 but since it had occurred, he would pro- 
 bably have been glad to recede from his 
 aggressive and hostile attitude if he could 
 have done so with dignity, and defer his 
 scheme of territorial extension to a more 
 favourable opportunity. This satisfaction 
 he was unable to attain : his assurances at 
 Olmutz did not seem sufiSciently clear to 
 the British government to neutralise the 
 effect of the Nesselrode despatch, and the 
 whole scheme was soon deranged by the 
 Turkish declaration of hostilities. 
 
 Having declared war, the Turks speedily 
 commenced it with a surprising vigour and 
 spirit, as we shall soon relate. But first we 
 will pursue to a close the dreary diplomacy 
 
 45 
 
INCKEASED DEMANDS.] 
 
 HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 which, " like a wouuded snake, still dragged 
 its slow length along." The western powers 
 seemed resolved to exhaust every means of 
 settling the quarrel without disturbing the 
 peace of Europe. Such efforts can scarcely 
 be deemed otherwise than laudable; but 
 without doubt they raised the spirits of- the 
 Emperor Nicholas, and encouraged him to 
 persevere in his aggressions against the 
 Ottoman territory. He appears to have 
 thought Turkey, alone, far too weak to op- 
 pose him with a shadow of success ; and 
 that the European powers were not sufii- 
 ciently interested to assist it. But in the 
 latter point he was mistaken; for, though 
 the western powers were of opinion that 
 negotiation might yet produce amicable 
 results, still they had honourably resolved 
 to support the Ottoman government in the 
 position it had taken. Russia and Turkey 
 were actually at war : the question, then, 
 was, whether peace could be restored with- 
 out the hostile interference of the rest of 
 Europe? It was perfectly clear that Russia 
 must not be permitted quietly to devour its 
 feeble neighbour ; and the diplomatists tried 
 once again to lure or frighten the northern 
 iron-clad giant away from his prey. 
 
 The representatives of the four powers 
 devised a new note, of a very moderate cha- 
 racter. It was accepted by the Porte, and 
 sent to the emperor at St. Petersburg, with 
 a recommendation, in the name of the allies, 
 that it should be accepted as a fair basis of 
 peace. "If," wrote Lord Stratford, "the 
 court of St. Petersburg be sincere in its 
 professions, the negotiation ought to termi- 
 nate, at an early period, in peace." These 
 hopes were speedily dissipated ; for the note 
 was rejected by Nicholas. He declared its 
 propositions to be quite unsatisfactory ; an- 
 nounced that he would allow of no media- 
 tion between himself and Turkey ; and 
 added, that if the sultan desired to treat, he 
 might send an ambassador to St. Peters- 
 burg. This was arrogant and offensive 
 enough; but it would seem that Nicholas 
 had at length resolved on war. He there- 
 fore sent a confidential servant, Count Orlofif, 
 to Vienna, to express the conditions on which 
 alone he was content to treat with Turkey. 
 These conditions amounted to four, and 
 were even an advance upon the original 
 demands made by. Prince Mentschikoff at 
 Constantinople. They required that a 
 Turkish plenipotentiary should proceed to 
 the head-quarters of the army, or to St. 
 Petersbui-g, to open direct negotiations 
 46 
 
 with Russia, but with liberty to refer to the 
 ministers of the four powers ; that the 
 former treaties between Russia and the 
 Porte should be renewed ; that Turkey 
 should enter into an engagement not to 
 give an asylum to political refugees; and 
 that the Porte should recognise, by a decla- 
 ration, the Russian protectorate of the 
 Greek Christians. 
 
 The arrogance of the Emperor of Russia 
 did not end with this haughty announce- 
 ment of his views respecting Turkey. He 
 addressed propositions of a most humiliating 
 character to his old friends and allies — the 
 Emperor of Austria and the King of 
 Prussia. He required of them an absolute 
 and unconditional armed neutrality in the 
 eastern quarrel ; and, as that was in reality 
 a furtherance of his designs, and would pro- 
 bably expose them to the hostility of the 
 western powers, he assured those ancient 
 and powerful monarchies of his protection. 
 " No wonder," says a leading journal, " that 
 on hearing such a communication, the mi- 
 nisters of Austria and Prussia felt an asto- 
 nishment and irritation they did not dis- 
 guise, and that the first impulse of every 
 honest man, cognizant of these transactions, 
 was to set his name to a declaration that 
 they were peremptorily rejected. It was an 
 attempt, on the part of Russia, not only to 
 assert her supremacy over the whole Chris- 
 tian population of the East, and to drag the 
 Turkish government as a suppliant to St. 
 Petersburg ; but also, and at the same time, 
 to place the leading powers of Germany in 
 positive and avowed dependence on the 
 policy of the czar. If such a scheme could 
 have succeeded, not only would it have ren- 
 dered war in the East more certain, and 
 probably more protracted, but it must in- 
 fallibly have extended that war to the rest 
 of Europe. It would instantly have divided 
 the German and the western powers into 
 two camps; and, while they were contend- 
 ing for a cause not their own, Russia would 
 have found herself at liberty to act as she 
 pleased on the Danube and the Euxine." 
 
 As might be anticipated, the representa- 
 tives of the four powers declared the new 
 terms proposed by the czar to be inadmis- 
 sible, and Count Orloff returned to St. 
 Petersburg. The Austrian minister, how- 
 ever, earnestly desired that proposals might 
 be transmitted from Russia, modified in 
 accordance with the views of the four powers. 
 This desire was assented to; but the new 
 propositions of the czar were almost as arro- 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [turkey prepares for war. 
 
 gant as the last, and the conference rejected 
 them without even submitting them to the 
 consideration of the Porte. 
 
 An appeal to arms, on the part of England 
 and France, on behalf of Turkey became 
 inevitable, and the diplomatic relations be- 
 tween France, England, and Russia were 
 suspended. M. de Kisseleflf quitted Paris 
 
 on the 6th of February, 1854, and Baron 
 Brunow* left England on the 9th. The 
 exertions of the Vienna conference ceased ; 
 but the records of its labours attest, that 
 in the judgment of Europe, the terms of 
 Russia were not, while those of the Sub- 
 lime Porte were admissible for the settle- 
 ment of peace. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 probable regeneration of TURRET; THE ARMIES ON THE DANUBE; THE PASSAGE OP THE RIVER, 
 AND BATTLE OF OLTENITZA ; DESTRUCTION OF A TURKISH SQUADRON AT SINOPE; LETTER FROM THE 
 EMPEROR OF FRANCE TO THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 
 
 Great was the enthusiasm which prevailed 
 at Constantinople when the sultan declared 
 war against the northern power which had 
 insulted his people and endeavoured to re- 
 duce him to the mere shadow of a sovereign. 
 Preparations for the impending struggle 
 were carried on with unceasing activity. 
 Gifts of jewels, money, horses, and other 
 valuable things, were placed by patriotic 
 Mussulmans at the disposal of their sove- 
 reign. The narrow streets and rickety 
 wooden houses of Constantinople trembled 
 as lines of heavy ordnance were dragged 
 over its rugged pavement. Numbers of 
 citizens, including troops of -apprentices, 
 mingled with grey-bearded shopkeepers, 
 formed themselves into volunteer corps, 
 while rude Turcoman shepherds, from the 
 mountains of Anatolia, armed to the teeth, 
 were seen gazing with stupid wonder on the 
 strange city life into which they were intro- 
 duced for the first time. Added to these, 
 bodies of irregular horsemen, Kurdish, Tur- 
 coman, and Arab freebooters, with costumes 
 and arms resembling those of the middle 
 ages, were, from time to time, observed fol- 
 lowing some bearded warrior, the barbaric 
 grandeur of whose arms and dress marked 
 him as the chief of a clan. By an ancient 
 custom the sultan is required to march in 
 
 • Englishmen will not permit a feeSng of indigna- 
 tion against Russian domination to extend to hon- 
 ourable men in the service of her government. 
 Baron Brunow had been many years in England, 
 during which his amiability of character endeared 
 him to a large circle of friends amongst its aristo- 
 cracy. During a period of more than fourteen years 
 he transacted business with no less than five ad- 
 
 person at the head of his troops to battle 
 against the infidel. It seems that this has 
 come to be regarded as "a custom more 
 honoured in the breach than the obser- 
 vance ;" for it has degenerated into a state 
 fiction. Abdul-Medjid, however, in sham 
 compliance with it, quitted his palace, and 
 proceeded to the kiosk at Therapia, which 
 his father, Mahmoud, occupied during the 
 late Russian war. The fears that were en- 
 tertained, that the religious zeal of the 
 Mussulmans might lead them to attack the 
 Christians, were soon discovered to be devoid 
 of a just foundation, and European travellers, 
 with their wives and daughters, walked 
 about the streets and bazaars without meet- 
 ing or even fearing any insult. 
 
 That Turkey has long been a declining 
 power its history abundantly proves; but 
 the spirit and extent of its warlike efforts 
 on this occasion, refute the assertion that it 
 is a worn out and expiring state. The 
 eastern empire may, perhaps, be doomed to 
 partition at no distant time; the faith of the 
 Arabian camel-driver may be expelled from 
 Europe ; and the race of Othman, the bone- 
 breaker, become extinct at the same period. 
 It is generally known, that the Turks them- 
 selves, who are fatalists in point of belief, 
 place much faith in a wUd prophecy which 
 
 ministrations — those of Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert 
 Peel, Lord John Russell, Lord Derby, and Lord 
 Aberdeen. The baron was on terms of personal 
 friendship with the late Duke of Wellington, and one 
 of the last persons who sawthe venerable warrioralive, 
 having been a guest at Walmer ten days before his 
 death. M. de Hisseleff, also, was much esteemed at 
 Paris, where he had passed the half of his life. 
 
 47 
 
AllMIES ON THE DANUBE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853, 
 
 limits the endurance of the Ottoman sway 
 in Constantinople to 400 years — a period 
 that has but lately expired. Despite this 
 superstition, and despite (what is a thou- 
 sand-fold more important) the evident decay 
 of the Turkish empire, we have great hopes 
 that its present close connexion with France 
 and England, combined with the desire of 
 its rulers to adopt European customs and 
 improvements, may lead to its final regene- 
 ration. Turkey has enormous sources of 
 internal wealth : mines and forests ; cattle 
 and rich pasture-lands; with broad, sunny 
 tracts, where wheat could be grown for the 
 millions in England and elsewhere, who are 
 at present but half-fed and half-employed, 
 
 I These resources have hitherto been almost 
 entirely neglected ; but Turkey is learning 
 wisdom in her adversity, and she will avail 
 herself of her natural wealth in the future, 
 
 j Her agents are in England learning our 
 system of mining, and collecting such no- 
 tions as will set her people profitably to 
 work, Turkey is in a transition state : she 
 has been a military power : she was upheld 
 by force ; but having cultivated war and 
 neglected peace, that force has gradually 
 failed and turned to weakness. The source 
 of England's independence is its wealth ; 
 the source of its wealth is the active intelli- 
 gence and persevering industry of its people. 
 Turkey now understands this : her people 
 also have the necessary spirit, intelligence, 
 and industry : they have shown that abun- 
 dantly. Let them apply these noble qualities ; 
 let them awake from opium dreams of the 
 past — open their eyes, and look upon the 
 broad tracts of neglected soil, and strike the 
 spade with a hearty good- will into their rich 
 virgin lands : let them become corn-growers 
 and cattle-breeders : let them work their 
 numerous mines in the European style ; and 
 Turkey will pass from a weak military na- 
 tion to a strong mercantile one. This could 
 be, and we trust, not without a lively hope, 
 that it vnll be. Russia may be the indirect 
 cause of Turkey's awakening to a knowledge 
 of her own latent power — of teaching her 
 that the independence of a great nation is 
 sustained largely by its wealth, and that 
 wealth is produced by a proper use of its 
 natural advantages. Turkey might supply 
 us with many of those raw materials which 
 our merchants and manufactm-ers have 
 hitherto imported from Russia. Perhaps 
 in the blood so plentifully shed, Turkey 
 may be baptized to a new, more healthy, 
 and more enduring existence, 
 48 
 
 I 
 
 We have been led into these brief reflec- 
 tions by a sense of admiration of the energy 
 and activity of the Turkish nation in pre- 
 paring for war. At that period they had 
 collected armies of 130,000 men between 
 the Danube and the Balkan ; of 15,000 in 
 Bosnia ; of 6,000 near Pristina, on the Ser- 
 vian frontier; of 50,000 at Adrianople; of 
 80,000 to 100,000 on the frontiers of Asia, 
 
 There was need of preparation; for the 
 Russian armies occupying the Danubian 
 provinces were extremely powerful, and had, 
 of course, all the yet untried strength of the 
 czar to back them. Enormous barracks 
 were constructed on the banks of the 
 Danube, and in them the Russians intended 
 to pass the coming winter. Prince Gorts- 
 chakofF levied a heavy sum upon the hos- 
 podar of Wallachia for their construction, 
 to raise which the latter was compelled to 
 contract a debt of about £60,000. The 
 people of Wallachia were treated with as 
 much severity as their government. The 
 Russian commissariat fixed a price on all 
 provisions brought to the public markets. 
 This price was settled according to the value 
 of things in the preceding summer, which 
 was a season of great abundance, and was 
 less than half the value of provisions at 
 that time. Soldiers were appointed to 
 watch the markets, to see that these unjust 
 regulations were adhered to ; and any per- 
 son who demanded a higher price for his 
 provisions than the one fixed, was seized 
 and flogged on the spot. The Russians, 
 however, received a sort of natural punish- 
 ment for their aggression : the climate was 
 unsuited to them ; typhus and dysentery 
 broke out among their ranks, which, to- 
 gether with constant desertions, so thinned 
 them, that they could with difficulty 
 muster 85,000 combatants. The tyranny 
 of the Russian army, and the uneasy state 
 of mind of its generals, may be inferred 
 from the fact, that in Bucharest, at a 
 later period, all unfavourable reports of 
 what had occurred at the seat of war were 
 actually prohibited under pain of death; and 
 a person who had spoken disadvantageously 
 of the Russian army was shot. By the oc- 
 cupation of the Russian troops, Moldavia 
 and Wallachia were, for the time, trans- 
 formed into dependencies of the czar. 
 
 The time having expired when the Rus- 
 sians were required to leave the Danubian 
 principalities, at the latter end of October, 
 1853, the Turkish armies commenced their 
 dangerous task of driving them out. Having 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [battle at OLTENITZA. 
 
 possessed themselves of an island in the 
 Danube, opposite Widdin, they crossed the 
 river in four places at once, and established 
 themselves on the borders of Wallachia, 
 at Kalafat, a position of great strategical 
 importance. From thence they threw for- 
 ■ward their troops, and the Russians de- 
 clining the combat, withdrew before them 
 towards Slatina. 
 
 On the 3rd or 4th of November, a body 
 of Turks, said to amount to 12,000 men 
 (others say -9,000 only), crossed the Danube 
 from Turtukai to Oltenitza, villages situated 
 on the right and left banks of the river, be- 
 tween Rustchuk and Silistria, on the direct 
 route to Bucharest. Oltenitza, indeed, 
 scarcely deserves the name of a village, as it 
 merely consists of a few houses and a ruined 
 fort. They were perceived by the Russians, 
 and attacked by General Perloff, or Pauloff, 
 at the head of 9,000 men. The engagement 
 began at eleven o'clock, by a sharp cannon- 
 ading on both sides, after which a fierce 
 combat with fixed bayonets took place be- 
 tween the two armies. The engagement 
 lasted for about four hours : both sides 
 claimed the victory ; though, as the Turks 
 remained on the Wallachian side of the 
 river, and the Russian troops retired, or 
 retreated to their former position, we should 
 award the laurel to the former. The Rus- 
 sians fought with great coolness and resolu- 
 tion; but their loss in men was considerable. 
 During the engagement, wagons were con- 
 stantly occupied in carrying off their dead, 
 and twenty were observed heavily laden, 
 even after the conflict. An eye-witness 
 says he saw one officer struck from his horse, 
 whom he supposed to be a general, as the 
 soldiers carried him far to the rear, and a 
 carriage drove up furiously, and took him 
 away. Notwithstanding this, Omar Pasha, 
 in his despatch to his government, stated 
 that the bodies of 800 Russians were found 
 upon the field. It was afterwards ascer- 
 tained that nearly all the Russian officers 
 in command, and several colonels, were 
 wounded. During the action, the Turkish 
 fortress on the opposite side of the river, 
 at Turtukai, fired with such precision, that 
 the shots, passing over the heads of their 
 own troops, did great execution among the 
 ranks of the enemy. The Turks acknow- 
 ledged a loss of 106 men. 
 
 We extract the following from a letter, 
 written by a person who witnessed the 
 engagement from a hill in the neighbour- 
 hood : — " When we reached the spot whence 
 
 we intended to see the events of the day, 
 we came upon two officers of distinction, 
 sitting upon the ground with their feet to- 
 wards a wood fire. These proved to be the 
 Turkish generalissimo, Omar Pasha, and 
 General Prim. We posted ourselves on one 
 side of them, a little in the rear. At about 
 eleven, a.m., the Russians marched out of 
 the village of Oltenitza, situated about a 
 mile, or a mile and-a-half in front of the 
 right flank of the Turkish entrenchment. 
 A cloud of Cossacks led the way j these were 
 followed by four formidable-looking columns, 
 and eighteen or twenty pieces of artillery ; 
 somewhat later, large masses of cavalry ap- 
 peared on the Russian left. The infantry 
 columns on the Russian right marched to 
 attack the Turkish left, and halted in the 
 wood in front of it. The other two columns 
 advanced against the Turkish centre and 
 right. The space between these two was 
 filled by artillery, and several pieces ad- 
 vanced on the flanks. At half-past twelve, 
 the Russian artillery in the centre opened 
 their fire, at a distance of half-a-mile or so. 
 The first shots feU short ; but they soon con- 
 trived to get the range, and fired into and 
 over the Turkish position. The latter 
 quickly returned the fire. Shortly after, 
 one of the Turkish ammunition-tumbrils 
 exploded. At fifty minutes past one, p.m., 
 the infantry opened their fire on both sides, 
 and the Turkish batteries on the north 
 side pounded the Russian columns of the 
 left, as they advanced ; but the chief attack 
 was made from the Russian right. The 
 firing in this quarter was very hot, and 
 especially well kept up by the Turks. In 
 half-an-hour this attack was repulsed; the 
 Russians could not get nearer than a 100 
 yards of the entrenchment. A second at- 
 tack was quickly made. The Russian 
 columns on the left threw forward a cloud 
 of skirmishers, and attempted to advance, 
 but they got so mauled by the musketry 
 and by the batteries on the south side, that 
 they quickly retreated in great apparent 
 confusion; and at half-past three, p.m., the 
 musketry ceased. The artillery continued 
 to fire for half-an-hour, retiring by degrees. 
 By four, p.m., the whole Russian force had 
 withdrawn, and the battle was ended. The 
 Turks cheered loudly ; and we, on our side, 
 threw up our caps." The next day, the 
 Russians having been reinforced bj' the 
 division of General Dannenberg, renewed 
 the attack on the Turks at Oltenitza, but 
 were again defeated, and with a still greater 
 
 49 
 
THE WAR ON THE DANUBE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 loss. The great mortality among the Rus- 
 sian officers arose from the fact, that the 
 Turkish army included some battalions 
 armed with the improved muskets, and 
 these sharp-shooters picked off the officers 
 on the opposite side. 
 
 About the same time, 2,000 Turks crossed 
 the river from Rustchuk to Giurgevo, an 
 island in the river, of importance in a mili- 
 tary view, and after making good their foot- 
 ing, bombarded the town : 4,000 Turks oc- 
 cupied Kalarache,* and 12,000 established 
 themselves in Lesser Wallachia, on the 
 right flank of the Russian army. On the 
 27th, 28th, and 29th of November, the 
 Turks renewed their attacks upon Giurgevo, 
 but without obtaining any favourable result. 
 Scarcely any accounts of these events, which 
 were little more than skirmishes, have been 
 transmitted; and what has reached us, does 
 not possess any interest. Such unimpor- 
 tant encounters may be left to form the 
 natural back-ground to the great war- 
 picture : a detail of them would injure the 
 perspective of the narrative, and make the 
 prominent events less striking, and less cal- 
 culated to dwell in the memory. 
 
 The Turks were unable to maintain the 
 position they had gained at Oltenitza, partly, 
 it is said, in consequence of the heavy rains 
 that had set in, which made their contem- 
 plated advance on the Russian head-quarters 
 at Bucharest impracticable : they conse- 
 quently recrossed, on the 13th of November, 
 to the right bank of the Danube. They 
 soon afterwards abandoned all the positions 
 they had obtained on the left, or Wallachian 
 bank of the river, except at Kalafat. At 
 that point they mustered about 20,000 men ; 
 and from thence they pushed forward their 
 advanced post to Krajova. The result of 
 the engagements that had occurred, was to 
 raise the spirits of the Turks, and to exalt 
 them in the estimation of Europe. At Con- 
 stantinople, the news was received with the 
 most enthusiastic joy ; and the sultan went 
 in person to the Porte, and officially an- 
 nounced his intention of taking the field, 
 and placing himself at the head of his troops 
 in the spring. He also addressed a con- 
 gratulatory letter to Omar Pasha, and pre- 
 sented that general with his favourite horse. 
 The success of the Turks (for their grim 
 
 * There are two places named Kalarache on the 
 right bank of the river — one opposite Silistria, and 
 the other nearly opposite to Rahova. 
 
 ■j- The progress of the war has made the name of 
 the Black Sea " familiar in our mouths as household 
 50 
 
 sanguinary resistance to the Russians was 
 justly regarded as a great success) led to 
 the wildest reports. It was even said that 
 the Turkish army had advanced on Bucha- 
 rest (the Russian head-quarters), fought a 
 great battle, entered the town as victors, 
 and finally left it blazing in three directions. 
 When a longer period brought more sober 
 news, it appeared that no such event had 
 taken place. 
 
 But the beginning of the war, though not 
 rich in great events, had done one important 
 thing. It had shaken the mysterious feel- 
 ing (a feeling of vacillation between wonder 
 and fear) with which Europeans generally 
 regarded the military power of Russia. 
 Some had imagined that the Turks, in the 
 event of their daring to attack the Russians, 
 would be driven back like a flight of birds 
 met and smitten by a whirlwind : that the 
 poor Mussulmans would be scared by 
 gleaming forests of bristling bayonets, and 
 mowed down, crushed, and exterminated by 
 deadly showers of lead and iron. The first 
 engagement, though not very brilliant or 
 decisive, dissipated this timid and feverish 
 day-dream. The Turkish soldiers were a 
 match for their own number of Russians; 
 and subsequent events have proved that 
 they are more than a match for them. At 
 the period of which we speak, a gentleman 
 who had just returned to Paris from the 
 Danubian provinces, described the Russian 
 soldiers as being most of them very wretched. . 
 With the exception of the guards, whom he 
 had not seen, they were nearly all young 
 lads, sickly-looking, haggard, feeble, badly 
 clad, and badly fed. " They may stand to 
 be killed," he says, " but it is astonishing 
 to me how they can kill any one." The 
 corps of Cossacks, he adds, are principally 
 composed of young men of about sixteen or 
 seventeen, animated not by patriotism, or a 
 love of the czar, but by a desire of plunder. 
 The approach of winter, and the rise of the 
 Danube, which at that period becomes im- 
 passable from drifting blocks of ice, for a 
 time suspended hostilities between the 
 armies encamped on each side of it. 
 
 Such was the state of things, when a 
 startling and terrible event took place in 
 another quarter. On the Asiatic borders of 
 the Euxine or Black Sea,t stands a little 
 
 words." A few lines of description, therefore, con- 
 cerning it may be agreeable, and also assist the 
 reader in forming a more tangible and real idea of 
 the events spoken of. A little local detail and 
 colouring makes the dead bones of dry historic nar- 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [slaughter at sinope. 
 
 town, with about eight or ten thousand in- 
 habitants (the best harbour on the coast of 
 Asia Minor), called Sinope. It is situated 
 on an isthmus, connecting a high rocky 
 peninsula with the mainland, and formed a 
 square, flanked with towers, and covered by 
 a small citadel. Its appearance was ex- 
 tremely interesting. Its ivy-clad walls, com- 
 posed of fragments of Byzantine architecture, 
 overhung deep-wooded ravines, crossed by 
 high and narrow bridges, and many of its 
 buildings were surrounded by gardens, 
 whose fruits and flowers seemed, to an ima- 
 ginative mind, nature's symbols of peace 
 and plenty. Sinope was the birth-place of 
 Diogenes, the celebrated cynical philosopher 
 of antiquity, and the capital of the famous 
 Mithridates, King of Pontus. It is fabled 
 to have received its name from Sinope, a 
 nymph whom Apollo loved and carried 
 there. It is still rich in Greek and Paphla- 
 gonian inscriptions, busts,' and military 
 statues. These remains of a classic anti- 
 quity, which preached silent yet eloquent 
 lessons on civilisation, were unhappily not 
 regarded by the Turks, whom a French 
 writer describe? as having vegetated among 
 them for three centuries. 
 
 During November, 1853, a Turkish squa- 
 dron, consisting of seven frigates, three 
 corvettes, and two steamers, left the Bos- 
 phorus to cruise in the Black Sea. Being 
 overtaken by a heavy gale, the vessels put 
 into the harbour of Sinope, and anchored 
 there without order,- by no means expecting 
 an attack, and entirely unprepared for one. 
 In this condition they were observed by the 
 Russian admiral, Nachimoff, as he was 
 cruising off the coast of Anatolia. Discern- 
 ing the cruel advantage that might be 
 obtained, although the emperor had not 
 proclaimed war against Turkey, and had 
 declared that he should only act on the 
 defensive, the admiral sent to Sebastopol 
 for reinforcements. The reinforcements 
 soon arrived, and on the 30th of November, 
 Admiral Nachimofi^, with a B^ussian squadron, 
 consisting of three three-deckers, three two- 
 deckers, two frigates, and four steamers, 
 entered the bay, under cover of a dense fog. 
 rative rise into seeming life, and assume the" roundness 
 and tlie glow of health. The readers of Lord Byron 
 may remember his sportive description of the Black 
 Sea, or the Euxine, as it is otherwise called : — 
 
 " There's not a sea the passenger ere pukes in, 
 That throws up waves more dangerous than the 
 Euxine." 
 It is a great inland sea between Europe and Asia, 
 and is surrounded by Turkey, Eussia, and Ciroassia. 
 
 The Russian fleet approached so cautiously, 
 that it had not been seen by the Turks 
 until within the distance of half-a-mile, who 
 then made a hurried and very imperfect 
 attempt to place their vessels in such a man- 
 ner as to be properly covered by the batte- 
 ries on shore. As the grim intruding ships 
 resolutely took up their positions, and dropped 
 their anchors, a terrific fire was opened upon 
 them by the batteries and Turkish vessels. 
 It was responded to by the roar of broad- 
 sides from ships of an immeasurably superior 
 weight of metal ; and although the Turks 
 fought with a desperate bravery, it was 
 evident that they must submit or be utterly 
 destroyed. The Grand Duke Constantine 
 demolished the land battery next her guns ; 
 and soon after, one Turkish frigate blew up 
 into the darkened air, and her lacerated, 
 mangled crew were either rent limb from 
 limb, or sank beneath the blood-polluted 
 waters. An hour afterwards, two others 
 met the same dreadful fate, the captains 
 firing their own vessels sooner than they 
 should fall into the hands of the enemy; 
 and at two o'clock in the afternoon, about 
 two hours and-a-half from the commence- 
 ment of this unequal engagement, all the 
 Turkish vessels were burnt, blown up, or 
 driven on the shore, helpless, shattered 
 wrecks. One vessel alone still rode at an- 
 chor, and the Russians endeavoured to tow 
 her off as a prize. She was, however, so 
 injured, that she began to fill with water, 
 on which they set fire to her, and she shared 
 the fate of the rest. Most of the ships were 
 burnt the next day by the enemy ; but one 
 escaped, and carried the dismal news to 
 Constantinople. The guns of the blazing 
 vessels went off one after another j and as 
 the latter blew up, their fiery and blackened 
 fragments were hurled over the Turkish 
 quarter of Sinope. The town suffered se- 
 verely, and all of it between the arsenal and 
 the citadel was burnt. When the work of 
 slaughter and destruction was effected, the 
 Russian admiral silenced his guns, and sent 
 an officer with a flag of truce to tell the 
 authorities of Sinope, that if another gun 
 was fired, either from the town or the strand 
 Its greatest length is 700 miles ; i^s greatest breadth, 
 380. The Danube, the Dniester, the Bug, the 
 Dnieper, the Don, and other important rivers empty 
 themselves into it, which is probably the reason that 
 its waters are one-seventh less salt than the ocean. 
 It is supposed to receive one-third of the run- 
 ning waters of Europe. The Black Sea has no 
 tide; is liable to. frequent storms; but its navi- 
 gation, when understood, is said to be by no means 
 dangerous. 
 
 51 
 
SLAUGHTER AT SINOPE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 batteries, he would bombard and utterly 
 destroy the whole place. 
 
 The number of men on board the Turk- 
 ish vessels were estimated at about 4,000, at 
 least half of whom perished. Other, and 
 later accounts, say that as many as 4,000 
 Turks met their deaths in those awful two 
 hours. Such was the vindictive spirit in 
 which the Russians carried out their work 
 of blood, that even after the docks and 
 ships were destroyed, they poured an in- 
 cessant shower of grape and cannister on 
 the poor wounded wretches who were strug- 
 gling amid the waves, and striving to reach 
 the shore ; as if the thirst for massacre could 
 not be stayed while one human being sur- 
 vived. Sinope will ever remain a monu- 
 ment of the cold-blooded and cowardly 
 ferocity of Russia. Of the two admirals, 
 Hussein escaped to the shore on a grating, 
 but was killed on landing by a shell; the 
 other, Osman Pasha, was wounded in the 
 leg, and taken prisoner. When the action 
 commenced, an English merchant-vessel, a 
 Turkish transport, and six small Turkish 
 merchantmen, were in the harbour, and 
 were either burnt or sunk. Two steam-fri- 
 gates, the Retribution and the Mogador, left 
 the French and English squadrons to give 
 assistance to the wounded j and the crew of 
 the English merchantman were taken on 
 board the former; that is, all except two 
 men, who were drowned. The Retribution 
 and Mogador also succeeded in saving and 
 carrying to Constantinople 110 wounded 
 Turkish seamen and soldiers, the survivors 
 of the massacre. About 1,000 men were 
 found on land at Sinope, and 120 others 
 were made prisoners by the Russians. ■ 
 
 The Russian fleet remained at Sinope 
 until the 2nd of December, repairing the 
 injuries it had sustained during the conflict, 
 and then departed for Sebastopol, the da- 
 maged vessels' being taken in tow by the 
 steamers. The exact loss of the Russians 
 cannot be stated : perhaps it is truly re- 
 ported in tbe following announcement, 
 
 • " It is characteristic of the Russians that they 
 at once sought to disguise the cause of the battle, 
 and the disgrace of such a victory, by a falsehood. 
 In the very first accounts transmitted to Europe by 
 Russian ministers, it was stated that this squadron 
 ■was attacked because it was in the act of conveying 
 an expedition against Souchoum Kaleh, a Russian 
 station on the Circassian coast. That disingenuous 
 justification preceded any charge that could be ad- 
 dressed to them. But the statement is false ; Sinope 
 must be between 200 and 300 miles from Souchouru 
 Kaleh, on the Circassian coast ; and the ships, when 
 attacked, were quietly at anchor in their own har- 
 52 
 
 which Prince Mentschikoff forwarded to the 
 czar : — " The orders of your imperial majesty 
 have been most brilliantly executed by the 
 fleet of the Black Sea. The first Turkish 
 squadron which ventured to enter into a 
 contest with your ships, has, on the IStli 
 (30th) instant, been annihilated by Vice- 
 admiral Nachimofi". The Turkish admiral, 
 OsmanPasha, who commanded that squadron, 
 has been wounded, captured, and taken to 
 Sebastopol. The enemy were in the har- 
 bour of Sinope, where, protected by their 
 strand batteries, they accepted the engage- 
 ment. We destroyed seven frigates, one 
 long-boat, two corvettes, one steamer, and 
 several transports. Only one steamer suc- 
 ceeded in making its escape. The squadron, 
 it appears, had been sent to occupy Sukhum,*- 
 and support the mountaineers of the Cau- 
 casus. We had one officer and thirty-three 
 sailors killed, and 230 wounded." 
 
 The following anecdote may serve to 
 show the way in which the Emperor Ni- 
 cholas — despot as he was — was regarded with 
 feelings of affection by such of his people as 
 had access to him. The courier, whom 
 Prince Mentschikoff sent to St. Peters- 
 burg with despatches announcing the vic- 
 tory at Sinope, spared no exertion to accom- 
 plish his journey with unusual speed, and 
 on arriving at the capital was, according to 
 Russian custom, immediately ushered ' into 
 the presence of the emperor, to whom he 
 delivered his despatches, saying — "I bring 
 your majesty intelligence of the successful 
 issue of a considerable action." The em- 
 peror, with a smile of gratification, took the 
 man into his cabinet, and seated himself to 
 peruse the despatches. Having finished 
 them, he was about to express his delight at 
 the tidings, when he found that the courier, 
 worn out with the fatigue of his journey, 
 had fallen asleep. So sound, indeed, was 
 his slumber, that he was not to be aroused 
 by ordinary means. With that quick ap- 
 preciation ol human nature peculiar to the 
 czar, he called out roughly — " So-and-so, 
 
 hour. Their destination,— if they were going east 
 at all, — was probably the Turkish port of Batoum.' 
 The Russian fleet, then, in direct violation of the 
 emperor's declaration, that he would confine himself 
 to defensive warfare, has been guilty of an unpro- 
 voked act of aggression on the coast of Asia ; and, 
 though it may be said that no limits can be set to 
 the horror and barbarity of war, yet the world will 
 be of our opinion, that such an attack on a vastly 
 inferior force, executed with every mark of stealth 
 and cruelty, is more worthy of the Tartars, who once 
 commanded on the Euxine, than of the imperial 
 navy of Russia." 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [rejoicings at st. Petersburg. 
 
 your horses are ready;" and the zealous 
 cornier at once started up to resume his 
 supposed duty. The emperor then inquired 
 of him, what rauk he held in the army? 
 "Kapitan," was the reply. Nicholas then 
 desired an adjutant in attendance to bring 
 him a pair of epaulettes, and again ad- 
 dressing the courier, said — " I promote you, 
 on the spot, to be Podpolkownick (lieute- 
 nant-colonel.) Embrace me." As the as- 
 tonished officer availed himself of this dis- 
 tinction, the czar kissed him on the cheek. 
 Since then, it is added, the courier has not 
 allowed a razor to shave the spot touched by 
 the lips of the emperor. 
 
 The Turks were destined ^o experience 
 another reverse ; for, on the 26th of No- 
 vember, they were defeated at Akhaltzik, 
 on the Asiatic frontier, by the Russian 
 general, Andronikoff : but of this event we 
 will speak presently. In the meantime the 
 Te Deum was sung jn the chapel of the 
 Emperor Nicholas, and in all the churches 
 of St. Petersburg, on the 8th of December, 
 for the victories of Sinope and Akhaltzik j 
 and the city was illuminated in the evening. 
 " The most pious czar," wrote the St. Peters- 
 burg Journal, " thanked the Lord of Hosts 
 for the success of the victorious Russian 
 arms, which triumphed in the sacred combat 
 for the orthodox faifli." The Siecle (a 
 Erench journal), in an article of great elo- 
 quence and power, applied a red-hot brand 
 to this disgusting hypocrisy : — " That these 
 horrors," it says, " are accomplished in the 
 name of war, we admit j but let not the 
 Divinity be insulted, by calling for His 
 interference in these revolting abomina- 
 tions. There was a time when war was an 
 element of civilisation ; it was the mode of 
 activity of races and of nations, who united 
 together and combined in the midst of these 
 terrible shocks. In those days, and in the 
 midst of barbarism, men made their god in 
 the image of their unformed societies. They 
 called him the God of armies ; they lowered 
 their standards before him ; and the clergy, 
 who blessed the soldier on his departure, 
 received him on his return, to celebrate his 
 victories. All that was rational. But now, 
 when the mode of human activity is so 
 deeply modified ; when the discoveries of 
 science have created innumerable pacific 
 bonds between nations ; when steam brings 
 together all the capitals of Europe; when 
 the clergy, who formerly blessed armies, 
 have, for nearly forty years, only had to 
 give their benedictions to locomotive manu- 
 
 voL. r. fi 
 
 factories and railways ; when the religion of 
 Mohammed, which was formerly so intole- 
 rant, now gives an example of tolerance and 
 of a respect for rights ; — in presence of such 
 facts, is it not an insult to all notions of 
 religion — is it not an insult to God himself, 
 to sing a Te Deum for the affair of Sinope ? 
 A Te Deum / * * * Innumerable families 
 were in mourning ; mothers desolated ; or- 
 phans deploring the fate of their fathers. 
 The angels of God veil their faces at the 
 sight of such misery, and at such contempt 
 for the divine work ; and you, the pretended 
 conquerors — you, who were six to one — you 
 raise up hymns of thanksgiving, and cele- 
 brate your exploits by a Te Deum ! Let us 
 at least have done with such hypocrisies ! 
 If war is a necessity, let us submit to it : let 
 us settle our international differences by 
 cannon-shot ; let us quell by force, if it can- 
 not be done by reasoning, unmeasured and 
 brutal ambitions, which seek to disturb the 
 equilibrium of the world; let us muzzle the 
 bear, to prevent its doing mischief: but 
 let us be well understood, that the present is 
 an exceptional fact in our times; and, 
 instead of singing a Te Deum, you, the 
 Cossacks, should ask pardon of God for all 
 the evil which you commit, and which you 
 impose on Europe, by the retrograde move- 
 ment which you endeavour to give to modern 
 civilisation." 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas, however, did 
 more than order Te Deums to be sung in 
 the churches throughout the capital of his 
 empire. He expressed his satisfaction in 
 the following letter, which he wrote with his 
 own hand, to Prince Mentscliikoff : — 
 "St. Petersburg, Nov. 29 (Dec. 11.) 
 
 "Prince Alexander Sergejewitsch, — The 
 victory at Sinope proves evidently that our 
 Black Sea fleet has shown itself worthy of 
 its destination. With hearty joy I request 
 you to communicate to my brave seamen, 
 that I thank them for the success of the 
 Russian flag, on behalf of the glory and 
 honour of Russia. I perceive with satisfac- 
 tion, that Tschesme has not been forgotten 
 in the Russian navy, and that the grandsons 
 have proved themselves worthy of their 
 grandsires. I remain, always and unalter- 
 ably, your well-inclined and grateful 
 
 "Nicholas." 
 
 In the conference held at the British 
 embassy, on the receipt of the news con- 
 cerning the disaster at Sinope, Admiral 
 Dundas strenuously and nobly urged that 
 
 53 
 
TURKEY DESIKES ASSISTANCE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 the combined French and English fleets 
 should instantly set sail to attempt to over- 
 take and punish the Russian fleet before it 
 could return and shelter itself behind the 
 guns of Sebastopol. Unhappily, this pro- 
 posal was overruled by General Baraguay 
 d'Hilliers, the French ambassador. It was 
 afterwards urged, with sarcastic truth, that 
 the French and English ofiicers felt that 
 every bullet which had struck the Turkish 
 ships, had also morally hit the vessels of the 
 allied fleets, which, almost at the time of 
 the catastrophe, had got up a mock fight for 
 the amusement of the inhabitants of Con- 
 stantinople. The feeling of the Turks was, 
 for a time, strong against the French and 
 English ; and in their thirst for vengeance, 
 they talked of themselves collecting a fleet 
 for the attack of Sebastopol. Sultan Abdul- 
 Medjid also decreed that a monument should 
 be erected to the memory of the brave offi- 
 cers of the Ottoman navy, who had blown 
 up their ships at the battle of Sinope to 
 save the honour of the Turkish flag. 
 
 Before the tragedy of the 30th of Novem- 
 ber took place, Redshid Pasha had addressed 
 a note to the British and French ambassa- 
 dors, requesting the assistance of the fleets 
 of their respective nations to aid in protect- 
 ing the Turkish coasts in the Black Sea. 
 After the slaughter at Sinope, England and 
 France were roused into a semblance of 
 activity, and took immediate measures to 
 prevent the repetition of a catastrophe which, 
 we cannot but think, a less cautious policy 
 might have prevented. On the 5th of Jan- 
 uary, the combined squadrons, which had 
 been lying at anchor in the Bosphorus, pro- 
 ceeded to the Black Sea.* The govern- 
 ments of England and France, however, still 
 clinging to the almost hoj)eless idea of a 
 patched and hollow peace, performed this 
 
 * A letter from St. Petersburg relates that the 
 czar, on hearing of the entrance of the fleets into 
 the Black Sea, evinced the most perfect calmness. 
 In the evening, when talking in his circle of cour- 
 tiers, composed of the highest personages and su- 
 perior officers, he is said to have remarked, after 
 announcing to them the entrance of the fleets, 
 " When_ battle is ofiered to Russia, she always 
 accepts it : she can wear mourning for a fleet, but 
 not for the national honour. 1 expected the resolu- 
 tion come to by France and Great Britain. I am 
 not, therefore, taken by surprise; every order has 
 been given in anticipation of an act which, by break- 
 ing treaties, releases me from the obligations of 
 them." It is added, that when the emperor asked 
 Pnnce Mentschikoff whether he could make head 
 against the formidable squadrons about to enter the 
 Black Sea, that the grand admiral replied — " Con- 
 quer them, no; fight and ule to the last, yes!" 
 54 
 
 hostile act with the very extreme of polite- 
 ness; and the following notice was first 
 transmitted by them to the Russian go- 
 vernor of Sebastopol :— " Conformably with 
 the orders of my government, the British 
 (or the French) squadron, in concert with 
 that of France (or of England) is on the 
 point of appearing in the Black Sea. The 
 object of this movement is to protect the 
 Ottoman territory from all aggression or 
 hostile act. I apprise your excellency 
 thereof, with a view to prevent all collision 
 tending to disturb the amicable relations 
 existing between our governments, which I 
 am desirous of preserving, and which, no 
 doubt, your excellency is equally anxious to 
 maintain. To this end, I shall feel happy 
 to learn that your excellency, animated by 
 these intentions, had deemed it expedient to 
 give the requisite instructions to the admi- 
 ral commanding the Russian forces in the 
 Black Sea, so as to obviate any occurrence 
 calculated to endanger peace." This gra- 
 cious document, which certainly ought to 
 have been written upon perfumed, tinted, 
 and gilt-edged paper, was signed on behalf 
 of England by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, 
 and on that of France by General Baraguay 
 d'Hilliers. Certainly war itself may be car- 
 ried on without harsh language; but the 
 gentle, rose-pink complexion of this notice 
 from the governments of two great king'- 
 doms, towards the underling of a barbarous 
 power, that had just been guilty of a most 
 bloody infringement of the laws of civilised 
 nations, exhibits an extreme of caution that 
 probably created most unfavourable impres- 
 sions in the mind of the czar — impressions 
 that the great naval powers shrunk appre- ' 
 hensively from the coming contest, and 
 were even trembling on the very verge of 
 pusillanimity. Unhappily, we are compelled 
 
 Having entered the Black Sea, the combined fleets 
 proceeded on a cruise to the eastward, along the 
 coast of Anatolia, as far as Trebizond. The Turkish 
 government took this opportunity of sending several 
 of its own lineof-battle ships, to transport reinforce- 
 ments to the army in^sia ; of which mention will 
 be made in the next chapter. The fleet and convoy 
 consisted of nine English and seven French ships-of- 
 the-line, besides steam-frigates and the Turkish 
 squadron. _ The Trafalgar and the VaJmy, with the 
 ]5ritish frigate Arethusa, remained to guard the 
 Bosphorus. The Metribution was sent to Sebastopol 
 to convey to the authorities there a notice, that the 
 combined fleets had entered the Black Sea, to pro- 
 tect the Turkish territory ; and also to require the 
 surrender of two British engineers, taken on board •- 
 the Turkish steamer captured by the Russians. • 
 While at Sebastopol, the officers of the Jietributioii 
 employed themselves in sketching its fortifications. 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [religious excitement. 
 
 too often to look to the past in English 
 history as furnishing examples rather to be 
 avoided than followed in the present; but 
 we have had rulers, — Elizabeth, Cromwell, 
 and William of Orange, for instance, — from 
 whose conduct British ministers might have 
 taken precedents with advantage. 
 
 The polite notice we have just spoken of 
 was given to the governor of the grim 
 fortress and town of Sebastopol, and the 
 allied fleets had steamed into the Euxine; 
 but still, by a pleasant fiction, peace was 
 presumed to exist between England and 
 Erance on the one hand, "and Russia on the 
 other. They were at peace, however, only 
 because war had not been declared ; but 
 hundreds of* thousands of intelligent men 
 expected that that varnished and deceptive 
 peace might, from hour to hour, be shat- 
 tered by the roar of cannon and the wild 
 crash of European hostilities. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas was described by 
 those who, at this time, had the opportunity 
 of observing his movements, as living in a 
 state of religious exaltation,* regarding 
 himself as the chosen instrument, under the 
 hand 'of God, to drive the Moslems from 
 Europe ; and only regretting that he should 
 have allowed so many years to pass by 
 without fulfilling his destiny. It is pro- 
 bable that he had played this part so long, 
 that he came at length to believe himself 
 sincere in it. It will excite no surprise, 
 therefore, that the Russian ambassadors, 
 then residing at the French and English 
 
 * A letter from Memel, dated 4th of March, 1854, 
 by a person who had just come from St. Petersburg, 
 says — " The Greek cross appears everywhere as the 
 sanctifying symbol of the present war ; and on every 
 side we hear the words repeated of ' Orthodox 
 Faith,' ' Holy Confidence,' ' Holy Russia,' &c. Texts 
 from the Scriptures have come to be mingled with 
 the jargon of the fashionable saloons. The emperor 
 himself adopts them in conversation of the most 
 ordinary kind, and in all his public addresses ; and 
 ne appears struck with the monomanie of preaching 
 and haranguing to all about him in a manner that 
 is truly ridiculous. Very recently, and in presence 
 of his whole court, he delivered a sort of sermon, 
 which terminated nearly with the following words : 
 • Russia, whose destinies God has especially entrusted 
 to me, is menaced. But woe, woe — woe to those 
 who menace us : we shall know how to defend the 
 honour of the Russian name, and the inviolability of 
 our frontier. Following in the path of my prede- 
 cessors — faithful, like them, to the orthodox faith — 
 after having invoked, like them, the aid of the 
 Almighty God, we shall await our enemies with a 
 firm foot, from what side soever they come, per- 
 suaded that our ancient device — the Faith, the Cmr, 
 and the Country — will open to us, as it has ever done, 
 the path of victory. Nobiscum Devs ! Audits po- 
 puli, et vincimini ; quia nobiscum Deua .'' The im- 
 
 courts, were instructed by the czar to de- 
 mand whether, by the entry of the com- 
 bined fleets into the Black Sea, it was 
 intended to take part with Turkey, or to 
 observe a strict neutrality ? In the former 
 case, they were to demand their passports. 
 The answer of the English and French 
 governments to this request, was commu- 
 nicated, on the 1st of February, to Baron 
 Brunow, in London ; and to M. de Kisseleff", 
 in Paris. It was such as must have been 
 anticipated, and led to a rupture of diplo- 
 matic relations, as we have already related. 
 In the meantime the Emperor of France — 
 possibly anxious for the restoration of tran- 
 quillity in the councils and deeds of Europe ; 
 or, as some have hinted, desirous of in- 
 scribing the name of Napoleon III. on one 
 of the monuments of modern history — 
 addressed the following remarkable letter 
 to the Russian czar; a letter, which we 
 need scarcely say, created an " intense ex- 
 citement" in Paris, and an interested atten- 
 tion in all the other great capitals of Europe. 
 Probably it may be regarded as a justifica- 
 tion of the French government to the 
 Fr^jnch people, rather than as an appeal to 
 the prudence of the Emperor of Russia. 
 Not only was it published in the Moniteur, 
 but a million copies were printed and dis- 
 tributed throughout France. 
 
 " Palace of the Tuileries, Jan. 29, 1854. 
 " Sire, — The difference which has arisen be- 
 tween your majesty and the Ottoman Porte has 
 assumed such a grave aspect, that I think it 
 
 perial court was astounded ; it never suspected that 
 the czar possessed this biblical erudition, and could 
 scarcely contain its astonishment. It is certain, that 
 for some time past most people are convinced that 
 something extraordinary is the matter with the em- 
 pei-or ; for while his memory appears not to have 
 failed him, his other mental faculties seem to have 
 been seriously affected. He has become sombre and 
 morose to an intolerable degree. Whether it be the 
 effect of years, or of the annoyances or embarrass- 
 ments in which he sees himself placed, I know not j 
 but such is the fact. Perhaps all combine to pro- 
 duce this effect. The result is a state of exaspera- 
 tion which he can scarcely keep within bounds, even 
 in the presence of the foreign ministers." Other 
 accounts described Nicholas as in a state of great 
 nervous excitement. At one time elated by the 
 consciousness of a Divine mission to extirpate infi- 
 delity and liberalism from the face of the earth ; at 
 another, labouring under the greatest depression of 
 spirits, suspecting all around him — even his most 
 attached friends — of treachery ; picturing to himself 
 the future in the most gloomy colours ; and not un- 
 frequently fancying that his end was destined to be 
 one of violence. He was, it appears, often oppressed 
 with this gloomy idea ; and the symptoms of that 
 malady which had affected more than one of hia 
 family were evident to critical observers. 
 
 55 
 
LOUIS napoleon's letter.] PIISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 right myself to explain directly to your majesty 
 the part which Trance has taken in this ques- 
 tion, and the means which suggest themselves 
 to me in order toavoidthe dangers which menace 
 the tranquillity of Europe. The note which 
 your majesty has just sent to my government, 
 and to that of Queen Victoria, endeavours to 
 prove that it was the system of pressure adopted 
 from the commencement by the two maritime 
 powers which alone involved the question in 
 bitterness. On the contrary, according to my 
 view, the matter would have continued a cabinet 
 question if the pccupation of the two principali- 
 ties had not suddenly transferred it from the 
 region of discussion to that of fact. Neverthe- 
 less, although your majesty's troops had entered 
 Wallachia, we advised the Porte not to consider 
 that occupation as a warlike act ; thus proving 
 our extreme desire for conciliation. After I had 
 consulted with England, Austria, and Prussia, I 
 proposed to your majesty a note, designed to 
 give satisfaction to all. Tour majesty accepted 
 it. We had hardly, however, been informed of 
 this good news when your minister, by explana- 
 tory commentaries, destroyed all the conciliatory 
 effects of it, and thus prevented us from insist- 
 iilg at Constantinople upon its pure and simple 
 adoption. The Porte, for its own part, suggested 
 some modifications in the note, to which the 
 representatives of the four powers at Vienna 
 were not indisposed to agree. They were not, 
 however, agreed to by your majesty. It was 
 then that the Porte, wounded in its dignity, its 
 independence threatened, and being compelled 
 to raise an army to oppose that of your majesty, 
 preferred to declare war rather than remain in 
 a state of uncertainty and humility. The Porte 
 had claimed our support ; the cause of the Porte 
 appeared to us to be a just one ; and the English 
 and Erench squadrons were therefore ordered 
 to the Bosphorus. Our attitude in reference 
 to Turkey was that of a protector ; but it was 
 passive. We did not incite her to war. We 
 unceasingly addressed to the ears of the sultan 
 the advice of peace and moderation, persuaded 
 that this was the best mode of coming to an 
 agreement ; and the four powers consulted 
 together again, and submitted to your majesty 
 some other propositions. Tour majesty, on your 
 part, exhibiting the calmness which arises from 
 the consciousness of strength, contented your- 
 self with repulsing from the left bank of the 
 Danube, as in Asia, the attacks of the Turks ; 
 and, with the moderation worthy of the chief of 
 a great empire, your majesty declared that you 
 would act on the defensive. Up to that period, 
 then, we were, I may say, interested spectators, 
 but simply spectators, of the dispute, when the 
 affair of Sinope compelled us to take a more 
 decisive part. Prance and England had not 
 thought it necessary to send troops to the assist- 
 ance of Turkey. Their flag, therefore, was not 
 engaged in the conflicts which took place upon 
 56 
 
 land. But at sea it was very different. There 
 were at the entrance to the Bosphorus 3,000 
 guns, the existence of which proclaimed loudly 
 enough to Turkey that the two leading maritime 
 powers would not allow her to be attacked by 
 sea. The affair at Sinope was for us as painful 
 as it was unexpected ; for it matters little to us 
 whether or not the Turks wished to convey 
 munitions of war to the Russian territory. In 
 fact, Russian ships attacked Turkish vessels in 
 the waters of Turkey, while those vessels were 
 riding quietly at anchor in a Turkish port. The 
 Turkish vessels were destroyed, in spite of the 
 assurance that there was no wish to commence 
 an aggressive war, and in spite of the vicinity 
 of our squadrons. It was no longer our policy 
 which received a check ; it was our military ho- 
 nour. The sound of the cannon-%hot at Sinope 
 reverberated painfully in the hearts of all those 
 who in England and in Erance respect national 
 dignity. There was a general participation in 
 the sentiment that wherever our cannon can 
 reach, our allies ought to be respected. Out ot 
 this feeling arose the order given to our squa- 
 drons to enter the Black Sea, and to prevent by 
 force, if necessary, the recurrence of a similar 
 event. Thence arose the collective notiScation 
 sent to the cabinet of St. Petersburg, announc- 
 ing that if we prevented the Turks from making 
 an aggressive war upon the coasts of Russia, we 
 would also protect the Turks upon their own 
 territory. As to the Russian fleet, in prohibit- 
 ing its navigation of the Black Sea, we placed 
 it upon a different condition, because it was im- 
 portant during the war to preserve a guarantee 
 equivalent in force to the occupation of the 
 Turkish territory, and thus facilitate the conclu- 
 sion of peace by having the power of making a 
 desirable exchange. Such, Sire, is the real re- 
 sult and a statement of the facts. It is clear 
 that, having arrived at this point, "they must 
 either bring about a definitive understanding or 
 a decided rupture. Tour majesty has given so 
 many proofs of your solicitude for the tranquil- 
 lity of Europe, and by your beneficent influence 
 has so powerfully arrested the spirit of disorder, 
 that I cannot doubt as to the course you will 
 take in the alternative which presents itself to 
 your choice. Should your majesty be as desirous 
 as myself of a pacific conclusion, what would be 
 more simple than to declare that an armistice 
 shall now be signed ; that things shall resume 
 their diplomatic course ; that all hostilities shall 
 cease ; and that the belligerentforees shall return 
 from the places to which motives of war have 
 led them P Thus the Russian troops would 
 abandon the principalities, and our squadroils 
 the Black Sea. Your majesty, preferring to 
 treat directly with Turkey, might appoint an 
 ambassador, who could negotiate with a pleni- 
 potentiary of the sultan a convention which 
 might be submitted to a conference of the four 
 powers. Let your majesty adopt this plan; upon 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [manifesto of Nicholas. 
 
 which the Queen of England and myself are 
 perfectly agreed, and tranquillity will be re- 
 established and the world satisfied. There is 
 nothing in the plan which is unworthy of your 
 majesty, — nothing which can wound your honour; 
 but if, from a motive difficult to understand, 
 your majesty should refuse this proposal, then 
 France, as well as England, will be compelled to 
 leave to the fate of arms and the chances of war 
 that which might now be decided by reason and 
 justice. Let not your majesty think that the least 
 animosity can enter my heart. I feel no other 
 sentiments than those expressed by your majesty 
 yourself in your letter of the 17th of January, 
 1853, in which you write, ' Our relations ought 
 to be sincerely amicable, based, as they are, upon 
 the same intentions — the maintenance of order, 
 the love of peace, respect for treaties, and reci- 
 procal good feeling.' This programme is worthy 
 of the sovereign who traced it, and I do not 
 hesitate to deciare that I remain faithful to it. 
 I beg your majesty to believe in the sincerity of 
 my sentiments ; and it is with these sentiments 
 that 
 
 " I am. Sire, your majesty's good friend, 
 "Napoleon." 
 The following is the substance of the 
 reply of the Emperor Nicholas, as pub- 
 lished in the St. Petersburg Journal : — 
 " If his imperial majesty extends his hand 
 to me, as I extend mine, I am ready to 
 forget the mortification I have experienced 
 — harsh though it be. Then, but then 
 only, can I discuss the matter treated of in 
 his letter; and we may, perhaps, arrive at 
 an tinderstanding. Let the French fleet 
 prevent the Turks from transporting re- 
 inforcements to the theatre of war ; and let 
 the Turks send me a plenipotentiary to 
 negotiate, whom I will receive as befits his 
 character. The conditions already made 
 
 * Tilis manifesto of the Emperor Nicholas elicited 
 a letter from M. Drouyn de Lhuys, the French 
 minister of foreign affairs. It was addressed to the 
 diplomatic agents of the Emperor Napoleon, and 
 contains the following clear and caustic criticism of 
 the announcement which Nicholas put forth to de- 
 ceive bis people, and excite them to a state of religious 
 enthusiasm against the Turks and their allies : — " I 
 will only say one word, sir, of the manifesto in which 
 his majesty, the Emperor Nicholas, announces to his 
 people the resolutions he has taken. Our epoch, 
 however troubled, had at least been exempt from 
 one of the evils which most afflicted the world in 
 former days — I mean the wars of religion. Now, 
 however, an echo of these disastrous times is made 
 to resound in the ears of the Russian people. There 
 is an affectation of opposing the Cross to the Cres- 
 cent, and an appeal is made to fanaticism for that 
 support which cannot be obtained from reason. 
 France and England need not defend themselves 
 from the imputation made against them. They do 
 not support Islamism against the orthodox Greek 
 faith. They go to protect the Ottoman empire 
 
 known to the conference at Vienna are 
 the sole base on which I will consent to 
 treat." The letter was afterwards published 
 in full, and is of some length ; but the above 
 is a correct summary of it. The emperor 
 still endeavoured to give the war a religious 
 character, and to throw on England and 
 France the odium of supporting the enemies 
 of Christianity. In this spirit he added : — 
 "My confidence is in God and my right," 
 At this period, the Russian government was 
 indefatigable in its exertions to excite the 
 ignorant fanaticism of the people. Every 
 day processions traversed the streets, and 
 exhibited the relics of the saints of the 
 Greek calender. The clergy, also (unhappily 
 too ready to profane religion in the cause of 
 injustice), everywhere urged the true believ- 
 ers to take up arms in defence of the ortho- 
 dox faith. In addition to his reply to the 
 Emperor Napoleon, the czar Nicholas also 
 put forth another very pious manifesto to 
 the Russian people.* We subjoin it : — 
 
 " We, Nicholas I., &c. — We have already in- 
 formed our beloved and faithful subjecj;s of the 
 progress of our disagreements with the Ottoman 
 Porte. Since then, although hostilities have 
 commenced, we have not ceased sincerely to 
 wish, as we still wish, the cessation of bloodshed. 
 We entertained even the hope that reflection 
 and time would convince the Turkish govern- 
 ment of its misconceptions, engendered by 
 treacherous instigations, in which our just de- 
 mands, founded on treaties, have been repre- 
 sented as attempts at its independence veiling 
 intentions of aggrandisement. Vain, however, 
 have been our expectations so far. The English 
 and French governments have sided with Turkey, 
 and the appearance of the combined fleets o& 
 Constantinople served as a further incentive to 
 
 against the ambitious covetousness of Russia. They 
 go there with the conviction, that the presence of 
 their armies in Turkey will destroy the prejudices 
 (already much weakened) which still separate the 
 different classes of the subjects of the Sublime Porte, 
 and which cannot be resuscitated unless the appeal 
 sent from St. Petersburg, by provoking hatred of 
 race and a revolutionary explosion, should paralyse 
 the generous intentions of the sultan, Abdul-Medjid. 
 For us, sir, we seriously believe, that by giving our 
 support to Turkey, we shall be of more use to the 
 Christian faith, than the government which uses it 
 as an instrument to advance its temporal ambition. 
 Russia is too oblivious, in the reproaches she makes 
 against others, that she is far from exercising in her 
 own empire, in reference to the sects not professing 
 the dominant faith, a tolerance equal to that to 
 which the Sublime Porte has a good right. to lay 
 honourable claim ; and ihat if she were to display 
 less apparent zeal for the Greek religion beyond her 
 frontiers, and more charity towards the catholic 
 religion at home, she would better obey the law of 
 Christ, which she so pompously invokes." 
 
 57 
 
THE WAR IN ASIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 its obstinacy; and now both the "Western powers, 
 without previously declaring war, have sent 
 their fleets into the Black Sea, proclaiming their 
 intention to protect the Turks, and to impede 
 the free navigation of our vessels of war for the 
 defence of our coasts. After a course of pro- 
 ceeding so unheard-of among civilised nations 
 we recalled our embassies from England and 
 France, and have broken off all political inter- 
 course with those powers. Thus, England and 
 Erance have sided with the enemies of Christi- 
 anity against Eussia combating for the orthodox 
 fuith. But Eussia will npt betray her holy mis? 
 
 sion ; and, if enemies infringe her frontiers, we 
 are ready to meet them with the firmness be- 
 queathed to us by our forefathers. Are we not 
 still the same Eussian nation of whose exploits 
 the memorable events of 1812 bear witness ? 
 May the Almighty assist us to prove this by 
 deeds. "With this hope, combating for our 
 persecuted brethren, followers of the faith of 
 Christ, with one accord let all Eussia exclaim — 
 ' O Lord, our Eedeemer ! whom shall we fear ? 
 May God be glorified, and His enemies be scat- 
 tered !' 
 
 " St. Petersburg, 9 (21) February, 1854." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE WAR IN ASIA ; THE CAUCASTTS ; SCHAMTL, THE PROPHET AND HERO OF THE CAUCASUS ; CAiTURE OF 
 FORT ST. NICHOLAS ; DEFEAT OF THE TURKS AT THE BATTLE OF AKHALTZIK ; THREATENED HOSTILITIES 
 WITH PERSIA. 
 
 In the last chapter, we mentioned that the 
 Turks had suffered a defeat at Akhaltzik, a 
 few days before the lamentable destruction 
 of a great part of their navy at Sinope. To 
 prevent confusion, we merely referred to 
 the event in that place ; and now the 
 reader must imagine a change of scene from 
 Europe to Asia — from the banks of the 
 Danube to the wild, mountainous regions of 
 the Caucasus. 
 
 Accounts of the war in Asia against 
 Russian aggression have readied us in a 
 very confused and uncertain manner. The 
 region, also, is so remote from England, 
 that very imperfect ideas are entertained 
 concerning it. The country of Circassia, 
 bordering on the Black Sea, is commonly 
 supposed to be the theatre of the war; 
 while it is really Daghestan, or that portion 
 of the isthmus which extends along the west 
 coast of the Caspian. Schamyl is spoken of 
 as the native hero of the war ; but, to most 
 English readers, Schamyl, the " prophet and 
 hero of the Caucasus," is little more than a 
 name. It will be to the purpose to give some 
 idea of him, the region he inhabits, and his 
 struggles in unison with the Ottomans. It 
 will possess a further interest from the 
 fact Ihat Schamyl and his patriotic moun- 
 taineers are the barrier which has prevented 
 Russia from extending its enormous and 
 increasing bulk in the direction of our Indian 
 empire. 
 
 58 
 
 First, of the country. — " The great range 
 of the Caucasian Mountains," says a contem- 
 porary writer, "which forms one of the 
 highest and most inaccessible regions of the 
 globe, runs in a south-eastern direction 
 across the whole of that country which 
 divides the Euxine and the Caspian seas. 
 To the north of it lies the boundless steppes 
 of Russia, extending from Astrachan to the 
 Sea of AzoflF; to the south the Turkish 
 pashalics of Kars, Akhaltzik, and Erzeroum, 
 and the Russian province of Georgia, bounded 
 by the Araxes. The intermediate and 
 mountainous regions of Circassia and Dag- 
 hestan, have been, for twenty years, the 
 scene of the gallant struggle carried on by 
 Schamyl, and the tribes which follow his 
 standard, against the Russians. Three roads 
 connect the Transcaucasian provinces of 
 Russia with the rest of the empire. The first 
 winds along the coast of the Black Sea by 
 Anapa, Ghelendjik, and Soucham Kaleh, 
 till it enters Imeritia, and reaches the valley 
 of the Kour, in which Teflis lies. The 
 second follows the shore of the Caspian to 
 Derbend, an extensive fortified position, 
 which has, in all ages, been regarded as one 
 of the gates of Asia, and was captured by 
 Peter the Great when he first turned his 
 arms against Persia. The third road passes 
 from Mosdoz to Teflis by the valley of the 
 Terek and the fortress of the Duriel, through 
 one of the most terrific passes in the world. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the CAUCASUS. 
 
 The rest of the Caucasian chain is supposed 
 to be wholly impassable by an army, though, 
 in the course of the Circassian war, its valleys 
 have been explored in every diredtion, and 
 the Russians have constructed numerous 
 forts to keep the country in check. Of these 
 roads, the first is insecure if the Russians 
 have not the absolute command of the coast 
 and of the Black Sea. The third is pro- 
 bably impracticable in winter. The second 
 is liable to interruption by the Lesghian 
 tribes of Daghestan, who are the mortal 
 enemies of the Russians; but Derbend, 
 though a bad port, may be reached by the 
 steamers which the Russians alone possess 
 on the Caspian Sea." 
 
 The mountain range of the Caucasus ex- 
 tends to about 750 miles in length, and from 
 65 to 150 in breadth. Mount Elburz, its 
 highest peak, rises to an elevation of 17,796 
 feet. The Circassians give to it the name 
 of Dshin Padishah, or Commander of the 
 Genii. Many superstitions are connected 
 with it; and tradition relates that Noah's 
 ark first rested on Elburz before it reached 
 Ararat, and that the mountain was cleft in 
 two by its weight. The summits of the 
 Caucasian chain are covered with perpetual 
 1 ice and snow ; but the climate of tbe valleys 
 is warm and healthy, though parts of it are 
 exposed to burning heats in the summer. 
 According to Greek mythology, the Cauca- 
 sus was the scene of one of its grandest 
 fictions. It was there that Prometheus was 
 bound, for having made a man of clay, and 
 animated him with fire that he had stolen 
 from heaven. The punishment of the Titan 
 was to last for thirty thousand years, during 
 which period a vulture was to be continually 
 gnawing his liver, which, though constantly 
 devoured, was never diminished. Prome- 
 theus, it is said, endured this agony for thirty 
 years, when he was delivered by Hercules, 
 who released him and killed his feathered 
 tormentor. The Circassians and Georgians 
 are considered the finest types of the human 
 family ; and the Caucasian race is the name 
 by which the white population, distributed 
 over Europe, America, and part of Asia and 
 Africa, is distinguished. Those portions of 
 the Caucasian region which are situated in 
 Europe are called Cis-Caucasia, and com- 
 prise the provinces of Caucasus, Circassia, 
 and Daghestan. The inhabitants of these 
 countries are nominally subject to Russia ; 
 but most of the tribes maintain a constant 
 life-and-death struggle against her authority. 
 The Asiatic parts of this interesting region 
 
 are called Trans-Caucassia, and comprise the 
 countries situated between Turkey, Persia, 
 the Caspian and the Black seas. 
 
 Such is the natural love of liberty of 
 many of these mountain tribes, and so 
 bravely do they fight for their indepen- 
 dence, that some Russian military autho- 
 rities have expressed an opinion, that peace 
 will not be restored to the Caucasus until 
 all the inhabitants are killed. We presume, 
 that if the Russians had the power to carry 
 out such an idea, they would have too much 
 humanity to attempt it. However, it is not 
 in their power ; and the probability is, that 
 it will become still less so. Russia can only 
 support the semblance of her authority by 
 keeping up an enormous military establish- 
 ment, distributed cfver the whole line of 
 frontier. Still, the mountainous and least 
 accessible portion remains unsubdued ; and 
 for sixty years the hardy Daghestans and 
 other tribes, have continued the contest 
 against the gigantic power of the north. 
 Of course they are incapable of meeting 
 the Russian troops in open battle, and their 
 efi'orts have been dhiefly directed to the 
 surprise of outlying posts and forts, and to 
 sudden forays and inroads upon the neigh- 
 bouring Russian territory. Year after year 
 a part of the Russian force attack Schamyl 
 and the other beys in their strongholds, and 
 almost invariably with the same want of 
 success. Protected by these grand natural 
 defences of their land — the mountains — the 
 patriots of the Caucasus permit the Rus- 
 sians to penetrate into defiles where disci- 
 pline and order are unavailing, and from 
 whence they are compelled to retreat with 
 loss and disgrace. 
 
 "Notwithstanding," says an interesting 
 writer, "the length of time the Russians 
 have been making war in that country, 
 they are deplorably ignorant of the ground, 
 and no opportunity has been allowed of 
 making a map of the country. No one has, 
 as yet, penetrated into their glens, their 
 ravines and mountains ; and the know- 
 ledge of the Russians is very limited indeed. 
 They are, therefore, obliged to creep timidly 
 along, while the natives act with a complete 
 knowledge of the locality. They fall sud- 
 denly and terribly upon the columns that 
 are sent against them, whenever they have 
 the superiority in numbers and position, and 
 then as rapidly disappear amid the clefts of 
 the rocks. They often hide among the 
 stunted wood along the banks of the river, 
 and from their place of concealment, attack 
 
 59 
 
•THE CIRCASSIANS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 1854. 
 
 sometimes the head of the Russian columns, 
 and sometimes the rear, which they almost in- 
 variably destroy; or, with a precision that 
 never misses, bring down the officers. They 
 then fall back through places whither pur- 
 suit is hopeless. They often take up their 
 position in the dense forests which serve as 
 one of their principal defences. The Rus- 
 sians, before venturing to enter, send scouts 
 and skirmishers in all directions; but no 
 enemy is discovered. Then, believing that 
 the coast is clear, they penetrate into the 
 forest, and in an instant, as if by magic, 
 every tree is alive with men. Showers of 
 bullets pour from above and b^low, and 
 before the enemy can recover from his con- 
 fusion, his men fall in masses or fly. In 
 truth, there is scarcely a tree, the crest of a 
 hill, a defile, a crag, a stream in the Cau- 
 casusj which is not steeped in Russian blood. 
 The mountaineers defend every inch of 
 ground with indomitable obstinacy. It is a 
 war without quarter ; a war to the knife. On 
 the grave of each Circassian that has fallen 
 by a Russian bullet a mark is affixed, which 
 is never removed until the brother, the 
 father, or some more distant relative, avenges 
 his death by that of an enemy. The pre- 
 tended civilisation of the barbarians of the 
 north has no charm for the mountaineers, 
 and they are regardless of anything which 
 would put in peril the independence they 
 prize above existence.'^ 
 
 For some years past. Prince Woronzoff, 
 governor-general of the Caucasian province, 
 and commander-in-chief of the Russian 
 armies there, has contented himself with 
 confining the inhabitants of the unsubdued 
 territory within a strict cordon — within a 
 circle which has been growing gradually 
 more and more narrow. Within that circle 
 the spirit of the people, and their heroic 
 devotion to independence, has been upheld 
 ty the bravery and religious fanaticism of 
 the great warrior and law-giver of the CaU' 
 casus, Schamyl; with whom, since the out. 
 break of the war with Russia, the Sultan of 
 Turkey has wisely entered into an offensive 
 and defensive alliance. The sultan resolved 
 to retaliate on the emperor by an attack 
 on the Russian provinces in Asia. The 
 result was, that a Turkish army of about 
 70,000 men, was sent into Asia ; the struggle 
 between the sons of the mountains and their 
 would-be enslavers, was renewed with fresh 
 vigour; and that which so long seemed 
 hopeless, may at length be crowned with 
 success. By grasping at Constantinople, 
 60 
 
 Russia will probably lose the Caucasus. 
 The army at present required in the latter, 
 to support the authority of the czar, is 
 enormous. The troops there, and those in 
 the adjoining country under the same com- 
 mand, were stated, by Prince Woronzofi", in 
 conversation with an English officer who 
 visited his camp, as amounting to 300,000 
 men. Allowing, says the reporter of this 
 incident, for the exaggeration natural to a 
 loose conversational estimate, we may probably 
 safely conjecture them to number 350,000. 
 For ourselves, we cannot say we are inclined 
 to endorse this statement : it savours of that 
 extravagance which has come to be regarded 
 as a characteristic of Russian statistics. 
 
 Schamyl was born in the year 1797, at 
 the little village of Himri, near the moun- 
 tain-fortress of that name in Tchetchentzi, 
 the central country of the Caucasian isth- 
 mus. He received a religious education, 
 and in eariy youth conceived an enthusiastic 
 admiration for the Koran. He was also dis- 
 tinguished for an unbending spirit ; a serious 
 dignified manner ; a love of knowledge ; and 
 a proud ambition. A sort of mystic religion, 
 based upon the Koran, had for some years 
 gained ground in the Caucasus. It was 
 derived from Persia : those who held it were 
 called Sefations, oj Attributists, and believed 
 that it was possible for devout men to enter 
 into direct communion with God. One 
 of its most distinguished preachers was 
 Kasi Mullah, who was regarded as a pro- 
 phet. This man demanded unlimited faith 
 and obedience from his followers; from 
 amongst whom he selected a few, who were 
 called Murids, who pledged themselves to 
 die, if necessary, in. the defence of their 
 religion. Schamyl had been a pupil of this 
 man, and became one of his -most dis- 
 tinguished Murids. Kasi Mullah was a 
 patriot, as well as a religious man ; and he, 
 his Murids, and their forces, had thrown 
 themselves into* the mountain-fortress of 
 Himri, which they supposed inaccessible. 
 There they were besieged by the Russians, 
 under General Rosen, in the autumn of 
 1832. After twenty-five days, the Russians 
 took the last redoubt ; Kasi Mullah and all 
 his Murids perished save one, who con- 
 trived to escape with a bayonet-stab, and a 
 bullet in hLs side. That one was Schamyl: 
 and when he again appeared at the head of 
 his countrymen, he was looked upon almost 
 as one raised from the dead. The patriots 
 he commanded regarded him as a special 
 favourite of heaven; and he became the 
 
A.D, 
 
 1839.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [account op schamyl. 
 
 first of the Murids. His piety and bravery, 
 added to the mystery attaching to him from 
 other escapes from situations where death 
 seemed inevitable, led to his appointment as 
 successor to Hamsad Bey, the chief of the 
 Murids and patriots of the Caucasus. 
 
 So great was the reputation and daring 
 of Schamyl, that the czar sent General 
 Grabbe to the Caucasus, with orders to 
 pursue him wherever he might be. The 
 general attacked Schamyl in his strong 
 retreat — the fortress of Alkucho, which was 
 described as a rock-nest, and supposed to 
 be inaccessible. The siege lasted for four 
 months; and, after the shedding of much 
 Russian blood the fort was taken. The 
 Russians, who were in the proportion of 
 thirty to one, murdered every person they 
 found, not sparing even women or children. 
 They then eagerly turned over the ghastly 
 and blood -dripping bodies, in search of the 
 corpse of Schamyl. It was in vain ; for, in 
 some mysterious way, the patriot had es- 
 caped. 
 
 Schamyl and a few faithful Murids had 
 retired to a large cave in the side of a neigh- 
 bouring mountain, at the foot of which ran a 
 river. In a little while the Russians were 
 upou their track, and death from the sword, 
 or from starvation, seemed inevitable. In 
 this position the Murids resolved to put 
 their doctrine in practice, and lay down 
 their lives to save that of their prophet. 
 Accordingly, they lashed together the trunks 
 of some trees so as to form a raft, and then 
 launched themselves upon the stream. The 
 Russians soon perceived the devoted little 
 party of patriots, and called out, " There is 
 Schamyl !" Hurried orders were given ; a 
 party of mounted Cossacks dashed into the 
 river, reached the raft, and massacred every 
 one upon it. Returning from this work of 
 butchery, they exulted in the thought that 
 at last the orders of the czar were obeyed, 
 and Schamyl was no more. They were de- 
 ceived : while the attention of the Russians 
 had been fixed upon the raft, the hero plunged 
 into the river unobserved, swam across, and. 
 soon disappeared among the mountains on 
 the opposite side. 
 
 Schamyl retired to Dargo, a town and 
 fortress situated in the midst of steep rocks, 
 on the top of a mountain, to which there is 
 no approach except by tortuous defiles and 
 throilgh immense forests. Again General 
 Grabbe pursued him, bent upon the destruc- 
 tion of the patriot. Schamyl permitted the 
 Russian force to approach Dargo unmolested 
 VOL. 1. fs. 
 
 until it was completely in his power, when 
 the mountaineers suddenly dashed down 
 upon it with surprising fury. The Rus- 
 sians, hemmed in and attacked on every 
 side, nearly all perished. General Grabbe 
 himself escaped with difBculty, accompanied 
 by a miserable remnant of his dispirited 
 men. The czar, in displeasure, recalled the 
 baffled general, and appointed another in 
 his place. Schamyl, in return for the in- 
 juries inflicted on him and his adherents, 
 invaded and ravaged Awaria, which was in 
 alliance with Russia, and compelled a Rus- 
 sian garrison there to surrender at discre- 
 tion. A body of troops had been sent to 
 its relief; but Schamyl, hearing of their 
 approach, waylaid them and massacred 
 every man. General Kluke then arrived 
 in Awaria with a force thrice as great as 
 that of Schamyl ; but the latter encountered 
 and utterly defeated him. After the Rus- 
 sians had suffered many other reverses from 
 the brave mountaineers. Prince Woronzoff 
 was appointed commander-in-chief of the 
 Caucasus, and adopted a different policy for 
 the subjection of Schamyl and his hardy 
 patriots. 
 
 To an interesting little work, entitled 
 Schamyl and Circassia, by Dr. Friedrich 
 Wagner, we are indebted for the following 
 description of the appearance and manners 
 of this famous mountain-chief: — 
 
 " Schamyl is also the worthy head of the 
 fiery sect whose prophet he has been chosen. 
 He is of middle growth, fair, almost red- 
 haired — especially in his beard, where there 
 are also a few grey hairs, — has grey eyes, a 
 well-formed nose, and a little mouth. A 
 marble calmness, which least deserts him in 
 the hour of danger, governs his whole be- 
 haviour ; and his speech is totally free from 
 excitement, whether conversing with friend, 
 foe, or traitor. He is convinced that his 
 actions are direct inspirations of God : he 
 eats little, drinks water only, sleeps but few 
 honrs, and passes all his leisure timC in 
 reading the Koran, and in prayer ; but when 
 he speaks, he has, so says Berek Bey, the 
 poet of Daghestan, — 
 
 " ' Lightnings in his eye, and on his lip, flowers.' 
 
 "He is, in fact, master in the highest 
 degree of that Oriental eloquence which is 
 so fitted to rouse the sleeping souls of the 
 faithful; and he manages to outbid the 
 Russian generals in their metaphorical lan- 
 guage. If the Russians Say that they are 
 numerous as the sands of the sea, Schamy] 
 
 61 
 
ELOQUENCE OF SCHAMYL.J 
 
 PIISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1845. 
 
 replies that tlie Circassians are the waves 
 that wash away the sands. In his procla- 
 mation to the warriors of both Kabardahs, 
 he says : — ' Believe not that God favours 
 the greater number ; God stands arrayed in 
 the cause of the good ; and the number of 
 the good is less than that of the wicked. 
 Look around and behold proof everywhere 
 of what I tell you. Are there not fewer 
 roses than weeds ? Is there not more mud 
 than there are pearls — are there not many 
 more vermin than useful animals ? Is not 
 gold rarer than less noble metals? And 
 are we not of more account than gold and 
 roses, than pearls and horses, and all the 
 useful animals upon the earth? — For all the 
 treasures of the earth are perishable, while 
 to us an eternal life is reserved. But, if 
 there be more weeds than roses, shall we, 
 instead of rooting them up, wait until they 
 have overgrown and destroyed the nobler 
 flowers? And if our enemies be more 
 numerous than are we, is it a wise thing in 
 us to be snared in their nets ? Say not : 
 our enemies have overcome Tsherkey, 
 stormed Achulko, and conquered the land 
 of Awaria ! If the lightning strike a tree, 
 do the other trees bow their heads in fear, 
 Jest they also should be stricken ? O ye of 
 little faith ! follow the counsel which the 
 trees of the forest give you, that would 
 shame you if they had the gift of language 
 and could speak ! And if one fruit is eaten 
 by worms, do the rest of the fruits putrify in 
 fear, lest they should also be food for the 
 ^ worms? Therefore, be not afraid in that 
 the unfaithful so rapidly multiply, and ever 
 bring new warriors to the battle-field to re- 
 place those whom we have destroyed. For 
 I say unto you, a thousand poisonous things 
 shoot up out of the earth ere a single good 
 tree reaches maturity. I am the root of 
 the tree of liberty; the Murids are the 
 trunk ; and ye are the branches. But be- 
 lieve not that the withering of one branch 
 will cause the destruction of the entire tree ! 
 God will cut off the foul branches, and cast 
 them into the flames of destruction. There- 
 fore, return ye sorrowfully, and place your- 
 selves among those who fight for our faith, 
 and ye will obtain my favour, and I will be 
 your shield. But if ye continue to give more 
 belief to the deceitful words of the infidels 
 than ye do to my speech, I will do that 
 which Kasi Mohammed formerly had it in 
 his mind to do. My bands will overwhelm 
 your villages like a storm-cloud, to compel 
 that which you deny to my friendly as- 
 
 surances. I will come with bloody foot- 
 steps; desolation and fear shall follow and 
 precede my hosts; for what the might of 
 eloquence may not do, shall be effected with 
 the edge of the sword.' 
 
 " The Kabardians, however, more terrified 
 at the Russians than at Schamyl, remained 
 unmoved, notwithstanding this proclama- 
 tion; and when Achwerdu Mahommed, 
 Schamyl's general, entered the country, he 
 was killed by one of the Russianized tribes. 
 Schamyl kept his word, left the Russian 
 forts alone, and fell upon their auls with 
 fire and sword. More than sixty villages of 
 the Kabardah were burnt, and he carried 
 off an immense booty, together with a con- 
 siderable number of prisoners. Schamyl 
 resided in the little fortress of Achulko, 
 where he had himself a European house of 
 two stories, constructed by Russian deserters 
 and prisoners. At first his government was 
 so poor, that the soldiers had to supply him 
 with the means of existence ; and yet re- 
 ligious enthusiasm had rendered him as 
 powerful as if he had possessed tons of gold. 
 His slightest word was sufficient, and his 
 Murids were ready to go to the death for 
 him. None of the chiefs of Daghestan be- 
 fore his time had wielded such authority. 
 Even Sheikh Mansoor, who carried the 
 standard of revolt through the whole ot 
 Circassia — the mighty hero, the high-minded 
 sower in the fertile field of faith — was only 
 a famous and dreaded warrior ; but Schamyl 
 is not only general and sultan of the Tshet- 
 shenzes, but also their prophet; and since 
 1834, Daghestan's war-cry is : — ' Moham- 
 med was Allah's first prophet; Schamyl is 
 His second.' " 
 
 When, in 1845, Prince Woronzoff was 
 appointed by the Emperor Nicholas to he 
 commander-in-chief of the Russian armies 
 in the Caucasus, he found Schamyl no 
 longer chief of a few small tribes only, 
 but ruler over a whole nation. His bravery 
 as a warrior, his eloquence as a preacher, 
 his wisdom as a lawgiver, and his reputation 
 as a prophet, enabled him to found a sort of 
 barbarous monarchy among the rude sons 
 of the mountains. Various tribes and races 
 united under his rule in the cause of their 
 religion and liberty. His income, at first 
 derived from the plunder of his enemies, 
 was at length raised in a more legitimate 
 way by taxes levied on his people. He has 
 a thousand picked soldiers for his body- 
 guard, and never leaves his dwelling without 
 being followed by a train of five hundred men. 
 
A.D, 
 
 181-3.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA. [fanaticism of schamyl. 
 
 He governs by a code of laws, written by 
 himself; and when any difficulty arises, retires 
 to some solitary place to pray and wait for a 
 communication from the Deity upon the 
 subject. Schamyl lives soberly, eats but 
 little, sleeps but a few hours at a time, and 
 occasionally sustains prolonged fasts. In 
 one respect he exceeds the bounds of tempe- 
 rance — that is, according to European ideas ; 
 for he has three wives. He rules with 
 stern severity; and a wild story is told of 
 the extent to which religious enthusiasm is 
 capable of going, in a mind open to all its 
 promptings. In 1843, the inhabitants of 
 the Great and Little Tshetshna, pressed on 
 all sides by the Russian troops, resolved to 
 send a deputation to Schamyl to entreat for 
 assistance to drive away the Russians, or for 
 permission to submit to their government. 
 Aware that the latter proposition would 
 excite the fury of the chieftain, they applied 
 to his aged mother, and gave her 200 pieces 
 of gold to intercede for them with her son 
 on the subject. This she undertook to do ; 
 and after the interview, Schamyl, in as- 
 tonishment and anger, shut himself up in 
 the mosque, to await in fasting and prayer 
 the wiU of the great prophet. For three 
 days and nights he remained in the mosque, 
 and at length came forth, looking pale and 
 sorrowful. Having summoned his mother 
 and the people, he thus addressed the 
 latter : — " Inhabitants of Dargo ! Fearful 
 is that which I have to tell you ! The 
 Tshetshenzes have conceived the horrible 
 idea of submitting to the dominion of the 
 giaours, and have actually dared to send 
 ambassadors here with their vile proposi- 
 tion. Well these deputies knew their evil- 
 doings ; therefore they came not before me, 
 but addressed themselves to my unhappy 
 mother, who weakly gave way to their 
 urgency, and brought the desires of these 
 miscreants before me. My tender con- 
 sideration for my beloved mother induced 
 me to inquire of Mohammed himself, the 
 prophet of Allah, what his will might be. 
 Therefore have I, for these three days and 
 nights, with fasting and prayers, called 
 upon the name of the prophet. He has 
 esteemed me worthy of a reply; but how 
 horrible for me was his decision ! Accord- 
 ing to the will of Allah, the first who made 
 this proposition known to me is to be 
 punished with a hundred blows of the whip ; 
 and the first — oh, that I have to teli it — 
 was my unhappy mother ! " 
 
 The aged woman was instantly seized, 
 
 bound to a pillar of the mosque, and Schamyl 
 himself took the whip and commenced the 
 execution of the unnatural sentence. The 
 poor old mother, probably wounded as much 
 by the ingratitude of her son as by the agony 
 of the lash, fell dead at the fifth blow. The 
 inflexible man threw himself upon the earth 
 in tears; and after remaining for some time 
 in prayer, rose and announced that Moham- 
 med had permitted him to take upon him- 
 self the remainder of the blows to which his 
 mother had been condemned. Stripping his 
 broad shoulders, he commanded two soldiers 
 to give him the ninety-five blows, which he 
 received without relaxing a muscle of his 
 rigid features. Then, calling for the deputies 
 from the Tshetshna, he dismissed them to 
 their tribe, with a command to relate all 
 they had seen and heard. The trembling 
 deputies were glad to escape with their lives, 
 and we need scarcely say that no other de- 
 putations waited upon Schamyl with projects 
 of submission. 
 
 We mentioned that the sultan, Abdul-Med- 
 jid, had entered into an alliance with Schamyl. 
 The latter informed Abdi Pasha, the com- 
 mander of the Turkish army sent to the 
 Asiatic frontier, that he was prepared to act 
 in concert with him, at the head of twenty 
 thousand men ; and the two addressed them- 
 selves to carry out a plan, which, if success- 
 fal, would strike a heavy blow at the power 
 of Russia in the Caucasus. 
 
 The first incident of the war in Asia, 
 though by no means important, bore an 
 ominous appearance as to the success of 
 Russia. It was the capture of St. Nicholas, 
 a fort situated on the coast of the Black Sea, 
 about thirty miles north of Batoum, and 
 named after the patron saint of the czar 
 himself. This post, though defended by 
 two battalions of infantry, three companies 
 of Cossacks, and one artillery company, was 
 said to be in a wretched condition, and unfit 
 to sustain an attack. The Turks feU upon 
 it at midnight, on the 28th of November, 
 1853, and after a conflict of four hours' 
 duration, the fort was taken. Only about 
 thirty Russian soldiers and three officers 
 succeeded in cutting a passage through the 
 enemy's ranks and effecting their escape ; 
 the rest were either slaughtered or taken 
 prisoners. The loss of the Turks was very 
 considerable; but they took two thousand 
 muskets and four cannons as trophies of 
 their victory. A Russian writer accuses 
 the Turks of great barbarity on this occa- 
 sion : he states that they crucified the 
 
 63 
 
BATTLE OF AKHALTZIK. 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 customs' officer belonging to the fort, and 
 while suspended upon the cross, used him as 
 a target for their bullets ; that they sawed 
 off the head of the priest belonging to the 
 establishment, and murdered his wife in an 
 atrocious manner. Such are the horrors 
 incidental to war, when it too often occurs 
 that the worst passions of the worst of our 
 species are not to be restrained in times of 
 excitement. As the Turkish ti'oops gene- 
 rally are not charged with cruelty, but often 
 described as exercising a humanity which is 
 highly commendable, we should imagine 
 that the outrages we have alluded to were, 
 if indeed they actually occurred, perpetrated 
 by some of the irregular troops or Bashi 
 Bazouk^. A letter from Constantinople 
 relates, that one of the Russian soldiers who 
 had been taken prisoner on the coast of Asia 
 Minor, was brought before the Seraskier, 
 where he underwent a short examination. 
 Having answered several questions, as to the 
 corps to which he belonged, and the military 
 regime of Russia, an offer was made to him 
 of passing some days at Constantinople, and 
 then of being sent to Prince Gorts'chakoffi, 
 on condition that he would everywhere say 
 what he had seen, and tell his comrades that 
 the Turks do not eat the Christians. The 
 man refused, saying he did not know what 
 awaited him on his return; that the best 
 that could happen to him would no doubt 
 be to be sent back to his regiment; but 
 that he had had enough of it. "But," it 
 was said to him " you can see your family 
 again." " My family !" replied the soldier ; 
 " I have been separated from it for eighteen 
 years ; and since the dg,y that I was taken 
 from my village, \ have had no news of my 
 father, my mother, or any of my relatives ! 
 They are, perhaps, all dead, or they have 
 forgotten me ! Leave me here until the 
 pe^ce : there will always be time enough to 
 give me up." The Russians made five at- 
 tempts to retake fort St. Nicholas, and were 
 repulsed in each. At the time when the 
 fort fell into the hands of the Turks, a Rus- 
 sian ship of war, the Ftmdroyant, ran 
 agroimd on the coast, and was destroyed by 
 the enemy. It w^s conveying troops, and 
 had 1,600 men on board, 1,400 of whom 
 were drowned; the remaining 200 were 
 saved by the Turks. 
 
 Several other conflicts took place, without 
 any important advantage being gained by 
 either side ; though military operations ap- 
 pear to be chiefly in favour of the Ottoman 
 arms. At length, on the 26th of November, 
 64 
 
 1853, the Turks sustained a serious defeoit 
 at Akhaltzik, on the borders of Georgia and 
 Armenia, by the Russians under General 
 Andronikofi". In the absence of accounts 
 from both armies engaged, we cannot do 
 better than give a description of the conflict 
 in the language of the Russian general. 
 Prince Andronikoff. Some little deduction 
 may be made, on the score of national 
 vanity; but it appears to be substantially 
 correct. 
 
 " On the 12th of November I arrived at 
 Akhaltzik. I reconnoitred the position of 
 the enemy, and obtained the conviction 
 that the ground they occupied was unap- 
 proachable. It extended from the village 
 of Ab down to Suppliss, and this position 
 was further strengthened by many breast- 
 works and batteries. The condition of the 
 town and district of Akhaltzik, compelled 
 me to act with decision, and this the more, 
 since I had been informed that the Turks* 
 had been reinforced, and that fresh rein- 
 forcements were expected from Ardagan, 
 Adjar, and Kars. Early on the morning 
 of the 14th instant, I formed a column of 
 four battalions of foot and fourteen guns, 
 and pushed them forward against the 
 enemy's front at Lower Suppliss. The ar- 
 tillerymen had been draughted from the 
 various regiments, and the horses were 
 taken wherever they could be got. An- 
 other colum.n, consisting of three battalions 
 and three light guns, was detached against 
 the left wing of the Turkish position, on 
 the banks of the river of Poskhoff-Tchai. 
 This second column was supported by nine 
 sotnias (100 men each) of Cossacks, twelve 
 sotnias of Teflis militia, and one detachment 
 of noble volunteers. The engagement com- 
 menced with the fire of the artillery, which 
 was continued on either side till thirty 
 minutes past eleven, a.m. This obstinacy 
 of the enemy, in the defence of the posi- 
 tion they had taken, convinced me of the 
 necessity of storming that position, in spite 
 of its natural advantages and fortifications, 
 and although the river is of considerable 
 depth. The Turks made a desperate de- 
 fence in their entrenchments, in the houses, 
 gardens, and, in short, in every point which 
 offered the possibility of resistance. Exposed 
 to the grapeshot of the whole of th^ enemy's 
 artillery, and harassed by the fire from the 
 Turkish foot, our own infantry, up to their 
 necks in the water, crossed the river a,nd 
 attacked the enemy with such violence and 
 overwhelming force, that in spite of their 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. 
 
 [battle of AKHALTZIK. 
 
 obstinacy, they commenced losing ground. 
 The first step backward was the commence- 
 ment of a total defeat of the Turks. On 
 this side, in Lower and Upper Suppliss, we 
 captured nine pieces of artillery ; and in the 
 village of Pamatsh, we took three pieces of 
 artillery and two light field-pieces. The 
 streets and houses of the village were covered 
 with the bodies of the slain. While a hand- 
 to-hand combat was raging on the right 
 bank of the Poskhoff-Tchai, a second vic- 
 tory was gained on the left bank. At ten 
 o'clock, a large column of the enemy, 
 horse and foot, was descried approaching 
 the heights of the mountain Obas Tuman- 
 siki. Six sotnias of Cossacks were sent 
 against this force, and the firing commenced 
 at two o'clock, P.M. A detachment of the 
 mountain battery No. 1, consisting of guns 
 taken from the enemy, was sent to support 
 the Cossacks. The six sotnias of Cossacks 
 and the noble volunteers, who joined them 
 from Upper Suppliss, attacked and routed 
 the enetajf. Two hundred were killed, and 
 the rest dispersed; and in spite of their 
 attempts, they could not effect a junction 
 with the main force. At sunset the combat 
 was over, because there were no antagonists 
 for us to conquer. I must confess that this 
 success, unheard-of in its way, which was 
 obtained by perseverance in a cannonade of 
 four hours, and after a fire of grape and 
 musketry, which lasted two hours, and which 
 was con,summated by a hand-to-hand engage- 
 ment, could be expected only from the daunt- 
 less courage of Russian troops. AH this 
 proves that there can be no obstacles for the 
 orthodox army, fighting at the call of the 
 mighty Sovereign for its creed, czar, and 
 country. Can there be obstacles for an 
 army which is mindful of the imperial 
 word ? — ' In Thee, O Lord ! have we trusted ; 
 let us not for ever be confounded !' We 
 have lost one officer and thirty -nine privates, 
 amd nine officers and 179 privates were 
 wounded. The loss of the enemy must have 
 been very severe, for above 1,000 Turks 
 remained dead on the field of battle. We 
 took 120 prisoners of foot, horse, and artil- 
 lery, and among them a mullah and the 
 servants of the pasha. They were taken 
 to the fortress. We took also ten field- 
 pieces and two mountain guns, two artillery 
 parks, several flags and standards, and a large 
 number of small flags, with stores, &o." 
 
 • A leading journal gives the following account of 
 tbe difference between the governments of England 
 ana ''^ersia : — " A quarrel had arisen between the 
 
 This reverse of the Turks at Akhaltzik 
 was followed by another at Baschkady-Lar, 
 in which, however, the Russians (though 
 victors) suffered considerable loss. Accord- 
 ing to their own account, it amounted, in 
 killed and wounded, to about 1,500 men. 
 They captured twenty-four pieces of artil- 
 lery, and an immense quantity of ammuni- 
 tion, which the state of the roads did not 
 permit them to carry away. The Russian 
 generals and colonels marched twenty yards 
 in advance of the columns, to give an 
 example to their soldiers. Amongst the 
 men, Georgians and Russians vied with 
 each other in deeds of daring. Great 
 numbers of horses fell dead from fatigue, 
 both during and after the battle; and the 
 slaughter was so great, that the advancing 
 troops were compelled to jump over heaps 
 of dead bodies. The Turks fought with 
 desperate bravery, and the fire of theii 
 artillery was remarkably correct ; but the 
 Russians better understood the ground, and 
 their men (seasoned in the wars of the 
 Caucasus against the Circassians) showed a 
 vigour and resolution that carried them 
 through every difiiculty. After the battle, 
 one of the Russian generals was heard to 
 say: — "We may thank Schamyl for this 
 triumph; but for him we should not pos- 
 sess such magnificent troops." 
 
 At this period, the Eastern question was 
 rendered still more perplexed and com- 
 plicated by a report that the Persian go- 
 vernment had declared in favour of Russia 
 against Turkey. This country (once so 
 famous for the prowess of its population) 
 has sunk into comparative helplessness; 
 and it was probably influenced by the solici- 
 tations or intimidations of Russia. Such a 
 policy, on the part of Persia, would be 
 perfectly suicidal, as Russia has always 
 been its deadliest enemy. It was even 
 rumoured that, at the instigation of Russia, 
 Nusser-ed-Din (the Shah of Persia) had 
 declared war, not only against Turkey, but 
 against England also. Persia was said to 
 have applied for a Russian general for 
 30,000 Persian troops, who were to attatk 
 the Turks in Armenia ; and diplomatic 
 relations between Turkey and Persia, and 
 between England and Persia, were sus- 
 pended. The misunderstanding between 
 the two latter countries did not, however, 
 arise out of the Eastern war.* Serious 
 
 British charge d'affaires at Teheran and the Persian 
 court, with reference to the affairs of one Hadji 
 Abdul Kerim, a native of Candahar, protected by 
 
 65 
 
KAT.AFAT.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 results might have followed ; but ultimately 
 the Persian government offered explana- 
 tions which led to the restoration of pacific 
 connexions. The reader may form an esti- 
 mate of the folly of the shah in provoking 
 
 the anger of the allied powers, when we in- 
 form him that the revenue of that potentate 
 does not amount to £2,000,000, and that 
 the population of Persia is supposed not to 
 exceed 8,000,000 persons. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF CITATE ; THE TURKS AT KALAFAT ; DEPUTATION OF THE SOCIETY OF FKIENDS TO THE 
 EMPEEOR NICHOLAS ; INSURRECTION OF THE GREEK SUBJECTS OF THE PORTE. 
 
 The mind travels swifter than the flight of 
 the eagle, or than the lightning's flash, 
 " which hath ceased to be ere one can say 
 it lightens." Let us, then, quit the wild 
 mountainous regions of the Caucasus, and 
 the Asiatic shores of that salt lake of 
 storms, the Black Sea, and bring our 
 thoughts back to the marshy banks of the 
 river Danube. 
 
 Though siiccessful at Oltenitza, the Turks 
 had retired from the left bank of the 
 Danube, except at the town of Kalafat, 
 where they had erected formidable military 
 works. Kalafat is a straggling place, rising 
 gradually from the water's edge, and com- 
 posed of scattered farm-houses, mercantile 
 establishments, and the residences of small 
 landed proprietors. The military works at 
 Kalafat, which have been compared, by an 
 eye-witness, to the celebrated lines of Torres 
 Vedras, cannot be covered except by a much 
 larger number of troops than the place can 
 accommodate. To live in tents during the 
 winter, in that bitter and variable climate, 
 would be little better than a lingering 
 death. An ingenious mode was therefore hit 
 upon to provide lodgings for the soldiers. 
 Spaces, equal in size to a long barrack-room, 
 were dug out of the earth, and covered over 
 
 the British government. This person, who is a man 
 of great wealth, has demands upon the Persian 
 government which it has been the duty of the Bm- 
 tish legation to support. The Persian government, 
 on the other hand, claimed him as its own subject, 
 liable to all such exactions as it might please the 
 shah to put upon him ; and at length refused, with 
 so much insolence, to grant the redress the case re- 
 quired, that the British chargi d'affaires, Mr. Taylour 
 Thompson, was compelled to suspend diplomatic re- 
 lations with the ministers of the shah. The effect 
 of this spirited measure was prompt and effectual. 
 "Within a very short time the Persian government 
 showed its readiness to comply with his demands, 
 and to restore friendly relations with England. The 
 tables were completely turned on Prince Dolsorouki, 
 66 
 
 with a ridged roof. Light and ventilation 
 were secured by garret and gable windows, 
 and fires were kept burning to consume the 
 earthy odour. Within these underground 
 habitations, mats served for arras; a clear 
 space was left in the centre for passage ; on 
 each side were the soldiers' blankets and 
 kits ; the centre supporting- beams were 
 ranged round with muskets; arfli at the 
 gables were the drums, ready at a moment's 
 notice, to beat the alarm. These subter- 
 ranean lodgings or burdehs have, however, 
 been condemned as extremely unhealthy; 
 and it has been said that more men fall ill 
 in them than when lodged in tents, which 
 cannot properly protect them from the in- 
 clemency of the weather. 
 
 The Russians contemplated striking a 
 blow at Kalafat on the 13th of January 
 (1854) ; and, for that purpose, they concen- 
 trated their forces in entrenchments at 
 Citate, sometimes called Zetali. Omar 
 Pasha was aware of this, and resolved to 
 become the assailant. Accordingly, on the 
 6th, a Turkish army of 15,000 or 18,000 
 men, under the orders of Ismail Pasha and 
 Ahmed Pasha, marched out of Kalafat to 
 attack the Russians, who had fortified them- 
 selves in the village of Citate, about five 
 
 the Russian minister ; and although he threatened 
 the Shah of Persia with the supreme displeasure of 
 the czar, his master, and exerted every means to 
 restore Russian influence, the British charge d'affaires 
 remained master of the field. * * • Fortunately, 
 the settlement of the dispute with England seems to 
 have included an arrangement with the Porte ; for 
 the Turkish minister at Teheran received positive 
 assurances from the Sudder Azim, or first minister of 
 the shah, that no movement of troops hostile to the 
 Ottoman empire will be made by Persia ; and that 
 the forces concentrated in the northern provinces of 
 the kingdom are placed there solely to watch the 
 progress of events, and to prevent internal distur- 
 bances." Persia has, however since acted in a 
 vacil.ating manner. 
 

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A.D 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [battle of citate. 
 
 hours' march from Kalafat. The Russian 
 troops were not so numerous as the Turks : 
 some accounts represent them as 10,000 
 strong J but their position was one of great 
 advantage, as the Russians were distributed 
 in aU the houses of the village, which is of 
 some extent, and surrounded by a double 
 ditch. 
 
 When the Turks approached the village, 
 they supposed it to be abandoned, as a pro- 
 found silence reigned, and not a Russian 
 was to be seen. Six companies of chasseurs 
 advanced firing en tiralleurs, but without 
 eliciting a response. They were about to 
 enter, when the sudden roar of artillery 
 announced the presence of the enemy, who 
 forthwith made their appearance. Still the 
 chasseurs pushed on, and close behind 
 them came four battalions of infantry, under 
 Ismail Pasha, with a battery of field-artil- 
 lery, which opened a tremendous fire. The 
 superiority of the Turkish artillery was 
 immediately evident ; and the Russian gun- 
 nery has been described as execrable. The 
 Russians retired into the village, and taking 
 shelter in and around the houses, opened a 
 deadly fire upon the enemy. Still the 
 Turks steadily approached ; and Ismail 
 Pasha rode into the village at the head of 
 his troops, mounted on a white horse, and 
 wearing a white pelisse. This costume, 
 added to the many glittering orders that 
 sparkled upon his breast, made him the 
 mark for showers of bullets. But the brave 
 often escape the fate that cowards meet ; 
 and although the Turkish general had two 
 horses killed beneath him, he himself es- 
 caped with only a slight wound in the arm. 
 
 At first the Turks were mowed down 
 rapidly by the fire of their opponents ; but, 
 though the greatest part of them had never 
 before been exposed to musketry, they dis- 
 played an indomitable courage. Rushing 
 upon the enemy in the houses, they fought 
 with terrific energy, hand-to-hand,, *i.th 
 sword and bayonet. The slaughter was, 
 hideous j for the Turks, stung into des- 
 peration, rushed on like madmen. Quarter 
 was neither asked nor given : in the feverish 
 excitement of that awful time, the Turks 
 listened to nothing but the voice within, 
 which urged them to take vengeance on the 
 oppressors of their country. All who feU 
 into their hands were slaughtered without 
 pity. The Russians contested every wall 
 and room with heroic courage, but were 
 massacred in heaps. Some of their officers, 
 seeing no escape, and scorning to yield, ' 
 
 pulled down their caps tightly on their 
 foreheads, and rushed with mad despair to 
 meet their death. Streams of blood ran 
 down from the houses into the streets ; the 
 spaces around them were covered with 
 bodies, heaped one upon another; and, to 
 add to the horror of that dreadful scene, a 
 number of pigs, which had got loose in the 
 confusion, were seen making a revolting 
 meal upon the dead, as yet scarcely cold. 
 
 The Russians who escaped this slaughter 
 took refuge in a redoubt at the head of the 
 village, and from thence recommenced a 
 deadly fire upon the Turks. The latter 
 suffered considerably, but returned the fire 
 so vigorously, that the Russians decided upon 
 abandoning the entrenchments. Having 
 done so, the Turkish cavalry endeavoured to 
 surround them, so as to cut off their escape. 
 The Russians, animated by the terrible 
 energy of despair, recommenced the fight 
 with a wild desperation, and in a vigorous 
 sortie succeeded in capturing two guns ; still, 
 a brief time would doubtless have seen the 
 extermination of the Russian force, had not 
 the sound of the firing reached the ears of 
 Russian troops stationed in other villages. 
 
 About noon, large black masses of troops 
 were discerned at about six miles distance, 
 rapidly advancing towards the scene of 
 action. Information of this was instantly 
 given to Ahmed Pasha, who commanded 
 the Turkish reserve, and he, by a skilful 
 manoeuvre, placed his soldiers in such a 
 position as to prevent the junction of the 
 new comers with the besieged troops. The 
 Russian reinforcements consisted of about 
 10,000 men, together with sixteen pieces of 
 cannon. They directed their march towards 
 the Kalafat road, so as to cut off the retreat 
 of the Turks, and to place them between 
 two fires. Achmet Pasha met this move- 
 ment by making front in his rear — a dan- 
 gerous position, which few troops in the 
 world have the courage to stand firm in. 
 The report of an enemy in the rear will 
 frequently spread a panic through a brave 
 and well-disciplined army. The Turks were 
 then opposed to three times their number of 
 Russians, and they were in a position from 
 which there was no retreat. Defeat was 
 utter destruction. Nothing remained for 
 them, in case of a reverse, but to retreat 
 upon the village and sell their lives as 
 dearly as possible — a resolution which every 
 man among them seemed to take, and one 
 they would doubtless have put in practice. 
 The Russians came on with a steady cool- 
 
 67 
 
VICTORY OF THE TURKS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 ness that would have appalled a timid enemy. 
 The conflict began with the firing of artil- 
 lery ; but that of the Russians was served so 
 badly, that its balls went whistling over the 
 heads of the Turks, and did scarcely any 
 mischief. The Turks, on the contrary, 
 managed their artillery admirably — (they 
 conduct this branch of the service with an 
 ability and precision which would do credit 
 to any country in Europe)* — and their balls 
 plunged into the Russian columns, and 
 ploughed deep furrows through the living 
 masses. But as the men were struck down, 
 others took their places, and the line was 
 redressed with singular coolness. Again 
 and again deep gaps were made, and, at 
 length, the Russians taking advantage of a 
 momentary slackness in the Turkish fire, 
 closed up into a seried column and prepared 
 to make a charge with the bayonet, in the 
 hope of spreading confusion and death 
 among their enemies. They were received 
 by a deadly storm of grape from the Turkish 
 batteries, and mowed down like ripe wheat. 
 At the same time an order was given for the 
 Turkish infantry to advknce. The command 
 was responded to with the national war-cry 
 and a sweeping fire. Eor a few minutes the 
 Russians bore up; the columns then wavered, 
 turned, and fled. The Turks were exhausted 
 by a combat that had lasted eight hours, 
 during which time they had been standing 
 over their ankles in mud, their ammuni- 
 tion was running short, and Achmet Pasha 
 deemed it prudent to retire to the quarters 
 at Kalafat. In the confusion of the fight, 
 the Turks committed the error of omitting 
 to destroy the guns of the enemy, and the 
 Russians gained courage enough to return 
 and carry off their artillery. 
 
 The loss on both sides is, as usual, dif- 
 ferently reported. The Turks acknowledged 
 their loss to be 338 in killed, and 700 
 in wounded. It was estimated that the 
 Russians had about 1,500 killed (amongst 
 whom were many officers), and about 2,000 
 wounded.f The Turkish wounded were 
 
 * A\Tien the Prussian general, Von Wrangel, took 
 his leave of the Emperor Nicholas at St. Peters- 
 burg, before setting off for the Ottoman capital, the 
 czar exclaimed, " When you get to Constantinople, 
 mind you examine the artillery well ; its one of the 
 best in Europe. We have to thank you Prussians 
 for that. It will take hard teeth to crack that nut." 
 The Turks were instructed in this branch of war by 
 the Prussian lieutenant-colonel. Von Kuczkowski. 
 
 t A letter from Omar Pasha, dated Shumla, Jan- 
 uary, 17 (29th), gives a widely different estimate. 
 We extract the following : — " The loss of the Rus- 
 sians, according to the most accurate accounts, 
 68 
 
 taken to Kalafat in carts, and then sent 
 across the river to be placed in the hos- 
 pitals at Widdin. The poor fellows com- 
 forted themselves, to some extent, by the 
 sight of watches or handsful of gold, which 
 they had gathered on the field of battle, and 
 now placed by their beds of pain as a solace 
 to their sufferings. A witness of the scene 
 said, the poor men, while being conveyed to 
 the hospital, seemed to treat the affair very 
 lightly, talking and laughing in the boats 
 with so much cheerfulness, that but for 
 their blood-stained bandages, it would have 
 been difficult to have believed the reality of 
 their situation. 
 
 The unfortunate people of Wallachia are 
 said to have rejoiced at this victory, and to 
 have looked forward to the Turks as their 
 probable liberators. Well they might ; for 
 the Russians had been guilty of gross tyranny 
 and violence towards them. Crowds of pea- 
 sants and farmers fled from their liomes and 
 took refuge in Austria, or crossed the Danube 
 and joined the Turks, rather than submit to 
 the cruelties and exactions imposed upon 
 them. In one instance, the Russian general 
 had ordered that women and young girls 
 should do the work the soldiers might re- 
 quire of them. The villagers refused obe-_ 
 dience; and a body of Cossacks were sent 
 amongst them to enforce it. The Cossacks 
 were attacked by a numerous body of pea- 
 sants, armed only with scythes and clubs. 
 Upon this, the general sent troops with 
 directions to inflict " exemplary chastise- 
 ment" on the rebellious men who had dared 
 to protect their wives and children. This 
 exemplary chastisement amounted to no- 
 thing less than the massacre of the inha- 
 bitants of three whole villages. A few 
 weeks before the battle, some Cossacks at 
 a small village near Plewna, cut off the 
 heads of three Wallachiang and violated 
 several women. Some of the Wallachian 
 militia were incorporated with the Russian 
 troops, but a mutual dislike existed between 
 them. One Wallachian captain refused to 
 
 amounted to 3,000 dead, including three colonels, 
 three chiefs of battalions, and at least sixty officers. 
 More than 200 chariots, each carrying four or five 
 wounded, were sent to Krajova and SlatiJia, besides 
 the wounded soldiers who were on foot. Among the 
 wounded is General Orloff, two colonels, and seven 
 chiefs of battalions. Another colonel is missing. 
 Three waggons, laden with munitions and a quantity 
 of baggage, 500 muskets, sixty officers' swords, and 
 500 horses, most of them wounded, form the trophies 
 of the day. Several crosses of St. George now 
 ornament the breasts of our soldiers. General 
 Orloff has siD^e died of his wounds." 
 
A,D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [skirmishes on the banube. 
 
 march against the Turks ; and knowing the 
 consequences of his conduct, sought a 
 dreadful refuge from the severity of the 
 military tyranny of Russia by blowing out 
 his brains. The Turkish soldiers generally 
 enjoy a good character for honesty and 
 decent behaviour; but this reputation is 
 sometimes tarnished by the brutality of 
 individuals. In spite of the strictest orders 
 to the contrary, the revolting custom of 
 cutting off the noses and ears of their ene- 
 mies, is still practised by some of the Alba- 
 nian and Arnaout irregular troops. After 
 the battle of Citate, one savage wretch had 
 made a complete necklace of these hideous 
 trophies. It is some satisfaction to know, 
 that his barbarous triumph was mitigated by 
 a severe application of the bastinado. 
 
 On the 7th, the conflict was resumed 
 between the Turks and the Russians; and 
 again upon the 8th, when the latter were 
 completely defeated and driven back upon 
 Krajova. We presume that these subse- 
 quent affairs were but skirmishes, as no 
 details have reached us. The victory at 
 Citate created so much joy and confidence 
 among the Ottoman troops, that they ex- 
 pressed a belief that one Turk was a match 
 for three Russians. The sultan sent from 
 Constantinople some sabres with golden 
 hilts, and other honourable decorations, for 
 several of the most distinguished officers. 
 On the other hand. General Aurep, the 
 Russian officer who commanded at Citate, 
 though severely wounded during the battle, 
 was sent in disgrace to the rear-guard of the 
 Russian army in the Caucasus, and General 
 Liprandi was appointed to the command of 
 the Russian army in Lower Wallachia. This 
 circumstance looks like an admission of de- 
 feat on the part of the emperor. 
 
 It was supposed that the Russians would 
 soon attempt to wash off the disgrace they 
 had sustained by another effort to advance 
 upon Kalafat. The Turkish garrison there, 
 consisting of about 20,000 men, was increased 
 by ten battalions of infantry, a regiment of 
 cavalry, and twelve pieces of artillery. These 
 reinforcements raised the army at Kalafat 
 to 30,000 men, and further additions were 
 expected. Som^idea may be formed of the 
 formidable character of the fortifications at 
 Kalafat, when we mention that they, 
 together with those at Widdin, contain 250 
 pieces of cannon of the heaviest calibre. 
 The Turkish redoubts are partly raised on 
 two high hills in the plain of Kalafat, about 
 a mile distant from each other. From these 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 hills all the neighbouring country is com- 
 manded in such a way that no approach to 
 the Danube can be made. It was reported 
 that the Russian troops intended to attack 
 Kalafat on the 19th of January, being the 
 anniversary (according to their calendar) of 
 the festival of St. John the Baptist. While 
 under the influence of religious excitement 
 they were to be led against the Turks 
 beneath the shadow of the cross; for that 
 sacred symbol was to be carried before them. 
 
 In the meantime, several skirmishes took 
 place near Matschin, a small Turkish for- 
 tress opposite Brailow, on account of General 
 Liiders, who had taken up his quarters at 
 the latter place, attempting to establish 
 himself on the Turkish side of the Danube. 
 The Russians suffered considerably, and a 
 steamer of theirs was almost destroyed. On 
 the 12th of the month, the Turks again 
 became the attacking party, and made an 
 attempt to cross over to the left bank of 
 the Danube, by Karalash ; but, after a short 
 engagement, they were repulsed by General 
 Bogushewski, at the head of 2,000 men. 
 Another skirmish took place for the pos- 
 session of an island which eventually re- 
 mained in the hands of the Turks. On the 
 18th, the Turks again crossed the river at 
 Nicopoli, Sistow, Rustchuk, Silistria, Hir- 
 sova, and Matschin, and after giving con- 
 siderable annoyance to the Russians, re- 
 turned again to the right bank. The object 
 of the Russian troops in making excursions 
 across the river, was to divide the Turks 
 and make it a safer thing to attack them 
 at Kalafat ; that of the Turks, was to keep 
 their foes in continual uneasiness and alarm. 
 It was said, that orders had arrived from St. 
 Petersburg that Kalafat was to be taken 
 immediately, cost what it might. A private 
 letter states that General Gortschakoff, while 
 conversing with a person attached to the 
 Austrian embassy, who had remarked that 
 Ismail Pasha was strongly intrenched at 
 Kalafat, and that he had the advantage of 
 position, replied — "We have received the 
 most imperative orders to drive the Turks 
 out of Kalafat. I know that it must cost 
 me a number of men ; but I will succeed at 
 any price." " It is a difficult undertaking," 
 responded the other, " for although you wish 
 to capture Kalafat at any price, the Turks 
 will preserve it at any price." 
 
 It was truly a difficult task, as it was cal- 
 culated that the capture of Kalafat could 
 not be effected without sacrificing the lives 
 of 10,000 Russians. Prodigal as the gene- 
 
 69 
 
THE PEACE DEPUTATION.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854, 
 
 rals of that country usually are of the blood 
 of their soldiers when the commands of the 
 czar are concerned, yet Gortschakoff evi- 
 dently shrunk from such a frightful carnage. 
 If 10,000 men were to be sacrificed every 
 time the Turks were to be driven from a 
 strong position, even the power of Russia 
 would fall prostrate before the gigantic work 
 of aggression it had undertaken. But Russia 
 is prudent: the attack which was to have 
 taken place on the 13th of January, was 
 deferred to the 19th, in consequence of the 
 battle at Citate; then until the 33rd or 
 24th J and then it was rumoured that no- 
 thing was to be done against Kalafat until 
 reinforcements had arrived, because, from 
 sickness, and the bullets and sabres of the 
 Turks, the army of occupation had lost 
 35,000 men since it had crossed the Pruth 
 in July, 1853. The total number of Rus- 
 sians that had crossed the Pruth into the 
 Danubian provinces up to the 1st of Jan- 
 uary, 1854, was 129,188 : so that deducting 
 35,000, they had still about 94,000; yet the 
 brave Russian general resolved to wait for 
 reinforcements; and the Russian govern- 
 ment, it was said, intended to raise the 
 army in the border provinces to 200,000 
 men. At the latter end of January, rein- 
 forcements did arrive, and then the prudent 
 Russian generals were of opinion that Kala- 
 fat could hardly be taken without trenches, 
 parallels, &c. ; and the taking of this im- 
 portant position was postponed indefinitely. 
 About the end of March, it was supposed 
 that the Emperor Nicholas himself would 
 make his appearance at the seat of war, 
 and then, of course, the fortifications of 
 Kalafat would melt like snow before the 
 advancing spring. 
 
 Early in 1854, a singular episode in the 
 history of the war occurred. This was a 
 visit of three English Quakers to the Em- 
 peror Nicholas at St. Petersburg, in order 
 to appeal to him, as a Christian prince, to 
 avert the horrors of an impending European 
 war. These gentlemen — Joseph Sturge, of 
 Birmingham ; Robert Charleton, of Bristol ; 
 and Henry Pease, of DarUngton — left Lon- 
 don on the 20th of January, as a deputation 
 of the Society of Friends. Proceeding by 
 way of Berlin, Konigsberg, and Riga, they 
 arrived at St. Peterburg on the 2nd of 
 February. These sincere if simple-minded 
 men, undertaking their mission upon reli- 
 gious grounds, and wholly irrespective of 
 political considerations, thought it best not 
 to communicate, before leaving England, 
 70 
 
 either with the Russian ambassador in Lon- 
 don or with any member of the British 
 government. They were going to plead 
 with the czar on behalf of humanity — to 
 urge him, in the name and for the cause of 
 the Divine Teacher of Galilee, to sheathe the 
 swords which might otherwise make thou- 
 sands of women widows, and bereaved 
 mourners throughout three-quarters of the 
 whole world. For the same reason, on 
 arriving at St. Petersburg, they made a 
 direct application to Count Nesselrode, 
 without the intervention of Sir Hamilton 
 Seymour, the British ambassador. Their 
 motives, however, were subsequently stated, 
 in personal interviews, both to the govern- 
 ment at home and to its representative in 
 Russia. Much has been said in ridicule of 
 these earnest Quaker gentlemen and their 
 uncourtly and unworldly proceeding. What, 
 it was urged, could they hope to do ? Did 
 they expect the ambitious czar would 
 abandon his great project at the solicitations 
 of three private and obscure men ? We do 
 not suppose they expected anything of the 
 kind ; and we think their manly, unconven- 
 tional behaviour, deserves a word of praise 
 rather than of censure. It is well that the 
 deeds of princes should sometimes be tested 
 by the pure principles of eternal truth ; that 
 the disturbers of the poor world's peace 
 should, even while living, be weighed in 
 the iron balance of the obscure masses of 
 the nations j that the truths of that religion 
 which they use as a cloak for their unholy 
 deeds, should be quoted against them ; and 
 that humble men should be bold enough to 
 rise and say — "In the name of the Re- 
 deemer you profess to worship, why doest 
 thou this great sin in the eyes of God and 
 man?" Truly we think this visit of the 
 three Quakers to the czar a silent index of 
 the progress of the world — an index which 
 points, with a mute but . significant elo- 
 quence, to the time when the voice of the 
 peoples of the world shall be regarded in 
 the palaces of their princes ; and when 
 sovereigns shall bend from their thrones to 
 listen to the earnest words of wholesome 
 truth, even from the lips of the humble. 
 
 On arriving at St. Petersburg, our Quaker 
 adventurers obtained an introduction to a 
 gentleman who had lived in Russia for forty 
 years, and who, it was thought, would be of 
 service to them in their delicate mission. 
 As Count N.esselrode^ the chancellor of the 
 empire, was believed from the first to have 
 objected to the war, the gentleman recom- 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAE, WITH RUSSIA, [peace addbess to the czar. 
 
 mended the deputation to address a note to 
 him, requesting an interview. The letter 
 was forwarded ; and the count almost imme- 
 diately responded by sending a messenger 
 who could speak good English (apparently 
 one of his private secretaries), and fixing an 
 early hour for receiving his English visitors. 
 He added, that he was instructed to ofier 
 them any services in his power. On the 
 5th of February, Messrs. Sturge, Charleton, 
 and Pease were visited by the English con- 
 sul, who, though he had but little hope of 
 their success, expressed his belief that the 
 emperor would receive them. He said that 
 the trade of Russia, as far as England 
 was concerned, was greatly paralysed by 
 what had taken place; and that this cir- 
 cumstance being known to the emperor, 
 it was hoped would have its influence with 
 him on the side of peace. 
 
 The English consul was correct in his 
 opinion that the emperor would receive the 
 deputation in the name of peace. Through 
 the prompt courtesy of Count Nessebode, 
 an interview was arranged to take place at 
 the Winter Palace on the 10th of February, 
 for the presentation of the address. At the 
 appointed time the Friends were admitted 
 to the presence of the emperor, and re- 
 mained with him for nearly half-an-hour. 
 He received them very graciously, and ex- 
 pressed himself much pleased with the 
 object of their visit and the motives which 
 induced them to make so long a journey. 
 They then presented the following really 
 interesting and admirable address : — 
 
 " To Nicholas, Emperor of all the Eussias. — 
 May it please the Emperor, — We, the under- 
 , signed members of a meeting representing the 
 religious Society of Friends, commonly called 
 Quakers in Great Britain, venture to approach 
 the imperial presence, under a deep conviction 
 of religious duty, and in the constraining love 
 of Christ our Saviour. 
 
 " We are, moreover, encouraged so to do by 
 the many proofs of condescension and Christian 
 kindness manifested by thy late illustrious 
 brother, the Emperor Alexander, as well as by 
 thy honoured mother, to some of our brethren 
 in religious profession. 
 
 " It is well known that apart from aU political 
 considerations, we have, as a Christian church, 
 uniformly upheld a testimony against all war, 
 on the simple ground that it is utterly con- 
 demned by the precepts of Christianity, as well 
 as altogether incompatible with the spirit of its 
 Divine Founder, who is emphatically styled the 
 * Prince of Peace.' This conviction we have 
 repeatedly pressed upon our own rulers; and 
 
 often, in the language of bold, but respectful re- 
 monstrance, have we urged upon them the 
 maintenance of peace as the true policy, as 
 well as manifest duty of a Christian govern- 
 ment. 
 
 "And now, great prince, permit us to 
 express the sorrow which fills our hearts as 
 Christians and as men, in contemplating the 
 probability of war itt any portion of the conti- 
 nent of Europe. Deeply to be deplored would 
 it be were that peace (which, to a large extent 
 has happily prevailed for so many years) ex- 
 changed for the unspeakable horrors of war, 
 with all its attendant moral and physical suf- 
 fering. 
 
 " It is not our business, nor do we presume 
 to offer any opinion upon the questions now at 
 issue between the imperial government of Rus- 
 sia and that of any other country ; but, esti- 
 mating the exalted position in which Divine 
 Providence has placed thee, and the solemn 
 responsibilities devolving upon thee, not only as 
 an earthly potentate, but also as a believer in 
 that gospel which proclaims ' peace on earth and 
 good will toward men;' we implore Him, by 
 whom ' Kings reign and princes decree justice,' 
 so to influence thy heart, and to direct thy 
 counsels, at this momentous crisis, that thou 
 mayest practically exhibit to the nations; and 
 even to those who do not profess the ' like pre- 
 cious faith,' the efficacy of the gospel of Christ, 
 and the universal application of his command, 
 ' Love your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; 
 do good to them that hate you ; and pray for 
 them that dispitefuUy use you and persecute 
 you, that ye may be the children of your Father 
 which is in Heaven.' 
 
 " The more fully the Christian is persuaded 
 of the justice of his own cause, the greater his 
 magnanimity in the exercise of forbearance. 
 May the Lord make thee the honoured instru- 
 ment of exemplifying this true nobility, thereby 
 securing to thyself and to thy vast dominions 
 that true glory and those rich blessings which 
 could never result from the most successful 
 appeal to arms. 
 
 "Thus, mighty prince, may the miseries 
 and devastations of war be averted ; and in that 
 solemn day, when ' eveiy one of us shall give 
 account of himself to God,' may the benediction 
 of the Redeemer apply to thee ; — ' Blessed are 
 the peacemakers, for they shah be called the chil- 
 dren of God ;' and mayest thou be permitted, 
 through a Saviour's love, to exchange an earthly 
 for a heavenly crown, ' a crown of glory which 
 fadeth not away.' 
 
 " London, Hth of 1st month, 1854." 
 [Here follow the signatures.] 
 
 Nicholas listened with the greatest at- 
 tention while the address was being read; 
 and the deputation were induced to hope, 
 from his tone and manner, that he was not 
 
 71 
 
THE czar's reply.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 insensible to the appeal. At the conclu- 
 sion, he said he wished to offer some expla- 
 nation of his views as to the causes of the 
 present unhappy differences. His observa- 
 tions, in the course of the conversation 
 which followed, were, as nearly as could be 
 gathered, as follows : — 
 
 '■ We received the blessings of Christianity 
 from the Greek empire ; and this has established 
 and maintained ever since a link of connexion, 
 both moral and religious, between Eussia and 
 that power. The ties that have thus united the 
 two countries have subsisted for 900 years, and 
 were not severed by the conquest of Russia by 
 the Tartars ; and when, at a later period, our 
 country succeeded in shaking off that yoke, and 
 the Grreek empire, in its turn, fell under the 
 sway of the Turks, we still continued to take a 
 lively interest in the welfare of our co-religion- 
 ists there ; and when Russia became powerful 
 enough to resist the Turks, and to dictate the 
 terms of peace, we paid particular attention to 
 the well-being of the Greek church, and pro- 
 cured the insertion in successive treaties of 
 most important articles in her favour. I have 
 myself acted as my predecessors had done, and 
 the treaty of Adrinople, in 1829, was as explicit 
 as the former ones in this respect. Turkey, on 
 her part, recognised this right of religious inter- 
 ference, and fulfilled her engagements until 
 within the last year or two, when for the first 
 time, she gave me reason to complain. I will 
 not now advert to the parties who were her 
 principal instigators on that occasion. Suffice 
 it to say that it became my duty to interfere, 
 and to claim from Turkey the fulfilment of her 
 engagements. My representations were press- 
 ing but friendly, and I have every reason to 
 believe that matters would soon have been 
 settled if Turkey had not been induced by other 
 parties to believe that I had ulterior objects in 
 view, — that I was aiming at conquest, aggran- 
 disement, and the ruin of Turkey. I have 
 solemnly disclaimed, and do now as solemnly 
 disclaim every such motive. ... I do not 
 desire war ; I abhor it as sincerely as you do ; 
 and am ready to forget the past, if only the 
 opportunity be afforded me. ... I have 
 great esteem for your country, and a sincere 
 affection for your queen, whom I admire, not 
 only as a sovereign, but as a lady, a wife, and a 
 mother. I have placed fuU confidence in her, 
 and have acted towards her in a frank and 
 friendly spirit. I felt it my duty to .call her 
 attention to future dangers, which I considered 
 sooner or later likely to arise in the East, in con- 
 sequence of the existing state of things. What, 
 on my part, was prudent foresight, has been 
 unfairly construed in your country into a de- 
 signing policy and an ambitious desire of con- 
 quest. This has deeply wounded my feelings 
 and afflicted my heart. Personal insults and 
 72 
 
 invectives I regard with indifference. It is 
 beneath ray dignity to notice them ; and I am 
 ready to forgive all that is personal to me, and 
 to hold out my hand to my enemies in the true 
 Christian spirit. I cannot understand what 
 cause of complaint your nation has against 
 Russia. I am anxious to avoid war by all pos- 
 sible means. I will not attack, and shall only 
 act in self-defence. I cannot be indifferent to 
 what concerns the honour of my country. I 
 have a duty to perform as a sovereign. As a 
 Christian I am ready to comply with the pre- 
 cepts of religion. On the present occasion my 
 great duty is to attend to the interests and 
 honour of my country." 
 
 In reply to the emperor, the deputation 
 observed that their mission was not of a 
 political character, but merely intended to 
 convey to his majesty the sentiments of 
 their own society, as a religious body. 
 They did not, therefore, feel it to be their 
 place to enter into any of the questions 
 involved in the present dispute; but, with 
 the emperor's permission, they would be 
 glad" to call his attention specially to a few 
 points. They, and many other English- 
 men, had incurred the displeasure of the 
 supporters of the present military system, 
 by advocating the settlement of international 
 disputes by arbitration. They also remarked, 
 that as while Mohammedanism avowedly 
 justifies the employment of the sword in 
 propagating its doctrines, Christianity is 
 emphatically a religion of peace, there ap- 
 peared, therefore, a peculiar propriety in 
 a Christian emperor's exercising forbearance 
 and forgiveness. They concluded by ob- 
 serving, that in the event of a European 
 war, among the thousands who would be its 
 victims, those who were the principal causes 
 of it would, probably, not be the greatest 
 sufferers; but that the heaviest calamities 
 would fall upon innocent men, and their 
 wives and children. 
 
 The deputation were then about to retire, 
 but the emperor said they should not leave 
 without being introduced to the empress. 
 That lady, accompanied by the grand- 
 duchess Olga, then entered the room, and 
 conversed with Mr. Sturge and his friends 
 in a very agreeable manner. On taking 
 their leave, Nicholas shook each of his 
 visitors heartily by the hand, and desired 
 them to remain some days in St. Petersburg. 
 They were afterwards informed, through 
 Baron Nicolay, that the emperor desired 
 to transmit to the Society of Friends a 
 written reply to their address. A reply in 
 the French language was accordingly for- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the greek insdmiection. 
 
 ■warded to them. It is unnecessary to insert 
 it here, as it is scarcely more than a reite- 
 ration of the sentiments expressed by the 
 emperor in the observations he addressed 
 to the deputation, after listening to their 
 expostulation. Although it was the wish of 
 the Friends to be as quiet as possible during 
 their stay in St. Petersburg, yet their pre- 
 sence created a considerable degree of inter- 
 est among the inhabitants. So much so, 
 that they were not unfrequently followed in 
 the streets by crowds of persons, who seemed 
 to take a favourable interest in the object of 
 their mission. 
 
 We must now call attention to another 
 episode of the war of a very different cha- 
 racter — an episode which threatened to add 
 considerably to the perplexities of the already 
 intricate Oriental question. We allude to 
 the insurrections of the sultan's Greek and 
 other Christian subjects in that portion of 
 the Ottoman territory which joined the 
 kingdom of Greece. Undoubtedly the 
 Turks had behaved in an extremely oppres- 
 sive manner to the Greeks ; so much so, as to 
 elicit the interference of the European powers 
 in 1827 — an interference which led to the 
 destruction of the Turkish navy at the battle 
 of Navarino. 
 
 For nearly four centuries the Greeks, and 
 other Christian subjects of the Ottoman, 
 were in a state not widely different from 
 that of slavery. The evidence of a Christian 
 was not admitted at a Turkish tribunal of 
 justice: his right of property was limited j 
 his personal security treated contemptuously ; 
 and he was so mistrusted by the govern- 
 ment as not to be allowed to bear arms in 
 its service. This state of things lasted until 
 the close of the first quarter of the present 
 century, when the insurrection of the Greeks, 
 supported by England, France, and Russia, 
 wrung from Turkey a partial independence. 
 The Porte has, since that time, entered on a 
 course of legislative and social reforms 
 which are bringing about the effect so 
 earnestly desired. 
 
 It was natural that the Greeks should rise 
 against their oppressors when the latter 
 were visited with adversity and danger ; and 
 
 • The English government has not lost sight of 
 the interesting subject of religious liberty in the East. 
 Notwithstanding the liberality of Sultan Abdul- 
 Medjid, many of the grievances arising from Mussul- 
 man intolerance are still in force, and doubtless are 
 extremely difficult to be remedied. This circum- 
 stance induced the foreign minister, on the 24th of 
 June, 1853, to impress upon the sultan the import- 
 ance of removing all civil distinctions between his 
 
 that they should hail the then probable fall 
 of Turkey as the roseate dawning of Greek 
 independence and the restoration of the 
 Greek empire. It was also difficult for 
 Englishmen to avoid sympathising with a 
 people struggling for liberty ; — difficult also 
 to forget that centuries ago, in the days of 
 Pericles, that Athens was a proud and glori- 
 ous city — the home of all that was brilliant 
 and elegant in intellect and art ; and that her 
 people were the rulers of the world. It was 
 natural for the Greeks to have acted as they 
 had done ; but they had chosen an unhappy 
 time for the assertion of their independence 
 — a time when the sympathies of most of 
 the great European powers must of necessity 
 be against them. By rising against Turkey, 
 she, in effect, united herself with Russia 
 against the Ottoman and the allied Western 
 powers. If Greece had been successful, she 
 would have helped to trample under foot the 
 European balance of power, and to place the 
 despotic genius of Russia triumphant on the 
 ruins of order and freedom. Having done 
 this, she would merely have changed her 
 master, and become a dependency of Russia 
 instead of a dependency of Turkey. 
 
 Though England would not ally herself 
 with a Mohammedan power against a Chris- 
 tian one, yet it was evident the Greek insur- 
 rection must be repressed, or Russia would 
 be materially assisted in her attack on the 
 territory of the Ottoman, and supported in 
 her resistance of the propositions of France 
 and England. It was difficult for the res- 
 pective governments of these states to satisfy 
 the Greeks and other Christian subjects of 
 the Porte, that although supporting the 
 sovereignty of the sultan, they were not the 
 less anxious to obtain for them a complete 
 reform of their condition. A spirit of re- 
 markable liberality has indeed appeared 
 in the conduct both of the sultan Abdul- 
 Medjid, and his father Mahmoud ; still, we 
 think it would be well to have followed out 
 the suggestion of Lord Stratford de Red- 
 cliffe, and made the assistance given to 
 Turkey conditional upon the extension of 
 ample rights to his Christian subjects.* 
 
 Signs of coming insurrection were visible 
 
 Christian and Mohammedan subjects. To this recom- 
 mendation, Lord Clarendon added the following im- 
 portant declaration : — " It is the deliberate opinion of 
 her majesty's government, that the only real securitv 
 for the continued existence of Turkey as an indepen- 
 dent power, is to be sought by enlisting the feelings 
 of its Christian subjects in its preservation ; that 
 although Turkey may get over her present difficul- 
 ties by the aid of her allies, she must not reckon on 
 
 73 
 
THE GREEK INSURRECTION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 in Greece soon after the commencement of 
 the dispute between Russia and Turkey. 
 The agents of the czar were at work, per- 
 suading the Greeks that Russia was their 
 friend and natural protectress, and that the 
 hour had arrived for the recovery of their 
 ancient freedom. During the autumn of 
 1853, the following inflammatory address was 
 circulated among the Greeks, with the 
 object of causing them to rise against the 
 Mussulmans : — 
 
 " To the enslaved Greeks of Thessaly, Mace- 
 donia, Thrace, and Epirus, Asia Minor and 
 its islands, Candia, and all the islands of 
 the Archipelago : — 
 
 " Brethren and Countrymen, — To arms, to 
 arms ! Por four centuries you have been groan- 
 ing beneath the Turkish yoke. The happy hour 
 has come. Rise, and time lose not ; — let the 
 Crescent disappear before the Cross. Tour cause 
 is sacred, and the Almighty will help you. 
 Think of the glory of your noble ancestors, and 
 blush for your degradation. Fear not the 
 bloodthirsty hounds of the sultan nor his rene- 
 gade friends ; they are ferocious, yet craven 
 hordes, which you will soon vanquish and dis- 
 perse. Rise, fight! and do not allow your 
 sword one moment's rest until you have plunged 
 it into the heart of the last of the Moslems. 
 Down with the barbarians ! — the plunderers of 
 your vaunted and classic country — the mur- 
 derers of your brethren, of Scios and Kidonies ! 
 Your northern brethren in faith are shedding 
 their blood on the banks of the Danube for your 
 own cause. £e grateful to them and to their 
 most noble master; but do not let them accom- 
 plish alone that which it is your duty to per- 
 form. Soon that mighty river will witness the 
 total destruction of the wild legions of the 
 Turk. Let your war-cry be religious indepen- 
 dence, and you will assuredly overcome the 
 savage Moslems. Do not place any trust in the 
 Franks for your freedom ; they are your bit- 
 terest foes and the friends of your oppressors. 
 Remember that the English sold Parga to the 
 Turks. Bear in mind also that English cannon 
 threatened to bum the houses of your fellow- 
 
 countrymen of liberated Greece in behalf of the 
 despicable Jew Pacifico. The Latin French- 
 men are worse than the English. Despise them 
 all — aim well at the enemy. God is with you, 
 and you will soon be free ! 
 "Athens, Nov. 10. A. O. D." 
 
 At length, on the 28th of January, 1854, 
 a regularly-organised conspiracy was dis- 
 covered in Albania, Epirus, Thessaly, and 
 Macedonia. Large sums of money had been 
 raised by the wealthy Greeks in different 
 parts of the world ; and the intended insur- 
 rection was arranged by men of ability and 
 energy, prepared to die, if necessary, in thei 
 cause of their country. There is very little 
 doubt that a general insurrection was aimed 
 at, like that which took place when the war 
 of liberation commenced. In many parts', 
 revolutionary committees, or their agents, 
 went from village to village, urging the 
 inhabitants to rise against the Turks, and 
 distributing guns among those who ex- 
 pressed their willingness to join the insur- 
 gents. Great numbers of officers, students, 
 and others, left Athens, and rushed eagerly 
 to the gatherings in the mountains to join 
 the revolt ; and early in February the in- 
 surrectionary army was reported to number 
 8,000 men. They were under the command 
 of Spiridion Karakaisis, a Greek lieutenant, 
 who received orders from the government of 
 his native country to return to Athens im- 
 mediately, under pain of being struck out 
 of the army-list ; but the Greek govern- 
 ment was unable to" restrain the revolu- 
 tionary ardour of the people, and its com- 
 mand was disregarded. The Turkish gar- 
 rison at Arta was thrice besieged by a 
 detachment of the insurgents. Janina shared 
 a similar fate. An encounter occurred in 
 the port of Arta between the Turkish guard- 
 ship and a Greek cutter, in which the former 
 was destroyed ; and in Asia Minor collisions 
 between the Turks and Greek were occur- 
 almost daily. In Epirus, the insur- 
 
 external aid as a permanent resource : but that she 
 must create for herself a surer defence in the affec- 
 tions of the most intelligent, active, and enterprising 
 class of her subjects j and that it is impossible to 
 suppose that any true sympathy for their rulers will 
 be felt by the Christians, so long as they are made 
 to experience in all their daily transactions the in- 
 feriority of their position as compared with that of 
 their Mussulman fellow-subjects — so long as they are 
 aware that they will seek in vain for justice for 
 wrongs done either to their persons or their pro- 
 perties, because they are deemed a degraded race, 
 unworthy to be put in comparison with the followers 
 of Mohammed. Your excellency will plainly and 
 authoritively state to the Porte, that this state of 
 74 
 
 ring 
 
 things cannot be longer tolerated by the Christian 
 powers. The Porte must decide between the sacri- 
 fice of an erroneous religious principle and the loss 
 of the sympathy and support of its allies. You will 
 point out the immense importance of the election 
 which it has to make ; and her majesty's govern- 
 ment conceive that very little reflection will suffice 
 to satisfy the Turkish ministers that the Porte can no 
 longer reckon upon its Mussulman subjects alone as 
 a safeguard against external danger ; and that with- 
 out the hearty assistance of its Christian dependents, 
 and the powerful sympathy and support of its Chris- 
 tian allies, the Turkish empire must soon cease to 
 exist." It is the Turkish people, rather than the go- 
 vernment, that are the opponents of religious equality. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [the greek insurrection. 
 
 gents, adding religious fanaticism to patri- 
 otic ardour, pulled down all the crescents 
 from the mosques, and performed Christian 
 service in them. From the following docu- 
 ments, issued from a village near to Arta, 
 and consisting of an oath and proclamation, 
 the state of feeling among the Greek popu- 
 lation may be inferred : — I 
 
 " Proclamation. 
 " "We, the undersigned, inhabitants and pri- 
 mates (elders) of Kadobitsi, in the province of 
 Ajta, sighing under the pressure of the exorbi- 
 tant taxation which has been imposed on us by 
 Ottoman jconquerors, who are not only incapable 
 of civilisation, but besides violate the chastity 
 of our maidens, do renew the struggle of 1821, 
 and swear by the name of the Almighty and by 
 our sacred fatherland, in no case and under no 
 plea to lay down our arms until we have ob- 
 tained our liberty. 
 
 " Now, at the coir.mencement of the struggle, 
 we hope to rouse the sympathy of our brethren, 
 of the free Greeks, and of all those groaning 
 under the Ottoman yoke, so that they may take 
 up arms to renew the holy war of 1821, and 
 fight for faith, fatherland, and our inalienable 
 rights. 
 
 " The war is holy and just, and no one who 
 considers the weight of our burden and the rights 
 of nations will utter a word in defence of our 
 barbarous oppressors, or advocate the cause of 
 the Crescent, which is planted on the summit of 
 our sacred church. 
 
 " "Up then, brethren! — ^rush to battle, throw off 
 the hated yoke of our tyrants, and with us 
 loudly proclaim to God and the world that we 
 do battle for our fatherland, and that the Most 
 High is our shield of defence. 
 
 " Johann Cosovakis ; Demeter Kokas ; 
 Costi Kosma ; Bas Nakos ; Ntulas 
 Bases; Colios Mavromati ; K. C. Stuma, 
 JDemeter Scaltriojanni ; Georg Calzic- 
 gami; C. Merekas; K. KatzUas; Konst; 
 Zegarides." 
 
 " The Oath. 
 " I swear by the Holy Gospels, by the Holy 
 Trinity, and by Him crucified, that I take up 
 arms which shall not be cast aside until our op- 
 pressors are driven from the homes of our 
 lathers, and my fatherland is free. I also swear 
 by an Almighty God to be faithful to my flag, 
 and if necessary, to shed the last drop of my 
 blood in defence of my comrades." 
 
 It is asserted, that the Turkish police had 
 intercepted a letter from some of the Greek 
 revolutionists, addressed to General Gorts- 
 chakoff, desiring him to cross the Danube 
 at once, as the insurrection in Bulgaria was 
 on the point of breaking out. King Otho 
 was then believed, not only to be altogether 
 iinconnected with the untimely outbreak of 
 
 his people, but to have viewed it with feel- , 
 ings of considerable alarm. Subsequent ' 
 events have shown that he, his queen, and 
 court, used what influence they possessed to 
 promote the designs of Russia. Otho gave 
 at first secret, and finally open encourage- 
 ment to the intended revolution. The de- 
 signs of the czar were, of course, materially 
 promoted by the revolt, and Russian agents 
 had been busily employed in the disturbed 
 districts. Mr. Layard, the accomplished 
 traveller and explorer of the remains of 
 ancient Nineveh, stated, in the House of 
 Commons, that "he could speak, almost 
 from personal experience, of the way in 
 which the affair had progressed. Last year 
 (1853), there was scarcely a convent inha- 
 bited by a single priest on Pelion or Olym- 
 pus, in which were not to be seen pieces of 
 plate and presents from the Emperor of 
 Russia." 
 
 Though the governments of both England 
 and France could not avoid feeling some 
 sympathy for the Greek patriots and the 
 Christians under Turkish rule, yet they 
 could not permit them to pursue a career 
 calculated to injure the cause of Ottoman 
 independence, and fling the Greeks them- 
 selves into the arms of Russia. The French 
 minister, therefore, addressed a note, couched 
 in energetic and decided language, to the 
 government of King Otho, which was also 
 informed by the British minister that 
 England would interfere, if necessary, to 
 restore order in the disturbed districts. It 
 has been justly observed, that the true in- 
 terests of the Christian subjects of the Porte, 
 was to place their cause wholly in the hands 
 of the Western powers, who were in a posi- 
 tion to require for tiiem what they could 
 not obtain or demand for themselves. 
 
 The representatives at Athens of the four 
 great powers of Europe protested against 
 any invasion by the free Greeks of the 
 rights of the sultan, and Sir Henry Ward, 
 lord high commissioner of the Ionian Is- 
 lands, issued a circular to the English func- 
 tionaries, urging them not to allow anything 
 of a nature to compromise the good faith of 
 England with the Sublime Porte. "Your 
 duty, sir," said the circular, " is to convince 
 the authorities of your island, that the 
 movement which has so unfortunately com- 
 menced in Greece is certainly calculated to 
 remove all hope of amelioration in the con- 
 dition of the Greek population of Turkey, 
 by impelling them into a barbarous struggle 
 of a nature to endanger themselves, their 
 
 75 
 
THE GREEK INSTJREECTION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 185i. 
 
 families, and their property, without the 
 slightest chance of success; since no one can 
 imagine that the treaties and declarations of 
 the great cabinets of Europe can depend on 
 committees at Athens, the acts of which are 
 assuredly not admitted by any established 
 government." 
 
 The Turkish government took active steps 
 to suppress the rising storm of revolution. 
 Hafiz Pasha, the vizier, proclaimed drum- 
 head law in the eastern districts of Albania : 
 many persons were arrested; and every Greek 
 who joined the insurrection was threatened 
 with death. The Turkish government .dis- 
 patched a corps of 5,000 troops, which, with 
 the troops previously at the disposal of the 
 governors of Thessaly and Epirus, made an 
 effective strength of 8,000 men. This, it 
 was supposed, would be sufficient to put 
 down the revolt, and cause the authority of 
 the sultan to be respected. The Porte also 
 required, from the Greek minister at Con- 
 stantinople, a formal disavowal of all parti- 
 cipation in, or connivance with, the Greek 
 insurrection, Redschid Pasha even de- 
 clared that if, within a given time, authentic 
 proofs were not forthcoming that the Greek 
 government had nothing whatever to do with 
 the insurrection, or of its not having done 
 all in its power to prevent it, the Greek 
 minister should receive his passports. The 
 insurrection did not meet with the expected 
 success : out of a province containing a 
 Christian population of 400,000 persons, 
 only 8,000 rose in arms ; and it is said, 
 that not more than 3,000 of them were 
 Greeks. The liberal conduct of the sultan 
 probably had a considerable influence in 
 bringing about this result. He promised 
 to accede to the demands of the four powers 
 relative to the emancipation of his Christian 
 subjects, and also to cause the excesses and 
 oppressions of the Turkish officials and sol- 
 diers to be duly restrained. Such had been 
 the violent conduct of the latter, that the 
 progress of the insurrection was largely 
 attributed to the soldiers who were sent 
 to put it down. Another circumstance that 
 cooled the enthusiasm of the Greeks, was 
 
 * Some of our readers may not be aware that the 
 kingdom of Greece is divided into three parts. 
 Hellas, or that portion -which adjoins the Turkish 
 dominions ; the Morea, known anciently as the Pe- 
 loponnesus, and of numerous islands. Of these Syra 
 is the seat of a Greek archbishopric. In ancient 
 times the Greeks were first governed by kings, and 
 there was as many monarchs as there were cities. 
 As the monarchical power declined, the love of liberty 
 cherished by the people induced them to adopt a 
 76 
 
 the knowledge that England and France 
 were ready to interfere for the preservation 
 of tranquillity. Indeed, an Anglo-French 
 squadron in the Adriatic, had intercepted 
 a supply of arms and ammunition intended 
 for the Albanian insurgents. As the Greeks 
 in arms desired to induce the Servians to 
 join the insurrection, Austria became in- 
 terested in the struggle, and declared that 
 she would not permit of any revolutionary 
 movement. 
 
 Still the insurrection of the Greek sub- 
 jects of the Porte was not destined to die 
 out without alarming circumstances. On 
 the 9th of March, the Porte addressed a 
 note to the British and French ambassadors, 
 complaining of the connivance of the Greek 
 court in the revolt; and on the 21st, a 
 Turkish, a British, and a French vessel of 
 war entered the Piraeus, for the purpose of 
 conveying Ali Pasha on a special mission 
 to Athens, to present the demands of the 
 Porte to the Greek government. These- 
 demands were to the effect that all Greek 
 officers who had taken up arms against the 
 Turks should be recalled to their own 
 country; that all revolutionary committees 
 in Greece should be suppressed; that the 
 Greek press should not be permitted to 
 write against Turkey; that certain Greek 
 professors should be dismissed from the 
 university ; and that some rioters, who had 
 been liberated from prison by the patriotic 
 party, should be punished. After a cabinet 
 council, at which King Otho presided, had 
 been held by the Greek government, a very 
 curt and independent answer was returned. 
 This not being satisfactory, Nesset Bey, the 
 Turkish chargi^ d'affaires at Athens, de- 
 manded his passport, and returned to Con- 
 stantinople. General Metaxas, the Greek 
 ambassador at the city of the sultan, fol- 
 lowed his example,. and diplomatic relations 
 between Greece and Turkey were broken off. 
 
 The following extract from a letter dated 
 March 28th, from Syra, gives a lively pic- 
 ture, at this period, of the feelings of the 
 population of the Greek islands :* — " The 
 nervous agitation which is pervading alike 
 
 republican form of government. In the height of 
 their power and glory they several times defeated 
 the Persians, then regarded as the mightiest people 
 on the earth, The Greek cities afterwards turned 
 their arms against each other. Greece then sunk 
 from its glorious altitude, submitted to the yoke of 
 Alexander and his successors, and at length became 
 a Eoman province. When, in 1451, Sultan Moham- 
 med II. took Constantinople, and the ancient east- 
 ern empire was overturned, Greece fell beneath the 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [state of feeling in gheece. 
 
 all classes, takes a different expression in 
 each of them. Thus, while the wealthy mer- 
 chants, with whom caution has become a 
 prominent feature of character, betrays it 
 only by his anxious looks and by the sus- 
 picious manner in which he imparts his 
 apocryphal information to the stranger, the 
 mass of the people rather glory in the dis- 
 play of what they call patriotism. All the 
 streets are full of groups, discussing the actual 
 state of affairs, indulging in the wildest 
 schemes and hopes, and using their loud voices 
 as proofs of their assertions. The coffee- 
 houses and gin-shops resound in the evening 
 with the 'Parisienne' and the 'Marseillaise,' 
 both of which have been quite naturalised in 
 Greece, and become national melodies, with 
 suitable words adapted to them. Outside 
 of the town, some forty or fifty patriots are 
 drilling, under the superintendence of a 
 Serjeant; while in the town, the soldiers, as 
 well as the sailors of the two men-of-war 
 cutters (which would be more appropriately 
 called boys-oi-wa,T) are treated with marked 
 regard. Even the rising generation seems 
 to be roused. The excitement has taken, 
 with them, a purely artistic turn, and shows 
 itself in sundry chalk, portraits of the 
 Emperor Nicholas on the walls. 
 
 " If one analyzes this excitement, the 
 chief ingredient is certainly an inveterate 
 and implacable hatred against the Turks; 
 and the other — scarcely less powerful — the 
 wish of aggrandisement for individuals, as 
 well as for the Greek nation. Their chief 
 argument is always, that Greece cannot ex- 
 ist as she is ; and that it is preferable not 
 to exist at all, than in such an humble way. 
 This idea, which reminds one involuntarily 
 of the dog letting the bone fall from the 
 bridge to catch the shadow of it, which ap- 
 peared larger, is firmly seated here in every 
 Greek mind. The sympathy for their co- 
 religionists in Albania and Thessaly is 
 scarcely used as a pretext; they consider 
 the whole as purely a Greek afi'air. They 
 speak, indeed, in a general way of grievances 
 and oppressions sometimes ; but, if you ask 
 in what they consist, almost every one will 
 say the same — they have no liberty of the 
 press. How this can be a grievance to the 
 population of Albania and Thessaly, among 
 whom there is scarcely anybody who can 
 gway of the Turks. Thus it remained until the war 
 of independence. In August, 1832, Greece again 
 became a kingdom. The government was at first an 
 almost absolute monarchy : the revolution of Septem- 
 ber, 1843, introduced a constitution ; and in March, 
 1844, a government, on the basis of those of France 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 read, is rather difficult to understand. It is 
 in vain to tell them that they possess already 
 more land than they can cultivate ; and that 
 the population of Greece is on the decrease, 
 rather than on the increase. The truth is, 
 that the state of the whole population is 
 very unsatisfactory. Through several suc- 
 cessive years the crops have been insufficient ; 
 and, in consequence of this, and the heavy 
 taxation which the expenses of the gov- 
 ernment and court require, the whole 
 country, with the exception of some of the 
 maritime towns, is in a state of misery. It 
 is natural that, under such circumstances, 
 most people should wish for a change, and 
 be ready for every disturbance in which 
 they have nothing to lose, and may win 
 something. The lower classes, who are 
 eager to join the insurgents, hope for booty; 
 the upper classes for office and pay ; which 
 an aggrandisement of territory would facili- 
 tate. It would be a redeeming point in 
 this headlong movement, if it was an ofi- 
 spring of a feeling of repressed energy, and 
 if they intended to obtain the realisation of 
 their vague hopes by their own strength. 
 But such is not the case : their eyes are 
 turned towards Russia. If Russia has 
 hitherto failed in rousing the Slavonic popu- 
 lation of European Turkey, she certainly 
 has been successful in Greece. Not that 
 much exertion was wanted ; for all calcula- 
 tions, or rather expectations of Greek 
 patriots, were always based on Russia : but 
 one can perceive distinct traces of recent 
 ■ activity in the positiveness with which people 
 look for Russian help. Of course, the 
 Greek church is not behind in this move- 
 ment. You cannot visit a Greek church 
 without seeing signs of the czar's munifi- 
 cence, which the papas wiU not fail to point 
 out to you. He will also show you divers 
 passages from their liturgy : such as ' A great 
 smoke arose from the north,' &c.; upon which 
 he will comment in connexion with the pre- 
 sent events. Besides Russia, they also count 
 on Austria. It is useless to point out that 
 Austria has declared for the Western powers : 
 a sly wink is all you get as an answer." 
 
 At this point we must, for a time, leave 
 the struggle of the Greek subjects of the 
 sultan, to bring forward other and con- 
 temporaneous events. 
 
 and England, was proclaimed. Our readers are 
 aware that the insurrection is in those parts of the 
 sultan's dominions which lie next to the kingdom 
 of Greece, and in ancient times formed part of it — 
 namely, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Albania. The 
 once illustrious Macedonia is now a Turkish province, 
 
 77 
 
THE FINA.L ULTIMATUM.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1851. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FINAL ULTIMATUM OF TH.E ALLIED POWERS TO THE CZAR ; ENGLAND PREPARES FOR WAR ; DEPAR- 
 TURE OF THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE BALTIC FLEET ; THE CHALLENGE OF THE ST. PETERSBURG 
 JOURNAL, AND PRODUCTION OF THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Pheparations for the inevitable war had for 
 some time been making both in England 
 and France ; still, at the eleventh hour the 
 allied powers resolved to give the Emperor 
 of Russia one last chance of retracing his 
 ambitious steps, and restoring peace to Eu- 
 rope. Late in February, an ultimatum — a 
 final ultimatum — was dispatched to St. Pe- 
 tersburg, requiring that Russia should pledge 
 herself, within six days, to evacuate the 
 principalities before the end of April. The 
 governments of France and England both 
 felt that they could not permit the wrongful 
 occupation of the territories of Turkey by 
 Russia to be continued, and they signified 
 that they should consider the czar's not 
 withdrawing his troops from the principali- 
 ties as equivalent to a declaration of war. 
 Forbearance has its boundaries ; and, in this 
 case, those boundaries had been fully reached. 
 At the time it was sent, this final ultimatum 
 was felt to be a mere form ; and, before the 
 answer to it was received, two powerful fleets 
 had left our shores, and an English army 
 was on its way to the territories of the 
 sultan. 
 
 Let us relate what occurred before the 
 reply of the Emperor Nicholas to the ulti- 
 matum returned. Incessant preparations 
 were making for the coming war, the most 
 prominent and interesting of which we will 
 refer to. The English government resolved 
 to send out to Malta, as the first division of 
 the British division destined for the defence 
 of Turkey, a body of infantry, amounting 
 to 10,000 men, accompanied by a propor- 
 tionable force of cavalry and artillery. The 
 division consisted of three battalions of the 
 guards; the 4th, 28th, 33rd, 50th, 77th, and 
 93rd regiments of the line ; and the 2nd bat- 
 talion of the rifle brigade. The artillery 
 force included five field-batteries and one 
 brigade for small-arm ball-cartridge. The 
 brigade of cavalry comprised the Scots-greys, 
 the carbineers, the 17th lancers, the 11th 
 hussars, the 8th hussars, and the Ennis- 
 killens. Lord Raglan was appointed to the 
 chief command of the expedition, the forces 
 of which were afterwards raised to 25,000 
 78 
 
 men. The army consisted of two divisions, 
 one of which was under the command of 
 General Sir George Browne, and the other 
 of his royal highness the Duke of Cam- 
 bridge. One item of preparation has a painful 
 significance : we allude to that of the medical 
 stores, which were provided partly by the 
 Apothecaries' Hall, and partly from the well- 
 known firm of Savory and Sons, New Bond- 
 street. Among the articles were 1,000 lbs. 
 of lint, 1,000 lbs. of tow, 200 old sheets, 
 and 1,000 yards of adhesive plaster. Such 
 things unpleasantly remind the thoughtless 
 of the hideous sabre-gashes and rending 
 bullet-wounds to which the poor soldier is 
 liable. 
 
 On the 14th of February, the inhabitants 
 of London beheld in their streets the first 
 evidences of the war. At noon the 1st bat- 
 talion of Coldstream guards marched out 
 from St. George's barracks, Trafalgar-square, 
 en route for Chichester, preparatory to em- 
 barking for the Mediterranean. The men 
 seemed in the highest spirits, and marched 
 cheerfully along to the familiar air of " The 
 girl I left behind me," and amidst the en- 
 thusiastic cheers of the assembled multi- 
 tude. 
 
 On the 20th of the same month his royal 
 highness Prince Albert reviewed the 1st 
 battalion of the fusileers, and the 3rd of the 
 grenadier guards, at the Wellington bar- 
 racks. The prince was accompanied by the 
 Duke of Cambridge, Lord Hardinge, and a 
 numerous suite. The troops were drawn up 
 in open columns of companies on the parade- 
 ground in front of the barracks, and the 
 formal inspection was carried on from com- 
 pany to company, and from man to man, in 
 every detail of accoutrement. " The tower- 
 ing bear-skin cap," says a spectator, " had 
 been diminished by several inches; the Minie 
 rifle was substituted for ' brown Bess ;' the 
 'heavy-marching order' of the battalions 
 carried along with it a strongly-marked 
 campaigning character; the sappers seemed 
 hung round with an extra supply of pick- 
 axes, saws, and hatchets; even the officers 
 seemed to take an unusual interest in the fit 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAE WITH KUSSIA. [depautuhe of the troops. 
 
 of their sword-hilts. Then there were, as 
 the intervals of discipline permitted, the 
 grasping of hands, and words of brief and 
 hearty farewell. The excitement and the 
 anticipation of active service visibly extended 
 through the ranks. Nor were the spectators 
 indifferent witnesses of the scene before 
 them. Thoughts of what war might do with 
 those stately battalions could hardly be 
 avoided on an occasion of the kind ; yet at 
 least it was satisfactory to feel that the 
 honour of the country was coniided to their 
 keeping. As the grenadiers returned to 
 their quarters at St. George's barracks, they 
 were followed by excited thousands, eager to 
 have a good look at them before they em- 
 barked." 
 
 On the 22nd, the 2nd battalion of the 
 Coldstreams, and the 3rd of the grenadier 
 guards, proceeded from London to South- 
 ampton, and embarked for Malta. Though 
 scarcely daylight when the grenadiers left St. 
 George's barracks for the Waterloo station, 
 they were accompanied to the terminus by 
 crowds of people, whose hearty cheers showed 
 the true English interest they took in those 
 who were leaving their country for the de- 
 fence of the brave and the oppressed. Ar- 
 rived at Southampton, the Coldstreams and 
 the grenadiers embarked on board three 
 steamers, and passed out of the docks amidst 
 shouts from the spectators that rent the air 
 ■ — shouts that were lustily returned by the 
 departing soldiers. 
 
 On the 28th of this month of military 
 
 * Our readers will not censure us for placing be- 
 fore them a few facts concerning the brave seaman 
 who has led forth the British fleet to the icy seas of 
 the north, and to whom the maintenance of our 
 naval supremacy and glory is entrusted. Sir Charles 
 Napier is of a noble Scotch family, and was born on 
 the 6th of March, 1786; entered the army in 1799; 
 and soon gave proofs of that fearlessness and spirit 
 for which he has so long been celebrated. He dis- 
 tinguished himself in the West Indies, in the Spa- 
 nish war of succession (when in 1833 he commanded 
 the fleet of Don Pedro, and gained a victory over 
 the far superior squadron of Don Miguel), and in 
 the war in Syria, when that memorable land, fraught 
 with so many venerable associations which render it 
 dear both to Christians and Mohammedans, was 
 wrested in 1840 from the hands of Mehemet Ali, 
 who had revolted against the sultan. Sir Charles 
 then held the ranli of commodcre, and distinguished 
 himself by taking the towns of Beyrout, Saida, Sidon, 
 and Acre. Sir Charles has won laurels as a states- 
 man and author, as well as in the capacity of a naval 
 officer. He has published several useful papers on 
 topics connected with his profession, and an Histo- 
 rical Account of the War in Syria ; and another of 
 that in Portugal. 
 
 In 1833, he desired to enter parliament, and stood 
 for Portsmouth, where he gave the following bluff 
 
 bustle, the 1st battalion of the Scots fu- 
 sileer guards left London and embarked at 
 Portsmouth for the East. In consequence 
 of her majesty having expressed a desire to 
 see this splendid corps, it marched to Buck- 
 ingham Palace at half-past seven in the 
 morning; and having passed within the 
 railing which surrounds the principal fa9ade 
 of tha't building, drew up and formed in 
 front of the main entrance. As this was 
 done, the queen, Prince Albert, and the 
 royal children, surrounded by the house- 
 hold, presented themselves in the balcony. 
 The troops saluted their sovereign, and then 
 raised three tremendous cheers. Her ma- 
 jesty seemed deeply touched at the spectacle 
 before her : then the notes of the national 
 anthem rose into the air, mingled with the 
 measured tramp of the soldiers as they 
 resumed their march. Emotions of pride, 
 mingled with sadness, no doubt, affected 
 our beloved queen as she gazed upon that 
 mass of noble fellows, then so fuU of life 
 and alacrity. Where would they be when a 
 twelvemonth had elapsed? Perhaps re- 
 turned in triumph to their native land ; or, 
 perhaps, whitening the marshy banks of the 
 Danube, or the wild plains of the Crimea, 
 with their unburied bones. The troops 
 reached Portsmouth about one, and em- 
 barked on board the commodious transport- 
 ship, the Simoon, by three in the afternoon. 
 The next day the vessel departed for Malta. 
 At Portsmouth every day saw the fleet 
 under the brave old Sir Charles Napier* 
 
 sailor-like account of himself to the electors : — " In 
 the course of my canvass, I have been asked who I 
 am. I'll tell you. I am Captain Charles Napier, 
 who twenty-five years ago commanded the Becrtdt 
 brig in the West Indies, and who had the honour of 
 being twenty-four hours under the guns of three 
 Prench line-of-battle ships flying from a British 
 squadron, the nearest of which, with the exception 
 of the Hawk brig, was from five to six miles astern 
 the greatest part of the time. I kept flying double- 
 shotted broadsides into them. One of the ships (the 
 HautpoU) was captured by the Pompey and Castor, 
 the other two escaped by superior sailing. Sir 
 Alexander Cochrane, my commander-in-chief, pro- 
 moted me on the spot into her. At the siege of 
 Martinique, the JEolus, Cleopatra, and Recruit, were 
 ordered to beat up in the night between Pigeon 
 Island and the main, and anchor close to Fort 
 Edward : the enemy, fearing an attack, burnt their 
 shipping. At daylight in the morning, it appeared 
 to me that Fort Edward was abandoned ; this, how- 
 ever, was doubted. I ofi'ered to ascertain the fact, 
 and with five men I landed in open day, scaled the 
 walls and planted the union-jack on the ramparts. 
 Fortunately, I was undiscovered from Fort Bourbon, 
 which stood about a hundred yards offi and com- 
 manded it. On this being reported to Sir Alexander 
 Cochrane, a regiment was landed in the night. Fort 
 
 79 
 
sill CHARLES NAPIER. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 and Admiral Chads advanced towards the 
 completion of its equipment. The latter 
 practised the fleet, morning and afternoon, 
 in gunnery; the blazing and booming of 
 cannon was almost perpetual, and Spithead 
 presented glorious studies to enthusiastic 
 artists. On the 8th of March, the signal — 
 "Prepare for sea," was made by the port- 
 Edward was tak«ri possession of, and the mortars 
 turned against the enemy. I am in possession of a 
 letter from Sir Alexander,, saying, that ' my conduct 
 ■was the means of saying many lives and shortening 
 the siege of Martinique. I had once the misfortune 
 of receiving a precious ' licking from a French cor- 
 vette ; the fii'st shot she fired hroke my thigh, and a 
 plumper carried away the mainmast. The enemy 
 escaped, but the British flag was not tarnished. On 
 my return to England in command of the Jason, I 
 was turned out of her by a t'or'y admiralty, because 
 I had no interest; but as I could not lead an idle: 
 life I served . a campaign with the army in ' Portugal; 
 as a volunteer, When I was again wounded. At the 
 battle of BusapOi I had the honour of carrying off the 
 field my gallant friend and relative, Colonel Napier, 
 now near me; who was shot through the face. On 
 my return to England, I was appointed to the 
 Thames, in the Mediterranean ; and if I could bring 
 the inhabitants of the Neapolitan coast into this 
 room, they would teli you that, from Naples to the 
 Faro point, there was not a spot where I did not 
 leave my mark, and brought ofi' with me upwards of 
 one hundred sail of gun-boats and merchant-vessels- 
 I had the honour of running the Tharnes and 
 Furieuse into the small. niple of Ponza, which was 
 strongly defended, and before they could recover 
 from their surprise I Captured the island without the 
 loss of a man. I was then removed to -the Suryalui, 
 and had the good fortune to fall in with two French 
 frigates and a schooner,; I chased them in the night 
 close into Calvi, in the Island of Corsica, passing 
 close under the st'erh' of one, plUmperihg her as I 
 passed ; and though: we were going eight knots, I 
 tried to run aboard of her consort,, Who was a little 
 outside, standing athwart, my hause ; the night was 
 dark, the land close, and she Succeeded in crossing 
 me, but I drove her ashore on the rocks, wh'6re she 
 was totally wrecked, and her conS'ort was obliged to 
 anchor close to her ; the Euryahis wore rbund and 
 got off, almost brushing- the shore ' as she passed : 
 these ships were afterwards ascertained to be Armces 
 en flute, mounting twenty-two guns each, and the 
 schooner fourteen. From the Mediterranean I was 
 ordered to America; and if my gallant friend, Sir 
 James Gordon, was- here he would have told you 
 how I did my duty in that long, arduous service up 
 the Potomax : he would have told you that in a 
 tremendous squall the Eiiryalus lost her bowsprit 
 and all her top-masts, and. that in twelve hours she 
 was again ready for work ; : we brought away a fleet 
 from Alexandria, were attacked going down the river 
 by batteries built close, to what was the residence of 
 the great Washington, and I was ag'ain wounded in 
 that action in the neck." 
 
 In 1837 he presented himself as a candidate in the 
 liberal interest to the electors of Greenwich, and 
 polled 1,153 votes; but was defeated by forty votes. 
 In 1841 he was more fortunate, being elected member 
 for Marylebone. Since then he has frequently taken 
 a prominent part in the councils of the nation, and 
 80 
 
 admiral's flag-ship. Victory, to Sir Charles 
 Napier's fleet at Spithead and in harbour. 
 It was immediately followed by another— 
 " Be prepared to sail at the shortest notice." 
 On the 10th her majesty, attended by the 
 court, arrived from London, and after em- 
 barking on board the Fairy yacht, passed 
 through the fleet at Spithead on her *ay to 
 
 always spoken with a sailor-like bluntness, and ex- 
 hibited a political acuteness not generally found in 
 gentlemen whose lives had been passed in the duties 
 of a profession which almost excludes any profound 
 study of the mysteries of statesmanship. In 1846, Sir 
 Charles was made rear-admiral of the blue ; and, in 
 1853,-elevated to the rank of vice-admiral. We ought 
 not to close this little account of the career of the gal- 
 lant admiral without a slight reference to the banquet 
 given to him by the members of the Reform Club, 
 on the 7t.h of March, just previously to his departure 
 fbr the Baltic. The speech of Lord Palmerston — that 
 -veteran statesman, who yet possesses more than the 
 customary vivacity and brilliancy of youth — when 
 proposing the health of Sir Charles, may be called a 
 humorous but admirable essay on the life and cha- 
 racter of the latter. Alluding to Sir Charles's im- 
 provements in agridullure, the noble lord observed : — 
 " My gallant friend is a match for everything, and 
 whatever he turns his hand to he generally succeeds 
 in it. However, gentlemen, he now, like Cincinnatus, 
 leaves his plough, puts on his armour, and is prepared 
 to do that gobd Service to his country which he will 
 always perforrn whenever an opportunity is afforded 
 to him." The noble viscount added : — " I cannot re- 
 frain from repeating an observation which was made 
 to me by a very discriminating, calm-minded friend 
 of mine, who passed some time in the East, and saw 
 a great deal of my gallant friend, and who, when he 
 came to town, visited me to give me an account of 
 what he had observed. When I mentioned to him 
 .my gallant friend, and praised his enterprise and 
 .boldness, his daring and his intrepidity, this gentle- 
 man said, ' Yes, all that is very true ; but there is 
 another quality that Sir Charles Napier possesses, 
 which is as valuable as any of these, and as important 
 ah ingredient in his success. / never saw any man 
 in my life who calculated so many moves beforehand.' " 
 In his reply, Sir Charles, with the humorous blunt- 
 ^nessofa sailor, observed, amidst much laughter : — 
 " I cannot say we are at war, because We are still at 
 peace ; but 1 suppose we are very nearly at war, and 
 probably when I get into the Baltic I'll have an op- 
 portunity of declaring war." Sir James Graham, 
 possibly rendered a little more communicative, and 
 less cautious, by the conviviality and excitement of 
 the scene, than a minister of the state is expected to be, 
 exclaimed : — " My gallant friend says, when he goes 
 into the Baltic he will declare war. I, as first lord 
 of the admiralty, yive him my free consent so to do." 
 I'his expression was severely censiired by the press, 
 and brought before the notice of the House of Com- 
 mons by Mr. French, who desired to know by what 
 authority Sir James Graham delegated a power of 
 declaring war to Sir Charles Napier, or to any other 
 person, as it was provided by the constitution of thi9 
 country that such power should rest exclusively in the 
 sovereign. A rather warm debate followed ; but the 
 matter ultimately dropped, Sir James Graham's ob- 
 servations being regarded as a little after-dinner in- 
 discretion. 
 
Mffl'l'rJI l'' I III I I ll I ' "Jl Lill I lit "t 
 
 .<r '"^^ 
 
 ^% f: 'i 
 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the BALTIC FLEET. 
 
 Osborne. On the arrival of the queen at 
 Portsmouth, the guns of the Victory, from 
 which floated the flag of Sir Charles Napier, 
 gave the signal to dress ship. Almost in- 
 stantly the fleet was decked with flags, and 
 every ship had its yards m&nned. Then the 
 Fairy, with the royal standard flaunting 
 from her mainmast, glided out of the har- 
 bour amid the lusty chefers of the Crowds 
 assembled upon the shore. As the yacht 
 steered towards the head of the fleet, the 
 salute from the latter began, jhe sixteen 
 grim floating giants roared forth a welcome 
 from their iron mouths that seemed to rend 
 the air and make the shore tremble. The 
 little royal yacht was completely enveloped 
 in smoke, and the fleet itself almpst shrouded 
 from view. At length nothiiig could be 
 seen through the vapour but the bright 
 flashes of fire, as the cannons continued 
 their wild thunderings. As the smoke 
 cleared away, the yacht could be seen 
 steaming swiftly through the fleet, pn its 
 way to Osborne. 
 
 On the following day, March the 11th, 
 the first division of the Baltic fleet departed 
 on its mission. It comprised, as will be 
 seen from the following list, eight screw 
 !ine-of-battle ships, four screw and four 
 paddle-wheel ships of inferior rank, making 
 a total of sixteen war steamers; of which 
 two — the Duke of tVellington and the Royal 
 George — are three-deckers, and three carried 
 admirals' flags: Sir Charles Napier's an the 
 Duke, Admiral Chads' in the Edinburgh, 
 and Admiral Plumridge's in the Leopard : — 
 
 Screw Lt*fE-o*'-BATTlE Ships. 
 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Men. Horse-power. 
 
 The Duke of WeUington 131 ... 
 
 1,100 . 
 
 . 780 
 
 The Royal George 
 
 .. 121 ... 
 
 990 . 
 
 . 400 
 
 The St. Jean d'Acre 
 
 .. 101 ... 
 
 900 . 
 
 650 
 
 The Princess Royal 
 
 .. 91 ... 
 
 850 . 
 
 . 400 
 
 The Blenheim ... 
 
 .. 60 ... 
 
 660 . 
 
 . 450 
 
 The Hogue 
 
 .. 60 ... 
 
 660 . 
 
 . 450 
 
 TheAjax 
 
 .. 58 ... 
 
 630 . 
 
 . 450 
 
 The Edinburgh ... 
 
 .. 58 ... 
 
 630 . 
 
 . 450 - 
 
 
 680 
 
 6,420 4,030 
 
 ScR 
 
 Ew Frigates 
 
 . 
 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Men. Horse-power. 
 
 The Imp&ieuse ... 
 
 .. 50 ... 
 
 5.30 ... 360 
 
 The Arrogant ... 
 
 .. 47 ... 
 
 450 ... 380 
 
 The Amphion ... 
 
 .. 34 ... 
 
 320 ... 300 
 
 The Tribune 
 
 .. 30 ... 
 
 300 ... 300 
 
 
 161 
 
 1,600 1,320 
 
 Pad 
 
 DIE-WHEELS 
 
 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Men. Horse-power, 
 
 The Leopard 
 
 .. 18 ... 
 
 280 ... 560 
 
 The Dragon 
 
 6 ... 
 
 200 ... 560 
 
 The Bulldog ... 
 
 6 ... 
 
 160 ... 500 
 
 Valorous 
 
 .. 16 ... 
 
 220 . 
 
 4UU 
 
 46 
 
 860 
 
 2,020 
 
 This, the first division only, was soon 
 augmented to twenty-two sailj and it was 
 intended that, when the northern fleet was 
 complete, Sir Charles Napier would have 
 under his command forty-four noble vessels, 
 manned by upwards of 22,000 men, and 
 propelled by a steam power of more than 
 16,000 horses. The most commanding- 
 looking vessel, upon this occasion, was the 
 flag- ship of Sir Charles, the Duke of TVel- 
 lington. It lay upon the placid water, silent 
 and grim, with an air of reserved strength 
 which threatened to be terrible in action. 
 Sir Charles was anxious to get to sea ; but, 
 in compliance with the desire of the mayor, 
 aldermen, and town-council of Portsmouth, 
 he attended at the Guildhally to receive an 
 address they were anxious to present to 
 him. This addi'css reminded him of the 
 responsibility which rested uppn him ; of 
 the expectations which the British people 
 entertained of his prowess ; desired that the 
 God of battles might aid and prosper him 
 while fighting, in. a; righteous cause, and 
 enable him to bring it to a spgedy and 
 decisive issue. In conclusion,' it wished 
 him " God speed ! " and prayed that the 
 war, which had been needlessly forced upon 
 Europe, might eventually result in a lasting 
 peace, check the barbarous policy of aggres- 
 sion, and promote the ciyilisation of the 
 world. The admiral replied in a brief and 
 characteristic speech; and then, hastening 
 to tjie Victoria pier, was taken by the 
 Sprightly on board his stately flag- ship, the 
 Duke of Wellington, T^e main and lower 
 decks of the latter vessel were covered with 
 red cloth, as it was understood that the 
 queen would visit the fleet. Just before 
 one o'clock the Fairy left Cowes, and ap- 
 proached the grim npble vessels that were 
 ready to receive it. Again a thundering 
 salute roared and blazed from every ship, to 
 welcome the fair sovereign of that proud 
 island which its national poet has described 
 as a "precious stone set in the silver sea." 
 Again, the crews poured foi'th thrilUng 
 cheers of welcome, while the marines pre- 
 sented arms upon the quartef-decks, and 
 the bands played the national anthem. A 
 signal from the Fairy expressed that the 
 queen would receive the captains of the 
 difi"erent ships in her yacht, instead of her- 
 self visiting the Duke of Wellington. In 
 consequence of this. Sir Charles, together 
 with the other admirals and captains, went 
 and paid their respects to her majesty. 
 Upon their return, the signal % as given to 
 
 81 
 
THE FRENCH FLEET.J 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d, 1854. 
 
 weigh anchor; the huge sails were spread, 
 and the first division of the British fleet 
 sailed proudly away to the Baltic. It was 
 followed, for several miles, by the queen's 
 yacht; and before returning, her majesty 
 stood for some time waving her handker- 
 chief to her bold seamen, who had gone 
 forth, upon the bosom of the ocean, in the 
 holy cause of sustaining the injured in the 
 struggle against the oppressor and foe of 
 peace and civilisation. When out in the 
 broad sea. Sir Charles issued the following 
 highly characteristic address to the fleet — 
 an address well calculated to go right to 
 the hearts of our bluff Jack tars : — " Lads ! 
 war is declared. We are to meet a bold 
 and numerous enemy. Should they offer 
 us battle, you know how to dispose of them; 
 Should they remain in port, we must try to 
 get at them. Success depends upon the 
 quickness and precision of your fire. Lads ! 
 sharpen your cutlasses, and the day is your 
 own." 
 
 Preparations on a large scale were being 
 carried on in France simultaneously with 
 those in England. Marshal de St. Arnaud 
 was appointed commander-in-chief of their 
 army ; the first division being commanded 
 by General Canrobert, and the second by 
 General Bosquet. Prince Napoleon also 
 commanded a corps of reserve. The first 
 division of the French army consisted of 
 40,000 men ; and a French fleet of five-and- 
 twenty vessels, including nine ships of the 
 line, sailed from Brest to the Baltic. 
 
 The Mvniteur, of April 21st, gives the 
 following account of the French fleet : — 
 
 " The Baltic fleet, under the command of 
 Vice-admiral Parseval-Deschlnes, has sailed 
 from Brest for the &ulf of Finland. This fleet, 
 on board of which a body of infantry and 
 marine artillery has embarked, ia composed of 
 the following vessels : — Taffe, 100 guns ; Auster- 
 lite, screw, 100 ; Hercule, 100 ; Jemmapes, 100 ; 
 Breslaw, 90 ; Duguesclin, 90 ; Inflexible, 90 ; 
 Duperri, 80 ; Trident, 80 ; Semillante, 60 ; An^ 
 dromaque, 60 ; Vengeance, 60 ; Poursuivante, 
 50 ; Virginie, 50 ; Zenohie, 50 ; PsycM, 40 j 
 Darien, steam-frigate, 14 ; Phlegeton, steam- 
 corvette, 10 ; Soufflour, ditto, 6 ; and Milan, 
 
 • The speech referred to occurred in a debate in 
 the House of Commons on the 17th of February, 
 on the then probable war with Russia. It was a 
 sort of review of the causes of the war, and a de- 
 fence of the proceedings of the government of which 
 Lord John Russell was a member. For our own 
 part we cannot recognise in it the brutal outrage 
 upon the virtuous emperor, or the extremely intem- 
 perate language so unbecoming to a cabinet minister. 
 Lord John inferred that the conduct of the Russian 
 82 
 
 Lucifer, Aigle, and Datm, small steamers. The 
 French naval force in the Black Sea, under the 
 command of Vice-admiral Hammelin, ia com- 
 posed of the Friedkmd, 120 gims ; Valniy, 120 ; 
 Ville de Paris, 120 ; Henry IV., 100 ; Bayard, 
 90 ; Charlemagne, screw, 90 ; J^na, 90 ; Jupiter^ 
 90 ; Marengo, 80 ; steam-frigate, Oomer, 16 j 
 Descartes, 20 ; Vanban, 20 ; Mogador, 8 ; Cacique, 
 14 ; Magellan, 14 ; San'^, 14 ; Caton, steam- 
 corvette, 4 ; SSrieuse, sailing ditto, 30 ; Mercure, 
 Oliviere, and Beaumanoir, 20-gun brigs ; Cerf, 
 10-gun brig ; Promethee, Salamandre, Sdron, 
 and Monette, small steamers. The squadron of 
 Vice-admiral Bruat, intended to act in the Black 
 Sea, the Sea of (Jallipoli, and in the Eastern 
 Archipelago, comprises the following vessels: — 
 Montebello, 120 guns ; Napoleon, screw, 92 ; 
 Suffren, 90 ; Jean Bart, screw, 90 ; Ville de 
 Marseille, 80 ; Alger, 80 ; Pomone, screw, 40 ; 
 CaffarelU, steam-frigate, 14 ; Roland and Primau- 
 guet, steam-corvettes, eight guns each. Inde- 
 pendently of these three squadrons and all the 
 frigates, or steam-corvettes, which are assembled 
 in the Mediterranean for the transport of the 
 army of the East, all the naval stations in the 
 West Indies, the Pacific Ocean, the Indo-China 
 seas, and in all quarters where the fisheries are 
 carried on, have been reinforced. The French 
 navy has now embarked on different seas 56,000 
 sailors, and England has an equal force." 
 
 By the time Sir Charles Napier had 
 reached his destination, all the English 
 newspapers were full of what was called 
 "The Secret Correspondence I" Every city, 
 every town, every village, every club, every 
 little knot of talkers spoke mysteriously of 
 the secret correspondence ! What was this 
 secret correspondence ? We will lay it be- 
 fore you, reader, and first tell you how it 
 arose. The St. Petersburg Journal of the 
 3nd of March, contained an elaborate at- 
 tempt to explain and vindicate the conduct 
 of the Russian government in its aggressive 
 transactions with respect to Turkey. The 
 article in the St. Petersburg Journal (elicited 
 by a speech of Lord John Russell in the 
 British House of Commons) was regarded, in 
 a semi-official character, as having been 
 written by or at the dictation of the Em- 
 peror Nicholas, in reply to this speech, 
 which it described as a brutal outrage.* As 
 
 government had been deceptive : he stated that the 
 course adopted by the emperor showed a total disre- 
 gard of the peace of Europe, and an utter contempt 
 of its opinion j and he added, that the cause was 
 not alone for the independence of Turkey, but 
 it involved the peace of Europe, of which the Em- 
 peror of Russia was the wanton disturber ; and it was 
 for mankind to throw upon the head of that distur- 
 ber the consequences which he so flagrantly and im- 
 prudently provoked. 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY. 
 
 will be observed, it alludes to a frank and 
 unreserved declaration, said to be made by 
 the emperor to the English government in the 
 early part of the year 1853, respecting his 
 views concerning Turkey, and contained a 
 sort of challenge to the English ministry to 
 produce certain documents, showing it 
 shared and approved of the intentions of 
 the emperor with regard to the probable 
 partition of the Ottoman empire. The arti- 
 cle is possessed of so singular and striking 
 an interest, that we subjoin it : — 
 
 " We have just received a report of the sitting 
 of the House of Commons of the 17th of Feb- 
 ruary, and the speech which Lord John Eusaell 
 made on that occasion. It is not here the 
 place to repeat brutal outrages, of which every 
 faithful servant of the emperor will preserve the 
 recollection, hut which do not reach the august 
 person to whom they are addressed. We shall 
 confine ourselves to remarking that the parlia- 
 mentary annals might be searched in vain for an 
 example of such intemperate language from the 
 mouth of a cabinet minister, in reference to a 
 sovereign against whom the country of that 
 minister has not yet declared war. "What are 
 of importance in this speech, are not the invec- 
 tives of the minister, but the nature of the 
 determinations of the government which the 
 speech reveals. It must he very evident hence- 
 forward, that the peace of the world does not 
 depend upon chance only ; but that war forms 
 a decided element of the plans of the English 
 ministry. Prom this cause has necessarily arisen 
 that fatal distrust which in the Eastern question 
 was the origin of all the previous difficulties, 
 and which wUilead at last to the most deplorable 
 result. That such distrust may have been en- 
 tertained by France — that it may, up to a certain 
 point, have found a place in the mind of a govern- 
 ment still recent, which has not had time to 
 acquire by long experience of former relations 
 with it an exact idea of our real intentions, 
 and abandoning itself involuntarily to the almost 
 traditional opinion which has been formed of 
 Russian policy in the East, — that may he easily 
 conceived ; but on the part of England, which 
 is aware of the antecedents and the character of 
 the emperor from a connexion of long date, an 
 opinion of such a nature justly excites surprise. 
 Less than any other the British government should 
 entertain such suspicions. It has in its hands 
 the written proof that there is no foundation for 
 them ; for long hefore the present condition of 
 affairs— hefore the qttestions which led to the 
 mission of Prince Mentschikoff to Constantinople 
 had assumed so serious an aspect of difference — 
 hefore Great Britain had adopted the same line of 
 policy as France, the emperor had spontaneously 
 explained himself with the most perfect candour 
 to the queen and her ministers, with the object of 
 
 establishing with them a friend, 
 even upon the most important result which can 
 affect the Ottoman empire. Since the year 1829, 
 his majesty followed with great attention the 
 march of events in Turkey. The emperor could 
 not shut his eyes to the consequences of the 
 changes which were, one after the other, intro- 
 duced into that state. Ancient Turkey dis- 
 appeared from the time when it was sought to 
 establish those institutions diametrically op- 
 posed as well to the genius of Islamism as to 
 the character and usages of the Mussulmans — 
 institutions more or less borrowed from modern 
 liberalism, and consequently entirely opposed 
 to the spirit of the Ottoman government. It 
 became evident that Turkey was undergoing a 
 complete transformation, and that these experi- 
 ments, at least doubtful so far as regarded the 
 reorganisation of the empire, seemed rather cal- 
 culated to lead to a crisis which would overturn 
 it. It seemed likely that a new order of things 
 would arise which, although indefinable, would 
 at all events destroy that which existed. To 
 these permanent and increasing causes of dis- 
 solution recent complications have been added, 
 resulting from the affairs of Montenegro, the 
 religious persecutions exercised in several Chris- 
 tian provinces, a difference with the Austrian 
 government, considerable financial embarrass- 
 ment, and, lastly, the important affair of the 
 holy places, to which the imperious demands of 
 the French ambassador at Constantinople were 
 beginning to give a serious and menacing charac- 
 ter. These complications, which created sullen 
 excitement among the Christian population, 
 were likely from one day to another to bring 
 about a sudden catastrophe which it was urgent 
 to prevent. Penetrated with the extreme im- 
 portance of such a result, and having at that 
 period almost reached the region of the possible, 
 if not entirely of the probable, — convinced of 
 the disastrous consequences which might result 
 from it, the emperor thought it necessary to as- 
 sure himself beforehand whether the English 
 government shared his apprehensions. He 
 wished more particularly, by a frank previous 
 understanding, to remove every subject of mis- 
 understanding between Great Britain and him- 
 self. It seemed of the highest importance to 
 his majesty to establish the most perfect identity 
 of views with the government of Great Britain. 
 With this view the emperor engaged the Eng- 
 lish minister at St. Petersburg to cause her 
 majesty to be informed of his anticipations with 
 respect to the danger, more or less imminent, 
 that menaced Turkey. He requested on this 
 subject a confidential interchange of opinions 
 with her Britannic majesty. That was certainly 
 the most evident proof of confidence which the 
 emperor could give to the court of St. James ; 
 and thus did his majesty most openly signify 
 his sincere wish to prevent any ulterior diver- 
 gence between the two governments. Sir. H. 
 
 83 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 Seymour acquitted himself forthwith of the im- 
 portant commission which the emperor had im- 
 pressed on him in a long and familiar conversa- 
 tion. The result has shown itself in a corres- 
 pondence of the most friendly character between 
 the present English ministers and the imperial 
 government. It is not permitted to us to divulge 
 the contents of non-ofEcial documents, which do 
 not concern the emperor alone, and which con- 
 tain the expression of a mutual confidence. 
 "What we are permitted to say is, that in ex- 
 amining the circumstances more or less likely to 
 affect the duration of the status quo in the 
 East, — an examination undertaken from the 
 conviction respectively entertained that every 
 efibrt should be made to sustain that status quo, 
 and to prolong it as long as possible, there 
 never was any question of a plan by which 
 Eussia and England might dispose beforehand, 
 and between themselves, of the destiny of the 
 different provinces which constitute the Otto- 
 man empire ; still less of a formal agreement to 
 be concluded between them, without the know- 
 ledge and unassisted by the counsel and inter- 
 vention of the other courts. The two parties 
 were limited to a frank and single confidence, 
 but without reserve on either side, to commu- 
 nicate what might be adverse to English inter- 
 ests, what might be so to Eussian, so that in 
 any given case liostile or even contradictory 
 action might be avoided. In looking over the 
 different parts of this confidential correspon- 
 dence — in recalling the spirit in which they 
 themselves had interpreted it — the ministers 
 with whom at the time it was carried on, and 
 who since have permitted themselves to be 
 swayed by prepossessions to be regretted, will 
 be able to decide if those prepossessions are 
 just Let Lord J. Russell more especially re- 
 peruse that correspondence, in which he was the 
 first to take part, before ceding to Lord Clarendon 
 the direction of foreign affairs. Let him consult 
 his conscience, if the passion which leads him 
 astray permit him to recognise its voice. He 
 can decide now, whether it be really true that 
 the emperor has been wanting in frankness to- 
 wards the English government ; or if rather his 
 majesty has not unbosomed himself to England 
 with as little reserve as possible ; if there existii 
 the least reason for believing that we have am- 
 bitious or exclusive views on Constantinople ; 
 or, if on the contrary, the emperor has not ex- 
 plained himself in a way to remove all doubt as 
 to his real intentions on the subject of the 
 political combinations to be avoided, in the ex- 
 treme case which he at the time pointed out to 
 the foresight of the British government." 
 
 The charge of complicity thus made 
 against the English government was an 
 artful and a serious one. The Earl of Derby 
 rose in the House of Lords, and demanded of 
 Lord Aberdeen whether the confidential 
 84 
 
 correspondence referred to by the St. Peters- 
 burg Journal did actually take place, and 
 whether the noble earl, being challenged by 
 the Emperor of Russia, would satisfy the 
 people of this country by producing the whole 
 of such correspondence? Lord Aberdeen, 
 in reply, said : — " The communications to 
 which the noble earl referred, and which 
 took place between his majesty the Emperor 
 of Russia and some of her majesty's minis- 
 ters, were not printed with the papers laid 
 on the table, in consequence of the confi- 
 dential character which was considered to 
 be in some degree attached to them. It 
 has not been usual, under circumstances 
 similar to those under which these communi- 
 cations were made, to lay upon the table of 
 parliament a statement of familiar conver- 
 sation, such as those described, between a 
 sovereign and a foreign minister; and for 
 this reason her majesty's government did 
 not think it proper or consistent with that 
 respect or delicacy which was due to a 
 prince with whom we were on terms of 
 alliance, to produce papers which had a 
 somewhat private and confidential character. 
 The statement in the St. Petersburg Journal, 
 which must be considered as in some degree 
 official, and by which it appears that there 
 is no reluctance on the part of Russia that 
 her majesty's government should produce 
 and make public all communications which 
 had passed on the subject, relieves her ma- 
 jesty's ministers from much difficulty in 
 treating with the matter, and removes any 
 reasonable scruple they might have enter- 
 tained relative to the production of the 
 papers to which the noble earl refers. I 
 can assure the noble earl, that if he had 
 not made the observations he has, I should 
 still have laid these papers on the table, and 
 stated these communications to your lord- 
 ships, the object to retain them and consider 
 them as private having now ceased. The 
 whole of this correspondence will therefore 
 DC laid upon the table." 
 
 This secret correspondence attracted so 
 much attention, is so necessary to the per- 
 fect understanding of the politics of the 
 war, and contains matter of so much inter- 
 est of an historical and anecdotal character, 
 that we deem its introduction a duty we 
 owe to our readers. It might be not incor- 
 rectly described as glances of Nicholas at 
 home; of Nicholas while weaving subtle 
 webs for the enslavement of nations and 
 the aggrandisement of the future czars of 
 Russia : — 
 
A.D. 1853.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret courespondence. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Sir Q-. H. Seymour to Lord J. Eusaell.— (Ee- 
 
 ceived Jan. 23rd.— Secret and confidential.) 
 
 " St. Petersburg, Jan. 11th, 1853. 
 " My Lord, — On the evening of the 9th in- 
 stant, I had the honour of seeing the emperor 
 at the palace of the Grand Duchess Helen, who, 
 it appeared, had kindly requested permission to 
 invite Lady Seymour and myself to meet the 
 imperial family. The emperor came up to me, 
 in the most gracious manner, to say that he 
 had heard with great pleasure of her majesty's 
 government having been definitively formed,* 
 adding that he trusted the ministry would be of 
 long duration. His imperial majesty desired 
 mo particularly to convey this assurance to the 
 Earl of Aberdeen, with whom, he said^ he had 
 been acquainted for nearly forty years, and for 
 whom he entertained equal regard and esteem. 
 His majesty desired to be brought to the kind 
 tecoUection of his lordship. 
 
 " ' Tou know my feelings,' the emperor said, 
 ' with regard to England. "VThat I have told you 
 before I say again ; it was intended that the 
 two countries should be upon terms of close 
 amity ; and I feel sure that this wUl continue 
 to be the case. Tou have now been a certain 
 time here, and, as you have seen, there have 
 been very few points upon which we have dis- 
 agreed ; our interests, in fact, are upon almost 
 all questions the same.' 
 
 " I observed, that ' I really was not aware 
 that since I had been at St. Petersburg there 
 had been any actual disagreements whatever be- 
 tween us, except with regard to Louis Na- 
 poleon's No. III., — a point, respecting which 
 each govfernment had its own opinion (memi^re 
 de voir), but a point which, after all, was very 
 immaterial.' 
 
 " ' The No. III.,' the emperor replied, 'would 
 involve a long explanation ; I will therefore not 
 touch upon the subject at present ; I should 
 be glad, however, that you shotdd hear what I 
 have to say upon the question, and will beg 
 of you to call upon me some morning when I am 
 a little free from engagements.' 
 
 " I, of course, requested that his majesty 
 would be good enough to lay his orders upon me. 
 
 " In the meantime the emperor went on to 
 say : — ' I repeat that it is very essential that the 
 two governments — that is, that the English 
 government and I, and I and the English govern- 
 ment — should be upon the best terms ; and the 
 necessity was never greater than at present. I 
 beg you to convey these words to Lord John 
 Eussell. When we are agreed (d' accord), I am 
 quite without anxiety as to the west of Europe ; 
 it is immaterial what the others may think or 
 do. As to Turkey, that is another question ; 
 that country is in a critical state, and may give 
 us all a great deal of trouble. And now I will 
 take my leave of you ;' which his majesty pro- 
 • That is, the Aberdeen administration. 
 VOL. I. fN 
 
 ceeded to do by shaking hands with me very 
 graciously. It instantly occurred to me that 
 the conversation was incomplete and might never 
 be renewed, and, as the emperor stiU held my 
 hand, I said, ' Sir, with your gracious permission, 
 I would desire to take a great liberty.' ' Cer- 
 tainly,' his majesty replied, ' what is it f let me 
 hear.' ' Sir,' I observed, ' your majesty has 
 been good enough to charge me with general 
 assurances as to the identity of views between 
 the two cabinets, which assuredly have given 
 me the greatest pleasure, and wUl be received 
 with equal satisfaction in England ; but I should 
 be particularly glad that your majesty should 
 add a few words which may tend to calm the 
 anxiety with regard to the affairs vf Turkey, 
 wJiich passing events are so calculated to excite 
 on the part of her majesty's government. Per- 
 haps you will be pleased to charge me with some 
 additional assurances of this kind.' 
 
 " The emperor's words and manner, although 
 still very kind, showed that his majesty had no 
 intention of speaking to me of the demonstra- 
 tion which he is about to make in the south. 
 He said, however, at first with a little hesita- 
 tion, but, as he proceeded, in an open and un- 
 hesitating manner, — ' The afiairs of Turkey are 
 in a very disorganised condition ; the country 
 itself seems to be falling to pieces {nienace 
 mine) ; the fall wiU be a great misfortune, and it 
 is very important thatEnglandandEussia should 
 come to a perfectly good understanding upon 
 these affairs, and that neither should take any 
 decisive step of which the other is not apprised.' 
 
 " I observed in a few words, that I rejoiced to 
 hear that his imperial majesty held this lan- 
 guage ; that this was certainly the view I took 
 of the manner in which Turkish questions were 
 to be treated. 
 
 " ' Tenez,' the emperor said, as if proceeding 
 with his remark, 'tenez; nous avons ^ur les 
 bras un homme malade — un homme gravement 
 malade ; ce sera, je vous le dis franchement, un 
 grand malheur si, un de ces jours, il devait nous 
 echapper, surtout avant que toutes les disposi- 
 tions ndcessaires fussent prises. Mais enfin ce 
 n'est point le moment de vous parler de cela.' 
 
 " It was clear that the emperor did not intend 
 to prolong the conversation. I therefore said, 
 ' Votre majesty est si gracieuse qu'eUe me per^ 
 mettra de lui faire encore une observation. 
 Yotre majesty dit que I'homme est malado ; c'est 
 bien vrai, mais votre majesty daignera m'ex- 
 cuser si je lui fais observer, que c'est a I'ihomme 
 gen^reux et fort de mfenager I'homme malade et 
 faible.' 
 
 "The emperor then took leave ot me in a 
 manner which conveyed the impression of my 
 having, at least, not given ofience, and again 
 expressed his intention of sending for me on 
 some future day. Whether the intention will 
 be acted upon is not to me so certain. It may 
 be right that I should state to your lordship 
 
 85 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853, 
 
 that I propose giving Count Nesselrode an ac- 
 count of my conversation with hia imperial 
 master. I am convinced that the chancellor is 
 invariably favourable to measures of moderation, 
 and, as far as lies in his power, to English 
 views. His desire, then, to act in harmony 
 with her majesty's government cannot but be 
 strengthened by learning the cordial declara- 
 tions which the emperor has made to me upon 
 the subject. Upon reading over my despatch, 
 I am convinced that the conversation, although 
 abridged, has been faithfully reported ; the only 
 point of any interest which I am aware of not 
 having touched upon being, that the emperor 
 observed that the last accounts from Constanti- 
 nople were more satisfactory, the Turks appear- 
 ing to be more reasonable, although by what 
 process they had become so had not been made 
 apparent. I will only observe that we' have 
 every interest in its being understood that no 
 decision should be taken in the affairs of Tur- 
 key, without concert with her majesty's govern- 
 ment, by a sovereign who can dispose of several 
 hundred thousand bayonets. 
 
 " Would the understanding be acted upon P — 
 That, indeed, may weU be doubted, and the 
 rather as the emperor's assurances are a little 
 contradicted by the measures to which it has 
 been my duty to call your lordship's attention. 
 Still, his imperial majesty's words appear to me 
 to possess considerable value, and certainly they 
 oifer me at this moment an advantage of which 
 I shall not be backward in availing myself. 
 Tour lordship will pardon me if I remark that, 
 after reflecting attentively upon my conversa- 
 tion with the emperor, it appears to me that 
 this, and any overture of the kind which may 
 b« made, tends to establish a dilemma by which 
 it is very desirable that her majesty's govern- 
 ment should not allow themselves to be fettered. 
 The dilemma seems to be this : — If her majesty's 
 government do not come to an understanding 
 with Eussia as to wl.at is to happen in the event 
 of the sudden downfall of Turkey, they will 
 have the less reason for complaining if results 
 displeasing to England should be prepared. If, 
 on the contrary, her majesty's government 
 should enter into the consideration of such 
 eventualities, they make themselves in some 
 degree consenting parties to a catastrophe 
 which they have so much interest in warding 
 off as long as possible. The sum is probably 
 this : — That England has to desire a close con- 
 cert with Eussia, with a view to preventing the 
 downfall of Turkey ; while Eussia would be well 
 pleased that the concert should apply to the 
 events by which this downfall is to be followed. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " &. H. Setmotje." 
 
 " P. S. — Since this despatch was written I 
 
 have heard from the Austrian minister, that the 
 
 emperor has spoken to him of the conversation 
 
 which he had held with me. ' I told Sir Hamil- 
 
 86 
 
 ton Seymour,' his majesty said, ' that the new 
 ministry appears to me to be strong, and that I 
 am anxious for its duration ; although, to say 
 the truth, as regards England, I have learnt 
 that it is the country with which we must be 
 allied. We must not lean to this or that party.' 
 
 " G-. H. 8." 
 
 No. 2. 
 Sir G. H, Seymour to Lord John Russell. — (Ee- 
 
 ceived Peb. 6th. — Secret and confidential.) 
 
 " St. Petersburg, Jan. 22nd, 1853. 
 
 " My Lord, — On the 14th instant, in conse- 
 quence of a summons which I received from the 
 chancellor, I waited upon the emperor, and had 
 the honour of holding with his imperial majesty 
 the very interesting conversation of which it will 
 be my duty to oifer your lordship an account, 
 which, if imperfect, will, at all events, not be 
 incorrect. I found his majesty alone ; he re- 
 ceived me with great kindness, saying, that I 
 had appeared desirous to speak to him upon 
 Eastern affairs ; that, on his side, there was no 
 indisposition to do so, but that he must begin 
 at a remote period. 
 
 " ' You know,' his majesty said, ' the dreams 
 and plans in which the Empress Catherine was 
 in the habit of indulging ; these were handed 
 down to our time ; but while I inherited im- 
 mense territorial possessions, I did not inherit 
 those visions — those intentions, if you like to 
 call them so. On the contrary, my country is 
 so vast, so happily circumstanced in every way, 
 that it would be unreasonable in me to desire 
 more territory or more power than I possess ; 
 on the contrary, I am the first to tell you that 
 our great, perhaps our only danger, is that which 
 would arise from an extension given to an em- 
 pire already too large. Close to us lies Turkey, 
 and, in our present condition, nothing better 
 for our interest can be desired ; the times have 
 gone by when we had anything to fear from the 
 fanatical spirit or the military enterprise of the 
 Turks, and yet the country is strong enough, 
 or has hitherto been strong enough, to preserve 
 its independence, and to insure respectful treat- 
 ment from other countries. Well, in that em- 
 pire there are several millions of Christians 
 whose interests I am called upon to watch over 
 (surveiller), while the right of doing so is secured 
 to me by treaty. I may truly say that I make 
 a moderate and sparing use of my right, and I 
 will freely confess that it is one which is at- 
 tended with obligations occasionally very incon- 
 venient ; but I cannot recede from the discharge 
 of a distinct duty. Our religion, as established 
 in this country, came to us from the East, and 
 there are feelings, as well as obligations, which 
 never must be lost sight of. Now, Turkey, in 
 the condition which I have described, has by 
 degrees fallen into such a state of decrepitude, 
 that, as I told you the other night, eager as we 
 all are for the prolonged existence of the man 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret correspondence. 
 
 (and that I am as desirous as you can be for the 
 continuance of his life, I beg you to believe), he 
 may suddenly die upon our hands (noiis rester 
 sur les bras) ; we cannot resuscitate what is 
 aead ; if the Turkish empire falls, it falls to 
 rise no more ; and I put it to you, therefore, 
 whether it is not better to be provided beforehand 
 for a contingency, than to incur the chaos, con- 
 fusion, and the certainty of a European war, 
 all of which must attend the catastrophe if it 
 should occur unexpectedly, and before some ul- 
 terior system has been sketched ? This is the 
 point to which I am desirous that you should 
 call the attention of your government.' 
 
 " ' Sir,' I replied, ' your majesty is so frank 
 with me that I am sure you will have the good- 
 ness to permit me to speak with the same 
 openness. I would then observe that, deplorable 
 as is the condition of Turkey, it is a country 
 which has long been plunged in difficulties sup- 
 posed by many to be insurmountable. "With 
 regard to contingent arrangements, her majesty's 
 government, as your majesty is well aware, ob- 
 jects, as a general rule, to taking engagements 
 upon possible eventualities, and would, perhaps, 
 be particularly disinclined to doing so in this 
 instance. If I may be allowed to say so, a 
 great disinclination (r^jmgnance) might be ex- 
 pected in England to disposing by anticipation 
 (d'escompter) of the succession of an old friend 
 and ally.' 
 
 " ' The rule is a good one,' the emperor re- 
 plied, ' good at all times, especially in times of 
 uncertainty and change, like the present ; still 
 it is of the greatest importance that we should 
 understand one another, and not allow events 
 to take us by surprise ; maintenant je desire 
 vous parler en ami et en gentleman ; si nous 
 arrivons 5i nous entendre sur cette afiFaire, 
 I'Angleterre et moi, pour le reste peu ui'im- 
 porte ; il m'est indiflPerent ce que font ou pensent 
 les autres. TJsant done de franchise, je vous dis 
 nettement, que si I'Angleterre songe k s'etablir 
 uu de ces jours a Constantinople, je ne le per- 
 mettrai pas ; je ne vous prite point ces inten- 
 tions, mais il vaut mieux dans ces occasions 
 parler clairement ; de mon c6te, je suis egale- 
 ment dispos6 de prendre 1' engagement de ne pas 
 m'y ^tablir, en proprietaire, il s'entend, car en 
 d^positaire je ne dis pas ; il pourrait se faire 
 que les circonstances nje misent dans le cas 
 d'occuper Constantinople, si rien ne se trouve 
 prevu, si Ton doit tout laisser aller au hazard.' 
 
 " I thanked his majesty for the frankness of 
 his declarations, and for the desire which he had 
 expressed of acting cordially and openly with 
 her majesty's government, observing at the 
 same time that such an understanding appeared 
 the best security against the sudden danger to 
 which his majesty had alluded. I added that, 
 although unprepared to give a decided opinion 
 upon questions of such magnitude and deli- 
 cacy, it appeared to me possible that some 
 
 such arrangement might be made between her 
 majesty's government and his majesty as might 
 guard, if not for, at least against certain con- 
 tingencies. To render my meaning more clear 
 I said, further, ' I can only repeat, sir, that in 
 my opinion her majesty's government will be 
 indisposed to make certain arrangements con- 
 nected with the downfall of Turkey, but it is 
 possible that they may be ready to pledge them- 
 selves against certain arrangements which might, 
 in that event, be attempted.' 
 
 " His imperial majesty then alluded to a con- 
 versation which he had held the last time he 
 was in England with the Duke of Wellington, 
 and to the motives which had compelled him to 
 open himself to his grace ; then, as now, his, 
 majesty was, he said, eager to provide against 
 events which, in the absence of any concert, 
 might compel him to act in a manner opposed 
 to the views of her majesty's government. 
 The conversation passed to the events of the 
 day, when the emperor briefly recapitulated his 
 claims upon the holy places — claims recognised 
 by the firman of last Eebruary, and confirmed 
 by a sanction to which his majesty said he at- 
 tached much more importance — the word of a 
 sovereign. The execution of promises so made 
 and so ratified the emperor said he must insist 
 upon, but was willing to believe that his object 
 would be attained by negotiation, the last ad- 
 vices from Constantinople being rather more 
 satisfactory. I expressed my belief that nego- 
 tiation, followed, as I supposed it had been, by 
 the threats of military measures, would be found 
 sufficient to secure a compliance with the just 
 demands of Eussia. I added that I desired to 
 state to his majesty what I had previously read 
 from a written paper to his minister — vi?., that 
 what I feared for Turkey were not the inten- 
 tions of his majesty, but the actual result of the 
 measures which appeared to be in contempla- 
 tion. That I would repeat, that two conse- 
 quences might be anticipated from the appear- 
 ance of an imperial aripy on the frontiers , of 
 Turkey — the one the counter-demonstration 
 which might be provoked on the part of Eranpe ; 
 the other, and the more serious, the rising, 
 on the part of the Christian population against 
 the sultan's authority, already so much weakened 
 by revolts and by a severe financial crisis. 
 
 " The emperor assured me that no movement 
 of Ivis forces had yet taken place (n'ontpas- 
 bouffe), and expressed his hope that no advance 
 would be required. With regard to a Erenck 
 expedition to the sultan's dominions, his. ma- 
 jesty intimated that such a step woijld bring, 
 aifairs to an immediate crisis ; that a sense of 
 honour would compel him to send his forces 
 into Turkey without delay or hesitation ; that 
 if the result of such an advance should prove to 
 be the overthrow of the Great Turk, he should 
 regret the event, but should feel that he had 
 acted as he was compelled to do. 
 
 87 
 
THE SOCKET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 " To the above report I have only, I think, 
 to add that the emperor desired to leave it to 
 my discretion to communicate or not to his 
 minister the particulars of our conversation ; 
 and that before I left the room his imperial ma- 
 jesty said, ' Tou will report what has passed 
 between us to the queen's government, and you 
 will say that I shall be ready to receive any 
 communication which it may be their wish to 
 make to me upon the subject.' The other 
 topics touched upon by the emperor are men- 
 tioned in another despatch. With regard to the 
 extremely important overture to which this re- 
 port relates, I will only observe that, as it is my 
 duty to record impressions, as well as facts and 
 statements, I am bound to say that if words, 
 tone, and manner offer any criterion by which in- 
 tentions are to be judged, the emperor is pre- 
 pared to act with perfect fairness and openness 
 towards her majesty's government. His ma- 
 jesty has, no doubt, his own objects in view ; 
 and he is, in my opinion, too strong a believer 
 in the imminence of dangers in Turkey. I am, 
 however, impressed with the belief that, in 
 carrying out those objects, as in -guarding 
 against those dangers, his majesty is sincerely 
 desirous of acting in harmony with her majesty's 
 government. 
 
 " I would now submit to your lordship that 
 this overture cannot with propriety pass un- 
 noticed by her majesty's government. It has 
 been on a first occasion glanced at, and on a 
 second distinctly made by the emperor himself 
 to the queen's minister at his court, while the 
 conversation held some years ago with the 
 Duke of Wellington proves that tie object in 
 view is one which has long occupied the thoughts 
 of his imperial majesty. If, then, the proposal 
 were to remain unanswered, a decided advan- 
 tage would be secured to the imperial cabinet, 
 which, in the event of some great catastrophe 
 taking place in Turkey, would be able to point 
 to proposals made to England, and which, not 
 having been responded to, left the emperor at 
 liberty, or placed him under the necessity of 
 following his own line of policy in the East. 
 Again, I would remark that the anxiety ex- 
 pressed by the emperor, even looking to his 
 own interests, for an extension of the days ' of 
 the dying man,' appears to me to justify her 
 majesty's government in proposing to his im- 
 perial majesty to unite with England in the 
 adoption of such measures as may lead to prop 
 up the falling authority of the svdtan. Lastly, 
 I would observe that, even if the emperor should 
 be found disinclined to lend himself to such a 
 course of policy as might arrest the downfall of 
 Turkey, his declarations to me pledge him to 
 be ready to take beforehand, in concert with 
 her majesty's government, such precautions as 
 may possibly prevent the fatal crisis being fol- 
 lowed by a scramble for the rich inheritance 
 ' which would remain to be disposed of. A 
 88 
 
 noble triumph would be obtained by the civili- 
 sation of the nineteenth century if the void left 
 by the extinction of Mohammedan rule in Europe 
 could be filled up without an interruption of 
 the general peace, in consequence of the pre- 
 cautions adopted by the two principal govern- 
 ments the most interested in the destinies of 
 Turkey. I have, &c., 
 
 « G. H. Seymour." 
 
 JSTo. 3. 
 Sir Or. H. Seymour to Lord J. Eusseil. — (Ee 
 
 ceived Feb. 6th. — Secret and confidential.) 
 (Extract.) " St. Petersburg, Jan. 22, 1853. 
 
 " I have generally found straightforward con- 
 duct to be the best policy, and as it is pecu- 
 liarly called for towards those who have acted 
 by us in a similar manner, upon leaving the 
 palace on the 14th inst. I drove to the Eoreign- 
 office, and gave Count Nesselrode a correct 
 summary of the conversation I had just had 
 the honour of holding with the emperor." 
 
 ISTo. 4. 
 Lord J. Eusseil to Sir G-, H. Seymour. — Secret 
 and confidential.) 
 " Foreign-office, Feb. 9, 1853. 
 " Sir, — ^I have received and laid before the 
 queen your secret and confidential despatch of 
 the 22nd of January. 
 
 " Her majesty, upon this as upon former oc- 
 casions, is happy to acknowledge the modera- 
 tion, the frankness, and the friendly disposition 
 of his imperial majesty. 
 
 " Her majesty has directed me to reply in the 
 same spirit of temperate, candid, and amicable 
 discussion. 
 
 " The question raised by his imperial majesty 
 is a very serious one. It is, supposing the con- 
 tingency of the dissolution of the Turkish em- 
 pire to be probable, or even imminent, ' whether 
 it is not better to be provided beforehand for a 
 contingency than to incur the chaos, confusion, 
 and the certainty of a European war, all of 
 which must attend the catastrophe if it should 
 occur unexpectedly, and before some ulterior 
 system has been sketched ; this is the point,' 
 said his imperial majesty, ' to which I am de- 
 sirous that you should call the attention of 
 your government.' 
 
 " In considering this grave question, the first 
 reflection which occurs to her majesty's govern- 
 ment is, that no actual crisis has occurred which 
 renders necessary a solution of this vast Euro- 
 pean problem. Disputes have arisen respect- 
 ing the holy places, but these are without the 
 sphere of the internal government of Turkey, 
 and concern Eussia and France rather than the 
 Sublime Porte. Some disturbance of the rela- 
 tions between Austria and the Porte has been 
 caused by the Turkish attack on Montenegro ; 
 but this, again, relates rather to dangers aft'ect- 
 ing the frontier of Austria than the authority 
 
A.D. 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret correspondence. 
 
 and safety of the sultan ; so that there is no 
 sufficient cause for intimating to the sultan 
 that he cannot keep peace at home, or preserve 
 friendly relations with his neighbours. 
 
 " It occurs further to her majesty's govern- 
 ment to remark that the event which is con- 
 templated is not definitely fixed in point of 
 time. "When William III. and Louis XIV. dis- 
 posed, by treaty, of the succession of Charles II. 
 of Spain, they were providing for an event 
 which could not be far off. The infirmities of 
 the sovereign of Spain and the certain end of 
 any human life, made the contingency in pros- 
 pect both sure and near. The death of the 
 Spanish king was in no way hastened by the 
 treaty of partition. The same thing may be 
 said of the provision, made in the last century, 
 for the disposal of Tuscany upon the decease of 
 the last prince of the house of Medici. But 
 the contingency of the dissolution of the Otto- 
 man empire is of another Idnd. It may happen 
 twenty, fifty, or 100 years hence. 
 
 " In these circumstances it would hardly be 
 consistent with the friendly feelings towards 
 the sultan which animate the Emperor of Rus- 
 sia, no less than the Queen of Great Britain, 
 to dispose beforehand of the provinces under 
 his dominion. Besides this consideration, how- 
 ever, it must be observed, that an agreement 
 made in such a case tends very surely to hasten 
 the contingency for which it is intended to 
 provide. Austria and Prance could not, in 
 fairness, be kept in ignorance of the transac- 
 tion, nor would such concealment be consistent 
 with the end of preventing an European war. 
 Indeed, such concealment cannot be intended 
 by his imperial majesty. It is to be inferred 
 that, as soon as Great Britain and Russia 
 should have agreed on the course to be pur- 
 sued, and have determined to enforce it, they 
 should communicate their intentions to the 
 great powers of Europe. An agreement thus 
 made, and thus communicated, would not be 
 very long a secret ; and while it would alarm 
 and alienate the sultan, the knowledge of its 
 existence would stimulate all his enemies to 
 increased violence and more obstinate confiict. 
 They would fight with the conviction that they 
 must ultimately triumph, while the sultan's 
 generals and troops would feel that no imme- 
 diate success could save their cause from final 
 overthrow. Thus would be produced and 
 strengthened that very anarchy which is now 
 feared, and the foresight of the friends of the 
 patient would prove the cause of his death. 
 
 " Her majesty's government need scarcely 
 enlarge on the dangers attendant on the execu- 
 tion of any similar convention. The example 
 of the succession war is enough to show how 
 little such agreements are respected when a 
 pressing temptation urges their violation. The 
 position of the Emperor of Russia as depositary, 
 but not proprietor, of Constantinople, would be 
 
 exposed to numberless hazards, both from the 
 long-cherished ambition of his own nation, and 
 the jealousies of Europe. The ultimate pro- 
 prietor, whoever he might be, would hardly be 
 satisfied with the inert, supine attitude of the 
 heirs of Mahomet II. A great influence on the 
 affairs of Europe seems naturally to belong to 
 the sovereign of Constantinople, holding the 
 gates of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 
 
 " That influence might be used in favour of 
 Russia ; it might be used to control and curb 
 her power. 
 
 " His imperial majesty has justly and wisely 
 said : — ' My country is so vast, so happily cir- 
 cumstanced in every way, that it would be 
 unreasonable in me to desire more territory or 
 more power than I possess. On the contrary,' 
 he observed, ' our great, perhaps our only 
 danger, is that which would arise from an ex- 
 tension given to an empire already too large.' 
 A vigorous and ambitious state, replacing the 
 Sublime Porte, might, however, render war on 
 the part of Russia a necessity for the emperor 
 or his successors. 
 
 " Thus European conflict would arise from 
 the very means taken to prevent it ; for neither 
 England nor Prance, nor probably Austria, 
 would be content to see Constantinople per- 
 manently in the hands of Russia. 
 
 " On the part of Great Britain, her majesty's 
 government at once declare that they renounce 
 all intention or wish to hold Constantinople. 
 His imperial majesty may be quite secure upon 
 this head. They are likewise ready to give an 
 assurance that they will enter into no agree- 
 ment to provide for the contingency of the fall 
 of Turkey without previous communication 
 with the Emperor of Russia. 
 
 " Upon the whole, then, her majesty's go- 
 vernment are persuaded that no course of 
 policy can be adopted more wise, more disin- 
 terested, more beneficial to Europe than that 
 which his imperial majesty has so long followed, 
 and which will render his name more illustrious 
 than that of the most famous sovereigns who 
 have sought immortality by unprovoked con- 
 quest and ephemeral glory. 
 
 " With a view to the success of this policy, 
 it is desirable that the utmost forbearance 
 should be manifested towards Turkey; that 
 any demands which the great powers of Europe 
 may have to make should be made matter of 
 friendly negotiation rather than of peremptory 
 demand; that military and naval demonstra- 
 tions to coerce the sultan should as much as 
 possible be avoided; that differences with re- 
 spect to matters affecting Turkey, within the 
 competence of the Sublime Porte, should be 
 decided after mutual concert between the great 
 powers, and not be forced upon the weakness 
 of the Turkish government. 
 
 " To these cautions her majesty's govern- 
 ment wish to add, that in their view it is essen- 
 
 89 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 tial that the sultan should be advised to treat 
 his Christian subjects in conformity with the 
 principles of equity and religious freedom which 
 prevail generally among the enlightened nations 
 of Europe. The more the Turkish government 
 adopts the rules of impartial law and equal ad- 
 ministration, the less will the Emperor of Russia 
 find it necessary to apply that exceptional pro- 
 tection wbich his imperial majesty has found so 
 burdensome and inconvenient, though no doubt 
 prescribed by duty and sanctioned by treaty. 
 
 " Tou may read this despatch to Count Nes- 
 selrode, and, if it is desired, you may yourself 
 place a copy of it in the hands of the emperor. 
 In that case you wiU accompany its presenta- 
 tion with those assurances of friendship and 
 confidence on the part of her majesty the queen, 
 which the conduct of his imperial majesty was 
 so sure to inspire. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 " J. EUSSELI,." 
 
 JSro.5. 
 
 ■ Sir G. H, Seymour to Lord John Russell. — (Ee- 
 
 ceived March 6th. — Secret and confidential.) 
 (Extract.) " St. Petersburg, Eeb. 21, 1853. 
 
 " The emperor came up to me last night, at 
 a party of the Grand Duchess Hereditary's, 
 and in the most gracious manner took me 
 apart, saying that he desired to speak to me. 
 After expressing, in flattering terms, the confi- 
 dence which he has in me, and his readiness to 
 speak to me without reserve upon matters of 
 the greatest moment, as, his majesty observed, 
 he had proved in a late conversation, he said : — 
 ' And it is well it is so ; for what I most desire 
 is, that there should be the greatest intimacy 
 between the two governments : it never was so 
 necessary as at present. Well,' the emperor 
 continued, ' so you have got your answer, and 
 you are to bring it to me to-morrow ?' 
 
 " ' I am to have that honour, sir,' I answered ; 
 ' but your majesty is aware that the nature of 
 the reply is very exactly what I bad led you to 
 expect.' 
 
 " ' So I was sorry to hear ; but I think your 
 government does not well understand my ob- 
 ject. I am not so eager about what shall be 
 done when the sick man dies,* as I am to de- 
 termine with England what shall not be done 
 upon that event taking pjace.' 
 
 " ' But, sir,' I replied, ' allow me to observe, 
 that we have no reason to think that the sick 
 man (to use your majesty's expression) is 
 dying. We are as much interested as we be- 
 lieve your majesty to be in his continuing to 
 live; whUe, for myself, I will venture to re- 
 mark that experience shows me that countries 
 
 * The duplicity of the emperor will be better un- 
 derstood, by remembering that at this time Prince 
 Mentschikoff was already on his way to Constanti- 
 nople with the celebrated note which led to the 
 subsequent rupture between Russia and the Porte. 
 90 
 
 do not die in such a hurry. Turkey will re- 
 main for many a year, unless some unforeseen 
 crisis should occur. It is precisely, sir, for the 
 avoidance of all circumstances likely to produce 
 such a crisis that her majesty's government 
 reckons upon your generous assistance.' 
 
 " ' Then,' rejoined the emperor, ' I will tell 
 you that, if your government has been led to 
 believe that Turkey retains any elements of 
 existence, your government must have received 
 incorrect information. I repeat to you, that 
 the sick man is dying ; and we can never allow 
 such an event to take us by surprise. We 
 must come to some understanding ; and this 
 we should do, I am convinced, if I could hold 
 but ten minutes' conversation with your minis- 
 ters — with Lord Aberdeen, for instance, who 
 knows me so well, who has full confidence in 
 me, as I have in him. And, remember, I do 
 not ask for a treaty or a protocol ; a general 
 understanding is all I require — that between 
 gentlemen is sufficient ; and in this case I am 
 certain that the confidence would be as great 
 on the side of the queen's ministers as on mine. 
 So no more for the present ; you will come to 
 me to-mortow, and you will remember that as 
 often as you think your conversing with me will 
 promote a good understanding upon any point, 
 you will send word that you wish to see me.' 
 
 " I thanked his majesty very cordially, adding 
 that I could assure him that her majesty's go- 
 vernment, I was convinced, considered his 
 word, once given, as good as a bond. It is 
 hardly necessary that I should observe to your 
 lordship that this short conversation, briefly 
 but correctly reported, ofiers matter for most 
 anxious reflection. It can hardly be otherwise 
 but that the sovereign, who insists with such 
 pertinacity upon the impending fall of a neigh- 
 bouring state, must have settled in his own 
 mind that the hour, if not of its dissolution, at 
 all events for its dissolution, must be at hand. 
 Then, as now, I reflected that this assumption 
 would hardly be ventured upon unless some, 
 perhaps general, but at all events intimate 
 understanding, existed between Eussia and 
 Austria. Supposing my suspicion to be well 
 founded, the emperor's object is to engage her 
 majesty's government, in conjunction with his 
 own cabinet and that of Vienna, in some scheme 
 for the ultimate partition of Turkey, and for 
 the exclusion of France from the arrangement." 
 
 No. 6. 
 Sir G. H. Seymour to Lord J. Eussell. — (Ee- 
 
 ceived March 6th. — Secret and confidential.) 
 (Extract.) " St. Petersburg, Eeb. 22nd, 1853. 
 
 " I had the honour of waiting yesterday upon 
 
 Nicholas was at that moment striving to induce 
 England and Austria to enter into a conspiracy with 
 him for the partition of Turkey. He was in a con- 
 dition to say that Turkey was sick, when he was 
 himself administering it poison. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret courespondence. 
 
 the emperor, and of holding with his majesty 
 one of the most interesting conversations in 
 which I ever found myself engaged. My only 
 regret is my inability to report in full detail a 
 dialogue which lasted an hour and twelve mi- 
 nutes. The emperor began by desiring me to 
 read to him aloud your lordship's secret and 
 confidential despatch of the 9th inst,, saying 
 that he should stop me occasionally, either to 
 make an observation, or to call upon me for the 
 translation of a passage. 
 
 " Upon arriving at the fourth paragraph, the 
 emperor desired me to pause, and observed, 
 that he was certainly most desirous that some 
 understanding should be entered into with her 
 majesty's government for providing against a 
 contingency so probable as that of the downfall 
 of Turkey ; that he was, perhaps, even more 
 interested than England could be in preventing 
 a Turkish catastrophe, but that it was con- 
 stantly impending; that it might be brought 
 about at any moment, either by an external 
 war, or by a feud between the old Turkish party 
 and that of the 'new superficial French re- 
 forms,' or again, by a rising of the Christians, 
 already known to be very impatient of shaking 
 ofi' the Mussulman yoke (joug.) As regards 
 . the first cause, the emperor said that he had 
 a good right to advert to it, inasmuch as, if he 
 had not stopped the victorious progress of 
 General Diebitsch in 1829, the sultan's autho- 
 rity would have been at an end. 
 
 " The emperor likewise desired me to re- 
 member that he, and he only, had hastened to 
 the assistance of the sultan, when his dominions 
 were threatened by the Pasha of Egypt. 
 
 " I proceeded to read, and was again stopped 
 at the sentence beginning, 'In these circum- 
 stances it would hardly be consistent with the 
 friendly feelings,' when the emperor observed, 
 that her majesty's government did not appear 
 to be aware that his chief object was to obtain 
 from her majesty's government some declara- 
 tion, or even opinion, of what ought not to be 
 permitted in the event of the sudden downfall 
 of Turkey. I said, 'Perhaps your majesty 
 would be good enough to explain your own 
 ideas upon this negative policy.' This his 
 majesty for some time declined doing ; he ended, 
 however, by saying : — ' "Well, there are several 
 things which I never will tolerate ; I will begin 
 by ourselves. I will not tolerate the permanent 
 occupation of Constantinople by the Eussians ; 
 having said this, I will say that it never shall 
 be held by the English, or Erench, or any other 
 great nation. Again, I never will permit an 
 attempt at the reconstruction of a Byzantine 
 empire, or such an extension of Greece as would 
 render her a powerful state ; still less will I 
 permit the breaking up of Turkey into little 
 republics, asylums for the Kossuths and Maz- 
 zinis, and other revolutionists of Europe ; rather 
 than, submit to any of these arrangements I 
 
 would go to war, and as long as I have a man 
 and a musket left would carry it on. These,' 
 the emperor said, ' are at once some ideas ; now 
 give me some in return.' 
 
 " I remarked upon the assurance which would 
 be found respecting the English resolution of 
 never attempting to possess Constantinople, 
 and upon the disinclination of her majesty's 
 government to enter into eventual arrange- 
 ments ; but, upon being still pressed by his im- 
 perial majesty, I said — ' Well, sir, the idea may 
 not suit your majesty, may not suit her ma- 
 jesty's government, but what is good between 
 man and man is often a good system between 
 one state and another ; how would it be, if in 
 the event of any catastrophe occurring in Turkey, 
 Eussia and England were to declare that no 
 power should be allowed to take possession of 
 its provinces ; that the property should remain, 
 as it were, under seals, until amicable arrange- 
 ments could be made as to its adjudication ?' 
 
 " ' I will not say,' the emperor observed, 
 ' that such a course would be impossible, but, 
 at least, it would be very difficult ; there are no 
 elements of provincial or communal government 
 in Turkey ; you would have Turks attacking 
 Christians, Christians falling upon Turks, Chris- 
 tians of different sects quarrelling with each 
 other J in short, chaos and anarchy.' 
 
 " ' Sir,' I then observed, ' if your majesty 
 will allow me to speak plainly, I would say that 
 the great difierence between us is this — that 
 you continue to dwell upon the fall of Turkey, 
 and the arrangements requisite before and after 
 the fall ; and that we, on the contrary, look to 
 Turkey remaining where she is, and to the pre- 
 cautions which are necessary for preventing her 
 condition from becoming worse.' ' Ah !' re- 
 plied the emperor, ' that is what the chancellor 
 is perpetually telling me ; but the catastrophe 
 will occur some day, and will take us all un- 
 awares.' 
 
 " His imperial majesty spoke of Erance. 
 ' God forbid,' he said, ' that I should accuse 
 any one wrongfully, but there are circum- 
 stances both at Constantinople and Monte- 
 negro, which are extremely suspicious ; it looks 
 very much as if the French government were 
 endeavouring to embroil us all in the East, 
 hoping in this way the better to arrive at their 
 own objects, one of which, no doubt, is the pos- 
 session of Tunis.' 
 
 " The emperor proceeded to say that, for his 
 own part, he cared very little what line the 
 French might think proper to take in eastern 
 afiairs, and that little more than a month ago 
 he had apprised the sultan that if his assis- 
 tance was required for resisting the menaces 
 of the French, it was entirely at the service 
 of the sultan ! 
 
 " In a word, the emperor went on to observe, 
 ' As I before told you, all I want is a good 
 understanding with England, and this not as to 
 
 91 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 18i)3. 
 
 what shall, but as to what shall not be done ; 
 this point arrived at, the English government 
 and I, I and the English government having 
 entire confidence in one another's views, I care 
 nothing about the rest.' 
 
 " I remarked that I felt confident that her 
 majesty's government could be as little dis- 
 posed as his imperial majesty to tolerate the 
 presence of the Erench at Constantinople ; 
 and being desirous, if possible, of ascertaining 
 whether there was any understanding between 
 the cabinets of St. Petersburg and Vienna, I 
 added, ' But your majesty has forgotten Aus- 
 tria ; now all these eastern questions affect her 
 very nearly ; she, of course, would expect to be 
 consulted.' 
 
 " ' Oh 1' replied the emperor, greatly to my 
 surprise, ' but you must understand that when 
 I speak of Russia I speak of Austria as well ; 
 what suits the one suits the other ; our interests 
 as regards Turkey are perfectly identical.' I 
 should have been glad to make another inquiry 
 or two upon this subject, but I did not venture 
 to do so. 
 
 " I ought to have stated that in a preced- 
 ing part of the conversation his majesty, 
 although without any appearance of anger, 
 evinced some surprise at an expression in 
 your lordship's despatch, ' the long-cherished 
 ambition of his (the emperor's) own nation ;' 
 he would ask what that phrase meant ? It 
 happened that I was prepared for the surprise 
 expressed, and ready to answer any reflection 
 which it might call forth. ' Sir,' I said, ' Lord 
 John Russell is not speaking of your ambition, 
 he speaks of that entertained by your people.' 
 
 " The emperor could not at first admit that 
 the phrase was applicable to the Russian nation 
 any more than to himself; when I said, ' Tour 
 majesty will permit me to remark that Lord 
 John Russell only repeats what was said thirty 
 years ago by your brother, of glorious memory. 
 In writing confidentially to Lord Oastlereagh, 
 in the year 1822, the Emperor Alexander spoke 
 of being the only Russian who resisted the views 
 of his subjects upon Turkey, and of the loss of 
 popularity which he had sustained by this anta- 
 gonism.' 
 
 " This quotation, which, by accident, I could 
 make almost in the words of the letter, seemed 
 to change the current of the emperor's ideas. 
 ' You are quite right,' he said ; ' I remember 
 the events to which my late brother alluded. 
 Now it is perfectly true that the Empress Cathe- 
 rine indulged in all sorts of visions of ambition, 
 but it is not less so that these ideas are not at 
 all shared by her descendants. You see how I 
 am behaving towards the sultan. This gentle- 
 man (ce monsieur) breaks his written word to 
 me, and acts in a manner extremely displeasing 
 to me, and I have contented myself with dis- 
 patching an ambassador to Constantinople to 
 demand reparation. Certainly, I could send an 
 92 
 
 army there if I chose— there is nothing to stop 
 them ; but I have contented myself with such a 
 show of force as will prove that I have no inten- 
 tion of being trifled with.' 
 
 " ' And, sir,' I said, ' you were quite right in 
 refraining from violence ; and I hope, upon 
 future occasions, you will act with the same 
 moderation ; for your majesty must be sensible 
 that any fresh concessions which have been ob.' 
 tained by the Latins are not referable to ill-will 
 towards you, but to the excessive apprehensions 
 of the Erench entertained by the unfortunate 
 Turks ; besides, sir,' I observed, ' the danger, I 
 will venture to say, of the present moment is 
 not Turkey, but that revolutionary spirit which 
 broke out four years ago, and which in many 
 countries still burns underground ; there is the 
 danger, and no doubt a war in Turkey wftnld 
 be the signal for fresh explosions in Italy, Hun- 
 gary, and elsewhere. "We see what is passing 
 at Milan.' 
 
 " His imperial majesty spoke of Montenegro, 
 observing that he approved the attitude taken 
 by the Austrian cabinet, and that in these 
 days it could not be permitted that the Turks 
 should ill-treat and even murder a Christian 
 population. 
 
 " I ventured to remark that upon this point 
 the wrongs were at least divided between the 
 Turks and the Montenegrins, and that I had 
 full reason for believing that the provocation 
 came from the latter. The emperor, with more 
 impartiality than I had expected, admitted that 
 there had been wrongs on both sides ; that cer- 
 tainly the mountaineers were rather addicted 
 to brigandage ; and that the taking of Djablak 
 had caused him great indignation. At the same 
 time his majesty said, ' It is impossible not to 
 feel great interest in a population warmly at- 
 tached to their religion, who have so long kept 
 their ground against the Turks ;' and the em- 
 peror continued, — ' It may be fair to tell you 
 that if any attempts at exterminating those 
 people should be made by Omar Pasha, and 
 should a general rising of the Christians take 
 place in consequence, the sultan wUl, in all pro- 
 bability, lose his throne ; but in this case he 
 falls to rise no more. I wish to support his 
 authority, but, if he loses it, it is gone for ever. 
 The Turkish empire is a thing to be tolerated, 
 not to be reconstructed. In such a cause, I 
 protest to you I will not aUow a pistol to be 
 fired.' 
 
 " The emperor went on to say that, in the event 
 of the dissolution of the Ottoman empire, he 
 thought it might be less difficult to arrire at a 
 satisfactory territoral arrangement than was 
 commonly believed. ' The principalities are,' he 
 said, 'in fact an independent state under my 
 protection ; this might so continue. Servia 
 might receive the same form of government. 
 So again with Bulgaria. There seems to be no 
 reason why this province should not form an 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR "WITH EUSSIA. [the secret correspondence. 
 
 independent state. Aa to Egypt, I quite under- 
 stand the importance to England of that terri- 
 tory. I can then only say, that if, in the event 
 of a distribution of the Ottoman succession 
 upon the fall of the empire, you should take 
 possession of Egypt, I shall have no objections 
 to offer. I would say the same thing of Candia : 
 that island might suit you, and I do not know 
 why it should not become an English posses- 
 sion." 
 
 " As I did not wish that the emperor should 
 imagine that an English public servant was 
 caught by this sort of overture, I simply 
 answered that I had always understood that 
 the English views upon Egypt did not go be- 
 yond the point of securing a safe and ready 
 communication between British Lidia and the 
 mother-country. 
 
 " The conversation now drawing towards an 
 end, the emperor expressed his warm attach- 
 ment to the queen our gracious sovereign, and 
 his respect for her majesty's present advisers. 
 The declarations contained in your lordship's 
 despatch had been, he said, very satisfactory ; 
 he could only desire that they should be a 
 little amplified. The terms in which your lord- 
 ship had spoken of his conduct were, the em- 
 peror said, very flattering to him. 
 
 " In dismissing me, his imperial majesty 
 said, — ' "Well, induce your government to write 
 again upon these subjects — to write more fully, 
 and to do so without hesitation. I have confi- 
 dence in the English government. Ce n'est 
 point un engagement, une convention que je 
 leur demande ; c'est un libre' echange d'idees, 
 et, au besoin, une parole de gentleman; entre 
 nous cela suffit.' I might venture to suggest 
 that some expressions might be used in the 
 despatch to be addressed to me which might 
 have the effect of putting an end to the further 
 consideration, or, at all events, discussion of 
 points which it is highly desirable should not be 
 regarded as offering subject for debate. I may 
 only add, apologetically, that I may possibly 
 have failed in reporting some parts of his ma- 
 jesty's conversation, and that I am conscious of 
 having forgotten the precise terms employed by 
 him with respect to the commercial policy to be 
 observed at Constantinople when no longer held 
 by the Turks. The purport of the observation 
 was, that England and Eussia had a common 
 interest in providing for the readiest access to 
 the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. A copy 
 of your lordship's despatch was left in the em- 
 peror's hands. 
 
 No. 7. 
 Sir GI-. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon.— 
 (Eeceived March 19th.— Secret and con- 
 fidential.) 
 (Extract.) " St. Petersburg, March 9th, 1853. 
 
 " When I waited upon Count Nesselrode on 
 the 7th instant, his excellency said that, in pur- 
 VOL. I. to 
 
 suance of orders which he had received from 
 the emperor, he had to place in my hands a very 
 confidential memorandum which his imperisil 
 majesty had caused to be drawn up, and which 
 was intended as an answer to, or a comment 
 upon, the communication which I had made to 
 his imperial majesty on the 21st ult. At first 
 Count Nesselrode invited me to read the paper ; 
 he subsequently observed that if, instead of 
 reading it at that time, I chose to take it away, 
 I was at liberty to do so ; that, in fact, the paper 
 was intended for my use (sic.) Very little con- 
 versation upon the subject passed between the 
 chancellor and me. He observed that I should 
 find in the memorandum indications of the 
 emperor's wish to be further informed of the 
 feelings of her majesty's government as to what 
 should not be permitted to take place in the 
 event of any great catastrophe in Turkey ; and 
 I, on my side, remarked that, as there is danger 
 in handling hot coals, it appeared to me desir- 
 able that communications upon a subject so 
 delicate should not long be kept up. 
 
 " I have the honour of enclosing to your lord- 
 ship a copy of what, under the circumstances 
 which have attended its drawing up and delivery, 
 cannot fail of being considered as one of the most 
 remarkable papers which have been issued, I do 
 not say from the Russian ' chancellerie,' but 
 from the emperor's secret cabinet. It would 
 not be difficult either to controvert some of the 
 facts which the memorandum advances, or to 
 show that the impression under which it has 
 been framed is an incorrect one ; that impression 
 being evidently that, in the disputes carried on 
 between Eussia and France, her majesty's go- 
 vernment has leant partially to the latter 
 power. 
 
 " Three points appear to me to be fully estab- 
 lished by the imperial memorandum — the ex- 
 istence of some distinct understanding between 
 the two imperial courts upon the subject of 
 Turkey, and the engagement taken by the Em- 
 peror Nicholas neither to possess nor establish 
 himself at Constantinople, nor to enter into ar- 
 rangements respecting the measures to be taken 
 in the event of the fall of the Ottoman empire 
 without previous concert with her majesty's 
 government. The wording of this engagement, 
 coupled with the conversation which I had the 
 honour of holding with the emperor, leaves upon 
 my mind the impression that, while willing to 
 undertake not to make himself the permanent 
 master of Constantinople, his majesty is inten- 
 tionally inexplicit as to its temporary occu- 
 pation. Assuming, as a certain and now ac- 
 knowledged fact, the existence of an under- 
 standing or compact between the two emperors 
 as to Turkish afi'airs, it becomes of the deepest 
 importance to know the extent of the engage- 
 m.ents entered into between them. As to the 
 manner in which it has been concluded, I con- 
 jecture that little doubt is to be entertained. 
 
 93 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 Its basis was, no doubt, laid at some of the 
 meetings between the sovereigns which took 
 place in the autumn ; and the scheme has pro- 
 bably been worked out since under the manage- 
 ment of Baron Meyendorff, the Eussian envoy 
 at the Austrian court, who has been passing the 
 winter at St. Petersburg, and is still here," 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 " February 2l8t, 1853. 
 " The emperor has, with the liveliest interest 
 and real satisfaction, made himself acquainted 
 with the secret and confidential despatch which 
 Sir Hamilton Seymour communicated to him. 
 He duly appreciates the frankness which has 
 dictated it. He has found therein a fresh proof 
 of the friendly sentiments which her majesty 
 the queen entertains for him. 
 
 " In conversing familiarly with the British 
 envoy on the causes which, from one day to 
 another, may bring on the fall of the Ottoman 
 empire, it had by no means entered into the 
 emperor's thoughts to propose for this con- 
 tingency a plan by which Eussia and England 
 should dispose beforehand of the provinces ruled 
 by the sultan— a system altogether arranged ; 
 still less a formal agreement to be concluded 
 between the two cabinets. It was purely and 
 simply the emperor's notion that each party 
 should confidentially state to the other less what 
 it wishes than what it does not wish ; what would 
 be contrary to English interests, what would be 
 contrary to Eussian interests ; in order that, the 
 case occurring, they might avoid acting in op- 
 position to each other. 
 
 " There is in this neither plans of partition, 
 nor convention to be binding on the other 
 courts. It is merely an interchange of opinions, 
 and the emperor sees no necessity of talking 
 about it before the time. It is precisely for 
 that reason that he took especial care not to 
 make it the object of an official communication 
 from one cabinet to another. By confining 
 himself to speaking of it himself, in the shape 
 of familiar conversation, to the queen's repre- 
 sentative, he selected the most friendly and 
 confidential form of opening himself with frank- 
 ness to her Britannic majesty, being desirous 
 that the result, whatsoever it might be, of these 
 communications, should remain, as it ought to 
 be, a secret between the two sovereigns. 
 
 " Consequently, the objections which Lord 
 John Eussell raises to any concealment as re- 
 gards the other powers, in the event of a formal 
 agreement being entered into — of which there 
 . is at present no question — fall to the ground ; 
 and consequently, also, the inconveniences dis- 
 appear, which he points out as calculated to 
 contribute to hasten the occurrence of the very 
 . event which Eussia and England are desirous 
 of averting, if the existence of such an agree- 
 ment should become prematurely known to 
 Europe and to the subjects of the sultan. 
 94 
 
 " As regards the object of this wholly confi- 
 dential interchange of opinions, the possible 
 downfall of the Ottoman empire, doubtless that 
 is but an uncertain and remote contingency. 
 Unquestionably, the period of it cannot be 
 fixed, and no real crisis has arisen to render the 
 realisation of it imminent. But, after all, it 
 may happen ; even unexpectedly. Without 
 mentioning the ever-increasing causes of disso- 
 lution which are presented by the moral, finan- 
 cial, and administrative condition of the Porte, 
 it may proceed gradually from one, at least, of 
 the two questions mentioned by the English 
 ministry in its secret despatch. In truth, it 
 perceives in those questions only mere disputes, 
 which would not differ in their bearing from 
 difiiculties which form the ordinary business of 
 diplomacy. But that kind of dispute may, 
 nevertheless, bring on war, and, with war, the 
 consequences which the emperor apprehends 
 from it. If, for instance, in the afiair of the 
 holy places, the amow-propre and the menaces 
 of France, continuing to press upon the Porte, 
 should compel it to refuse us aU. satisfaction, 
 and if, on the other hand, the religious senti- 
 ments of the orthodox Greeks, ofiended by the 
 concessions made to the Latins, should raise 
 the immense majority of his subjects against 
 the sultan. As regards the afiair of Monte- 
 negro, that, according to the late accounts, may 
 happily be looked upon as settled. But at the 
 time that the emperor had his interview with 
 Sir Hamilton Seymour, it might be appre- 
 hended that the question would take a most 
 serious turn. Neither ourselves nor Austria 
 could have allowed a protracted devastation or 
 forced submission of Montenegro, a country 
 which, up to the present time, has continued 
 actually independent of the Porte, a country 
 over which our protection has been extended 
 for more than a century.- The horrors which 
 are committed there, those which, by Ottoman 
 fanaticism, have la short time since been ex- 
 tended over Bulgaria, Bosnia, and the Herze- 
 govine, gave the other Christian provinces of 
 the Porte only too much reason to anticipate 
 that the same fate awaited them. They were 
 calculated to provoke the general rising of the 
 Christians who live under the sceptre of the 
 Turkish empire, and to hasten its ruin. It is 
 not, then, by any neans an idle and imaginary 
 question, a contingency too remote, to which 
 the anxiety of the emperor has called the at- 
 tention of the queen his ally. 
 
 " In the face of the uncertainty and decay of 
 the existing state of things in Turkey, the 
 English cabinet expresses the desire that the 
 greatest forbearance should be shown towards 
 the Porte. The emperor is conscious of never 
 having acted otherwise. The English cabinet 
 itself admits it. It addresses to the emperor, 
 with reference to the numerous proofs of mode- 
 ration which he has given up to the present 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret correspondence. 
 
 time, praises whicli his majesty will not accept, 
 because in that he has only listened to his own 
 overbearing conviction. But, in order that the 
 emperor may continue to concur in that system 
 of forbearance, to abstain from any demonstra- 
 tions — from any peremptory language — it would 
 be necessary that this system should be equally 
 observed by all the powers at once. France 
 Las adopted another. By menace she obtained, 
 in opposition to the letter of the treaties, the 
 admission of a ship of the line into the Darda- 
 nelles. At the cannon's mouth she twice pre- 
 sented her claims, and her demands for indem- 
 nity at Tripoli, and afterwards at Constantinople. 
 Again, in the contest respecting the holy places, 
 by menace she effected the abrogation of that 
 firman and that of the solemn promises which 
 the sultan had given the emperor. With regard 
 to all these acts of violence England observed 
 a complete silence. She neither offered sup- 
 port to the Porte nor addressed remonstrances 
 to the French government. The consequence 
 is very evident. The Porte necessarily con- 
 cluded from this that from France alone it has 
 everything to hope as well as everything to 
 fear, and that it can evade with impunity the 
 demands of Austria and of Russia. It is thus 
 that Austria and Russia, in order to obtain 
 justice, have seen themselves compelled in their 
 turn, against their wiU, to act by intimidation, 
 since they have to do with a government which 
 only yields to a peremptory attitude ; and it is 
 thus that by its own fault, or rather by that of 
 those who have weakened it in the first instance, 
 the Porte is urged on in a course which en- 
 feebles it still more. Let England, then, employ 
 herself in making it listen to reason. Instead 
 of uniting herself with France against the just 
 demands of Russia, let her avoid supporting, or 
 even appearing to support, the resistance of the 
 Ottoman government. Let her be the first to 
 invite the latter, as she herself considers it es- 
 sential, to treat its Christian subjects with 
 more equity and humanity. That will be the 
 surest means of relieving the emperor from the 
 obligation of availing himself in Turkey of those 
 rights of traditional protection to which he 
 never has recourse but against his will, and of 
 postponing indefinitely the crisis which the 
 emperor and her majesty the queen are equally 
 anxious to avert. 
 
 " In short, the emperor cannot but con- 
 gratulate himself at having given occasion for 
 this intimate interchange of confidential com- 
 munications between her majesty and himself. 
 He has found therein valuable assurances, of 
 which he takes note with a lively satisfaction. 
 The two sovereigns have frankly explained to 
 each other what in the extreme case of which 
 they have been treating their respective inter- 
 ests cannot endure. England understands that 
 Russia cannot suffer the establishment at Con- 
 Btantinople of a Christian power sufficiently 
 
 strong to control and disquiet her. She de- 
 clares that for herself she renounces any inten- 
 tion or desire to possess Constantinople. _ The 
 emperor equally disclaims any wish or design of 
 establishing himself there. England promises 
 that she wiU enter into no arrangement for 
 determining the measures to be taken in the 
 event of the fall of the Turkish empire, without 
 a previous understanding with tne emperor. 
 The emperor, on his side, willingly contracts 
 the same engagement. As he is aware that in 
 such a case he can equally reckon upon Austria, 
 who is bound by her promises to concert with 
 him, he regards with less apprehension the 
 catastrophe which he still desires to prevent 
 and avert as much as it shall depend on him to 
 do so. No less precious to him are the proofs 
 of friendship and personal confidence on the 
 part of her majesty the queen, which Sir Hamil- 
 ton Seymour has been directed on this occasion 
 to impart to him. He sees in them the surest 
 guarantee against the contingency which his 
 foresight had deemed it right to point out to 
 that of the English government. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Sir G. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon. — 
 
 (Received jilarch 19. — Secret and confidential.) 
 
 " St. Petersburg, March 9th, 1853. 
 " My Lord, — As it appears very evident that 
 the secret memorial which, by a despatch of 
 this day, I have the honour of bringing to 
 your lordship's knowledge, has been drawn up 
 under a complete misapprehension (real or as- 
 sumed) of the part taken by her majesty's 
 government in the late Turkish afi'airs, I have 
 thought it my duty to address to Count Nes- 
 selrode the private and confidential letter of 
 which I beg to enclose a copy to your lordship, 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " G. H. Seymour." 
 
 (Enclosure in No. 8.) 
 
 Sir Or. H. Seymour to Count Nessekode. — 
 
 (Private and confidential.) 
 
 " St. Petersburg, Feb. 24th (March 8th), 1853. 
 
 " My dear Count Nesselrode, — There is an 
 observation respecting the very important me- 
 morandum placed yesterday by your excellency 
 in my hands, which I feel obliged to make. I 
 am most anxious to observe that this paper 
 must have been drawn up under the impression 
 of English policy at Constantinople having 
 been very different from what in reality it has 
 been. I can af&rm, conscientiously and dis- 
 tinctly, that the object proposed to themselves, 
 as well by the late as by her majesty's present 
 government, has been to act as a common 
 firiend in the contests between the allied go- 
 vernments ; and that, far from having inclined, 
 as has been stated, to France in the course of 
 the late critical transactions, it has been the 
 desire of the queen's advisers (to the full ex- 
 
 95 
 
THE SECRET COKRESPONDENCE.j HISTORY OP THE 
 
 fA.D. 1853. 
 
 tent permitted to a government compelled to 
 observe a neutral attitude) that ample satisfac- 
 tion should be given to the demands which his 
 imperial majesty's government were justified in 
 making. This assertion I should have no dif- 
 ficulty in substantiating by written evidence ; 
 and I will add that, in any just demand which 
 England may have to make upon a foreign 
 cabinet, I only desire that the conduct of a 
 friendly power towards us may be that which 
 quietly and unostentatiously the English go- 
 vernment has pursued in the complicated ques- 
 tion of the holy places with regard to the claims 
 of Eussia. I request your excellency's good 
 offices for causing this, the real state of the 
 case, to be rightly understood ; at all events, 
 for preventing a contrary belief from being 
 adopted until it shall be clearly ascertained 
 whether or not my statement is correct. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " G-. H. Seymour." 
 
 No. 9. 
 Sir G-. H, Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon. — 
 (Eeceived March 19. — Secret and confidential.) 
 " St. Petersburg, March 10th, 1853. 
 
 " My Lord, — I have just had a very amicable 
 and satisfactory conversation with the chan- 
 cellor, who, under the impression of my letter 
 of the 8th inst. having originated in a miscon- 
 ception vrith regard to the emperor's memo- 
 randum, had desired to see me. We read over 
 the memorandum together, and Count Nessel- 
 rode observed that all that was desired here 
 was, that, while appealing to the emperor's 
 magnanimity and feelings of justice, her ma- 
 jesty's government should employ some efibrt 
 towards opening the eyes of the French minis- 
 ters as to the false course into which they have 
 been led by M. de Lavalette. 
 
 " To this I replied that such had been the 
 conduct pursued by her majesty's government, 
 not on one occasion, but on various occasions ; 
 and that, as a specimen of the language held 
 by your lordship's predecessor to the Erench 
 government, I would beg to read to him an ex- 
 tract from one of Lord John Eussell's des- 
 patches. I read accordingly the five or six 
 lines of Lord John Eussell's despatch to Lord 
 Cowley of January 28th, beginning ' But her 
 majesty's government cannot avoid perceiving,' 
 and concluding with ' the relations of friendly 
 powers,' which passage I had copied out and 
 taken with me. 
 
 " Count x^esselrode expressed his warm satis- 
 faction at finding that her majesty's govern- 
 ment had given such excellent advice to the 
 Erench government ; and only regretted that he 
 had not long ago been put in possession of evi- 
 dence BO conclusive as to the part taken upon 
 the question of the holy places by her majesty's 
 principal secretary of state for foreign affairs. 
 
 " In conclusion the chancellor requested that 
 96 
 
 I would consider the passage in the imperial 
 memorandum commencing with the words, ' Que 
 I'Angleterre s'emploie done,' as expressing a 
 hope, and not as implying a reproach — as refer- 
 able to the course which it was desired should 
 be taken by her majesty's government, and not 
 as alluding to that which bad been pursued. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " G. H. Setmoto." 
 
 No. 10. 
 The Earl of Clarendon to Sir G. H. Seymour. — 
 (Secret and confidential.) 
 " Foreign-office, March 23rd, 1853. 
 
 •' Sir, — Tour despatches of the 21st and 22nd 
 ult. have been laid before the queen, and I am 
 commanded to express her majesty's entire ap- 
 proval of the discretion and judgment displayed 
 by you in thB conversations which you had the 
 honour to hold with the emperor. I need not 
 assure you that the opinions of his imperial ma- 
 jesty have received from her majesty's govern- 
 ment the anxious and deliberate consideration 
 that their importance demands ; and, although 
 her majesty's government feel compelled to ad- 
 here to the principles and the policy laid down 
 in Lord J. Eussell's despatch of the 9th of 
 February, yet they gladly comply with the em- 
 peror's wish that the subject should be further 
 and frankly discussed. The generous confidence 
 exhibited by the emperor entitles his imperial 
 majesty to the most cordial declaration of opinion 
 on the part of her majesty's government, who 
 are fully aware that, in the event of any under- 
 standing with reference to future contingencies 
 being expedient, or indeed possible, the word of 
 his imperial majesty would be preferable to any 
 convention that could be framed. 
 
 " Her majesty's government persevere in the 
 belief that Turkey still possesses the elements 
 of existence, and they consider that recent events 
 have proved the correctness of the opinion ex- 
 pressed in the despatch of my predecessor, that 
 there was no sufficient cause for intimating to 
 the sultan that he cannot keep peace at home 
 or preserve friendly relations with his neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 " Her majesty's government have accordingly 
 learnt with sincere satisfaction that the emperor 
 considers himself even more interested than 
 England in preventing a Turkish catastrophe ; 
 because they are convinced that upon the policy 
 pursued by his imperial majesty towards Turkey 
 win mainly depend the hastening or the indefi- 
 nite postponement of an event which every 
 power in Europe is concerned in averting. Her 
 majesty's government are convinced that nothing 
 is more calculated to precipitate that event than 
 the constant prediction of its being near at 
 hand ; that nothing can be more fatal to the 
 vitality of Turkey than the assumption of its 
 rapid and inevitable decay ; and that if the opi- 
 nion of the emperor that the days of the Turkish 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. [the secret cokkespondence. 
 
 empire were numbered became notorious, its 
 downfall must occiu' even sooner than his impe- 
 rial majesty now appears to expect. 
 
 " But, on the supposition that, from unavoid- 
 able causes, the catastrophe did take place, her 
 majesty's government entirely share the opinion 
 of the emperor that the occupation of Constan- 
 tinople by either of the great powers would bo 
 incompatible with the present balance of power 
 and the maintenance of peace in Europe, and 
 mast at once be regarded as impossible ; that 
 there are no elements for the reconstruction of 
 a Byzantine empire ; that the systematic mis- 
 government of Greece otters no encouragement 
 to extend its territorial dominion ; and that, as 
 there are no materials for provincial or com- 
 munal government, anarchy would be the result 
 of leaving the provinces of Turkey to themselves, 
 or permitting them to form separate republics. 
 The emperor has announced that, sooner than 
 permit a settlement of the question by any one 
 of these methods, he will be prepared for war at 
 every hazard ; and, however much her majesty's 
 government may be disposed to agree in the 
 soundness of the views taken by his imperial 
 majesty, yet they consider that the simple pre- 
 determination of what shall not be tolerated 
 does little towards solving the real difficulties, 
 or settling in what manner it would be practi- 
 cable, or even desirable, to deal with the hetero- 
 geneous materials of which the Turkish empire 
 is composed. England desires no territorial 
 aggrandisement, and could be no party to a pre- 
 vious arrangement from which she was to derive 
 any such benefit. England could be no party 
 to any understanding, however general, that was 
 to be kept secret from other powers ; but her 
 majesty's government believe that no arrange- 
 ments could control events, and that no under- 
 standing could be kept secret. They would, in 
 the opinion of her majesty's government, be the 
 signal for preparation for intrigues of every 
 description, and for revolts among the Christian 
 subjects of the Porte. Each power and each 
 party would endeavour to secure its future in- 
 terests, and the dissolution of the Turkish empire 
 would be preceded by a state of anarchy which 
 must aggravate every difficulty, if it did not 
 render a peaceful solution of the question im- 
 possible. The only mode by which such a solu- 
 tion could be attempted would be that of an 
 European congress, but that only affords an ad- 
 ditional reason for desiring that the present 
 order of things in Turkey should be maintained, 
 as her majesty's government cannot without 
 alarm reflect on the jealousies that would then 
 be evoked, the impossibility of reconciling the 
 diflFerent ambitions and the divergent interests 
 that would be called into play, and the certainty 
 that the treaties of 1815 must then be open to 
 revision, when France might be prepared to risk 
 the chances of a European war to get rid of the 
 obligations which she considers injurious to her 
 
 national honour, and which, having been im- 
 posed by victorious enemies, are a constant 
 source of irritation to her. 
 
 " The main object of her majesty's govern- 
 ment — that to which their efforts have been and 
 always will be directed — is the preservation oi 
 peace ; and they desire to uphold the Turkish 
 empire, from their conviction that no great 
 question can be agitated in the East without be- 
 coming a source of discord in the West, and 
 that every great question in the West will 
 assume a revolutionary character, and embrace 
 a revision of the entire social system, for which 
 the continental governments are certainly in no 
 state of preparation. The emperor is fully cog- 
 nizant of the materials that are in constant fer- 
 mentation beneath the surface of society, and 
 their readiness to burst forth even in times ot 
 peace ; and his imperial majesty will probably, 
 therefore, not dissent from the opinion that the 
 first cannon-shot may be the signal for a state 
 of things more disastrous even than those cala- 
 mities which war inevitably brings in its train. 
 But such a war would be the result of the disso- 
 lution and dismemberment of the Turkish em- 
 pire ; and hence the anxiety of her majesty's 
 government to avert the catastrophe. Nor can 
 they admit that the signs of Turkish decay are 
 now either more evident or more rapid than of 
 late years. There is still great energy and great 
 wealth in Turkey ; a disposition to improve the 
 system of government is not wanting ; corrup- 
 tion, though unfortunately great, is still not of a 
 character, nor carried to an extent, that threatens 
 the existence of the state ; the treatment of 
 Christians is not harsh, and the toleration exhi- 
 bited by the Porte towards this portion of its 
 subjects might serve as an example to some 
 governments who look with contempt upon 
 Turkey as a barbarous power. 
 
 " Her majesty's government believe that Tur- 
 key only requires forbearance on the part of its 
 allies, and a determination not to press their 
 claims in a manner humiliating to the dignity 
 and independence of the sultan that friendly 
 support, in short, that with states, as with indi- 
 viduals, the weak are entitled to expect from the 
 strong — in order not only to prolong its exist- 
 ence, but to remove all cause of alarm respecting 
 its dissolution. It is in this work of benevolence 
 and of sound European policy that her majesty's 
 government are desirous of co-operating with the 
 emperor. They feel entire confidence in the rec- 
 titude of his imperial majesty's intentions, and, 
 as they have the satisfaction of thinking that the 
 interests of Russia and England in the East are 
 completely identical, they entertain an earnest 
 hope that a similar policy there will prevail, and 
 tend to strengthen the alliance between the two 
 countries, which it is alike the object of her 
 majesty and her majesty's government to pro- 
 mote. You win give a copy of this despatch to 
 the chancellor or to the emperor, in the event of 
 
 97 
 
TnE SECEET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 
 
 1853. 
 
 your again having the honour to be received by 
 his imperial majesty. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 " Clarendon." 
 
 No. 11. 
 Sir G-. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon. — 
 (Eeceived March 26. — Secret and confidential.) 
 " St. Petersburg, March 12th, 1853. 
 " My Lord, — The chancellor sent for me this 
 morning, when he placed in my hands a copy of 
 the memorandum which was brought to your 
 lordship's knowledge by my despatch of the 9th 
 inst. Upon this copy the emperor had written 
 in pencil that he was sorry to find that Sir Ha- 
 milton Seymour had considered a passage in the 
 paper as reflecting upon the conduct of her ma- 
 jesty's government ; that no reproach had been 
 intended, and that the chancellor would do well 
 to see me and to state that if it should be my 
 wish, the paper might be taken back and altered. 
 After a few moments' reflection it occurred to 
 me that the explanations which I had received 
 were sufficient, so that a record could be ob- 
 tained of the emperor's amicable intentions, and 
 that the paper, if taken back, might be altered 
 in more than one of its passages ; I therefore 
 stated that, instead of changing the memoran- 
 dum, I would suggest that his excellency should 
 write me a few lines explanatory of the purport 
 of the passage which I had considered objection- 
 able. To this the cliancellor at once acceded, 
 and it only remained for. me to request that his 
 excellency would be kind enough to express to 
 the emperor how sensibly I felt his gracious 
 solicitude to eiface a disagreeable impression. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " G. H. Seymour." 
 
 No. 12. 
 Sir G-. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon. — 
 (Eeceived April 4th. — Secret and confidential.) 
 " St. Petersburg, March 16th, 1853. 
 " My Lord, — With reference to the despatch 
 marked ' secret and confidential,' which I had 
 the honour of addressing to your lordship on 
 the 12th inst., I beg to transmit the letter which 
 Count Nesaeirode undertook to write to me ex- 
 pressive of the emperor's willingness to change 
 the passage in his memorandum which I had 
 considered open to some misinterpretation. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " Q-. H. SBmoTJR." 
 
 " March 8 (15), 1853. 
 " I have the pleasure, my dear Sir Hamilton, 
 to add to the explanation which I had the 
 honour to offer to you verbally, that having 
 communicated your doubts to the emperor, his 
 majesty has authorised me to modify the passage 
 which had caused you to entertain them, at 
 least if you should consider it necessary. The 
 empejor is, above all things, desirous of re- 
 98 
 
 moving from a communication altogether per- 
 sonal and friendly with the government of her 
 mstjesty the queen what might give occasion 
 even to an erroneous interpretation, which would 
 be contrary to the intentions by which it was 
 dictated, as also to the object which his majesty 
 proposes to himself. 
 
 " Be pleased, &c., 
 
 " Nesseleode." 
 
 No. 13. 
 The Earl of Clarendon to Sir Gr. H. Seymour. — 
 (Secret and confidential.) 
 " Eoreign-office, April 5th, 1853. 
 
 " Sir, — Your despatches of the 9th, 10th, and 
 12th ultimo have been laid before the queen. 
 
 '' My despatch of the 23rd ultimo will have 
 furnished you with answers upon all the prin- 
 cipal points alluded to in the memorandum 
 which Count Nesselrode placed in your hands ; 
 but it is my duty to inform you that that im- 
 portant and remarkable document was received 
 by her majesty's government with feelings of 
 sincere satisfaction, as a renewed proof of the 
 emperor's confidence and friendly feelings ; and 
 her majesty's government desire to convey their 
 acknowledgments to his imperial majesty for 
 having thus placed on record the opinions he 
 expressed at the interview with which you were 
 honoured by his imperial majesty. Her ma- 
 jesty's government do not consider that any 
 useful purpose would be served by prolonging a 
 correspondence upon a question with respect to 
 which a complete understanding has been estab- 
 lished; and I have only, therefore, further to 
 state that her majesty's government observe with 
 pleasure that, in the opinion of the emperor, the 
 fall of the Turkish empire is looked upon as an 
 uncertain and distant contingency, and that no 
 real crisis has occurred to render its realisation 
 imminent. Her majesty's government have never 
 any wish to disguise their policy, which they 
 trust is honest and straightforward towards all 
 other countries ; but on such a question they 
 would particularly regret that any misapprehen- 
 sion existed on the mind of the emperor, and 
 they accordingly approve the confidential note 
 which you addressed to Count Nesselrode, for 
 the purpose of rectifying some ideas which re- 
 flected upon the course pursued by her majesty's 
 government. On the subject of the Chwrle- 
 magne coming up to the Bosphorus a corres- 
 pondence took place between the English and 
 Erench governments, and, although the Porte 
 gave its sanction unconditionally, the eventual 
 solution of the question was in conformity with 
 the opinion of her Majesty's government, and it 
 was settled that the Charlemagne should convey 
 M. de Lavalette to Constantinople, under which 
 circumstances it was stated that the passage of 
 theErench shipof warwould not be furtherremon- 
 strated against by her majesty's government, but 
 that it must not be dxawn into a precedent. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [the secuet cokrespondence. 
 
 " As regards the holy places, you are aware 
 of the instructions given to Colonel Eose for 
 his guidance at the Porte, and of the despatch 
 addressed to her majesty's ambassador at Paris, 
 which was communicated to the French govern- 
 ment, and I have further to inform you that 
 Viscount Stratford de Eedcliffe was instructed 
 to bear in mind that her majesty's government, 
 without professing to give an opinion on the 
 subject, were not insensible to the superior 
 claims of Russia, both as respected the treaty 
 obligations of Turkey, and the loss of moral in- 
 fluence that the emperor would sustain through- 
 out his dominions, if, in the position occupied 
 by his imperial majesty with reference to the 
 Greek church, he was to yield any privileges it 
 had hitherto enjoyed to the Latin church, of 
 which the emperor of the Prench claimed to be 
 the protector. 
 
 " "With respect to the advice which the empe- 
 ror recommends should be given to the Porte 
 by her majesty's government, you wiU inform 
 the chancellor that Viscount Stratford de Eed- 
 cliffe was directed to return to his post, and a 
 special character was given to his mission by an 
 autograph letter from her majesty, under the 
 impression that the Porte would be better dis- 
 posed to listen to moderate counsels when offered 
 by one of Viscount Stratford de Eedchffe's high 
 position and great knowledge and experience of 
 Turkish affairs ; and he was particularly desired 
 to advise the Porte to treat its Christian sub- 
 jects with the utmost leniency. 
 
 " Upon this latter point her majesty's govern- 
 ment are inclined to believe that the Turkish 
 government are at length awakened to a sense 
 of their own true interests. At the beginning 
 of this year we know that orders were sent to 
 Kiamil Pasha to proceed instantly to Bosnia in 
 order to redress Christian grievances, and to 
 empower the Christian communities to build 
 churches. About the same time, also, the Porte 
 sent the strongest instructions to Omar Pasha 
 to act with unvaried moderation and humanity 
 towards his enemies (the Montenegrins) ; and 
 the English vice-consul at Scutari confirmed all 
 the previous statements that the inhabitants of 
 Montenegro committed an unprovoked attack 
 on the troops and subjects of the Porte ; while 
 the accounts that have reached her majesty's 
 government respecting the atrocities said to have 
 been committed by the Turks in. Bosnia, Herze- 
 govine, and Montenegro are extracted from 
 Austrian newspapers, and must necessarily, 
 therefore, be received with caution. 
 
 " I have only in conclusion to add that, as her 
 majesty and the emperor have now mutually re- 
 newed the assurances of their intention to up- 
 hold the independence and integrity of the 
 Turkish empire, it is the earnest desire of her 
 majesty's government that the representatives 
 of the two powers may henceforward co-operate 
 together in carrying out this intention by giving 
 
 similar advice in the same friendly spirit to the 
 Porte. 
 
 " Tou are instructed to read this despatch to 
 the chancellor, and to furnish him with a copy, 
 should he desire it. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 " Claeendon." 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 Sir G. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon.— 
 
 (Eeceived May 2nd. — Secret and confidential.) 
 
 (Extract.) " St. Petersburg, April 20th, 1853. 
 
 " The emperor on rising from the table when 
 I had the honour of dining at the palace on the 
 18th inst., desired me to follow him into the 
 next reom. His majesty then said that he had 
 wished to state to me the real and sincere satis- 
 faction which he received from your lordship's 
 despatch, marked 'secret and confidential,' of 
 the 23rd ultimo. 
 
 " It had been, his majesty said, most agreeable 
 to him to find that the overtures which he had 
 addressed to her majesty's government had been 
 responded to in the same friendly spirit in which 
 they were made ; that, to use a former expres- 
 sion, there was nothing in which he placed so 
 much reliance as ' la parole cf un gentilhomme ;^ 
 that he felt that the relations of the two courts 
 stood upon a better basis now that a clear un- 
 derstanding had been obtained as to points 
 which, if left in doubt, might have been produc- 
 tive of misintelligence, and, as his majesty was 
 pleased to add, he felt obliged to me for having 
 contributed towards bringing about this friendly 
 entente. And his majesty said, ' I beg you to 
 understand, that what I have pledged myself to 
 will be equally binding on my successor ; there 
 now exist memorandums of my intentions, and 
 whatever I have promised, my son, if the changes 
 alluded to should occur in his time, would be as 
 ready to perform as his father would have been.' 
 The emperor proceeded to state that he would 
 very frankly offer an observation or two — it might 
 be a criticism — on your lordship's despatch. 
 
 " The despatch spoke of the fall of the Turkish 
 empire as an uncertain and distant event. He 
 would remark that the one term excluded the 
 other ; uncertain it was certainly, but for that 
 reason not necessarily remote. He desired it 
 might be, but he was not sure that it might so 
 prove. His majesty desired further to observe 
 that he could not doubt that her majesty's go- 
 vernment had taken too favourable a view of 
 the state of the Christian population in Turkey ; 
 the sultan might have intended to better their 
 condition, might have given orders in that sense, 
 but he was quite certain that his commands had 
 not been attended to. 
 
 " Upon my remarking that her majesty's 
 government were understood to receive very 
 accurate reports of what passes in Turkey, the 
 emperor replied, with considerable animation, 
 that he called this fact in question ; that he be- 
 
 99 
 
THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1853. 
 
 lieved, on the contrary, that some of the English 
 consular agents were incorrect in their reports. 
 He would only refer to Bulgaria ; the greatest 
 discontent prevailed there, and his majesty 
 would aflBrm that were it not for his continued 
 efforts to repress the manifestation of feelings 
 of the sort, the Bulgarians would some time 
 since have been in insurrection. 
 
 " His majesty proceeded to contrast the 
 threatening attitude which had been assumed 
 by Count Leiningen with the peaceable cha- 
 racter of Prince Mentschikoff's mission, not, 
 however, that he desired to blame the Emperor 
 of Austria, a noble prince, whom he loved sin- 
 cerely, and all of whose acts he approved ; the 
 difference existed in circumstances, and when 
 Montenegro was threatened with utter devas- 
 tation, the Emperor of Austria was obliged to 
 act with energy. His majesty would, he said, 
 have acted in the same manner. 
 
 " I am desirous of remarking here that part 
 of the emperor's observations were, it was ob- 
 vious, addressed to me personally, and were 
 intended as a reply as well to an allusion which 
 I had made as to religious intolerance in Tus- 
 cany, as to my comments to the chancellor 
 upon the conduct of the Austrian cabinet with 
 regard to the late confiscatory measures in 
 Lombardy. 
 
 " His majesty, after observing that, accord- 
 ing to the accounts just received (those of the 
 29th ult.), little or no progress had been made 
 towards an adjustment of difficulties at Con- 
 stantinople, said that as yet he had not moved 
 a ship or a battalion ; that he had not done so 
 from motives of consideration for the sultan 
 and from economical motives ; but that he 
 would repeat that he had no intention of being 
 trifled with, and that if the Turks did not yield 
 to reason, they would have to give way to an 
 approach of danger. 
 
 " I ventured to remark to the emperor that 
 it was only by the despatches just arrived that 
 he had received intelligence of the landing at 
 Pera of the "French ambassador, who was under- 
 stood to be a party to the arrangements about 
 to be concluded ; the indirect answer, however, 
 returned to me by his majesty and the expres- 
 sions which he used lead me to apprehend that 
 this consideration did not receive the attention 
 of which in fairness it appears to me deserving. 
 
 No. 15. 
 Sir Gr. H. Seymour to the Earl of Clarendon. — 
 (Eeceived May 2nd. — Secret and confidential.) 
 " St. Petersburg, April 21st, 1853. 
 " My Lord,— I have had the honour of re- 
 ceiving your lordship's despatch marked ' secret 
 and confidential,' of the 5th inst., which, in 
 obedience to your lordship's orders, I commu- 
 nicated to Count Nessobode on the 15th inst. 
 
 " His excellency, before the arrival of this 
 messenger, had desired to see me for the pur- 
 100 
 
 pose of communicating to me a paper which 
 had been drawn up by the emperor's desire, 
 and which was to be considered as an answer 
 to your lordship's despatch of the 23rd ult. 
 
 " This document, which I beg to transmit in 
 original, was accordingly placed in my hands 
 by the chancellor, who observed that he had 
 previously thought that it would close the cor- 
 respondence, but that it was possible that the 
 fresh despatch which I had brought to his 
 knowledge might, upon being laid before the 
 emperor, call for some fresh observations on the 
 part of his majesty. 
 
 " The only passage in the enclosed paper to 
 which Count Nesselrode was desirous of draw- 
 ing my attention was that in which an observa- 
 tion is made respecting the treatment of the 
 Christian population as described by English or 
 by Eussian agents. 
 
 " I remarked, in reply, that the point was 
 the less material, her majesty's government 
 being (as his excellency had been made aware) 
 as desirous as the imperial cabinet could be 
 that no effort should be wanting on the part of 
 the Porte to remove any and every cause of 
 complaint which could be made in justice by 
 the sultan's Christian subjects. 
 
 " Tour lordship will perhaps allow me to 
 observe that, supposing the present crisis in 
 Turkish affairs to pass over, an intimation is 
 made in the enclosed paper which, if taken up 
 and embodied in a joint resolution by all the 
 great powers, might possibly be the means of 
 long averting a catastrophe which, happen when 
 it may, will probably have disastrous conse- 
 quences even to those to whom it may be con- 
 sidered the most profitable. 
 
 " Since the preceding part of this despatch 
 was written, the chancellor has intimated to me 
 that the emperor, being of opinion that the 
 paper which I now enclose, followed up by the 
 conversation which I had the honour of holding 
 with his majesty on the 18th, may be considered 
 as replying to any points touched upon in your 
 lordship's despatch, does not propose to offer 
 any fresh observation upon the subjects which 
 have been under discussion. His excellency 
 does not conceal from me his satisfaction at 
 this resolution, these subjects being, as he re- 
 marked, of so delicate a nature that there are 
 always objections to their being brought under 
 discussion. I have, &c., 
 
 " G. H. Setmotje." 
 
 (Translation.) 
 " The emperor has, with lively satisfaction, 
 made himself acquainted with Lord Clarendon's 
 despatch of the 23rd of March. His majesty 
 congratulates himself on perceiving that his 
 views and those of the English cabinet entirely 
 coincide on the subject of the political combi- 
 nations which it would be chiefly necessary to 
 avoid in the extreme case of the contingency 
 
A.D, 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the secret cohrespondence. 
 
 occurring iti the East, which Russia and Eng- 
 land have equally at heart to prevent, or, at all 
 events, to delay as long as possible. Sharing 
 generally the opinions expressed by Lord Cla- 
 rendon on the necessity of the prolonged main- 
 tenance of the existing state of things in Turkey, 
 the emperor, nevertheless, cannot abstain from 
 adverting to a special point vfhich leads him to 
 suppose that the information received by the 
 British government is not altogether in ac- 
 cordance with ours. It refers to the humanity 
 and the toleration to be shown by Turkey in 
 her manner of treating her Christian subjects. 
 
 " Putting aside many otlier examples to the 
 contrary of an old date, it is, for all that, no- 
 torious that recently the cruelties committed 
 by the Turks in Bosnia forced hundreds of 
 Christian families to seek refuge in Austria. 
 In other respects, without wishing on this oc- 
 casion to enter upon a discussion as to the 
 symptoms of decay, more or less evident, pre- 
 sented by the Ottoman power, or the greater or 
 less degree of vitality which its internal consti- 
 tution may retain, the emperor will readily 
 agree that the best means of upholding the 
 duration of the Turkish government is not to 
 harass it by overbearing demands, supported in 
 a manner humiliating to its independence and 
 its dignity. His majesty is disposed, as he has 
 ever been, to act upon this system, with the 
 clear understanding, however, that the same 
 rule of conduct shall be observed, without dis- 
 tinction, and unanimously, by each of the great 
 powers, and that none of them shall take ad- 
 vantage of the weakness of the Porte to obtain 
 from it concessions which might turn to the 
 prejudice of the others. This principle being 
 laid down, the emperor declares that he is ready 
 to labour, in concert with England, at the com- 
 mon work of prolonging the existence of the 
 Turkish empire, settuig aside all cause of alarm 
 on the subject of its dissolution. He readily 
 accepts the evidence offered by the British 
 cabinet of entire confidence in the uprightness 
 of his sentiments, and the hope that, on this 
 basis, his alliance with England cannot fail to 
 become stronger. 
 
 " St. Petersburg, April 3rd (15th), 1853." 
 
 The following is the memorandum by 
 Count Nesselrode delivered to her majesty's 
 government, and founded on communica- 
 tions received from the Emperor of Russia 
 subsequently to his imperial majesty's visit 
 to England in June, 1844 : — 
 
 (Translation.) 
 " Russia and England are mutually pene- 
 trated with the conviction that it is for their 
 common interest that the Ottoman Porte should 
 maintain itself in the state of independence and 
 of territorial possession which at pre-sent consti- 
 tute that empire, as that political combination is 
 
 VOL. I. t^ 
 
 the one which is most compatible with the ■ 
 general interest of the maintenance of peace. 
 Being agreed on this principle, Russia and 
 England have an equal interest in uniting their 
 efforts in order to keep up the existence of the 
 Ottoman empire, and to avert all the dangers 
 which can place in jeopardy its safety. With 
 this object, the essential point is to suffer the 
 Porte to live in repose, without needlessly dis- 
 turbing it by diplomatic bickerings, and without 
 interfering unless with absolute necessity in its 
 internal affairs. In order to carry out skilfully 
 this system of forbearance, with a view to the 
 well-understood interest of the Porte, two things 
 must not be lost sight of. They are these : — 
 
 " In the first place, the Porte has a constant 
 tendency to extricate itself from the engage- 
 ments imposed upon it by the treaties which it 
 has concluded with other powers. It hopes to 
 do so with impunity, because it reckons on the 
 mutual jealousy of the cabinets. It thinks that 
 if it fails in its engagements towards one of 
 them, the rest will espouse its quarrel, and will 
 screen it from all responsibility. It is essential 
 not to confirm the Porte in this delusion. Every 
 time that it fails in its obligations towards one 
 of the great powers, it is the interest of all the 
 rest to make it sensible of its error, and seriously 
 to exhort it to act rightly towards the cabinet 
 which demands just reparation. As soon as the 
 Porte shall perceive that it is not supported by 
 the other cabinets, it will give way, and the dif- 
 ferences which haxe arisen vrill be arranged in 
 a conciliatory manner, without any coiiflict re- 
 sulting from them. 
 
 " There is a second cause of complication 
 which is inherent in the situation of the Porte ; 
 it is the difficulty which exists in reconciling the 
 respect due to the sovereign authority of the 
 sultan, founded on the Mussulman law, with 
 the forbearance required by the interests of the 
 Christian population of that empire. This diffi- 
 culty is real. In the present state of feeling in 
 Europe, the cabinets cannot see with indifference 
 the Christian populations in Turkey exposed to 
 iiagrant acts of oppression and religious into- 
 lerance. It is necessary constantly to make the 
 Ottoman ministers sensible of this truth, and to 
 persuade them that they can only reckon on the 
 friendship and on the support of the great powers 
 on the condition that they treat the Christian 
 subjects of the Porte with toleration and with 
 mildness. While insisting on this truth, it will 
 be the duty of the foreign representatives, on 
 the other hand, to exert all their influence to 
 maintain the Christian subjects of the Porte in 
 submission to the sovereign authority. It will 
 be the duty of the foreign representatives, guided 
 by these principles, to act among themselves in 
 a perfect spirit of agreement. If they address 
 remonstrances to the Porte, those remonstrances 
 must bear a real character of unanimity, though 
 divested of one of exclusive dictation. By per- 
 
 101 
 
THE SECRET COKRESPONDENCE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 severing in this system with calmness and mode- 
 ration, the representatives of the great cabinets 
 of Europe will have the best chance of succeed- 
 ing in the steps which they may take, without 
 giving occasion for complications which might 
 aifect the tranquillity of the Ottoman empire. 
 If all the great powers frankly adopt this line 
 of conduct, they will have a well-founded ex- 
 pectation of preserving the existence of Turkey. 
 However, they must not conceal from themselves 
 how many elements of dissolution that empire 
 contains within itself. Unforeseen circumstances 
 may hasten its fall, without its being in the 
 power of the friendly cabinets to prevent it. As 
 it is not given to human foresight to settle be- 
 forehand a plan of action for such or such un- 
 looked-for case, it would be premature to discuss 
 eventualities which may never be realised. In 
 the uncertainty which hovers over the future, a 
 single fundamental idea seems to admit of a 
 really practical application ; it is that the danger 
 which may result from a catastrophe in Turkey 
 will be much diminished if, in the event of its 
 occurring, Eussia and England have come to an 
 understanding as to the course to be taken by 
 them in common. 
 
 " That understanding will be the more bene- 
 ficial inasmuch as it will have the full assent of 
 Austria. Between her and Russia there exists 
 already an entire conformity of principles in 
 regard to the afiairs of Turkey, in a common in- 
 terest of conservatism and of peace. In order 
 to render their union more efficacious, there 
 would remain nothing to be desired but that 
 England should be seen to associate herself 
 thereto with the same view. The reason which 
 recommends the establishment of this agreement 
 is very simple. On land Russia exercises in re- 
 gard to Turkey a preponderant action. On sea 
 England occupies the same position. Isolated, 
 the action of these two powers might do much 
 mischief. United, it can produce a real benefit ; 
 thence the advantage of coming to a previous 
 understanding before having recourse to action. 
 
 " This notion was in principle agreed upon 
 during the emperor's last residence in London. 
 The result was the eventual engagement that if 
 anything unforeseen occurred in Turkey, Russia 
 and England should previously concert together 
 as to the course which they should pursue in 
 common. The object for which Russia and 
 England will have to come to an understanding 
 may be expressed in the following manner : — 
 
 " 1. To seek to maintain the existence of the 
 Ottoman empire in its present state so long as 
 that political combination shall be possible 
 
 " 2. If we foresee that it must crum))le to 
 pieces, to enter into previous concert as to every- 
 thing relating to the establishment of a new 
 order of things, intended to replace that which 
 now exists, and, in conjunction with each other, 
 to see that the change which may have occurred 
 in the internal situation of that empire shall not 
 10,2 
 
 injuriously affect either the security of their own 
 states and the rights which the treaties assure 
 to them respectively, or the maintenance of the 
 balance of power in Europe. 
 
 " Eor the purpose thus stated, the policy of 
 Russia and of Austria, as we have already said, 
 is closely united by the principle of perfect iden- 
 tity. If England, as the principal maritime 
 power, acts in concert with them, it is to be sup- 
 posed that France will find herself obliged to act 
 in conformity with the course agreed upon be- 
 tween St. Petersburg, London, and Vienna. 
 Conflict between the great powers being thus 
 obviated, it is to be hoped that the peace of 
 Europe will be maintained even in the midst of 
 such serious circumstances. It is to secure this 
 object of common interest, if the case occurs, 
 that, as the emperor agreed with her Britannic 
 majesty's ministers during his residence in Eng- 
 land, the previous understanding which Russia 
 and England shall establish between themselves 
 must be directed." 
 
 The following facts form a singular com- 
 mentary upon the foregoing correspondence. 
 Only two days before the first of these con- 
 versations with the Emperor Nicholas, it 
 became Sir Hamilton Seymour's duty to 
 report to the British government that he 
 had reason to believe that 144,000 men were 
 ordered to march to the frontier of the Da- 
 nubian provinces, and, during the whole 
 course of these negotiations, the mission of 
 Prince Mentschikoff, at Constantinople, was 
 in preparation or in progress. Thus, while 
 the emperor was expressing great concern 
 for the welfare of " the sick man," he was 
 deliberately preparing to murder him, and 
 divide his possessions with England and 
 Austria, if they would countenance his crime. 
 The proposals of the czar were equally un- 
 successful in another direction. On the 
 failure of the secret and confidential pro- 
 posals of the Emperor Nicholas to the British 
 ministry, he directed his overtures to France, 
 and received from the Emperor Louis Na- 
 poleon a similar refusal. It was suspected 
 that Nicholas endeavoured to tempt the 
 French government into his conspiracy by 
 ofi'ering it a portion of the Prussian domi- 
 nions. It has been justly observed, that 
 though this correspondence was of an essen- 
 tially confidential nature, and probably never 
 intended to meet the gaze of the world, yet 
 that there is not in it one remark on the 
 part of the British government, or on that of 
 their envoy at St. Petersburg, that this 
 country need blush to avow. Politicians 
 were also loud in noticing the indifiference, 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [declaration op war. 
 
 if not contempt, of the Emperor Nicholas to 
 the state of Prussia, which he did not once 
 aUude to, as if its opposition to his scheme 
 was a matter of small importance. Austria 
 was treated as an accomplice, or as a state 
 that dared not resist the will of the autocrat. 
 
 " Our interests," he exclaimed, " as regards 
 Turkey are perfectly identical." The wheels 
 of Time were rolling onward, and as the dim 
 future settled into the tangible present, we 
 shall find the czar over-confident in his con- 
 elusions on this point. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONDUCT OF NICHOLAS IN REFERENCE TO THE FINAL ULTIMATDM ; ENGLISH AND FRENCH DECLARA- 
 TIONS OF WAR ; TURKISH FAELE ; ADDRESSES PRESENTED TO QUEEN VICTORIA BY THE LORDS AND COM- 
 MONS j DAT OF PRATER AND HUMILIATION ; DREAM OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS ; THE RUSSIANS CROSS TO 
 THE RIGHT BANK OF THE DANUBE, AND TAKE POSSESSION OF THE DOBRUDSCHA ; CONFLICTS AT TULTSCHA 
 AND MATSCHIN ; THE WALL OF TRAJAN ; TURKISH EXCURSIONS FROM KALAFAT J AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA ; 
 BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA. 
 
 In the commencement of the last chapter 
 we mentioned that, in the month of February, 
 the allied powers had dispatched a final 
 ultimatum to St. Petersburg. It demanded 
 that the emperor should cause his troops to 
 abandon the principalities before the end of 
 April, and allowed him six days for consi- 
 deration. Nicholas learnt the nature of the 
 summons before the actual arrival of the 
 courier who bore it, and is reported to have 
 said, contemptuously, that he could answer 
 it as readily in six minutes as in six days. 
 He then left St. Petersburg for Helsingfors, 
 a fortified seaport town, the present ca- 
 pital of Finland, but in the possession of 
 Russia, and defended by the strong citadel 
 Sveaborg. But the emperor had given 
 Count Nesselr ode instructions to make known 
 his pleasure to the consuls of France and 
 England, who, in the absence of the ambas- 
 sadors, are the representatives of their respec- 
 tive governments in Russia. It was stern 
 and brief — namely, that to the summons of 
 the allied powers no answer would be given 
 by the imperial court I 
 
 Europe now stood upon the vestibule of 
 the temple of the grim genius of war. A 
 convention had already been entered into 
 between France and England on one side, 
 and Turkey on the other, to regulate the 
 military operations, and to bind the latter 
 not to make peace without the consent of 
 the former.* On the 27th of March, the 
 
 * The utmost harmony existed between the courts 
 of Prance and England ; but the convention or bond 
 of alliance, between the Queen df England and the 
 Emperor of France, was not signed and ratified until 
 
 French minister of state read to the Corps 
 Legislatif, in the name of the emperor, a 
 message, announcing that the final resolve 
 of the cabinet of St. Petersburg had placed 
 Russia in a state of war with France. A 
 similar communication to the senate was 
 received with enthusiasm and cheers of 
 " Vive I'Empereur!" On the same day, 
 her majesty Queen Victoria sent a message 
 to the English House of Commons. It was 
 to be communicated by Lord John Russell ; 
 and before five o'clock there was an un- 
 usually large attendance of the members 
 of that august assembly which represents 
 the wealth, intelligence, and power of the 
 people of England. At five, his lordship 
 walked down to the bar from his usual seat 
 on the ministerial bench, and the murmur 
 of conversation subsided into the hush of 
 expectancy. The speaker having requested 
 him, in the usual form, to bring up the 
 message. Lord John placed the document 
 in the hands of the right honourable gentle- 
 man, who proceeded to read it to the house 
 amidst the most profound silence. It was 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Victoria Regina. — Her majesty thinks 
 it proper to acquaint the House of Com- 
 mons that the negotiations in which her 
 majesty, in concert with her aUies, has for 
 some time past been engaged with his ma- 
 jesty the Emperor of all the Russias, have 
 terminated, and that her majesty feels 
 
 the month of April, 1854. The conduct of the 
 Emperor of Russia produced many results he did 
 not anticipate ; but probably what he least dreamed 
 of was the friendly alliance of France and England. 
 
 103 
 
DECLARATION OP WAR.J 
 
 HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 bound to afford active assistance to her ally 
 the sultan against unprovoked aggression. 
 
 " Her majesty has given directions for 
 laying before the House of Commons copies 
 of such papers, in addition to those already 
 communicated to parliament, as will afford 
 the fullest information with regard to the 
 subject of these negotiations. It is a con- 
 solation to her majesty to reflect that no 
 endeavours have been wanting on her part 
 to preserve to her subjects the blessings of 
 peace. 
 
 " Her majesty's just expectations have 
 been disappointed, and her majesty relies 
 with confidence on the zeal and devotion 
 of her faithful commons, and on the ex- 
 ertions of her brave and loyal subjects, to 
 support her in her determination to employ 
 the power and resources of the nation for 
 protecting the dominions of the sultan 
 against the encroachments of Russia." 
 
 The consideration of the queen's message 
 was deferred until the 31st; but the next 
 day (the 28th of March) the following de- 
 claration of war, on the part of England, 
 was contained in the supplement of the 
 London Gazette. According to the modern 
 customs of nations, no declaration of war 
 is sent to the enemy; but the announce- 
 ment of the sovereign's determination to his 
 or her parliament and subjects, and to the 
 world, is regarded as a sufficient publication 
 of the fact to all whom it may concern : — 
 (Declaration.) 
 
 " It is with deep regret that her majesty an- 
 nounces the failure of her anxious and protracted 
 endeavours to preserve for her people and for 
 Europe the blessings of peace. The unpro- 
 voked aggression of the Emperor of Eussia 
 against the Sublime Porte has been persisted 
 in with such disregard of consequences, that 
 after the rejection by the Emperor of Eussia of 
 terms which the Emperor of Austria, the Em- 
 peror of the Erench, and the King of Prussia, 
 as well as her majesty, considered just and 
 equitable, her majesty is compelled by a sense 
 of what is due to the honour of her crown, to 
 the interests of her people, and to the inde- 
 pendence of the states of Europe, to come 
 forward in defence of an ally whose territory is 
 invaded, and whose dignity and independence 
 are assailed. 
 
 " Her majesty, in justification of the course 
 she is about to pursue, refers to the transac- 
 tions in which her majesty has been engaged. 
 The Emperor of K.ussia had some cause of com- 
 plaint against the sultan with reference to the 
 settlement, which his highness had sanctioned, 
 of the conflicting claims of the Greek and 
 Latin churches to a portion of the holy places 
 
 of Jerusalem and its neighbourhood. To the 
 complaint of the Emperor of Kussia on this 
 head justice was done, and her majesty's am- 
 bassador at Constantinople had the satisfaction 
 of promoting an arrangement to which no ex- 
 ception was taken by the Russian government. 
 But, while the Eussian government repeatedly 
 assured the government of her majesty that the 
 mission of Prince Mentschikoff to Constantinople 
 was exclusively directed to the settlement of the 
 question of the holy places at Jerusalem, Prince 
 Mentschikoff himself pressed upon the Porte 
 other demands of a far more serious and impor- 
 tant character, the nature of which he in the 
 first instance endeavoured, as far as possible, to 
 conceal from her majesty's ambassador. And 
 these demands, thus studiously concealed, af- 
 fected, not the privileges of the Greek church at 
 Jerusalem, but the position of many millions of 
 Turkish subjects in their relations to their sove- 
 reign the sultan. These demands were rejected 
 by the spontaneous decision of the Sublime 
 Porte. 
 
 " Two assurances had been given to her ma- 
 jesty — one, that the mission of Prince Mentschi- 
 koff only regarded the holy places ; the other, 
 that his mission would be of a conciliatory cha- 
 racter. In both respects her majesty's just 
 expectations were disappointed. Demands were 
 made which, in the opinion of the sultan, ex- 
 tended to the substitution of the Emperor of 
 Eussia's authority for his own over a large por- 
 tion of his subjects, and those demands were 
 enforced by a threat ; and when her majesty 
 learnt that, on announcing the termination of 
 his mission, Prince Mentschikoff declared that 
 the refusal of his demands would impose upon 
 the imperial government the necessity of seeking 
 a guarantee by its own power, her majesty 
 thought proper that her fleet should leave Malta, 
 and, in co-operation with that of his majesty the 
 Emperor of the Erench, take up its station in 
 the neighbourhood of the Dardanelles. So long 
 as the negotiation bore an amicable character 
 her majesty refrained from any demonstration 
 of force. But when, in addition to the assem- 
 blage of large military forces pn the frontier of 
 Turkey, the ambassador of Eussia intimated 
 that serious consequences would ensue from the 
 refusal of the sultan to comply with unwarrant- 
 able demands, her majesty deemed it right, in 
 conjunction with the Emperor of the French, to 
 give an unquestionable proof of her determina- 
 tion to support the sovereign rights of the 
 sultan. 
 
 " The Eussian government ' has maintained 
 that the determination of the emperor to occupy 
 the principalities was taken in consequence of 
 the advance of the fleets pf England and France. 
 But the menace of invasion of the Turkish ter- 
 ritory was conveyed in Count Nesselrode's note 
 to Eedschid Pasha of the 19th (31st) of May, 
 and re-stated in his despatch to Baron Brunow 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [declaeations or war. 
 
 of the 20th of May (1st of June), which an- 
 nounced the determination of the Emperor of 
 Buasia to order his troops to occupy the princi- 
 palities, if the Porte did not within a week com- 
 ply with the demands of Russia. The despatch 
 to her majesty's ambassador at Constantinople, 
 authorising him iii certain specified contingen- 
 cies to send for the British fleet, was dated the 
 31st of May, and the order sent direct from 
 England to her majesty's admiral to proceed to 
 the neighbourhood of the Dardanelles was dated 
 the 2nd of June. The determination to occupy 
 the principalities was therefore taken before the 
 orders for the advance of the combined squadrons 
 were given. The sultan's minister was informed 
 that unless he signed within a week, and with- 
 out the change of a word, the note proposed to 
 the Porte by Prince Mentschikoff on the eve of 
 his departure from Constantinople, the princi- 
 palities of Moldavia and Wallachia would be 
 occupied by Russian troops. The sultan could 
 not accede to so insulting a demand ; but, when 
 the actual occupation of the principalities took 
 place, the sultan did not, as he might have done 
 in the exercise of his undoubted right, declare 
 war, but addressed a protest to his allies. 
 
 " Her majesty, in conjunction with the sove- 
 reigns of Austria, Erance, and Prussia, has made 
 various attempts to meet any just demands of 
 the Emperor of Russia without affecting the 
 dignity and independence of the sultan; and, 
 had it been the sole object of Russia to obtain 
 security for the enjoyment by the Christian 
 subjects of the Porte of their privileges and 
 immunities, she would have found it in the offers 
 that have been made by the sultan. But, as 
 that security was not offered in the shape of a 
 special and separate stipulation with Russia, it 
 waa rejected. Twice has this offer been made 
 by the sultan, and recommended by the four 
 powers ; once by a note originally prepared at 
 Vienna, and subsequently modified by the Porte ; 
 , once by the proposal of bases of negotiation 
 agreed upon at Constantinople on the 31st of 
 December, and approved at Vienna on the 13th 
 of January, as offering to the two parties the 
 means of arriving at an understanding in a be- 
 coming and honourable manner. It is thus 
 manifest that a right for Russia to interfere in 
 the ordinary relations of Turkish subjects to 
 their sovereign, and not the happiness of Chris- 
 tian communities in Turkey, was the object 
 sought for by the Russian government ; to such 
 3, demand the sultan would not submit, and his 
 highness, in self-defence, declared war upon 
 Russia, but her majesty, nevertheless, in con- 
 junction with her allies, has not ceased her en- 
 deavours to restore peace between the contend- 
 ing parties. The time has, however, now ar- 
 rived when, "the advice and remonstrances of 
 the four powers having proved wholly ineffectual, 
 and the military preparations of Russia be- 
 coming daily more extended, it is but too ob- 
 
 vious that the Emperor of Russia has entered 
 upon a course of policy which, if unchecked, 
 must lead to the destruction of the Ottoman 
 empire. In this conjuncture her majesty feels 
 called upon, by regard for an ally, the integrity 
 and independence of whose empire have been 
 recognised as essential to the peace of Europe, 
 by the sympathies of her people with right 
 against wrong, by a desire to avert from her 
 dominions most injurious consequences, and to 
 save Europe from the preponderance of a power 
 which has violated the faith of treaties and defies 
 the opinion of the civilised world, to take up 
 arms, in conjunction with the Emperor of the 
 French, for the defence of the sultan. H?r 
 majesty is persuaded that in so acting she will 
 have the cordial support of her people ; and that 
 the pretext of zeal for the Christian religion 
 will be used in vain to cover an aggression un- 
 dertaken in disregard of its holy precepts, and 
 of its pure and beneficent spirit. Her majesty 
 humbly trusts that her efforts may be successful, 
 and that, by the bless-ing of Providence, peace 
 may be re-established on safe and solid founda- 
 tions. 
 
 " Westminster, March 28th, 1854." 
 
 (Declaration.) 
 
 " Her majesty the queen of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, having been 
 compelled to take up arms in support of an ally, 
 is desirous of rendering the war as little onerous 
 as possible to the powers with whom she remains 
 at peace. To preserve the commerce of neutrals 
 from all unnecessary obstruction, her majesty is 
 willing, for the present, to waive a part of the 
 belligerent rights appertaining to her by the 
 law of nations. It is impossible for her majesty 
 to forego the exercise of her right of seizing 
 articles contraband of war, and of preventing 
 neutrals from bearing the enemy's despatches, 
 and she must maintain the right of a belligerent 
 to prevent neutrals from breaking any effective 
 blockade which may be established with an ade- 
 quate force against the enemy's forts, harbours, 
 or coasts. But her majesty will waive the right 
 of seizing enemy's property laden on board a 
 neutral vessel, unless it be contraband of war. 
 It is not her majesty's intention to claim the 
 confiscation of neutral property, not being con- 
 traband of war, found oil board enemy's ships, 
 and her majesty further declares that, being 
 anxious to lessen, as much as possible, the evils 
 of war, and to restrict its operations to the regu- 
 larly organised forces pf the country, it is not 
 her present intention to issue letters of marque 
 for the commissioning of privateers. 
 
 "Westminster, March 28th, 1854." 
 
 From the latter part of this document, it 
 will be observed that the onward march of 
 civilisation gives even to war some colouring 
 
 105 
 
ADDRESSES TO THE QUEEN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 of mercy and forbearance. A deputation of 
 Russian merchants, resident in England, 
 were also informed by the government that 
 they would have liberty to remain unmo- 
 lested in this country during the war, so 
 long as they rendered obedience to the 
 laws. A similar permission has been ex- 
 tended to Russians resident in France. 
 
 On Friday, the 31st of March, Lord John 
 Russell, after a long speech, containing a 
 glance at the circumstances that rendered 
 the coming war necessary, moved that the 
 following address should be presented to her 
 majesty, in answer to her message of the 
 27th of March :— 
 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign, — We, your 
 majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, 
 the commons of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland in parliament as- 
 sembled, beg leave to return to your majesty 
 our humble thanks for your majesty's most 
 gracious message, and for the communica- 
 tion of the several papers which have been 
 laid before us in obedience to your majesty's 
 command. We assure your majesty of the 
 just sense we entertain of your majesty's 
 anxious and uniform endeavours to preserve 
 to your people the blessings of peace, and of 
 our perfect confidence in your majesty's dis- 
 position to terminate the calamities of war, 
 whenever that object can be accomplished, 
 consistently with the honour of your ma- 
 jesty's crown and the interests of your 
 people. We have observed with deep con- 
 cern that your majesty's endeavours have 
 been frustrated by the spirit of aggression 
 displayed by the Emperor of Russia in his 
 invasion and continued occupation of the 
 provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia; in 
 the rejection of equitable terms of peace 
 proposed under the sanction of four of the 
 principal powers of Europe; and in the 
 preparation of immense forces to support 
 his unjust pretensions. These pretensions 
 appear to us, your faithful commons, sub- 
 versive of the independence of the Turkish 
 empire ; and we feel that the trust reposed 
 in us demands, on our part, a firm determi- 
 nation to co-operate with your majesty in 
 a vigorous resistance to the projects of a 
 sovereign whose further aggrandisement 
 would be dangerous to the independence of 
 Europe." 
 
 After a warm and spirited debate, the 
 address was agreed to. Mr. Bright, in a 
 speech opposing the war, congratulated the 
 landed proprietors in that house, that in 
 consequence of the increased income-tax, 
 106 
 
 every man of them had a Turk upon his 
 back. He also described the balance of 
 power as a hackneyed term — a phrase to 
 which it was difficult to attach any definite 
 meaning. He desired an explanation of it ; 
 which was thus given by the veteran and 
 accomplished statesman, Lord Palmerston: — 
 " Why, sir, call it the balance of power, or 
 what you will, the idea is one familiar to the 
 mind of man, and which has influenced the 
 conduct of all mankind from the earliest 
 ages. The balance of power means, that 
 a number of weaker states combine to- 
 gether to prevent one strong one from 
 acquiring a power which shall be dangerous 
 to their liberties, their independence, and 
 their freedom of action. It is the doctrine 
 of self-preservation; it is the doctrine of 
 self-defence, with this simple qualification — 
 that it is combined with sagacity and fore- 
 sight — that you endeavour to prevent an 
 imminent danger before it comes thundering 
 at your gates. I know that the honourable 
 member is so attached to his principles, 
 that he thinks peace is of all things the 
 best, and war of all things the worst. I 
 happen to be of opinion that there are 
 things for which peace may be advan- 
 tageously sacrificed, and that there are 
 calamities which nations may endure still 
 worse than war." 
 
 The House of Lords was not behindhand 
 in responding to the queen's message to 
 parliament. The same evening that the 
 subject was discussed in the commons, it 
 was brought forward by the Earl of Cla- 
 rendon in the upper house. He moved an 
 address, identical in spirit and similar in 
 terms, to that voted by the commons; and 
 it was agreed to nemine contradicente. On - 
 Monday, April the 3rd, the house met soon 
 after two o'clock, and a deputation of peers, 
 in full dress, went in procession to the 
 palace, and presented their address to her 
 majesty. In the course of the day, the 
 queen returned them the following reply : — 
 " My lords, — I thank you for your loyal 
 and dutiful address. It is highly gratifying 
 to me to receive the assurances of your co- 
 operation in giving effect to the measures 
 which I consider necessary for the honour 
 of my crown and the welfare of my people." 
 Her majesty having intimated that she 
 would receive the address of the House of 
 Commons at three o'clock, the members 
 waited upon her with it at that hour. She 
 returned a similar answer to the one she 
 had sent to the lords. The city was not 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [day op humiliation. 
 
 to "be beaten in this race of loyalty. On 
 the 12th of April, the lord-mayor, alder- 
 men, sheriffs, common- councilmen, and 
 ofiBcers of the corporation, had an interview 
 with her majesty, and presented her with 
 their address, to which she returned a very 
 cordial reply. 
 
 War having been declared, the 36th of 
 April was appointed as a solemn day of 
 national humiliation and prayer. In answer 
 to a question from the Earl of Roden, Lord 
 Aberdeen stated that it was the intention of 
 the government to move an address to her 
 majesty, that she would be pleased to direct 
 that some day should be set apart for that 
 purpose. This statement elicited an ex- 
 pression of satisfaction from the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, who added : — " There never 
 was a time when we could more justly g,nd 
 with a safer conscience invoke the blessing 
 of God upon her majesty's arms, in a war 
 which has not been provoked by any aggres- 
 sion or ambition on our part, but which has 
 been undertaken solely for the purpose ef 
 protecting those interests of justice that 
 ought not to be laid aside, and in which, I 
 trust, we shall receive a blessing from Him 
 whom we desire to honour." Accordingly 
 a proclamation, setting apart a day for 
 national prayer, was issued by the queen, 
 and a special form of service composed for 
 the occasion by the archbishop. Some 
 persons have, with much show of reason, 
 objected that it was an unhallowed request 
 to the Deity, to implore for success in works 
 of slaughter and destruction : that war can 
 only be carried on by massacres, conflagra- 
 tions, and by a thousand hideous forms of 
 death, mutilation, and suffering; and that 
 these are events from which we should 
 rather expect the Almighty to avert his 
 face, than on which he should confer his 
 blessing. To this it has been answered, that 
 we do not proffer our petitions to God that he 
 will enable us to inflict the greatest amount 
 of harm ; but that we rather pray that the 
 good we propose to accomplish, may be 
 effected as speedily and as bloodlessly as 
 may be. 
 
 Collections were made, after service, at 
 most of the churches throughout the country, 
 and a considerable sum collected for the 
 assistance of the destitute wives and chil- 
 dren of those soldiers who had gone to 
 serve their country in the East.* The un- 
 happy condition of such poor women and 
 children excited much sympathy ; and great 
 exertions were made, by benevolent persons, 
 
 for their relief. The Duke of Sutherland 
 set an excellent example by sending £200 
 for this generous aim ; and other noble 
 hearts, with and without titles, followed his 
 example. 
 
 We have another instance of humanity 
 to relate — a humanity shown not by indi- 
 viduals, but by governments. At the time 
 when war was proclaimed, the sovereigns of 
 England and France simultaneoiisly issued 
 a declaration that they intended, as far as 
 possible, to mitigate its severities. For this 
 purpose, they announced that neutral flags 
 would be allowed to trade and cover the 
 enemy's property, with the sole exceptions 
 of trade to blockaded ports, or of trade in 
 contraband of war, or the conveyance of the 
 oflicers or despatches of the enemy. It was 
 added, that neutral property beneath the 
 flag of the enemy would not be condemned, 
 and that, at least for the present, letters of 
 marque would not be issued. 
 
 Aware of the declaration of war that 
 must follow his rejection of the final ulti- 
 matum of the allies, Nicholas once again 
 issued a manifesto to his people, endeavour- 
 ing not only to justify his conduct, but to 
 reiterate the canting cry that he had drawn 
 the sword in the Christian cause against the 
 defenders of the Mohammedan faith. It is 
 as follows ; and on its transparent hypocrisy 
 we shall not spend one word : — 
 
 " St. Petersburg, April 11th (23rd.) 
 
 " By the grace of God we, Nicholas the 
 First, Emperor and Autocrat of all the 
 Russias, King of Poland, &c., &c., to all our 
 subjects make known: — Since the com- 
 mencement of our difference with the Turk- 
 ish government we have solemnly an- 
 nounced to our faithful subjects that a 
 sentiment of justice had alone induced us to 
 re-establish the violated rights of the ortho- 
 dox Christians, subjects of the Ottoman 
 Porte. 
 
 " We have not sought, we do not seek, to 
 make conquests, nor to exercise in Turkey 
 any supremacy whatever that might be 
 likely to exceed that influence which be- 
 longs to Russia by virtue of existing treaties. 
 
 " At that period we already encountered 
 distrust ; then soon a covert hostility on the 
 part of the governments of France and 
 England, who endeavoured to lead the 
 Porte astray by misrepresenting our inten- 
 
 * In the parish churches of Cheltenham alone, 
 the sum of £737 lis. 6d. was collected for this 
 humane purpose. In those of Manchester, and St. 
 Thomas's, Pendleton, £9S2. 
 
 107 
 
THE czar's dream.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tions. Lastly, at this moment, England 
 and France throw off the mask, regard our 
 difference with Turkey as a mere secondary 
 question, and no longer dissemble that their 
 joint object is to weaken Russia, to tear 
 from her a part of her possessions, and to 
 bring down our country from the powerful 
 position to which the hand of the Supreme 
 Being had exalted it. 
 
 "Is it for orthodox Russia to fear such 
 threats ? 
 
 " Ready to confound the audacity of the 
 enemy, shall she swerve from the sacred 
 purpose that has been assigned to her by 
 Divine Providence ? No ! Russia has not 
 forgotten God ! It is not for worldly in- 
 terests that she has taken up arms. She 
 combats for the Christian faith, for the 
 defence of her co-religionists oppressed by 
 implacable enemies. 
 
 " Let all Christendom know, then, that 
 the thought of the sovereign of Russia is 
 also the thought that animates and inspires 
 all the great family of the Russian people — 
 this orthodox people, faithful to God and to 
 His only Son, Jesus Christ our Redeemer. 
 
 " It is for the faith and for Christendom 
 that we combat ! 
 
 " ' God with ps — •vrho against ns ?' 
 
 "Given at St. Petersburg, on the 11th 
 day of the month of April, in the year of 
 grace 1854, and the twenty-ninth of our 
 reign. Nicholas." 
 
 About the time the allied powers declared 
 war, the principal topic of conversation in 
 the salons of St. Petersburg was a singular 
 dream which had occurred, or was said to 
 have occurred, to the Emperor Nicholas. 
 He himself mentioned it to some of his 
 courtiers ; and if it actually took place, it is 
 an index to the troubled state of his mind. 
 We are, however, of opinion, that it was 
 probably a little fiction invented by the 
 czar for the encouragement of his people. 
 For four successive nights St. Nicholas, the 
 patron-saint of Russia and of thieves, ap- 
 peared to his regal namesake, when the 
 latter was in that light sort of slumber 
 which is sometimes described as being neither 
 asleep nor awake. The ghostly visitor 
 sternly questioned the emperor about his 
 motives in undertaking his crusade against 
 the Turks, and demanded whether the con- 
 quest of the Ottoman empire was prompted 
 by ambition, or by a desire to place the 
 cross on the territory of the unbeliever? 
 108 
 
 The emperor replied, that he was above 
 personal consideration, and that religion 
 alone was the cause of his taking up arms : 
 that he did not seek the acquisition of 
 territory which might follow the success of 
 his armies; but that, if it were the in- 
 scrutable design of Providence that the 
 Muscovite sway should extend to the Bos- 
 phorus, he must resign himself to the de- 
 cree. The saint appears to have given way 
 to a scepticism not usual in those of his 
 order, and for four successive nights he 
 repeated his visits and his questions, each 
 time more sternly than before. The irri- 
 tated emperor swore that he repudiated the 
 insinuations of his spectral visitor, and again 
 affirmed that he had no object but the 
 triumph of the orthodox faith, St. Nicholas 
 was satisfied, and ceasing his inquiries, 
 uttered these words before his departure : — 
 " Pursue thy project, my son, and in the' 
 name of God, who has sent me to you, I 
 promise you victory." This tale was soon 
 spread abroad among the people in every 
 direction ; and no doubt, at least to some 
 extent, answered the purpose for which we 
 think it was designed — that of making an 
 ignorajit and superstitious people believe 
 that they were fighting in the especial cause 
 of their Creator, 
 
 "While on the subject of dreams, we will 
 relate a fable that the Turks, or rather the 
 more zealous and rigid Mohammedans among 
 them, composed in reference to the equality 
 demanded by the allied powers to be esta- 
 blished between the believers and the in- 
 fidels ; or, in other words, between the 
 worshippers of the Crescent and those of the 
 Cross. " Mentschikoff," said they, " came 
 to Constantinople, and asked for the Koran. 
 He looked at the book, marked several pas- 
 sages, and said, — ' Erase these.' The Eng- 
 lish and French then came, and asked also 
 for the Koran. After reading, they said, — 
 ' Throw this book into the Bosphorus.' " 
 The state of feeling that led to this fable 
 was produced by the dislike of the Turks to 
 the legal emancipation of the Christians, 
 and to some suspicion as to the sincerity of 
 their defenders. The declaration of war, 
 however, increased their confidence. The 
 fanaticism of the extreme religibus party at 
 Constantinople was so great, that the eman- 
 cipation of the Christians was not effected 
 without endangering a revolution. The 
 scheik-ul-Islar;i, or chief of the church, is 
 one of the most powerful persons in the 
 Ottoman state. He presides over the ule- 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 THE DOBBUDSCHA. 
 
 niahs, who unite in themselves the functions 
 of both judge and priest ; and his influence 
 over this body of men rendered him a 
 dangerous enemy to the doctrine of conces- 
 sion to the Christian. This exalted per- 
 sonage not only opposed the granting civil 
 rights to the Christian population of Turkey, 
 but declared, that when the sultan over- 
 stepped the limits of the power given him 
 by God and the prophet, the people were 
 released from their obedience ; and that he 
 solomnly protested against the blasphemous 
 step of placing the testimony of a giaour in 
 the balance with the word of a true believer. 
 Abdul-Medjid very properly replied to this 
 note of defiance, by depriving the intolerant 
 scheik-ul-Islam of his office, and appointing 
 a man of a more pliant temper to his place. 
 The sultan risked a popular outbreak by 
 this act; but dangers from without seemed 
 to awe down tumults from within. The de- 
 position of the scheik-ul-Islam was accom- 
 panied by the startling declaration, that the 
 possessions of the mosques were in future to 
 be the property of the state. 
 
 In consequence of the winter, active war- 
 fare had for a time ceased upon the banks of 
 the Danube. Skirmishes which led to no 
 result took place occasionally; but the 
 Turks occupied the right bank of the river, 
 and still held their strongly-fortified position 
 at Kalafat on the left. The Russians had 
 an immense army posted near Kalafat, but 
 they abstained from attacking the Turks 
 there. At the approach of spring, warlike 
 operations recommenced. On the 33rd of 
 March, an army of no less than 35,000 
 Russians, under the command of General 
 Liiders, crossed the Lower Danube, in three 
 or four divisions, at or opposite Brailow, 
 Galatz, and Ismail, on bridges made upon 
 rafts moored in the stream. The district 
 where the invaders succeeded in establishing 
 themselves is a part of Bulgaria called the 
 
 • The following description of this wild tract, from 
 the pen of Baron Moltke, is possessed of interest : — 
 " The Dobrudscha is such a waste as one would 
 hardly expect to find in Europe. The population may 
 be about 300 persons to every five square (English) 
 miles. In 1828, it was foreseen that from the nature 
 of the soil, an army on its march through the 
 Dobrudscha would meet with great difficulties. In 
 the northern part of the province are the deep 
 mountains of Matschin and the heights of Baba- 
 Dagh. Farther south, the whole country is an un- 
 dulating plain, not much more than 100 feet above 
 the level of the sea. The soil consists of a fine gray 
 sandy moss, through which the water sinks, as it 
 also does through the calcareous strata underneath. 
 In vain does one seek in the valley for brooks or 
 
 VOL. I. tQ 
 
 Dobrudscha. This is a strip of land lying 
 between the Danube on the north and west, 
 and the Black Sea on the east. At its 
 greatest breadth it is about ninety miles 
 across, and at its narrowest not above thirty- 
 five. It is a flat, barren land : roads there 
 are none ; and the only passage is by means 
 of narrow and broken pathways.* The 
 Bulgarian bank of the Danube was defended 
 in this direction by the forts of Hirsova, 
 Matschin, Isaktchi, and Tultscha; and all 
 these places were taken, or invested by the 
 Russians. 
 
 It excited much surprise that the Russians 
 were permitted to take this important step 
 with but a feeble opposition; and some 
 rumours were spread to the efiect that trea- 
 chery had been at work, and Russian gold 
 had done more than Russian steel. In 
 some places, the Turks retired at once, and 
 fell back on the fortress of Baba-Dagh. At 
 Matschin, a conflict took place, and the 
 Russians lost about 400 men, about half of 
 whom were drowned. But in crossing from 
 Ismail to Tultscha, a more vigorous resis- 
 tance was offered. General Uschakoff had 
 either to silence three batteries, or to take 
 them at the point of the bayonet. After a 
 time the latter alternative was resorted to, 
 and a battalion advanced to the attack. In 
 thirty minutes half of the men had perished. 
 A second battalion was brought up, and 
 shared the fate of its predecessor. A third 
 was more successful, and succeeded in gain- 
 ing a footing on the right bank of the river. 
 
 While this desperate conflict was going 
 on in the neighbourhood of the batteries, 
 other Russian troops, both infantry and 
 cavalry, had crossed the river and advanced 
 on the flank of the Turks. Though fear- 
 fully overmatched, the latter fought despe- 
 rately for their guns ; two batteries of which, 
 with the exception of one gun, they carried 
 off. The third battery was defended by 
 
 springs ; and the little water which is found in the 
 distant villages is drawn from wells eighty or a 
 hundred feet deep. From this want of water, and 
 the thinness of the population, agriculture is at such 
 a low ebb that neither corn nor hay can be had in 
 any quantity. Even at the beginning of summer, 
 nothing presents itself to the eye but an immeasur- 
 able expanse covered with parched blades of grass. 
 Nowhere, not even in the villages, is a tree or a shrub 
 to be found. As desolate and devoid of wood *id 
 water, or even more so, is that part of Bulgaria 
 which lies between Trajan's Wall and Basardschik ; 
 and a column which undertakes to pass through this 
 district, which is 125 miles in length, will meet with 
 more of the necessaries of life." In this barren laud 
 the Kussians perished with alarming rapidity, 
 
 ^109 
 
SKIRMISHES ON THE DANUBE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 three companies, who were completely sur- 
 rounded by the Russians. The struggle 
 continued for half-an-hour ; half of the 
 Turks were killed, and the other half taken 
 prisoners before the battery was captured. 
 The Russians, though victors, did not escape 
 unscathed, for their loss in this engagement 
 is said to have amounted to 1,500 men. On 
 the same day (the 23rd) the Turks, to some 
 extent, retrieved their tarnished laurels by 
 inflicting another defeat upon the Russians 
 at Oltenitza. The loss of the latter, in killed 
 and wounded, is said to have amounted to 
 2,000 men ; but that is probably an exag- 
 geration. On the 34th, the conflict was 
 renewed both at Tultscha and Matschin. 
 The latter place was bombarded on the 
 25th and 26th ; and two vain attempts were 
 made to take it by storm. The garrison, 
 however, surrendered at discretion on the 
 27th, and was sent under escort to Bes- 
 sarabia. Tultscha was taken by storm on 
 the 27th, and 1,000 Turks and ten guns 
 captured. Accounts of these transactions 
 ■vary ; but it is said, that during the five 
 days the struggle lasted (from the 23rd to 
 the 27th inclusive), the Turks made seven 
 sallies, and inflicted a loss of 3,000 men 
 upon the Russians. 
 
 This onward movement of the Russians 
 into the dominions of the sultan created 
 great alarm, and many persons supposed 
 they would even attempt to march on to 
 Constantinople. To do this, they would 
 have to pass a line of defence called the 
 wall of Trajan (a relic of Roman times) , which 
 extends from the Danube to the Black Sea. 
 Such a defence was not only powerful, but 
 just the one the Turks were Hkely to hold 
 against an enemy with energy and success. 
 It was plainly impossible for the Russian 
 troops to remain long in so barren and 
 unhealthy a place as the Dobrudscha : they 
 must either advance in the face of the 
 enemy, or retire across the river from 
 whence they came. In the meantime, how- 
 ever, they employed themselves in leveling 
 to the earth the fortifications they had 
 taken ; and the keys of Matschin, Isaktchi, 
 and Hirsova, were sent to St. Petersburg as 
 trophies of success. 
 
 As if to keep the balance of victory level, 
 the Turks, to the number of 10,000 foot 
 and 2,000 horse, on the 30th of March 
 made an excursion from Kalafat, and ad- 
 vanced against the Russians who were posted 
 in force at Skripetz. An inconsiderable, 
 though sanguinary engagement followed, 
 110 
 
 which, after lasting four hours, ended in 
 the defeat of the Russians. They lost 600 
 men ; the Turks, 200. 
 
 On the 1st of April, the Turks undertook 
 a second " reconnaissance" from Kalafat of 
 a more serious character. Five squadrons 
 of I'egular troops, and 400 Bashi-Bazouks, 
 mounted at two o'clock in the morning, and 
 started in the direction of Pojana. On the 
 road, they met some Cossack videttes, who 
 galloped off with almost breathless speed to 
 give the alarm at the Russian camp. Those 
 wild dare-devils, the Bashi-Bazouks, followed 
 hard upon their lean horses — arrivedat Pojana 
 at the same time as the Cossacks, leaped the 
 ditch of the camp, and at four o'clock were 
 in the town. Ten minutes after, the regular 
 cavalry arrived. The Russians did not expect 
 the attack, and were in no great force at 
 Pojana; not more than about 1,400 men 
 being there at that time. These were thrown 
 into disorder and terror by the sudden ar- 
 rival of the Turks, and many of them were 
 instantly hemmed round. A Russian squa- 
 dron, which had been formed for a recon- 
 naissance, was seized with dismay, and strik- 
 ing their spurs into their horses, fled at 
 full speed, never drawing bridle until they 
 reached Muglavat, a little place three or 
 four miles to the north of Kalafat. All 
 was confusion ; the Turks charged sword 
 in hand ; about fifty Russians were killed, 
 as many more wounded, and a great number 
 taken prisoners. The Turks then returned 
 in triumph to their quarters. On the 3rd, 
 the Russians approached with 15,000 men 
 to wash off the disgrace they had sustained. 
 A fusillade of sharpshooters took place and 
 lasted for five hours, during which time 
 several charges of cavalry were made, but 
 with little result. The Russians were at 
 length repulsed with cannon. For three 
 days afterwards they remained in ambush 
 with two field-pieces, in the hope of sur- 
 prising the advanced post of the Turks ; but 
 their design was discovered. 
 
 The reason why the Turks found so few 
 men at Pojana was, that the Russians, aban- 
 doning their long-threatened attack on Kala- 
 fat, and desirous of concentrating their forces 
 with a view to crossing the river in the centre 
 of the Turkish military operations, had com- 
 menced their retreat from Little Wallachia. 
 But some imagined that this backward step 
 was taken with a view to prevent the inter- 
 ference of Austria, upon whose dominions 
 the Russian troops then bordered. How- 
 ever that may be, on the 24th of April, the 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [quadruple treaty. 
 
 Russians abandoned Krajova, so long the 
 head-quarters of Genera! Gortschakoff. This 
 retreat of the Russians made it no longer 
 necessary to maintain 50,000 men and so 
 large a force of artillery at Kalafat. Part 
 of the Turkish troops were therefore marched 
 to other points of the river. The Emperor 
 Nicholas was doubtless dissatisfied with the 
 general in command of the Russian army in 
 the principalities ; for, after the evacuation of 
 Little Wallachia, Prince Paskiewitsch was 
 sent to succeed Gortschakoff as commander- 
 in-chief. Krajova was taken possession of 
 by the Turks, who were welcomed by the 
 inhabitants as deliverers. 
 
 While this was going on at the extreme 
 right of the long line of defences on the 
 Danube, the Russians received a consider- 
 able check, on the 18th or 19th of April, 
 at the extreme left in the Dobrudscha. The 
 Wall of Trajan (of which we have spoken) 
 commences at a place called Czernavoda, 
 and extends to Kara-su and Kostendje, on 
 the shore of the Black Sea, At Czernavoda 
 a battle took place, which, after lasting six 
 hours, ended unfavourably for the Russians. 
 Particulars are wanting ; but it does not 
 seem to have been a very formidable en- 
 gagement. The loss of the Russians was 
 estimated at 500 killed, 250 prisoners, and 
 fifteen guns. The Turks suffered consider- 
 ably, but remained in possession of the field. 
 Leaving the advanced part of the Russian 
 army in the barren Dobrudscha (where they 
 remained for some time in a state of inac- 
 tivity, and fearfully assailed by disease),* 
 let us refer to some other events of this 
 great historic drama. We have men- 
 tioned the convention between France and 
 England. It was signed on the 10th of 
 April, and not only provided for the resto- 
 ration of peace by rescuing the territory 
 of the Ottoman from the grasp of Russia, 
 but it pledged the contracting parties " to 
 
 • The Dobrudscha, and, indeed, Turkish ground 
 generally, seem pecoliarly destructive to Russian 
 Bfe. The following passage from Curzon's Armenia 
 contains some remarkable facts on this subject : — 
 "When the Russians invaded Turkey, in 1828, they 
 lost 50,000 men by sickness alone, by want of the 
 necessaries of life, and neglect of the commissariat de- 
 partment : 50,000 Russians died on the plains of Tnr- 
 key,notone man of whom was killed in battle : for their 
 advance was not resisted by the Turks. In the next 
 year (1829), the Russians lost 60,000 men between 
 the Pruth and the city of Adrianople. Some of 
 these, however, were legitimately slain in battle. 
 When they arrived at Adrianople the troops were in 
 so wretched a condition, from sickness and want of 
 . food, that not 7,000 men were able to bear arms j 
 
 secure Europe against the return of the 
 deplorable complications which have dis- 
 turbed the general peace." This, it will 
 be seen, was imperatively necessary ; for if 
 England, France, and Turkey laid down 
 their arms as soon as the Russian, troops 
 had evacuated the border-provinces, with- 
 out exacting from the czar some good 
 security that his aggressive acts should 
 not be repeated, then in a few years the 
 contest would probably be renewed, and 
 all parties be in the same position as they 
 were at the commencement of the outbreak. 
 The courts of Austria and Prussia did not 
 enter into this view, or rather did not choose 
 to see things in this evident light. Francis 
 Joseph, the youthful Emperor of Austria, 
 owed some obligations to the czar Nicholas, 
 and Frederick William, the King of Prussia, 
 was brother-in-law to the autocrat. There- 
 fore, while they both condemned his con- 
 duct, neither of them was inclined actively 
 to oppose it by joining with the western 
 powers for the defence of Turkey. The 
 Austrian and Prussian governments, how- 
 ever, were too much interested in the great 
 question to allow of their standing altogether 
 aloof, and contemplating its course with 
 silent indifference. On the 20th of April, 
 they entered into a convention which dif- 
 fered considerably from that which existed 
 between England and France. They de- 
 sired the evacuation of the border-provinces 
 by the Russian troops : but with that they 
 would rest satisfied ; and they determined 
 not to interfere actively unless they con- 
 sidered German interests to be endangered. 
 On the 23rd of May, the separate trea- 
 ties between England and France, and 
 Austria and Prussia, were brought within 
 the limits of one quadruple instrument. 
 Thus the German courts, though not having 
 declared war themselves, sanctioned the war 
 carried on against Russia by others. 
 
 how many horses and mules perished in these two 
 years is not known. The Turkish govei-nment was 
 totally ignorant of this deplorable state of affairs 
 at Adrianople till some time afterwards, when the 
 intelligence came too late. If the Turks had 
 known what was going on, not one single Russian 
 would have seen his native land again : even as it 
 was, out of 120,000 men, not 6,000 ever recrossed 
 the Russian frontier alive." Such was the price 
 that the Emperor Nicholas paid for the protecto- 
 rate (?) of the Danubian provinces ! Such was 
 the reckless sacrifice of life by which he diove 
 the Turkish government into the justly condemned 
 treaty of Adrianople. Surely, even victory is an 
 awful and exacting goddes-i ! But unjust triumphs 
 should be dearly bought. 
 
 Ill 
 
DHSCaiPTION OP ODESSA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 We must now call attention to the first 
 act of importance of the allied English and 
 Erench fleets in the Black Sea. This was 
 the bombardment of Odessa, together with 
 the destruction of its fortifications, batteries, 
 military magazines, and the burning or sink- 
 ing of many Russian ships of war and mer- 
 chantmen. Just previously to the attack 
 on Odessa, thirteen Russian trading- vessels 
 were captured between the 13th and 16th 
 of April, by the English ships Retribution 
 and Niger, and the French imperial frigate 
 Descartes. 
 
 We have already briefly alluded to the 
 town of Odessa in our second chapter, but 
 some further account of what it lately was 
 (condensed from Mr. Shirley Brook's recent 
 little volume),* will afi'ord considerable in- 
 terest. The appearance of Odessa from the 
 sea is striking : its bold clifis are crowned by 
 white buildings, some of which have a clas- 
 sical character. The most prominent is a 
 mansion of Prince Woronzoff ;t and the 
 next object which strikes you is a gigantic 
 staircase, consisting of nearly 200 steps, 
 leading directly down from the centre of 
 the town to the beach. At the head of 
 the staircase stands an elegant statue of the 
 Due de Richelieu, a French emigrant, who 
 became governor of Odessa, devoted himself 
 to its improvement, and died in honourable 
 poverty. The town is of great extent ; its 
 streets are broad, though many are unpaved, 
 and the rest insufficiently so. The dust in 
 the streets is of a peculiar character, and so 
 plentiful, that the slightest breeze covers 
 the passenger with a white powder. At 
 times the clouds of dust are so dense that 
 the opposite houses can hardly be discerned. 
 When rain falls, matters are worse, and the 
 sojourner at Odessa is in mud to the ankles. 
 The town has a museum, a public library, 
 an opera-house, u national theatre, and a 
 newspaper; but the latter is beneath con- 
 
 * Hie Hussians of the South. 
 
 •]• It was burnt during the bombardment. 
 
 j These uncomfortable habitations Mr. Brooks 
 describes in the following humorous manner; — 
 " The tub residences to which I referred are among 
 the features of the monster market here, and they 
 are inhabited by women. Elevation, ground-plan, 
 and other architectural contrivances, are all com- 
 prehended in a single effort. A large black cask, 
 somewhat resembling a sugar hogshead, is laid on 
 its side, and the house is built. A quantity of hay 
 is laid inside, and the house is furnished. The lady 
 gets in upon the hay, and the house is inhabited. 
 Before the entrance of the mansion she strews the 
 onions, tomatas, or whatever else she may vend; and 
 during the hours of business she sits in the tub, 
 
 112 
 
 tempt, the censorship preventing its contain- 
 ing any real information, and its critical 
 articles being the very washiest of French 
 flippancies. 
 
 But Odessa is a busy port, the great focus 
 into which is concentrated the result of the 
 agricultural industry of the southern Rus- 
 sian empire. Wheat is delivered there from 
 enormous distances, to be poured into the 
 ships which have crossed the Black Sea to 
 receive it. It is collected from a vast extent 
 of country; and both water and land car- 
 riage are employed to transmit it to the 
 harbour of Odessa. England, France, Spain, 
 Denmark, Sardinia, Naples, Sweden, Sicily, 
 and Turkey — all, according to their respec- 
 tive needs, send vessels to fetch the wheat 
 thus gathered. The place itself has little 
 or no actual connexion with agriculture. 
 Situated without the dreary waste called a 
 steppe, the town is not devoid of patches 
 of land where something approaching to 
 fertility may be occasionally witnessed. 
 But scarcely has the traveller's foot left 
 the widely-extended and wretchedly-paved 
 streets, on his progress inland, than he finds 
 himself in the desert of the steppe. 
 
 The highest style of abode presented by 
 Odessa is the palace of the noble; the 
 lowest is the tub of the fruit- woman. { The 
 first would do honour to any capital of 
 Europe; the inhabitants of the second are 
 not troglodytes, and that is all. Between 
 these two extremes ranges every variety of 
 residence. The lighting of the town is ex- 
 tremely defective ; it is confined to a series 
 of oil-lamps, which just serve to mark out 
 the corners of the streets, and occasionally 
 to preserve the pedestrian from an open 
 drain. For the absence of gas there is no 
 reason at all, except that one which will 
 ever oppose all improvement in Russia. The 
 habit of bigoted or interested hostility to 
 every change has repeatedly interfered when 
 
 smokes her pipe, chaffers with her customers, and 
 says her prayers. After business is over she ascer- 
 tains in which quarter the wind sits, turns the closed 
 end of her tub towards that quarter, and creeps to 
 rest. in peace and tranquillity. But some of these 
 women are ambitious, and take to building. They 
 do not, indeed, demand marble staircases and ma- 
 hogany doors ; but they take two tubs, which are 
 laid face to face, at a distance of three or four feet, 
 and over the interstice, tubs and all, is placed a 
 watertight canvas. The fair occupant (and two or^ 
 three whom I saw, though not literally fair, were 
 extremely pretty) has then two roo^s, besides a 
 hall; but this luxury is not adopted by the older 
 class, who think that we ought to adhere to the 
 customs of our ancestors." 
 
€ 
 
«!»•■ 
 
 ."# 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the flag or TKUCB. 
 
 it has been endeavoured to establish a gas 
 manufactory J and so the inhabitants of 
 Odessa have gone on nightly breaking their 
 shins, and tumbling into their dirty drains, 
 for want of an article no respectable village 
 is without. 
 
 The general aspect of Odessa has fre- 
 quently been compared to that of Brighton. 
 At the south-easterly end of the town runs 
 a long fortified mole, with a lighthouse at 
 the end of it. It is called the quarantine 
 mole, and shelters a crowd of ships of aU 
 nations. In the attack on Odessa, the 
 English and French ships had orders to 
 avoid injuring the quarantine mole, if pos- 
 sible. At the northern extremity of the 
 clifis surrounding the town stood the imperial 
 mole, which enclosed a number of Russian 
 ships of all kinds, and some large stores or 
 barracks. Between these two moles was a 
 battery at the foot of the cliffs. 
 
 Thus much of the town of Odessa, which 
 was fated to punishment in expiation of the 
 massacre of Sinope. Now for the hostilities 
 against it, and the immediate cause of them. 
 News of the English declaration of war 
 having reached the allied fleet (then anchored 
 at Baltshik Bay, near Varna) on the 9th of 
 April, the English steam-frigate Furious 
 was sent to Odessa, for the purpose of 
 taking on board the consuls, and such British 
 or French subjects as might be anxious to 
 leave the town. The Furious carried a flag 
 of truce at her mast-head, and sent forward 
 a boat, also bearing a white flag, to demand 
 the consuls. Some delay occurred before 
 an answer was returned, and the officer in 
 command of the boat thought it right to 
 return to the ship. As he did so, seven 
 cannon-shots were fired from the batteries 
 of the town at the boat, and in the direc- 
 tion of the ship. Happily this piece of 
 treachery was without effect. It is regarded 
 by all civilised nations as a barbarous out- 
 rage to fire upon a flag of truce. The white 
 unspotted symbol of peace hung out by 
 those who, influenced by a faith in their 
 common humanity, approach an enemy with 
 pacific proposals, is ever considered as sacred, 
 except by savages. The conduct of the 
 officers who directed this attack is without 
 a precedent in the history of the wars of 
 civilised nations. 
 
 Admiral Dundas and Vice-admiral Hame- 
 lin immediately proceeded to a consideration 
 of the measures necessary to prevent the 
 repetition of so cowardly and shameful a 
 proceeding. Three war-steamers (tvfo English 
 
 and one French) were sent to Odessa to de- 
 mand why the boat with the flag of truce 
 had been fired upon. An evasive reply was 
 given : the vessels then demanded a written 
 answer; and Baron Osten-Sacken, the mili- 
 tary governor there, returned the following 
 note, which we insert, as containing a Russian 
 view of the question : — 
 
 " Aide-de-camp General Baron D'Osten- 
 Sacken thinks it right to express to Admiral 
 Dundas his surprise at hearing that shots 
 were fired from the port of Odessa upon 
 the frigate the Furious, bearing a flag of 
 truce. 
 
 " At the arrival of the Furious two guns 
 were fired without ball, in consequence of 
 which the vessel hoisted its national flag, 
 and stopped her course beyond the reach of 
 cannon-shot.' Immediately a boat was sent 
 out with a white flag in the direction of the 
 mole, and the officer on duty, in answer to 
 the question of the English officer, said that 
 the English consul had already left Odessa. 
 Without further question, the boat took the 
 direction of the ship, when the frigate, 
 without waiting for it, advanced towards 
 the mole, leaving the boat at its left, and 
 approached the batteries within cannon-shot. 
 It was then that the commander of the 
 battery of the mole, faithful to his order to 
 prevent any vessel from coming, within reach 
 of the guns, thought it his duty to fire, not 
 upon the flag of truce, which had been re- 
 spected to the end of its mission, but upon 
 a vessel of the enemy which had approached 
 the land too nearly after having been twice 
 fired upon without ball — the signal to stop. 
 
 " This simple explanation of facts, as 
 
 they have been related to the emperor, 
 
 ought of itself to destroy the supposition, 
 
 otherwise inadmissible, that in the ports of 
 
 Russia there is no respect paid to the flag of 
 
 truce, the inviolability of which is guaranteed 
 
 by the laws common to all civilised nations. 
 
 " Baron Osten-Sacken, 
 
 " Aide-de-camp General to his 
 
 majesty the emperor." 
 
 This reply the admirals regarded as false 
 and unsatisfactory; and on the 31st they 
 sent the following demand, that all British, 
 French, and Russian vessels then at anchor, 
 should be given up as a reparation of the 
 insult offered to the allied fleet : — 
 
 " Sir, — Inasmuch as the letter of your 
 excellency, dated the 14th of April, which 
 has only reached us this morning, only sets 
 forth erroneous statements to justify the 
 
 113 
 
BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 indescribable agrffression committed by the 
 authorities of Odessa upon one of our frigates 
 and her boat, both carryinsj a flag of truce ; 
 inasmuch as, notwithstanding this flag, the 
 batteries of the town fired several shots 
 on the frigate as well as on the boat, 
 at the moment when this boat was leaving 
 the quay of the mole, to which it bad 
 repaired with confidence ; ' the two vice- 
 admirals commanding the combined squa- 
 drons of France and England think them- 
 selves entitled to demand a reparation from 
 your excellency. Consequently, all the 
 British, French, and Russian vessels now at 
 anchor near the citadel or the batteries of 
 Odessa must forthwith be delivered up to 
 the combined squadrons. If, at sunset, the 
 two vice-admirals have received no answer, 
 or a negative answer, to this ' communica- 
 tion, they will be compelled to resort to 
 force to avenge the flag of one of the com- 
 bined squadrons for the affront offered to 
 it, although the interests of humanity in- 
 duce them to adopt this alternative with 
 regret, and they cast the responsibility of 
 such an act on those to whom it belongs. 
 
 " Hamelin, Vice-admiral. 
 
 " D. Dundas, Vice-admiral." 
 
 To this demand no answer was returned. 
 The allied fleets had made their appearance, 
 and cast anchor before Odessa on the 21st, 
 having resolved to chastise it by means of 
 bombardment, usually one of the most ap- 
 palling operations of war. Early on Satur- 
 day morning, the 22nd of April, the follow- 
 ing- vessels advanced to the attack : — the 
 Mogadw, Fauban, Descartes, Caton (French); 
 the Sampson, Terrible, Tiger, Retribution, 
 Furious, and a detachment of rocket-boats, 
 under Commander Dixon. The Sanspariel 
 and Highflyer acted as a reserve ; the rest 
 of the allied fleets remained spectators, at a 
 distance of about three miles and-a-half. 
 
 The attacking force opened their fire 
 upon the imperial mole at about twenty 
 minutes to seven. Every steamer poured 
 forth her broadside, and then wheeled round 
 in a circle of about half-a-mile in diameter, 
 each taking up the fire in succession. A 
 spectator describes these great floa ting castles 
 as wheeling and twisting about like so many 
 
 • The following passage is an extract from a let- 
 ter by an officer of one of the vessels engaged at the 
 bombardment of Odessa: — "The Vauban was ob- 
 liged to leave the scene of action, having been set on 
 fire by a red-hot shot, which penetrated the outer 
 planking, and rolled down between it and the inner 
 114 
 
 waltzers. The Russian guns from the mole 
 answered with great steadiness, and with 
 some effect. In about an hour, the French 
 steamer Vauban was riddled in several 
 places, and set on fire by red-hot shot. 
 In this condition she retired from the 
 contest, and steamed towards the fleet; 
 but the fire being subdued, she returned to 
 her post.* Fierce and continued as that 
 incessant fire from the steamers was, it did 
 not succeed in silencing the mole. But 
 the Russian fire became slower; and about 
 one o'clock a shed at the back of the tongue- 
 battery having caught fire, in a few minutes 
 a terrific explosion and a gigantic column of 
 smoke and dust announced that the im- 
 perial magazine had blown up. Great part 
 of the mole on which it stood was rent in 
 pieces by the violence of the shock. This 
 result was received by three cheers from 
 the French and English crews. It was 
 caused by the red-hot shot of the Terrible, 
 which stood nearer in towards the town 
 than the rest of the ships ; and consequently 
 was more exposed to the fire from the 
 Russian batteries. This vessel fired no less 
 than 572 rounds of shot and shell, besides 
 fifty-one rockets. 
 
 The assailing squadron was thus relieved 
 from their most formidable opponent, the 
 battery on the imperial mole. Signals were 
 made to stand in further, and continue the 
 attack ; and the allies turned their attention 
 more immediately to the Russian vessels in 
 the harbour, pouring upon them deadly 
 streams of shot and shell. A Russian frigate 
 was soon on fire, and after burning to the 
 water's edge, blown into shatters. Two new 
 frigates on the stocks were also burnt, to- 
 gether with from twenty to thirty mer- 
 chantmen. Some smaller vessels of war 
 are supposed also to have been sunk or' 
 burnt. 
 
 After the imperial mole had been blown 
 up, the guns from the batteries on the 
 quarantine mole opened a fire upon the 
 fleet. This was replied to with interest; 
 but though the batteries suffered consider- 
 ably, they were not silenced. Each of the 
 vessels not engaged in the action had sent 
 a rocket- boat, firing 24- pound rockets, 
 to attempt the destruction of the stores, 
 
 lining, towards the bottom of the vessel. Having 
 burnt its way through inside, it was soon removed 
 and all put to rights again ; but they were rather 
 apprehensive of the ship blowing up, from its prox- 
 imity to the magazine, which they cleared away im- 
 mediately." 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [mouths of the danube. 
 
 in the dockyard. A masked battery of 
 six horse-artillery guns opened out upon 
 them, sending a shower of balls, which 
 ploughed up the water around the boats, 
 but happily caused no loss of life. The 
 steamers and rocket- boats returned this 
 fire, and immediately silenced it. From 
 the effect of the rockets, the dockyard was 
 soon in flames. They also set the lower 
 part of the town on fire, and nearly one- 
 half of Odessa was destroyed. This was not 
 intended ; and the rest of the town and the 
 neutral ships were spared, though they 
 might easily have been consigned to destruc- 
 tion. The steamers kept up their fire until 
 about five o'clock, when the signal of recall 
 was made, after the action had lasted upwards 
 of ten hours. On the side of the allied fleet, 
 the loss was incredibly trifling ; that of the 
 English, amounted only to one man killed 
 and ten wounded. The Retribution received 
 twelve shots in her hull, and was much 
 knocked about ; and several of the other 
 steamers were somewhat damaged. It is 
 difiicult to estimate the loss of the Russians, 
 as different accounts are given. One report 
 states that they had 200 men killed, 300 
 dangerously wounded, and twice that number 
 slightly so. Forty-nine Russians (captains 
 and sailors, who had been captured during 
 the action) were afterwards put on board an 
 Austrian vessel in the roads, and sent back 
 to Odessa, with a note from Admiral Dun- 
 das, saying that he did not desire to retain 
 them longer than was necessary. After the 
 Just punishment of Russian treachery at 
 Odessa, the allied fleets sailed away to the 
 massive grim citadel and batteries of Se- 
 bastopol, leaving Baron Osten-Sacken and 
 his officers to contemplate the black smoking 
 ruins and the sad loss of life their barbarism 
 and bad faith had provoked.* 
 
 During the progress of the allied fleets 
 to Sebastopolj, the Furious and the Caton 
 
 • It was entirely owing to the forbearance of the 
 combined fleets that Odessa was not utterly de- 
 stroyed, and left a smouldering heap of blackened 
 ruins. Had all the vessels joined in the attack, such 
 a result must have been inevitable ; but humanity 
 prevailed in the councils of the two admirals, and 
 the uplifted arm was stayed. Under these circum- 
 stances, what must we think of the following re- 
 script of the imperial braggart, which he addressed 
 to the people of Odessa, and also caused to be pub- 
 lished in the Invalide Russe ' 
 
 " To the inhabitants of our well-beloved and loyal 
 town of Odessa. — The Anglo-French fleets, entering 
 the Black Sea, attacked, some days back, the peace- 
 ful city of Odessa, open to the commerce of Europe. 
 General Baron d'Osteu-Sacken, in speaking of the 
 brilliant courage with which the attempts of the 
 
 separated from the other vessels to explore 
 the bay at the south of the town of Eupa- 
 toria. In fulfiUing this duty, the Caton 
 captured three Russian vessels, and the 
 Furious took a fourth. Two out of these 
 four vessels were sent to the Bosphorus, and 
 the others were sunk. On arriving in the 
 neighbourhood of Sebastopol, the allies lay- 
 to to draw the Russian fieet out to meet 
 them. To induce them to come, Admirals 
 Dundas and Hamelin directed two of their 
 vessels to keep out of sight of the Crimea; 
 but this stratagem was performed in vain. 
 The captains of the Russian fleet seem to 
 have thought that " discretion was the better 
 part of valour," and they remained safely 
 ensconced behind the tremendous batteries 
 of the harbour. 
 
 According to the treaty of Adrianople, or 
 to the construction the Russian government 
 was pleased tO place upon it, the mouths 
 of the Danube were placed under its autho- 
 rity. The Danube was the highway of a 
 great trade for Austria. The Danubian Steam 
 Company alone had 350 vessels employed in 
 conveying Austrian and German manufac- 
 tures to Galatz, from which port they soon 
 found their way into the two provinces of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia, to the Levant, and 
 by Trebizond, into the very centre of Asia. 
 This export-trade of Austria was by no means 
 pleasing to the Russian government, and 
 therefore all possible impediments were 
 thrown in the way of the navigation of 
 the Danube. From the moment that the 
 eastern and western powers were short- 
 sighted enough to place the mouths of the 
 Danube in the keeping of Russia, she re- 
 solved to have the whole trade with the 
 countries lying on the coasts of the Black 
 Sea in her own hands, and she took her 
 measures accordingly. To check the active 
 intercourse between the Danubian principa- 
 lities and the Upper Danube, she turned her 
 
 enemy have been repulsed by the military forces, has 
 likewise informed us that in the midst of the danger 
 which menaced the inhabitants, public tranquillity 
 was not disturbed a single moment, and that the 
 people executed with exemplary zeal all the orders of 
 the local authorities. Strict obedience to duty, 33 
 prescribed by our holy religion, and devotedness to 
 the throne, animate all our well-beloved and faithful 
 subjects. At Odessa that sentiment, so worthy of 
 praise, has been manifested to its full extent under 
 the thunder of the enemy's cannon. The firmness 
 and self-denial of the inhabitants of that town could 
 not fail to attract our attention, and we feel plea- 
 sure in expressing, on this occasion, to all classes of 
 the population our special kind feelings. 
 
 " Nicholas. 
 " St. Petersburg, May 8th." 
 
 115 
 
BLOCKADE OF THE DANUBE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 quarantines in the Moldo-Wallachian ports 
 into preventive service, or rather pohce- 
 establishments. The excuse for the annoy- 
 ance to which travellers were thus subjected 
 was, " that the plague must be kept out of 
 Bessarabia;" but persons going direct for 
 Vienna, to Giurgevo, and Bucharest, without 
 touching on the right bank of the river, 
 met with exactly the same treatment as 
 those coming from Bulgaria. Further to 
 serve the accomplishment of its purpose, 
 the Russian government allowed the sand 
 to accumulate in the mouths of the river, 
 until, at the time the Russian army crossed 
 the Pruth in June, 1833, they were effec- 
 tually closed against all vessels requiring 
 any depth of water. The Russians after- 
 wards blocked up the mouths of the river 
 with piles, and thus thoroughly usurped all 
 dominion over the Lower Danube. 
 
 During the month of April (1854), the 
 Russian batteries at the mouth of the 
 Danube were bombarded by part of the 
 allied fleet in the Black Sea. This was 
 
 done in consequence of the command of 
 the river being essential before the Russians 
 could be driven from the Danubian pro- 
 vinces. On the 1st of June, 1854, Ad- 
 mirals Hamelin and Dundas issued the fol- 
 lowing notification : — " In consequence of 
 the passage of the Danube by the Russian 
 army, their occupation of the Dobrudscha, 
 and their holding possession of the mouths 
 and the two banks of the river, we, the 
 undersigned vice-admirals, commanding in 
 chief the combined naval forces of France 
 and England in the Black Sea, declare by 
 these presents, in the name of our respective 
 governments, and make known to all those 
 whom it may concern, that we have esta- 
 blished an efficient blockade of the Danube, 
 in order to cut off all supplies intended for 
 the Russian army. All the mouths of the 
 Danube communicating with the Black Sea 
 are included in the blockade; and we 
 hereby warn the vessels of all nations that 
 they cannot enter that river until further 
 orders." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ARRIVAL OP FRENCH AND ENGLISH FORCES AT GALLIPOLI J DISPOSITION OF THE VARIOUS FORCES } THE 
 BASHI-BAZOUKS ; LAUNCH OF THE GREAT WAR-STEAMER THE ROYAL ALBERT ; AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA J 
 DIFFICULTIES OF NICHOLAS ; DESTRUCTION OF THE FORT OF GUSTAFSVARN ; LOSS OF THE TIGER ; GALLANT 
 FEAT OF THE ARROGANT AND HECLA ; KOSSUTH ON THE WAR. 
 
 At daybreak on the 1st of April, the first 
 detachment of the French army arrived in 
 the roads of Gallipoli, and by noon generals 
 Canrobert, Bosquet, and Martimprey dis- 
 embarked, with their staff, in the quaran- 
 tine harbour. They were received by the 
 governor and the people with the utmost 
 enthusiasm, and more than 400 houses, 
 stores, and khans, were placed at their dis- 
 posal. A Turkish commission, headed by 
 Ibrahim Pasha, had proceeded to Gallipoli 
 before the arrival of the first detachment, 
 in order to be on the spot and procure for 
 the soldiers whatever they might stand in 
 need of. 
 
 The French, however, found nothing pre- 
 pared for them ; and General Canrobert ex- 
 pelled the dervishes from their convent, for 
 the purpose of converting the building into 
 an hospital. This step, however, provoked 
 116 
 
 but little ill-feeling, as the dervishes were 
 looked upon with dislike by all, except a few 
 fanatics. General Canrobert seems to be a 
 blunt, plain-spoken man, with more of the 
 John Bull than the Frenchman about him. 
 At the conclusion of a splendid reception by 
 the pashas at Constantinople, in which 
 pipes, mounted with diamonds, and jewelled 
 coffee-cups, were handed about by a nume- 
 rous retinue, he exclaimed : " I am much 
 obliged by your attention; but you will 
 forgive me for saying, I should be mucli 
 better pleased if all these diamonds and 
 gold were turned into money to pay your 
 troops, and if you sent away all these ser- 
 vants of yours, except two or three, to fight 
 against your enemy 1 " 
 
 A portion of the town was reserved for 
 the accommodation of the English troops, 
 the first detachment of which did not arrive 
 
vSj;,,/ 
 
 o 
 

 
 "S 
 
 "'^'ffm: "~ 
 
 -OHK® 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [gallipoli. 
 
 until some days later than the French. 
 They consisted of a battalion of rifles, and 
 the greater part of the 44th regiment, who 
 arrived in the Golden Fleece; and every 
 day witnessed fresh arrivals on the side of 
 both the allied armies. Many of the Turks 
 were by no means pleased at the landing of 
 the allied forces at Gallipoli, it being so far 
 from the seat of war as to render the new 
 comers unable to give any immediate assis- 
 tance. Gallipoli was so unfitted for the 
 reception of large masses of troops, that, in 
 a short time. General Brown determined 
 not to permit any more English soldiers to 
 disembark there; and on the arrival of the 
 Himalaya, on the 13th of April, he ordered 
 it on to Constantinople, where the troops 
 arrived on the 14th, and took up their 
 quarters at Scutari. On account of its im- 
 mense size, the Himalaya created much 
 sensation, both among the Turks and Chris- 
 tians. By its side, the largest vessels in the 
 harbour appeared mere petty craft. 
 
 The Turks make brave soldiers, but they 
 are slow men ; — so slow and composed, as 
 frequently to appear apathetic and indif- 
 ferent. Thus the vessel which brought the 
 first detachment of the English force, con- 
 sisting only of some thousand and odd men, 
 had to lie idle for two days and a-half, be- 
 cause nothing was prepared for them. At 
 this moment, the might of England was 
 unpleasantly compared with that of France. 
 Six or seven French transports were in the 
 harbour, while our great naval state was re- 
 presented by a single steamer belonging to 
 a private company. Such a circumstance 
 surprised the philosophical Moslems ; and a 
 Turkish boatman, addressing an English 
 traveller by the aid of an intrepreter, ex- 
 claimed : " Oh, why is this ? Oh, why is 
 this, young man? By the beard of the 
 prophet, for the sake of your father's father, 
 tell me, O English lord, how is it? The 
 French infidels have got one, two, three, 
 four, five, six, seven ships, with fierce little 
 soldiers ; the English infidels, who say they 
 can defile the graves of these French (may 
 Heaven avert it !) and who are as big as 
 the giants of Asli, have only one big ship. 
 Do they tell lies ?" 
 
 The following interesting particulars we 
 extract from a letter from the Times cor- 
 respondent at Gallipoli : — " On Thursday 
 there was a general hunt for quarters through 
 the town, Mr. Calvert, the consul, attended 
 by a dragoman and a train of lodging-seekers, 
 went from house to house, but it was not 
 voii. I. fa 
 
 till the eye had got accustomed to the 
 general style of the buildings and fittings 
 that any of them seemed willing to accept 
 the places offered them. The general got 
 a very fine place in a beau quartier, with a 
 view of an old Turk on a counter looking 
 at his toes in perpetual perspective. Colonel 
 Sullivan and staff were equally successful. 
 From one learn all : the hall-door, which is 
 an antiquated concern (not affording any 
 particular resistance to the air to speak of) 
 opens on an apartment with clay walls of 
 about ten feet high, and of the length and 
 breadth of the whole house. It is gar- 
 nished with the odds and ends of the do- 
 mestic deity : with empty barrels, with 
 casks of home-made wine, buckets, baskets, 
 &c. At one side a rough staircase, creaking 
 at every step, conducts one to a saloon on 
 the first floor. This is of the plainest pos- 
 sible appearance. On the sides are stuck 
 prints of the ' Nicolaus ho basileus,' and 
 of the ' Virgin and Child' (after the Greek 
 school), with wonderful engravings from Jeru- 
 salem. There is no other furniture. It may 
 be observed, that as the schism between the • 
 Greek catholic and the Roman catholic 
 churches arose out of the discussion of an 
 intricate question on the subtlest point of 
 theology, they fight bitterly on matters of 
 very fine distinction yet. Thus the Greeks 
 are iconoclasts, and hate images, but they 
 adore pictures. A yellow Jonah in a crim- 
 son whale with fiery entrails, is a favourite 
 subject for these artists, and doubtless bears 
 some allegorical meaning. From this saloon 
 open the two or three rooms of the house : 
 the kitchen, the divan, and the principal 
 bedroom. The floors are covered with mat- 
 ting J but, with the exception of the cushions 
 on the raised platform round the wall of the 
 room (about eighteen inches from the floor), 
 there is nothing else in the rooms offered for 
 general competition to the public. Above 
 are dark attics. Voila tout! My apart- 
 ment would form a study for Dr. Reid or 
 Mr. Gurney. If they want to understand 
 the true principle of keeping up a current 
 of fresh air everywhere, let them at once 
 come out to Gallipoli, and become my suc- 
 cessors in the possession of this remarkable 
 chamber. True, the walls are of mud and 
 straw, and the staircase has been devised 
 expressly for the purpose of entrapping the 
 first heavy Turk who may happen to stride 
 up. It is the thinnest woodwork possible. 
 Water is some way off, and the philosophers, 
 if not provided with servants who can speak 
 
 117 
 
GALLIPOLI.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 the language, a,iid an allowance of rations 
 from her majesty's stores, may be seen soon 
 after their arrival stalking up the street with 
 as much dignity as is compatible with the 
 circumstance of their carrying a sheep's 
 liver on a stick in one hand, some lard in 
 the other, and a loaf of black bread under 
 their arms : at least, your correspondent had 
 to adopt that course or die of hunger the 
 other day. There is not such a thing as a 
 pound of butter in the whole country ; meat 
 is very scarce, fowls impossible; but the 
 country wine is fair enough, and eggs are 
 not so rare as might be imagined from the 
 want of poultry. Lieutenant-general Brown 
 is in one of these houses ; Colonel Sullivan 
 and staff in another. Officers coming out 
 here should know what they have to expect. 
 Let them provide themselves with every- 
 thing they are likely to want, for they will 
 find nothing at Gallipoli. The nights and 
 mornings are cold even yet, and the ther- 
 mometer in the shade does not mark beyond 
 57°. Indeed, the spring is not nearly so far 
 advanced as it is in England, and the trees 
 . and shrubs are only just beginning to bud. 
 There is no chance of getting horses at 
 present for love or money : indeed, comfort 
 or necessary accommodation is out of the 
 question. In every respect the French can 
 teach us a lesson in these matters. While 
 our sick men have not a mattress to lie 
 down upon and are literally without blankets, 
 the French are well provided for. We have 
 no medical comforts : none were forwarded 
 from Malta ; and so when a poor fellow was 
 sinking the other day, the doctor had to go 
 to the general's and get a bottle of wine for 
 him. The hospital-sergeant was sent out 
 with a sovereign to buy coffee, sugar, and 
 other things of the kind for the sick, but he 
 could not get them, as no change was to be 
 had in the place. After this, it is annoying 
 to visit the French hospital, and see them so 
 well prepared. Everything requisite is nicely 
 made up in small packages, so that they can 
 be carried on mules' backs, and marked with 
 labels so that one can lay his hand on what 
 is wanted in a minute. They are very 
 troublesome in getting what they want ; and 
 already some little difficulties have arisen 
 from their desire to lay hold of everything. 
 Dr. Alexander has managed to get beds for 
 about 200 patients in different houses, and 
 he goes down to-day with Mr. Calvert to 
 the Dardanelles, to look at the building 
 which is destined for the principal medical 
 establishment. I regret to say there are 
 118 
 
 two cases of small-pox in hospital, but they 
 are going on favourably; they came from 
 the Golden Fleece. The French and Eng- 
 lish are generally very healthy, and the 
 town and neighbourhood are said to enjoy 
 great freedom from sickness and disease. 
 On Friday last the general visited the site 
 of the camp, and quarters were appro- 
 priated to various officers of the staff in 
 the town." 
 
 Lord Raglan did not arrive in the East 
 until the 28th of April, when he landed at 
 Constantinople; and Marshal St. Arnaud 
 made his appearance at the latter city on 
 the 7th of May. On the 10th of the same 
 month, the Duke of Cambridge also arrived 
 at the city of the sultan. Prince Napoleon 
 arrived at Gallipoli on the 30th of April. 
 The vast barracks, erected some years since 
 at Scutari by the Sultan Mahmoud, were 
 devoted to the accommodation of the Eng- 
 lish soldiers. Scutari, the reader may re- 
 member, is situated on the Asiatic shore of 
 the Bosphorus, just facing Constantinople, 
 of which it is regarded as a suburb. It 
 stands on the slope of a hill, and has several 
 line mosques and magnificent burial-grounds, 
 planted with cypresses. Many of the rich 
 Turks of Constantinople express a desire to 
 be buried there, in consequence of an old 
 tradition that their race will one day be 
 driven out of Europe. Besides the arrange- 
 ments at Scutari for the accommodation of 
 the private soldiers, the Green Palace at 
 Kuratscheschme was set apart for the re- 
 ception of the most distinguished officers. 
 
 Constantinople presented a singular ap- 
 pearance at this time, in consequence of the 
 number of troops of different climes and 
 costumes that were to be seen within it. 
 Egypt had sent a considerable force to assist 
 in defence of the sultan, and the soldiers of 
 that ancient land were well-armed, well- 
 clothed, and well- disciplined. The Asiatic 
 irregulars, in their picturesque and Oriental 
 costume were, however, far more ornamental 
 than useful. The Bashi-Bazouks are wild, 
 restless fellows, chiefly Kurds and Arabs, 
 but including Negroes, Nubians, and the 
 sweepings of many nations. They are tur- 
 bulent, ferocious, and impatient of discipline. 
 They have been compared to the formidable 
 Janissaries, whom Sultan Mahmoud de- 
 stroyed ; but the comparison flatters them. 
 Many of them are petty tradesmen in the 
 decayed towns of Asia, or owners of little 
 spots of land which yield a wretched sub- 
 sistence. Animated by a spirit of adven- 
 
hi; j.o-fnxw pkihtvhu Am') f-TJTu.j.siirNa cowp/iwy, 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the BASHI-BAZOUK.S. 
 
 ture and a love of plunder, they mount 
 their horses, seize what weapons they can 
 find, and willingly ride over 500 miles of 
 wild country to enrol themselves in the 
 army of the Danube. An English officer 
 thus describes a large body of them : — 
 " Yesterday, 5,000 Bashi-Bazouks encamped 
 near our lines, and such rum-looking devils 
 of soldiers I never saw ; I would be bound 
 to ride slick through them six feet deep. 
 And then their weapons are of all sorts; 
 from a lance, fourteen feet long, down to a 
 hammer tied on a stick, very like those 
 used by an English saddler : they were on 
 their way to be trained under French officers 
 at Varna." 
 
 The excesses perpetrated by some of these 
 men have been so frightful, that it is said 
 Omar Pasha would not be sorry to be alto- 
 gether rid of them. A party of them hav- 
 ing been billeted for a night' on a man who 
 showed them every hospitality, they, in 
 return, not only committed various outrages 
 on his properly and familyj but impudently 
 asked how much he would give for the re- 
 mains of the breakfast he had prepared for 
 them. A traveller on the Danube, during 
 the December of 1853, one night entered a 
 log-hut on the ba,nk of the river, which 
 served as a military post. The chief Bashi- 
 Bazouk having politely offered him a cup 
 of cbfiiee, they entered into conversation. 
 Strangely enough, he turned out to be the 
 son of a Frenchman,; one of- the soWiers 
 whom Buonaparte had left in Egypt. He 
 had been brought up ill Syria; had em- 
 braced Islami'sm, settled and married in 
 Asia- Minor, and was then, with a sonorous 
 Moslem name, serving the sultan' on the. 
 Danube. . He repeated many droll scraps of 
 Arab poetry, and observed that the greatest 
 thinkers of all ages had adopted a religion 
 and a philosophy different from that of their, 
 fathers. During the month of April ■ (1854), 
 a party of Bashi-Bazouks' fired' upon the 
 regular troops not far from Shumla. The 
 soldiers attacked ' the ruffians, • who were 
 greatly superior in number, killed two of 
 them, and captured seven, whom they took 
 before Omar Pasha. The sentence upon 
 them creates » shudder : they were to re- 
 ceive 500 lashes alternately on the back 
 and belly. Two of the wretches died soon 
 afterwards. To explain the infliction of 
 this frightful punishment, it should be stated 
 that the general has not the power to de- 
 prive a criminal of life; and incorrigible 
 offenders are therefore sentenced to receive 
 
 such a number of blows as are almost cer- 
 tain to produce death. It is a relief to be 
 able to add that such punishments are only 
 resorted to in cases of extreme atrocity. 
 
 Of course we speak of the Bashi-Bazouks 
 from report. We are glad to say that we 
 have never been amongst those gentry our- 
 selves, nor have we the least desire to be 
 able to speak of them from experience ; but 
 lest we should do them injustice, we insert 
 the following letter from one of them, ad- 
 dressed to the editor of a leading morning 
 journal. We believe it to be a perfectly 
 authentic document ; and it really says 
 something fop these generally desperate 
 men, that they have among them so in- 
 telligent an advocate. We fear, however, 
 that the intelligence ■ and good conduct of 
 a few of them wiU not have the - effect of 
 purifying the character of the rest. 
 
 "Sir, — I am a Bashi-Bazouk. Do not 
 tremble at this dreaded name; it seems 
 very harmless, at least on paper. AH I 
 want, in my name and that of my comrades, 
 is a fair hearing and justice. We Bashi- 
 Bazouks are constantly hearing from our 
 allies (the English) that England is the 
 only country where it is really to be found; 
 and that ■ you are always ready, with your 
 all-powerful pen, to try and obtain it for the 
 deserving. 
 
 " Now, sir, I am, as I said before, a poor 
 Bashi-Bazouk; and, being able to under- 
 stand a little English, have been in the 
 habit of reading ' Our own Correspon- 
 dent's' letters, in which we poor Bashi- 
 Bazouks meet with nothing but- abuse. 
 Now, let me state our case: Whfen our 
 sovereign (the sultan) in his wisdom de- 
 clared war agaiinst the cursed ' Moskovs,' he 
 sent his, firman to all parts of his mighty 
 empire, ■ to ■ call- upon his subjects and all 
 true believers to arise and fight for their 
 country and religion. All good Moslems 
 arose at the summons, girded on their arms, 
 and flocked from Kurdistan, Turkistan, Arab- 
 istan^in fact, from all parts of Asia Minor 
 ■ — to the seat of war. We had large hearts in 
 our breasts, sharp swords by our sides, but 
 little or no money in our pockets ; our chiefs 
 had spent what little they ever had in giving 
 us arms, horses, &c., to make a good appear- 
 ance before our master, the sultan. Allah 
 bless him ! At first we were treated well, 
 and had food given us, and fought and beat 
 thc' accursed ' Moskov' whenever we had an 
 opportunity. By degrees, as war continued 
 and provisions got scarce, we Bashi-Bazouks, 
 
 119 
 
THE BASHI-BAZOTJKS.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854/ 
 
 who had come so far, and left our homes, 
 \7ives, and children, to fight for our country, 
 began to be neglected ; things got worse 
 and worse, and we got less and less to eat. 
 Some among us, who, when pressed by 
 hunger and want in their own country, 
 were in the habit of mounting their horses, 
 and helping themselves from a neighbour's 
 store, now betook themselves to the same 
 way of living, and robbed the villages 
 around for food j others sold their horses — 
 as dear to them as their children — and 
 bought bread. Things went on in this way 
 for a long time ; but, wherever there was 
 fighting or hard work, there were the 
 Bashi-Bazouks. We had nobody to look 
 after us, nobody to appeal to, no food, no 
 money, and yet we were expected to do 
 everything that those who are fed and 
 clothed by the sultan do, and more besides. 
 We are said to have plundered and robbed 
 towns ; but most of the crimes committed 
 were the work of the Albanian Bashi-Ba- 
 zouks, and not of us poor Asiatics. Of 
 late, many of us have been taken and beaten 
 to death by sticks for taking bread. You, 
 sir, have probably never felt the actual 
 pangs of hunger — Allah forbid you ever 
 should ! — and stood by and seen others fed 
 and yourself denied it. Depend upon it, 
 should you ever be so situated, and have 
 arms in your hands, you will feel inclined to 
 take your share. Well, things went on in 
 this way for months ; at last we heard that 
 England and France had taken up the 
 quarrel of our sultan, and it was whispered 
 about that an English pasha was coming 
 out to feed us and look after us. There 
 was great rejoicing in consequence. Some 
 Bashi-Bazouks among us, who had been in 
 India, spoke of the generosity and justice of 
 the great English nation ; , how regularly 
 they paid their soldiers, and how just they 
 were to all. We heard they were to pay 
 us, and that we were to have the honour of 
 fighting by the side of, and assisting the 
 English against the common enemy. We 
 waited with anxiety the coming of the 
 pasha. He came at last; we looked on him 
 with awe, but we liked him, and felt that, 
 under him, we could do anything. We 
 soon found out he understood our preju- 
 dices, and knew how to treat us ; and the 
 Hindostanee Bashi-Bazouks told us he spoke 
 their language, and had long lived among 
 their people. He was pleased with us, and 
 spoke kindly ; but we had no food or pay, 
 and kind words wiU not fill empty stomachs. 
 120 ^ ^ 
 
 In the meantime the French came. We 
 had not even heard a whisper that they 
 intended taking any notice of us ; but, before 
 they even landed, a French pasha came, 
 and at once 4,000 of us were handed over to 
 him, and from the first day were paid five 
 piastres a-day (one franc), our horses fed, 
 and, in fact, we were treated like French 
 soldiers. We were amazed, and thought 
 our Hindostanee Bashi-Bazouks had been 
 telling Ues when they spoke so highly of 
 the great English nation, and their wealth 
 and generosity. They hung down their 
 heads, and said, 'Their faces had been 
 blackened, and that it could not be the 
 same people. The name of the people in 
 India was ' Coompanie,' and their head was 
 an old lady who lived somewhere in London. 
 She was always just and generous. These 
 must be some other people.' Nevertheless, 
 there was the fact, and so it now stands. 
 The English have sent a pasha, and no pay. 
 The French have sent a pasha, who is paying 
 4,000 of us daily. They are' living in com- 
 parative luxury, blessing those who feed 
 them ; we are just one remove from actual 
 starvation ; our horses get nothing but what 
 they can pick off the ground. Look on this 
 picture and on that, and draw your own 
 conclusions. 
 
 " Now sir, if you can spare a little more 
 space, let me show you how I think we can 
 be of use to the English array. From our 
 infancy we are used to noise and arms ; are 
 constantly at war with our neighbours, and, 
 consequently, inured to it; and, although 
 we do not pretend to take a place by the 
 side of European cavalry in great battles, 
 yet as light horsemen, and in the duties 
 appertaining to such, we hold ourselves 
 second to none ; and a body of 3,000 or 
 4,000 attached to the English army, would 
 save their splendid cavalry from duties for 
 which they are totally unfit, however Willing. 
 France has taken 4,000, and had first choice. 
 Let England take another 4,000, and let 
 the remainder go to their homes. We are 
 willing and ready to do anything; but let 
 the motto be the one made uSe of by a 
 great English general in writing of a country 
 called Ireland : ' Feed, clothe, but don't 
 hang them.' Now, sir, raise your voice in 
 our favour, and, well led, Inshalla ! England 
 shall not have to complain, or grudge the 
 few pounds spent on us ; after the war, we 
 will return to our homes and spread our 
 name far and wide. A Bashi-Bazouk. 
 
 " Banks of the Danube, July." 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [dtsposition of forces. 
 
 While the English and French troops 
 ■were arriving at Gallipoli, Sir Charles Napier 
 and his gallant fleet leaving Kioge Bay 
 (where they had remained for some time, on 
 account of the enormous masses of ice in 
 the Baltic Sea), proceeded to the Gulf of 
 Finland, which they reached on the 16th of 
 April, where they remained cruising until 
 the arrival of the French squadron. Their 
 presence, of course, amounted to a blockade 
 of the gulf, and prevented any Russian 
 ships from entering the Baltic. The ad- 
 mirals of the allied fleets in the Black Sea, 
 after the bombardment of Odessa, had sailed 
 away to Sebastopol; but the immense 
 strength of that fortress induced them to 
 relinquish the idea of attacking it without 
 the assistance of a land army. 
 
 Omar Pasha and the head-quarters of the 
 Turkish army were at Shumla, a consider- 
 able town on the northern declivity of the 
 Balkan in Bulgaria. It is surrounded by 
 walls, and defended by .a citadel. Situated 
 upon the spot where the roads from the 
 chief fortresses meet, Shumla is considered 
 the key of the Balkan, and has always been 
 the point of attack in every attempt of the 
 Russians to cross into Turkey. Omar 
 Pasha's activity and enthusiasm were re- 
 markable ; and it was observed that he was 
 in himself commander-in-chief, adjutant 
 and quartermaster -general, engineer- in- 
 chief, and commissary-general. He is ad- 
 mirably fitted to command. Other pashas 
 ride past the troops stolid and silent; but 
 whenever Omar comes upon a body of 
 soldiers, he stops to speak a kind word of 
 greeting to them, and then the faces of the 
 men are lighted up with feelings of pride in 
 their chief, and of confidence in themselves 
 and in the future. The Ottoman fleet, con- 
 sisting of twenty-two vessels, under Admiral 
 Ahmet Pasha, left Constantinople on the 4th 
 of May for the Circassian coast. Their pre- 
 sence there was much required, as the Turk- 
 ish army in Asia was in a very undisciplined 
 state, and extremely open to attack. 
 
 As to the Russians, they were gathering 
 bodies of troops at Kalarasch, opposite to 
 the famous Turkish fortress of Silistria, the 
 possession of which is regarded as indispen- 
 sable to the prosecution of any operations 
 against Shumla, Varna, or the Balkan. 
 Silistria was bombarded by the Russians 
 on or about the 14th of April ; but of the 
 heroic resistance and ultimate triumph of its 
 brave garrison we shall speak presently. 
 
 We have thus alluded to the state of the 
 
 difi"erent fleets and armies engaged in this 
 complicated war, because in the spring of 
 this year (1854) there was a lull in aggres- 
 sive operations. The anxious politicians 
 looked in vain for news of any great event, 
 and were obliged to content themselves with 
 speculations as to the future, and those 
 gossiping details which public eagerness 
 compels the editors of newspapers to chro- 
 nicle, but which history throws aside as 
 unnecessary and cumbersome. At this time, 
 therefore, it was not remarkable that the 
 queen, the prince-consort, the royal family, 
 the court, the foreign ministers, the members 
 of the legislature, the naval and military 
 authorities, and about 60,000 persons, went 
 to Woolwich to witness the launch of a new 
 gigantic war-steamer, named the Royal Al- 
 bert. This magnificent vessel is considered 
 on an equality, in size and power, with that 
 of the great Duhe of Wellington ; with which 
 exception, she has no rival in the British 
 navy, and no superior in the world ! The 
 extreme length of the Royal Albert is 272 
 feet 2i inches; her length, between the 
 perpendiculars, 232 feet 9 inches ; and 
 length of keel, 193 feet 6 inches. Her 
 extreme breadth is 61 feet 6 inches; 
 breadth for tonnage, 60 feet 2 inches; 
 moulded breadth, 59 feet 4 inches. Her 
 extreme depth is 66 feet ; and her depth of 
 hold, 24 feet 2 inches. She is of 3,726 
 tons* burden, is pierced for 131 guns, and 
 her screw-propeller was to be driven by 
 trunk engines of 500-horse power. Her 
 lower deck wiU contain ten 8-inch guns for 
 firing shells or hollow shot, and twenty-six 
 long 32-pounders. On the middle deck 
 wiU be six 8-inch guns, and thirty 32- 
 pounders. On the main deck thirty-eight 
 32-pounders, and on the upper deck twenty 
 32-ponnders. On the forecastle she wUli 
 carry a 68 -pounder gun, weighing five 
 tons, and capable of throwing round shot a 
 distance of three mUes. 
 
 The launch took place on Saturday, the 
 13th of May, and the river in front of 
 Woolwich dockyard was crowded with craft 
 of every description, many gaily decked 
 with flags, some giving forth cheering music, 
 and all filled with human beings. On shore, 
 within the dockyard, were a series of raised 
 benches, carried round the slip in amphi- 
 theatrical form, and affording accommoda- 
 tion for many thousand visitors. There 
 were seated the foreign ambassadors, the 
 members of the two houses of parliament, 
 the cabinet ministers, the officials of the 
 
 121 
 
THE ROYAL ALBERT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 admiralty, of Whitehall, of Somerset-house, 
 the officers of the dockyard, and the general 
 visitors. At one o'clock the royal carriages, 
 with their cavalry escort, arrived at the dock- 
 yard. The royal party consisted of the queen, 
 the prince-consort, the Prince of Wales, the 
 princess-royal, Prince Alfred, and theDuchess 
 of Kent. After some time had been con- 
 sumed by the ceremonies usual on such 
 occasions, her majesty, leaning upon the 
 arm of Prince Albert, proceeded along the 
 west side of the ship to a raised platform 
 covered with scarlet cloth, at the ship's bow. 
 There Sir James Graham explained to the 
 queen the ceremony of christening the ship. 
 A bottle of wine, covered with lace and de- 
 corated at each end with the rose, shamrock, 
 and thistle, was suspended horizontally, so 
 that when lifted and swung forward it would 
 dash against the bow. The queen twice 
 threw the bottle without hitting her aim, 
 and was beginning to look a little per- 
 plexed, when, on the third attempt, she 
 was successful ; and as the bottle was broken 
 in pieces her majesty exclaimed: "God 
 bless the Royal Albert." The christening 
 over, the royal party returned to their 
 original position, and the master-shipwright 
 of the yard proceeded to launch the huge 
 vessel into the river. The timbers were 
 knocked away, the " triggers" on either 
 side removed, the " dog-shores" depressed 
 by the fall of heavy weights upon them, 
 and gangs of ships' carpenters, with heavy 
 hammers, gave forty consecutive blows for 
 the purpose of overcoming the vis inertia, 
 of the ship's cradle. Still, about ten minutes 
 elapsed before she began to move : expecta- 
 tion was on tip-toe ; and at length the 
 enormous ship glided steadily down the 
 slip, amidst the thundering cheers of the 
 spectators. The bands of music on the 
 river and in the dockyard then struck up 
 " Eule Britannia" and " God save the 
 Queen," and thousands of lips uttered the 
 wish that the noble vessel that had just 
 taken to the water with so much of majesty 
 as almost to resemble a living thing, should 
 be fortunate and victorious. 
 
 After the launch, the queen and royal 
 party entered their carriages and quitted 
 the dockyard a,mid fervent demonstrations 
 of loyalty, and the immense crowd of spec- 
 tators gradually dispersed. Many and great 
 have been the improvements in the British 
 navy since the heroic Nelson perished in 
 the hour of victory at Trafalgar; but the 
 greatest improvement is the introduction of 
 122 
 
 the marine-engine and the screw-propeller. 
 Though many paddle-wheel steamers were 
 constructed in the queen's dockyards, the 
 importance of this new motive force for 
 vessels of war was not fully recognised until 
 it became manifest that the whole machi- 
 nery could be buried securely in the hold, 
 below the reach of hostile shot. It was in 
 1839 and 1840 that Mr. F. P. Smith de- 
 monstrated, in the Archimedes, the advan- 
 tages of screw navigation. The admiralty, 
 however, with a cautiousness or an indo- 
 lence not very commendable, hesitated to 
 adopt it extensively until spurred into acti- 
 vity by the keener appreciation of its merits 
 shown by the niival establishments of the 
 French. At the time of the launch of the 
 Royal Albert, we had sixty screw steamers, 
 and thirty-three more were building in our 
 dockyards. 
 
 The new ship was towed down the river 
 to be fitted for sea at Sheerness ; and we 
 may, perhaps, without wearying our readers, 
 say a few words concerning what may be 
 called her furniture. The bower-anchors of 
 the Royal Albert are five tons weight each ; 
 her hempen cables are twenty-five inches in 
 circumference ; and her chain cables are of 
 two and-a-quarter inches in diameter. The 
 extreme length of her mainmast above the 
 upper deck is eighty-eight feet, that of the 
 main-topmast seventy-three feet, and that of 
 the main-topgallantmast fifty-five feet. The 
 length of her bowsprit, from outside the 
 knight-heads, is fifty-two feet six inches ; 
 that of her jib-boom fifty-three feet. She 
 will spread 9,760 yards of canvas when all 
 sail is set on her, and her establishment of 
 sails will require 24,680 yards of canvas. 
 
 During this same month of May, cautious, 
 sluggish Austria, gave some sign of an in- 
 tention to join in the war that agitated 
 Europe, and of its own resolve not to be 
 intimidated by the autocrat Nicholas. It 
 was officially stated in the Vienna Gazette, 
 that in consequence of the great concentra- 
 tion of troops on the north-eastern and 
 eastern frontiers of Austria, the emperor 
 had resolved to call out 95,000 additional 
 troops for the safety of his dominions. A 
 leading journal, after alluding to the troops 
 which Russia had at this time concentrated 
 in the Polish provinces, observed : " The 
 fact that these troops cannot move in con- 
 sequence of the uncertain and menacing 
 attitude of one, at least, of the German 
 powers, has evidently disturbed the calcu- 
 lations of Russia, and compelled hsr to 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [destruction op the tiger. 
 
 provide for her own defence, while she was 
 threatening to absorb the territory of her 
 neighbours. The great strategical difficulty 
 of the Emperor Nicholas in the war is, that 
 he is exposed to attack on six or seven points, 
 wholly distinct from each other, but each 
 requiring an army for its defence. To hold 
 possession of the principalities he requires 
 at least 100,000 men ; the Crimea demands 
 an army of 50,000; Georgia and the Cir- 
 cassian coast at least as many ; the king- 
 dom of Poland an imposing body of troops 
 capable of maintaining the inhabitants in 
 sullen subjection, and of watching the 
 movements both of Austria and Prussia; 
 the Baltic provinces, Finland, and even the 
 neighbourhood of Finland, are all liable to 
 be assailed, especially by an enemy having 
 fleets propelled by steam in absolute pos- 
 session of the sea, and troops iu sufficient 
 numbers to throw a formidable body of men 
 on any part of the coast." 
 
 An Austrian diplomatist stated at this 
 time, that the young emperor was heart 
 and soul with France and England; and, 
 that in spite of the intrigues of the partisans 
 of Russia at the court of Vienna, he would 
 act as became the independent sovereign of 
 a great empire. The conduct of the King 
 of Prussia, however, continued to be ex- 
 tremely vacillating. He was said to be 
 much influenced by his queen, who kept up 
 a continual correspondence with her relative, 
 thp Emperor Nicholas. Politics of a senti- 
 mental character are reported to form a 
 considerable part of this correspondence; 
 and much was written about the double 
 eagles of both countries having first seen 
 the light in the same cradle; of their 
 having been brought up in the same nest; 
 and of the necessity of their taking their 
 flight together. 
 
 News at length arrived from the Baltic 
 Sea. The English fleet had captured many 
 merchant- vessels belonging to the enemy; 
 entered theHangoRoads on the 20th of May ; 
 and, on the 23nd, attacked the Russian fort 
 of Gustafsvarn, at the north-western entrance 
 of the Bay of Finland. In a brief time the 
 fort was destroyed, and 1,500 Russians sur- 
 rendered themselves as prisoners. This in- 
 formation was coupled with some of a very 
 difierent cast. On the 13th of May, the 
 Tiger, an English steam-ship of war, mount- 
 ing sixteen guns, was stranded during :: 
 heavy fog, at about four miles and-a-half 
 from Odessa, and forced to surrender to the 
 Russians before the Vesuvius and Niger 
 
 could come to her assistance. The unfortu- 
 nate vessel being left upon the shore was, of 
 course, helpless. While in this condition, 
 two position field-pieces were brought from 
 the Lustdorf column, and supported by two 
 companies of infantry and a platoon of 
 lancers, opened their fire with such precision, 
 that the unfortunate Tiger was compelled 
 to surrender. Before doing so, the captain 
 had his left leg shattered, and six of his crew 
 were wounded. As the English vessel was 
 lying on her beam, her shots flew over the 
 battery without taking effect. Seeing his 
 position hopeless, the lieutenant of the 
 Tiger, who had taken the command, hauled 
 down the ship's colours, and declared him- 
 self and crew prisoners of war. By the 
 orders of General Osten-Sacken, the boats 
 and crew were sent ashore, where the latter 
 laid down their arms. The wounded men 
 were sent to the quarantine. Before they 
 could be removed, two English war-steamers 
 were seen approaching through the fog. 
 As the Russians had no power of getting 
 the stranded vessel into port, and as they 
 feared that more English vessels might 
 arrive at any moment, they set the Tiger 
 on fire, by discharging red-hot shot into 
 her. By the time this was effected, the 
 Vesuvius and the Niger approached within 
 gun-range, and opened a fire upon the Rus- 
 sian batteries. For two hours the can- 
 nonading continued, and then the English 
 vessels thought it prudent to retire. The 
 loss of the Russians was very trifling, two 
 soldiers only being kiUed, and two officers 
 wounded. By about half-past seven the 
 Tiger was completely destroyed. The 
 prisoners taken by the Russians, were the 
 wounded Captain Gifiard, twenty-four offi- 
 cers and warrant-offifters, together with 201 
 seamen and marines. Some of the guns of 
 the Tiger were preserved and carried as 
 trophies to Odessa. The Furious went to 
 Odessa on the 1 4ith with a flag of truce, and 
 was allowed to send some money and clothing 
 to the unfortunate crew of the Tiger. They 
 learnt that the latter were being treated 
 with great kindness by the Russians. 
 
 The following letter from the surgeon of 
 the lost ship will give some further par- 
 ticulars, which are not without interest : — 
 
 " Odessa, May 15fch. 
 " Dear , — Her majesty's steamer Tiger 
 
 struck the ground about a quarter to six on 
 the morning of the 12th in a dense fog, ship 
 going about four knots. On the weather clear- 
 ing we found ourselves within 150 yards of the 
 
 123 
 
ENGLISHMEN IN CAPTIVITY.} 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 beacTi under a bigh cliff. An anchor was imme- 
 diately laid out with the hemp cable, and the 
 guns moved aft; shot, coals, water, ballast, &c., 
 got_ out ; and every means taken to lighten 
 during the three hours that we were left unmo- 
 lested. At the end of that time a field-battery 
 of about eight guns opened a most destructive 
 fire upon us, and in about ten minutes the ship 
 was on fire in two places, and the captain and 
 four others struck down seriously wounded. 
 Some of our guns had been thrown overboard, 
 and the only one which we fired could not be 
 used with effect, on account of the extreme 
 elevation required. Under these circumstances, 
 all further resistance being useless, the Eussian 
 flag was hoisted in token of surrender, and a 
 boat sent on shore to apprise them of the fact, 
 on which the firing instantly ceased. Orders 
 were given for every one to leave the ship imme- 
 diately, and to take what things they liked, but 
 in the hurry very few availed themselves of the 
 permission ; for as the fog cleared up the Vesuvius 
 was observed, and we were informed that if we 
 did not come on shore the firing would recom- 
 mence. Before leaving the ship I amputated 
 the left leg of Captain Griffard, it being carried 
 away at the knee by a shell. The right leg was 
 also severely wounded by a piece of shell, which 
 cut it to the bone. Mr. John Giffard had lost 
 both legs ; Trainer, captain of the mizen-top, 
 his left leg. Hood, a boy, was riddled with 
 pieces of shell. These three are since dead. 
 Tanner, ordinary seaman, was wounded by a 
 shell dangerously in various places in the thighs 
 and left hand : both he and Captain Giffard are 
 doing well, the latter suffering more from the 
 wound in the right leg than from the amputa- 
 tion. He suffered much from the long transit 
 from the beach to the town, between five and 
 six miles. 
 
 '-' We are now lodged in the lazaretto, in 
 comfortable rooms, and nothing can exceed the 
 kindness and attention we receive from every 
 one. "We are well lodgpd, well fed, and every 
 want attended to ; indeed, we fare much better 
 in point of eating than you can in the squadron 
 after a month's cruise. I am writing this in a 
 great hurry, as I see the Furious and Vesuvius 
 in the bay with a fiag of truce, and I hope to be 
 able to send it. Lawless and myself are both 
 in attendance on the captain, and are allowed to 
 see our own men every day, and there is very 
 little sickness among them. They are all cheer- 
 ful and well-conducted, and allowed all possible 
 indulgence. Yesterday seven English vessels 
 and crews were liberated by order from St. 
 Petersburg. 
 
 " We want nothing, .and the lady of General 
 Osten-Sacken has insisted on supplying any 
 little comforts or luxuries, as jellies, for the 
 captain from her own house. Personal visits 
 have been made every day by the governor and 
 other oificials, who are all kindness " 
 124 
 
 , Notwithstanding the kindness bestowed 
 upon the unfortunate Captain Giffar^, he 
 died from the effects of his wounds, and 
 was buried at Odessa on the 2nd of June, 
 with military honours. 
 
 A later letter from Odessa, dated the 10th 
 of June, stated that the English officers 
 and men, who seemed to be in no want of 
 money, were permitted to walk about as 
 they pleased. The conduct of the officers 
 was spoken of as very praiseworthy ; but it 
 was added that the common sailors every 
 now and then took a great deal more to 
 drink than did them good. One day thev 
 got very drunk in an Odessa gin-shop, ancl 
 a general fight among themselves was the 
 result. The foolish fellows could not be 
 separated until a detachment of troops in- 
 terfered with levelled bayonets. The Russian 
 soldiers are no jokers, and the sight of the 
 glittering steel restored the Jack-tars to a 
 sense of their dangerous situation. The 
 officers and midshipmen, it said, frequented 
 the best houses in the place; and British 
 and Russian officers might, evening after 
 evening, be seen walking arm-in-arm on 
 the Wasser glacis, and listening to the mill- • 
 tary band. Leave nature to her own kindly 
 impulses, and civilised men would become 
 brothers; let despotism interfere, and they 
 are eager to shed each other's blood. Per- 
 haps there may come a time — let us fervently 
 hope there will — when science will have 
 made war so destructive, that it would .be 
 not only insanity, but annihilation to resort 
 to it; when enemies jnay meet to settle 
 their quarrels by arbitration, and part no 
 longer foes, but brothers.* It is but a day- 
 dream—a glorious vision ; but looking back 
 on what civilisation has effected in the past, 
 who shall say that in the future this cannot 
 be! 
 
 In the course of the month of July, 180 
 officers and sailors, lately forming the crew 
 of the Tiffer, were exchanged at Odessa for 
 an equal number of Russian prisoners — man 
 for man and rank for rank. Unfortunately, 
 the number of Russians to be exchanged 
 fell short of the English by thirty, and 
 therefore that number of the crew of the 
 burnt vessel still remained in captivity. 
 
 On the 19th of May, the Arrogant and 
 the Hecla, commanded by Captains W. H. 
 Hall and H. R. Yelverton, planned a little 
 expedition of their own, which was very 
 deservedly regarded as a brilliant exploit. 
 Captain Hall having met a fishing-boat off 
 the coast, compelled the two men in it to 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [feat or the arrogant and hecla. 
 
 act as pilots. Under their direction, the 
 Arrogant and Hecla proceeded up a narrow 
 river. Their object was to capture three 
 merchantmen, which, to avoid them, had 
 gone into shallow water, and anchored under 
 shelter of a small fort at Ekness, twelve 
 miles in the interior of the country. On 
 coming to anchor, the Hecla, which was in 
 advance, was fired upon by the enemy in a 
 thickly-wooded spot, from behind a high 
 sandbank. A round shot struck the Hecla, 
 but happily without doing any mischief. 
 Both vessels immediately beat to quarters, 
 cast loose their guns, and pouring a fire 
 into the wood and against the sandbank, 
 quickly dislodged and silenced the enemy. 
 Nothing further took place that night. 
 
 Before the first grey tint of dawn the 
 vessels were again in motion, the Hecla 
 leading, on account of her lighter draught 
 of water, and both ships' companies standing 
 by their guns. After carefully pursuing 
 the intricate windings of the river for about 
 three hours, they came suddenly within 
 range of an enemy's battery. The gallant 
 i little Hecla, carrying six guns only, imme- 
 i diately opened her fire — a compliment as 
 readily returned by the fort. The early 
 morning light showed the promontory upon 
 which the battery stood to be covered with 
 soldiers — fine-looking fellows, with long grey 
 coats and spiked stesl helmets. The Arro- 
 gant, of 46 guns, soon approached near 
 enough to join in the engagement, and 
 poured her broadside among the Russian 
 troops. They did not stand to. receive a 
 second; for as the dense cloud of smoke 
 cleared away, a troop of horse-artillery were 
 observed in flight. A long and heavy fire 
 of musketrv was kept up from the wood, 
 and Minie 'balls fell thick on board both 
 ships. The Arrogant, too large a vessel for 
 the narrow scene of action, got aground 
 near the fort. In this position, however, 
 she poured forth a broadside, which dis- 
 mounted' the enemy's guns, and was then 
 got off in safety. The Hecla then advanced 
 further, but the Arrogant was obliged to 
 anchor, on account of the shallowness of the 
 river. ' Ekness was reached, and there were 
 the three merchantmen the English war- 
 vessels were in search of. Two were 
 * In reference to the above dashing exploit, the 
 following letter was addressed to the lords commis- 
 sioners ff the admiralty, and forwarded by them to 
 c- r'V^rlp, Nanier — " My lords, 1 have laid before 
 Sir Charles Wapier. ^ .^^^ ^^ ^, by your 
 
 f'^ ^v ! JlativeTo the destruction of certain bat- 
 S'rElS andl have received her majesty's 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ts 
 
 aground and in safety; but the Hecla, in 
 spite of another battery which opened upon 
 her, and regardless of the firing from the 
 town of Ekness, ran up alongside of the 
 third bark, took her in tow, and steamed 
 away with her. AVhile she was doing so, 
 the Arrogant poured showers of shot and 
 shell upon the Russian batteries and troops, 
 but carefully avoided firing upon the town. 
 On returning with their prize and an iron 
 gun they took as a trophy from one of the 
 batteries, the two English vessels were met 
 by the Dauntless, which had been sent by 
 the admiral to ascertain the cause of th« 
 firing ; the deep booming of the latter having 
 been heard by the fleet as she was steaming 
 into the Hango Roads. The Arrogant had 
 two men killed and four wounded ; the 
 Hecla, one man killed and four wounded. 
 Amongst the latter, were the gallant Captain 
 Hall himself, who received a slight wound 
 on the right leg from a spent rifle-ball ; and 
 Lieutenant Crew Read, who received a se- 
 vere but not dangerous wound on the left 
 cheek, which injured his eye. The gallant 
 behaviour of Lieutenant Read was very 
 highly spoken of in the report of Captain 
 Yelverton. The two adventurous vessels 
 joined the fleet on the 2(st, and the com- 
 mander-in-chief, on learning the particulars, 
 hoisted the signal, " Well done Arrogant and 
 Hecla, !" The crews of all the vessels ex- 
 pressed their admiration cf the behaviour of 
 their gallant comrades, by giving them three 
 hearty English cheers.* 
 
 All the distinction to be won by isolated 
 deeds of bravery, was, however, not to be 
 gained by the Hecla and Arrogant. The 
 good ship Dragon, during her cruise in the 
 Gulf of Finland, reconnoitred the port of 
 Revel. There her captain beheld two of the 
 enemy's vessels at anchor under the bat- 
 teries, and he determined to capture them, 
 even at the risk of exposing his own vessel 
 to severe usage. Fortunately he took up 
 such a position, that the guns of the enemy 
 could not be brought to bear upon him. 
 Shot after shot was firgd by the enemy, but 
 they all fell wide of their mark, and dropped 
 with a harmless splash into the heedless 
 sea. In a short time the two vessels were 
 taken captive, and towed into Hango 
 
 commands to desire that you will signify to the vice- 
 admiral commanding her majesty's fieet in the 
 Baltic, her majesty's great satisfaction at the gal- 
 lantry and skill displayed by the officers and men 
 of the Arrogard and Hecla on this occasion. 
 " I am &c., 
 
 " Newcastle." 
 125 
 
KOSSTJTH ON THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 Bay the next morning by the relentless 
 Dragon. 
 
 While these things were proceeding in 
 the Baltic, the famous Hungarian patriot, 
 Louis Kossuth, reappeared in England, 
 after a time spent in silence though not in 
 idleness. He received an invitation to ap- 
 pear at SheflSeld, to attend a meeting to 
 consider the desirability of reconstituting 
 Poland an independent nation. This he 
 accepted, and on Monday, June the 5th, he 
 made an oration in Paradise-square in the 
 morning, and another at the Music-hall in 
 the evening — explaining his views of Eng- 
 land's duties in the great struggle then 
 occupying the attention both of Europe and 
 the East. M. Kossuth's views were, by a 
 considerable body, considered erroneous and 
 impolitic, because he denounced Austria, and 
 considered the alliance of this country with 
 her as an unnatural union, which could only 
 lead to ruin. Nevertheless, there is an elo- 
 quent sincerity about M. Kossuth, and so 
 much of truth, though clothed sometimes 
 with the gaudy and Protean garb of error, 
 that we shall quote some passages for the 
 consideration of our readers. " You should 
 insist," said he, " upon a serious issue for 
 your sacrifices. You should insist that no 
 power shall still be left to despotism and 
 despots to drive you into new wars, by 
 encroaching upon the freedom, the rights, 
 and the independence of nations. You 
 should insist to attain, by your present 
 sacrifices, a true and lasting peace. Now, 
 neither of these aims can be attained with- 
 out Poland, Hungary) and Italy be restored 
 to their national rights ; and especially 
 Russia's overwhelming power cannot be 
 reduced without Poland being reconstructed 
 an independent nation with its national 
 territory; nor can the integrity and inde- 
 pendence of Turkey be secured, without a 
 free and independent Hungary. All these 
 aims would be subverted by England taking 
 despotic Austria for her ally. Then you 
 would fight for Austrian despotism, and not 
 for freedom." 
 
 In the evening, M. Kossuth contended 
 that England, by permitting the czar to 
 partition Poland and to accomplish " the 
 daring crime of armed intervention in Hun- 
 gary," had encouraged him to usurp the 
 Turkish territory. It was, he said, a charter 
 of impunity granted to the czar for encroach- 
 ing upon the liberties of Europe. " If there 
 ever," continued the orator, " was a truth 
 striking beyond any doubt, it is the truth 
 126 
 
 that, except Finland, it is only in Poland, 
 and by Poland, that Russia is vulnerable. 
 Bombarding Odessa, Sebastopol, Cronstadt, 
 taking Russian prizes, burning the Russian 
 fleet (if you can get at it), nay, burning St. 
 Petersburg itself, — all this may be very noisy, 
 good food for the newspapers; but it is 
 merely a palliative ; — nothing of a permanent 
 effect. The Russians might, perhaps, them- 
 selves burn St. Petersburg, as they have 
 burnt Moscow : you will not be the better 
 by it. If your purpose is to fight Russian 
 despotism — if your aim is to check Russian 
 ascendancy and to reduce Russian prepon- 
 derance, it is in Poland and by Poland that 
 you must act, or you will never attain your 
 aim ; — never." The reason, said the orator, 
 that England did not assist Poland to de- 
 clare its freedom was from sheer compla- 
 cency for Austria and Prussia. To pet 
 Austria, England neglected to do that with- 
 out which she could not succeed in the war. 
 " Be forewarned, people of England," cried 
 M. Kossuth, " be forewarned. Look to 
 history. There, in the mirror of the past, 
 thine own future is daguerreotyped. Re- 
 member the campaign of Napoleon to 
 Moscow in 1812. Napoleon undertook to 
 check the crowning ascendancy of Russia, 
 just as you do now. And with all due 
 regard for the Lord Raglans and Marechal 
 St. Arnauds, be it said, the little corporal 
 knew something about war. He knew that 
 Russia, though not very formidable abroad, 
 is anything but weak in defence at home. 
 The force which he employed amounted to 
 600,000 men, 182,000 horses, and 1,372 
 guns. What is the Anglo-French army in 
 the East compared to this? A Cho'bham 
 camp-parade. He knew that it was not on 
 sea that a decisive battle could be fought 
 against Russia : he went on by land. He 
 knew that without a large cavalry there was 
 no possibility to hold a bivouac for twenty- 
 four hours against a Russian army, and he 
 took care to have much cavalry. He did 
 not even neglect the pitiful expedient of 
 substituting to Polish nationality the idea 
 of Polish legions, just as you begin to do 
 now in the East. Besides, he also looked 
 for alliances, just as you do. Only, less a 
 politician than a soldier, he addressed him- 
 self to wrong quarters; he addressed him- 
 self to Austria and Prussia, precisely as 
 your government does. But he had stronger 
 claims on the fidelity of Austria than you 
 have. Having to dispose of the existence 
 of Austria, he just pardoned her, saved her. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [loss OF THE EUROPA. 
 
 and, to make the alliance sure, he married 
 the daughter of the Emperor Francis Joseph 
 of Austria. Both Austria and Prussia yielded 
 to the courtings of the mighty Csesar — be- 
 came his allies, and gave him two cavalry 
 armies against Russia. You know the rest. 
 Napoleon lost 552,000 men, 167,000 horses, 
 and 1,222 guns. One of his allies betrayed 
 him on the battle-field ; the other compro- 
 mised him by inactivity : both turned against 
 him, and sent him to die, a fettered giant, 
 on the rocks of St. Helena. You have 
 been taught by superficial professors in 
 your schools, that it was the generals Frost 
 and Famine which defeated Napoleon. No : 
 he was defeated by having taken Austria 
 and Prussia for allies." After an eloquent 
 speech of more than an hour, M. Kossuth, 
 in concluding, again warned his audience 
 that an alliance between England and Aus- 
 tria would be unsound, unnatural, and sub- 
 versive of any aim which England might 
 rationally contemplate by the war. 
 
 That there is much soundness and much 
 of a broad humanity in the views of 
 
 M. Kossuth, cannot be denied. Austria is a 
 doubtful ally, an ally of whom England 
 cannot be too cautious ; but, at the same 
 time, it is better to have her in this great 
 struggle as a friend than as an enemy. 
 Austria will not draw the sword from a 
 love for England, but from a fear of Russia 
 — from a dread of that dangerous neigh- 
 bour whose tremendous power hangs like a 
 dark cloud over her, threatening destruction. 
 Austria, despotic as it is, must be true to its 
 own interests. With respect to Poland, 
 England and France should have interfered 
 to save it : they are now paying a penalty 
 for not having done so ; but we think this is 
 not the hour for the restoration of that 
 prostrate land. We fear that to proclaim the 
 independence of Poland, would — although 
 it might at the eleventh hour — restore the 
 stricken goddess of continental liberty ; for a 
 time convulse Europe with warlike and re- 
 volutionary spasms, and drown despotism 
 and wrong in deep and awful streams of 
 blood. We dare not even purchase freedom 
 at such a price. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE LOSS OF THE EUROPA TRANSPORT J BLOCKADE OP THE BALTIC ; PROCEEDINGS AT BRAHESTAD, ULEA- 
 BOBG, AND GAMBA-KARLEBT J AUSTRIA ENTERS INTO A TREATT WITH TURKET, AND SENDS A SUMMONS 
 TO THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA ; REMOVAL OF THE ALLIED ARMIES TO VARNA j A GLANCE AT VARNA ; THE 
 SIEGE OF SILISTRIA ; RAISING THE SIEGE ; REPLY OF NICHOLAS TO THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 The courage of the soldier and the sailor 
 are subject to trials which are often as 
 severe, and sometimes much more so, as 
 those they are exposed to during the fierce 
 shock and storm of battle. One event of 
 this character it is our painful duty to re- 
 late. We allude to the destruction,, by 
 fire, of the transport-ship Europa. 
 
 This vessel, of 841 tons, was considered 
 one of the finest out of the port of London, 
 and a troop-ship that had not its superior 
 for completeness in all essentials. She sailed 
 from Plymouth on the morning of the 30th 
 of May, with a division of the Enniskillea dra- 
 goons, consistingof five Serjeants andfifty-four 
 rank and file, together with the command- 
 ing ofiicer and stafi", and fifty-three horses. 
 She also carried an extra weight of forage, 
 which probably became overheated, and 
 thus led to the terrible accident. The fated 
 ship, after being towed by a steamer fairly 
 
 into the channel, made sail, and all went well 
 till ten o'clock on the second night, when, 
 at the distance of 180 miles from England, 
 a cry was raised of " Fire in the forehold \" 
 The ominous words went through the 
 ship like an electric shock, and immediately 
 all hands were upon the alert. Captain Gard- 
 ner ran below, and found the fire already 
 burning fiercely in the forepeak, where a 
 quantity of hawsers, roj^e, tar, pitch, varnish, 
 and sails had been stowed. The ammu- 
 nition was immediately thrown overboard ; 
 and the pumps which had been fitted, 
 by order of the government, to supply the 
 troops with water from the tanks, had hose 
 attached to them, and together with those 
 belonging to the ship's pumps, were taken 
 below, and the jets of foaming, hissing 
 waters hurled amidst the burning mass. 
 The soldiers also laboured vigorously in 
 passing buckets of water to those below, to 
 
 127 
 
BLOCKADE OF THE BALTIC.] 
 
 HIS TOE Y OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 check the furious element; but their ex- 
 ertions were in vain. The flames spread 
 with such rapidity, that in a little while 
 they were roaring up the fore-hatchway in 
 tremendous columns, and thus cutting off all 
 communication with the fore part of the 
 ship. Dense columns of smoke also over- 
 hung the main-deck like a fiery cloud, 
 threatening suffocation . 
 
 Within half-an-hour from the time that 
 the startling cry of fire had resounded 
 through the ship, all hopes of saving her 
 perished. A rush was then made to the 
 boats, but the men were restrained by the 
 brave Lieu ten ant- colonel Moore and the 
 officers under his command. The boats 
 were lowered and filled with men — all except 
 the largest one, which, by some strange 
 previous negligence or mismanagement, the 
 crew were unable to launch. The life-boat, 
 with five-and-twenty persons in it, pushed 
 off, and boat and crew were taken up during 
 the night by the barque Maranan, of Dundee. 
 A second boat, with twenty- six persons on 
 board, was carried out to «ea and rowed 
 towards a light, which turned out to be a 
 Prussian schooner, the captain of which 
 kindly received the unhappy crew. The third 
 boat did not leave the vessel un^il about 
 half-past eleven at night, when not only the 
 main-deck, but the mast and rigging aloft 
 were in flames. In it were Lieutenant 
 Black (the admiralty agent), the second mate, 
 and some soldiers. The heroic Lieutenant- 
 colonel Moore remained at his post to the 
 last, having repeatedly declined to leave the 
 burning vessel until all his men had been 
 safely removed. Unhappily, he died a 
 martyr to a high sense of duty ; for he was 
 at last driven into the mizen-channels by the 
 violence of the flames, and there perished. 
 " The mainmast," said Captain Gardner, in 
 his account of this fatal accident, " went at 
 two o'clock, then the foremast, and the ship 
 rounded immediately afterwards; it was 
 blowing very hard at the time, with a very 
 heavy short sea on, aad raining heavily. I 
 will not further dwell upon this painful mo- 
 ment than to add, that as the ship rounded 
 with head to wind, the fire spread over to 
 where we were, and burnt us out, com- 
 pelling us to seek shelter in any way we 
 could. A number of men took to the 
 wreck of the mainmast, and some were lost 
 in attempting to make it. I, with the car- 
 penter, got over to leeward, and found very 
 great difficulty in getting under the weather- 
 channel and making along the bands, to see 
 128 
 
 if there was any more unburnt wood to 
 hold on by; but we were driven into the 
 forechains, the half of which were still un- 
 burnt. Suffice it to say, that at three 
 o'clock the boat of the brig Clemanthe, Cap- 
 tain Pike, came up and took us out of the 
 forechains. The boat also picked up ten 
 men from off the spars of the wreck. One 
 man died in the boat." 
 
 At half-past seven the next morning, the 
 attention of the crew of the steam-frigate 
 Tribune was arrested by a column of smoke 
 ascending into the air in the distance. The 
 Tribune made for the spot, and in less than 
 two hours discovered the remains of the un- 
 fortunate Europa burnt down to the water's 
 edge abaft, with the bows only remaining 
 above water. That blackened, smoulder- 
 ing hull alone was visible, and not a living 
 creature could be seen. Shortly afterwards 
 the wreck sunk into the deep blue waters, 
 leaving the surface of the sea, then gilded 
 with the bright rays of an early summer's 
 sun, covered with charred and floating tim- 
 bers, hen-coops, hay, and casks ; a trooper's 
 stirrup, and a pair of military fatigue-trowsers 
 among them, completed the melancholy me- 
 morial, and indicated the nature of the ship, 
 and the fate of those who were on board of 
 it. No doubt, the first emotion was that 
 all had perished ; but even as it was, one- 
 and-twenty ill-fated persons met their death 
 that dreadful night. They consisted of tvTO 
 officers, six non-commissioned officers, ten 
 private soldiers, two of the ship's company, 
 and one woman. 
 
 Just before this sad accident, the lords 
 commissioners of the admiralty received from 
 Sir Charles Napier a communication, dated 
 Hango Bay, May 28th, informing them that 
 the ports of Libau and Windau, on the 
 coast of Courland, and other ports, roads, 
 havetis, or creeks, to as far north as Cape 
 Dager Ort were in a state of blockade by a 
 competent force. It added, that all ports, 
 roads, havens, or creeks, eastward from 
 Cape Dager Ort, including Hapsal, Wormso 
 Island, Port Baltic, Revel, and all other 
 intermediate ports on the coast of Esthonia, as 
 far as Ekholm Light, and thence in a north- 
 ward direction as far as Helsingfors and 
 Sweaborg,on the coast of Finland; continuing 
 westward, Baro Sound, Hango Head, Oro, and 
 Abo, including the Aland Archipelago and 
 intermediate ports ; thence north, including 
 Nystad, Biorneborg, Christinestadt, Vasa, 
 Walgrund Islands, Little Karleby, Icobstad, 
 Great Karleby, Lahts, Kalawki, Brahestad, 
 
'iJ^iS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ;v^^^W^^^^^^^^w^C5^ 
 
Jt.,l,l,: .■„„./,>. . 
 
 -^~- ^ \^ mii the / 
 
 '^L'SE QWTHE SHORES OF T^^ 
 
 yLJ'^S:2"''Fcrch 'S Fentsa-ly ihchoiperors i:Fatrtanhs daxL G /" 
 
 '^"^SalHa^e^ OF il A R SI O R ^ 
 
 I I 
 
 I Jl b 
 
 1 
 
A.D. 1854 J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [gamla-karleby. 
 
 Lleaborg, Karle Island, Tio, Gestila, Tornea, 
 and all intermediate Russian ports, roads, 
 havens, and creeks in the Gulf of Bothniawere 
 in a similar condition. Thus, in one great out- 
 let, the external trade of Russia was paralysed. 
 Other but not important information reached 
 England occasionally, of mischief done to 
 Russian property. Thus, on the 10th of 
 May, the Amphion and Conflict took the 
 little town of Libau, and all the shipping in 
 the port, merely by the terror of their arms, 
 and without a shot being fired. The ship- 
 ping captured consisted of eight merchant- 
 vessels, all new and well-found, but dis- 
 mantled, and some scuttled ■ and aground. 
 The private property on board of them was 
 generously restored to the owners, on appli- 
 cation for it. Again, on the 30th of May, 
 three English steamers, under the direction 
 of Admiral Plumridge, destroyed the ships, 
 dockyards, and stores at Brahestad, in the 
 north of the Gulf of Bothnia, and damage 
 was done to the amount of 350,000 roubles. 
 The following day several vessels were cap- 
 tured off Uleaborg; and on the 1st of June, 
 four steamers destroyed the ships, dockyards, 
 and stores at Uieaborg — 400,000 roubles' 
 damage being done on that occasion. At 
 Brahestad 12,000 tuns of tar, with five large 
 vessels of 1,000 lasts each, were burnt, to- 
 gether with a quantity of planks and deals, 
 used for ship-building. At Uieaborg, eight 
 ships on the stocks, nearly finished ; four 
 old ones; together with about 18,000 tuns 
 of pitch and tar, were given to the flames.* 
 Soon afterwards, on the 7th of June, an 
 attempt of the same kind, by the flying 
 squadron of Admiral Plumridge, on the 
 town of Gamba-Karleby, terminated un- 
 fortunately, if not with disgrace. This 
 town is situated on a bay of the Gulf of 
 Bothnia, some miles to the south of Brahe- 
 stad, and has a trading population of 1,800 
 persons; — an unimportant place enough; 
 scarcely more than a village ; and one would 
 think hardly capable, with all the local assis- 
 tance it could procure, to drive off two Bri- 
 tish war-steamers. Such, however, was the 
 
 • The official despatches, addressed by Sir Charles 
 Napier to the secretary of the admiralty, are ne- 
 cessarily devoid of interest to a general reader ; but 
 we insert the following summary of them :— " Sir, 1 
 beg leave to inclose Admiral Piumridge's report of 
 his proceedings in the Gulf of Bothnia, from the 5th 
 of May to the 10th of June, by which their lord- 
 ships will observe, that he has destroyed forty-six 
 vessels, afloat and on the stocks, amountmg to 
 11,000 tons; from 40,000 to 60,000 barrels of pitch 
 and tar; 60.000 square yards of rough pitch ; a great 
 
 case. Nine sloops of sixteen oars, and six- 
 teen of twenty oars, each armed with a 
 gun, put off from the ships. One of the 
 boats, under a flag of truce, came close to 
 the shore, and the ofiicer on board of it 
 made the usual demand that the vessels and 
 warlike stores in the harbour and town 
 should be given up. The reply was a re- 
 fusal, and the officer withdrew threatening 
 to enter the town by force. About eleven 
 o'clock at night, when it is still light at this 
 period in these high latitudes, nine boats put 
 off from the steamers, and advancing towards 
 the shore, endeavoured to effect a landing. 
 The inhabitants had not been idle in the 
 interim, and the invaders were opposed by 
 two Finland companies of the line and 100 
 armed inhabitants of the town. Favoured 
 by the locality and the country buildings, 
 they received the sailors with a cannonade 
 and a fire, to which the artillery and mus- 
 ketry of the latter replied without much 
 effect. The combat lasted until midnight, 
 and the English were then obliged to retire 
 with the loss of one of the boats of the 
 Odin, some of the crew of which were 
 killed, and the rest, amounting to twenty- 
 two seamen, taken prisoners. In the beat 
 were six dead bodies, one of them being 
 that of the officer lately in command of it. 
 With the boat the Russians also captured 
 its flag, a bronze cannon of large calibre, 
 munitions, guns, pistols, and the whole of 
 its armament. Two other boats were so 
 much damaged that they were obliged to 
 be towed away by the rest. This petty 
 attack was not repeated, and such laurels 
 as could be gained from it remained with 
 the Russians. Many people in England 
 fancied that it would have been better for 
 the fleet to have engaged in some great 
 action, than to fritter away its exertions in 
 what seemed little better than mere pre- 
 datory attempts. The total loss of the 
 English in this petty affair amounted, in 
 killed, wounded, and missing, to fifty-four 
 men. 
 
 The French fleet, under the orders of 
 
 number of stacks of timber, spars, planks, and deals, 
 sails, rope, and various kinds of naval stores ; to the 
 amount of from £300,000 to £400,000, without the 
 loss of a man. Admiral Plumridge has had to con- 
 tend with innumerable rocks and shoals, incorrectly 
 laid down in the charts, and met the ice up to the 
 30th of May ; nevertheless, though several of his 
 squadron have touched the ground, I am happy to 
 say that they have received no damage that he is not 
 able to repair with his own means." It is said these 
 stores were to be used by Russia in building gun-boats. 
 
 129 
 
MOVEMENTS OF AUSTRIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 18a4.. 
 
 Vice-admiral Parseval Desch^nes, joined 
 that of England on the 13th of June. The 
 united maritime forces (in the Baltic) of the 
 two nations, therefore, amounted to fifty-four 
 sail, armed with 2,726 guns, and supplied 
 with 29,150 seamen and marines. The 
 grandeur of such a display of naval power is 
 difficult of description. Suffice it to say, 
 that off the island of Eenskar, in Baro 
 Sound, under the flags of the two great 
 maritime powers of the world, floated such a 
 forest of masts as had never been seen before. 
 The greatest harmony prevailed between 
 both sailors and commanders of the French 
 and English fleets. The day after the junc- 
 tion of the fleets, Sir Charles Napier, accom- 
 panied by Rear-admirals Cory and Chads, 
 paid an official visit to the French admiral, 
 on board the Inflexible. The French re- 
 ceived them with honourable enthusiasm, 
 and the following day Admiral Parse val 
 Deschenes returned the visit. 
 
 A Swedish paper of this period contained 
 the following curious information concerning 
 the corrupt character of Russian officials. 
 It related that the commander of Sweaborg 
 had been dismissed from his office, and sent 
 to prison. He had not only stolen the 
 copper roof of the fortress, but had even 
 extended his acquisitive propensities to guns 
 and ammunition. He had destroyed two of 
 the bastions and planted orchards on them, 
 and instead of cannon-shot he had heaped 
 together wooden balls painted black ! 
 
 We mentioned that Austria had con- 
 sidered it necessary to add 95,000 men to 
 her miUtary establishment, for the safety of 
 her empire. She now took other steps, 
 away from Russia, and in the direction of 
 Turkey and the western powers. One was, 
 to enter into an alliance with Turkey, for 
 the purpose of assisting that power to reclaim 
 the Danubian provinces from the then re- 
 laxing grasp of the czar. The principal 
 conditions of it were, that if Russia retired 
 voluntarily from the principalities, the Aus- 
 trian troops, with the concurrence of the 
 Porte, would enter them, and thus act as a 
 defence to Turkey against future aggression. 
 If Russia refused to retire, it was agreed 
 that Austria should take such measures as 
 might be necessary to compel her to do so. 
 The Austrian troops were, however, only to 
 enter the principalities for the sake of re- 
 storing tranquillity, and they were not to 
 remain in them longer than was necessary 
 for the safety of those territories from Rus- 
 sian aggression. To be iu readiness for this 
 130 
 
 purpose, the Austrian forces, under General 
 Schlick, had advanced to the extreme north- 
 eastern front of Galicia. The passes of the 
 Carpathians were already watched, and oc- 
 cupied on each side by detachments of the 
 respective Russian and Austrian armies. 
 
 The other step taken by Austria, and 
 supported by Prussia, was the sending a 
 summons to the Emperor of Russia, request- 
 ing him to relinquish his " material guaran- 
 tee," and recall bis troops from the Danubian 
 provinces. In this summons the Austrian 
 government renounced all claim to be con- 
 sidered as a mediator between Russia and 
 the western powers; but in polite though 
 positive language, it requested the St. Peters- 
 burg cabinet to specify exactly the time 
 when the imperial troops would have re- 
 turned to their own country, and trusted 
 that the time named would not be a very 
 distant one. The answer to this request we 
 shall allude to when we have described an 
 important and brilliant circumstance that 
 influenced it. 
 
 Early in June, 10,000 English troops 
 were brought from Scutari down the Bos- 
 phorus, and across a portion of the Black 
 Sea, to Varna. This movement gave satis- 
 faction to the most active spirits who longed 
 to mingle in the strife, because Varna is 
 near the seat of war, and from it the troops 
 could readily march to Silistria. An account 
 of the voyage is admirably written by a cor- 
 respondent of the Times, who accompanied 
 the expedition. Too much praise can scarcely 
 be bestowed upon the word-pictures — sun- 
 pictures, some have called them — of this 
 adventurous gentleman. The following is a 
 portion of his description of the passage of 
 the Bosphorus and the Black Sea : — " It 
 was five o'clock ere the last steamer which 
 had to wait for the transports got under 
 weigh again, and night had set in before they 
 reached the entrance of the Black Sea. As 
 they passed the forts (which are pretty fre- 
 quent towards the Euxine), the sentries 
 yelled out strange challenges, and burned blue 
 lights, and blue lights answered from our ves- 
 sels' in return ; so that at times the whole of 
 the scene put one in mind of a grand fairy 
 spectacle, and it did not require much imagi- 
 nation to believe that the trees were the work 
 of Grieve; that Stantield had dashed in the 
 water and ships ; that the forts were of 
 pasteboard ; and the clouds of gauze lighted 
 up by a property man; while those mous- 
 tachioed soldiers, with red fez caps or tar- 
 bouches, eccentric blue coats and breeches. 
 
A.B, 
 
 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [the allies go to varna. 
 
 and white belts, might fairly pass for Surrey 
 supernumeraries. Out go the blue lights ! — 
 ■we are all left as blind as owls at noontide; 
 but our eyes recover ; the stars at last begin 
 to twinkle ; two lights shine, or rather blear, 
 hazily on either bow — they mark the open- 
 ing of the Bosphoriis into the Euxine, We 
 shoot past them, and a farewell challenge 
 and another blue halo show the sentries are 
 ■wide awake. We are in the Black Sea ; and 
 lo ! sea, and sky, and land, are at once shut 
 out from us ! A fog, a drifting, clammy, 
 nasty mist, bluish-white, and cold and raw, 
 falls down on us like a shroud, damps out 
 the stars and all the lights of heaven, and 
 steals with a slug-like pace down yard, and 
 mast, and stays, sticks to the face and beard, 
 renders the deck dark as a graveyard, and 
 forces us all down to a rubber and coffee. 
 ■This is genuine Black Sea weather. ... In 
 the morning the same haze continued drift- 
 ing about and hugging the land ; but once it 
 rose and discovered a steamer close in-shore, 
 ■with a transport cast off from her, and 
 hovering about just as a hen watches a 
 chicken. The Vesuvius fired a gun, and 
 after some time the steamer tried to take 
 the transport in tow again, and proceeded 
 to rejoin the squadron. We subsequently 
 found it was the Meffcera. The line of land 
 was marked by a bank of white clouds, and 
 the edge of the sea horizon was equally 
 obscured. About half-past three the bay of 
 Varna was visible, with the masts of some 
 large vessels just peering up ahead ; and the 
 Victoria, her majesty's ship Vesuvius, &c., 
 ran in and anchored before six o'clock. 
 The Bellerophon, 74, Lord G. Paulet; the 
 Henri Quatre (French), 90, and an Ottoman 
 steamer, were lying in the roadstead, close 
 to the town; and transports, Nos. 1, 2, 18, 
 27, 46, &c., busily engaged landing stores 
 and men." 
 
 The next day. General Canrobert and a 
 staff of officers arrived in the Caton, and 
 shortly afterwards proceeded to call on Sir 
 George Brown. Besides the general, 12,000 
 Prench troops were soon encamped at Varna. 
 The following panoramic glance at this Bul- 
 garian town, from the pen of a military man, 
 will be read with pleasure by those who like 
 to have a vivid and tangible idea of the 
 various places rendered memorable by this 
 great war: — 
 
 " Varna is such a town as only could have 
 been devised by a nomadic race aping the 
 habits of civilised nations. If the lanes are 
 not so painful to walk upon as those of Gal- 
 
 lipoli ; if they are not so crooked and inex- 
 tricable J if they are not so rugged and fan- 
 tastically devious ; — it is only because nature 
 has set the efforts of man at defiance, and 
 has forbidden the Turk to make a town built 
 upon a plain as unpleasant to perambulate as 
 one founded on an irregular surface. After 
 a cruise of upwards of 100 miles, by shores 
 which remind one, when they can be seen 
 through fogs and vapours, of the coast of 
 Devonshire, and which stretch away on the 
 western side of the Black Sea, in undu- 
 lating folds of green sward rising one above 
 the other, or swell into hilly peaks all covered 
 with fine herbage and natural plantations of 
 the densest foliage, so that the sceaery has 
 a park-like and cultivated air, which is only 
 belied by the search of the telescope, the 
 vessel bound to Varna rounds a promontory 
 of moderate height on the left, and, passing 
 by an earthen fort perched on the summit, 
 anchors in a semicircular bay, about a mile 
 and-a-half in length and two miles across, 
 on the northern side of which is situate the 
 town, so well known by its siege in 1829. 
 The bay shoals up to the beach at the apex 
 of the semicircle formed by its shores, and 
 the land is so low at that point that the 
 fresh waters from the neighbouring hills 
 form a large lake, which extends for some 
 distance through the marsh lands and plains 
 that run westward towards Shumla. Varna 
 is built on a slightly elevated bank of sand, 
 on the verge of the sea, of such varying 
 height that, in some places, the base of the 
 walls around it is on the level of the water, 
 and at others stands twenty or thirty feet 
 above it. Below this bank are a sei-ies of 
 plains inland, which spread all round the 
 town, till they are lost in the hills which, 
 dipping into the sea in an abrupt promon- 
 tory on the north-east side, rise in terraces 
 to the height of 700 or 800 feet at the dis- 
 tance of three miles from the town, and 
 trend away to the westward to meet the 
 corresponding chain of hills on the southern 
 extremity of the bay, thus enclosing the 
 lake and plains between in a sort of natural 
 wall, which is, like all the rest of the coun- 
 try, covered with brushwood and small trees. 
 It is said also to abound in- game ; but as 
 yet our guns have only succeeded in adding 
 to the pot-au-feu some doves and . wood- 
 pigeons, and a venerable hare of much rigi- 
 dity. A stone wall of ten feet high, painted 
 white, and loopholed, is built all around the 
 place ; and some detached batteries, well 
 provided with heavy guns, but not of much 
 
 131 
 
A GLANCE AT VAliNA.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 pretension as works of defence, have been 
 erected in advance of the walls on the land 
 side. On the sea-face four batteries are 
 erected, provided with heavy guns also : 
 two of thera of earthwork and fascines, &c. ; 
 the other two built with stone parapets and 
 embrasures. Peering above these walls, in 
 an irregular jumble of red- tiled roofs, are 
 the houses of the place, with a few minarets 
 towering from the mosques above them. 
 The angles of the works ^re irregular, but 
 in most instances the walls are so con- 
 structed as to admit of a fair amount of 
 flanking fire on an assailing force. Never- 
 theless, the bank on which the town is built 
 is so uneven, that a portion of the inner 
 side of the walls could be swept from a fleet 
 in the bay, and other parts are equally ac- 
 cessible to the fire of batteries on the trifling 
 hillocks around the town. In one battery 
 on the sea-face I counted eight 32-pounders ; 
 and there are also some 56-pounders on the 
 upper battery, overlooking the entrance to 
 the harbour. The earthworks are deep and 
 well made, and the guns seemed carefully 
 kept and in excellent order. The houses of 
 the town are built of wood, painted white, 
 blue, brown, saff'ron, and yellow; but, for 
 the most part, they exhibit but little of the 
 brightness of the original colouring, and 
 the roofings of broken red tile, combined 
 with the . general dilapidated look of the 
 plank sheathings of the side walls, give the 
 whole place an appearance of decay, which 
 is not much belied by the ' interiors' of the 
 habitations. These houses are all of wood, 
 and present nothing but a door and gable- 
 wall towards the street, so that the aspect 
 of the place is that of a tumble-down old 
 prison from end to end. 
 
 " A tent is one of the most secluded re- 
 sidences in the world ; once inside, with the 
 flaps shut, and you are lost to every eye. 
 There is no window or door through which 
 its inhabitant can be seen, and its privacy 
 even in a camp is absolute. The Turk 
 seems never to have forgotten the traditions 
 of his descent, and builds his house to re- 
 semble a tent as much as possible. His 
 windows rarely look upon the street, and, if 
 they do so, are 'latticed and shuttered closely. 
 Grenerally, they look out on a courtyard, 
 provided with some tumble-down sheds, a 
 well, and as many flowers and trees as can 
 force their way through the hardened earthen 
 floor of the enclosure. A high stone wall 
 shuts out each mansion from its neighbour, 
 and the doors, which perforce must open on 
 132 
 
 the street, are shut the instant the occasion 
 for their opening ceases. Thus, as you 
 wander through hot lanes presenting one 
 eternal blank of stone walls and unpainted 
 doorways, topped by tiled gables, and hear 
 no sound within, except the wailing of an 
 infant and the sharp cry of the kite soaring 
 overhead, or the growl of the dog half- 
 awakened by your step as he basks in the 
 middle of the narrow path, you might think 
 the place stricken by the plague, and desti- 
 tute of life, but that now and then a door 
 opens and a pile of red or yellow or bright 
 blue cloth, surmounted by the white folds of 
 the yashmak, and terminating in light yellow 
 boots, emerges, and at your presence rushes 
 in again, or takes a precipitate motion across 
 the street, and dashes in at an opposite 
 door, or a ragged porter with a water-jar 
 shuffles along and eyes the infidel sullenly 
 as he goes by. In the heat of the mid-day, 
 when the sun blazes down into those 
 straitened streets, the silence is absolutely 
 oppressive, and it is a relief to hear the 
 twittering song of the swallow as he clings 
 to the roof. Varna, nevertheless, contains 
 13,000 or 14,000 inhabitants. There is 
 more bustle, animation, and life in the 
 smallest hamlet in Dorsetshire than here, 
 unless you go down to the landing-place, or 
 visit the bazaarj where the inhabitants flock 
 for work or business. Towards evening 
 there are more people moving about, and 
 the Muezzin breaks the silence with his 
 shrill and boy-like voice. I do not know 
 why travellers have united in describing the 
 summons of the Muezzin to the faithful as 
 ' deep-mouthed,'' ' bass,' ' hoarse,^ &c. It is 
 pitched in a high key, and is resonant and 
 searching ; so that when you look up to the 
 gallery around the minaret, and see the 
 venerable gray beard of the vocalist, you 
 are rather astonished to find he can make 
 such a noise, and that it is from the throat 
 of a man it issues. At night there is no need 
 to complain of silence. Prom the lanes, the 
 shambles, the beach, the doorways, the cafe 
 benches, where they lay sleeping and growl- 
 ing all day, swarms of dogs unite in one 
 horrible concert of snarling, barking, fight- 
 ing, and yelping hour after hour, as they 
 scour through the town to act as the scaven- 
 gers of the place, and the mangled carcasses 
 in the lanes in the morning show that these 
 feuds are sometimes deadly, and cats and 
 monstrous rats, all flattened out with bites, 
 lie as proofs of their prowess when morning 
 comes. These beasts rarely attack strangers, 
 
A.D, 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the TURKISH SOLDIERS. 
 
 especially if they carry lights and are handy 
 with stick and stone ; but they make a dis- 
 play of teeth and ill-temper which meets 
 with sore treatment from the wandering 
 Briton. There are three small jetties of 
 wood opposite the principal gate of the 
 town, and a beach of a few yards broad 
 between the sea and the foot of the walls 
 serves as a landing-place for lighter boats. 
 On this beach are heaped up vast quantities 
 of shot and shell of every size, all rusty and 
 empty. They are lying in tens of thousands 
 on the ground, and range in size from one 
 inch up to seven or eight inches in diameter. 
 Whence they came, or for what they are 
 intended, I could not ascertain ; but most 
 likely they would be used loose as grape, in 
 case of attack, though but ill-suited for that 
 purpose from their lightness. There are, 
 however, some round and solid shot among 
 them. Inside the wall, just at the same 
 place, are about 100 wickerwork baskets, 
 full of the rustiest, roughest, and most ill- 
 made grapeshot that can be conceived. 
 They are truly grapeshot, for they resemble 
 that fruit in shape, and are generally pro- 
 vided with ample stems and shanks which 
 have not been taken off in the casting. 
 
 " The sentries at the gate are Turkish in- 
 fantry, young thick- set and sinewy -looking 
 men, with bow-legs and ill-shaped feet, with 
 stooping shoulders and a slouching gait. 
 They are dressed in the eternal red fez cap 
 with its brass button at the top, the distinc- 
 tive mark of the militaire ; their burnt faces 
 are well decorated with hair; an ill-fitting 
 blue frock coat, single-breasted, with plain 
 brass buttons, and sometimes trimmed with 
 red facings, hangs about them with all the 
 indifference of a ' contract coat.' A pair of 
 snowy white crossbelts sustain the bayonet- 
 sheath and cartouch-box, and a pair of 
 ragged trowsers, quite destitute of nap, 
 threadbare, and whitened, complete the 
 uniform. One hint we might take even 
 from the Turks — their belts are always 
 white and clean. They are made of ena- 
 melled leather, and, if it could only be got 
 good enough for the purpose, I humbly 
 think it might be adopted in our armies, 
 and save the soldiers a world of trouble, 
 time, and annoyance in pipeclaying, while 
 it got rid of all the implements for the pro- 
 cess which now take up so much valuable 
 space. It should not be omitted that the 
 Turkish soldier is the worst shod in the 
 world. It is part of his religion to be so. 
 His feet are always incased in thin slippers 
 
 VOL. I. fT 
 
 of the most miserable manufacture ; and the 
 reason assigned for it is, that they are easily 
 put off when he says his prayers — a very 
 proper ceremony, which the authorities en- 
 courage to the utmost, though it occurs 
 three or four times a-day. It is ludicrous 
 to see a Turkish official shuffling about with 
 a pair of large spurs stuck into the heels of 
 his decayed papooshes, which he can scarcely 
 keep on his feet as he walks. And this sug- 
 gests an important consideration. So long as 
 the Turkish army is shod as it is, it never 
 can march well. Behind stone-walls, in the 
 breach, and in garrison, they are the bravest 
 of the brave ; but I verily believe they could 
 not, if the safety of the empire depended on 
 it, make a forced march, or continue one of 
 fifteen miles a-day for a week, either for the 
 purposes of retreat or attack. While they 
 were an army of cavalry, this practice did 
 not matter much, particularly as the wide 
 Turkish stirrup protected the foot ; but in- 
 fantry must knock up, on hard roads and in 
 bad weather, with such shoeing. It would 
 be curious to inquire how much the decay 
 of the Osmanli may depend on the soles of 
 their shoes since they ceased to be an eques- 
 trian army, and assumed European tactics 
 and formation, without abandoning the most 
 objectionable portion of their Mohammedan 
 attire. The Egyptians, who are encamped 
 in various small bodies to the number oi" 
 3,000 around the town, are clad in the same 
 way as the Turks, but are rather more 
 ragged. They are very dark and meagre 
 men, and do not appear to possess the 
 physical strength of the Turks ; but they are 
 not so bow-legged, and appear better set 
 upon their feet. Their tents are of white — 
 the old colour was green — and are' kept 
 tolerably clean ; but outside the lines there 
 is always a heap or two of offal, cowhides, &c., 
 emitting a noisome odour, and necessarily 
 prejudicial to the health of the men. The 
 officers are only to be known from the men 
 by their gold-embroidered cimeter-belts, 
 and by the varied patterns of their trowsers. 
 Uniformity in the latter garment the officers 
 never dream of, and choose cut and colour 
 as they please ; so that it is rather amusing 
 to observe the variety of hue on the legs of 
 one regiment, the only thing in common to 
 all being that they wear straps — not to 
 keep down the trowsers, but to keep on the 
 slipper. On going through the streets one 
 may see the best houses marked with chalk. 
 No. 1, 2, &c. This was done by the French 
 when they landed ; but they have divided the 
 
 193 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SILISTRIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 quarters with the English staff. Marshal 
 St. Aruaud sent off two officers there, and 
 invited Lord Raglan to do the same, in 
 order to appropriate quarters ; but as the 
 French went before the English could join 
 them, it was considered best to let the former 
 arrange the whole matter as they thought 
 •fit. Sir George Brown has got a tolerable 
 house, perched on a hill over the sea-side; 
 and his staff, Captain Macdonald, Captain 
 Pearson, Sec, live with him. Dr. Dum- 
 breck, the principal medical officer, has 
 pretty good quarters close by ; and Colonel 
 Sullivan, deputy adjutant-general, also has 
 a roof over him. Brigadier Airey resides in 
 his tent close to his brigade. Captain Hal- 
 lewell, the assistant quartermaster-general 
 ^second in command to the quartermaster- 
 general of the division. Major Airey), and 
 the engineer officers. Captain Gordon, Cap- 
 tain Hassard, Mr. Martin, &c., are under 
 canvas by the wall at the sea- gate. Doctors 
 Alexander and Tice are at the camp with 
 their division." 
 
 In our last chapter we mentioned that the 
 Russians were gathering enormous bodies 
 of troops at Kalarasch, opposite to Silistria, 
 and we will now relate the particulars of the 
 fiiege and heroic defence of that fortified town. 
 
 Pirst, concerning the place itself. The 
 reader who refers to the admirable map of 
 the Black Sea and the surrounding states, 
 which forms one of the illustrations of this 
 history, will observe that Silistria is a city 
 of European Turkey, situated on the right 
 bank of the Danube, and fifty-seven miles 
 north-north-east of Shumla, the head-quar- 
 ters of Omar Pasha. Silistria contains above 
 20,000 inhabitants : the houses are built of 
 wood, and most of them only one story high. 
 Its principal building is a large Greek church 
 and convent, begun during the years of Rus- 
 sian occupation, when Silistria was the chief 
 pledge for the fulfilment of the treaty of 
 Adrianople. Large sums were spent upon 
 it by the Emperor Nicholas ; but in conse- 
 quence of the customary roguery of Russian 
 officials it was neglected, and is now a ruin. 
 Silistria is nearly of a semicircular form, 
 with five bastions on the river base, and five 
 on the land side, or seven if the corner ones 
 be included. All the scarps and counter- 
 scarps are of solid stone masonry. There 
 is no coutregarde, or other complicated ex- 
 tension of the Vauban system. The old 
 fortifications of Silistria were neglected and 
 suffered to fall to partial decay ; but of late 
 jears the placid Turks have become aware 
 134 
 
 of the value of this town, and its defences 
 were repaired and added to. 
 
 The great strength of Silistria now con- 
 sists in its detached forts, the chief of which 
 is that of Abdul-Medjid, on the hill of 
 Akbar. It is situated at the back of the 
 town, and supported on each side by other 
 forts to the right and left, the whole en- 
 closing an oval space. Fort Abdul-Medjid 
 is the key of all ; and the new fortifications 
 of Silistria have been compared to a bracelet, 
 of which the town is the jewel and the great 
 fort the clasp ; the two being connected by 
 minor forts forming a semicircle on each 
 side. A military writer, speaking of these 
 defences, says : " Fort Abdul-Medjid, con- 
 structed according to the designs of the 
 Prussian Colonel Gutzkowski, is allowed by 
 all military men to be one of the most re- 
 markable works of this age. Turkej'', from 
 her fine territory and her brave and resolute 
 race, has the raw materials for the revival of 
 a powerful state ; but it is European science 
 that alone can utilise them. This fort is of 
 a semi-octagonal form ; and situate on the 
 chief eminence that dominates Silistria, 
 commands a fine view of the town, the 
 Danube, and the wooded islands below. In 
 the centre of the base, or section of the 
 semi-octagon next Silistria, is a beautiful re- 
 doubt, all shell-proof, semicircular in plan, 
 as may be understood by the term; the 
 vaulting of the extremest solidity, so as to 
 afford a secure refuge in the severest bom- 
 bardment. Outside this is an esplanade, 
 and then the pentagonal rampart, beyond 
 which is a wall loopholed for infantry, com- 
 pletely sunk between the rampart and the 
 covered way, with three shell-proof block- 
 houses (two on the shoulder angles and 
 one on the base), each mounted with two 
 12-pound howitzers to sweep the fosse with 
 conical balls, according to the new system. 
 Fort Abdul-Medjid is supported by three 
 forts on neighbouring eminences, which pre- 
 clude a locus standi for an enemy, and yet 
 are commanded by Medjid itself. Down in 
 the plain, two for+,s, Tchair and Liman, shut 
 in Silistria to the west on the side of Tur- 
 tukai ; another, Dairmem, or the Windmill, 
 shuts in the plain to the east; and, lastly, 
 one also to the east, close to the Danube, 
 not only commands the breadth of the river, 
 but also the passage whence gun-boats might 
 debouch from the islands in the Danube, 
 being mounted with bronze 42-pounders." 
 
 The Russians, who had even at first about 
 35,000 men opposite Silistria, gave out that 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [SIECE OF SILISTRIA. 
 
 tliey expected to be able to take it in a week ; 
 but although they commenced the bombard- 
 ment in April, they confined themselves 
 during that month to operations of no great 
 moment. Indeed, they did very little more 
 than erect a 12-gun battery on an island op- 
 posite Silistria, and make a communication 
 between the island and the main-land by a 
 pontoon-bridge. Active proceedings against 
 Silistria did not commence until the 11th of 
 May ; and from that date until the 32nd of 
 June, when the bafSed Russians abandoned 
 the siege, we have an excellent account of 
 the proceedings in the journal kept by the 
 brave Lieutenant Nasmyth, the friend and 
 companion of the late heroic Captain J. A. 
 Butler. Both of them had offered their 
 services to Mussa Pasha, the commander of 
 the Turkish forces in Silistria, and acted 
 with a conspicuous bravery which has gained 
 for them a line in the military annals of 
 their country. To Lieutenant Nasrayth's 
 journal we are principally indebted for the 
 facts of our account of this memorable and 
 glorious achievement of eastern valour. 
 
 On the 11th of May the Russians com- 
 menced a cannonade, and their shells fell 
 and burst into deadly iron showers among 
 the streets and houses of the town. The 
 screaming women and children rushed wildly 
 about seeking for shelter, and the terrified 
 inhabitants collected their goods and hurried 
 with them to the subterranean rooms they 
 had constructed in anticipation of the event. 
 In a little while the streets were silent and 
 deserted. The Turks replied in a spirited 
 manner to the cannonade of the Russians, 
 and the two English oEBcers were struck 
 with the admirable manner in which the 
 Turkish artillerymen worked their guns. 
 Their mortar practice was excellent, most of 
 the shells bursting in or immediately over 
 the Russian batteries. That of the Russians 
 was described as very slovenly. One of the 
 Englishmen observing an 8-inch shell fired 
 by the Russians with the fusee uncapped, 
 was told that such a thing was by no means 
 an unusual occurrence with them. The 
 firing lasted between 4hree and four hours, 
 and the shattered roofs and broken walls of 
 the town showed that even with the defec- 
 tive gunnery of the Russians, much mischief 
 had been effected. 
 
 On the 15th, a body of Russian troops 
 were reported to be approaching from 
 Rassova, and 3,000 Bashi-Bazouks were 
 dispatched in that direction to arrest their 
 progress. They encountered the Russian 
 
 advanced guard at the bridge of Bootchook,, 
 and drove them back on it, but were after- 
 wards repulsed with the loss of twelve killed 
 and sixteen wounded, and retired on the 
 Turkish outpost above Ada Kien. During 
 that night the Russian soldiers were heard 
 on the island of Hoppa, carousing and 
 passing their time in song — animated, no 
 doubt, by a confident hope of soon oc- 
 cupying pleasant quarters at Silistria. 
 
 The next day (the 16th) the Russians 
 opened a fire from their batteries on the 
 islands at five in the morning, and continued 
 to throw shot and shell into the town 
 throughout the day. The advanced guard 
 of the . Russian force from Rassova came in 
 sight about ten, skirmishing with the Turk- 
 ish irregular cavalry. The Russians com- 
 menced the construction of a bridge of boats 
 from the island of Schiblak in the river, to 
 the land on the right side, and a great part of 
 the day was spent in skirmishing ; but the 
 killed were not very numerous. Terms of 
 capitulation were that day offered to Mussa 
 Pasha, but the brave Turk rejected them with 
 contempt. 
 
 The regular operations of the siege may 
 be dated from the 17th. On that day the 
 cannonade commenced at daybreak, and 
 continued until about seven in the evening. 
 Day after day passed on, and the attack and 
 the defence were carried forward with equal 
 vigour. Repeated storming parties were 
 directed against the intrenchments ; mines 
 and counter-mines overthrew the works and 
 convulsed the soil; and both within and 
 without the fortifications, blood sank into 
 the earth in horrible profusion. To relate 
 all the incidents of this severe struggle, in 
 which the Russians fought for the preserva- 
 tion of their honour and to avoid disgrace, 
 and the Turks for their national freedom, 
 would be tedious and useless to all except 
 the military reader. The most important 
 events of that wild and hard-fought contest 
 will be suflBlcient. It should not be for- 
 gotten that the poor Turkish soldiers in 
 Silistria cast many a longing glance in the 
 direction of Varna, and daily expected help, 
 not only from their own countrymen, but 
 from the French and English, who. had 
 crossed the seas to afford them assistance. 
 Once the officers got up a sweepstakes, to 
 name the day on which they should be re- 
 lieved, each mentioning the one he thought 
 most probable. Their expectations, were in 
 vain : for some mysterious reason, the aUies 
 passed their time in idleness at Scutari, and, 
 
 135 
 
SIEGE OF SILISTEIA.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 1854. 
 
 ^ tbe Turks at Silistria were left to their own 
 resources and their own undaunted efforts. 
 Reports were constantly spread abroad that 
 Sihstria had fallen, and the Russians were 
 triumphant; but still the allies rested in 
 apathy. Their singular conduct reminds us 
 of the language of our poet Shakspere, in 
 reference to that of Achilles, when wasting 
 his time in wanton idleness before the walls 
 of Troy :— 
 
 " A stirring dwarf we do allowance give 
 Before a sleeping giant." 
 
 The 34th of May being the anniversary 
 of the birthday of our queen. Lieutenant 
 Nasmyth and his friend, Captain Butler, 
 drank her majesty's health in a mug full of 
 sour wine, as no better was to be had. They 
 also received the welcome news from Mussa 
 Pasha, that in eight days they might expect 
 to see the English red-jackets topping the 
 heights. Alas ! for our rational expecta- 
 tions ; the English soldiers, willing enough 
 to share the dangers and fatigues of the 
 actual contest, were passing their time in 
 vexatious and constrained idleness. The 
 events of the 28th, 29th, and 30th of May, 
 we will relate in the language of the officer 
 to whom we have already alluded : — • 
 
 "28th. — Awoke about three, a.m., by a 
 furious ca,nnonade, -Which lasted all day. 
 Another council of war on the subject of 
 making a; sortie on the enemy's batteries 
 ended in smoke, Mussa Pasha not being 
 able to make up his mind to risk the loss 
 of men that inight ensue. A watercourse, 
 which supplied part of the town, and which 
 at the commencement of the siege had been 
 cut off by the Russians, was again allowed 
 to run by them. About midnight, aroused 
 by the i'eport of musketry from Arab Tabia, 
 and on reaching the rampart at the Stam- 
 boul-gate, found that a second and much 
 more serious night-attack on that work was 
 going on. The first assault was on the left 
 fa:ce, the enemy actually penetrating into 
 the redoubt before they were observed. A 
 Russian officer who led it, and cut down 
 a lieutenant of artillery, was immedisitely 
 brained by a handspike. A severe and des- 
 perate struggle took place, terminating in 
 the repulse of the enemy, who were driven 
 into the ditch, having suffered severely from 
 our grape and canister tearing through them. 
 Re-forniing, they again attempted it in the 
 same pldce, led gallantly on vfith drumS 
 beating, but were again driven back with 
 great slaughter. After about a quarter-6f- 
 136 
 
 an-hour, a third attack was made, this time 
 on both left and front faces at once, but 
 meeting with the same determined resis- 
 tance. After a bloody fight the Russians 
 were finally beaten off, the Albanians pur- 
 suing them into their own batteries. The 
 force in Arab Tabia at the time was only 
 four battalions of Egyptians and 500 Alba- 
 nians, under the command of Hussein Pasha. 
 The lowest estimate of the numbers with 
 which the enemy attacked is nine battalions ; 
 and it is not improbable, from the number 
 of his dead found in and about the fort, 
 that this is considerably under the mark. 
 The alffair lasted from midnight till after 
 daybreak, and is one of the most bi'illiant 
 occurrences in the whole course of the 
 Casualties, sixty-eight killed, and 
 
 siege. 
 
 121 wounded, many officers being among 
 the forme*. The loss of the eneifly may 
 be reckoned at 3,000 killed and wounded ; 
 although those who removed the bddies de- 
 clared there was upwards of this amount in 
 killed alone, which, allowing for wounded in 
 the smallest proportion, would bring their 
 loss to upwards of 6,000. An attack on 
 Yelanli was made simultaneously with the 
 first on Arab Tabia, but the enemy did not 
 even come up to the ditch, apprehensive, as 
 we afterwards learned, of its being mined. 
 
 "39th. — ^Went down to the Stamboul- 
 gate, where we saw the arm^, accoutrements, 
 &c.i of the enemy's slain being received and 
 registered. While there, a ruffian threw 
 down before Mussa Pasha a pair of ears, 
 which he Said he had cut froin the head 
 of a Russian officer. He was quite sur- 
 prised at the pasha, instead of rewarding 
 him as he had expected, ordering the ears 
 to be buried, and turning from himl with 
 disgust. Several heads were also brought 
 down, but were not allowed inside the walls. 
 It is to be hoped that this d'isgrateftfl muti- 
 lation of the dead will be abandoned by the 
 Turks when they come to act in concert with 
 the allies, it being, moreover, in direct vio- 
 lation of a special -firman from the sultan. 
 In justice to the Turkish soldiers, I must 
 state this brutality was confined chiefly to 
 the irregulars and townspeople, who Seemed 
 to take a savage delight in disfiguring the 
 bodies of those with whom the latter had 
 not even been engaged. In the afternoon, 
 Butler and I went up to Arab Tabia, where 
 the enemy's conical buUets were singing 
 through the air in great profusion. Heaps 
 of dead were lying in the ditch and about 
 it. All the former Wete stripped, and many 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [SIKGE OF SILISTBIA. 
 
 were heidless. The Russian rifleKien had 
 apparently done their best to prevent the 
 mutilation of those outside, as most, if not 
 all, still wore their clothes, although their 
 arms and accoutrements had been brought 
 in. While at Arab Tabia, we saw a body 
 of infantry, with cavalry thrown out, which 
 had, as they came in sight in the distance, 
 on the brow of the hill near Medjidie, all 
 the appearance of the advanced guard 6f a 
 large force. Cries resounded on all sides 
 that the Schumld, irelieving army had arrived. 
 OiF we galloped, taken in like the rest, to 
 welcome them. It turned out, however, to 
 be merely a clever dodge of Hussein Pasha's 
 to deceive the enemy, and make them sup- 
 pose that a reinforcement had arrived. It 
 being necessary to relieve the men at Arab 
 Tabia, who had been there from the com- 
 mencement of the siege, Hussein Pasha 
 adopted the above roundabout method of 
 doing so, causing at the same time two 
 squadrons of cavalry to accompany his 
 march. 
 
 " 30th. — A flag of truce was sent out 
 this morning, accompanying a party who 
 took the enemy's dead up to his batteries. 
 Notwithstanding the white flag, they were 
 fired on at first by the enemy until a Rus- 
 sian officer interposed. On receiving the 
 bodies, the officer spoke, in most indignant 
 terms of the state in which they were handed 
 over to him ; but was told by the officer in 
 charge of our party, that it was the result 
 of Bashi-Bazouk handiwork, and that every- 
 thing had been done by the Turkish autho- 
 rities to prevent it. An attempt to surprise 
 and carry ofi" a gUn which was doing a great 
 deal of mischief, was to have been under- 
 taken this evening by a party of volunteers, 
 of which Butler was to have the command ; 
 but when the time arrived, Mussa Pasha 
 could not make up his mind to risk the 
 loss of men. About eleven, p.m., the Rus- 
 sians threatened another attack on Arab 
 Tabia; but having received such a severe 
 lesson on the night of the 28th (or rather 
 morning of the 29th), they were not very 
 keen about hazarding another sUch loss to- 
 night. After an hour's rattlihg fire from 
 the infantry and a shower of shells kept up 
 on the town and ramparts, they retired. 
 Our casualties were seven killed." 
 
 On the 2nd of June, Mussa Pasha, the 
 Turkish commander, was killed by a piece 
 of a shell which burst near him while out- 
 side his quarters at the Stamboul-gate. He 
 expired in abbut twelVe minutes after re- 
 
 ceiving the wound. It is said, that when 
 the fatal missile struck him, he was on his 
 knees in prayer. Not long before, he had 
 received intelligence that a messenger was 
 at hand bearing the sultan's order of Med- 
 jidie of the second class. The officer desired 
 to know whether his excellency Would re- 
 ceive the decoration publicly and with the 
 usual ceremony, or otherwise. The pasha 
 replied, that it would be better to bring it 
 in quietly, as it was no time for pomp and 
 display. Poor man ! he had but small 
 space to enjoy his honours; for two hours 
 afterwards he was laid in his grave. His 
 death was regarded as a great loss, because 
 he was not only a general of rauch zeal, 
 intelligence, and activity, but also a kind, 
 good-hearted man, beloved by his depen- 
 dents. It is related, that when the Prussian 
 captain of artillery arrived at Constantinople, 
 with six non-commissioned officers, to teach 
 the Turks the science of gunnery, Mussa 
 was a simple canuonier; but he rose to 
 distinction, and closed his life as chief of the 
 general staff of artillery, and president of 
 the ordnance department in the council of 
 war. Hussein Pasha, who had hitherto been 
 in charge of the important outwork called 
 Arab Tabia, succeeded to the command. 
 
 A French paper, the Patrie, relates the 
 following instance of the extent to which 
 the Russian generals carry their military 
 fanaticism. At one of the assaults on Silis- 
 tria, the Russian commander ordered the 
 Greek chaplain to give the sacrament to all 
 the soldiers. This order was executed in 
 the morning at break of day. Two non- 
 commissioned officers, born in Poland, having 
 declared to the priest that, being catholics, 
 they could not, without committing a sacri- 
 lege, receive the communion from his hands, 
 were immediately tried by a council of war, 
 and shot. 
 
 On the 10th of June, the Russians sprang 
 a mine on the left face of Arab Tabia, and 
 then entered the works in a mass of columns. 
 They were, however, received with a furious 
 and steady fire, that repulsed them after 
 great loss. That of the Turks amounted to 
 forty-three killed and seventy-two wounded. 
 On the l3th, the Turks, led on by Hussein 
 Bey, made a furious sally, and inflicted a 
 terrible loss on their besiegers ; the slaughter 
 was tremendous, and the trenches were com- 
 pletely filled with the bodies of the slain. 
 On the same day Selim Pasha and Said 
 Pasha both led an attack on the Jlussians. 
 At eight in the morning Selim Pasha made 
 
 137 
 
DEATH OF CAPTAIN BUTLER.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 a demonstration against Oltenitza, and oc- 
 cupied the attention of the enemy until the 
 evening. Said Pasha crossed the river with 
 3,000 men and a couple of batteries, and 
 made such an unexpected and furious at- 
 tack on the Russians at Giurgevo, that they 
 were for a time driven from their position. 
 This day, also, Captain Butler, whose activity 
 and heroism during the siege had been 
 beyond all praise, while making a recon- 
 naissance of the enemy's position, received a 
 mortal wound in the forehead from a half- 
 spent ball. His companions did not at first 
 regard the injury as a serious one, as the 
 ball had traversed part of the wall before 
 striking him. A feverish anxiety for the 
 cause to which he had devoted himself, and 
 an incessant activity that had worn him out, 
 contributed to render the wound a fatal one. 
 Captain Butler languished for eight days, 
 and then expired deeply regretted. Though 
 but in his twenty-seventh year, it is ad- 
 mitted that the defence of Silistria, during 
 the last half of the period over which the 
 struggle extended, was due to his incessant 
 exertions. His death occurred just two 
 hours before the retreat of the Russians was 
 discovered.* .He was buried with military 
 honours, and an officer from each battalion 
 attended his funeral. A company of in- 
 fantry were also present, and fired three 
 volleys over his grave. The Turkish ofScers 
 not only lamented his fate, but acknow- 
 ledged that his services had been invaluable. 
 It was said that Omar Pasha intended to 
 erect a monument over the remains of the 
 young hero, that posterity might remember 
 the deeds of the brave Englishman who fell 
 at Silistria in the cause of Turkey. 
 
 During the night of the 22nd, the bom- 
 
 * The following letter was subsequently addressed 
 by the commander-in-chief of the British army to the 
 father of this brave and unfortunate gentleman : — 
 "Horse-Guards, July 17th, 1854. 
 
 " Sir, — I have heard with the deepest regret of the 
 loss which you and the army have sustained by the 
 death of your distinguished son, Capt-ain J. A. But- 
 ler, of wounds and fatigue at the siege of Silistria. 
 During the whole of that memorable siege your son 
 displayed very rare qualities, combining with the 
 skill and intelligence of an accomplished officer the 
 intrepidity of the most daring soldier — at one mo- 
 ment gaining the confidence of the garrison (over 
 which he had only the authority of a very young 
 volunteer), by the example of his personal valour j 
 at another, prolonging the defence of the place by 
 the prudence and firmness of his counsel j and on all 
 occasions infusing into those around him that spirit 
 of heroic resistance which led to its triumphant de- 
 fence. I deeply deplore your affliction in losing 
 such a son ; but your sorrow is felt by the country, 
 138 
 
 bardment was kept up with great vigour 
 until about half-past three, when it entirely 
 ceased ; and on the morning of the 23rd, it 
 was discovered that the Russians had aban- 
 doned the siege ! Yes, the Russian army 
 before Silistria, which at one time amounted 
 to 60,000 men, and had sixty guns in posi- 
 tion, which had thrown down 50,000 shot 
 and shell, besides an incalculable quantity of 
 small-arm ammunition, into the town, was 
 driven back from the first Turkish fortress it 
 assailed by the indomitable courage and 
 endurance of the Turks alone ! That was a 
 proud day in the military records of the 
 Ottoman ; and one which, we cannot help 
 thinking, reflected something of disgrace 
 upon the inert English and French. 
 
 Great was the joy of the Turks as they 
 beheld the baffled Russians transporting 
 their guns and ammunition across the bridge 
 nearest them. The former were too glad to 
 get rid of their assailants to fall upon them 
 during their retreat. The Bashi-Bazouks 
 and Xebeque irregulars ran out of Silistria 
 in all directions, screaming and shouting 
 through the abandoned lines, and setting 
 fire to the gabions, of which there was an 
 enormous quantity. Every now and then, 
 in the excess of their joy, they fired their 
 muskets in the air, forgetful that the de- 
 scending bullets might do serious injury. 
 It is recorded as a curious fact, that during 
 the whole siege hares were to be found in 
 the adjoining vineyards. One was killed 
 not 300 yards from the bastion, where the 
 briskest firing was kept up. The storks, 
 also, never left their nests, though built on 
 houses which were riddled with shot and 
 splinters. 
 
 On the conclusion of the siege, it is cal- 
 
 the army, and the sovereign. The queen had recog- 
 nised his merits by placing him in the guards, and 
 conferring upon him army rank, trusting that he 
 might pursue a career of which all were so proud, at 
 that time not being aware of the dangerous state of 
 his health. The blow is unexpected and most severe ; 
 but I trust you will bear up against it -by the fact 
 that your son's services have been most valuable to 
 his country, in promoting the success of a just war ; 
 and I hope I shall not give you pain by alluding to 
 another son — Captain H. T. Butler, of the 55th re- 
 giment — selected for employment on the quarter- 
 master-general's staff when the army first embarked 
 for Turkey, solely on account of the ability he had 
 shown in his studies at the Royal Military College. 
 I trust that the well-earned fame of one son and the 
 rising merit of the other will, under Providence, be 
 a source of consolation to you at this moment of ex- 
 treme affliction. Pray accept, my dear general, the 
 condolence of your faithful servant, HaedinGE. 
 
 " Lieutenant-general the Hon. H. E. Butler."- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [reflections on the siege. 
 
 culated that the Russians had lost 50,000 
 men since their entry into the principalities. 
 Prince Paskiewitch was wounded, and com- 
 pelled to resign the supreme command of 
 the army to General Gortschakoff, the man 
 whom he had displaced. General Schil- 
 ders, the chief engineer, was also seriously 
 wounded. The injury he received rendered 
 the amputation of his left leg necessary. 
 He did not long survive the operation. It 
 is said that he had strangely superstitious 
 ideas, resemhling the spirit-rapping believed 
 in by some people in this country. He 
 fancied that he could hold conversations 
 with spirits, and that he possessed a charmed 
 life. His confidence in the latter wild no- 
 tion induced a carelessness which led to the 
 wound that eventually destroyed him. Ge- 
 neral Liiders, also, was wounded in a fright- 
 ful manner, having his jaw carried away by 
 a cannon-ball, a circumstance which led to 
 his death. 
 
 If such were the casualties among their 
 generals, severe indeed must have been the 
 loss of the Russians in common soldiers. 
 But even that was not all ; the confidence of 
 those troops in themselves was shaken : 
 they could no longer feel that they were 
 employed in a successful cause. The czar 
 was humbled, and the pride of Russia 
 shaken and cast down. " If," said a lead- 
 ing journal, while commenting upon this 
 event, " if we compare the magnitude of the 
 invading army with the slender and imper- 
 fect forces opposed to it, the boasted power 
 of Russia with the weakness of Turkey, and 
 the arrogance of the imperial court with the 
 humiliation it has now to endure, we cannot 
 but call to mind the impious appeals of the 
 czar to the just judgment of heaven, which 
 has already dissipated his armies, and con- 
 founded his ambition." 
 
 Before the siege was raised, the Emperor 
 Nicholas, probably astonished or alarmed 
 that his imperious commands to take Silistria 
 were so long in being obeyed, sent Prince 
 Dolgorouki, minister of war, to the Danubian 
 principalities, to draw up an accurate report 
 of the position of affairs, in a military point 
 of view. Silistria was especially recom- 
 mended to his notice. But before Dol- 
 gorouki reached the banks of the Danube, 
 the Russians had recrossed the river, and 
 were in full retreat, not only from Silistria, 
 but towards the river Pruth. In conse- 
 quence of the failure of the Russians to 
 take Silistria, all fear of any formidable 
 advance further into the Turkish territory 
 
 was at an end. That was evident; for the 
 Russians were baffled and disgraced before 
 the first important Turkish fortress they 
 attempted to reduce. Private letters from 
 St. Petersburg, at this period, mention that 
 a great change had taken place in the 
 Emperor Nicholas, both morally and phy- 
 sically. They described him as completely 
 broken down in health and spirits. 
 
 The following reflections on the siege of 
 Silistria, from the pen of a German military 
 officer, will be found to possess no incon- 
 siderable interest : — 
 
 '' The cause and the issue of this operation 
 have been so peculiar, so completely without 
 precedent or example in the history of modern 
 war, that it is worth while to throw all possible 
 light on every particular of the transaction. 
 
 " If we consider the duration of the siege and 
 the force applied to it by Russia, it becomes 
 evident to even an unprofessional judgment that 
 the result has been utterly unworthy of the 
 means. The besieging army amounted to 30,000 
 men at least, and probably to 45,000, and in 
 this computation we do not include the troops 
 kept in reserve anJ ready for action on the 
 Wallachian side of the river, and who, with 
 three bridges at their command, could at any 
 moment have passed over to support the operar 
 tion. The Turks could oppose to these, of 
 regular troops, after allowance for previous 
 losses, some 12,000 men — i.e., not a third of the 
 enemy's numbers. It is reckoned that the 
 siege lasted thirty-nine days. Within this time, 
 according to a computation by the Prussian 
 officer in command of the artillery of the place 
 — a computation carefully framed so as to be 
 within the truth rather than beyond it — the 
 Russians lost 12,000 men, while the loss of the 
 Turks was about 1,400. During the siege, ac- 
 cording to the same authority, from 40,000 to 
 50,000 projectiles, solid or hollow, were dis- 
 charged upon the place, the siege-park having 
 been, both in respect of number -and weight of 
 guns, far more considerable than that in any of 
 the former Turkish wars. In confirmation oi 
 this may be mentioned that, during the forty- 
 four days' siege of Silistria, in 1829, only 29,000, 
 during the seventy-seven days' siege of Varna, in 
 1828, only 50,000 shots were fired. To the 
 question, what has been the result of this under- 
 taking to the Russian arms ? the only answer 
 that can be given is one as mortifying as may 
 be to that power. 
 
 " We took occasion, soon after the commence- 
 ment of the operations against the place, to 
 bring under notice the fact, that it had, only 
 within the last few years, been strengthened 
 by some outworks, thrown up on the plan of a 
 General Kutzkoffsky, on the southward slopes 
 of the Bulgarian plateau. One of these de- 
 tached works is the Arab Tabia. Its exact posi- 
 
 139 
 
REFLECTIONS ON THE SIEGE.J HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 tion may be made intelligible to those who 
 possess Moltke's plan, by our stating that it is 
 situated on the ridge, or, to speak more accu- 
 rately, the slope where he has marked the 
 Eussian fieldwork No. 4, and from 200 to 300 
 paces south of that work. The Arab Tabia is, 
 technically speaking, nothing more than a 
 'flfeche,' consisting of a front some fifty paces in 
 length, with flanks of about the same extent, 
 thrown back at a sharp angle. The rear is en- 
 tirely open, and was never even palisaded. In 
 and immediately behind the defences there were 
 never more than 1,000 men at one time, a num- 
 ber very considerable in proportion to the extent 
 of the work. The profile of the rampart and 
 ditch may be considered strong (we have not 
 obtained the measurements.) No part, how- 
 ever, has been faced with masonry, and the em- 
 brasures alone were fitted with gabions. The 
 work was armed with no more than six guns, 
 most of which had a calibre of from twenty to 
 twenty-two okas, the oka equalling two and- 
 a-haK pounds. These were fired through em- 
 brasures. In other respects the work was sim- 
 ply adapted for infantry defence. 
 
 " A circumstance, however, which materially 
 increased the capabilities of the work for resist- 
 ance was, that a kind of trench had been cut to 
 the eastward and westward, which followed the 
 declivity of the slope till it reached the nearest 
 part of the adjacent valley. No accurate infor- 
 mation is before us as to the extent of these 
 trenches, which commenced from the flanks of 
 the Arab Tabia ; but, to judge from the numbers 
 of the irregular troops actively employed within 
 them, their length must have been considerable. 
 The ground to their front was swept by the 
 artillery fire of the fianks of the main work. It 
 is here to be noticed, that the Turkish irregulars, 
 to avoid the murderous fire of the Eussian bat- 
 teries, had excavated behind and on either flank 
 of these trenches numerous holes, in which they 
 burrowed so effectually that the enemy could 
 seldom see more of the defenders than their 
 turbans and -the muzzles of their muskets. In 
 spite of some unfavourable features, such as a 
 gentle rise in one quarter to the south, the 
 ground may be considered, from its barrenness 
 of surface, as, on the whole, favourable to the 
 fire of the defence. The work was in communi- 
 cation with two other detached earthworks, 
 situated on the two heights eastward and west- 
 ward, which will be found designated on Moltke's 
 plan as the Eussian works 9 and 11. They are 
 on the highest summits of the ground which 
 slopes to the north, and very near the spots 
 also marked on the plan as the Eussian field- 
 works 21 and 22. The Eussian attack during 
 their thirty-nine days' operations, if we except 
 their bombardment of the town, was solely di- 
 rected against the Arab Tabia. Anything else 
 that was undertaken, such as a movement 
 against the detached work, the Medschidie, was a 
 140 
 
 mere demonstration for the purpose of distract- 
 ing attention from the real point of assault. 
 The Eussian General Schilders was quite right 
 in this selection of the Arab Tabia, because 
 from it th^ other outworks, above-mentioned, to 
 the north, wero command^edj and the reduction 
 of the fornaer would have insured their falj. 
 This value of the position had been so well un- 
 derstood by Omar Pasha, that he had himself, 
 after completion of the other outworks, directed 
 the construction of the Arab Tabia. An attack 
 was nevertheless first to be expected on the 
 eastern side of the town. In fact, if all the 
 accidents of ground of the Bulgarian plateau 
 were to be duly provided for, and an enemy to 
 be deprived of every position commanding the 
 defences, it would be necessary to construct a 
 series of outworks in terraces above each othef, 
 advanced till the dominant points of the ground 
 in front had all been embraced. Time and means 
 were wanting for these, and the Turkish engi- 
 neers were obliged to confine themselves to 
 what was essential. The first operations of the 
 Eussiana were the construction of batteries, 
 which gradually grew to be eight in number, 
 were armed with the heaviest artillery, and be- 
 ginning from near the shore of the Danube em- 
 braced the object of the attack in a concave curve. 
 At the same time, following the fashion of their 
 former proceedings of 1828 and 1829, before 
 Varna and Schumla, they threw up a number of 
 earthworks, mutually supporting each other with 
 their fire which increased in number as the siege 
 proceeded, and now, as then, had for their mam 
 object the better to repel the dreaded sallies of 
 the besieged. The main body of the Eussian 
 besieging army was posted during the operation 
 on one of the heights to the south-east of tte 
 Arab Tabia. The roads from the camp to the 
 works and batteries, as well as those to the 
 ■bridges of the Danube, were excellent as lines 
 of communication ; and all the works and con- 
 structions of the besieging force are described 
 as solid and admirable. The first stage of the 
 operations bore the character of a series of sud- 
 den assaults, delivered by considerable masses, 
 and introduced as well as broken off' by a lively 
 fire of artillery. On two occasions the Eussians 
 penetrated the works, in which, however, the 
 fight was continued. Once the Eussians were 
 already engaged in dragging off the guns of the 
 fort with hooks and ropes ; but in both instances 
 the Turks rallied, and, reinforced, drove them 
 out again with heavy loss. Of all the numerous 
 assaults, that of the 29th of May was the one 
 conducted with the greatest masses. Sixteen 
 battalions, formed in columns of attack, ad- 
 vancing with perfect order, successively assailed 
 the work, along the ditches of wbich a moat 
 sanguinary conflict was maintained. According 
 to the report of eye-witnesses, 2,000 corpses on 
 that day strewed tbe ditches and the ground 
 adjacent. Such a slaughter, in an assault of a 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. [the czar's reply to Austria, 
 
 place which comes within the category of a mere 
 lieldwork, can scarcely be conceived by those 
 who regulate their notions by ordinary profes- 
 Eional rules. It may be explained in part by 
 the circumstance that the assailants advanced in 
 columns well closed up and marching in rather 
 slow time, and after failure retreated in the same 
 time and order. But the explanation of such 
 unheard-of loss is far more to be found in the 
 fact that the Turkish soldier, regular as well as 
 irregular, where he can follow his own indivi- 
 duality and dispense with the guidance of his 
 officers, generally of a poor description, — i.e., 
 when behind wall or ditch — is immeasurably 
 more in his element than in the open field, 
 where the intelligence of the subaltern officer, 
 the united action of component bodies, and the 
 skilful use of ground and circumstances — other 
 relations being equal — must usually decide 
 the victory. To this must be added that the 
 Turkish irregulars, and especially the Arnauts, 
 who in this instance acted with the Turkish and 
 Egyptian battalions, are admirably armed and 
 accoutred for hand-to-hand fightiug. In the 
 first place they are lightly clothed and carry no 
 baggage. Their side-arms and all that they 
 carry about them are supported by a sash or 
 broad leather waistbelt. A long fiint musket, 
 of good workmanship and extensive range, with 
 a thin iron butt curved to fit the shoulder, and 
 without bayonet, is slung over the shoulders in 
 close action. Their other weapons are a pair of 
 flint-lock pistols of large bore, the ' handschar ' 
 slightly curved, some two and-a-half feet in 
 length, with the inner edge sharpened like a 
 razor ; and the yatagan ; all of excellent work- 
 manship, and, in the hands of these desperadoes, 
 deadly instruments. The other irregulars, as 
 well as the Arnauts, are generally armed more 
 or less in like fashion, but their firearms are 
 usually inferior to those of the Arnaut. The 
 quality of the Arnaut' 3 weapons is fully matched 
 by his skill in using them in close fighting. He 
 is an excellent shot, and, like the Circassians 
 and other tribes who have to provide their own 
 ammunition and fit it to the various calibre of 
 their arms, he is very sparing in his use of it. 
 He reserves his fire till the critical moment, but 
 then his aim is deadly. He is not less dan- 
 gerous with the cold steel, both edge and point, 
 springing like a tiger on the enemy who advances 
 over ditch or breastwork. It is on these occa- 
 sions when the heavily-loaded soldier, trained 
 and accoutred mainly for infantry fire, is clam- 
 bering over obstacles and meets with a resist- 
 ance which hardly allows him to use his bayonet, 
 that his inferiority to such an enemy becomes 
 apparent. 
 
 " The Eussians, therefore, according to the 
 reports of eye-witnesses, sufiered less from the 
 artillery fire of Arab Tabia than from the small 
 arms of the Turkish, Egyptian, and Arnaut 
 troops. Each gun was seldom discharged more 
 
 VOL. 1. t^ 
 
 than from four to six times on the columns of 
 assault advancing or retiring, and some were 
 repeatedly dismounted by the fire of the bat- 
 teries preliminary to the assaults. The storm- 
 ing parties, till they got into the immediate 
 range of the musketry, could scarcely disceri', 
 with the exception of the gunners at their pieces, 
 a fez or turban above the rampart ; but, as soon 
 as they began to mount, the crest of the mound 
 and the ground behind were thronged with men, 
 who rose from their holes and hiding-places like 
 a sudden growth from the soU. A succession of 
 failures, accompanied by tremendous slaughter, 
 induced the Bussians, towards the close of their 
 undertaking, to proceed against this irregular 
 work with regular siege approaches. Their 
 parallels, at the time of their retreat, had been 
 driven to within sixteen paces from the edge of 
 the ditch. Mining was also employed, to meet 
 which the besieged threw up fresh works in rear 
 of the parts threatened with incredible rapidity. 
 Everythiug failed ; the garrison held out to the 
 last with a cheerful contempt of death, such 
 as competent witnesses ("among them English 
 officers) assert they never saw equalled. We 
 have already mentioned that the commandant 
 of the artillery. Lieutenant Grach, computes the 
 loss of the Eussians at 12,000, and the huge 
 mounds of sepulture on the glacis bear out his 
 estimate. According to all probability, from 
 300 to 400 officers must have fallen." 
 
 We mentioned (page 130) that the Em- 
 peror of Austria had sent a message to his 
 imperial brother of Russia, requesting him 
 to withdraw his troops from the Danubian 
 provinces. On the 24th of June, imme- 
 diately after the Russians had been com- 
 pelled to raise the siege of Silistria, the 
 reply of Nicholas reached Vienna. Let 
 the reader note this reply well, and reflect 
 how humbled the czar must have been be- 
 fore he could have prevailed upon himself to 
 give it. It was, that as a mark of high 
 consideration for Austria, Russia consents 
 to evacuate the Turkish territories ! This 
 pretence was too transparent to deceive 
 any one. Austria knew very well, and all 
 Europe knew, that the czar was baffled — 
 that he had given orders to retreat from 
 Silistria, to abandon Little Wallachiv,, and 
 to retire towards the Pruth, because his 
 troops could no longer maintain their 
 position; and because he feared the co- 
 operation of Austria with England and 
 France, and wished by his late and ill- 
 affected complaisance to prevent it. 
 
 It was even announced that 25,000 
 Austrian troops would enter Wallachia on 
 the 3rd ; but in consequence of the repre- 
 sentations of Prussia, Austria deferred the 
 
 141 
 
THE BALTIC FLEETS.] 
 
 HISTORY OE THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 actual execution of her treaty with the 
 Porte. In regarding this evasive conduct 
 of Austria, which served so greatly the cause 
 of the Russians, and postponed still further 
 the settlement of the war, it is dificult to 
 forget the denunciations of the former power 
 by the Hungarian patriot, Kossuth. The 
 conduct of the King of Prussia in this 
 European contest had been evasive and 
 tricky throughout. It has been satirically 
 observed, that the following motto was long 
 ago assigned to the course pursued by 
 Prussia in all things : — " Orders, counter- 
 orders, and disorders \" 
 
 Diplomacy is a slow thing; and the states- 
 men of Austria are slow diplomatists. With 
 the answer of the Emperor Nicholas to the 
 summons of the Emperor Francis Joseph, 
 it might be supposed that the matter was 
 settled as far as negotiation was concerned, 
 and that unless the conditions of Austria 
 were thoroughly complied with, an appeal 
 would be made to arms. But Nicholas had 
 to send his answer oflSciall}' ; and another 
 Prince Gortschakoflf (not a general, but a 
 statesman) arrived with it at Vienna on the 
 5th of July. It was very polite, but not 
 quite so yielding as his first declaration. 
 " The emperor," said this second missive, 
 
 "will willingly resign the exclusive pro- 
 tectorate over the Greek Christians, if 
 Turkey will accede to a common protec- 
 torate of the five powers. He will evacuate 
 the principalities when the western powers 
 evacuate Turkey; but will hold a strong 
 military position in Moldavia as a provisional 
 security." This answer Austria considered 
 as evasive, and communicated it to the go- 
 vernments of France and England, who 
 perfectly agreed with her in that conclusion, 
 and, knowing that further diplomacy was 
 useless, rejected it unconditionally. 
 
 Reports from St. Petersburg stated that 
 the Emperor Nicholas attributed the re- 
 verses he had sustained to Austria, rather 
 than to the Turks, and that he was pre- 
 paring to pour the phials of his wrath upon 
 the great German state. With the first 
 news of the repulse at Silistria, it is said 
 he was much cast down, but that on rally- 
 ing, he returned to business with redoubled 
 energy. In the war department all was in- 
 cessant activity, and couriers hurried to 
 and fro both day and night. Reviews were 
 held daily; large bodies of soldiers were 
 continually in movement ; and the concen- 
 tration of troops on the Austrian frontiers 
 proceeded without interruption. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE ALLIED FLEETS IN THE NEIGHBOUEHOOD OF CilONSTADT ; FIRST ATTACK ON THt! FOKTRESS OF BOMAK- 
 SUND ; THE ALAND ISLES ; EMBAKKATION OF A FRENCH ARMY AT CALAIS ON BOARD ENGLISH VESSELS ; 
 OMAR PASHA IN THE ENGLISH CAMP ; SANGITINART SKIRMISHES AT GIURGEVO ; REFLECTIONS ON THE 
 APATHY OF THE ALLIED POWERS ; BOMBARDMENT OF THE RUSSIAN WORKS OF SULINA, AND DEATH OF 
 CAPTAIN PARKER; RETREAT OF THE RUSSIANS FROM THE DANUBE; ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND AUSTRIA 
 SEND TO ST. PETERSBURG THE CONDITIONS ON WHICH ALONE PEACE CAN BE RESTORED ; MISSION AND 
 LETTER OF DR. COTTMAN ; REPORT THAT THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS WAS NEARLY CAPTURED. 
 
 During the month of June the allied fleets 
 in the Baltic had sailed up the Gulf of 
 Finland into the neighbourhood of Cron- 
 stadt — that is, within thirty miles of it ; and 
 people in England were anxiously waiting 
 to receive news of an attack upon those 
 grand fortifications. Could they be taken 
 by a fleet of any power? or would the 
 cannon of England and France pour out 
 their might and fury in vain against those 
 tremendous bulwarks of granite and iron? 
 Such were the questions that were con- 
 stantly asked ; but they were not to meet 
 143 
 
 with a rapid solution. Week after week 
 passed, and still anxious speculators and 
 eager politicians received no further infor- 
 mation concerning Cronstadt, than that 
 that awful modern scourge and mysterious 
 destroyer, the cholera, raged within its 
 walls. Under these circumstances, the allied 
 fleets thought it prudent not to risk an 
 attack, for fear that the blue, grim pest, 
 which struck invisibly and in silence, and 
 against whom the power of man was but as 
 the feebleness of infants, might enter the 
 vessels. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the fleets near cAonstadt. 
 
 The fleets advanced nearer to Cronstadt, 
 for the purpose of reconnoitring it, but they 
 afterwards deemed it prudent to retire. 
 While near the fortifications, the following 
 highly interesting letter, dated June 30th, 
 was sent to a friend by an English officer. 
 It has that freshness and vivacity about it 
 which is induced by being an actual spec- 
 tator and actor in the scene described : — 
 
 " We are now in sight of Cronstadt, 
 about eight miles distant, having cast anchor 
 here the day before yesterday. Upon our 
 arrival the signal was made to ' prepare for 
 action ;' so each man put on a light fighting- 
 dress, and loaded his revolver. We all ex- 
 pected an immediate attack upon the fleet, 
 which is anchored under the protection of 
 the batteries; but I suppose Sir Charles 
 thought it ' no go' just at present. A little 
 excitement was also caused by the signal ' to 
 look out for machines,' and grapnels were 
 accordingly trailed about. The forts, even 
 at this distance, look almost too much for 
 us, and I do not think it likely we shall 
 attack them. We have an enemy in the 
 camp in the shape of cholera, and we buried 
 two of the gunners yesterday, and one 
 marine this morning, and a number of men 
 are ill in the ship. The Duke also has it, 
 and I believe we are going to try a change 
 of air, as the advanced squadron of small 
 steamers- has just been recalled. They are 
 about five miles nearer Cronstadt than we 
 are, keeping just out of range of the forts. A 
 fast,rakish-lookingRussiansteamer,supposed 
 to be the grand duke's yacht, comes out now 
 and then and leads them a chase. I went 
 on board the Hecla yesterday to see a 
 messmate, who dined with me. She is 
 quite covered with marks of rifle-bullets, 
 and has several round shot in her, though 
 only 12-pounders. One came through into 
 the master's cabin, and, taking a slanting 
 direction, passed through six bulkheads, 
 and lodged in the mids' berth at the other 
 side of the ship. His ' sou-wester' hat 
 received two large splinters in it as it was 
 hanging up. Had the gentleman been in 
 bed it would have just taken his head off. 
 We got a couple of sheep yesterday, which 
 were to us as manna to the children of 
 Israel. We had to-day for dinner roast mut- 
 ton, hashed mutton, and mutton pudding. 
 Brandy and water is a very agreeable 
 beverage, and certainly green vegetables and 
 fruit have nothing to do with the cholera. 
 It is thought the water is partly the cause 
 of it, as the men like the water alongside 
 
 better than the distilled water, and many 
 of them have been drinking it, as it is quite 
 fresh. The French are sensible fellows; 
 they stayed at Kiel while we were cruising 
 about ; they smoke, right and left, on board 
 their ships ; have splendid bands, and get up 
 supper parties, with flags, &c., in the gayest 
 manner possible. As to fighting, I should 
 be quite willing to back them against the 
 Russians, and have no doubt they will do 
 good service when the hour of trial comes." 
 
 Great is the difference between words 
 and actions — vast the gulf between promise 
 and performance. The allied fleets, in the 
 fulness of their power — and few (if any) such 
 fleets have ever breasted the surging sea 
 before — held back from Cronstadt partly 
 from a conviction, or a fear, that it was im- 
 pregnable ; as well as in dread of the cholera. 
 But before the war broke out, we could 
 vaunt that Cronstadt could be crumbled 
 into sand by the naval might of England. 
 The following anecdote, taken from the 
 French press, well illustrates this remark. 
 Some years since, the Emperor Nicholas, 
 acting himself as cicerone, conducted an 
 English admiral over the fortifications of 
 Cronstadt, when the following conversation 
 took place : — " You will admit, admiral, that 
 this is a magnificent fortress, and as im- 
 pregnable as Gibraltar." " Ob, sire, no fort 
 but Gibraltar is impregnable," replied the 
 admiral. " What, then," inquired Nicholas, 
 " is your opinion of Cronstadt ?" " It is a 
 good fortress, and one difficult to take," 
 was the reply. "Yes, doubtless difficult," 
 pursued the czar; "it could not be done 
 with fifteen ships." Observing an expres- 
 sion of assent on the face of the admiral, 
 the czar continued — " Could it be done with 
 twenty ?" " Not easily." " With twenty- 
 five?" "It would take a fortnight." 
 " With thirty-five ?" "Oh, your majesty, 
 in fifteen hours !" Though Cronstadt was not 
 to be taken quite as easily as English vanity 
 believed, yet the Russian fleet remained 
 very quietly within its fortifications, and 
 great alarm prevailed at St. Petersburg in 
 consequence of the proximity of danger. 
 
 During the month of June, one circum- 
 stance occurred in the Baltic which, though 
 in itself trifling, was made important by 
 after-events. This was the first bombard- 
 ment of Bomarsund on the principal of the 
 Aland Isles. The fortress of Bomarsund is 
 now one of the things of the past, as it was 
 destroyed by the allied fleets, assisted by a 
 French army, during the month of August. 
 
 143 
 
FIRST ATTACK ON BOMAESUNT).] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854-. 
 
 The following description of it is in the 
 language of a recent eye-witness : — " The 
 chief battery is erected on the shore, in the 
 shape of a curve, in order to sweep the 
 whole bay. It is built of granite, in two 
 tiers, with fifty-four embrasures in each, 
 thus being enabled to mount 108 guns; 
 but at present they have only ninety-two 
 mounted. It has a bomb-proof roofing, and, 
 to add to their security, a layer of four feet 
 of sand rests upon this. On the rising 
 ground immediately behind this are two 
 round towers, and another in the extreme 
 east, in each of which we counted sixteen 
 guns. A mud battery, rapidly thrown up, 
 still further to the east, completes their de- 
 fence. Russian soldiers were lounging 
 about on the shore, and officers were going 
 to and fro on horseback, without the slightest 
 appearance of concern at the proximity of 
 our English and French men-of-war, eight 
 of whom were moored within two miles and- 
 a-half of them. Many were the specula- 
 tions regarding the vulnerability of these 
 fortifications ; but it was at once determined 
 that the operation of shelling them would 
 be futile, the opinion being that a land 
 attack by troops with the broadsides of the 
 men-of-war at 1,000 yards, would soon 
 complete their destruction." 
 
 On the 21st of June, Bomarsund was at- 
 tacked by the British steamers Hecla, Odin, 
 and Valorous, which anchored about the dis- 
 tance of one mile and a third, and threw 
 bombs of 108 pounds each, balls of 96 pounds, 
 and 68 pounds, and Congreve-rockets. They 
 continued their fire upon it from five o'clock 
 in the afternoon until past midnight. Two 
 batteries near the fortress were soon silenced, 
 and a number of bombs were thrown into 
 the latter. All the magazines in Bomarsund, 
 filled with grain and other stores, were de- 
 stroyed ; very few bombs reached the shjps, 
 as, according to a Russian account, the com- 
 mandant. Colonel Bodisco, deemed it unne- 
 cessary to lose ammunition in responding to 
 an enemy at so great a distance, and therer 
 fore suspended his fire for some time. When 
 the English ships sailed away, the fortress 
 was on fire in several places ; but the flames 
 were extinguished, and no serious damage 
 done to the grim mass of stone. The Rus- 
 sians state their loss to have been inconsi- 
 derable, and the English vessels had only 
 four men wounded. An instance of remark- 
 able intrepidity and presence of mind oc- 
 curred during the firing. A bomb, which fell 
 on board the Hecla, was caught up by a 
 144 
 
 midshipman, named Lucas, and thrown into 
 the sea before it exploded. The English 
 ships, probably feeling themselves not equal 
 to the reduction of the fortress, retired at 
 about one in the morning. 
 
 On the 25th and 26th of June, Bomarsund 
 was bombarded afresh, and considerable 
 damage was done to the fortress there. It 
 was rumoured that the reason for a repetition 
 of the attack was, that the allied fleets in- 
 tended to winter in and about the Aland 
 Isles. As these islands will have again to 
 be referred to, we may as well say a word 
 concerning them here. They consist of 
 eighty inhabited islands, and a great number 
 of rocks and islets ■ situated in the entrance 
 of the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of 
 them all does not much exceed 15,000. The 
 people are of Swedish descent; but they re- 
 fuse to call themselves either Swedes or 
 Pins, and lay claim to the title of Alanders. 
 The islands, taken from Sweden in 1809, are 
 of great political and military importance to 
 Russia. They contain several fortified ports, 
 and are generally the station of a part of the 
 Russian Baltic fleet. 
 
 In the fourteenth century the Aland Isles 
 are mentioned as an earldom ; and, at difier- 
 ent times, they have been in the possession of 
 Swedish princes and queens, either as fief 
 or as jointure. Up to the year 1722, the 
 islands were used by the Russian fleet as a 
 place of rendezvous. Many Alanders who 
 had fled to Sweden, returned after the peace 
 of 1727. In 1742 and 1808, the Russians 
 again took possession of the islands ; but the 
 Alanders secretly organised themselves in 
 the latter year, surprised the Russians, and 
 took the Russian commander, Major Neid- 
 hart, prisoner. In 1809, however, the islands 
 were again taken by the Russians, and since 
 then have remained in their possession. The 
 ruins of the once powerful castle of Castle- 
 holm still stand on a lonely red granite rock 
 near the sea. Until the year 1634, this 
 castle was the residence of the Swedish go- 
 vernor of the islands. The water passage 
 between them, with their deeply-indented 
 bays, is more like an excursion on a lake 
 than on the open sea. Both before and 
 behind, the expanse of water is constantly 
 broken by islands presenting pleasing views 
 of fresh green meadows, little villages sur- 
 rounded by kitchen gardens, or by bare 
 desert cliffs of red granite abounding in fel- 
 spar, among which there stretch hazel shrubs, 
 or thin stunted woods of pine. 
 
 "We regret that we have to record the pro- 
 
.\ 
 
 Q-^>< 
 
 W^o'-'th 
 
 ■js>. 
 
 sa 
 
 © 
 
 m 
 
 
 /S' 
 
 ^1-3:^^^' '^A,:; 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [louis napoleon at boulognk. 
 
 gress and position of fleets and armies, rather 
 than their encounters with the common 
 enemy. _ It is difficult to invest such parti- 
 culars with any, very striking interest ; but 
 the duty of an historian must be performed. 
 Turning from the north, let us take a passing 
 glance at affairs in the East. Early in June 
 the light division of the British army, com- 
 manded by Sir George Brown, and consisting 
 of the 7th, 19th, 23rd, 33rd, 77th, and 88th 
 regiments, with part of the 8th hussars, the 
 17th lancers, and a portion of artillery, con- 
 sisting of four guns, attached, commenced 
 its march from Varna to its new encamp- 
 ment near the village of Devno, about eigh- 
 teen miles from Varna. Bj this change of 
 position, the health of the men was much 
 benefited, as the filth and offal of slain ani- 
 mals which accumulate outside a camp and 
 frequently becomes offensive, even to con- 
 tagion, was thus cut off. The cavalry were 
 stationed near Devno, but the infantry at 
 another village, a lovely spot, called Aladyn. 
 Notwithstanding the usual good conduct of 
 English troops, inaction seemed to have made 
 at least some of them vicious. On several 
 occasions stragglers from the camp broke 
 into the houses and ill-used the inhabitants. 
 A poor Bulgarian came to an English com- 
 missariat officer in tears, and contrived to 
 inform him that some soldiers had turned 
 their horses into his only field of barley, a 
 great quantity of which they had also cut and 
 carried off, in spite of his remonstrances. 
 Every effort was made to suppress these 
 wanton outrages ; but the poor Bulgarians 
 shortly afterwards removed their goods and 
 abandoned their houses. When the news of 
 the raising the siege of Silistria, and of the 
 retreat of the Russians, arrived, it created 
 a combined feeling of joy and disappointment; 
 joy, for the success of the Turks, and disap- 
 pointment, that perhaps the English might 
 lose the chance, after coming so far, of having 
 at least one brush with the enemy. About 
 40,000 men were encamped at and near 
 Varna. Grass, herbage, and shrubs, for some 
 miles round the town, had disappeared, and 
 the fields seemed turned to a wide expanse 
 
 of sand. 
 
 Though so little was done by the allies, 
 preparations were still extensively continued 
 both in France and England. From these 
 preparations arose an incident of a singularly 
 pleasing character,— and one which, though 
 bom of -war, will do much to promote the 
 interests of peace, and to cement the union 
 of two great and noble countries. This waa 
 
 the review of a French army at Boulogne 
 by the Emperor Napoleon, and the embark- 
 ation of that army at Calais on board Bri- 
 tish vessels to convey them to the Baltic. 
 We take the following account of the review 
 from the Moniteur .—" This morning (July 
 13th) at ten o'clock, the emperor went on 
 horseback, in the uniform of a general of 
 division, to the camp of Boulogne, to review 
 the expeditionary corps and the other troops 
 already assembled in that vast locality. His 
 majesty was accompanied by General Rolin 
 and Colonel Fleury, his aides-de-camp, and 
 several staff officers. A platoon of horse 
 chasseurs, whict arrived from Abbeville the 
 preceding night, formed the escort. At 
 eleven o'clock the emperor reached the ele- 
 vated ground of Wiraereux, where the expe- 
 ditionary division was stationed, under the 
 orders of General Baraguay d'Hilliers, com- 
 mander-in-chief. On perceiving his majesty, 
 the entire army saluted him with a vociferous 
 cry of ' Long live the Emperor !' 
 
 " This division comprises two brigades. 
 The first, under the orders of General 
 d'Hugues, is composed of the 12th batta- 
 lion of foot 'chasseurs, the 2nd light, and 
 the 3rd of the line. The second brigade, 
 under the orders of General Gresy, com- 
 prises the 48th and 51st regiments of the 
 line. The artillery which is to form part 
 of the expedition had been previously sent 
 to the port of embarkation. These troops 
 were ranged in two lines, forming a square, 
 with the sea in the rear, at the summit of 
 the plain. The regiments were complete; 
 and each soldier was equipped in readiness 
 for campaign. Their appearance was ad- 
 mirable. It was a pleasure to see the air 
 of satisfaction depicted upon those warlike 
 faces. Almost the whole population of the 
 town and neighbouring localities had come 
 to the camp. A great many English fami- 
 lies were present. They gave proof, by the 
 heartiness of their acclamations, that they 
 were not less pleased with the splendid 
 spectacle than the French. The emperor 
 passed, at a walking pace, before the troops, 
 addressing kind words to each of the chiefs 
 of corps. The regiments then formed an 
 immense square, where his majestv, sur- 
 rounded by the generals and officers' of the 
 staff, called to him the officers, sub-officers 
 and soldiers who had been selected to re- 
 ceive decorations and the military medal. 
 
 " Immediately after the distribution of 
 these rewards, the general commanding iu 
 chief invited all the officers of the expedi- 
 
 145 
 
THE EMPEROk's PROCLAMATION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tionary corps to come and range themselves 
 round his majesty. Then, in the midst of 
 solemn silence, the emperor, addressing the 
 troops in a voice which could be heard at 
 the extremity of the most distant ranks, 
 made a speech, the noble words of which 
 produced deep sensation. Never did the 
 national cry of 'Vive I'Empereur' resound 
 with more enthusiasm and devotion. The 
 emperor then advanced to a rising ground 
 in front of his staff, and the troops defiled 
 before him in the midst of hearty accla- 
 mations. From the camp of Wimereux, 
 the emperor went with hi% corRge to the 
 camp of Houvault, where the division of 
 General Regnault is established. The em- 
 peror passed in front of the troops, who then 
 defiled before his majesty, who was at the 
 summit of the rising ground upon which 
 the barracks already constructed are situ- 
 ated. The same acclamations, the same 
 enthusiasm which greeted the emperor at 
 the camp of Wimereux, were also mani- 
 fested at that of Houvault. His majesty 
 was much moved by them. The emperor 
 also expressed his satisfaction at the excel- 
 lent state of the camp, the discipline which 
 prevails there, and the exertions for the 
 comfort of the soldiers. The gaiety which 
 they display at their labours is a subject of 
 admiration with the numerous foreigners 
 who visit the camp." 
 
 The French emperor also addressed the 
 following proclamation to the troops — a pro- 
 clamation well calculated- to excite the en- 
 thusiasm of his vivacious people : — 
 
 " Soldiers! — Eussia having forced us to a 
 war, Prance has armed 300,000 of her children. 
 England has called out a considerable number 
 of troops. To-day our troops and armies, united 
 for the same cause, dominate in the Baltic as 
 well as in the Black Sea. I have selected you 
 to he the first to carry our eagles to those re- 
 gions of the north. English vessels will convey 
 you there — a unique fact in history, which proves 
 the intimate alliance of the two great nations 
 (^pevfles), and the firm resolution of the two 
 governments not to abstain from any sacrifice 
 to defend the right of the weak, the liberty of 
 Europe, and the national honour. 
 
 " Go, my children ! Attentive Europe, openly 
 or secretly, ofiers up vows for your triumph : 
 our country, proud of a struggle which only 
 threatens the aggressor, accompanies you with its 
 ardentvows; andI,whom imperious duties retain 
 still distant from the scene of events, shall have 
 my eyes upon you. I shall be able to say, — 
 
 They are worthy sons of the conquerors of Aus- 
 terlitz, of Eylau, of Eriedland, and of Moskowa.' 
 
 " Go, may God protect yon!" 
 146 
 
 Copies of this proclamation to the Baltic 
 army were placarded on the walls of Paris, 
 and read with universal interest. The ex- 
 pression, "I have chosen you to be the 
 first to carry our eagles to those northern 
 regions," was understood to mean that the 
 French standard would, if necessary, be 
 carried to Russia by a second, a third, and 
 even a fourth army. The emperor left 
 Boulogne at half-past one o'clock on the 
 13th of July, and arrived at Calais at four. 
 The English squadron, composed of a great 
 number of fine first-class ships, frigates, and 
 steamers, lay at anchor in Calais Roads 
 ready to take on board the expeditionary 
 army. The English officers and a multitude 
 of sailors mingled with the people of Calais, 
 and received the emperor with expressions 
 of hearty enthusiasm. During his brief 
 stay at Calais he visited the English men- 
 of-war, and then returned to Paris without 
 staying to witness the rather tedious cere- 
 mony of the embarkation of the troops. 
 Great good feeling prevailed between the 
 French soldiers and the English sailors, and 
 the fraternisation between the two is de- 
 scribed as being complete. 
 
 The retreat of the Russians from before 
 Silistria was not long continued, and Wal- 
 lachia was not abandoned by them. The 
 Russian commander received orders from 
 St. Petersburg to reoccupy those positions 
 in Wallachia that had been abandoned ; an 
 order which was generally obeyed. Under 
 these circumstances the allied armies began 
 to move, and early in July a division of the 
 English troops, under Lord Cardigan, ad- 
 vanced towards the Danube, and joined 
 Omar Pasha at Rustchuk. These troops, 
 however, merely effected a reconnaissance 
 along the banks of the river towards Rust- 
 chuk and Silistria. After some time they 
 returned to the camp near Devno. Pre- 
 viously to this, on the 3rd of July, Omar 
 Pasha travelled from Silistria to "Varna, to 
 consult over future operations with the 
 French and English generals. He stopped 
 on his way at the English cainp at Devno. 
 His equipage consisted of two britzkas and 
 four, escorted by a squadron of cavalry ; and 
 the postboys were artillery-drivers armed to 
 the teeth. On seeing him approach, the 
 whole of the English staff hastened to pay 
 their respects to him. Omar mounted his 
 horse and rode up the hill towards the 
 camp, in front of which the whole division 
 was drawn up to pay him honour. We have 
 mentioned a few facts of the life of this 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [action at giurgevo. 
 
 extraordinary man ; but a sketch of his 
 appearance, from the pen of an observer, 
 ■will doubtless not prove tedious. " Omar 
 Pasha was dressed with neatness and sim- 
 plicity j no order glittering on his breast; 
 and his close-fitting blue frock-coat dis- 
 played no ornaments beyond a plain gold 
 shoulder-strap and gilt buttons. He wore 
 the fez cap, which showed to advantage the 
 clear well-marked lines of his calm and 
 resolute face, embrowned by exposure to 
 wind and weather for many a year of a 
 soldier's life, and the hue of which was well 
 contrasted with his snow-white whiskers. 
 In the rude, and rather sensual mouth, 
 with compressed thick lips, was traceable, 
 if physiognomy have truth, enormous firm- 
 ness and resolution. The chin, full and 
 square, evinced the same qualities, which 
 might also be discerned in the general form 
 of the head. Those who remember the 
 statue of Eadetzky, at the Great Exhibi- 
 tion, will understand what I mean. All the 
 rougher features, the coarse nose, and the 
 slight prominence of the cheek-bones, are 
 more than redeemed by the quick, pene- 
 trating, and expressive eye, full of quiet 
 courage and genius, and by the calm though 
 rather stubborn brow, marked by lines of 
 thought, rising above the thick shaggy eye- 
 brow. In person he appeared to be rather 
 below than above the middle height; but 
 his horse, a well-trained grey, was not so 
 tall as the English chargers beside him, and 
 he may really be more than five feet seven 
 or eight. His figure is light, spare, and 
 active ; and his seat on horseback, though 
 too Turkish for our notions of equestrian 
 propriety, was firm and easy. He wore 
 white gloves and neat boots, and altogether 
 would have passed muster very well in the 
 ring at Hyde-park as a well-appointed quiet 
 gentleman. His staff were by no means so 
 well turned out ; but the few hussars of the 
 escort were stout soldierlike-looking fellows. 
 One of them led a strong chestnut Arab, 
 which was the pasha's battle charger." 
 
 The English troops presented arms to 
 Omar, and performed some field-day ma- 
 noeuvres much to his satisfaction. But 
 what completely rivetted his attention was 
 some charges of our cavalry, after witnessing 
 which, he declared that such infantry and 
 cavalry could dash over any troops in the 
 world. As he rode from the field the sol- 
 diers cheered him enthusiastically, to his 
 great dehght. 
 
 To return to the contest on the banks of 
 
 the Danube. After the relief of Silistria 
 and the retreat of the Russians, Omar Pasha 
 removed his head-quarters from Schumla to 
 Rustchuk, on the banks of the river. On 
 the 3rd of July, while Omar was on his visit 
 to the French and English generals, the 
 Turks made a successful attack on the island 
 of Radoman, which lay in the Danube be- 
 tween Rustchuk, and Giurgevo, and formed 
 one of the outworks of the latter place. 
 The action was renewed on the 5th and 
 7th of the month, when the Turkish 
 forces crossed the river both above and 
 below Giurgevo, and completely surrounded 
 a Russian detachment under General Soi- 
 monoflf. The Russians fought their way 
 through with great difficulty and consider- 
 able loss. The Turks, however, did not 
 escape scathless ; their loss in killed and 
 wounded amounting, according to their own 
 return, to 1,700. On this occasion, three 
 English officers. Captain Arnold, Lieutenant 
 Meynell, and Lieutenant Burke, who ac- 
 companied the Turkish expedition, perished 
 beneath the Russian fire while encouraging 
 and cheering on the Ottoman soldiers. The 
 Turks remained in possession of Giurgevo ; 
 and though the loss was severe on both 
 sides, this action on the 7th was regarded 
 as a brUliant afi^air. 
 
 The fate of Lieutenant Burke was re- 
 markable, and deserves special mention. 
 On leaping on shore from the boat, six 
 Russian soldiers charged him. He shot 
 two with his revolver, and cut down a third 
 with his sword, upon which the others turned 
 and fled. While encouraging the Turks, 
 who were yet on the river, to row quietly 
 to land, and forming them in hne as they 
 made the bank, a deliberate aim was taken 
 at him by a number of riflemen who ad- 
 vanced from behind a ditch. Charging them 
 with headlong gallantry, he was struck by a 
 ball which broke his jaw. Still he rushed 
 on, shot three men dead at close quarters 
 with his revolver, and cleft two men through 
 head and helmet with his sword. Though 
 surrounded, he still fought with heroic cou- 
 rage, and endeavoured to cut his way through 
 the ranks of the enemy, when a sabre-cut 
 from behind, given by a dragoon as he went 
 by, nearly severed L^s head from his body, 
 and he fell dead, covered with bayonet- 
 wounds, gabre-gashes, and gashed with 
 lance-thrusts and bullet-holes. His body 
 was found, after the action, with as many 
 as thirty-three wounds upon it, and the 
 ring-finger of each hand cut oflF. 
 
 147 
 
ACTIONS ON THE DANUBE.] 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 After this engagement, Prince Gortscha- 
 kofi' advanced with a large force, said to 
 amount to 70,000 men, with artillery in 
 proportion, to Frateschti, a place within six 
 miles of Giurgevo, and offered battle to 
 Omar Pasha, who no longer confined him- 
 self to a defensive policy, but became, in 
 his turn, the assailant. The Turks did not 
 accept the challenge to a great battle ; but 
 on the 8th of July a sanguinary engagement, 
 which terminated in favour of the Turks, 
 took place at Oltenitza. On the 9th also, 
 Sail Pasha, the commander of Nicopolis, 
 crossed the river with a considerable force, 
 and attacked the Russians under General 
 Popoff. After a desperate conflict, the 
 latter retreated, their commander being 
 severely wounded. The retreat of the Rus- 
 sians was so hurried that some of the men 
 tasted nothing for four-and-twenty hours, 
 and others were unable to obtain food for 
 six-and-thirty hours. This is explained by 
 the fact, that the victorious Turks on their 
 rear took no prisoners, but slaughtered all 
 who fell into their hands. On the 10th 
 another serious conflict took place : the 
 Turkish commander, with 25,000 men, de- 
 feated Generals Pauloff and Soimonofi", at 
 the head of a superior force, and drove the 
 Russians back upon Bucharest. Another 
 action took place on the 11th, when the 
 Turks attacked and routed the Russian rear- 
 guard at Frateschti, on the road from Giur- 
 gevo to Bucharest. The Turks had crossed 
 the Danube at several points, and remained 
 in considerable force upon the left bank. 
 Particulars of these events are wanting; 
 but one fact in connection with them was 
 known well enough : that is, that the allied 
 forces did not render the slightest assis- 
 tance, but left the Turks entirely to their 
 own resources. 
 
 Had the allies of Turkey done their duty; 
 had Austria poured her thousands intoWal- 
 lachia, and directed them against the Rus- 
 sian forces ; and had the French and English 
 marched to the Danube, and there imitated 
 the example of a famous English captain of 
 past times, John, Duke of Marlborough, the 
 invading armies of Russia might either have 
 been driven back to their own land with 
 disgrace, or, if a sterner policy had pre- 
 vailed, swept into swift and dark annihila- 
 tion. To strike a rapid, unsparing, and 
 awful blow upon a powerful enemy is mercy 
 in the end; for it saves an incalculable 
 amount of suff'ering and blood. Such has 
 ever been the policy of all soldiers whom 
 148 
 
 the world has recognised as men of genius 
 in the art of war. Their object has been to 
 spare the necessity of striking twice, and 
 they have usually accomplished their aims 
 by making their first blow so sure, so deadly, 
 and so appalling, that their enemies were 
 awed into submission. Such a blow might 
 have been struck at Russia in the first wild 
 clash of hostilities ; and, had it been struck, 
 it would have palsied the uplifted arm of 
 that semi-barbaric power, and have sent a 
 shock to the heart of her people all through- 
 out her gigantic territories, that should have 
 taught a bitter moral lesson not to be for- 
 gotten; — a lesson that, in its bloody seve- 
 rity, would have chained down the rising 
 despotism of the north for the next half- 
 century, taught brute force and blind 
 inertness that it could not control intellect 
 and progression, and the remembrance of 
 which would have fallen like a chill upon 
 the heart of future czars when the thoughts 
 of unjust ambition arose yet dim and un- 
 shaped in their minds. Had this been 
 done, Turkey might have been placed in 
 security ; the Christians in the East emanci- 
 pated from the thraldom of the Crescent; 
 Nicholas have gone in bitter disappoint- 
 ment to his grave, overwhelmed by the 
 rushing flood of retributive justice; Europe 
 have remained in peace, and the labour of 
 millions (no longer drained by the exhaust- 
 ing influences of a tedious war) have devoted 
 their efl'orts to the maintenance of tran- 
 quillity, to the production of those natural 
 blessings requisite for their existence, to the 
 cultivation of national alliances and good- 
 will, and to the adornment of their several 
 lands with works of beauty and grandeur, 
 that should stand as monuments to posterity 
 of the glories and triumphs of peace I 
 
 And why was not this one fierce yet mer- 
 ciful blow struck? Why have France and 
 England, in the fulness of their might and 
 civilisation, shrunk back and remained in 
 opprobrious slothfulness, ^hile the semi- 
 barbarians of the East have vindicated their 
 own honour and independence; and, by 
 their noble daring and endurance, cast a 
 mantle of shame over those who patronis- 
 ingly promised them assistance ? "Why is it 
 left to the unborn historians of the future 
 to record the heroism of the Turks and the 
 dilatory hesitation of France and England? 
 Why is this? We fear it is because a too 
 timid and subservient policy sways our 
 councils ; because we have no great states- 
 men in the cabinet or great soldiers iu the 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the sulina mouth. 
 
 field ; because mediocrity sits in the seats of 
 genius j and the soldiers of routine are left 
 to follow their own interests by protracting 
 a war which the interests of humanity and 
 the honour of the allied powers demand 
 should be speedily ended. The mere pro- 
 fessional soldier, who fights by the stop- 
 watch, and who would rather not win a 
 battle unles^ the victory was obtained in 
 strict accordance with military art and 
 etiquette, urges, in excuse for the inaction 
 of the allies, that the marshes of the Danube 
 are unhealthy; that to lead the armies 
 there would be to expose the lives of the 
 men to sickness; and that, therefore, such 
 a step would not have been prudent. We 
 cannot pass a certain judgment on this 
 point, but to us the objection sounds like 
 the ready excuse of timidity or indolence. 
 Not as regards the soldiers of France and 
 England : they are brave enough ; that has 
 been proved again and again, and they are 
 known to have manifested a great desire to 
 hurry to the scene of action, and mingle in 
 the honourable struggle. The charge of 
 timidity or indolence does not attach to 
 them, but to the mysterious restraining 
 power that withheld them; to the obse- 
 quious policy which, even after the sword 
 was drawn, would fain persuade the czar to 
 forego the rich territory he had marked out 
 for his prey, and act with peaceful modera- 
 tion for the future; to those who trust, 
 against all reason, to the hollow forms of a 
 rotten diplomacy which has failed again and 
 again, instead of depending on the might of 
 two great and willing nations to set the 
 wrong right, and with one swift, sudden, 
 deadly blow, smite down the arrogant in- 
 justice of barbarism. What, we would ask, 
 was gained by not exposing the allied troops 
 to the sickness said to prevail in Bulgaria 
 and Wallachia ? Did not the diseases en- 
 gendered by idleness, by bad food, and 
 exposure to a foreign climate, fall like a 
 pestilence upon the allied forces? It wiU 
 soon be our duty to relate the work of the 
 deadly and unsparing cholera upon those 
 brave men who pined in vain for action, 
 and who perhaps in the excitement roused 
 by it, might perhaps have escaped a visita- 
 tion which, in its inscrutable attacks and 
 subtle withering influence, robs even those 
 who escape with life of their spirit and 
 hardihood, and (to use the usual technical 
 though not very explanatory term) demo- 
 ralises an army. We know that apologists 
 for the course pursued by the allied govern- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ments have been found in scores; but we 
 know that many writers of the public press 
 have appealed to the public for forbearance 
 when they have themselves deemed censure 
 to have been deserved. England, said the 
 venerable warrior who has but so lately 
 been withdrawn from the ranks of the 
 living, cannot embark in a little war. We 
 would add, that England must not conduct 
 war in a little manner; but when she has 
 made great preparations for a noble cause, 
 millions of English voices will demand that 
 her resources be not wasted in inaction, and 
 her soldiers left to die of disease instead of 
 being led to victory ! 
 
 We mentioned the blockade of the mouths 
 of the Danube by the allied fleets ; and we 
 have now to record a melancholy accident in 
 connexion with that event. During the 
 month of July (on the 8th), the Russian 
 works at the Sulina mouth of the Danube 
 were bombarded by the English steam-fri- 
 gates, partially destroyed, and taken posses- 
 sion of. The Enghsh then set to work and 
 repaired the Russian batteries, that they 
 might be used against the enemy if neces- 
 sary. The allies also occupied themselves 
 in removing certain vessels which the Rus- 
 sians had sunk in the mouth of the Danube, 
 and the navigation of the river was thrown 
 open. After this necessary proceeding, the 
 Russian steam flotilla, which had hitherto 
 occupied the river in defiance of the allies, 
 wandered up and down almost in despair of 
 safety. 
 
 After the capture of Sulina, many of our 
 thoughtless seamen supposed that the Rus- 
 sians had altogether abandoned the neigh- 
 bourhood, and thence arose a degree of 
 confidence or negligence that led to a fatal 
 result. On the 7th of July, Captain Parker, 
 of the Firebrand, planned a little excursion 
 up the river, for the purpose of destroying 
 some works that were occupied by the 
 Russians. Accordingly he entered his gig, 
 and pulled up the stream, followed by a 
 second boat from his own vessel, and by a 
 third, containing Captain Powell, of the 
 Vesuvius. 
 
 The town or village of Sulina is almost 
 surrounded by a jungle of reeds, where 
 stockades had been formed for the defence 
 of the place by the enemy. These reeds 
 are so high, that they conceal both men 
 and horses from the view of any one ascend- 
 ing the stream by a boat, and consequently 
 furnish shelter from which a stubborn enemy 
 could harass troops whom he did not feel 
 
 149 
 
DEATH OF CAPTAIN PARKER.j HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1804.. 
 
 inclined to meet in open combat. Instead 
 of abandoning the neighbourhood, the Hus- 
 sian soldiers had occupied, the jungle which 
 lines the banks of the river, and there 
 awaited their revenge. As Captain Parker's 
 boat came abreast of a stockade, supposed 
 to have been long deserted, a shower of 
 bullets saluted it from an unseen foe. A 
 ball passed through the surgeon's coat ; 
 others whistled near the heads of the crew, 
 some of whom were wounded ; and the 
 boat was riddled. Captain Parker laughed 
 at the Russians for being such bad marks- 
 men, and put back to obtain the assistance 
 of the other boats. A momentary consulta- 
 tion was held ; then the sailors rowed ra- 
 pidly towards the stockade, and Captain 
 Parker leapt lightly on shore to lead the 
 attack. Almost instantaneously did he 
 meet the fate he had so recklessly pro- 
 voked. Scarcely had he taken a few steps, 
 when a bullet went through his heart, and 
 he fell a corpse. Captain Powell then 
 assumed the command, and despite a brave 
 resistance, the Russians were driven from 
 their stronghold in a few minutes. Two 
 Russian officers stood calmly at the em- 
 brasures of the stockade, and were shot by 
 the English sailors while directing their 
 men where to fire. Besides the loss of 
 Captain Parker, five men were wounded; 
 three of them very severely. Captain Powell 
 stated : " There was no means of computing 
 the enemy's loss, although they were seen to 
 fall inside the entrenchments. I am dis- 
 posed to think that they were assisted in 
 carrying off their wounded, and even de- 
 fending the place, by some Greeks ; as men 
 in the dress of that country were seen inter- 
 mixed with the Russian troops." 
 
 Captain Paricer was much regretted by 
 the officers and crew of the Firebrand, be- 
 cause he was not only a brave, but an 
 exceedingly amiable man. The following 
 incident forms a good instance of the hu- 
 manity of his character. About four months 
 previous to his death his vessel touched at 
 Kostendje, from which place some Cossacks 
 had just retreated, leaving behind them 
 many tokens of their barbarity. One hut 
 contained a pitiable spectacle. In it lay the 
 bodies of a man and woman ; and upon the 
 latter lay a living infant but a few months' 
 old, its tiny hand extended on its mother's 
 breast, and its little wrist lacerated by the 
 bullet which had deprived her of life. Close 
 by was a little terror-stricken boy, of about 
 three years old, whose left arm was in a 
 150 
 
 frightful state from the result of no less 
 than five bullet-wounds. Struck with pity 
 at the wretched condition of these poor 
 Bulgarian children. Captain Parker had 
 them sent on board the Firebrand, and 
 properly attended to ; at the same time 
 expressing his intention of taking them 
 under his own protection. The poor little 
 things became great favourites with the 
 sailors, who nursed them with more tender- 
 ness than could be deemed compatible with 
 their habits and mode of life. On the 
 eldest they bestowed the name of Johnny 
 Firebrand; he was a fine intelligent little 
 fellow, and soon began to pick up English. 
 The poor children were carried by the 
 sailors to the funeral of their benefactor. 
 It is probable that these little things, thus 
 nursed in danger, and reared upon the. sea, 
 may grow up to be brave dashing sailors. 
 
 Captain Parker had but just completed 
 his twenty-ninth year : he was the son of 
 Admiral Hyde Parker, and belonged to a 
 family distinguished in the naval annals of 
 his country. It has been well observed, 
 that the actual amount of fighting (as far as 
 the helpers of Turkey had been concerned) 
 was, up to this period, so insignificant, that 
 the death of a single officer created a sensa- 
 tion which those accustomed to the heavy 
 " butcher's bills " of former wars could 
 scarcely understand. The body of Captain ' 
 Parker was taken to Constantinople in the 
 Firebrand, and buried on the 13th of July, 
 in the grand Champ de Morts at Pera. 
 The funeral ceremony was performed with 
 full military honours, much to the astonish- 
 ment of the Turks, who use no rites at the 
 burial of their dead, except in the case of 
 the sultan and his family. 
 
 To return to the Turks at Rustchuk and 
 Giurgevo. A party of thirty English sailors, 
 under Lieutenant Glyn and Prince Leinin- 
 gen, R.N., and the same number of sappers 
 under Captain Page, R.E., arrived at the 
 former place, for the purpose of assisting in 
 the construction of a bridge over the Danube 
 at that point. The sailors arrived from Varna 
 on horseback, much to their own amuse- 
 ment and to that of those whom they met. 
 The sappers were sent over to Giurgevo, to 
 assist in the fortifications there. These men 
 were the first Englishmen that crossed the 
 Danube in the cause of the Ottoman. A 
 laughable event took place on the 15th of 
 the month, the relation of which will lighten 
 up the grim monotony of repeated skirmishes. 
 Colonel Iskander Beg a brave cavalry officer 
 
 ZJ 
 
A.J). 1854.1 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA, [retreat of the Russians. 
 
 in the Turkish service, was reconnoitring at 
 some distance from Slobosia, attended only 
 by four or five men, when he beheld at some 
 distance an infantry sentry of the enemy's, 
 and resolved to attempt capturing him. As 
 they approached, more soldiers were seen 
 behind the sentry, and some of the party 
 began to fear that they might catch a Tartar ; 
 but the colonel was not to be deterred, and 
 he pushed on. With a sudden puff of wind 
 the sentries commenced a series of eccentric 
 rotatory movements of a kind the colonel 
 had never seen soldiers execute before. 
 Rushing forward, with sword in hand, he 
 discovered about twenty Russian great-coats 
 and caps, cleverly stuffed with straw, and 
 placed on sticks, so as to revolve with the 
 wind. As may be supposed, no quarter was 
 shown ; the sentries were demolished without 
 mercy, one only being carried back as pri- 
 soner to the camp, where it excited the 
 laughter even of the grave Turks. 
 
 On the 19th of July, another engagement 
 took place between the Turks and Russians, 
 on the banks of the Danube, at Giurgevo, or 
 rather between that place and Frateschti, 
 and ended in the total defeat of the Russians. 
 Again, upon the 23rd, the Russians made an 
 attack upon the Turkish camp, near Giur- 
 gevo, with the design of driving the Ottoman 
 army to the Bulgarian shore of the Danube, 
 -or at the least of arresting their further pro- 
 gress into Wallachia. The attack failed; 
 the Russians are said to have lost 3,000 men 
 in killed and wounded, and to have had 
 5,000 taken prisoners. The result of these 
 actions was seen in a second retreat of the 
 £,ussians from Wallachia. On the 27th 
 they abandoned Frateschti, and the advancing 
 Turks took possession of it. Oltenitza and 
 Bucharest were also evacuated ; and the 
 Russians retired, by forced marches, towards 
 Moldavia. The czar, however, showed no 
 signs of submission; and it was conjectured 
 that this abandonment of Wallachia was 
 effected merely for strategic reasons, and 
 to withdraw the Russian troops from the 
 neighbourhood of Austria. This retreat 
 must have been a sad and painful movement; 
 
 * Bucharest is the capital of "Wallachia ; and the 
 Boyards, who reside there, frequently compare it with 
 Paris in point of civilisation and luxury. It has, 
 however, no just claim to any such pretensions. It 
 is described as resembling a large village, the houses 
 being surrounded with gardens. The city is ill- 
 paved, Ul-built and dirty. It is the entrep6t for the 
 commerce between Austria and Turkey. It contains 
 ninety-five churches and twenty-six monasteries, seven 
 hospitals, a collega, a museum, and two theatres, 
 
 for, while it was carried on, the heat was so 
 excessive, that the thermometer stood at 
 104 in the shade. Great numbers of the 
 men must have been left exhausted or dead 
 upon the road. On leaving Bucharest, * 
 on the 1st of August, Prince Gortschakoff 
 assembled the Boyards, (i. e. nobles,) and 
 thanked them for the manner in which they 
 had treated the Russian troops during their 
 stay in Bucharest. This was very much like 
 a highwayman, pistol in hand, thanking his 
 victim for the liber?il manner in which he 
 had surrendered his purse. The scarce-hid- 
 den joy of the poor Wallachians at the de- 
 parture of their oppressors, was dashed with 
 gloom by the general adding, that strategic 
 reasons alone induced him to quit the city; 
 but that it was not improbable he might 
 return at an early period.f But the Turkish 
 advanced guard entered Bucharest, and the 
 fears of the poor Wallachians were much 
 relieved. The Boyards, having fairly got rid 
 of the Russians, addressed an invitation to 
 Omar Pasha, and voted a loyal address to 
 the sultan. As Omar advanced he issued 
 a proclamation, stating that it was not his 
 intention to make the Wallachian territory 
 the theatre of war ; and that the Russians 
 should be compelled to indemnify the people 
 of that province, for the losses the latter had 
 sustained during the unlawful occupation. 
 The Russians, while at Bucharest, said that 
 their retreat had been commanded, in conse- 
 quence of a melancholy confideotial report 
 sent home by General Gortschakoff, relative 
 to the action of the 7th at Giurgevo. After 
 reading the report, the czar is said to have 
 exclaimed : " I can comprehend that my army 
 was repulsed from Silistria, though I had 
 expected another account from the Prince of 
 Warsaw ; but what I cannot understand is, 
 that a wild horde of half-naked Turks, after 
 an engagement on the water, and having 
 taken our fortified islands by storm, should 
 have dislodged my troops, with such a heavy 
 loss, from a position which they had been a 
 whole year fortifying." 
 
 The humiliation of Russia was further 
 evident from the fact that Prince Gortscha- 
 
 The population is about 100,000, and consists chiefly 
 of Germans, Greeks, and Armenians. The sympathy 
 of the lower classes is said to be on the side of the 
 Turks J most of the nobles lean the same way, but 
 some of them would readily welcome Russian rule. 
 
 + M. Ubicini, a well-known political writer, shortly 
 afterwards published a detailed account of the losses 
 the two principalities suffered in consequence of 
 their lawless occupation by the Russian troops. He 
 estimates it at 200,000,000 francs. 
 
 151 
 
RENEWAL OP DIPLOMACY.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 koflf, the statesman, made a declaration at 
 Vienna, that the troops of the czar would 
 immediately evacuate Moldavia as weU aS 
 Wallachia.* Yes, Nicholas actually con- 
 sented to relinquish his " material guaran- 
 tee," and that, also, without conditions. The 
 eastern question had entered into a new 
 phase, but the prospects of peace were as 
 distant as ever. This retrograde step was 
 yet another attempt to disarm Austria, and 
 lead her farther from an alliance with the 
 western powers. Notwithstanding these 
 announcements of the Russian envoy. Count 
 Buol exchanged notes on the 8th of August 
 with the representatives of France and Eng- 
 land, to the effect that Austria, in common 
 with those countries, continue to look 
 steadily for the guarantees to be exacted 
 from Russia, to prevent a recurrence of the 
 difficulties which had troubled the peace of 
 Europe; and Austria further pledged her- 
 self, until the complete re-establishment of 
 peace, not to treat separately with the cabi- 
 net of St. Petersburg until she had obtained 
 such guarantees. 
 
 The substance of the notes exchanged on 
 this occasion between Austria and the allies 
 was, that the three powers were equally of 
 opinion that the relations of the Sublime 
 Porte with the imperial court of Russia 
 could not be re-established on solid and 
 durable bases — " 1. If the protectorate 
 hitherto exercised by the imperial court of 
 Russia over the principalities of Wallachia, 
 Moldavia, and Servia, be not discontinued 
 for the future; and if the privileges ac- 
 corded by the sultan to these provinces, 
 dependencies of their empire, be not placed 
 under the collective guarantee of the powers, 
 in virtue of an arrangement to be concluded 
 with the Sublime Porte, and the stipulations 
 of which should, at the same time, regulate 
 all questions of detail. 3. If the naviga- 
 tion of the Danube, at its mouths, be not 
 freed from all obstacle, and submitted to 
 the application of the principles established 
 by the acts of the congress of Vienna. 3. 
 If the treaty of the 13th of July, 1841, be 
 not revised in concert by the high con- 
 tracting parties in the interest of the balance 
 of power in Europe. 4. If Russia do not 
 give up the claim to exercise an official pro- 
 
 • A French officer of rank, in writing from Rust- 
 ehuk, says : — " Apropos of the Russians. What do 
 they mean to do ? What means this war of theirs, 
 without connection and without plan ; — these useless, 
 I should rather say shameful, promenades from 
 Kalafat to Silistria, aad from Silistria to Rustchuk, 
 only to escape in every place, ind at every time 
 152 
 
 tectorate over the subjects of the Sublime 
 Porte, to whatever rite they may belong ; 
 and if France, Austria, Great Britain, Prus- 
 sia, and Russia, do not lend their mutual 
 assistance to obtain, as an initiative, from 
 the Ottoman government the confirmation 
 and the observance of the religious privi- 
 leges of the different Christian communities, 
 and to turn to account, in the common 
 interest of their co-religionists, the generous 
 intentions manifested by his majesty the 
 sultan, at the same time avoiding any ag- 
 gression on his dignity and the independence 
 of his crown." 
 
 The French and English governments de- 
 clared that they would not take any propo- 
 sition from the court of St. Petersburg into 
 consideration, unless it imphed a full and 
 entire adhesion to the above conditions. 
 Count Buol, also, on behalf of the Austrian 
 government, stated that "it accepts for 
 itself the engagement not to treat except on 
 these bases, always reserving a free delibera- 
 tion on the conditions which it may bring 
 forward for the re-establishment of peace, if 
 it should happen itself to be forced to take 
 part in the war." 
 
 More, we should presume, as a matter of 
 courtesy, than with the ho^e of their lead- 
 ing to a restoration of peace, copies of these 
 conditions were sent to St. Petersburg, for 
 the acceptance or rejection of the Emperor 
 Nicholas. There was, however, very little 
 probability that they would be accepted by 
 him, even after his recent reverses; for to 
 submit to them would be to proclaim his 
 own humiliation, and to abandon far more 
 than he had claimed. It was necessary for 
 Russia to experience some calamitous defeat 
 or startling disgrace before the czar could 
 bend his stubborn neck so low. Though 
 Austria joined with France and England in 
 laying down the conditions that the czar 
 must accept before the pressure of the iron 
 hand of war would be removed from his 
 dominions, the other great German state, 
 Prussia, stood aloof and would not give its 
 sanction to a measure calculated to bring 
 the Russian autocrat to reason. 
 
 The long-expected movement of the Aus- 
 trian troops into the principalities speedily 
 followed. Three brigades of Archduke Al- 
 
 losing, without the slightest possible advantage, the 
 hall' of their soldiers F The Russians have arrived at 
 such a point, that they are throughout Europe almost 
 despised as a power and an army. Even the Turks 
 hold them in the most supreme contempt; and I, 
 as an old soldier, cannot say that they are mis- 
 taken." 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [mission op dr. cottman. 
 
 bert's corps in Transylvania entered Wal- 
 lachia on the 20tli of August; and it was 
 stated that three other brigades of General 
 Coronini's army were preparing for a similar 
 movement into Moldavia. Many said that, 
 by so doing, Austria had acted up to her 
 engagements at last, and that she was fully 
 prepared to act with the allies against the 
 czar. But there were others who did not 
 take quite so favourable a view of the matter. 
 These said that Austria was acting treache- 
 rously ; that there was a secret understand- 
 ing between her and the court of St. Peters- 
 burg; and that she had merely sent her 
 troops into Wallachia to shield the Russians 
 from the advance of the victorious Turks ! 
 
 ■ Before the above-named conditions were 
 sent to St. Petersburg, the Russians had 
 even informed the Austrian government 
 that they should recross the Pruth in five 
 places, and march at once into the interior, 
 instead of remaining on the frontiers. The 
 hidden meaning of this polite intimation 
 was, that they should concentrate their 
 troops, and direct them against the allies in 
 the Crimea, whenever the anticipated attack 
 on that place should be made. On the 3nd 
 of August the Russians commenced their 
 retrograde passage of the Pruth, by recross- 
 ing at Liptschain, Skulani, Leuschein, Leova, 
 and Volena. The removal of their sick and 
 wounded from Bucharest is described to have 
 been a pitiable spectacle. In the excite- 
 ment of hurry, scarcely any attention was 
 paid to the complaints and cries of the suf- 
 ferers. One officer died while the men 
 were lifting him into the waggon, and one 
 of the head physicians, in the height of 
 delirium from typhus fever, was huddled 
 into a waggon with the other patients. The 
 humbled Prince Gortschakoff appealed to 
 the humanity of the inhabitants to show 
 compassion to the poor fellows he was 
 obliged to leave behind him. He referred 
 to the kindness which had been extended 
 to the wounded and prisoners of the crew of 
 the Tiger at Odessa; and added, that he 
 also had always acted humanely towards 
 the sick and wounded who had fallen into 
 his hands. 
 
 We must now request the attention of 
 our readers to an event of a very different 
 character. We believe that the unhappy 
 ! jealousies once existing beween England and 
 i America to be almost extinct, and we think 
 I the time not far distant when they will be 
 ' utterly so. We know that many organs of 
 the American press have dedared their 
 
 sympathy with England in the struggle in 
 which she is engaged, and their remem- 
 brance of the fact that Englishmen and 
 Americans spring from one noble stock, and 
 are members of the same great family. 
 This is as it should be ; and we are certain 
 that should disgrace ever sully the English 
 flag, or any calamity fall on the English 
 nation, a deep and general grief would be 
 felt by our half-brethren on the shores of 
 Columbia. Yet the following account of 
 the mission which the Emperor Nicholas 
 entrusted with the American, Dr. Cottman, 
 to the government of his native country, 
 looks as if an ungenerous and petty feeling 
 against England yet lingered in the minds of 
 some of our transatlantic friends. We must be 
 careful, however, not to charge upon a great 
 nation the folly or prejudices of individuals ; 
 and we should do well to reflect that Dr. Cott- 
 man, while sneering so bitterly at England, 
 was dazzled by the magnificence he beheld 
 in Russia, and that his judgment had been 
 taken captive by the artful condescensions 
 and flatteries of the czar. 
 
 But to the circumstance we have to re- 
 late : — " Dr. Thomas Cottman," we are 
 informed by the New York Herald, "was 
 born in Maryland, and is now (1854) about 
 forty years of age. He moved to Louisiana 
 in 1830, where he has occasionally practised 
 medicine, and was elected to the legislature. 
 He stUl owns a plantation there, and a large 
 number of slaves. In 1853, he went to 
 Europe for the purpose of placing his daugh- 
 ter in a boarding-school at Paris ; and while 
 there he determined to visit the difierent 
 countries, and investigate for his own satis- 
 faction the merits of the present difficulty 
 between the belligerent powers. In the 
 course of his travels he went to St. Peters- 
 burg, where he had an interview with the 
 czar, who treated him in the most friendly 
 manner, and offered him every facility in 
 his power. The better to assist him m 
 making his tour of observation through his 
 dominions, the czar gave him an imperial 
 order to all the institutions and places of 
 note in the country. With this order he 
 visited Cronstadt, where he remained six 
 weeks with General Dehn, the commander- 
 in-chief of the northern division of the 
 army. He subsequently went to aU the 
 principal cities, and was everywhere treated 
 with the greatest hospitality. Dr. Cottman 
 acted in the capacity of surgeon to the 
 Grand Duke Constantine up to the time of 
 his appointment on his present mission, and 
 
 153 
 
HABITS OF THE CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854 
 
 enjoys the confidence of the whole of the 
 imperial family." 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas perfectly captivated 
 Dr. Cottman by his condescension and his 
 professions of a desire to cultivate the 
 friendship of his countrymen, of whom he 
 spoke in the highest terms of praise. " There 
 are," said he, " but two governments in the 
 world — those of Russia and America; and 
 although I have the greatest regard for the 
 latter, yet I know it would be impracticable 
 in my country. The republican form of 
 government is best suited," he added, " for 
 the people of the United States, because 
 they are bnlightened and intelligent; but 
 with Russia it is entirely different, and the 
 government she has is the only one that is 
 suited to her condition." 
 
 The czar also astonished the American 
 by his knowledge of the institutions and 
 people of the country of the latter. The 
 doctor described his imperial friend as not 
 only thoroughly informed on this particular, 
 but as quite familiar with American local 
 politics, and as knowing the leading poli- 
 ticians in the different states by name. In 
 a word, he was thoroughly posted up in the 
 history of the different parties. 
 
 Of the looks and habits of Nicholas, Dr. 
 Cottman speaks as follows : " The emperor 
 is one of the most refined and. polished gen- 
 tlemen in Europe, and his personal appear- 
 ance is remarkably prepossessing. He is 
 about six feet two inches in height, and made 
 in proportion, while in manly beauty it would 
 be difficult to find his equal. In his manner 
 of living he is very temperate, and preserves 
 the greatest regularity and order in all his 
 transactions. He rises every morning before 
 sunrise, a practice which is followed by the 
 other members of his family. Before break- 
 fast they take about an hour's exercise in 
 
 * The following article from the New York 
 Herald contains the views of that party in America 
 who advocate the purchase of Sitka : — " The Rus- 
 sian territory extends along the shore from a point 
 near longitude 64° in the Arctic Ocean to Observa- 
 tory Inlet on the Pacific, being bounded on the 
 south and east by the British possessions occupied 
 by the Hudson's Bay Company. It comprises all 
 the best whaling stations in the Northern Pacific, 
 and if annexed to the United States would give our 
 whalers an advantage which would at once enable 
 them to defy competition. Again, in a political 
 point of view, its acquisition would make us mas- 
 ters of the whole western coast of America, from the 
 Arctic to the Mexican boundary, with the exception 
 of that portion lying between 49° and 54° 40' -say 
 some 350 miles. We should thus surround Great 
 Britain ; and if, as seems likely to occur in pro- 
 cess of time, the Hudson's Bay Company were dis- 
 154 
 
 the open air, such as riding, walking, &c. 
 After a very light meal (for he is a believer 
 in homoeopathy, as applied to dietetics) he 
 reviews the troops, and then visits the differ- 
 ent members of his family at their several 
 places. He next visits the various depart- 
 ments, or gives audiences ; and as this por- 
 tion of the day's work is ended at six o'clock, 
 he takes dinner, after which he indulges in 
 another ride or drive. His sons regulate 
 their time in the same manner as the em- 
 peror ; but, at stated times, they have general 
 reunions of all the members of the family." 
 
 Of course all this politeness on the part of 
 the great representative of despotism towards 
 a plain American citizen, was not without its 
 object. In estimating the character of Ni- 
 cholas, in an early chapter of this work, we 
 mentioned that he was frequently very affable 
 and condescending towards foreigners of 
 ability or rank, because such conduct helped 
 to gain him a good name in other countries. 
 But, in flattering the republican doctor, the 
 czar had another motive. He wished to dis- 
 pose of the island of Sitka (a part of the 
 Russian dominions in America) to the go- 
 vernment of the United States. Sitka con- 
 tains the settlement of New Archangel, a 
 small town, with about a thousand inhabit- 
 ants. It is the seat of the governor of all 
 the establishments of Russian America, and 
 possesses fortifications, magazines, &c., built 
 of wood. In England it is generally con- 
 sidered that Sitka would be almost valueless 
 to the Americans, and that the possession of 
 it might tend to embroil them with the 
 British government respecting some hunting 
 or fishing right, or boundary question. In 
 America, it seems, a different opinion is enter- 
 tained, at least by a portion of the press and 
 people. * 
 
 The czar, no doubt, foreseeing that Sitka 
 
 solved, it would be manifestly for the interest of 
 Great Britain, as well as the United States, that this 
 intervening tract should be transferred by sale from 
 them to us. In this event, our territory would 
 stretch in one undivided line from the icebound 
 oceans of the north to the line 32^, such a coast as 
 nO" nation in the world possesses, and one vhieh the 
 natural tendency of the events now occurring in 
 Asia cannot but render extremely valuable. Even 
 if Great Britain refused to part with Vancouver's 
 Island and the vicinity, the military value of these 
 possessions would be manifestly diminished, to a very 
 considerable extent, by our occupation of the coast, 
 both north and south, including the whaling. dep6t 
 at Sitka, on the one side, and the mouth of the 
 Columbia on the other. We make no question, 
 therefore, of the course which our executive should 
 pursue in the present conjuncture. Our surplus funds 
 could not be better employed than in acquiring the 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [sitka offered to America. 
 
 might possibly become a means of disturbing 
 the friendly relations that exist, and which 
 we trust ever will exist, between England 
 and America, entrusted Dr. Cottman with a 
 mission to the- government of the United 
 States, and invested him with full powers to 
 treat on his behalf. The doctor was to pro- 
 pose to the American government that they 
 should purchase Sitka, and probably the 
 rest of the Russian possessions on that con- 
 tinent, which he would make over to it on 
 very easy terms. " The emperor," said Dr. 
 Cottman, " looks forward to the adoption of 
 a commercial treaty between Russia and our 
 country, and the purchase of Sitka, with no 
 little anxiety, as he is very desirous of keep- 
 ing up friendly terms with us during the 
 present war. In speaking of our relations 
 with Spain, he says that he considers that 
 Cuba is ours by right of her geographical 
 position; and that, as she commands the 
 entrance to the gulf, we should take her, 
 whether the Spanish government is willing 
 or not." The czar had thrown dust in the 
 eyes of Dr. Cottman by his overwhelming 
 politeness, and he then attempted to blind 
 America with a bribe. It was equivalent to 
 saying, " do not you interfere while I take 
 Constantinople, and you are welcome to 
 Cuba with all my heart. Let us be wise, 
 and sanction each other's aggressions." 
 
 Before returning to his native land Dr. 
 Cottman visited London, and there he wrote 
 a rather remarkable letter to Mr. George N. 
 Sanders, the American consul in this country. 
 This letter brought upon Dr. Cottman much 
 censure and ridicule, and was condemned by 
 the English press as containing a tissue of 
 falsehoods and exaggerations. It certainly 
 exhibits our petty exploits at Brahestad and 
 Uleaborg in a new light, and does its best to 
 
 territory offered us. The case of Louisiana, Trhich 
 was acquired under precisely the same circumstances, 
 is an example which should by all means be fol- 
 lowed. Should the administration resolve on making 
 the purchase, a difficulty is very likely to occur between 
 Great Britain and this country. As soon as it was 
 known in England that the purchase of Russian 
 America had been suggested to this government, the 
 president was notified that the British fleet in the 
 Pacific had received orders to take Sitka. It may 
 possibly be contended that this notification should 
 have operated to prevent our purchase, or that such 
 a purchase, made in the teeth of the notification, 
 amounts to an act of hostility against Great Britain. 
 We think it likely that this argument will be used on 
 the other side of the Atlantic, because we have known 
 such arguments to proceed from the same quarter be- 
 fore ; but we regard it as entirely fallacious and in- 
 correct. The expression of an intention on the part 
 of Great Britain could not afi'ect the actual sove- 
 
 tarnish the name of England, while it holds 
 the Russians up to admiration; yet we cannot 
 but think there may probably be more of 
 truth in its assertions than the English press 
 are inclined to admit. At any rate, it is as 
 well sometimes to see our portrait as painted 
 by one who professes himself to be in the 
 interest of, and delighted with, our enemy. 
 For this purpose we subjoin the letter, some 
 of the sarcasms of which will, we think, find 
 their way to the mark they were aimed at : — 
 
 " Sir, — I have just arrived here on my way 
 from the seat of war in the north-east, and take 
 it for granted that a true narrative would inter- 
 est you, being perfectly aware that you appre- 
 ciate at their proper value the details you have 
 had through the London and Paris journals. 
 France and England have equipped the finest 
 fleet that ever floated, and sent it to the Baltic 
 to instruct the Russians in geography. They 
 have been hunting up places so far north that 
 the Sun never sets upon them for more than two 
 months at a time. There are not more than 500 
 persons in St. Petersburg and Moscow together 
 that ever heard of Brahestad, Uleaborg, Ac, 
 until they had been bombarded by the allied 
 fleets. By the way, speaking of Uleaborg, the 
 greatest vandalism of the present century was 
 there committed. The account in the Dublin 
 Post, from the journal of an ofiBcer on hoard the 
 Leopard, is as near the truth as anything you 
 have seen since the commencement of the war, 
 as there has been a systematic perversion and 
 suppressio veri in everything that has been de- 
 livered to the public since April last. It is true, 
 as the Leopard's officer tells you, that they 
 sacked, pillaged, and burnt the defenceless town 
 of Uleaborg ; but he does not tell you what was 
 the fate of the women in that village, where he 
 says: ' No resistance was offered, and we landed 
 the marines.' I will tell you. They were all vio- 
 lated by the crews of twenty boats, pretending 
 to be civilised men and Christians. He tells you: 
 
 reign ty of the czar, or deprive him of the power of 
 giving a valid title to the territory. Until that in- 
 tention is executed, and Sitka actually taken, the 
 czar has a clear right to sell, and we to buy, the tract 
 menaced. If, therefore, we choose to buy, and the 
 czar places us in possession of the territory, the 
 British fleet will be bound to respect our purchase, 
 under the obvious penalty of hostilities with us. This 
 we take to be the true view of the law on the point. 
 Should Sitka have fallen before our purchase is com- 
 pleted, the case would be diflTerent, as there could be 
 no delivery from Russia to the tfnited States, and 
 consequently no sale. This consideration ought to 
 stimulate our government to prompt measures. If 
 the territory is to be bought, it must be bought at 
 once. Delay will preclude the possibility of our ac 
 quiring it, and will in all probability, have the effect 
 of aiding Great Britain in its promised conquest, 
 and adding further strength to a rival whose power 
 is already but too formidable on this continent." 
 
 155 
 
DR. COTTMAN's letter.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854.. 
 
 We began the work of destruction on Thurs- 
 day, and did not leave off until Friday morning 
 at ten o'clock.' After appropriating to themselves 
 the property of the citizens, and violating the 
 persons of their wives and daughters, he conti- 
 nues : ' It was near costing us our lives, for we 
 got hemmed-in in the river by the fire. Twice 
 we attempted to burst through it, and twice 
 failed. At the third time the first lieutenant 
 cried out, ' Pull, puU, for dear life — one more 
 attempt.' For about 100 yards I had to close 
 my eyes and put my hands to my face. I was 
 scorched and roasted ; my hair was singed. We 
 got out fainting and half-grilled ; we had a nar- 
 row escape and lost one man. This morning 
 part of his skuU and spine were found burnt to 
 a cinder ; it was as dreadful a night's work as 
 ever I was at, and terrible.' Let the civilised 
 world judge of the result of this drunken orgie. 
 A town, where there was neither soldier nor gun, 
 sacked, pillaged, and devastated by fire, the work 
 of the marines of twenty of her majesty's ships. 
 Not content with the destruction of property, the 
 virtue of the women was assailed with equal fe- 
 rocity and baseness. This writer speaks truly 
 when he says : ' We destroyed everything, vir- 
 tue, goods, and chattels. The unfortunate in- 
 habitants were like madmen ; it was a sad sight 
 to see the creatures ; many a man arose yester- 
 day in good circumstances, and that night was a 
 ruined man.' Thus you see Merry Old England, 
 with all her vainglory and boasting, reduced in 
 action to a level with the pagan Turk whose 
 cause she espouses, associating herseK with her 
 next-door neighbour, and on the slightest oppor- 
 tunity occurring casting reflections on him, 
 which, unfortunately, is like spitting against the 
 wind that hurls back the expectorated matter 
 full into the face of the projector. The Leopard's 
 officer gives out the idea to the world that the 
 Finnish lasses did not mind brutal violence, if 
 it were not done by Frenchmen. True, there 
 is some reason for jealousy of the French — they 
 have not committed a dishonourable act since 
 they have been in the Baltic. The prestiffe of a 
 Briton's name has fled from the Eussian domi- 
 nions. Fishing-boats, nets, tar-barrels, and deal 
 boards have been burnt, simply because they 
 trust to English professions of respecting private 
 property. The much-vaunted capture of prizes 
 reduced to the comprehension of ordinary indi- 
 viduals, consists in a few Finnish smacks laden 
 with salt for curing fish on the coast of Finland, 
 and these are the means employed for revolu- 
 tionising Finland. Wherever there is a cannon 
 the allies have slunk away like a sneaking dog 
 from a sheepfold on the discovery of the shep- 
 herd. Witness the attack on places of so little 
 consequence that no man in England ever heard 
 of them until he saw the report of their being 
 attacked by the allied fleets, which have been 
 invariably repulsed,notwith8tandingthegallantry 
 of Ekness, Gamla-Karleby, and Bomarsund, which 
 156 
 
 tell a mournful story for Britons' pride. Old 
 Bodisco, brother of the late Russian minister at 
 Washington, commands Bomarsund with about 
 a dozen cannon, and, for fear he might use them 
 if they approached too near, the fleet contented 
 themselves by firing all day into his apple orchard 
 and among his trees, entirely out of reach of the 
 old man's guns, but not of his wrath. More 
 than one English flag has been brought to St. 
 Petersburg as a trophy. I had expected to 
 find in London a Eussian flag at every corner 
 of the street, captured by the fleet so much 
 vaunted here before I left for Eussia. I think 
 there is an axiom, or a proverb, or something of 
 that kind, which runs : ' A merciful man is mer- 
 ciful to his beast.' England is frenzied with 
 commiseration for the slaves of the United States 
 of America, and consequently devotes her whole 
 time to ameliorate the condition of the collier, 
 who rarely sees the light of the sun from the 
 Ist of January to the 31st of December. In a 
 moment of excess of this humane consideration, 
 she declined doing anything more at Odessa 
 than burning a few hovels on the mole, and the 
 deal boards in the lumber-yard, which were very 
 convenient for exercising the Congreve-rockets 
 upon. They had no intention of injuring the 
 city by the 2,000 asphyxiant bombs thrown into 
 it. The officers well knew that the asphyxizing 
 principle contained in the bomb would decom- 
 pose the explosive principle in the capsule, and 
 prevent the bursting of the shell, and, as they 
 were useless, they concluded to rid the fleet of 
 them by pitching them into Odessa. Old Ad- 
 miral Napier came up last Sunday week, and 
 took a look at Cronstadt, where I have been 
 waiting a month to see a great combat, and have 
 been disappointed, for the fleet all disappeared 
 on Monday. I have found out there is to be 
 no show. I paid my money at the gate, got ad- 
 mission, find the principal actor sick — ' Can't 
 come to the scratch,' and the play ' is given up.' 
 The finest fleet that ever floated passes by Eiga, 
 Eevel, Sweaborg, and Cronstadt, and contents 
 itself with a look. The days of chivalry are 
 gone, and I must be satisfied with cheerful, 
 happy faces and hospitable hearths in lieu of 
 great battles in Eussia. British valour has eked 
 out in gasconade, detraction and defamation of 
 private character, and destruction of private 
 property. The idea of terminating a war by 
 discord in the imperial household, and jealousy 
 between the elder brothers of the imperiaLfamUy ! 
 There never existed a more united or harmonious 
 family. The Grand Duke Alexander is, accord- 
 ing to the journals of the day, dying of hectic 
 fever and night sweats, when in reality he would 
 pass freely for a beer- drinking, athletic English- 
 man, and, I might almost say, with an exuber- 
 ance of health ; and, instead of jealousy and dis- 
 trust, the most cordial sympathy and devotion 
 to each other prevail. Brothers more devoted 
 to each other cannot be found anywhere in the 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the czar in danger. 
 
 priyate walks of life. Michael, the chief of ar- 
 tillery, and Nicholas, of infantry, are both very 
 intelligent, and the devotion to their father and 
 the desire to execute his will equal anything that 
 the most exalted imagination could picture. The 
 emperor's health and spirits have been very good 
 for the last two months, but they both appeared 
 to advantage the two days that the allied fleet 
 lay off Cronstadt. The" fleet lay between the 
 imperial pavilion on the premises of the Grand 
 Duchess Helen, at Oranienbaum, and the forti- 
 fications at Cronstadt. Thousands of persons 
 collected on the heights of Knansa Gorkoe, and 
 about Oranienbaum, as they said, to see Old 
 Charley cut capers when the ball opened, but 
 the spectators were disappointed ; this magnifi- 
 cently attired company declined to face the 
 music, and left the saloon, consequently the ball 
 closed before the dancing commenced, as it is 
 rather awkward to dance without a vis-a-vis. 
 " Colonel G. N. Sanders." 
 
 In closing this chapter, we must allude to 
 a curious and seemingly improbable circum- 
 stance, which is said to have occurred while 
 the allied fleets were lying before Cronstadt. 
 An English yacht, belonging to Lords Lich- 
 field and Euston, ventured considerably in 
 advance of the ships, when suddenly a small 
 Russian steamer put out with the intention 
 of making a prize of her. This she would 
 probably have done, but that an English 
 war-steamer advanced to the rescue of the 
 yacht. The Russian vessel declining a com- 
 bat, retired within the batteries, and the 
 affair ended. Respecting these events there 
 is no doubt ; and they were even confirmed 
 by a letter from Lord Lichfield to one of 
 the public journals, correcting some of the 
 details of its narration. 
 
 But now comes the wonderful part of the 
 story. It is asserted that on board the 
 Russian steamer which put forth to effect 
 the capture of the yacht, were the Emperor 
 Nicholas, the Archduke Constantine, the 
 archduchess, and the Russian admiral in 
 command at Cronstadt ! All these dis- 
 tinguished persons had steamed in the war- 
 ship to enjoy the pleasure of taking a little 
 unarmed yacht ; and, by so doing, had ex- 
 posed themselves to the risk of being made 
 prisoners by the English steamer which 
 approached to protect it. If the Russian 
 
 vessel did contain such goodly company, it 
 must be deeply regretted that the fact was 
 not known to the captain of the English 
 one. No doubt he would have risked his 
 life to have made a prisoner of the disturber 
 of the peace of Europe, or have done his 
 best to send the vessel containing the auto- 
 crat to the bottom. Had he succeeded in 
 either alternative, he would have won a 
 name, remembered with honour until the 
 time comes when Mr. Macaulay's traveller 
 of the future shall stand on the remains oi 
 London-bridge and contemplate the ruins 
 of the English capital. But the fact was 
 unknown : the emperor, with his family and 
 admiral (if indeed they were there) escaped; 
 and the captain of the English vessel had to 
 wait another opportunity for distinction. 
 
 " On the political consequences of such 
 an event" (i.e., the capture of the emperor), 
 said a leading journal, "we must scarcely 
 venture to speculate. The imagination of 
 the historian who is called upon to write 
 the history of the events which did not 
 occur, may fairly recoil from the magnitude 
 of the subject. Little petty questions, such 
 as those connected with the Sulina mouths 
 of the Danube, the navigation of the Black 
 Sea, the freedom of the Circassian moun- 
 taineers, the restoration of Finland to 
 Sweden, &c., sink into comparative insig- 
 nificance by the side of the chapter which 
 might have been written on the result of 
 the czar's yachting expedition off Cronstadt. 
 The wonder of it is, that all this time we 
 are not dealing with a fable, nor with the 
 result of a drunkard's inspiration, but with 
 sober and serious fact. The czar of Russia, 
 the Archduke Constantine, and the arch- 
 duchess were as near to capture and trans- 
 mission to England as it is possible to be 
 without having actually incurred such a 
 catastrophe. Such is life and history — 
 such a strange mixture of chances and im- 
 probabilities ! What an end to the Russian 
 war; and to think, in all soberness of 
 thought, that it might really have come to 
 pass, had the captain of a little English 
 steamer known who were on board the 
 little Russian steamer the other day off 
 Cronstadt." 
 
 TOL I. 
 
 U 
 
CRUISE OF THE VLADIMIR.] HISTOllY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIL 
 
 CRUISE Of THE KUSSIAK SHIP VLADIMIE ; THE CHOLERA IN THE ALLIED FLEETS AND ARMIES j PROROGA- 
 TION OF THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT; PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK BOMARSUND ; FORT TZEE TAKEN BT 
 THE FRENCH, AND FORT NOTTICH BT THE ENGLISH, BOMBARDMENT OP THE GREAT TOWER, AND SUR 
 RENDER OF THE RUSSIAN GARRISON ; THE RUSSIAN PRISONERS J BLOWING UP THE FORTS. 
 
 Many were the conjectures hazarded as to 
 when the allied fleets in the Black Sea 
 would attack Sebastopol. Expectation was 
 frequently excited upon this subject, and as 
 frequently disappointed. At length a por- 
 tion of the allied fleets, composed of four- 
 teen ships-of-the-line and six frigates, de- 
 parted from Baltschik on the 21st of July, 
 and directed its course towards the Crimea. 
 Generals Brown and Canrobert accom- 
 panied the expedition ; and it was supposed 
 their object was to efiect a landing, or to 
 reconnoitre and settle the • plan of future 
 attack. 
 
 The proceedings of the fleets in the Black 
 Sea we shall speak of more fully when 
 returning to the narrative of events of the 
 war in Asia. Here it will be sufficient to 
 say, that a strict blockade of the Euxine was 
 supposed to be kept up by the allied fleets. 
 Notwithstanding this circumstance, a Rus- 
 sian steam-frigate, called the Fladimir, put 
 out from Sebastopol, evaded the blockade, 
 and defeated the vigilance of the cruisers to 
 such an extent, as to penetrate as far as the 
 mouth of the Bosphorus ! On steaming 
 away from Sebastopol, the daring Russian 
 ship proceeded to the Asiatic coast, and 
 sunk several Turkish vessels laden with 
 corn. The captain of the Vladimir, himself 
 a Greek, had received information from 
 spies of his own nation, which, united with 
 the negligence of the blockade, might have 
 inflicted a severe disgrace upon the British 
 flag. He had learnt that the English 
 steamer, Cyclops, had landed her guns, and 
 was then lying defenceless in the roads at 
 Heraclia. Thither he bent his course ; and 
 the British vessel would have fallen an easy 
 prey to the adventurous Russian, but that 
 she had been accidentally detained at Con- 
 stantinople for the purpose of undergoing 
 some repairs, after being ordered to Heraclia 
 to inquire into the state of the coal-mines 
 then working on that coast for the use of 
 the combined fleets. Though disappointed 
 of her intended prize, the Vladimir reaped 
 the reward of her audacious bravery. She 
 158 
 
 took in tow two vessels laden with coal, and 
 steamed away with them to Sebastopol. 
 Four English war-steamers went in pursuit 
 of her, but spent their efforts in vain. Such 
 negligence on the part of the blockading 
 fleets was extremely culpable, and calculated 
 to lead to dangerous results. It was well 
 remarked, that that was not the way in 
 which matters were conducted when stout 
 old Sir John Jervis had a similar duty in 
 hand, and Troubridge was with the in-shore 
 squadron off Toulon, In consequence of 
 this dashing exploit of the Russian captain, 
 seven sail-of-the-line sailed from Baltschik 
 to enforce the blockade more thoroughly. 
 
 The expedition to Sebastopol turned out 
 to be only for the purpose of a reconnaissance. 
 Sir George Brown, in the Fury, approached 
 quietly during the night to within 3,000 
 yards of the batteries. While he stood on 
 deck counting the guns of the enemy, an 
 explosion was heard, and a ghot tore through 
 the rigging of the vessel. Other shot and 
 shell instantly followed, and the Fury 
 steamed out of the harbour with a cannon- 
 ball in her hull, but without injury to any 
 of her crew. It is said that Sir George 
 Brown Avas so satisfied with the result of 
 his observations, that on his return he re- 
 commended immediate action. 
 
 Into the city of Constantinople, amid the 
 troops there; into the vessels in the Bos- 
 phorus, and the camp at Varna, crept the 
 dread pest — cholera. It broke out at Varna 
 on the 24th of July, and in the course of 
 one day and night, upwards of twenty men 
 had fallen victims. So virulent was it, that 
 one man, seized at seven o'clock, was a 
 corpse at twelve. As if cholera was not 
 sufifi.cient to thin those gaudy masses of 
 crowded life, typhus-fever was linked to the 
 modern scourge of Europe. The light di- 
 vision (which was the first attacked) was 
 ordered on to Monastir, a village about 
 eight miles further on. Several of the men 
 were struck upon the march ; but the attacks 
 were not so fatal as when the pestilence 
 first broke out. At one period the deaths 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. [causes of cholera in the camp. 
 
 amongst the English rose from sixteen to 
 twenty a-day, while that among the French 
 were even more numerous. The correspon- 
 dent of a leading journal, while writing from 
 the spot, thus inquires the causes of this 
 terrible visitation : — 
 
 "The remoter causes of the epidemic 
 which rages at Varna and in the camps 
 may be beyord our ken, but assuredly there 
 is no difficulty in discovering the immediate 
 physical predisposing conditions of its exis- 
 tence, if medical authority is of any value. 
 In the first place, the men were left too 
 long in the same encampments. It is the 
 practice of the French, as a general rule, to 
 change their ground once every ten days, 
 even in healthier climates. They seem to 
 have paid the penalty, on this occasion, of 
 their breach of a rule recommended by ex- 
 perience and founded on common sense. 
 Our men, in spite of all orders to the con- 
 trary, persisted in throwing offal, heads and 
 entrails of fowls, bones, and skins, into the 
 bush and brushwood around the camp. In 
 the broiling sun all these various animal 
 matters speedily become putrescent, and 
 myriads of flies hover around them, and 
 buzz about into the tents, laden with cargoes 
 of corruption. Although soldiers are con- 
 stantly employed carrying away offal and 
 clearing the ground occupied by horses and 
 mules, nothing can prevent acts of care- 
 lessness and nastiness on the part of the 
 men. Now at Aladyn the smell from the 
 thickets in the rear of the camp, when the 
 light division left it, was almost intolerable. 
 The guards and highlanders are, however, 
 marched up to within a comparatively short 
 distance of this abandoned camp, and pitch 
 their tents at a distance which subjects 
 them, I should think, to the influence of its 
 tainted atmosphere. And where do the 
 light division go to ? They march to 
 Devno, which is said to bear a proverbial 
 name for its unhealthiness j and they re- 
 main in a spot which (I understand) the 
 principal medical officer of the army, Dr. 
 Hall, authoritatively condemned, after his 
 recent inspection of it. The condition of 
 the atmosphere of the camps outside Varna 
 must be worst of all, from the long-con- 
 tinued encampment of troops there, and 
 from the large masses of troops, Turkish, 
 Egyptian, Bashi-Bazouk, English, and 
 French, congregated there. Sir De L.Evans's 
 division seems to have been placed in the 
 most healthy and favourable spot, and I 
 believe the returns from the various divisions 
 
 will be found to support the view taken of 
 the comparative healthiness of the sites of 
 the various camps. Another cause of the 
 illness which prevails may be the long morn- 
 ing drills, and lengthened exposure to the 
 rays of a broiling sun at a time when the 
 men are little able to resist its effects, owing 
 to insufficient meals. Oftentimes they have 
 gone out to a four hours' drUl without any- 
 thing more substantial to work upon than a 
 cup of coffee. Sometimes they have not had 
 even that. Why should the officers escape 
 almost vrith impunity? The fact of the 
 men sleeping fifteen in a single tent, whUe 
 the officers have tents to themselves, or a 
 tent between two, has no doubt something 
 to do with this difference; but the better 
 feeding of the officers has, I suspect, a far 
 greater influence. The pork ration which is 
 sometimes issued is decidedly unwholesome. 
 Mr. Warren * was seized with Ulness after a 
 meal of pork, and several persons have com- 
 plained that they are never well after it. 
 Perhaps Mohammed was a better physiolo- 
 gist than we think, and found that swine flesh 
 in these climates is essentially unwholesome. 
 It certainly should be washed down with 
 something stronger than lukewarm river- 
 water. Our generals, who were so anxious 
 to get their men into good working order, 
 to make them hardy, to render them tempe- 
 rate, to wean them from the luxuries of the 
 malt-tub, will feel somewhat astonished if 
 they should find — which God forbid ! — that 
 this splendid army is withered by sickness 
 and decimated by a plague which might 
 have been prevented, humanly speaking, if 
 the precautions which were pointed out and 
 insisted on had been taken. Whatever else 
 caused the cholera, neither porter nor spirits 
 had anything to do with it ! The wine sold 
 in the canteens of the regiments was not so 
 cheap as to be commonly drunk in quanti- 
 ties by the men, nor so bad as to be dele- 
 terious. It was examined again and again 
 by the doctors, at the command of the 
 authorities, when they found diarrhoea in- 
 creasing, and the doctors shook their heads, 
 and talked about increase of rations and 
 better supplies of rice, &c., as being more 
 germane fo the matter. Apricots, which 
 the people here eat in enormous quantities, 
 long ere they ripen, were sold without let or 
 hindrance to the men in the camps ; nor 
 
 * Mr. Warren -was a storekeeper at Varna, and a 
 very estimable man. He was on duty on the evening 
 of the 24th of July, and at twelve the following day 
 he was no more. 
 
 159 
 
THE ALLIES AT BOMARSUND.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854, 
 
 •were juicy pumpkins and crisp cucumbers 
 wanting. I'he Turks and Greeks eat them 
 abundantly, and yet Varna is not a place 
 where cholera is at all common — on the 
 contrary, it is generally very healthy, and is 
 not at all subject to the attacks of this 
 terrible pestilence. In compliance with the 
 request of our authorities, the Turks have 
 ordered all offal to be buried with quicklime." 
 
 At Constantinople the cholera committed 
 frightful ravages amongst the troops, and 
 200 persons perished shortly after its out- 
 break. It was said that this alarming 
 amount of sickness was, to a large extent, 
 the result of the idle and stationary life the 
 soldiers were compelled to lead, and that, 
 too, while their presence was so much 
 needed at the seat of war. Indian officers, 
 accustomed to deal with armies in hot cli- 
 mates, had all along asserted that sickness 
 would attack the men if they were kept 
 unoccupied within the lines, and that the 
 only way to preserve the soldiers in health 
 was to give them constant employment and 
 something of the excitement of war. 
 
 In England, the progress of the war, or at 
 least the safety of our fleets and armies, was 
 considered so far satisfactory, that although 
 there had been some little talk of an autumn 
 session, the queen prorogued parliament 
 with the usual formalities on the 12th of 
 August. We mention this circumstance to 
 show that the government entertained no 
 apprehensions for the result of the great 
 struggle in which they were engaged. In 
 addressing the members of both houses her 
 majesty said truly : — " You will join with 
 me in admiration of the courage and perse- 
 verance manifested by the troops of the 
 sultan in their defence of Silistria, and in 
 the various military operations on the 
 Danube." This praise was bravely and 
 nobly earned; but it is not an inspiriting 
 reflection that the Queen of England could 
 not bestow upon her own willing troops the 
 tribute of admiration that was wrung from 
 her by the Mussulmans. 
 
 We must now recall our reader's atten- 
 tion to the Baltic. The English vessels 
 bearing the French troops from Calais, 
 most of them, joined the allied fleet on the 
 30th of July, at the little bay of Led Sund. 
 At this place all was noise, life, and cheer- 
 fulness. Bomarsund presented a very dif- 
 ferent appearance. The Russian com- 
 mander, learning that the fortress was to be 
 again attacked, ordered all the villages 
 around it to be burned. This cruel man- 
 160 
 
 date was effected early in August j and foi' 
 several days clouds of smoke and flames 
 rolled up towards heaven, and attested how 
 Russia protects her subjects. By Sunday 
 (the 6th) the destruction was complete, and 
 nothing remained of the town and woods 
 around the fort, but a few blackened walls 
 and heaps of charred and smouldering 
 ashes. Deserters from the forts frequently 
 joined the ships of the allies. One fine- 
 looking fellow, having obtained leave to 
 bathe, left his clothes upon the beach, and 
 swam off two miles to join the Leopard. 
 He said that he had served for fourteen 
 years nearly without pay, and living upon 
 very little else than brown bread and water, 
 and that he at length resolved to endure 
 such a state of things no longer. The poor 
 fellow seems to have been kindly received. 
 Englishmen do not injure or abuse the 
 helpless. In evidence of this, we may 
 observe that Sir Charles Napier gave 
 strict orders that a cordial and friendly 
 demeanour should be shown towards the 
 inhabitants of the islands. The soldiers 
 and sailors were informed that no injury 
 was to be done to private property, and that 
 the full value must be paid for everything 
 they required. The inhabitants, however, 
 were loath to receive anything for fear they 
 should be punished if subsequently detected. 
 It is actually related, that two boys, on 
 whom some English coin was found, were 
 summarily hanged ! Surely the severities 
 and atrocities of war have their limits ; and 
 this barbarism was certainly beyond them. 
 
 On the 5th of August, the Tilsit, St. 
 Louis, Asmodee, Cleopatra, and Syrene, 
 arrived with the siege-guns, horses, and the 
 stores necessary for the latter. The next 
 day the Tilsit, St. Louis, Infleoeible, and 
 Asmodie proceeded to Bomarsund ; and on 
 the 7th they were followed by the transports 
 and steamers, taking up the troops and 
 English marines. Sir Charles Napier shifted 
 his flag to the Bulldog, and, together with 
 his staff, also steamed up to Bomarsund, from 
 which doomed fortress the passive sentinels 
 and officers beheld the preparations for its 
 destruction. For some days the carpenters 
 of all the ships were employed in construct- 
 ing platforms to carry 32-pounders. These 
 enormous guns weighed as much as forty- 
 five hundred-weight each, and were to be 
 conveyed to the scene of action on sledges, 
 each dragged along by 150 men. They 
 were to be used in addition to the ordinary 
 field ordnance. 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA, [bombakdment of bomarstjnd. 
 
 The landing of the expeditionary corps 
 took place at three o'clock in the morning 
 of the 8th of August. It was effected with- 
 out resistance upon two points of the island 
 of Lumpar, near Bomarsund. A battery of 
 five guns, of large calibre, which opened, its 
 fire, was silenced and destroyed by a French 
 and an English steamer, the PhUgithon and 
 the Amphion. The guns, which had been 
 buried under the ruins of the gun-carriages 
 and the earth, were spiked by the sailors. 
 The French encamped behind some high 
 ground about two miles from the main bat- 
 tery, the French chasseurs spreading them- 
 selves over the intervening ground, to within 
 800 yards of the walls. A Russian ofiicer 
 was daring enough to leave the fort and 
 advance about a dozen yards towards them, 
 when he received a bullet in his breast and 
 fell. Whether his rashness led to his death 
 or not we cannot say, as some men instantly 
 rushed out from the fort and took him in. 
 One vessel (the Penelope) had, like the Rus- 
 sian ofiicer, nearly fallen a victim to its 
 temerity. It got aground within range of 
 the forts, and was fired upon for three hours 
 and-a-half, though happily without sustain- 
 ing much injury. This was in consequence 
 of several small ships going to her assistance, 
 and thus drawing the attention of the forts 
 upon themselves. Of these vessels the 
 Hecla received several shots, and the main- 
 mast of the Pigmy was torn away. The 
 Penelope had to throw over her guns, water, 
 and everything of weight, before she could 
 be floated again, and rescued from her peril- 
 ous position. She had two men killed and 
 one wounded by the fire from the Russian 
 fort, a result which may be regarded as 
 favourable, when it is understood that 123 
 shots were fired at the vessel, and that 
 twenty-one of them struck either her hull 
 or rigging. The cholera, which in this fatal 
 summer seems to have been almost universal, 
 made its appearance amongst the French 
 troops, but the infiiction was not very severe. 
 The landing of the troops, to the number 
 of 11,000, was effected with the greatest 
 dispatch and without any casualty. As 
 each regiment stept on shore the men 
 formed into order, and marched through 
 the thick pine forests and over the heights, 
 with their bright bayonets and red caps 
 illuminated by the morning sun. The 
 centre wing of the army encamped for the 
 night in and around the village, about two 
 miles from the fortress it was soon to attack. 
 On the 11th, the sailors transported the great 
 
 guns through the village to the camp of the 
 royal marines. During this time they were 
 fired upon at intervals by one of the rouiid 
 towers. Sir Charles Napier, together with 
 General Baraguay d'Hilliers, went through 
 the encampment and arranged the dispo- 
 sition of the forces. The same day a Russian 
 spy, in the garb of a female, was arrested 
 in the camp. The fort continued a desul- 
 tory fire on the troops all day ; and a village 
 was on fire and reduced to ashes by the 
 Russian shells. 
 
 The bombardment began on the 13th. 
 Behind Bomarsund were two towers, called 
 fort Tzee and fort Nottich, each of which 
 contained a garrison of 120 men. Fort 
 Tzee was first attacked by the French, and 
 afterwards fort Nottich by the English 
 forces ; the allies, however, not only acting 
 in concert, but actually as parts of the same 
 army. At four o'clock in the morning, the 
 French battery of four 16-pounders and 
 four mortars opened a tremendous fire upon 
 the western fort. It was kept up for twelve 
 hours, accompanied by a terrific roaring and 
 rending. The shells burst in the em- 
 brasures and over the roof, and the shot 
 destroyed the facings of the embrasures at 
 every round. By four o'clock the Russians 
 hung a flag of truce out of a porthole, and 
 demanded two hours' respite to bury their 
 dead. General Baraguay- d'Hilliers granted 
 them one hour ; and, as might have been 
 expected, they made use of it to obtain 
 reinforcements and a further supply of am- 
 munition from the other fort. 
 
 The hour expired, and the firing recom- 
 menced with a more certain and deadly 
 fury. The riflemen on the rocks also poured 
 into the embrasures a fttal storm of bullets. 
 Indeed, the chasseurs employed their Mini^ 
 rifies with such success, that the Russians 
 had great difficulty in loading their guns. 
 The eastern tower, therefore, came to the 
 assistance of the garrison in the western, 
 and hurled their shells over the besieged 
 fort into the camp of the allies. At eight in 
 the evening, the Russians attempted to gain 
 a fresh respite by hanging out another flag 
 of truce. Accordingly, the commandant of 
 the artillery went to General Baraguay 
 d'Hilliers, and inquired if the battery should 
 cease firing. " Cease firing !" was the reply, 
 " certainly not, sir. These men have not 
 respected the object of their truce, and they 
 shall not receive the slightest consideration. 
 Continue your bombardment the whole night 
 long." 
 
 161 
 
SURRENDER OF THK FORTS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D, 1854. 
 
 In conformity with tte orders of the gene- 
 ral, the firing was carried on all night with- 
 out cessation, and the ground almost rocked 
 with the terrific explosions and the blows 
 dealt by iron balls against the massive stone 
 walls. The Russians held out with dogged 
 bravery, and their commander expressed his 
 intention of fighting to the last. At length 
 the face of the tower on which the guns 
 played was completely knocked away, a 
 breach was nearly effected, and fort Tzee 
 surrendered at nine o'clock on the morning 
 of the 14th. The commandant would not 
 give up his sword quietly, and in flourishing it 
 about wounded a French oflScer in the face, 
 who instantly ran him through the side, but 
 the wound did not prove mortal. On the 
 following day the fort was accidentally set 
 on fire by a shell discharged by the Russians 
 to dislodge the French. The fire continued 
 smouldering and gathering strength for some 
 hours ; then the flames roared fiercely from 
 the embrasures, and the tower blew up with 
 a tremendous explosion which hurled its 
 masses of granite and brickwork high into 
 the air, and' left nothing of it standing but a 
 bare, grim, blackened ruin. Unhappily two 
 Frenchmen were blown np with the fort. 
 
 During the night of the 14th a singular 
 accident happened. A party of chasseurs 
 had been out reconnoitring and were re- 
 turning to their camp, when the French 
 sentry, mistaking their tread for the ap- 
 proach of an enemy (or perhaps he had been 
 asleep and dreaming) j called out — "The 
 Russians ! — the Russians \" Instantly the 
 guard, without challenging, fired upon the 
 approaching party, and thus unfortunately 
 killed seven and wounded thirteen of their 
 own countrymen. 
 
 On the morning of the 15th, the English 
 battery began a fierce firing of shot and 
 shell upon fort Nottich. Captain Pelham, 
 of the Blenheim, also landed a large 10-inch 
 gun on the earthwork battery, and his crew 
 kept up a steady fire in a very exposed 
 position. As the shells burst over them, 
 these brave fellows prostrated themselves for 
 a moment, and then leaping again to their 
 feet, renewed the assault. The guns of 
 several vessels from time to time joined in 
 the assault, while the Edinburgh and the 
 Ajax directed their fire upon the large fort. 
 The effect of these deadly and combined 
 attacks was to be seen in the defaced and 
 crushed condition of the fort. At six in 
 the evening, the Russians hung out the 
 white flag and surrendered. They had six 
 ]63 
 
 men killed, seven wounded, and 115 (besides 
 three ofiicers) taken prisoners. Among the 
 latter was the Russian commandant, who, 
 as he passed the ruins of the first round 
 tower, looked up and exclaimed with an 
 absurd assumption of pathos — "Oh, Eng- 
 landj England, we did not expect this from 
 you 1" He also expressed a wish to see the 
 battery that had done him so much mischief. 
 On its being shown to him, he almost cried 
 with vexation to find it contained only three 
 guns. He said he thought there were at 
 at least twenty-five. On the morning of 
 the 16th, the prisoners were marched under 
 a guard to the boats, and put on board the 
 Termagant. The loss of the English in this 
 afiair was slight — almost beyond belief. The 
 Hon. Mr. Wrottesley, of the royal engi- 
 neers, was killed, together with one marine, 
 and seven or eight men were wounded. 
 Very few ships wefe engaged in the affair, 
 much to the disappointment of the Jaek- 
 tars, who longed to haul in near the forts 
 and pour a few broadsides upon them. 
 
 The principal fortress, properly called 
 Bomarsund, was not capable of much resis- 
 tance after its supporting towers had fallen. 
 The attack upon it commenced on the after- 
 noon of the 14th, and was conducted by the 
 land forces, assisted by the Edinburgh and 
 one of the French liners, while the Amphion, 
 Ajax, and Driver fired shot and shell at 
 long range. The bombardment continued 
 during the 15th, and on the 16th the go- 
 vernor, seeing that a longer resistance was 
 useless, hung out a white flag from one of the 
 embrasures in token of surrender. The 
 signal was given to suspend firing, and Sir 
 Charles Napier and Admiral Chads went, in 
 a small unarmed boat, to the shore. At the 
 same time the French general and his staff 
 galloped up to the fort. General Bodisco, 
 the Russian commander, came forth, com- 
 plied with the demand of an unconditional 
 surrender, and delivered up his sword to 
 the English admiral and the French general. 
 A command was then given to the French 
 troops to advance. They did so, and many 
 of them entered the fortress, while the rest 
 drew up in line outside. 
 
 The next demand was for the arms of tlie 
 Russians, which the dejected soldiers brought 
 and piled up in heaps. The prisoners, to 
 the number of 2,300 men, having collected 
 their personal baggage, were ordered to be 
 taken at once on board the men-of-war. 
 During their removal the victors trium- 
 phantly played them out of the fortress. The 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [fall OV B0MARST7ND. 
 
 army was divided into two long files, extend- 
 ing from the gateway to the landing-place. 
 The men stood with loaded guns and fixed 
 bayonets, while the prisoners were brought 
 out and marched between them two by two. 
 They looked careworn, and exhausted with 
 fatigue ; for five days they had taken no rest, 
 except at the side of their guns. Symptoms 
 of revolt had been shown before the sur- 
 render; and when the army entered the 
 fortress, many of the Russians had seized 
 the spirit casks, and endeavoured to drown 
 the consciousness of their defeat in intoxica- 
 tion. These fellows were got out with diffi- 
 culty J and when the music struck up, they 
 commenced their national pastime, and lu- 
 dicrously danced a polka through the whole 
 line. Poor creatures ! perhaps captivity to 
 generous foes came to them as a welcome 
 deliverance from something worse. One 
 drunken Russian soldier was afiected in a 
 very difierent manner. The ruflian was 
 seized by two French soldiers, in an attempt 
 to fire the powder-magazine. Being dragged 
 forth he met the fate he deserved, and was 
 shot. Within three hours after the sur- 
 render, the prisoners were safely lodged on 
 board the men-of-war. The following morn- 
 ing the mole was crowded with the wives of 
 these poor people, who came to see their 
 husbands before their departure. Besides 
 the prisoners, 139 pieces of artillery were 
 taken in the different forts ; othtr accounts 
 say 203. 
 
 But this was not all : provisions for 3,000 
 men for two years were discovered; an 
 enormous quantity of stores of all kinds; 
 about £15,000 in Russian notes, useless to 
 the captors; and eleven magazines, containing 
 nearly 200 tons of powder. The latter was 
 destined to blow up the forts as soon as the 
 officers received authority from their re- 
 spective governments to do so. Military 
 men have expressed their opinion, that, in a 
 short time, the place would have been as 
 strong as Cronstadt. It was the intention 
 of the emperor to build eleven more round 
 forts, and another like Bomarsund. The 
 foundations of some were began; and the 
 large fort, which was a noble building, 
 already stood fifteen or twenty feet high. 
 It is supposed this was to have been his 
 stepping-stone to Sweden; but his hopes 
 were overthrown by the severe check he ex- 
 perienced in the destruction of Bomarsund. 
 
 The following interesting account from 
 the pen of a naval officer supplies some fur- 
 ther particulars : — 
 
 " By the time you get this, no doubt the 
 English newspapers will have given you a 
 vast deal more information than I can of the 
 affair in detail. I can only write of the part 
 I have been engaged in. Bomarsund is the 
 only fortified place of all the Aland Islands, 
 and was said to be impregnable. Beyond 
 the great or centre battery, it has, or had, 
 two tower batteries ; the one tower was taken 
 two day's ago by the French and English, 
 and was occupied by them. The Russians 
 had dug a mine from the great battery to the 
 one taken, and Sir C. Napier, from informa- 
 tion or suspicion, telegraphed the troops to 
 leave. A few minutes after, the whole tower 
 was blown to atoms. I came into the bay 
 too late to see it, but not too late to hear it. 
 The second tower was taken by assault of the 
 marines and bluejackets last night late, and 
 the governor taken prisoner, and to-day was 
 the grand attack upon the centre battery. 
 The firing from the ships commenced this 
 morning about ten; at the same time the 
 French and English troops were banging 
 away on shore upon the places from their 
 main forts : the scene was bewildering. I 
 watched the shot and shell from the deck of 
 the Cuckoo steamer until my eyes ached. 
 Some fell short of the battery ; others went 
 over ; many I could see plough up the ground 
 at its foot; others dashed the roof into splint- 
 ers : some shells burst in the air — a most 
 singular sight. The volume of smoke from 
 them did not separate for many minutes, but 
 looked like small balloons fioating about. 
 The roar of guns was terrific. At last, at 
 exactly half-past twelve, a white flag was 
 seen flying upon the roof of the building. 
 Sir C. Napier's ship (the Bulldog) and the 
 French admiral's ship instantly sent up 
 theirs, and all was quiet : the fort had sur- 
 rendered. Two boats were then sent off to 
 the fort from the admirals, and not another 
 gun was heard : 2,000 Russians had sur- 
 rendered prisoners to the allied fleets. 
 The French and English troops now poured 
 down by thousands -from their main forts 
 towards the battery, and boats from the ships 
 in dozens, the boats of the Royal William 
 schooner not long behind them : there was 
 no resisting it. The men pulled away, and 
 there we were, where only a few minutes 
 before it would have been certain death to 
 have shown our noses. Lost in wonder and 
 awe at the devastation before us, the scene 
 was too much. The prisoners were being 
 taken by boatloads to the vessels, for con- 
 veyance to England and France; many of 
 
 163 
 
FALL OF BOMARSUND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854, 
 
 them the poorest and most deplorable-look- 
 ing objects it is possible to conceive ; others, 
 again, looking as if they had just escaped 
 from a tyrant, and were at last freemen, 
 laughing and quite jolly. Many were help- 
 lessly drunk, and were driven along by the 
 soldiery. Carts were bringing out the sick 
 and wounded — a melancholy sight, indeed. 
 We did not enter far into the great battery, 
 it being dangerous from the quantity of loose 
 powder-bags lying about. The troops were 
 engaged searching for the Russian officers ; 
 numbers of them had stowed themselves 
 away, and were found insensibly drunk. 
 None but those who have seen, as I now 
 have, the capabilities of the allied powers, 
 can form any idea of their means. The 
 walls of this place are nine feet thick, solid 
 granite ; the roof is iron, and, under the iron, 
 is sand six feet thick. Yet, there it is. 
 "Well have the French and English guns done 
 their work : the place is a ruin ; the roof torn 
 off; the solid granite blown to fragments ; the 
 ground is ploughed up with shot and shell 
 around it : and the ships that did this work 
 were 3,700 yards oif, and, as far as I can 
 hear, not one ship received the least injury. 
 The French troops have done well, it is said, 
 with their rifles. They shot the men at the 
 guns in the fort through the loopholes ; the 
 bullets (of which I have a pocketful) were as 
 thick as hail at the foot of the building. The 
 French soldiers were bringing out all sorts 
 of things. 
 
 " The view from the ruin of the upper tower 
 is delightful in the extreme, looking over 
 small islands out of all number, but all 
 covered with shrubs and trees. The men-of- 
 war all decked out with their gay flags ; the 
 boats belonging to the ships sailing about 
 in all directions, and the small Swedish 
 boats navigated by women, was a sight not 
 to be forgotten. The sheep here are any- 
 body's; they are very nimble, and our middies 
 shoot them. I did not venture near the 
 French camp, as the cholera is raging there 
 violently. Of course, with all this gaiety of 
 scene following immediately after the sur- 
 render of the great tower, there is the dark 
 and gloomy in attendance ; although unseen 
 by many, I could not shut my eyes to the 
 sight, and my ears to the sounds of woe 
 from the poor Russian women — many with 
 babies in their arms — whose husbands had 
 either fallen or were now on their way to 
 England or France, prisoners of war. That 
 monster Nicholas had pressed these men, 
 and they were actually locked into the fort I 
 164 
 
 have just been over, to fight until they 
 perished. These poor women are now with- 
 out homes or means of any kind whatever. 
 The French they fear to approach, but cling 
 to the English as protectors ; and all the 
 English here seem proud of the distinction. 
 I saw some of our sturdy fellows dividing 
 their rations with them, and sheltering them 
 from the sun. 
 
 " I sat beside one poor creature who seemed 
 overwhelmed with grief; her husband had 
 had his arm blown ofi: I intended to give 
 her some pieces of silver, and placed some 
 before her. They were all allowed to see 
 their husbands before leaving for England. 
 The officers were allowed to take their wives 
 with them; indeed, the English are verv 
 kind." 
 
 The fall of Bomarsund was the most dig- 
 nified and gratifying act hitherto performed 
 by the allies in the cause of the Ottoman. 
 Bomarsund, with its solid wall? of granite 
 nine feet thick, and its roof of iron, was smit- 
 ten by the cannon of the allies as a house of 
 glass might be by the mailed hand of a giant; 
 itself shattered and overthrown, and its de- 
 fenders carried away into captivity. But in 
 losing Bomarsund, the czar also lost the 
 reputation of his great fortresses for impreg- 
 nability. If Bomarsund could be shattered, 
 and if need were, pulverised, by French and 
 English cannon, then why not Cronstadt 
 also ? Why not Sebastopol ? The French 
 general,* in writing to the minister of war, 
 thus referred to this point : " The destruc- 
 tion of Bomarsund will be a considerable 
 loss for Russia, both in a material and moral 
 point of view. We have, in one week, de- 
 stroyed the prestige attached to their ram- 
 parts of granite, which, it has been said, 
 were invulnerable against cannon. We 
 know now, that there is nothing in these 
 fine and threatening fortifications to secure 
 them from the effects of a well-directed 
 fire. This fine result, Monsieur le Marechal, 
 is due to the intelligence, the devotedness, 
 and the courage of the officers and men of 
 the expeditionary corps, and of the aUied 
 fleets. Everyone has done his duty ; danger, 
 fatigue, and privations have been unheeded 
 by those French soldiers whom it is so glo- 
 rious to command." Admiral Napier much 
 regretted that there was not scope for action 
 for the whole of the fleet, and also that the 
 enemy did not attempt to raise the siege 
 
 * The French emperor bestowed upon General 
 Baraguay d'Hilliera the staff of a marshal of France, 
 as a reward for his exertions at Bomarsund. 
 
A.D. 1854. J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [RUSSIAN PRISONERS. 
 
 with their fleets. In the latter ease, judging 
 from the zeal and gallantry of the officers 
 and men under his command, he thought it 
 most probable that many of the Russian 
 ships would have found their way into 
 British ports. 
 
 To restore tranquillity to the " poor in- 
 habitants of the Aland Isles, the following 
 proclamation was issued and read in all 
 their churches : — 
 
 "We, the undersigned commanders-in- 
 chief of the combined naval and land forces, 
 hereby authorise the authorities of these 
 islands to continue ia the administration of 
 their respective duties, and we rely on their 
 doing so with zeal and circumspection. 
 
 " In times of tumult and war, it devolves 
 upon every well-disposed citizen to do his 
 utmost in maintaining order and peace ; the 
 lower classes must not be led away with the 
 belief that no law or order exists, for these 
 wiU be enforced with as much rigour as 
 heretofore. 
 
 " Since the late events, which have changed 
 the aspect of these islands, the blockade has 
 been raised, and the public are informed that 
 they are at liberty to trade with Sweden on 
 the same conditions and privileges as hereto- 
 fore. 
 
 " Each and every one is cautioned against 
 holding any communication or intercourse 
 with the enemy or Finland '; and if any one 
 is found aiding them in any way, he will be 
 punished most severely. 
 
 " Given under our hands, &c., 
 
 " Baragttay D'Hillieks. 
 
 " Charles Napier. 
 
 " Parseval Deschenes. 
 
 " Jones." 
 
 The prisoners were equally divided be- 
 tween the French and English forces, 1,000 
 and odd to each. General Bodisco, the gover- 
 nor of Bomarsund, and a number of Russian 
 officers, were sent by the steam frigate Souf- 
 fleur to France, and the remainder of the 
 prisoners belonging to the French were 
 embarked on board the CUopatre and the 
 Syrene, and taken to Brest. The general 
 was accompanied by his two aides-de-camp, 
 his wife, one of his children (a boy between 
 four and five years of age), and two servants. 
 The whole party were permitted to take 
 apartments at an hotel, where they awaited 
 the decision of the government as to their 
 future destination. 
 
 On the 5th of September, the Hannibal 
 and the Termagant arrived respectively at 
 
 VOL, I. tZ 
 
 Deal and Sheerness. The first brought 233 
 Russian prisoners ; and the last 199 soldiers 
 and one woman, together with three officers 
 and their wives. The Valorous and the 
 Dauntless also brought small numbers of 
 prisoners; and the James arrived with 132 
 Russian soldiers, nine women, and thirteen 
 children. Twenty of these prisoners were 
 convicts, destined for Siberia, but sent to 
 Bomarsund to assist in working the guns in 
 the principal fort. They were said to be the 
 most depraved characters, many of them 
 having been condemned for murders, and 
 others for the perpetration of most de- 
 testable crimes. These men were put on 
 board the Benbow prison-ship. The Hon. 
 Keith Stewart, captain of the Termagant, 
 gave a farewell dinner to the officers and 
 their wives previously to their being sent on 
 board the Devonshire. Captain Swearoff, 
 one of the Russian officers, proposed the 
 health of their entertainer, and for himself 
 and his associates begged to return him 
 their most sincere thanks for the kindness 
 shown, both to them and their wives, during 
 the time they had been on board his ship. 
 The officers stated that the emperor does 
 not grant them any pay while prisoners of 
 war, nor allow them to return on parole of 
 honour, nor to serve. They all seemed 
 quite happy at the idea of a residence in 
 England, but earnestly expressed a hope 
 that our government will confer on them 
 the same liberty that was given to the 
 officers of the Tiger — namely, to remain on 
 shore, in private lodgings, at their own 
 expense. The Russian press have, however, 
 with their customary want of veracity, 
 accused the English of treating their pri- 
 soners with extreme cruelty. The Russian 
 soldiers were thin, ill-fed looking men, and 
 inferior, both in physical strength and in- 
 telligence, to the soldiers of western Europe. 
 Their long gray pepper-and-salt great coats, 
 with faded facings, and destitute of any 
 brass ornaments, gave them a poor and 
 dingy look. Their wives were plainly but 
 neatly dressed, most of them wearing co- 
 loured handkerchiefs round their heads, and 
 bearing a resemblance to the Bavarian 
 broom-girls we sometimes see in our streets. 
 The Russian prisoners carried the cholera 
 with them on board the Termagant, and 
 out of forty-three of these poor fellows who 
 were attacked during the passage to Eng- 
 land, seventeen perished. The Russian 
 officers were very superior to their men. 
 They were fine-looking fellows, and both 
 
 165 
 
BLOWING UP THE PORTS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 well-educated and possessed of pleasing 
 manners. 
 
 A curious circumstance has been stated 
 in connexion with the destruction of Bomar- 
 sund. It is, that towards the last of the 
 conflict, the Russians loaded their muskets 
 with silver rubles, or as others say, with 
 shot made out of rubles cut into pieces. 
 Whether this was done from a superstitious 
 feeling, or with a view to deprive the victors 
 of the contents of the military chest, is not 
 known. Opinions leant towards the latter 
 speculation; because after the surrender of 
 the fortress, a quantity of specie was found 
 secreted in the earth. The charging their 
 muskets with coins may, however, have 
 arisen from a superstition. Probably the 
 ignorant Russian soldiers feared that their 
 enemies might have been in league with 
 the powers of darkness, and the idea that a 
 wizard can only be slain by a silver bullet 
 is extremely general among ignorant and 
 superstitious minds. 
 
 When the allies were in possession of 
 Bomarsund, the question naturally arose, 
 what should be done with it ? Should they 
 repair and occupy it, or level its fortifica- 
 tions with the dust, and thus prevent them 
 from again falling into the hands of the 
 Russians? On this subject the admirals 
 sent for commands from their respective 
 governments, who returned for answer that 
 the fortifications should be utterly destroyed, 
 and the islands abandoned. The project of 
 restoring the ruined fortifications to Sweden 
 was contemplated, and we believe an offer of 
 them was made to that state, on condition 
 that she should hold them by an arrangement 
 with the allies until the peace : but Sweden 
 appears not to have accepted the offer, pro- 
 bably because she feared herself not strong 
 enough to retain them. 
 
 It was certainly the wisest policy to lay 
 Bomarsund in ruins. " Destroy the nests," 
 said a warrior who fought against the 
 enemies of the mind, "destroy the nests, 
 and the crows will not return." As to a 
 permanent occupation of the Aland Islands 
 by French or English troops, the extreme 
 bitterness of the winters would render it a 
 compound of madness and cruelty. The 
 rigour of that mercUess season is such as 
 neither French nor English , could stand up 
 against; and even amongst the Russian 
 troops, the mortality there is most alarming. 
 This is seen by the inscriptions on the 
 tombs in the military cemetery, and from 
 the fact that the Russian government had 
 166 
 
 lately ordered the construction of a military 
 hospital as spacious as the fortress itself. 
 From the commencement of November to 
 the end of April the climate is so bitter, that 
 the centigrade thermometer ranges from 
 20° to 25°, and rises often to 30°. During 
 this period, the cold is sometimes increased 
 by violent north-westerly winds, which fre- 
 quently blow in winter during several con- 
 secutive days, and render the islands com- 
 pletely uninhabitable for foreigners. Some 
 of the Russian officers taken prisoners at 
 Bomarsund stated that they had often tra- 
 velled in sledges from Aland to St, Peters- 
 burg, encamping at night on the ice. They 
 said, also, there were stUl in the island 
 several old men, who perfectly recollected 
 having seen, in 1809, a corps of Russian 
 cavalry, |of 15,000 men, coming from Fin- 
 land, and crossing the Gulf of Bothnia to 
 Aland on the ice. 
 
 The blowing up of the fortification com- 
 menced on the 30th of August, with the 
 destruction of Fort Prasto,which had escaped 
 almost uninjured from the bombardment. 
 The necessary quantity of powder having 
 been placed beneath its walls, the prepara- 
 tions made, and the train fired, a rumbling 
 sensation was felt, then two terrific explo- 
 sions were heard, and the fort was hurled 
 into the air in uncouth masses, accompanied 
 by enormous columns of dust and smoke. 
 A strong wind carried away the artificial 
 darkness thus caused, and revealed nothing 
 of Fort Prasto but two little bits of wall, 
 each about twenty feet high, standing 
 amidst a ruinous heap of blackened rafters 
 and masses of stone. The enormous stores 
 of provisions found in Bomarsund were 
 generously given to the poor country-people, 
 the homes of many of whom had been 
 burnt by the Russians to prevent their 
 affording shelter to the allies. The supply 
 was very seasonable, and the poor creatures 
 flocked from all parts to receive it. Indeed, 
 but for it, many of them would probably 
 have starved during the winter. Fort Not- 
 tich was mined and blown up. Only half 
 the quantity of powder used at Prasto was 
 employed, and the ruin was not so com- 
 plete. 
 
 The same day, a Russian vessel, bearing 
 a flag of truce flying from a pole forward, 
 arrived at Bomarsund. She was instantly 
 boarded, both by English and French guard- 
 boats, and her captain carried before Sir C. 
 Napier. On being questioned, the captain 
 said that he had been sent from Helsingfors 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [reconnaissance at abo. 
 
 to a place near Abo, with a flag of truce, 
 where he was to meet the officers' and sol- 
 diers' wives taken at Bomarsund; but not 
 finding them there, he ventured to approach 
 the latter place. Sir Charles told him, that 
 by doing so he had laid himself open to 
 capture, because he had no business to 
 come beyond his first destination; and 
 therefore he would be detained until it was 
 convenient to send him back with an escort. 
 
 The mines under the great tower of 
 Bomarsund were fired in the evening of the 
 2nd of September. It was nearly dark when 
 the series of explosions, to the number of 
 five or six, occurred. The effect was grand, 
 even to awfulness. " None of the shells," 
 says a spectator, " had been removed from 
 the fort, and when they were blown into 
 the air, those projectiles were banging off 
 in all directions, sparkling like a bright star 
 at the moment of their bursting. The ruins 
 afterwards took fire, and burnt with great 
 violence. About twelve the fire reached 
 another magazine, which sent the burning 
 timber and hot stones blazing like meteors 
 through the air. A portion of the centre of 
 the tower had been purposely left for Admiral 
 Chads to try the effect of the broadsides 
 of the Edinburgh. On Monday, the 4th, 
 he laid his ship within 500 yards, and fired 
 seven broadsides, which made a complete 
 breach in the wall, knopking several embra- 
 sures into one, and proving pretty clearly 
 that, if the other forts of the emperor are 
 built like this, they are no match against 
 our' 'wooden walls.' The admiral then 
 tried broadsides at 1,000 yards, but neither 
 the firing nor its effect was satisfactory. I 
 am sorry to say, that four natives were 
 blown up with the fort. They had been 
 repeatedly warned to go away, but secreted 
 themselves in hopes, I suppose, of plunder, 
 not believing the mines were to be sprung. 
 One man escaped, by some miracle, to teU 
 the tale. The foundations of the forts in 
 contemplation (some of which are already 
 twenty feet high, and were to contain 160 
 guns in casemates) are being blown up by 
 some few sappers and miners left behind for 
 that purpose. With this exception all the 
 troops have embarked, and left Led Sund 
 yesterday for home." 
 
 Several vessels of the allied fleet left Led 
 Sund as early as the 21st of August, and 
 steamed in the direction of Hango. On 
 Sunday, the 27th, General Baraguay d'Hil- 
 liers and Sir Charles Napier reached Hango, 
 and there was a probability that the scenes 
 
 enacted at Bomarsund would be repeated. 
 The disheartened Russians, however, fore- 
 seeing the result of a bombardment by such 
 a force as then threatened them, and anxious 
 by any means to escape from the disgrace 
 of defeat and surrender, themselves blew up 
 the fortifications of Hango in the sight of 
 the enemy, and retreated to Abo, where 
 15,000 of their countrymen were stationed. 
 The steamers proceeded in the direction of 
 Abo, but after ascertaining that it was 
 strongly guarded and protected by numerous 
 gun-boats, they retired. The reason of this 
 act is assigned in the following despatches 
 respecting it : — 
 
 " Reconnaissance of the JEnemy's Gun-boaU cmd 
 Steamers at Abo. 
 
 " Buke of Wellington, Led Sund, Aug. 27th. 
 
 " Sir, — Having received information that Rus- 
 sian troops and gun-boats were among the is- 
 lands, I sent Captain Scott with a small squa- 
 dron to find them out, and I beg to enclose his 
 very able report. 
 
 " Captain Scott threaded his way through the 
 islands in a most persevering manner, as their 
 lordships will see by the chart I send ; his ships 
 were repeatedly on shore, and the Odin no less 
 than nine times, before they discovered the 
 enemy's gun-boats and steamers lying behind 
 a floating boom, supported on each side by 
 batteries and a number of troops, covering the 
 town of Abo, where they have collected a large 
 force. 
 
 " I take this opportunity of bringing luider 
 their lordships' notice the very great exertions 
 of the surveying officers. Captain Sullivan, 
 assisted by Mr. Evans, master of the Lightning, 
 and Commander Otter, of the Allan; and I 
 have no hesitation in saying, that it is owing 
 to their exertions this fleet have found their 
 way, with comparatively little damage, into 
 creeks and comers never intended for ships- 
 of-the-line ; day and night have they worked, 
 and worked successfully. Commander Otter is 
 an old officer, and well worthy of promotion ; 
 and Captain Sullivan and his assisting surveyor 
 deserve the protection of their lordships. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " C. Napies. 
 " Vice-admiral and Commander-in-chief 
 " The Secretary of the Admiralty, London." 
 
 (Enclosure No. 1 in Sir Charles Napier's 
 Letter.) — Her Majesty's ship Odin, Led Sund, 
 August 25th. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to state that, in 
 pursuance of your orders, dated the 18th of 
 August, I proceeded, with her majesty's ships 
 Odin, Alban, Qorgon, and Driver, under my 
 command, towards Kumblinge and the islandfa 
 east of it. 
 
 167 
 
RECONNAISSANCE AT ABO.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 ) " Having procured a pilot at Dagerby, we 
 felt our way oa with boats and leads through a 
 most difficult and intricate navigation, in the 
 course of which every ship has been on shore 
 (Gorgon and Odin frequently), but we hope 
 with no further injury than that done to the 
 copper in various places. 
 
 " At Kumblinge and the adjacent islands, I 
 was unable to obtain any information of troops 
 or gun-boats, but learnt on Sunday, ot Aster- 
 holm, that a small fast steam-boat from Abo was 
 in our immediate vicinity. 
 
 " Bather than return to your flag without 
 intelligence, I resolved to attempt a passage 
 to Abo, and on Monday, at daylight, leaving 
 the larger ships at anchor, I took all the mas- 
 ters in the Alban, surveyed and buoyed off a 
 passage for ten miles to Bergham, and then 
 returned for the other ships, but the Gorgon 
 grounding delayed us for that night. 
 
 " On Tuesday we made our way in safety 
 into the comparatively main open track to 
 Abo, beyond Bergham ; at two, p.m., observed 
 a small steamer watching us ; and at three, 
 P.M., several gun-boats moving a body of troops 
 from the point (one and-a-half miles to the 
 north-west) up to the chain across the narrow 
 entrance to the harbour. 
 
 " Having approached to within 3,000 yards, 
 the Allan stood in to sound. The entrance of 
 the harbour was closed by two impediments ; 
 the one in front appeared to be a chain laid 
 on a floating platform, the other of stakes and 
 booms, between which the gun-boats were sta- 
 tioned at regular intervals, and the steam-ves- 
 sels (four in number) were under the shelter of 
 the points. 
 
 " About four, P.M., the Allmi fired the first 
 shell, which burst over one of the gun-boats. 
 I then commenced firing, and was followed at 
 intervals by the Gorgon and Driver, but with 
 little or no effect that we could discover, except 
 that of fully answering my purpose in drawing 
 a return from the masked batteries and gun- 
 boats. Only one of the former, at the end of 
 the boom, mounted a gun or guns of large 
 calibre and long range, but which was con- 
 cealed from our view by a point of land. The 
 others — three in number — about one mile to 
 the west of the boom, as far as we could 
 judge, did not in any one case mount more 
 than five, or less than three, small guns. A 
 fort, of apparently eight or nine large guns, at 
 a distance, constructed to enfilade both pas- 
 sages, fired repeatedly, but the shot invariably 
 fell a very short distance beyond the south end 
 of Little Beclcholm. 
 
 " As my object was not to attack Abo, but 
 to examine its defences, I contented myself 
 with firing a shot occasionally at the gun-boats, 
 or whatever looked like a masked battery. In 
 the meantime, Commander Otter, in the most 
 zealous and gaUant manner, after going as close 
 168 
 
 as it was prudent in the Alban, pulled in with 
 his gig, sounding just within range of the gun- 
 boats and batteries, which were all the time 
 keeping up a constant fire. 
 
 " The sum of the information I have been 
 able to obtain with his assistance, and that of 
 Commanders Cracroft and Hobart, amounts to 
 this ; — seventeen row-boats, two guns each, and 
 about twenty oars on each side; four steam- 
 vessels (all small), two having the flag with 
 cross anchors in it ; and another was observed 
 steaming away through the channel to the 
 eastward of Beckholm. Three (if not four) 
 masked batteries, and another I think in course 
 of construction, for the position of which I 
 refer you to the very clear delineation executed 
 by Commander Otter. 
 
 " The channel appears to be very narrow, 
 and the thick woods were evidently full of 
 soldiers. We learnt that our arrival had been 
 anticipated (as we expected, knowing that we 
 had been watched by a steamer for some days), 
 and that 4,000 additional troops had been sent 
 on the previous day, and 5,000 more were ex- 
 pected to arrive on the following day; that 
 there were six steamers — five small and one 
 large (the latter we did not see) — and eighteen 
 boats and two guns, and eighty men, besides 
 soldiers in each. 
 
 " The weather was so bad on Thursday that 
 I was detained under Bergo, and went into 
 Bomarsund this morning ; when, having com- 
 municated with Captain Warden, and received 
 his despatches, I proceeded to join your flag. 
 
 " I have only to add my very anxious hope 
 that my proceedings may meet with the appro- 
 bation of the commander-in-chief. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " Eeah-ois Scott, Captaiii. 
 " Vice-admiral Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B., 
 " Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 (Enclosure No. 2 in Sir Charles Napier's 
 
 Letter.) — Her Majesty's ship Odin, Led Sund, 
 
 August 25th. 
 
 " Sir, — In returning to your flag from de- 
 tached service with the squadron you did me 
 the honour to place under my orders, it is my 
 gratifying duty to express to you how well and 
 ably I have been supported by Commanders 
 Otter, Cracroft, and Hobart, in their respective 
 ships, during my late examination of Abo and 
 its defences, and engagement with the batteries 
 and gunrboats at that place ; and I beg to offer 
 my humble testimony to their ability, zeal, and 
 great exertions during a week of very difficult 
 and harassing duties. 
 
 " I desire most particularly to call your at- 
 tention to the services performed by Commander 
 Otter during that time. Nothing but the most 
 unceasing and laborious efforts of a clever, in- 
 defatigable, and zealous officer could have per- 
 formed the duties I required of him, which 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [bomaesund. 
 
 alone enabled me to obtain the information 
 herewith enclosed, and to examine a place so 
 difficult of access and so little known as Abo, 
 in the limited time to which I was restricted 
 by you. 
 
 " Under the above circumstances, upon public 
 grounds, and for the advantage of the naval 
 service, which I know you ha,ve so much at 
 heart, I beg to urge your recommendation of 
 that officer and Lieutenant William Mould, 
 senior and gunnery lieutenant of this ship, to 
 the lords commissioners of the admiralty for 
 that promotion their constant and valuable 
 services have so long entitled them to expect 
 and hope for. " I have, &c., 
 
 " Francis Soott, Captain. 
 " Vice-admiral Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B." 
 
 We shall be pardoned for dwelling upon 
 this first great event in the war, as far as 
 the allies were concerned, because we can 
 do so with something of national pride 
 Such an event was wanting to preserve the 
 reputation of England and France from the 
 stain of indifierence or idleness. The laurels 
 had hitherto been worn by the brave Turks, 
 and (with the exception of a few individual 
 cases of chivalrous action) by them alone; 
 but in the destruction of Bomarsund the 
 allies also snatched a wreath. So much of 
 interest, indeed, pertains to this memorable 
 bombardment, which rocked the pride of 
 Russia, that we shall oflfer no apology for 
 the insertion of the following pictorial letters, 
 as they give many particulars on minor 
 points not contained in other accounts, and 
 have moreover such a dashing, sailor-like air, 
 that they will be instantly recognised as the 
 composition of a British naval officer : — 
 " Her Majesty's ship Leopard, Prasto Chan- 
 nel, Bomarsund, Wednesday, Aug. 16th, 
 half-past five, a.m. 
 
 "My dear ^,— On Monday we did 
 
 little. The large fort commenced firing in 
 the evening on the one that had been taken 
 by the French (for I must tell you we saw 
 the tricolour planted on it on the Monday 
 morning.) They entered it on that morn- 
 ing, and found thirty-four soldiers, with a 
 captain, stretched on the ground perfectly 
 exhausted from fatigue. They were made 
 prisoners. The fortress was gutted with 
 shot and shell ; and, as a French officer de- 
 scribed it to me, a perfect ' lace-work' from 
 rifle-balls. All the wounded had been re- 
 moved — fifty-nine bodies were found in 
 quicklime, where they stowed them, as 
 they dared not leave the fort to bury them ; 
 but they consider more than this number 
 
 fell. (The French discovered a train lead- 
 ing to a mine, they supposed; they could 
 not find the mine, but they cut off the 
 train, and having made all their arrange- 
 ments they prepared to occupy the place.) 
 But, to return from this awkward and long 
 parenthesis. We were on Monday morning 
 ordered to be about 2,000 yards off the 
 second highest fort. We did so, and, as I 
 say, the lower and large Russian fort opened 
 fire on the upper one, and on yesterday 
 morning, when I went on deck, it was 
 smoking away cheerily — it appears they set 
 fire to it with red-hot shell and rockets. I 
 believe the French soldiers had then to 
 evacuate. The English, at eight, a.m., yes- 
 terday, opened fire on the fort we lay abreast 
 of, from a screened battery and breastwork 
 on the hiU, and we, to aid them, opened 
 from our position; but, though our shot 
 struck at that long range, it was uncertain, 
 and as the admiral was off to the com- 
 mander-in-chief, and we dared not go fur- 
 ther on without him, we had to give it up, 
 as it was only wasting shell ; for not more 
 than one in six hit, as the ship was rolling 
 a little, but what did hit did damage indeed. 
 They returned our fire, and during the day 
 their shot fiew over us, between our mast 
 and rigging ; many struck close to the ship, 
 some of them red-hot; fortunately we did 
 not get hulled. The English battery on the 
 hiU kept up a fierce fire on the fort : it was 
 manfully returned by the three forts, the 
 English directing their attention to the fort 
 abreast of which we lay alone ; the effect of 
 the shot and shell on the roof was beautiful. 
 The fort that had been taken was smoking 
 away, when at half-past eleven, a.m., I saw 
 it fly up into the air with an awful cloud of 
 lurid, pitchy, greasy smoke and flames. 
 Through the glass I could see millions of 
 all sorts of bodies and stones flying up, and 
 then came an awful roar and report ! AU 
 was one huge impenetrable black veil on 
 the hill, hiding camps, forts, and batteries 
 for a time ; and when this rolled sluggishly 
 away, a remnant of a shattered wall alone 
 pointed out the place where stood the proud 
 fort that had been so hotly contended for 
 but a day before ! The fire continued all 
 day without stopping for a second ; it was 
 one eternal ceaseless roar of artillery. I 
 could see the English sand-battery on the 
 hUl getting sadly knocked about by the 
 enemy's shot, and I learnt in the evening 
 that one officer, a lieutenant of engineers, a 
 son of Lord Wrottesley, had been cut in 
 
 169 
 
BOMARSUND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 two with a shot; besides several soldiers 
 kiUed and wounded, some pickets and out- 
 lying sentries were picked off. The roar of 
 artillery never slackened till seven o'clock, 
 P.M., when a white rag was seen thrust up 
 through the fearful shot-swept gap in the 
 roof and wall of the devoted fort. Firing 
 instantly ceased. What has taken place 
 since then between the English and the 
 governor of the fort I have not yet learnt. 
 I conceive their ammunition must be all 
 out, for I do think that they would return 
 our fire from only a single stone of the 
 wreck of the forts. At eight o'clock (by- 
 the-bye) we are to weigh, and to-day is to 
 be the grand day. This is the day for the 
 navy ! Prasto fort and the large fort are 
 this day to be the victims of the wooden 
 walls ; the large fort is as big as the other 
 three put into one. They will, I believe, 
 make the resistance of desperate men. This 
 will be the severest day's fighting we have 
 had yet; we are to weigh and go to the 
 fleet to take up our position in line of battle 
 at eight o'clock, opposite the large fort. It 
 is now lialf-past six ; all is in anchor pre- 
 paration, and I have no doubt but that we 
 shall (as many as are alive) walk into the 
 ruins of Bomarsuud this evening." 
 
 " Thursday morning, Aug. 17, six, a.m. 
 "Victory! — Aland is ours. At half-past 
 nine, a.m., yesterday, the Leopard, 18, the 
 Hecla, 6, and Oocyte (French), 4, steamed 
 into within 1,600 yards of Prasto fort, and 
 about 800 yards behind this we had the 
 main fort of Boomar. This was a good 
 dodge as it turned out, for every shot that 
 flew over Prasto went slap into the other. 
 We anchored at half-past nine o'clock, and 
 beat to quarters at forty minutes past nine. 
 We were all ready. The admiral came 
 down on the main deck and made a short 
 speech to the men, who, by the way, fought 
 with nothing but trowsers and a sleeveless 
 flannel on. Fire ! and a broadside from the 
 ships went slap into the devoted forts ; a few 
 trees intervened between us, so we could 
 only see the roof. Broadside after broad- 
 side continued to be discharged, and I sup- 
 pose we fired a dozen or so before they re- 
 plied, and this dozen (we afterwards heard 
 from one of them) killed and wounded sixty 
 of them ; at last they opened. I heard the 
 shot strike our side and pitch close to us. 
 Well, the fire was kept up with great 
 rapidity from six main deck 82' s, two 84' s, 
 and two 68's — all shell. It continued for 
 170 
 
 about an hour and-a-half. I went up the 
 main deck occasionally, and looking through 
 the port could see the shot ricochetting to- 
 wards us and go slap into our sides. One 
 shot came right through, and roUed across the 
 m ain deck. This lasted, as I say, an hour and- 
 a-half; not an accident took place on board, 
 though how they escaped I know not, for the 
 old Leopard had tweve shots through her 
 hull, the maintopmast shot away, and a 
 great hole in both sides of her foremost 
 funnel. One large paddle-box boat, on the 
 starboard side, got struck by a 33-pound 
 shot ; first cutting the ridge-rope, it passed 
 through both sides of the boat, passed over 
 the deck, carried away an iron stancheon 
 two inches thick (its own breadth of it), cut 
 another ridge-rope, and went on its way as 
 though nothing had happened. The shot that 
 took away our topmast was a 32-pounder; 
 it cut the starboard topmast rigging, went 
 clean through the maintopmast above the 
 cap (fourteen inches solid pine 1) drove 
 splinters three feet long up and down it, 
 right through the centre; it went clean 
 through the mainroyal yard and sail, stopped 
 up in the port-topmast shrouds, which it also 
 cut, and passed on its way. The splinters 
 flew about all over the ship ; the piece of 
 iron stancheon cut a coil of rope, and struck 
 a piece a foot thick off the edge of the 
 paddle-box. It's wonderful what a shot will 
 do ; but not an accident occurred — no killed 
 or wounded. I don't know about the Cocyte. 
 On the white flag being hoisted, we went 
 round to Boomar, to report to the com- 
 mander-in-chief, who, with Admiral Plum- 
 ridge and the French and English generals, 
 went to treat. The general of the fort yielded 
 up his sword to Sir Charles or to General 
 Jones — I know not which — and the garrison 
 laid down their arms. Old Bodisco was 
 asked if he surrendered to the allies. He 
 said, ' Yes ; I hope you think I fought my 
 forts well ?' ' Yes,' said the English gene- 
 ral, ' you fought as long as a brave man 
 should.' We then made a general recall of 
 all ships engaged, some miles and miles off, 
 and we hauled in close to the large fort to 
 take the prisoners. Three thousand French, 
 or more, and as many English troops, marched 
 into the fort with colours flying ; 2,000 Rus- 
 sians, soldiers and officers, marched out dis- 
 armed, and we commenced taking them on 
 board. The large fort was riddled — miserably 
 riddled ; we took 450 men and five officers ; 
 the latter appeared very broken-spirited — 
 the men did not care. The officers, as also 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [bomarsund. 
 
 the men, begged to be let lie down, for it 
 was three weeks since any man in the forts 
 had taken oflf as much as his boots. Ttey 
 had slept at their guns — they looked like it, 
 indeed j many were seriously wounded, and 
 we had all sorts of surgery on them — shat- 
 tered bones, slashes of shot and shell — all, 
 all sorts. We made them as comfortable as 
 a ship with 800 in her could. They had a 
 mortar battery in the large fort ; but they 
 said our fire had killed such numbers at the 
 mortars that they could not use them. It 
 seems they never expected us to open on 
 them, and were sitting smoking and lolling 
 about, when slap went our first broadside 
 into them, killing and wounding sixty men 
 
 " The Leopard was highly complimented 
 by Old Charley. The poor old ship was the 
 envy of all these crack line-of-battle ships 
 and frigates, going up to the commander-in- 
 chief, hot out of action, the colours flying, 
 her sides pierced with the enemy's shot, her 
 maintopmast shot away, her poor dear old 
 funnel smoking through two shot-holes half- 
 way up, and her great white paddle-box boat 
 with two holes in it you might jump through 
 — the smoke still wreathing out of the muz- 
 zles of her guns as she steamed in close to 
 the forts that she had given the coup de 
 grace to and caused to hoist the white flag. 
 Good old Leopard, I love her ! We got 
 cheered by the Hecla as she winded to under 
 our stern. We quickly sent down the stump 
 of the topmast, and sent a spick-and-span 
 new one up, plugged the shot-holes, and in 
 an nouT or two were all a-taut ; but even at 
 six o'clock in the evening, if you put your 
 hand on the guns, you would find them 
 still hot. The officers (Russian) begged to 
 be allowed to write to their wives and families 
 that they had left behind : of course they 
 got permission. Indeed they were well 
 treated; taken down to the gun-room, got 
 wine, tea, cofiee: in a word, we were all 
 hand-in-glove with the men who a few short 
 hours before would have shot nr sabred us 
 like dogs — such is war. "^f^ came down to 
 the fleet at Led Sund, to put our prisoners 
 on board the Hannibal to go to England. 
 The Hecla, Sphinx, &c., brought down the 
 rest. We are now going back to Boomar : 
 we will take the guns out of the forts and 
 blow them to Old Nick. It will be a grand 
 explosion. We put our prisoners on board 
 the Hannibal at five this morning, so I got 
 precious little sleep last night ; but it is war 
 time, and we don't look for luxuries. I will 
 write again this evening; till then, adieu." 
 
 " Friday, August 18th, ten, a.m. 
 " All day yesterday I spent rambling over 
 the ruins of the four forts. I don't know- 
 how to describe the scene — you must see it 
 to know what it is like. First, I examined 
 the large fort; the roads approaching it 
 were ploughed up with shot, and strewed 
 with 32, 68, and 84-pounder shot and 
 broken shell, grape, broken rocks, beams of 
 burning wood, large fragments of the metal 
 roof, sand-bags, gabions, &c., in the most 
 dreadful confusion. The roof and walls of 
 the fort were smashed to atoms ; the em- 
 brasures in many cases were beaten to 
 pieces, sometimes two knocked into one, 
 and all about them literally pitted with 
 Minie rifle-balls. There was no leave given 
 to go into the forts, so I rambled on the 
 ruins of the one blown up on the top of the 
 hill. About 300 yards on the road above 
 the big fort, on a hill, there was a small 
 French sand-battery quite safe, which did 
 all the dreadful work on the back of the 
 fort. The Russians had forts in the pro- 
 gress of erection, so that if we had left 
 them for another year, more than twice the 
 present defences would have existed. I got 
 among the smoking ruins — such a scene ! 
 One side-wall and tower alone stood ; it was 
 red-hot in many places ; so hot that it burnt 
 our boots. We climbed about. A large 
 piece of iron dropped from the roof and 
 grazed my cheek, cutting me. If it had 
 struck me ftdl it would have knocked out 
 my brains. All the guns were precipitated 
 down the sides of the declivity, on the top 
 of which stood the fort. At the bottom of 
 a round tower, where I was guided by the 
 smeU, I found at the bottom of a dark 
 winding stair a small room, about six feet 
 by four, with an iron door blown ofi' its 
 hinges, some loose flags, with quicklime 
 bulging up between them ; I guessed from 
 the stench, that this was where they had 
 stowed some of the dead. I half raised a 
 flag (for they were heavy), and, sure enough, 
 there were the bodies. I forced a stick some 
 four feet among them, so I think it was deep. 
 There was little to be seen at the fort (it 
 was totally destroyed) but smouldering ruins, 
 in many places still red-hot and blazing 
 bright. In most places, the sulphurous 
 vapour would nearly choke us, and we had 
 to run back to the fresh air; but we did 
 not leave it until we had explored every bit 
 of it. Going hence I went to the second 
 fort. I fell in with a French officer and 
 French priest (for they brought out three 
 
 171 
 
BOMARSUND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D, 1854. 
 
 priests.) We all went to examine the forts 
 together: they are very strong; but never 
 again will I place faith in stone walls against 
 wooden ones. If I ever have my choice to 
 fight, it shall be in a ship. Walls six and 
 eight feet thick, of nearly solid granite, 
 beaten into one shapeless mass of ruins by 
 ship shot ! On one side, where only three 
 32-pounders had been playing on these 
 walls, the two lower embrasures, and, of 
 course, guns, were hidden ten feet by the 
 rubbish of the breach overhead. The guns 
 of the upper tier had fallen out, carriages 
 and all, and lay at the bottom of the im- 
 mense heap of ruins in the valley. One 
 gun was smashed to atoms by our shot — 
 such wreck, such dreadful destruction — I 
 could not have believed it. In the middle 
 of the fort is an open round yard ; here was 
 a deep stone cistern twenty feet deep and 
 twenty square, half filled with water, and at 
 the bottom of this lay the dead, with shot 
 flung on them to keep them down; others 
 were buried, or rather half- buried, in the 
 clay of the roof, for the roof consists of four 
 feet of hard earth, and over this a roof of 
 beams forty-two inches square, and thick 
 sheet iron. On this bed of earth we found 
 thousands of our shot, split and whole shells, 
 &c. ; five bodies we found beside the maga- 
 zine, sitting up resting against the wall. All 
 the rooms were covered with blood, and on 
 the walls you might see the marks of bloody 
 fingers. I came to where the surgeons had 
 been at work; there were a few beds 
 knocked to pieces by shells, and all soaked 
 in blood ; buckets of coagulated blood lying 
 about, with medicine bottles, bandages, wet 
 sponges, basins of water, &c. In fact, all 
 the appliances of military surgery. They 
 could not have less than 150 killed. I took 
 away a great many relics of the siege. I 
 saw the effect of some of our 68-pound and 
 84-pound shot. The blocks of granite in the 
 face of the walls are, on an average, about 
 four cubic feet thick. These were backed 
 by four more feet of solid brickwork. In 
 many places, when our shot struck from a 
 distance of 1,700 yards, one of these blocks 
 would split in all directions, and be driven 
 back an inch into the breastwork ; that was 
 cracked and forced into the interior of the 
 fort. You can hence readily understand 
 how it is that a continued repetition of such 
 blows as the foregoing will soon crumble 
 • down the thickest masonry. Nothing can 
 withstand the iron storm of a ship's broad- 
 side. I do believe its effect is tremendous ; 
 173 
 
 and stone-work powders before its force. In 
 the, yards were furnaces for heating the shot, 
 with shot in them yet hot; also, in every 
 compartment with their guns was a store, 
 also full of red-hot shot ; so they fired no- 
 thing else scarcely at us. Such destruction, 
 such ruin, I could not have believed. I am 
 not. able to convey to you an idea of the 
 enormity of the destruction done, so it is 
 out of the question. We are coaling ship, 
 and going off to the Gulf of Finland to 
 Baro Sound. Admiral Plumridge is going 
 to the Neptune, and we are going to have 
 Admiral Martin. They talk of more fight- 
 ing at Hango Head; I don't know. God 
 bless you. Adieu." 
 
 But what did Russia — what did the Em- 
 peror Nicholas say to the taking of Bomar- 
 sund? How was this pleasant news re- 
 ceived at St. Petersburg? Was it, like the 
 bombardment of Odessa, regarded as another 
 triumph or semi- victory ? Was a Te Deum 
 performed within the gorgeous walls of St. 
 Isaac's, and the city of the czar illuminated ? 
 No, none of these things were done: the 
 smouldering ruins of Bomarsund were there 
 to tell their own tale ; the batteries of the 
 allies had beaten down even Russian so- 
 phistry ; and the defeat was admitted by 
 the Russian press. It was evident that the 
 czar himself began to feel the effects of the 
 storm he had created ; and to fear, that like 
 the devil-dealing wizard in the old nursery 
 tale, he had raised a spirit for his own 
 destruction. An extreme depression was 
 felt in trade, and a general feeling of gloom 
 was reported to have prevailed among the 
 population. The following article from the 
 Invalide Russe, contains the Russian account 
 of the bombardment and capture of Bomar- 
 sund : — 
 
 " The last news from the Aland Islands was 
 to the 27th of July, the date of the landing of 
 the French troops. From that time commenced 
 the complete investment, by sea and land, of the 
 fortifications of those islands, and all means of 
 receiving direct and certain information ceased. 
 It was only known from the reports of the in- 
 habitants which had been sent to the governor 
 of Abo, that the enemy, after having landed 
 10,000 men upon the principal island, had begun 
 to construct batteries, and were firing upon our 
 fortifications with powerful artillery. Since the 
 31st of July (12th of August) there was heard 
 at Abo, on the Island of Aland, a heavy can- 
 nonade, which continued from sunrise to sun- 
 set ; but all the accounts agreed in stating that 
 our fortifications held out vigorously, and had 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 RUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 
 
 destroyed a battery constructed by the French, 
 near the village of Finsby. From the 2nd 
 (14th) of August the cannonading proceeded 
 with redoubled violence, but suddenly ceased 
 two days afterwards, and the melancholy news 
 was spread that the enemy had taken possession 
 of the fort of Aland. 
 
 " Although up to this period no positive news 
 has been received from Aland, with the excep- 
 tion of private reports, there is no doubt as to 
 the lamentable fate of our fortifications. Al- 
 though differing in regard to certain details, 
 those reports agree upon the principal points. 
 
 " The fortifications of Aland were composed of 
 a fortified barrack, occupying the eastern ex- 
 tremity of the principal island on the strait of 
 Bomarsund, and three towers designated by the 
 letters C, U, and Z. These works, separated 
 from each other, were the only works finished, 
 the greater portion of the fortress being merely 
 sketched out and only existing in project. The 
 garrison was composed of the Finland battalion 
 of the line (No. 10), and two companies of the 
 battalion of sharpshooter grenadiers, under the 
 command of Colonel de Furuhjelm, who, from 
 the commencement of the siege, occupied a side 
 battery, raised temporarily to the south of the 
 fort. The first attempts of the enemy were 
 directed, as it appears, against the tower 0, 
 situated to the west of the fort, and he obtained 
 possession of it on the 14th of August, after an 
 unceasing bombardment. According to the 
 statements of several individuals, the brave de- 
 fenders of this tower, deprived at last of all pos- 
 sibility of continuing their resistance, decided 
 upon a hopeless sortie, which threw the ranks 
 of the enemy into disorder, and afterwards blew 
 up the tower when the French had entered it. 
 
 " On the 15th of August the enemy attacked 
 the tower U, situated on Cape Nordwick, to the 
 north of the principal fort, and took possession 
 of it also, with considerable loss. On the 16th, 
 at daybreak, the enemy directed all his power 
 by land and by sea against the fortified barrack, 
 which was inundated with a shower of shells 
 and balls. Ultimately, towards one o'clock in 
 the afternoon, the enemy took possession of the 
 last fortification. A. report prevails that the 
 commandantof the place, Major-general Bodisco, 
 Colonel Furuhjelm, and a portion of the garrison 
 were taken prisoners of war. It is said that the 
 enemy was astonished both at the energy and 
 the duration of their resistance, and that in tes- 
 timony of his esteem for the brave defenders of 
 the fort, he returned the officers their swords. 
 
 " This is all that is known of this lamentable 
 occurrence, which it was impossible to prevent. 
 However painful may be the fate of the fortifica- 
 tions of Aland, isolated as they were as an ad- 
 vanced post, we have in this respect the consola- 
 tion of knowing that the Russian troops remained 
 faithful to their duty and to military honour. | 
 By defending during eight days, against fifty ' 
 
 VOL. I. t^ ■*■ 
 
 eight ships and 10,000 soldiers, a secondary and 
 unfinished fort, the garrison of Aland has me- 
 rited the respect even of the enemy, and has 
 heroically sustained the glory of the Russian 
 arms. 
 
 " On the 22nd of August five of the enemy's 
 steamers entered the archipelago of Abo, and 
 attacked seventeen gun-sloops of the 2nd bat- 
 talion of the flotilla of the west, which, with a 
 few small steam-tugs, were at anchor near the 
 island of Rousal, and blocked up the channel 
 leading to Abo. The enemy opened a sharp 
 cannonade at a distance of 2,000 sagenes. His 
 balls, shells, and bombs for the most part went 
 beyond the sloops, which waited quietly until 
 the enemy approached within good range, and 
 did not open their fire till then. The cannonade 
 lasted more than two hours and-a-half, during 
 which time we had three men killed and eight 
 wounded ; among the latter were three men 
 belonging to the naval militia of Finland. The 
 enemy retired, having one of his steamers in 
 tow in consequence of the damage he suffered. 
 
 " In his report of this affair the naval captain 
 of the first rank, Akouloffj commander of the 
 western brigade of the rowing flotilla, bears 
 testimony to and particularly praises the cool- 
 ness and the excellent dispositions made by 
 Captain Kryganieff, the captain of a corvette, 
 and eulogises very highly all the officers, ac- 
 Ijnowledging also the zeal of the crews. 
 
 " His majesty the emperor has deigned to 
 express his satisfaction to the officers, and to 
 confer twelve marks of honour of the military 
 order upon the crews." 
 
 The following article is from the same 
 journal, under the head of additional details 
 respecting the defence of the fortifications of 
 Aland. It is not so intelligible as we could 
 wish ; but the Russian scribe must tell his 
 story in his own way : — 
 
 " In completion of the details already given 
 relative to the capture of the fortifications of 
 Aland, an account has just been received from 
 Lieutenant-general Rokassovsky, commander 
 of the troops in Finland, containing a detailed 
 narrative from the honorary councillor Weste- 
 rius, formerly superintendent of the magazine 
 of provisions of Aland, who was at the principal 
 island during the whole time of the siege of the 
 fort. M. Westerius was sent by the com- 
 mander, on the 7th of August, to purchase from 
 the inhabitants of the neighbouring village 
 forage and provisions for the support of the 
 place. In returning on the next day to Skar- 
 pans, he perceived that the route to the fort had 
 already been intercepted by the enemy, and, 
 wishing at all events to avoid being made pri- 
 soner, M. Westerius concealed himself until 
 the 19th of August, in the villages and woods 
 of Aland, and ultimately succeeded in reaching 
 Finland, having passed across the lines of the 
 
 173 
 
RUSSIAN ACCOaNT.J 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854, 
 
 cruisera in a fisliing-boat. Having, on the 28tli 
 of August, reached Helsingfors. he gave to the 
 authorities the following account of the siege 
 and defence of the fortifications of Aland: — 
 'In consequence of the bombardment of the 
 principal fort of Aland, on the 21st of June 
 last, by three English ships of war, the com- 
 mander of Aland ordered the construction of a 
 fresh land battery on the south-west coast of 
 the bay of Lumpar, which was effected in the 
 course of the month by the soldiers of the gar- 
 rison of Aland, under the command of Captain 
 du Kransold, chief of the detachment of artil- 
 lery of the island. At the same time there 
 were sent from the fort five guns of the rampart, 
 for which the workmen had made new carriages, 
 under the orders of Sub-lieutenant Pistchouline, 
 of the artillery garrison of Aland, and in ac- 
 cordance with the directions of Captain du 
 Kransold. When this battery was ready, a 
 certain number of picked men, taken from the 
 Finland battalion, of the line No. 10, from the 
 garrison of artillery of Aland, were ordered to 
 work the battery, under the command of 
 Lieutenant Schimanovsky and Sub-lieutenant 
 Pistchouline. Detachments of the 3rd and 4th 
 companies of the battalion of grenadier rifle- 
 men, under the command of Colonel of the 
 Guard de Furnjelm, adjutant of the governor of 
 Abo, were ordered to defend this battery. Ulti- 
 mately, after the entry of the Anglo-French 
 lleet, to the number of more than thirty vessels, 
 into the bay of Lumpar, it was demolished, the 
 guns were destroyed, and all the men were sent 
 to the principal fort, and a portion of the rifle- 
 men were stationed in the three towers. All 
 this was entirely completed on the 6th of 
 August. 
 
 " ' According to the statement of M. Weste- 
 rius, the garrison of each tower was composed 
 of about ninety men of the Finland battalion of 
 the line No. 10, and about twenty-five men of 
 the artillery and engineers, with three officers ; 
 and, in addition, in the tower C were Captain of 
 Artillery de Tesche ; Lieutenant de Salberg, of 
 the battalion of the line ; Ensign de Bolfras, 
 aiid Sub-lieutenant Couradi, of the battalion of 
 grenadier riflemen. In the tower TJ, Lieute- 
 nant of Artillery Zvereff', Second Captain de 
 Mdlart, and Sub-lieutenant de Bluhm, of the 
 battalion of the line. Also in the tower Z, the 
 Lieutenant of Artillery Chatelain, and Captains 
 de Knoning and Peremilowsky, of the battalion 
 of the line. 
 
 " ' At the same time — that is to say, during 
 the month of June — according to the instruc- 
 tions of the commandant, there was constructed, 
 under the superintendence of the head of the 
 engineers, in the principal fort, a masked earth 
 battery, covering three Paiihan guns, all the 
 openings being walled round, internal as well 
 as external, the latter not being armed with 
 guns. 
 
 174 
 
 " ' During the construction of the battery of 
 Lumpar four pieces of the garrison of field 
 artillery of Aland, under the command of Cap- 
 tain of Artillery SchvetoiT, were divided into 
 two detachments, one of which took post at the 
 limit of the force of Schvetofif, and the other 
 near Mougstekt, each supported by detach- 
 ments of grenadier riflemen. There existed on 
 these two points old batteries in ruins, which 
 the soldiers reconstructed. In the night be- 
 tween the 5th and 6th of August these four 
 pieces were taken from their positions and 
 placed in the fort, with men to work them and 
 troops to defend them. In the evening of the 
 7th of August, twenty-four artillery horses 
 were sent to Gerad, the officer of the crown at 
 Aland, that they might be fed by the inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 " ' Such was the situation of the fortifica- 
 tions when, on the 24th of July, there arrived 
 seven of the enemy's vessels in the bay of 
 Lumpar. This number successively increased, 
 and amounted in a few days to more than 
 thirty. At the same time the enemy sur- 
 rounded the fortifications on the other sidsb. 
 His vessels remained quietly at anchor, and 
 were only occupied in sounding until the 7th 
 of August. On that day it was remarked that 
 the enemy's vessels were being towed into the 
 bays of Lumpar and Wargata, and it was pre- 
 sumed that troops intended for land were on 
 board, and this idea was confirmed the next 
 day ; for at two o'clock in the morning the 
 enemy landed troops upon two points — viz., to 
 the west of the village of Ivanwik, and to the 
 east of that of Hutta. The riflemen advanced 
 from these points in large masses, and the two 
 troops assembled together at Finby, situated 
 three versts from the fortifications. There they 
 bivouacked, and the head of the French troops 
 took up his position in the village. 
 
 " 'According to probable reports which reached 
 me on the same daj' as the landing of his troops 
 at Aland, the enemy began the assault upon the 
 tower C, but was repulsed with loss. He then 
 began to construct his batteries and to bring 
 his guns to the siege by means of rollers placed 
 in a particular manner. Subsequently, in the 
 night between the 8th and 9th of August, he 
 opened a fire upon the tower, endeavouring at 
 the same time to erect a new battery nearer to 
 it, but what he had succeeded in raising during 
 the night was destroyed at daybreak by our 
 balls. Eventually, having discovered an appro- 
 priate position, where he was sheltered, the 
 enemy constructed a battery, and when it was 
 finished he fired day and night upon both sides 
 of the tower, with a view to make a breach, so 
 that it was seriously and dangerously damaged 
 in every part. Upon this the garrison which 
 defended it, foreseeing probably the impossi- 
 bility of holding out much longer, decided upon 
 returning to the principal fort, but was pre- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [RUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 
 
 vented by the enemy, who unexpectedly made 
 an assault upon it, surrounded it, and cut off 
 all retreat. Both officers and soldiers (as I 
 have heard) were desirous of forcing a passage ■ 
 at the point of the bayonet, but they could not 
 overcome the advantage of superior numbers, 
 and were forced to surrender. A few hours 
 afterwards the tower, which was much shaken, 
 tumbled to pieces. Among its officers, the 
 Artillery Captain de Tesche was wounded with 
 a bayonet in the leg, and Ensign de Bolfras, of 
 the battalion of grenadier guards, received 
 injury on the shoulder from a blow with a 
 Bword. 
 
 "'After the capture of the tower 0, the 
 enemy raised batteries against the tower U, the 
 bombardment of which was commenced on the 
 12th of August, and was continued without 
 intermission during three days. That tower, 
 in which two large breaches were made by the 
 balls, without reckoning the other damage done 
 to its interior by shells, having only the means 
 of firing four times more, was at length forced 
 to capitulate. 
 
 " ' I am not aware of the cause of the reduc- 
 tion of the tower B. I only know that the 
 garrison capitulated on the 15th of August, at 
 eleven o'clock in the evening. 
 
 " ' I have not received precise information as 
 to the reasons for the capitulation of the princi- 
 pal fort, but the following are the reports which 
 I have collected upon the subject, the authen- 
 ticity of which, however, I do not guarantee. 
 While the French troops bombarded the towers, 
 the Anglo-Prench fleet in the bay of Lumpar 
 kept up an irresistible fire against the principal 
 fort, doing serious injury to its interior, over- 
 throwing the roofs and chimneys, and destroy- 
 ing the embrasures. The garrison of the fort 
 surrendered on the 16th of August. It is said 
 that the cause of this surrender was that, after 
 having lost the tower, it was no longer possible 
 for it to repulse simultaneously the attacks by 
 land and by sea, and that it was destitute of 
 the means of silencing the enemy's powerful 
 artillery. Before the reduction of the principal 
 fort, its garrison was so exhausted by the 
 watches and the incessant operations it had 
 effected during several days, that it was not in 
 a condition either for further action, or for 
 offering a longer resistance. It is said that on 
 our side the number of killed was fifty-three, 
 and that of the wounded eighty-six, and that 
 the enemy lost from 500 to 600 men.* The 
 garrisons of the principal fort and of the three 
 towers were embarked in Anglo-Prench vessels. 
 Such of the prisoners as were to be sent to 
 England were dispatched on the 17th of August, 
 j and the others, among whom were General 
 Bodisco and his wife, were sent to France on 
 the 18th of August. It was also reported that 
 • This extravagant statement will <sive a 'ood idea 
 of Kussian exaggeration. 
 
 with the consent of the enemy's chief officers, 
 the wives of some of our officers have accompa- 
 nied their husbands.' " 
 
 There was a kind of poetical justice in the 
 destruction of the fortress of Bomarsund, 
 as it was not only built by the Emperor 
 Nicholas, but actually constructed from a 
 plan of his own, formed before he wore the 
 imperial crowu. His object was to erect an 
 impregnable fortress, which should command 
 the narrowest strait in the Aland Archipelago 
 that admits of navigation at all by vessels of 
 any size. To accomplish this, the massive 
 walls of Bomarsund were raised ; Bomar 
 signifying a bolt or bar. When the fortress 
 was completed, it was discovered that there 
 was an error in the design, as the works 
 were easily assailable from the land side, and 
 commanded by the neighbouring heights. 
 At the time of the capture other fortifica- 
 tions were (as we have stated) in progress 
 to defend the first. So anxious had the 
 czar been for their completion, that the 
 work was carried on up to the last moment 
 that was found practicable. The artisans 
 seem actually to have left their labour with, 
 precipitate fear, on beholding the landing 
 of the allies. The chisel of the mason, and . 
 the trowel and mallet of the bricklayer stood 
 idly at the work that was never to be re- 
 sumed. The ground bore the impression of 
 recent footsteps; the keystone of a bomb- 
 proof granite vault was found half sunk into 
 its bed ; and on one pile of bricks some poor 
 labourer had left his wallet, containing a 
 piece of black bread and his empty schnapps 
 bottle. 
 
 We will conclude this chapter with the 
 following reflections from a French print, 
 the Conslitutionnel, upon the evils Russia 
 has drawn down upon herself by the aggres- 
 sive policy of the czar : — 
 
 " Russia, weakened in her moral authority, 
 has, in addition, wasted her resources, bdth 
 in money and men. She was proud of her 
 granite fortresses : the capture of Bomar- 
 sund has proved that the ramparts which 
 were said to be indestructible fall in three 
 days. She was proud of her fleets ; and her 
 fleets, hidden in her fortified ports, expiate, 
 by the humiliation of their inertness, the sur- 
 prise of Sinope. She spoke loudly of the 
 terrible power of her army, and the prestige 
 of her arms has vanished. She boasted of 
 being the only nation which was not in 
 straitened circumstances, and it is proved that 
 she is succumbing under the burden of a 
 debt of five milliards, at this very moment 
 
 175 
 
STATE OF RUSSIA. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 liable to be called for ; that, since the war 
 began, the silver rouble has lost upwards of 
 the fourth of its value; that the paper 
 rouble, which was formerly equal in value 
 to the silver one, has fallen from four to one 
 franc ; that, being forced to give up the ad- 
 vantages of a free loan, Russia has been 
 obliged to have recourse to a forced cue, 
 disguised under the name of voluntary con- 
 mbutions ; that she is condemned to seek a 
 perilous expedient in an issue, more and 
 more ■ extensive, of paper money; and that 
 she is incapable of furnishing money for a 
 second or third campaign. These truths 
 appear clearly from a remarkable work by 
 M. Leon Faucher, which shows in what a 
 desperate situation are the finances of Russia. 
 Besides, let any one think of the enormity 
 of the sacrifices that the war is inflicting on 
 landed property. It may be calculated that 
 the czar, in order to complete his armies, 
 must Lave raised 250,000 men ; but, as in 
 Russia fifty per cent, of the new recruits 
 are lost before they reach their colours, the 
 total levy must have been 500,000 men. 
 The price of a serf is estimated at from 
 1,200 to 1,500 francs ; so that a tax of 
 
 800,000,000 francs has been in that way 
 le\'ied on the landed proprietors. ' Mark 
 further, that these landed proprietors cannot 
 sell their flax, tallow, leather, and hemp as 
 formerly, and then calculate what immense 
 losses they must have sustained ; and as 
 they are not rich, after all, but on condition 
 of feeding their peasants when these latter 
 cannot support themselves, you can com- 
 prehend what frightful sufferings must 
 already weigh on the Muscovite populations. 
 To the cry of the national pride, deeply 
 wounded, will be added through that vast 
 empire the clamours of misery and hunger. 
 Such are the deplorable fruits of the czar's 
 policy. In place of applying all his atten- 
 tion to ameliorate the situation of his people, 
 to cement together the various incoherent 
 parts of his states, and to develop com- 
 merce and agriculture — in place of regene- 
 rating the national church, and removing 
 the leprosy of serfdom, the Emperor Nicholas 
 has thought fit to brave justice and to violate 
 the faith of treaties. He is severely punished 
 for his acts by the moral decadency of his 
 country, by the radical impuissance of his 
 efforts, and by the notoriety of his failure." 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 NICHOLAS ENCOnEAGES HIS TROOPS ; OMAR PASHA AT BUCHAREST ; REPLY OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS TO 
 THE NOTES OF AUSTRIA AND THE WESTERN POWERS ; THE CHOLERA AT VARNA ; PROCLAMATION OF THE 
 EMPEROR NAPOLEON TO HIS SUFFERING TROOPS ; FRATERNISATION OF PRINCES AT BOULOGNE. 
 
 Preparations for an attack upon the 
 Crimea were being carried forward in ear- 
 nest in the allied army at Varna and in the 
 allied fleets at Baltschik. Interminable 
 trains of vehicles, laden with supplies and 
 military stores, were constantly proceeding 
 to the former place ; and at length, it was 
 announced that an army of 58,000 men, 
 consisting of English, French, and Turks, 
 had actually embarked. Marshal St. Arnaud 
 had issued an order, stating that Sebastopol 
 would be taken and held as a guarantee of 
 peace. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas, threatened on all 
 sides, evidently began to fear that the spirit 
 of his troops would fail them, and on the 
 13th of August the following order of the 
 day was read to the soldiers assembled at 
 176 
 
 Odessa. This, with an extra allowance of 
 schnapps and bread, it was trusted would 
 nerve them to fresh efforts against the foe : — 
 " His majesty the czar has, in his high 
 wisdom, ordered the troops which were in 
 Moldavia and Wallachia, to retire from 
 those provinces, and to march where the 
 danger is more imminent. An ally of 
 many years' standing, undertakes for the 
 time being, to occupy the principalities, and 
 to protect them against the invasion of the 
 Turks. You will have to do with a new 
 enemy, who has the impious intention to 
 attack us in our own dominions. This 
 enemy was already beaten and conquered 
 by our valiant fathers. His majesty expects 
 the same from you. By your valour and 
 discipline you will overcome the enemy. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [reply of RUSSIA. 
 
 The new foe is more skilful, more cou- 
 rageous, and better led than the Turks; 
 but your courage and strength will enable 
 you to vanquish him as our fathers often 
 did. Think on our struggle with these 
 French during the glorious year 1812, when 
 the Heavenly Father armed his hosts against 
 godless and impious men who perished mise- 
 rably in the snow." 
 
 We left Omar Pasha (page 151) advanc- 
 ing with his victorious troops upon Bucha- 
 rest. He entered the capital of Wallachia 
 on the 23nd of August, and was received 
 with enthusiastic excitement. The metro- 
 politan, the ministers, and other high func- 
 tionaries of the state, attended by a bril- 
 liant staflf, went forth to meet him, and 
 then followed in his train. The triumphant 
 pasha was seated in an open carriage, which 
 in a little while was actually filled with 
 flowers, the oflFerings of the fairer portion 
 of the spectators, who threw them into it 
 from the windows. His retinue may truly 
 be described as more than princely, for it 
 consisted of 10,000 soldiers, including the 
 Wallachian militia. Amongst them were 
 mingled a singular variety of costumes. 
 Officers of cavalry, infantry, staff, artillery, 
 and engineers, belonging to the English, 
 French, Turkish, Sardinian, and Wallachian 
 armies, were followed by crowds of civilians 
 in carriages and on horseback. Omar went 
 in procession through the principal streets, 
 and then took up' his quarters in a country- 
 house about a mile outside the city. The 
 dispirited Russians had retired across the 
 Pruth ; and fighting in the border provinces 
 was over for at least that year. There was 
 nothing to prevent Omar Pasha from rest- 
 ing in his country-house and honourably 
 enjoying the laurels he had so bravely won. 
 The conditions of peace which were for- 
 warded to St. Petersburg by the Austrian 
 court and the Western Powers, were rejected 
 by the czar, as might have been foreseen. 
 We extract the following from the reply of 
 ^ Count Nesselrode, as containing the sub- 
 stance of his whole despatch : — " The con- 
 ditions required by the Western Powers are 
 unacceptable in respect to their substance 
 {teneur), as well as in form, principally be- 
 cause that, according to the avowal of the 
 French government itself, what they exact 
 with the ostensible purpose of maintaining 
 the European equilibrium, is nothing less 
 than the destruction of the Russian marine 
 and the power of Russia in the Black Sea. 
 " Austria, in recommending these con- 
 
 ditions, has added that the Western Powers 
 have still reserved the right to make others, 
 which renders it perfectly useless to submit 
 them to a detailed examination. Besides, 
 even if they should not be changed, their 
 acceptation would lead it to be supposed 
 that Russia is reduced by war to the last 
 degree of exhaustion. Although the em- 
 peror has adhered to the principles enun- 
 ciated in the protocol of Vienna, he cannot 
 enlarge the meaning of it as much as others 
 have done, because the immense sacrifices 
 which Russia has made in the interests of 
 Austria and Prussia would remain without 
 any compensation. In the place of finding 
 in those concessions a motive for redeeming 
 those obligations, Austria has drawn closer 
 its alliance with the enemies of Russia. 
 
 " Consequently, the emperor infinitely 
 regrets that he has not been able to accept 
 the last overtures made by Austria. He 
 considers that he has made every concession 
 compatible with the honour of Russia ; and, 
 as he has not withdrawn any of these ad- 
 vantages, it only remains for him to do the 
 same as his enemies — that is, to try the 
 eventualities of war, in order to arrive at 
 some solid basis of negotiations for peace. 
 
 " The emperor has directed his geueral- 
 in-chief to repass the Pruth with his troops 
 from strategic motives, and Russia will keep 
 herself upon the defensive within her fron- 
 tiers, until more equitable conditions are 
 offered to her. The emperor, on his side, 
 will avoid increasing the complications of 
 the war, but he will repel with the greatest 
 energy all attacks against him, from what- 
 ever quarter they may proceed." 
 
 While the French and English cannon were 
 beating down the massive walls of Bomar- 
 sund, the dreaded cholera was smiting its vic- 
 tims with an unsparing and regardless hand. 
 All were alike to it — Christian or Mussul- 
 man, English or French, Turk or Russian, 
 sickened and perished beneath the blast of 
 its pestilent breath. It continued its ravages 
 in the allied fleets, at Constantinople, at 
 Jjrallipoli ; but chiefly at Varna. A corres- 
 pondent, writing from the latter place, on 
 the 9th of August, said : — " Up to the pre- 
 sent date the British army has lost about 
 260 men from this fatal disease. Of these 
 deaths about 100 were in the light division. 
 Since the movement of our camp out to 
 Monastir the division has become healthier. 
 Our troops are, at present, losing thirty men 
 a-day. The French losses from cholera are 
 frightful. The disease is* not much on the 
 
 177 
 
THE CHOLERA AT VARNA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 wane among them ; and there are divisions 
 in which they die at the rate of seventy and 
 eighty a-day. In the French general hospi- 
 tal, since the 14th of July, 720 men have 
 died of cholera ; and only seventy-eight 
 have been sent out cured." 
 
 The hospital for the sick had been a 
 Turkish barrack, and was a mouldering, 
 rotten, and offensive-smelling place. The 
 French at length became so persuaded of its 
 unhealthiness, that they preferred removing 
 their sick to the open field. It was found 
 that men who were sent there with fevers or 
 other sickness were frequently seized with 
 the worst form of cholera, and perished in 
 spite of the most assiduous efforts to save 
 them. The writer of the letter above quoted, 
 thus describes a visit he paid to the hospital 
 at midnight, in order to obtain some medi- 
 cine for a friend who had been taken ill : — 
 " Along two sides of the hospital was drawn 
 up a long train of araba carts, and by the 
 moonlight I could see that some of them 
 were filled with sick soldiers. I counted 
 thirty-five carts, with three or four men in 
 each. These were sick French soldiers sent 
 in from the camps, and waiting till room 
 could be found for them in the hospital. 
 A number of soldiers were sitting down fey 
 the roadside, and here and there the moon- 
 beams flashed brightly off their piled arms. 
 The men were silent ; not a song ; not a 
 laugh ! A gloom, which never had I seen 
 before among the French troops, reigned 
 amid those groups of grey-coated men j and 
 the quiet that prevailed was broken only 
 now and then by the moans and cries of 
 pain of the poor sufferers in the carts. 
 Observing that about fifteen arabas were 
 drawn up without any occupants, I asked a 
 sous-officier for what purpose they were re- 
 quired. His answer, sullen and short, was : — 
 ' Pour les morts — pour les Fran9ais decedes, 
 monsieur.' The white walls of the fatal 
 hospital looked clean and neat, as they 
 towered above the lengthened cortege of the 
 dead which lay in deep shadow at its base ; 
 but the murmurings of sickness and the_ 
 groans of the dying stole out on the night 
 air through the long lines of latticed windows. 
 As I turned away and spurred under the 
 gateway which leads to the English quarter, 
 I encountered a burial party escorting the 
 bodies of six of our own poor fellows to their 
 last resting-place, outside the walls by the 
 sea-beach of Varna." 
 
 It was under these sad circumstances that 
 the French emneror addressed the following 
 178 
 
 proclamation to his suffering troops. He 
 could not erect a barrier against the ravages 
 of disease, and exorcise the pestilence from 
 the sick and troubled airj but he could 
 give directions that his poor soldiers and 
 sailors should receive every attention that 
 surrounding circumstances would admit, and 
 also speak to them words of sympathy, con- 
 solation, and hope. This it will be seen he 
 did :— 
 
 " Soldiers and Sailors of the Army of the 
 East ! — You have not fought, but already 
 you have obtained a signal success. Your 
 presence and that of the English troops 
 have sufficed to compel the enemy to recross 
 the Danube, and the Russian vessels remain 
 ingloriously in their ports. You have not 
 yet fought, and already you have struggled 
 courageously against death. A scourge, 
 fatal though transitory, has not arrested 
 your ardour. France and the sovereign 
 whom she has chosen cannot witness with- 
 out deep emotion, or without making every 
 effort to give assistance to such energy and 
 such sacrifices. 
 
 " The first consul said, in 1797, in a pro- 
 clamation to his army : — ' The first quality 
 required in a soldier is the power of sup- 
 porting fatigues and privations. Courage is 
 only a secondary one.' The first you are 
 now displaying. Who can deny you the 
 possession of the second ? Therefore it is 
 that your enemies, disseminated from Fin- 
 land to the Caucasus, are seeking anxiously 
 to discover the point upon which France 
 and England will direct their attacks, which 
 they^ foresee will be decisive; for right, jus- 
 tice, and warlike inspiration are on our side. 
 
 " Already Bomarsund and 2,000 prisoners 
 have just fallen into our power. Soldiers ! 
 you will follow the example of the army of 
 Egypt. The conquerors of the Pyramids 
 and Mount- Tabor had, like you, to contend 
 against warlike soldiers and against disease; 
 but, in spite of pestilence and the efforts 
 of three armies, they returned with honour 
 to their country. Soldiers ! have con- 
 fidence in your general-in-chief and in me. ' 
 I am watching over you, and I hope, with 
 the assistance of God, soon to see a diminu- 
 tion of your sufferings and an increase of 
 your glory. 
 
 " Soldiers ! farewell, tiU we meet again. 
 
 " Napoleon." 
 
 The greatest part of the Russian troops 
 had retired from the Dobrudscha, which, 
 without doubt, was the best thing they could 
 
A.O. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the fire at VARNA. 
 
 do, as sickness prevailed amongst them to an 
 alarming extent. General Canrobert, pro- 
 bably ashamed of the prolonged inaction of 
 his troops, led an expedition to Kostendje 
 on the 1st of August. It soon turned out 
 to be an unfortunate movement; sickness 
 rioted amongst his soldiers, and he lost nearly 
 2,000 men in that sterile district. His troops 
 attacked some Cossacks, and carried off two- 
 and-twenty prisoners ; but, finding it useless 
 to struggle or fight against the blows of that 
 invisible enemy, disease, the French were 
 compelled to retire. In reference to the 
 losses of the allies by the fatal sickness that 
 prevailed, it was pertinently asked, " What 
 are we gaining by a delay which is more 
 deadly than battles? and why do we hesitate 
 between the enemy and the camp, when the 
 latter is the more formidable of the two ?" 
 
 As soon as the cholera was on the decline 
 at Varna, that unfortunate place was subject 
 to another visitation : a fearful fire broke out 
 there on the night of Thursday, the 10th of 
 Augustj and utterly destroyed more than a 
 quarter of the town. Its cause was en- 
 veloped in mystery ; but it is generally sup- 
 posed to have been the work of incendiary 
 Greeks. It broke out near the French com- 
 missariat stores, a great portion of which were 
 destroyed. The officers having broached 
 some casks of spirits, a Greek was seen to set 
 fire to the inflammable liquor as it ran down 
 the streets. The villain instantly received 
 his punishment, for he was cloven to the 
 chin by a French officer, and fell a corpse 
 into the burning stream. It is reported that 
 other incendiaries were shot on the spot by 
 the French soldiers. The energy of the 
 French and English troops probably saved 
 the town from being totally destroyed, for a 
 brisk wind blew, and spread the roaring 
 flames from house to house through the 
 wooden streets. For ten hours did those 
 bold men labour unremittingly before the 
 fire was subdued. The scene was frightful ; 
 the cries of the inhabitants, the screams of 
 women and children, and the clamour of 
 droves of dogs and startled horses, all helped 
 to make the din and confusion perfectly ter- 
 rific. 
 
 The losses occasioned by the conflagration 
 were of a very serious character, and many 
 of the inhabitants were reduced to destitu- 
 tion by the destruction of their houses and 
 the stoppage of their trade in supplying the 
 wants of the soldiers. Mr. Grace, an ex- 
 tensive merchant of Galata, had his magazine 
 pulled down by the French soldiers, in order 
 
 to arrest the progress of the flames. The 
 contents were carried off by the mob, who 
 were very active in availing themselves of 
 every opportunity for plunder. The destruc- 
 tion of biscuit, hay, and military stores was 
 enormous. Shoes, also, to the number of 
 19,000 pairs, were burnt; and an immense 
 quantity of cavalry sabres were found amid 
 the ruins, fused into the most fantastic 
 shapes. Amidst this scene of destruction 
 the townspeople and military had yet some 
 cause for congratulation. The powder ma- 
 gazines of both French and English escaped 
 explosion as by a miracle, for burning frag- 
 ments of the houses fell frequently upon and 
 near them. A military cordon was after- 
 wards placed around them. Other accounts 
 state that some Greeks were seen throwing 
 lighted matches among the houses during 
 the progress of the fire, and that they were 
 bayoneted by the troops. Some, on the 
 other hand, believe the conflagration to have 
 been the result of accident, and think that 
 the money-making Greeks of Varna were as 
 unlikely to have risked the destruction of 
 their own property, as the tradesmen of 
 London would have been. 
 
 After the fire at Varna the cholera began 
 to abate ; and it seemed as if the flames had 
 purified the air. Doubtless they had done 
 much towards clearing away many foul 
 sources of corruption. Still it raged with 
 terrible virulence in the fleets at Baltschik, 
 and probably delayed the expedition to the 
 Crimea. Here, again, the French were the 
 greatest victims. The Friedland and Monte- 
 bello suffered with particular severity, up- 
 wards of one hundred having perished by the 
 violence of the pestilence in four-and-twenty 
 hours ! No bravery could prevent the sailors 
 from feeling a great amount of depression 
 from such an awful visitation as this. Those 
 who showed briskness and cheerfulness when 
 the bullets of an enemy whistled past their 
 heads, or rent the rigging above them into 
 ribbons, turned pale in contemplating the 
 dreadful activity of their mysterious, in- 
 visible, and merciless foe. They were de- 
 scribed as " supping full with horrors," and 
 listening greedily to tales of death, which 
 served but to weaken and terrify them. 
 
 The correspondent of the Times, writing 
 on the 19th of August from Varna, gives 
 the following particulars on this dark sub- 
 ject : — " I must appease the anxiety of the 
 public by the happy assurance that the 
 cholera is abating in the army, and that 
 its worst seems to have passed over the 
 
 179 
 
STATE OF THE TROOPS.] 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 fleet. The news from the latter has been 
 melancholy. Towards the close of last 
 week the cholera assumed such an alarm- 
 ing character, that both admirals (Frencli 
 and English) resolved" to leave their an- 
 chorage at Baltschik, and stand out to sea 
 for a cruise. It is almost a pity that the 
 ships were left there so long. On Wednes- 
 day morning the Caradoc, Lieutenant Der- 
 riman, which left Constantinople with the 
 mails for the fleet and army the previous 
 evening, came up with the English fleet, 
 under Admiral Dundas. The Caradoc was 
 boarded by a boat from ih.e Britannia, and 
 the ofScer who came on board communicated 
 the appalling intelligence that the flag-ship 
 had lost seventy men since she left Balts- 
 chik, and that she had buried tjen men that 
 morning. Upwards of 100 men were on 
 the sick-list at that time. Some of the 
 other ships had lost several men, but not 
 in the same proportion. The fact is, that 
 the admiral's ship r is over-crowded with 
 supernumeraries. By the last accounts the 
 Britannia was healthier, but she had lost 
 altogether eighty-six men by cholera. The 
 British fleet was cruising in t\!rQ linesj about 
 twenty-five miles south-east of Varna, on 
 the morning of the 16th. The ships were 
 the Britannia* the Albion* the London, 
 the Trafalgar, the Queen, Furious,* the 
 Diamond (frigate), Rodney, Tribune, Ven- 
 geance, and two steamers. Later in the 
 day, the French fleet was observed cruising 
 east of Varna about twenty miles. The 
 accounts from these ships were most de- 
 pressing; but the disease has now been 
 deprived somewhat of its virulence. I'he 
 Ville de Paris has lost more than 200 men. 
 The Montebello, which is in Varna harbour, 
 has lost about the same number. , 
 
 " It has been found, indeed, that the 
 plan of wide open encampments has an- 
 swered in checking disease. The British 
 army is now scattered broad-cast all over 
 the country, from Monastir to Varna, a 
 distance of twenty-six or twenty-seven 
 miles. The light division is nominally 
 encamped at Monastir, but the regiments 
 compooing it are wide apart from each 
 other, and the division stretches almost 
 from Pravadi to the plains above Monastir. 
 The cavalry brigade, under Lord Cardigan, 
 is encamped close to Kosladschi. Sir De 
 L. Evans's division, which has been tole- 
 rably healthy in comparison with Sir George 
 
 • Those marked as above have Buffered most from 
 cholera. 
 
 180 
 
 Brown's and the Duke of Cambridge's di- 
 visions, extends over a large plateau, en- 
 camped regiment by regiment, between 
 Aladyn and Devno. The duke's division 
 has marched in from Aladyn, and is now 
 encamped towards the south-western side 
 of the bay. It appears, that notwithstand- 
 ing the ■ exquisite beauty of the country 
 around Aladyn, it is a hot-bed of fever and 
 dysentery. The same is true of Devno, 
 which is called by the Turks ' the Valley 
 of Death;' and had we consulted the 
 natives ere we pitched our camps, we as- 
 suredly should never have gone either to 
 Aladyn or Devno, notwithstanding the 
 charms of their position and the tempta- 
 tions ofiered by the abundant supply of 
 water and by the adjacent woods. 
 
 " No blame, perhaps, is to be attached to 
 any one for neglecting to ascertain whether 
 these great natural advantages were counter- 
 balanced by any peculiar sanitary evils. 
 Whoever gazed on these rich meadows, 
 stretching for long miles away, and bor- 
 dered by heights on which the dense forests 
 struggled, all but in vain, to pierce the 
 masses of wild vine, clematis, dwarf acacia, 
 and many -Coloured brushwoods — on the 
 verdant hill-sides, and on the dancing 
 waters of lake and stream below, lighted 
 up by the golden rays of a Bulgarian sum- 
 mer's sun — might well think that no Eng- 
 lish glade or hill-top could well be healthier 
 or better suited for the residence of man. 
 But these meadows nurture the fever, the 
 ague, dysentery, and pestilence in their 
 bosom — the lake and the stream exhale 
 death; and at night fat unctuous vapours 
 rise up fold after fold from the valleys, 
 and creep up in the dark, and steal into 
 the tent of the sleeper, and wrap him in 
 their deadly embrace. So completely ex- 
 hausted on last Thursday was the brigade 
 of guards, these 3,000 of the flower of Eng- 
 land, that they had to make two marches in 
 order to get over the distance from Aladyn 
 to Varna, which is not more than (not so 
 much, many people say, as) ten miles. But 
 that is not all. Their packs were carried 
 for them. Just think of this, good people 
 of England, who are sitting anxiously in 
 your homes, day after day, expecting every 
 morning to gladden your eyes with the sight 
 of the announcement, in large type, of ' Fall 
 of Sebastopol,' your guards, your corps 
 d'^lite, the pride of your hearts, the delight 
 of your eyes, these Auakims, whose stature, 
 strength, and massive bulk you exhibit to 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 THE CAMP 01 THE NORTH. 
 
 kingly Tiaitors as no inapt symbols of your 
 nation, have been so reduced by sickness, 
 disease, and a depressing climate, that it 
 was judged inexpedient to allow them to 
 carry their own packs, or to permit them 
 to march more than five miles a-day, even 
 though these packs were carried for them ! 
 Think of this, and then judge whether these 
 men are fit, in their present state, to go to 
 Sebastopol, or to attempt any great opera- 
 tion of war. 
 
 " The highland brigade is in better con- 
 dition; but even the three noble regiments 
 which compose it are far from being in good 
 health, or in the spirits in which they set 
 out for Varna. The duke's division has lost 
 160 men ; of these nearly 100 belonged to 
 the guards. In the brigade of guards there 
 were, before the march to Varna, upwards of 
 600 men sick. The light division has lost 
 110 or 112 men. Sir De L. Evans has lost 
 100 men or thereabouts. The little cavalry 
 force has been sadly reduced by death, and 
 the third (Sir R. England's) division, which 
 has been encamped to the north-w€st of 
 Varna, close • outside the town, has lost 
 upwards of 100 men also; the 50th regi- 
 ment, who were much worked, being par- 
 ticularly cut up. The ambulance corps has 
 been completely crippled by the death of 
 the drivers and men belonging to it ; and 
 the medical officers have been called upon 
 to make a special report on the mortality 
 among them. I believe the fact to be, there 
 was rather an unhappy selection of men, and 
 that many of them were old soldiers, rather 
 addicted to free living and spirits ; and in 
 Bulgaria drunkenness is death. Sir R. 
 England's division has been moved round 
 the bay, and is now loosely encamped near 
 Lord Lucan's cavalry, on the heights ex- 
 tending from the Fountain to Galata Bour- 
 non, and looking across the bay towards 
 Vama. We have still some few men of 
 our army encamped on the north-east side 
 of the town, on the plains outside the walls. 
 
 "The French have their ' cholera camp' 
 between Chatel Tepeh and Medjidji-tahi, 
 about two miles from the town. It is only 
 too extensive and too well filled. Horrors 
 occur here every day which are shocking to 
 think of. Walking by the beach, one sees 
 some straw sticking up through the sand, 
 and scraping it arway with his stick, he is 
 horrified at bringing to light the face of a 
 corpse, which has been deposited there, with 
 a wisp of straw around it, a prey to dogs and 
 vultures. Dead bodies rise up from the 
 
 VOL. 1. t3 B 
 
 bottom in the harbour, and bob grimly 
 around in the water, or float in from sea., 
 and drift past the sickened gazers on board 
 the ships — all buoyant, bolt upright, and 
 hideous in the sun. On Friday, the body 
 of a French soldier, who had been mur- 
 dered (for his neckerchief was twisted round 
 the neck so as to produce strangulation, and 
 the forehead was laid open by a ghastly 
 wound which cleft the skull to the brain), 
 came alongside the Caradoc in harbour, and 
 was with difficulty sunk again. What fond 
 parent or anxious sweetheart, in some plea- 
 sant homestead of La Belle France, may 
 now be expecting him and wondering at his 
 silence ? Will they ever hear of that poor 
 fellow's fate ? A boat's crew go on shore 
 to put a few stones together as a sort of 
 landing-place on the sandj they move a 
 stone, and underneath is a festering corpse 
 again. But there is no use in accumulating 
 the details of scenes like these, which must 
 ever be the terrible attendants on war and 
 pestilence." 
 
 Let us change the scene : we are glad 
 that we can do so to one that the philan- 
 thropic mind will dwell upon with pleasure- 
 Let us turn our attention to one of those 
 brilliant episodes of history in which nations 
 are drawn closer to each other, and the in- 
 terests of good-will and brotherhood amongst 
 men promoted. It redeems war from de- 
 testation to know that it sometimes gives 
 rise to such events. 
 
 We allude to the fraternisation of princes 
 at Boulogne, which occurred in the month 
 of September. Enormous military prepara- 
 tions had been made in France, and an im- 
 mense army, under the title of the Camp of 
 the North, was stationed along the coast 
 from Boulogne to St. Omer. The Emperor 
 Napoleon announced his intention of spend- 
 ing nearly the whole of September at the 
 former place, where he was to be visited by 
 the King of Belgium, and the husband of 
 the sovereign of Great Britain, both of whom 
 had been invited to witness a series of grand 
 military manceavres by the French troops,- 
 As the latter were commanded by the em- 
 peror, it was justly supposed that the pre- 
 sence of such distinguished visitors would 
 be regarded not only as a compliment to 
 the French monarch, but would also have 
 a healthy influence upon the politics of 
 Europe, by showing what strong sympathies 
 were evinced by the people of France, Eng- 
 land, and Belgium in the course pursued by 
 the great Western Powers. 
 
 181 
 
NAPOLEON AT BOULOGNE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 185-1. 
 
 On Saturday, the 2iid of September, the 
 Emperor of the French arrived, at noon, at 
 Calais, from Boulogne, in order to meet and 
 welcome the King of the Belgians. He 
 proceeded at once to Dessin's hotel, which 
 had been engaged for the occasion. Shortly 
 afterwards he received a deputation of pois- 
 sardes, who, clad in pretty chintz dresses 
 and black linsey-woolsey petticoats, testified 
 their loyalty by presenting the emperor with 
 a line dish of fish. After them the peasant- 
 women were admitted to an interview with 
 their sovereign, and oflered for his accep- 
 tance a magnificent bouquet. A little before 
 two o'clock the King of the Belgians arrived, 
 escorted by a detachment of cuirassiers, and 
 welcomed by a salute of artillery. He was 
 accompanied by his eldest son, the Duke de 
 Brabant, and was immediately conducted by 
 the authorities of the town, and amid the 
 cheers of the people, to Dessin's hotel. 
 The emperor met his royal visitor in the 
 courtyard, when both sovereigns bowed, 
 and Leopold exclaimed : " I am charmed to 
 make your acquaintance. Allow me to in- 
 troduce to you ray son, the Duke de Bra- 
 bant." Louis responded with a few kindly 
 words, and took the king and the duke 
 into his private apartment, where they re- 
 mained together for about three-quarters of 
 an hour. 
 
 The next morning (Sunday) they pro- 
 ceeded in an open carriage to Boulogne, 
 escorted by a detachment of the imperial 
 guards, and halted at the emperor's hotel at 
 Capecure. A grand military mass was to 
 have been solemnised at the camp, and the 
 tricolour fluttered over the temporary chapel 
 in which the service of the day was to be 
 performed. The little building resembled a 
 rustic lodge, and in the centre of it stood 
 the altar, decorated with flowers, and fur- 
 nished with the silver candlesticks and other 
 plate used in the Roman catholic ritual. 
 The signal of assembling was given by the 
 roll of drums and the shrill braying of 
 trumpets, and immediately immense bodies 
 of men, the contingents from the second 
 and third camps, came marching over the 
 hUls. The heat, however, was so great, that 
 the emperor and his royal guests did not 
 care to brave it, and the ceremony proceeded 
 without them. In the evening the following 
 proclamation, dated the previous day, was 
 issued by the emperor to his troops : — 
 
 " Soldiers ! — In coming to take the com- 
 mand of that army of the north, a division 
 of which has so recently distinguished itself 
 183 
 
 in the Baltic, I ought already to address you 
 in the language of praise ; for you have now 
 for two months gaily supported the fatigues 
 and privations inseparable from a similar 
 agglomeration of troops. 
 
 "The formation of camps is the best 
 apprenticeship to war, because it is the 
 faithful image of war ; but it will not profit 
 all if the reasons of the movements to be 
 executed are not brought within the com- 
 prehension of every soldier. 
 
 " A numerous army is obliged to divide 
 itself in order to subsist, so that it may not 
 exhaust the resources of a country j and yet 
 it ought to be able to reunite itself promptly 
 on the field of battle. Here is one of the 
 first difficulties' of a great concourse of 
 troops. ' Every army,' said the emperor, 
 'that cannot reunite itself in twenty-four 
 hours, upon a given point, is an army badly 
 placed.' 
 
 " Ours occupies a triangle, of which St, 
 Omer is the apex, and of which the base 
 extends itself from Ambleteuse to Montreuil. 
 This triangle has a base of eight leagues 
 upon twelve of height, and all the troops 
 can be concentrated in twenty-four hours 
 upon any point of the triangle whatsoever. 
 These movements can be efiiected with fa- 
 cility,- if the soldier is accustomed to march 
 — if he carries with ease his provisions and 
 ammunition — if each chef de corps maintains 
 on the march the severest discipline — if the 
 diflerent columns which direct themselves 
 by difiFerent routes have well reconnoitred the 
 ground, and never cease to maintain a com- 
 munication with each other — in fine, if each 
 army does not obstruct the march of the 
 other, notwithstanding the immense hin- 
 drance of a great number of horses and 
 vehicles. The troops once arrived at the 
 place indicated, it is necessary that they 
 should understand each other, that they 
 should protect themselves by a military 
 position, and bivouac. 
 
 " This is what you are about to be called 
 upon to put in practice. Without at present 
 speaking of the engagements and manoeuvres 
 of military tactics, you see how all is linked 
 together in the art of war, and how much 
 the most simple detail must contribute to 
 the general success. 
 
 " Soldiers ! the experienced chiefs whom 
 I have placed at your head, and the devotion 
 which animates you, will render the com- 
 mand of the army of the north easy to me. 
 You will be worthy of my confidence, and, 
 if circumstances should exact it, you will 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [prince albert at Boulogne. 
 
 be ready to respond to the appeal of our 
 country. " Napoleon. 
 
 " Boulogne, Sept. 2." 
 
 The King of the Belgians and his son 
 embarked on Sunday evening, and returned 
 home, in consequence of the presence of the 
 former being required in his own dominions 
 by urgent business. They were accompa- 
 nied to the steam-boat by the emperor, and 
 their departure caused much regret to the 
 people and the English visitors of Boulogne, 
 who were estimated at 15,000. 
 
 The following day (Monday) the King of 
 Portugal, accompanied by his brother, the 
 Duke of Oporto, arrived at Boulogne by 
 special train from Paris. The emperor 
 received his visitors in the vestibule of the 
 hotel, and escorted them to the apartments 
 prepared for their reception. In the after- 
 noon the illustrious party drove to the camp 
 at Houvault, to inspect the troops. On 
 their arrival there, a great body of troops 
 turned out, and marched past the royal 
 carriages in slow and quick time. Theword 
 of command, loud and wild as an Arab war- 
 cry, might be heard all along the line, and 
 the oflBcers galloped up and down in that 
 apparently frantic excitement which is pe- 
 culiar to the French. The young King of 
 Portugal was delighted with the grand 
 spectacle around him, which revealed the 
 might and majesty of France, and was au 
 earnest of the gigantic force the allied 
 powers could raise to resist oppression. As 
 the royal party drove along the line, they 
 were received by shouts of Vive I'Empereur! 
 the officers of the various regiments giving 
 their soldiers the signal when to raise their 
 sturdy voices. Napoleon was also received 
 with enthusiasm by the spectators, chiefly 
 English, whom he repaid by repeated smiles 
 and bows. The inspection over, the royal 
 party alighted from their carriages, and the 
 emperor took the King of Portugal, first 
 into the tent of a captain, and then into 
 that of a common soldier; in both of which 
 he explained the contrivances adopted for 
 the comfort of the troops. This mark of 
 condescension was received by the soldiers 
 with great delight, and as the royal party 
 re-entered the carriages, the air rang with 
 acclamations. Amongst the Englishmen 
 present were Lord Ranelagh and Colonel 
 Knox, with whom the emperor conversed 
 freely. Indeed, his whole demeanour was 
 extremely frank and winning ; and at times, 
 when the gens d'armes tried to keep back 
 
 the people, he said : " Let them come in and 
 stand where they please." Much to the 
 surprise and disappointment of the good 
 folks of Boulogne, the young King of Por- 
 tugal left the same day that he arrived, and 
 proceeded by the railway to Brussels, amid 
 the thunders of a military salute. 
 
 With the morning of the next day (the 
 5th) came the consort of the Queen of Eng- 
 land. The weather was brilliant ; the sky 
 cloudless ; and the whole population ot 
 Boulogne seemed to have poured forth to 
 welcome Prince Albert to the town. About 
 half-past ten the royal yacht, Victoria and 
 Albert, with the tricolour floating at the 
 fore, and the royal standard at the main, 
 was seen rounding the point on the Capecure 
 side of the harbour. She was followed by 
 the Black Eagle and the Vivid, both with 
 colours dressed. The emperor, attended by 
 a group of officers and aides-de-camp, left his 
 hotel, and went down to the quay to receive 
 his illustrious visitor. 
 
 As the royal yacht entered the harbour, 
 she was received with the roar of artillery 
 and the enthusiastic shouts of the dense 
 masses of spectators. The prince bowed 
 repeatedly to the multitudes; and seeing 
 the emperor standing a little in advance of 
 his stafi", a glance of recognition passed 
 between them, and they simultaneously 
 raised their hats, and exchanged several 
 bows. As the Victoria and Albert came 
 alongside, a carpeted gangway was thrown 
 on board, and Prince Albert ran briskly 
 ashore, and raising his hat, advanced to the 
 emperor. The latter shook hands with the 
 prince very warmly, and addressed several 
 friendly expressions to him. On approach- 
 ing the open carriage which brought the 
 emperor to the quay, a difficulty arose as to 
 who first should enter it. Napoleon insisted 
 that his guest should do so ; but the prince 
 hesitated to take precedence of the emperor. 
 The latter, however, would not yield, and 
 the prince entered the carriage first, which 
 soon after drove slowly ofi", escorted by the 
 cent-gardes, whose brilliant uniforms, con- 
 sisting of helmet and cuirass, light blue 
 coats, jack-boots, and leather breeches, 
 added to the gaiety of the scene. From the 
 quay to the emperor's hotel at Capecure, 
 the streets were densely crowded, and every 
 window was well filled with fashionably- 
 dressed women, who gave an enthusiastic 
 welcome to the distinguished visitor. It is 
 said the people seemed extremely gratified, 
 but too intent on seeing the prince to cheer 
 
 183 
 
PRINCE ALBERT AT BOULOGNE. HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 \ as a thoroughly English crowd would have 
 done. 
 
 At four o'clock the emperor and the 
 prince mounted on horsebackj-and, attended 
 by their suites, proceeded to the camps at 
 Ambleteuse, Wimereux, and Houvault. The 
 princes rode side by side, followed at a 
 short distance by the leading personages of 
 their stafl's, the troops falling into line with 
 astonishing rapidity as the royal corUge 
 approached. Leaving the camp near the 
 column, the royal party rode through the 
 streets, amidst the enthusiastic congratula- 
 tions of the people, and returned to the 
 imperial hotel. 
 
 The next day (Wednesday), September the 
 6th, a grand military review took place at the 
 camp of Helfaut, in honour of Prince Albert. 
 The emperor and his distinguished visitor 
 arrived on the ground at eleven in the 
 morning. After taking some refreshment 
 they visited the huts, and admired the 
 tasteful decorations, the sculpture, and the 
 little gardens with which the soldiers had 
 adorned the camp. The royal party then 
 mounted their horses and rode slowly to 
 the Bruyeres, a magnificent plateau over- 
 looking the town and churches, of St. Omer. 
 The number of soldiers assembled amounted 
 to 25,000. The emperor and the prince, on 
 arriving on the field, were saluted by a dis- 
 charge of twenty-one guns, fired from one 
 of the batteries. The emperor was attired 
 in his usual costume, the full uniform of a 
 lieutenant-general of division, and rode his 
 favourite chesnut charger. The prince wore 
 the cocked hat and blue undress coat of a 
 field-marshal, with the star of the order of 
 the garter. They first rode together along 
 the front line of infantry, and were saluted 
 by the soldiers lowering the ensigns as they 
 proceeded. The troops afterwards slowly 
 defiled before them, and the cavalry ex- 
 ecuted some dashing charges. The prince 
 regarded them with a scrutinising eye, and 
 the emperor apparently directed his atten- 
 tion to various points in connexion with the 
 equipment and training of the various arms 
 of the service. 
 
 The review over, the prince rode forward, 
 and, addressing the ofiicers in French, ex- 
 pressed the gratification he had derived 
 from witnessing the admirably-executed 
 evolutions which had been gone through, 
 and his warm approval of the soldierlike 
 appearance and military bearing of the men. 
 
 184 
 
 He added, with peculiar emphasis, that it 
 was his earnest hope that the entente cordiale, 
 so auspiciously exhibited that day, would 
 long continue to exist between the two 
 countries of France and Great Britain. 
 This brief address gave much pleasure to 
 the emperor, who handed his royal highness 
 into the carriage, and they both returned to 
 Boulogne. 
 
 The Thursday was passed by the emperor 
 and prince in mutual civilities, and in the 
 evening a grand ball was given at the Tin- 
 telleries, and attended by many thousands 
 of persons, both French and English. But 
 the great event occurred on Friday. It was 
 the representation of a battle upon the line 
 of road between Boulogne and Calais, in 
 which the actors were 25,000 French sol- 
 diers, one half of whom were commanded 
 by the emperor in person, and the other by 
 General de Schramm. The latter was sup- 
 posed to threaten Boulogne from the direc- 
 tion of Calais, while the former took up a 
 position to resist any further advance of the 
 supposed enemy. 
 
 The fight opened with the artillery on both 
 sides, which was kept up heavily for some 
 time. After an interval, the long lines of 
 Schramm's corps, drawn up upon the oppo- 
 site height, broke into columns, and slowly 
 fell back towards Calais. The emperor, di- 
 recting his attack continuously from his 
 right, and pressing forward with his cavalry, 
 succeeded in turning his opponent's left. 
 General de Schramm thereupon changed his 
 front, so as to face this fiank movement, still, 
 however, retreating. The mancEuvres ex- 
 tended over a distance of three or four miles, 
 and of course embraced an infinite number 
 of details into which it is impossible to enter. 
 The sham fight terminated on the fine open 
 slope of a height four miles distant from the 
 point atwhichithad commenced. Schramm's 
 corps holding the ridge, made a last stand 
 against their opponents, who, steadily de- 
 bouching from the woods below, at length 
 drove them from their position. At half- 
 past eleven it was all over, and the emperor 
 conducted his illustrious guest to breakfast. 
 
 The departure of Prince Albert took place 
 at eleven o'clock at night, under circum- 
 stances of a most brilliant and picturesque 
 character. The emperor saw him on board, 
 and after a cordial farewell, the Victoria 
 and Albert steamed away towards Ports- 
 mouth, and was soon lost in the darkness. 
 
A.T>. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [insuurection of the greeks. 
 
 CHAPTEK XIV. 
 
 INSURRECTION OF THE GREEK SUBJECTS OF THE SULTAN ; EXPULSION OF THE GREEKS FROM CONSTAN- 
 TINOPLE; TURKISH DEFENCE OP THIS MEASURE, AND GREEK APPEAL AGAINST IT; EXCESSES OF THE 
 INSURGENTS ; INTERFERENCE OF GENERAL BARAGUAT D'lIlLLIERS ON BEHALF OF THE GREEK CATHO- 
 LICS, AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND THE PORTE ; GREEK VIEW OF THE INSURRECTION ; MONTE- 
 NEGRO AND ITS PEOPLE ; PRINCE DANIEL CALLS ON HIS SUBJECTS TO TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE TURKS ; 
 FRENCH AND ENGLISH FORCES OCCUPY THE PIR^US ; SUBMISSION OP KING OTHO ; DECLINE OF THE 
 INSURRECTION. 
 
 To prevent confusion, we have carried the 
 account of the war in the principalities and 
 in the Baltic Sea up to the period when 
 Bomarsund was destroyed, without noticing 
 the progress of the insurrection among the 
 Greek subjects of the sultan, and the war in 
 Asia. We must now retrace our steps, and 
 resume these interesting narrations from the 
 points at which we left them. And first, of 
 the insurrection of the Greeks in the Turk- 
 ish provinces of Albania, Macedonia, and 
 Thessaly, to which we shall devote this 
 chapter. By referring to the sixth chapter 
 of this work, from page 73 to page 77, the 
 reader wiU see the opening of the subject to 
 which we now return. 
 
 We have there shown, that the Greek 
 subjects of the Porte, instigated by Russian 
 agents and Russian gold, had chosen the 
 moment of Turkey's danger to cast off her 
 yoke and gratify their long-cherished hatred 
 against her government and religion : that 
 King Otho and the independent Greeks had 
 at first secretly, and afterwards openly, 
 fomented the insurrection, — ^which pro- 
 ceeded, in reality, rather from Athens than 
 from the Christian inhabitants of the neigh- 
 bouring provinces : that England and 
 France had assisted the Porte to suppress 
 the insurrection; because it was iU-timed, 
 and threatened still further to prolong the 
 war, and disturb the tranquillity of Europe, 
 by dividing the power of Turkey and 
 strengthening the hands of the Emperor of 
 Russia: and finally, that diplomatic rela- 
 tions between Greece and Turkey were 
 broken ofl", and their respective ambassadors 
 recalled. The last-named event took place 
 in the month of March, 1 854, much to the 
 regret of all humane and prudent men, who 
 severely blamed the Greek government for 
 fostering insurrection in a neighbouring 
 state at a time when the safety, if not the 
 existence, of that state was threatened by 
 the common foe of Europe, of progress, and 
 of liberty. 
 
 After diplomatic relations had been broken 
 off between Greece and Turkey, the Porte 
 decided on a natural but extremely rigorous 
 measure. It determined on the expulsion 
 from Constantinople, within fifteen days, of 
 all Greek subjects who would not place 
 themselves under its exclusive protection. 
 This measure was carried out with great 
 severity, and every steamer that left Con- 
 stantinople for Syra was so crowded with 
 Greeks, that it was impossible for them to 
 walk the decks. Many — indeed, most of 
 them — were, by this act of banishment, 
 reduced to the depths of poverty, and 
 would have to be placed on shore at the 
 Piraeus both destitute and friendless. The 
 Turks also felt the inconvenience of the 
 measure. More than thirty medical men — 
 the most skilful in the capital of the sultan 
 — took their departure; and many shops 
 in Pera were shut up in consequence of 
 the expulsion of their owners. 
 
 Redschid Pasha, the Turkish minister of 
 foreign afiairs, in forwarding to the Greek 
 ambassador his passports, sent also a letter, 
 justifying the conduct of the Porte in ex- 
 pelling the Greeks : — " It appears," said 
 that document, " from positive proofs, that 
 it is not through mere negligence, but 
 through the toleration of the Greek go- 
 vernment, that the frontier provinces of the 
 empire have been just invaded." It added 
 the following passages, which show, that 
 although the Porte considered it necessary 
 to proceed with severity against the Greeks, 
 it did not act in a merciless spirit : " Orders 
 have been given to the proper authorities 
 to faciUtate the departure of those Greek 
 subjects who are poor or destitute, and to 
 show as much indulgence as ^ possible to 
 those who are sick or infirm. It is my duty 
 once more to repeat, that it is the Greek 
 government alone which has created the 
 necessity for this determination, and that 
 the responsibility of it must rest entirely 
 upon Greece." 
 
 185 
 
EDICT OF EXPULSION.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 To this note M. Metaxa replied by another, 
 of an expostulatory character. In it he 
 complained of cruelty, saying, that although 
 he had desired for the Greeks established in 
 Turkey a period of six months for them to 
 wind up their affairs and quit the country, 
 yet the Porte had reduced that term to 
 fifteen days. He added : " There is a tri- 
 bunal higher than either Greece or Turkey, 
 whose judgments are unerring, and whose 
 decrees are infallible. It is to this Supreme 
 tribunal that Greece appeals; for to that 
 alone it belongs to decide whether Greece 
 and its government ought to be held respon- 
 sible for the evil consequences of the exist- 
 ing state of things, because discontent has 
 provoked the inhabitants of Epirus and 
 Thessaly to revolt; and because, on this 
 occasion, sympathies have been manifested 
 in Greece favourable to a movement made 
 by co-religionists, by countrymen, and by 
 relations." 
 
 The Turkish government did not escape 
 censure on account of the course it had 
 pursued ; and it was reasoned that the 
 Greeks were punished, in their private and 
 mercantile interests, for offences committed 
 by a court which they disliked. The edict 
 of expulsion drove forth thousands of inno- 
 cent and intelligent men, whose very subsis- 
 tence depended on dwelling where alone 
 they seemed able to obtain a market for 
 their labour. 
 
 The expulsion of the Greeks from Con- 
 stantinople had no effect on the government 
 and people of independent Greece. Bodies 
 of men and supplies of arms were con- 
 tinually sent across the frontier to the 
 rebels of Thessaly and Epirus. Most of 
 these men were little better than brigands, 
 who plundered under the pretence of pa- 
 triotism. They not only committed depre- 
 dations on the property of the Turks, against 
 whom they professed to have taken arms, 
 but also robbed those of their own creed 
 and nation. So well was this understood, 
 that the Greek subjects of the Porte, in 
 many places, bolted their doors and con- 
 cealed their goods on the approach of the 
 insurgents. At first these bands of robbers, 
 in the name of liberty, being opposed only 
 by isolated detachments, obtained some suc- 
 cesses ; but when they encountered corps of 
 regular troops, they were invariably beaten, 
 and obliged to fly to the mountains. Such 
 was the ferocity of these men, that Grivas, 
 oile of their leaders, offered a pound of gun- 
 powder and fifteen drachmas for a couple of 
 186 
 
 Turks' heads. During this time, King 
 Otho showed an obstinacy that might have 
 cost him his crown or even his life. He 
 disregarded the advice given him, and as- 
 serted his belief that he was destined to 
 liberate the Christians from the Ottoman 
 rule. 
 
 The resolve of the sultan to drive the 
 Greeks from Constantinople led to a serious 
 difference between the Porte and General 
 Paraguay d'Hilliers, then acting not only 
 as a soldier, but as French ambassador at 
 Constantinople. We have already men- 
 tioned that the French regarded themselves 
 as the protectors of the Christians of the 
 Roman church in the Turkish empire. The 
 general, therefbrej made a demand that all 
 Greek catholics should be excepted from 
 the decree of expulsion, and that his guaran- 
 tee for the good behaviour of the members 
 of his own church should be considered 
 sufficient. The animosity existing between 
 the Greek and Latin churches is bitter m 
 the extreme. As the former were known 
 to lean towards Russia, the latter went to 
 the other extreme, and made the most fer- 
 vent expressions of loyalty to the Ottoman 
 government. The French general pointed 
 out this circumstance to Redschid Pasha, 
 and insisted very strongly upon it to obtain 
 the favour he demanded for the Greeks of 
 the Roman church. After some hesitation 
 the desire of the French ambassador was 
 acceded to, though in a somewhat modified 
 form. The Porte, however, repented of its 
 partiality, and afterwards informed General 
 Baraguay d'Hilliers that his request could 
 not be granted. The French soldier was 
 extremely indignant; he demanded the 
 dismissal of the Turkish ministers, and 
 threatened, if satisfaction was denied to 
 him, to embark with his whole embassy 
 and leave Constantinople within forty-eight 
 hours. This incident might have produced 
 untoward results, but for the discretion of 
 Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, who supported 
 the ministers of the sultan ; and the French 
 ambassador was finally pacified. The cause 
 of quarrel was afterwards removed by an 
 edict from the Porte, by which all the 
 Greeks then at Constantinople, and not im- 
 plicated in the insurrection, were permitted 
 to remain. To prevent a repetition of this 
 scene, General Baraguay d'Hilliers was re- 
 called from Constantinople, and appointed 
 to a command in the Baltic, where (as 
 we have already related) he won distinction 
 at the fall of Boraarsund. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [defence or the greeks. 
 
 The expulsion from Turkey of the Greeks 
 was bitterly felt by that people, and re- 
 garded with indignation by King Otho and 
 his government. The Greek minister for 
 foreign aiFairs addressed the following cir- 
 culars to the diplomatic agents of his govern- 
 ment. They contain a Greek view of the 
 insurrection and the difference with the 
 Porte, and may be regarded as the defence 
 of the free Greeks against the charges 
 brought against them by the ministers of 
 the sultan. We subjoin them, as necessary 
 to assist the reader to an impartial judgment 
 on the subject ; — 
 
 "Athens, 5th (17th) April, 1854. 
 " Ministry of the Eoyal Household and of 
 Foreign Affairs. 
 
 "Sir, — The disastrous measures which the 
 Porte has just adopted against Greek subjects 
 and their interests, as I have informed you in 
 my despatch of this day, gave us without doubt 
 the incontestible riglit of reprisal by means of 
 analogous measures, without, at the same time, 
 departing from the rules usually observed in 
 similar cases. 
 
 " But it was repugnant to the king's govern- 
 ment to act thus, or, in imitation of the Porte, 
 to injure the subjects of the Ottoman Porte, 
 whom it could not reasonably consider as re- 
 sponsible for all the rigours committed in Turkey 
 against our countrymen and our commercial 
 navy. 
 
 "After the Sublime Porte had broken off 
 the political and commercial relations between 
 Greece and Turkey, and abruptly expelled our 
 consular agents from the Ottoman territory, the 
 government of the king could no longer permit 
 the consular authorities of the Porte to continue 
 in the exercise of their functions in Greece. 
 But while giving to the prefects the order to 
 withdraw the exequatur, and to signify to all 
 those who belonged to that body, and who were 
 invested with an official character, to quit the 
 country, it has at the same time declared that 
 Turkish subjects may continue to reside in the 
 kingdom, and that the vessels under the Ottoman 
 flag shall be received in Greek ports, in order to 
 carry on freely their commercial operations, as 
 before ; and both are placed under the protection 
 of the Hellenic laws. 
 
 " I have the honour to transmit to you here- 
 with copies of the circular I have issued on the 
 subject, and in which you will remark, among 
 other things, the solicitude with which the gov- 
 ernment of the king recommends to its agents 
 to afford all the assistance and facility in their 
 power to Turkish subjects in the conduct of 
 then- affairs, as also to the Turkish flag. 
 
 "It is now for the nations of the civilised 
 world to judge of the difference which eiists in 
 the conduct of the respective governments of 
 
 the two states. The king's government has 
 limited itself to doing what was strictly and 
 absolutely necessary. It could not, and it ought 
 not, to imitate the Porte in having recourse to 
 measures which are reprobated by the spirit of 
 modern civilisation, and also by the noble senti- 
 ments of the nation of which it is the organ. 
 
 " Receive, sir, the assurance of my high con- 
 sideration, &c. 
 
 "A. PilKOS." 
 
 The following is the circular referred to 
 in the above: — 
 
 « Athens, 5th (I7th) April, 1854. 
 " Sir, — The Ottoman Porte has just adopted 
 against us the most disastrous measures. Tou 
 are already aware, sir, that the charge d'affaires 
 of the Ottoman Porte at Athens, not having 
 found the answer sufficiently satisfactory which 
 the king's government gave to an ultimatum 
 addressed to them on the subject, has quitted 
 Greece, after having announced that the political 
 relations between the two governments were 
 broken off. In consequence of a proceeding so 
 abrupt and so unexpected, the royal government 
 could not keep any longer their minister at 
 Constantinople. That functionary received, 
 therefore, the order to demand, in turn, his 
 passports, and to quit that capital with the 
 members of the legation, leaving only the chan- 
 cellery for the arrangement of the commercial 
 affairs of more than 15,000 Greek subjects who 
 reside there, and intrusting, as is usual in such 
 cases, the protection of the Hellenic subjects to 
 one of his colleagues. The government was all 
 the more inclined to follow that course as Nesset 
 Bey himself, on quitting Athens, confided the 
 protection of Ottoman subjects to the ministers 
 of Prance and Great Britain, and he did not 
 declare that the consuls of the Porte in Greece 
 should also quit their posts. You may therefore 
 judge of our astonishment on learning that the 
 Porte, on sending to M. Metaxas, the king's 
 minister at Constantinople, his passports, com- 
 municated to him at the same time, in its note 
 of the 20th of March, that (to date from that 
 day) all political and commercial relations be- 
 tween Greece and Turkey were broken off; that 
 all the employes of the Greek chancellery at 
 Constantinople, as well as all the consuls of 
 Greece in the Ottoman empire, must imme- 
 diately quit ; that all Greek subjects, without 
 exception, must also leave Turkey within the 
 term of fifteen days, at the expiration of which 
 no ship bearing the Greek flag should any longer 
 appear in the ports of Turkey. Independently 
 of these measures, the Porte has intimated that 
 it would recognise in no minister of the friendly 
 powers accredited to it the right to protect 
 Greek subjects, and to whom the king's ministers 
 might ; confide that care. The Porte has also 
 constituted, of itself, a commission to settle 
 arbitrarily the affairs of our countrymen within 
 
 187 
 
DEFENCE OF THE GREEKS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 the term of fifteen days, and to proceed to their 
 expulsion. 
 
 " You may easily conceive, sir, the perturba- 
 tion which measures of so serious a kind must 
 have created in the commercial transactions of 
 more than 15,000 persons established at Con- 
 stantinople alone, without counting almost 
 double the number of Greek subjects scattered 
 throughout the Ottoman empire, all engaged in 
 trade and industry, as well as the immense and 
 incalculable loss which must be the result to 
 them. It was in vain that the king's minister 
 observed that in order to settle interests so ex- 
 tensive and so complicated as those of the 
 Greek subjects residing in Turkey, a period of 
 six months would scarce suffice. The Porte 
 persisted in its resolution. In presence of such 
 enormities, nothing was left for his majesty's 
 minister but to quit Constantinople, protesting 
 at the same time against conduct so unheard of 
 and so indescribable, and leaving the commercial 
 chancellery for some days only, in order to try 
 to arrange as well as it could the various inter- 
 ests of our subjects, to facilitate their speedy 
 departure, and to issue passports and prepare 
 the papers of our ships. But scarcely was he 
 gone when the police peremptorily ordered the 
 consul, the director of the Hellenic chancellery, 
 at once to close hia office, and to stop all settle- 
 ment of business. At the same time the com- 
 mission instituted by the Porte ordered, in a 
 proclamation posted up ou the doors of the 
 chancellery, all Greek subjects to present them- 
 selves before it for the settlement of their 
 affairs, and forbidding them, under severe pe- 
 nalties, to have any intercourse with their chan- 
 cellery. Thus, sir, in a few days, Greek subjects 
 are violently expelled from the Turkish empire. 
 The Greek flag can no more appear in the waters 
 of that empire. The ruin of the fortunes of so 
 many is consummated ; and a great number of 
 our countrymen will soon be reduced to misery. 
 " Such is the conduct we witness for the first 
 time in the recent history of civilised countries. 
 No nation in a state of war with another has 
 ever acted in so outrageous a manner with the 
 subjects of its enemy. In order to show all the 
 animosity against Greece, as manifested in these 
 exceptional measures of the Porte, I might refer 
 to what has always been practised in similar 
 cases between great and civilised nations. I 
 could support my views by the recent example 
 of France who, though at war with Russia, has 
 nevertheless permitted Bussian subjects to con- 
 tinue their residence in their country under the 
 protection of French laws. But I content my- 
 self with comparing with those measures the 
 conduct which the Porte itself has observed 
 towards Russian subjects. The Porte has been 
 for the last six months in a state of open war 
 with Eussia. Much blood, both on one side and 
 the other, has been already shed on the field of 
 battle ; and yet not only has it not during that 
 188 
 
 time expelled Eussian subjects from its empire, 
 but even when at the last moment it thought it 
 to be its duty to order them to quit the country, 
 it granted them, for that purpose, a delay of 
 some months, which delay, at a later period 
 having been prolonged through the intervention 
 of the internuncio of his majesty the Emperor of 
 Austria, did not expire till the middle of April. 
 Still more, during all that period they were 
 placed, and actually remained, under the protec- 
 tion of the said internuncio, when scarcely 150 
 Russians were found to be residing at Con- 
 stantinople. 
 
 " It may then be asked, why has the Porte 
 shown itself towards Greece, with which it is not 
 at war, much more severe than it has been 
 towards Russia, its declared enemy ? The rea- 
 son, sir, is clear — it is because the Porte has, 
 unfortunately, never forgotten what Greece was 
 before she became free. That hostile disposition 
 cannot be otherwise explained, which it has at 
 all times manifested towards Greece, notwith- 
 standing all the good-will which the Hellenic 
 government has invariably shown, in order to 
 render the relations between the two countries 
 more and more friendly. For twenty years that 
 royalty has existed in Greece, and that the in- 
 dependence of the Hellenic kingdom has been 
 recognised by the Porte, it has never ceased to 
 raise up against her every species of embarrass- 
 ment, and to create obstacles to her service and 
 her commerce in Turkey. Many times have 
 Greek subjects had to suffer from the arbitrary 
 conduct of its authorities in the provinces. It 
 has refused to issue the exequaturs of a great 
 number of our consuls, in order that our country- 
 men should be deprived of the protection abso- 
 lutely requisite in Turkey, and it impeded the 
 service of those it had been obliged to recognise. 
 I have not now space enough to expose in detail 
 all the wrongs the royal government has endured 
 from the Porte. It will be sufficient to remind 
 you that in two other instances it has again 
 found occasion for harsh measures against our 
 vessels and our merchants, by prohibiting the 
 former from trading in its ports, excluding the 
 others from the corporations of trade, and with- 
 drawing their exequaturs from our consuls. It 
 will be then easily understood how at this mo- 
 ment the Porte has seized eagerly on the pre- 
 text furnished it by the insurrection of Epirus 
 and Thessaly to resume its arbitrary measures 
 against ua, with a force and severity all the 
 greater that it believes it can do so freely and 
 without any obstacle. 
 
 "I have said, sir, that the Porte sought a 
 pretext for such conduct ; for, after the answer 
 given to the last note of its charge cP affaires, ita 
 conduct cannot otherwise be explained. What, 
 in fact, was demanded in the note of Nesaet 
 Bey ? To order some officers who, for the most 
 part natives of the insurgent districts, left the 
 kingdom to combat with those of the sarao reli- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [defence of the greeks. 
 
 gion as themselyes — with their brothers — to re- 
 turn to the kingdom within ten days, and to 
 intimate to them that, if they did not obey, their 
 pay should be stopped ; to form a commission to 
 try and punish them ; to prohibit all armaments 
 in the kingdom in favour of the insurgents ; not 
 to permit armed men to pass the frontier ; to 
 dismiss certain employes for having excited the 
 public mind against Turkey ; to disavow, in its 
 official organs, those who openly and publicly 
 Cau grand jour) demanded pecuniary aid, who 
 prepared armaments, and were members of divers 
 committees in favour of the insurrection; to 
 moderate the language of certain journals, and 
 to establish an inquiry, in order to discover the 
 officer who facilitated the escape of the prisoners 
 at Chalcis. 
 
 " The Hellenic government could reply to the 
 complaints of the Porte by pointing to recent 
 and well-known examples of other nations who 
 were in the same relation to each other as 
 Greece is now with respect to the Porte. But 
 with the view of maintakdng its fnendly rela- 
 tions with the Sublime Porte, it not only did not 
 avail itself of these examples, but it, on the con- 
 trary, promised to do aU it was permitted to do 
 by the laws of the country, and aU that was in 
 its power to do, to satisfy those demands. 
 
 "It therefore replied,* that the proposition 
 relative to the recall of the officers was no longer 
 necessary from the moment those officers had 
 demanded and received their dismissal ; that not 
 belonging to the Greek army they received no 
 pay, and were consequently out of the jurisdic- 
 tion of the Hellenic government ; that the gov- 
 ernment would take care that the armaments 
 against a neighbouring state should be pre- 
 vented, and that armed persons should be pro- 
 hibited from crossing the frontier so far as the 
 nature and extent of our limits and our means 
 permitted us to do ; that an inquiry should be 
 instituted against the accused employes; that it 
 had no objection to express in its official organs 
 aU the inconvenience and injury that would 
 accrue to the friendly relations of the two states 
 from making collections of money for the pur- 
 pose of preparing armaments for the insurgents ; 
 and that it would do with pleasure all that was 
 compatible with the laws of the country to 
 moderate the language of the journals with re- 
 ference to the insurrection of the neighbouring 
 provinces. The Hellenic government gave, at 
 the same time, assurances to Nesset Bey that 
 his wishes respecting the escape of the prisoners 
 of Chalcis had already been anticipated ; and 
 that the result of the inquiry which had been 
 ordered proved not only the innocence of the 
 officers of the garrison of Chalcis, but also the 
 
 * The reply of the Greeks was offensively curt. 
 
 + The documents which accompany the above 
 despatch, and which are in print, are eighteen in 
 number. They consist of the notes exchanged 
 between Nesset Bey (the minister of the Porte at 
 
 VOL. I. t3 c 
 
 inutility of the attempts they had made to bring 
 back the soldiers to their duty. 
 
 " It was after a reply so reasonable and so 
 conciliatory, and in spite of those promises and 
 those assurances of the royal government, that 
 Nesset Bey suddenly quitted Greece, and broke 
 off all relations with the two countries. In such 
 a state of things it only remains for Greece, thus 
 exposed to arbitrary conduct of the most imex- 
 ampled kind, and to the most unjustifiable vex- 
 ations, to make the Porte responsible for all the 
 evUs which will be the inevitable result of it ; for 
 the ruin of her commerce, of her navy, and oi 
 the fortunes of so many private persons. It is 
 for the enlightened nations of the world to say 
 whether, in the middle of the nineteenth century, 
 and in time of peace, any government can be 
 allowed to abuse in such a manner its position, 
 and to inflict such serious injury on an inde- 
 pendent state. Tou will, sir, communicate ver- 
 bally this despatch and the documents annexed 
 to it to the government to which you are accre- 
 ditedjt and, if you are required to do so, a copy 
 of them ; and you wiU direct its particular atten- 
 tion to the conduct of the Porte with regard to 
 us — conduct which a state of open war could 
 scarcely justify.' Eeceive, sir, &c., 
 
 "Paikos." 
 
 The perplexity of the Turkish govern- 
 ment, caused by the insurrection of the 
 Greeks, was aggravated at this point by the 
 hostilities of the prince and people of Monte- 
 negro. A singular interest attaches to this 
 romantic land and its spirited inhabitants ;, 
 and we shall therefore give a short descrip- 
 tion of them. On looking at a map of 
 European Turkey, the reader will perceive a. 
 small tract of land lying enclosed between 
 Herzegovina, Albania, and the Adriatic. It is 
 Montenegro, which means the Black Moun- 
 tain — a title imagined by some speculators 
 on the subject, to be derived from the dark 
 forests of pine-trees supposed to have once 
 covered the country. Others, however, 
 think that the name "Black" has been 
 given to the inhabitants to denote the wild 
 and intractable character of these dwellers 
 among the mountains. The name is sup- 
 posed to have been bestowed on the people 
 in hatred, and accepted by them in defiance. 
 The surface of the country forms a series of 
 elevated ridges of limestone rocks, diversi- 
 fied by lofty mountainous peaks, and looking 
 in some parts like a petrified sea. The 
 Montenegrins, who are extremely ignorant 
 and superstitious, have a singular tradition 
 Athens) and M. Paikos, on the subjects noticed in 
 the circular, and are dated from the 31st of January 
 fl2th of February) to the 10th (22nd) of March, when 
 M. Paikos announced that the passports demanded 
 by the Turkish envoy were at his disposal. 
 
 189 
 
MONTENEGRO.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 to account for the stony and rugged aspect 
 of their land. They say, that when the 
 Deity was distributing stones over the earth, 
 the bag in which he held them burst when 
 over Montenegro, and all the stones fell 
 upon that spot. 
 
 Though Montenegro is but a small 
 country, estimated at about 450 square 
 miles, with a population of not more than 
 100,000 persons, yet they have ever pre- 
 served their independence, in spite of their 
 powerful and warlike neighbours the Turks, 
 who conquered and possessed all the sur- 
 rounding country. They now acknowledge 
 the protection of the Czar of Russia ; but 
 they do so not from any spirit of submis- 
 sion to that potentate, but because they 
 mostly belong to the Greek church, and 
 also because they regard the Turks as their 
 natural enemies ; and therefore attach them- 
 selves to a power which has opposed, and in 
 past times humbled, the great Mussulman 
 empire. The form of government in Mon- 
 tenegro was, until lately, a sort of rude 
 republic, and its chief rulers were called 
 Vladikas, and united in themselves the office 
 of bishop and prince, or president. In the 
 year 1796, the Turks invaded Montenegro 
 with the intention of either subduing or 
 exterminating the population. The brave 
 mountaineers, favoured by the natural de- 
 fences of their land, succeeded by a stratagem 
 in surrounding the Turkish army, who, after 
 a struggle of three days and nights, in which 
 about 30,000 of them perished, were com- 
 pelled to submit and retire. Since that 
 time the Montenegrins have been free from 
 any invasion on the part of the Turks, but 
 savage border forays have never ceased be- 
 tween the two nations. 
 
 The climate of Montenegro is healthy, 
 but it may be supposed that the soil is too 
 rocky to be very productive. Some parts, 
 however, are exceedingly fertile, and there 
 the inhabitants cultivate maize, tobacco, 
 potatoes, and other vegetables. They do 
 this so successfully, that they are enabled to 
 export them extensively. They value the 
 potato very highly ; and they testified their 
 gratitude to the bishop who introduced its 
 culture amongst them, by enrolling him in 
 the list of their saints. Besides vegetables, 
 they also export smoked mutton, salt fish, 
 hides, tallow, wool, butter, honey, and other 
 agricultural produce. The manufactures of 
 this people are very primitive, and consist 
 only of coarse woollens. 
 
 Montenegro has nothing that deserves so 
 190 
 
 dignified a name as a city or town ; but it 
 contains about 300 villages, each of which 
 possesses its church. Tzetinie, the seat of 
 the government, can be regarded as nothing 
 better than a village. The Montenegrins 
 are brave and hardy, tall, well-proportioned, 
 and extremely picturesque in their costume 
 and appearance. The women, though almost 
 in the condition of slaves, are fond of finery, 
 and adorn themselves with many chains and 
 ornaments of gold. The girls wear little 
 red caps, covered in front with a number 
 of silver coins, lapped one over another, 
 like scales. The Montenegrins are very 
 fond of their weapons, which they scarcely 
 ever lay aside; and, in the event of the 
 Turks making an inroad into the country, 
 nearly the whole male population rise to 
 oppose them. Boys of such a tender age as 
 ten are said to have taken to the field in 
 these border skirmishes ; and many a stal- 
 wart Turk has received his death-wound 
 from a bullet discharged by such an infant 
 hand. In war these stern mountaineers 
 never ask for mercy, and never give it. 
 When one of their countrymen is severely 
 wounded, and in danger of being taken by 
 the enemy, they themselves cut off his head 
 to save him from the disgrace of captivity. 
 Their bravery is tarnished by ferocity, and 
 their primitive habits by a love of plunder. 
 Excursions into surrounding countries for 
 the sake of robbery, are not held dishonour- 
 able among them ; and in battle they have 
 been seen rushing forward like madmen, 
 uttering savage yells, and bearing the blood- 
 dripping heads of their slaughtered enemies 
 suspended from their necks and shoulders. 
 
 On the death of the late vladika, or gov- 
 ernor of Montenegro, some change was 
 made in the form of government. His 
 nephew and successor. Prince Daniel Pe- 
 trovich, was installed in the chief authority 
 without receiving the ecclesiastical investi- 
 ture. Not being a priest, he is permitted 
 to marry and transmit his dignity to his 
 sons. The installation of Prince Daniel 
 into his seat of authority took place on the 
 1st of July, 1853. The ceremonies and fes- 
 tivities performed by his semi-barbarous 
 subjects on that occasion, sound oddly in 
 the ears of the inhabitants of large and 
 highly-civilised states. The following par- 
 ticulars are extracted from an account by 
 an eye-witness of the scenes they describe. 
 Having returned from a visit to St. Peters- 
 burg, where he had gone to obtain the 
 sanction of the emperor to his appointment, 
 
A.v>. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the MONTENEGRINS. 
 
 the prince was met on his landing at Cat- 
 taro by crowds of his subjects, who wel- 
 comed him by the discharges of their rifles, 
 and then conducted him, with many ex- 
 pressions of joy, to the house that had" been 
 prepared for his reception. " The following 
 morning," said a witness of the scene, " we 
 commenced the journey to Tzetinie. The 
 prince, his uncle Noviza, and some few 
 more, travelled on horseback up the wind- 
 ing mountain path ; the others climbed on 
 foot, and with the agility of the chamois, up 
 the rugged sides of the mountain, which is 
 about the same height as Mount Vesuvius. 
 The number of men forming the procession 
 was so great, that the last had not left Cat- 
 taro when the first was already half-way up 
 the mountain. The firing of rifles was in- 
 cessant, as is the case on every festive occa- 
 sion among these manly children of nature. 
 On the summit of the mountain, the prince 
 was received by fresh troops of Montene- 
 grins, who also greeted him with volleys 
 from their rifles. Here the mass separated. 
 The greater number proceeded to Niegush, 
 the birthplace of the prince's family; but 
 Daniel and the chiefs entered the house of 
 Prorokavich, the captain of Niegush, where 
 they were to dine. You must not picture 
 to yourself a great European banquet, or a 
 banquet of any kind according to the fashion 
 of modern, times, but rather a Homeric 
 hero's, or, if you will, a shepherd's meal — 
 simple and frugal. In a large room, with- 
 out a stove, the guests were first served with 
 cold water, coifee without milk, and raki (a 
 kind of spirits.) After this, a table formed 
 of rough planks, low and as long as the 
 room, was laid with a cloth, and round it 
 were placed very low wooden benches. 
 Prince Daniel sat at the head of the table ; 
 and he and those who sat nearest him were 
 provided with the ordinary European ap- 
 purtenances of a dinner- table ; but further 
 on, several guests had to share plate, goblet, 
 and spoon, all of wood : every one used his 
 own knife ; and forks there were none. The 
 first dish served up consisted of lamb, 
 stewed with rice ; then came boiled mutton; 
 after that roast lamb and ham, and then 
 cheese. On retiring from table, the greater 
 number of the guests fired ofi" their rifles, 
 saying, 'We must thank our host, or it 
 would look as if we were not pleased with 
 the cheer, or were ungrateful.' 
 
 " Prince Daniel next preceded to the vil- 
 lage of Niegush, where he visited each one 
 of his relatives, and in each cottage wine, 
 
 coffee, and melons were offered to the 
 visitors. On the further journey from Nie- 
 gush to Tzetinie, the prince was received on 
 every mountain ridge by troops of his sub- 
 jects, who, as usual, fired off their rifles as a 
 salute. In the plain of Tzetinie, outside 
 the village, the vice-president and several 
 members of the senate, together with a 
 crowd of less distinguished Montenegrins, 
 came forward to wish him welcome ; and 
 here they were not content with rifles, but 
 a few cannon-shots were fired in his honour. 
 The next day divine service was performed 
 in the church; and as the prince and the 
 notables attended, the people crowded thither 
 in such numbers that the church could not 
 hold one-tenth part of them. After the ser- 
 vice, the vice-president of the senate read 
 to the people assembled outside the prince's 
 dwelling, a document addressed to Prince 
 Daniel by the Russian government, in which 
 it was said, 'that in consideration of the 
 petitions of the senate and people of Monte- 
 negro, his majesty, the Emperor of Russia, 
 had consented that Prince Daniel should 
 not enter the ecclesiastical order, but might, 
 nevertheless, continue to be the chief rulei 
 of the state. Prince Daniel was further 
 permitted to select another to be bishop in 
 his stead, who should have the exclusive 
 direction of the ecclesiastical affairs of the 
 principality ; and he was exhorted to live 
 in harmony with his Turkish and Austrian 
 neighbours,' &c. After this document had 
 been read aloud in the Russian and Servian 
 languages, the prince distributed the orders 
 and medals he had brought with him from 
 Russia." 
 
 Such is Montenegro, its people, and its 
 prince ; and it seems scarcely possible that 
 they could in any way be regarded of suffi- 
 cient importance, as to play a part of some 
 prominence in a great European struggle. 
 Yet it was so. In the spring of 1854, two 
 Russian agents arrived at Cettinye, in Mon- 
 tenegro, and communicated to Prince Daniel 
 the wishes or commands of the czar. The 
 result of their mission was soon manifest in 
 the publication of the following document, 
 in which the Montenegrin prince calls on 
 his subjects to take up arms against their 
 hereditary enemy : — 
 
 "Daniel Petrovich, Prince of Czemagora 
 (Montenegro), and the Brda (the Nahias of 
 Bielopavlichi, Piperi, Moratska, and Kutska, are 
 so called), salutes his captains. 
 
 " I trust that we Montenegrins shall, as here- 
 tofore, show ourselves brave and courageous, 
 
 191 
 
PRINCE DANIEL'S ADDRESS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 like unto the Greeks and other nations, and like 
 unto our victorious grand and great grand- 
 fathers, who bequeathed to us the liberty of 
 which we are so proud. I wish to know the 
 soldiers who were before conscribed, in order 
 that I may learn whether I can put trust in 
 them ; and therefore captains, I command that 
 each of you do assemble his tribe. Let each 
 separate soldier declare openly whether he is 
 willing to do battle with us against the Turks, 
 those cursed enemies of our faith and laws. 
 Captains, take down the name of each volunteer, 
 and send in a written report to me at Cettinye. 
 But this I say beforehand, he who is not prepared 
 to meet death with me, let him, in the name of 
 Almighty God, remain at home. He, on the 
 contrary, who will accompany me, and forget 
 wife, child, and everything he possesses in the 
 world, let him go to the captain that his name 
 may be entered. I say unto you again, brave 
 subjects and brethren, let him who is not pre- 
 pared to look death in the face in my company 
 remain unmolested at home ; for I weU know 
 that one man who voluntarily and courageously 
 takes the field is better than fifty timid ones. I 
 invite every true man who has a courageous and 
 not a womanly heart, and is not reluctant to 
 shed his blood for the holy cross, the orthodox 
 faith, and his country, to share with me honour 
 and glory. Are we not, my dear brethren, the 
 children of these ancient Montenegrin con- 
 querors who at one and the same time defeated 
 three Turkish viziers, beat the French troops, 
 and stormed the sultan's fortresses ? If we do 
 not slight our fatherland and the reputation of 
 our ancient heroes, let us assemble and set to in 
 the name of God. Health be to all. 
 
 " Published at Cettinye, March 16th (28th), 
 
 1854." 
 This address to the Montenegrins was, in 
 effect, a declaration of war against the Porte. 
 Small as are Prince Daniel's donainions, it 
 is said that he is able to raise 20,000 men, 
 and that 4,000 chosen warriors immediately 
 swore at the altar to go forth to hattle against 
 the Turks, and never to return unless covered 
 with glory. On their flag was inscribed the 
 words — " For faith and fatherland ;" and pre- 
 parations were made to proceed at once into 
 the neighbouring Turkish provinces of Alba- 
 nia and the Herzegovina, the Montenegrins 
 beHeving that aU the Christians in the Turk- 
 ish villages would make common cause with 
 them, and enable them eventually to eman- 
 cipate those districts. Russia had cun- 
 ningly arranged this predatory excursion 
 of the Montenegrins into the Turkish do- 
 minions at the time when the main body 
 of the Russian army was about to attempt 
 its principal operation on the Danube. 
 HostiUties of a petty plundering kind soon 
 193 
 
 commenced on the part of the Montenegrins. 
 On the 19th of April, a body of 200 of them 
 attacked a Turkish convoy with provisions 
 and ammunition, which was on its way 
 from Nicksich to Grahovo, A Turkish de- 
 tachment, however, coming to the rescue, 
 the warriors of the Black Mountain were 
 dispersed. The Austrian government were 
 startled at this boldness, and dispatched 
 orders to two of its generals to advance into 
 Montenegro and occupy it, if the people of 
 that country made any further military de- 
 monstration. It was also stated that the 
 Austrian minister at Athens informed the 
 Greek government, that if it was unable to 
 maintain order, Austria was prepared to do 
 so. Prince Daniel certainly displayed great 
 courage in bearding his powerful neighbours. 
 He fortified Cettinye, and prepared to resist 
 any attack that might be made on his moun- 
 tain stronghold. On the 20th of April, he 
 held a grand review of his forces in the 
 presence of many Russian officers. Austria, 
 however, decided on not attacking Monte- 
 negro ; but it was understood that if he did 
 not remain quiet, that the Austrian govern- 
 ment would draw a military cordon round 
 his territories, and starve him into sub- 
 mission. 
 
 Events in the meantime were tending to 
 check the progress of the insurrection. 
 Several engagements, or rather skirmishes 
 (the details of which possess no interest to 
 the general reader) took place, and termi- 
 nated favourably for the Turks. The in- 
 surgents were defeated between Janina and 
 Previsa, with the loss of 100 men. The 
 savage leader, Grivas, was also defeated near 
 Metzovo, and compelled to seek for safety, 
 with a band of his comrades, by flight into 
 Thessaly. A correspondent, writing from 
 Janina, says : — " The ravages made in 
 Thessaly, both by the Albanians and the 
 Greeks, equal, if they do not surpass, every- 
 thing perpetrated during the first revolu- 
 tion. Not plunder alone, as in Epirus, but 
 murder, rape, destroying and burning ar« 
 the order of the day. More than 7'00,000 
 sheep (seven hundred thousand — I write 
 it out) have been carried over the Greek 
 frontier. Incredible as this number seems 
 at first sight, it will not surprise you if you 
 hear that all the neighbouring mountaineers 
 of Macedonia, Albania, and even Epirus 
 send their flocks and their cattle during 
 the winter to feed in the plains of Thessaly. 
 This wholesale robbery cannot be left un- 
 punished; and it is really high time that 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the taking op peta. 
 
 the infamous government which counte- 
 nances and encourages such predatory ex- 
 peditions should be brought to its senses, 
 and compelled to disgorge the plunder. 
 The word patriotism, so often misapplied, 
 has never been so fearfully abused as in this 
 movement. I assure you it is revolting to 
 hear the details of their crimes from the 
 inhabitants of the villages which had to 
 suffer from them." 
 
 Another engagement took place at the 
 village of Peta, which was carried by assault 
 by the Turks, in the teeth of 800 of the 
 insurgents, on the 26th of April. The con- 
 flict scarcely lasted an hour before the in- 
 surgents took to flight. With the seizure 
 of Peta, it was trusted that the insurrection 
 in Lower Epirus, at least, would be termi- 
 nated J because it had been the centre of the 
 movement there, the seat of the provisional 
 government, and the chief point of com- 
 munication with Greece. When the affair 
 was over, Fuad Effendi, the leader of the 
 Mussulman force, went to the Albanian 
 irregulars, or Bashi-Bazouks, and kissing 
 their banner, encouraged them by saying, 
 "You have behaved to-day like regular 
 troops, and as such I shall look upon you 
 henceforth." Eight flags were taken ; they 
 were all blue, with the Greek cross in the 
 middle in white, except one, which was 
 black, with the sign of the cross in white. 
 The loss of Peta was a great blow to the 
 Greek rebels, for it demoralised their men, 
 and rendered union amongst them in the 
 struggle against the Porte difficult, if not 
 impossible. The Turkish government be- 
 haved with great clemency and moderation ; 
 and Fuad Effendi issued the following tran- 
 quillising circular, addressed to the clergy, 
 the chief men, and the inhabitants generally 
 of Epirus and Thessaly. It is an invitation 
 to obedience, and a generous promise of 
 pardon ; — 
 
 " "We announce that Peta, the stronghold of 
 these ill-intentioned persons, who, having lately 
 entered into these lands, disturbed the tran- 
 quillity of the inhabitants, exists no more. It 
 has been destroyed to-day in one hour by the 
 bravery of the imperial troops, and those of 
 the above-mentioned individuals who could 
 save themselves have dispersed, having, for the 
 most part, gone to the place where they came 
 from. 
 
 "I call, therefore, upon those among you, 
 the inhabitants of the villages, who having been 
 deceived by these people, have risen in insur- 
 rection and seemed hitherto connected with 
 the same — some fropi fear of the authorities, 
 
 others forced by the disturbers, and others in- 
 fluenced by their mischievous counsels — ^know- 
 ing now the fate of the village of Peta, to 
 come to yourselves, think of the position in 
 which you are, and return to the right way, 
 straying from which you were running towards 
 your ruin. 
 
 " You who fear to suffer from the severity 
 of the authorities, banish all fear from your 
 hearts ; you who were forced, call upon the 
 imperial forces for help ; and you who hope 
 still to succeed in realising your vain hopes, 
 think seriously and look at the evils which 
 your error is likely to entail upon you. In one 
 word, all those of you who, in whatever way, 
 have participated in the insurrectionary move- 
 ments, hear the paternal voice which calls you 
 to embrace peace, tranquillity, and prosperity, 
 and hasten to demand the pardon which we are 
 ready to accord to you for aU that you have 
 done, wiUing or unwilling. 
 
 " We give you the period of a week, within 
 which you must send to us two persons from 
 every village to tender your submission to the 
 imperial government; he sure that I myself, 
 and with me all the civil and military authori- 
 ties in this place, will receive you with that 
 benevolence and clemency which are in accord- 
 ance with the high will of our most merciful 
 sovereign, and you will enjoy in fuU tranquillity 
 and security the fruits of obedience and sub- 
 mission to your legitimate government. 
 
 " But, if even in future some villages dis- 
 obeying these our summons should remain in 
 insurrection, in that case I shall find myself in 
 the most regrettable necessity to adopt such 
 strong measures as wiU certainly be followed by 
 immense evils. 
 
 " Let the inhabitants of those villages, whom 
 the disturbers do not leave free to do their own 
 will, but whom they force to insurrections, let 
 them take up arms against those enemies of 
 their tranquillity, let them beat and drive them 
 away. Such conduct will be considered by us 
 as the greatest proof of their submission and 
 fidelity towards their government. 
 
 " Knowing this, hasten to do that which is 
 counselled to you, for the love of your families 
 and the welfare of your fatherland. 
 
 " Given in Arta the 13th (25th) of April, 1854. 
 
 " Fuad." 
 
 But the excited feelings of the inhabitants 
 of independent Greece were not to be easilv 
 calmed down. Under colour of patriot- 
 ism, piracy was making fresh progress in 
 the Greek seas. Bands of ruffians, recruited 
 among the dregs of the population, and pro- 
 vided with perfectly regular papers delivered 
 by the Greek government itself, infested the 
 Archipelago in fishing- vessels, and committed 
 depredations indifferently upon the trading- 
 ships of any nation, the owners of which 
 
 193 
 
PRINCE DANIEL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 were unfortunate enough, to fall into their 
 hands In the meantime, the frontiers of 
 Macedonia were invaded by a band of about 
 2,000 Greek adventurers, led by Shami 
 Karatossa, ex-aide-de-camp of King Otho. 
 Their progress was marked by shameful 
 acts of robbery and violence. In one place 
 they are reported to have burnt to death 
 150 Turks — men, women, and children — who 
 had taken refuge in a church. A cause 
 that was stained by such frightful acts as 
 these, deserved neither sympathy nor suc- 
 cess. The Greeks, however, had not a 
 monopoly of cruelty. Three Greek emissaries, 
 who were seized in Albania endeavouring 
 to excite the Christians to insurrection, and 
 sowing discontent among the Mussulman 
 soldiers, were put to death by the horrible 
 process of impalement. Two of these un- 
 happy wretches died speedily, but the third 
 lingered during the whole day. 
 
 Prince Daniel of Montenegro, though not 
 carrying out those warlike movements talked 
 of in his proclamation to his people, was yet 
 a dangerous neighbour both to Austria and 
 Turkey. In the hope of rousing other 
 Turkish provinces to insurrectiqn, he issued 
 the following eloquent and inflammatory ad- 
 dress to the Christians of the neighbouring 
 state of Herzegovina. Without doubt, these 
 persons had suffered much wrong at the 
 ha.nds of the Mussulmans ; but it is equally 
 without doubt that Prince Daniel was the 
 salaried servant of the Czar of Russia. At 
 any other time our sympathy in such a 
 struggle would be with the Montenegrins 
 and their Christian neighbours; but we 
 must withhold it when they would prosti- 
 tute the name of liberty to strengthen 
 the despotism of Russia, and to assist in 
 prostrating the empire of the East be- 
 fore the grim power of northern tyranny. 
 We subjoin Prince Daniel's address, which 
 were it not for his avowed connection with 
 Russia would, with the exception of some 
 passages, find an echo in the mind of every 
 freebom man : — 
 
 '' We, Daniel I., Prince of Montenegro, send 
 our fraternal salutation to all Christians in the 
 Herzegovina. 
 
 " Tou have heard that the Emperor of Russia, 
 the father and protector of all Christians, is 
 waging war with the Ottoman Porte. It is not 
 for his own private advantage, but once for all 
 to free the unfortunate Christians from the yoke 
 -under which they have sighed for the last 400 
 years. Tou have also heard how the Greeks, 
 oppressed by the Ottomans, have taken up arms 
 194 
 
 against their task-masters, and, fighting day and 
 night, are making good progress m their enter- 
 prise. And you also, brother Servians, will 
 shortly shake off what the diplomatists have 
 imposed on you by their treaties. Let this, then, 
 be the guiding-star which your fathers had in 
 vain looked for after the day of Kosovo. The 
 moment is come at which every Christian who is 
 oppressed by the Porte must rise against his 
 tyrant, and he who does not take advantage of 
 it has nothing to expect but eternal remorse and 
 shame. In the name of humanity, then, rise, 
 and annihilate your oppressors,; spare neither 
 life nor property, lest you should be cursed by 
 posterity and despised by the present genera- 
 tion. Remember, enchained warriors, the ill 
 treatment to which your ancestors were sub- 
 jected, who died at the stake, were strangled, or 
 starved. Remember that you are the despised 
 slaves of a horde of barbarians, who tread under 
 foot your nationality, customs, habits, and reli- 
 gion ; who massacre your innocent children, and 
 do violence to your women, and everything else 
 which is sacred in your eyes. 
 
 " Where are your temples and sacred bells — 
 where the holy halls which once echoed your 
 hymns, and the praises of the one God ? Where 
 are your majestic convents — those sacred insti- 
 tutions in erecting which the Servian princes 
 spent their treasures ? Look at your unfortu- 
 nate brethren, who are daily forced either to 
 renounce their faith, or to lose their heads, which 
 are exposed on the bulwarks of cities full of 
 crime and stained with blood! Regard your- 
 selves ; you stand disarmed, like women, des- 
 pised and in despair, without security for life 
 or property, obedient to the blind will of an in- 
 satiate tyrant. Listen, then ! I am prepared to 
 assist your glorious exertions with all the means 
 in my power. Ammunition, gold, and provi- 
 sions will with true brotherly feeling be shared 
 with you, if, with confidence and without trem- 
 bling, you wiU rise as one man against those 
 worst of men, the Mussulmans. If we die in 
 such a good cause, we shall have lived long 
 enough. I hope that in the systematic torture 
 to which we have been subjected for 400 years, 
 we have atoned for the sins of our fathers. Pro- 
 vidence has given to the presMit generation the 
 glory of shaking off the unbearable yoke. 
 
 "The hour has struck. Unity and mutual 
 confidence will make the enemy tremble. Let 
 me know your views, and I shall be prepared 
 to shed my best blood for your liberation. Until 
 the moment that I call on you to take up arms, 
 every movement must be kept secret, in order 
 that you may not be surprised and conquered by 
 your oppressors, whose last hour has come. 
 May you be happy, and confide in my patriotic 
 feelings. 
 
 « Daniel I., Prince." 
 
 Austria was strongly interested in the 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 "WAR "WITH RIJSSIA. [interference of the allies. 
 
 tranquillity of Montenegro, on account of 
 the proximity of a portion of her territories 
 to that country. She therefore sought and 
 obtained permission from the Porte to pour 
 her troops into the Turkish province of 
 Herzegovina, if it should be necessary to 
 act against Montenegro. In speaking of 
 this circumstance, a correspondent from 
 Vienna remarked : — " We shall probably 
 hear little or nothing more of the raid of 
 the Montenegrins in the Herzegovina, now 
 that they are liable to be attacked by the 
 Austrians on the north-western, or Grahova 
 side. It is rumoured that the Porte is now 
 endeavouring to induce the Servian govern- 
 ment to renounce Russia, and to place the 
 principality under the protection of Austria. 
 The Servians are not likely to consent to 
 this, as they are well able to protect them- 
 selves ; but, as far as Austria is concerned, 
 Russia wiU take the will for the deed, and 
 place it to the account which, at some 
 future day, will have to be settled between 
 the two powers. The engagement entered 
 into by this government to keep Montenegro 
 quiet, and, if necessary, to attack the free- 
 booters in their stronghold, is an offence 
 which will never be pardoned by Russia. 
 The intervention in Wallachia and Moldavia 
 is bad enough, but to meddle with Monte- 
 negro, which at no distant period was to have 
 assisted in establishing the power of Russia 
 in the Adriatic, is f?ir worse. All these 
 matters being taken into consideration, 
 Russia is not a whit more likely to come to 
 a satisfactory arrangement with Austria than 
 with the Porte and the Western Powers." 
 
 The Western Powers, anxious to termi- 
 nate the disturbances in Greece and the 
 Greek provinces of the sultan, dispatched 
 an ultimatum to the government of King 
 Otho, and demanded a reply to it within 
 four days — that is, by the 32nd of May. 
 The terms of it were, that Greece was to 
 observe a strict neutrality in the war be-- 
 tween Turkey and Russia; to recall all its 
 officers and employis concerned in the in- 
 surrection, and to institute a judicial ex- 
 amination into their conduct. King Otho 
 was also informed that if, as the result of 
 his aiding the insurrection in Thessaly and 
 Epirus, "the throne of Greece should 
 crumble away, and the present dynasty give 
 place to another form of government, the 
 responsibility of such results will rest with 
 those whose mistaken views and unjustifiable 
 conduct will have converted into enmity the 
 friendship which England and France would 
 
 wish to maintain with Greece." The con- 
 nection of King Otho with the insurrection 
 was clearly proved by many circumstances. 
 Among other things was an intercepted 
 letter from General Tsavellas (one of the 
 rebel leaders) to M. Bentlan, Otho's private 
 secretary, asking for further assistance. In 
 this .letter, he recommends that two bat- 
 talions of the frontier guards should be 
 sent to Anino, and allowed, or rather ordered 
 to desert and join the insurrection ; at the 
 same time continuing to receive their pay 
 from the Greek government. 
 
 Further light is cast upon the comiplicity 
 of the Greek government with the insur- 
 rection, by the following extract from a 
 letter by the fierce leader, Grivas. In this 
 communication, which afterwards fell into 
 the hands of the British legation at Athens, 
 even that savage man deplores the cruelties 
 committed by the patriots (so called) upon 
 the wretched villages of the districts which 
 they desired to rouse into active insurrec- 
 tion. " While in Epirus," he says, " I be- 
 held so many of our soldiers indulging in 
 every sort of violence, that I was compelled 
 to dismiss them, and I have now about 400 
 chosen men. Were I to write to you the 
 atrocities which have been committed against 
 the property and honour of the Christian 
 population by our soldiers, both in Epirus 
 and Thessaly, you would be struck with 
 horror, and would curse the day in which 
 this new struggle had first begun. The 
 government ought either at once to take up 
 the struggle, appointing publicly the proper 
 persons to a regular army at a regular pay, 
 or let us sit down quietly at home, so that 
 we may not be the cause of the destruction 
 of our fellow-Christians." 
 
 The governments of France and England, 
 however, did more than address an ulti- 
 matum to the Greek court. They resolved 
 to put an end to its dangerous intrigues by 
 sending a military power to the Piraeus. 
 For this purpose a force of about 6,000 
 French troops, under the command of Gene- 
 ral Forey, together with a regiment of 
 English infantry, were dispatched to the 
 Pirseus, which they entered on the 25th of 
 May, and at once landed, having previously 
 taken possession of the Greek gun-boats in 
 the harbour. This act was not one of 
 hostilities, but rather directed to avert hos- 
 tilities.* To use the able language of the 
 
 * Lord John Russell, in answer to a question put 
 to him in the House of Commons respecting the 
 object of the occupation of Greece, after alluding to 
 
 195 
 
SUBMISSION OF OTHO. ] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 Moniieur — " France and England did not 
 declare war against Greece. They desired 
 to withdraw the Hellenic goyernment from 
 the fatal influence to which it had yielded, 
 and to offer it a last hope of security." 
 Great was the excitement in Athens, and 
 the dismay among the partisans of Russia. 
 The Amazonian Queen of Greece was 
 thrown into such a state of frenzy, that 
 fears were entertained that her passion 
 might be followed by insanity. She even 
 declared that she would mount on horse- 
 back, place herself at the head of the Greek 
 troops, lead them across the frontiers, and 
 call the Christians of the sultan's districts 
 to arms. This dangerous woman, however, 
 either on the representations of her more 
 prudent husband, or on further and more 
 sober reflection on her own part, abandoned 
 her mad design. 
 
 When the troops of France and England 
 landed on the soil of Greece, King Otho 
 lowered his tone. On the 36th of May, he 
 announced his acceptation of the proposals 
 of the allies, proclaimed that he intended 
 to observe a strict neutrality in the affairs of 
 the sultan, and changed his ministry. At 
 the head of his new cabinet was M. Mavro- 
 cordato, president and finance minister, who 
 was regarded as one of the most upright 
 men in Greece. It was generally admitted 
 that if that country could be saved from the 
 confusion to which the madness of its own 
 people was hurrying it, Mavrocordato was 
 the man who could render it that service. 
 His chief associates were M. Palandrios, 
 minister of the interior ; M. Pericles Argy- 
 ropoulos, minister of foreign affairs ; M. 
 Kalergi, of war; and M. Petoalis, of jus- 
 tice. It was trusted that this ministry, 
 acting with the advice, and receiving the 
 assistance, of the allied powers, would 
 restore tranquillity to Greece, and rid it of 
 that band of adventurers who ravaged the 
 neighbouring territories of the sultan, and 
 
 the intercepted letter of General Tsavellas, observed : 
 " That is only one of the very many instances which' 
 show that the members of the Greek government, in- 
 stead of acting with that good faith which the gov- 
 ernment of Turkey has ever shown since the recog- 
 nition of Greece as an independent state, have been 
 endeavouring, contrary to the faith of treaties, and 
 contrary to the obligations of a neutral power, to 
 raise insurrections against the sultan, and to carry 
 fire and sword into his territories. Such being the 
 case, the governments of France and England have 
 thought it necessary to send a force to occupy the 
 Pirseus. If the King of Greece disapproves (as we 
 have been repeatedly told) of those attempts to 
 violate the duties of a neutral power, the K.ing of 
 196 
 
 brought disgrace and calamity upon their 
 own country. King Otho was known not 
 to be attached to his new ministers ; but he 
 submitted, though rather gracelessly, to 
 necessity : Mavrocordato was popular, and 
 Greece was reported to be quiet. Epirus, 
 at least, was so ; but in Thessaly fresh dis- 
 orders were feared. 
 
 These fears were soon fulfilled. On the 
 13th of May, and the four following days, 
 the Greek insurgents obtained a victory at 
 Calabaca, in Thessaly, over a Turkish force 
 consisting of two battalions of Arabians, 
 under Selim Bey ; 1,400 Albanians, under 
 Ismail Bey Phrassari, Artem Bey, and 
 other chiefs j 500 Rediffs, and two squadrons 
 of cavalry. The engagement commenced 
 with a cannonade, at daybreak ; at mid-day 
 the two armies came to close quarters, and 
 the shock of battle lasted until nightfall. 
 Both sides fought with a desperate bravery : 
 the Albanians were thrice driven back 
 reeling to their entrenchments ; and, on the 
 approach of dusk, the Turks retired from 
 the field, leaving eighty dead behind them. 
 Skirmishing was renewed on the 14th ; but 
 the heavy rain prevented a general engage- 
 ment. On the 15th, the fighting continued 
 again to the disadvantage of the Turks. 
 That day the Greeks received a reinforce- 
 ment of 400 volunteers from Thessaly ; and 
 on the 16th, after a desperate combat, 
 which lasted two hours, the Turks were 
 driven back to their intrenchments with 
 great loss, and left a considerable booty, in 
 the way of arms and military stores, to the 
 Greeks. 
 
 General Hadji Metros, one of the leaders 
 of the Greek insurgents, gives the following 
 account of this affair — an account which, 
 coming from a Greek source, should be 
 received with some abatement. But as the 
 Turks are silent on the subject, we must 
 necessarily receive our information as to 
 particulars from the triumphant party; 
 
 Greece will find protection in the forces which have 
 been sent, and the means of compelling his people to 
 observe those duties. If, on the other hand, the 
 protestations which we have received from the 
 Greek government, should turn out not to be 
 sincere, tJwse forces might prove useful in another 
 way. As has been stated in the French Moniteur, 
 there is no intention of declaring war against Greece 
 but we mean to take care that the government of 
 Greece shall not be secretly or avowedly an ally of 
 Russia in the present war; and we have taken 
 means, which I trust will be sufficient, to prevent a 
 covert or avowed war against Turkey by the King 
 of Greece." It must, we think, be admitted that the 
 interference of the allies was requisite. 
 
and also take it with what colouring they 
 please to impart to it. " We exterminated 
 yesterday," said Petros, "the Turks whom 
 we had kept surrounded for the last ten 
 days. We have killed 500 of them ; wounded 
 many ; and made 200 prisoners. We have 
 also given chase to 200 Arabs and Alba- 
 nians, commanded by Halim Bey and Metzo 
 Malijowa, who had come to their succour. 
 Vanquished and starving, the Turks who 
 escaped took flight last night (May 31st), 
 and abandoned five pieces of cannon in 
 good condition, two stands of colours, mu- 
 nitions of war, clothing, the whole of their 
 stores, their wounded and their tents; of 
 which we took possession. But the greater 
 part of those who fled were drowned in the 
 Peneus, and the others are dispersed. 
 Thus, with the aid of Divine Providence (?), 
 the most formidable camp of the Turks is 
 annihilated, and the insurrection will gain 
 ground. Having been informed to-day 
 that Nenel Pasha has destroyed Derendah 
 by fire, I have just sent a corps of Mace- 
 donians, amounting to 900 men, and I hope 
 that God will again bless our arms." 
 
 The Greek government endeavoured to 
 spoil any further triumphs of Hadji-Petros, 
 by instantly recalling him from Thessaly — 
 a mandate he refused to obey. On the 
 22nd, the Turks regained the reputation 
 they had so recently lost, by turning the 
 tables against the Greeks, and defeating 
 2,000 of the insurgents at Sikstria, in 
 Epirus. Part of the discomfited army 
 returned to Greece, and the remainder 
 fled to the mountains. Before the month 
 had expired, Karatassos, another Greek 
 chief, was defeated by the Turks in Mace- 
 donia. A letter from Salonica, dated the 
 31st, gives the following account of this 
 reverse of the insurgents : — " After a first 
 check, Tchami Karatassos removed his head- 
 quarters to Gonitza, where he occupied, with 
 six or seven hundred men, the three country 
 houses belonging to the convents of Mount 
 Athos. He had, upon this point, his dep6t of 
 provisions and munitions. He had also placed 
 a corps of about 200 men in the villages of 
 Larigori, Paleocori, and Novocelo. The 
 Turkish troops attacked the Hellenes at 
 Gonitza, and took that position from them 
 after a combat of several hours. The supply 
 of provisions and munitions of Tchami Kara- 
 tassos, and his equipments — comprising, 
 among other things, 700 cloaks, arms, and 
 two standards— fell into the possession of 
 the Turks. They have sent here some 
 
 VOL. I. t3 D 
 
 guns, the two standards, the seal of the 
 Hellenic chief, and some of his papers, 
 among which are minutes of despatches to 
 the Hellenic government. The insurgents 
 had 280 men killed. According to the 
 accounts sent to the Pasha of Salonica, the 
 chief (Tchami Karatassos) and the greater 
 portion of those who fled, retreated to the 
 territory of Mount Athos. Two suspicious- 
 looking schooners were also seized by the 
 Turkish cruisers — one at St. Nicholas, and 
 the other at the little port of Daphne, in the 
 Gulf of Monte Santo. They have been taken 
 to Volo, the centre of the naval station." 
 
 The emissaries of Russia were extremely 
 anxious to prevent the restoration of tran- 
 quillity. To accomplish their sinister object 
 they endeavoured to excite suspicion among 
 the Greek army as to the real object of 
 England and France in occupying the 
 Piraeus. They were so far successful, that 
 the minister of war was induced to issue the 
 following circular to the officers on the 
 subject : — 
 
 " The enemies of public order, the instru- 
 ments of interests opposed to those of the 
 Hellenic nation, dare to assert that the allied 
 army which has landed in the Piraeus has views 
 hostile to you. Tou are bound to contradict 
 those malignant statements, and to explain 
 clearly to the sub-officers, and through them to 
 the private soldiers, that England and France, 
 who have bestowed on Greece so many bene^ts, 
 and who have not, for a single instant, ceased 
 to protect her, have, by sending the allied army, 
 no other object in view than to preserve our 
 country from the fatal consequence of a policy 
 which has been condemned by all Europe. Ee- 
 garded thus in an European point of view, the 
 presence of the allied army, far from threaten- 
 ing any attack on our independence, will on 
 the contrary guarantee, in the midst of the war 
 in the Bast, the Hellenic kingdom against any 
 attack from without. "Were it otherwise, a 
 principle of honour would have prevented me 
 from associating myself with the government.' 
 One of the most important objects of the policy 
 of the ministry to which I have the honour to 
 belong is to win for Greece the sympathies and 
 esteem of all the great powers of Europe. Such 
 policy is the only means of improving the 
 present, and of preparing for the future. "Who- 
 ever does not act on the same principle is the 
 enemy of his country. 
 
 " Kalmjeqi, Minister at "War. 
 
 " Athens, June 14th, 1854." 
 
 Fuad Efi'endi, whose humane proceedings 
 in Epirus contributed so much to the sup- 
 pression of the insurrection there, led a por- 
 tion of the Turkish troops into Thessaly, to 
 
 197 
 
DEFEAT OV HADJI-PETROS.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 
 
 1854. 
 
 assist the forces already there in putting an 
 end to the disturbance. He also issued a pro- 
 clamation to the inhabitants of that province, 
 inviting them to return to their allegiance and 
 to receive the pardon of the sultan. " Under- 
 stand well," said the document, "that the 
 powerful allies of our powerful sovereign, 
 inspired by a sound and humane policy, and 
 wishing to arrest the evil at its source, have 
 forced the Hellenic government to make 
 an engagement to prevent its nation from 
 giving assistance to the perturbators. Con- 
 sequently, those Hellenes who are now 
 among you, who only fight by using your 
 families as ramparts, will soon be forced to 
 take to flight; and, in abandoning you, 
 they win only leave you the melancholy 
 remembrance of the evils and calamities 
 which they have occasioned you. Reflect 
 well upon the situation in which yon are 
 placed. Apprecig.te our paternal counsels 
 at their just value, and you will separate 
 yourselves from those malefactors who are 
 Tery dangerous enemies of your welfsire, and 
 €ven of your existence. Hasten to come 
 and ask for that pardon which we are ready 
 to grant to you, for all that you have done, 
 voluntarily or involuntarily." 
 
 Hadji-Petros yet remained in arms in 
 Thessaly, but he was defeated on the 18th 
 of June, at Kalabak, by Fuad Efiendi, and 
 retired in disorder towards the Greek fron- 
 tier. The insurgents left two flags in the 
 i possession of the victors, and about one 
 hundred dead upon the -field. Kalabak is 
 described as being in Thessaly what Peta 
 was in Epirus ; that is, the heart and home 
 of all insurrectionary movements. Fuad 
 ^ffendi behaved with the greatest energy 
 and humanity. Not only did he discounte- 
 nance cruelty, but he also threatened to 
 have any of his soldiers shot if they com- 
 mitted the barbarity of mutilating the 
 bodies of their enemies. The conduct of 
 the Christian Greeks formed a dark con- 
 trast to that of this Mohammedan chieftain. 
 In an abandoned Turkish camp, on the 
 slope of the hills before Kalabak, fifteen 
 places were found disfigured by the ghastly 
 * A correspondent from Athens observes : " The 
 court derives its chief strength in this opposition from 
 that system of personal and dynastic policy which 
 it has succeeded in establishing, and so long main- 
 taining in all branches of the public service, not- 
 withstanding the written provisions of the constitu- 
 tion to the contrary. It has prepared thus for its 
 aiTpsanumber of mgrceijary tools, whohav^eipbarked 
 their fortunes in King Otho's barge, and sail with it 
 in fair and foul weather. They are all, without ex- 
 ception, men compromised in some way or other by 
 198 
 
 remains of burnt human bodies. They 
 were discovered to be those of the wounded 
 Egyptian soldiers, whom Selim Pasha had 
 been compelled to leave to their fate. That 
 fate was death by fire, at the hands of the 
 Greek insurgents. In some places the stakes 
 were discovered to which the unhappy crea- 
 tures had been bound. 
 
 In order to terminate the disturbaqccs, 
 the new Greek ministry issued a, decree of 
 amnesty for all the officers who had gone to 
 join the troops invading the Turkish pro- 
 vinces, provided they returned to their own 
 country within a month. To make this 
 decree known to those who were still in 
 Thessaly, a government agent was sent 
 there from Athen,s, to acquaint the Greek 
 chiefs with the late changes, and to induce 
 them to return, in compliance with the 
 orders of the new government. To give 
 greater weight to the measure, Mr. Merhn„ 
 the British vice-consul at Athens, and Mr, 
 Guerin, the French consul at Syra, accom- 
 panied the Greek commissioner, Colonel 
 Packmore. The trio were highly success- 
 ful: the insurgent chiefs, seeing no hope 
 for their mad project, in most cases re- 
 turned to their own country, and accepted 
 the pardon offered them. The new govern- 
 ment of Greece was also anxious to renew 
 friendly relations with Turkey, as the com- 
 merce of the former country had suffered 
 greatly in consequence of the ill-timed and 
 unhappy outbreaks that had taken place. 
 Still Greece was in an excited and unsettled 
 state, with its roads thronged with robbers, 
 and its seas with pirates. The adventurers, 
 who had made a trade of patriotism and 
 insurrection, were in many instances without 
 the means of life, and resorted to open vio- 
 lence to procure them. The government of 
 the country also was divided against itself) 
 the new ministry did everything in it» 
 power to discountenance any further at- 
 tempts to invade Turkey; while the court 
 continued its exertions to renew the agitar 
 tion and revive the frightful scenes lately 
 enacted in Epirus and Thessaly.* 
 
 The following petition, addressed by the 
 their former careers — most of them in money mat- 
 ters — consequently completely in the hands of the 
 court, who may annihilate them. Every daybrings 
 new proofs, of the most startling nature,' to what 
 degree corruption had invaded every branch of ad- 
 ministration: every minister had his regular tariff for 
 the purchase of places'; and I hear it is quite curious 
 to see the astoijished countenances of those who get 
 places under the new administration without being 
 expected to pay for them." Well may we mourn 
 over the degeneracy of modern Greece! 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [end op the insurrection. 
 
 insurgent chiefs to the council of ministers, 
 throws some further light upon the nature 
 of the insurrection, and of the selfish views 
 of many of its promoters. King Otho had 
 received large sums from the Russian gov- 
 ernment for carrying on the insurrection ; a 
 great portion of which money he placed in 
 his own pocket and kept there. 
 
 " Eetumed to independent Greece by order 
 of her government, we wish, before aU, to ei- 
 press our thanks to it ioi having saved the 
 nation from ,the wrath of the two protecting 
 powers, and for having restored to us the rank 
 which we formerly possessed. 
 
 "The only. aim which we proposed to our- 
 selves in crossing the frontier and in treading on 
 the Sacred soil of oiir fathers has been the de- 
 liverance of Our brothers from the Ottoman 
 yoke ; besides this, we have been induced to do 
 so by the following motives : — 
 
 " The former minister of war, Gharlea Soutzo, 
 assured us positively, in the name and after the 
 express orders of his majesty the king, that the 
 government was firmly resolved to aid the revo- 
 lution with aU the means in its power ; that the 
 Western Showers, would look at it favourably ; 
 that principally the states of Grermanyj on ac- 
 count of the connexion of kindred (relations Ae 
 'parentis) which exists between their sovereigns 
 and our own, would furnish us with all manner 
 of material aid, and that they would protect us 
 in case the Western Powers should change their 
 opinion about this new strife ; and tliat, finally, 
 the intention to aggrandise Greece, and to 
 hberate our brothers, was evidently proved by 
 the fact that several millions of money were in 
 the hands of the government. 
 
 " If the insurrection has, unfortunately, had 
 a bad result, it is due to the perfidious tendency 
 of the government to direct exclusively the 
 movement after the plan which it had fixed 
 upon from the beginning, by concentrating all 
 power in its own hands, and by relyipg (op- 
 pw/anf) on one of the European powers alone. 
 
 " It is worthy of remark that, wlulei the 
 goVeilim'ent lavished on some persons money 
 and ammunition, and reinforced them with all 
 means in its pOWer, it behaved towards us, who 
 fought without any regard to personal infl|^ence, 
 having only in view the pubHc interest, without 
 money, as if it had proposed to itself to take on 
 us an ignoble revenge. Ton must add to this, 
 that the government, which ought before all to 
 have consulted the protecting powers of Greece, 
 without whose consent nothing could be hoped, 
 has undertaken this movement against their 
 wish, falsely pretending, as 'we said above, that 
 we had their full consent and approval. 
 
 " It has ditided the considerable sums which 
 it has received from abroad among its creatures, 
 i^among persons having no influence with the 
 people who were to be revolutionised. 
 
 '' It has sent ammunition in abundance, and 
 even some cannons for the siege of forisified 
 places ; it has intrusted them to people utterly 
 incapable and without any past {antioSdent'),, 
 who had declared themselves chiefs,, against the 
 opinion of th^ country ; endeavouring in this 
 Way to annihilate allpei'sonal influences, it has 
 succeeded, by its faults and falsfe measures, to 
 bring about the dissolution of the whole move- 
 ment, and the ruin and death of many of our 
 brothers in the neighbouring provinces. 
 
 " Many families from these provinees,in Con- 
 sequence of the Ul-suecess of the insurrection,^ 
 have taken refuge in Greece, deprived of aU 
 means of subsistence. The soldiers who went 
 with us and their families, are likewise in wanti 
 We request you, therefore, to give, as soon as 
 poasible, the necessary orders to make eSact 
 inquiries into the amouicit of mOney received 
 from abroad, or from other sonrCes^into the 
 employment of this mobey, what sums have 
 been expended, and what sums still remain-^ 
 in order that from these latter these uhfortu>»v 
 nate suffering persons may get some relief; for 
 it is horrible to think that these brave people, 
 who have done nothing but obey the voice of 
 their country, having been deceifed by the 
 Greek governmentj should, be now verging on. 
 despair. 
 
 " We request you to make known to us the 
 result of the orders which vou will have given in 
 this respect, in order that, on our side, we may 
 tranquillise those who suffer, and moderate the 
 impatience of their just demands. 
 
 " We remain, &c., 
 
 " By delegation of those who have followed us 
 in our quality as chiefs of the insurrection in 
 EpiruS, Thessaly, and Macedonia. 
 
 " THE0330BE GeIVAS. 
 
 " p. TaZami KarataSsoS. 
 " Papakosta IzaMAI/AS. 
 " Athens, June 19th (Jul/ 1st.") 
 
 On the same day that this petition was 
 presented to the Greek government, Red-v 
 schid PaSha, the minister of the sultan, ad- 
 dressed a note to the British and French 
 ambassadors on the subject of, the Turco- 
 Greek question. It expressed a desire on, 
 the part of the Porte to forget the past, and, 
 to give fresh proofs of its moderation by 
 again petmitting, but temporarity and con^ 
 ditionaUy, Greek ships to navigate the 
 waters of the Ottoman territory under their 
 flag, and to enter its ports and carry on 
 commerce. The conditions were, that Greece 
 should indemnify Turkey for the losses Suf- 
 fered in consequence of the invasion, and 
 that guarantees should be given that such 
 aggression would not be repeated. If the 
 Greek government refasedj within two 
 months, to admit these legitimate demands 
 
 199 . 
 
THE WHITE SEA.j 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 of the Porte, the concession made to the 
 Greek commercial ships was to be with- 
 drawn. Redschid Pasha addressed the note 
 containing these communications to the 
 allies, in the hope that they would employ 
 their influence with the Hellenic govern- 
 ment, as protectors of that state, to induce 
 it to accept them. 
 
 The losses sufifered by the Turkish state, 
 in consequence of the ravages of the Greek 
 patriots or brigands, were estimated at 
 120,000,000 piastres, or about £1,000,000 
 sterling. The Porte did not demand the 
 immediate payment of this sum, but it de- 
 sired that the indemnity should be admitted 
 in principle by the Greek government. The 
 Greek court and sovereign appeared to sub- 
 mit; but they carried on innumerable petty 
 intrigues to perplex the new ministry, frus- 
 trate the intentions of the allied powers, 
 get rid of the troops in the Piraeus, and 
 bring back the state of hostilities with the 
 Ottomans which had been just terminated. 
 StiU, though Greece was not tranquil, yet 
 the insurrection was over, and there seemed 
 but little chance of King Qtho's dependents 
 
 again invading the Turkish provinces during 
 the continuance of the war. Even that 
 troublesome little potentate must at length 
 have been convinced that further struggles 
 to revive the long-past glories of Greece, or 
 to emancipate the Greeks who lived in 
 Turkish provinces from the rule of the 
 sultan, was hopeless. In September, King 
 Otho's government sent a messenger to Con- 
 stantinople with an acknowledgment of the 
 many offences of Greece against the Porte, 
 and an appeal to its generosity. They also 
 proposed to sign a treaty of commere with 
 the Porte, as an indemnity for the debt 
 which Greece had contracted with Turkey 
 in consequence of the late insurrection and 
 invasion. This treaty of commerce defined 
 the boundaries of the two states j and thus, 
 by forcing King Otho to acknowledge the 
 existing limits of Turkey, it removed one 
 great cause of jealousy and ill-feeling. Alto- 
 gether, this uncertain conclusion of the 
 Greek insurrection reminds the reader of 
 the last chapter of Dr. Johnson's little 
 moral romance of Rasselas — that is, the end, 
 in which nothing is finished ! 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE WHITE SEA ; EXPEDITION THERE OF THE MIKANDA AND THE BRISK ; BLOCKADE OF THE EXTREME 
 NORTHERN PORTS OF RUSSIA ; DESTRUCTION OF THE MILITARY MONASTERY OF SOLOVETSKOI AND THE 
 TOWN AND FORT OF KOLA. 
 
 Ov& history would be defective if we were 
 to omit giving an account of the spirited 
 cruise of the Miranda and the Brisk in the 
 waters of the White Sea ; in which remote 
 locality they insulted and attacked the most 
 northern shores of the Russian empire. 
 
 It has been aptly observed that the war 
 against the czar has brushed up and ex- 
 tended our knowledge of geography. We 
 have had to look abroad from our busy 
 little island, peopled, as Lord Byron ob- 
 served, with — 
 " Those haughty shopkeepers, who roll 
 
 Their goods and edicts forth from pole to pole," 
 
 and to gaze upon remote and romantic 
 regions. The East is becoming rapidly 
 familiar to us; and we are almost as well 
 acquainted with Constantinople as we are 
 with Calais, and with the Crimea as with 
 300 
 
 the Isle of Wight. Even the Black Sea, 
 with its sudden storms, wUd shores, and 
 classical associations, can be realised by the 
 club-room reader as readUy, in his mind's 
 eye, -as can the familiar waters of the 
 British Channel. But we must call atten- 
 tion, for a brief space, from the Black Sea to 
 the White one. From the east to the far 
 north. The White Sea! — the very words 
 have a strange mysterious sound, as if they 
 denoted some silent, dead, solitary, spectral 
 sea, whose waters were tideless and misty, 
 upon whose ripples sunbeams never played; 
 and whose grim shores never received the 
 impress of human footsteps. 
 
 But a truce to imagination: it is our 
 task to keep to rigid formal facts. The 
 White Sea is a real, tangible one, and not 
 a phantom mass of unreal waters, or delu- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [WHITE SEA EXPEDITION. 
 
 Bive mists. It is, in fact, a vast gulf of the 
 Arctic Ocean, or Northern Icy Sea, and 
 extends south and south-west into European 
 Russia, between Lapland and Archangel, 
 covering an area estimated at 45,000 square 
 miles. On the north-west it forms the 
 Gulf of Kandalesk, and on the south the 
 gulfs of Onega and Archangel. It is deep 
 and navigable for large vessels, except at 
 the mouth of the river Dwina, where there 
 are large sand-banks. The greater part of 
 the White Sea is frozen over from October 
 until May. The naval audacity required to 
 carry an expedition into this remote and 
 bitter region, may be guessed at by those 
 who will take a map of Europe and trace 
 the long, dreary track (through the waters of 
 the North Atlantic, past the Shetland Isles, 
 and the straggling coasts of Norway and 
 Lapland) that the vessels had to go ! Few 
 nations would have conceived the idea of 
 sending its ships on a warlike mission to 
 such a region, and still fewer mariners could 
 have executed the bold design. Ttuly, our 
 British naval officers have not forgotten that 
 their Saxon ancestors held proudly to the 
 bold title of " Sea-kings \" 
 
 The Miranda, a screw steam-ship of 250 
 horse-power, together with the Brisk steam- 
 sloop, commanded by captains Lyons and 
 Seymour, left the Downs on the 21st of 
 May, and sailed for the White Sea. Their 
 object was to blockade the ports of those 
 waters, and thus close up all the naval out- 
 lets by which Russia could communicate 
 with the rest of Europe. They were, how- 
 ever, not to enforce the blockade imme- 
 diately, because a considerable amount of 
 property, which had already been paid for 
 by French and English merchants, was 
 lying both at Onega and Archangel, and 
 would have been lost to its owners if it 
 could not be exported in neutral vessels. 
 These vessels were found in great numbers 
 in the northern ports ; and no less than 
 350 ships (most of them Dutch) were 
 boarded by the Miranda in the White Sea. 
 The blockade, therefore, was not put into 
 actual force until the 1st of August ; but 
 it was understood that it would be carried 
 out with greater severity in future.* Three 
 
 • A correspondent from one of our vessels in the 
 White Sea, makes the following observations : — 
 " Without a blockade of Archangel our presence in 
 this sea is next to useless. The quantity of grain, 
 meal, flour, &c., which will be imported thence this 
 year (1864), will be positively enormous, and a 
 stoppage of it would be felt in the heart of the era- 
 pire. You can have no idea of the extent of this 
 
 Russian vessels, however, laden with flour, 
 fish, and oU, were captured and forwarded 
 to England. The expedition also destroyed 
 a military battlemented monastery on the 
 island of Solovetskoi, which was mounted 
 with guns and defended by a battery and 
 troops, under the command of the abbot. 
 After doing other damage to Russian pro- 
 perty, the English vessels attacked and 
 destroyed the little town and fort of Kola, 
 situated at the mouth of that river j and 
 though possessing but about a thousand 
 inhabitants, considered the capital of Rus- 
 sian Lapland. Notwithstanding the scanti- 
 ness of its population (chiefly attributable 
 to the severity of the climate). Kola pos- 
 sessed a fort, with well-armed batteries, a 
 garrison, a governor, and a dep6t of govern- 
 ment stores. These were all destroyed; 
 and the town, in consequence of the ob- 
 stinacy of the governor, shared the same 
 fate. In less than an hour after the Eng- 
 lish vessels opened their fire of shells and 
 red-hot shot, the guns of the enemy were 
 dismounted, their batteries demolished, and 
 their city in flames. One tower alone of 
 the fortified cathedral stands erect j the 
 rest of Kola remains a heap of shattered 
 walls and blackened ruins. 
 
 Before the attack on the town, Captain 
 Lyons sent Lieutenant Buckley to the shore 
 with a flag of truce, and a summons to the 
 authorities immediately to surrender the 
 forts, garrison, and town of Kola, with all 
 arms, cannon, and ammunition, and every 
 article of whatever description belonging to 
 the Russian government. If these demands 
 were not acceded to, it was recommended 
 that all women and children should imme- 
 diately leave the town. The lieutenant was 
 met by a boat containing an officer, who 
 represented himself as a magistrate of the 
 town, and declined allowing him to land. 
 The Russian officer, being unable to read 
 the English summons, proceeded with Lieu- 
 tenant Buckley on board the Miranda, in 
 order to have it explained to him. Captain 
 Lyons translated the summons into French, 
 and having received the assurance of the 
 Russian that he perfectly understood it, de- 
 livered it into his hands. The officer replied, 
 
 traffic. From far and near, within a circuit of 400 
 miles of Archangel, the produce of the country is 
 sent in ; and as the craft which embark it bring 
 remittances, either in bills or specie, to pay for it, 
 just fancy what a blow would be struck at Russian 
 commerce by a strict blockade, and what a quantity 
 of money would be removed from circulation." Un- 
 happily, half measures are the bane of England. 
 
 201 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MIRANDA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tA.D. 1854. 
 
 that the governor of the town was absent, 
 yet that an answer should be returned to the 
 summons in half-an-hour ; but that he might 
 at once assure Captain Lyons that the terms 
 would not be accepted. 
 
 " I waited," said the last-mentioned offi- 
 cer in the despatch forwarded to the ad- 
 miralty, " till daylight the following morn- 
 ing, when, no answer having been sent, and 
 observing that the battery and other de- 
 fences were manned, and everything pre- 
 pared for action on shore, I hauled down the 
 flag of truce, and opened fire on the battery, 
 stockade, and loopholed houses, which was 
 instantly returned by guns and musketry. 
 The guns were shortly dismounted, and the 
 battery reduced to ruins ; but, although our 
 shells burst well into the loopholed houses 
 and stockades, an obstinate fire of musketry 
 was kept up from various parts of the town ; 
 this allowed me no alternative, and I was 
 obliged to destroy it. It was soon in flames 
 from our shell and red-hot shot, and burned 
 furiously, being fanned by a fresh breeze. 
 The ship, at this time, became critically 
 situated ; the violence of the tide caused her 
 to drag the bower and stream anchors, and 
 the two kedges laid out to spring her broad- 
 side ; and the passage being too narrow for 
 her to swing, she grounded at less than three 
 hundred yards from the burning town, frag- 
 ments from which were blown on board : 
 however, by keeping the sails, rigging, and 
 decks well wetted until the ship was hove 
 ofi^ no bad consequences ensued." 
 
 We have not the materials for any very 
 expUcit narrative of these events, the official 
 despatches being meagre and uninteresting ; 
 and therefore think we cannot do better than 
 give the following account of the proceed- 
 ings of the Miranda, written by one of her 
 own officers : — 
 
 " Miranda left Sheerness on the 3rd of May, 
 under sealed orders ; anchored at Spithead on 
 the 4th, at six, p.m. ; left Spithead on the 6th, 
 at one, p.m. ; on that day chased several vessels, 
 and proceeded again under sealed orders; re- 
 turned to Spithead again on the 15th ; on the 
 17th victualled the ship ; on the 19th left Spit- 
 head ; anchored in the Downs on the 21st ; at 
 two, A.M., weighed anchor and run through the 
 Grullstream ; proceeded north on the 24th ; at 
 eight. P.M., ran for Lerwick harbour ; anchored 
 at eleven, p.m., on the 26th ; left Lerwick har- 
 bour on the 8th of June ; anchored in Ham- 
 mersfort Bay, having worked through the Sound, 
 on the 10th of June ; steamed through Eolffso 
 Sound for sea ; on the 19th of June, chased 
 and captured the Eussian schooner, which was 
 202 
 
 afterwards released. On the 22nd of June, 
 stood in for anchorage under Cross Island ; left 
 Cross Island on the 24th ; on the 26th, anchored 
 (with a strong current running towards .A.roh- 
 angel) off the mouth of the river Dwina; at 
 ten, P.M., in Archangel Bay, we were employe! 
 in boats boarding several vessels. On the 5th 
 of July we weighed and proceeded for the Mur- 
 man Channel off Dwina Eiver, leading towards 
 Archangel Bay; on the 9th, anchored near 
 Tetrina, got under weigh, and proceeded for an- 
 chorage at Cross Island ; on the 18th, rounded 
 the island of Solovetskoi; when about 1,000 
 yards distant from the shore, our first lieutenant 
 observed a number of soldiers with several field- 
 pieces in the woods. His glass and eye are 
 first-rate. A gun was fired to dislodge them, 
 which they quickly returned with shot, grape, 
 and canister — a sharp shower. Lots of them 
 struck the ship. "We kept up a sharp fire from 
 the starboard broadside guns. The enemy re- 
 tired into the brushwood in their rear. We 
 then anchored off Solovetskoi monastery at 
 about midnight. On the next morning, the 
 19th, saw the soldiers employed throwing Up 
 temporary batteries. Our ship, with the Brisk 
 in company, hoisted a flag of truce, and fired a 
 blank gun. The Brisk sent a boat on shore with 
 a flag, of truce. The Eussians sent a boat off to 
 meet the flag of truce. The boat then returned 
 on shore. At twenty minutes past eight weighed 
 anchor, hauled down flag of truce, and Opened 
 Are on the enemy's battery with long gun, 
 firing shot and shell, which was pretty smartly 
 returned by the battery, and also from two 
 towers of the monastery, and musketry from 
 the shore. The Brish also opened fire soon 
 after. About twenty minutes past nine, a 
 round shot from the battery killed King Mar- 
 shall, an ordinary seaman and man of colour, 
 formerly a Elrooman, from Sierra Leone. An- 
 other shot wounded Stephen Hart, fracturing 
 his right arm close to the shoulder. We then 
 opened fire from 121b. howitzers, and also from 
 the tops and gangways, to dislodge the enemy 
 from their cover of trees and bushes. At 
 twenty minutes past eleven the enemy were 
 seen deserting their batteries. They shortly 
 again returned to their guns, and were again 
 driven away by the precision of our firing. 
 We then commenced shelling the monastery 
 from our pivot gun, at the same time keeping 
 up a heavy fire from our broadside guns, also 
 with small-armsmen on battery and cover. We 
 then proceeded, easily steaming up the inner 
 passage, to outflank the battery, and also to 
 close on the monastery. We then commenced 
 firing red-hot shot on the monastery ; silenced 
 the fire of the enemy at about six, p.m., on the 
 evening of the 19th. On the .31st, landed at 
 Shayley Island, destroyed all the public build- 
 ings by fire, together with nine guns found on 
 shore. We coaled on the 29th of July near 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [white sea squadron. 
 
 Cross Island. On the 23rd of August, our 
 master, Mr, George Williams, succeeded with 
 the boats to buoy a passage up to Kola. At 
 thirty minutes past six, a.m., we anchored off 
 Kola in five fathoms water. We shortly after 
 observed a flag of truce coming off from the 
 fort ; we hoisted flag of truce in return. Our 
 third lieutenant, Mr. C. W. Buckle, went. away 
 in the gig to meet the flag of truce with a letter 
 in which, we understood from the quarter-deck 
 officers, an immediate surrender of the fort, 
 garrison, and government property was de- 
 manded. We could see the different forts with 
 the men at their guns. We were kept at quar- 
 ters during that night. No answer being re- 
 turned in the morning, we hauled down flag of 
 truce, and opened fire with grape and canister, 
 to dislodge musketry from the batteries and 
 stockades. Our ship was got up within 250 
 yards of the battery. Our first lieutenant, 
 Mr. John F. C. Mackenzie, and Charles W. 
 Manthorp, mate, accompanied us in command 
 of the shore party. On landing, our gallant 
 first lieutenant headed our party of blue-jackets 
 and marines, who trotted up sword in hand to 
 dislodge the enemy from the ruins of the bat- 
 teries and to seize their guns immediately. 
 TJpon our pulling in shore, the enemy opened a 
 sharp fire upon us from the different parts of 
 the towers and the monastery. Our ship con- 
 tinued fire to cover us. It was about thirty 
 minutes past two when we landed, headed by 
 Lieutenant Mackenzie, who was the first into 
 the battery, which we found completely de- 
 stroyed by the ships' fire. The enemy were 
 going off beyond double quick time. We took 
 on board one of the battery guns, which had 
 been broken by a shot from our ship ; all the 
 other guns were completely buried in the ruins. 
 All the government stores were destroyed. Our 
 first lieutenant did honour to his little clan of 
 the Miranda. During our fighting the enemy 
 had been busily employed taking up, all the 
 buoys our master, Mr. Williams, had laid down 
 for coming up the river, and he had all his work 
 to go over again, to buoy the channel for our 
 going down again. By half-past seven, a.m., 
 on the 24th, we had destroyed the whole of the 
 town. It was a tremendous scene of destruc- 
 tion; the buildings, stores, and monastery all 
 in flames ; and each bell, as their stupendous 
 beams burnt through, fell to the bottom of the 
 tower, tolling its last knell. There were seven 
 bells. We made Elamborough Head light on 
 the 22nd of September, and called at.Tarmouth. 
 We have a Hussian boy, about ten years of age. 
 He was taken out of a fishing lugger which had 
 been deserted by her crew. The poor little 
 fellow was found locked up in the hovel called 
 a cabin, and if not taken must have been starved 
 to death. It appears he had neither mother 
 nor father. The crew of the Miranda have 
 been remarkably healthy. 
 
 These particulars were communicated after 
 the return of the White Sea squadron to 
 Sheerness, where, on the 35th of September, 
 she received orders to proceed to Portsmouth 
 to make some slight repairs to her machinery 
 preparatory to her sailing for the Black Sea. 
 Our readers will, however, probably feel an 
 interest in perusing the following letters 
 from a juvenile officer serving in the squa- 
 dron, and written before its return : — 
 
 " Her majesty's ship , White Sea, July 6. 
 
 " The is now anchored off the bar of 
 
 the river Dwina. The Eussians have been 
 making a great display of their force for the 
 last two or three days, such as firing guns and 
 rowing their gun-boats about, and their steamers 
 getting up their steam, but none of their fine 
 vessels have yet showed their figure-heads on 
 this side of the bar. For the last one or two 
 days we have kept ourselves in readiness to 
 weigh at an instant's notice ; the two steamers 
 always keep their fires banked, so that they 
 may be able to get up their steam quickly and 
 take us in tow, should it fall calm, and the gun- 
 boats, taking advantage of the calm, come and 
 attack us. The day before yesterday was quite 
 calm, and oppressively hot. It was as hot as a 
 summer's day in England, and every one was 
 crying out for duck trowsers and white waist- 
 coats, and some wanted to bathe. To-day the 
 sun is hot, but there is a little breeze to oppose 
 it, which makes it very comfortable, and nice 
 and cool, but in no way cold. I forget now 
 whether I told you of our little prize — a little 
 schooner which we found on the coast in our 
 way here. She is a beautiful looking little 
 thing, but^ unluckily, very leaky; we are trying 
 to stop her leaking now by caulking her afresh. 
 All the caulkers of the three ships have been at 
 work on board of her for the last three days, 
 and have almost finished her. We have got the 
 skipper and mate on board us as prisoners ; the 
 rest of the crew are on board the Miranda. It 
 does not look as if we should see much service 
 if we continue in this way, standing still, and 
 doing nothing. July 7. — Last night, about 
 ten o'clock, without ^ny one expecting it, the 
 captain ordered the hands to be turned up, and 
 the ship to be got under weigh, and the Brisk 
 to take us in tow. Before long we were going 
 through the water at the rate of five or six 
 knots an hour, with fore and aft sails set. At ten 
 o'clock this morning we cast off from the Brisk 
 and made sail, and at about one, p.m., we ar- 
 rived at a place called Cross Island. Our prize, 
 the Volga, is anchored close alongside of us, 
 and the Brisk a little way ahead. We have 
 sent the boats away to get some water, but 
 they have not returned yet, and it is coming on 
 to blow. It is now six o'clock, and the boats 
 have returned, except one (the pinnace) and 
 
 203 
 
■WHITE SEA SQUADRON.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D, 1854. 
 
 she is a loBg way off astern to leeward, on the 
 opposite side of the ship from which the wind 
 blows, and she is drifting further away. Satur- 
 day, July 8. — It is twelve o'clock, and the pin- 
 nace has not yet returned. She has been 
 cruising about all night, and I should think the 
 crew were very tired and cold, for it is blowing 
 so hard that we have struck our topgallant-masts 
 and yards. Six o'clock. — The pinnace has not 
 yet returned, and we have sent the Volga to 
 look for her. She is now running before the 
 wind with only her jib set, and she has just 
 loosed her foretop-sail. We have very good fare 
 here. At Hammerfest, we laid up a good stock 
 of reindeer meat, and it is not all gone. We 
 get hot rolls for breakfast every morning, have 
 pea soup for dinner every other day, and goose- 
 berry tart every Thursday and Sunday, with 
 plum pudding on Thursday and rice pudding 
 on Sunday. We have also got lots of wine, but 
 all our ale is gone, and we cannot get any more. 
 Will you please ask them all to write a small 
 note if they can hear of any ship leaving Eng- 
 land for the White Sea ? 
 
 " Cross Island, July 19th. 
 " We are still at anchor between Cross la- 
 land and the main-land of Eussia, but we expect 
 to sail hence to-morrow ; where, I do not know, 
 but we rather expect to a place called Eandalai, 
 where I believe tbere are some large forts. I 
 hope we shall, as I want to have something to 
 do, instead of having to come home and say 
 that we have done nothing. On Monday, July 
 18th, we sent ten seamen and ten marines, with 
 some officers, to the Brisk, and ten seamen and 
 ten marines to the Miranda, and the captain 
 went on board the Brisk. As soon as the cap- 
 tain got on board, the two steamers got under 
 weigh, and went towards a place called Salretski, 
 which is strongly fortified ; this they bom- 
 barded ; they commenced firing at eight, a.m., 
 and finished at four, p.m. ; but, as the walls 
 were ten feet thick, they could not make very 
 much impression on them, so they left it and 
 went to some other places, and the last one 
 they went to they burnt, and took ever so 
 many cows, calves, sheep, &c., and brought 
 them on board the ships. We are going to 
 have our first veal dinne* to-day since I left 
 England. We have been living on fresh salmon 
 for the last five or six days certainly, but we 
 have not had any fresh mutton or anything of 
 that sort. The Brisk came back the day be- 
 fore yesterday, and the Miranda anchored yes- 
 terday, but in the evening she left again, and 
 went out cruising so as to burn some of her 
 coal, and to be able to fill up again with some 
 coal brought from England by a collier for the 
 steamers. The collier is almost empty now, 
 having filled up the Brish and Miranda once 
 before, and, having about 100 tons over, and 
 wanting to get rid of it, the Miranda has gone 
 out to spend some of her's, and then fill up with 
 204 
 
 what remains in the collier. Our pinnace and 
 that of the Brish are ballasting the coal brig 
 with stones, &c., and they continue going to 
 and from the brig all the day long, excopt when 
 they are having dinner." 
 
 We subjoin the following Russian account 
 of this expedition extracted from the Gazette 
 du Gouvernement d' Archangel. If it does 
 not supply much intelligence that can be 
 relied upon, it will at least excite astonish- 
 ment at the different views which may be 
 taken of the same event. It must, however, 
 we suspect, at least as far as all its high 
 colouring is concerned, be regarded as a 
 specimen of that kind of historic romance 
 writing for which Russian journalists have 
 lately acquired so extensive a celebrity. 
 
 " The recent naval proceedings of the English 
 in the Baltic and Black Seas are sufficiently 
 notorious, and in the opinion of aU enlightened 
 men, no matter what may be their country, are ■ 
 little calculated to reflect honour on the nation 
 or its flag ; but now, in the White Sea, they are 
 found carrying out the same system of opera- 
 tions. Towards the early part of last June, 
 English ships of war were encountered in that 
 sea by the captains of foreign vessels and by 
 our own sailors. On the 14th of that month, 
 two English steam-frigates, and one sailing 
 frigate arrived at the bar of the port of Arch- 
 angel. Since then they have cruised about 
 those waters in various directions, committing 
 acts wholly unworthy of brave and honourable 
 seamen. 
 
 " Thus we have found them stopping even 
 the craft loaded with fish, in order to possess 
 themselves of such poor spoils, after which they 
 burnt or sunk the fishing-boats themselves. As 
 to the masters and the crews of larger vessels 
 (when their bravery exercised itself upon such), 
 they have been left to gain the shore by tra- 
 versing the swelling waves in frail boats and 
 without provisions. They have also seized 
 various vessels laden with corn, and bound for 
 Norway from ports in the White Sea, in viola- 
 tion of the solemn pledge made by their govern- 
 ment to that of Sweden — a pledge which gua- 
 ranteed entire liberty of commercial intercourse 
 between Russia and Norway, the latter, as ia 
 well known, receiving from us all her supplies 
 of wheat. 
 
 " Whenever they have seen defenceless vil- ' 
 lagea on the coasts where they were cruising, 
 they have made a pastime of pouring in shot 
 and' shell. Witness, for example, the village of 
 Luzma. Not only so, but, without any sense 
 of shame or decency, they have directed their 
 piratical cannon against the monastery of Solo- 
 vetskoi, known throughout all Russia, and held 
 in the highest veneration. On the 6th and 7th 
 of July, two steam-frigates poured a shower of 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [RUSSIAN ACCOUNT. 
 
 shells on this ahode of meditation and prayer, 
 some of the bombs being of 401b. and 801b. 
 weight. On the first occasion, it is true, the 
 bombardment was not of long continuance. 
 The assailants soon launched a boat, carrying a 
 flag of truce, and bearing a written demand for 
 the surrender of the convent, with its guns, 
 arms, standards, and military stores, not for- 
 getting the garrison — that is, the invalids — 
 who were its inmates. But the Archimandrite 
 Alexander, the superior of the convent, who 
 had formerly filled the office of a military chap- 
 lain, and who, up to 1853, had been archpriest 
 of the Marine Cathedral of Solombal, sincerely 
 loved and respected by all who knew him, was 
 not wanting in his duty as a faithful son of 
 Sussia and a worthy chief of that illustrious 
 monastery. He rejected the dishonourable re- 
 quisition of the enemy, and defended himself 
 bravely according to the extent of the means at 
 his disposal. After the rejection of their sum- 
 mons, the English commanders, for nine con- 
 secutive hours, maintained a tremendous fire on 
 the sacred edifice, which was so protected by 
 Providence as to sustain only inconsiderable 
 damage. A battery, hastily constructed on a 
 headland in the vicinity of the channel, and 
 mounted with three 3-pounders, compelled 
 the steam-frigates to quit their anchorage, and 
 thus prevented them from making any further 
 attempt to injure the convent, the walls of 
 which were ancient and strongly built. 
 
 " It is evident that nothing but covetousness 
 incited the English in this attack. Everybody 
 has heard, through the description of travellers, 
 of the great wealth of the convent of Solovetskoi, 
 and the English crews hoped for a splendid 
 prize if they could succeed in taking it. They 
 would, nevertheless, have been egregiously mis- 
 taken in their calculations, for precautions had 
 been previously used to place all the treasure 
 of the convent in a place of safety. 
 
 " Nevertheless, the enemy did not go away 
 entirely empty-handed. Eour of the ship's 
 crew landed in the little isle of Zaiatchy, one of 
 the Solovetskoi group, and having forcibly 
 effected an entrance into the wooden church, 
 they broke open the sacred door of the altar, 
 tore the consecrated cloth which covered it, 
 plundered the poor-box, and also took away 
 three small bells from the steeple, with which 
 they regained their ships, which then left the 
 channel, and steered towards the Gulf of Onega. 
 On the 8th of July these same vessels were 
 signalised in sight of the village of Liamitskaia, 
 sixty-five versts from Onega. The only enemies 
 they found here were five old men. All the 
 other inhabitants had disappeared. Having 
 killed two oxen, eight sheep, and severalchickens, 
 the English threw the old men three Russian 
 gold pieces, of five roubles each, and, loaded 
 •with provisions thus derisively paid for, they 
 returned to their ships, which, on the evening 
 
 TOL. I. f'Z E 
 
 of the same day, presented themselves before 
 the Isle of Kiy, fifteen versts from Onega. In 
 this island the English heroes covered them- 
 selves with new laurels. They burnt the cus- 
 tom-house, and also the buildings in which the 
 employe's and servants resided. By the light of 
 this conflagration they directed their triumphant 
 march to the convent of St. Croix, founded in 
 that island by the venerable patriarch Nicoa. 
 In this ancient but poor convent they found 
 nothing in the shape of booty, but, to recom- 
 pense themselves for their inefiectual attempt 
 against Solovetskoi, they wished by any means 
 to carry away something from St. Croix. They 
 took, therefore, from the treasury ten gold 
 pieces of five roubles each, also several article^ 
 appertaining to the poor brotherhood, and 
 joined to this glorious booty a bell weighing six 
 pounds, half-a-dozen old brass cannon, com- 
 pletely useless, having been kept for 200 years 
 as antique specimens, and fifteen rampart mus- 
 kets of a sinular kind. Such were the precious 
 and glorious trophies taken by the English in 
 their campaign against the monastery of St, 
 Croix. Soon,, however, they awoke to a percep- 
 tion of the merits of the cannon, and, as if 
 indignant at their blunder, they broke one in 
 pieces, threw three into the convent well, and 
 the remainder into the sea. 
 
 " Nevertheless, it must not be believed that 
 they can always thus act with impunity against 
 the inhabitants of the coasts. Desiring one 
 day, in the village of Pouschlakhta, to make up 
 the complement of the fresh provisions which 
 they had taken in that of Liamtsa, they were 
 disembarking under cover of tbeir guns, and 
 commenced, as is their usual custom, by open- 
 ing a discharge of musketry upon the peasants. 
 These latter, however, to the number of twenty- 
 three, directed by two old soldiers who had 
 re-entered the military service, and commanded 
 by the government secretary of Volkoff, in con- 
 junction with the chief of the district of the 
 domains of Kholmogory, were not intimidated, 
 but, on the contrary, so well returned the 
 enemy's fire, that five were killed on the spot, 
 independently of the wounded, while our com- 
 patriots were uninjured. At length, the small- 
 ness of their number having been discovered, 
 they were obliged to beat a retreat, which they 
 efiected with order, retiring step by step, bijt 
 still maintaining a resolute defence. The Eng- 
 lish, too fatigued to pursue them further, to 
 revenge themselves for this resistance, set fire 
 to the village, consisting of forty houses and 
 a church, and then regained their ships, carry- 
 ing with them a great portion of the effects of 
 the inhabitants. The next day they burnt, near 
 the village of Luzma, three fishermen's vessels 
 laden with wheat — a worthy finale to all their 
 naval exploits of this description. 
 
 " Such are become the glorious actions of 
 English sailors in these days !" 
 
 205 
 
THE WAR IN ASIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 STATE OF THE TURKISH AEMY IN ASIA ; THE TURKS ADVANCE ON THE FORTRESS OF lEUMRI ; GREAT BATTLE 
 AND RETREAT OF THE TURKS TO KARS ; FURTHER REVERSES OF THE T0RKS ; CESSATION OP HOSTILITIES 
 DURING THE WINTER; CRUISE OF ADMIRAL LYONS ALONG THE CIRCASSIAN SHORES, AND DESERTION OF 
 THEIR FORTRESSES BY THE RUSSIANS; INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CIRCASSIANS; BATTLES OF 
 OZURGHETTI, OF BAYAZID, AND KURAKDERE ; DESCENT OF SCHAMYL FROM THE MOUNTAINS ; DEFEAT OF 
 THE RUSSIANS BY THE CIRCASSIANS. 
 
 If the reader will turn back to Chapter V. 
 of this work, he will find an account of the 
 commencement of hostilities between the 
 Turks and the Russians in Asia ; of Schamyl, 
 the hero and self-styled prophet of the Cau- 
 casus ; of the capture of Fort St. Nicholas 
 by the Turks ; and of the defeat of the latter 
 at the battles of Akhalzik and Baschkady- 
 Lar. This division of the narrative we now 
 propose to resume. 
 
 After the battle of Akhalzik, which oc- 
 curred almost simultaneously with the 
 massacre at Sinope, the Turkish army in 
 Asia was in a frightfully demoralised and 
 confused state. It consisted, in fact, merely 
 of a great military rabble, and it was even re- 
 ported that General Guyon, otherwise called 
 Kurschid Bey (a talented English soldier of 
 fortune, who had greatly distinguished him- 
 self in the Hungarian war) had been mur- 
 dered by his own troops. The army was 
 badly officered, and the greatest corruption 
 prevailed in every branch of its service. 
 " The pashas present with it," says a well- 
 informed writer, " were numerous and 
 needy ; contract bakers and butchers formed 
 connexions with them on terms of mutual 
 advantage ; and the unfortunate soldiers 
 were not only left unpaid (to which they are 
 accustomed), but they were left without 
 food or clothing." The same writer, speak- 
 ing of Europeans in the Ottoman service, 
 adds : " The task of the most well-meaning 
 officer is difficult enough. He is perhaps 
 desirous to drill a squadron of cavalry into a 
 condition to meet the enemy. But such an 
 improvement would involve some exertion 
 on the part of other officers, who are fond of 
 their ease, and care little about anything 
 else. The troublesome improver is therefore 
 soon made to feel that he had best be quiet. 
 If he lets things take their course, his 
 superiors will obtain his pay for him ; if, on 
 the contrary, he bestirs himself, it is hinted 
 that he will soon receive an order to retire 
 altogether. ' Why should you trouble your- 
 self and us ?' he is asked. ' It is true the 
 206 
 
 horses are dying, but there are more to be 
 had ; and many of the men have no saddles, 
 but perhaps they ride better so. Go and 
 smoke.' AH but a few persevering spirits 
 have abandoned hopes of improvement, and 
 the energies even of these are wasted in 
 intrigues and quarrels amongst themselves. 
 A bad system and bad examples corrupt all 
 who are brought in contact with them. The 
 proffigacy of all ranks of officers is such, 
 that even men of the world, who make no 
 pretences to morality, are disgusted and 
 repelled. The energy and intellect of those 
 in command, both Turks and Europeans, 
 are destroyed by a practice which has grown 
 up to a fearful height. The eating of 
 opium, which prevails to a great extent in 
 the East, is universal at Kars, and many 
 hours of every day are passed by the officers 
 in a state of delirious torpor. When the 
 best men of the army are so depraved, what 
 can be expected of the rest ! " 
 
 A detachment of the Turkish army had 
 left its head-quarters at Kars, and marched 
 towards Gumri (otherwise called Alexan- 
 dropol), on the borders of Georgia, with the 
 intention of besieging the powerful Russian 
 fortress there. This fortress was newly 
 built, and provided with everything ; while 
 the Turks had not a single piece of heavy 
 artillery. Their army, however, consisted 
 of 25,000 irregular infantry and cavalry. 
 They remained for twenty-five days at Pa- 
 handir, about an hour-and-a-half s march 
 from the fortress. During this period the 
 Russians issued from the fortress, and a 
 fierce engagement took place, in which the 
 Russians were worsted, and compelled to 
 retire within the walls of the fortress. 
 
 The severity of the rapidly-approaching 
 winter induced the Turkish army to retire 
 from Pahandir, with the intention of return- 
 ing to Kars. On the second day of the 
 retreat, the commander-in-chief and several 
 other general officers rode on to Kars, 
 leaving the troops under the command of 
 Ahmet Pasha, at the village of Yediclair, 
 
A.D. 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [battle near gumri. 
 
 haK-way between Gumri and Kars. There the 
 poor soldiers remained under tents, thoagh 
 almost destitute of food to sustain nature, 
 and of vrood for fires, although it snowed 
 very hard. For five days the passive Turks 
 bore this misery, when they were aroused 
 by the approach of the Russian army from 
 ■ Gumri. About mid-day on the 1st of De- 
 cember (1853), it made its appearance near 
 the Turkish camp. The Russians had with 
 them forty pieces of cannon, and they took 
 up their position in two lines, putting the 
 greatest number of their guns into the 
 second line. 
 
 Though surprised, Ahmet Pasha was self- 
 possessed. His army was speedily formed 
 into three divisions, and the centre placed 
 in line along the bottom of a ravine. The 
 engagement began with a cannonade ; and 
 the Russians gaining the heights, mowed 
 down their adversaries terribly. The Turk- 
 ish artillery behaved admirably under these 
 trying circumstances ; loading their pieces 
 and taking aim with the greatest coolness. 
 A shell having fallen in the middle of a 
 battery, the of&cer in command ordered the 
 men to stand on one side until it burst, but 
 not one man would leave his place; and 
 they all continued their movements of load- 
 ing and pointing their guns with as much 
 nerve and composure as if they were on a 
 parade. After about an hour's cannonading, 
 the Turkish soldiers, half-maddened at being 
 swept down so remorsely by the Russian 
 artillery, rushed forward on the enemy 
 with fixed bayonets. The Russians fell 
 back on their second line, which received 
 the Turks with a very hot fire of grape- 
 shot, and drove them reeUng back. For 
 
 * The following highly interesting remarks on the 
 condition of the Turco-Asiatic army, and the causes 
 of its demoralisation, are extracted from the letter of a 
 correspondentfrom Constantinople, dated March 20 : — 
 "The condition of the Turkish army occupies the 
 attention of all here who are to join its ranks or those 
 of its allies. The widely different fortune which 
 its two branches have met with, — that of Europe 
 having successfully withstood renewed attacks and 
 weakened the prestige of the most dreaded army in 
 Europe, that of Asia having been reduced to a rabble 
 at the first onset, — have led people to consider in 
 what its strength lies, and opinions on the subject are 
 pretty well made up. As to the common soldier, the 
 stalwart but slouching Mussulman of twenty-two or 
 twenty-three, it does not require a military eye to 
 recognise in him the materials for an admirable 
 soldier, nor, on the other hand, to be assured that 
 there is something wanting, which a better discipline 
 and a higher example would impart. The stout 
 bold-looking youth, with keen and glancing eye, who 
 yet cannot stand sentry for ten minutes without 
 leaning his back against a door-post, and setting his 
 
 an hour, however, a furious hand-to-hand 
 fight was continued, and numbers fell on 
 both sides, neither of which gained much 
 advantage over the other. The Turkish 
 general then gave orders for a retreat, which 
 was conducted in a disorderly manner. 
 Taking advantage of the confusion, the 
 Russians fell on the retreating infantry in 
 front and flank. By this means they were 
 enabled to capture four-and-twenty guns, 
 which they turned against the Turks, and 
 thus converted a confused retreat into a 
 flight. The Turks also lost all their baggage j 
 a part of their ammunition ; had upwards 
 of 700 men killed and 1,300 wounded. The 
 Russians, however, suffered very severely, 
 and retreated to their fortress, leaving about 
 half of the captured guns on the field, as 
 well as a battery of their own. These guns 
 were seen by the Turkish soldiers who went 
 over the ghastly field in search of their 
 wounded comrades; but, as detachments 
 were not sent until the third day to bring 
 them in, it was found that the Russians had 
 made better use of the time, and had carried 
 them into the fortress of Gumri during the 
 night. The Russian general, Elia Bey, was 
 mortally wounded during the battle, and 
 died on being carried off the field. 
 
 When the Turkish army re-entered Kars, 
 it was little better than a military rabble. 
 The men gave themselves up to plundering, 
 and the confusion was so great that it was 
 two days before anything like order could 
 be restored. The soldiers had lost all con- 
 fidence in their officers; and it was felt 
 that without the guidance of European 
 officers, they had but little chance against 
 their better disciplined opponents.* It was 
 
 feet apart in a manner neither military nor pictur- 
 esque, is just the man to defend a redoubt with he- 
 roism or run from it with poltroonery, according to 
 the example set by his ofiScers and his confidence in 
 their skill and valour. In the want of men fit for 
 command lies the real weakness of the Turkish army. 
 According to the statements of all European judges, 
 the chief difficulty which impedes active operations 
 is the fact that neither in military nor moral qualities 
 is the officer superior to the private. The social 
 state of the empire is partly the cause of this military 
 deficiency. There is not, as in other countries, a 
 middle class from which to choose at least a majority 
 of the officers. It has long been recognised by tac- 
 ticians that something more is requisite for command 
 in war than a mere knowledge of military details. 
 In the perilous extremity or the sudden crisis, the 
 moral superiority which education imparts exerts an 
 influence which can never be attained by one who 
 has no higher culture or aims than those whom he 
 leads. Even democratic countries have shown little 
 willingness to select their officers from the class which 
 forms the staple of the army, and such promotion is, 
 
 207 
 
REVERSES OF THE TURKS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 to General Guyon that the Turks were in- 
 debted for the restoration of tranquillity. 
 The command was surrendered to him, and 
 he became the director of everything. He 
 addressed himself to the thorough reorgan- 
 isation of the army ; and, amongst other 
 necessary measures, distributed the contents 
 of the military chest to pay the soldiers. 
 The selfish pashas, caring more for their 
 personal aggrandisement than for the free- 
 dom and honour of their country, were re- 
 serving it for themselves. They had left 
 the pay of the troops twelve or eighteen 
 months in arrear, though they had mostly 
 taken pretty good care of themselves. The 
 soldiers appeared to have great confidence 
 in General Guyon, and promised to do 
 their duty under him. 
 
 Soon after the retreat of the Turks 
 from Gumri, they suffered another reverse 
 near the fortress of Akiska. Ali Pasha, 
 who commanded the Turkish forces on 
 that occasion, had eight battalions. The 
 force of the enemy was about equal; 
 but Ali disposed his troops so badly, that 
 two battalions stood the concentrated fire 
 of eight of the enemy's battalions. During 
 this time Ali Pasha's other troops were 
 stationed at various places from one to two 
 hours' march from the field of battle, and 
 could not be brought up and concentrated 
 before the two battalions actually engaged 
 were almost annihilated. A calm and skilful 
 commander might even then have retrieved 
 the fortunes of the day; but the Turkish 
 leader lost his presence of mind, and in- 
 stead of vigorously attacking the enemy to 
 revenge himself for the loss of his two bat- 
 talions, he abandoned his command and 
 fled to Ardahan, leaving twelve or fourteen 
 cannon, all his ammunition, and a number 
 of prisoners in the enemy's hands. The 
 Turks seeing themselves deserted by their 
 
 perhaps, rarer iii America than under the ' cold 
 shade' of our own purchase system. But here officers 
 and men are alike. The subalterns receive the rations 
 and share the quarters of the common soldier — all 
 eat, smoke, and sing together, and a familiarity 
 exists which has invariably bred contempt. It is 
 undoubted that, bigoted as the soldiers are, they are 
 eager to be led by European officers, and the confi- 
 dence of the more able generals in the native captains 
 and lieutenants is as small as that of the men. The 
 complaints of Omar Pasha are well known, and 
 similar accounts are brought from Erzeroum. The 
 men though four months in arrear of pay, andwoefully 
 destitute of discipline, are healthy and full of spirits. 
 The army, though smaller than could be wished, is 
 recovering from the disasters of December, and may 
 soon take the field with fair prospects j but the hopes 
 of all are damped when they witness the inefficiency 
 208 
 
 leader, fell into confusion and retreated 
 with headlong speed. So apparent were 
 the errors and cowardice of Ali Pasha, that 
 he would have fallen a victim to the ven- 
 geance of his own soldiers, if he had not hid 
 himself. 
 
 It was the misfortune of the Turkish 
 army in Asia not only to be badly officered, 
 but also when they had a leader of couTage 
 and ability to command them, to have him 
 removed. The soldiers were becoming 
 strongly attached to General Guyon, and 
 hopes were entertained of a highly successful 
 campaign in the spring. At this time Reis 
 Ahmed Pasha, an incompetent officer, was 
 appointed commander, and General Guyon's 
 authority terminated. He was fortifying 
 Kars as well as the means at hand per- 
 mitted, and preparing for a more energetic 
 and better-conducted renewal of the war in 
 the new year. Even the Russians seemed 
 more cautious while he commanded, and his 
 removal from authority produced serious 
 apprehensions of future failures and calami, 
 ties. 
 
 The winter passed without hostilities; 
 the Turkish troops remaining at Erzeroum 
 and Kars. The Russians seem to have had 
 their hands too full to molest them, or w.ell- 
 conducted attacks during that inclement 
 period might have been attended with fatal 
 results. With the return of spring, the 
 Russians, unable any longer to defend the 
 coasts of Abasia and Mingrelia, on account 
 of the blockade of Sebastopol, abandoned all 
 their sea-coast forts between Batoum and 
 the Sea of Azoff, leaving them in flames. 
 
 The reader will remember that one of the 
 results of the destruction of the Turkish 
 ships at Sinope, by a Russian fleet of over- 
 whelming power, was that the combined 
 French and English squadrons (consisting 
 of nine English and seven French ships-of- 
 
 and indolence of those who should be an example to 
 their inferiors. 'Except Guyon and some Hun- 
 garians there is no one to trust,' says one who has 
 been an eye-witness of the proceedings ; and if this 
 be the case in the tranquillity of the camp and the 
 routine of drill, what will be the event when the 
 army is again opposed to an enemy rendered confident 
 by former victory P The Turks are said to fight with 
 bravery, every man for himself, until either forced oj 
 directed to retire, when the officers are found inade- 
 quate to a movement requiring judgment, coolness, 
 and precision, and the retreat becomes a rout. It is 
 important that at least a few men of superior morale 
 should be introduced into the composition of the 
 Ottoman force. Three or four European officers in 
 each brigade, possessed of some knowledge of en- 
 gineering, would be invaluable. In-deed, a more 
 direct interference with their army is desirable." 
 
^' ./^ '- 
 
 i^^^^^^^^ 
 
 THE L0HD0;N l^rUNTING Al 
 
^k^^^^ 
 
 — I^ - & 
 
 ill? Map, Drawn t Eiig'iMveiliy JJlapJaa , 
 
 ■UliLl^iJI 
 
A.n. 
 
 1853.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [crxjisb in the black sea. 
 
 the- line, besides steam-frigates) received the 
 orders of their respective governments to 
 enter the Black Sea, which they did on the 
 3th of January. While this noble force 
 breasted the surging waters of the Euxine, 
 the Russian fleet was shut up in the harbour 
 of Sebastopol, and that dreaded fortress vir- 
 tually blockaded. The Porte immediately 
 took advantage of these circumstances, by 
 sending to Batoum a convoy with 15,000 
 men to reinforce the Turkish army in Asia, 
 The Turkish ships also carried a supply of 
 gunpowder for those brave allies of the sul- 
 tan, the mountaineers of the Caucasus, and 
 followers of the warrior -priest Sehamyl. 
 The Russian forts along the Circassian 
 shores of the Black Sea were not yet aban- 
 doned, that event being the result of the 
 cruise of the British fleet, under Admiral 
 Lyons, in that direction. The difficulty, there- 
 fore, was to convey the gunpowder to the 
 hardy warriors of the mountain and forest. 
 Courage and resolution, however, will ac- 
 complish anything short of miracles. An 
 intimation having been conveyed to the 
 Circassians that a supply of powder had 
 been brought for them in the Turkish ships, 
 a scheme was arranged for carrying it ofi" to 
 the mountains, notwithstanding the chain of 
 Russian forts that lined the coast. On the 
 firing of signal-guns along the shore, a 
 thousand fierce horsemen, bristling with 
 arms, suddenly made their appearance; 
 dashed along like madmen, spurring, steam- 
 ing, and foaming J swept between the Rus- 
 sian forts, and each man having strapped 
 upon his back a bag of powder, turned his 
 horse's head, and the whole troop sped back 
 again, and disappeared among the moun- 
 tains like a troop of spectres, no doubt 
 leaving the Russian sentries very much as- 
 tonished at this sudden and ofi'-hand per- 
 formance; — some of them, perhaps, more 
 than half-disposed to doubt its reality, and 
 in their wild credulity to escladm — 
 
 " The earth hath bubbles as the water hath. 
 And these are of them." 
 
 The French and English admirals (Hamelin 
 and Dundas) sent a division of the fleet, 
 nnder the command of Admiral Lyons and 
 Captain de Chabannes, to the coast of Cir- 
 cassia. The cruise was crowned with 
 signal success. One fort only— that of 
 Redoubt Kaleh— ofi'ered any shadow of re- 
 sistance. That shadow (as the reader will 
 soon see) passed away literaUy in smoke— 
 the smoke arising from a burning town, 
 
 fired by those who could not defend it. An 
 account of the operations of the fleet is con- 
 tained in the following pictorial and playful 
 letter, which the party receiving it for- 
 warded for publication in a leading journal. 
 It contains so much interest, on account of 
 its brilliant descriptions of a locality highly 
 favoured by nature ; rich — gorgeously rich 
 — in classical associations; and honourable 
 for the heroism of his hardy children, the 
 brave idolaters of Freedom, that we cannot 
 resist the temptation to insert it here. It 
 deserves a far better fate than to attract 
 notice for a day in the columns of a news- 
 paper, then to be buried in a pile of similar 
 productions beneath a layer of venerable 
 dust, and finally sold for waste paper, to 
 meet a cruel dismemberment at the butter- 
 man's or trunk-maker's. 
 
 " Her Majesty's ship — -, off the 
 Circassian coast, May 15th. 
 " "We are on the way to Suchum-Kaleh, but 
 Admiral Lyons has kindly permitted the officers 
 to have a run on shore and explore the blown- 
 up Russian fortress at Gagri.* We found its 
 remains standing at the entrance of a tre- 
 mendous gorge, in the centre of which a 
 mountain-stream runs, rendering Gragri the 
 most healthy of the Russian Circassian posts. 
 The hills, which spring in a steep slope from 
 the sea, are on their lower parts covered with 
 magnificent foliage^ occasionally broken into 
 large grassy spaces of a park-like appearance, 
 and these are now decked in all the beauty of 
 spring. Towards the middle of the mountains 
 the trees are more bare, and a little beyond 
 have no foliage at all. Then the species change 
 from elm and oak to pine and larch, which at 
 first runs with and lights up the other trees 
 beautifully, and afterwards in a thick black 
 fringe have all the top to themselves. Moun- 
 tains such as these occupy either side of the 
 gorge, their tops a mixture of black pine and 
 snow. Towering beyond, in the centre of the 
 whole view, are huge peaks of unbroken and 
 perpetual snow ; the whole is a glorious com- 
 bination of summer and winter— beauty and 
 grandeur. The fort of Gagri had evidently been 
 evacuated in a hurry, as the Russians had left 
 their ordnance stores there. I counted thirteen 
 9-pounders quite new, and there are also 
 several 10-inch mortars and howitzers, besides 
 many piles of shot and shell in the best con- 
 dition. Their principal missile seems to have 
 been case-shot; the whole place was strewed 
 over with old canisters and iron balls of this 
 description ; one storehouse was entirely filled 
 with the latter, to be fired from the 10-inch 
 mortar. The fort is a square, with bastions at 
 
 • See Map of the Black Sea, comprised in this 
 work. 
 
 209 
 
CRUISE IN THE BLACK SEA. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tbe angles, and there is a block-house at some 
 distance from it up the valley to command the 
 passage. We did not anchor, and our stay did 
 not exceed half-an-hour. A number of Cir- 
 cassians were sitting on the remnants oichevaux- 
 de-frise, and welcomed us gladly, but advised 
 us not to go far up the valley, as their brethren 
 on either side, not knowing what to make of us, 
 would probably fire. They had collected in 
 some numbers as we left, and as we shoved off 
 all fired their rifles together, as a parting salute, 
 which we acknowledged by tossing oars to 
 them. As the Circassians do not understand 
 any sort of warfare but their own, all the mili- 
 tary stores should be taken and given to the 
 Turks to make strong their towns upon the 
 Black Sea. The evacuation had been so recent 
 that fragments of books and other small wares 
 were strewed around. After leaving Gagri, we 
 passed the town of Paposi, and skirted the coast 
 of Imeritia; its occupants are Christians of 
 the Greek church, and favourable to Russia, 
 their chief receiving 20,000 dollars a-year. 
 Some people theorise that local scenery in- 
 fluences the minds of those who dwell amid it ; 
 if so, these people should be the noblest nation 
 on earth. The mountains have retired from the 
 water's edge, and between them and the sea is 
 a plain some miles across, upon which the trees 
 and verdure are luxuriantly beautiful; smoke 
 arises here and there, as if agriculturists were 
 at work, and distant houses of wood are bathed 
 in the brightest sunlight. This is summer — 
 winter approaches half-way up the mountains, 
 its boundary again marked by firs, and pines, and 
 stray snow-patches in the ravines ; again, there 
 is a splendid black forest of firs, many miles in 
 length, along the mountains ; above this fir-tops 
 are seen struggling through the snow ; above is 
 winter indeed in all its dreariness and fierceness. 
 Thfe immense quantity of snow is perfectly daz- 
 zling ; it lies in one thick unbroken mass ex- 
 tending high up into the heavens, except where 
 abrupt precipices and rocks will not allow it to 
 remain on their perpendicular surfaces; and 
 peak upon peak, as fantastic as the most insane 
 artist could desire, follow in rapid succession. 
 In steaming along the coast we pased a Russian 
 monastery embowered in trees ; one monk 
 alone had taken up his quarters there, as it 
 had not been finished ; it is now deserted ; its 
 circular green top, crowned by a gold cross, has 
 a pretty efiect. 
 
 " In passing Paposi five guns were fired thence 
 as a salute, a gun to each ship (Agamemnon, 
 Charlemagne, Highflyer, Sampson, a,nd Mogador), 
 which was duly returned by the Agamemnon, 
 which ship bears the flag of Eear-admiral Sir E. 
 Lyons. We have had some curious efi'ects of 
 mirage; the Agamemnon increased greatly in 
 height, now becoming all white, then all black, 
 and then surrounded by a thin white stripe, 
 which continually changed its position; the 
 310 
 
 Charlemagne appeared to sink lower and lower 
 in the water, until nothing remained but her 
 hammock nettings ; after which proceeding she 
 suddenly grew to twice her height, and then 
 diminished once more. We are rapidly ap- 
 proaching Suchum-Kaleh ; there is a glorious 
 view of snow and rock; the former on the 
 more distant mountains appears to descend 
 almost to their bases ; but, notwithstanding 
 snow and ice, we have below here tremendously 
 hot weather. The masses of snow are partially 
 lit up by the sun; in other places they are 
 partly concealed by cloud ; it is difficult some- 
 times to draw the boundaries of heaven and 
 earth, for as the evening draws on, both are fast 
 melting into one. One giant peak of porphyry, 
 which shows the perpendicular rock, presides 
 over the glaciers beneath right regally. 
 
 " May 18. — On nearing Suchum-Kaleh, we 
 perceived the walls were covered with men in 
 the Circassian dress, eight of them bearing fliags 
 of all devices and colours, but nearly all having 
 upom them the star and crescent. A beautiful 
 bay, thickly wooded around, forms the entrance 
 to Suchum ; in the centre of this we found 
 seventy fathoms of water. The wind blew from 
 the shore, and brought with it a delicious per- 
 fume of flowers, and from the appearance of 
 handsome detached houses scattered around, 
 one sees that Eussians and Georgians have 
 lived together on friendly terms. About two 
 miles from the town rises a small hill, covered 
 with buildings ; and farms, well constructed in 
 every respect, nestle at its foot. I began ex- 
 ploring Suchum yesterday at ten o'clock. On 
 the one flank is a battery of gabions and fascines, 
 having eight guns towards the sea (six of them 
 remaining there, though jammed up with shot.) 
 In the centre is a furnace of brick, built with 
 the amiable intention of heating shot for our 
 reception, for our prisoners tell us that the 
 whole of the sea defences have been recently 
 constructed. At the other flank is the old 
 Genoese castle, surrounded by a thick wall of 
 great strength and extent. Here are all the 
 government stores; twelve or fourteen guns, 
 ranging from 18 to 30-pounders (the latter are 
 handsome and serviceable pieces of ordnance), 
 repose upon the walls unspiked. Large stores 
 of flour and wheat were still burning with 
 a horrible smell; and shot and shell of aU 
 descriptions are strewed over the ground. Be 
 tween these two ports is a long street, con- 
 taining shops and houses of wood and stone ; 
 from the centre of this street a spacious road 
 leads to the country. It is well planted with 
 trees upon the walks on either side, behind 
 which are cottages built in excellent taste, and 
 covered with roses and jessamine. We visited 
 the general's house ; his coach-houses, stables, 
 and kitchens excited our admiration. A little 
 beyond are botanical gardens. I never saw 
 roses in such profusion as here ; the hedges are 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [eedout-kaleh. 
 
 formed entirely of them, and they are in full 
 flower ; their scent fills the whole place. After 
 nearly all the ships had foraged enormous 
 bouquets, we climbed up to the houses on the 
 bill I spoke of; these proved to be an enor- 
 mous hospital, beds still remaining there. We 
 sat underneath large trees in front of the 
 building and emptied our pocket-flasks with 
 much gusto, for the heat was tropical. Here I 
 sketched a Circassian, and gave him the per- 
 formance, which caused roars of laughter and 
 ' MashaUdhs !' We soon got to know how it 
 happened that the town had not been destroyed 
 like the neighbouring places. It seems the 
 Russians marched from the town overland to 
 join the army in Asia ; but, being too weak in 
 themselves to make the journey, obtained a 
 large escort of Georgians, the price of their 
 service being the town of Suchum, the Georgians 
 having stipulated that nothing should be de- 
 stroyed except military stores. Their terms 
 were accepted, and a Georgian detachment re- 
 mained behind to take care of the place untU 
 their brethren should return ; but our friend 
 Schamyl had also kept his eyes open, and im- 
 mediately upon the evacuation of the town by 
 the Eussians and Georgians, sent a lieutenant 
 with a body of Circassians (some say 500, others 
 2,000) to take possession. In consequence, dis- 
 putes ran high between Georgians and Circas- 
 sians (the former Christians) at Suchum-Kaleh ; 
 the one party say they shall occupy the place 
 and keep it, and the other that they have earned 
 it ; the returning Georgians, however, are but 
 one day's march from the scene of dissension, 
 and most likely Suchum-Kaleh will be a prize 
 well fought for. Schamyl's lieutenant had left 
 for Batoum to communicate with the Turks. 
 On leaving Suchum-KaJeh, we made acquain- 
 tance with the highest peaks of the Caucasus, 
 which run inland, and were left behind before 
 approaching Eedout-Kaleh. We have been for- 
 tunate in the clear atmosphere, hot as it has 
 been. This morning the view of the wildest 
 part of the Caucasus was grand in the extreme. 
 The highest peak (8,000 feet) was in sight, its 
 surrounding neighbours forming with it a mag- 
 nificent snow landscape, which I shall never 
 forget. 
 
 " We had been told that Eedout-Kaleh was 
 deserted by the Eussians. On arriving at the 
 place the admiral hoisted a large Turkish ensign, 
 but no notice was taken from the shore, not 
 even a red pocket handkerchief was shown in 
 our honour, and people were seen riding about 
 on shore, carrying lances of a most suspicious 
 Cossacky appearance. The fleet proceeded to 
 Nikolai (Shefkatil, or Fort St. Nicholas), where 
 we anchored, and the admiral went on shore, 
 and after a conference there we got under weigh 
 again, and are now anchored at iZuluk Zee, 
 where there is a large Turkish camp, whence we 
 are to take a body of Turkish soldiers to occupy 
 
 and take Eedout-EIaleh, which, as we suspected, 
 is still in the hands of the Eussians ; the 
 marines and marine artUlery of the fleet are 
 prepared to land with the Turks to attack the 
 fort by land. The ships have been busy in 
 bringing ofl' the Turks, to the number of 1,000. 
 These soldiers are excellently armed with 
 French muskets ; their clothing is not good, 
 being both patched and in holes, and they are 
 heavily laden with large knapsacks, but, notwith- 
 standing their having been encamped for some 
 months in a most unhealthy place, they are 
 generally hearty and strong, thickset fellows, 
 and of capital fighting materials. Their officers 
 are very so-so, and treat their men harshly. 
 Zuluk Zee boasts a bazaar, a long narrow street 
 filled with dirty little shops. There are great 
 numbers of sick in the hospital, for here, as at 
 Suchum, fever, ague, and consumption do their 
 worst. 
 
 " May 22nd. — And now to give you an account 
 of our adventures at Eedout-Kaleh. We reached 
 that place at about four o'clock, and, before 
 doing so, saw hosts of Georgians mounted, in- 
 termingled with Cossacks, and riding hard along 
 the beach into the town; and, standing about 
 the parapet of the fort, could distinguish eight 
 or nine Eussian officers by their uniform. The 
 admiral immediately sent a flag of truce, re- 
 quiring the immediate evacuation of the place. 
 The officer in command replied that the prince 
 was two miles distant, and it was necessary to 
 communicate with him on the subject. Upon 
 this the boat waited for a quarter-of-an-hour 
 (five minutes longer than agreed upon), then 
 shoved oif, and, making signal to the admiral 
 ' Have received no answer,' pulled out. Th§y 
 were ordered back, however, by signal, to remain 
 another quarter-of-an-hour; but, on again 
 reaching the shore, no one was to be seen — 
 officers, Georgians, and Cossacks all having dis- 
 appeared as if by magic. On this being made 
 known the Agamemnon immediately opened 
 fire, the Turks were got into the boats, and as- 
 sembled near the Sampson, with a few gun-boats 
 to cover them, and waited until ordered to ap- 
 proach ; but, as the first shot was fired, a thick 
 mass of smoke began to rise from the town, and 
 soon afterwards I counted ten such ascending 
 straight into the clouds — in short, the Eussians 
 had fired the town, and right well had they 
 commenced their work. The old Caucasus, 
 who shone against the sky with all his snow 
 peaks without a cloud, echoed loudly the cannon- 
 ade of the Agamemnon and Charlemagne, and 
 the gun-boats and Turks advanced and disem- 
 barked, having had but one gun fired at them 
 from the fort. The Turks formed upon the 
 beach, the Bashi-Bazouks penetrated the wood 
 on their right, and examining the houses and 
 forts in front, as skirmishers. The Turks pro- 
 ceeded by the banks of the fine broad river to- 
 wards the burning town, and found that pursuit 
 
 211 
 
KEDOUT-KALEH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 of the EussiaHS was cut off by the destruction 
 of bridges of boats. Two rivers, one from the 
 south and one from the east, have their con- 
 fluence here. A Turk swam across one with a 
 line in his mouth to form a communication, but 
 the measures of the enemy had been taken too 
 well, and but a few shots were fired at the last 
 of them. Meanwhile the ships' boats were 
 recalled, and the Turks left in quiet possession 
 of this side of the rivers ; the rest was a tre- 
 mendous conflagration ; houses and trees burnt 
 together furiously during the whole of the 
 night, and fierce flames and illuminated smoke 
 rendered our decks almost light. As I was 
 looking through a glass, down came the steeple 
 of a church, most beautifully covered with flame. 
 Fortunately, the wind did not permit of its 
 spreading more to the west, or the Turks would 
 have been burnt out. All the men in the ships 
 were ready at their guns during the firing, and 
 the artillery and marines were ready to land if 
 necessary. Eedout-Kaleh was the most impor- 
 tant point of the Russians, connecting Teflis 
 and the interior of Georgia with the Black Sea ; 
 and it was from that place communications 
 were made between the other posts and the 
 army in Asia. Flame and smoke were also 
 seen in the direction of Poti, which most pro- 
 bably has shared a similar fate ; so that now 
 the Eussians are completely shut out in Georgia 
 from the Black Sea. They had evidently re- 
 tained Eedout as long as possible, owing to its 
 importance, but were prepared to destroy it 
 upon an emergency, and I have no doubt but 
 everything was made ready to fire it on our 
 flrst appearance off the place when we hoisted 
 the Turkish ensign. Eedout is now the most 
 important position in the hands of the Turks, 
 and they require more men and guns there as 
 soon as possible, as now they have but 7,000 
 men to hold five positions. We are now off to 
 Sinope, and afterwards to join Admiral Dundas, 
 leaving the Sampson to help to take care of 
 Eedout-Kaleh." 
 
 Anapa and Sujack Bay were the only 
 fortified places on the Circassian coast which 
 the Russians had been able to retain. In 
 them, however, the garrisons had been aug- 
 mented, and consisted of an effective force 
 of 20j000 men. " Your excellency," wrote 
 Vice-admiral Hamelin, " sees that affairs 
 have taken a good turn on the coasts of 
 Georgia and Circassia, where the Ottoman 
 flag will soon float triumphantly, wherever it 
 floated formerly." 
 
 It is a slight event, yet indicative, we 
 think, of the growing power of English 
 (and we should also say of French) com- 
 merce and civilisation, that the birthday of 
 Queen Victoria was this year celebrated on 
 the waters of the Black Sea — a region where 
 212 
 
 the jealousies of Turkey and Russia had 
 hitherto excluded the vessels of all other 
 European nations. The deep-mouthed guns 
 boomed over the waters, and English, French, 
 and Turkish ships were all gaily decorated 
 with flags to do honour to the amiable lady 
 who wears with such grace, clemency, and 
 moderation, the constitutional crown of 
 England. The occasion was "improved" 
 (as a very amiable, serious friend of ours 
 would say) by Admiral Dundas giving a 
 grand dinner to all the principal officers of 
 the allied fleets. 
 
 We subjoin another highly interesting 
 letter, written by the same author as the 
 preceding. It contains some pleasing ac- 
 counts of the Circassians and of their women, 
 so long reputed as the most beautiful in the 
 world. It has also an allusion to Sinope, in 
 its desolation still standing as a melancholy 
 memorial of Russian craft and cruelty : — 
 
 " Her Majesty's steamer , May 22nd. 
 
 " The last two days have been occupied in 
 putting Eedout-Kaleh in a state of defence 
 against internal enemies, in intrenching and 
 securing otherwise the position of the Turks. 
 On the 20th a party of sappers from the Aga- 
 memnon were landed, with working parties from 
 the other ships, both French and English ; also 
 the whole of the Turkish soldiers we had em- 
 barked at Zuluk Zee, and two officers of marine 
 artillery (first lieutenants H. Cox and H. B. 
 Eoberts), who directed the operations. In a 
 few hours a blockhouse was finished and loop- 
 holed (it had been a Eussian barrack), and a 
 parapet established, flanked by a long, deep 
 marsh. Another blockhouse was formed out of 
 an old store, with strong thick planks as an 
 outwork on the only other point accessible, to 
 the Mingrelians (Georgians) by the south ; 
 this had at its right the sea, and on its left 
 another marsh, beyond which is a thick wood. 
 The Turks worked away with pickaxe and 
 shovel most manfully ; they had no artillery 
 officer with them, and were as ignorant as chil- 
 dren on the subject; the bey, nevertheless, 
 carried out the orders of the marine artillery 
 officers ; houses were destroyed and others 
 strengthened, though at first he was somewhat 
 aghast at the amount of demolition required. 
 They established a continuation of the old fort 
 on the land side. No officers were allowed on 
 shore that day but those on duty. Towards 
 sunset the Turks gradually became lazy, and 
 had to be encouraged with ' Moskov,' to show 
 them the necessity of going on. At five o'clock 
 the next morning I caught the little old bey 
 just getting up, smoked a chibouque with him, 
 and then pantomimed a furious digging, upon 
 which he sent to awaken the men, most of 
 whom were asleep about their piled arms, and 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the CIRCASSIAN COAST. 
 
 the rest smoking, and at half-past five they -were 
 all digging away capitally. It was explained to 
 the bey what he mast do when the ships had 
 left, and what number of men should be in the 
 different posts. The Turks worked admirably, 
 and, as one party of the diggers vied with the 
 other, the parapet got on wonderfully, and the 
 whole of the defences assumed a most respect- 
 able appearance. A party of officers crossed 
 the river by the flying bridge, and walked over 
 the smouldering remnants of the town, and 
 somewhat beyond, notwithstanding the warn- 
 ings of Bashi-Bazouks, who are posted on this 
 side, concerning lurking Moskovs and Geor- 
 gians. The place is entirely destroyed. No- 
 thing remains of the main part of the town but 
 black beams strewed around. In the centre 
 stand isolated the stone steps which formed the 
 approach to the church. The chimneys and 
 ovens of the houses alone mark their site, all 
 the rest having been of wood. Apparently, a 
 handsome street had run parallel with the river, 
 but its houses must have been very unhealthy, 
 as both on the north and south sides stretches 
 a marshy countrv, covered with brushwood 
 and large lilies. The glass of the houses was 
 seen in fused lumps ; pottery strewed the 
 ground, and occasionally were found rats and 
 cats, from their position burnt to death in the 
 act of running away. In the evening Admiral 
 Lyons inspected the works, with which . he ex- 
 pressed himself ' perfectly delighted.' The ad- 
 miral then, with the captain of the Charlemagne 
 and several others, pulled up the river, having 
 the precaution of a skirmishing party of Turks 
 on each bank for their protection. One of 
 these took a Georgian prisoner, and conveyed 
 him to the fort. He was beset on all sides by 
 the Turks, who crowded around him, unheeding 
 their officers' orders, which were enforced by 
 those gentlemen possessing themselves of large 
 sticks and laying them on the heads of the 
 Turkish soldiers, right and left. The prisoner 
 (suspected, with reason, of being a spy) was 
 brought before the bey, and sent as a prisoner 
 to his quarters. The poor Georgian was in an 
 awful fright, as well he might be, and before 
 going to his prison knelt down and kissed the 
 hem of the bey's coat with the greatest rever- 
 ence. A Turk touched his musket signifi- 
 cantly, with an expression which meant ' that 
 fellow will be shot to-night.' However, he was 
 preserved by an order from the admiral to send 
 him on board the Sampson. We retain in the 
 fleet the officers and soldiers of the Eussian 
 troops which we captured ; also the Greek 
 crew. Our prize is said to have 3001b. weight 
 of quinine on board, part of the medical stores 
 collected from the whole of the Circassian sta- 
 tions. But I must now tell you of our pro- 
 ceedings prior to the events I have narrated. 
 After leaving Gelendjik we saw the deserted 
 station of Wilhelminaky, which occupies a beau- 
 TOL. I, t3 F 
 
 tiful position' on a fertile slope, and protected 
 by well-studied defences ; beyond this the clifis 
 come abruptly into the sea, and between them 
 there are long valleys filled with luxuriant 
 foliage. After Gelendjik comes the little sta- 
 tion of Lazarofi", the centre of a perfect gem of 
 scenery. It stands (or rather stood, as the 
 whole is burnt or destroyed, except the outer 
 loopholed-walls, and a couple of blockhouses, 
 studded with pqplars, the lower halves of which 
 are now blackened by fire) in the middle of a 
 small plain, at the entrance of a tremendous 
 gorge; on either side, and far up in the dis- 
 tance, which is beautifully broken into hill and 
 dale, are masses of trees in full foliage, and the 
 gorge is closed in the exreme distance by the 
 usual accompaniment to such scenes in this 
 part of the world — a lofty snow and pine- 
 covered mountain. A collection of mountain 
 streams flows by Lazaroff with all the impor- 
 tance of a river, and upon its banks we saw 
 many Circassians and two Turkish trading 
 boats. 
 
 " After Lazaroif came Golovinsky. As we 
 passed it the Circassians and a Turkish vessel 
 or two fired a salute, which was duly returned 
 by the Agamemnon. A few miles beyond Golo- 
 vinsky the admiral stood close to the shore and 
 anchored ; the rest of the fleet did the same. 
 Two Turkish trading boats from Trebizonde 
 were high and dry on the beach, and hundreds 
 of Circassians formed a picturesque crowd 
 (nearly all being mounted) by the sea-shore. 
 This point is named Bardan, and here the Eus- 
 sians have perseveringly tried to get a footing, 
 and as often been foiled by Circassian rifles, 
 the owners of which are not a little proud of 
 the frequent repulsions of Moskov. Bardan 
 has therefore been the only Circassian post, 
 and from this place the young ladies have for 
 years been eligibly settled in the harems of the 
 great men of Stamboul. From this place Cap- 
 tain Brook and the engineer officer started over 
 the mountains with a few sappers and an escort 
 of Circassians, commanded by Ismail Bey, to 
 cross the Eussian road by hook or by crook, 
 and to communicate with Schamyl if possible. 
 Ismail Bey is a great man among ttie people, 
 and a lord of the soil of Bardan ; he was brought 
 from Constantinople the other day by the Ter- 
 rible, and has since lived in the Agamemnon. 
 On the landing of the party all good wishes 
 were expressed by a salute of seven guns, and 
 they started on their expedition that samo 
 evening. As soon as we landed we were sur- 
 rounded by a crowd of Circassians, who imme- 
 diately led us by a path from the shore, through 
 woods, brambles, and ditches, to a long field, 
 surrounded by woods, among which several 
 wooden dwellings showed their roofs. This 
 was a beautiful spot, and the grass beneath us 
 a mass of daisies and buttercups. A renewal 
 of acquaintance with these was not the least 
 
 213 
 
THE CIRCASSIANS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 pleasant part of our trip. A Circassian made 
 me mount his horse. Crossing a stream, I gave 
 it up again, and prepared, with a guide, to scale 
 one of the mountain heights. "VVe had a heavy 
 pull up this hill, on a narrow pathway covered 
 with briar and brambles. On our way we met 
 two Circassian young ladies, rather moon-faced, 
 but with beautiful complexions and pleasant 
 expression. Our Circassian friend called to 
 them to cover their faces (we had a dragoman 
 with us) — an order which the young ladies 
 showed their good sense by neglecting. At the 
 top we had a most noble view, a complete pano- 
 rama of rich wood, overtopped with snow; several 
 villages were dotted among the woods and upon 
 the mountain sides, the dwellings being all of 
 wood. We descended by another mountain path 
 to the sea; here we took another stroll, and en- 
 tered a wood. We had been advised not to stray 
 too far, as the Circassians of the mountains 
 were ignorant of our arrival, and might take us 
 for Russians. In the wood we met a fine- 
 looking old gentleman, mounted, and proceeding 
 slowly ; with him were two Circassian girls, his 
 daughters as it appeared. Not knowing what 
 to make of us, he drew his sword, or rather 
 long knife, and looked fierce ; but on nearing us, 
 and seeing we were unarmed, returned it again, 
 and was quite happy when he knew us to be 
 ' Ingbealeez.' Then his daughters came for- 
 ward and shook hands with all. One was about 
 twelve years old, the other fourteen ; the latter 
 exceedingly pretty, with a fair skin, blue eyes, 
 and light hair, and we were told by the old 
 gentleman, ready and happy to become a por- 
 tion of the personal effects of any of us for 
 10,000 piastres (£80.) These Circassian girls 
 look forward to this, as being settled in life and 
 going to Starnboul is a fulfilment of their best 
 wishes and desires, just as a young lady in 
 London makes an 'eligible' match. Our little 
 friend with the blue eyes looked at us earnestly, 
 in confirmation of papa's words, and made some 
 of our party a present of shells she had just 
 picked up, which she pantomimed would bear a 
 fine polish; but a Circassian girl here and at 
 Stamboul are two very different beings. At 
 home she wanders about in plain and rough 
 dress, only dreaming of the gold and decoration 
 that may some day fall to her lot at Stamboul. 
 They are generally educated in Turkish young 
 lady-like accomplishments, music, &c., and im- 
 bibe by degrees the artificial life they must lead 
 henceforth. No Turk can marry, unless he 
 provide his wife or wives with all manner of 
 ornaments and luxury, and hence a decrease in 
 the population which would greatly gratify Mr. 
 Malthus. As the Turks of the lovver orders 
 die at Stamboul, their place is mostly filled by 
 fresh arrivals from Asia. The two Turkish 
 trading-vessels fired an eccentric salute as the 
 ships arrived and anchored. A French officer 
 told me that these boats had arrived to export 
 214 
 
 a freight of the same nature as the little blue- 
 eyed girl I have told you of; each ship would 
 hold 200 of them. On descending from the 
 mountain we saw a number of Circassian womon 
 looking from among the brushwood at the ships ; 
 directly we appeared they dipped among the 
 brushwood like so many specimens of ' Jack-in- 
 the-box.' I cannot account for such excessive 
 delicacy on their part, except, perhaps, by their 
 being the wives of some of the warriors on the 
 beach, who perhaps were very jealous fellows. 
 We took three of these people off in our boat, 
 and numerous were their expressions of astonish- 
 ment and ' Mashallahs !' on seeing the ship and 
 its contents. A book with views of Stamboul 
 particularly elicited their admiration ; but at 
 the sight of a revolver and its six successive ex- 
 plosions of caps came a ' Mashallah ! Mashallah !' 
 and a shout of laughter. On seeing an en- 
 graving of the Greek Slave, the old gentleman 
 laughed and put his hands before his eyes like 
 the most sensitive of American ladies. They 
 ate bread and salt (the latter is most valuable 
 among them), and took back with them some 
 charges of powder. Before coming off I noticed 
 a mark of delicate feeling on the part of one of 
 them. Seeing we were unarmed, he took off 
 his pistols, knives, and sabre, and, unslinging 
 his rifle, insisted on leaving them on shore 
 behind him. When the admiral went onshore, 
 he was at once recognised, and received as a 
 prince ; and, on leaving, the whole of the hun- 
 dreds of rifles were discharged at once by their 
 owners. 
 
 " We left Bardan during the night, and in 
 early morning were off Navaginsk. Here the 
 admiral sent a boat ashore to look at the de- 
 stroyed fortress, where were still found, left 
 behind, twenty-four brass guns. What a gift 
 these would be to our friends the Turks at 
 Eedout-Kaleh ! By-the-bye, I forgot to tell 
 that those Turks are of the militia. After 
 leaving Navaginsk, we passed the blown-up 
 Eussian post of the ' Holy Ghost,' and then 
 came Gagri. 
 
 " The Circassians are a remarkably good- 
 looking race — tall and well made, and generally 
 fair, some even of the older warriors having 
 quite pink cheeks ; and, odd enough, when one 
 considers their roaming life, their feet and 
 hands are remarkably small. They cut their 
 skin shoes to fit the foot exactly. In dross 
 they carry a huge affair on the head, of the 
 calpac species; a high cone of yellow cloth 
 rises from a forest of fur which encircles the 
 head; their coats are principally made of a 
 coarse woollen fabric, and reach far below the 
 knee. The higher orders have this of brilliant 
 yellow cloth ; round the throat a linen under- 
 garment buttons exactly, and over this is fre- 
 quently worn a smart silk affair, showing 
 between the folds of the coat. In their breast 
 they carry about a score of bone or ivory cases. 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [ozukghetti and bayazid. 
 
 filled with loose powder, having the ball at the 
 top. Some of the better sort wear smart scarlet 
 leggings and yellow or red slippers; round the 
 waist of all are fastened multitudinous knives 
 and pistols, upon a leather belt, and slung over 
 the shoulder, in a cloth case, the rifle. They 
 look altogether like a set of aristocratic savages. 
 We were all greatly disappointed that the birds 
 had flown from Gelendjik ; the plan of proposed 
 attack was perfect; the plap for attacking 
 Soudjee was also made out. 
 
 " At Sinope we found the place as mournful 
 looking as ever — exactly in the same state as 
 when we first saw it, except that two small 
 forts have been erected. Not a single house is 
 rebuilt, and the Russian shot are still scat- 
 tered about ; even the Austrian consul has not 
 repaired the shot-holes through his domicile. 
 Our Russian captives were mightily afraid of 
 being left at Sinope ; in that case, they said, 
 they were sure the inhabitants would hang 
 them. We looked through one of the Turkish 
 forts to-day. Its officer showed lively satisfac- 
 tion at our pantomime of the occupation of 
 Redout-Kaleh by his brethren. All the mus- 
 kets, swords, stores, &c., took are gone to be 
 sold with the prize at Malta, the Circassians 
 being possessed of far better weapons of their 
 own. We gave them, however, lots of shirts, 
 and distributed 20,000 rounds of Russian ball 
 cartridge. We captured a Russian gun-boat 
 with the brig, fully equipped, and have kept it 
 in tow and used it constantly." 
 
 Notwithstanding the exertions of General 
 Guyon, the Turkish army in Asia remained 
 inactive until the summer. Some trifling 
 encounters then took place, with variable 
 success. One occurred at Dugourghiet or 
 Oznrghetti.* Selim Pasha, the officer in 
 command of the Batoum division of the 
 Turkish army, received notice during the 
 month of June, that the Russians and 
 Georgians, to the number of 50,000, under 
 the command of General Andronikofi", were 
 about to make an attack upon him. On 
 the 16th the Turks commenced a retreat 
 to avoid an enemy of such superior force, 
 when the Russians made their appearance, 
 and a furious engagement took place. 
 Selim Pasha had his horse shot under him, 
 and though unwounded, yet received ten 
 bullet-holes through his dress. The Turks 
 are said to have lost 1,400 men and eleven 
 guns, thirty-five flags, and ail their baggage ; 
 but the loss of the Russians was reported to 
 have been much heavier. They, however, 
 
 • It is a difficult matter to ascertain the correct 
 names of places on and near the Circassian coast of 
 the B)ack Sea, as each place has two names, one 
 Russian and the other Turkish. 
 
 claimed a thorough victory, and concluded 
 their own report of the battle with the 
 stereotyped phrase, " God be praised ! Glory 
 to the czar ! May his enemies be con- 
 founded \" The Turkish soldiers behaved, 
 as they usually do, with heroism, and for 
 some time stubbornly maintained the com- 
 bat man to man ; but their want of efficient 
 officers, and the general mismanagement of 
 the army, put them in a position rendering 
 successful fighting almost a miracle. 
 
 The general incapability and knavery 
 which emasculated the Turkish army in 
 Asia, may be partially understood from the 
 following incident : — A contract was entered 
 into by the Porte for medicines and surgical 
 instruments, to be sent to Erzeroum for the 
 use of the troops. In accordance with a 
 shameful practice, which it seems is almost 
 as common in Turkey as it is in Russia, the 
 contract was let and sublet. till its actual 
 execution fell into the hands of a Jew. 
 Even under such circumstances the result 
 can scarcely be credited. When the cases 
 were opened, the medicines were found to 
 consist of stale and worthless drugs ; and 
 among the implements of surgery were 
 several hundred instruments for extracting 
 milk from women's breasts, probably part of 
 the stock of some bankrupt speculator. 
 
 The Turks suffered another reverse in 
 Asia on the 29th of July. Lieutenant-gene- 
 ral Von Wrangel, advanced from Erivan 
 with a detachment of Russian troops, and 
 attacked and totally defeated a Turkish 
 corps under the command of Selim Pasha, 
 posted near Bayazid, the capital of Turkish 
 Armenia. Three thousand Turks were said 
 to have fallen ; but this statement is from a 
 Russian source, and savours of exaggeration.. 
 Four guns and seventeen flags also fell into 
 the hands of the victors. 
 
 The defeat of the Turks at Bayazid was 
 followed by another of a far more ruinous 
 character near Kars, beyond the hills of Hadji 
 Veleky. This engagement is generally called 
 the battle of Kurakdere, the name of a vil- 
 lage near the scene of action. While General 
 Bebutoff, at the head of a great body of 
 Russian troops, lay in front of the main 
 army of the Turks, some of General Androni- 
 koff's division had defeated the outposts, aud 
 were reported to be stealing round by the 
 rear of that flank towards Erzeroum. Zarif 
 Pasha, the Turkish commander, in alarm 
 summoned a council of war, and General 
 Guyon advised an instantaneous advance 
 upon Bebutoff's troops, and then a rapid 
 
 215 
 
BATTLE OF KURAKDERE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 return against the columns behind, near 
 Erzeroum. By adopting this plan the pasha 
 would have been able to employ all his force 
 successively against each body of his divided 
 enemies. An insane superstition induced 
 the Turks to delay this movement for two 
 days ; and when, on the 6th of August, they 
 attempted it, they found their enemies pre- 
 pared. 
 
 Thirty-five thousand Turks advanced at 
 midnight, and by torchlight, upon the Rus- 
 sian position. General Bebutoff, who had 
 been informed by his spies of this movement, 
 abandoned his camp and made arrangements 
 to attack the Turkish forces on their march. 
 Hostilities did not commence until half-past 
 five in the morning, when the Turks opened 
 a strong fire. "The arrangement of the 
 enemy's batteries," said General Bebutoff, 
 in his despatch, "enabled me to perceive 
 that, profiting by his position, his army was 
 drawn up so that his front did not present a 
 right line, and the direction of one of his 
 wings made an angle with that of the centre. 
 Although such a disposition doubles the diffi- 
 culties of the attacking column, our brave 
 soldiers of the Caucasus, whom the troops 
 arrived from the interior of Russia would 
 not allow to exceed them in zeal, advanced 
 courageously. The first attack was made by 
 the cavalry which was at our left wing, and 
 eight pieces of cannon which they captured 
 formed a guarantee of the happy issue of the 
 battle. At the same time the infantry ad- 
 vanced with rapidity. Continually pressed 
 e.t a distance of three versts, the enemy at 
 last occupied rather an elevated point, upon 
 which he could make a decisive resistance. 
 Upon this height our infantry, having before 
 them twenty-eight battalions, and subjected 
 to the fire of carbines and twenty pieces of 
 cannon, rushed to battle with the Turks 
 hand to hand. This decisive attack was 
 crowned with complete success ; the centre 
 of the enemy was forced, and the whole of 
 his right wing was overthrown. At the same 
 instant the enemy, in considerable force, 
 attacked our right flank. I placed in line 
 two battalions of Toula, with a battery and 
 the militia, and dispatched upon the extreme 
 right two battalions of Riajsk (all the cavalry 
 remaining in reserve), twelve pieces of foot 
 artillery, and four of horse-artiUery ; leaving 
 iij. reserve, opposite the height occupied by 
 the eneniy, and to cover the movable hos- 
 pitals, only two battalions of Toula and a 
 foot battery. The direction of the enemy's 
 columns compelled me to extend to nearly 
 216 
 
 five versts my line of battle .; and the troops 
 had hardly occupied the positions assigned 
 to them, when a sharp cannonade commenced 
 from both sides. In replying from the centre 
 to the fire of the Turks, I ordered the right 
 wing to attack at the same time. The 
 operations upon this point were also equally 
 successful; the decisive charges of the cavalry, 
 supported by the infantry, completely frus- 
 trated any attempt of the enemy to turn our 
 flank, and compelled him to seek safety in 
 flight, leaving us seven pieces of cannon in 
 our hands." 
 
 This report of the Russian general was 
 substantially correct ; but the reader will 
 perceive by it that no easy victory had been 
 gained. The Russian troops were too ex- 
 hausted by the severe struggle, which had 
 been extended over four hours, to be able to 
 follow up their advantage. They were, 
 however, satisfied with leaving 2,000 Turks 
 dead upon the hard-contested field, and 
 carrying off a still larger number as pri- 
 soners.* Their own loss in men was scarcely 
 inferior to that of their vanquished foes — 
 beaten, we should rather say, yet not van- 
 quished ;■ — no, nor to be vanquished in the 
 end. Still the action reflected discredit on 
 the Turks, as 35,000 of them were defeated 
 by 18,000 Russians, whom they had vainly 
 hoped to take by surprise. On this occasion, 
 as on most others, the poor Ottoman soldiers 
 fought with a resolute bravery that would 
 have done honour to European troops ; but 
 the inefficiency, and in some cases disgrace- 
 ful conduct, of their officers, brought about 
 their defeat. One of them fled at the first 
 shot, pale with terror, and spread disorder 
 through his men ; and many other officers 
 deserted the soldiers that should have led 
 forward to the attack. After the battle, the 
 Turks fell back precipitately upon Kars. 
 
 The retreat is thus spoken of by an eye- 
 witness : — " On regaining the camp, after 
 the battle, I found the tents already stripped, 
 and nearly everybody's baggage either start- 
 ing or already gone to Kars. With some 
 the instinct of personal safety had been 
 stronger than a regard for their chattels, 
 and they accordingly had already fled 
 thither, leaving chibouques, carpets, and 
 other personalities to take care of them- 
 selves. The cannonade had drawn the 
 Kurds in crowds down from the neigh- 
 
 * The Turkish returns represent the loss as con- 
 sisting of 1,200 killed, 1,800 wounded, and 8,000 
 I missing ; of which last, 2,000 were prisoners, and the 
 [ rest deserters. 
 
A.D. 18540 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [exploit of schamyl. 
 
 bouring mountains, like vultures to carrion, 
 and they were making rapid appropriations 
 on all hands. Having my own horses, how- 
 ever, I succeeded in bundling together as 
 many of my movables as my servant had 
 been able to protect, and fell into the rapid 
 stream of the retreat, which, with Bashi- 
 Bazouks, infantry, cavalry, artillery, bag- 
 gage-mules, camels, and bullock -carts 
 (packed with the wounded), formed as 
 motley and scattered a host as ever figured 
 on panoramic canvas. From Hadji Veleki 
 to Kars (some eighteen miles), it was one 
 unbroken stream, hurrying in quick dis- 
 order from the dreaded pursuit of the vic- 
 torious giaours; soldiers without weapons, 
 stragglers with plunder, and horses without 
 riders — on they hastened, in noisy and 
 jostling confusion, which could find no paral- 
 lel but in some similar scene. But all 
 this was nothing when compared with the 
 state of things at Kars itself. Even before 
 the battle had terminated, swarms of the 
 flying Bashi-Bazouks had already arrived, 
 and spread the news that the whole Turkish 
 army was destroyed, and the Russians in 
 full march upon the devoted town. When 
 I reached the place, therefore, I found the 
 walls lined — not with soldiers, but women 
 in the wildest alarm and despair, without 
 yaschmacs, or face-coverings of any kind : 
 they thronged the half-ruinous embrasures, 
 and, with outspread arms and dishevelled 
 hair, uttered their apprehensive lamenta- 
 tions in every key the female voice can 
 compass. Inside the town matters were 
 equally bad; there again, women hurried 
 in wild and wailing disorder through the 
 narrow streets, asking everyone who seemed 
 to be coming from the war, ' Mqscov bon- 
 lunour ?' (Where are the Russians?) And 
 if the answer were discouraging, wringing 
 their hands, and' prying 'Allah! Allah!' 
 Men were passing arid repassing with most 
 un-Turkish energy^ hastening on sluggish 
 bullocks or buffaloes, with their ' flitting ;^ 
 while the closely-veUed wife or wives, and 
 the children, followed on a separate araba 
 behind. These were taking time by the 
 forelock, and setting out for Erzeroum. In 
 the bazaars all shops were closed and busi- 
 ness suspended : the whole scene, indeed, 
 was such as could only be witnessed undef 
 similar circumstances." When the Turks at 
 Kars found that the Russians did not 
 advance, the panic subsided, and after a 
 time something like order was restored. 
 Mustapha Zarif Pasha (the Turkish com- 
 
 mander-in-chief, who had exhibited coward- 
 ice as well as incompetence) endeavoured, 
 through a miserable jealousy, to throw the 
 blame of the defeat on General Guyon. 
 We presume this baseness was not without 
 effect; for the brave soldier was recalled 
 from Kars: Zarif Pasha was, however, soon 
 afterwards also displaced from the chief 
 command, and his authority given to Ismail 
 Pasha, the ex-commander of Kalafat and 
 the hero of Citate. 
 
 The triumph of the Russians, near the 
 hills of Hadji Veleki, was soon marred by 
 an exploit of the Caucasian hero Schamyl. 
 That extraordinary man, when least ex- 
 pected, descends from the mountains Uke an 
 avalanche, and sweeps all before him. It 
 was feared that the Russians would march 
 upon Erzeroum ; but a feat of Schamyl's put 
 an end to that apprehension. On the 20th 
 of August he descended from the mountains, 
 followed by 15,000 Circassian horsemen, 
 armed to the teeth. This time the Rus- 
 sians were taken by surprise ; the Circassians 
 fell upon Georgia, and destroyed 300 villages 
 by fire and the sword. Schamyl even pene- 
 trated to within a few leagues of Teflis, and 
 carried away, as hostages, forty unfortunate 
 ladies belonging to the Russian nobihty, 
 who were residing on their country estates 
 near that place. The startled Russians, 
 who had previously blown up the forts of 
 Bayazid, withdrew entirely from the Ottoman 
 territory. General Bebutoff was compelled 
 to march to Teflis to protect it against the 
 anticipated attack of the Circassians, and 
 thus the inhabitants of Kars were relieved 
 of their fears that he would march upon 
 their city. Schamyl was threatening Teflis 
 with his army of mountaineers ; and it was 
 rumoured that, influenced by a spirit of fana- 
 ticism and a bitter hatred of every one 
 connected with the oppressors of his coun- 
 tryj he had put the forty Russian ladies to 
 death. If so, the act is a blood-red stain 
 upon his 'scutcheon that all the waters of 
 the ocean will not wash out, and a taint 
 upon his name that all the perfumes of 
 Arabia will not sweeten. Noble spirits 
 never smite the helpless, or pour out their 
 vengeance upon women. However, by the 
 fortunate interposition of Schamyl, the vic- 
 tories of the Russians were neither beneficial 
 to themselves or fatal to the Turks. 
 
 Before Schamyl retired, he inflicted a 
 severe blow upon the Russian troops. Be- 
 tween the 26th of August and the 1st of 
 September, he led his moigataineers into 
 
 217 
 
EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 the northern part of Georgia, and advanced 
 to the Kour. The centre of his army, which 
 he commanded in person, was at Achalgori 
 on the 28th of August ; the right wing, 
 under the Emir Hassan Enim, was at Gori, 
 on the Kour, at the same date ; and the 
 left wing, under Emir Chupli Enim, was at 
 Mycht, a little to the north of Teflis. A 
 battle ensued; but the Russians, who were 
 completely taken by surprise, fled after a 
 very feeble resistance. The reverse of the 
 Russians did not end there, for while they 
 were in retreat, the Turks plucked up their 
 courage, resumed the offensive, fell upon 
 the rear-guard of their enemy, and revenged 
 themselves for their recent defeat. Thus 
 ended the Asiatic campaign of 1854; and 
 the fears which had been entertained that 
 the cause of the Ottoman would, in that 
 quarter of the world, be trampled into the 
 dust by the power of Russia, melted away 
 
 like autumn mists. " Never," said a Tre- 
 bizond correspondent of a French journal, 
 " never has there been a better opportunity 
 of judging of Russian weakness, and of the 
 facility with which the allies of Turkey may, 
 when they wish, put an end to Russian do- 
 mination in the trans-Caucasian provinces. 
 Not only is the army of Georgia incapable 
 of undertaking anything against the Otto- 
 man territory, but no sooner does it leave 
 Teflis than it is obliged to return, in order 
 to protect that capital of the Russian pos- 
 sessions against the incursions of the Tcher- 
 kesses (Circassians.) A division of Euro- 
 pean troops, commanded by an able chief, 
 and concerting his operations with the Turks 
 on one side, and with Schamyl on the other, 
 would very soon reduce the Russian for- 
 tresses in the trans-Caucasian provinces to 
 the last extremity." The grasp of Russia on 
 Asia was yet a question of the future. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE ALLIES PROCEED FEOM VARNA TO THE CRIMEA ; THET LAND AT THE OLD FORT ; SIR GEORGE BROWS 
 NEARLY CAPTURED BY COSSACKS ; HORRORS OF THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE CRIMEA ; OCCUPATION OF 
 EUPATORIA J ADDRESS OF MARSHAL ST. ARNAUD TO THE FRENCH TROOPS ; SKIRMISH ON THE EVENING 
 OF THE 19TH; GLOEIODS VICTORY OF THE ALMA; THE FIELD AFTER THE BATTLE; DESPATCHES OF THE 
 ENGLISH AND FRENCH GENERALS AND ADMIRALS J DEATH OF MARSHAL ST. ARNAUD ; REPORTED FALL 
 OF SEBASTOPOL. 
 
 The long-talked-of expedition of the Eng- 
 lish and French forces to the Crimea was at 
 length decidedly resolved upon. Councils 
 of war, attended by the chief generals of 
 rank, both French and English, were fre- 
 quently held at Varna, and the mode of 
 conducting the invasion of Russian territory 
 carefully arranged. Still many delays oc- 
 curred in carrying so extensive a design 
 into execution. The 15th of August was 
 the date first fixed for the sailing of the 
 allied armies from Varna to the Crimea : 
 it was postponed until the 20th ; then till the 
 22nd ;, then the 26th. Then successively 
 to the 1st, 2nd, and 7th of September — that 
 is, the French fleet left Varna on the 5 th, 
 and the English sailed from the neighbour- 
 ing port of Baltschik on the 7th. 
 
 These delays hazarded not only the suc- 
 cess, but even the practicability of the 
 design; as between the 15th and 25th of 
 September, the great equinoctial gales sweep 
 218 
 
 the Black Sea, and lash it into tempests of 
 the most furious and destructive nature. 
 To have deferred the expedition until the 
 following year, would have been a triumph 
 to Russia and a disgrace to the allies. On 
 the other hand, to attack Sebastopol, was 
 for the allies to pledge themselves to enter 
 it as conquerors, otherwise the mihtary 
 reputation of Prance and England would 
 be overshadowed by a barbarian force, and 
 the Emperor Nicholas would feel that the 
 power of Russia was sufiBcient to carry 
 forward the designs of its ambition. Failure 
 on the part of the allies, would be to abandon 
 the empire of the East to Russia, and also 
 to encourage it to extend its stealthy en- 
 croachments in Europe. The combined 
 fleets amounted to nearly 400 vessels of 
 various kinds, and presented a grand and 
 imposing sight. At night, when all the 
 ships had lights hung out, the fleets looked 
 like some enormous city upon the waters. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA. [landing on the ceimea. 
 
 Fidonisi, or the island of Serpents, was 
 appointed as a rendezvous for the allied 
 fleets, who fortunately had very favourable 
 weather for their voyage across the Black 
 Sea to the Crimea. The water was per- 
 fectly smooth during the passage, and the 
 weather is described as being like the fine 
 days we sometimes have in England towards 
 the end of November — sunny, but cold and 
 winterly. It has been said, that hitherto 
 the cholera had been the firmest ally of the 
 Emperor Nicholas ; but if a hurricane had 
 scattered the fleets, and tempests assailed 
 the vessels encumbered with soldiers, then 
 he might have regarded the winds and the 
 waves as even firmer friends to him than 
 the cholera. The voyage, however, was ac- 
 complished in safety, and at daybreak on 
 the 14th of September, the allies arrived 
 at the Crimea, off a place called the Old 
 Fort, or Staroe Ukriplenie, situated about 
 twenty miles to the south of Eupatoria, and 
 thirty to the north of Sebastopol. It was 
 at first intended to land at Eupatoria, but 
 the former position was resolved upon by 
 Lord Kaglan and the admirals, after a 
 minute reconnaissance of the coast from 
 Cape Chersonese to Eupatoria ; from which 
 it appeared that the enemy had taken up 
 strong positions upon the rivers Alma and 
 Katcha, but not beyond them. 
 
 No Russian troops were there to oppose the 
 landing, which, although it was immediately 
 commenced with great vigour, occupied three 
 days before it was completed. This was owing 
 to a swell of the sea, which considerably 
 impeded the operations of the troops, and 
 even caused them to be attended with some 
 danger. The allied army which had landed 
 on the Crimea was composed of 60,000 
 men, consisting of 27,000 English, 25,000 
 French, and 8,000 Turks. The fact of 
 their being unopposed by the Russian army, 
 made a great impression on the Tartar popu- 
 lation, who seemed disposed to view the 
 invaders of their ancient soil in a very 
 favourable light. The allies were regarded 
 by them, not as enemies, but as a power 
 probably destined to break the Russian 
 yoke from ofi' their necks and set them 
 free. 
 
 Previously to the landing of the allies, 
 much valuable time was lost in consequence 
 of no decided plan of campaign having been 
 resolved upon by the generals in command. 
 Two days were passed in settling at what 
 point they should land. Lord Raglan, Sir 
 George Brown, General Canrobert, and Sir 
 
 J. Burgoyne, were assembled on board the 
 Caradoc, which being a swift vessel, could 
 approach the Russian shore without much 
 danger of being captured. At one time it 
 ran close under the encampment which was 
 stationed to defend or watch the mouth ot 
 the river Belbek. So close did the vessel 
 approach to the cliffs, that Russian ofiicers 
 were seen in front of their men engaged in 
 getting their glasses to a focus to observe 
 the new comers. On perceiving this, the 
 English ofiScers took off their hats and 
 bowed, a politeness which was immediately 
 returned. 
 
 The French were the first to land on the 
 soil of the Crimea. " Their small war- 
 steamers," says a writer from the scene of 
 action, " went much nearer to the shore 
 than ours were allowed to go ; and a little 
 after seven o'clock, the first French boat 
 put off from one of the men-of-war with 
 not more than fifteen or sixteen men on 
 board of her. She was beached quietly on 
 shore, and the crew leaping out, formed 
 into a knot on the strand, and seemed 
 busily engaged for a few moments over one 
 spot of ground, as though they were dig- 
 ging a grave. Presently a flagstaff was 
 visible above their heads, and in a moment 
 more the tricolour was run up to the top, 
 and fluttered out gaily in the wind, while 
 the men took off their hats and did their 
 Vive I' Empereur in good style. The French 
 were thus the first to take possession and 
 seisin of the Crimea. There was no enemy 
 in sight ; the most scrutinising gaze at this 
 moment could not have detected a hostile 
 uniform along the coast. The French ad- 
 miral fired a gun shortly after eight o'clock, 
 and the disembarkation of their troops com- 
 menced. In twenty minutes, they say, they 
 got 6,000 men on shore." 
 
 Sir George Brown was the first English- 
 man who landed, and he was followed by 
 the royal fusileers. Sir George immediately 
 pushed forward without sending videttes or 
 men in front. This rashness nearly cost 
 him his life or liberty, for he was in great 
 danger of being captured by a party of 
 Cossacks, who, with an officer at their head, 
 were discerned watching the fleets and in- 
 vading troops. The Cossacks, who had been 
 stealthily approaching Sir George, made a 
 dash at him when within about a hundred 
 yards. The English general ran for his life, 
 and was saved from capture by the fire of 
 a company of the fusileers, who, fortunately, 
 were not far distant. On receiving so 
 
 219 
 
LANDING ON THE CRIMEA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 warm a reception, the Cossacks turned and 
 fled. 
 
 The correspondent before quoted gives 
 further particulars of the disembarkation, 
 from which we extract the following life- 
 like descriptive touches : — " By twelve 
 o'clock in the day, that barren and desolate 
 beach, inhabited but a short time before only 
 by the sea-gull and wild-fowl, was swarm- 
 ing with life. From one extremity to the 
 other bayonets glistened, and red coats and 
 brass-mounted shakos gleamed in solid 
 masses. The air was filled with our English 
 speech, and the hum of voices mingled with 
 loud notes of command, cries of comrades to 
 each other, the familiar address of ' Bill' to 
 ' Tom,' or of ' Pat' to ' Sandy,' and an occa- 
 sional shout of laughter. Very amusing 
 was it to watch the loading and unloading 
 of the boats. A gig or cutter, pulled by 
 eight or twelve sailors, with a paddle-box 
 boat, flat, or Turkish pinnace in tow (the 
 latter purchased for the service), would come 
 up alongside a steamer or transport in which 
 troops were ready for disembarkation. The 
 oflB.cers of each company first descended, 
 each man in full dress. Over his shoulder 
 was slung his havresack, containing what 
 had been, ere it underwent the process of 
 cooking — four pounds and a-half of salt meat, 
 and a bulky mass of biscuit of the same 
 weight. This was his ration for three days. 
 Besides this each officer carried his great- 
 coat, rolled up and fastened in a hoop round 
 his body, a wooden canteen to hold water, 
 a small ration of spirits, whatever change of 
 underclothing he could manage to stow 
 away, his forage cap, and, in most instances, 
 a revolver. Each private carried his blanket 
 and great-coat strapped up into a kind of 
 knapsack, inside which was a pair of boots, 
 a pair of socks, a shirt, and, at the request 
 of the men themselves, a forage cap; he 
 also carried his water canteen and the same 
 rations as the ofiicer, a portion of the mess 
 cooking apparatus, firelock and bayonet of 
 course, cartouch box and fifty rounds of 
 ball cartridge for Minie, sixty rounds for 
 smooth-bore arms. As each man came 
 creeping down the ladder. Jack helped him 
 along tenderly from rung to rung till he was 
 safe in the boat, took his firelock and stowed 
 it away, removed his knapsack and packed 
 it snugly under the seat, patted him on the 
 back, and told him ' not to be afeerd on the 
 water;' treated 'the sojer,' in fact, in a very 
 kind and tender way, as though he were a 
 large but not very sagacious ' pet,' who was 
 220 
 
 not to be frightened or lost sight of on any 
 account, and did it all so quickly that the 
 large paddle-box boats, containing 100 men, 
 were filled in five minutes. Then the latter 
 took the paddle-box in tow, leaving her, 
 however, in charge of a careful coxwain, and 
 the same attention was paid to getting the 
 ' sojer' on shore that was evinced in getting 
 him into the boat, the sailors (half or wholly 
 naked in the surf) standing by at the bows, 
 and handing each man and his accoutrement 
 down the plank to the shingle, for fear 
 ' he'd fall off and hurt himself.' Never did 
 men work better than our blue-jackets; 
 especially valuable were they with horses 
 and artillery ; and their delight at having a 
 horse to hold and to pat all to themselves 
 was excessive. When the gun-carriages 
 stuck fast in the shingle, half-a-dozen her- 
 culean seamen rushed at the wheels, and, 
 with a ' Give way, my lads — all together,' 
 soon spoked it out with a run, and landed it 
 on the hard sand. No praise can do justice 
 to the willing labour of these fine fellows. 
 They never relaxed their efforts as long as 
 man or horse of the expedition remained to 
 be landed, and many of them, oflEicers as 
 well as men, were twenty-four hours in 
 their boats. At one o'clock most of the 
 regiments of the light division had moved 
 off the beach over the hill, and across the 
 country towards a village, near which the 
 advance of the French left had already ap- 
 proached. The 2nd battalion of the rifle 
 brigade led the way, covering the advance 
 with a cloud of skirmishers, and the other 
 regiments followed in order of their seni- 
 ority, the artillery, under Captain Anderson, 
 bringing up the rear. By this time the 
 rain began to fall pretty heavily, and the 
 wind rose so as to send a little surf on the 
 beach. The Duke of Cambridge, followed 
 by Major Macdonald, led off his division 
 next in order, and many of the staff officers, 
 who ought to have been mounted, marched 
 on foot, as their horses were not yet landed. 
 Generals might be seen sitting on powder 
 barrels on the beach, awaiting the arrival of 
 ' divisional staff horses,' or retiring gloomily 
 within the folds of their macintosh. Dis- 
 consolate doctors, too, were there, groaning 
 after hospital panniers — but too sorely 
 needed, for more than one man died on the 
 beach ; and nearly every one you met asked 
 you after a particular horse, of a colour and 
 description you were certain not to have 
 seen. The beach was partitioned off by 
 flagstaffs, with colours corresponding to that 
 
of eacb division, in compartments for the 
 landing of each class of man and beast ; hut 
 it was, of course, almost beyond the limits 
 of possibility to observe the difference in 
 conducting an operation which must have 
 extended over many square miles of water. 
 Shortly before two o'clock. Brigadier-gene- 
 ral Rose, the commissioner for the British 
 army, with Marshal St. Arnaud, rode over 
 from the French quarters to inform Lord 
 Raglan that ' the whole of the French troops 
 had landed.' This was by no means the 
 fact. Our disembarkation of infantry had 
 very nearly ended at the same time, but our 
 cavalry and artillery had not come on shore, 
 and the French, even without cavalry and 
 with smaller numbers, were not more ad- 
 vanced than ourselves.'' 
 
 The first night passed upon the Crimea 
 was a severe trial to the allied troops. The 
 wind blew in cold gusts, and the rain fell 
 incessantly, increasing in violence as the 
 night proceeded. No tents had been landed, 
 no fires could be lit, and the soldiers had to 
 wrap themselves in their blankets and sleep 
 on the soddened earth as best they might. 
 The place where they had halted for the 
 night was about three miles from the sea, 
 on a bit of ploughed land, without a vestige 
 of wood or water. "We attempted," said 
 an officer in the guards, " to make fires of 
 the long grass and weeds which grew near 
 in abundance, but they made only a mo- 
 mentary blaze, insufficient for any cooking 
 purposes." To an army that had recently 
 been sufiiering severely, and was then suffer- 
 ing from disease and debility, this was an 
 event which taxed all their powers of en- 
 durance and their feelings of fortitude. If 
 fellowship in misery is a comfort, the sol- 
 diers could try and console themselves with 
 the reflection that their generals and officers 
 were mostly no better off. Sir George 
 Brown slept under a cart tilted over, and 
 the Duke of Cambridge had some similarly 
 luxurious accommodation. The result of 
 this night of suffering was a great increase 
 of illness among our poor English troops 
 
 * The severity of the trial will not be fully under- 
 stood without taking into consideration the danger- 
 ous nature of the climate of the Crimea. Upon this 
 subject we extract the following passage from Dr. 
 E. D. Clarke's Travels in the Crimea : — " Fevers 
 are so general during summer, throughout the 
 peninsula, that it is hardly possible to avoid them. 
 If you drink water after eating fruit, a fever follows. 
 If you drink milk, eat eggs, or butter — a fever ; if 
 during the scorching heat of the day you indulge in 
 the most trivial neglect of clothing—a fever ; if you 
 venture out to enjoy the delightful breezes of the 
 
 VOL. I. t2 G 
 
 the next day.* There were several cases of 
 cholera, and one officer of the 23rd died 
 after a few hours' illness. We cannot but 
 think the generals might have arranged in 
 such a manner as to have prevented this 
 gratuitous misery to the poor fellows under 
 their command. The French contrived to 
 land their tents on the first day of disem- 
 barkation, and even the sluggish Turks did 
 the same ; but the tents of the English were 
 not put on shore until the second day, and 
 the result was a night of misery, the inten- 
 sity of which, to an army smitten by 
 sickness, it would be difficult to describe. 
 We know that in war everything cannot 
 always be exactly rose-pink and lavender ; 
 but a wise general should take every pre- 
 caution to guard his troops from unneces- 
 sary misery. In making these remarks we 
 are not actuated by any sickly sentimen- 
 tality : when lives are to be lost for the 
 attainment of a great object, a general should 
 have a heart of adamant and nerves of 
 steel. No emotion of pity should restrain 
 him, and he should purchase victory at any 
 reasonable cost of blood; but before the 
 hour of action, it is his imperative duty to 
 guard the lives of his troops with the tender 
 solicitude of a father. 
 
 On the second day of landing (the 15th), 
 a capture was made of thirty carts of flour, 
 containing, in the whole, 710 bags. They 
 were the property of the Russian govern- 
 ment, and on their way to Sebastopol. They 
 were taken by the riflemen, but owing to a 
 want of cavalry, more than the number cap- 
 tured escaped. Two or three Russian ladies, 
 who were travelling, and some soldiers were 
 also taken prisoners. The former were sent 
 to a neighbouring village for security. 
 
 Eupatoria, where it was first intended to 
 land, and where, in the first instance, the 
 fleet anchored, was taken and garrisoned by 
 500 marines, under Captain Brock, who 
 received the title of governor of the place. 
 Eupatoria is a little town of about 8,000 
 inhabitants, though it once contained about 
 1,500, and was the seat of a considerable 
 
 evening — a fever : in short, such is the dangerous 
 nature of the climate to strangers, that Russia must 
 consider the country as a cemetery for the troops 
 which are sent to maintain its possession. 
 
 "This is not the case with regard to its native 
 inhabitants, the Tartars; the precautions they use, 
 added to long experience, insure their safety. Upon 
 the slightest change of weather they are to be seen 
 wrapped up in sheep-skins and covered by thick 
 felts; while their heads are swathed in numerous 
 bandages of linen, or guarded by warm stuffed caps, 
 f»nced with wool." 
 
 221 
 
OCCUPATION OP EUPATOKIA.J HISTORY OP THEj 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 trade. When the allied generals sent a 
 flag of truce on shore, and a demand that 
 the garrison should lay down its arms, the 
 governor of the place civilly replied that 
 there was no garrison, and, consequently, 
 no arms to lay down, hut that the allies 
 would be allowed to occupy the place with- 
 out molestation from the inhabitants, who 
 trusted in turn to receive good treatment. 
 The townsfolks of Bupatoria appeared to 
 regard the struggle with a calm philosophi- 
 cal indifference. They assured the allies 
 that they did not care whether the Russians 
 or the invaders occupied the country. They 
 only desired peace, and promised, if well 
 treated, to supply whatever they possessed 
 which the army might want. 
 
 Soon after landing, the following spirit- 
 stirring address was read to the French 
 troops, the brave soldier who penned it 
 suffering at the time from severe and de- 
 pressing illness : — " Soldiers ! — For the last 
 five months you have been anxious to meet 
 the enemy; at last he is before you; we are 
 about to show him our eagles. Prepare 
 yourselves to undertake the privations and 
 fatigues of a difficult but short campaign, 
 which will raise, in the eyes of all Europe, 
 the reputation of the army of the East to a 
 level with that of the highest military glories 
 of history . You will not allow the soldiers 
 of the allied army, your companions in 
 arms, to surpass you in vigour and steadi- 
 ness before the enemy, nor in constancy 
 during the trials which await you. You 
 will bear in mind that we are not come to 
 wage war on the peaceable inhabitants of 
 the Crimea, who are so well inclined towards 
 us, and who, confiding in our excellent dis- 
 cipline, our respect for their religion, their 
 manners, and their persons, will not fail 
 
 * The Tartars of the Crimea are an oppressed but 
 interesting race. Their faces are said to be expres- 
 sive of honesty and good humour. The following 
 picturesque and humorous description of the abode 
 and family of a Grim Tartar, from Mr. C. H. Scott's 
 delightful book, The Baltic, the Black Sea, and the 
 Crimea, will be read with interest : — " We put up 
 for the night in the house of a fine old Tartar ; a 
 very happy father of seven promising sons, all grown 
 to manhood, and all having taken unto themselves 
 ■wives. They were the most thriving family in the 
 village, and we met with a ready welcome from them. 
 Ushered into the best room, we threw ourselves on 
 the cushions ; and taking off our boots, endeavoured 
 to twist our unyielding legs into the eccentric posi- 
 tion necessary to the act of sitting ' a la Tartar.' 
 Not that we wished either the bearded old man or 
 the juniors to labour under the delusion that this 
 was our accustomed method of disposing of our 
 lower extremities, but that we found it rather diffi- 
 222 
 
 soon to join us. Soldiers ! at the moment 
 that you plant your colours on the Soil of 
 the Crimea, France looks to you with hope ; 
 a few days more, and she will look on you 
 with pride. Vive I'Empereur ! 
 
 " A. De St. Arnaud, Marshal, 
 
 " Commanding-in-chief." 
 Notwithstanding the above command to 
 respect the poor Tartar inhabitants of the 
 Crimea, the French Zouaves were guilty of 
 many excesses. They drove in from the 
 surrounding country immense flocks of 
 sheep and cattle, the proceeds of plundering 
 expeditions, for the use of their camp. A 
 village was also sacked by some French 
 marauders with every accompaniment of 
 brutal ferocity. Unhappily, our own sol- 
 diers have not been quite so well conducted 
 in this matter as they should have been. 
 They plundered the Tartar villagers so 
 much, that on the 17th the regiments were 
 formed in square, and lectured by their 
 commanding oflEicers on the subject. A 
 feeling prevailed among the men, that now 
 they were on Russian ground, any great for- 
 bearance towards the inhabitants was not 
 requisite. Cruelty, however, to the poor 
 Tartars was inexcusable, as they evinced the 
 most friendly conduct towards the allies, and 
 readily brought their produce to market to 
 dispose of at a moderate price. A writer 
 from the camp says : " As prices are at 
 present, eggs are twenty-five for sixpence ; 
 a good fowl costs fivepence or sixpence ; a 
 turkey can be had for eighteenpence ; a 
 sheep is readily exchanged for a Turkish 
 piece of six piastres, or one shilling. The 
 inhabitants part with supplies readily. What 
 will their feelings towards us be, if we emu- 
 late the conduct of the French, and rob and 
 plunder them of their property ?" * 
 
 cult to feed in an apartment where there was neither 
 table nor chair by resorting to any other contrivance. 
 These preliminaries being arranged, we had time 
 to look round the apartment, which was about four- 
 teen feet long by twelve wide. Cushions were 
 placed along the sides and ends, leaving only the 
 doors free; the centre being covered with rugs of 
 divers manufacture, material, and colour. The walls 
 were nicely whitewashed, and hung around with 
 embroidery, and other needlework, done by those 
 daughters-in-law now living in the house. These 
 proofs of industry and taste were accomplished be- 
 fore marriage ; and were evidently regarded with 
 becoming satisfaction by the loving husbands, as 
 they watched us admiring them. The Tartar maiden 
 who can make a great display of such emblems of 
 skill and perseverance is an object of respect, and 
 held up as worthy of emulation. On some shelves 
 were the holiday dresses of the women, neatly folded, 
 and each having its own compartment. On examina- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAK WITH RUSSIA, [position gi' the Russians. 
 
 Though the allied army had heen allowed 
 by the Russians to land without opposition, 
 it was certain that the invaders would be 
 met in their march by an adverse army. 
 Why the Russians did not attack the allies 
 during the confusion of landing, is unac- 
 countable ; nor is it known whether it pro- 
 ceeded from a timid negligence or an unex- 
 plained policy. To the north of Sebastopol, 
 four rivers or streams flow towards the sea. 
 The one nearest to the fortress is the Tcher- 
 naia; the next is the Belbek; then comes 
 the Katcha ; and the most northerly is the 
 Alma. Each of these streams would have 
 to be forded by the allies in advancing upon 
 the fortress, and it was reasonably imagined 
 that the passage of each of them would be 
 contested by the Russian troops. These 
 streams, flowing slowly along over an almost 
 level bed, stagnate in marshes for eight or 
 nine hundred yards beyond their banks. 
 Besides this, the south banks of all of them 
 are commanded by heights which afi'ord 
 
 tion, we found they were of silk, some of them being 
 embroidered. We would have fain passed our 
 evening smoking the tchibouc, breathing in a fumid 
 atmosphere of fragrant Latakia, or in drawing deep 
 inspirations to the bubbling sound of the soothing 
 narguile. But, alas ! the refined tobacco of Turkey 
 existed not. Cherry-stickg there were, but they 
 seemed never to have been cleaned, while amber 
 mouthpieces appeared to be known only by reputa- 
 tion. The vulgar weed grown on the neighbouring 
 estate, having nothing refined about it, we took to 
 cigarettes in despair, and shutting our eyes, tried to 
 dream that they were the true eastern luxuries. But 
 it was of no avail, so we roused ourselves and looked 
 to other sources for amusement. Calling Andr6 into 
 the room, we held a flying conversation through 
 him with the old Tartar, and two of his sons, who 
 were seated on the divan. The Tartar mother came 
 in and out, considering herself, and considered by 
 the rest of the family, in no danger of being run 
 away with by the ' Giaours.' She was probably 
 about fifty, was much wrinkled, but had been good- 
 looking ; and if the bloom uf youth sat no longer 
 on her cheeks, the fire of her piercing black eyes 
 remained undimmed. Withal she was a good- 
 tempered-looking old soul. We, however, were very 
 anxious to see the young women of the family, but 
 they were in a part of the house devoted to the 
 females, and across the boundary of which, the foot 
 of no stranger man dared intrude. To our insinu- 
 ations that a visit from them would gratify us, a 
 deaf ear was turned. Nevertheless, we had some 
 evidence that curiosity, that reputed failing of the 
 sex, was at work ; for, on casting our eyes towards 
 the open door, on several occasions, we observed a 
 half-concealed face suddenly disappearing, or a mys- 
 terious form gliding noiselessly away. These were, 
 however, but nibblings at the bait. As time passed 
 on, they became a little bolder, and were not so 
 quick in moving out of sight. A happy thought now 
 struck us, and we produced a large coloured map of 
 Europe, which solemnly unfolding, we spread upon 
 
 strong natural positions for the enemy. It 
 was consequently suggested that, unless the 
 Russians had much degenerated since the 
 memorable year 1813, it was probable the 
 allies would have to fight three battles, all 
 on unequal terms, and all attended with 
 great loss, even though the victory might be 
 gained, and the advance secured. 
 
 The Eussian army, under the command of 
 Prince Mentschikoff, destined to oppose the 
 advance of the allies, was intrenched on the 
 Alma, about two miles and a-half from tlie 
 sea, and consisted of from 45,000 to 50,000 
 men. Prince Mentschikoff appears to have 
 considered this position as being the strongest 
 afforded by the country on the line of march. 
 He was, doubtless, correct in this supposi- 
 tion, as, after the battle which shortly after- 
 wards took place there, many officers ex- 
 pressed their opinion that, in the hands of 
 the English and French, the position would 
 have been impregnable. As the Alma will 
 ever retain a place, not only in English but 
 
 the rug, and bade Andre explain its meaning : such 
 a thing had never been seen or dreamed of before, 
 and the heads of the men were thrust forward at the 
 same moment with considerable danger of concus- 
 sion. All this was observed by the females outside. 
 The bait was taken. The fish were caught. Curiosity 
 had triumphed, and three young wives came coyly 
 towards us, in all the splendour of their unveiled 
 charms. One was very beautiful, and the other two 
 could well bear inspection. They all had eyes, such 
 as a pious Moslem might desire the bright houris 
 who hereafter served him to possess. At first they 
 were shy — very shy ; but doubtless, after comparing 
 us with their Tartar husbands, they came to the con- 
 clusion that we were not very dangerous fellows ; 
 for soon they permitted us to point out the few 
 places of which they knew the names, and hung over 
 the map with faces full of intelligence. Their dress 
 consisted of a short robe, beneath a tunic of a dif- 
 ferent colour, confined at the waist by a girdle, and 
 full trowsers drawn in at the ankles, with slippers of 
 morocco. One of the girdles was ornamented with 
 plates of metal as large as small saucers ; the other 
 ornaments consisted principally of small gold Turk- 
 ish coins, pierced with holes, and suspended as neck- 
 laces, &o. 
 
 " Having said ' Bon soir' to our family party, 
 we prepared to make ourselves comfortable for 
 the night; which consisted in taking off our coats, 
 and placing them under the pillows to form bol- 
 sters. The candles were extinguished ; but the 
 shutter being too short for the window, and having 
 besides a wide crack in it, allowed the pale moon's 
 rays to enter, and give an uncertain light to the 
 room. Presently a tall figure came gliding in, 
 noiselessly as a shadow — for no slippers are worn 
 upon the rugs, and the boots are soleless — and then 
 disappeared ; when the daylight came, we found the 
 old Tartar, fast asleep, near to us ; for he would not 
 be turned out of his own bed, or rather cushion. 
 Why should he have been ? There was plenty of 
 room for us all." 
 
 223 
 
ADVANCE OF THE ALLIES.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 ' in European history, we will here briefly 
 describe it. It is one of the few streams that 
 
 water the south of the Crimea near Sebas- 
 topol. The reader must not imagine it to 
 be a broadj bold river like our Thames. By 
 no means ; the Alma is but about thirty or 
 forty feet wide, and very shallow. It takes 
 its rise among the high range of mountains 
 to the east, runs directly to the west of the 
 Crimea, and reaches the sea about twelve 
 miles above Sebastopol. For three miles 
 from the sea the river runs in the bed of the 
 mountain torrents, which have worn away 
 about fifteen feet of the soil, and left on the 
 northern side a rugged, upright bank — of 
 course presenting extreme difficulties to the 
 passage of troops in the face of an enemy. 
 
 We have mentioned that the landing of 
 the allied armies on the Kussian shores was 
 extended over a period of three days, the 
 14th, 15th, and 16th. On the 18th, Lord 
 Raglan issued orders that the troops should 
 be ready to march at daybreak, and that all 
 tents should be sent on board the ships. 
 
 Three hours past midnight, while cold and 
 darkness hung over the camp of sleepers, 
 the clear sharp notes of the reveille sounded 
 through the camp, and all woke to active 
 life. For some hours a scene of bustle and 
 apparent confusion prevailed; but, during 
 that period, regiment after regiment fell into 
 order, and paraded previous to marching. 
 The same scene was going on in the French 
 and Turkish camps ; and the red fitful glare 
 of the camp fires, extending over a space of 
 some miles, gave to the scene a wild and 
 romantic character. 
 
 The sun rose, the day proved warm and 
 clear; at nine o'clock the troops were ready, 
 and, after some delay, the march began. 
 The English army advanced in the following 
 order : — 
 
 Cavalry, 
 8th, nth, 17th. 
 
 Light Division. Artillery. Second Division. 
 
 First Division. Artillery. Third Division. 
 
 Cavalry. 
 
 Commissariat Train. 
 
 Fourth Division. Fourth Division. 
 
 Rear Guard. 
 
 ^24 
 
 The Turkish infantry, to the number of 
 7,000, under Suleiman Pasha, moved along 
 by the sea-shore. Next to them came the 
 divisions of generals Bosquet, Canrobert, 
 Forey, and Prince Napoleon. The right of 
 the allied armies was protected by the fleet 
 which moved along with them, ready to hurl 
 shot and shell amongst the ranks of the 
 enemy, should he venture an attack in that 
 direction. 
 
 The allies did not march forward for more 
 than an hour before they were commanded 
 to halt for fifty minutes ! During that period 
 Lord Raglan, accompanied by a large staif — 
 Marshal St. Arnaud, Generals Bosquet, 
 Forey, and a number of French officers — rode 
 along the front of the columns. As they 
 passed by the English ranks the men rose 
 from the ground, and saluted them with 
 three tremendous cheers. "English!" ex- 
 claimed Marshal St. Arnaud, as he cantered 
 past the 55th regiment, "English! I hope 
 you will fight well to-day I" " Hope I" 
 shouted a voice from the ranks, " Sure you 
 know we will \" 
 
 The march was resumed ; the grand and 
 terrible torrent of war swept on ; and at last 
 columns of smoke, arising from burning vil- 
 lages and farmhouses, announced that the 
 Russians were preparing to receive us. Brave 
 and willing as our men were, sickness had 
 smitten the army so severely, that many 
 poor fellows dropped from illness and fatigue, 
 and had to be carried to the rear. It was a 
 painful, a frightful truth uttered by Lord 
 Raglan in his despatch, that our troops were 
 pursued by cholera to the very battle-field. 
 Still the grand army swept on ; and at length 
 from the summit of a hill the soldiers beheld 
 a wide plain, on which could be discerned a 
 number of dark ridges. By the civilian 
 they might have been taken for fences or 
 bushes ; but the practised eye recognised in 
 them regiments of Russian cavalry. 
 
 On the approach of night, the allied 
 armies bivouacked on the left bank of a 
 small stream called the Bulganac. Before 
 the men settled to obtain what repose they 
 could get under the circumstances, a skirmish 
 took place between a part of the Earl of 
 Cardigan's brigade of light cavalry and a 
 considerable body of Cossacks and Russian 
 dragoons. Lord Cardigan threw out skir- 
 mishers in line, and the Cossacks advanced 
 to meet them. They were rough-looking 
 fellows enough ; but the precision and regu- 
 larity of their movement showed them to be 
 regular troops. An exchange of fire took 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 TEVE of the J3ATTLE. 
 
 place, but at too great a distance to be of 
 any effect. As dark columns of Russian 
 cavalry showed themselves in the recesses 
 of the hills, and the nature of the ground 
 did not permit an effective charge, our 
 skirmishers were ordered to retire. As 
 they did so, the Russians opened a fire 
 from two guns, which was replied to by 
 our artillery; and in about fifteen minutes 
 the enemy thought it prudent to retire. In 
 the meantime the French crept up to the 
 right, and astonished a body of Russian 
 cavalry with a round from a battery of 
 9-pounders, which scattered them in all 
 directions. The result of this affair was 
 but trifling on eitlier side. We lost six 
 horses aud had four men wounded. One of 
 the latter rode coolly to the rear with his 
 foot dangling by a piece of skin, and told 
 the surgeon he had just come to have his 
 leg dressed. 
 
 The Russians retired beyond the heights, 
 and orders were given to halt and bivouac 
 for the night. The order was a welcome 
 one, for the day had been oppressively hot, 
 and the troops, who had suffered from want 
 of water and a fast of ten hours, were 
 extremely fatigued. The country in this 
 place was destitute of trees or shrubs, and 
 the men had to gather weeds and long grass 
 for fuel. To these wretched materials were 
 added the casks which had contained the 
 rations of rum and meat, as soon as the 
 latter were served out. Though the sun 
 had been powerful during the day, the 
 night was cold and damp ; and the watch- 
 fires were but mere feeble flickerings, which 
 gave but little light, and still less heat. 
 Again the soldiers had to wrap themselves 
 up in great-coats and blankets, and sleep on 
 the bare dewy earth ; for the tents and all 
 other baggage that could by any possibility 
 be spared, had been sent on board the fleet. 
 Sir George Brown and other ofiicers went 
 about amongst their men before the latter 
 sought their repose, and gave them directions 
 for the eventful and expected morrow. 
 
 So closed the evening of the 19th. What 
 thoughts crowded through the minds of 
 that vast host — what recollections of mothers, 
 sisters, wives, and children — what visions of 
 infancy, boyhood, and early love — what 
 fluttering hopes that they might reach their 
 native land again, and rejoin the darUng 
 ones whose phantom presence clung around 
 their hearts like the vine tendrils to its 
 sturdy neighbour — what moments of deep 
 gloom as some felt this would perhaps never 
 
 be, deepened into dread as a prescient sense 
 of coming death stole icily across them; 
 this again broken by anticipations of a bril- 
 liant victory, and thoughts of glory and 
 triumph ! Thoughts like these, and many 
 more such, doubtless chased each ■ other 
 through the mind of many a brave hardy 
 fellow as the watchfires went out, his com- 
 rades fell off to uneasy slumber, and dark- 
 ness and silence began its reign throughout 
 the camp. 
 
 Before day dawned on the memorable 
 20th of September, the whole of the British 
 force was under arms. No sound of drum 
 or bugle broke the stillness ; and the men 
 were marshalled in silence, with the ex- 
 ception of the busy hum of voices that rose 
 into the air. The day broke magnificently ; 
 the sun rose in its majesty, and its heat was 
 tempered by a soft breeze from the sea. 
 At half-past six the troops were in motion. 
 Later in the day, generals St. Arnaud, 
 Bosquet, and Forey, attended by their staffs, 
 rode along in front of their lines, with Lord 
 Raglan and his generals at second halt, and 
 were received with great cheering. 
 
 Both armies approached the river Alma ; 
 the French occupied the high-road nearest 
 the beach, together with the Turks ; and 
 the English marched to the left. At about 
 one o'clock in the afternoon, the French 
 army came in sight of the village of Alma- 
 tamak, and the British light division descried 
 that of Bouliouk; both situated on the right 
 bank of the river. The banks of the stream 
 are steep, and completely commanded by a 
 mass of surrounding heights. These, in 
 their turn, are commanded by a single 
 mount, on which the Russians had con- 
 structed a redoubt and breastwork, with 
 platforms for seventeen guns. This redoubt, 
 in which were mounted guns of 32 lb. 
 calibre, completely domineered the village 
 of Bouliouk. Upon all the hills batteries were 
 established; all concentrated on this village. 
 For a further, and, in a military sense, more 
 technical description of the Russian position, 
 we refer our readers to the despatch of Lord 
 Raglan. 
 
 At twenty minutes past one, the French 
 steamers inshore commenced hostilities by 
 throwing shells up a height in front. The 
 Russians replied with a heavy fire, but the 
 distance was too great for any effectual 
 result. The fleets of both nations were 
 anchored near the shore, but they were too 
 far off to afford any important assistance to 
 the land forces. Shortly after half-past one 
 
 225 
 
JJATTLE OP THE ALMA.J 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 the battle began in earnest. The plan of 
 operations decided on was, that the French 
 should commence the assault on the right 
 of the Russians and turn their flank, cap- 
 turing the battery and a strong stone breast- 
 work, which defended the enemy on that 
 side. They were then to push forward, and, 
 if possible, cut off the retreat from Sebas- 
 topol. The English were to force the 
 position on the hills in front, at the point of 
 the bayonet. 
 
 The French, led forward by General 
 Bosquet, crossed the river and carried the 
 heights on the right with a wonderful 
 rapidity, to the cry of Five I'Empereur .' 
 The brilliant conduct of the Zouaves in this 
 movement excited general admiration. Two 
 pieces of artillery, on the top of the hill, 
 could have swept them all to destruction; 
 but the place had not been protected in that 
 manner, from a belief on the part of the 
 Russians, that its strong natural defences 
 secured it from attack. As the French 
 gained the crest of the height, they threw 
 themselves out as skirmishers until more 
 rushed up and joined them. They then 
 formed into a body as a regiment of the 
 enemy's cavalry rode towards them. The 
 Russian artillery, also, soon made their ap- 
 pearance, and then began the wild shock of 
 war. Steadily did the French advance, and 
 savagely the wild roar of conflict went on, 
 until at about three o'clock the Russian 
 left flank was turned, and the Zouaves had 
 erected their flag on the most conspicuous 
 position in the field. 
 
 Before this movement was effected, the 
 English troops were engaged iu a far more 
 arduous struggle. At about half-past two 
 they advanced towards the valley of the 
 Alma, rising above which were the lines 
 and redoubts of the enemy. On the ap- 
 proach of the British, the Russians set fire 
 to the village of Bouliouk, and to heaps of 
 dried dung, which they had collected to 
 add to the conflagration. Almost instantly 
 there was a continuous blaze for 300 yards, 
 and the valley was enveloped in srnoke, 
 which blew right into the faces of our men. 
 Under cover of this, the Russians opened a 
 tremendous fire of 9 and 12-pounder guns 
 from their earthwork batteries, which com- 
 mitted a terrible havoc upon the ranks of 
 our brave fellows. The English artillery, 
 however, replied with a fierce fire of shot, 
 shell, and rockets; and Sir George Brown 
 gave the command — " Forward I" Instantly 
 the men rushed across the stream amidst a 
 •226 
 
 deadly storm of bullets, and then dashed 
 through the smoking village. The light 
 division were the foremost in this brilliant 
 charge; they were followed by the first 
 division and part of the second. These 
 were the only portions of the British army 
 that were engaged in the battle ; for, not- 
 withstanding a forced march, the remainder 
 did not arrive until the fight was over, and 
 the victory won ! 
 
 The Russian cannon are described as 
 actually vomiting out fire and death in 
 torrents upon the English, as they crossed 
 the blood-dyed waters of the Alma. But 
 there was no wavering — no pause ; the 
 living tide of assailants rushed forward, 
 seemingly scorning death and resolved on 
 victory. When the fatal stream was crossed, 
 the men dashed into some vineyards which 
 flanked the high-road ; but the vines having 
 been cut down, the place afforded no shelter. 
 The fire here was terrible ; yet such was the 
 cool self-possession and contempt of danger 
 evinced by our men, that they began pluck- 
 ing and eating the half-ripe grapes that 
 were hanging on the hewn vines, amidst a 
 perfect hail of bullets, and while many of 
 their comrades were falling dead, or torn 
 and mangled at their feet. 
 
 On they went through the vineyards ; and, 
 forming in line, advanced resolutely up the 
 hills, and stormed the heaviest battery. The 
 havoc amongst our men was frightful; but 
 the skill of our riflemen told murderously 
 on the ranks of the enemy. One rifleman 
 alone is said to have struck down successively 
 as many as thirty-two Russians. Once the 
 dreadful fire of grape and piu^^ketry to which 
 the British were exposed, drove them back, 
 but they were rallied by the Duke of Cam- 
 bridge, who by this time had crossed the 
 river and came forward to their support. 
 Sir George Brown, who was conspicuous 
 from riding at the head of his men on a 
 grey horse, had his charger shot beneath 
 him, ajid was thrown to the eajth, amidst a 
 cloud of dust, in front of the battery. For 
 a moment his soldiers were disheartened, 
 thinking they had lost their leader; but 
 that brave old warrior was soon on his feet 
 again, and encouraging his men by shouting 
 to them — "23rd, Fm all right. Be sure 
 I'll remember this day." About this time 
 Lord Raglan gave an instance of his cool- 
 ness and soiind judgment during the roar 
 and clash of battle. An enormous mass of 
 Russian infantry were seen moving towards 
 the battery. They halted. Sharp, angular, 
 
=«-■■ = 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [victory at the alma. 
 
 and solid, they looked as adamantine and 
 impenetrable as solid rock. It was plain 
 that bur infantry were threatened with a 
 formidable fire, which in their thinned and 
 harassed condition they were but ill calcu- 
 lated to bear. In this position. Lord Raglan 
 asked an artillery ofBcer if it would be 
 possible to get a couple of guns to bear 
 upon the Russian squares. The reply 
 was in the affirmative, and the guns were 
 placed in position. The first shot missed, 
 but succeeding ones tore through the Rus- 
 sian masses with such deadly precision, that 
 a clear lane could be seen for a moment 
 through the square. For a few rounds the 
 Russians stood up against these terrible mes- 
 sengers of death ; then the square wavered — 
 broke — and the men fled over the brow of 
 the hill, leaving behind them six or seven 
 distinct lines of dead. The final possession 
 of the redoubt was secured by a brilliant 
 advance of the brigade of foot-guards. The 
 troops having rushed into the work, an 
 officer of the 33rd inscribed his name on a 
 32-pounder, which had been pouring out 
 destruction on his men. 
 
 At four o'clock, the English charged in 
 three divisions up the heights. The high- 
 land brigade, under Major-general Sir Colin 
 Campbell, together with the guards, ad- 
 vanced with fixed bayonets against the 
 charging Russians. The latter — the famed 
 imperial guard — hesitated before they pro- 
 ceeded to cross bayonets with such a reso- 
 lute foe. Not so the guards and high- 
 landers ; uttering a loud English cheer and 
 a fierce yell, they dashed forward. The 
 startled Russians dared not meet the shock, 
 but turned and fled. Successive deadly 
 volleys pursued them, and our artillery 
 literally mowed them down as they dashed 
 madly up the hill. The French, having 
 defeated the Russian left wing, were turn- 
 ing them on their right; the 2nd British 
 division were advancing to our left ; when 
 the Russian artillery, utterly routed, aban- 
 doned their position and galloped off. An 
 honourable rivalry existed between the 
 guards and highlanders who first should 
 enter the redoubt, and the brave old Sir 
 Colin Campbell, far ahead of his men, 
 shouted to them, with heroic emulation, 
 " We'll hae none but highland bonnets 
 here." Sir Colin had his horse shot under 
 him ; but his men rushed into the battery 
 like lions. Those of the Russians who re- 
 sisted were killed, but the great part fled in 
 disorder. At five o'clock the alHed armies 
 
 were in possession of the strong position 
 which the Russians had occupied in the 
 morning, and the latter were fleeing in every 
 direction. 
 
 The French turned the guns on the 
 heights against the fleeing masses, which the 
 Russian cavalry, to some extent, protected. 
 If the allies had possessed a sufficient amount 
 of cavalry, it is probable that the army of 
 Prince Mentschikoff would have been anni- 
 hilated. Thus was won the brilliant victory 
 of the Alma ; and in three hours and a-half 
 a position was wrested from the Russian 
 troops which their general boasted he could 
 hold for at least three weeks. The Russians 
 left three guns, 700 prisoners, and 4,000 
 wounded behind them. The loss of the 
 Russians was estimated at between five and 
 six thousand. That of the English amounted 
 to 2,196 killed and wounded; that of our 
 gallant allies, the French, to about 1,400. 
 The Turks, though eager to join in the 
 battle, were not engaged. The loss on the 
 side of the English fell principally on the 
 7th, 23rd, and 33rd regiments, which formed 
 the brigade of the light division; and on 
 the 30th, 55th, and 95th regiments, which 
 formed the right brigade of the second divi- 
 sion. The rifles were singularly fortunate, not- 
 withstanding the fierce storm of bullets that 
 was directed against them. This is chiefly at- 
 tributable to the loose order in which they 
 dashed across the river. The English army 
 at the battle of the Alma was composed 
 as follows : — Light division, 5,454 ; 1st di- 
 vision, 4,711 ; 2nd division, 4,222; 3rd di- 
 vision, 3,794; 4th division, 4,419 : 22,600. 
 Cavalry, 1,100; artillery, 2,700; sappers 
 and miners, 400 : total, 26,800. It is said 
 that at the commencement of the battle many 
 Russian ladies were upon the heights, where 
 a scaffolding had been erected for their ac- 
 commodation. Some trifling excuse for these 
 unwomanly creatures may perhaps be found 
 in the fact, that Prince Mentschikoff stated, 
 that at least on the part of the Russians, 
 the affair would be a mere review ; that the 
 allies would never be able to meet his artil- 
 lery, and would soon beat a retreat. The 
 Russian ladies, however, took to flight with 
 great rapidity when the enemy got too 
 close. 
 
 It has been observed, that in this battle 
 of the Alma it fell to the lot of both French 
 and English to execute those movements 
 for which they were each peculiarly fitted. 
 The English had steadily to face the fire of 
 tremendous batteries, and to advance with 
 
 227 
 
THE FIELD AFTER THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 a rusli, sure, steady, and resistless, against a 
 tempest of fire and solid masses of infantry 
 bristling with bayonets. This they did in 
 such a manner that several French officers 
 declared, after they had viewed the ground, 
 that they did not think their men would have 
 been able to carry the position as ours did. 
 General Canrobert, indeed, gave a generous 
 tribute of admiration to the steadiness and 
 valour of his British allies, by exclaiming 
 enthusiastically, " All I would ask of fortune 
 now is, that I might command a corps of 
 English troops for three short weeks; I 
 could then die happy \" The French, on 
 the other hand, had to scale the sides of 
 steep ravines covered with dense masses of 
 cavalry, supported by clouds of skirmishers. 
 They were placed in a position in which 
 their quickness, alacrity, and energy were 
 required; and these they displayed in a 
 manner which astonished and appalled the 
 enemy. 
 
 In the hour of battle, and the moment of 
 victory, none but martial emotions animate 
 the warrior ; it is otherwise when the enemy 
 has disappeared : the scene of carnage is 
 almost deserted, and a comparative silence 
 that seems almost supernatural, reigns on 
 the spot which so lately echoed with the 
 hoarse roar of war. Feelings of pity then 
 enter into the hearts of most of the victors, 
 while others feel shuddering sensations of 
 horror and disgust. The following details, 
 written immediately after a visit from the 
 battle-field, are from the pen of the Times' 
 correspondent : — 
 
 " It was a terrible and sickening sight to 
 go over the battle-field. Till deprived of 
 my horse by a chance shot I rode about to 
 ascertain, as far as possible, the loss of our 
 friends, and in doing so I was often brought 
 to a standstill by the difficulty of getting 
 through the piles of wounded Russians, 
 mingled too often with our own poor sol- 
 diers. The hills of Greenwich-park in fair 
 time are not more densely covered with 
 human beings than were the heights of the 
 Alma with dead and dying. On these bloody 
 mounds fell 2,196 English officers and men, 
 and upwards of 3,000 Russians, while their 
 western extremity was covered with the 
 bodies of 1,400 gallant Frenchmen, and of 
 more than 3,000 of their foes. 
 
 "When Lord Raglan and his staff and 
 the Duke of Cambridge rode round to the 
 top of the hill, the troops cheered them with 
 a thrilling effect — a shout of victory — which 
 never can be forgotten. The enemy, who 
 228 
 
 were fleeing in the distance, might almost 
 have heard its echoes as it rolled among the 
 hills. Our men had indeed done their work 
 well, for the action, which commenced at 
 twenty-five minutes past one on our part, 
 was over about four, p.m. In fact, the 
 actual close continuous fighting did not last 
 two hours ! 
 
 " The Russian regiments engaged against 
 us (judging from the numbers on the caps 
 and buttons of the dead and wounded) were 
 the 11th, 12th, I6th, 17th, 18th, 31st, 32nd, 
 33rd, and some of the imperial guard. The 
 Russian regiment consists of four battalions, 
 and each battalion may be said to be 650 
 strong. The soldiers were mostly stout, 
 strong men. Several of the regiments 
 (32nd and 16th, for example) wore a black 
 leather helmet, handsomely mounted with 
 brass, and having a brass cone on the top, 
 with a hole for the reception of a tuft, 
 feather, or plume ; others wore simply a 
 white linen foraging cap. They were all 
 dressed in long drab coats with brass but- 
 tons, bearing the number of the regiment. 
 These coats fitted loosely, were gathered in 
 at the back by a small strap and button, 
 descended to the ankles, and seem stout 
 comfortable garments, though the cloth was 
 coarse in texture; the trowsers, of coarse 
 blue stuff, were thrust inside a pair of Wel- 
 lington boots, open at the top, to admit of 
 their being comfortably tucked down; the 
 boots were stout, well made, and serviceable. 
 Their knapsacks astonished our soldiers. 
 On opening them, each was found to con- 
 tain the dress uniform coatee of the man, 
 blue or green, with white facings, and 
 slashes like our own, a pair of clean drawers, 
 a clean shirt, a pair of clean socks, a pair of 
 stout mits, a case containing a good pair of 
 scissors, marked ' Sarun,' an excellent pen- 
 knife with one large blade, of Russian 
 manufacture, a ball of twine, a roll of leather, 
 wax, thread, needles and pins, a hairbrush 
 and comb, a small looking-glass, razor, strop, 
 and soap, shoe-brushes, and blacking. The 
 general remark of our men was that the 
 Russians were very 'clean soldiers;' and 
 certainly the men on the field had white 
 fair skins to justify the expression. Each 
 man had a leaf of dark brown bread, of a 
 sour taste and disagreeable odour, in his 
 knapsack, and a linen roll, containing a 
 quantity of brown coarse stuff broken up 
 into lumps and large grains, which is crushed 
 biscuit or hard granulated bread prepared 
 with oil. This, we were told by the pri- 
 
A.D. 1854,.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the field after the jjattle. 
 
 soners, was the sole food of the men. They 
 eat the bread with onions and oil; the 
 powder is 'reserve' ration; and if they 
 march they may be for days without food, 
 and remain hungry till they can get fresh 
 loaves and more 'bread stuff.' It is per- 
 fectly astounding to think they can keep 
 together on such diet — and yet they are 
 strong muscular men enough. The sur- 
 geons remarked that their tenacity of life 
 was very remarkable. Many of them lived 
 with wounds calculated to destroy two or 
 three ordinary men. I saw one of the 32nd 
 regiment on the field just after the fight. 
 He was shot right through the head, and 
 the brain protruded in large masses at the 
 back of the head and from the front of the 
 skull. I saw with my own eyes the wounded 
 man raise his hand, wipe the horrible mass 
 from his brow, and proceed to struggle 
 down the hills towards the water ! Many 
 of the Russians were shot in three or four 
 places; few of them had only one wound. 
 They seemed to have a general idea that 
 they would be murdered : possibly, they had 
 been told no quarter would be given, and 
 several deplorable events took place in con- 
 sequence. As our men were passing by, two 
 or three of them were shot or stabbed by 
 men lying on the ground, and the cry was 
 raised that 'the wounded Russians' were 
 firing on our men. There is a story, in- 
 deed, that one officer was severely injured 
 by a man to whom he was in the very act 
 of administering succour as he lay in agony 
 on the field ; be this as it may, there was at 
 one time a near chance of a massacre taking 
 place, but the men were soon controlled, 
 and confined themselves to the pillage which 
 always takes place on a battle-field. One 
 villain, with a red cofit on his back, I regret 
 to say, I saw go up to a wounded Russian 
 who was rolling on the earth in the rear of 
 the 7th regiment, and before we could say 
 a word he discharged his rifle right through 
 the wretched creature's brains. Colonel 
 Yea rode at him to cut him down, but the 
 fellow excused himself by declaring the 
 Russian was going to shoot him. This was 
 the single act of inhumanity I saw perpe- 
 trated by this army, flushed with victory 
 and animated by angry passions, although 
 the wounded enemy had unquestionably en- 
 dangered their lives by acts of ferocious folly. 
 
 " Many of the Russians had small crosses 
 and chains fastened round their necks. 
 Several were found with Korans in their 
 knapsacks — most probably recruits from 
 
 VOL. I. 12 H 
 
 the Kasan Tartars. Many of the officers 
 had portraits of wives or mistresses, of mo- 
 thers or sisters, inside their coats. The 
 privates wore the little money they pos- 
 sessed in purses fastened below their left 
 knees, and the men, in their eager search 
 after the money, often caused the wounded 
 painful apprehensions that they were about 
 to destroy them. Last night all these poor 
 wretches lay in their agony ; nothing could 
 be done to help them. The groans, the 
 yells, the cries of despair and suffering, were ■ 
 a mournful commentary on the exultation 
 of the victors and on the joy which reigned 
 along the bivouac fires of our men. As 
 many of our wounded as could be possibly 
 picked up ere darkness set in were conveyed 
 on stretchers to the hospital tents. Many 
 of the others were provided with blankets 
 and covered as they lay in their blood. The 
 bandsmen of the regiments worked in the 
 most cheerful and indefatigable manner, 
 hour after hour, searching out and carrying 
 off our wounded. Long after night had 
 closed faint lights might be seen moving 
 over the frightful field, marking the spots 
 where friendship directed the steps of some 
 officer in search of a wounded comrade, or 
 where the pillager yet stalked about on his 
 horrid errand. The attitudes of some of 
 the dead were awful. One man might be 
 seen resting on one knee, with the arms ex- 
 tended in the form of taking aim, the brow 
 compressed, the lips clinched — the very ex- 
 pression of firing at an enemy stamped on 
 the face and fixed there by death; a ball 
 had struck this man in the neck. Physio- 
 logists or anatomists must settle the rest. 
 Another was lying on his back with the 
 same expression, and his arms raised in a 
 similar attitude, the Minife musket still 
 grasped in his hands undischarged. Another 
 lay in a perfect arch, his head resting on 
 one part of the ground and his feet on the 
 otherj but the back raised high above it. 
 Many men without legs or arms were trying 
 to crawl down to the waterside. Some of 
 the dead lay with a calm, placid smile on 
 the face, as though they were in some deli- 
 cious dream. 
 
 " Of the Russians, one thing was re- 
 markable. The prisoners are generally 
 coarse, sullen, and unintelligent-looking 
 men. Death had enoobled those who fell, 
 for the expression of "their faces was alto- 
 gether different. The wounded might have 
 envied those who seemed to have passed 
 away so peacefully. 
 
 229 
 
LORD EAGLAN's DESPATCH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 " The soldiens are all shaven cleanly on 
 the chin and cheek ; only the moustache is 
 left, and the hair is cropped as close to the 
 head as possible. The latter is a very con- 
 ,venient mode of wearing the hair in these 
 parts of the world. The officers (those of 
 superior rank excepted) are barely distin- 
 guishable from the men, so far as uniform is 
 concerned; but the generals wore sashes 
 and gold epaulettes. The subalterns wore 
 merely a lace shoulderstrap, instead of the 
 cloth one of the privates. Most of them 
 spoke French, and the entreaties of the 
 wounded to be taken along with us, as the 
 officers, moved up the hill, were touching in 
 the extreme. The poor fellows had a no- 
 tion that our men would murder them if 
 the eye of the officer was removed from 
 them. An old general, who sat smiling 
 and bowing on a bank, with his leg broken 
 by a round shot, seemed principally con- 
 cerned for the loss of his gold snuff-box. 
 This, I believe, has since been restored to 
 him. The men say they were badly han- 
 dled, and had no general to direct them. 
 Mentschikoff lost his head, in a figurative 
 sense. The officers displayed great gal- 
 lantry, and the men fought with a dogged 
 courage characteristic of the Russian infan- 
 try, but they were utterly deficient in elan 
 and dash." 
 
 During the 21st the army was occupied 
 in collecting the wounded, burying the dead, 
 and bringing wounded Eussians as prisoners 
 from off the field. We will here subjoin 
 the despatches of the generals who com- 
 manded during this memorable battle, as 
 they are requisite to complete the details of 
 so illustrious an event : — 
 
 " Head-quarters, Katcha Eiver, 
 " Sept. 23rd, 1854. 
 
 " My lord Duke, — 1 have the honour to 
 inform your grace, that the allied troops at- 
 tacked the position occupied by the Eussian 
 army, behind the Alma, on the 20th inst., and 
 I have great satisfaction in adding that they 
 succeeded, in less than three hours, in driving 
 the enemy from every part of the ground which 
 they had held in the morning, and in establishing 
 themselves upon it. 
 
 " The English and French armies moved out 
 of their first encampment in the Crimea on the 
 19th, and bivouacked for the night on the left 
 hank of the Bulganac, the former having pre- 
 viously supported the advance of a part of the 
 Earl of Cardigan's brigade of light cavalry, 
 which had the efieet of inducing the enemy to 
 move up a large body of dragoons and Cossacks, 
 with artillery. 
 330 
 
 " On this, the first occasion of the English 
 encountering the Eussian force, it was impos- 
 sible for any troops to exhibit more steadiness 
 than did this portion of her majesty's cavalry. 
 
 " It fell hack upon its supports with the most 
 perfect regularity under the fire of the artillery, 
 which was quickly silenced by that of the bat- 
 teries I caused to be brought into action. 
 
 " Our loss amounted to only four men 
 wounded. 
 
 " The day's march had been most wearisome, 
 and under a burning sun ; the absence of water, 
 until we reached the insignificant but welcome 
 stream of the Bulganac, made it to be severely 
 felt. 
 
 " Both armies moved towards the Alma the 
 following morning, and it was arranged that 
 Marshal St. Arnaud should assail the enemy's 
 left by crossing the river at its junction with 
 the sea and immediately above it, and that the 
 remainder of the French divisions should move 
 up the heights in their front, while the English 
 army should attack the right and centre of the 
 enemy's position. 
 
 "In order that the gallantry eihijbited by 
 her majesty's troops, and the difficulties they 
 had to meet may be fairly estimated, I deem it 
 right, even at the risk of being considered 
 tedious, to endeavour to make your grace ac- 
 quainted with the position tiie Eussians had 
 taken up. It crossed the great road about 
 two-and-a-half miles from the sea, and is very 
 strong by nature. 
 
 " The bold and almost precipitous range of 
 heights — of from 350 to 400 feet — that from 
 the sea closely border the left bank of the river, 
 here ceases, and formed their left ; and, turning 
 thence round a great amphii^eatre or wide 
 valley, terminates at a salient pinnacle, where 
 their right rested, and whence the descent to 
 the plain was more gradual. The front was 
 about two miles in extent. 
 
 " Across the mouth of this great opening is 
 a lower ridge at different heights, varying from 
 60 to 150 feet, parallel to the river, and at 
 distances from it of from 600 to 800 yards. 
 
 " The river itself is generally fordable fot 
 troops; but its banks are extremely rugged, 
 and in most parts steep ; the willows along It 
 had been cut down in order to prevent them 
 from affording cover to the attacking party, 
 and, in fact, everything had been done to de- 
 prive an assailant of any species of shelter. 
 
 " In front of the position on the right hank, 
 at about 200 yards from the Alma, is the village 
 of Bouliouk, and near it a timber bridge, which 
 had been partly destroyed by the enemy. 
 
 " Thp high pinnacle and ridge before alluded 
 to were the key of the position, and, conse- 
 quently, there the greatest preparations had 
 been made for defence. 
 
 " Half-way down the height and across its 
 &ont was a trench of the extent of some huu- 
 
A.n. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [lokd baglan's despatch. 
 
 dred yards, to afford cover against an advance 
 up tUe even steep slope of the hill, Oa the 
 right, and a little retired, was a powerful covered 
 battery, armed with heavy guns, which flanked 
 the whole of the right of the position. 
 
 " Artillery, at the same time, was posted at 
 the points that best commanded the passage of 
 the river and its approaches generally. 
 
 " On the slopes of these hills (forming a sort 
 of table-land) were placed dense masses of the 
 enemy's infantry, while on the heights above 
 was his great reserve, the whole amounting, 
 it is supposed, to between 45,000 and 60,000 
 men. 
 
 " The combined armies advanced on the same 
 alignment ; her majesty's troops in contiguous 
 double columns, with the front of two divisions 
 covered by light infantry and a troop of horse 
 artillery, the 2nd division, under JJieutenant- 
 general Sir De Lacy Evans, forming the right, 
 and touching the left of the 3rd division of the 
 French army, under his imperial highness 
 Prince Napoleon, and the light division, under 
 Lieutenant-general Sir Georgfe Brown, the left : 
 the first being supported by the 3rd division, 
 under Lieutenant-general Sir Richard England, 
 and the last by the 1st division, commanded by 
 Lieutenant-general his royal highness the Duke 
 of Cambridge. 
 
 " The 4th division, under Lisiitenant-geueral 
 Sir George Cathcart, and the cavalry, under 
 Major-general the Earl of Lucan, were held in 
 reserve to protect the left flank and rear against 
 Urge bodies of the enemy's cavalry which had 
 been seen in those directions. 
 
 " On approaching to near the fire of the 
 guns, which soon became extremely formidable, 
 the two leading divisions deployed into line and 
 advanced to attack the front, and the support- 
 ing divisions followed the movement. Hardly 
 had this taken place when the village of Bou- 
 liouk, immediately opposite the centre, was fired 
 by the enemy at all points, creating a continuous 
 blaze for 300 yards, obscuring their position and 
 rendering a passage through it impracticable. 
 Two regiments of Brigadier-general Adams' 
 brigade, part of Sir De Lacy Evans' division, 
 had, in consequence, to pass the river at a deep 
 and difficult ford to the right nnder a sharp fire, 
 while his first brigade, under Major-general 
 Pennefather, and the remaining regiment of 
 Brigadier-general Adams crossed to the left of 
 the conflagration, opposed by the enemy's artil- 
 lery from the heights above, and pressed on 
 towards the left of their position with the 
 utmost gallantry and steadiness. 
 
 " In the meanwhile, the light division, under 
 Sir G«orge Brown, effected the passage of the 
 Alma in his immediate front. The banks of 
 the river itself were, from their rugged and 
 broken nature, moat serious obstacles, and the 
 vineyards, through which the troops had to 
 pass, and the trees which the enemy had felled, 
 
 created additional impediments, rendering every 
 species of formation, under a galliug fiw, nearly 
 an impossibility. Lieutenant-general Sir Greorgo 
 Brown advanced against the enemy under great 
 disadvantages. 
 
 "In this difficult operation he nevertheless 
 persevered ; and the 1st brigade, under Major- 
 general Codrington, succeeded in carrying a 
 redoubt, materially aided by the judicious and 
 steady manner in which Brigadier-general Buller 
 moved on the left flank, and by the adv-ance of 
 four companies of the rifle brigade, under Major 
 Norcott, who promises to be a distinguished 
 officer of light troops, 
 
 " The heavy fire of grape and musketry, how- 
 ever, to which the troops were exposed, and 
 the losses consequently sustained by the 7th, 
 23rd, and 33rd regiments, obliged this brigade 
 partially to relinquish its hold. 
 
 " By this time, however, the Duke of Cam.- 
 bridge had succeeded in crossing the river, and 
 had moved up in support, and a brilliant ad- 
 vance of the brigade of foot-guards, under 
 Major-general Bentinck, drqve the enemy back 
 and secured the final possession of the work. 
 
 " The highland brigade, under Major-general 
 Sir Colin Campbell, advanced in admirable 
 order and steadiness up the high groiind to 
 the left and in co-operation with the guards ; 
 and Major-general Pennefather's brigade, which 
 had been connected with the right of the light 
 division, forced the enemy completely to abandon 
 the position they had taken such pains to defend 
 and secure. 
 
 " The 95th regiment, immediately on the 
 right of the royal fusileers in the advance, 
 suffered equally with that corps an immense 
 loss. 
 
 " The aid of the royal artillery in all these 
 operations was most effectual. The exertions 
 of the field-officers and the captains of troops 
 and batteries to get the guns into action were 
 unceasing, and the precision of their fire mate- 
 rially contributed to the great results of the 
 day. 
 
 " Lieutenant-general Sir Eichard England 
 brought his division to the immediate support 
 of the troops in advance, and Lieutenant-gene- 
 ral the Hon. Sir George Cathcart was actively 
 engaged in watching the left flank, 
 
 " The nature of the ground did not admit of 
 the employment of the cavalry under the Earl 
 of Li}can ; but they succeeded in taking some 
 prisoners at the close of the battle. 
 
 " In the detail of those operations, which I 
 have gone into a$ far as the space of a despatch 
 would allow, your grace will perceive that the 
 services in which the general and other officers 
 of the army were engaged were of no ordinary 
 character; and I have great pleasure in sub- 
 mitting them for your grace's most favourable 
 consideration. 
 
 " The mode in which Lieutenant-general Sir 
 
 231 
 
LOKD KAGLAN's DESPATCH.] 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 George Brown conducted his division, under 
 the moat trying circumstances, demands the 
 expression of my warmest approbation. The 
 fire to which hia division was subjected, and 
 the difficulties he had to contend against, afford 
 no small proof that his best energies were 
 applied to the successful discharge of his duty. 
 "I must speak in corresponding terms of 
 Lieutenant-general Sir De Lacy Evans, who 
 likewise conducted his division to my perfect 
 satisfaction, and exhibited equal coolness and 
 judgment in carrying out a most difficult ope- 
 ration. 
 
 " His royal highness the Duke of Cambridge 
 brought his division into action in support of 
 the light division with great ability, and had, 
 for the first time, an opportunity of showing 
 the enemy his devotion to her majesty, and to 
 the profession of which he is so distinguished a 
 member. 
 
 " My best thanks are due to Lieutenant- 
 general Sir E. England, Lieutenant-general the 
 Hon. Sir George Cathcart, and Lieutenant- 
 general the Earl of Lucan, for their cordial 
 assistance wherever it could be afforded; and 
 I feel it my duty especially to recommend to 
 your grace's notice the distinguished conduct 
 of Major-general Bentinck, Major-general Sir 
 Colin Campbell, Major-general Pennefather, 
 Major-general Codrington, Brigadier-general 
 Adams, and Brigadier-general BuUer. 
 
 " In the affair of the previous day. Major- 
 general the Earl of Cardigan exhibited the 
 utmost spirit and coolness, and kept his brigade 
 under perfect command. 
 
 " The manner in which Brigadier-general 
 Strangeways directed the artillery and exerted 
 himself to bring it forward met my entire satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " Lieutenant-general Sir John Burgoyne was 
 constantly by my side, and rendered me, by his 
 counsel and advice, the most valuable assistance , 
 and the commanding royal engineer Brigadier- 
 general Tylden, was always at hand to carry 
 out any service I might direct him to undertake. 
 " I deeply regret to say that he has since 
 fallen a victim to cholera, as has Major Wel- 
 lesley, who was present in the affair of the 
 previous day, notwithstanding that he was then 
 suffering from serious illness. He had, during 
 the illness of Major-general Lord de Eos, acted 
 for him in the most efficient manner. I cannot 
 speak too highly of Brigadier-general Estcourt, 
 Adjutant-general, or of Brigadier-general Airey, 
 who, in the short time he has conducted the 
 duties of the quartermaster-general, has dis- 
 played the greatest ability as well as aptitude 
 for the office. 
 
 " I am much indebted to my military secrC' 
 
 tary. Lieutenant-colonel Steele, Major Lord our operations. 
 
 " Lieutenant Derriman, E.N., the commander 
 of the Caradoe, accompanied me during the 
 whole of the operation, and rendered me an. 
 essential service, by a close observation of the 
 enemy's movements, which his practised eye 
 enabled him accurately to watch. 
 
 " I lament to say that Lieutenant-colonel 
 Lagondie, who was attached to my head-quar- 
 ters by the Emperor of the Erench, fell into 
 the enemy's hands on the 19th, on his return 
 from Prince Napoleon's division, where he had 
 obligingly gone, at my request, with a commu- 
 nication to his imperial highness. 
 
 " This misfortune is deeply regretted, both 
 by myself and the officers of my personal staff. 
 
 " The other officer placed with me under 
 similar circumstances. Major Vico, afforded me 
 all the assistance in his power, sparing no exer- 
 tion to be of use. 
 
 " I cannot omit to make known to your 
 grace the cheerfulness with which the regi- 
 mental officers of the army have submitted to 
 most unusual privations. 
 
 " My anxiety to bring into the country every 
 cavalry and infantry soldier who was available, 
 prevented me from embarking their baggage 
 animals, and these officers have with them at 
 this moment nothing but what they can carry, 
 and they, equally with the men, are without 
 tents or covering of any kind. 
 
 " I have not heard a single murmur. All 
 seem impressed with the necessity of the 
 arrangement; and they feel, I trust, satisfied 
 that I shall bring up their b&t-horses at the 
 earliest moment. 
 
 " The conduct of the troops has been ad- 
 mirable. When it is considered that they have 
 suffered severely from sickness during the last 
 two months ; that, since they landed in the 
 Crimea, they have been exposed to the extremes 
 of wet, cold, and heat; that the daily toil to 
 provide themselves with water has been exces- 
 sive, and' that they have been pursued by 
 cholera to the very battle-field, I do not go be- 
 yond the truth in declaring that they merit the 
 highest commendation. 
 
 " In the ardour of attack they forgot all they 
 had endured, and displayed that high courage, 
 that gallant spirit, for which the British soldier 
 is ever distinguished, and under the heaviest 
 fire, they maintained the same determination to 
 conquer as they had exhibited before they went 
 into action. I should be wanting in my duty, 
 my lord duke, if I did not express to your 
 grace, in the most earnest manner, my deep 
 feeling of gratitude to the officers and men of 
 the royal navy for the invaluable assistance they 
 afforded the army upon this as on every occa- 
 sion where it could be brought to bear upoa 
 
 Burghersh, and the officers of my personal 
 staff, for the zeal, intelligence, and gallantry 
 they all, without exception, displayed. 
 333 
 
 " They watched the progress of the day with 
 the most intense anxiety, and as the best way of 
 evincing their participation in our success, and 
 
o,.r.u.^^.' 
 
 THH LONIJON J'JUMTING AND ]'DbT,lS]nNG OOMFAN.r 
 
THE T.OKUOJI PRIMTIfra AWD PUBLISHING CQUrjanf- LOriTED 
 
A.D. 1854, 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [despatches from the alma. 
 
 their sympathy in the suffsrings of the wounded, 
 they never ceased, rrom the close of the battle 
 till we left the ground this morning, to provide 
 for the sick and wounded, and to carry them 
 down to the beach— a labour in which some of 
 the officers even volunteered to participate ; an 
 act which I shall never cease to recollect with 
 the warmest thankfulness. 
 
 " I mention no names, fearing I might omit 
 some who ought to be spoken of; but none 
 who were associated with us spared any exer- 
 tion they could apply to so sacred a duty. 
 
 " Sir Edmund Lyons, who had charge of the 
 whole, was, as always, most prominent in ren- 
 dering assistance and providing for emergen- 
 cies." 
 
 " I enclose the return of killed and wounded.* 
 It is, I lament to say, very large ; but I hope, 
 all circumstances considered, that it will be felt 
 that no life was unnecessarily exposed, and that 
 such an advantage could not be achieved without 
 a considerable sacrifice. 
 
 " I cannot venture to estimate the amount of 
 the Eussian loss. I believe it to have been 
 great, and such is the report in the country. 
 
 " The number of prisoners who are not hurt 
 is small ; but the wounded amount to eight or 
 nine hundred. Two general officers — Major- 
 generals Karganoff and ShokanofF — fell into our 
 hands. The former is very badly wounded. 
 
 "I will not attempt to describe the move- 
 ments of the French army — that will be done 
 by an abler hand ; but it is due to them to say 
 that their operations were eminently successful, 
 and that under the guidance of their dis- 
 tinguished commander. Marshal St. Amaud, 
 they manifested the utmost gallantry, the 
 greatest ardour for the attack, and the high 
 military qualities for which they are so famed. 
 
 "This despatch will be delivered to your 
 grace by Major Lord Burghersh, who is capable 
 of affording you the fullest information, and 
 whom I beg to recommend to your especial 
 notice. 
 
 " I have, &c. EagIiAN. 
 
 " His grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c." 
 
 This despatch was addressed to the Eng- 
 lish minister of wax, and through him, there- 
 forCj to the country ; but the following gen- 
 eral order was addressed to the brave British 
 troops, by whose exertions the victory had, 
 to a great extent, been gained : — 
 
 " Head-quarters, Alma Eiver, 
 " Sept. 22nd, 1854. 
 '■ The commander of the forces congratulates 
 the troops on the brilliant success that attended 
 their unrivalled efforts in the battle of the 20th 
 
 • Lists of killed and wounded, though important 
 in a general's despatch, are here omitted as possess- 
 ing but an evanescent interest, and therefore not 
 admissible in an historical work. 
 
 inst., on which occasion they carried a most 
 formidable position, defended by large masses of 
 Eussian infantry and a most powerful and 
 numerous artillery. 
 
 " Their conduct was in unison with that of 
 our gallant aUies, whose spirited and successful 
 attack of the left of the heights occupied by the 
 enemy cannot fail to have attracted their notice 
 and admiration. 
 
 " The commander of the forces thanks the 
 army most warmly for its gallant . exertions. 
 He witnessed them with pride and satisfaction, 
 and it wiU be his pleasing duty to report, for 
 the queen's information, how well they have 
 earned her majesty's approbation and how glo- 
 riously maintained the honour of the British 
 name. 
 
 " Lord Eaglan condoles most sincerely with 
 the troops on the loss of so many gallant 
 officers and brave men, whose memory it will 
 be a consolation to their friends to feel will ever 
 be cherished in the annals of our army. 
 
 " J. B. B. ESTCOTTRT, 
 
 " Adjutant-general." 
 
 The following despatches were received 
 by the lords commissioners of the Admiralty 
 from Vice-admiral Dundas. They contain 
 intelligence as to the proceedings of her 
 majesty's fleet in the Black Sea during the 
 action : — 
 
 Attack of the Russian intrenehments on the Alma 
 hy the allied armies. 
 " Britannia — off the Alma, Sept. 21st. 
 
 " Sir, — In my letter of the 18th inst. I 
 reported to you, for the information of the 
 lords commissioners of the Admiralty, that 
 the allied ai;mies were ready to move, and I 
 now beg you will acquaint their lordships that, 
 on the morning of the 19th, they marched to a 
 position about two miles north of the Alma 
 river, where they halted for thej night; the 
 French and Turks on the right, close to the 
 sea, and the English to the left, about four 
 miles inland. 
 
 "The EussianSj with some 5,000 or 6,000 
 cavalry and artillery, and 15,000 infantry, made 
 a demonstration north of the river, but re- 
 turned on the approach of the armies, and re- 
 crossed the river at sunset. 
 
 " About noon on the 20th the allies advanced 
 in the same order to force the Eussian position 
 and intrenehments south of the Alma. This 
 was effected by four o'clock, the Eussians re- 
 treating apparently to the eastward of the main 
 road to Sebastopol. 
 
 " The Eussian left fell back before the French 
 very rapidly, and their batteries on the right 
 were carried by the bayonet by the English. 
 
 " Our loss has necessarily been severe, and 
 is estimated at about 1,200 lulled and wounded ; 
 that of the French at about 900. 
 
 " The Eussian loss has also been great. Two 
 
 233 
 
DESPATCHES FROM THE ALMA. J HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 general-officers and three guna were captured 
 by our men ; but we have few prisoners beyond 
 the wounded, in consequence, it is believed,- of 
 our deficiency of cavalry. 
 
 " Lieutenant Derriman, of the Oa/radoc, ac- 
 companied the staff of General Lord Eaglan 
 during, the action, and I also sent Lieutenant 
 Glynn, of this ship, to convey any message to 
 me from his lordship. 
 
 " All the medical officers of the fleet (ex- 
 cepting one in each ship), 600 seamen and 
 marines, and all the boats, have been assisting 
 the wounded, and conveying them to the trans- 
 ports that will sail for the Bosphorus as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 " I believe it is the intention of the allied 
 forces to move to-morrow; and the Sampson, 
 which I detached last night with the Terrible, 
 off Sebastopol, has signalled that the Eussians 
 were retreating on Sebastopol, and that they 
 have burnt the villages on the Katcha. 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " J. W. D. DuNDAS, Vice-admiral, 
 
 " The Secretary of the Admiralty." 
 
 Movements of the Fleets and Armies. 
 " Britannia — off the Katcha, Sept. 23rd. 
 
 " Sir, — I beg you will inform the lords com- 
 missioners of the Admiralty, that since my 
 letter to you of the 21st instant, the men and 
 boats of the fleet have been employed in bring- 
 ing from the field (about four miles distant), 
 and carrying on board the transports, the Eng- 
 lish and Eussian officers and men wounded in 
 the battle of the Alma, as well as the sick of 
 the army. 
 
 "All the medical officers of the different 
 ships have been zealously and usefully occupied 
 in attending them, and I have been obliged to 
 send several assistant-surgeons in the vessels 
 with the wounded to Constantinople. 
 
 " The Vulcan and Andes, with 800 wounded 
 and sick, sailed for Constantinople yesterday,, 
 and to-day the Orinoco and Colombo, with 900, 
 including some sixty or seventy Eussians, will 
 follow. 
 
 "Another vessel (by the request of Lord 
 Eaglan) with about 500 wounded Eussians, 
 will also proceed, under charge of the I'uri/, to 
 land them at Odessa. 
 
 " On the night of the 21st inst. the Eussians 
 made a very great alteration in the position of 
 their fleet in Sebastopol. I enclose a report 
 made by Captain Jones, of the Sampson; and I 
 propose attacking the outer lino the first fa- 
 vourable opportunity. 
 
 " Captain Jones also reports that great exer- 
 tions appear to be making to strengthen the 
 land defences, as well as those by sea. 
 
 " New batteries on both sides of the port 
 
 have been erected, defending the entrances and 
 
 line of coast. One to the north has heavy 
 
 guns of a range of 4,000 yards, two shots having 
 
 284 
 
 passed over the Sampson when nearly at that 
 distance. 
 
 " Provisions for the army have been landed, 
 and the forces move on to-day towards Sebasto- 
 pol, accompanied by the fleets, which have 
 anchored off the Katcha. 
 
 " I have, &c., J. W. D. Dttndab, 
 
 " Vice-admiral. 
 " The Secretary of the Admiralty." 
 
 Observations on the Fleet in Sebastopol, made 
 
 on September 22nd, 1854, Jy Captain L. T. 
 
 Jones, G. S., of her Majesty's ship Sampson. 
 
 " Moored across the entrance of the harbour, 
 from north to south, are the following vessels : — 
 " 1, a frigate, at northern extreme. 
 
 2, a two-decker. 
 
 8, a three-decker, with round stern. 
 
 4, a two- decker. 
 
 5, a two-decker. 
 
 6, a two-decker without masts, quite light, 
 and appears to be newly coppered. 
 
 7, a large frigate." 
 
 Artillery Greek. 
 " The topgallant-masts of these are on deck, 
 and sails unbent. 
 
 "The ship without masts is lying across 
 
 Artillery Creek ; inside is a two-decker ready for 
 
 sea, and bearing an admiral's flag at the mizen." 
 
 Sead of Harbour. 
 
 " The ships at the head of the harbour, which 
 
 had hitherto been lying with their broadsides to 
 
 the entrance, are now lying with their heads out, 
 
 " 1, on the north a two-decker, 
 
 2, a two-decker. 
 
 3, a two-decker. 
 
 4, a two-decker. 
 
 5, a two-decker. 
 
 6, a three-decker at the entrance of the Dock- 
 yard Creek. 
 
 7, a three-decker bearing an admiral's flag at 
 the fore. 
 
 " Above these are two ships ; one appears to 
 be a line-of-battle ship and the other a frigate." 
 Steamers. 
 
 " Eive steamers under the northern shore. 
 Three small steamers at the head of the harbour, 
 and four in Careening Bay." 
 
 General Observations. 
 
 "Dockyard Creek shuts in with Northern 
 Fort bearing S.E. i E. Observed about 600 
 infantry marching towards the town from the 
 direction of Balaklava. 
 
 " Noticed about sixty men employed on brow 
 of signal hill, and carrying mould from brink 
 of cliff to Square Port. 
 
 " 3.45 P.M. — Cape Constantine and ships in 
 one bearing, S. f W." 
 
 Sinking of the Busaian ships at the entrance of 
 the harbour of Sebastopol. 
 " Britannia — off the Katcha, Sept. 24th. 
 " Sir, — In my letter of yesterday, I reported 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [st. aknaud's despatches. 
 
 the extraordinary cbange that had taken pjaoe 
 in the position hitherto maintained by the 
 enemy's fleet in the harbour of Sebastopol, and 
 I now beg you will acquaint the lord's commis- 
 sioners of the Admiralty that the same afternoon, 
 on the appearance of the allied fleets in sight of 
 Sebastopol, the whole of the vessels moored 
 across the harbour were sunk by the Bussians, 
 leaving their masts more or less above water, 
 and I went last evening to the mouth of the 
 harbour to assure myself of this singfular event. 
 
 " Captain Drummond has examined the har- 
 bour this morning, and reports that the lower 
 mast-heads of the ships are generally above 
 ■water; that the passage is closed, except per- 
 haps a small space near the shoal off the north 
 battery, and the double booms inside are thus 
 rendered more secure. 
 
 " Eight sail-of-the-line are moored east and 
 west, inside of the booms, and three of the 
 ships are heeled over to give their guns more 
 elevation to sweep over the land to the north- 
 ward. 
 
 "An intelligent seaman, a deserter, who 
 escaped from Sebastopol on the 22nd, had 
 partly prepared me for some extraordinary 
 movement. He had informed me that the 
 crews of the ships moored across the harbour 
 (to one of which he had been attached) had 
 been landed, with the exception of a very few 
 in each ship; that the vessels were plugged 
 ready for sinking; that the guns and stores 
 were all on board; and that the other ships 
 were moored under the south side to defend 
 the harbour from attack from the northward. 
 He reported that the battle of Alma had greatly 
 dispirited the Russians; that the troops hajd 
 retreated on Sebastopol without a halt; and 
 that he believes the whole Russian force not to 
 exceed 40,000. The man's statements were 
 clear, and on points that came under his own 
 observation were mostly corroborated, and I 
 consider reliance may be placed on his informa- 
 tion generally, considering the means his sta- 
 tion in life afforded of enabling him to obtain 
 it. At the request of Lord Raglan, I have sent 
 him on shore to act as a guide to the army on 
 their approach to the environs of Sebastopol. 
 
 " The allied armies moved this afternoon to 
 take up a position to the south of the port of 
 Sebastopol, and the fleet will move so as to 
 meet their arrival there. 
 
 " J. W. D. dVnd'as, Vice-admiral." 
 The following eloquent and dramatic des- 
 patch, which is peculiarly French in its style, 
 was addressed after the battle of which it is 
 a description, to the Emperor of France. 
 "No one," said the Moniteur, "can read 
 without emotion this simple recital of a 
 great victory, where the general-in-chief 
 speaks of every one except himself." | 
 
 Field of Battle of Alma, Sept. 21st. 
 
 Sire, — The cannon of your majesty has 
 spoken; we have gained a complete victory. 
 It is a glorious day, sire, to add to the military 
 annals of France, and your majesty will have 
 one name more to add to the victories which 
 adorn the flags of the French army. 
 
 The Russians had yesterday assembled all 
 their forces, and collected all their means, in 
 order to oppose the passage of the Alma. 
 Prince filentschikoff commanded in person. All 
 the heights were crowned with redoubts and 
 formidable batteries. The Russian army reck- 
 oned 40,000 bayonets, from all points of the 
 Crimea; in the morning there arrived from 
 Theodosia 6,000 cavalry and 180 pieces of. 
 heavy and field artillery. From the heights 
 which they occupied, the Russians could count 
 our men man by man from the 19th to the 
 moment when we arrived on the Bubbanach. 
 On the 20th, from six o'clock in the morning, I 
 carried into operation with the division of 
 Q-eneral Bosquet, reinforced by eight Turkish 
 battalions, a movement which turned the left 
 of the Russians and some of their batteries. 
 General Bosquet manoeuvred with as much 
 intelligence as bravery. This movement de- 
 cided the success of the day. I had arranged 
 that the English should extend their left, in 
 order at the same time to threaten the right of 
 the Russians while I should occupy them in 
 the centre, but their troops did not arrive in 
 line until half-past ten. They bravely made up 
 for this delay. At half-past twelve the line of 
 the allied army, occupying an extent of more 
 than a league, arrived on the Alma, and was 
 received by a terrible fire from the tirailleurs. 
 
 In this movement the head of the column of 
 General Bosquet appeared on the heights, and 
 I gave the signal for a general attack. The 
 Alma was crossed at double-quick time. Prince 
 Napoleon, at the head of his division, took pos- 
 session of the large village of Alma, under the 
 fire of the Russian batteries. The prince showed 
 himself worthy of the great name he bears. We 
 then arrived at the foot of the heights, under 
 the fire of the Russian batteries. There, sire, 
 commenced a real battle along all the line — a 
 battle with its episodes of brilliant feats of 
 valour. Tour majesty may be proud of your 
 soldiers : they have not degenerated : they are 
 the soldiers of Austerlitz and of Jena. At 
 half-past four the French army was everywhere 
 victorious. All the positions had been carried 
 at the point of the bayonet to the cry of " Vive 
 VBmperewr .'" which resounded throughoub the 
 day. Never was such enthusiasm seen; even 
 the wounded rose from the ground to join in it. 
 On our left the English met with, large masses 
 of the enemy and with great difficulties, but 
 everything was surmounted. The English at- 
 tacked the Russian positions in admirable 
 order under the fire of their cannon, carried 
 
 235 
 
ST. ARNAun's DESPATCHES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tA.D. 1854. 
 
 them, and drove off the Eussiana. The bravery 
 of Lord Raglan rivals that of antiquity. In the 
 midst of cannon and musket shot he displayed 
 a calmness which never left him. The Prencji 
 lines formed on the heights and the artillery 
 opened its fire. Then it was no longer a re- 
 treat, but a rout ; the Eussians threw away 
 their muskets and knapsacks in order to run 
 the faster. If, sire, I had had cavalry I should 
 hare obtained immense results, and Mentschi- 
 koff would no longer have had an army ; but it 
 was late, our troops were harassed, and the am- 
 munition of the artillery was exhausted. At 
 six o'clock in the evening we iencamped on the 
 very bivouac of the Eussians. My tent is on 
 the very- spot where that of Prince Mentschi- 
 koff stood in the morning, and who thought 
 himself so sure of beating us that he left his 
 carriage there. I have taken possession of it, 
 with his pocketbook and correspondence, and 
 shall take advantage of the valuable informa- 
 tion it contains. The Eussian army will pro- 
 bably be able to rally two '■ leagues from this, 
 and I shall find it to-morrow on the Katcha, 
 but beaten and demoralized; while the allied 
 army is full of ardour and enthusiasm. I have 
 been compelled to remain here in order to send 
 our wounded and those of the Eussians to Con- 
 stantinople, and to procure ammunition and 
 provisions from the fleet. The English have 
 had 1,500 men put Jiors de combat. The Duke 
 of Cambridge is well ; his division and that of 
 Sir G.Brown were superb. I have to regret 
 about 1,200 men Jiors de combat, three officers 
 killed," fifty-four wounded, 253 sub-officers: and 
 soldiers killed, and 1,033 wounded. General 
 Canrobert, to whom is due in part the honour 
 of the day, was slightly wounded by the splin- 
 ter of a shell which struck him in the breast 
 and hand, but he is doing very well. General 
 Thomas, of the division of the prince, is seri- 
 ously wounded by a ball in the abdomen. The 
 Eussians have lost about 5,000 men. The field 
 of battle is covered with their dead, and our 
 field hospitals are full' of their wounded. We 
 have counted a proportion of seven Eussian 
 dead bodies for one Erench. The Eussian' 
 artillery caused us loss, but ours is very superior 
 to theirs. „ I shall air my life regret not having 
 had with me my two regiments of African 
 chasseurs. The Zouaves were the admiration 
 of both armies ; they are the first soldiers in 
 the world. 
 
 Accept,, sire, the homage of my profound 
 respect and of my entire devotedness. 
 
 MaesBal a. de St. AnNAro. 
 
 The following order of the day viras also 
 addressed by the marshal to bis troops : — 
 
 Soldiers ! — Prance and the emperor 'wiU be 
 satisfied with you. At Alma you have proved 
 to the Eussians that you are the worthy de- 
 scendants of the conquerors of Eylau and of the 
 236 
 
 Moskowa. Tou have rivalled in courage your 
 allies the English, and youi bayonets have car- 
 ried formidable arid well-defended positions.' 
 Soldiers ! you will again meet the Eussians on 
 your road, and you will conquer them as you 
 have done to-day, to the cry of " Vive I'iJm- 
 pereur!" and you will only stop at Sebastopol: 
 it is there you will enjoy the repose which you 
 will have well deserved. 
 Keld of battle of Alma, Sept. 20tb. 
 
 Fuller particulars of the battle were con- 
 tained in the following additional despatches 
 from Marshal St. Arnaud to the French 
 minister at- war : — 
 
 Head-quarters, Bivouac of the Alma, Sept. 21. 
 M. le Marechal, — My telegraphic despatch 
 of yesterday gave you a brief summary of the 
 results of the battle of the Alma. The accom- 
 panying sketch, hastily done as it is, will give 
 you a more complete idea of it. From it you 
 will be enabled to judge of the difficulties which 
 we have had to overcome in the capture of those 
 formidable positions. The course of the river 
 Alma is winding, with steep banks, and with 
 fords few and difficult of passage. The Eus- 
 sians had posted in the bottom of the valley, 
 covered with trees, gardens, and houses, and in 
 the village of Bouliouk,' a mass of sharpshooters, 
 who were weU covered, armed with rifles, and 
 who received the heads of our columns with a 
 galling and continuous fire. The flank move- 
 ment of General Bosquet, commanding the 
 2nd division, and which that officer executed on 
 the right with much intelligence and vigour, 
 had fortunately prepared the forward and direct 
 march of the two other divisions, and of the 
 English army. Nevertheless^ the position of 
 that general officer, who for a long time found 
 himself alone on the heights witb a single 
 brigade, might be endangered, and General 
 Canrobert had, in order to support him, to 
 make a vigorous turn in the direction indicated 
 in the sketch. I had him supported by a bri- 
 gade of the 4th division, which was in reserve, 
 while the other brigade of the same division, 
 following General Bosquet, proceeded to sup-' 
 port him. 
 
 The 3rd division marched right to the centre 
 of the position, havirig the English army on its 
 left. It had been arranged with Lord Eaglan, 
 that his troops should make on their left 'a- 
 flank movement, analogous to that which Gene- 
 ral Bosquet effected on his right, but, inces- 
 santly menaced by the cavalry, and vpith< great 
 numbers of the enemy's troops posted, on the 
 heights, the left of thp English army had to 
 give up the execution of that part of the plan. 
 
 The general movement began at the moment 
 when General Bosquet, protected by the fleet, 
 appeared on the heights. The gardens, from' 
 which an incessant fire of Eussian sharpshooters 
 poured, were before long occupied by our 
 
A.D. 1854i.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA, [marshal arnaud's despatches. 
 
 tiroopa. Our artillery moved in turn up to the 
 gardens, and began to cannonade the Euasian 
 battalions which were echelonned along the de- 
 clivities in support of their retreating sharp- 
 shooters. Our troops, pressing on with incre- 
 dible boldness, followed them along the slopes, 
 and 1 lost no time in moving my first line across 
 the gardens. Each man passed where he could, 
 and our columns ascended the heights under a 
 fire of musketry and of cannon which was 
 powerless to arrest their march. The crest of 
 the heights was crowned, and I sent out my 
 second line to the support of the first, which 
 dashed onward to the cry of " Vive I'JEmpereur!" 
 The reserve artillery was in turn carried along 
 with a rapidity which the obstacles presented 
 by the river and the steepness of the ascent 
 rendered extremely difficult. The battalions of 
 the enemy, driven back upon the plateau, soon 
 opened their guns and musketry on our lines, 
 but which terminated in their definitive retreat, 
 effected in very bad order. A few thousand 
 cavalry would have enabled me to convert that 
 retreat into a regular rout. The niglit came 
 on, and I prepared to establish my bivouac with 
 water in our neighbourhood. I encamped on 
 the field of battle, while the enemy was disap- 
 pearing from the horizon, and leaving the ground 
 strewn with his dead and wounded, be?ide^ the 
 large number he had already taken off. While 
 those events were passing on the right and 
 centre, the lines of the English army crossed 
 the river in front of the village of Bouliouk, and 
 advanced to the positions which the Eussians 
 had fortified, and where they concentrated con- 
 siderable masses, for they had not judged that 
 the steep declivities comprised between that 
 point and the sea, and covered by a natural 
 ditch, could be occupied by force by our troops. 
 The English arrny encountered therefore a 
 strong and well organised resistance. The 
 combat which it opened was of the warmest, 
 and does the highest honour to our brave aUies. 
 In short, M. le Marfechal, the battle of the 
 Alma, in which more than 120,000 men, with 
 180 pieces of cannon, have been engaged, is a 
 brilliant victory, and the Eussian army would 
 not have recovered from it if, as I have already 
 observed, I had cavaby to pursue the disorgan- 
 ised masses of infantry who were retiring from 
 before us loose and scattered. This battle 
 proves, in the most striking manner, the supe- 
 riority of our arms at the very commencement 
 of this war. It has in a great degree weakened 
 the confidence of the Eussian army in itself, 
 and especially in the positions long previously 
 prepared, and on which they awaited us. That 
 army was composed of the 16th and 17th divi- 
 sions of Eussian infantry, of a brigade of the 
 13th, of a brigade of the 14th division of reserve 
 of the foot chasseurs of the 6th corps, armed 
 with rifles throwing oblong balls, of four bri- 
 gades of artilleiy, two of which were mounted, 
 
 VOL. I. t2 I 
 
 and of a battery drawn from the reserve park 
 of siege artillery, comprising twelve pieces of 
 large caUbre. The cavalry was about 6,000, 
 and the whole force might be estimated at 
 about 50,000 men, commanded by Prince 
 Mentschikoff in person. It is difficult for us 
 to estimate the loss of the Eussian army, but it 
 must be considerable, if we may judge by the 
 killed and wounded that they could not take off, 
 and who remained in our hands. In the ravines 
 of the Alma, on the plateaux in front, on the 
 ground forming the position taken from the 
 enemy by the English troops, the earth is 
 strewn with more than 10,000 muskets, haver- 
 sacks, and other articles of equipment. We 
 devoted the whole day to burying their dead in 
 all directions where they were found and in 
 attending to their wounded, whom I have 
 ordered to be transported with our own men 
 on board the ships of the fleets, to be conveyed 
 to Constantinople. All the Eussian officers, 
 generals included, were clothed in the coarse 
 great-coat of the soldiers ; it is therefore difficult 
 to distinguish them in the midst of the dead or 
 of the few prisoners we have been able to make. 
 Tet it appears certain that there are two gene- 
 ral officers among the prisoners made by the 
 English. 
 
 The battle of the Alma, in which the allied 
 armies have reciprocally given pledges which 
 they cannot forget, will render closer and more 
 solid the bonds which unite them. The Otto- 
 man division, which marched to the support of 
 General Bosquet's in its turning movement, 
 performed prodigies of rapidity to reach the 
 line along the road on the sea-shore, which I 
 had traced out for them. It was not able to 
 take an active part in the battle which was 
 going on in front of it, but these troops ex- 
 hibited an ardour at least equal to our own ; 
 and I am happy to be able to tell you the hopes 
 I found on the co-operation of those excellent 
 auxiliaries. 
 
 Every one has gallantly done his duty, and it 
 would be difficult for me to make a selection 
 between bodies of troops, officers, and soldiers 
 who have shown most vigour in action, and who 
 deserve to have particular mention made of 
 them. I have already noticed the important 
 part taken by the division of General Bosquet 
 in its turning movement, during which his first 
 brigade, established alone on the heights, re- 
 mained for a long time exposed to the fire of 
 five batteries of artillery. The 1st division 
 mounted the heights by the steepest ascents 
 with an ardour of which its chief. General Can- 
 robert, gave it the example. This honourable 
 general officer was struck in the chest by the 
 bursting of a shell ; but he remained on horse- 
 back till the close of the action, and his wound 
 will have no disagreeable consequences. The 
 3rd division, led on with the greatest vigour by 
 his imperial highness Prince !N^apoleon, took 
 
 237 
 
MARSHAL ARNAUd's DESPATCHES.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 A.D. 1854. 
 
 the most brilliant part in tlie combat fought on 
 the plateau, and I have had the pleasure of ad- 
 dressing to the prince my congratulations in 
 presence of his division. General Thomas, 
 commanding the 2nd brigade of this division, 
 was severely wounded when leading on his men 
 to the attack of the plateau. The 2nd brigade 
 of the division of General Forey, when ad- 
 vancing to the support of the 1st division under 
 the orders of General d'Aurelle, nobly figured 
 in the combat. Lieutenant Poitevin, of the 
 39th regiment of the line, held on the telegraph 
 building which formed the central point of the 
 enemy's defence the colours of his regiment. 
 He met a glorious death at his post. He was 
 struck by a eannon-baU. During the whole of 
 the battle the artillery performed a principal 
 part, and I cannot sufficiently praise the energy 
 and intelligence with which that select corps 
 conducted it. In a future report, the materials 
 of which I am now collecting, I shall lay before 
 you the names of the officers, the sub-officers, 
 and soldiers who have merited the honour of 
 being mentioned in general orders. I shall 
 append to it a pi'ayer for the rewards which 
 you will certainly find to be merited. 
 
 Accept, M. le Marechal, the expression of 
 my respectful sentiments. 
 
 A. DE St. Abnattd, Marshal, 
 Commanding-in-chief. 
 
 Head-quarters at Alma, Field of Battle of the 
 Alma, 22nd of Sept., 1854. 
 M. le Ministre, — My official report gives 
 your excellency the details of the glorious day 
 of the 20th, but I cannot allow the courier to 
 leave without saying a few words about our 
 brave soldiers. The soldiers of Friedland and 
 of Austerlitz are still under our flag, M. le 
 Marechal. The battle of the Alma has proved 
 that fact. We witness the same impetuosity, 
 the same brUliant bravery. One can do any- 
 thing with such men whenever you inspire 
 them with confidence. The allied armies have 
 taken positions that were truly formidable. 
 When examining them yesterday I saw how 
 favourable they were to resistance, and, in 
 truth, if the French and English had occupied 
 them, the Eussians never could have taken 
 them. Now that we are more calm, and that 
 the information which reaches us by means of 
 deserters and prisoners becomes more precise, 
 we are enabled to ascertain, the loss inflicted on 
 the enemy. The loss of the Eussians is con- 
 siderable. The deserters speak of more than 
 6,000 men. Their army is demoralised. On 
 the evening of the 20th it was cut in two. 
 Prince Mentsohikoff, with the left wing, marched 
 on Bakshiserai; the right vring moved on Belbek. 
 But they were without food, their wounded 
 eneumbered them, and the road is strewn with 
 their wounded. It is a glorious success, which 
 does honour to our troops, adds a fine page to 
 338 
 
 our military history, and gives to the army a 
 feeling worth 20,000 more men. The Eussians 
 have left on the field of battle near 10,(K)0 
 haversacks and more than 5,000 muskets. It 
 was a regular rout. Prince Mentsohikoff and 
 his genentls were loudly boasting on the morn- 
 ing of the 20th, in their camp, which I now 
 occupy. I believe that they are rather crest- 
 fallen by this (gu'ils ont un peu Voreille basse.') 
 The Eussian general had demanded at Alma 
 rations for three weeks. I suspect that he will 
 have stopped the convoy on its way. Tour ex- 
 cellency will be able to judge how much display 
 there is in all Eussian affairs. In three days I 
 shall be before Sebastopol, and I shall be able 
 to tell your excellency its just viilue. The feel- 
 ing and spirit of the army are admirable. The 
 ships which are gone to Varna for reinforce- 
 ments of troops of all arms have left since the 
 18th. They will reach me at Belbek before the 
 end of the month. My health is still the same. 
 It keeps up, between suffering, crises, and 
 duty. All this does not prevent my remaining 
 twelve hours on horseback on the day of battle ; 
 but will not my strength betray me ? Fare- 
 well, M. le Marechal. I shall write to your 
 excellency from before Sebastopol. 
 
 Adieu, M. le Ministre, &c., 
 • A. DB St. Aunaud, Marshal, 
 
 Commanding-in-chief the army of the East. 
 
 Admiral Hamelin also forwarded to the 
 French government the following report, 
 which is necessary to add to the complete- 
 ness of the great war picture : — 
 
 Ville de Paris, Sept. 23rd. 
 On the 21st of September I hastened to send 
 you a telegraphic despatch of the brilliant vic- 
 tory which our troops have gained over the 
 Eussians on the river Alma. , I have it in my 
 power to-day to add some further details, and, 
 in order that you may understand them, I en- 
 close you two sketches. The first explains the 
 intended plan of attack of the combined armies 
 decided on the l&th for the following day ; the 
 other shows the positions on the Alma where 
 our troops attacked the left and centre of the 
 Eussian army in sight of the fleet, which move- 
 ment was supported by shells from the steamers. 
 Tour excellency has only to glance at the first 
 drawing in order to appreciate the value of this 
 plan in a military point of view. Accordingly, 
 it was agreed on that the second division should 
 march along the sea-shore, cross the Alma at 
 the ford, which had i)een sounded by the boats 
 in the morning, and carry the heights of the 
 extreme left of the enemy, protected at the 
 same time by eight steamers that I had placed 
 in a position to bear on this point ; whilst the 
 1st and 3rd divisions, under the marshal's 
 orders, were to attack in front the enemy's 
 centre, and the entire English army was to 
 turn the extreme right. This operation was 
 
Tflj; LOJrDOH PJXIN-'nWG ATSD PUBLISHMSTG COML'AHT 
 
hj/ro-Ycd. b/HXPc:^ 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [death of ST. ARNATJD, 
 
 executed almost as it had been planned, although 
 our troops, after crossing the Alma, had to 
 climb cliffs almost perpendicular, where our 
 African soldiers gave extraordinary proofs of 
 agility and daring. It was chiefly owing to 
 these wonderful acts of intrepidity and speed, 
 and, I must also add, to the terror caused by 
 the shells from the steamers among the enemy's 
 cavalry on the extreme right, that General 
 Bosquet's division operated with such brilliant 
 success, and was able to attack the centre an 
 hour after the commencement of the action. 
 On the other hand, the marshal's two divisions 
 after a very sharp action with the enemy's 
 rifles on the banks of the Alma, were ascending 
 with the same boldness those natural ramparts 
 where the enemy's centre was posted in the 
 greatest security. In the meantime the English 
 army, instead of turning, as at iirst intended, 
 the extreme right, made a vigorous attack on 
 the strong intrenchments of the right. The 
 Russians, besides numerous field-pieces placed 
 in battery aJong their lines, had also on this 
 spot twelve 32-pounders, which our brave allies 
 succeeded in capturing after a terrible loss. 
 In short, the attack commenced at half-past 
 twelve, and all the positions were carried at 
 half-past three ; the Russian army was in full 
 retreat, and the several corps of which it was 
 composed were in the utmost confusion, cover- 
 ing the positions which had just been taken 
 with their dead and wounded. The want of 
 cavalry prevented our taking thousands of 
 prisoners and a great number of cannon. The 
 casualties in the allied armies were, I regret to 
 say, very serious, in consequence of the strong 
 positions which they had to carry ; our loss, in 
 killed and wounded, amounts to about 1,500, 
 and that of the English from 1,500 to 2,000. 
 The road between the Katcha and the Alma 
 was nearly covered with the enemy's dead, not 
 to mention the thousands which remained on 
 the field of battle. Three of our steam-frigates 
 have been dispatched to Constantinople with our 
 wounded, having also on board some of the 
 enemy, who are treated like our own soldiers. 
 To-day we accompany the army,' who are 
 marching on the Katcha. 
 
 I am, with profound respect. 
 Tout Excellency's obedient servant, 
 Hamelin. 
 The concluding words of the last despatch 
 of Marshal St. Amaud proved prophetic : — 
 "Will not my strength betray me?" He 
 had long been suffering severely from an 
 affection of the heart, and he accepted the 
 command of the French army in the East 
 with the conviction that he could not live 
 long; but yet he thought long enough for 
 
 glory long enough to place the coiouxs of 
 
 his nation on the walls of Sebastopol ! , 
 Though disappointed in the latter expecta- 1 
 
 tion, he died almost in the arms of victory, 
 and sank to repose in glory ! On the 25th 
 of September, feeling the approach of death, 
 he resigned the command of the army to 
 General Canrobert. In the farewell which 
 he addressed to the army, dated from his 
 bivouac on the 26th of September, he says, 
 that overcome by the cruel disease against 
 which he had so long struggled, he was 
 obliged to resign the command. He paid 
 a high compliment to his successor. General 
 Canrobert, who, he said, "will pursue the 
 victory of the Alma, and will have the good 
 fortune which I had imagined for myself — 
 that of leading you to Sebastopol," After 
 much suffering, he breathed his last on the 
 29th, in the fifty-third year of his age. 
 
 Though he did not die on the field of 
 battle, he met a soldier's death; for he 
 perished at his post, in the resolute per- 
 formance of his duty. The particulars of 
 his life have an air of romance about them. 
 His youth had been adventurous and stormy. 
 Having entered the army very young, he 
 afterwards retired from it, and sought a 
 livelihood upon the stage. Not meeting 
 with the success he anticipated, lie returned 
 to a military life. In the time' of honour 
 and prosperity he seems to have remembered 
 the humble companions of his early career. 
 Not long before the emperor conferred upon 
 him the appointment to the command of the 
 army of the East, he is reported to have 
 obtained a place in one of the public offices 
 for an old theatrical comrade of the Porte 
 St. Martin. A French joarnal (the Debats) 
 says of him : — During several years he was 
 in the severe campaigns of Africa, and 
 always made himself remarked by his 
 bravery and talents. His name is cited in 
 almost all the combats of the long and 
 arduous war in that country. Commander- 
 in-chief of the army in the East, he there 
 displayed very remarkable talents and ac- 
 tivity, notwithstanding the bad state of his 
 health, which had long been extremely 
 delicate. At Varna he was attacked with 
 malignant fever, and on two subsequent 
 occasions with cholera. In the Crimea he 
 heroically dominated his malady, in order 
 to fulfil his high office of general-in-chief. 
 The sentiment of military honour and the 
 love of glory seem alone to have been able 
 to maintain his moral energy under the 
 physical sufferings he endured; and he 
 commanded in the battle of Alma, saying 
 that a marshal of Framce ought to know 
 how to die on horseback. 
 
 239 
 
ST. ARNAUD AND CANROBERT.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 The remains of Marshal St. Amaud were 
 taken to Constantinople on board the Ber- 
 thollet, and conveyed from thence to France. 
 The departed soldier was buried with great 
 military pomp at Paris on the 16th of 
 October, in the chapel of the Invalides. 
 The emperor addressed the following letter 
 of consolation to Madame St. Amaud : — 
 St. Cloud, October, 26th. 
 
 Madame la Marechale, — No one more 
 than myself shares, you know, the grief 
 which oppresses you. The marshal had 
 associated himself to my cause from the day 
 when, leaving Africa to take the portfolio of 
 war, he concurred in re-establishing order 
 and authority in the country. He associated 
 his name to the military glories of France 
 on the day when, deciding to land in the 
 Crimea, despite timid advice, he gained with 
 
 * We take from the Moniteur de VArmee the 
 following sketch of the career of General Canrobert, 
 the successor of the deceased marshal in the com- 
 mand : — If anything could diminish the regret of 
 the country at a moment when it deplores the loss 
 of the illustrious marshal whom death has carried 
 off in the midst of his triumphs, it would be the 
 choice of the young general whom the emperor has 
 intrusted Wiith the task of finishing the work so 
 gloriously commenced on the banks of the Alma. 
 Although the military career of the new commander- 
 in-chief of the Prench troops in the East is generally 
 known, we think it will be of use to recall to mind 
 his services, which justify in a striking manner the 
 confidence of the head of the state and of the whole 
 army. Francois Certain Canrobert was born in 1809, 
 in the department of Lot, a few leagues from the 
 village which gave birth to Murat. He entered 
 the school of St. Cyr in the month of November, 
 1826, and left in one of the first ranks after two 
 years of laborious study. Appointed sub-lieutenant 
 of the 47th of the line on the 1st of October, 1828, he 
 was made lieutenant on the 20th of June, 1832, em- 
 barked fbr Africa in 1835, and arrived in the pro- 
 vince of Oran, where the Emir, Abd-el-Kader, after 
 the unfortunate affair of the Macta, kept our army 
 in check. A short time afterwards he took part in 
 the expedition of Mascara, in which he began to 
 make himself known. He followed with his regi- 
 ment the operations which generals Clauzel and 
 Letang directed in the province of Oran ; the cap- 
 ture of Tlemcen, the expedition of the Chetiff Aarch- 
 goun, and the Mina ; the victualling of Tlemcen, the 
 - combats of Sidi-Zacoub, Tafna, and Sikkah. These 
 affairs displayed his brilliant military qualities, and 
 raised him to the rank of captain on the 26th of 
 April, 1837. He went in the same year to the pro- 
 vince of Constantine, where the Duke de Nemours 
 and General Damremont made preparations to re- 
 venge a deep insult. He received a wound in the 
 leg at the assault of that place by the side of Colonel 
 Combes, an old soldier of the island of Elba, to 
 whom he was orderly officer, and who was mortally 
 wounded at the breach. Before he died, Colonel 
 Combes recommended the young captain to Marshal 
 Valee as an officer full of promise. General Can- 
 robert returned to Pranoc in 1839, decorated with 
 340 
 
 Lord Eaglan the battle of Alma, and cleared 
 the way for our army to Sebastopol. I have, 
 therefore, lost in him a friend, devoted under 
 difficult trials ; and France has lost in him 
 a soldier always ready to serve her in the 
 hour of danger. Doubtless, so many claims 
 to public gratitude and to my own, are 
 powerless to soften a grief like yours ; and I 
 simply assure you that I transfer to you and 
 to the family of the marshal the sentiments 
 with which he inspired me. 
 
 Accept, Madame la Marechale, my sin- 
 cere expressions thereof. Napoleon. 
 
 Not satisfied with barren expressions of 
 condolence, the emperor ordered his minis- 
 ters to lay before the council of state a bill 
 for granting to the widow of Marshal St. 
 Amaud a pension of 20,000 francs, as a 
 mark of national gratitude.* 
 
 the legion of honour, and was charged with organ- 
 ising for the foreign legion a battalion chosen from 
 the bands of Spaniards who had taken refuge with 
 Cabrera upon the French territory. Thanks to the 
 persevering activity of the organiser, these remnants 
 of the civil war were very soon ready to take part in 
 the labours of our troops in Algeria. Called to the 
 camp of St. Omer in 1840, he drew up with success, 
 by order of the Duke of Orleans, several chapters of 
 a manual destined for the use of the officers of the 
 light troops. In the north. Captain Canrobert was 
 incorporated with the 6th battalion of foot chasseurs, 
 and returned to Africa in 1841. In that new cam 
 paign he signalised himself in the combats of the 
 mountains of Mouzaia and Du Coutas, as well as in 
 the obstinate struggle which the Beni-Menasser made 
 against our troops. After having attained the rank of 
 chief of battalion of the 15th light, on the 22nd of 
 May, 1842, he was placed at the head of the 5th bat- 
 talion of chasseurs, which was incessantly in the field 
 on the banks of the Chetiff, and took part under the 
 orders of General Gentil in the affair of the grottoes 
 and that of Sbeah, and also in several combats on 
 the Kiou. Part of the year 1842 and the whole of 
 the year 1843 were employed in fresh operations in 
 Africa, and in all of them General Canrobert worthily 
 maintained the honour of his battalion. He accom- 
 panied Colonel Cavaignac in the expedition of Oua- 
 ren Senis, and formed part of the column under the 
 direction of General Bourjdlly, who, after attacking 
 the Flitbas, made some bold excursions in the coun- 
 try of the Kabyles of Garboussa. Everywhere the 
 3rd and 5th battalion of chasseurs were led by the 
 commander, Canrobert, with singular success. He 
 had been an officer of the legion of honour for two 
 years when Colonel de St. Amaud, who, in 1845, 
 succeeded Colonel Cavaignac in the command of 
 Orleansville, employed him against Bou-Maza. The 
 chief of the 5th battalion gave glorious co-operation 
 in the affairs of Bahl, Oued-Metmour, Oiied-Gri, 
 and Oued-Senzig. In the former he succeeded with 
 250 bayonets in keeping at bay more than 3,000 men, 
 who could not break his ranks. For this exploit he 
 was appointed lieutenant-colonel on the 26th of 
 October. He was soon afterwards closely blocked 
 up in the town of Tenez. where he had succeeded 
 Colonel Clapar^de. Eight months of continual 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [incidents of the battle. 
 
 The following circumstances in connection 
 with the battle should not be omitted. A 
 French correspondent relates the annexed 
 account of desperate bravery displayed on 
 both sides : — An Englishman had just 
 planted a camp flag under the fire of the 
 enemy, in order to mark out the position to 
 be taken by a division which was advancing. 
 A Russian left his ranks, ran up to the 
 Englishman, killed him, and took the flag. 
 Another English non-commissioned officer, 
 observing the movement of the Russian, 
 ran in pursuit of him, shot him with his 
 revolver, recovered the flag, and ran as fast 
 as he could back to his ranks j on reaching 
 which he dropped down dead, having re- 
 ceived no less than seven balls in his body 
 before he fell. 
 
 After the battle our soldiers behaved with 
 great humanity to the Russian wounded, 
 and supplied them with water from their 
 own canteens. In a few instances this 
 noble conduct met with the most ungrateful 
 return. ' One ruffian deliberately fired at 
 and wounded an artUleryman who had just 
 given him some water to quench his burn- 
 ing thiijst. An indignant guardsman, who 
 witnessed the act, instantly avenged it. In 
 another instance, a Russian officer was being 
 
 struggles brought about the pacification of the coun- 
 try, and the superior officer to whom this result was 
 due obtained the rank of colonel, upon the scene of 
 his conquests. After' having commanded the 2nd 
 regiment of the line, he entered the 2nd of the 
 foreign legion on the 31st of March, 1848, and oc- 
 cupied Bathna. General Herbillon intrusted him at 
 this period with the command of a strong column, 
 with orders to attack and intimidate the moun- 
 taineers of the Aures. This order was promptly 
 executed. Colonel Canrobert surprised the enemy 
 at the fort of Djebel-Ghelia, defeated him, drove 
 him, sword in hand, as far as Kebech, in the Amer- 
 Kraddon, and made prisoner of the bey, Ahmed. 
 On his return to Bathna he went to Aumale, and 
 took the command of the regiment of Zouaves. In 
 this new post he had again occasion to act vigor- 
 ously against the Kabyles and the tribes of the Jur- 
 jura, whom he succeeded in reducing to submission. 
 But it was particularly in 1849 that Colonel Canro- 
 bert displayed an energy above all eulogium. The 
 cholera attacked the garrison of Aumale, whom the 
 events taking place at Zaatcha had led under the 
 walls of tliat place. What courage, what presence 
 of mind were requisite in the commander of the 
 Zouaves, who thus conducted his soldiers in the 
 midst of the dangers of a daring march, and com- 
 pelled unceasingly to be the painful witness of their 
 pain! He was everywhere exhorting the sick, 
 attending to their wants, and in passing he sent a 
 reinforcement to the town of Bou Sada, the garrison 
 of which was blockaded, and deceived the enemy, 
 who blocked the passage, by announcing that he 
 brought the plague with him, and that he should 
 infect his assailants. At lengtii he arrived at Zaat- 
 
 assisted from the field (where he had lain 
 for two days severely wounded) by two 
 marines : having begged for some water, 
 he was lifted down ; and when he had slaked 
 his thirst, as one of the marines was in the 
 act of turning round to pick him up again, 
 the ungrateful villaii jhot him dead. His 
 companion resented the cowardly and cruel 
 act ; for, seizing a small spar, he beat out 
 the Russian's brains. It seems almost in- 
 credible, but it is unhappily true, that 
 several of the Russian wounded fired at our 
 wounded who were lying disabled near 
 them. In consequence of this ferocious 
 display of hatred, the English broke the 
 muskets of the Russian wounded and pri- 
 soners off at the stock, and took their 
 cartridges away from them. One* Russian 
 officer was found lying dead on the field 
 with a little dog sitting between his legs, a 
 position from which nothing could move 
 him. Another Russian officer — a mere 
 youth — lay with hands clasped in the atti- 
 tude of prayer. 
 
 In the despatch of Marshal St. Arnaud, 
 it is related that Prince Mentschikoflf's 
 carriage and coachman were taken. In the 
 carriage were found the fall particulars of 
 the Enghsh army; a circumstance which 
 
 cha, on the 8th of November. On the 26th he com- 
 manded with most daring courage one of the attack- 
 ing columns. Out of four officers and sixteen soldiers 
 who followed him to the breach, sixteen were killed 
 or wounded by his side. As a reward for his con- 
 duct he was appointed commander of the legion of 
 honour on the llth of December, 1849. After hav- 
 ing again distinguished himself at the battle of 
 Narah, he was promoted to the rank of general of 
 brigade on the 13th of January, 1850, came to Paris, 
 commanded a brigade of infantry there, and was 
 attached in the quality of aide-de-camp to the prince 
 president of the republic, and appointed general of 
 division on the 14th of January, 1853, at the same 
 time retaining his functions as aide-de-camp of the 
 emperor. Three months afterwards he was appointed 
 to command a division of infantry at the camp of 
 Helfaut, and almost at the same time he was selected 
 as inspector of the 5th arrondissement of that force. 
 Placed latterly at the head of the 1st division of 
 infantry of the army of the East, he took a most 
 active part after the commencement of that war, by 
 preparing the difficult operation of landing, and by 
 powerfully co-operating in the victory of the Alma, 
 where he received another wound. It is known that 
 Marshal de St. Arnaud, who could duly appreciate 
 him, had the most entire confi'dence in his talents and 
 bravery. It is true that the young general had 
 neglected nothing in order to merit that confidence. 
 Before his departure he devoted himself to deep 
 study respecting the scene of the present expedition, 
 as if he had had the presentiment of his future 
 destiny. Such is the general officer for whom is 
 reserved the honour of planting the French flag on 
 the walls of Sebastopoh" 
 
 241 
 
INCIDENTS OP THE BATTLE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A,D. 1854. 
 
 indicated how well the spies in the English 
 camp must have done their treacherous work. 
 A letter from an officer serving in the 
 Crimea, thus amusingly alludes to the loss 
 of the Russian general : — Poor Mentschi- 
 koff left behind him h^s carriage and horses ; 
 the former being fuu )f boxes, containing 
 most magnificent hussar uniforms, and also 
 portmanteaus of valuable articles. These 
 were quickly ransacked. Watches and 
 jewellery, arms, and fine clothing of every 
 kind were found, which soon exchanged 
 possessors in the persons of our men. The 
 officers came in but for a small portion; 
 though I deemed myself lucky in appro- 
 priating to iny especial keeping a very com- 
 pact and useful portmanteau, manufactured 
 from th5 most esteemed Russian leather. 
 Among the various articles found, was a 
 pair of white satin slippers, which made us 
 suspect that the gallant chief was most 
 agreeably attended in his campaign so- 
 journing. 
 
 In an intercepted despatch of Prince 
 Mentschikoff to the czar, he promised to 
 hold his position on the heights above the 
 Alma against even 100,000 men, until the 
 cold weather set in, when he stated that he 
 would assume the offensive, and drive the 
 allies into the sea. One account says the des- 
 patch was something to this effect : — " Al- 
 though the English are invincible at sea, they 
 are not to be feared on land ; but the French 
 will cause a heavy struggle. The allied armies 
 are not however to be feared, as the fortified 
 camp can withstand any attacking force 
 
 * A few words concerning the career of Lord 
 Raglan may be acceptable to our readers. He was 
 born in 1788, and is the eighth son of the fifth Duke 
 of Beaufort, who died in 1803. Lord Raglan, then 
 Lord Ktzroy Somerset, entered the army at the age 
 of sixteen, as cornet in the 4th dragoons. As maj; be 
 supposed, from the rank of his family, he was rapidly 
 promoted, and became attached to the staff of the 
 fate Duke of Wellington, whom in 1807, he accom- 
 panied to Denmark. After the defeat of the Danes 
 and the capture of their fleet, the expedition re- 
 turned triumphantly to England. Lord Ktzroy 
 Somerset afterwards accompanied the illustrious 
 duke to the Peninsula, in the capacity of military 
 secretary and aide-de-camp ; and is said to have been 
 honoured with much of the confidence of that great 
 commander. He obtained distinction in the en- 
 gagements at Fuentes d'Onor on the 3rd and 5th 
 of May, 1811, and in the storming of Badajoz on the 
 night of the 6th of April, 1812, when so many gallant 
 British soldiers fell in front of the walls and in the 
 breacli before the victory was accomplished. ' In the 
 memorable battle of Vittoria, Lord Fitzroy Somerset 
 again distinguished himself by his activity and 
 daring. He won additional honours at the victories 
 of Nevelles, Orthes, and Toulouse, and on his re- 
 343 
 
 three weeks ; and certainly half as long as 
 Sebastopol itself." How far Mentschikoff 
 kept his word, the result of the battle 
 proves; bat all accounts agree in stating, 
 that the position in the hands of the French 
 or the English would have been almost im- 
 pregnable. Sir George Brown declared 
 that in the Peninsula struggle, the English 
 had not encountered a position so strong. 
 
 Many stragglers who visited the battle- 
 field, hent on picking up what they could, 
 or plundering the dead, made an abundant 
 harvest. One fellow found nine revolvers 
 and fifty sovereigns ; and another (a Maltese) 
 was reported to have realised upwards cf 
 £150 in gold. A great many rifles of 
 superior workmanship were carried off, to- 
 gether with coats, boots, &c. ; and in many 
 cases the gold lace was ripped off the 
 uniforms of the dead. 
 
 A very slender pun is attributed to Lord 
 Raglan at Alma. When the armies were 
 drawn up, the French officer who_ was in 
 attendance on his lordship for the purpose 
 of communicating with the marshal, made 
 some observation upon the appearance of 
 the French wing to the right of the Jlnglish. 
 " Yes," remarked Lord Raglan, glancing at 
 his empty sleeve, " France owed me an arm, 
 and she has paid me." It is scarcely neces- 
 sary to remind our readers that his lordship 
 lost an arm at Waterloo.* 
 
 The news of the victory at Alma was 
 received in England with enthusiastic joy ! 
 Well it might be ; for it was accompanied by 
 a report, seemingly well corroborated, that 
 
 turn to England, with the Duke of Wellington in 
 1814, he was rewarded for his' services with a cross 
 and five clasps. The same year he was imited to 
 Emily Hawiet, second daughter of the late, and 
 sister of the present, Earl of Morningtoffl. He after- 
 wards served with the famous duke in the memo- 
 rable campaign of 1815, and was present both at 
 Quatre-Bras and at Waterloo. On the latter field 
 he was, as we have already mentioned, deprived of 
 an arm. Lord Fitzroy Somerset has, during nearly 
 forty years of peace, been known to the public only 
 as an exemplary professional disciplinarian. He has 
 held aloof from political notoriety or distinction, but 
 his principles are, in accordance with those of his 
 family, of a decided conservative character. After 
 the termination of the war he was made secretary to 
 the embassy to the court of France, and was secre- 
 tary to the master-general of the ordnance from 
 1819 to 1827. He was made colonel of the 53rd 
 foot in 1830, and promoted to the rank of lieutenant- 
 general in 1888. In 1647, he was made a knight 
 grand-oross of the order of the Bath, and on the 
 death of thg Duke of Wellington he was raised to 
 the peerage hy the title of Lord Raglan, made a 
 privy councillor, and appointed master-general lof 
 the ordnance. 
 
*.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [reportkd fall of sebastopol. 
 
 Sebastopol had fallen into the hands of the 
 allies. Reflection was lost in joyous excite- 
 ment ; or the actual impossibility of the cir- 
 cumstance might have forced itself on the 
 conviction of those who readily believed what 
 they so ardently hoped. Some were in- 
 credulous ; and we, amongst others, ventured 
 to express our unbelief of so flattering a 
 report. It was useless : people only listened 
 to sceptics with pity, and suspected them of 
 being devoid of a proper sense of patriotism. 
 What, said they, could be clearer than 
 such telegraphic communications as these : — 
 " A French steamer coming out of the Bos- 
 phorus, met another coming from the Crimea, 
 which announced that she was carrying to 
 Constantinople the intelligence of the cap- 
 ture of Sebastopol. The steamer from the 
 Bosphorus touched at Varna to announce 
 this event, of which we expect hourly an 
 official confirmation." — " Another and fuller 
 despatch from Bncharest of the 28th, an- 
 nounces that Sebastopol was taken on the 
 25th, with all its munitions of war, together 
 with the Russian fleet. The garrison, to 
 which a free retreat, after laying down their 
 arms, was off'ered, preferred to remain as 
 prisoners of war. This intelligence is con- 
 firmed by a despatch from Vienna, which 
 announces as authentic the defeat of the 
 Russians on the Alma, the capture of Sebas- 
 topol, and the surrender of the garrison." 
 The next telegraphic communication from 
 Vienna was singularly explicit: — "The 
 French embassy and the Austrian govern- 
 ment have received from Bucharest, under 
 date six, p.m., September 30th, the following 
 telegraphic despatch : — ' To-day at noon a 
 Tatar arrived from Constantinople, with 
 despatches for Omar Pasha; his highness 
 
 being at Silistria, the despatches had to be 
 forwarded to him at that place. The Tatar 
 announces the capture of Sebastopol : 18,000 
 Russians were killed and wounded ; 22,000 
 made prisoners; Fort Constantine was de- 
 stroyed, and other forts, mounting 200 guns, 
 taken. Of the Russian fleet, six sail-of-the- 
 line were sunk, and Prince Mentschikoff had 
 retired to the bottom of the bay with the 
 remaining vessels, declaring that he would 
 burn them if the attack continued. The 
 allied commanders had given him six hours 
 to consider, inviting him at the same time 
 to surrender, for the sake of humanity. A 
 French general and three Russian generals, 
 all wounded, have arrived at Constantinople, 
 which city was to be illuminated for ten 
 
 The circumstantiality of these and similar 
 communications at length won for them an 
 almost universal belief, not only in London, 
 but in most of the cities of Europe. The 
 enthusiasm they created was overthrown by 
 the arrival, on the 5th of October, of correct 
 intelligence, from which it was seen that, so 
 far from Sebastopol having been taken, it 
 had not even been attacked, and that the 
 fleet, reported to have been destroyed, was 
 riding at anchor within its harbour. The 
 telegraph had spread over Europe the inven- 
 tions of dishonesty, or the delusions of ex- 
 aggeration. Unhappily, British blood was 
 destined to flow in torrents, and thousands 
 of English and French to lay beneath the 
 soil of the Crimea before the obstinacy of the 
 czar could be broken, and before it could 
 be said of the adamantine fortress of Sebas- 
 topol — " Behold her glory is in the dust, her 
 pride is overthrown, and her towers are 
 ruins." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A COLLECTION OF LETTERS PROM PERSONS ENGAGED IN. OE SPECTATORS OB', THE GLORIOUS BATTLE OF THE 
 ALMA ; CRUEL NEGLECT OF OUR WOUNDED SOLDIERS ; STATE OP THE COLOMBO ; HORROR EXCITED IN 
 ENGLAND, AND ESTABLISHMENT OP THE PATRIOTIC FUND ; MISS NIGHTINGALE AND HER STAFF OF NURSES. 
 
 In the foregoing chapter we have recorded 
 the events of the memorable apd illustrious 
 battle of the Alma, in which British troops 
 showed that they had not lost aught of their 
 courage, endurance, and other high military 
 
 qualities, during forty years of peace. Our 
 account necessarily omits much that is inter- 
 esting, together with many of those indivi- 
 dual cases of heroism which, on such a 
 day, must have occurred. In presenting at 
 
 243 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BAlTLE.] HISTORY OF TH£ 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 one view the whole, much that is highly in- 
 teresting naturally falls into perspective. 
 Many officers and men engaged in the battle 
 have sketched, in letters to their friends, 
 accounts of what fell under their immediate 
 notice. Such accounts, penned under the 
 excitement of the moment, and in some cases 
 on the field of battle, are of course more 
 dashing, lifelike, and truthful than second- 
 hand relations, or editorial compressions. 
 We propose, therefore, to devote a chapter 
 entirely to these communications; and we 
 feel convinced that the information they con- 
 tain will be accepted readily, if not greedily, 
 by our readers. Not this age alone, but 
 posterity, for many generations, will feel 
 mingled emotions of pride and pain on read- 
 ing the particulars of the heroism and suffer- 
 ing displayed by their countrymen on the 
 blood-stained heights of Alma! The first 
 letter we present is the production of an 
 officer in the naval service of Prance ; but we 
 anticipate that it will be none the less wel- 
 come on account of its being penned by one 
 connected with the navy of our brave ally : — 
 Alma Roads — off the Crimea, Sept. 32. 
 The battle, which began at noon on the 
 20th, was a complete victory. At six o'cloCk 
 in the evening, night alone rescued the 
 Russians from a most terrible destruction. 
 They retreated to their entrenched camp at 
 Katcha, ten miles to the south of this. But 
 to take things in their order : — On the 19th 
 the allied army, , encamped on the shore at 
 Old Fort, where it had landed, struck its 
 tents. All the French divisions moved first, 
 with the brave 1st division of the gallant 
 Canrobert at their head. Our order of 
 march was en losange, and the English, 
 forming the two north flanks, marched after 
 us. We were aware that the Russians were 
 encamped on the left bank of the Alma. 
 The right bank is very low, but the left 
 bank, on the contrary, rises abruptly in 
 peaks, lifting its crests to the height of a 
 hundred feet. On the north, by which we 
 were to debouch, is an immense plain, stretch- 
 ing with a gentle rise to the watercourse of 
 Zembruck, parallel to and two miles north 
 of the Alma. At the foot of the steeps on 
 the left bank of the Alma there is a village, 
 the greater part of which occupies the right 
 bank. This village is full of trees, and is 
 intersected by numerous enclosures planted 
 with vines. 
 
 The Alma is only passable at three points 
 in the course of its last mile, close to its 
 mouth. Even at its mouth it is barred by a 
 244 
 
 narrow bank which only affords a passage for 
 one man at a time in front. Following its 
 course, about a mile and a-quarter higher up 
 is a bridge which passes through the upper 
 end of the village; it leads to a valley shut 
 in between the mountains which stretch on- 
 wards towards the east and the plateaux of 
 which I have spoken, which reach to the sea 
 and command the river. Higher up the 
 Alma towards the east the stream diminishes, 
 and its bed is fordable in many places. 
 
 Mentschikoff, solidly established on the 
 heights of the left bank, and occupying the 
 village at his feet, with 45,000 men, of whom 
 12,000 were of the guard, and 3,000 dragoons, 
 and having crowned the steep ground and 
 the opening of the village on the valley by 
 which the steep ground is terminated towards 
 the east with a numerous artillery, and 
 thinking his position was impregnable, had 
 written to his master (as we learnt from his 
 correspondence of the 21st, which we have 
 seized) , — " I am awaiting the French in 
 an impassable position; even if there are 
 200,000 of them I shall throw them into 
 the sea." 
 
 All this description is indispensable tho- 
 roughly to catch the ensemble of the action 
 which follows. While the formidable lozenge, 
 the point in front, marched over the ten 
 marine miles which separate Alma from Old 
 Fort, the fleet followed. The weather was 
 fine, and there was a slight breeze from the 
 south-west. The sailing-vessels were towed 
 by the steamers and the frigates. The light 
 steamers sailed close in-shore, sounding, and 
 signalling the depth as they went. A little 
 off from the shore were the four steam-frigates 
 Vauban, Descartes, Canada, and Caffarelli, 
 and then, further out still, in a parallel line, 
 the men-of-war. The night before all our 
 other frigates and nearly all our transports 
 had left for Varna to embark the cavalry, 
 of which we are completely deficient, and 
 10,000 men of the reserve. Of course, we 
 on board the fleet sailed faster than the army 
 marched, so that by noon on the 19th we 
 were all anchored off the mouth of the Alma ; 
 the men-of-war found themselves in eight or 
 nine fathoms water about two miles off the 
 shore. The old Vauban, anchored in four 
 fathoms, was in front of the river at a dis- 
 tance of three or four cables off. Her bow 
 guns carried to sixteen cables, so that she 
 could sweep about a mile and a-quarter of 
 the shore; unfortunately, the steep of the 
 right bank which commanded her was 100 
 feet high, and was four cables from the 
 

A.D. 
 
 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars of the battle. 
 
 shore. Tlie Russian pieces perched up above 
 could have riddled us with impunity, but, 
 happily, they were terrified by the sight of 
 so many vessels, the position of which they 
 mistook, and they retired into the interior 
 out of the reach of our guns. Only their 
 Finland riflemen, who, we are told, are sharp 
 active fellows, began firing on us from some 
 of the nearest crests, where they lay on the 
 flat of their bellies, taking aim at us. The 
 Roland, the Lavoisier, Berthollet, Primauget, 
 Vauban, Spitfire, Caton, and Caffarelli threw 
 some shells at them, which quickly cleared 
 the coast. 
 
 At noon our advanced guard crowned the 
 hillocks of Zembruck, and was only sepa- 
 rated from the enemy by the wide plain of 
 a mile and a-quarter across, which stretches 
 from Zembruck to the Alma. The plan of 
 the marshal, we knew, was to halt for a 
 time at Zembruck, showing only the heads 
 of his columns, in order to draw down some 
 of the Russians into the plain on the right 
 of the Alma. Canrobert was to creep round 
 to the east, and at a given moment to turn 
 round and fall on the right of the Russians 
 engaged in the plain, when the enemy, at- 
 tacked on the right flank and in front, would 
 be pent up in a corner, and driven down to 
 the sea under the fire of our batteries. Up 
 to two o'clock in the afternoon Mentschi- 
 koff remained in his intrenchments on the 
 inaccessible plateaux of the left bank with- 
 out stirring. At two o'clock, however, tak- 
 ing our motionless attitude at Zembruck for 
 hesitation caused by his formidable position, 
 he detached a strong column of cavalry (dra- 
 goons of the guard) down to the plain, fol- 
 lowed and supported by a brigade of in- 
 fantry, marching in close column. Atten- 
 tion; now the drama is about to begin. 
 Grouped on the poop, in- the tops, on the 
 yards, in the shrouds, breathless with excite- 
 ment and emotion, we had a capital view of 
 the field; nothing escaped us; we could 
 distinguish the uniforms of the regiments, 
 the arms they carried — everything, in fact. 
 Oh, the glorious and beautiful spectacle ! 
 two armies were about to join battle under 
 our eyes. Our friends, our brethren in 
 arms, at last were on the point of finding 
 themselves face to face with the enemy so 
 long wished for, so long desired. France 
 was about to cross swords with Russia — 
 how great the duel ! And now the Russian 
 cavalry deploys; it executes beautiful ma- 
 noeuvres, the harmony and the precision of 
 which we admire. It skirmishes with our 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 t2 K 
 
 outposts; several volleys of artillery are 
 fired at it ; it replies, and the Russian in- 
 fantry, forming in squares, marches reso- 
 lutely to support it. But our front stirs 
 not; the English troops are not yet in 
 line, and it is impossible for the marshal 
 to venture a general engagement to-day. 
 At four o'clock the English arrive; but it is 
 too late for a forward movement. The army 
 pitches its tents and prepares for a bivouac. 
 Thereupon Mentschikoff exults, and pro- 
 mises himself to demolish us finely to- 
 morrow. At a quarter-past four Canrobert's 
 division, which has succeeded in stealing a 
 flank march, makes its appearance in the 
 east of the plain. All the Russian squa- 
 drons deploy on the right, form a great 
 circle, and charge hotly on our division. 
 The division halts, forms three squares, 
 flanked by its artillery, and awaits the 
 attack. How my heart beat — if they 
 should be crushed by that mass of 3,000 
 horsemen launched on them at full gallop ! 
 But, no ! a terrible fire of cannon and mus- 
 ketry receives them, horses fall to the ground, 
 a still greater number escape without riders 
 in all directions, and the mass of cavalry 
 flies in disorder, and seeks a refuge behind 
 the infantry, where it re-forms. Bravo, 
 bravo, the fire has begun; the Muscovite 
 has turned tail ! Soon Canrobert has 
 reached about half-way along our front ; 
 he defies the enemy. The cavalry, ashamed 
 of its first defeat, tries for a revenge. Its 
 columns are re-formed, massed together 
 closer than before, and the charge begins 
 more rapid and more furious than the first. 
 But a close discharge stops and breaks the 
 rolling mass; the earth is strewed with 
 corpses, and the routed dragoons fly to 
 recover themselves behind the Muscovite 
 squares. No doubt the general who com- 
 manded the infantry was horribly enraged 
 at seeing the fine cavalry of the guard dis- 
 banding themselves in so disgraceful a 
 fashion under the eyes of both armies, for 
 this time he received the fugitives with a 
 general discharge, which surprised us much, 
 and, I own, made us laugh heartily. But 
 it was now seven o'clock, and both parties 
 withdrew to their own encampment. 
 
 Sept. 20th. — A fine sky, smooth sea, and 
 radiant sun. Our troops strike their tents, 
 and are in motion at six o'clock. The Eng. 
 lish are in line, and occupy the left of our 
 army. The Turks are at the extreme right 
 resting on the sea. From our vessel we 
 could see all the Russian positions. Can- 
 
 245 
 
PARTICULARS OP THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF TIJE 
 
 [a,d, 1854. 
 
 robert's attempt the day before to turn 
 their right has put MentschikoflF on his 
 mettle against this manoeuvre. So we find 
 that since the night before a moyenjent has 
 been made towards the right to strengthen 
 it. The centre of the Russian army is 
 massed in the valley which faces the bridge 
 over the Alma; its left, which has been 
 withdrawn aboijt three-quarters of a njile 
 from the sea, covers the heights which look 
 over the river, and which are a continuation 
 of the peaked hills near the mouth of the 
 river j its right covers all the heights which 
 command the valley to the east ; and, lastly, 
 its advanced guard, with all the riflemen, 
 occupy the village on both the banks of the 
 river, A formidable artillery protects the 
 front and the flanks on every eminence in 
 frpnt of the valley, and in front of the river 
 they have strong redoubts. Mentschikoff 
 occupies the towep of a telegraph-station, 
 from which he has a view of the country for 
 nine miles round, The piarshal and Lord 
 R3.glan have agreed on the same disposi- 
 tions as the night before, except that this 
 time there ijras no longer any question of 
 throTfing the Russian army into the sea, 
 for it had withdrawn itself at least two 
 njiles J but the point was to surround and 
 envelope it in the valley in which it was 
 niassed. It w^s settled that the English, 
 whp foEpied the right wing, should march 
 to tjjepast, and then turning round with a 
 s?7eep to the right, should outflank the Rus- 
 sian right T^ing. On our right, the Turks 
 and the division of General Bosquet were 
 to follovf the sea ^.nd outflank the Rnssiq,n 
 left wing, vhich had left a considerable 
 space unoccupied between it and the shore, 
 and were then tp tuf n rpund on the Russian 
 left and rear, The marshal was to attack 
 the front by the village and the bridge 
 leading to the valley where the strength pf 
 the Russians was ma,ssed, but he was to 
 time his movement so as to occupy the 
 attention of the enemy and allow time fer 
 our two wings to outflank him. These were 
 the dispositions agreed on, and towards seven 
 o'clock our army comnienced to njove withr 
 out attempt at concep,lraent, At ten o'clock 
 there was 8, general halt; the soldiers were 
 ordered to take a meal, and an hour's rest 
 was allowed them. The Russians remained 
 quiet, wfiiting the shock in their fprmidable 
 positions, One thing surprised us on board 
 very much — that Mentschikoff had com- 
 pletely abandoned the dpfence of the peaked 
 heights which defended his left. A few 
 846 
 
 guns and a handful of soldiers defending 
 the ravines which pierced that wall of 100 
 feet high, would have been enough to stop 
 all our army. We learnt afterwards from 
 the prisoners who were taken, that he had 
 abandpned the defence of this line which 
 covered his left, regarding it as absolutely 
 impassable even for goats. He did not know 
 our Zouaves ! From ten to eleven o'clock 
 Mentschikofl', having no idea of our plan 
 of outflanking him on both wings, and not 
 seeing the cross- mpvement pf the English, 
 yrhich was cpyered by the mountains in the 
 east, thought again, as he had done the 
 night before, that we were hesitating, dis- 
 pirited, and disconcerted by the obstacle^ 
 before us, "Decidedly," said he to the 
 ofiicers of his staff, "these French have 
 had enough. I shall be obliged to go and 
 help them to re-embark a little quicker." 
 At eleven o'clock the marshal launched his 
 right along the side of the river, and we 
 could see the chasseurs, the Zouaves, and 
 the Turks coming along at a run — it is clear 
 that the marshal supposes that the English 
 have had time enough to make thgir move- 
 ment to the left. Then we see all our 
 centre in motion, and advancing in good 
 order on the village, At noon it approaches 
 that position, which is covered by a cJoh4 
 of Russian skirmishers. The cannon roars, 
 and the fire spreads everysrhere. During 
 this time we see our right pass the river 
 at its mouth; other colijmns push higher, 
 passing the river any way they can. Very 
 soon we aye astonished to see our men 
 climbing these inaccessible peaks, clinging 
 to everything, and swarming along like ants, 
 After twenty minutes' climbing, we see 
 them rising on thq crest of the hill, crown- 
 ing every elevation, and before Mentschikoff 
 cpuld haye believed his eyes, w^ bad 10,000 
 men eutflanking him on his right. Then 
 he bethinks him of driving back the danger, 
 and launches agaiiist Bosquet's cavalry thirty 
 pieces pf artillery and several columns of 
 infantry. It is top late, though. Our 
 troops give way not a foot ; si?; pieces pf 
 our artillery have succeeded ift passing the 
 bridge, S-nd advance to support BosqUBtf 
 The fprmidS'blq artillery of the Russians 
 pierces us and makes lanes through our 
 ranks; but our brave fellows stand their 
 ground, and soon reinforcements arrive. 
 Our centre carries the village, and aU the 
 Russian riflemen are driven out or killed. 
 Soon we are so strong on the left of the 
 Russians, and their attention is so fixe^pa 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars of the battle. 
 
 tbeir centre, menaced by the marshal, that 
 they leave us undisturbed masters of the 
 heights towards the sea. Bosquet profits 
 by this to push ahead and to occupy the 
 road to Katcha with his division, so as to 
 bar the retreat by that. All goes well in 
 that quarter ; but there are no signs of the 
 English on the left wing. The marshal 
 cannot advance too far, because our centre 
 would be uncovered on the right. At two 
 o'clock all the village is ours, and the left 
 bank is conquered; at three o'clock we 
 attack the Biussiau centre, a battery is 
 taken in a redoubt, we press the left of the 
 Russians, and we force them to concentrate 
 all their efforts on the centre and the left. 
 For three hours three of our divisions and 
 an English division had all the Russian army 
 on their hands. At last, at half-past three, 
 there is a great movement visible on the 
 right of the Russians. It is the English 
 troops making their appearance. They ad- 
 vance rapidly J but, in approaching, obsta- 
 cles, arising from the nature of the ground, 
 no doubt prevent them from taking the 
 Russian army in flank, and they make a 
 flank march, so as to get in front of the 
 valley and of the Russian masses. They 
 are in two parallel lines. The Russians 
 resolve to attack them, and all at once 
 three enormous columns, Which formed the 
 Russian order of battle on the right, formed 
 close column, fixed bayonets, and rushed at 
 a run on the first line of the English. This 
 resists; the second line rushes to its sup- 
 port, and then the lines in front, which un- 
 roll themselves like long serpetLts, lap over 
 at the extremities, enclosing the Russians 
 between them. In this order of attack, the 
 English, by stretching out a little, have the 
 great advantage of being able to surround 
 the enemy. 
 
 If the centre of the English lines had 
 been pierced, all was over — the English 
 army would have been destroyed ; but these 
 brave fellows bore the shock without break- 
 ing, and at this very moment a French bat- 
 tery of horse artillery came Up and took 
 the Russian mass on its left flank. Then 
 came a frightful pell-mell; there was Ho 
 more firing ; they stabbed one another vidth 
 the bayonet. At the end of a quarter-of- 
 an-hour the Russian mass was destroyed, 
 and the English lines, re-formiig in close 
 Order to close up the numerous gaps, rushed 
 on the Russian right. From that time all 
 went down before us, and the Russians were 
 soon in full retreat. If we had cavalry, 
 
 the Russian army would have been anni- 
 hilated. Our artillerymen pursued them 
 until six o'clock, firing on the mass without 
 cessation, and Bosquet saluted them as they 
 passed with a heavy fire. At seven o'clock 
 our columns returned to the Russian camp, 
 and encamped for the night on the field so 
 gloriously won. On the morrow (the 31st) 
 the first care was to relieve the wounded 
 and bury the dead. The allies had 1,000 
 killed, and 3,000 wounded. The Russians 
 had 8,000. 
 
 One can scarcely form an idea of the 
 wonderful manner in which our soldiers 
 fight, accustomed to African warfare, and 
 attacking with surprising resolution, but 
 with a marvellous intelHgence too. Are 
 they before a battery — quick — you see them 
 break up into skirmishers, killing from afar, 
 but without presenting a mark for the enemy 
 to fire at. The same before a square; but 
 when it comes to the charge — When they 
 have thrown disorder into a column — ^you 
 see them form quickly in a lump and charge 
 with the bayonet. The brave English are 
 still the iron columns which advance intre- 
 pidly to the slaughter without hurry and 
 without receding a foot. When Lord 
 Raglan saw our divisions of the right 
 climbing the gigantic walls of the heights 
 which shut in the river, he applauded and 
 shouted — " They are not men, they are lions 
 and tigers." 
 
 The brave English are enchanted with 
 their allies, and they, who are good judges 
 of bravery, think we have laboured well, 
 for yesterday wherever they saw a French- 
 man they saluted him with frantic cheer- 
 ing. Prince Napoleon has displayed won- 
 derful coolness and ardour, so that the night 
 after the battle, one of the ZoUaves sum- 
 marised the general opinion of him by de- 
 claring that he Was "a finished trodper, 
 and ought for sure to have served in the 
 old guard." Yesterday and to-day we have 
 collected and embarked the wounded, the 
 Russians as well as our own. I have visited 
 the field of battle. What a terrible spec- 
 tacle ! There were some places where the 
 Russians lay bo thick that earth had been 
 thrown on them in a heap, without at- 
 tempting to dig a hole to receive them. 
 The earth was strewed with arms and 
 debris of all. sorts. To-morrow we march for 
 Katcha, ten miles from this. Will the Rus- 
 sians await us there ? They must be com- 
 pletely demoraUsed, for we have just given 
 them a thorough beating, and in the most 
 
 247 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 formidable position yoii can imagine. Thence 
 we shall fall on Sebastopol all together, and, 
 with God's help, we shall draw this claw 
 from the northern bear's paw. 
 
 The following two letters are from an Eng- 
 lish naval officer, and from a medical offi- 
 cer attached to one of her majesty's ships : — 
 The River Alma, Sept. 21st. 
 
 I have just walked over a battle-field — 
 the field of Alma, one which will occupy a 
 brilliant page in our history. From a mag- 
 nificent position, the finest in the world for 
 an opposing army, the Russians, with an 
 army of 40,000 men and 100 guns, the 
 flower of the czar's forces, were yesterday, 
 in three hours, driven by the allied forces 
 like so many dogs. Had we had cavalry 
 they would have been entirly cut to pieces 
 while in retreat, and all their guns taken ; 
 as it is, the result of the battle is, for us, 
 the position gained by our army, and on 
 the part of the Russians the moral sense of 
 their having been thoroughly beaten, in 
 addition to their material losses : the highest 
 exultation of feeling is universal in the 
 allied army. Two Russian guns were taken, 
 and two generals, who are wounded. The 
 guns are fine brass pieces, one of them a 24 
 or 30-pounder brass howitzer. Our loss is 
 important and great. The 23rd royal "Welsh 
 fusileers sufifered very severely, as also the 
 95th (Derbyshire), — it is the first time this 
 regiment has met an enemy in the field, — 
 and the grenadier guards, 7th royal fusileers, 
 33rd (Duke of WeUington's), 93rd high- 
 landers, and 55th. The remaining regi- 
 ments, cavalry and infantry, suffered but 
 little in proportion, and the loss of the royal 
 artillery was not great. In the fleet, the 
 tops and rigging of the ships were filled with 
 officers and men viewing the engagement ; 
 with^ a good glass the whole of the scene, 
 from the right to the extreme left, was 
 visible even to details, and a glorious sight 
 it was. I would have given all I possessed 
 to be with themj but our turn will come 
 next. The victory was most decisive, and, 
 as our artillery gained the position on the 
 heights, whole lanes were mowed down in 
 the retreating columns of the Russians; 
 yet we hear to day (by the Sampson, just 
 arr ;ed) that Prince Mentschikoflf and Gorts- 
 chakofi", who were yesterday, in person, 
 making the utmost use of their heels, have 
 to-day had the impudence to cause salutes 
 to be fired in Sebastopol, the ships to be 
 dressed, and perhaps have sung their last 
 248 
 
 Te Deum for their ignominious flight ! The 
 position they occupied was magnificent, and 
 their generals calculated upon holding it for 
 three weeks. Lord Raglan allowed himself 
 three days for its capture ; and the whole 
 was finished, from the first shot to the last, 
 in less than three hours. It will be rather 
 difficult, fresh as one is from all the details of 
 the field, to know exactly where to begin 
 the description, but I will try a journal-like 
 form, which, though of course very imper- 
 fect, may give some idea of the proceedings ; 
 for it is rather difficult to arrange one's 
 ideas after the scenes I have just witnessed. 
 
 Sept. 19th. — In the early light of the 
 morning the fleet beheld the armies in 
 motion, French and Turks composing the 
 right wing and the British the left, extend- 
 ing four or five miles into the country. At 
 ten o'clock the fleets were under weigh and 
 proceeding southward upon the right flank 
 of the. army; the whole a curious combina- 
 tion of naval and military force. Before 
 us, and to the left, rose dense masses of 
 smoke, and shortly after mid-day two French 
 regiments passed over the embers of a burn- 
 ing village ; at two o'clock the allied forces 
 had gained the summit of an easy elevation, 
 from which the ground gradually slopes to 
 an extended plain, at the foot of which are 
 the village and river of Alma ; beyond rise 
 the heights, abrupt and precipitous, for 
 about two miles distance from the sea, and, 
 extending far inland, take the form of steep 
 grassy hills, the surface of which is broken 
 by defiles and ravines. Upon these heights 
 was seen the Russian army, standing to 
 their arms ; and now the two armies (having 
 between them a distance of about four miles) 
 first look upon each other. Our troops halt 
 upon the elevation I have spoken of; mean- 
 while large bodies of Russian cavalry and ar- 
 tillery form upon the plain, and, leaving some 
 infantry in their rear, advance towards our 
 right centre, perhaps a reconnaissance, only 
 to make a precipitate retreat ; for the French 
 (under cover of a rise) advance two or three 
 guns, and open an effective fire upon them 
 with a few shot and shell, after which a few 
 horses are seen to start riderless from the 
 Russian column. Our troops encamp, and as 
 the night advances the watchfires of the op- 
 posing armies twinkle in the darkness like 
 the lights of two rival cities. The fleets 
 also lie quietly at their anchorage at the 
 mouth of the river Alma, each ship as close 
 in as her draught of water permits. 
 
 Heavy firing had been heard during the 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars op tSe battle. 
 
 afternoon in the direction of Sebastopol, 
 where we know the Terrible to be stationed. 
 Sept. 20th. — At daybreak the combined 
 army were in motion, and their dark masses 
 became gradually more defined to us in the 
 gray of the morning ; the tops of the ships 
 were again filled with anxious spectators, 
 and at eight o'clock we beheld a body of 
 French light cavalry and light infantry close 
 upon the banks towards the mouth of the 
 Alma; these were followed, shortly after 
 eleven o'clock, by the cavalry and artiUery 
 of the right flank of the French army, des- 
 tined to attack the enemy's left ; they passed 
 close to the clifi', and splendid fellows they 
 looked, their arms and accoutrements gleam- 
 ing and flashing in the bright sunlight. 
 Now a cavalry picket dashes across the 
 sandy pit formed at the river's mouth, and 
 in a twinkling gain the opposite heights, 
 and take their survey of the plateau then 
 before them ; then come the tirailleurs, 
 and by half-past twelve o'clock large bodies 
 of infantry are assembled beneath the 
 western heights. Meanwhile the skir- 
 mishers to the left approach and cross the 
 river there. At one o'clock the flrst shots 
 are exchanged; the skirmishers, who have 
 gained the heights, meanwhile clear them 
 towards the road ; and the artillery, having 
 gained their position, open a smart fire 
 towards a large mound and a redoubt. Fur- 
 ther towards the centre, the light infantry 
 (chasseurs and Zouaves) are rapidly over- 
 coming the difiBculty of the river and its 
 precipitous banks, and some are soon seen 
 scrambling up the heights, under a very 
 severe fire from the Russians, and nothing 
 could be more splendid than the action of 
 the chasseurs and Zouaves, as, slowly ad- 
 vancing, they scale the steep hills in the 
 face of Russian ambuscades and skirmishers. 
 From my "top" I could see the whole 
 engaged line, from the French to. the ex- 
 treme left of the British ; it was, indeed, a 
 glorious sight. As the chasseurs advanced, 
 they found ambuscades in each ravine and 
 the firing hot and strong. One after the 
 other was cleared, and many a poor fellow 
 was stretched on the grass by the time the 
 top was gained. A body of retiring Rus- 
 sians retreated into the redoubt, from the 
 walls of which, under shelter, they dealt 
 great destruction to the poor Zouaves. 
 Twice was the redoubt surrounded, and 
 twice the clustering Zouaves were driven 
 from it. Then an overwhelming mass en- 
 veloped it ; a brave fellow is seen, assisted 
 
 by his comrades, to scramble up the wall ; 
 he gains the top ; a tricolour is thrown to 
 him immediately, and the next moment is 
 planted on the wall, and he who threw the 
 colour, and he who planted it fall dead. 
 This occurred at half-past two o'clock. On 
 the extreme left (about four miles, or per- 
 haps a little more, inland) the Russian artil- 
 lery is playing upon the advancing English 
 at long range, but with great effect ; a 
 village has been fired between our troops 
 and the river, and the Russian position is 
 concealed by the thick smoke, while their 
 guns are already trained upon the ground 
 by which the English must advance ; but 
 the dense smoke of the village is soon 
 passed and the river forded. Our artillery 
 passed over a bridge made where some 
 stone piers had been left by the Russians. 
 Numbers of our brave soldiers are seen 
 breast-high in many parts of the river, and 
 an immense quantity of ammunition in the 
 men's pouches is rendered useless ; a bank, 
 in many places ten or twelve feet high, and 
 frequently perpendicular, is scrambled up; 
 from the ship we can see the English slowly 
 and surely advancing from the hollow under 
 a perpetual cannonade, wedgelike at first, 
 but gradually assuming an extended front ; 
 then a cloud of skirmishers meet those of 
 the Russians, and both appear to meet and 
 become confused together, amid a constant 
 spitting of musketry; then, too, our artil- 
 lery begin to bear, having been hitheirto 
 useless against the range of the heavy Rus- 
 sian guns, which now pour forth grape and 
 case with murderous efiect, and from a 
 long extended breastwork, turned at the 
 flanks, a battery tells awfully. The Russian 
 skirmishers retire, and the 23rd and 7th 
 fusileers double over the parapet and take 
 the work ; but these are in their turn com- 
 pelled to retire, and the work is again 
 carried by the brave 95th regiment, aided 
 by the grenadier guards ; and here the 
 heavy Russian gun was taken ; the rest 
 were horsed and away. The ranks of our 
 brave regiments were awfully thinned during 
 the conflict. And now commences the Rus- 
 sian retreat. Our artillery occupy the post 
 hitherto held by the Russians, and mow 
 down their retreating columns, and the 
 victory of the Alma is gained. The \mt 
 gun was fired at four o'clock. The o5th 
 and 33rd sufiered considerably. When at 
 the river the 47th threw away their packs 
 and acted as light infantry. 
 Two Russian generals have been taken 
 
 249 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.b. 1854. 
 
 among the wounded. One of them is now 
 on board the Agamemnon. He is very 
 sulky, and says he thought he " was to have 
 fought against men, not against devils 
 dressed in red." The other general was 
 found underneath a soldier's coat, with 
 his son, both wounded, on the 21st. He 
 says he was glad to be wounded by one of 
 the queen's guards, adding that he should 
 not have liked to be wounded "by any 
 of those people in petticoats" (highlanders.) 
 The royal artillery lost four officers ; one of 
 them (Captain Dew) had the upper half of 
 his head cut off by a ball. The 95th lost 
 six officers killed and twelve wotinded. It 
 was the maiden fight of the 95th, and they 
 well earned a name to inscribe on the 
 colours, which are so riddled through and 
 through as to render the word "Derby- 
 shire" difficult to be spelt. The greatest 
 loss was in the Welsh fusileers. I saw 
 great numbers of them lying around the 
 breastwork killed and wounded; four cap- 
 tains, a major, and the colonel of this 
 regiment I saw lying dead together- — a 
 ghastly sight ! How horrible that such an 
 awful sacrifice should be entirely owing to 
 the obstinacy and ambition of one man ! 
 The number of dead and wounded Russians 
 lying around the breastwork when I visited 
 it was enormous. Those of our brave 
 guardsmen, 7th, 33rdj highlanders, and 
 95th (poor fellows !) in froiit of it, sho'vred 
 how fierce had been the assault. Just at 
 the close of the action an officer of ours 
 gave a wounded Russian some spirits from 
 his flask to drink ; the scoundrel in return 
 shot him in the back as he turned to leave 
 him, and was of course bayoneted imme- 
 diately. During the action a wounded Rus- 
 sian, being on the ground, cubwith his sword 
 at the English soldiers ; they quickly placed 
 him beyond reach of annoyitig their com- 
 rades in the rear. The Zouave who scaled 
 the wall of the redoubt was sergeant-major 
 of the regiment, and the giver of the colours 
 was a corporah " Pauvres ffargons," said a 
 comrade, "their death was a great loss to 
 them. To-day they would have been deco- 
 rated." 
 
 The country over which the troops are 
 this morning passing by the river Kateha 
 (or Kara) is beautiful, and magnificent trees 
 spring from it. General Brown and Sir 
 De Laey Evans were the admiration of their 
 soldiers. All the Russian dead have oQ 
 their persons a small metal Greek cross; 
 alsQi a brass plate, bearing upon it the effigy 
 
 of St. Nicholas. The helmets of the im- 
 perial guard were sti-ewn around the breast- 
 work in immense numbers. The Russians 
 had all their ranges marked down the hill 
 by cross sticks, so as to ktiow the exact 
 distance of our advancing troops, and the 
 consequent elevation of their guns. We 
 hear that Prince Mentschikoff was very ill, 
 seated in an arm-chair in the rear at the 
 summit of the hill^ with his carriage 0011- 
 vanient. Nothing could exceed the kind- 
 ness of our officers towards the Russian 
 wounded, they going over the field with a 
 plentiful supply of brandy, and administering 
 it where wanted, equally to them as our own 
 men. From the ships, officers and seamen, 
 and the whole of the marines, were landed 
 to convey the wounded to the boats as soon 
 as the firing ceased; yesterday, too, they 
 were occupied in a similar manner. 
 
 There have been some extraordinary 
 wounds. A private in the guards had a 
 button of his coat struck in the centre by a 
 Minie rifle ball ; the button, partially enter- 
 ingy caused a severe contusion of the rib, 
 but saved his life. One of our poof fellows 
 was struck by a cannon-ball at the moment 
 of raising his hand ; the ball drove the hand 
 and arm right through the body. The 
 Polish regiment was carefully placed be- 
 tween two Russian ones, to look after it. 
 
 The Himalaya is in sight with the wel- 
 come addition of the Scots Grays. The 
 57th regiment, froni Corfu, without a single 
 case of sickness, arrived yesterday. 
 
 A Russian colonel was taken yesterday 
 by the English outposts; also a Russian 
 nobleman : the latter was liberated on sup- 
 plying 100 arabas and oxen to the army, 
 which were speedily gathered from his serfs. 
 
 Her Majesty's ship , at anchor off 
 
 ' the forts of Sebastopol, Sept. 35th, 
 
 For the past t^t^o days I have been lite- 
 rally in a sea of blood, as I have been em- 
 ployed attending on the wounded Russians 
 on the battle-field of the Alma. No de- 
 scription I Could give would realise the 
 horrors of war — the dead, the dying, horses, 
 guns, carriages pile mde — headless trunks, 
 bodies minus arms or legs, mutilation of 
 every sort and kind, — that my blood almost 
 freezes at the recollection. Every available 
 hut was improvised into an operating theatre, 
 and under every disadvantage we petformed 
 the most formidable surgical operations. 
 You may judge hOTtr expeditiously we had to 
 get through things when I mention that I 
 
A..I) 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars o?' the battle. 
 
 extracted twenty-three balls in less than 
 three hours. Dressings were out of the 
 question. Our surgical bivouacs were 
 readily known by the number of legs and 
 arms strewn around the scene of our labours. 
 Indeed, I cannot liken the field of battle, for 
 the two days after the fight, to anything 
 better than an abattoir. My assistant for 
 compressing arteries was the first passer-by, 
 and when his nerve failed him, I had to wait 
 until someone else came up. I will not say 
 much for the result of my amputations, as 
 directly one was concluded I laid him on a 
 bed of hay or straw, and left him to the 
 vis medicatrix naturoe. In the redoubts the 
 Russian dead lay literally heaped on each 
 other. Nearly all the balls T extracted were 
 Minie ones. Report says there were 47,000 
 Russians on the field. They held the most 
 formidable position any army could occupy; 
 but the bulldog courage of our troops over- 
 came everything, and in five hours they 
 were masters of every commanding position, 
 and the Russian hosts were in full retreat. 
 No one, I believe, knows the Russian loss. 
 I counted myself more than 400 Russians 
 dead in less than three acres, and the 
 wounded were beyond my calculation. 
 Their supplications, as I passed through 
 them, were heartrending : when I had at- 
 tended one, there were twenty unintelligible 
 supplications from those around me to give 
 them my surgical aid. Our soldiers be- 
 haved in the most humane manner towards 
 the wounded. I wish I could say as much 
 for the Turks. The latter attacked the 
 petreating Russian army, and those who 
 were not killed by their fire, they bayoneted, 
 and cried " Sinope ! " to them. Our army 
 remained at Alma for two days after the 
 action, to attend to the wounded ; and 
 when they left there were many of the 
 enemy still unoperated upon. We have 
 sent down there to-day a line-of-battle ship 
 to look after the rest, but I fear death will 
 have played sad havoc among them. The 
 Russians never look after their wounded, 
 and on our march here (only five miles) we 
 fell in with 500 wounded Russian soldiers. 
 
 The battle was fought in sight of the 
 whole fleet. Nothing could be more ex- 
 citing than to see the successive charges of 
 our infantry. If we had had 5,000 cavalry, 
 we should have made prisoners of one-half 
 of the Rnssiau army, and all their guns 
 would h%vp fallen to us. With the means 
 we had, we performed prodigies, I have no 
 end of trophies in the shape of muskets, 
 
 swords, helmets, &c., and in a few days I 
 hope to add to them considerably from the 
 spoil of Sebastopol. A letter I took from 
 the pocket of a Russian officer I sent to the 
 admiral, thinking it might contain some 
 useful information; but the interpreter has 
 discovered it was only a lovcrletter from the 
 mistress of one of the officers, wishing him 
 a speedy victory over the enemy, and a 
 quick return to her arms. This dream, 
 however, will not be realised ; he was shot 
 through the heart. All the Russian soldiers 
 wore long boots, which our blue-jackets 
 prize, and each man took a pair. The mode 
 of measuring was somewhat novel. The 
 sailors sat down, and placed the soles of 
 their shoes in opposition with those of the 
 dead, when, if the length corresponded, the 
 Muscovite was speedily unbooted. The 
 Turkish troops were very busy pillaging the 
 dead — an occupation which most of us were 
 employed in, more or less. I did not, how- 
 ever, come across any sables in my explora- 
 tions. We, however, shall have grand 
 "looting" at Sebastopol, when my China 
 experience may avail me. This is a horrible 
 way to talk, and, no doubt, will shock you 
 much ; but it is one of the concomitants of 
 grim war, and, perhaps, one of the most 
 agreeable. We have found the peasantry 
 very useful, and they willingly come forward 
 with their waggons, which we hire for the 
 transport of baggage, stores, &c. They are 
 for the most part drawn by bullocks, but 
 there are many drawn by dromedaries. 
 The Russians burnt everything on our road. 
 Sept. 28th. — I resume my unconnected 
 yarn, to say that we are in possession of 
 everything south of the town, and lit up the 
 lighthouse last night. The enemy have 
 men stationed in all the public buildings, to 
 set fire to them directly we breach the 
 citadel. This measure will, I suppose, only 
 spare us the trouble of doing it. The Rus- 
 sians have sunk three line-of-battle ships 
 and some frigates in the narrow channel 
 leading to the harbour, to prevent our ships 
 getting in. Our only chance now of co- 
 operating with the army will be for us to 
 attack the outer ports. 
 
 The next is a very interesting letter from 
 a private ajrtilleryman. . 
 
 Heights of Alma, Sept. 31st. 
 
 My dear —- — ', — This is the day after the 
 
 battle, and I feel grateful that I am spared 
 
 to write you a short but imperfect account 
 
 of our operations since landing in the Crimea. 
 
 251 
 
PARTICULAKS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854 
 
 We landed on the 17th. inst., the greater 
 part of our infantry regiments having done 
 so the previous evening, at a place near 
 Eupatoria, and on the 19th made a day's 
 march towards Sebastopol. On coming 
 towards the end of our march a party of 
 Russian Cossacks appeared above the brow 
 of a hill on our front ; our cavalry, Skelton's 
 battery, and a troop of horse artillery charged 
 up, a little fighting took place, and they 
 bolted, leaving a few dead behind ; we lost 
 one man, and one or two wounded. Next 
 morning — that is, the 20th — we were early 
 astii, as we knew the enemy was strong on 
 our front, but did not advance far during 
 the morning. In front of our position, ex- 
 tending for some distance, was a long, low 
 hill, and about a mile further back a range 
 of high hills. As there was reason to sup- 
 pose them to be in force behind the first 
 rise, we made a very cautious advance, until 
 a column of Russian infantry appeared 
 above the crest of it, when we moved on in 
 earnest, and they retreated in double time, 
 and joined their columns on the high hill in 
 our front. When we saw the strong position 
 they occupied, we made up our minds for a 
 bit of warm work, but did not in the least 
 anticipate such a very warm reception as 
 they had prepared for us. At the foot of 
 this hill runs a town of about a mile's 
 length, and between the town and the hill a 
 river of moderate depth and width, on the 
 opposite side of which the Russians were 
 posted. Now was the time ; we were about 
 to make a rush across, when, all of a sudden, 
 the town, which had been deserted and 
 filled with straw, blazed out in fifty places ; 
 the Russians had fired it to raise a smoke 
 in front of us ; and before we had recovered 
 from our surprise at this manoeuvre, there 
 came from all points and along the front of 
 the hill a perfect shower of 18, 24, and 36 
 shot. The villains had completely fortified 
 the whole face with garrison guns from 
 Sebastopol. After an instant's thought, 
 the greater part of our infantry was sent 
 back out of range, and French and British 
 artillery to the front into action, and the 
 battle had begun. Our shrapnel shells 
 walked in more sharply, and for about 
 three hours we kept hard at it, until they 
 began to rather slacken fire, and we moved 
 to the rear to repair damages. Our battery 
 
 had then lost , shot through the head; 
 
 H., the same ; a man named G., head 
 knocked off; B., shot through ; this was aU 
 of our battery killed. Corporal R., leg 
 352 
 
 broken ; he is doing well, and is not likely 
 to lose the limb ; A. R., one arm and both 
 hands gone ; G., lost a leg ; W., lost a leg ; 
 W., both legs broken; and one or two 
 slightly wounded. Our battery has suffered 
 more than any other. 
 
 After we had repaired damages we went 
 at it again, but they had gained a footing 
 on the top of the hill, and were advancing 
 in gallant style. Our infantry had also 
 advanced nearly up to the batteries amid 
 great slaughter on both sides, so that their 
 fire was taken off us, and our batteries 
 dashed through the river and up the hill 
 after them as hard as they could. Our lads 
 — I mean the 2nd brigade of infantry — 
 charged up to the muzzles of their guns, 
 and bayoneted them in their own batteries. 
 The rest of the battle was all on our side ; 
 the world against a China orange; in fact, 
 they bolted ; we charged over the brow of 
 the hill, and saw them in full cut. Our 
 battery was now on level ground, and the 
 only one up; we galloped a few hundred 
 yards forward, and gave them a farewell 
 round from our guns in time to open a line 
 through the last of their retreating columns, 
 so that B battery has got the honour of 
 the first and last shot in the action. We 
 have taken some handsome brass guns, 
 which are to be embarked for England. I 
 don't know how many prisoners we have; 
 we have not lost one. I went over the field 
 this morning ; it was dreadful to look at the 
 thousands of killed and wounded stretched 
 on the ground. There are at least six Rus- 
 sians to one of ours, including our French 
 comrades. 
 
 The scamps made sure of not being shifted 
 for a month at least. I hear that Prince 
 Mentschikoff told them he should have us 
 all prisoners in a short time, as it was im- 
 possible for us to take possession of the hill, 
 or even to cross the river, in the face of 
 their heavy guns. What does he think of it 
 now? and what will he think when we 
 knock at Sebastopol in a day or two ? Our 
 army are all employed in taking up wounded 
 and burying dead. We attend to the Rus- 
 sians as well as our own. Jack N is all 
 
 right ; he was sent on duty away from the 
 camp, and could not write, as we had only 
 two hours' warning that letters would be 
 sent to-day. He is quite well, and desires 
 
 his love to Mrs. N and the children, 
 
 and to be remembered to you ; like me, he 
 is annoyed at there being no means of send- 
 ing you both some cash. No pay has been 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [particulars of the battle. 
 
 given out this month, and will not until we 
 are again settled for a day or two, and no 
 means of sending home what we have for 
 you upon us. . . . Kiss my bahy a thou- 
 sand times. I thought much of you all in 
 the battle. . . . God bless yoa all.— G-. P. 
 
 This, also, is from a soldier of humble 
 rank, who is not a very brilliant penman; 
 but his plain, truthful narrative wiU be 
 relished more than the rhetorical flourishes 
 of imagination : — ■ 
 
 Bivouac, Touzel, Sept. 21st, 1854. 
 Crimea, twelve miles from Sebastopol. 
 
 My dear S , — I ought to be very 
 
 thankful to God for sparing me to write 
 to you this night, when so many of my 
 brothers in arms are lying dead around me. 
 . . . I have to inform you that we met our 
 enemy yesterday, and they showed us a full 
 front, with, I believe, a much more powerful 
 force than we were. The first shot was fired 
 at half-past one o'clock, I believe, from our 
 fleets ; then one from the Russians. There 
 was a very large village between us and 
 them, which they set fire to as soon as the 
 fight began, which caused us great dis- 
 advantage, as we could not see them for 
 the smoke ; but as soon as the smoke cleared 
 ofi" we soon showed them what the English 
 could do. I do assure you they were com- 
 pletely mowed down by dozens by our artil- 
 lery, who did their work to the satisfaction 
 of all. I must tell you that when we came 
 up the Russians held a fine position — one 
 which the English, with half their number, 
 would have held against the whole world. 
 It was on the side of a very high hiU, with 
 the whole face of it covered with intrench- 
 ments and strong batteries. They fought 
 well for about three hours ; then they began 
 to fall back completely paralysed as our men 
 began to get close up to them ; at one time 
 some of our regiments were only twelve 
 paces from them, and such daring courage 
 completely astonished them. Then they 
 began to throw away their knapsacks and 
 run as fast as their legs could carry them, 
 and our army cheering in all directions. I 
 cannot give any account of what number 
 we have killed; but they have lost about 
 six to one of us. My regiment was not 
 engaged the whole time, as we were the 
 reserve ; so we had only five wounded, and 
 that slightly, although the balls were flying 
 over our heads in all directions. The fight 
 lasted about five hours. After they ran 
 over the top of the hill, our regimeat, witli 
 
 VOL. I. t3 L 
 
 five others that were in reserve, were or- 
 dered to follow them; but, owing to their 
 throwing away their things, they were able 
 to run well, so they got off, but our cavalry 
 soon overtook them and used the sword to 
 them, and made heads and arms fiy in the 
 air ; and our artillery soon gained the hill 
 and threw a few shells in among them. I 
 can assure you it was an awful sight to see 
 the dead lying about; in some places we 
 could not walk without walking over them. 
 I will not attempt to describe the sight, as 
 it is too disgusting, but I never wish to see 
 the like again. It certainly looked very 
 grand from the distance; when it com- 
 menced I was a long way in the rear, but 
 as we advanced and came among the dead 
 it became awful. I cannot describe my 
 feelings at seeing so many poor souls lying 
 dead, and the cries and groans of the 
 wounded. The bands are employed carry- 
 ing away the wounded on stretchers to the 
 rear for the doctor to dress their wounds, so 
 that we are not so much exposed as the 
 others. We are now, I believe, twelve miles 
 from Sebastopol, and there is another hill 
 similar to the one we have taken ; but from 
 what we can make out the whole army has 
 retired right into Sebastopol. We do not 
 think they will face us again until we arrive 
 there. We have taken a great many pri- 
 soners, and with them some officers, and 
 they say that the Russians will never fight 
 as hard again as they did yesterday; they 
 acknowledge themselves that Old Nicholas 
 came to inspect this place himself, and told 
 his men that all the English and French in 
 the world would not take it from them. 
 What will he say when he hears they lost 
 it in three hours? I must certainly say 
 the French fought well; in fact, we owe 
 a great deal to them ; they are very daring 
 fellows ; they fear no danger. . . ; I 
 don't think we shall advance to-morrow, as 
 the men have aU been very busy all to- 
 day and wiU. be a great part of to-morrow 
 in burying the dead. We expect to take 
 Sebastopol on Tuesday next, and I shall be 
 very glad when it is done. ... It was 
 seven o'clock when the order was given for 
 a mail to be made up to-morrow morning 
 at four. I have just got a chance to slip 
 into the hospital for a few minutes, as it is 
 the only light to be seen. We are all in the 
 open air, and shall be now for some time. 
 I have a slight cold, but that I must expect, 
 as very heavy dews fall at night, and the 
 sun is very oppressive by day. I trust, my 
 
 253 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 dear S , that this will find you all quite 
 
 well. . . . God bless you all ! I forgot 
 to tell you that we have taken a great many 
 big guns from them. They had 100. Just 
 fancy the noise of 100 guns ; then ours and 
 the French besides. Believe me, I shall 
 never forget the 20th day of September, 
 1854. I hope the people of England who 
 complained of our delay are satisfied now. 
 
 The next sample from our war letter- 
 writer is by an officer of the guards : — 
 
 Bivouac, Hiver Alma, Sept. 21st. 
 
 I hasten to write a few lines to tell you 
 that I am safe and well, knowing how 
 anxious you will be, after hearing that we 
 have had an action with the Russians. Ac- 
 counts of the battle you will see in the 
 papers, much better describing it than any 
 I could give, as I could see nothing beyond 
 what was going on in my own brigade. 
 That you will see was in the thickest of it, 
 as the returns of our casualties will prove, 
 our loss being very severe. The march 
 from Kamischli to Baljanik, where we 
 bivouacked on the night of the 19th, and 
 again from Baljanik to Alma, was the 
 grandest spectacle I ever saw. The whole 
 army, French, English, and Turkish, ad- 
 vanced in battle array for that distance over 
 a plain as smooth almost as a lawn, and 
 with just sufficient undulation to show one 
 at times the whole force at a coup d'ceil. 
 My division was on the left, and we were 
 about three miles from the sea ; the fieet, 
 coasting along abreast of us, completed the 
 picture. About twelve o'clock on the 20th, 
 on crowning a ridge, we came all at once in 
 sight of the Russian army, in an intrenched 
 camp beyond the Alma, distant about three 
 miles. Immediately we appeared they set 
 fire to a village between us and them, so as 
 to mask their force by the smoke. We con- 
 tinued advancing steadily, halting occasion- 
 ally to rest the men, till half-past one, when 
 the first shot was fired, and soon after the 
 rattle of musketry told us that our rifle 
 skirmishers were engaged. Our division 
 then deployed into line, and we stood so for 
 about twenty minutes, an occasional round 
 shot rolling up to us, but so spent that one 
 •was able to step aside from it. Wounded 
 men from the front soon began to be carried 
 through our lines to the rear, and loose and 
 wounded horses began to gallop about. At 
 last we were ordered to advance, which we 
 did for about 300 yards nearer the batteries, 
 and halted, and the men lav down. We 
 254 
 
 were now well within range, and the round 
 shot fell tolerably thick, an occasional shell 
 bursting over our heads. After standing 
 steady for about twenty minutes, the light 
 division (who were in line in front of us) 
 advanced again, and we followed. The 
 Russians had put posts to mark the ranges, 
 which they had got with great accuracy. 
 We now advanced to within 200 yards of 
 the river and 700 from the batteries, and 
 halted under a low wall for five minutes, till 
 we saw the light division over the river, 
 when we continued our advance in support 
 of them. On crossing the wall we came 
 into vineyards, and here the cannonade was 
 most terrific, the grape and canister falling 
 around us like hail — the flash of each gun 
 being instantly followed by the splash of 
 grape among the tilled ground like a handful 
 of gravel thrown into a pool. On reaching 
 the river, the fire from a large body of 
 riflemen was added, but the men dashed 
 through, up to their middle in water, and 
 halted on the opposite side to re-form their 
 ranks, under shelter of a high bank. At 
 this moment the light division had gained 
 the intrenchment, and the British colour was 
 planted in the fort ; but, ammunition failing 
 them, they were forced back. The Scots 
 fusileers were hurried on to support them 
 before they had time to re-form themselves, 
 and the 23rd, retiring in some confusion 
 upon them, threw them for a few minutes 
 into utter disorder. The Russians, per- 
 ceiving this, dashed out of the fort upon 
 them, and a frightful struggle took place, 
 which ended in their total discomfiture. 
 For a minute or two the Scots fusileer 
 colours stood alone in the front, while 
 General Bentinck rallied the men to them, 
 their officers leading them on gallantly. 
 At this moment I rode off to the Cold- 
 streams, through whose ranks the light 
 division had retired, leaving them the front 
 line. They advanced up the hill splendidly, 
 with the highlanders on their left, and not a 
 shot did they fire till within 150 or 200 
 yards from the intrenchments. A battery 
 of 1 8 and 24-pounders was in position in our 
 front, and a swarm of riflemen behind them. 
 Fortunately the enemy's fire was much too 
 high, passing close over our heads, the men 
 who were here killed being all hit on the crown 
 of the head, and the Coldstreams actually 
 lost none. When we got about fifty yards 
 from the intrenchment the enemy turned 
 tail, leaving us masters of the battery and 
 the day. As they retired they took all their 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars or the battle. 
 
 guns except two, and a great many of their 
 wounded. In spite of this the ground was 
 covered with dead and dying, lying in heaps 
 in every direction on what might be called 
 the glacis, and inside the intrenchments 
 they- were so thick that one could hardly 
 avoid riding over them ; but the excitement 
 of the victory stifled for the time all feeUng 
 of horror for such a scene, and it was not 
 till this morning, when I visited the battle- 
 field, that I could at all realise the horrors 
 which must be the price of such a day. 
 Most fervently did I thank God, who had 
 preserved me amid such dangers. How I 
 escaped seems to me the more marvellous 
 the more I think of it. Though on horse- 
 back (on my old charger), my cocked-hat 
 and clothes were sprinkled all over with 
 blood. The loss of the brigade of guards is 
 very severe, but the proportion of deaths to 
 wounded is extraordinarily small. On call- 
 ing the roll after the action, 312 rank and 
 file and fifteen oflGlcers were discovered to be 
 killed and wounded. Beside these was my 
 poor friend Horace Gust, who was struck by 
 a round shot in crossing the river. He was 
 aide-de-camp to General Bentinck, and we 
 were watering our horses at the time when 
 the shot struck his horse in the shoulder and 
 smashed poor Gust's thigh. He died soon 
 after the leg was amputated. Gharles Baring, 
 who has lost his arm (taken out of the 
 socket), is the only other Goldstream officer 
 hit. They only went into action with six- 
 teen officers, less than half their complement. 
 We have been occupied the whole day in 
 burying the dead. About 1,000 were laid 
 in the ditch of the fort, and the earthen 
 parapet was then thrown back upon them. 
 We find that the whole garrison of Sebastopol 
 were before us, under Mentschikoff in person. 
 His carriage has fallen into our hands, and 
 in it a letter stating that Sebastopol could 
 hold out a long time against us, but that 
 there was a position at Alma which could 
 hold out three weeks. We took it in three 
 hours. So convinced were they of the im- 
 possibility of our taking it that ladies were 
 actually there as spectators, little expecting 
 the review they were destined to be spec- 
 tators of. We expect now to find no resist- 
 ance whatever at the Katcha river, the whole 
 Russian force having retired into Sebastopol. 
 We always turn out at four o'clock in the 
 morning, an hour before d,aybreak. 
 
 The follow;ing is an extract from a letter 
 by Lieutenant-colonel Thomas Unett, of 
 
 the 19th regiment, light division, to his 
 father : — 
 
 Sept. 20th. — Moved on the whole army in 
 same order as the day before, by grand 
 divisions from centre of brigades, artillery 
 between, protected by all our cavalry on our 
 left flank. On looking round, while on the 
 move, it was a glorious sight; the green 
 plains seemed swarming with armed men. 
 Moved steadily on until we approached 
 some hills, when we observed some move- 
 ments and a line of cottages on fire, and 
 evidently a river or rivulet between us. We 
 halted now occasionally. At last our light 
 division deployed into hue, the rifles in front 
 began to fire, and as soon as we got closer, 
 or well within range, 100 great guns bel- 
 lowed out at us from the hills on the other 
 side of the rivulet. We pushed on, and 
 many round shot came rolling through our 
 ranks, wounding and scattering a few. 
 Wardlaw had part of the flesh of his leg 
 carried awayj another man close to me 
 never spoke ; the ground was covered with 
 his blood. The fire now became much 
 hotter from aU their batteries in position 
 and we were ordered to run for shelter 
 under the walls of the line of the burning 
 cottages and ditch, where we lay more than 
 an hour securely. My gray mare all the 
 time would show herself, turning round, and 
 being very uneasy at the firing. Another 
 division displayed in our rear and advanced 
 to us, the shot falling among them with a 
 shrill hissing noise over us. Other divisions 
 deployed and advanced on our right. We 
 were ordered to advance, and did so to the 
 best of our ability in line, across stone walls 
 and a vineyard. Here the plunging fire 
 from grape, round shot, shells, Minie mus- 
 kets, &c., was awful, and also across the 
 stream, through which we made our way 
 with the greatest difficulty, more particu- 
 larly us mounted officers. My mare got 
 into a hole in the water, and was all under 
 for some time, except her head and neck. 
 I dismounted and got her to the side, and 
 attempted the high bank, which was nearly 
 perpendicular and very slippery. I strug- 
 gled to get up, sticking my fingers into the 
 grass, and she by desperate struggles came 
 up by my side as I had hold of the bridle, 
 the shot falling all this time very thick. I 
 mounted and pushed on, and we got into 
 something like a line under the crest of a 
 hill. Our regiment now took ground to 
 our right, and were ordered to advance 
 against the intrenched camp at some dis- 
 
 255 
 
PARTICULARS OP THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tance. The firing now was awful, and many 
 were hit. Our line was not well formed 
 under such a plunging fire ; it was impos- 
 sible to form line. Sir George Brown came 
 and said to Colonel Saunders, " Go at them." 
 He rode in front of the line and waved his 
 sword. The line got more confused. I was 
 on the right of the line to which they 
 seemed to crowd, and, instead of being two 
 deep, we had become fourteen or fifteen 
 deep, all crowding together. During this 
 pause of half-an-hour we were all being 
 scattered by the round shot, canister, Minie, 
 and shells, which continually burst over us. 
 We were next to the 7th fusileers. They 
 retired gradually; we did the same. I saw 
 a French general tumbling from his horse 
 and his horse rearing up. Saunders's horse 
 I saw also rearing. My mare was now 
 struck twice in the front part of her head, 
 in the shoulder, and in one of her fore-legs. 
 I felt myself struck slightly in two or three 
 places, leg and thigh. The regiment retired 
 gradually, firing as well as they could. We 
 got under the hill and formed them again 
 there. We remained ten minutes to get our 
 scattered men together and tell off, during 
 which time we heard of many of ours being 
 killed and wounded ; Colonel Saunders was 
 badly wounded in the leg. I now took the 
 command, and told off the regiment. I 
 abandoned my mare, as she had become 
 faint, and, looking at me as I dismounted, 
 she snorted me all over with blood, which 
 was streaming from her nostrils. My face 
 and hands were covered, and all thought I 
 was badly wounded. I marched the regi- 
 ment up again to the intrenched camp, in 
 line and in order, but in the meantime the 
 guards had supported us and taken the 
 position. Afterwards we bivouacked for the 
 night. Slept well, all round a fire, and got 
 a little hot tea and biscuit. 
 
 Sept. 31st. — This morning crossed over the 
 scene of our fight to bathe with Sidwell and 
 Thompson. We refreshed ourselves greatly 
 with a good wash opposite the vineyard, 
 now all tranquil. What a change ! Visited 
 our wounded, and did all I could for them. 
 An awful sight in all directions — 2,000 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 Here is a letter which shows with what 
 calmnes* and hardihood even those English- 
 men who have been delicately reared bear 
 wounds and suffering. It is from the Hon. 
 Hugh Annesley, of the fusileer guards, to 
 his mother, the Countess Annesley : — 
 256 
 
 H.M.S. London, Sept. 31st. 
 
 My dear Mother, — * * * We forced 
 the passage of the Alma yesterday, and de- 
 feated the Russians most gloriously, though 
 with great loss to ourselves, owing to their 
 extraordinary strong position. Old officers 
 say it was as strong as Torres Vedras. The 
 Russian army was drawn up on the heights, 
 upwards of 40,000 strong, and with im- 
 mensely heavy artillery, 34 and 33-pounders. 
 The light di^dsion advanced to the attack, 
 supported by the first division (guards and 
 highlanders.) They got across the river, 
 and then advanced against the intrench- 
 ments. The 23rd was in column when the 
 brigade of guards charged in line. My com- 
 pany (4th) was next to the colours, and in 
 the very centre of the line. We got up to 
 within fifty yards of the ditch, when the 
 regiment before us (which has had the three 
 senior officers killed) turned right about, 
 and came down in our face, thus breaking 
 our line. We were above thirty paces then 
 from the ditch, and the fire was so hot that 
 you could hardly conceive it possible for 
 anything the size of a rabbit not to be killed. 
 I kept on shouting, " Forward, guards ! " to 
 the few men that were not swept away by 
 
 the , when a ball came and stopped my 
 
 mouth most unceremoniously; it entered 
 the left cheek and went out at the mouth, 
 taking away the front teeth. I instantly 
 turned to the rear, feeling it was about a 
 hundred to one against my ever getting 
 there, as the bullets were whizzing round 
 me like hail. I tripped, and thought it was 
 all over with me. However, I got up again, 
 with the loss of my sword and bearskin, and 
 at last got into the river and out of fire. I 
 had then another struggle on the other side, 
 where grape and round shot were ploughing 
 up the ground, and shells bursting ; however, 
 I stumbled on, and at last got out of firCj 
 and sat down among wounded and dying 
 soldiers and horses. The doctors gave me 
 some water, and then were obliged to go to 
 others; so when they left, I sat there for 
 above half-an-hour before T could find out 
 where our hospital was. At last an officer 
 of the 10th, though wounded himself, gave 
 me his arm, and took me to the fusileer 
 hospital, where I got some water and sat 
 down to bathe my face. 
 
 There were six or seven of our fellows 
 there ; one with five balls in him, another 
 three, and a third with his leg broken. My 
 servant got me some blankets, and then we 
 got a stable, half burned down, cleaned out, 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAE WITH EUSSIA. [particulars of the battle. 
 
 and five of us lay there for the night, very 
 wretched, as you may suppose, operations 
 going on all round us. Some weak brandy 
 and water and some tea were all we had. 
 The shed we were in was a horrid thing — 
 the heat, and dust, and flies intolerable; 
 so in the morning four of us came down to 
 the fleet, and I with two others am on board 
 her majesty's ship London. W. S. has been 
 most kind and attentive. I shall never 
 forget his kindness. I had a hot bath and 
 some arrowroot. I was nearly famished, 
 having had nothing to eat since four, a.m., 
 the day before. The doctor says the swel- 
 ling will soon go down ; it is rather painful, 
 of course, at present. 
 
 B is all right ; the cavalry, being so 
 
 few, were not made use of. They showed 
 themselves at the end of the action, and 
 more than double the number of Eussian 
 cavalry ran away from them like sheep. 
 
 Poor B came to see me in the hovel we 
 
 were lying in, and burst into tears when he 
 recognised me, I was so altered. Of course 
 one cannot have an ounce of lead through 
 one without swelling, and my face is like a 
 good-sized turnip, my mouth much larger 
 than I have any desire to see it in future. I 
 do not suppose the ball could have hit me 
 in any other part of the head where it would 
 not have been attended with more danger — 
 a most summary dentist the ball was, to 
 take out all my teeth at one smash, except 
 four grinders (there was a decayed one, 
 which I hope has gone with its brethren, 
 hut I can't make out yet if it has or not.) 
 There is a good bit of tongue gone also, but 
 the doctors say that wiU not signify, and 
 that I shall speak as plain as ever, or, at 
 most, only with a becoming lisp ; so, alto- 
 gether, I think even you must allow that I 
 have every reason to be thankful, and I 
 hope you will not allow yourself to fret the 
 least about me. 
 
 Just as we were charging the great re- 
 doubt, I prayed " O God ! spare me \" and 
 I really no more expected to return alive 
 than if I had been tied to the cannon's 
 mouth. Only fancy grape and canister 
 being fired at us within thirty yards, besides 
 a whole battalion letting drive as hard as 
 they could into us. Both the other officers 
 in my company were wounded. The colonel 
 (Berkeley) had his leg broken. All the 
 sergeants were wounded, and two killed; 
 and, I believe, at least twenty or thirty of 
 our men. 
 
 I was close to Lindesay when the queen's 
 
 colour was smashed in his hand ; there were 
 twenty bullet holes in it, yet he was not 
 touched ! Our loss has not been exactly 
 ascertained, but I should say it is above 
 1,000 killed and wounded; and that of the 
 French, I believe, is greater. Lord Raglan 
 said it was one of the most glorious things 
 the British army have ever done. 
 
 The doctor cannot say how long I shall 
 be unfit for duty, but I shall try for leave to 
 go to England soon. The fusileer guards 
 have fourteen of&cers wounded; two or 
 three, I fear, will not recover. The 5th 
 company, which was next mine, has every 
 officer wounded. In fact, we were just op- 
 posite the centre of the redoubt, and exposed 
 to the hottest fire of the whole day. Sir 
 George Brown says he never saw so hot a 
 fire, and he was all through the Peninsula 
 and at Waterloo. Strange Jocelyn was the 
 only officer commanding a company who 
 was not struck by a ball. Seymour was not 
 wounded, but hit in the watch, which saved 
 his life. The Russian soldiers are savages ; 
 fancy their firing at our poor men when 
 they were lying wounded on the ground — 
 they even tried to stab them with their 
 bayonets. One of our doctors was actually 
 binding up a Russian's wounds, when the 
 man turned round and fired at him. Their 
 loss, I have no doubt, was greater than ours. 
 The allied horse artillery played on their 
 dense mass running away, and every ball 
 must have killed hundreds. The French 
 were on our side close to the sea ; they had 
 not so hot a fire as we had from the re^ 
 doubts. 
 
 Two Russian generals are prisoners. They 
 said their lines were thought to be so strong 
 that they could have kept us in check for 
 three weeks ! , . . Tell B I shall, per- 
 haps, have some shooting with him this 
 winter, after all. I shall, at least, try to 
 get home .... 
 
 Ever your afiectionate son. 
 
 The following letter was found on Lien- 
 tenant Poitevin, the French officer men- 
 tioned in the despatch of Marshal St. 
 Arnaud as having been shot while planting 
 the French flag on the telegraph tower. It 
 was forwarded to his family by his brother 
 officers. It is dated from the bivouac near 
 Eupatoria, on the 18th ult. : — 
 
 My dear Sister, — I have just received your 
 letters, of the 25th and 28th ult. I am very 
 well. We have all landed in the Crimea 
 without any opposition from the enemy. 
 
 257 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Fa.d. 1854. 
 
 We marcli to-morrow, at seven o'clock, with 
 the English and the Turks. We are to 
 effect the passage of a river, defended, it is 
 said, by 50,000 Russians. All the villages 
 supply us with oxen, sheep, and carriages 
 with the best possible good- will. The women 
 of Eupatoria, all dressed in the French style, 
 are charming ; they kiss their hands to us, 
 regarding us as their saviours. The marshal 
 has announced that any one found pillaging 
 shaU be immediately shot without trial. 
 For the last three days we have had nothing 
 but brackish water to drink. To-morrow 
 we hope to get a little better from Messieurs 
 the Russians, who, if they had liked, might 
 have made us lose 10,000 men at the time 
 of the landing. We do not rely much on 
 the provisions which we may get from the 
 Cossacks, for they live in the greatest misery. 
 The marshal, in reviewing us yesterday, said 
 to me, "You carry a flag, sir, but I hope 
 that you will bring me a Russian one with 
 it." I replied that I would do my best to 
 satisfy him. The porte-drapeau is a passed 
 lieutenant, but as we have not yet had a 
 general inspection, it is probable that he 
 who was proposed for the post last year is 
 appointed (he is now at the dep6t.) In any 
 case he will not arrive until after the battle, 
 and, if I am not killed, we know not what 
 may happen. There is no longer any cholera 
 in the army. We have lost two sublieu- 
 tenants by it — Guery and Guignard. The 
 latter made a speech over the toinb of the 
 former. We hope to commence the siege of 
 Sebastopol on the 21st or 22nd. All the 
 population of the Crimea are for us ; every 
 moment the villagers come to make their 
 submission, and bring us cattle. You think, 
 perhaps, that we can save money, but you 
 are mistaken ; the inhabitants cannot supply 
 us with everything, and the Greeks make us 
 pay 3f. a bottle for very bad wine. You 
 may judge the rest. I will write again from 
 Sebastopol, or from the intrenchment. 
 Your brother who loves you, 
 
 G. W. POITEVIN, 
 
 Sublieutenant 39th regiment. 
 At the bottom of the letter, which is now 
 a relic for the family of the writer, in the 
 blank which he had left to add further details, 
 is written this simple and affecting post- 
 script : — Mademoiselle, — It is with the deep- 
 est grief that I write these few lines, which 
 are to announce to you the loss of the 
 brother who, three days ago, wrote to you 
 the above letter. This worthy friend was 
 taken from us in the battle of the 20th, 
 258 
 
 while filling the glorious functions of porte- 
 drapeau. If the regrets which he leaves 
 among all the officers and soldiers of the 
 39th can alleviate any part of the grief 
 which that death will cause to his family, I 
 am happy to have a good part in it. 
 A friend who loved him, 
 
 A. Brignon. 
 I beg pardon for opening your letter ia 
 order to introduce into it my sad news. 
 
 The following is a letter addressed by 
 Brigadier-general Torrens to Mr. Delme 
 RadclifFe, of the Priory, near Hertford. It 
 gives a touching account of a gallant officer's 
 death : — 
 
 Field of Battle, on the River Alma, 
 Crimea, September 21st. 
 My dear Delme, — I shall wring your heart, 
 indeed, and poor Mrs. Radcliffe's, by the sad 
 intelligence I have, alas ! to communicate. 
 Your poor dear boy fell yesterday at the 
 head of the company which he commanded 
 (No. 1), while gallantly leading them to 
 the attack of a Russian intrenched battery, 
 heavily armed and most strongly occupied. 
 Never was a more noble feat of arms done 
 than the capture of this battery, and in that 
 capture the poor dear old Welsh were fore- 
 most. Their loss has been frightful. Chester, 
 Wynn, Evans, Conolly, my poor sister's boy, 
 Harry Anstruther, Butler, RadclifiPe, Young, 
 were all killed dead at the same moment, and 
 within a space of 100 square yards. Apple- 
 thwaite (it is feared mortally), Campbell, 
 Sayer, Bathurst, Stopton, wounded. Only 
 six officers remain untouched, and nearly 
 200 men are hors de combat. The exploit 
 was noble indeed ; but what a sacrifice ! The 
 position of the Russians on this river was 
 most formidable ; it was defended by 40,000 
 men, and was carried in two hours and a 
 half. They lost great numbers, and the 
 conduct of our army, on whom the brunt of 
 the thing fell, was equal to anything that it 
 has ever done. The French behaved admi- 
 rably. I am heart-sick at the loss of so 
 many dear and valued friends, and at the 
 thought of my poor sister's anguish. God 
 alone can comfort us in these overwhelming 
 calamities, and to His Almighty will let us 
 humbly bow. Your dear boy died instantly, 
 without pain, and lies buried in a deep grave 
 along with his brave comrades, close to the 
 spot where he so nobly died. God bless you, 
 Delme. May He comfort and support you 
 both is the prayer of your old friend and 
 comrade, Arthur W. Torrens. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [particulars of the battle. 
 
 P.S. — Harry Torrens and Bulwer buried 
 him. His wound was in the centre of his 
 breast. He lay on his back, and his body 
 had been untouched and respected. God 
 bless and save him. His face was calm, with 
 almost a smile on it. A. W. T. 
 
 We have spoken of the intractable savage- 
 ness of some of the wounded Russians, who, 
 with a diabolical ingratitude, fired upon 
 English soldiers or sailors immediately after 
 the latter had relieved their sufferings. Let 
 us trust that these marble-hearted men 
 were exceptions — and rare exceptions — even 
 among the miUtary serfs of the czar. The 
 following extract, from the letter of an 
 English soldier, testifies to the gratitude with 
 which many of the wounded Russians re- 
 ceived the attentions of those who had so 
 lately been their enemies : — 
 
 Nothing could exceed the attention of the 
 English soldiers to their wounded foes, and, 
 on the other hand, it was delightful to wit- 
 ness the tearful gratitude of the latter for 
 such attention. After forty-eight hours I 
 found the Russians in the field, still groan- 
 ing from their wounds. As our own men were 
 to be attended to first, these were necessarily 
 left, with legs, arms, and breasts shot away, 
 during cold nights and burning days, with- 
 out care or dressing. Many a flask of 
 brandy and water did I expend in relieving 
 their terrible thirst ; and how my heart did 
 bleed when around the necks of every one 
 of these soldiers I found the cross and 
 Virgin and Child. When I relieved them 
 they expressed their gratitude, first to God 
 by kissing the cross, and apparently saying 
 a short prayer, then by holding my hand to 
 their lips, and pressing it to their hearts, 
 until my feelings could bear it no further, 
 and I longed for some private spot where I 
 could sit down and weep. 
 
 The annexed letters are from private sol- 
 diers engaged in the battle : — 
 
 Alma, September 22nd. 
 
 My dear Father, — I have much pleasure 
 in writing to you to say that I am safe and 
 in health after one of the most brilliant ac- 
 tions that was ever fought. It occiirred the 
 day before yesterday, and commenced about 
 mid-day. We had marched some six miles 
 when we came upon the Russian intrench- 
 ment, and a most tremendous fire of shell 
 and shot opened upon us. They had chosen 
 their spot admirably, as they were upon a 
 range of hills, with a village at their base, 
 
 and a river running between the two. Nu- 
 merous batteries of very heavy guns were 
 planted on the heights, and by means of 
 stakes they marked the exact distance their 
 guns would teU upon us. Immediately upon 
 our approach, they fired the village, and so 
 somewhat bhnded our view; of them by the 
 flames and smoke, and then opened a fearful 
 cannonade from their commanding position. 
 The light division (as is usually the case) ad- 
 vanced first to the river through the village, 
 and then, having crossed the river, ascended 
 the hill amid a perfect hurricane of balls, 
 which did dreadful work among the soldiers, 
 so much so that they could hold out no 
 longer, and began to waver, upon which the 
 order was given for the first and second 
 divisions to advance to their support. The 
 battle was now tremendous, and, owing to 
 their commanding position, we could not 
 bring our guns to bear upon them, and so 
 they had it to themselves for some time. 
 The advance of the guards and highlanders 
 was splendid ; and had it not been for them, 
 I have heard an opinion expressed by many 
 that the battle must have been lost. When 
 the highlanders reached the top- of the hill, 
 which they did in line, the Russians made a 
 faint attempt to charge, but the "braw Gauls" 
 gave a loud cheer, and continuing to advance 
 drove them back with great loss. This battle 
 was won almost by infantry alone, as the 
 cavalry could not be brought in at all, and 
 the artillery very little. 
 
 Sunday, October 1st. 
 Dear Eriends, — The last letter I wrote I 
 thought I should not go further up the 
 country, but in two or three days after I 
 wrote we were on board the ship Simoom. 
 We stayed in harbour eight days, until all 
 the troops were on board, and then we sailed 
 across the Black Sea for Russia, and we were 
 nine days going. We did not sail fast. We 
 joined the remainder of the fleet at Baltschik 
 Bay, stopping one night there for fresh 
 water, and cruised about the sea to see if 
 there were any of the Russian fleet out ; but 
 we saw none all the way. They were afraid 
 to come out to us, for our shipping looked 
 like a little town across the sea. We all 
 landed safe on Russian land. On the 14th 
 of September we marched four mUes, and 
 then halted for four days, until all were 
 ready, and on the 19th we marched to meet 
 the enemy. We marched from four in the 
 morning until five at night, and then we 
 met with a few of the Cossacks. A few of 
 
 259 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854, 
 
 our cavalry had a slight skirmish with them, 
 but they soon made the best of their way off. 
 Very good judgment. There were two or 
 three men wounded and one horse killed. 
 All was quiet very soon, and we began to 
 make a little fire as well as we could, with- 
 out wood or coal, to cook our meat and 
 tea. It was on a large mountain, and there 
 was no tree or hedge in sight, as in England ; 
 but there were thick stalked weeds and 
 thistles, so we cut them down. The re- 
 mainder of the night I spent, as usual, in 
 smoking, and not drinking, sleeping as well 
 as could be expected, for we have no tents 
 now to keep the weather from us; we lie 
 down, dressed, with our firelocks by our side, 
 ready to meet the enemy in a moment ; and 
 the next day was a regular kiUing day with 
 us. We marched early on the morning of the 
 20th ; we marched a long distance, and then 
 we could see the Russians on a mountain ; 
 and then we took a good march to get 
 within gunshot of them. They commenced 
 firing, I think, first, but we were soon ex- 
 changing shot with them, and we kept firing 
 at each other for about four hours. There 
 were two brooks to cross when firing, and 
 they had built two bridges for us to go over, 
 so that they could play sweetly on us going 
 over; but we had travelled too far to be 
 caught in that way. We formed a line and 
 all went through together ; we got very 
 wet, but I did'nt mind that, and the shot 
 came by me almost as thick as the plums in 
 my sister's pudding at Christmas; but I 
 kept loading and firing until we drove them 
 away from the place they had made and 
 fortified, which they thought of keeping us 
 from for three weeks. When they saw we 
 were gaining the day and the victory, they 
 set fire to a village, because we should not 
 shelter there. We drove them away, took 
 the place where they were and one of their 
 large brass guns (eight inch bore.) We 
 followed them and drove them, in about 
 half-an-hour, off another mountain, and 
 took one of their colours from them, and 
 then they made the best of their way off. 
 They ran hke madmen, and we have not 
 seen many of them since. What we have 
 seen we have taken prisoners. The same 
 night, after the battle was over, we formed 
 up, and. the roll was called; several were 
 missing. That was a silent moment to hear 
 who did not answer to their names. After 
 we were dismissed to go where we liked, 
 I thought I would take a view of a battle- 
 field. We had run over the poor dead 
 260 
 
 and wounded, but not to look all round. 
 You must know, my dear friends, that a 
 battle-field is not like a field in England ; 
 it is a large plain hundreds of miles 
 round — no trees, no hedge to be seen ; but 
 we had just got to very large high moun- 
 tains. I took a stroll over the field of 
 battle, and there saw above 4,000 bleeding, 
 groaning, and silent men; and most of them 
 young men ! That was a scene ; and from 
 aU that lot I was spared. I bound some of 
 their wounds up — Russians, English, and 
 French. Some I gave a light to smoke, 
 and some water; some I raised for ease; 
 some I lowered; some gave me money, 
 and some gave me tobacco and whisky : the 
 Russians gave me the whisky. I spent that 
 night, as usual, in cooking my rations and 
 smoking, for that is the chief comfort I have 
 out here. I spent the night happy and 
 comfortably, as I always do; although diflS.- 
 culties in this life are often met with, I 
 always meet them with pleasure; I don't 
 expect to meet with sweets out here, but 
 sometimes ijieet with them unexpectedly. 
 But I must tell you a little more about the 
 battle-field. The next two days we were 
 gathering the wounded together in one 
 place, and the dead in another. We buried 
 the dead in two days, and the wounded we 
 took on board. We burnt all the Russians' 
 fire-arms and clothing that were being 
 thrown about. The next day (the 23rd), 
 after burying the dead, and lending our best 
 assistance to the wounded, we marched to 
 overtake the enemy again ; but they were not 
 to be found, and we have not seen them since, 
 only a few, whom we took prisoners. Last 
 Sunday we marched, thinking to meet some 
 of them, but they fled, and we took all their 
 provisions, about fifty waggon-loads, and 
 blew up a magazine in a small town. We 
 are now about five miles from Sebastopol, 
 and we shall be in there very soon. Before 
 you get this letteir I think the war will be 
 over. I should like to write and tell you 
 more of what I have seen and done, but I 
 have not time now. I must tell you we 
 were highly praised by aU our commanders 
 for our gallant and brave actions in the 
 field. But I will tell you aU about the rest 
 if I am spared to come home. 
 
 Camp, one mile and a-half from Sebas- 
 topol, October 3rd. 
 
 I dare say before you receive this you will 
 have seen in the papers the account of the 
 glorious victory of the battle of the Alma, 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [pakticulars of the battle. 
 
 and the taking of the heights of St. John, 
 in which, thank God, I escaped scot free ; 
 but I had several narrow escapes, for the 
 shell and shot flew around us in an awful 
 way. Now, I'll try and give you an idea of 
 what we have suffered since I wrote to you 
 last : — 
 
 On the 27th of August we left Yuksou- 
 kova, in Turkey, and marched in three days 
 to Varna, and on the 31st embarked on 
 board of her majesty's troop-ship Timandra. 
 
 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of September. — 
 Waiting orders to sailj all the troops on 
 board of transports ; a regular large fleet. 
 
 5th. — Sailed from Varna Roads for Balt- 
 schik Bay, tugged by the Melbourne steamer ; 
 near aground on a sand-bank. 
 
 11th. — Anchored in Baltsohik Bay, and 
 12th sailed for the Crimea. 
 
 14th. — Landed on the coast of the Crimea 
 at two, P.M., and marched at six o'clock 
 about six miles, and bivouacked for the 
 night. It rained awfully all night, and no 
 tents. We lay here tUl the 18th, and 
 marched fourteen miles, packs on ten hours, 
 and had a brush with the enemy's artillery 
 and Cossacks ; it lasted an hour — five of our 
 cavalry wounded, aU in the left leg, and two 
 horses shot. 
 
 20th, Wednesday. — Marched over the 
 mountains a few mUes, and were met by the 
 emperor's imperial guards, and aU his best 
 troops, near the river Alma. We were in a 
 bad position ; for we were in the valley, and 
 on this side of the river, and they had the 
 heights of St. John, lined with artillery, 
 and the best of Russian troops, an€ as we 
 came in sight they set fire to a village on 
 the same side of the river as we were, and 
 the smoke was awful, nearly blinding us ; 
 but Lord Raglan gave orders for the fighting 
 brigade to advance — 55th, 95th, and 30th — 
 and ours went gallantly on, though the shell 
 and shot went through the ranks in grand 
 order, and numbers of brave and gallant 
 men were laid low in the dust. The word 
 was given to lie down till the artillery came 
 up, and when they did we advanced, colours 
 flying, and we chased them across the river 
 and gained the heights after three hours 
 and twenty-five minutes' hard fighting. 
 The "Old Hat-caps," as our regiment is 
 called, lost fourteen men killed and two 
 oflScers, and 100 wounded. Our brave old 
 colonel had his epaulet shot offj Major 
 Whimper shot through the thigh. Major 
 Coats in the leg, and several of our officers 
 woimded. I was dreadfully tired, for the 
 
 VOL. 1. t2 M 
 
 band had to carry the wounded men to the 
 rear, and assist the doctors to amputate and 
 bind the wounds. I saw some dreadful 
 sights that day — poor fellows' legs and arms 
 off, shells bursting near them setting their , 
 flesh on fire ! the stench dreadful ! We 
 were up all night attending to the poor 
 fellows — giving them water, changing their 
 positions, lighting their pipes for them — 
 and the night was awfully dark and cold, 
 and, being on the battle-field, the smell from 
 the dead bodies and the noise of the wounded 
 horses was dreadful. I hope I shall never 
 pass such a night again. The next morning 
 I went over the plain to look at the dead, 
 and saw the place covered with wounded 
 Russians — fine, able-bodied men. I went 
 up to one poor wounded Russian and gave 
 him a drink. He was in great agony, and 
 he made signs for me to cut his throat, he 
 was so bad ; of course I left him as he was. 
 We were occupied for the next two days in 
 burying the dead. 
 
 23rd. — Commenced marching towards 
 Sebastopol, and 29th encamped where we 
 are now, within range of Sebastopol, and 
 are waiting for the arrival of the siege train, 
 and perhaps before you receive this, Sebas- 
 topol wiU have fallen or surrendered; for 
 we have cut off their supply of water, and, 
 according to a deserter, they are on short 
 allowance of provisions and water, and, what 
 makes it worse, they have all the inhabitants 
 of the surrounding villages, for they told 
 them that the French and English would 
 destroy them and their possessions. 
 
 Our regiment was 850 strong on starting 
 from Gibraltar, and now we muster 537 up 
 here ; but there is a number left behind at 
 different places. The enemy keep sending 
 shell and shot at our camp, even while I am 
 writing. I am much obliged to you for the 
 paper and envelopes, and you must excuse 
 having to pay for this, for all my stamps are 
 on board ship. We are bad off for extras ; 
 we are obliged to smoke tealeaves, having 
 no tobacco. I hope next time I write I 
 shall be able to write about the taking of 
 Sebastopol. 
 
 The following anticipates some events in 
 our narrative ; — 
 Head-quarters, Camp, Sebastopol, Oct. 3rd. 
 
 My dear Wife, — I write to let you know 
 my situation. It is a very uncertain one. 
 The whole army is within gunshot of the 
 enemy's forts from Sebastopol, I wrote to 
 YOU when first I landed in Russia, which 
 
 261 
 
PARTICULARS OF THR BATTLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D, 1854. 
 
 was on the 14th of September. I did not 
 give you a full account of Russia then, nor 
 can I do it now, but since my last letter to 
 you I have endured a great many hardships. 
 On the 4th of September we embarked at 
 Varna, in Turkey, for Russia. On the voy- 
 age we lost four men and a doctor ; James 
 Call and Storey, grenadier company, were 
 two of them. On the 14th we landed in 
 Russia ; each man was served out with 
 three days' rations, and no tents from the 
 14th of September to the 3rd of October. 
 We had our tents two nights, the 15th and 
 16th of last month — none since. On the 
 19th day of September was our first march 
 in the country. It was a bad one ; we 
 marched twenty miles in heavy marching 
 order — no water or food for the march. In 
 the evening exchanged shots with the 
 enemy. William Foreman, grenadier; and 
 Stephen Landrigan, dropped dead on the 
 march from hardship and fatigue. Several 
 others died on the same march, but you do 
 not know them. James Callaghan fell 
 down, and could go no further. I believe 
 he is dead ; he has not been heard of since ; 
 several others the same. Three parts of the 
 regiment threw away their knapsacks on 
 the march; they could not carry them. 
 On the 20th we marched again at twelve 
 o'clock, noon. We fought the battle of the 
 Alma with considerable loss. We lost, 
 killed and wounded, 1,800 men j the enemy 
 about 5,000. Our division of the army lost 
 very little. We were in reserve on that 
 day, but advanced in the heat of action, 
 which caused the enemy to retire. The 
 battle raged for about four hours. The 
 French fought like men ; so did the English. 
 On the 21st and 22nd we halted to bury the 
 dead and collect the wounded. On the 
 23rd marched again, with three days' rations. 
 On the 24th marched again; 25th, slept in 
 a large wood, about twenty miles from Se- 
 bastopol. Alarmed by the enemy's shot at 
 twelve o'clock that night. On the 26th 
 captured a fort belonging to the enemy. 
 On the 27th and 28th changed position 
 with the French close to the enemy ; 29th, 
 advanced quite close to Sebastopol, under 
 the enemy, cannonading the fort of Sebas- 
 topol; 30th, under fire from the enemy; 
 1st of October, an attack on the shipping of 
 Sebastopol; 2nd and 3rd, at Sebastopol, 
 under fire from the enemy. Our siege- 
 guns are landing fast, and when they are 
 landed we shall commence the grand attack. 
 It will be on the 6th or 7th at the furthest; 
 363 
 
 then, if I live to escape, I will send you a 
 letter, which I hope in God I will. The 
 enemy are firing at our army this moment. 
 Samuel Harper, grenadier company, and 
 Corporal Garrett, the pioneer, died on the 
 21st and 22ud. Charles Dillon died yester- 
 day. George Mawer's brother died on the 
 road — not able to keep up with the regi- 
 ment. I have seen men and horses dead on 
 the march, from fatigue. Water here is as 
 precious as gold. 
 
 From a corporal of the 7th royal fusileers : — 
 Bivouac, near Sebastopol, Oct. 3rd. 
 My dear Father and Mother, — I again 
 take up my pencil to write a few more lines 
 to let you know how we are getting on. 
 Since I wrote to you last we hare had 
 another attack. We took Fort Balaklava, 
 and at that place we are landing our siege- 
 guns. The place where I wrote my last 
 letter from was called the Alma River ; it is 
 now called the "Battle of Alma River." 
 We are all bivouacked within gunshot of 
 Sebastopol. They disturb us by throwing 
 shot and shell into our lines, but we are 
 making every preparation for storming the 
 forts. We have more forts than Sebastopol 
 to blow down. We are preparing to blow 
 Fort St. Nicholas down first. God knows 
 who will live to see it over ! The people in 
 Sebastopol are as thick as bees in a hive ; it 
 will be a horrid massacre. The people will 
 kill themselves with fright; they are even 
 encamped in the streets ; we can see them 
 with the glasses. We have been on the 
 march ever since the 14th of last month, 
 and have never had our clothes off since 
 then ; we have never shaved since then, and 
 very seldom washed. We are a rough lot of 
 men ; our clothes are not worth twopence ; 
 we are foragers, I can assure you, my dear 
 father. The day after I wrote you the last 
 few lines the commander-in-chief published 
 a general order regarding our bravery and 
 the way we fought ; but you will know all 
 about it before this reaches you ; but a few 
 words will give you an insight how we were 
 situated. The Russians had placed them- 
 selves on the tops of hills with their guns, 
 and we had a river to ford, and the enemy 
 in full play on us with grape, canister, and 
 shells. I had two firelocks broken in ten 
 minutes; a ball went through my foot at 
 the ankle, and a good many through my 
 clothes. Every man was hit either in one 
 place or the other. There were 45,000 of 
 the czar's imperial troops sent there on pur- 
 
A.D. 1854.1 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [pahtictoars of the battle. 
 
 pose to prevent our getting to Sebastopol. 
 They intended holding that position for 
 three months; we took it in thfte hours 
 and twenty minutes. There were four 
 regiments of our division, arnd two of another; 
 that was all that were up at the battle. The 
 guards came when we had driven the enemy 
 from their position. A corporal of ours 
 took a gun from six of the Russians, and 
 our names are put on it. I cannot get you 
 any more information at present, but if I 
 live, I will be able to give you more, and 
 with ink. 
 
 You must excuse the rough way things 
 are, but I know you will want to know how 
 things are getting on. Please to send my 
 wifa a copy of this letter, and my kindest 
 love to her, and tell her we cannot get 
 money here, but as soon as I can I will, if I 
 live, send her some more. I have not had 
 any myself for a long time. We can get 
 nothing here but what the commissariat 
 allows us. Give my love to sisters, brothers, 
 wife, and my poor Bill. Tell my poor Carry 
 that she would not know me if she saw me, 
 for I am all hair from my eyes to my neck. 
 Tell her I am sorry I cannot get her some 
 money, for 1 know she wants it bad ; but I 
 will do my best when we have a chance. 
 Direct for the Crimea or elsewhere. 
 
 The bad English of the following letter, 
 from a young naval officer, will be pardoned 
 on account of the humanity displayed by 
 the writer. Unhappily, the forethought of 
 our generals is by no means equal to the 
 heroism of our men. Defective arrange- 
 ments respecting the health and comfort 
 of our poor soldiers, or rather the absence 
 of necessary arrangements in this respect, 
 have proved almost as fatal to our troops as 
 have the bullets and sabres of the foe :— 
 Her Majesty's ship — — , Crimea, Sept. 22. 
 
 The morning after the battle all the as- 
 sistant-surgeons of the fleet were sent to 
 assist, and boats were sent to bring the 
 wounded off to transports. I was sent on 
 shore, and have been at that unpleasant 
 duty for two days. The wounded had to 
 be brought a distance of five miles to the 
 boats, and, only fancy, they had not the 
 slightest means of conveyance for the poor 
 fellows. The much-talked-of ambulance 
 corps are left at Varna. The cars, which 
 are perfect, are also left behind, and there 
 are scarcely any stretchers. Immediately 
 it was made known to the admiral, he sent 
 fifty from each ship to bring them down, 
 
 and a rough kind of stretchers made for the 
 purpose. You can have no idea of their 
 sufferings; men who had undergone am- 
 putation being carried down on men's 
 shoulders a distance of six miles, and when 
 brought down obliged to lie upon the beach, 
 perhaps for an hour, waiting for a boat. I 
 never saw such want of arrangement. The 
 military have made scarcely any. I met 
 some officers who were brought down 
 wounded yesterday, and they told me that 
 until they got a little brandy-and-water 
 from some naval doctors, they had not put 
 a single thing between their lips for two 
 days, and they had been thirty-six hours 
 on the field without ever seeing a medical 
 officer. Numbers have, I feel confident, 
 died from sheer want of attention. I visited 
 the field; and the groans of the wounded 
 went through me. I saw about 200 Rus- 
 sians wounded lying in one spot. We have 
 treated them just the same as our own men, 
 sending them down to Scutari. I was as- 
 sisting all yesterday at the embarkation of 
 the wounded. I never witnessed such a 
 sight. Upon landing in the morning, the 
 first thing I saw was twenty dead upon the 
 beach, French and Russians. All day long 
 wounded were brought down to me; some 
 died upon the beach, and I had to bury the 
 poor fellows; and in the afternoon several 
 cholera cases were brought down. Fancy 
 sending cholera cases on board ships full of 
 wounded men ! Men were dying all the 
 afternoon of that dreadful disease, and 
 when I came ofi' last night at nine o'clock, 
 there were carts full of our poor fellows 
 dying left there. You can have no idea of 
 the sufferings of these poor fellows. Ships 
 have been sent down with 400 or 500 
 wounded and sick, and no naedical attendant. 
 
 We add to this chapter an extract 
 from a letter of the Times' correspondent 
 at Constantinople. We need scarcely say 
 that the frightful facts contained in it, when 
 known in England, excited mingled emotions 
 of horror, indignation, and pity among all 
 classes of persons. Who was directly cul- 
 pable as the cause of this gigantic misery, it 
 is difficult to say, but surely heavy censure 
 attaches somewhere. The sensitive mind 
 may shrink shudderingly from such revolt- 
 ing details ; but it is right they should be 
 remembered, that a repetition of them may 
 be avoided. Let the dreadful past teach 
 our governments humanity in the future, 
 and let us hope that a proper foresight may 
 
 263 
 
STATE OF THE COLOMBO.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 prevent evils which now we can only mourn 
 over : — 
 
 The Russians expected no quarter, having 
 been taught to look upon the allies as fiends 
 who knew no mercy. It is said that many 
 yere killed by the Zouaves as they lay on 
 the ground, but this can hardly be true to 
 any great extent. The fate of Sir W, Young, 
 of the 33rd, is very melancholy. He was 
 shot by a wounded Russian to whom he was 
 about to offer a cup of water. The Russian 
 wounded remained on the field for several 
 days. About 700 of them were placed to- 
 gether in a vineyard near the river, and 
 provisions sent them by the English general. 
 Nothing more could be done, as even our 
 own men were dying from want of proper 
 attention. A flag of truce was to be sent 
 to the Russian general, with a request that 
 he would send surgeons for the use of the 
 captured men. 
 
 It is impossible for any one to see the 
 melancholy sights of the last few days 
 without feelings of surprise and indignation 
 at the deficiencies of our medical system. 
 The manner in which the sick and wounded 
 have been treated is worthy only of the 
 savages of Dahomey. The sufferings on 
 board the Vulcan were bad enough. There 
 vrere 300 wounded, and 170 cholera pa- 
 tients, and these were attended to by four 
 surgeons. The scene is described as ter- 
 rible. The wounded seized the surgeons by 
 the skirts as they picked their way through 
 the heaps of dying and dead ; but the sur- 
 geons shook them off. It may be expected, 
 and perhaps was right, that the officers 
 should receive the principal attention, and 
 they possibly required the almost undivided 
 labour of four men ; but some one must be 
 in fault when large bodies of wounded men 
 are put on board a ship with no one to give 
 them surgical assistance, or even supply 
 their necessary wants. Numbers arrived at 
 Scutari without having been touched by a 
 surgeon since they fell pierced by Russian 
 bvdlets on the slopes of the Alma. Their 
 wounds were stiff and their strength ex- 
 hausted as they were lifted out of the boats 
 to be carried to the hospital, where, for- 
 tunately, surgical aid may be obtained. 
 But all other horrors sink into insignificance 
 compared with the state of the unfortunate 
 passengers by the Colombo. This vessel left 
 the Crimea on the morning of the 24th. 
 Wounded men were being placed on board 
 for two days before she sailed, and when 
 she weighed anchor she carried the foUow- 
 264 
 
 ing numbers : — 27 wounded officers, 423 
 wounded soldiers, and 104 Russian pri- 
 soners — in all, 553 souls. About half of 
 the wounded had received surgical assis- 
 tance before they were put on board. To 
 supply the wants of this mass of misery 
 were four medical men, one of whom was 
 the surgeon of the ship — sufficiently em- 
 ployed in looking after the crew, who at 
 this place and season are seldom free from 
 sickness. The ship was literally covered 
 with prostrate forms, so as to be almost 
 unmanageable. The officers could not get 
 below to find their sextants, and the run 
 was made at hazard. The vessel was at sea 
 twelve hours longer through this mischance. 
 The worst cases were placed on the upper 
 deck, which in a day or two became a mass 
 of putridity. The neglected gunshot wounds 
 bred maggots, which crawled in every direc- 
 tion, infecting the food of the unhappy 
 beings on board. The putrid animal matter 
 caused such a stench, that the officers and 
 crew were nearly overcome, and the captain 
 is now ill from the effects of the five days' 
 misery. All the blankets, to the number of 
 1,500, have been thrown overboard as use- 
 less. Thirty men died during the voyage. 
 The surgeons worked as hard as possible, 
 but could do little among so many, and 
 many an unfortunate fellow first came 
 under a medical man's hand on his arrival 
 at Scutari, six days after the battle. It is 
 an ungracious task to find fault and to 
 speak of the shortcomings of men who do 
 their utmost ; but an unfortunate neglect 
 has occurred since the arrival of the steamer. 
 Forty-six men have been left on board for 
 two days, when, by some extra exertion, 
 they might have been safely placed in the 
 hospital. The vessel is quite putrid, but a 
 large number of men will be immediately 
 employed to clean and fumigate her, and 
 thus avoid the danger of typhus, which 
 generally arises in such conditions. Two 
 transports were towed by the Colombo, and 
 their state was nearly as bad. 
 
 Among the objects of philanthropy for 
 some time past has been the improvement 
 of the condition of the soldier. Progress 
 may have been made in some respects, but 
 how much remains to be done will be recog- 
 nised by every one who has seen the condi- 
 tion of the sick and wounded during the 
 last fortnight. No blame is due to the 
 medical men or the officers in command. 
 They work early and late, are worn and 
 harassed, and feel as much pity as any one 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [' 
 
 THE PATRIOTIC FUND. 
 
 for the unfortunate dying creatures ; but 
 our whole medical system is shamefully bad. 
 The worn-out pensioners who were brought 
 out as an ambulance corps are totally use- 
 less ; and not only are surgeons not to be 
 had, but there are no dressers and nurses to 
 carry out the surgeon's directions and to 
 attend on the sick during the interval be- 
 tween his visits. Here the French are 
 greatly our superiors. Their medical ar- 
 rangements are extremely good ; their sur- 
 geons more numerous ; and they have also 
 the help of the "sisters of charity," who 
 have accompanied the expedition in in- 
 credible numbers. These devoted women 
 are excellent nurses, and perform for the 
 sick and wounded all the offices which could 
 be rendered in the most complete hospitals. 
 We have nothing. The men must attend 
 on each other, or receive no relief at all. 
 The least that could have been done would 
 have been to send out an efficient staflf of 
 surgeons. Surely the late battle has not 
 come unexpectedly. The army has been at 
 Varna for months, and the expedition to 
 Sebastopol has been long prepared. Nor 
 are. medical men rare, or their services 
 ruinously expensive. There are hundreds 
 who would be glad to come out to Turkey 
 on temporary employment, with the chance 
 of some- permanent situation in future. 
 But though cholera gave due notice of its 
 preseiice — though fever at first attacked a 
 few, and increased its violence day by day — 
 hardly any increase of the medical staff 
 took place. In Varna lately 400 sick were 
 attended by four men, and now vessels are 
 sent on a voyage with a surgeon to 120 
 wounded wretches. As the worst is not 
 over, and has indeed hardly commenced, 
 the attention of the government may be 
 well directed to this pressing want. 
 
 Painful, and indeed hideous, as these 
 ■details are, we willingly offer a tribute of 
 admiration to the courage and humanity of 
 the gentleman who made them public. 
 The gratitude of the army and the public 
 is alike due to him. Shuddering readers in 
 England contributed large sums of money, 
 and the private hand of charity set zea- 
 lously to work to perform those duties 
 which a government should have done, and 
 had not. Sir Robert Peel, Sir Moses 
 Montefiore, and Mr. Lyne Stephens, each 
 nobly subscribed the sum of £200 to pro- 
 cure nurses and comforts for the sick and 
 wounded in our hospitals on the Bosphorus. 
 
 Other contributions flocked in so rapidly, that 
 they soon amounted to as much as £10,000, 
 seven thousand of which was subscribed in 
 as many days. The government did, in 
 fact, acknowledge that there had been cul- 
 pable negligence in not forwarding the me- 
 dical stores and surgical appliances to the 
 place where they were required; for in- 
 structions were sent to try by court-martial 
 the officials charged with this gross remiss- 
 ness of duty. The government also sanc- 
 tioned the immediate dispatch of the super- 
 intendent of the ladies' hospital, with a staff 
 of female nurses, to act in the English mili- 
 tary hospital at Scutari, and thus supply the 
 deficiencies which had been so painfully 
 felt. 
 
 At the same time, her majesty, desirous 
 of encouraging the voluntary benevolence 
 of English men and women towards the 
 relief, education, and support of the widows 
 and orphans of those brave men, whether 
 soldiers or sailors, that fell sacrifices to their 
 country during the war, issued a royal com- 
 mission for the establishment of a Patriotic 
 Fund for that purpose. The commission in- 
 cluded the names of men of all opinions, and 
 aristocracy and democracy found their repre- 
 sentatives in it in the persons of Prince 
 Albert and the venerable reformer, Mr. 
 Joseph Hume. To this appeal from their 
 queen the nation made an instantaneous 
 and most munificent response, and streams 
 of wealth, prodigal and general as floods of 
 sunbeams, poured in for the sustenance 
 and the consolation of the hosts of widows 
 and infant mourners whose husbands' and 
 fathers' bones lay beneath the inhospitable 
 soil of the Crimea, and near the hoarse 
 murmurs and the stormy blasts of the 
 Black Sea. 
 
 A Patriotic Fund for a similar purpose 
 was raised in 1803, when the exertions of 
 Napoleon the Great for the aggrandisement 
 of France having excited the jealousy of the 
 English ministry, England again declared 
 war against the brave people with whom we 
 are now happily in such amicable alliance. 
 The manner in which that fund was dis- 
 tributed was the following : — At the meetings 
 of the committee entrusted with its manage- 
 ment, the London Gazette was placed upon 
 the table. The despatches were then read, 
 the exploits of our men by land and sea de- 
 tailed, the names of the wounded recorded, 
 and the numerous deeds of heroism duly 
 noted. Then gratuities, varying from five to 
 fiftypounds each, were voted for the wounded, 
 
 265 
 
MISSION OF MISS NIGHTINQALE.J HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. ]854. 
 
 annuities to their families^ swords to officers, 
 silver calls to boatswains, and tankards to 
 masters. It has been aptly observed that the 
 whole thing, though put ia the most matter- 
 of-fact way, now reads, like a romance. In 
 1803, a fond, amounting to nearly £200,000, 
 was subscribed in a few months. 
 
 We mentioned that the government sanc- 
 tioned the dispatch of a staff of thirty-four 
 narses to the military hospital at Scutari. 
 They w«re placed under the direction of 
 Miss Nightingale, a lady of great benevo- 
 lence of character, who united with it the 
 necessary untiring industry and firmness of 
 nerve for such a trying position. Many 
 ladies offered their services in this merciful 
 causey but these were wisely declined, on 
 behalf of the government, by Mr. Sidney 
 Herbert. To render his refusal of generous 
 offers palatable, he assigned the following 
 reasons for it: "The duties of a hospital 
 nurse, if they are to be properly performed, 
 require great skill as well as strength and 
 icourage, especially where the cases are sur- 
 gical ones, and the majority of them are 
 from gunshot wounds. Persons who have 
 no experience or skill in such matters would 
 be of no use whatever, and in moments of 
 
 • The following letter (in reference to nurses for 
 our woundeii soldiers), which appeared in The Times 
 of October the 24th, is desej*ving of a place here, 
 both for the cogency and humanity of its arguments : 
 Sir, — In several of the later letters published in 
 The Times, reference has been made to the possi- 
 bility and propriety of employing the wives of sol- 
 diers as nurses to our sick and wounded at the seat 
 of war. I am well acquainted \fith the habits of this 
 class of society. I am well aware of what may be 
 considered the difficulties of the case, and of the 
 arguments likely to oppose themselves to the mea- 
 sure. Still I am its advocate, and I think it may be 
 shown that this employment of the wives of soldiers 
 as nurses is not only a humane measure, but one 
 that promises good results. I do not think the pub- 
 lic are yet quite aware of the condition of those 
 women who were left behind, nor of the intense 
 suffering of those who were permitted to accompany 
 the expeditionary force to Turkey. A large num- 
 ber of soldiers' wives are now iii the East ; some, 
 after the troops sailed for Varna, were left for long 
 weeks at Gallipoli, under promise of being sent to 
 England, crowded together, almost devoid of means, 
 in Turkish houses that swarm with rats and vermin ; 
 others courageously went on to Varna, where, in 
 extreme misery, they were many of them swept off 
 by cholera ; a portion were even taken on to the 
 Crimea. Now, of these poor creatures, the public 
 hear nothing. On the first landing of our troops at 
 Gallipoli, soldiers' wives were compelled to lie in 
 ditches at night, only sheltered from the intense 
 cold of the Turkish spring by their husbands' blan- 
 kets. I have seen them standing washing in the 
 burning sun on the Turkish hills, the skin peeled 
 from their arms and faces, and with the thermometer 
 266 
 
 great pressure— such as must, of necessity, 
 occur at intervals in a military hospital — any 
 person who is not of use is an impediment. 
 Many ladies whose generous enthusiasm 
 prompts them to offer their services as nurses, 
 are little aware of the hardships they would 
 have to encounter, and the horrors they 
 would have to witness, which would try the 
 firmest nerves. Were all accepted who offer, 
 I fear we should not only have many ineffi- 
 cient nurses, but many hysterical patients, 
 themselves requiring treatment instead of 
 assisting others. Nor, even if capable in 
 other respects, would they always be ready 
 to yield that implicit obedience to orders so 
 necessary to the subordination of a military 
 hospital. In self-defence, the surgeons, be- 
 fore long, might find themselves compelled 
 to exclude all the female nurses, good and 
 bad, with a view to rid themselves of the 
 troublesome and inefficient."* 
 
 The appointment of Miss Nightingale to 
 the highly responsible position of directress 
 of the body of nurses whom the government 
 sent to attend to our wounded soldiers at 
 Scutari, made her the subject of general 
 curiosity. Numerous were the inquiries, 
 "Who is Miss Nightingale?" An article 
 
 110° in tents. Many of these women had in Eng- 
 land been servants of the wives of officers, and were 
 well conducted in that condition. Numbers still re- 
 main in Turkey ; others are to be found at Malta : 
 is it not hard that they are simply to suffer • there, 
 and that character and reward are to be gained by 
 others, without giving the soldier's wife her chance 
 also? Why should not the women be employed 
 who are on the spot, and be trained to habits of use- 
 fulness, while they meet protection and encourage- 
 ment ? Why, also, should not some of the poor 
 women now in England, whose sympathies are all in 
 the East, be suffered to go there as nurses to 
 their husbands and their husbands' comrades, not 
 alone, but under the authority of competent and 
 responsible women, who should train them in their 
 duties? These women now here are — thanks to a 
 liberal public — many of them in the receipt of alms ; 
 but would it not be better far to train them to 
 the self-respect of independence, to enable them to 
 gain good characters as useful members of society, 
 and to have ready for future exigencies a band 
 of military female nurses, no longer the mere reci- 
 pients of temporary charity, but acquiring habits 
 which will eventually render them most valuable 
 items in the mechanism of war? I believe the 
 matter to be well worthy of attention, and I 
 therefore venture to suggest it, under the full im- 
 pression that due encouragement and protection 
 to the wife of the soldier will not only make him 
 a better man, but will go far to remedy those 
 evils which, in the condition of the woman, are a 
 stain upon our character as a Christian and civilised 
 people. 
 
 I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 M.Y. 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [account op miss nightingale. 
 
 in the Examiner furnished the following 
 answer to this interrogation : — 
 
 We reply, then, Miss Nightingale, or rather 
 Miss Florence Nightingale, is the youngest 
 daughter and presumptive co-heiress of her 
 father, William Shore Nightingale, of Emb- 
 ley-park, Hampshire, and the Lea Hurst, 
 Derbyshire. She is, moreover, a young 
 lady of singular endowments, both natural 
 and acquired. In a knowledge of the ancient 
 languages and of the higher branches of 
 mathematics, in general art, science, and 
 literature, her attainments are extraordinary. 
 There is scarcely a modern language which 
 she does not understand, and she speaks 
 French, German, and Italian as fluently as 
 her native English. She has visited and 
 studied the various nations of Europe, and 
 has ascended the Nile to its remotest cataract. 
 Young (about the age of our queen), grace- 
 ful, feminine, rich, and popular, she holds a 
 singularly gentle and persuasive influence 
 over all with whom she comes in contact. 
 Her friends and acquaintance are of all classes 
 and persuasions, but her happiest place is at 
 home, in the centre of a very large band of 
 accomplished relatives,. and in simplest obe- 
 dience to her admiring parents. 
 
 Why, then, should a being so highly 
 blessed with all that should render life bright, 
 innocent, and to a considerable extent useful, 
 forego such palpable and heartfelt attrac- 
 tions ? Why quit all to become^-a nurse ? 
 
 From her infancy she has had a yearning 
 affection for her kind, a sympathy with the 
 weak, the oppressed, the destitute, the suff'er- 
 ing, and the desolate. The schools and the 
 poor around Lea Hurst.and Embley first saw 
 and felt her as a visitor, teacher, consoler, 
 expounder. Then she frequented and studied 
 the schools, hospitals and reformatory insti- 
 tutions of London, Edinburgh and the con- 
 tinent. Three years ago, when all Europe 
 had a holiday on and after the Great Exhibit 
 tion, when the highlands of Scotland, the 
 lakes of Switzerland, and all the bright spots 
 of the continent were filled with parties of 
 pleasure. Miss Nightingale was within the 
 walls of one of the German houses or hos- 
 pitals for the care and reformation of the lost 
 and infirm. For three long months she was 
 in daily and nightly attendance, accumulating 
 experienee in all the duties and labours of 
 female ministration. She then returned to 
 be once more the delight df her own happy 
 home. But the strong tendency of her mind 
 to look beyond its own circle for the relief 
 of those who nominally having all, practically 
 
 have but too frequently none to help them, 
 prevailed ; and therefore, when the hospital 
 established in London for sick governesses 
 was about to fail for want of proper manage- 
 ment, she stepped forward and consented 
 to be placed at its head. Derbyshire and 
 Hampshire were exchanged for the narrow, 
 dreary establishment in Harley-street, to 
 which she devoted all her time and fortune. 
 While her friends missed hei: at assemblies, 
 lectures, concerts, exhibitions, and all the 
 entertainments of taste and intellect with 
 which London in its season abounds, she, 
 whose powers could have best appreciated 
 these, was sitting beside the bed and soothing 
 the last complaints of some' poor dying, 
 homeless, querulous governess. The home- 
 lessness might not improbably, indeedj result 
 from that very querulousness j biit this is too 
 frequently fomented, if not created', by the 
 hard, unreflecting folly which regards fellow- 
 creatures entrusted with forming the minds 
 and dispositions of its children as ingenious, 
 disagreeable machines, needing, like the 
 steam-engine, sustenance and covering, but, 
 like it, quite beyond or beneath all sympathy, 
 passions, or affections. Miss Nightingale 
 thought otherwise, and found pleasure in 
 tending those poor destitute governesses in 
 their infirmities, their sorrows, theit deaths, 
 or their recoveries. She was seldom seen 
 out of the walls of the institution, and the 
 few friends whom she admitted found her in 
 the midst of nurses, letters, prescriptions, 
 accounts, and intferruptions. Her health sank 
 under the heavy pressure, but a little Hamp- 
 shire fresh air restored her, and tlie failing 
 institution was saved. 
 
 Meanwhile a cry of distress and for addi- 
 tional comforts beyond those of mere hos- 
 pital treatment, came home from the East 
 from our wounded brethren in arms. There 
 instantly arose an enthusiastic desire to 
 answer it. But inexperienced zeal' could 
 perform little, and a bevy of ill-organised 
 nurses might do mo^e harm than good. 
 There was a fear lest a noble impulse should 
 fail for the want of a head, a hand, and a heart 
 to direct it. It was then that afield was 
 opened for the wider exercise of Miss Night- 
 ingale's sympathies, experience, and powers 
 of command and control. But at what cost? 
 At the risk of her own life, at the pang of 
 separation from all her friends arid family, 
 and at the certainty of encounteririg hard- 
 ship, dangers, toils, and the constantly-re- 
 newing scene of human suff'ering, amid all the 
 worst horrors of war. There are few who 
 
 267 
 
OUR SICK SOLDIERS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 would not recoil from such realities; but 
 Miss Nightingale shrank not, and at once 
 accepted the request that was made her to 
 form and control the entire nursing establish- 
 ment for our sick and wounded soldiers and 
 sailors in the Levant. While we write, this 
 dehberate, sensitive, and highly-endowed 
 young lady is already at her post, rendering 
 the holiest of woman's charities to the sick, 
 the dying, and the convalescent. There is a 
 heroism in dashing up the heights of Alma 
 in defiance of death and all mortal opposi- 
 tion ; and let all praise and honour be, as they 
 ai e, bestowed upon it ; but there is a quiet 
 forecasting heroism and largeness of heart 
 in this lady's resolute accumulation of the 
 powers of consolation, and her devoted appli- 
 cation of them, which rank as high and are 
 at least as pure. A sage few will no doubt 
 condemn, sneer at, or pity an enthusiasm 
 which to them seems eccentric, or at best 
 misplaced; but to the true heart of the 
 country it will speak home, and be there 
 felt, that there is not one of England's 
 proudest and purest daughters who, at this 
 moment, stands on so high a pinnacle as 
 Florence Nightingale. 
 
 The following interesting letter was after- 
 wards received from one of the heroic ladies 
 who accompanied Miss Nightingale on her 
 noble errand of mercy and patriotism : — 
 Military Hospital, Scutari, Nov. 11th. ' 
 
 My dear , — I have come out here as 
 
 one of the government nurses, and the 
 position in which we are placed induces me 
 to write and ask you, at once, to send us 
 out a few dozens of wine, or, in short, any- 
 thing which may be useful for the wounded 
 or dying, hundreds of whom are now around 
 us, under this rootj filling up even the pas- 
 sages to the very rooms we occupy. Go- 
 vernment is liberal, and for one moment I 
 would not complain of their desire to meet 
 all our wants ; but, with such a number of 
 wounded coming in from Sebastopol, it 
 does appear absolutely impossible to meet 
 the wants of those who are dying of dysen- 
 tery and exhaustion; out of four wards 
 committed to my care, eleven men have 
 died in the night, simply from exhaustion, 
 which, humanly speaking, might have been 
 stopped, could I have laid my hands at 
 once on such nourishment as I know they 
 ought to have had. 
 
 There are fifty nurses, most of them ex- 
 ceedingly skilful, and we find our efforts so 
 appreciated by the soldiers, as well as bv 
 268 
 
 the medical officers, that there is every 
 hope that the experiment on the part of the 
 English of sending women out to do the 
 part which God so evidently assigned to 
 them will be blessed. It is necessary to be 
 as near the scene of war as we are, to know 
 the horrors which we have seen and heard 
 of, and I know not which sight is most 
 heart-rending — to witness fine strong men 
 and youths worn down by exhaustion, and 
 sinking under it; or others Qoming in, 
 as many hundreds did yesterday, fearfully 
 wounded. The whole of yesterday one 
 could only forget one's own existence, for it 
 was spent, first, in sewing the men's mat- 
 tresses together, and then in washing them, 
 and assisting the surgeons, when we could, 
 in dressing their ghastly wounds, and seeing 
 the poor fellows made as easy as their cir- 
 cumstances would admit, after their five 
 days' confinement on board ship, during 
 which space their wounds were not dressed. 
 The best plan I can think of is to write 
 this letter, requesting you to send us a box 
 of things for the use of the sick. This work 
 may be for one year — it may be for ten. 
 People on the spot are exceedingly kind, 
 and make every exertion to help us. Miss 
 Nightingale, under whom we work, is well 
 fitted in every way to fill her arduous post, 
 the whole object of her life having hitherto 
 been the superintendence of hospitals 
 abroad. We had a terrible passage out in 
 the Vectis. It blew almost a hurricane in 
 the Mediterranean, directly against us, and 
 we were in much danger. We arrived on 
 the last day of October. Wine, and bottles 
 of chicken broth, preserved meat for soup, 
 &c., will be most acceptable. You must be 
 told again, that we do not complain of 
 remissness of the authorities to do what 
 they can, but even the necessary delays are 
 fatal to the men, reduced, as they are, to 
 the last stage of exhaustion. I expect to 
 find two more dead on going round this 
 morning; that will be a proportion of 
 eleven to thirty in two days. Wine would 
 be of immense service to some of the nurses, 
 just before going into the wards. We have 
 not seen a drop of milk, and the bread is 
 extremely sour, the butter most filthy. It 
 is Irish butter in a state of decomposition, 
 and the meat is more like moist leather 
 than food. Potatoes we are waiting for till 
 they arrive from France. Flannel, and 
 anything that would serve as pocket-hand- 
 kerchiefs for the men, so many of them 
 having lost their bags ; chocolate in cakes 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [the hospital at scutaui. 
 
 gelatine, and brandy, would be most desir- 
 able. Warm clothing, too, of all descrip- 
 tions, for the convalescents, now the winter 
 is so fast advancing, would be thankfully 
 received. I have named many things, so 
 
 * This letter elicited the notice of the Earl of 
 Derby in his brief review in the House of Lords, 
 on the opening of parliament, of the conduct of min- 
 isters during me war. " 1 remember," said his lord- 
 ship, " seeing two or three columns occupied in 
 one of the newspapers full of particulars as to the 
 amount of stores; and when public charity and 
 sympathy came forward with offers of assistance — 
 of stores of all description, linen rags, and other 
 appliances for the wounded — they were told that 
 there was abundance of everything ; that there was 
 no want of supplies ; that there was abundance both 
 of medicines and medical officers. Well, a lady ha3 
 been sent gut under the sanction of the government 
 — a lady to whose heroism and that of her com- 
 panions it is impossible for language to do justice — 
 who, giving up all the comforts and luxuries of life, 
 gave themselves with noble self-devotion to the 
 mitigation of suffering, and to the supervision of 
 those over-crowded hospitals. What teas the account 
 contained in the very first demand made by these 
 ladies sent out under the sanction of government ? 
 Why, it was an ardent and almost importunate re- 
 quest to the British public to send out that which 
 the government said was already supplied in pro- 
 fusion ; and this was accompanied by the statement, 
 that in one day eleven men had sunk from exhaus- 
 tion, in consequence of not having a bottle of wine 
 to relieve them. Now this is a subject in regard to 
 which, I say, a heavy responsibility devolves upon 
 the government. I cannot tell how far these charges 
 are correct, but I know they are in every man's 
 mouth ; and I felt, consequently, that it was my 
 duty, as a peer of parliament, and as one deeply in- 
 terested in the welfare of the brave men whom we 
 have sent out to fight our battles, to comment upon 
 what is generally said; and I therefore ask the 
 government not only to deny, but to disprove these 
 statements, if disprove them they can." The min- 
 istry of Lord Aberdeen has its advocates, and its 
 warm ones — those who assert that if some hesitation 
 and wavering was displayed in the outbreak of the 
 war, that it had been amply atoned for by subsequent 
 activity. The reader is aware that we scarcely sub- 
 scribe to this opinion. On the contrary, we cannot 
 but think that there is too much of truth in the fol- 
 lowing sarcastic observations of the illustrious con- 
 servative peer from whom we have just quoted : — 
 " I cannot but entertain a doubt, knowing the un- 
 willingness and reluctance with which her majesty's 
 government permitted themselves to be dragged into 
 the war — I cannot but entertain a doubt whether 
 they had among them those who were capable and 
 disposed to take a sufficiently comprehensive view 
 of the great and important interests involved in 
 this war, and of its mighty consequences and re- 
 quirements ; or that, if there was such a man, he was 
 not able to impress the reflections of his own mind 
 upon those of his colleagues. From the very first 
 to the very last, there had been apparent in the 
 course pursued by her majesty's government a want 
 of previous preparation — a total want of prescience. ; 
 and that they have appeared to live from day to day 
 providing for each successive exigency after it arose, 
 
 VOL. 1. t3 N 
 
 that you may do what you like. I suspect 
 there may be greater need than ever of 
 winter clothing. Before night they expect 
 to land 700 wounded between the two hos- 
 pitals.* 
 
 and not before it arose. Too LATE have been the 
 fatal words applicable to the whole conduct of her 
 majesty's government in the course of the war. We 
 were too late in our declaration of war. We were 
 too late in deciding that the passage of the Pruth 
 was a casus belli in the first instance. We wei'e too 
 late in sending our troops to the Black Sea ; and we 
 were too complaisant to the Emperor of Kussia, who 
 thanked us for refusing to act in concert with our 
 French allies, and send a fleet into the Black Sea at 
 a time when the French thought it desirable. Our 
 co-operation then would have been of immense im- 
 portance, and our non-compliance, which extorted 
 thanks from the Emperor of Russia, controlled, to a 
 great extent, the action of our allies. We were 
 too late, my lords, in declaring the war; we were 
 too late in entering the Black Sea, and we allowed 
 the massacre of Sinope to take place. At that time 
 the Turks were under the pledge of protection from 
 this couutry ; but in the teeth of a powerful arma- 
 ment Sinope was taken and desti'oyed, the Turkish 
 fleet was annihilated on its own waters, and we were 
 standing idly by, not at Sinope, but in the Black 
 Sea ; and, for the purpose of co-operation, were either 
 powerless or unwilling to interfere in time." 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle, in replying to the noble 
 earl, said that the quantity of port wine sent out 
 to the hospital at Scutari, was 4,880 dozen; that 
 1,200 gallons of brandy were also sent out, and 
 31,180 lbs. of sugar. The quantity of lint sent out 
 to the army was, he said, 26,564 lbs. ; a quantity 
 that would cover no less than thirty-six acres of 
 ground. Added to which there were 117,500 ban- 
 dages of calico and linen, and 20,550 yards of ad- 
 hesive plaster. A sufficient supply of these neces- 
 saries seems to have been sent out by the government; 
 but by some extraordinary mischance, when they 
 were wanted they seldom could be found. 
 
 In the House of Commons, Mr. Sidney Herbert, in 
 defending the government on this point, gave the 
 following explanation : — " There never was for a 
 moment a deficiency of lint, of linen, or of anything 
 else. At the time the army left Varna the general 
 hospital was there, and orders were then given that 
 the stores should be sent down to Scutari, but that 
 order, in the hurry and bustle of departure, was 
 never executed. The principal portion of the stores 
 remained at Varna, while the whole mass of the 
 wounded were sent to Scutari. • * • There 
 have been all manner of forms to be gone through 
 before stores could be issued to the medical officers. 
 Every account says this : the medical men in their 
 vocation are beyond all praise ; their tenderness to 
 the sick, their humanity, their zeal, their energy, 
 are mentioned by every one, friend and foe. But it 
 does appear to me that the deficiency is this ; — that 
 with plenty of stores, no one seemed to know where 
 to lay their hands upon them ; with plenty of mate- 
 rials at their disposal, the forms were so cumbrous 
 that they never could be produced with that rapidity 
 which was necessary for the purposes of a military hos- 
 pital. The moment we heard complaints of this kind 
 we sent out a commission with authority to inquire 
 into the causes of these evils, and set them right" 
 
 269 
 
MARCH TO THE KATCHA.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ALLIES LEAVE THE HEIGHTS OF ALMA, AND MARCH TO THE EIVER KATCHA ; RUIN AND DESOLATION 
 CAUSED BY WAR; THE FAMOUS MARCH ROUND SEBASTOPOL TO BALAKLAVA; PANIC AND FLIGHT OF A 
 RUSSIAN ARMY ON BEING SURPRISED BY A SMALL PARTY OF SCOTS GRAYS AND ARTILLERY ; MACKENZIE'S 
 FARM ! DESCRIPTION OP BALAKLAVA ; SURRENDER OF THE OLD FORT THERE ; DESPATCH OF LORD RAG- 
 LAN ; DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS AND TOWN OF SEBASTOPOL ; PREPARATIONS FOE THE SIEGE; COl^- 
 DITION OF OUR TROOPS BEFORE SEBASTOPOL ; OPENING OF THE TRENCHES ; THE OPERATIONS OF A SIEGE ; 
 ADVENTURE OF AN AUSTRIAN VESSEL BEFORE SEBASTOPOL ; SKIRMISH WITH THE RUSSIANS ; CRUEL 
 PRIVATIONS OF THE TURKISH SOLDIERS ; GENERAL ORDER OF LORD RAGLAN IN REFERENCE TO THE SIEGE. 
 
 We have mentioned that on the day after 
 the battle of the Alma (the 31st of Sep- 
 tember), the allies were engaged in collect- 
 ing the wounded and burying the dead. 
 Night set in before this painful and melan- 
 choly work was concluded ; it was therefore 
 renewed and completed on the 22nd. The 
 English wounded were sent on board ship 
 in arabas and litters, and the labour of the 
 sturgeons was incessant. As usual, the ar- 
 rangements of the French were far superior 
 to those of the English. Instead of jolting 
 arabas and litters, they had well-appointed 
 covered hospital vans for the conveyance of 
 their sufferers. Of the English, some poor 
 fellows died on their way to the ships. The 
 firelocks, knapsacks, bayonets, cartridge- 
 boxes, and other accoutrements found on 
 the Russians, were collected together near 
 Lord Raglan's tent, and formed heaps about 
 twenty yards long by about ten broad. 
 
 Many of our poor, soldiers died of cholera 
 on the night of the 22nd, and the grim blue 
 pestilence seemed as inexorable as destiny. 
 " My sleep," says a correspondent from the 
 camp, " was disturbed by the groans of the 
 dying, and on getting up in the morning, I 
 found that the corpse of a Russian lay close 
 to the tent in which I had been permitted 
 to rest. He was not there when we retired 
 to rest, so that the wretched creature, who 
 had probably been wandering about without 
 food upon the hills ever since the battle, 
 must have crawled down towards our fires 
 and there expired in the attempt to reach 
 them; several men had died close to our 
 tent during the night." 
 
 On the morning of the 23rd the allies 
 left the heights of Alma, and commenced 
 their march towards the river Katcha, 
 where it was considered probable that the 
 Russians might again attempt to oppose 
 our progress. As the day dawned, and 
 while the numerous watchfires still flickered 
 faintly over their embers, the French as- 
 270 
 
 sembled all their drums and trumpets on 
 the top of the highest of the hills they 
 carried, and celebrated their victory with 
 many a wild burst of martial music. The 
 spirit-stirring sounds thrilled through the 
 valley, and inspired every bosom with 
 martial ardour. " The fogs of the night,' 
 says the writer we have just quoted, " crept 
 slowly up the hill sides, and hung in un- 
 certain folds around their summits, reveal- 
 ing here and there the gathering columns 
 of our regiments in dark patches on the 
 declivities, or showing the deep black- 
 looking squares of the French battalions, 
 already in motion towards the south. Dimly 
 seen in the distance, the fleet was moving 
 along slowly by the line of the coast, the 
 long lines of smoke trailing back on their 
 wake. But what is that gray mass on 
 the plain, which seems settled down upon 
 it almost without life or motion? Now and 
 then, indeed, an arm may be seen waved 
 aloft, or a man raises himself for a moment, 
 looks around, and then lies down again. 
 Alas ! that plain is covered with the wounded 
 Russians still. Nearly sixty long hours 
 have they passed in agony on the ground ; 
 and now, with but little hope of help or 
 succour more, we must leave them as they 
 lie. All this nameless, inconceivable misery 
 — this cureless pain — to be caused by the 
 caprice of one man ! Seven hundred and 
 fifty wounded men are still upon the ground, 
 and we can do nothing for them. Their 
 wounds have been bound and dressed; we 
 have done all we can for them ; and now, 
 unable as we are to take them along with 
 us, or to send them away, we must depart." 
 It is some consolation to our lacerated 
 feelings, as we learn these painful particulars, 
 to know that an English surgeon, Dr. 
 Thompson, of the 44th regiment, willingly 
 remained behind, together with his servant, 
 to tend those poor wretches who had been 
 so cruelly abandoned by their own covintry- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [valley of the katcha. 
 
 men. It is a painful reflection that so noble 
 and heroic a man as Dr. Thompson should 
 soon have fallen a victim to cholera, brought 
 on by his extreme exertions in the cause of 
 mercy. Lord Raglan, mindful of the noble 
 duties of humanity, summoned the attend- 
 ance of the head men of the Tartar village 
 up the valley, and explained to them that 
 the wounded Russians would be confided to 
 their charge ; that they were to feed and 
 maintain them ; and when they were suflBl- 
 ciently recovered, allow them to depart. 
 
 At about eight o'clock the tents of the 
 allies were struck, and the march began 
 towards the river Katcha. By this time all 
 idea of meeting the Russians on the banks 
 of that river had vanished, as the armies had 
 learnt from the fleet that the Russians had 
 not only abandoned the defence of the 
 Katcha, but even retired beyond the Belbek. 
 On passing an unfinished stone building, 
 intended by the Russians for a telegraph 
 station, the French cut upon the entablature 
 the incription. La Bataille d'Alma, 20th 
 Septembre, 1854. 
 
 At three o'clock the allied armies, whose 
 march had lain through a hilly and barren 
 country overgrown with thistles, came in 
 sight of the beautiful valley of the Katcha. 
 On its opposite side was a ridge of hills 
 clad with verdure and with small forests of 
 shrubs, between which were occasionally 
 seen the white walls of villas and neat 
 cottages. The Katcha is a small but rapid 
 rivulet, whose banks resemble those of the 
 Alma. It was dotted by pleasant white 
 cottages, and flowed through the most 
 delicious vineyards and gardens. The in- 
 habitants however had fled, and the place 
 was desolate. Crossing the bridge, the 
 troops turned eastward towards the little 
 village of Eskel, on the left bank. Soon a 
 wooden sign-post informed them that they 
 were on the road to Sebastopol, from which 
 famed fortress they were distant about ten 
 miles. 
 
 We must again lay the correspondent 
 from whom we have before quoted under 
 contribution, for the following admirable 
 description s— " The first villa we came to 
 was the residence of a physician or country 
 surgeon. It had been ruthlessly destroyed 
 by the Cossacks. A verandah, laden with 
 clematis, roses, and honeysucke in front, 
 was filled with broken music-stools, work- 
 tables, and lounging-chairs. Everything 
 around betokened the hasty flight of the 
 inmates. Two or three side-saddles were 
 
 lying on the grass outside the hall door ; a 
 parasol lay near them, close to a Tartar 
 saddle and huge whip. The wine-casks 
 were broken, and the contents spilt; the 
 barley and corn of the granary were thrown 
 about all over the ground; broken china 
 and glass of fine manufacture were scattered 
 over the pavement outside the kitchen; and, 
 amid all the desolation and ruin of the 
 place, a cat sat blandly at the threshold, 
 winking her eyes in the sunshine at the 
 new-comers. No pen can describe the 
 scene within. Mirrors in fragments were 
 lying on the floor ; the beds had been ripped 
 open, and the feathers littered the room a 
 foot deep; chairs, sofas, fauteuils, bed- 
 steads, bookcases, picture-frames, images of 
 saints, women's needlework, chests of 
 drawers, shoes, boots, books, bottles, physic- 
 jars, all smashed or torn in pieces, lay in 
 heaps in every room. Even the walls and 
 doors were hacked with swords. The very 
 genius of destruction had been at work, 
 and had revelled in mischief. The physician's 
 account-book lay open on a broken table; 
 he had been stopped in the very act of deb- 
 iting a dose to some neighbour, and the 
 entry remained unfinished. Beside his 
 account-book lay a volume of Madame de 
 Sevigne's Letters, in French, and a Phar- 
 macopceia, in Russian. A little bottle of 
 prussic-acid lay so invitingly near a box of 
 bonbons, that I knew it would be irresistible 
 to the first hungry private who had a taste 
 for almonds, and I accordingly poured out 
 the contents to prevent the possible catas- 
 trophe. Our men and horses were soon revel- 
 ling in grapes and corn ; and we pushed on to 
 Eskel, and established ourselves in a house 
 which had belonged to a Russian officer of 
 rank — at least many traces of the presence 
 of one was visible. Every house and villa 
 in the place was a similar scene to that 
 which I have in vain tried to describe. The 
 better the class of residence, the more com- 
 plete and pitiable the destruction. Grand 
 pianos and handsome pieces of furniture, 
 covered with silk and damask velvet, rent to 
 pieces with brutal violence, were found in 
 more than one house ; but one of the instru- 
 ments retained enough of its vital organs to 
 breathe out ' God save the Queen' from its 
 lacerated brass ribs, and it was made to do 
 so accordingly — aye, under the very eye of 
 a rigid portrait of his imperial majesty the 
 czar, which hung on the wall above !" 
 
 The allied armies passed the night of the 
 33rd in the beautiful valley of the Katcha, 
 
 271 
 
MARCH TO BALAKLAVA..] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854, 
 
 The next day was Sunday, and the troops 
 did not resume their march until nearly 
 noon. Lord Raglan found so many things 
 to be done, that he considered the delay to 
 be unavoidable ; but in the period ■which 
 elapsed between the victory of the Alma 
 and when the allies commenced operations 
 against Sebastopol, the Russians had abun- 
 dant time to recover from the panic and 
 demoralisation ever attending a defeat. It 
 should, however, be added, that the delay 
 was partially occasioned by the removal of 
 some hundreds of sick soldiers, who were 
 collected from the various regiments and 
 sent on board ship to be attended to. Re- 
 inforcements, both Prench and English, 
 were also received from the ships. The 
 distance between the Katcha and the Belbek 
 is but about six miles ; and the allies made 
 no further progress on the 24th. The 
 Russians were in position on the right of 
 the Belbek; the allies, therefore, turned to 
 the left, towards the village of Belbek, and 
 did not march up the stream. By this 
 flank movement they turned the Russian 
 batteries, and the enemy were obliged to 
 retreat and withdraw their guns. 
 
 During the night the French outposts 
 perceived a body of Cossacks, and gave 
 them a volley, followed by a shot from a 
 6-pounder, which soon dispersed them. 
 The enemy, however, meant mischief, as 
 they fired a shot over the house in which 
 Lord Raglan lodged for the night. At five 
 o'clock the next morning the troops were 
 under arms, and ready to move. But a 
 military difficulty had arisen. The Russians 
 had established strong batteries, which com- 
 manded the mouth of the river Belbek, 
 rendering the embarkation of troops and 
 provisions there impossible, and would 
 consequently cause loss and delay in any 
 attempt to invest the town on that face. 
 In this state of affairs the allied generals 
 resolved endeavouring by a flank march 
 to the left to go round Sebastopol, and 
 seize on the town«and port of Balaklava. 
 By this means the efi'ect of the batteries 
 would be lost, and the allies would secure a 
 new base of operations. 
 
 The march was attended with great diffi- 
 culties; and many military men have pro- 
 nounced it to have been one of the boldest 
 flank marches, perhaps, ever performed in 
 the face of an enemy. The whole country 
 through which the allied army had to pass 
 is covered with uninterrupted jungle or 
 thickly wooded forest. So thick, indeed, 
 272 
 
 was it, that the troops were unavoidably 
 thrown into disorder. Indeed the men could 
 hardly see each other; and not only did men 
 of the same brigade get mixed together, 
 but highlanders and guards, guards and 
 line, formed for an hour an apparently inex- 
 tricable mass of confusion. This was a 
 great opportunity for the enemy ; and by a 
 spirited attack they must have inflicted se- 
 vere loss upon the allies. The Russians, how- 
 ever, made no attempt to arrest the progress 
 of the invaders, and their attention was 
 withdrawn from the troops by the steamers, 
 who threw shells at the forts of Sebastopol ; 
 but at too great a distance to do any execu- 
 tion. 
 
 In the midst of the confusion heavy 
 firing was heard in front, in the very path 
 of the army. The troops continued their 
 march, however, and it was soon discovered 
 that the firing arose from an incident at 
 once remarkable and ludicrous. A party of 
 the Scots grays, not more than twenty 
 strong, and some of our artillery in advance, 
 coming suddenly upon the high road near 
 Khutor Mackenzie, broke upon a Russian 
 army, consisting, some say, of 15,000 men, 
 and a large convoy of provisions and ammu- 
 nition. The Russians, taken by surprise, 
 were seized with a panic, and fled with the 
 utmost precipitation. Their army was 
 literally broken in half, one part running 
 in the direction of Simpheropol, and the 
 rest towards Sebastopol. The guns were 
 opened on the retreating Russians, and the 
 cavalry executed a charge, but the pursuit 
 was soon abandoned ; indeed the Russians 
 ran so quickly, that the cavalry could not 
 come up with them. The convoy fell into 
 the hands of our men, and was of course 
 regarded as legitimate plunder. Every 
 waggon was destroyed, the flour secured by 
 the soldiers, the powder scattered, the 
 cartridges destroyed, and camp equipments 
 thrown over the precipices. Immense 
 quantities of wearing apparel, dressing-cases, 
 ornaments, and some jewellery were found 
 in the baggage carts, and appropriated by 
 the men. 
 
 The army emerged from the forest at 
 about two o'clock, and leaving Sebastopol 
 on the right, arrived just before sunset at 
 the little hamlet of Traktir, on the Black 
 River, where they halted for the night. 
 The baggage was some miles behind the 
 bulk of the army, and Lord Raglan had to 
 pass the night in a miserable little lodge, to 
 wait for its arrival. Near this spot was a 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [the allies at balaklava. 
 
 place called Mackenzie's Farm. It received 
 its name from a Russian admiral of Scotch 
 origin, who made a plantation of trees for 
 the imperial navy there. The soldiers were 
 greatly disappointed to find that the stores 
 of the farm consisted only of deal and fir 
 planks, when they had expected to find 
 cheese, eggs, and butter. The French took 
 care that the planks should never be used 
 for the construction of Russian vessels, for 
 they left the place in flames. 
 
 Early the next morning the allies pushed 
 on towards Balaklava, and halted at the 
 entrance of a formidable pass, through 
 which the town must be approached. 
 Balaklava, the ancient Symbalon, was once 
 a prosperous, but is now an insignificant 
 little town or village. It was originally 
 founded by the Greeks; then occupied by 
 the Genoese j then possessed by the Tartars ; 
 and it has at length fallen into the hands of 
 the Greeks again, being given by Cathe- 
 rine II. to a colony of Greek pirates, whom 
 she found useful implements in assisting her 
 to carry out her designs against the Turks. 
 To the south-east stands the ruined towers 
 and walls of what is supposed to be an old 
 Genoese fortress. It is of considerable 
 extent ; and its curtains, bastions, towers, 
 and walls, though now crumbling into 
 decay, stand as a monument of the spirit 
 and enterprise of the hardy seamen who 
 penetrated to these classic regions so long 
 ago. The harbour of Balaklava is about 
 three-quarters-of-a-mile long, from 350 to 
 400 yards wide, and very deep. It is com- 
 pletely land-locked ; for towards the sea the 
 clifiB close up and overlop the narrow 
 channel which leads to the haven, so that 
 the latter is quite invisible. " Some of the 
 inhabitants of the town," says Mr. Scott, 
 " are prosperous ; they of course are no 
 longer pirates, but they look as if they 
 would have no objection to do a little 
 smuggling." The possession of Balaklava, 
 besides securing an excellent landing-place 
 for the siege-trains, made the allies masters 
 of the ground about Sebastopol. It also 
 commands the high road to that fortress, 
 from which it is only about six miles 
 distant. 
 
 As the staff" were about to enter the 
 town, four shells were fired at them from 
 one of the old ruined forts we have alluded 
 to. The fire was soon repeated ; but when 
 it was returned by the rifles and some of 
 the light division, and by the guns of the 
 Agamemnon, the Russians hung out a flag I 
 
 of truce, and surrendered. The garrison 
 consisted of no more than sixty men, who of 
 course were made prisoners. When the 
 commandant was asked why he fired from a 
 position which he knew to be untenable, he 
 answered that he did so in order that he 
 might be summoned, and that he felt bound 
 to fire till required to surrender. Lord 
 Raglan's entrance into the town was re- 
 markable. In the principal street the in- 
 habitants, carrying trays laden with fruit 
 and flowers, came out to meet him. Others 
 brought loaves of bread, cut up in pieces, 
 and placed on dishes covered with salt, in 
 token of good-will and submission. In 
 return his lordship assured them of his 
 protection. Shortly afterwards an English 
 steamer entered the harbour and anchored, 
 the fleet having, at the desire of Lord Rag- 
 lan, sailed round the coast to Balaklava ; so 
 that the fleet and army were once more 
 united. " The meeting of the fleet and 
 army here," said an ofQcer of the brigade of 
 guards, " was most cordial. I saw Sir 
 Edmund Lyons meet Lord Raglan on the 
 quarterdeck of the Caradoc ; Lord Raglan's 
 face was beaming with joy at the success 
 that has hitherto attended our arms." 
 
 From Balaklava Lord Raglan forwarded 
 to the minister of war the following despatch, 
 dated September 28th, and containing the 
 particulars of his proceedings : — 
 
 My Lord Duke, — I have the greatest satis- 
 faction in acquainting your grace that the 
 army under my command obtained possession 
 of this important place on the 26th instant, 
 and thus established a new and secure base 
 for our future operations. 
 
 The allied armies quitted their position 
 above the Alma on the morning of the 23rd, 
 and moved across the Katcha, where they 
 halted for the night, and on the following 
 day passed the Belbek. 
 
 It then appeared that the enemy had esta- 
 blished a work which commanded the en- 
 trance of the river, and debarred its use for 
 the disembarkation of troops, provisions, and 
 material, and it became expedient to consider 
 whether the line of attack upon the north 
 side should not b,e abandoned, and another 
 course of operation adopted. 
 
 It having, after due deliberation, been de- 
 termined by Marshal St. Arnaud * and my- 
 self that we should relinquish our communi- 
 cation with the Katcha, and the hope of 
 establishing it by the Belbek, and endeavour 
 
 * The death of the marshal did not take plao? 
 until the 29th. 
 
 273 
 
DESPATCH OF LORD RAGLAN.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 by a flank raarch to the left to go round 
 Sebastopol and seize Balaklava ; the move- 
 ment was commenced on the 25th, and com- 
 pleted on the following day by the capture of 
 this place by her majesty's troops, which 
 led the advance. The march was attended 
 with great difficulties. On leaving the high 
 road from the Belbek to Sebastopol the army 
 had to traverse a dense wood, in which there 
 was but one road that led in the direction it 
 was necessary to take. That road was left in 
 the first instance to the cavalry and artillery ; 
 and the divisions were ordered to march by 
 compass, and make a way for themselves as 
 well as they could ; and, indeed, the artillery 
 of the light division pursued the same course 
 as long as it was found to be possible, but, as 
 the wood became more impracticable, the 
 batteries could not proceed otherwise than 
 by getting into the road above-mentioned. 
 
 The head-quarters of the army, followed 
 by several batteries of artillery, were the first 
 to clear the forest, near what is called in 
 Major Jarvis's map "Mackenzie's Farm," 
 and at once found themselves on the flank and 
 rear of a Russian division, on the march to 
 Bakshiserai. 
 
 This was attacked as soon as the cavalry, 
 which had diverged a little into a by and 
 intricate patch, could be brought up. A vast 
 quantity of ammunition and much valuable 
 baggage fell into our hands, and the pursuit 
 was discontinued after about a mile and 
 a-half, it being a great object to reach the 
 Tchernaya that evening. 
 
 The Russians lost a few men, and some 
 prisoners were taken, among whom was a 
 captain of artillery. 
 
 The march was then resumed by the de- 
 scent of a steep and difficult defile into the 
 plains, through which runs the Tchernaya 
 river, and this the cavalry succeeded in 
 reaching shortly before dark, followed in the 
 course of the night by the light, 1st, 2nd, 
 and 3rd divisions; the 4th division having 
 been left on the heights above the Belbek 
 till the following day, to maintain our com- 
 munication with the Katcha. 
 
 This march, which took the enemy quite 
 by surprise, was a very long and toUsome 
 one, and, except at Mackenzie's Farm, where 
 two wells, yielding a scanty supply, were 
 found, the troops were without water; but 
 they supported their fatigues and privations 
 with the utmost cheerfulness, and resumed 
 their march to this place on the morniug of 
 the 26th. 
 
 As they approached Balaklava nothing 
 274 
 
 indicated that it was held in force ; but, as 
 resistance was ofiered to the advance of the 
 rifle brigade, and guns were opened from an 
 old castle as the head of the column showed 
 itself on the road leading into the town, I 
 deemed it prudent to occupy the two flanking 
 heights by the light division and a portion of 
 Captain Brandling's troop of horse artillery 
 on the left — movements terminated by the 
 surrender of the place, which had been occu- 
 pied by very inconsiderable numbers of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Shortly after we had taken possession we 
 were greeted by Captain Mends, of the 
 Agamemnon, and soon after by Sir Edmund 
 Lyons himself. 
 
 His co-operation was secured to us by the 
 activity and enterprise of Lieutenant Maxse, 
 of her majesty's s\a.'p Agamemnon, who reached 
 my camp on the Tchernaya on the night of 
 the 25th with despatches, and who volun- 
 teered immediately to retrace his steps 
 through the forest, and to communicate to 
 Sir Edmund the importance I attached to his 
 presence at the mouth of the harbour of 
 Balaklava the next morning, which difficult 
 service (from the intricacy of the country, 
 infested by Cossacks) he accomplished so 
 efiectually, that the admiral was enabled to 
 appear off this harbour at the very moment 
 that our troops showed themselves upon the 
 heights. 
 
 Nothing could be more opportune than 
 his arrival, and yesterday the magnificent 
 ship that bears his flag entered this beautiful 
 harbour, and the admiral, as has been his 
 invariable practice, co-operated with the army 
 in every way possible. 
 
 "We are busily engaged in disembarking 
 our siege-train and provisions, and we are 
 most desirous of undertaking the attack of 
 Sebastopol without the loss of a day. I 
 moved up two divisions yesterday to its im- 
 mediate neighbourhood, when I was enabled 
 to have a good view of the place ; and Lieu- 
 tenant-general Sir John Burgoyne and Gen- 
 eral Bisot, the French cAe/ de genie, are 
 occupied in reconnoitring it closely to-day. 
 
 The march of the French army on the 25 th 
 was still more fatiguing and prolonged than 
 ours. Being behind our columns they could 
 rot reach Tchernaya till the next day, and I 
 fear must have suffered sadly from want of 
 water. 
 
 I regret to have to acquaint your grace 
 that Marshal St. Arnaud has been compelled, 
 by severe illness, to relinquish the command 
 of the army. I saw him on the 25th, when 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [sEBASTOPOIi. 
 
 he was suffering vei-y much, and he felt it his 
 duty to resign the next morning. I view his 
 retirement with deep concern, having always 
 found in him every disposition to act in con- 
 cert with me. He has since become much 
 worse, and is, I fear, in a very precarious 
 state. 
 
 Fortunately he is succeeded by an officer 
 of high reputation. General Canrobert, with 
 whom I am satisfied I shall have great plea- 
 sure in acting, and who is equally desirous 
 of maintaining the most friendly relations 
 with me. I have, &c., 
 
 Raglan. 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 At Balaklava, as elsewhere, the allies were 
 pursued by the dreaded pestilence, — cholera. 
 Numbers died there in the hospital daily. 
 It was scarcely possible to pass the wall sur- 
 rounding it without seeing one or two corpses 
 lying there awaiting burial. The place was 
 in strange contrast with these instances of 
 misery. A private soldier writes : — " This 
 is a beautiful country. Since we landed we 
 have been surrounded with vineyards and 
 orchards; every description of fruit is now 
 ripe — grapes, peaches, apples, pears, almonds, 
 and vegetables in abundance. Many of our 
 men killed themselves by making a too-free 
 use of them. As we approach the towns and 
 villages the inhabitants desert them, and as 
 soon as we come to a halt, our men disperse 
 through them in search of plunder ; and such 
 a scene you could not imagine as is to be 
 seen in a few minutes. Thousands of men 
 loaded with tables, chairs, sofas, chests of 
 drawers, pier-glasses, geese, ducks, cabbages, 
 fowls; infact everything that can be imagined. 
 Our men lay on beautiful feather-beds and 
 costly sofas, in the open air; had arm-chairs 
 and mahogany tables to grub off; and, in 
 fact, the scene presented is so supremely 
 ridiculous, that it excites laughter even in 
 those who disapprove of such wanton and 
 reckless extravagance and devastation." 
 
 It is mentioned in the despatches inserted 
 in this work, that on the 23rd of September, 
 the Russians had of themselves sunk seven 
 of their ships of war across the mouth of the 
 harbour of Sebastopol, This measure, which 
 further prevented the entrance of the allied 
 navy, betrayed the apprehension of the Rus- 
 sians. Never before was England opposed 
 to so mean-spirited and skulking an enemy; — 
 one who, hiding her navy behind tremendous 
 batteries, trusted to strike some unsuspected 
 blow by artifice, or to weary out the patience 
 
 and exhaust the resources of her opponent. 
 From the observations of our naval officers, 
 it appeared that nine Russian vessels yet re- 
 mained within the harbour ; one of them the 
 famous Vladimir, whose exploit in evading 
 our blockade in the Black Sea will be remem- 
 bered by our readers. As the Russian sailors 
 are to some extent soldiers also. Prince 
 Mentschikoff, in sinking the ships, obtained 
 the advantage of rendering the whole of their 
 crews, supposed to amount to from 10,000 to 
 15,000 men, available for the defence of the 
 forts on land. 
 
 Preparations were making for the siege of 
 Sebastopol ; but, before we enter on a detail 
 of them, it will be well to give our readers 
 some notion of the extent and power of that 
 fortress. We shall therefore quote the fol- 
 lowing account of it from Mr. Scott^'s book 
 on The Black Sea and the Crimea, an able 
 and interesting work, to which we have 
 already referred: — 
 
 " The port of Sebastopol consists of a bay 
 running in a south-easterly direction about 
 four miles long, and a mile wide at the 
 entrance, diminishing to 400 yards at the 
 end, where the 'Tchernaia Retchka,' or 
 Black River, empties itself. The average 
 depth is about eight fathoms, the bottom 
 being composed of mud in the centre, and 
 gravel at the sides. On the southern coast 
 of this bay are the commercial, military, 
 and careening harbours ; the quarantine 
 harbour being outside the entrance. All 
 these taking a southerly direction and having 
 deep water. 
 
 " The military harbour is the largest, being 
 about a mile and a-half long, by 400 yards 
 wide, and is completely land-locked on 
 every side. Here it is that the Black Sea 
 fleet is moored in the winter; the largest 
 ships being able to lie with all their stores 
 on board close to the quays. The small 
 harbour, which contains the naval arsenal 
 and docks, is on the eastern side of the 
 military harbour, near the entrance. 
 
 " The port is defended to the south by six 
 principal batteries and fortresses, each 
 mounting from fifty to 190 guns ; and the 
 north by four, having from eighteen to 120 
 pieces each ; and besides these are many 
 smaller batteries. The fortresses are built 
 on the casemate principle, three of them 
 having three tiers of guns, and a fourth two 
 tiers. Fort St. Nicholas is the largest, and 
 mounts about 190 guns : on carefully 
 counting them i«e made 186. By great 
 interest we obtained permission to enter 
 
 275 
 
SEBASTOfOL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 this fortress. It is buUt of white lime- 
 stone — a fine souud stone, which becomes 
 hard, and is very durable, the same material 
 being used for all the other forts. Between 
 every two casemates are furnaces for heat- 
 ing shot red hot : we measured the calibre 
 of the guns, and found it to be eight inches, 
 capable of throwing shells or 68-pound solid 
 shot. Whether all the guns in the fortress 
 were of the same size, it is impossible to 
 say ; but my belief is, that most of the forti- 
 fications of Sebastopol are heavily armed. 
 We entered Fort St. Nicholas through the 
 elegantly-furnished apartments of the mili- 
 tary commandant, situated at its south- 
 western end. 
 
 " At the period of our visit there were 
 certainly not more than 850 pieces of artil- 
 lery defending the port towards the sea, 
 and of these about 350 could be concen- 
 trated on a ship entering the bay.* Other 
 batteries, however, are said to have been 
 since built. We took some trouble to ascer- 
 tain these facts, by counting the guns of 
 the various forts ; not always an easy matter 
 where any suspicion of our object might 
 have subjected us to grave inconveniences. 
 Sebastopol is admirably adapted by nature 
 for a strong position towards the sea, and it 
 will be seen from what we have stated above 
 that this has been fully taken advantage of 
 to render it one of the most formidably for- 
 tified places in that direction which could be 
 imagined. 
 
 " We are well aware that the casemated 
 fortresses are very badly constructed, and 
 though having an imposing exterior, that 
 the walls are filled in with rubble. The work 
 was carried on under Russian engineers, 
 whose object was to make as much money 
 as possible out of it. They were, moreover, 
 found to be defective in ventilation, to 
 remedy which some alterations were subse- 
 quently made ; but admitting all their de- 
 fects, they are still strong enough to inflict 
 some amount of injury on an attacking 
 fleet before their guns could be silenced. 
 And when that is accomplished, supposing 
 there are now 950 pieces, there would still 
 * " Mr. Oliphant says, ' Nothing can be more for- 
 midable, than Sebastopol from the seaward. Upon a 
 future occasioa we visited it in a steamer, and found 
 that at one point we were commanded by 1,200 
 pieces of artillery.' Now, if by this passage it is to 
 be understood that 1,200 guns mounted on the for- 
 trebses and batteries of that place, and commanding 
 the sea, can be concentrated on any one spot, it is 
 manifestly a mistake. That point where the greatest 
 number of pieces of artillery can be concentrated is 
 probably about the centre of a line drawn from 
 276 
 
 remain 500 guns of large calibre, in strong 
 open batteries, half of them throwing shells 
 and red-hot shot, independent of mortars. 
 This is a force of armament against which 
 no fleets have been tried, not only with 
 regard to the number of guns and weight of 
 metal, but the nature of the projectiles; 
 any single shell fired point blank, and strik- 
 ing between wind and water, being' suflicient 
 to sink a ship. If Sebastopol can be so 
 easily taken by the allied fleets alone, and 
 without land forces, as some people appear 
 to imagine, it would be very satisfactory to 
 know what amount of resistance it is ex- 
 pected that Portsmouth could ofier to an 
 enemy, with her seventy or eighty guns, not 
 above five-and-twenty of which are heavier 
 than 32-pounders. We do not mean to 
 assert that it is impossible to destroy Se- 
 bastopol from the sea alone ; but we believe 
 that it could only be accomplished by an 
 unnecessary sacrifice of life and ships with 
 our present means, and that it would be 
 nothing short of madness to attempt it, 
 unless we had a reserve fleet on the spot, 
 sufiflciently strong to insure the command of 
 the Black Sea in case of failure. f 
 
 " In speaking of the means of defence at 
 Sebastopol, we have left the Russian fleet 
 out of the question. This, however, is not 
 to be treated either with indifference or 
 contempt ; for, while we are ready to admit 
 that neither in the strength of the ships, in 
 the quality of the sailors, nor in any other 
 respect, can it be compared for an instant 
 to those of England and France ; yet there 
 can be no doubt of the Russian seamen 
 being well trained in gunnery, nor of their 
 being endowed with a kind of passive 
 courage, which would lead them to stick to 
 their work when not called upon to exercise 
 their seamanship, in which they are very 
 deficient. There were in the military har- 
 bour of Sebastopol twelve line-of- battle 
 ships, eight frigates, and seven corvettes ; 
 comprising the Black Sea fleet, independent 
 of steamers. We visited, amongst others, 
 the Twelve Apostles, of 120 guns, and the 
 first lieutenant accompanied us over her. 
 Cape Constantine to the eastern promontory of the 
 Quarantine Harbour, on which part of the guns of 
 Fort Constantine, the Quarantine Battery, Fort Alex- 
 ander, and Fort St. Nicholas, with some from other 
 batteries, may be brought to bear ; but these cannot 
 at the utmost amount to more than 350 pieces, even 
 allowing that spot to be commanded by a 100 guns 
 of Fort St. Nicholas." 
 
 + " These remarks were written before a land at- 
 tack on Sebiistopol was contemplated." 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [SEBASTOPOL. 
 
 She was a remarkably fine-looking ship, in 
 excellent order, and very neat in her fittings. 
 One thing which instantly struck us, was 
 the absence of hammock-hooks, but we 
 learned that beds were luxuries which the 
 Russian sailors never dream of, the decks 
 forming their only resting-places. On de- 
 scending to the shell-room we examined one 
 of the shells, and found it fitted with the 
 common fuse. Now, as at that time it was 
 believed that the Russians possessed a per- 
 cussion or concussion shell, superior to any 
 in the world, we were anxious to ascertain 
 whether this was really the case ; but from 
 the inquiries we made of the lieutenant, we 
 are convinced that such a shell existed only 
 in imagination ; that the common fuse was 
 in use throughout the service, and may be 
 so to the present day. The ports of the 
 ship were marked with lines at difierent 
 angles, by which to facilitate the concentra- 
 tion of the guns. 
 
 " We thanked our conductor for his polite- 
 ness, and in doing so expressed our admira- 
 tion of the ship. ' Yes,' said he, ' she is 
 worthy of your praises. She was built on 
 the lines of your Queen, now in the Medi- 
 terranean, by a Russian architect, educated 
 in one of the royal dockyards of England.' 
 
 "There is the same peculation and cor- 
 ruption going on in the ship-building, as in 
 all other departments ' in Russia ; and at 
 Sebastopol everything which proves defec- 
 tive in a ship is attributed to a destructive 
 worm, about which the ofiicials interested in 
 doing so, relate tales almost as wonderful 
 as those of the great sea-serpent. When a 
 ship's bottom becomes prematurely rotten, 
 as unseasoned timber is of course out of the 
 question, the worm is the cause of the mis- 
 chief; but how this singular creature has 
 managed to pass through the copper without 
 leaving a hole, no one attempts to explain. 
 In the Baltic, where no worm exists, the 
 destructive quality of the fresh water is 
 equally great. 
 
 " The town of Sebastopol is situate on the 
 point of land between the commercial and 
 military harbours, which rises gradually 
 from the water's edge to an elevation of 
 200 feet. It is more than a mile in length ; 
 and its greatest width is about three-quarters- 
 of-a-mile, the streets entering the open 
 ateppe on the south. It was partly de- 
 fended on the west, towards the land by a 
 loopholed wall, which had been pronounced 
 by one of the first engineers of Russia as 
 perfectly useless ; and plans for completely 
 
 VOL. I. t3 o 
 
 fortifying the place in that direction were 
 said to have been made ; but whether the 
 work has since been carried out we know 
 not, though we have a deep conviction that 
 strong defences will be found to exist there 
 by the time a besieging array arrives. 
 These, however, being hurriedly raised, can 
 neither be of sufficient magnitude nor 
 strength to offer a serious resistance to a 
 long-continued fire of heavy artillery; and 
 unless these fortifications are on a most 
 extensive scale, and embrace a very wide 
 circuit, they may be commanded from so 
 many points, that, attacked with heavy 
 guns of long range, their speedy reduction 
 becomes a matter of certainty. 
 
 " None of the sea batteries or forts are of 
 the slightest service for defence on the land 
 side. Indeed the great fort, ' St. Nicholas,' 
 has not a gun pointed in that direction ; 
 and such an armament would be perfectly 
 useless if it existed, as that part of the hill 
 on which the town stands, rises behind it to 
 a height of 200 feet. In fact, all the for- 
 tresses and batteries, both to the north and 
 south of the great bay, are commanded by 
 higher ground in the rear." 
 
 After some discussion as to the manner in 
 which an attack on this famous fortress would 
 be most likely to meet with success, Mr. 
 Scott thus continues his description of the 
 town : — 
 
 "The streets are built in parallel lines, 
 from north to south, and intersected by 
 others from east to west ; and the houses, 
 being of limestone, have a substantial ap- 
 pearance. The public buildings are fine. 
 The library erected by the emperor for the 
 use of naval and military officers, is of 
 Grecian architecture, and is elegantly fitted 
 up internally. The books are principally 
 confined to naval and military subjects, and 
 the sciences connected with them, history, 
 and some light reading. The club-hous3 
 is handsome externally, and comfortable 
 within : it contains a large ball-room, which 
 is its most striking feature, and billiard- 
 rooms, which appeared to be the great 
 centres of attraction; but one looked in 
 vain for reading-rooms, filled with news- 
 papers and journals, such as are found in 
 the clubs of England. There are manjr 
 good churches ; and a fine landing-place, of 
 stone, from the military harbour, approached, 
 on the side of the town, beneath an archi- 
 trave supported by high columns. It also 
 boasts an Italian opera-house, the first per- 
 formance for the season at which took place 
 
 277 
 
SEBASTOPOL.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 A.D. 1854. 
 
 during our visit ; but we cannot say much for 
 the singing ; the company being third-rate, 
 and the voice of the prima donna very much 
 resembling, at tiraeis, a cracked trumpet. 
 The house itself was badlj' fitted up. 
 
 " The eastern side of the town is so steep, 
 that the mast-heads of the ships cannot be 
 seen until one gets close to them. Very 
 beautiful views are obtained from some 
 parts of the place, and it is altogether 
 agreeably situated. A military band plays 
 every Thursday evening in the public gar- 
 dens, at which time the fashionables as- 
 semble in great numbers. As Sebastopol is 
 held exclusively as a military and naval 
 position, commerce does not exist. The 
 only articles imported by sea being those 
 required for material of war, or as provi- 
 sions for the inhabitants and garrison. On 
 the eastern side of the military harbour, 
 opposite to the town, is a line of buildings 
 consisting of barracks, some storehouses, 
 and a large naval hospital, which we in- 
 spected. The wards are good, but too 
 much crowded ; many of the arrangements 
 are bad, and the ventilation in some parts 
 exceedingly defective, the effluvia being 
 most oiFensive. But perhaps this is per- 
 mitted on hygeian principles ; seeing that 
 the Russian is so accustomed to foul odours 
 from his birth, that the physicians may 
 consider a return to a little artificial native 
 air as highly beneficial after a sea voyage. 
 
 " Sebastopol is not the port of construction 
 for ships of war : they are all built at 
 Nicholiev on the river Bug, as Petersburg 
 is the building-place for Cronstadt. But 
 here all repairs are done, and stores and 
 materials of war in great quantity kept in 
 the naval arsenal. The works that have 
 been accomplished in the little port appro- 
 priated to this department are immense. 
 The quays are well and strongly built of 
 limestone with granite copings, under the 
 superintendence of an English master mason. 
 Along the eastern quay are ten large stone 
 buildings, for storehouses, then in the course 
 of construction, five of which were already 
 finished. 
 
 " But all other works sink into insignifi- 
 cance at Sebastopol, before those projected 
 and accomplished by Colonel Upton, under 
 immense engineering difficulties. They 
 consist of a great fitting basin, into which 
 open five dry docks — three at the end, and 
 one on each side of the entrance canal. 
 As there is no tide, these docks are above 
 the level of the sea, and the ships are 
 378 
 
 floated into them by locks, of which there 
 are three, having a rise of ten feet each. 
 To supply the basin, and thence the canal, 
 the water is brought eleven miles by a 
 beautiful aqueduct of stone, into which the 
 Black River h^s been turned beyond Inker- 
 mann. This passes, at one part, through an 
 excavated tuixnel 900 feet long, which is 
 constructed on arches in five or six other 
 places. To form a great reservoir, and thus 
 to insure a constant supply of water, an 
 enormous dike of stone, like those of the 
 pools of Solomon, near Bethlehem, was 
 built across a mountain gorge, but on a 
 much more stupendous scale. Mr. William 
 Upton superintended the engineering de- 
 partment, and the work was achieved with 
 perfect success ; proper sluices being con- 
 structed to prevent too great a pressure in 
 case of unusually heavy rain. 
 
 " Soon after all was finished, however, a 
 terrific thunder-storm arose ; the valley 
 rapidly filled with water, and a great land- 
 slip from the side of the mountain took 
 place ; the sluices were thus blocked up, and 
 the flood at last poured over the top, taking 
 away tier after tier of stones, until there was 
 left nothing of the work of years but a 
 jumbled mass of ruin. When we stood 
 upon the remaining portion of this masonry, 
 and marked its extraordinary strength and 
 solidity, we could scarcely comprehend how 
 the rushing of any amount of water could 
 have produced such results. In order to 
 make sufiicient space for the docks, the 
 canal of which leads from the southern ex- 
 tremity of the little port, it was necessary to 
 cut away a portion of the mountain, and on 
 the top of the great perpendicular wall thus 
 made, now stands a massive pile of stone 
 buildings, used as the sailors' winter bar- 
 racks. 
 
 "Incase of an enemy penetrating the dock- 
 yard port, these barracks might be held as a 
 formidable position by men armed with the 
 Minie rifle ; and it has been suggested, that 
 a couple of line-of-battle ships in the basin, 
 with their broadsides to the port, and com- 
 manding it, would also form a battery of 
 great power. Thus, in an attack by sea 
 alone on Sebastopol, every inch of ground 
 would have to be contested. 
 
 " A large filter has been erected, from 
 whJch pipes are carried to the quay, into 
 which a stream has been turned from the 
 aqueduct, and when a ship requires a supply 
 of water, she or the tanked barges have oijly 
 to go alongside, a hose is attached to the 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA, [preparations for the siege. 
 
 pipe, put on board, and the process is 
 accomplished with the greatest facility and 
 expedition. No expense has been spared 
 to render this naval arsenal perfect, and we 
 doubt whether, in many respects, there is 
 another in Europe so convenient, always 
 supposing the works projected to have been 
 carried out. 
 
 " The streets of Sebastopol, as may be ex- 
 pected, teem with soldiers and sailors ; 
 indeed, no one unconnected with the ser- 
 vices lives there ; and all but Russians are 
 discouraged or forbidden to do so. The 
 Jews were at one time ordered away from it 
 entirely, but some few have been allowed to 
 return. It was said that no foreigners were 
 permitted to remain there more than twenty- 
 four hours; but during a sojourn of ten days 
 we met with no interference, although we 
 visited, aud curiously examined, all parts of 
 the town, and everything worth seeing in it." 
 
 On the 28th of September, the second, 
 third, and fourth divisions of the army were 
 ordered to move up to the heights above 
 Sebastopol, and encamp there. The first 
 division remained behind the port of Balak- 
 lava for the protection of that important 
 post, while the light division rested on the 
 heights above the harbour, which it had oc- 
 cupied before the surrender of the fort. The 
 following day, at the desire of Sir George 
 Brown, the light division also moved for- 
 ward, and occupied a position in the line of 
 the besieging army. The engineers and 
 artillery proceeded to land the siege-train, 
 and, on the 29th, some of the guns were 
 already dragged up the heights. From this 
 elevated encampment the troops obtained a 
 view of the whole port of Sebastopol, together 
 with its harbours, arsenals, ships, and forts. 
 
 The French army occupied the left of the 
 English position, and extended to the coast 
 immediately south of Sebastopol, where the 
 deep and navigable bays offer the greatest 
 facilities for landing siege-trains and stores. 
 The commencement of the attack was far 
 from being precipitate ; but, on the 3rd of 
 October, the booming of heavy guns from 
 the forts of Sebastopol, sounded like a prelude 
 to the tremendous struggle that was about to 
 commence. 
 
 In taking up their positions the allied 
 armies committed a remarkable oversight, 
 or an act which has at least, and we think 
 correctly, been condemned as such. On 
 referring to our map of the Black Sea, the 
 reader will perceive that the only entrance 
 from Russia into the Crimea is by the nar- 
 
 row isthmus of Perekop — a spot that may at 
 any time be occupied by a power that com- 
 mands the sea. While this was unguarded, 
 the czar could pour reinforcements into the 
 Crimea, and convey supplies to the army 
 within the walls of Sebastopol. Had it 
 been occupied, the Russians in the Crimea 
 must have been Isolated, and in this condi- 
 tion, we are inclined to think, that their 
 position would soon have become intolerable, 
 and that submission or defeat, together with 
 the surrender of Sebastopol, must have been 
 inevitable. The allies neglected to secure 
 Perekop ; and it will soon be seen what ? 
 heavy price they paid for this mistake. 
 Errors in strategy, often small in themselves, 
 frequently lead to the most tremendous re- 
 sults. Nature is inexorable : she sometimes 
 visits errors with gigantic, and, seemingly, 
 disproportionate punishment; and, in great 
 affairs, want of foresight hurries thousands 
 to their graves. It would seem that a false 
 confidence in themselves, and a contempt 
 for the enemy, led the allies into this error. 
 About this time a French naval officer 
 wrote ; " Reinforcements are expected from 
 Odessa, by way of Perekop, but both will 
 arrive too late ; and were they an hundred 
 thousand men they would be beaten." 
 
 The operations of the allies were very 
 slowly conducted; and the time wasted in 
 the neighbourhood of Sebastopol was eagerly 
 seized by the Russians in strengthening 
 their defences; while, on the other hand, 
 the delay was wearing out our men. One 
 hundred siege-guns were landed by the 
 English, which, together with thirty guns 
 from the fleet, it was calculated would be 
 sufficient. The French shortly afterwards 
 landed a similar number in Strelitzka Bay, 
 which was intended to be their general 
 dep6t during the siege. A thousand English 
 sailors were landed to work the ships' guns 
 which had been sent on shore, to make 
 practical experiments with the Lancasters, 
 and also (after having helped to make a 
 breach) to assist still further in mounting it. 
 The correspondent from Balaklava to the 
 Morning Herald says : " Jack seemed highly 
 delighted at the prospect of serving ashore 
 at the siege, and, girded with his revolver 
 and cutlass, took up his quarters in the 
 tents on land with as much sang-froid as if 
 it was his natural sphere of action. Soon, 
 however, the native jollity of the tars broke 
 out, and uproarious singing was kept up in 
 their different tents until near midnight. A 
 plain ordnance tent, without decorations to 
 
 279 
 
RESULTS OF DELAY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fA.D. 1854. 
 
 distinguish it from those of the ' sojers,' is 
 far too unassuming an abode for them 
 under their present altered circumstances. 
 Accordingly the decorative abilities of Tom 
 and Bill have been called into requisition, 
 and the canvas is covered with rather bold 
 attempts at ornamentation placed round 
 sundry sentences written over the doors, 
 and expressive of the amiable intentions of 
 the occupants towards Russians in general. 
 One set of tents are the ' Sinope revenge ;' 
 another- 'Revenge for the Tiger;' while a 
 little lower down you come upon 150 hairy, 
 muscular, strapping fellows, who, if you 
 believe their own inscription, are the ' Tra- 
 falgar lambs,' or the ' Bellerophon' s doves,' 
 or some other part of the ship's company, 
 equally mild and inoffensive. The way these 
 fellows have got up the ships' guns is per- 
 fectly astounding. An iron gun, eleven 
 feet long, and weighing 113 cwt., seemed 
 nothing to them. They volunteered to 
 'fist' it along, and they literally did so, 
 tying ropes to it, and dragging it by their 
 force over the hills. I have seen fourteen 
 horses, and all the apparatus of artillery, 
 barely moving a gun which fifty sailors have 
 dragged after them at a trot." Another 
 correspondent says, that the sailors worked 
 with such zeal in drawing up the guns, that 
 on more than one occasion they set an axle- 
 tree on fire. The delay in beginning the 
 siege was partly caused by the difficulty of 
 landing the heavy guns and siege-trains, 
 and getting them up to the heights. Lord 
 Raglan also resolved on taking the place 
 with as little loss of life as possible : he 
 would not listen to what he deemed rash 
 projects for storming it, but desired to pro- 
 ceed according to the usual mode of prose- 
 cuting a siege. 
 
 We said that the delay (though probably 
 arising from a mixture of natural obstacles 
 and humane motives) was wearing out our 
 men. On this subject we will quote the 
 testimony of the special correspondent of 
 the Daily News, who writes from Balaklava. 
 The facts he relates have a deep and painful 
 interest, and will create amongst us a know- 
 ledge of the stern and bitter hardships of 
 camp life : — 
 
 " The exposure — and, according to my 
 opinion, in many respects the unnecessary 
 exposure — to all the accumulated hardships 
 of real campaigning, have told upon the 
 troops that were weakened by Bulgarian 
 quarters. It has still more fatally told upon 
 new comers fresh from the barracks and 
 280 
 
 flesh-pots of Old England, and the easy lazy 
 life and the regular rations of the transports. 
 I have just received some ugly statistics of 
 the losses of the 21st regiment, one of the 
 last regiments that came out. They reached 
 Kalamita Bay on the 18th of September, 
 and at once joined the march. They were 
 1,004 men. They lost one man at Alma. 
 Disease came among them on the march to 
 Balaklava. On the 4th of October the regi- 
 ment was reduced to 700 men — that is to 
 say, 303 men either dead or dying of disease 
 in the short space of sixteen days. And 
 mind, the mortality in this regiment is not 
 over yet. Even without casualties on the 
 battle-field, it is to be feared they will be 
 reduced to one-half of their original number 
 before they are properly seasoned. 
 
 "Even without inspecting the hospitals and 
 hospital ships, the meerest look at our sol- 
 diers must convince any one who knew them 
 before, of the hardships to which they have 
 been exposed — their appearance tells its own 
 tale. They have all of them lost flesh, and 
 walk as men do who feel their limbs, and 
 their faces, yellow with the accumulated 
 dirt and sweat of many days, have a haggard 
 and care-worn look. Their clothes, which 
 they have not pulled off for weeks past, defy 
 the brash ; they must look soiled, dusty, and 
 seedy. Frizzy hair, deep-set eyes, and the 
 feverishness of nncleanliness, are the order 
 of the day with the men and with most of 
 the subalterns. I defy the most water- 
 loving man to wash his person and his 
 clothes when there is hardly water enough 
 to drink ! Take off the wardrobes of the 
 generals and some of the more favoured 
 among the staff officers, and rely upon it 
 there are not a dozen clean shirits in the 
 army. An officer told me he had not 
 washed his hands for a" week ; as for washing 
 his face, that is too great a luxury to be 
 thought of. The appearance of the hard- 
 working gallant officers of the line and 
 guards is certainly most unusual to home 
 ideas of a British officer in full uniform, and 
 but for the seriousness of the situation it 
 would even be ludicrous. Landed with no 
 luggage but what they could carry, they 
 have worn their full-dress coats for the last 
 three weeks ; they have marched, and fought, 
 and slept in them. Of course the scarlet 
 bears but a faint resemblance "to what it 
 used to be, and the gold lace and heavy 
 gold epaulets are but dingy reminiscences 
 of their former selves. Trowsers hopelessly 
 impregnated with Crimean mud and dust, 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [camp LirE. 
 
 and boots that seem to moura the glorious 
 blackings of ' auld lang syne ;' a shako, or 
 cap, much the worse for wear, and some- 
 times for tear; a red shawl, useful and 
 almost necessary, in defiance of regulations 
 and orders from head-quarters, protecting 
 the waist ; a soiled haversack with rations, 
 biscuit, or any small luxury the officer con- 
 trived to buy in the shape of fowls, eggs, 
 honey, or Russian bread, slung around his 
 shoulders; a 'Colt,' with belt and case 
 girded round his waist, and perhaps, if the 
 foraging expedition had been of more than 
 usual prosperity, a live goose, grasped tightly 
 by the feet, hanging from his hand. Oh, 
 for the mantle of Fortunatus, to place such 
 an officer all at once into his London haunts, 
 and among the old familiar faces ! Put him 
 down in Pall-mall or Piccadilly, or on the 
 swelling carpets of the Junior United Ser- 
 vice ! Or, better still, mount him on a 
 rough Crimean pony, accoutred with a 
 Tartar saddle and bridle, and let him all of 
 a sudden make his appearance in Rotten- 
 row, heaven knows what fireside gentlemen 
 and ladies would think of him, for what 
 they would take him, and how they would 
 treat the gallant man glorying in his goose ! 
 But, if old habits and feelings did not very 
 quickly come upon him, be sure he would 
 be loth to give up his prize to any one but 
 the cook. Not the least amusing feature of 
 the mortifications which campaigning pro- 
 duces in men's dispositions and characters, 
 is the conscientious regard it engenders for 
 all sorts of eatables; the desire to 'bag' 
 live animals, and the readiness with which 
 a whole pack starts in full cry, the moment 
 one of them — lucky dog — has got on the 
 scent of some very good thing. People at 
 home, with fires in their kitchens, and 
 larders well provided, and eating-houses 
 open at all hours of the day and night, may 
 laugh at this, but I assure you I am speak- 
 ing to you in sober seriousness. Short 
 commons three times a week at least, a four- 
 and-twenty hours' fast and march now and 
 then, by way of change, and the absolute 
 want of all the small luxuries for which 
 'fire-side gentlemen' care not, because 
 they always have them within their reach, 
 give a peculiar tone to a man's stomach, and 
 certainly develop his organs of acquisitive- 
 ness in the way of food and comforts. The 
 commissariat have of late been pretty regu- 
 lar in rationing the troops, and the ration 
 bread and meat is most assuredly the staff 
 of life j but, taken by itself, that staff is a 
 
 rugged one. In the long run a man feels 
 he has a great many more wants, especially 
 if he has money idling in his pockets ; and 
 that is the case of all the officers and sol- 
 diers — in fact, of all those who are rationed. 
 Besides, there is the advice of the doctors 
 'to live well' (would they could also tell us 
 how to do it !) in order to stave off ' seedi- 
 ness' and disease. The officers in the camp 
 are continually coming into Balaklava ; each 
 is charged with a hundred commissions 
 from friends who must not leave. They 
 hail boats, and go from transport to tran- 
 sport, inquiring whether the captain or 
 steward has any goods to sell, and if any, 
 what goods ? I will give you a price list, 
 with the list of articles most in requisition — 
 perhaps it may encourage the efforts of some 
 enterprising trader. The teetotalers will 
 be sad to learn that, owing to the preva- 
 lence of disease and the badness of the 
 water, brandy and sherry are in great de- 
 mand, and 6s. a bottle is asked, and cheer- 
 fully given. That is a long price, considering 
 the ships take their goods out of bond, or 
 buy them at Malta. Salt, pepper, and curry 
 powder are articles contltiually inquired for, 
 and not to be had at any price. Maltese 
 cigars sell at 10s. the hundred. Loaf sugar, 
 no supply. Arrowroot biscuits were much 
 in demand, and could not be had. A small 
 parcel came in the other day : they sell at 
 Id. a- piece. Soap, no supply. Flannel 
 shirts are in enormous demand, and so 
 are flannel jackets, but none are to be had 
 at any price. It is the same with lucifer 
 matches. I was witness when half-a-erown 
 a box was offered and refused. In short, 
 any one sending out a general cargo of good 
 and useful things, always keeping an eye on 
 the severity of the winter here, would be a 
 benefactor to the army and part of the navy, 
 and pocket large profits at the same time. 
 But the strongest want, which startled even 
 me, is that of books. The army are not 
 generally considered to form an important 
 part of the reading public ; but of this I am 
 certain, that if any speculative bookseller 
 were to send out a cargo of good, cheap, 
 light hooks, he could safely demand, and 
 men out here would gladly pay, an advance 
 of thirty per cent, on the London price. 
 Our army are likely to remain long in 
 quarters wherever they are — at least so long 
 as the men who have hitherto managed the 
 war continue in the discharge of their kindly 
 offices. The majority of the thousands of 
 officers out here expected marches and 
 
 381 
 
CAMP LIFE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854, 
 
 operations on a grand scale — plenty to do — 
 little spare time — books added to the bag- 
 gage would lumber it and be a bore. They 
 now find themselves for weeks and months 
 shut up in camps, with no food for the 
 mind except here and there an old news- 
 paper. They cried out for books in Bulgaria ; 
 they will again raise the same cry when 
 once settled in winter quarters in the Crimea. 
 Books are not to be had at Constantinople 
 — the most illiterate of capitals. Parcels 
 from Malta and England have a knack of 
 seldom if ever coming to hand. They pass 
 through the offices of Pera and Galatea 
 agents, and get thrown into corners, knocked 
 about and lost in some way or other. The 
 few books — no matter what they are — be- 
 longing to officers of various regiments, 
 go the circuit of whole divisions. I have 
 now in ray possession — and to borrow it cost 
 a vast deal of persuasion — a copy of Bulwer's 
 Last of the Barons. This book has been 
 read by every officer of the 33rd regiment, 
 and some of them have read it twice. It 
 was then passed over to the engineers, and 
 they read it to a man, and then gave it up 
 to the ordnance, who, having done with it, 
 let me have it for a week. I have seen a 
 man hard at work reading Culverwell's tracts 
 on health; and a treatise On the Homoeo- 
 pathic Treatment of Diseases in Children, 
 has actually been studied by a score of 
 young lieutenants, all of them bachelors, 
 and likely to remain so for some time to 
 come. A general cargo of stationery, with 
 memorandum, sketching, and other books, 
 would find a ready sale in the Crimea 
 winter quarters. So would the New Quar- 
 terly Review, because it gives a capital di- 
 gest of current literature. In short, any 
 books — good, cheap, and light — would bene- 
 fit us and the importer, no matter whether 
 our winter quarters are in the Crimea or at 
 Scutari." 
 
 When will the siege commence ? was the 
 constant inquiry of the wearied and ex- 
 pectant troops. To-morrow, was the usual 
 response — most probably, to-morrow. But 
 day after day came and went, and the allies 
 still rusted in inaction, while the Russians 
 worked night and day at strengthening their 
 defences. On the evening of the 4th of 
 October a reinforcement, consisting of 3,000 
 Russian infantry, were permitted to enter 
 Sebastopol without opposition. They were 
 fresh troops from Simpheropol, who came by 
 the way of Baktchi- Serai, and were pro- 
 tected by 3,000 Don Cossacks, who marched 
 283 
 
 on their left flank to protect them from any 
 attack from the allies. The precaution was 
 needless ; the generals let them pass safely, 
 though such a force might have been inter- 
 cepted, and perhaps wholly cut off. Prince 
 Mentschikoff was af Baktchi-Serai with 
 19,000 of the troops who had been defeated 
 with him at the Alma. His detached parties 
 of Cossacks avoided our cavalry patrols, but 
 they converted the foraging expeditions of 
 the commissariat into daring and dangerous 
 exploits. Sometimes, also, they hovered 
 about the rear of the camp by night, but 
 always retired when a couple of divisions 
 were turned out to watch, and, if necessary, 
 to oppose them. 
 
 By some strange arrangement — or more 
 likely want of arrangement — the British 
 divisions were all, more or less, exposed to 
 the fire of the Russian batteries. The Rus- 
 sians were consequently continually em- 
 ployed in firing shells at them; though 
 their aim was so indifferent, that the result 
 was seldom more than three or four killed 
 and wounded in the course of the day. 
 Though for what cause one brave man's life 
 should be unnecessarily sacrificed, we cannot 
 divine. A spectator said — " The being ex- 
 posed to continual shelling cannot make 
 our men more brave than they are, but I 
 am afraid it hardens them. The whizzing 
 of bombs and round shot is not of a nature 
 to awake amiable or kindly feelings in the 
 human heart. I heard a soldier tell it as 
 an excellent joAre, that a friend asked him to 
 take off his knapsack : ' I was j ust at it, and, 
 by G — d, sir, in comes a ball and breaks 
 his head 1 Came down like a shot, sir. 
 Never spoke again !' The man seemed 
 greatly disappointed that no one but him- 
 self could see the fun of the thing. But to 
 do our gallant fellows justice, I have also 
 seen touching traits of humanity and kind- 
 ness even within the last few days, after 
 three weeks' hardship and exposure to Rus- 
 sian bullets. But yesterday I saw a soldier 
 dividing his ration of bread and meat with a 
 Russian prisoner; and, to crown all, he 
 even gave the man part of his most valued 
 property — a piece of cavendish, which money 
 can hardly buy in camp or at Balaklava." 
 In many cases the men very narrowly 
 escaped : one day a shot took a rifleman's 
 pack from his shoulders without injuring 
 him. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 7th of Octo- 
 ber, a strong detachment from Prince Ment- 
 schikoff's army at Baktchi-Serai marched 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [opening of the trenches. 
 
 forward to attack the English at Balaklava. 
 The Russians met with some pickets of the 
 Scots grays and 4th dragoons, who falling 
 back gave the alarm. Three dragoons, who 
 were separated from the rest, are supposed 
 to have been surrounded and slain; for 
 three horses came in without riders. Large 
 detachments of cavalry, grays, and dragoons 
 were immediately sent out, accompanied 
 by two troops of horse artillery. Captain 
 Maude's troop was ordered to clear the way 
 for a cavalry charge. This they did so 
 effectually, and with such a precision, that 
 the Russians speedily retreated. They were 
 allowed to retire unmolested, although a 
 charge of cavalry amongst them would 
 have done great execution. Balaklava had 
 hitherto been left in a strange state of in- 
 security; but this incident aroused lord 
 Raglan to the necessity of taking some 
 measures for its protection. The same day 
 (the 7th) a Polish deserter was brought in, 
 who stated that there were 90,000 men 
 within the walls of Sebastopol ; but his as- 
 sertion was not credited. It was deemed 
 impossible that provisions could be found 
 for such a multitude. On the 8th the Rus- 
 sians opened a fire from very heavy guns in 
 their advanced earthworks on the French 
 right and the English left, but the generals 
 would not permit the fire to be replied to ; 
 they were anxious to reserve their fire untU. 
 they opened upon the fortress with a tre- 
 mendous cannonade of 200 great guns at 
 once. 
 
 All this time the allies had been occupied 
 in landing their trains, and in making other 
 preparations for the coming siege. At 
 length ground was broken and the trenches 
 opened ; for, on the evening of the 10th of 
 October, four battalions of the French, 
 numbering 2,400 men, marched to the 
 front and began to dig with hearty good 
 wiU. Before break of day they had finished 
 a ditch, parapet, and banquet 1,200 metres 
 long, at a distance of 900 metres from the 
 enemy's line. At first the French had to 
 dig through hard rocky ground, but after 
 they had penetrated to the depth of a foot 
 and a-half or two feet, they came upon a deep 
 bed of plastic tough clay, admirably suited 
 for the purposes of intrenching. 
 
 It may be necessary here for the informa- 
 tion of the general reader, briefly to explain 
 the progressive operations of a siege. The 
 first object to be gained is the opening of 
 the trenches— that is, to establish a body of 
 troops in a protected position within a cer 
 
 tain distance of the place to be attacked. 
 The trench is a sort of ditch, or rather 
 sunken road, running parallel to the enemy's 
 fortifications, and of dimensions sufficient 
 to admit the passage of troops and guns 
 along it at pleasure. The excavated earth 
 is thrown up on the side of the trench to- 
 wards the town or fortress, and forms a 
 bank or parapet for the further protection 
 of the troops in the trench. At certain 
 points of this covered road batteries are 
 constructed, which open upon the fortifica- 
 tions of the enemy; and, when sufficient 
 advantage has been obtained through their 
 fire, a second trench, parallel to the first, 
 and connected with it by a diagonal cut, is 
 opened at a shorter distance and armed 
 with fresh batteries, which go to work as 
 before. This operation is several times re- 
 peated, and the approaches are pushed for- 
 ward by means of successive parallels until 
 they are carried up to the very walls of the 
 town or fortress, which by that time have 
 generally been breached or battered down 
 at this point by the besiegers' guns. Then 
 the assault follows. Strong columns of 
 troops advance from their covered road, 
 rush through the breach, and take the 
 town. The best chances of the besieged 
 consist of natural obstacles, where such 
 exist. Thus, the ground may be so rocky 
 as to prevent the digging of the trenches ; 
 or, as is often the case in Flanders, so ex- 
 posed to inundations at the command ot the 
 garrison, that the trenches may at any time 
 be flooded, and the besiegers swamped at 
 their posts. Again, if, as at Sebastopol, the 
 garrison is very strong, it may make suc- 
 cessful sorties, fill up the trenches opened 
 by the enemy, spike their guns, and greatly 
 delay the approach of the batteries to the 
 walls of the town. In the absence, how- 
 ever, of such impediments, it is maintained 
 by military men that any place, however 
 strongly fortified, must ultimately fall. In 
 some instances, where the garrison is very 
 numerous or desperate, the besieged will 
 resort to close fighting, and defend every 
 street and house inch by inch. To avoid 
 this, the approaches are sometimes carried 
 right through the battered wall and into 
 the town, itself, and no assault made. This 
 latter movement, it was presumed, was the 
 one that Lord Raglan desired to adopt.* 
 
 ' To many of our non-professional readers, 'who 
 
 are not versed in the various technical military terms 
 
 DOW so generally used in the letters and despatches 
 
 I which are duly arriving from the seat of war (the 
 
 283 
 
ADVENTURE or AN AUSTRIAN SHIP.] HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 The English were not long behind the 
 French in the preliminary work of opening 
 the trenches. In fact, they commenced 
 their operations the same night as the 
 French, but later. The Russians had 
 hitherto ceased firing at sunset, but they 
 kept up an almost uninterrupted fire during 
 the night of the 10th, though, fortunately, 
 the casualties were very few, amounting 
 only to four killed or wounded. But while 
 the Russians were throwing away their am- 
 munition, 800 English soldiers, invigorated 
 by an extra allowance of rum, were em- 
 ployed digging sturdily at the trenches. 
 
 On the 11th, a singular instance occurred 
 of the defective character of Russian gun- 
 nery. An Austrian vessel, coming from 
 Eupatoria to Balaklava, and loaded with 600 
 tons of hay for the use of the English 
 army, the current took her so close to 
 Sebastopol, that to avoid going on shore 
 she had to sail past all the forts at a 
 distance of about 1,500 yards. The ter- 
 
 more especially as relate to the preparations for the 
 siege of Sebastopol), the following explanations may 
 be of use at the present moment. To our military 
 readers, the terms fascines, gabions, sancissons, &c., 
 may be " familiar as household words." They may 
 not be so, however, with the great mass of the pub- 
 lic, who take so deep an interest in all matters hav- 
 ing reference in any way to the war in the East. 
 The batteries constructed for the siege of any place 
 (as in the case of Sebastopol) are made of fascines, 
 sancissons, and not unfrequently, in the absence of 
 hard or rocky ground, with earth. They are also 
 made with gabions or sand-bags. Fascines are 
 composed of branches of trees, or brushwood (where 
 they are to be obtained), made up in the form of 
 fagots, about six feet long, and eight and ten inches 
 in diameter, tied together in two or three places. 
 Sancissons, which are used for keeping up the earth- 
 work of a battery, are also made of the same mate- 
 rials ; but they are from eighteen to twenty feet in 
 length, and are tied up in bundles of some fourteen 
 or sixteen inches in diameter. Gabions are cylin- 
 drical baskets, without a bottom, from three to four 
 feet high, and the same in diameter, to be filled with 
 earth. Sand-bags, which are from ten to fifteen inches 
 in diameter, and about two feet in length, are also to 
 contain earth. Not less than about 1,600 of these 
 are required for the parapet, in the construction of a 
 batteiy of only two pieces. The batteries which are 
 used in sieges, to destroy the defences of a place, are 
 called battering batteries; the guns being placed 
 behind a mass of earth (or works composed of gabions 
 and sand-bags), about seven feet high and twenty 
 feet in thickness. Ricochet batteries are of the 
 same construction as battering batteries ; their uses 
 being to enfilade, with guns or howitzers, the faces 
 of the works of a fortification. What is termed 
 ricochet firing is when the guns, howitzers, or mor- 
 tars are loaded with small charges, and elevated at 
 an angle of from three to thirteen degrees, so as to 
 throw the shot or shell with several grazes or bounds, 
 either on land or water. The weight of cannon 
 284 
 
 rified crew, convinced that she must be 
 sunk, deserted their ship and left it to its 
 fate. Fort Coustantine first opened fire, 
 and every gun pointed to seaward from 
 Sebastopol, was brought to bear upon the 
 unlucky vessel. Though the Austrian was 
 only moving through the water at the rate 
 of one-and-a-half knots an hour, yet, to 
 the astonishment of hundreds of French 
 and English, who were watching the affair, 
 not a shot struck her eflfectually. Nearly 
 all were too high or too low, too far forward, 
 or too far off; and, strange as it may seem, 
 out of four or five hundred cannon-balls 
 fired by the enemy, only four struck her. 
 But this was not the end of the incident. ■ 
 The Beagle, protected by the Firebrand, 
 went coolly in, and made preparations for 
 towing the Austrian barque out. The Rus- 
 sians instantly redoubled their fire, and the 
 Firebrand received several shots in her hull. 
 Two Russian frigates even came out from 
 Sebastopol, but though under the protec- 
 
 (when we hear of such heavy metal being moved, 
 in the Crimea, up precipices, and over rugged ground, 
 rendered almost impassable even to the best-appointed 
 arabas) may surprise many of our readers. A 42- 
 pounder brass gun weighs 61 cwt. ; a light brass 
 24-pounder, 24 cwt. ; and a 32-pounder iron gun, 
 65 cwt. Many persons when they read of cannon 
 being spiked to prevent them (when a place is com- 
 pelled to be evacuated in too great haste to carry ofi' 
 the guns) from being of any service to an enemy, 
 imagine that it is the mouth of the piece which is 
 operated upon ; but this is not so. The method 
 most commonly adopted to render a piece of ord- 
 nance totally unfit for service is to drive a nail firmly 
 into the vent (or touch-hole) and then to knock off 
 the head, so that by no means could it be pulled 
 out. This, even in a battery of one hundred guns, is 
 but the work of a few seconds, the artillery being 
 always provided with the necessary means to effeci 
 this purpose. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the immense weight 
 of powder required to be carried into the field 
 to serve a battery, independently of the ball, when 
 it is stated that, for field artillery, in general 
 actions, in the attack and defence of intrench- 
 ments, &c., the charges vary from one-third to threer 
 eighths of the weight oi the shot, according to 
 the calibre and weight of the gun. The larger 
 charge, however, is generally used in the attack and 
 defence of fortified places. It may be observed, that 
 the quantity of powder used for proving guns is as 
 follows : — From the three to the 12-pounder the 
 charge is equal to the shot's weight ; and from the 
 18 to the 42-pounder to three-quarters the weight of 
 the shot. For proving light brass guns the charge 
 is one-half of the shot's weight ; and for heavy and 
 medium guns it is equal to the shot's full weight. 
 We may add, as regards the weight of mortars (of 
 which several will be. employed in the attack on 
 Sebastopol), a 13-inch land service brass mortar 
 weighs 25 cwt., and an iron mortar of the same 
 calibre, 38 cwt. 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [a skirmish. 
 
 tion of their own batteries, they dared not 
 advance far enough from the walls to attack 
 the Beagle and the Firebrand, The latter 
 persevered, and the Austrian was towed off 
 and her cargo saved. This daring exploit 
 eUcited general admiration. 
 
 The silence of the Russian batteries 
 during the night of the 11th, led to the 
 expectation that a sortie from the fortress 
 was in preparation. A rumour also pre- 
 vailed that the Greek inhabitants of Balak- 
 lava were to aid the enemy by setting fire 
 to the town and the shipping. On this 
 point Lord Raglan received information of 
 so positive a character, that he felt himself 
 compelled to adopt a severe expedient. This 
 was the expulsion of all the inhabitants of 
 the place, who were escorted out of Balak- 
 lava, and sent on to the neighbouring vil- 
 lages. They were allowed to take their 
 property with them, and the Greek women 
 carried off a quantity of linen which had 
 been entrusted with them to wash. Great 
 lamentation was made by these people, and 
 the next day many of them returned, but 
 they were unceremoniously ejected. A 
 nightly patrol was then appointed to visit 
 every house in the harbour, and see if any 
 of these fanatic and malignant Greeks re- 
 mained hidden in them. Had any attempt 
 to fire the town been successful, the result 
 would have been awfully disastrous. Prom 
 the nature of the harbour the transport 
 ships and steamers could not have left it 
 quickly, and they would therefore have run 
 very little chance of escaping the general 
 conflagration. 
 
 On the night of the 11th, the working 
 parties marched out to the trenches and 
 resumed their labours. The Russians, as 
 usual, opened their fire, and kept it up with 
 remarkable vigour, but with very little 
 result. In one spot, however, they suc- 
 ceeded in creating a temporary panic. 
 Shells and rockets were flying about with 
 such rapidity, that although they did but 
 little execution, their proximity was any- 
 thing but pleasant. One of a party of 
 sailors engaged in the works exclaimed to 
 a companion : " Jack, it's getting too warm 
 by half; I'll hook it." The man carried 
 out his resolution by hooking it immedi- 
 ately, or, in other language, retreating from 
 his duty. The example was contagious, and 
 in a few minutes not a sailor remained. 
 The soldiers soon followed, and the trench 
 was deserted. The feeling, however, was 
 but momentary; order was soon re-estab- 
 
 voL. I. t3 r 
 
 lished, and the men returned to their labour. 
 A little joking at their own unusual conduct 
 followed, during which a shell suddenly fell 
 right into the midst of them. Nearly every 
 one threw himself flat on his face, and most 
 of the men were shouting, " Shove it out ; 
 shove it out." During the confusion, a 
 brave young rifleman coolly took up the 
 smoking shell in his hands and rolled it 
 over the parapet. Fortunately, something 
 was wrong with the fuse, and the instrument 
 of destruction did not burst. 
 
 About half-past one in the morning, both 
 the English and French were aroused by 
 a furious cannonade, and the whole army 
 ordered under arms. The cause of it was 
 as follows : — About midnight, a small body 
 of sappers, only sixteen in number, were 
 paraded for work on Frenchman's-hill, where 
 a battery for twenty-one guns was being 
 constructed. To prevent any error, a ser- 
 geant who had made the journey the evening 
 before, was appointed to act as their guide. 
 After a time, some doubt arose as- to whether 
 the party were going in the right direction. 
 " Do you feel sure, sergeant," asked one of 
 them, "that we are on the right road?" 
 " What do you think I was sent for ?" was 
 the self-satisfied response. Further on the 
 sergeant came suddenly upon a "verst 
 post," and his own confidence was stag- 
 gered. " Why, how is this !" he exclaimed, 
 " I surely never come to this last night." 
 At the same instant one of the men called 
 out, " Who are those fellows before us ? do 
 you see them?" The reply was lost in the 
 startling report of a volley of Russian mus- 
 ketry, supposed to proceed from the van of 
 a sortie from the garrison. The sappers, 
 who were unarmed, ran for their lives, and 
 the enemy rushed forward in pursuit, firing 
 their pieces at random. Fortunately, not 
 one of the sappers was hit, and the ad- 
 vance of the Russians was checked by the 
 fire of our riflemen. The close firing being 
 heard by the garrison in Sebastopol, they 
 sent out artillery to support their attack. 
 " The batteries behind them," says a writer 
 from the spot, " were livid with incessant 
 flashes, and the roar of shot and shell filled 
 the air, mingled with the constant 'ping- 
 pinging' of rifle and musket balls. All the 
 camps were up. The French on our left 
 got under arms, and the rattle of drums, 
 and the shrill blast of trumpets, were heard 
 amidst the roll of cannon and small arms. 
 For nearly half-an-hour this din lasted, till 
 all of a sudden a ringing cheer was audible 
 
 285 
 
STATE OF THE TURKS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854 
 
 on our right, rising through all the turmoil. 
 It was the cheer of the 88th, as they were 
 ordered to charge down the hill on their 
 unseen enemy. It had its effect ; for the 
 Russians, already pounded by our guns, and 
 shaken by the fire of our infantry, as well as 
 by the aspect of the whole hill-side lined 
 with our battalions, turned and fled under 
 the shelter of their guns. Their loss is 
 not known ; ours is very trifling. The sortie 
 ■was completely foiled, and not an inch of 
 our lines was injured, while the four-gun 
 battery (the main object of their attack) 
 was never closely approached at all. The 
 alarm over, every one returned quietly to 
 tent or bivouac'' 
 
 A part of the Turkish soldiers were em- 
 ployed in casting up earthworks. The poor 
 fellows worked willingly, though they were 
 exposed to the most cruel privations, which 
 they bore with an unmurmuring and stoical 
 patience. It is said that the 8,000 Turks 
 ■who formed part of the allied army in the 
 Crimea, -were landed without any arrange- 
 ments ha-ving been made for their support. 
 Some Marseilles biscuits were sent on shore 
 for them ; but when these were consumed the 
 men were actually destitute ! It is positively 
 asserted that, since the battle of the Alma 
 until the 10th of October, all the allowance 
 given out to them was only two biscuits 
 each man! Beyond this they had nothing 
 but what they could pick up in the surround- 
 ing country, and the poor creatures were 
 frequently seen walking about the French or 
 English camps in search of any rejected frag- 
 ments of biscuit or other food. Still these 
 poor, proud descendants of a haughty race 
 marched and worked with a willingness that 
 would have been deemed impossible to men 
 in their necessarily exhausted and fainting 
 condition. An end, however, was put to 
 their misery by the English taking them 
 under their care, and serving them out 
 proper rations. Great was the joy of the 
 poor creatures when they received their ra- 
 tions of coflee, sugar, rice, and biscuits ; but 
 they looked suspiciously at the salt beef, 
 which they thought might be pork in dis- 
 guise ; a food which, by their religion, they 
 are forbidden to touch. 
 
 Still the time dragged hea-vily on ; still the 
 Russians worked with incredible industry in 
 strengthening their defences ; and still the 
 cannon of the allies had not yet opened their 
 thunders against the forts of Sebastopol. To 
 us such delay seems culpable ; but certainly 
 competent judges -were of a different opinion. 
 286 
 
 The correspondent of the Times, writing 
 eighteen days after the allies had taken pos- 
 session of Balaklava and the heights which 
 envelop Sebastopol on the south side from 
 the sea to the Tchernaya, says : — 
 
 " The public must not be indignant when 
 they are told that up to this moment not a 
 British or French gun has replied to the fire 
 of the enemy, and that the Russians have 
 employed the interval in throwing up earth- 
 works, trenches, and batteries, to cover the 
 south side of the town, which have made it 
 almost, if not altogether, as formidable as 
 the opposite side of the creek on which the 
 town is situated, which have gone far to neu- 
 tralise the advantages we had gained by our 
 masterly flank movement from the Belbek to 
 Balaklava, and which promise to increase 
 very considerably the difficulties and dangers 
 of the siege. The delay has been, I honestly 
 believe, quite unavoidable. Any officer who 
 has been present at great operations of this 
 nature, will understand what it is for an army 
 to land in narrow and widely-separated 
 creeks all its munitions of war — its shells, its 
 cannon-shot, its heavy guns, mortars, its 
 powder, its gun-carriages, its platforms, its 
 fascines, gabions, sand-bags, its trenching 
 tools, and all the various mat&iel requisite 
 for the siege of extensive and formidable 
 lines of fortifications and batteries. But few 
 ships can come in at a time to Balaklava or 
 Arrow Bay ; in the former there is only one 
 small ordnance wharf, and yet it is there 
 that every British cannon must be landed. 
 The nature of our descent on the Crimea 
 rendered it quite impossible for us to carry 
 our siege-train along with us, as is the wont 
 of armies invading a neighbouring country 
 only separated from their own by some 
 imaginary line. We had to send all our 
 mat&iel round by sea, and then land it as 
 best we could. But when once it ■was landed, 
 the difficulties of getting it up to where it 
 was required seemed really to commence. 
 All these enormous masses of metal were to 
 be dragged by men, aided by such inadequate 
 horse power as is at our disposal, over a steep 
 and hilly country, on ■wretched broken roads, 
 to a distance of eight miles ; and one must 
 have witnessed the toil and labour of hauling 
 up a Lancaster or 10-inch gun under such 
 circumstances, to form a notion of the length 
 of time requisite to bring it to its station. 
 It will, however, serve to give some idea of 
 the severity of this work to state one fact — 
 that on the 10th no less than thirty-three 
 ammunition horses were found dead, or in 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [causes of the delay. 
 
 such a condition as to render it necessary to 
 kill them, after the duty of the day before. 
 It follows, from all these considerations, that 
 a great siege operation cannot be commenced 
 in a few days when an army is compelled to 
 bring up its guns as we have done. Again, 
 the nature of the ground around Sebastopol 
 offers great impediments to the performance 
 of the necessary work of trenching, throwing 
 up parapets, and forming earthworks. The 
 surface of the soil is stony and hard, and 
 after it has been removed, the labourer comes 
 to strata of rock and petrous masses of vol- 
 canic formation, which defy the best tools to 
 make any impression on them. The result 
 is that the earth for gabions and for sand- 
 hags has to be carried from a distance in 
 baskets, and in some instances enough of it 
 cannot be scraped together for the most 
 trifling parapets. This impediment is expe- 
 rienced to a greater extent by the British 
 than by the French. *rhe latter have had 
 better ground to work upon, and they have 
 found fine beds of clay beneath the first coat- 
 ing of stones and earth, which have been of 
 essential service to them in forming their 
 works. Having gone thus far in the way of 
 apology, or rather having pointed out to 
 persons who may not be thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with such undertakings, the causes 
 of the delay which has taken place since our 
 partial investment of Sebastopol in opening 
 fire upon its defences, it is gratifying to be 
 able to state that on Sunday, or at furthest 
 on Monday morning next, upwards of 130 
 pieces of heavy artillery will be in position, 
 and that our guns will be able to reply to the 
 fire of the Russians. When they do begin, 
 their work will be well and speedily done. 
 From calculations which have been made, it 
 seems probable that the French and English 
 batteries will be capable of hurling no less 
 than 23,600 shot and shell against the enemy's 
 works per diem, and that calculation allows 
 ten minutes' interval for each gun between 
 round and round. We have opened about 
 1,500 yards of trench, much of which is in a 
 fit state for the reception of heavy guns. 
 The French have completed somewhat more 
 — say 1,600 metres — and are rather more 
 forward than we are, but they have not yet 
 landed all their heavy guns. An immense 
 amount of gunpowder, shot, and shell has 
 * This term requires a word of explanation. When 
 the allies first landed on the soil of the sultan, the 
 Turks, who seemed to have an impression that every 
 JEnglishman's name was John, or as they called it, 
 Johnny, used the words hono Johnny (good Johnny) 
 as a term of kindly salutation. They had no idea that 
 
 been carried up from Balaklava to the lines, 
 and is placed in park and reserve ready for 
 use; but there are many guns landed for 
 which we have no present use, and large 
 numbers of heavy pieces and quantities of 
 ammunition and ball remain in the town 
 magazines or in the field magazines along 
 the road. Jack has been of essential service 
 in this hard work. The only thing against 
 him is that he is too strong. He pulls strong 
 carts to pieces as if they were toys. He piles 
 up shot-cases in the ammunition waggons 
 till the horses fall under the weight, for he 
 cannot understand ' the ship starting till the 
 hold is full.' He takes long pulls and strong 
 pulls at tow-ropes till they give like sewing- 
 silk, and he is indefatigable in 'rousing' 
 crazy old vehicles up hill, and running full 
 speed with them down hill till they fall to 
 pieces. Many a heap of shot or shell by the 
 roadside marks the scenes of such disasters ; 
 but Jack's good humour during this * spree 
 on shore' is inexhaustible, and he comes 
 back for the massive cargo from the camp 
 with the greatest wUlingness when he is told 
 it must be got up ere nightfall. It is most 
 cheering to meet a set of these jolly fellows 
 ' working up a gun to the camp.' From a 
 distance you hear some rough hearty English 
 chorus borne on the breeze over the hill side. 
 As you approach, the strains of an unmis- 
 takeable Gosport fiddle, mingled with the 
 squeaks of a marine fife, rise up through the 
 unaccustomed vales of the Crimea. A cloud 
 of dust on the ascent marks their coming and 
 tugging up the monster gun in its cradle 
 ■with 'a, stamp and go,' strange cries, and 
 oaths sworn by some thirty tars, all flushed 
 with honest exercise, while the officer in 
 charge tries to moderate their excessive 
 energies, and to induce the two or three 
 hairy Hercules who are sitting astride on 
 the gun or on the few horses in front, with 
 vine-leaves in their hats or flowers in their 
 hair, to dismount and leave off the music. 
 The astonishment of the stupid fur-capped 
 Crim Tartars, as they stare at this wondrous 
 apparition on its way, is ludicrous to a degree ; 
 but Turk, Crim, Russian, or Greek are all 
 the same to Jack, and he is certain to salute 
 every foreigner who goes by, while in this 
 state, with the universal shibboleth of ' Bono f 
 Bowno ! Johnny V "* 
 
 the phrase expressed any undue familiarity ; and con- 
 sequently sometimes very gravely addressed generals, 
 or other officers of high rank, with this favourite 
 salute. The term soon became general ; and from being 
 used 5y the Turks, came to be applied to them — they 
 being at last usually referred to as the bono Johnnies. 
 
 287 
 
ORDER OP THE SIEGE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 At length the suspense of the allies came 
 to a period. It was definitely arranged 
 that the siege of Sebastopol should com- 
 mence on the 17thj and the day before, the 
 following general order was issued to the 
 troops by the English commander-in-chief. 
 With it we will conclude this chapter, and 
 reserve to a new one the commencement of 
 the narrative of that memorable siege which, 
 in the far distant future, will be regarded as 
 one of the most gigantic and extraordinary 
 events of the present century : — 
 
 October 16th, 1854. 
 Memorandum for generals of division, the 
 commanding officer of artillery, the com- 
 manding officer of engineers. 
 
 The fire upon Sebastopol will commence 
 to-morrow morning, about half-past six 
 o'clock, from the French and English bat- 
 teries, in co-operation with the combined 
 fleets. 
 
 The precise moment of opening the fire, 
 however, will be indicated by the successive 
 discharge of three mortars from the centre 
 of the works of the French army. 
 
 The troops off duty will remain in their 
 respective camps, ready to fall in at a 
 moment's notice, without their koapsacks, 
 great-coats, or blankets. 
 
 The horses will be attached to the field 
 batteries. 
 
 There will be with each division parties 
 of sappers, consisting of twenty men and 
 an officer of engineers, ready to carry picks 
 and shovels, crowbars and sledges, bags of 
 powder prepared, felling axes, and scaling 
 ladders. 
 
 Each division will also have with it a 
 detachment of twenty artillerymen under 
 an officer of artillery, with rockets and 
 spikes for guns. (The latter are only to 
 be used in the event of the troops having 
 to retire from a battery.) 
 
 The arrangements for the collecting the 
 several articles above enumerated will be 
 carried out by the officer of engineers and 
 the officer of artillery. 
 
 The generals of divisions will make every 
 arrangement for the ready communication 
 of the troops with the reserve ammunition, 
 which, however, need not be placed upon 
 the horses until ordered. 
 
 Previously to the opening of the iire, all 
 advanced pickets, with the exception of the 
 men selected to fire in the embrasures, will 
 be withdrawn under the direction of the 
 general officer on duty in the trenches, 
 
 288 
 
 and retire under corer to their respective 
 camps. 
 
 The covering parties in the trenches will 
 be kept clear of the batteries, and such of 
 them as cannot find cover in the trenches 
 will be moved to such positions in the rear 
 or the flank as will ensure their being at 
 hand to protect the batteries, whilst they 
 will be themselves screened from the enemy's 
 fire. These covering parties will be moved 
 as the commanding officer of the party may 
 see occasion, in consequence of the fire of 
 the enemy. When the whole trench is 
 occupied by guns, the covering parties must 
 be placed as above stated, under adequate 
 cover in the immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 The working parties will remain in the 
 trenches, or be withdrawn, according to the 
 discretion of the commanding engineer. 
 
 As it is probable that the field batteries 
 may be required to move, the senior artil- 
 lery officer of the division, and the officer 
 commanding each battery, will make them- 
 selves acquainted with the communications 
 to their right and left. 
 
 The cavalry, under Lieutenant-general 
 the Earl of Lucan, and the troops of all 
 arms, under Major-general Sir C. Camp- 
 bell, British and Turkish, posted for the 
 defence of Balaldava, will be held in readi- 
 ness throughout the day, to act on the 
 shortest notice. 
 
 The meat for the men's dinner will be 
 cooked as early as possible to-morrow morn- 
 ing, in case of the army having to move 
 forward. 
 
 In the event of an advance, the com- 
 mander of the forces particularly requests 
 the general officers commanding divisions 
 and brigades, the commanding officers of 
 regiments, and the officers commanding 
 companies, to impress upon the men the 
 urgent necessity of maintaining their for- 
 mation and keeping their order. The suc- 
 cess of any operation they may be called 
 upon to undertake, their honour, and, 
 indeed, their own individual safety, depend 
 upon their being under complete control 
 ready to repel any attack, or to overcome 
 any resistance that may be opposed to them. 
 
 Lord Raglan will be at the quarries in 
 front of the third division (Sir Richard 
 England's.) 
 
 General Canrobert, at the Maison d'Eau 
 on the left of the British line, and on the 
 right of the French position. 
 
 (Signed) Eaglan. 
 
i M=m)^,..^k^^m^^^^w^:,^^ 
 
 After theBalile of the Alma the AlJies proceeded to Sebastopol 
 and commenced Oie Sieg'e, Scpt^ 26^^1854, The Brilis^i taJdug- 
 possession of'tkeTovro aud-l larboiiT cif .RalQlfla-Va_ fopthe laBdiJig 
 
 of i_heir SieiVe MsLterial, Stores, -S:c. Ac TKe French selecting" the 
 
 ffeys of Kamics-li a;idKaza.tc}i ,at Cape Chersoj-iese.for their Depots. 
 
 Cjnir Coiisla]!!! 
 
 Draym BzEn§Ta.vei. from Offici 
 
 THE LONDON PKIKTI^TG A 
 
A.S. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [eve of the siege. 
 
 . CHAPTER XX. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE MEMORABLE SIEGE OP SEBASTOPOL ; THE FIRST DAT'S CANNONADE, ITS INCIDENTS, 
 AND ITS RESULTS ; THE ATTACK BY SEA ; DESPATCHES OF THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH GENERALS AND 
 ADMIRALS ; CONTINUATION OF THE SIEGE ; CAPTURE OF LORD DUNKELLIN ; TRICK OF THE RUSSIANS ; 
 DIFFICULTIES OF THE ALLIES ; DARING OF PRIVATE MAGUIRE ; ADVANCE OF THE RUSSIANS ON OUR POSI- 
 TION IN FRONT OF BALAKLAVA ; FLIGHT OF THE TURKS, AND CAPTURE OF FOUR REDOUBTS BY THE RUS- 
 SIANS ; ENGAGEMENT AT BALAKLAVA; MILITARY ERROR AND HEROIC DEATH-CHARGE OF OUR LIGHT 
 CAVALRY ; CAPTAIN NOLAN ; RECAPTURE OP THREE OP THE REDOUBTS ; DESPATCHES IN RELATION TO 
 THIS ENGAGEMENT ; SORTIE FROM THE GARRISON. 
 
 The night of the 16th of October* was 
 extremely beautiful ; the air was clear, and 
 a gentle calmness seemed to prevail, broken 
 only by the occasional boom of cannon and 
 the shrill whistle of a shot or shell through 
 the air. The sky was cloudless, and the 
 dusky vault overhead thick with glittering 
 stars, which seemed to show themselves in 
 unusual multitudes, as if in expectation of 
 the startling spectacle that was soon about 
 to be revealed. The Russians fired but 
 little that night ; and a Polish deserter stated 
 a grand ball was held at Sebastopol, and 
 that within the fortress all was confidence 
 that the French and EngUsh would soon be 
 driven back to their ships. 
 
 In the camps of the allies all was excite- 
 ment and joy, because at last the thunders 
 of their cannon were to be opened against 
 the stronghold of the czar. In the fleets, 
 also, though no orders had been given, it 
 was generally understood that the siege was 
 to be commenced the next day. At ten 
 o'clock at night, a shot was fired from the 
 Britannia, and the signal made for the first 
 
 * We relate the folloTving as a. pleasant instance 
 of the fraternity existing between the French and 
 EngKsh armies. A correspondent of one of the 
 morning journals relates that on this day {the 16th) 
 " General Canrobert made over to our commissariat 
 enough bread, baked in the French ovens, for the 
 whole of our force — viz., 3|lbs. per man — a very 
 acceptable and considerate present, considering that 
 yie had been living entirely on biscuit, and nearly 
 all the time on salt provisions. The French cer- 
 tainly have the pull of us, carrying their ovens into 
 the field ; but the fact is, theirs is an army in every 
 • respect — ours is not. We have men — good ones to 
 fight, and no manner of mistake about that, but 
 nothing more. We are totally destitute of all ar- 
 rangement — commissariat staff, medical staff, any 
 staff, equally bad — good officers as well as good 
 men ; but bad system, or, rather, none at all. Let 
 the army be ordered to storm Sebastopol to-morrow, 
 and they will do it, coute qui coute. Put them in a 
 tolerably good position to forage for themselves, 
 and they will be sure to make a mess of it. A 
 French soldier naturally forages for himself. If he 
 goes on picket he takes with him his little bundle 
 
 lieutenant to go on board the flag-ship and 
 to copy a general order. That order was : 
 " Be ready for action at eight o'clock in the 
 morning." The brave sailors were delighted, 
 and exerted themselves in a manner per- 
 fectly astonishing for its herculean vigour 
 and alacrity. 
 
 Tuesday, the 17th of October, dawned on 
 the expectant troops. A heavy dew or fog 
 rested over the valley ; but towards six 
 o'clock it began to disperse, and shortly 
 afterwards the sunbeams glittered through 
 the gloom, and the mist rolled off in the 
 direction of the sea. All the men were 
 seen standing at their guns, the apertures of 
 the enlbrasures (which had been masked, in 
 order to protect the working parties) were 
 cleared, and the guns run out. Hope beat 
 high in the heaving bosoms of every French 
 and Enghsh man, and they expected, in a 
 few days, to be quartered within the shat- 
 tered walls of Sebastopol. Unhappily, those 
 expectations were far from being realised. 
 The Russians had been firing, occasionally, 
 from the first gray tint of twilight, but the 
 
 of sticks, got where he best can, to light his fire. 
 Our men, on the contrary, would almost expect an 
 araba to carry them. Give ours coffee, and they 
 will tell you they can't roast and grind it. Go into 
 the French camp, and you will see a man who has 
 roasted enough for a dozen men, steadily pounding 
 away at it with the butt-end of his musket and 
 whistling a lively tune; but I must stop, as com- 
 parisons are always odious, and we must not expose 
 the foibles of our men. It would astonish the world 
 if an officer of the guards could be put down in St. 
 James's as he daily appears here. Every one looks 
 bad enough in a wretched coatee without epaulettes, 
 which have either ' come to grief,' or been discarded 
 as too far gone. The guards, crowned ^yith the 
 nondescript article, in the way of a forage-cap, with 
 which they have lately been furnished, look like a 
 species of brigand. It is wonderful how clean and 
 neat a French officer always appears. They might 
 be transported to the Boulevards, and cause no re- 
 marks. Why ? Their clothing is more adapted to 
 the real business of a soldier, and in each regiment 
 there are well-appointed mules to carry the few ne, 
 cessaries a man requires on service." 
 
 289 
 
FIRST DAY OF THE SIEGE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 cannon of the allies had preserved an. ominous 
 and threatening silence. 
 
 At length the hour had arrived, and the 
 signal was given. At half-past six the 
 French and English batteries roared forth 
 simultaneously. Volumes of smoke and 
 flame broke out from every part of our line, 
 shot and shell whistled and screamed through 
 the air, and the earth seemed to tremble 
 with the reverberation. England and France 
 united — blent together — had struck, like 
 some fierce giant of mythic times — some 
 Thor or Woden, with a thousand hands — 
 the first ponderous, staggering blow against 
 the massive walls of Sebastopol ! 
 
 The Russians seemed neither surprised 
 nor daunted, but with a calm resolution 
 returned the fire with a terrible prompti- 
 tude. They were prepared for the worst, 
 and would, if inevitable, meet it with a 
 dogged heroism; but were resolved that 
 every nerve should be strained to breaking, 
 every muscle deadened with exhaustion, 
 before they pronounced the word submis- 
 sion. " The first volley," said a spectator of 
 the awful scene, "showed us what no soul 
 in either army had hitherto been certain 
 about — namely, the precise nature both of 
 our works and the enemy's ; and I am sorry 
 to say, it also showed us that, even in earth- 
 work-batteries, thrown up since we came here, 
 the Russians immensely outnumbered the 
 allied lines. Not only were there extensive 
 intrenchments, mounting twenty-five and 
 thirty heavy cannon, but on every height 
 and ridge guns of heavy calibre were placed 
 in battery. I have been informed that the 
 extensive nature of their works completely 
 astonished our generals ! and we are by no 
 means sure that we have seen them all yet ; 
 for, during yesterday, fresh ones were fre- 
 quently unmasked in places totally unex- 
 pected." 
 
 Within ten minutes after the commence- 
 ment of the cannonade, the lines of the 
 allies, and those of the Russians, were en- 
 veloped in a thick smoke ; but before that 
 took place, each battery had singled out its 
 antagonist, and got an accurate range. 
 Our left attacking force consisted of four 
 batteries and thirty-six guns ; our right, of 
 twenty guns in battery. There were also 
 two Lancaster batteries and a 4-gun battery 
 of 68-pounders on our right. The French 
 had about forty-six guns in their siege-train, 
 but, unfortunately, none heavier than 24- 
 pounders; so that their lines were of a 
 lighter kind than our, and less calculated to 
 290 
 
 resist the enemy's concentrated and heavy 
 fire. Altogether, we were supposed to have 
 117 guns to subdue about 130 of the Rus- 
 sians — no such great disparity, if the other 
 conditions had been equal. It is said, 
 amidst all the roaring of artillery, the pecu- 
 liar explosion of the Lancaster guns could 
 be plainly heard. They differed from that 
 of other cannon, and the balls they dis- 
 charged clove the air with a noise and regu- 
 lar beat resembling the passage of a rapid 
 express train at a few yards' distance. This 
 created great amusement amongst the men, 
 who directly gave it the name of the " ex- 
 press train;" and by that only is it now 
 known amongst them. The effects of its 
 shot are described as most terrible. " From 
 its deafening noise," said a spectator, "the 
 ball could be distinctly traced by the ear to 
 the spot where it struck, when stone or 
 earth alike went down before it. A battery 
 of twenty or thirty such guns would destroy 
 Sebastopol in a week. Unfortunately, from 
 a short supply of ammunition, we could 
 afford to mount but two, and even these 
 were only fired once in every eight minutes." 
 It should be added, that opinions differ as 
 to the value of these tremendous weapons. 
 Some persons describe them as not realising 
 the expectations formed of them. With 
 most of the sailors they were by no means 
 popular ; some of the tars who worked them 
 saying, in a tone of complaint, " Them guns 
 would not tell no ways." It would seem, 
 however, that they were not familiar with 
 the use of them. 
 
 For two hours the cannonade roared in- 
 cessantly, and then a breeze springing up 
 from the south cleared away the smoke, and 
 afforded a view of what was going on. One 
 of the Lancaster guns had done terrible work 
 on the Round Tower. Masses of solid ma- 
 sonry were dislodged from its sides, not a man 
 remained on its roof, and its four guns were 
 overthrown and lay about like dead horses. 
 Beyond this, however, no mischief seemed to 
 be done to the massive fortress, and it was 
 evident that the French were fighting at a 
 disadvantage. They were completely flanked 
 by a 10-gun battery, and their fire became 
 more feeble every minute. 
 
 About half-past eight the fire slackened 
 for a little while on each side. Soon after it 
 was renewed, a terrific explosion, that seemed 
 almost like the shock of an earthquake, drew 
 attention to one of the French batteries, over 
 which was hanging a tremendous cloud of 
 smoke. A sad mischance had happened to 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAE WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [first day op the sieqe. 
 
 our allies. The fire of the Russians succeeded 
 in blowing up the French magazine in the 
 extreme right battery of twelve guns. Not 
 only were some tons of powder fired, but 
 about a hundred men were reported to be 
 killed and wounded : the French afterwards 
 set the number down at fifty. The delighted 
 Russians gave a loud cheer, and poured forth 
 their fire with such vigour on the French 
 right batteries, that at ten o'clock the latter 
 were nearly silenced. 
 
 Glimpses of the fleet could be seen in the 
 offing, making preparations for an attack. 
 About half-past twelve, the French line-6f- 
 battle ships ran up in magnificent style, 
 and engaged the batteries on the sea side. 
 " Through the smoke over the harbour," 
 says the writer we have just quoted (the corre- 
 spondent of the Morning Herald) " we could 
 plainly perceive the masts and funnel of a 
 large screw line-of-battle ship, which, with- 
 out firing a shot, stood in, until her broad- 
 side was within two hundred yards of one of' 
 the principal fortresses at the north of the 
 harbour. Then her guns began to roar loud 
 above the hellish din, which seemed to rend 
 the very sky. The vessel which performed 
 this gallant exploit was French, and, I be- 
 lieve, the Montebello, 120; the crew of which 
 suffered so dreadfully from cholera while at 
 Varna. From the moment she arrived along- 
 side the fort, her sides seemed literally on 
 fire, so rapidly, so incessantly, were her tiers 
 of guns discharged." The Russians, though 
 replying bravely to the attacks, both by sea 
 and land, suffered fearfully. 
 
 The Russians were not the only sufferers, 
 however ; their fire poured terrifically, and 
 with a fatal success, upon the French lines 
 which had been abandoned. At about half- 
 past one a Russian shell fell and exploded 
 full upon the reserve magazine of the principal 
 French battery, which instantly blew up with 
 an awful shock ! The explosion was terrible ; 
 about twenty tons of powder, with shells and 
 rockets in proportion, were ignited ! The 
 earth seemed to tremble ; the greatest part of 
 the battery, together with sixteen guns, and 
 nearly all the men were hurled into the lurid 
 air ! As the roar of the explosion ceased to 
 vibrate on the startled ear, four French screw 
 liners, each having another in tow, dashed up 
 to the forts, and, as if in furious retaliation, 
 dealt death and destruction amongst the 
 enemy. "As each French liner came in, 
 she added her incessant broadsides to the 
 continuous roar of cannon which prevailed 
 on all sides. The scene was perfectly hellish. 
 
 The atmosphere was only a thick lurid smoke, 
 which seemed to suffocate, and through its 
 heavy folds the scream of shot and shell was 
 enough to make one's hair stand on end. 
 No words of mine could do justice to such a 
 pandemonium. Let your readers imagine 
 at least 4,000 pieces of the heaviest ordnance 
 in the world firing shells and rockets without 
 a moment's intermission. The air seemed 
 one perpetual explosion ; but, in the midst 
 of which, singularly enough, the peculiar 
 jerking scream of the Lancaster shell could 
 be plainly heard." 
 
 About half-past one a red-hot shot, fired 
 by the Russians, fell into an English battery, 
 and striking an ammunition waggon, caused 
 it to blow up instantly, though from the 
 powder being comparatively unconfined, the 
 shock was not so severe as might have been 
 expected. Some of our brave fellows were 
 killed; but the works of the battery remained 
 uninjured. The Russians, as usual, set up a 
 tremendous cheer; but their mirth speedily 
 died away into mourning. A shell from the 
 Lancaster gun is supposed to have lodged in 
 the Russian magazine of the redoubt in front 
 of the redan wall. The explosion which fol- 
 lowed is described as making the blood of 
 the stoutest man run cold. It seemed as it 
 the whole of Sebastopol had been smitten 
 into a heap of stones and ruin. When the 
 cloud of earth, dust, smoke, and fragmentary 
 bodies cleared away, it was seen that nothing 
 but a great black hole remained of the re- 
 doubt, and that the most part of the redan 
 wall was blown away. For some minutes 
 the startled Russians did not fire a single 
 shot ; they then returned to their guns, and 
 concentrated their fire upon the battery, 
 where the fatal Lancaster gun was placed. 
 Their efforts were in vain ; it was quite out of 
 range ; and their shot stopped rolling nearly 
 two hundred yards in advance of the battery. 
 They then gave up the point, and poured 
 forth their shot against the French fleet, 
 which was battering the stone-works and 
 town by tremendous broadsides. We men- 
 tioned that the English had mounted only 
 two Lancaster guns. The one, as we have 
 related, did terrible execution ; but the other, 
 unfortunately, burst at the first shot, though 
 without injuring the men serving it. 
 
 The cannonade continued to rage till 
 dusk with unmitigated fury, and the ships 
 poured in broadside after broadside on forts 
 Nicholas and Constantine at close ranges. 
 As the evening closed in the fire slackened, 
 and at night it altogether ceased. 
 
 291 
 
THE ATTACK B"? SEA.j 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 Thus ended the first day's siege of the 
 then world-famous fortifications of Sebasto- 
 pol. The total loss to the allied fleets was, 
 sixteen killed and 200 wounded in the 
 French ships, and forty-six killed and 250 
 wounded in the English. In the land 
 attack the French lost about 200 men, 
 chiefly by the explosions j the loss of the 
 English did not amount to 100 killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 The following account of the operations 
 by sea, during this eventful day, is from the 
 pen of a correspondent of the Times : — 
 " Off the Katcha, Crimea, Oct. 18th. 
 
 " Yesterday morning, about daybreak, the 
 English and French opened fire from their 
 batteries on the south side of Sebastopol. 
 Late on the preceding night it had been 
 agreed by the combined admirals and gen- 
 erals that the fleets should on the same 
 day make a grand attack on the forts at the 
 mouth of the harbour. During the night 
 topgallant-masts were lowered, spare spars 
 and boats handed over to her majesty's ship 
 Vulcan, and early in the morning steam was 
 up. The paddlewheel and screw frigates 
 lashed themselves alongside the sailing line- 
 of-battle ships, and all was got ready for the 
 fight. The French were to occupy the 
 right as you enter the harbour — that is, the 
 southern side, and the English the left, or 
 northern side, in one line, — about 1,500 
 yards off. 
 
 " The French first got into their places, 
 about half-past twelve o'clock, and imme- 
 diately commenced a heavy fire, which was 
 vigorously returned from the batteries. The 
 distance, however, was certainly greater 
 than originally contemplated, and, as far as 
 I can ascertain, it was over 2,000 yards. 
 By degrees the English ships successively 
 took up their stations, passing in rear of the 
 French, and anchoring to the left. The 
 Agamemnon, Sanspareil, ani London (lashed 
 to the Niger), however, took an inside sta- 
 tion in advance, — perhaps about 1,000 
 yards from Fort Constantine. Nothing 
 could be more noble than the gallant way 
 in which the Agamemnon and Sanspareil 
 steamed in amid a perfect hail of cannon- 
 balls and shells, preceded by a little tug- 
 steamer, the Circassia, commanded by Mr. 
 Ball. This little bit of a cockleshell, which 
 looked as if she might have been arrested 
 by a fowling-piece, deliberately felt the way 
 for the large ships till her services were no 
 longer required. 
 
 " The firing soon became terrific. At the 
 292 
 
 distance of six miles the sustained sound 
 resembled that of a furious locomotive at 
 full speed, but, of course, the roar was in- 
 finitely grander. The day was a dead calm, 
 so that the smoke hung heavily about both 
 ships and batteries, and frequently prevented 
 either side from seing anything. From 
 about two till dark (nearly six) the can- 
 nonade raged most furiously. 
 
 " Towards four o'clock. Fort Constantine, 
 as well as some of the smaller batteries, 
 slackened somewhat in their fire ; but to- 
 wards dusk, as some of the ships began to 
 haul out, the Russians returned to their 
 guns, and the fire seemed as fierce as ever. 
 There was one explosion just behind Fort 
 Constantine, which appeared to do much 
 damage. At dark all the ships returned to 
 their anchorage. The change was magical 
 from a hot sun, mist, smoke, explosions, 
 shot, shell, rockets, and the roar of 10,000 
 guns — to a still, cool, brilliant starlight sky, 
 looking down upon a glassy sea, reflecting 
 in long tremulous lines the lights at the 
 mast-heads of the ships returning amid pro- 
 found silence. 
 
 " What damage has been done to the forts 
 we don't yet know. Three of our ships 
 have been roughly handled, and the killed 
 and wounded amount to forty-six English 
 killed, and upwards of 250 wounded. Lieu- 
 tenant Chase, of the Albion, has fallen, and 
 Lieutenant Lloyd, commanding the Vesu- 
 vius, and Mr. Foster, midshipman on board 
 the Sanspareil, are seriously wounded. No 
 captains have been hit. The blue-jackets 
 showed all their ancient valour. Eight or 
 nine men were swept away at a forecastle 
 gun on board the Sanspareil by the explo- 
 sion of a shell. The two remaining men 
 coolly went on loading, with their sponge 
 and rammer, as though nothing had hap- 
 pened." 
 
 Lord Raglan forwarded a despatch, con- 
 taining the particulars of this day's proceed- 
 ings, to the Duke of Newcastle. It was 
 lost in its passage through France, and, 
 though afterwards recovered, did not arrive 
 in England until the 11th of November. 
 "We subjoin it : — 
 
 Before Sebastopol, Oct. 18th. 
 
 My Lord Duke, — It was arranged between 
 General Canrobert and myself that the bat- 
 teries of the two armies should open imme- 
 diately after daylight on the morning of the 
 17th, and we invited Admiral Dundas and 
 Admiral Hamelin to attack the enemy's 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [lord raglan's despatch. 
 
 works at the mouth of the harbour with the 
 combined fleets, as nearly simultaneously as 
 circumstances might permit. 
 
 Accordingly, upon a signal being given 
 from the centre of the French lines, the 
 batteries of the two armies commenced their 
 Are about a quarter before seven yesterday 
 morning. 
 
 On this occasion we employed about sixty 
 guns of different calibre, the lightest being 
 24-pounders. 
 
 It may here be proper to observe that the 
 character of the position which the enemy 
 occupy on the south side of Sebastopol is 
 not that of a fortress, but rather of an army 
 in an intrenched camp on very strong 
 ground, where an apparently unlimited 
 number of heavy guns, amply provided with 
 gunners and ammunition, are mounted. 
 
 The guns having opened, as above stated, 
 a continuous and well-directed fire was 
 carried on from the works of the two armies 
 until about ten o'clock, a.m., when, unfor- 
 tunately, a magazine in the midst of one of 
 the French batteries exploded, and occa- 
 sioned considerable damage to the works, and 
 I fear many casualties, and almost paralysed 
 the efforts of the French artillery for the day. 
 
 The British batteries, however, manned 
 by sailors from the fleet, under the com- 
 mand of Captain Lushington and Captain 
 Peel, and by the royal artillery, under the 
 superintendence of Lieutenant-colonel Gam- 
 bier, kept up their fire with unremitting 
 energy throughout the day to my own and 
 the general satisfaction, as well as to the 
 admiration of the French army, who were 
 witnesses of their gaUant and persevering 
 exertions, materially injuring the enemy's 
 works, and silencing the heavy guns on the 
 top of the loopholed tower to which I ad- 
 verted in my despatch of the 13th instant, 
 and many of the guns at its base, and 
 causing an extensive explosion in the rear of 
 a strong redoubt in our immediate front; 
 the enemy, notwithstanding, answered to 
 the last from a number of guns along their 
 more extended line. 
 
 The fire was resumed this morning at 
 daylight by the British sailors and artillery, 
 and responded to, though in a somewhat 
 less degree, by the Russians ; but the French 
 troops, being occupied in the repair of their 
 batteries, and in the formation of others, 
 have not contributed to the renewal of the 
 attack, except from a work on their extreme 
 left ; they expect, however, to be able to do 
 so to-morrow morning. 
 
 VOL. I. t2 Q 
 
 I beg to lay before your grace a return of 
 the loss sustained by the royal navy, and 
 the army under my command,* between the 
 13th and the 17th instant, and to this I am 
 deeply concerned to add that of Colonel the 
 Hon. Francis Hood, commanding the 3rd 
 battalion grenadier guards, an excellent 
 officer, whose death in the trenches this 
 morning has just been reported to me. 
 
 The English, French, and Turkish fleets 
 moved towards the mouth of the harbour 
 about noon, and kept up a heavy fire upon 
 the enemy's forts for several hours. 
 
 I am not fully acquainted with the details 
 of the attack, or its result, but I understand 
 that Rear-admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, with 
 the Agamemnon and Sanspareil, assisted 
 occasionally by the London, Queen, and 
 Albion, gallantly approached to within 600 
 yards of Fort Constantine, the great work 
 at the northern entrance, where he main- 
 tained himself till late in the afternoon, and 
 succeeded in exploding a magazine, and 
 causing considerable injury to the face of 
 the fort. 
 
 Since I wrote to your grace on the 13th, 
 &ix battalions of Turkish infantry and 300 
 Turkish artillery have been added to the 
 force in front of Balaklava. 
 
 These troops have been sent from Con- 
 stantinople, and placed under my command 
 by the government of the Porte, and I feel 
 greatly indebted to her majesty's ambas- 
 sador. Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, for 
 the ability and energy with which he brought 
 under the notice of the sultan the importance 
 I attached to an immediate reinforcement of 
 the imperial troops. 
 
 I have, &c., Raglan. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 The following is the despatch sent by 
 Admiral Dundas to the secretary of the 
 Admiralty : — 
 
 Britannia — ofi'the Kateha, Oct. 18th. 
 
 Sir, — 1. I beg you will acquaint the lords 
 commissioners of the Admiralty that the 
 siege batteries of the allied armies opened 
 fire upon the Russian works south of 
 Sebastopol about half-past six o'clock yes- 
 terday morning, with great efiect, and small 
 loss. 
 
 2. In consequence of the most urgent 
 request of Lord Raglan and General Can- 
 
 * The lists of killed and wounded are omittedfor 
 reasons already stated. See Note, page 233. The 
 reader will understand this when such lists ai"e re- 
 ferred to in future despatches. 
 
 293 
 
DESPATCH OF ADMIRAL DUNDAS.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 robert, it was agreed by the admirals of the 
 allied fleets that the whole of the ships 
 should assist the land attack by engaging 
 the sea batteries north and south of the 
 harbour, on a line across the port, as shown 
 in the accompanying plan, but various cir- 
 cumstances rendered a change in the position 
 of the ships necessary and unavoidable. 
 
 3. The Agamemnon, Sanspareil, Sampson, 
 Tribune, Terrible, Sphinx, Lynx, Albion, 
 London, Arethusa, towed by the Firebrand, 
 Niger, and Triton, engaged Fort Constautine 
 and the batteries to the northward; while 
 the Queen, Britannia, Trafalgar, Vengeance, 
 Rodney, Bellerophon, with Vesuvius, Fu- 
 rious, Retribution, Highflyer, Spitfire, Spite- 
 ful, and Cyclops, lashed on the port side of 
 the several ships, gradually took up their 
 positions, as nearly as possible as marked 
 on the plan. 
 
 4. The action lasted from about half-past 
 one to half-past six, p.m., when being quite 
 dark, the ships hauled off. 
 
 5. The loss sustained by the Russians, 
 and the damage done to Fort Constautine 
 and batteries cannot, of course, as yet be 
 correctly ascertained. 
 
 6. An action of this duration against such 
 formidable and well-armed works could not 
 be maintained without serious injury, and I 
 have to regret the loss of forty-four killed 
 and 266 wounded, as detailed in the ac- 
 companying lists. The ships, masts, yards, 
 and rigging are more or less damaged, prin- 
 cipally by shells and hot shot. The Albion 
 has suffered much in hull and masts; the 
 Rodney in her masts, she having tailed on 
 the reef, from which she was got off by the 
 great exertions of Commander Kynaston, of 
 the Spiteful, whose crew and vessel were 
 necessarily exposed in performing this ser- 
 vice ; but, with the exception of the Albion 
 and Arethusa, which ships I send to Con- 
 stantinople to be repaired, I hope to be able 
 to make my squadron serviceable in twenty- 
 four hours. Foreseeing from the nature of 
 the attack that we should be likely to lose 
 spars, I left the spare topmasts and yards on 
 board her majesty's ship Vulcan at this 
 anchorage, where I had placed her with all 
 the sick and prisoners. 
 
 7. I have now the pleasure of recording 
 my very great satisfaction with the ability 
 and zeal displayed by Rear-admirals Sir 
 Edmund Lyons and the Hon. Montagu 
 Stopford, and all the captains under my 
 command, as well as my sincere thanks to 
 them, and to the officers, seamen, and 
 
 294 
 
 marines employed, for their unremitting 
 exertions and the rapidity of their fire, in 
 the absence of a large number of the crews 
 of each ship, who were landed to assist in 
 working the siege batteries, &c., on shore, 
 and to this circumstance I attribute the 
 small loss of killed and wounded. 
 
 8. The gallant and skilful conduct of our 
 French allies in this action was witnessed by 
 me with admiration, and I hear with regret 
 that they have also suffered considerable 
 loss. 
 
 9. I beg to express my gratitude at the 
 manner in which Ahmed Pasha, the Turkish 
 admiral, did his duty. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 (Signed) J. "W. D. Dundas, Vice-admiral. 
 
 General Canrobert, then commander-in- 
 chief of the French army in the East, for- 
 warded the following report, dated 18th of 
 October, to the minister of war. It frankly 
 admits the misfortunes of the French during 
 the preceding day, but is full of spirit and 
 confideuce : — 
 
 Monseiur le Marechal, — Yesterday, at 
 sunrise, we opened our fire in concert with 
 the English army. Matters were proceeding 
 favourably, when the explosion of the 
 powder magazine of a battery, which un- 
 fortunately was of a serious character, threw 
 our attack into disorder. This explosion 
 poduced greater effect from thfe fact that 
 our batteries were accumulated round the 
 point where it took place. The enemy 
 profited by it to increase his fire, and, in 
 accord with the general commanding the 
 artillery, I was of opinion that it was neces- 
 sary for us to suspend ours in order to 
 make repairs, and to complete towards our 
 right, by fresh batteries connected with 
 those of the English army, the system of 
 our attack. This delay is no doubt to be 
 regretted, but we must resign ourselves to 
 it, and I am taking every necessary step to 
 render it as short as possible. 
 
 The place kept up the fire better than was 
 expected. The circle is of such a formidable 
 development in a right line, and comprises 
 guns of such large calibre, that it can pro- 
 long the struggle. On the 17th our troops 
 took possession of the height before the 
 point of attack called the Bastion of the 
 Mat, and occupied it. This evening we 
 shall raise upon it a masked battery of 
 twelve pieces, and, if it be possible, also a 
 second battery at the extreme right above 
 the ravine. 
 
A.D. 1854..] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA. [the ifCENCH despatches. 
 
 All the means of attack are conceatrated 
 upon this bastion, and will enable us, I 
 hope, soon to take possession of it, with the 
 assistance of the English batteries, which 
 are directed against its left face. 
 
 Yesterday, about ten o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, the English fleet attacked the external 
 batteries of the place, but I have not yet 
 received any particulars to enable me to 
 give you an account of the result of this 
 attack. 
 
 The English batteries are in the best pos- 
 sible condition. Eight new mortars have 
 been placed in them, calculated to produce 
 great efiect. Yesterday there was, in the 
 battery which surrounds the tower situated 
 to the left of the place, a tremendous ex- 
 plosion, which must have done much injury 
 to the enemy. Since then this battery has 
 fired very little, and this morning there are 
 only two or three guns which can fire. 
 
 I have no precise information about the 
 Russian army. There is nothing to indicate 
 that it has changed the positions it occupied, 
 where it awaits reinforcements. 
 
 I have received almost the whole of the 
 reinforcement of artillery which I expected 
 from Gallipoli and Varna. General Levail- 
 lant has just arrived with his stafi", which 
 increases to five divisions the effective force 
 of infantry which I have under my orders. 
 Their state of health is satisfactory, and their 
 discipline excellent, and we are all full of 
 confidence. 
 
 We enclose, also, the despatch of Vice- 
 admiral Hamelin to the Prench govern- 
 ment : — 
 
 Fille de Paris — before Katcha, Oct. 18th. 
 
 Monsieur le Ministre, — In my letter of 
 the 13th of October I announced to your 
 excellency that I had embarked with all my 
 staff on board the frigate Mogador, in order 
 to anchor as near as possible to the French 
 head-quarters, and arrange with the general- 
 in-chief a general attack by the land and sea 
 forces against Sebastopol on the day when 
 the fire of the siege batteries should com- 
 mence. On the 14th I had an interview 
 with General Canrobert, whose views were 
 in conformity with mine. On the 15th a 
 meeting of the admirals of the allied squad- 
 rons took place on board the frigate 
 Mogador, and the arrangements for the 
 general attack were made with common ac- 
 cord, and were then submitted to the gen- 
 erals of the land forces, who heartily agreed 
 to them. 
 
 This general attack was fixed for the ] 7th, 
 the dfy of the opening of the fire of the 
 siege batteries. 
 
 With respect to the squadrons, they were 
 to efifect what follows : — The French squad- 
 ron undertook to place itself towards the 
 rocks to the south, and at about seven 
 cables' length to operate against the 350 
 guns of the Quarantine Battery, the two 
 batteries of Fort Alexander, and the battery 
 of the artillery. 
 
 The English squadron had to attack to- 
 wards the rocks of the north, at about the 
 same distance, the 130 guns of the Con- 
 stantiue Battery, the Telegraph Battery, and 
 the Maximilian Tower to the north. 
 
 If your excellency would imagine a line 
 traced along the entry to Sebastopol from 
 the east to the west, that line would separate 
 into two parts the locality of the attack 
 which devolved upon each squadron. 
 
 The Turkish admiral with two vessels, all 
 that he retained at the time, was to cast 
 anchor to the north of the two French lines 
 — that is to say, in an intermediate position 
 between the English and French vessels. 
 On the morning of the 17th the attack of 
 the siege batteries commenced; but, as the 
 weather was calm, it was necessary to attach 
 the ships-of-the-line to the steam-frigates 
 before developing against Sebastopol the line 
 of the twenty-six ships of the allied squad- 
 rons. Nevertheless, in spite of this diffi- 
 culty, and the separation which had taken 
 place between the ships of the allied squad- 
 rons, a part of which had anchored at 
 Kamisch and part before the Katcha, I 
 have the satisfaction to announce to your 
 excellency that the ships of our first line 
 advanced about half-past twelve in the day 
 under the fire of the batteries of Sebastopol, 
 which they stood against at first during 
 more than half-an-hour without replying. 
 A few minutes afterwards they replied 
 vigorously to the fire, which did not fail to 
 incommode them, from their small number. 
 Afterwards the other French and English 
 vessels successively arrived, and the attack 
 became general. 
 
 Towards half-past two o'clock the fire of 
 the Russian batteries slackened ; it was 
 stopped at the Quarantine Battery. This 
 was the exact object desired by the French 
 squadron, but our firing was redoubled and 
 continued without interruption till night. 
 
 At the time I am writing to your excel- 
 lency I am not aware of what was the suc- 
 cess of our siege batteries, whose fire had 
 
 295 
 
KISULT OF THE FIRST DAY's SIEGE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 commenced before ours, and which attacked 
 the Russian fortifications on the land side. 
 
 If th» Russians had not closed the entrance 
 to Sebastopol by sinking two ships-of-the- 
 line and two frigates, I do not doubt that the 
 ve-ssels of the squadrons, after the first fire, 
 would have been able successfully to enter 
 the port and place themselves in communi- 
 cation with the army. Perhaps they would 
 not have lost many more men in doing this 
 than we have now to regret ; but the extreme 
 measure which the enemy adopted of sacri- 
 ficing a portion of his ships, forced us to 
 confine ourselves to attacking for five hours 
 the sea batteries of Sebastopol, with the 
 object of silencing them, more or less ; of, 
 occupying a great many men of the garrison 
 at the guns ; and of giving thus to our army 
 material as well as moral assistance. 
 
 To-day (the 18th) I have only time to give 
 a hasty sketch to your excellency of this 
 affair, which, in my opinion, does great 
 honour to the French navy. 
 
 I subjoin to this sketch a list of the men 
 killed and wounded on board of each ship. 
 Without delay I shall send you a detailed 
 report upon all the phases of the attack, 
 and in reference to the part, more or less 
 active, which each ship took in it. 
 
 At the commencement of the affair the 
 enthusiasm was extreme. During the com- 
 bat the tenacity of every one was not less so. 
 Before commencing the fire I signalled to 
 the squadron, " France has her eyes upon 
 you," a signal which was received with cries 
 of Vive V Empereur ! 
 
 I am, with deep respect. Monsieur le 
 Ministre, your excellency's very obedient 
 servant, the vice-admiral commander-in- 
 chief of the squadron of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Hamelin. 
 
 The result of this terrible day's work was 
 a strong conviction that the fame of Sebas- 
 topol for adamantine strength and almost 
 fabulous resources, had not been unjustly 
 acquired. Almost superhuman efforts had 
 been made by the allies, but the towers 
 of the grim fortress stood proudly erect as 
 ever. Injuries were soon repaired — so soon, 
 that it seemed almost the work of enchant- 
 ment. The forts by the sea, against which 
 the fleets of the allies had poured such 
 fierce storms of iron and fire, exhibited a 
 spotted appearance; but there they stood 
 intact, while many ships were terribly in- 
 jured. The Albion was set on fire in three 
 places, and would have gone on shore, if 
 296 
 
 the Cambria, one of the steamers expressly 
 kept ready for such an emergency, had not 
 come up in time to rescue her from de- 
 struction. She was, however, so much 
 damaged, that she was compelled to be 
 towed, in a dismasted and battered con- 
 dition, to Constantinople. The Albion, in 
 conjunction with the Agamemnon and Sans- 
 pareil, bore the brunt of the action on the 
 side of the English fleet. Admiral Lyons, 
 in the Agamemnon, won golden opinions 
 from all quarters. This vessel fired seventy 
 rounds, and her broadside was scorched the 
 whole length. At one time the Sanspareil 
 withdrew, in consequence of her having ex- 
 pended her number of rounds of powder, 
 and the forts on the hill directed their en- 
 tire efforts at the Agamemnon. Sir Ed- 
 mund Lyons, at the time occupied with the 
 big fort, sent his flag-lieutenant through a 
 galling fire to bring in the Bellerophon, and 
 to get the Sanspareil back. " Tell them," 
 said this worthy successor of our great 
 naval heroes of earlier days, " tell them' to 
 come in ; these forts will sink me, and I'm 
 d d if I leave this." 
 
 During this first day of the siege, two or 
 three Turkish sail-of-the-line stood in and 
 fired with some effect at the batteries on 
 the Constantine side. Still the attack from 
 the sea, fierce and terrible as it was, was re- 
 garded almost in the light of a failure. The 
 vessels were compelled to fire from too great 
 a distance to deal destruction upon solid 
 stone walls ; while, on the other hand, the 
 ships were exposed to a tremendous fire. 
 The firing from the French ships is described 
 as one continuous and terrible roar, but an 
 opinion was held that they were sometimes 
 too far out, being generally about 1,400 
 yards from Fort Alexander. 
 
 A correspondent of the Morning Herald 
 thus speaks of the results of the fire from 
 the aUied fleet : — " We passed close by the 
 forts of Sebastopol. We were quite within 
 range (though the enemy never attempted 
 to fire), and therefore with our glasses we 
 could see every chink and cranny in the 
 fortresses, which we had ample time to sur- 
 vey. Every fort towards the sea — those of 
 Alexander and Paul on the south side, and 
 Nicholas and Constantine on the north — 
 were perfectly covered, from the base to the 
 summit, with shot marks. In this there was 
 no difference between those attacked by the 
 English or French, except that Fort Con- 
 stantine, to the north, had two of the case- 
 mated porta knocked into one. It was at 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [further particulars. 
 
 the spot where the Agamemnon had been 
 moored, and where her whole broadside had 
 been concentrated with something like 
 effect. As far as we could judge, it seemed 
 that the amount of damage done to the 
 batteries is literally and truly nothing. 
 Wliere several shots have struck in the 
 same place, the granite is splintered and 
 broken away to the depth of about a foot, 
 or even less. Where only one or two balls 
 have struck, there are mere whitish marks, 
 as if the spot had been dabbed with flour. 
 
 " To restore these forts to their original 
 look would of course be expensive, because 
 unnecessary. As forts, they are as strong 
 as if a shot had never been fired against 
 them. A very small amount of money 
 would repair the actual damage done to the 
 cornices of the lower embrasures. The 
 spots on the walls below the embrasures are 
 not worth notice, for a few inches of stone 
 make little difference in a fort where the 
 walls are fourteen, and in some parts eigh- 
 teen feet thick. Unless I had seen it with 
 my own eyes, I could never believe that 
 such a tremendous fire could have been 
 directed, incessantly for six hours, against 
 stone walls with such trifling results. There 
 are, however, several circumstances which 
 account for this. Ships, to tell effectually 
 against stone batteries, must double-shot 
 their guns, and this can only be done when 
 within 500 yards. Owing to the shallow- 
 ness of the water, no vessel, French or Eng- 
 lish, was enabled to approach nearer than 
 750. The great majority, even of those 
 attacking, were at 1,000 and 1,200 yards 
 off." 
 
 The following letters, the one from an 
 ofiicer of the English, and the other from 
 an ofiBcer of the French navy, give some 
 further particulars of the efforts of the 
 allied fleets on the memorable 17th of Oc- 
 tober : — 
 
 "H.M.S. Britannia, Oct. 18th. 
 
 " Yesterday the bombardment was begun 
 by the batteries on shore, at daylight, and 
 a tremendous cannonade was kept up. We 
 have 1,000 men and 1,500 marines working 
 with them. At two, p.m., we were in action ; 
 and as time will not allow me to give a long 
 description, all I can say is, I never heard 
 such a row in my life. We towed in with 
 a steamer lashed alongside ; took up a posi- 
 tion, and let go the anchor; swung the 
 ship broadside to the fort, and went to 
 work. We were firing four hours and a- 
 half ; then up anchor and went out at sun- 
 
 set. Our list in the squadron is forty-four 
 killed" and 266 wounded. We had a won- 
 derful escape in this ship ; the shot came 
 into us in all directions, and yet, I thank 
 God ! only nine .wounded. The worst of it 
 is, the Russians have sunk their ships across 
 the harbour ; we can't get in, and not half 
 near enough outside on account of shoal 
 water. However, I think they got a good 
 dose ; but no one can believe what a tre- 
 mendous place this is. However, if all's 
 well, we will have it yet. But everybody 
 in England is in such a tremendous hurry, 
 as though for our own sakes, before winter 
 comes on us, everybody would not do his 
 utmost. And then let them have a little 
 consideration. In a month, or less, our 
 army alone has been reduced from 25,000 
 to 16,000 by deaths and wounded. And 
 yet I have no doubt they are crying out 
 because Sebastopol is not yet taken, and 
 upbraiding men who have passed through 
 such scenes as will never be described. 
 But enough of this. Yesterday, the shot, 
 shells, and rockets began to fly about us 
 long before we anchored, and the deafening 
 noise, the hiss of the missiles, and the roar 
 of some thousands of guns, you may amuse 
 yourselves by trying to imagine. We were 
 ordered not to fire before orders were given 
 to begin from on deck. I had charge of eight 
 of the heaviest guns, stood on the ladder, 
 and waited for the word. At last it came. I 
 tried to keep cool, but could not help getting 
 a little excited, and sung out, 'Now, you 
 beggars, let them have it.' And then began 
 the row, which lasted till we could not see, 
 and has left us all as deaf as beetles and as 
 thirsty as cabmen. 
 
 " P.S. Tell ■ poor Chase, brother to 
 
 the man at Oriel, is killed. The Russians 
 shut up two French batteries on shore in two 
 hours : blew their magazines up. They also 
 made two sorties, but the French drove them 
 back." 
 
 "Before Sebastopol, October 18th. 
 " My ears are yet ringing with the cannon- 
 ade they heard yesterday ; but I have no time 
 to arrange my thoughts, and I hasten to tell 
 you that I am in excellent health. Yesterday 
 morning the admiral's signals and our written 
 orders left us no doubt about the intentions 
 of the fleet. At nine o'clock every vessel 
 received the order to advance. All the 
 steamers, with the exception of the Pluton 
 and Eumenide, were lashed alongside ships 
 to conduct them to the fire. In the night 
 
 297 
 
FURTHER PARTICULARS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 of the 16tli and 17th the captain of the 
 Pluton had been ordered to lay down buoys 
 along the coast to guide the course of the 
 fleet, and this morning, as soon as the signal 
 was given, the Fluton, as best knowing the 
 way, took the lead. She was followed closely 
 by the Charlemagne, which was ordered to 
 anchor as near as possible to the coast, so 
 that the other ships might take up positions 
 in line to the north and north-east of her. 
 Our progress was slow, in consequence of the 
 immense weight of the ships which had to be 
 towed. We were nearly an hour and a-half 
 doing three miles. At about half-past twelve, 
 the Vautour, ensconced in a little creek, 
 opened the tire, which was the signal for the 
 Russians commencing in their turn. A light 
 whistling, like the noise made by certain 
 birds of prey, was audible at the mast-head. 
 I asked myself what it could be, when a 
 second rushing sound more distinct left me 
 no doubt that it proceeded from a cannon- 
 shot. Presently the bullets rained around 
 us. We heard the noise they made before 
 they neared us, and sometime after we saw 
 the flash of the cannon which propelled them. 
 We received three of the shots in our hull 
 and paddle-boxes, but fortunately they hurt 
 no one. Our masts, from which we had 
 taken down all the yards, were not touched. 
 Most of the bullets passed over our heads. 
 The tiring went on thus for half-an-hour, and 
 then we went in closer to shore to make way 
 for the Charlemagne, and found ourselves a 
 little sheltered from the batteries by a tongue 
 of land. The Charlemagne, doubtless, ap- 
 peared a formidable adversary in the eyes of 
 the Russians, and may have checked their 
 ardour a little. At one o'clock she anchored 
 and began to fire, and it was indeed high 
 time, for she had received several buUets in 
 her bull, her masts were injured, and a shell 
 had burst in her engine-room. At two 
 o'clock we must have blown up a part of 
 Fort Constantino, for just after we had 
 watched one of our 80-pounder shells hit 
 the mark we aimed at, we saw a tremendous 
 column of smoke aud flame rising up over 
 the fortress. Dressing by the Charlemagne, 
 the half of the other ships came into line in 
 the direction north-north-west. The others 
 formed a second line, and fired through the 
 interstices of the first. Two Turkish ships 
 prolonged the French lines, and further on 
 to the north-north-east of the second Turkish 
 vessel was a hue of eight English. The fire 
 went on for five hours without ceasing, but 
 unfortunately the smoke was so thick that a 
 298 
 
 great many shots must have been thrown 
 away. We don't know how much harm we 
 did to the enemy, only the Russians aban- 
 doned their uatteries for about two hours ; 
 but they recommenced firing towards even- 
 ing. Portions of their batteries were de- 
 stroyed. There would not have remained 
 one stone upon another, if the bars which 
 surround the entrance to the harbour had 
 allowed us to approach within 400 or 500 
 metres. As it was, we fired on an average at 
 a distance of 1,400 or 1,500 metres. We 
 expended something like 24,000 bullets and 
 shells. The Russians, though they fire pretty 
 straight (as we can testify, for all their shots 
 against us were very well directed), killed 
 but few in the squadron. [This unfortu- 
 nately was a mistaken supposition, as the 
 returns in the Moniteur show.] With regard 
 to this, I only know that the Charlemagne, 
 perhaps the most unlucky of all, had eight 
 killed. Some say, however, the Montebello 
 suffered still more. The Jean Bart had but 
 two killed. The English fleet, anchored op- 
 posite Fort Constantino and the telegraph 
 batteries, fought vigorously. We don't yet 
 know what losses they suffered." 
 
 We shall now briefly trace the events 
 which occurred in the neighbourhood of 
 Sebastopol, between the 17th of October 
 until- the famous cavalry action at Balaklava, 
 on the 25th of the same month. 
 
 The Russians spent the night of the 17th 
 in repairing their batteries, and, with the 
 first blush of morning, the firing on both 
 sides recommenced. The French had suf- 
 fered so much on the previous day, princi- 
 pally from explosions, that on the 18th the 
 fire on the part of the allies had to be carried 
 on solely by the English. The next morn- 
 ing, however, the French resumed their fire 
 with even more effect than on the 17th. 
 The Russian gunners were much annoyed 
 by our riflemen, who aimed at them from 
 under cover. On one occasion some English 
 and Russian riflemen came, by accident, 
 close upon each other in a quarry before the 
 town. The English had exhausted all their 
 ammunition; and it might be supposed, 
 under such circumstances, that they fell 
 into the hands of their enemies. By no 
 means — submission and surrender are the 
 last thoughts of brave men. Seizing the 
 blocks of stone that were lying about, the 
 EngUsh opened a vigorous volley upon their 
 foes. The astonished Russians, instead of 
 using their weapons, snatched up stones 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. [progress op the siege. 
 
 themselves, and replied ia kind, — a contest 
 which ended in their flight. Instances of 
 individual courage were numerous during 
 this period. Amongst them, the cool intre- 
 pidity of a young artillery officer, named 
 Maxwell, who took some ammunition to the 
 batteries through a tremendous fire, along 
 a road so exposed to the enemy that it has 
 heen called the " Valley of Death/' elicited 
 general admiration. 
 
 Daring the 19th and 20th, the scenes of 
 the preceding days of the siege were re- 
 peated with but little variation, except that 
 they did not approach the fury and terror 
 of those enacted on the day when it com- 
 menced. Dense clouds of smoke filled the 
 air, which rung almost incessantly with the 
 roaring of artillery. During the 19th, some 
 deserters from the enemy stated that Ad- 
 miral Kornilefij who assisted at the massacre 
 of the Turks at Sinope, had been killed on 
 the first day of the siege. They said that 
 he was wounded so severely in the thigh, 
 while superintending the fire in the Round 
 Tower battery, that he was compelled to 
 submit to amputation, from the efifects of 
 which he died. On the 20th, several fires 
 were observed within Sebastopol, caused by 
 the explosion of our shells. It was reported 
 that the hospital was burnt j the building 
 being, according to the deserters, unhappily 
 full of wounded men. 
 
 On the 22nd, Lord Dunkellin, captain of 
 the Coldstream guards, and eldest son of 
 the Marquis of Clanricarde, fell into the 
 hands of the Russians. The manner of his 
 capture was somewhat strange. Being out 
 at jiight, with a working party of his regi- 
 ment, they got a little out of their way, 
 when suddenly a body of men were observed, 
 through the early twilight of coming morn- 
 ing, in front of them. " There are the Rus- 
 sians [" said one of the English soldiers. 
 "Nonsense!" returned his lordship; "they're 
 our fellows." So saying, he approached the 
 new-comers, and, as he got near, demanded, 
 in a high tone, "Who is in command of 
 this party?" The soldier was right ; it was 
 the Russians sure enough, and his lordship 
 was instantly surrounded, seized, and carried 
 off. It was supposed that he would be well 
 treated, as his father had been ambassador 
 at the court of the Emperor Nicholas, and 
 was said to have enjoyed his friendship. 
 Some days later, a Russian officer, who was 
 taken prisoner, stated that he was in com- 
 mand of the picketing party into whose 
 hands Lord Dunkellin had fallen. He 
 
 added, that his lordship had received every 
 attention on the part of the Russian autho- 
 rities. 
 
 The 22nd was Sunday, and religious 
 service was performed in the camp during a 
 continuous roll of cannon, as the Russians 
 always opened a heavy cannonade upon that 
 day. This might be deemed a little incon- 
 sistent on the part of such an exceedingly 
 religious people as the Russians, especially 
 while engaged in what they proclaimed to 
 be a holy war against the infidel Turks, and 
 the worse than infidel French and English. 
 Towards the morning of this day, a second 
 awkward mistake occurred. A party of 
 Russians made a quiet sortie, and advanced 
 stealthily close to the French pickets. On 
 being observed and challenged, they an- 
 swered, "Inglis, Inglis," which our allies, 
 it seems, mistook for veritable English ; and 
 before they had discovered their error, the 
 Russians charged them, got into their bat- 
 teries, and spiked five mortars. They were 
 soon repulsed, but the trick they had prac- 
 tised, and the mischief they had done, ex- 
 tremely mortified the French. Strangely 
 enough, it was but the night before they 
 had fired upon a party of Russians who at- 
 tempted a similar deception. A Polish 
 deserter from Sebastopol, brought word 
 that the Russians had lost 3,000 in killed 
 and wounded. The town, he said, was in a 
 frightful condition ; the shops were closed, 
 and the merchants had fled, after having 
 first placed their goods for safety in the 
 cellars. The man added, that there were 
 no longer any volunteers to work the guns, 
 but that the unwilling soldiers had to be 
 forced to the batteries. 
 
 The next day (the 23rd) Lord Raglan 
 addressed the following despatch, contain- 
 ing his lordship's account of the siege, to 
 the Duke of Newcastle : — 
 
 Before Sebastopol, Oct. 23rd. 
 
 My Lord Duke, — The operations of the 
 siege have been carried on unremittingly 
 since I addressed your grace on the 18th. 
 inst. 
 
 On that afternoon, the French batteries 
 not having been able to reopen, the enemy 
 directed their guns almost exclusively on 
 the British intrenchments, and maintained 
 a very heavy fire upon them till the day 
 closed, with less damage, I am happy to 
 say, to the works and with fewer casualties 
 than might have been anticipated. 
 , On the following morning, shortly after 
 daylight, General Canrobert • not only re- 
 
 299 
 
PIIOGKESS OF TUE SIEGE.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 sutned his fire from the batteries which had 
 been injured, but materially added to the 
 weight of his attack by the fire of batteries 
 which he had caused to be constructed the 
 previous day ; and these have continued 
 ever since ; and he has had it in his power 
 to push his approaches forward, and, like 
 the English, materially to injure the de- 
 fences of the place; but these are as yet 
 far from being subdued, neither is a serious 
 diminution of their fire perceivable. 
 
 Our fire has also been constant and effec- 
 tive ; but the enemy, having at their disposal 
 large bodies of men and the resources of the 
 fleet and arsenal at their command, have 
 been enabled by unceasing exertion to repair 
 their redoubts to a certain extent, and to 
 replace many of the guns that have been 
 destroyed in a very short space of time ; 
 and to resume their fire from works which 
 we had succeeded in silencing. 
 
 This facility of repairing and re-arming 
 the defences naturally renders the progress 
 of the assailants slower than could be wished ; 
 and I have it not in my power to inform 
 your grace, with anything like certainty, 
 when it may be expected that ulterior mea- 
 sures may be undertaken. 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your 
 grace the return of killed and wounded be- 
 tween the 18th and 20th inst. inclusive. 
 
 In my last, I announced to your grace 
 the death, which had just been reported to 
 me, of that deeply-lamented officer, the 
 Hon. Colonel Hood, of the grenadier guards. 
 No other military officer has since fallen; 
 but Major Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar 
 was slightly wounded on the 19th. His 
 serene highness insisted, however, upon re- 
 maining in the trenches until the detach- 
 ment to which he was attached was relieved 
 at the usual hour, and he has now resumed 
 his duty. 
 
 Captain Lord Dunkellin, of the Cold- 
 stream guards, was unfortunately taken pri- 
 soner yesterday morning before daylight, in 
 front of the trenches. 
 
 The naval batteries have continued their 
 exertions without intermission, and I regret 
 to have to report the death of two gallant 
 officers of the royal navy — the Hon. Lieu- 
 tenant Ruthven, who has died of his woiinds, 
 and Lieutenant Greathed, of her majesty's 
 ship Britannia. Both are universally re- 
 gretted. The latter received a mortal wound 
 while laying a gun, after having, to use the 
 language of Brigadier-general Eyre, who 
 was then in charge of the trenches, " per- 
 300 
 
 formed his duty in the batteries in a manner 
 that excited the admiration of all." 
 
 A considerable body of Russians appeared 
 two days ago in the vicinity of Balaklava, 
 but they have since withdrawn, and are no 
 longer to be seen in our front. 
 
 I have reason to believe that Prince 
 Mentschikoff is not in Sebastopol. He is 
 stated to have placed himself with the main 
 body of the army in the field, which is re- 
 presented to be stationed in the plains south 
 of Bakshiserai. 
 
 Admiral Kornileff, the chief of the stafi^, 
 and temporarily in command of Sebastopol, 
 is reported to have died of his wounds the 
 day before yesterday. 
 
 I have, &c., Raglan. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 The same day the following despatch was 
 addressed to the secretary of the Admiralty 
 by Admiral Dundas : — 
 
 Britannia — o'ff the Katcha, Oct. 33rd. 
 
 Sir, — I beg to acquaint you, for the in- 
 formation of the lords commissioners of the 
 Admiralty, that since my letter of the 18th 
 inst., the siege batteries have continued 
 their fire against the Russian works, which 
 appear to have suffered much, and the fire 
 slackened, although it is still considerable. 
 
 2. The naval brigade are doing good 
 service, and up to the 20th had a loss of 
 twelve killed and fifty-three wounded, as 
 per annexed list. By the desire of Lord 
 Raglan, I have reinforced them by 410 
 officers and seamen, and placed Lord John 
 Hay in the Wasp, under the orders of Cap- 
 tain Lushington. 
 
 3. Captain Brock, at Eupatoria, supported 
 by the Leander and Megmra, has maintained 
 his position well, although threatened and 
 attacked by heavy bodies of cavalry, with 
 guns; we have drawn large supplies from 
 there, but, as the Russians are destroying 
 all the villages, I fear they will in future 
 become very scanty and uncertain. 
 
 4. Since the action of the 17th, the 
 enemy have been working incessantly in 
 repairing their batteries, and in construct- 
 ing new works on the north side of the 
 harbour, commanding the approaches by sea 
 and land. 
 
 5. I have sent the Albion and Arethusa to 
 Constantinople to repair; the other ships 
 of the fleet have fished their masts, &c., and 
 are ready for service. 
 
 6. The Lynx, Sphinx, Stromboli, and 
 Viper, have arrived. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [daring of private maguire. 
 
 7. The weather hitherto has been very 
 favourable, and the crews of the ships are 
 generally healthy. 
 
 8. The English and French steam division 
 still continue in the bay of Odessa, actively 
 employed in preventing communication with 
 the Crimea., 
 
 r have, &c., 
 J. W. D. DuNDAS, Vice-admiral. 
 To the Secretary of the Admiralty, &c. 
 
 In referring to the unexpected difficulties 
 met by the allies in conducting the siege, 
 and the painful delay necessarily arising in 
 consequence, a leading journal observes : 
 " It seems clear that the original garrison 
 must have been joined by forces rendering 
 it greatly superior to the besieging army, 
 according to the principles of calculation in 
 such cases established. The proportion of 
 the besiegers to the besieged ought to be at 
 least as three to one, whereas, it seems not 
 improbable, that the force disposable by 
 Prince Mentschikoff for the defence of 
 Sebastopol, is equal to that under the com- 
 mand of the allied generals. The con- 
 sequence is, that we are not merely con- 
 ducting a great siege, but engaged with an 
 army as powerful as our own. In many 
 respects, indeed, the operations of this re- 
 markable enterprise resemble those of field- 
 service generally, rather than those of ordi- 
 nary sieges. The place is not completely 
 invested; on the north side it is perfectly 
 open, and the garrison enjoys therefore the 
 extraordinary privilege of free communica- 
 tion with the adjacent country. It is not 
 protected on the side of the attack by 
 regular fortifications, a breach in which 
 might consummate the struggle, but is de- 
 fended by large earthworks armed with heavy 
 guns. There is a relieving army at hand, 
 in addition to the garrison ; and the forces 
 of both, owing to the incompleteness of the 
 investment, may be combined for any ope- 
 ration either of attack or defence. We may' 
 be called upon at any moment to encounter 
 the whole Russian army in the Crimea, 
 either under Prince Mentschikoff in one 
 quarter, or General Liprandi in another.'^ 
 The onward course of events will soon illus- 
 trate the truth of these comments. 
 
 It is said that on the 23rd the Russian 
 governor sent to Lord Raglan to ask for a 
 day's truce, to afford time for the burial of 
 the dead on both sides, and that his lord- 
 ship refused to assent, saying, " he had no 
 dead to bury." The delay, if accorded, 
 
 VOL. I. fS R 
 
 would not have been used by the Russians 
 in paying the last duties to those of their 
 countrymen who had perished, but have 
 been devoted to strengthening their defences 
 to a further extent. The usual roar of can- 
 non continued through the 34th, the eighth 
 day of the siege. On that day, a private of 
 the 33rd regiment, named Maguire, per- 
 formed an act of daring which elicited the 
 notice of the commander-in-chief. Being 
 in advance as a sharpshooter, he was taken 
 prisoner by the enemy, and marched away 
 between two Russian soldiers, a third being 
 in the rear. Seeing his guard for a moment 
 careless and looking in another direction, 
 he suddenly wrenched a loaded musket from 
 one of the men by his side, and discharged 
 it at him. Having done this, he swung 
 round the butt-end, and with it struck the 
 second man to the earth. The third Rus- 
 sian, astonished at the summary way in 
 which his comrades had been disposed of, 
 evidently thought it discreet not to meddle 
 with so formidable an antagonist, and de- 
 camped accordingly. Maguire, who was at 
 the time within a hundred yards of the Rus- 
 sian lines, then effected his escape. His 
 own Minie, which had been taken from 
 him, was being carried by one of the two 
 men at his side. This weapon he knew had 
 been discharged, and he therefore, with a 
 foresight very remarkable under the circum- 
 stances, snatched from the other soldier 
 the musket which, fortunately, happened to 
 be loaded. The affair was witnessed by a 
 sergeant of the rifle brigade ; and in conse- 
 quence of his report. Lord Raglan presented 
 Maguire with a gratuity of five pounds. 
 
 On the afternoon of the same day (the 
 24th) the roof of the Round Tower fell in, 
 carrying with it the four guns on its summit.. 
 This fort is said to have been built at the 
 voluntary expense of one man, who received 
 the especial thanks of the emperor for his 
 enterprise and devotion. It was reduced 
 by the fire of our guns almost to a ruin. 
 
 Early on the 25th of October, the heavy 
 clouds, which had poured out their contents 
 upon the earth during the night, began to 
 disperse, and the sun rose faintly on a day 
 the events of which wiU ever be remembered 
 when men discourse of deeds of almost 
 superhuman courage and godlike endurance. 
 If, it has been said, the exhibition of the 
 most brilliant valour, of the excess of courage, 
 and of a daring which would have reflected 
 lustre on the best days of chivalry, can afford 
 fuU consolation for the disaster of that day, 
 
 301 
 
OUR POSITION AT BALAKLAVA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 ve can have no reason to regret the melan- 
 choly loss which we sustained in a contest 
 with a savage and barbarian enemy. 
 
 The position of the English, in respect to 
 Balaklava, was regarded as a very strong 
 one. Our lines were formed by natural 
 mountain slopes in the rear, along which 
 the French had made very formidable in- 
 trenchments. Below these, and very nearly 
 in a right line across the valley beneath, are 
 four conical hillocks, one rising above the 
 other as they recede from our lines. On 
 the top of each of these hills earthen re- 
 doubts had been thrown up, three of which 
 were armed with heavy guns. One English 
 artilleryman was placed in each redoubt to 
 look after these formidable weapons ; but 
 the redoubts were defended by Turks, 250 
 of whom were placed in each. No doubt 
 they had been placed there in consequence 
 of the reputation their countrymen had ob- 
 tained for the obstinate and heroic defence 
 of SilistriE^, and because it was generally 
 believed that Turks would fight behind 
 stone walls or earthworks to the last gasp. 
 It must be remembered, however, that these 
 Moslem troops were the poor, enduring, 
 half-starved* creatures, whose sufferings we 
 lately mentioned ; and also that they were 
 newly-raised troops — mere novices in the 
 art of war, and most of tliem past the 
 prime of life ; — young soldiers, but old men. 
 
 It IS well to present, if possible, to the 
 mind's eye of the reader, the scene of the 
 fierce and terrible action we are about to 
 describe. " These hills," says the corre- 
 spondent of the Times, alluding to the ones 
 on which the redoubts had been thrown up, 
 " cross the valley of Balaklava at the dis- 
 tance of about two-and-a-half miles from 
 the town. Supposing the spectator, then, 
 to take his stand on one of the heights 
 forming the rear of our camp before Sebas- 
 topol, he would see the town of Balaklava, 
 with its scanty shipping, its narrow strip of 
 water, and its old forts on his right hand ; 
 immediately below he would behold the 
 valley and a plain of coarse meadow-land, 
 occupied by our cavalry tents, and stretch- 
 ing from the base of the ridge on which he 
 stood, to the foot of the formidable heights 
 at the other side ; he would see the French 
 trenches lined with Zouaves a few feet be- 
 neath, and distant from him, on the slope 
 of the hill ; a Turkish redoubt lower down ; 
 
 * We hardly know whether, in this case, the ex- 
 pression half-staxyed is strictly applicable. These 
 placid descendants of the terrible "bone-breaker" 
 302 
 
 then another in the valley ; then, in a line 
 with it, some angular earthworks ; then, in 
 succession, the other two redoubts up to Can- 
 robert's Hill. At the distance of two or 
 two-and-a-half miles across the valley, there 
 is an abrupt rocky mountain-range, of most 
 irregular and picturesque formation, covered 
 with scanty brushwood here and there, or 
 rising into barren pinnacles and plateaux of 
 rock. In outline and appearance, this por- 
 tion of the landscape is wonderfully like the 
 Trosach«. A patch of blue sea is caught in 
 between the overhanging cliffs of Balaklava, 
 as they close in the entrance of the harbour 
 on the right. The camp of the marines, 
 pitched on the hill sides more than a thou- 
 sand feet above the level of the sea, is op- 
 posite to you as your back is turned to 
 Sebastopol, and your right side towards 
 Balaklava. On the road leading up the 
 valley, close to the entrance of the town and 
 beneath these hills, is the encampment of 
 the 93rd highlanders. 
 
 " The-cavalry lines are nearer to you below, 
 and are some way in advance of the high- 
 landers, but nearer to the town than the 
 Turkish redoubts. The valley is crossed 
 here and there by small waves of land. On 
 your left the hills and rocky mountain-ranges 
 gradually close in towards the course of the 
 Tchernaya, till, at three or four miles' dis- 
 tance from Balaklava, the valley is swallowed 
 up in a mountain gorge and deep ravines, 
 above which rise tiers after tiers of desolate 
 whitish rock, garnished now and then by bits 
 of scanty herbage, and spreading away to- 
 wards the east and south, where they attain 
 the Alpine dimensions of the Tschatir Dagh. 
 It is very easy for an enemy at the Belbek, 
 or in command of the road^of Mackenzie's 
 Farm, Inkermann, Simpheropol, or Bakshi- 
 serai to debouch through these gorges at 
 any time upon this plain from the neck of 
 the valley, or to march from Sebastopol by 
 the Tchernaya, and to advance along it 
 towards Balaklava, till checked by the Turkish 
 redoubts on the southern side, or by the fire 
 from the French on the northern side, i.e., 
 the side which, in relation to the valley of 
 Balaklava, forms the rear of our position. It 
 was evident that Mentschikoff and Gortscha- 
 koff had been feeling their way along this 
 route for several days past, and very pro- 
 bably at night the Cossacks had crept up close 
 to our pickets, which are not always aa 
 
 might, before rations had been allowed them by the 
 English, have inquired with Lampedo, the poor doc- 
 tor in Tobin's comedy, " Which half of me is fed ?" 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [advance op the Russians. 
 
 watchful as might be desired, and had ob- 
 served the weakness of a position far too 
 extended for our army to defend, and occu- 
 pied by their despised enemy, the Turks. I 
 say 'despised,' because we hear from pri- 
 soners and from other sources that, notwith- 
 standing all the drubbings received on the 
 Danube from the Osmanli, the Russians have 
 the most ineflfable contempt for the cham- 
 pions of the Crescent." 
 
 Early on the morning of the 35th, a power- 
 ful Russian force, consisting of 20,000 in- 
 fantry, supported by large masses of cavalry 
 and artillery, cautiously approached our posi- 
 tion in front of Balaklava. Prom the de- 
 scription we have given, it will be seen that 
 it fell to the small body of Turks in the 
 redoubts first to oppose the progress of the 
 approaching host. The numbers of the enemy 
 were certainly overwhelming, but the Turks 
 might have kept the Russians at bay with 
 their great guns until portions of the English 
 army had come up to their relief. The gen- 
 eral impression seems to be that they acted 
 in the most disgraceful and cowardly manner. 
 It is said that they were seized by a panic 
 upon the advance of the Russians. One 
 writer observes : " An eye-witness in one of 
 the batteries informed me that they (the 
 Turks) seemed instantly to lose all control 
 over themselves ; hurrying to and fro in the 
 most pitiable disorder. Their artillery, which 
 was loaded, was levelled at random in a gen- 
 eral volley at the foe. Nearly all the pieces 
 were levelled too low, and struck the earth 
 before the Russian troops. No. attempt was 
 made to improve the range : the guns were 
 merely loaded and fired quick ; and that was 
 all. For the mischief they did, they might 
 as well have been pointed in the air." An- 
 other writer from the spot observes : " It was 
 soon evident that no reliance was to be placed 
 on the Turkish infantry or artillerymen. All 
 the stories we had heard about their bravery 
 behind stone walls and earthworks, proved 
 how difierently the same or similar people 
 fight under different circumstances. When 
 the Russians advanced, the Turks fired a few 
 rounds at them, got frightened at the dis- 
 tance of their supports in the rear, looked 
 round, received a few shots and shell, and 
 then ' bolted' and fled with an agility quite 
 at variance with common-place notions of 
 Oriental deportment on the battle-field." A 
 third writer from the Crimea states : " This 
 part of the action is completely shrouded in 
 mystery, and the most contradictory state- 
 ments are current about it. Some assert 
 
 that the Turks behaved shamefully, and 
 thought of nothing but their own safety and 
 goods and chattels, in the shape of blankets, 
 pots, and pipes. Others assert that they 
 fought gallantly, but were surprised and over- 
 powered by numbers." It is right to men- 
 tion, that the despatches from the generals 
 commanding on that day, do not any of them 
 impute cowardice to the Turks. Sir Colin 
 Campbell, one of the bravest of brave men, 
 said, that the Turkish troops persisted as 
 long as they could. 
 
 The Russians advanced upon the first re- 
 doubt at about half-past eight. They were 
 in six compact squares, and the valley was lit 
 up with the blaze of their sabres, lance points, 
 and. accoutrements. With the first roar of 
 cannon the English cavalry and infantry in 
 the plain beneath the redoubts were roused 
 into activity. The highlanders and rear 
 guards fell into their ranks, almost with the 
 swiftness of thought itself. While our in- 
 fantry were forming, up galloped Sir Colin 
 Campbell, the Earl of Lucan, and Lord 
 Cardigan. The two brigades of cavalry, 
 light and heavy, got into order in columns of 
 squadrons, with a battery of horse artillery 
 on the flanks of each, and the field-batteries 
 ready for action in advance of the infantry. 
 
 Before this was done the Turks gave way. 
 The enemy's skirmishers had been steadily 
 advancing towards the redoubts without 
 firing a shot. When within a hundred 
 yards a dropping fire was opened, which 
 had little effect except to increase the alarm 
 of the Turks. The men began to desert 
 their batteries; and it is said that, before 
 the skirmishers were within sixty yards of 
 the first redoubt, not a Turk remained be- 
 hind. Directly the Turks fled, the Russians 
 pushed forward and occupied the redoubt. 
 Their horsemen also chased the flying Turks 
 across the space which lay between the first 
 and second redoubts, to which the Mussul- 
 mans fled for safety. The Russians turned 
 our own guns in the first redoubt, and with 
 them fired upon the second. The sight of 
 the enemy in such force checked the ad- 
 vance of our troops ; and tjie Turks, feeling 
 themselves unsupported, abandoned the 
 second redoubt, and fied for safety to the 
 third. It was in vain ; the third and fourth 
 batteries were soon deserted also, and in 
 the hands of the Russians. 
 
 The handful of Turks (for they were but 
 a handful of men, in comparison with the 
 army which had advanced against them) 
 fled in confusion towards the town, and, 
 
 303 
 
BUILLIANT CAVALRY ENGAGEMENT.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. "1854. 
 
 ) while running, fired their muskets at the 
 enemy. The Russian cavalry advanced in 
 skirmishing order, and many a wretched 
 Turk fell quivering upon the earth, cloven 
 to the chin, and even to the breast-belt. 
 The sailors on the heights fired on the 
 Russian cavalry, but the distance was too 
 great for shot to tell upon them. Vainly, 
 also, did the Turkish gunners, in the earthen 
 batteries which were placed along the French 
 ir.trenchments, strive to protect their flying 
 countrymen; their shot fell. short of the 
 Russian horsemen, whose glittering sabres 
 dripped with the blood of the miserable 
 Turks. The latter at length found shelter 
 behind the highlanders, where they checked 
 their flight, and formed .themselves into 
 companies. 
 
 So great were the numbers of the enemy, 
 that it was not a question as to whether we 
 could retake the redoubts, but whether our 
 own centre could maintain their ground until 
 reinforcements came up from the camp. 
 The brilliant conduct of our cavalry on this 
 occasion, we shall rplate in the spirited lan- 
 guage of the. Times' correspondent ; himself 
 a spectator of the scene he so vividly de^ 
 scribes : — 
 
 " As the Russian cavalry on the left of 
 their line crown ,the hiU across the valley, 
 they perceive the highlanders drawn up at 
 the distance of some half mile, calmly wait- 
 ing their approach. They halt, and squadron 
 after squadron flies up from the rear, till they 
 have a body of some 1,500 men along the 
 ridge-rlancers, and dragoons, and. hussars. 
 Then they move en echelon in two bodies, 
 with another in reserve. The cavalry, who 
 have been pursuing the Turks on the right, 
 are . coming up to the ridge beneath us, 
 which conceals our cavalry from view. The 
 heavy brigade in advance is drawn up in 
 two lines. The first line consists of the 
 Scots grays and of their old companions in 
 glory the Enniskillens ; the second, of the 
 4th royal Irish, of the 5th dragoon guards, 
 and of the 1st royal dragoons. The light 
 cavalry brigade is on their left, in two lines 
 also. The silence is oppressive; between 
 the cannon-bursts one can hear the champ- 
 ing of bits and the clink of sabres in the 
 valley below. The Russians, on their left, 
 drew breath for a moment, and then in one 
 grand line dashed at the highlanders. The 
 ground flies beneath their horses' feet; 
 gathering speed at every stride, they dash 
 on towards that thin red streak topped 
 with a line of steel. The Turks fire a volley 
 304 
 
 at 800 yards, and run. As the Russians 
 come within 600 yards, down goes that line 
 of steel in front, and out rings a rolling 
 volley of Minie musketry. The distance is 
 too great; the Russians are not checked, 
 but still sweep onwards with the whole 
 force of horse and man, through the smoke, 
 here and there knocked over by the shot of 
 our batteries above. With breathless sus- 
 pense everyone awaits the bursting of the 
 wave upon the line of Gaelic rocds ; but ere 
 they come within 150 yards, another deadly 
 volley flashes from the levelled rifle, and 
 carries death and terror into the Russians. 
 They wheel about, open files right and left, 
 and fly back faster than they came. ' Bravo, 
 highlanders ! well done,' shout the excited 
 spectators; but events thicken. The high- 
 landers and their splendid front are soon 
 forgotten ; men scarcely have a moment to 
 think of -this fact, that the 93rd never 
 altered their formation to receive that tide 
 of horsemen. ' No,' said Sir Colin Camp- 
 bell, '1 did not think it worth while to 
 form them even four deep !' The ordinary 
 British line, two deep, was quite sufficient 
 to repel the attack of these Muscovite 
 cavaliers. Our eyes were, however, turned 
 in a moment on our own cavalry. We saw 
 Brigadier-general Scarlett ride along in 
 front of his massive squadrons. The Rus- 
 sians — evidently corps d'Mite — their light 
 blue jackets, embroidered with silver lace, 
 were advancing on their left, at an easy 
 gallop, towards the brow of the hill. A 
 forest of lances glistened in their rear, and 
 several squadrons pf , gray-coated dragoons 
 moved up quickly tp support them as they 
 reached the summit. The instant they 
 came in sight, the trumpets of our cavalry 
 gave out the warning blast which told us all 
 that in another moment we should see the 
 shock of battle beneath our very eyes. 
 Lord Raglan, all his staff and escort, and 
 groups of officers, the Zouaves, French 
 generals and officers, and bodies of French 
 infantry on the height, were spectators of the 
 scene, as though they were looking on the 
 stage from the boxes of a theatre. Nearly 
 everyone dismounted and sat down, and not 
 a word was said. The Russians advanced 
 down the hill at a slow canter, which they 
 changed to a trot, and at last nearly halted. 
 Their first line was at least double the 
 length of ours — it was three times as deep. 
 Behind them was a similar line, equally 
 strong and compact. They evidently des- 
 pised their insignificant -looking enemy} 
 
TUii LONDON" PEJJ^TIl^G- AKD POULISEEKG- COMJ-AITY 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [engagement of balaklava. 
 
 but their time was come. The trumpets 
 rang out again through the valley, and the 
 grays and Enniskilleners went right at the 
 centre of the Russian cavalry. The space 
 between them was only a few hundred 
 yards; it was scarce enough to let the 
 horses ' gather way/ nor had the men quite 
 space sufficient for the fuU play of their 
 sword arms. The Russian line brings for- 
 ward each wing as our cavalry advance, and 
 threatens to annihilate them as they pass on. 
 Turning a little to their left, so as to meet 
 the Russian right, the grays rush on with a 
 cheer that thrills to every heart — the wild 
 shout of the Enniskilleners rises through 
 the air at the same instant. As lightning 
 flashes through a cloud, the grays and En- 
 niskilleners pierced through the dark masses 
 of Russians. The shock was but for a 
 moment. There was a clash of steel and a 
 light play of sword-blades in the air, and 
 then the grays and the red-coats disappear 
 in the midst of the shaken and quivering 
 columns. In another moment we see them 
 emerging and dashing on with diminished 
 numbers, and in broken order, against the 
 second line, which is advancing against 
 them as fast as it can, to retrieve the for- 
 tune of the charge. It was a terrible mo- 
 ment. 'God help them! they are lost!' 
 was the exclamation of more than one man, 
 and the thought of many. With unabated 
 fire the noble hearts dashed at their enemy. 
 It was a fight of heroes. The first line of 
 Russians, which had been smashed utterly 
 by our charge, and had fled off at one flank 
 and towards the centre, were coming back 
 to swallow up our handful of men. By 
 sheer steel and sheer courage EnniskiUener 
 and Scot were winning their desperate way 
 right through the enemy's squadrons, and 
 already gray horses and red-coats had ap- 
 peared right at the rear of the second mass, 
 when, with irresistible force, like one bolt 
 from a bow, the 1st royals, the 4th dragoon 
 guards, and the 5th dragoon guards rushed 
 at the remnants of the first line of the 
 enemy, went through it as though it were 
 made of pasteboard, and, dashing on the 
 second body of Russians, as they were stiU 
 disordered by the terrible assault of the 
 grays and their companions, put them to 
 utter rout. This Russian horse, in less than 
 five minutes after it met our dragoons, was 
 flying with all its speed before a force cer- 
 tainly not half its strength. A cheer burst 
 from every lip — in the enthusiasm officers 
 and men took off their caps, and shouted 
 
 with delight ; and thus keeping up the 
 scenic character of their position, they 
 clapped their hands again and again. Lord 
 Raglan at once dispatched Lieutenant Cur- 
 zon, aide-de-camp, to convey his congratula- 
 tions to Brigadier-general Scarlett, and to 
 say 'well done.' The gallant old officer's 
 face beamed with pleasure when he received 
 the message. ' I beg to thank his lordship 
 very sincerely,' was his reply. The cavalry 
 did not long pursue their enemy. Their 
 loss was very slight, about thirty-five killed 
 and wounded in both affairs (the second will 
 be detailed subsequently.) Major Clarke 
 was slightly wounded, and had a narrow 
 escape from a sabre-cut at the back of his 
 head. Lieutenant-colonel Griffiths retired 
 after the first charge, having been wounded 
 at the back of the head. Cornet Prender- 
 gast was wounded in the foot. There were 
 not more than four or five men killed out- 
 right, and our most material loss was from 
 the cannon playing on our heavy dragoons 
 afterwards, when covering the retreat of our 
 light cavalry. 
 
 "In the royal horse artillery we had a 
 severe, but I am glad to say a temporary 
 loss. Captain Maude, who directed the 
 service of his guns with his usual devoted- 
 ness and dauntless courage, was struck in 
 the arm by a shell, which burst at his saddle 
 bow and killed his horse. To the joy of aU 
 the army, it is ascertained that he is doing 
 well on board ship. After the charge. Cap- 
 tain the Hon. Arthur Hardinge came gal- 
 loping up to Lord Raglan with the news of 
 what the cavalry had done. He had been 
 sent with orders to Lord Lucan, and at the 
 moment of the charge he had joined the 
 grays, and dashed with them into the Rus- 
 sian columns. He was an object of envy to 
 all his friends on the staff while he de- 
 scribed, in animating language, the glorious 
 events of those brilliant five minutes. 
 
 "At ten o'clock the guards and high- 
 landers of the first division were seen moving 
 towards the plains from their camp. The 
 Duke of Cambridge came up to Lord 
 Raglan for orders, and his lordship, ready 
 to give the honour of the day to Sir Colin 
 Campbell, who commands at Balaklava, 
 told his royal highness to place himself 
 under the direction of the brigadier. At 
 twenty minutes to eleven the fourth division 
 also took up their position in advance of 
 Balaklava. The cavalry were then on the 
 left front of our position, facing the enemy ; 
 the light cavalry brigade was on the left 
 
 305 
 
MILITARY ERROR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 flank forward ; the heavy cavalry brigade 
 en echelon in reserve, with guns on the right ; 
 the 4th dragoons, and 5th dragoons, and 
 grays on the left of the brigade ; the Ennis- 
 killens and 3rd dragoons on the right. The 
 fourth division took up ground in the 
 centre; the guards and highlanders filed 
 off towards the extreme right, and faced the 
 redoubts, from which the Russians opened 
 on them with such guns as had not been 
 spiked. 
 
 " At ten minutes to eleven, General Can- 
 robert, attended by his staff, and Brigadier- 
 general Rose, rode up to Lord Raglan, and 
 the staffs of the two generals and their 
 escorts mingled together in praise of the 
 magnificent charge of our cavalry; while 
 the chiefs, apart, conversed over the opera- 
 tions of the day, which promised to be one 
 of battle. The Russian cavalry, followed by 
 our shot, had retired in confusion, leaving 
 the ground covered with horses and men. 
 In carrying an order early in the day, Mr. 
 Blunt (Lord Lucan's interpreter, and son of 
 our consul in Thessaly) had a narrow escape. 
 His horse was killed ; he seized a Russian 
 charger as it galloped past riderless, but the 
 horse carried him almost into the Russian 
 cavalry, and he only saved himself by leap- 
 ing him into a redoubt among a number of 
 frightened Turks, who were praying to Allah 
 on their bellies. I should mention here 
 that the Turks, who had been collected on 
 the flanks of the 93rd, fled at the approach 
 of the Russians, without firing a shot ! At 
 five minutes to eleven, a body of cavalry 
 (the chasseurs d'Afrique) passed down to 
 the plain, and were loudly cheered by our 
 men. They took up ground in advance of 
 the ridges on our left." 
 
 We must now relate a gloomy, yet glo- 
 rious incident, over the cause of which there 
 hangs a veil of mystery. Up to this day 
 the cavalry had no opportunity to exhibit 
 that brilliant courage which they were soon 
 to afford a fatal proof that they possessed in 
 the highest degree. It had been hinted by 
 those who bore the brunt of the fighting in 
 the battle of the Alma, that the cavalry had 
 scarcely done so much as they might have 
 done ; and that, indeed, they were rather a 
 showy than a useful branch of the service. 
 Smarting under this unjust imputation, and 
 eager for glory, the cavalry were prepared 
 for any achievement, even though its daring 
 might merge into desperation. 
 
 An order was given, it is said, by the 
 quartermaster-general. Brigadier Airey, to 
 306 
 
 Captain Nolan, of the 15th hussars, to take 
 to Lord Lucan, to advance his cavalry nearer 
 to the enemy. After reading the order. 
 Lord Lucan inquired with astonishment, 
 " Where are we to advance to ?" " There 
 are the enemy," rejoined Captain Nolan, 
 pointing with his finger to the Russians, 
 " and there are the guns, sir, before them ; 
 it is your duty to take them.'' Another 
 account of this circumstance, informs us 
 that Lord Raglan sent Captain Nolan to 
 Lord Lucan with a written order instantly 
 " to storm the Russian guns with his light 
 cavalry, if practicable." Captain Nolan was 
 wounded in carrying this despatch, and in 
 the mental confusion which followed such 
 an event, omitted delivering the paper, 
 merely giving a verbal message to Lord 
 Lucan, in which he unfortunately omitted 
 the important words if practicable. 
 
 That it may be understood how far a suc- 
 cessful attack on the Russian position was 
 practicable, we must, in a few words, de- 
 scribe it. When the Russian cavalry re- 
 tired before ours, they had abandoned the 
 fourth redoubt taken from the Turks, but 
 they retained possession of the other three. 
 Having placed some guns on the heights 
 over their position, their cavalry joined the 
 reserves, and drew up in six solid divisions, 
 in an oblique line across the entrance to the 
 gorge. Six battalions of infantry were placed 
 behind them, and about thirty guns were 
 drawn up along their line, while masses of 
 infantry were also collected on the hills 
 behind the redoubts on our right. To 
 attack an army in such a position with 
 a single regiment was an act of madness ; 
 it was indeed sending our men to slaughter. 
 
 Still the order had been received, and 
 Lord Lucan reluctantly transmitted it to 
 Lord Cardigan, who is said to have remon- 
 strated against its imprudence, though he 
 instantly prepared for obedience. It is a 
 recognised principle in war that cavalry 
 should never act without a support; that 
 infantry should be close at hand when 
 cavalry carry guns ; because, however bril- 
 liant the effect produced may be, it is but 
 instantaneous. Our light cavalry, however, 
 were only supported by the reserve of heavy 
 cavalry at a great distance behind them; 
 the infantry and guns being far in the rear. 
 Soon after eleven o'clock the light cavalry 
 brigade rushed to the front. Their numbers 
 have been differently estimated from 607 
 sabres to 800. The description of that ter- 
 rible death-charge we will take from the 
 

 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, '[heroic cavalry chakgh. 
 
 vigorous accouiit of the writer we have just 
 quoted : — 
 
 " The whole brigade scarcely made one 
 efifective regiment, according to the numbers 
 of continental armies ; and yet it was more 
 than we could spare. As they passed to- 
 wards the front, the Russians opened on 
 them from the guns in the redoubt on the 
 right, with volleys of musketry and rifles. 
 They swept proudly past, glittering in the 
 morning sun in all the pride and splendour 
 of war. We could scarcely believe the evi- 
 dence of our senses ! Surely that handful 
 of men are not going to charge an army in 
 position ? Alas ! it was but too true ; their 
 desperate valour knew no bounds, and far 
 indeed was it removed from its so-called 
 better part — discretion. They advanced in 
 two lines, quickening their pace as they 
 closed towards the enemy. A more fearful 
 spectacle was never witnessed than by those 
 who, without the power to aid, beheld their 
 heroic countrymen rushing to the arms of 
 death. At the distance of 1,200 yards the 
 whole line of the enemy belched forth, from 
 thirty iron mouths, a flood of smoke and 
 flame, through which hissed the deadly 
 balls. Their flight was marked by instant 
 gaps in our ranks, by dead men and horses, 
 by steeds flying wounded or riderless across 
 the plain. The first line is broken ; it is 
 joined by the second; they never halt or 
 check their speed an instant; with di- 
 minished ranks, thinned by those thirty 
 guns, which the Russians had laid with the 
 most deadly accuracy, with a halo of flash- 
 ing steel above their heads, and with a cheer 
 which was many a noble fellow's death-cry, 
 they flew into the smoke of the batteries, 
 but ere they were lost from view the plain 
 was strewed with their bodies and with the 
 carcasses of horses. They were exposed to 
 an oblique fire from the batteries on the 
 hiUs on both sides, as well as to a direct fire 
 of musketry. Through the clouds of smoke 
 we could see their sabres fiashing as they 
 rode up to the guns and dashed between 
 them, cutting down the gunners as they 
 stood. We saw them riding through the 
 guns as I have said ; to our delight we saw 
 them returning, after breaking through a 
 column of Russian infantry, and scattering 
 them like chaff, when the flank fire of the 
 battery on the hill swept them down, scat- 
 
 * The special correspondent of the Morning 
 Chronicle penned the following remarks upon this 
 brilliant but unfortunate charge :— " By an imbecile 
 command, a misconception as to its nature, o/ by 
 
 tered and broken as they were. Wounded 
 men and dismounted troopers flying towards 
 us told the sad tale — demi-gods could not 
 have done what we had failed to do. At 
 the very moment when they were about to 
 retreat, an enormous mass of lancers was 
 hurled on their flank. Colonel Shewell, of 
 the 8th hussars, saw the danger, and rode 
 his few men straight at them, cutting his 
 way through with fearful loss. The other 
 regiments turned and engaged in a despe- 
 rate encounter. With courage too great 
 almost for credence, they were breaking 
 their way through the columns which en- 
 veloped them, when there took place an act 
 of atrocity without parallel in the modern 
 warfare of civilised nations. The Russian 
 gunners, when the storm of cavalry passed, 
 returned to their guns. They saw their own 
 cavalry mingled with the troopers who had 
 just ridden over them, and, to the eternal 
 disgrace of the Russian name, the mis- 
 creants poured a murderous volley of grape 
 and canister on the mass of struggling men 
 and horses, mingling friend and foe in one 
 common ruin. It was as much as our heavy 
 cavalry brigade could do to cover the retreat 
 of the miserable remnants of that band of 
 heroes as they returned to the place they 
 had so lately quitted in all the pride of life. 
 At thirty-five minutes past eleven not a 
 British soldier, except the dead and dying, 
 was left in front of these bloody Muscovite 
 guns." 
 
 Terrible was the result of this heroic de- 
 votion to duty ! this bravery which scorned 
 death and won eternal honour ! Of the 
 number that went into action (600 or 800, 
 be it as it may), but 198 returned ! All 
 the missing were not killed, some might 
 perhaps be prisoners, and about eighty 
 afterwards came in separately. The wonder, 
 however, is, not that so many perished, but 
 that a single man escaped. Unless we had, 
 unhappily, too much evidence of the truth 
 of this untoward circumstance, it would seem 
 like a wild and almost incredible romance, 
 that a regiment of cavalry actually threw 
 themselves, sword in hand, before the 
 threatening mouths of a terrific battery, 
 their path also raked by cross fires, and 
 the object of their attack defended by an 
 army.* 
 
 In this desperate charge Lord Cardigan 
 
 some mysterious circumstance which will probably 
 never be sifted, the flower of the British army were 
 thus led to certain butchery. It was not an ambush 
 into which they fell, for the three batteries were 
 
 307 
 
ITS TERKIBLE RESULT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 had his horse shot under him, and received 
 a slight wound in the right leg from a lance. 
 Captain Nolan, to whose error or indiscre- 
 tion the misfortune was generally attri- 
 buted, would, if he had survived, have been 
 tried by court-martial, but he joined the 
 heroic charge, and perished in it. He was 
 a young officer of great promise, and had a 
 perfect passion for the profession of arms 
 which he adopted at the early age of four- 
 teen. He had lately published a book on 
 the Organisation, Drill, and Manoeuvres of 
 Cavalry Corps ; a work which had created 
 some sensation, and in which he maintained 
 that cavalry could be made to do anything 
 when properly managed. He was regarded 
 as one of the finest riders in the army, and 
 he literally died upon horseback. A Russian 
 shell having pierced his heart, he sprang 
 up in his saddle, gave a loud cry, expired on 
 the instant, and his horse turned and gal- 
 ■ loped back with its dead rider still rigidly 
 fixed in his seat. Mr. WombweU, an officer 
 of the 17th, had a narrow escape. Being 
 dragged from his horse and taken prisoner 
 by the Cossacks, a Russian officer told him 
 not to be afraid, for although the soldiers 
 were rather rough in their manners, he 
 would be well taken care of. Mr. Womb- 
 visible to the dullest eye, and it was to be supposed 
 that supporting the strong line of cavalry beyond 
 were masses of infantry. Never was more wilful 
 murder committed than in ordering an advance 
 against such fearful odds and certain destruction. 
 The popular voice has united in ascribing this great 
 calamity to Captain Nolan. If the latter was indeed 
 to blame, he has paid, poor fellow, the penalty of his 
 impetuous courage. Like many another heroic 
 officer he fell on the field of battle, and in him was 
 buried the iinest rider, and one of the noblest spirits 
 in the British service. But what baffles the under- 
 standing is, in what respect Captain Nolan, whose 
 position was merely that of aide-de-camp, should 
 thus have proved the unwitting instrument of the 
 light brigade's destruction. Before entering into so 
 fearful a contest, the Earl of Lucan would have 
 naturally awaited written instructions from the com- 
 mander-in-chief. Either he received these from 
 Lord Kaglan — in which case his lordship would risk 
 losing his well-earned reputation for prudence and 
 caution — or he undertook the responsibility of the 
 act himself. If, as it is said, the noble earl was in- 
 fluenced either by the petulance or the eager spirit 
 of Captain Nolan, he was to blame ; for a command- 
 ing officer is supposed to possess sufficient self-com- 
 mand and certain discretionary powers. Let the 
 fault lay on whom it may, this morning of the 26th 
 of October was a calamitous one for old England. 
 When shall we speedily raise again such dashing 
 hussars and light dragoons — such skilful horsemen 
 — such heroic soldiers ? On the day of Alma, when 
 victory had crowned the brave efforts of our in- 
 fantry, and when the complete rout of the enemy, 
 .the loss of his artillery and, perhaps, the fate of 
 308 
 
 well saved them the trouble, for in the last 
 charge he escaped and got back to his lines. 
 "The loss of 400 men in killed and 
 wounded," said one of the writers of a 
 leading journal, " is what might easily have 
 occurred in a skirmish of no great signifi- 
 cance, in forcing a pass, in covering a re- 
 treat, or in repelling a surprise. It hardly 
 exceeds the loss by a day's cholera two 
 months before. But there is something in 
 the pomp and solemnity of this fatal exploit 
 which takes it out of ordinary war, and 
 makes it a grand national sacrifice. The 
 Roman citizen hardly rode more gallantly, 
 more deliberately into the fabled gulf in the 
 forum, than those devoted 600 rushed to the 
 place of their glorious doom. They went 
 as fanatics seek the death that is to save 
 them, and as heroes have sought death in 
 the thick of the fight, when they could no 
 longer hope to conquer. But this was 
 something more than individual prowess, or 
 the enthusiasm of a crowd. There was 
 organisation and discipline ; there was even 
 experience andmilitary skill — at least enough 
 to enable the chiefs to know the terrible 
 nature of the deed. They saw that in the 
 execution of the order in their hands, they 
 would have to run the gauntlet of batteries, 
 
 Sebastopol, hung on a dashing cavalry pursuit, then 
 our force was deemed insufficient ; but now, in a 
 miserable skirmish, this very force was dispatched 
 against formidable batteries, a cavalry thrice supe- 
 rior in number, and an unknown force of infantry. 
 Verily, it is heartrending to record this fatal sacri- 
 fice. It is a consolation, though a very sad one, that 
 the fame of old England was never sustained with 
 greater v;ilour than on this cruel day. What stout 
 hearts and stout arms could effect was done by the 
 gallant victims, not of steel, but of shot, shell, and 
 grape. French officers, who saw with dismay the 
 madness of the act and the certainty of destruction, 
 express themselves amazed at the invincible spirit 
 displayed by our men. Through a crossed fire of • 
 three batteries did they penetrate, entering one of 
 these and cutting down the gunners on their own 
 pieces. The loss inflicted on the Russian cavalry 
 was equal to that sustained by the British army ; 
 but then we have no reserves to fall back upon, and 
 the men were of a far different stamp. The nation 
 will share the sorrow of the army at the bitter loss 
 we have had ; and truly the brave fellows deserved a 
 better fate. I will not give the names of the officers 
 who fell that day — the Gazette will, while ennobling 
 their deeds, also record their lamented names. Some 
 of the survivors of the action escaped almost mira- 
 culously. Not one but who lost a horse, or received 
 one or several wounds, more or less severe. Lord 
 Cardigan was magnificent in his cool contempt of 
 danger, and in the gallantry which he exhibited 
 upon this occasion. When everybody behaved hero- 
 ically, it would certainly be out of place and an act 
 of injustice to particularise individuals, or I might 
 mention many deeds of valour done that day." 
 
A.O, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 "WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [recovery of three redoubts. 
 
 ambuscades, reserves, enough for the de- 
 struction of an army ; but they went with 
 their eyes open, as if under a spell. It was 
 a skilful, murderous, and powerful foe that 
 prepared the path for their destruction; 
 and yet at the challenge they went on and 
 persevered to their doom. This was not 
 war, as the French general said; it was a 
 spectacle, and one worthy of the ' cloud of 
 witnesses' that encompassed the performers. 
 When our first horror and admiration have 
 subsided, one feels a species of mystery in 
 the deed. "What is the meaning of a spec- 
 tacle so strange, so terrific, so disastrous, 
 and yet so grand ?" 
 
 While the Russian, guns were pouring 
 their deadly fire upon our heroic cavalry, 
 a body of French chasseurs d'Afriqice made 
 a brilliant charge at the battery on the left 
 of the valley, and cut down the gunners 
 who were firing at our men. This generous 
 assistance cost the French a loss of two cap- 
 tains and twenty men, killed and wounded, 
 out of a little force of 200. After sabreing 
 among the Russian skirmishers, the chas- 
 seurs were compelled to retire.* 
 
 After the return of our heroic cavalry, an 
 attempt was made to recover the redoubts 
 which the Turkish troops had abandoned to 
 the Russians. Our infantry made a move- 
 ment towards the redoubts, and the Russian 
 infantry in advance slowly retired to the 
 gorge. The French cavalry also pushed 
 forward on the Russian right and held it in 
 check, besides pushing out a line of skir- 
 mishers, and forcing the enemy to withdraw 
 their guns. The Russians showered shot 
 and shell from our own redoubts upon our 
 infantry with such vigour, that our men 
 (the first division) were ordered to lie down 
 to escape the effect. The fourth division, 
 covered by the rising ground, and two regi- 
 ments of French infantry, moved onward 
 to operate against the Russian right, already 
 threatened by the French cavalry. The 
 Russians, feeling alarmed at our steady ad- 
 vance, retired successively from three of the 
 redoubts they had taken, but retained the 
 fourth. They blew up the powder maga- 
 zines in two of them, and succeeded in 
 carrying off seven out of the nine guns con- 
 tained in these earthworks. Several military 
 manoeuvres were executed which it is un- 
 necessary here to relate, as they would pro- 
 
 * A leading journal observed : " The enthusiasm 
 of the moment, and the fellow-feeling of the two 
 armies, almost led the chasseurs d'Afrique to follow 
 the British brigade to its doom ; but they were wisely 
 
 VOL. I. t3 S 
 
 bably be understood only by military readers. 
 The object of the Russians was, by retiring, 
 to draw the allies into • the gorge, where 
 they had placed their guns. The latter per- 
 ceived the snare, and held aloof from it; 
 on the other hand, the Russians would not 
 advance, ahd at about a quarter past one 
 the cannonade, which for some time had 
 languished, ceased altogether, and the en- 
 gagement was at an end. Lord Raglan con- 
 tinued watching the enemy until dark, and 
 the last gleam of day lit up the points of 
 the Russian lances in their old position in 
 the valley. 
 
 " The advantages of the battle," said the 
 correspondent of the Morning Herald, " such 
 as they are, most decidedly remain with the 
 enemy, as they succeeded in turning the 
 right of our position; capturing (though 
 not retaining) three Turkish redoubts and 
 twelve pieces of cannon. All this we owe 
 to the cowardice and treachery of our Mo- 
 hammedan allies — most probably both. A« 
 a matter of course, the field on both sides 
 where the cavalry contests had taken place, 
 was a horrible sight; more so from the 
 peculiarly ghastly nature of sabre wounds. 
 In such places the dead and dying horses 
 literally covered the ground. Both ourselves 
 and the enemy appear to have had two horses 
 kiUed or wounded for one man. This gave 
 the field an unusually sanguinary appear- 
 ance, very likely to mislead those not on the 
 spot. I have always imagined that split 
 skulls and cloven heads were figures of 
 speech until to-day, when I have indeed 
 been terribly convinced of the reality of 
 such horrors. Some of the dead had their 
 heads as completely cloven as if the opera- 
 tion was performed by a surgeon with a 
 saw. Nearly all the Russians were so 
 killed. Our fellows had been principally 
 slain with lance thrusts. I saw one man 
 with thirteen such wounds through the chest 
 and stomach. Another man had six, which 
 were all mere flesh wounds, and not danger-' 
 ous. The same man (in the 17th lancers), 
 extraordinary and incredible as it may ap- 
 pear, had two horses killed under him, one 
 or two sabre and bullet wounds in his cap, 
 his sword bent double in its sheath by a 
 Minie bullet, five bullets in his saddle, one 
 in his lance staff, and sword cuts innumer- 
 able." One effect of this engagement was, 
 
 restrained, and did much better service by charging 
 a Russian battery on the flank, and for a time 
 checking its fire." It may be truly said that the 
 French and English were brothers in arms. 
 
 309 
 
LORD Raglan's despatch.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 that Lord Raglan at first resolved to abandon 
 Balaklava and retire to the hills overlooking 
 the town ; but, on further consideration, he 
 decided on retaining this important place. 
 
 We append Lord Raglan's despatch, con- 
 taining an account of this engagement, to- 
 gether with enclosures by Lord Lucan and 
 Sir Colin Campbell : — 
 
 Before Sebastopol, October 28th. 
 My Lord Duke, — I have the honour to 
 acquaint your grace that the enemy attacked 
 the position in the front of Balaklava at an 
 early hour on the morning of the 25th in- 
 stant. 
 
 The low range of heights that runs across 
 the plain at the bottom of which the town is 
 placed was protected by four small redoubts 
 hastily constructed. Three of these had guns 
 in them ; and on a higher hill, in front of the 
 village of Camara, in advance of our right 
 flank, was established a work of somewhat 
 more importance. 
 
 These several redoubts were garrisoned by 
 Turkish troops, no other force being at my 
 disposal for their occupation. 
 
 The 93rd highlanders was the only British 
 regiment in the plain, with the exception of 
 a part of a battalion of detachments com- 
 posed of weakly men, and a battery of artil- 
 lery belonging to the third division ; and on 
 the heights behind our right were placed the 
 marines, obligingly landed from the fleet by 
 Vice-admiral Dundas. All these, including 
 the Turkish troops, were under the imme- 
 diate orders of Major-general Sir Colin Camp- 
 bell, whom I had taken from the first divi- 
 sion with the 93rd. 
 
 As soon as I was apprised of this move- 
 ment of the enemy, I felt compelled to with- 
 draw from before Sebastopol the first and 
 fourth divisions, commanded by lieutenant- 
 generals his royal highness the Duke of 
 Cambridge and the Hon. Sir George Cath- 
 cart, and bring them down into the plain ; 
 and General Canrobert subsequently rein- 
 . forced these troops with the first division of 
 French infantry and the chasseurs d'Afrique. 
 
 The enemy commenced their operations 
 by attacking the work on our side of the 
 village of Camara, and after very little resist- 
 ance carried it. 
 
 They likewise got possession of the three 
 others in contiguity to it, being opposed only 
 in one, and that but for a very short space of 
 time. 
 
 The furthest of the three they did not 
 
 retain, but the immediate abandonment of 
 
 the others enabled them to take possession 
 
 310 
 
 of the guns in them, amounting in the whole 
 to seven. Those in the three lesser forts 
 were spiked by the one English artilleryman 
 who was in each. 
 
 The Russian cavalry at once advanced, 
 supported by artillery, in very great strength. 
 One portion of them assailed the front and 
 right flank of the 93rd, and were instaqtly 
 driven back by the vigorous and steady fire 
 of that distinguished regiment, under Lieu- 
 tenant-colonel Ainslie. 
 
 The other and larger mass turned towards 
 her majesty's heavy cavalry, and afforded 
 Brigadier-general Scarlett, under the guid- 
 ance of Lieutenant-general the Earl of Lucan, 
 the opportunity of inflicting upon them a 
 most signal defeat. The ground was very 
 unfavourable for the attack of our dragoons, 
 but no obstacle was sufiScient to check their 
 advance, and they charged into the Russian 
 column, which soon sought safety in flight, 
 although far superior in numbers. 
 
 The charge of this brigade was one of the 
 most successful I ever witnessed, was never 
 for a moment doubtful, and is in the high- 
 est degree creditable to Brigadier-general 
 Scarlett and the officers and men engaged 
 in it. 
 
 As the enemy withdrew from the ground 
 which they had momentarily occupied, I 
 directed the cavalry, supported by the 
 fourth division, under Lieutenant-general 
 Sir George Cathcart, to move forward, and 
 take advantage of any opportunity to regain 
 the heights ; and, not having been able to ac- 
 complish this immediately, and it appearing 
 that an attempt was making to remove the 
 captured guns, the Earl of Lucan was de- 
 sired to advance rapidly, follow the enemy in 
 their retreat, and try to prevent them from 
 effecting their objects. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Russians had time 
 to re-form on their own ground, with artillery 
 in front and upon their flanks. 
 
 From some misconception of the instruc- 
 tion to advance, the lieutenant-general con- 
 sidered that he was bound to attack at all 
 hazards, and he accordingly ordered Major- 
 general the Earl of Cardigan to move forward 
 with the light brigade. 
 
 This order was obeyed in the most spirited 
 and gallant manner. Lord Cardigan charged 
 with the utmost vigour, attacked a battery 
 which was firing upon the advancing squad- 
 rons, and, having passed beyond it, engaged 
 the Russian cavalry in its rear ; but there his 
 troops were assailed by artillery and infantry 
 as well as cavalry, and necessarily retired, 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [despatches. 
 
 after having committed much havoc upon 
 the enemy. 
 
 They effected this movement without haste 
 or confusion ; but the loss they have sus- 
 tained has, I deeply lament, been very severe 
 in officers, men, and horses, only counter- 
 balanced by the brilliancy of the attack and 
 the gallantry, order, and discipline which 
 distinguished it, forming a striking contrast 
 to the conduct of the enemy's cavalry which 
 had previously been engaged with the heavy 
 brigade. 
 
 The chasseurs d'Afrique advanced on our 
 left and gallantly charged a Russian battery, 
 which checked its fire for a time, and thus 
 rendered the British cavalry an essential 
 service. 
 
 I have the honour to enclose copies of Sir 
 Colin Campbell's and the Earl of Lucan's 
 reports. 
 
 I beg to draw your grace's attention to 
 the terms in which Sir Colin Campbell speaks 
 of Lieutenant-colonel Ainslie, of the 93rd, 
 and Captain Barker, of the royal artillery ; 
 and also to the praise bestowed by the Earl 
 of Lucan on Major-general the Earl of Car- 
 digan and Brigadier-general Scarlett, which 
 they most fully deserve. 
 
 The Earl of Lucan not having sent me the 
 names of the other ofiBcers who distinguished 
 themselves, I propose to forward them by the 
 next opportunity. 
 
 The enemy made no further movement in 
 advance, and at the close of the day the bri- 
 gade of guards of the first division and the 
 fourth division returned to their original en- 
 campment, as did the French troops, with 
 the exception of one brigade of the first 
 division, which General Canrobert was so 
 good as to leave in support of Sir Colin 
 Campbell. 
 
 The remaining regiments of the highland 
 brigade also remained in the valley. 
 
 The fourth division had advanced close to 
 the heights, and Sir George Cathcart caused 
 one of the redoubts to be reoccupied by the 
 Turks, affording them his support, and he 
 availed himself of the opportunity to assist 
 with his riflemen in silencing two of the 
 enemy's guns. 
 
 The means of defending the extensive posi- 
 tion which had been occupied by the Turkish 
 troops in the morning having proved wholly 
 inadequate, I deemed it necessary, in con- 
 currence with General Canrobert, to with- 
 draw from the lower range of heights, and to 
 concentrate our force, which will be increased 
 by a considerable body of seamen to be 
 
 landed from the ships under the authority of 
 Admiral Dundas, immediately in front of the 
 narrow valley leading into Balaklava, and 
 upon the precipitous heights on our right, 
 thus affording a narrower line of defence. 
 
 I have, &c., Raglan. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 (Enclosures.) 
 
 Balaklava, Oct. 27th. 
 
 My Lord, — I have the honour to report 
 that the cavalry division under my com- 
 mand was seriously engaged with the enemy 
 on the 25th inst., during the greater part of 
 which day it was under a heavy fire ; that it 
 made a most triumphant charge against a 
 very superior number of the enemy's cavalry, 
 and an attack upon batteries which, for 
 daring and gallantry, could not be exceeded. 
 The loss, however, in officers, men, and 
 horses, has been most severe. 
 
 From half-past six in the morning, when 
 the horse artillery first opened fire, till the 
 enemy had possessed itself of all the differ- 
 ent forts, the cavalry, constantly changing 
 their positions, continued giving all the sup- 
 port ■ they could to the Turkish troops, 
 though much exposed to the fire of heavy 
 guns and riflemen, when they took post on 
 the left of the second line of redoubts by an 
 order from your lordship. 
 
 The heavy brigade had soon to return to 
 the support of the troops defending Balak- 
 lava, and was fortunate enough in being at 
 hand when a large force of Russian cavalry 
 was descending the hill. I immediately 
 ordered Brigadier-general Scarlett to attack 
 with the Scots grays and Enniskillen dra- 
 goons, and had his attack supported in 
 second line by the 5th dragoon guards, 
 and by a flank attack of the 4th dragoon 
 guards. 
 
 Under every disadvantage of ground, 
 these eight small squadrons succeeded in 
 defeating and dispersipg a body of cavalry 
 estimated at three times their number and 
 more. 
 
 The heavy brigade having now joined the 
 light brigade, the division took up a position 
 with a view of supporting an attack upon 
 the heights, when, being instructed to make 
 a rapid advance to our front, to prevent the 
 enemy carrying the guns lost by the Turk- 
 ish troops in the morning, I ordered the 
 light brigade to advance in two lines, and 
 supported them with the heavy brigade 
 This attack of the light cavalry was very 
 brilliant and daring ; exposed to a fire from 
 
 311 
 
DESPATCHES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 heavy batteries on their front and two flanks, 
 they advanced unchecked until they reached 
 the batteries of the enemy, and cleared them 
 of their gunners, and only retired when they 
 found themselves engaged with a very supe- 
 rior force of cavalry in the rear. Major- 
 general the Earl of Cardigan led this attack 
 in the most gallant and intrepid manner; 
 and his lordship has expressed himself to 
 me as admiring in the highest degree the 
 courage and zeal of every officer, non-com- 
 missioned officer, and man who assisted. 
 
 The heavy brigade advanced to the sup- 
 port of the attack under a very galling fire 
 from the batteries and infantry in a redoubt, 
 and acted with most perfect steadiness, and 
 in a manner to deserve all praise. 
 
 The losses, my lord, it grieves me to state, 
 have been very great indeed, and, I fear, will 
 be much felt by your lordship. 
 
 I cannot too strongly recommend to your 
 lordship the two general-officers command- 
 ing the brigades, all the officers in command 
 of regiments, as also the divisional and bri- 
 gade staffs; indeed, the conduct of every 
 individual, of every rank, I feel to be de- 
 serving of my entire praise, and, I hope, of 
 your lordship's approbation. 
 
 The conduct of the royal horse artillery 
 troop, first under the command of Captain 
 Maude, and, after that officer was severely 
 wounded, of Captain Shakespear, was most 
 meritorious and praiseworthy. I received 
 from those officers every possible assistance 
 during the time they respectively com- 
 manded. I have, &c., Lucan, 
 Lieut.-general commanding cavalry division. 
 His Excellency commander of the forces, &c. 
 
 Camp Battery, No. 4, Balaklava, Oct. 27th. 
 Sir, — I have the honour to inform you 
 that on the morning of the 25th inst., about 
 seven o'clock, the Bussian force which has 
 been, as I already reported, for some time 
 among the hills on our right front, de- 
 bouched into the open ground in front of 
 the redoubts, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, which were 
 occupied by Turkish infantry and artillery, 
 and were armed with seven 12-pounders 
 (iron.) The enemy's forces consisted of 
 eighteen or nineteen battalions of infantry, 
 from thirty to forty guns, and a large body 
 of cavalry. The attack was made against 
 No. 1 redoubt by a cloud of skirmishers, 
 supported by eight battalions of infantry 
 and sixteen guns. The Turkish troops in 
 No. 1 persisted as long as they could, and 
 then retired, and they suffered considerable 
 312 
 
 loss in their retreat. This attack was fol- 
 lowed by the successive abandonment of 
 Nos. 2, 3, and 4 redoubts by the Turks, as 
 well as of the other posts held by them 
 in our front. The guns, however, in Nos. 
 2, 3, and 4, were spiked. The garrisons of 
 these redoubts retired, and some of them 
 formed on the right, and some on the left 
 flank of the 93rd highlanders, which was 
 posted in front of No. 4. battery and the 
 village of Kadikoi. When the enemy had 
 taken possession of these redoubts, their 
 artillery advanced with a large mass of 
 cavalry, and their guns ranged to the 93rd 
 highlanders, which, with 100 invalids under 
 Lieutenant-colonel Daveney in support, oc- 
 cupied very insufficiently, from the smallness 
 of their numbers, the slightly rising ground 
 in front of No. 4 battery. As I found that 
 round shot and shell began to cause some 
 casualties among the 93rd highlanders and 
 the Turkish battalions on their right and 
 left flank, I made them retire a few paces 
 behind the crest of the hill. During this 
 period our batteries on the hills, manned by 
 .the royal marine artillery and the royal 
 marines, made most excellent practice on 
 the enemy's cavalry, which came over the 
 hill ground in front. One body of them, 
 amounting to about 400 men, turned to 
 their left, separating themselves from those 
 who attacked Lord Lucan's division, and 
 charged the 93rd highlanders, who imme- 
 diately advanced to the crest of the hill, and 
 opened their fire, which forced the Russiaa 
 cavalry to give way and turn to their left, 
 after which they made an attempt to turn 
 the right flank of the 93rd, having observed 
 the flight of the Turks who were placed 
 there, upon which the grenadiers of the 
 93rd, under Captain Ross, were wheeled up 
 to their right and fired on the enemy, which 
 manoeuvre completely discomfited them. 
 
 During the rest of the day the troops 
 under my command received no further 
 molestation from the Russians. I beg to 
 call Lord Raglan's attention to the gal- 
 lantry and eagerness of the 93rd high- 
 landers, under Lieutenant-colonel Ainslie, 
 of which probably his lordship was an eye- 
 witness ; as well as the admirable conduct of 
 Captain Barker, and the officers of the field- 
 battery under his orders, who made most 
 excellent practice against the Russian cavalry 
 and artUlery while within range. 
 
 I have, &c., Colin Campbell, 
 
 Major-general. 
 
 Brigadier-general Estcourt, Adj .-general 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [general canrobert's despatch. 
 
 The following despatch was received by 
 the French minister of war from General 
 Canrobert : — 
 
 Camp before Sebastopol, Oct. 27th. 
 
 M. le Marechal, — We are continuing the 
 construction of fresh batteries, destined to 
 batter the eastern front of the bastion which 
 we are attacking. They are placed on the 
 bare rock, and it is only by the explosion of 
 petards and by means of sand-bags and other 
 laborious expedients that we make our 
 wny. Still we shall in a short time be able 
 to multiply our fire against the defences, in 
 repairing which as fast as they are destroyed, 
 the enemy labours with remarkable obsti- 
 nacy. 
 
 This siege will evidently form an epoch 
 among the most laborious operations of the 
 kind. 
 
 The town has suffered much from our 
 fire, and we know that the loss of the de- 
 fenders has been enormous. 
 
 The English protect Ealaklava, where 
 they disembark their munitions, with a body 
 of marines, a battalion of infantry, and some 
 Turks. 
 
 On the morning of the 25 th, at break of 
 day, some hills, 2,500 metres distant from 
 the port, defended by some very imperfect 
 redoubts, each manned by about 150 Turks, 
 were carried by a very superior Russian 
 force, which occupied them, having driven 
 out the Turks. 
 
 As soon as information of this affair 
 reached Lord Raglan and myself, we pro- 
 ceeded to the heights which border the 
 valley of Ealaklava, and form the limits of 
 our position. 
 
 The enemy then occupied the hills I have 
 mentioned, covering in masses the woody 
 heights which bound the valley towards the 
 Tchernaya, and displaying a force estimated 
 at 20,000 men, besides those which were 
 hidden from our view by the ravines and 
 thickets. 
 
 It was evidently his intention to entice us 
 into deserting our excellent position, and 
 to make us descend towards him into the 
 plain. I contented myself with uniting, at 
 the request of Lord Raglan, my cavalry to 
 the English horse, which occupied a position 
 on the plain before Ealaklava, and which 
 had already executed a most brilliant charge 
 against the enemy's cavalry. 
 
 Resides this, 'and while Lord Raglan 
 established two divisions of infantry before 
 the port, I caused all the men that I could 
 spare from my first division to descend to 
 
 the foot of the front slopes of our posi- 
 tion. 
 
 Things were in this state, and the day 
 already far spent, when the English light 
 cavalry, 700 strong, led away by too much 
 ardour, charged vigorously the whole mass 
 of the Russian army. 
 
 This impetuous charge, executed under a 
 cross-fire of musketry and artillery, produced 
 at first great confusion among the enemy's 
 ranks, but this troop, hurried away too far 
 from us, suffered considerable loss. After 
 having sabred the gunners of two batteries 
 it was forced to return, weakened by the loss 
 of 150 men. 
 
 During this time my brigade of chasseurs 
 d'Afrique, which was in the plain on the' 
 left of the English cavalry, was eager to 
 get to its assistance, and did so by a bold 
 manoeuvre, which was much spoken of, and 
 which consisted in attacking on the left a 
 battery of guns and some battalions of 
 infantry, which it forced to retreat, and 
 thus stopped a murderous fire which had 
 been kept up on the English. In this affair 
 we lost about twenty men killed and 
 wounded, two of whom were oflBcers. The 
 loss on the enemy's side was considerable, 
 and he suffered our chasseurs to effect their 
 retreat in good order and without molesta- 
 tion. 
 
 The night supervened to put an end to 
 the combat. 
 
 The day after the Russians made a sortie 
 from the place, and towards Inkermann at- 
 tacked the division of Sir De Lacy Evans, 
 which covered the siege works. Received 
 by a crushing fire, and with that solidity 
 which is peculiar to our allies, the Russians 
 left on the ground more than 300 dead, and 
 found themselves chased to the outskirts of 
 the town, losing in their flight about 100 
 prisoners. 
 
 This short and smart affair was most 
 brilliant, and has certainly compensated for 
 the painful incidents of the day before. 
 
 The judgments of history should be im- 
 partial; to this end the representations of 
 both sides should be considered. We ap- 
 pend, therefore, the Russian account, or the 
 report of Lieutenant-general Liprandi, chief 
 of the twelfth division of infantry, to Aide- 
 de-camp General Prince Mentschikoff, dated 
 October 26th :— 
 
 According to the orders of your highness, 
 the troops of the division intrusted to my 
 command and those attached to it executed,. 
 
 313 
 
THE KrSSIAN ACCOUNT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 on tLe 25tli of October, a general movement 
 in advance from the village of Tchorgoum, 
 and attacked the fortifications of the heights 
 forming the valley of Kadikoi. 
 
 Conformably with the arrangement which 
 I had made on the evening of that day, all 
 the troops of the detachment left, at five 
 o'clock in the morning, the village of Tchor- 
 goum by two defiles. A regiment of chas- 
 seurs of the Ukraine, under the command 
 of Major-general Levoutsky, marched by 
 the principal defile leading from Tchorgoum 
 to Kadikoi, with four guns of the battery of 
 position No. 4, and six guns of the light 
 battery No. 7. These troops advanced with 
 precision, and, on approaching the heights 
 of Kadikoi, opened their fire upon the re- 
 doubts Nos. 1 and 2. After them the AzofF 
 infantry regiment, the 4th battalion of the 
 regiment of the Dnieper, with four guns of 
 the battery of position No. 4 and six guns 
 of the light battery No. 6, moved on under 
 the command of Major-general Semiakine. 
 By the second defile, leading to the valley 
 of Baidar, an advance was made under the 
 command of Major-general Gribbe, of the 
 first three battalions of the infantry regi- 
 ment of the Dnieper, with six guns of the 
 light battery No. 6, four pieces of the bat- 
 tery of position No. 4, a detachment of the 
 regiment No. 53 of Cossacks of the Don, 
 and a squadron of the combined regiment 
 of the lancers. Major-general Gribbe, who 
 had marched in advance, occupied the vil- 
 lage of Kamary, after having dispatched 
 the detachment of Cossacks in the direction 
 of the valley of Baidar. Simultaneously 
 with this movement Major-general Semia- 
 kine in taking up his position to the left of 
 the regiment of the Ukraine, covered by the 
 fire of the artillery and a chain of riflemen, 
 formed by the second company of the bat- 
 talion of riflemen with the carabineers of 
 the infantry regiment of AzofF, advanced 
 rapidly with the latter regiment in two lines 
 by columns of companies, there not being a 
 space of more than 100 paces between the 
 two lines, and in third line the first battalion 
 of the regiment of Azoff and the 4th bat- 
 talion of the regiment of Dnieper, by columns 
 of attack. After having approached in this 
 order to the distance of not more than 100 
 paces from the fortified height of the enemy. 
 Major-general Semiakine gave orders for 
 the assault. The companies made a rapid 
 movement in advance, and at half-past seven 
 o'clock the regiment of Azoff had hoisted 
 its flags upon the fortifications. The tro- 
 314 
 
 phies gained upon this point were three 
 rampart guns and a camp. In this redoubt 
 the loss of the enemy in dead only was more 
 than 170 men. 
 
 At the same time the enemy, from the 
 rapidity with which the principal height had 
 been occupied, and in consequence of his 
 seeing the advance of the regiment of chas- 
 seurs of the Ukraine, abandoned the re- 
 doubts Nos. 2 and 3 (the former armed with 
 two guns and the latter with three), which 
 were immediately occupied by our troops. 
 The regiment of chasseurs of Odessa, with 
 the light battery No. 7, under the command 
 of Colonel de Scudari, advanced to the re- 
 doubt No. 4 ; but the enemy, terrified upon 
 this point also, did not wait for our attack, 
 and abandoned the redoubt, in which there 
 were three guns. Besides this, in each of 
 the redoubts the enemy had left his tents, 
 and his powder magazines, and engineering 
 tools. 
 
 Immediately after the occupation of the 
 redoubts, I ordered the troops to establish 
 themselves there. I immediately ordered 
 the redoubt No. 4 to be razed, as it was too 
 much advanced, and I ordered its guns to 
 be spiked, and their wheels and carriages to 
 be broken, and the fragments to be thrown 
 down the mountain. When these orders 
 had been executed, the troops who had oc- 
 cupied the redoubt joined the general line 
 of the other corps. 
 
 The brigade of hussars of the sixth divi- 
 sion of light cavalry, under the command of 
 Lieutenant-general Ryjoff, who accompa- 
 nied the detachment, was posted at the 
 right wing of our general line of battle, with 
 the light horse battery No. 12, and the Cos- 
 sack battery of position No. 3. During the 
 movement of the troops in advance, the 
 artillery of the Don moved rapidly forwards, 
 and, having placed itself in position, con- 
 tributed by its well-directed fire to the suc- 
 cess of the general attack. 
 
 When all the redoubts had been occupied, 
 I ordered the advance of the cavalry, with 
 the regiment No. 1 of the Cossacks of the 
 Oural and three detachments of the regi- 
 ment No. 53 of Cossacks of the Don, upon 
 the enemy's camp, situated upon the other 
 side of the mountains. Our cavalry ad- 
 vanced rapidly, even to the camp; but, 
 attacked in flank by the fire of the enemy's 
 riflemen, and in front by the English cav- 
 alry, it was compelled to halt, and after- 
 wards resumed its first position at the right 
 wing of the general order of battle, being so 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the kussian account. 
 
 placed that its front did not present a right 
 line, the direction of one of its wings form- 
 ing an angle -with that of the centre. 
 
 At this time Major-general Jabrokritsky, 
 ■with a detachment of the infantry regiment 
 of Vladimir (three battalions) and that of 
 Souzdal, ten guns of the battery of position 
 No. 1, four guns of the light battery No. 2 
 of the 16th brigade of artillery, two com- 
 panies of the battalion of riflemen No. 6, 
 two squadrons of the regiment of hussars of 
 the Grand Duke of Saxe- Weimar, and two 
 detachments of the regiment No. 60 of 
 Cossacks (of PopofiF), advanced upon the 
 heights to the left of our cavalry, and occu- 
 pied them. Our cavalry hardly had time to 
 form in order of battle beyond the right 
 flank of our infantry, when, from the other 
 side of the mountain, where the redoubt 
 No. 4 was raised, the English cavalry ap- 
 peared, more than 2,000 strong. Its im- 
 petuous attack induced Lieutenant-general 
 RyjoflF to turn back upon the route to 
 Tchorgoum to draw the enemy. At the 
 same time I ordered to advance towards 
 my right wing the combined regiment of 
 lancers, under the command of Colonel 
 Yeropkine, which came from Baidar to join 
 the detachment of Major-general Gribbe, 
 and I ordered that regiment to post itself 
 behind the infantry in a concealed position. 
 The enemy made a most obstinate charge, 
 and, notwithstanding the well-directed fire 
 of grape from six guns of the light battery 
 No. 7, and that of the men armed with 
 carbines of the regiment of chasseurs of 
 Odessa, and of a company of the 4th bat- 
 talion of riflemen at the right wing, as well 
 as the fire of a part of the artillery of the 
 detachment of Major-general Jabrokritsky, 
 he rushed upon our cavalry; but at this 
 moment three squadrons of the combined 
 regiment of lancers attacked him in flank. 
 This unexpected charge, executed with pre- 
 cision and vigour, was attended with bril- 
 liant success. The whole of the enemy's 
 cavalry in disorder precipitated itself in 
 retreat, pursued by our lancers and by the 
 fire from our batteries. In this attack the 
 enemy had more than 400 men killed and 
 sixtv wounded, who were picked up on the 
 fielii of battle, and we made twenty-two pri- 
 soners, one of whom was a superior officer. 
 
 A French squadron of African horse chas- 
 seurs rushed upon the detachment of Major- 
 general Jabrokritsky. Having turned the 
 left flank of the battery of position, it 
 reached the chain of riflemen and began 
 
 to put the artillery to the sword. Two 
 other squadrons followed. Upon this, two 
 battalions of the regiment of Vladimir, 
 under the command of Major-general Ja- 
 brokritsky in person, precipitated themselves 
 in advance at the point of the bayonet, and 
 induced the enemy's cavalry to retreat, and 
 it was pursued as far as the foot of the 
 mountain by the well-directed fire of the 
 foot Cossacks of the Black Sea, armed with 
 carbines, and that of the riflemen. More 
 than ten bodies and several horses remained 
 upon the spot ; three prisoners were taken, 
 and the officer who commanded the attack 
 made by the enemy was killed. 
 
 Remarking that the enemy again brought 
 up fresh troops to his left wing, I reinforced 
 my right wing, and disposed all the troops 
 of the detachment in the following order : — 
 
 A battalion of the regiment of the Dnieper 
 occupied the village of Kamary; the regi- 
 ment of infantry of Azoff and the 1st bat- 
 talion of that of the Dnieper were ordered 
 to defend the redoubt No. 1 ; a battalion ot 
 the regiment of chasseurs of the Ukraine 
 was left in the redoubt No. 2 ; and another 
 battalion of the same regiment in redoubt 
 No. 3, near which were also placed the whole 
 regiment of chasseurs of Odessa, two bat- 
 talions of a regiment of the Dnieper, and a 
 battalion of that of the chasseurs of the 
 Ukraine. All the artillery was ranged on 
 advantageous positions ; the cavalry, as 
 before, remained on the right flank of the 
 infantry. However, the enemy did not 
 make any fresh attack, and ceased his fire 
 at four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 In the taking by assault of such a strong 
 position, I consider our loss in infantry as 
 very insignificant. That of the cavalry was 
 more important. Subjoined is a list, rapidly 
 drawn up, in reference to this point. (This 
 list includes six superior and subaltern offi- 
 cers and 232 men killed ; one general, nine- 
 teen superior and subaltern officers, and 292 
 wounded.) I owe the success of the day to 
 the zeal and excellent arrangements of the 
 respective chiefs, and the courage and ardour 
 of ail the troops ; more particularly Major- 
 general Semiakine, chief of the 1st brigade 
 of the division intrusted to my command, 
 and under his orders Colonel de Krudener, 
 in command of the regiment of infantry of 
 Azofl', who were ordered to attack the 
 strongest redoubt. No. 1, situated upon a 
 very steep height, personally exhibited an 
 example of courage and judicious arrange- 
 ments. The attack of the regiment of in- 
 
 315 
 
SORTIE PROM SEBASTOPOL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.u. 1854. 
 
 fantry of Azoff was executed with boldness, 
 celerity, and decision. The 2nd company 
 of the 4th battalion of riflemen, under the 
 command of Second-captain Kalakoutsky, 
 six guns of the light battery No. 6, under 
 the command of Lieutenant-colonel Afanas- 
 siefF, and four guns of the battery of posi- 
 tion No. 4, commanded by Lieutenant 
 Posnikoff, who accompanied that column, 
 acted with precision and celerity, and thus 
 facilitated the capture of the height. 
 
 When the enemy's cavalry charged, and 
 while it was being repulsed, eight guns of 
 the light battery No. 7, which were sta 
 xioned near the regiment of chasseurs of 
 Odessa, directed by Captain Bojanofif, did 
 the most injury to the enemy's cavalry by 
 the precision of their fire of grapeshot. 
 
 All the operations of the artillery of the 
 12th brigade of that arm, directed by 
 Colonel NemofF, commandant of that bri- 
 gade, were crowned with brilliant success. 
 Staff-major Guersivanoff, and the aide-de- 
 camp of your highness, captain of corvette 
 Baron Willebrandt, whom your highness 
 sent to me, and who was at my side during 
 the whole of the combat, rendered me very 
 useful assistance, transmitting, with the most 
 strict exactness, all my orders to the troops 
 in the first line. 
 
 With the present report I have the honour 
 to present to your highness the flag and the 
 Turkish standard taken in the redoubt 
 No. 1. 
 
 There was great rejoicing within the walls 
 of Sebastopol on the evening of the 25th, 
 when the English cannon captured from 
 the redoubts was carried triumphantly into 
 the city. The Russians proclaimed that 
 they had achieved a great victory ; and after 
 firing a salvo of artillery in celebration of 
 what they deemed their triumph, they 
 opened a tremendous cannonade against the 
 English lines — happily without much effect. 
 Encouraged by their partial success, the 
 Russians renewed the contest on the 26th 
 by making a sortie from Sebastopol. About 
 noon a body of troops, variously reported 
 as consisting of 4,000 or 9,000 men, and 
 attended by a numerous artillery, issued 
 from the fortress and ventured an attack 
 on the right flank of the British lines. 
 They advanced in three large columns, 
 along a ravine which ran to the extreme 
 right of the British position. Sir De 
 Lacy Evans' division instantly stood to 
 arms, and waited until the enemy should 
 316 
 
 reveal his intentions. The enemy advanced 
 with confidence, but no sooner had he come 
 within the range of our guns, than the com- 
 mand was given to fire, and a shower of shot 
 and shell checked his approach. " Re-load !" 
 was the word, and soon a second roar and a 
 second deadly storm of missiles from the 
 mouths of our cannon, caused the Russians 
 to wheel round and retire. One Lancaster 
 gun, in Captain Peel's battery, did terrible 
 execution, mowing down about twenty of 
 the Russians at every discharge. Confusion 
 and retreat followed, and the latter was soon 
 converted into an utter rout. 
 
 Sir De Lacy Evans ordered his division to 
 advance and follow up the retreating enemy. 
 This was done with enthusiasm by the oflicers 
 and men, who longed to settle scores with 
 the enemy for many a night of false alarms. 
 Regiment after regiment dashed forward 
 after the fleeing foe. The officers endeavoured 
 to preserve the dignity of a British charge, 
 but, for once, in vain. Their " Steady, 
 boys !" and " Keep in line," were scarcely 
 listened to in the general eagerness to come 
 up with the enemy. A mass of brusliwood 
 soon interfered with the line movement, and 
 the men pursued skirmishing. The Russians 
 were overtaken at the crest of the hill, and a 
 heavy musketry fire was exchanged; they then 
 continued their flight, and sought for safety 
 within the walls of Sebastopol. It is said 
 that General Gortschakoff commanded in 
 this sortie, and that he was wounded in the 
 hip. About eighty prisoners were taken, 
 including three officers; one of the latter 
 was a man of gigantic stature, and in ap- 
 pearance the very model of a soldier. We 
 had nine men killed, and four officers and 
 fifty-eight men wounded. Colonel Conolly, 
 who was in command of a picket, was 
 severely wounded, after having behaved in 
 the most gallant manner. This young 
 officer, at the head of a few men, held 
 their ground against a host until relief 
 arrived. Just as the support^came up, he 
 was seen, sword in hand, engaged with four 
 of the enemy, one of whom finding that he 
 would not be taken prisoner, shot him. 
 through the breast. The ball passed quite 
 through his body, but did not prove fatal. 
 The Russian loss, in killed and wounded, was 
 estimated at between five and six hundred. 
 More than 200 were found dead upon the 
 ground. 
 
 The following is Sir De Lacy Evans' re- 
 port of this sortie, addressed to the com- 
 mander-in-chief : — 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [report of sir de l. bvans. 
 
 Second division, heights of the Tchernaya, 
 October 37th. 
 
 My Lord,— Yesterday the enemy attacked 
 this division with several columns of infantry, 
 supported by artillery. Their cavalry did 
 not come to the front. Their masses, covered 
 by large bodies of skirmishers, advanced with 
 much apparent confidence. The division 
 immediately formed line in advance of our 
 camp, the left under Major-general Penne- 
 father, the right under Brigadier-general 
 Adams. Lieutenant-colonel Pitzmayer and 
 the captains of batteries (Turner and Yates) 
 promptly posted their guns and opened fire 
 upon the enemy. 
 
 Immediately on the cannonadebeing heard, 
 the Duke of Cambridge brought up to our 
 support the brigade of giiards under Major- 
 general Bentinck, with a battery under 
 Lieutenant-colonel Dacres, His royal high- 
 ness took post in advance of our right to 
 secure that flank, and rendered me through- 
 out the most effective and important assist- 
 ance. General Bosquet, with similar prompti- 
 tude, and from a greater distance, approached 
 our position with five French battsJions. Sir 
 G. Cathcart hastened to us with a regiment 
 of rifles, and Sir G. Brown pushed forward 
 two guns in cb-operation by our left. 
 
 The enemy came on at first rapidly, as- 
 sisted by their guns on the Mound Hill. 
 Our pickets, then chiefly of the 49th and 
 30th regiments, resisted them with very re- 
 markable determination and firmness. Lieu- 
 tenant Conolly, of the 49th, greatly distin- 
 guished himself, as did Captain Bayly, of the 
 30th, and Captain Atcherley, all of whom, I 
 regret to say, were very severely wounded. 
 Sergeant Sullivan also displayed at this 
 point great bravery. 
 
 In the meantime our eighteen guns in po- 
 sition, including those of the first division, 
 were served with the utmost energy. In half- 
 an-hour they forced the enemy's artillery to 
 abandon the field. Our batteries were then 
 directed with equal accuracy and vigour upon 
 the enemy's columns, which (exposed also 
 to the close fire of our advanced infantry) 
 soon fell into complete disorder and flight. 
 Thev were then literally chased by the 30th 
 and 95th regiments over the ridges, and 
 down towards the head of the bay. So eager 
 was the pursuit that it was with diflSeulty 
 Major-general Pennefather eventually ef- 
 fected the recall of our men. These regi- 
 ments and the pickets were led gallantly by 
 Major Mauleverer, Major Champion, Major 
 Eman, and Major Hume. The Russians were 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 similarly pursued further towards our right 
 by four companies of the 41st, led gallantly 
 by Lieutenant-colonel the Hon. P. Herbert, 
 A.aM.G. The 47th also contributed. The 
 55th were held in reserve. 
 
 Above eighty prisoners fell into our hands, 
 and about 130 of the enemy's dead were left 
 within or near our position. It is computed 
 that their total loss could scarcely be less 
 than 600. 
 
 Our loss, I am sorry to say, has been dbove 
 eighty, of whom twelve officers are killed, and 
 five wounded. I am happy to say hopes are 
 entertained that Lieutenant Conolly will 
 recover, but his wound is dangerous. 
 
 I shall have the honour of transmitting to 
 your lordship a list of officers, non-commis- 
 sioned officers, and privates whose conduct 
 attracted special notice. That of the pickets 
 excited general admiration. 
 
 To Major-general Pennefather and Briga- 
 dier-general Adams I was, as usual, greatly in- 
 debted. To Lieutenant-colonel Dacres, Lieu- 
 tenant-colonel Fitzmayer, captains Turner, 
 Yates, Woodham, and Hemlin, and the 
 whole of the royal artillery, we are under 
 the greatest obligation. 
 
 Lieutenant-colonel Herbert, A.Q.M.G., 
 rendered the division, as he always does, 
 highly distinguished and energetic services. 
 Lieutenant-colonel Wilbraham, A. A. G., 
 while serving most actively, I regret to say, 
 had a very severe fall from his horse. I beg 
 leave also to recommend to your lordship's 
 favourable consideration the excellent ser- 
 vices of captains Glazbrook and Thompson, 
 of the Quartermaster-general's department, 
 the brigade-majors captains Armstrong and 
 Thackwell, and my personal stafi', captains 
 Allix, Gubbins, and the Hon. W. Boyle. 
 I have, &c., 
 Db Lacy Evans, Lieutenant-general. 
 The Right Hon. Lord Raglan, G.C.B., &c. 
 
 This report was forwarded by Lord Raglan 
 to the minister of war, enclosed in the fol- 
 lowing despatch, giving some account of the 
 progress of the siege, which at this point 
 was flagging, while the harassed French and 
 English were almost worn out. With it we 
 wiU. close this chapter : — 
 
 Before Sebastopol, October 28th. 
 
 My Lord Duke, — I have nothing particular 
 to report to your grace respecting the opera- 
 tions of the siege since I wrote to you on the 
 23rd instant. The fire has been somewhat 
 less constant, and our casualties have been 
 fewer though I regret to say that Captain 
 
 317 
 
PROGRESS OF THE SlEGE.j 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 Childers, a very promising oflSlcer of the royal 
 artillery, was killed on the evening of the 
 23rd, and I have just heard that Major 
 Dalton, of the 49th, of whom Lieutenant- 
 general Sir De Lacy Evans entertained a 
 very high opinion, was killed in the trenches 
 last night. 
 
 The enemy moved out of Sebastopol on 
 the 26th with a large force of infantry, cav- 
 alry, and artillery — amounting, it is said, to 
 6,000 or 7,000 men — and attacked the left 
 of the second division, commanded by Lieu- 
 tenant-general Sir De Lacy Evans, who spee- 
 dOy and energetically repulsed them, assisted 
 by one of the batteries of the first division 
 and some guns of the light division, and sup- 
 ported by the brigade of guards and by 
 several regiments of the fourth division, and 
 in rear by the French division commanded 
 by General Bosquet, who was most eager in 
 his desire to give him every aid. 
 
 I have the honour to transmit a copy of 
 Sir De Lacy Evans' report, which I am 
 sure your grace will read with the highest 
 satisfaction, and I beg to recommend the 
 
 officers whom he particularly mentions to 
 your protection. 
 
 Captain Bayly, of the 30th, Captain Atch- 
 erley, of the same regiment, and Lieutenant 
 Conolly, of the 49th, all of whom are severely 
 wounded, appear to have greatly distin- 
 guished themselves. 
 
 I cannot speak in too high terms of the 
 manner in which Lieutenant-general Sir De 
 Lacy Evans met this very serious attack. I 
 had not the good fortune to witness it myself, 
 being in front of Balaklava at the time it 
 commenced, and having only reached his 
 position as the afi'air ceased, but I am cer- 
 tain I speak the sentiments of all who wit- 
 nessed the operation in saying that nothing 
 could have been better managed, and that 
 the greatest credit is due to the Lieutenant- 
 general, whose services and conduct I have 
 before had to bring under your grace's 
 notice. 
 
 I enclose the return of the losses the army 
 has sustained since the 22nd. 
 
 I have, &c., Raglan. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 REFLECTIONS ON WAR ; A COLLECTION OF LETTERS CONCERNING CAMP LIFE, THE SIEGE, AND THE BATTLK 
 
 or BALAKLAVA. 
 
 Let us pause, and reflect a little upon this 
 history of carnage and horror ! We would 
 fain that such gigantic calamities should 
 yield some good to humanity, some lessons 
 to the world. If seas and mountains have 
 their meaning, and with a silent yet sub- 
 lime eloquence, which is felt, not heard, 
 impress on the beholder elevating and gentle 
 thoughts; if the hoarse murmur or shrill 
 scream of the bleak wind through the dense 
 dim forests has a voice to those who listen 
 in the spirit of the seer ; if stones, and trees, 
 and running brooks preach mute sermons 
 to the philosophic mind j if the mysterious 
 and silent stars sing in their course like 
 millions of radiant angels, and shed an in- 
 spiration on the rapt beholder; — if these 
 things are so (and in a metaphorical sense 
 they are) , then surely vfar, in all its ghastly 
 and fiendish majesty, — war, with its regal 
 preparations, with its pomp, its gold, its 
 Bcarletj and its grand swelling strains of 
 318 
 
 music, — WAR, with its roarings and its 
 thunders, with its terrific lightnings, which 
 more than rival those of heaven; with its 
 cataracts of fire, hurling from ten thousand 
 iron mouths the deadly messengers whose 
 shocks are as if some infernal deity had 
 smote the staggering earth until the moun- 
 tains reeled and the astonished sea stood 
 still, — WAR, the stupendous destroyer, who 
 sows in wantonness and reaps in blood, 
 whose dreadful harvests are the gory fields 
 covered with mangled corpses, with blood- 
 bespattered faces, and sightless glaring 
 eyes, fixed on the blue vault of heaven, as 
 if vainly appealing to that merciful God, 
 who seems for a time to have abandoned his 
 creation, and have given it over to be the 
 grim sport of fiends ; — surely this dreadful 
 power has its teachings, if we could glean 
 them ! 
 
 Alas! for man; alas! for the promised 
 millennium of peace, and joy, and charity j 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 "WAR WITH RUSSIA. [literature of the tvak. 
 
 alas ! for the poetic dream of universal bro- 
 therhood, when nations are to dwell to- 
 gether in a sublime amity, when kings shall 
 be the parents of their peoples, when wise 
 governments shall have removed the chief 
 causes of crime, and each man shall grasp 
 with fellowship the hand of his neighbour ! 
 Glorious visions ! your time is not yet ; may 
 the unbegotten future reveal your realisa- 
 tion. In this age it must be recorded that 
 the greatest efforts of the most civilised 
 nations of the earth were devoted — muscle, 
 nerve, heart, brain, soul, and sense — to the 
 science and labour of destruction. It must 
 be -recorded that war, like an inscrutable 
 fatalism, demands all, and yields nothing — 
 nothing that if the world were wise, if the 
 spirit of destruction did not burn in the 
 hearts and in the bones of men, but that 
 could be obtained without its aid. The 
 teachings of war are indeed small, and con- 
 sist chiefly of spectral warnings to avoid all 
 injustice and aggression that may lead to it. 
 As the sickness of the air leads to plagues, 
 and the sickness of the earth to convulsive 
 quakings and vomitings of fire, so, in like 
 manner, the sickness of society results in 
 war. War is, indeed, sometimes the herald 
 of civilisation; but it civilises after the 
 fashion in which the knife and saw of the 
 surgeon heals. Well, it is useless to mourn 
 over these things; they are the destiny of 
 the age, the impenetrable and mysterious 
 necessity of either an evil nature in our race, 
 or a sickly and imperfect civilisation. 
 
 Leaving these reflections, let us, before 
 we proceed with our narrative, take another 
 glance or so from different points of view of 
 the scenes we have just gone through. Let 
 us compose another chapter of the obscure 
 literature of the war, and glean together a 
 few letters from men of all ranks engaged 
 in the great struggle; — letters which, in 
 many instances, have sprung up like wild- 
 flowers in uncultivated soil, but which, to 
 continue the metaphor, will be found to 
 possess both honey and fragrance. In other 
 words, we mean that the letters thus selected 
 and woven into a whole — though often the 
 work of untutored minds, of private soldiers 
 — will be found to contain much genuineness 
 of feeling and simplicity of diction. If, 
 indeed, they are at times a little confused 
 in expression, let us remember that they 
 contain descriptive fragments scarcely to be 
 found in the despatches of generals, or in 
 the full and well-turned periods of his- 
 torians. 
 
 The following letter, dated the 28th of 
 October, and written from the camp before 
 Sebastopol, was received from a French 
 officer of rank : — 
 
 The following is the state of affairs with 
 us since my last letters. The batteries, 
 which are constructed in the parallel of 300 
 metres from the point of attack, are in 
 course of completion. The work does not 
 go on with such rapidity as we desire, in 
 spite of the unexampled efforts each of us 
 is making to arrive at the result, because 
 the ground is decidedly unfavourable ; there 
 is little earth, but a great deal of stone and 
 rock, which we are obliged to blow up with 
 gunpowder, in order to establish our plat- 
 forms. These batteries, destined to receive 
 about forty pieces, will open their fire all at 
 the same time, and from them we expect 
 the best result. We hope they will com- 
 mence acting to-morrow morning, and the 
 assault some days after. I have mentioned 
 the works executed on the side where the 
 French attack. As for the English, they 
 have made a parallel at 400 metres in 
 advance of their left battery. This parallel 
 is destined to receive the infantry, which 
 has been already there for the last two or 
 three days. A battery wiU not be estab- 
 lished, because the nature and the configu- 
 ration of the ground do not permit it ; and, 
 moreover, it would not produce more effect 
 than the batteries which are 400 metres in 
 the rear. General Sir J, Burgoyne is just 
 going to find out General Bizot, and come 
 to an understanding with him as to whether 
 the English could not co-operate in the 
 establishment of some batteries on the 
 French side. There is no possibility of 
 carrying on other works on the attacking 
 side of the English. The Russians offer a 
 most vigorous resistance. They labour with 
 great energy for the re-establishment of 
 their works, and for the construction of new 
 batteries ; but whenever the struggle comes 
 corps a corps, they will have to abandon the 
 grouijd. 
 
 We have been, since the 25th, in presence 
 of the army of Mentschikoff, which has 
 come down from the heights into the valley 
 of the Tchernaya. It wished to make, on 
 that day, an attempt on Balaklava, the port 
 of which is so important for the English. 
 That attempt has failed. This is how it 
 occurred : — About twenty Russian bat- 
 talions, accompanied by several batteries of 
 artillery and a numerous cavalry, appeared 
 at break of day. The Russian artillery soon 
 
 319 
 
liETTERS ON THE WAR. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854 
 
 opened its fire against the works in front of 
 Balaklava. The Turks who occupied them 
 retreated before the masses of the enemy. 
 The Russians dashed down, and at the same 
 time pushed their cavalry on to Balaklava ; 
 but they were destined to find far different 
 enemies before them. The gallant Scotch 
 waited till they were at point blank range 
 from the head of the column before they 
 fired a shot ; when they did, the cavalry fell 
 back in the greatest disorder. The squad- 
 rons that were at the tail of the column 
 turned obliquely to the right, to avoid the 
 fugitives, and then went in the direction of 
 the English cavalry, which was coming up. 
 The noble regiment of Scots grays then 
 executed an admirable charge against the 
 Russian cavalry, pierced them through and 
 through, and completely scattered them. 
 The Russian cavalry, thus beaten, fell back, 
 and threw into confusion their infantry, 
 which was in turn forced to retreat. The 
 English infantry retook two of the works on 
 the left ; and the Russian army, being com- 
 pletely routed, was about to abandon the 
 two on the right, when another charge from 
 the light brigade of the English cavalry — 
 but as untoward as could well be, though 
 the execution was heroic — all of a sudden 
 changed the state of afiairs. The Russians, 
 when retiring from the two works on the 
 right, were, perhaps, going to carry off the 
 seven guns they found there, when Lord 
 Raglan sent to the officer commanding the 
 cavalry the order to advance and follow the 
 retreat of the Rus.sians, in order to retake 
 the guns. The oflScer who was the bearer 
 of the order, and who was killed in the 
 charge of which I am about to speak, told 
 Lord Lucan to charge the Russian batteries, 
 in order to take the guns. Lord Cardigan, 
 commanding the light brigade, to whom the 
 order was transmitted, observed that the bat- 
 tery which he was thus ordered to charge was 
 flanked by two other batteries which crossed 
 their fire on the ground he was to pass over ; 
 that the distance was enormous ; that the 
 infantry was about to unite its fire with that 
 of the artillery j and that the Russian cavalry 
 would also act in its turn. The order, how- 
 ever, was emphatically given, such as it was 
 believed to have been given by the general- 
 in-chief. Lord Cardigan dashed on with 
 his 800 men, who behaved like heroes. 
 They advanced under the fire of artillery 
 and musketry. Those whom the fire did 
 not bring down in their course reached the 
 battery, which many of them penetrated: 
 320 
 
 but the horses were completely blown. They 
 had to retire and again pass over the ground, 
 which was ploughed up with the enemy's 
 bullets. Pour hundred horses remained on 
 the field ; 160 men were killed, wounded, or 
 made prisoners. The rest succeeded in re- 
 turning; and that gallant charge produced 
 such an effect on the Russians, that they did 
 not dare to pursue them. Recovering, how- 
 ever, from their surprise, they arrested their 
 retrograde movement, while preserving the 
 two works on the right, and the seven guns 
 which they contained. 
 
 We remained under arms, in expectation 
 of being attacked by the Russians, until 
 nightfall ; but they did not think proper to 
 leave the position they occupied on the 
 25th. We have been told that the Russians 
 have chanted a Te Deum, in Sebastopol for 
 the aifair of the 25th ! They, no doubt, 
 will sing many others. Their joy, however, 
 was of short duration. The next day (the 
 26th) they resolved to attack the right of 
 the EngHsh besieging corps, and advanced, 
 to the number of seven or eight thousand 
 men, with eight pieces of artillery, in the 
 direction of Inkermann. General De Lacy 
 Evans was ready to receive them. The 
 engagement only lasted a few moments. 
 The Russians were put to flight, leaving on 
 the ground 700 killed and wounded, while 
 the English only lost sixteen killed and 
 forty wounded. General Bosquet advanced, 
 in all haste, to the assistance of our allies, 
 with several French battalions ; but, to his 
 great regret, he arrived when all was over. 
 Lord Raglan warmly thanked him on the 
 occasion, and congratulated the troops on 
 the promptitude with which they had 
 hastened to the relief of the English. We 
 are informed that the British government 
 has five or six thousand men ready to em- 
 bark. These troops might be sent to Mar- 
 seilles by railway and down the Rhone, and 
 steamers could proceed from this to take 
 them on board. Yesterday several English 
 steamers left for Varna and Bourgas, to 
 convey to the Crimea 430 French dragoons 
 and 600 artillery horses. We are under 
 great obligations to our allies for the readi- 
 ness with which they place at our disposal 
 the vessels necessary for the conveyance of 
 our reinforcements. They are, to be sure, 
 as interested as ourselves in their arrival j 
 but there exists, in all our relations, an 
 understanding and a cordiality worthy of 
 remark. The entente between the generals- 
 in-chief is, if I may use the expression, more 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letteks on the war. 
 
 thaa perfect. Lord Raglan entertains the 
 highest esteem for General Canrobert, and 
 feels for him a real affection. They had 
 together, some days ago, a long conversa- 
 tion, after which Lord Raglan manifested to 
 me his satisfaction at concurring, in many 
 respects, in the opinions of General Can- 
 robert, particularly with regard to our em- 
 peror. This perfect understanding between 
 the two generals-in-chief is, I need not add, 
 a most important point. I do not consider 
 the trial of the 35th as decisive for the 
 Turks, who have behaved so well on other 
 occasions. I hope they will soon find an 
 opportunity of retrieving their character. I 
 was forgetting to mention a brilliant charge 
 effected by our chasseurs d'Afrique on one 
 6f the batteries which decimated the English 
 cavalry. Six troops of that brave corps 
 rushed upon that battery, cut down the men 
 at their guns, and were preparing to carry 
 off the latter, when three Russian battalions 
 formed into hollow squares, opened their fire 
 upon them, and obliged them to retreat. 
 Our brave chasseurs lost two officers and 
 about twenty killed and wounded. 
 
 The following letter was received from a 
 young officer on board the English fleet : — 
 Off Katcha Bay, Saturday, Oct. 28th. 
 
 I am sorry to say that Sebastopol is not 
 ours yet. We received the news a short 
 while since from the reports of a French 
 officer who was taken prisoner, but managed 
 to escape, that, in addition to our killing 
 the Russians, they are killing themselves. 
 He says : " When I came to the market- 
 place (or what used to be the market-place), 
 I saw a pair of gallows erected, and 300 
 Poles and Russians led out to be hung." 
 This they do if any refuse to work the guns, 
 or if they utter a word in objection. The 
 others the officers keep to their guns with the 
 point of the bayonet. A few days ago a 
 Russian officer, of the rank of captain, de- 
 serted; and he said that the Poles would 
 come on our side, against the Russians, as 
 soon as we stormed the place. I suppose 
 
 you heard that a blue-jacket of the , 
 
 two royal artillerymen, and one royal marine 
 artilleryman, deserted and joined the Rus- 
 sians. The captain, on hearing this, had 
 the magazine shifted immediately ; and it 
 was lucky he did, for on the next day the 
 shot and shell came pitching on the place 
 where the magazine had been, like so many 
 hailstones. I am happy to say that the 
 fellow was a Yankee. By this time he has 
 
 got his deserts, I think; for, two days ago, 
 he ventured out at the head of a party of 
 Russians, as leader, and, when these were 
 driven back, he was taken by us. When 
 captured he was in Russian uniform, cross- 
 belted and all. The 46th regiment and 
 20,000 French are coming out here. Two 
 thousand French troops are already at Con- 
 stantinople. They say they are waiting for 
 them to come up before they storm the 
 place. We got the news to-day, that yes- 
 terday about 800 of our cavalry attacked 
 3,000 Russian cavalry. So bloodthirsty 
 were the Russians, that they would not 
 allow the two cavalry regiments to fight it 
 out fairly, but their artillery and infantry 
 opened fire right in among the two. They 
 did not care how many of their own men 
 they killed, so long as they killed one of 
 ours. We lost 400 out of the 800 ; but, 
 owing to the Russian artillery and infantry 
 opening fire among the two indiscriminately, 
 the Russians lost about twice as many as 
 they otherwise would have done. The 
 Scotch fusileers came up at the head of the 
 engagement, and cut up the Russians fright- 
 fully. We have about three or four thou- 
 sand Russians so hemmed in near Balaklava, 
 that they must either surrender or fight 
 their way out. Our fellows are so much 
 exasperated, that they say they will allow 
 them no quarter whatever, but will kill 
 every man they possibly can. We hear 
 that, when the southern forts are taken, six 
 ships are to go in to attack and destroy the 
 forts facing the sea. I hope that my ship 
 will be one of the six. Lord Lucan's aide- 
 de-camp is dead. It is reported that it was 
 owing to a mistake that we lost the 400 
 men I have spoken of, and that Lord Rag- 
 lan told him to order Lord Lucan to act on 
 the defensive. The aide-de-camp under- 
 stood offensive, and told Lord Lucan; con- 
 sequently, he at once ordered them to the 
 charge. Such, at all events, is the report. 
 
 The following letter, from on board her 
 majesty's ship Himalaya, is dated Balaklava 
 Bay, October 27th :— 
 
 Since my last we have brought up from 
 Constantinople 550 troops of different regi- 
 ments convalescent, arriving here on the 
 morning of the 34th, also a quantity of char- 
 coal for the troops. As we approached the 
 land we could see and hear heavy firing about 
 Sebastopol. Among the officers who came 
 up with us were Captain Dickson, of the 30th, 
 and Captain Warden, of the 19th. Both 
 
 321 
 
LETTERS ON THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 these gentlemen had been wounded at Alma, 
 and sent to Scutari hospital, with leave to 
 proceed home ; but they thought themselves 
 sufficiently recovered to be again of service 
 to her majesty's arms, and, with more zeal 
 than I think discretion, have marched up 
 and rejoined their respective corps. When 
 we see cases such as these of devotion to the 
 service, one cannot wonder at the general 
 success of the British forces. I shall now 
 give you an account of what I have either 
 witnessed myself or heard from those actually 
 engaged in it. 
 
 Oct. 25th. — At daylight heard very sharp 
 and heavy firing towards Sebastopol, and 
 also near Balaklava, increasing towards nine 
 o'clock, and from that time incessant. Could 
 see occasionally shells bursting over the high 
 hills by which the bay is surrounded ; so as 
 soon as possible I went on shore, and found 
 that a very heavy cavalry action, with artillery, 
 was going on, the Russians having driven the 
 Turks completely out of three batteries which 
 had been erected and armed with our guns, 
 and the Turks placed to man them. How- 
 ever, they got panic-stricken and fled, and 
 down came the Cossacks and Russian cavalry 
 (imperial guard) to attack ours, and a most 
 bloody fight ensued, our light cavalry — viz., 
 4th dragoons, 8th and 11th hussars, and 17th 
 lancers — being dreadfully cut up, having 
 charged a battery of guns numberiag thirty. 
 They were supported by the grays, who have 
 again distinguished themselves beyond praise, 
 suffering, however, severely in the aflPair. 
 They charged right through the Russian 
 cavalry, who numbered about five to one ; got 
 surrounded by them, made another charge, 
 and cut themselves out by sheer fighting. 
 Colonel Griffith got shot in the head. Brevet- 
 major Clarke a sabre cut at the back of his 
 neck, Cornet Prendergast shot right through 
 the foot. Comet Handley stabbed in the side 
 and arm, being at one time surrounded by 
 four Cossacks, three of whom he shot with 
 his revolver, and the fourth was cut down by 
 his sergeant. I saw this young gallant fellow 
 a few hours after, and he was then getting 
 ready to rejoin his regiment from the tem- 
 porary hospital, not finding his two wounds 
 of sufficient consequence to keep him from 
 his post. The colonel did the same, after 
 getting his head dressed. Major Clarke did 
 not, I believe, leave the field. I also saw 
 Lieutenant Elliot, 5th dragoon guards, riding 
 into Balaklava, his face so covered with blood 
 and his head bound up that we could not 
 recognise him. The gallant Captain White, 
 322 
 
 too, of the 17th lancers, was lying on his back 
 when we came up to him, with a round shot 
 right through his leg, with Sir W. Gordon, 
 dreadfully cut about the head, both receiving, 
 however, every attention and care from Sur- 
 geon Kendall, who was formerly at South- 
 ampton with Mr. Ward, surgeon of that 
 town. In this garden and temporary hos- 
 pital could be seen men with every descrip- 
 tion of wound, from the sabre cut to the 
 grape and canister shot. One poor fellow's 
 leg was taken ofi" while we were there, nor 
 can one easily forget the shocking scenes, 
 the result of such a day's fighting. The 
 surgeons (Brush and his assistant, Chappie) 
 of the grays were working away with their 
 sleeves turned up, arms bloody, faces the 
 same, looking more like butchers than sur- 
 geons, so hard had they worked all day. 
 
 During the afternoon, subsequently to the 
 Russians being repulsed with heavy loss, their 
 object evidently being to take Balaklava, 
 they retreated to the brow of a hill on the 
 right, and formed themselves round the bat- 
 tery they had driven our allies, the Turks, 
 out of; and our troops, with the rifles in front, 
 were formed in line of battle, not more than 
 three-quarters to one mile from them, occa- 
 sionally trying the effect of the shells from 
 the artillery guns ; and the precision with 
 which these missiles are directed is truly 
 astonishing. Poor Captain Maude, of the 
 horse artillery, than whom I belive it is 
 universally admitted a more gallant or more 
 efficient officer does not hold a commission in 
 her majesty's service, was severely wounded 
 early in the day by a shell, which, bursting 
 near, hit him in three places. The loss of his 
 services will be severely felt, and he is uni- 
 versally regretted. He was carried into the 
 harbour, and placed on board ship. I cannot 
 conceive a more splendid sight than was wit- 
 nessed during this afternoon, the two armies, 
 the Russians being enormously strong, and 
 our own, waiting for one or the other to ad- 
 vance, with an occasional shell by way of in- 
 vitation or challenge. But for several hours 
 there they stood, as if content with what had 
 already taken place, and we so near the two, 
 that with the aid of my glass, a good Dollond, 
 I coiild distinctly see the colour of their 
 uniform (gray), and their standard, with an 
 eagle on the top of it ; I could also plainly 
 see the dead, both men and horses, on the 
 scene of the late encounter. I observed one 
 horse stand fully an hour by the side of his 
 dead rider, while others were wildly galloping 
 about, not knowing which way to turn their 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the war. 
 
 riderless course. One of tlie most wonderful 
 things, I think, is to see the way in which 
 our riflemen go about in small detached 
 parties, crawling along on the ground up the 
 side of a hill, till they appear to be within 
 300 yards of the enemy, and thus they lie 
 on their bellies till a chance offers, when 
 crack goes a Minie, and down falls a Russian. 
 1 was informed most credibly that one of 
 these brave fellows a few days since thought 
 he would go and do a little business on his 
 own account, got away from his company, 
 and crawled up close to a battery under 
 shelter of a hill, lay on his back and loaded, 
 and turned over and fired, when, after killing 
 eleven men, a party rushed out, and he took 
 to his heels, but, sad to say, a volley, fired 
 after him by this party, levelled him with the 
 earth, and he was subsequently picked up 
 with thirty-two balls in his body. A party 
 of Russian sharpshooters made a sort of 
 attempt to come up to the battery manned 
 by the marines, but a few well-directed shots 
 from that gallant little body sent them back 
 again, having taken nothing by their motion. 
 Lieutenant Maxse, aide-de-camp to Lord 
 Cardigan, was severely shot in the foot and 
 ankle, and was carried on board his lord- 
 ship's yacht the Dryad. He was close to the 
 unfortunate Captain Nolan, of the 15th 
 hussars, who was shot in the breast while 
 cheering and gallantly charging the enemy, 
 and who, after getting off his horse, made 
 two or three staggers forward, and fell dead. 
 Whenever during the day you saw any of 
 
 * We have already said that the reported coward- 
 ice of the Turks is not an indisputable and estab- 
 lished fact. It is scarcely just to slander and abuse 
 these poor creatures because they did not exhibit as 
 much heroism as would have been shown by French 
 or English troops. On this point we insert a por- 
 tion of a letter which appeared in one of the morn- 
 ing journals, entitled Justice to the Turks : — " Sir, — 
 Perceiving that the Turkish troops have been 
 severely animadverted on for prematurely abandon- 
 ing their guns in front of Balaklava on the 25th ult., 
 and even hooted by women in our camp as cowards, 
 I think it unjust to allow a stigma of this nature to 
 remain on any portion of our allies without offering 
 a few words in their defence. I would therefore ask 
 those who are so ready to condemn on ex parte 
 statements, if it would have been possible for a few 
 hundred Turks, recently landed in the Crimea, and 
 thus placed in front of our position, and even of our 
 cavalry in charge of guns, without any available sup- 
 port, successfully to resist an attack of 20,000 Rus- 
 sian troops of all arms, or, without horses, to carry 
 off the guns thus placed under their care from re- 
 doubts described in the despatches of Lord Raglan 
 and General Canrobert as imperfect and hastily con- 
 structed r' As official despatches, ^sir, ought to be 
 considered the best evidence before the bar of pub- 
 lic opinion in cases of this nature, I may also refer 
 
 the Turkish soldiers, you saw the people 
 hooting them and calling them cowards and 
 runaways. I witnessed two Irish women ac- 
 tually driving four of these chivalrous gentry 
 before them, making them carry some things 
 for them, probably to their own wounded 
 husbands, and saying, "Eh! ye cowardly 
 divils; this is all you're fit for, to be our 
 servants ; sure, you are afraid to fight ;" and 
 on our return I saw a young middy drawn 
 up before some fifty of them, abusing them 
 most heartily for their having run away.* 
 One of them made a sign as if he was going 
 to draw his sword, when master middy sang 
 out, " Oh," said he, " I'm not afraid of you, 
 such a set of cowards as you are," set his 
 arms a-kimbo, and then stood, the picture of 
 a young lion, and, I should say, about as 
 brave. Lord Raglan, after the grays' charge, 
 sent a message down to be told to the men, 
 that he had never seen anything more bril- 
 liant, or more gallantly executed. 
 
 Had our Turkish friends only spiked the 
 guns before deserting them, it would have 
 been less disastrous ; but that our own guns 
 should be made use of, with our own ammu- 
 nition against us, and that through the 
 cowardly conduct of these men, for whom 
 we are sacrificing England's best blood and 
 treasure, is too provoking and discreditable 
 to write about ; and I am sorry to say that, 
 not content with deserting their post, they 
 plundered everything they could lay their 
 hands on, even to the very breakfasts which 
 some men of the grays were preparing for 
 
 to that of the Russian commander. General Li- 
 prandi, who reported that in the first of these imper- 
 fectly constructed redoubts, the Turks maintained 
 their post until 170 of them were killed, which does 
 not look much like a premature abandonment or 
 cowardice. Your own correspondent, another eye 
 witness, in his interesting description of the deeds of 
 that day, says that after this overwhelming attack, 
 ' the Turks fled in confusion towards the town, firing 
 their muskets at the enemy until they were lapped 
 by the Russian cavalry. Steel flashed in the air, and 
 down go the poor Moslem, quivering on the plain, 
 split through fez and musket-guard to the chin. 
 There was no support for them. It was evident the 
 Russians had been too quick for us.' I will now 
 ask, sir, what would an equal number of British or 
 French troops have done if placed in a similar posi- 
 tion ? They might have been made prisoners, which 
 must have been the inevitable result had they re- 
 mained, and it is possible their lives might have 
 been spared ; but the Turks, expecting no quarter 
 from their inveterate foes, and seeing no support 
 moving to their aid from their faithful allies, had no 
 alternative but that of seeking safety by flight. Are 
 they, then, the only parties to be blamed ? Are they 
 to be unjustly assailed by those allies for having 
 been thus exposed as enfans perdus to be over- 
 powered by their foes ?" 
 
 323 
 
LETTERS ON THE WAR.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 their officers, who were then out in face of 
 the enemy. The universal feeling is, that 
 a very severe example should be made of 
 this flagrant act of cowardice, the probable 
 results of which will be another hard-fought 
 battle, with a possibility of evacuating Balak- 
 lava! 
 
 The charge of the light brigade of cavalry 
 on the batteries of the enemy, some thirty 
 guns strong, though brilliantly and bravely 
 done, was most disastrous in its consequences 
 to that gallant and devoted band, for it seems 
 that out of 700 who went into the fray only 
 130 answered their roll when it was over; 
 and it appears to have been done under a 
 misapprehension of an order from the com- 
 mander-in-chief. Lord Cardigan pointed 
 out to his superior officer the immense diffi- 
 culty of charging a battery, flanked by 
 another, into a sort of cul de sac, with the 
 hills lined with rifles and guns ; but, receiving 
 the positive order to charge, at it he and his 
 splendid brigade went, and as they approached 
 within a few hundred yards of the big bat- 
 tery a shell burst close to him, and struck 
 Captain Nolan in the chest, which caused 
 the poor fellow to scream awfully, and his 
 horse turned and galloped to the rear, when 
 his gallant but impetuous rider was found 
 lying dead. The light brigade still kept 
 sweeping on till they were right in front of 
 them, when a 32-pounder went off within 
 two feet of Lord Cardigan's horse, quite 
 lifting him off the ground, but he got in 
 among them, and was, where he always will 
 be when it comes to the point, in the first 
 rank. It seems they rode right through the 
 guns and turned, after killing the men who 
 were serving them. His lordship's extra 
 aide-de-camp, it is supposed, was wounded 
 and taken prisoner, for he has not since 
 been heard of. Mr. Wombwell, of the 17th 
 lancers, had a most extraordinary escape, 
 showing a monstrous deal of pluck. His 
 horse was — it is said two were — shot under 
 him, and he was taken prisoner, but while 
 being marched off he saw an opportunity, 
 mounted a Russian's horse, and galloped 
 back, rejoining some of his brigade who had 
 re-formed, and charging again without sword 
 or pistol. Mr. Cook, of the 11th, also had 
 a regular run for his life of a mile and a-half, 
 pursued by the Russian cavalry, to avoid 
 whom he ran under range of the guns of one 
 of their batteries, and finally escaped. Major 
 Clarke, of the grays, in addition to a bad cut 
 in the neck, had his horse's tail almost cut 
 off by a sabre cut ; and I hear the gallant 
 334 
 
 Adjutant Miller, an unusually powerful man, 
 did extraordinary execution when he got to 
 close quarters with them. 
 
 Lord Cardigan was attacked by two Cos- 
 sacks, who with their lances gave him several 
 pricks, and rather staggered him in his 
 saddle ; but his lordship being well mounted, 
 and a good cross-country rider, and, more- 
 over, as cool as brave men ever are in real 
 danger, parried their thrusts, and escaped 
 with the aforesaid lance pricks in his leg. 
 
 Oct. 26th. — To-day a number of wounded 
 were sent on board different ships in Balak- 
 laya harbour, and a most mournful sight it 
 was to see the poor fellows carried down on 
 stretchers, some minus a leg, others an arm ; 
 one with his face battered to pieces, another 
 with a sabre cut at the back of his head. 
 To-day the Russians were hovering round 
 in large force, and it was fully expected that 
 an attack would be made on Balaklava. I 
 went to the top of the hills, near our marine 
 battery, and could distinctly see them bring- 
 ing guns up to a village about a mile off, while 
 numerous Cossacks kept wandering about, 
 keeping a sharp look-out for stragglers, the 
 main body of the Russians being round the 
 battery which they took yesterday, but they 
 did not during the day make any attack. 
 However, a very smart sortie was made upon 
 Sir De Lacy Evans' brigade from Sebastopol, 
 which was, in half-an-hour, sent flying back, 
 with a loss of some 300 killed and wounded. 
 Most of the transports were got out of the 
 harbour to-day ; and on the morning of the 
 27th, the Sanspareil, Tribune, Sphinx, and 
 Arrow came round from the fleet to go in 
 and protect the town, should the Russians 
 succeed in forcing the position now occupied 
 by our marines, the 93rd, &c. The men-of- 
 war, by being placed across the harbour, 
 can command the whole of the valley, and 
 effectually prevent any approach of cavalry. 
 Lieutenant-commander Jolliffe has been for 
 some time in his gun-boat, the ArroV}, at 
 Eupatoria, which place is kept constantly on 
 the alert by the Cossacks who hover round ; 
 a large party of them were pointed out to 
 the Arrow, and, though they considered 
 themselves well out of range. Lieutenant 
 Jolliffe managed to plump a shot at 3,400 
 yards right in among them, killing, as they 
 were informed next day by a Turk, some 
 sixteen, and so astonishing the rest as to 
 cause them to bolt from the proximity of 
 such terribly long shots. 
 
 The Himalaya is just ordered off to Varna 
 for stores and troops, and to return to the 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letteks on the war. 
 
 fleet. Verily, this noble ship is kept well up 
 to her work. 
 
 From an artillery officer : — 
 
 In front of Sebastopol, Oct. 27th. 
 
 The partial success of the Russians at 
 Balaklava on the 25th, emboldened them 
 yesterday to make an attack on our front 
 (that of the second division), on the ex- 
 treme right of the allied position. At about 
 twelve o'clock we were ordered up to the 
 front, and it soon appeared that the Rus- 
 sians were advancing in force — in masses of 
 columns, as they always move. Our field- 
 battery got up into position on the brow of 
 the hill opposite to that over which the 
 Russians were advancing. We were just in 
 the nick of time, and peppered them most 
 thoroughly. They brought up a field-battery, 
 which opened on us, and fired about twenty 
 rounds, after which the battery seemed to 
 find our fire too hot, and limbered up and 
 retired. We continued to fire on the enemy's 
 columns as long as they were within range ; 
 but they could not face it long, and our 
 infantry went in at them in splendid style, 
 and finished them off. We took a good 
 many prisoners, and the enemy's loss in 
 killed and wounded was considerable, though 
 I have not heard from any authentic source 
 what it was. The loss of the second division 
 was sixty-five (perhaps this number is cor- 
 rectly stated, and the official return of 
 eighty-two includes the losses in the first 
 division, which came to the support of the 
 second) in killed and wounded. The on dit 
 is, that the sortie was headed by Prince 
 Mentschikoff himself. I met our chief. Sir 
 De Lacy Evans, as I was taking our battery 
 back to the camp. This afiair is a slight 
 set-off against that of Balaklava of the day 
 before. 
 
 We are now getting fresh meat again, 
 which is a great boon, and we all feel much 
 better for the change. I have had my pack- 
 horse and kit all through the campaign. In 
 this respect, and in being always able to 
 carry their tents, the artillery have a great 
 puU over other corps. 
 
 I cannot say much in favour of my stud 
 as to condition, though in numbers it is very 
 flourishing. I have got three ponies and an 
 Arab J but, except the Arabs, which keep 
 their condition wonderfully, all the nags are 
 looking more like greyhounds than horses. 
 One of my ponies is a Russian, captured at 
 Balaklava; another, my government pack 
 pony ; and the third I picked up for £1 at a 
 
 TOL. I. +3 V 
 
 sale in Bulgaria. The Arab that I originally 
 had fell lame of ringbone, and I have now got 
 a very good beast, an iron-gray, very good- 
 looking, standing only fourteen hands two 
 inches, and compactly built. He makes an 
 admirSCble charger, and is as steady as a 
 rock under fire, which is everything to me 
 now. I have been out on picket all day 
 with a demi-battery, and, having to turn out 
 again at two in the morning, it is now high< 
 time for me to turn in. 
 
 Prom a soldier of the 68th : — 
 
 Heights above Sebastopol, Oct. 24th. 
 
 We are now encamped on the heights 
 overlooking Sebastopol, and have been firing 
 shot, shell, and rockets into it as fast as we 
 can, but with very little result; for it is a 
 very strong place, with a very powerful army 
 and numberless guns, which are played upon 
 us night and day, though, thank God, they 
 have done us very little harm, but I have no 
 doubt that before it is taken there wiU be a 
 great many lives lost ; and, besides so strong 
 a garrison in front, we have to contend 
 with a numerous army behind, the remnant 
 of that army defeated at the Alma on the 
 20th of September, of which you have heard 
 a more correct statement than what I have 
 time to give you, through the medium of 
 the newspapers. On the 25th instant we 
 had to turn out in all haste, for the Rus- 
 sians in our rear had attacked and taken 
 two of the batteries belonging to the sleepy 
 Turks, and they retired from their works, , 
 leaving their guns loaded, to be spiked by the 
 Russians without firing a single shot. We, 
 of course, work and retake the batteries, 
 but with a very severe loss of' our brave 
 cavalry, for we lost about 700 men and a. 
 great number of horses, but very few in- 
 fantry; the artillery suffered very much, 
 and the cavalry regiments are very nearly all 
 cut up. It is a very easy thing to talk of 
 war, but it is a very different thing to take 
 a part in it, or to view the field after it is all 
 over — to see the mangled bodies lying in all 
 directionSj their limbs torn and broken to 
 pieces, and some of them obliged to remain 
 in the fields for some days before they can 
 be attended to. But in all these affairs the 
 Russians have suffered by far the most ; and 
 on the 26th, a party of from 6,000 to 8,000 . 
 endeavoured to make their escape from 
 Sebastopol, but were soon found out and a 
 great many killed, with about 800 prisoners, 
 and the rest made good their retreat. But 
 I can assure you it is a very hard duty, for 
 
 325 
 
LETTERS ON THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 ■we have not been undressed for more than 
 two months, nor can we take off our boots ; 
 and we were a very long time without tents, 
 so that we had to sleep in the open air 
 without any covering but one blanket and a 
 great-coat, and we are very often for four or 
 five nights together without any sleep, and at 
 very hard work in the trenches, or watching 
 the enemy while others work. The weather 
 has been very favourable to our cause ever 
 since we landed in Russia. If the winter or 
 wet season sets in it will very soon thin our 
 ranks, and we must abandon the enterprise. 
 But I must leave off talking about war, 
 and turn to something else. I hear that the 
 division of the army to which our regiment 
 belongs, after the war is over, is to proceed 
 to England J if so, and I should survive, I 
 shall endeavour to come home once more, 
 and shall hope, by God's blessing, to see 
 you all well again, when I am free from the 
 din of war and the roar of cannon; for, 
 while I am writing these few lines, which 
 I am obliged to do while sitting on the 
 ground, the Russians are throwing shot 
 and shell at us as fast as they can, and 
 also on our men, and no signs of a finish. 
 But I must request you to remember me 
 kindly to all my friends — perhaps for the 
 last time; but I trust in God to see you 
 all again. 
 
 From a dragoon of the heavy brigade : — 
 Camp, Balaklava, near Sebastopol, Oct. 37th. 
 
 You say you Lear nothing of our regiment ; 
 well, I will tell you something about it. In 
 the first place, in coming from Varna across 
 the Black Sea, we were overtaken by a most 
 awful storm and gale of wind. Our vessel, 
 the Wilson Kennedy, went .on her beam ends, 
 and the stabling gave way, all the horses 
 were thrown over to one side of the ship, 
 and, in one horrid ■:iight, 100 of them kicked 
 and worried each other to death ; and there 
 we were for two nights and days fastened 
 down with 100 dead and dying horses ; we 
 only saved eleven out of our ship, and on 
 the third day we threw 101 overboard. We 
 were eight days all but a wreck, beating 
 about the Black Sea, and had to go back to 
 Constantinople after all, at which place they 
 put us on board a steamer, and landed 
 us in the Crimea; and now, indeed, our 
 work has begun. We are protecting the 
 rear, while the besiegers are attacking the 
 town. The whole of the cavalry are en- 
 camped on an open plain surrounded by 
 hills and mountains, and we have, indeed, 
 326 
 
 plenty cut out for us. Over these hills 
 there are thousands of Cossacks and a large 
 Russian army who are trying to get up to 
 Sebastopol, and it is our duty to keep them 
 back; they are constantly coming down 
 upon us, and we have had some severe 
 struggles, but they have not the " pluck" of 
 Englishmen; for, though we are far inferior 
 in numbers, we always beat them back. We 
 are in the saddle night and day. I can't 
 tell how long it is since I was undressed ; I 
 only know that it has been so long that I 
 have forgotten it. The worst affair we had 
 was the day before yesterday. At daybreak 
 the enemy appeared and advanced, and in 
 such numbers that they took from the Turks 
 two of their batteries, and turned the guns 
 upon us. We were obliged to retreat out of 
 range of the guns ; and this so elated the 
 enemy that they actually had courage enough 
 to come into the open field with us. Three 
 regiments of their cavalry tried to gain pos- 
 session of the highlanders' (93rd) position, 
 and charged them, but they had not time 
 to repent, for they went down like cut corn ; 
 what was left of them turned and fled, and 
 we pursued them over their own hills ; here 
 they were reinforced by three more regi- 
 ments of cavalry, including Nicholas's crack 
 imperial guards. There were the grays and 
 first royals up at this time, and we charged 
 them — they had nothing else for it, so they 
 charged at the same time. Oh God ! I 
 cannot describe it; they were so superior in 
 numbers that they "outflanked'^ us, and we 
 were in the middle of them. I never cer- 
 tainly felt less fear in my life than I did at 
 that time, and I hope God will forgive me, 
 for I felt more like a devil than a man. We 
 fought our way out of them as only English- 
 men can fight ; and the 4th, 5th, and 6th 
 were there up with us. I escaped without 
 a scratch, thank God, though I was covered 
 with blood ; my horse was not even wounded ; 
 but, oh ! the work of slaughter that then 
 began — 'twas truly awful; but I suppose it 
 was necessary : we cut them down like 
 sheep, and they did not seem to have power 
 to resist. The plain is covered with dead 
 Russians, and of course we left some of our 
 poor comrades on the field. We only lost 
 two, and about seven wounded. Well, when 
 we had finishbd this lot, we thought oi 
 going home to breakfast; but, no; they 
 (the enemy) had some guns over the hills 
 that Lord Raglan sent word were to be 
 charged and captured at any cost. So off 
 we went again. They received us very 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the war. 
 
 quietly into their ground — Lord Lucan 
 leading the heavies, and Lord Cardigan the 
 light brigade. The light charged first this 
 time, took the guns, cut down the gunners, 
 and then, when they thought all was right, 
 they were met by thousands of Cossacks, 
 who had been in ambush. The royals, the 
 grays, the 4th, 5th, and 6th now charged 
 again. The butchering was repeated ; when 
 suddenly a cross front and rear fire opened 
 upon us from the hills — cannons, rifles, and 
 file firing. I cannot attempt to describe to 
 you the scene that ensued — balls, shells, and 
 rockets whizzing about our ears. The men 
 on the right and left of me were both killed 
 on the spot. We hacked our way out of it 
 as well as we could, but were obliged to 
 leave the guns. Colonel Yorke had his leg 
 broken, and all the officers in the front rank 
 were wounded. The heavy brigade have not 
 lost many men, but, sad to tell, out of about 
 800 of the light brigade that went into the 
 field, only 400 came out ; but this is nothing 
 to what the enemy suffered. 
 
 The following is said to be from an officer 
 of distinction : — 
 
 Camp, near Balaklava, Oct. 27th. 
 
 You will be glad to hear I am alive after 
 our tremendous affair of the 25th. We 
 were ordered to charge some Russian bat- 
 teries and cavalry, and the light brigade 
 went down, the 17th. and 13th leading in 
 Hue ; the 11th were ordered to hang a little 
 back as a support, and the 4th and 8th fol- 
 lowed, in a sort of third line. We aU knew 
 chat the thing was desperate before we 
 started, and it was even worse than we 
 thought. In our front, about a mile and 
 a-half off, were several lines of Russian 
 cavalry and nine guns ; to get at which we 
 had to pass along a wide valley, with the 
 ground a little falling, and in itself favour- 
 able enough for a charge of cavalry; but 
 the sloping hills on each side gave the 
 enemy an opportunity (which they used) of 
 placing guns on both our flanks as we ad- 
 vanced ; and not only guns, but infantry, 
 with Minie rifles. 
 
 However, there was no hesitation ; down 
 our fellows went at the gallop, through a 
 fire in front and on both flanks, which 
 emptied our saddles and knocked over our 
 horses by scores. I do not think that one 
 man flinched in the whole brigade, though 
 every one allows that so hot' a fire was 
 hardly ever seen. We went right on, cut 
 down the ganners at their guns (the Rus- 
 
 sians worked the guns till we were within 
 ten yards of them) ; went on still, broke a 
 line of cavalry in rear of the guns, and drove 
 it back on the third line. But here our 
 bolt was shot; the Russians formed four 
 deep, and our thin and broken ranks and 
 blown horses could not attempt to break 
 through them, particularly as the Russian 
 cavalry had got round our flanks, and were 
 prepared to charge our rear with fresh men. 
 We broke back through them, however, and 
 then had to run the gauntlet through the 
 cross-fire of artillery and Minie rifles back 
 to our own lines, with their cavalry hanging 
 on our flank. The heavy brigade, which 
 had made a good charge of its own in the 
 morning, covered our coming out of action, 
 and lost some men from the artillery. 
 
 There is no concealing the thing — the 
 light brigade was greatly damaged, and for 
 nothing ; for, though we killed the gunners 
 and the horses of nine 12-pounders, we could 
 not bring them away. Nolan (who brought 
 the order) is dead. The first shell that 
 burst hit him in the breast. He gave a loud 
 cry, his horse turned, trotted back (with him 
 still in the saddle) between the first and 
 second squadrons of the 13th, and carried 
 him so for some way, when he fell dead. 
 He was hit in the heart. In the two lead- 
 ing regiments, including Lord Cardigan 
 (who led in person) and his staff, we had 
 nineteen officers. Only three came out of 
 action untouched both man and horse ; all ^ 
 the others were killed, wounded, or pri- 
 soners, or had their horses hurt. The 17th 
 had no field-officers, but five captains. They 
 came out of action commanded by the 
 junior captain, I believe. Morris is severely 
 wounded ; Winter is supposed to be killed ; 
 Webb is shot through the thigh; White 
 through the leg ; Thompson is supposed to 
 be killed, &c. One of Lord Cardigan's aides- 
 de-camp is wounded — Maxse; the other, 
 Lockwood, is missing, and supposed to be 
 killed. We have lost about 335 horses (ex- 
 clusive of officers' horses), out of a little 
 more than 600 which we (the light brigade) 
 had in the field. Besides that, a great 
 number are wounded with gunshot wounds, 
 and about twenty-five have already been 
 
 destroyed, and more will It 
 
 was a bitter moment after we broke through 
 the line of cavalry in rear of their guns 
 when I looked round and saw there was no 
 support beyond our own brigade, which, 
 leading in the smoke, had diverged and 
 scarcely filled the ground. We went ouj 
 
 327 
 
LETTERS ON THE WAR.! 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 however, and hoped that their own men fly- 
 ing would break the enemy's line and drive 
 them into the river. When I saw them 
 form four deep instead, I knew it was " all 
 up," and called out to the men to rally. 
 At this moment a solitary squadron of the 
 8th came up in good order. This saved the 
 remnant of us ; for we rallied to them, and 
 they, wheeling about, charged a line which 
 the Russians had formed in our rear. You 
 never saw men behave so well as our men 
 did. As we could not hold our ground, all 
 our dead and badly wounded were left be- 
 hind, and we know not who are dead or who 
 are prisoners. All this makes me miserable, 
 even to write; but it is the naked truth. 
 Our loss in men is not so great as that in 
 horses ; for men whose horses were shot in 
 the advance got back on foot. I hear from 
 a man who dined with Lord Raglan to-day 
 that they do us justice at head-quarters, and 
 say that our attack was an unheard-of feat 
 at arms, and that Lord Raglan says that the 
 moral effect has been wonderful. The Rus- 
 sian prisoners, since taken at Sebastopol, 
 say that the Russians were petrified at the 
 audacity of the attack, and the energy that 
 could, after such a fire, break through their 
 lines. These prisoners were taken in a very 
 successful affair by Sir De Lacy Evans, who 
 is a first-rate division leader. 
 
 The following letter was received from a 
 voung man, once a member of the choir of 
 singers at Rye church, and, at the date of 
 this communication, with a medical gentle- 
 man in the Crimea : — 
 
 Camp, near Sebastopol, Oct. 22nd, 1854. 
 
 Dear Father and Mother, — I received 
 your kind letter (the date of which I have 
 quite forgotten, but no matter), and am 
 very much obliged to you for it, although I 
 had to pay 1*. id. for it. There being two 
 blue stamps on it there must have been 
 some mistake ; the address was quite right, 
 and the same as before, but it is of no con- 
 sequence. I dare say you are anxious about 
 my safety after this famous battle. Thank 
 God I am safe and sound, though J have 
 had to rough it most deuced hard, some- 
 times marching all day with nothing but a 
 bit of dry biscuit and a little water, sleeping 
 in the open air with only my blanket. We 
 were not allowed to carry anything but 
 what we stood upright in, and a blanket ; 
 but I am not going to pester you with my 
 hardships till I come home, which I hope 
 will not be long first. I dare say you have 
 328 
 
 read all about the battle of the Alma ; it was a 
 fearful sight — it made me tremble I can teU 
 you ; I was close to it, so close that I was 
 obliged to retreat ; the balls came whizzing 
 about pretty thick. I dare say you and 
 mother have been scolding, and thinking it 
 very unkind of me not writing ; but the fact 
 is I have no paper, nor should I have any 
 now, if Ned's friend (Mr. Roe) had not 
 come out. Please to tell Ned he sends his 
 kind respects to him, but he is very unwell. 
 One of the four that came out from the 
 Tower, by the name of Smith, died of the 
 cholera shortly after his arrival. I have 
 suffered many privations and much fatigue ; 
 but, never mind, a clear conscience, and 
 keep the Cossacks away, and I can sleep on 
 the turf as well as any of them. I have had 
 a pretty rough specimen of it, but stay till I 
 get into that great arm-chair of yours, with a 
 long pipe, and a little of that which I have 
 been so long a stranger to, and I shall have 
 a yarn to spin that will surprise you. What 
 a treat a piece of pudding would be, or a 
 piece of white bread that I used to grumble 
 at sometimes. I have given a shilling for a 
 twopenny loaf because I should not lose the 
 taste of it. TeU mother I shall want a stun- 
 ning beef-pudding, with all the vegetables 
 in season. This is the seventh day of the 
 siege of Sebastopol. It is a fearfully strong 
 place. You recollect taking me to see a 
 review at Woolwich one time. Well, just 
 fancy fifty of them together, and you will 
 then have some idea of the bombardment of 
 Sebastopol. I am quite sick and tired of 
 the continual roar from morning to night, 
 day after day. I shall be glad when it is 
 over. There is a tremendous lot of Russians 
 lying dead about the fort in a putrefied 
 state ; it's an awful stench ; still they keep 
 battering away. Very few of ours got 
 wounded. Tuesday, 24th. — This is the 
 eighth day. Last night the town was on 
 fire with our red-hot shot in three places, 
 and is burning now. They expect in a day 
 or two, if they do not give in, we shall take 
 it at the point of the bayonet, which I hope 
 they wiU do, for it is pretty near time it 
 was over. I heard to-day there was a mail 
 in, so I hope there is a letter for me. Harry 
 was saying he had got a piece of a bomb- 
 shell. He should come out here ; he might 
 pick up shot, shell, grape, and canister 
 enough -to mend the roads from Whitechapel 
 to Stratford church. Wednesday, 25th, 
 ninth day of the siege. — Last night we had 
 a very rough night, wind and rain very 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the WAa. 
 
 heavy. To-day we were alarmed by the 
 enemy coming in our rear, a tremendous 
 lot of them. All our troops that can be 
 spared, the duke and all, are gone down to 
 Balaklava. The enemy have been trying to 
 get that place. They are not come back 
 yet, so I do not know the result. Ten o'clock, 
 A.M. — They have had a serious attack ; there 
 were about 24,000 of them, but they were 
 driven back with considerable loss, and we 
 have lost a great many cavalry and horses. 
 26th. This afternoon there has been another 
 battle fought in another direction; they 
 came out of Sebastopol, but they caught a 
 Tartar, for there was an awful slaughter; 
 above 1,000 of them killed, besides their 
 wounded ; so you see we are attacked on all 
 sides; but we do npt care, they generally 
 get a dressing. They begin to get sick of 
 this job, always getting the worst of it. I 
 went among them and got a pair of boots 
 belonging to an ofiBcer, and a little silver 
 locket with two saints inside, and one with 
 the Virgin Mary and our Saviour, and a 
 little c?;oss made of wood, all three tied to- 
 gether with a bit of string — rather a common 
 affair, but I shall bring them home ; also a 
 steel watch-key, the same as they wear upon 
 an Albert chain ; it fits my watch capitally ; 
 the boots are for wearing over the trowsers 
 — ^jack-boots; they come over my knees. 
 This is the tenth day of the bombardment, 
 and yet some of the papers say this town 
 has fallen ; they know more than I do who 
 am within gunshot of it, so you may con- 
 tradict it. 
 
 From an ofiBcer of the 1st royals to the 
 editor of the Times : — 
 
 Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 2nd. 
 
 I read an article in your paper of the 
 13th of October, relative to the sick and 
 wounded men of this army. What you 
 stated there was all true, but not half the 
 truth. Hundreds of our disabled soldiers 
 died of their wounds for want of medical 
 aid, not because they were neglected here, 
 but because there was not in the battle-field 
 half the number of surgeons required for 
 the work. They were cutting, and carving, 
 and amputating all night, yet could not 
 attend to all. Riding over the battle-field 
 on the 21st, I met with an old sergeant 
 lying behind a wall at the village, and asked 
 him how he was getting on, and if he had 
 been much hurt? "Yes, sir (he said), I 
 am badly wounded, and have been here for 
 twenty-three hours, waiting ray turn to be 
 
 dressed." I might mention many cases of 
 this kind — not to throw reflection on any of 
 our medical men, but to point out the ne- 
 cessity, in a great war like this, of having 
 that part of our army more efl&cient. As it 
 is, I must complain, in humanity, that it is 
 not only defective, but all hospital comforts 
 are most miserably limited. Everyone here 
 knows well how many poor fellows died on 
 board ship, on their way to Scutari, for 
 want of aid. in this way, and how they were 
 cast overboard in scores every day like sand- 
 bags, and how they were put into pits by 
 dozens when they got there. It is impos- 
 sible for one medical ofiBcer to attend, on 
 an average, to 250 sick and wounded daily. 
 These gentlemen performed their melan- 
 choly duties with zeal, humanity, and per- 
 severance ; but their numbers were twenty- 
 five per cent, below t"he multitude of patients. 
 Sebastopol has yet to be taken, and there 
 will be many casualties. It is a fortress 
 notorious for its strength, as it will be for 
 its defence; and where is the increased 
 medical department to come from ? Scutari 
 hospitals, crowded still, cannot spare any. 
 At that station, I am just told by a staff- 
 ofificer come up here that they are crowded, 
 and that the ofifensive smell inside and out- 
 side is most disgusting, and would sicken 
 the heart of any one not acquainted with 
 such scenes. No man at the head of an 
 army could be more kind and considerate in 
 the sense of every duty and attention to his 
 troops than Lord Raglan, but he cannot 
 supply this medical deficiency. Time flies, 
 and the siege progresses slowly, but surely, 
 and the weather gets bitterly cold, such 
 weather as in England would be welcome in 
 November ; but in England there are fires 
 and light, and houses to live in, and clubs 
 aud dinner parties, where people talk of the 
 Crimea as a land of milk and honey ; so far 
 as we know and have seen, and have expe- 
 rienced, it is a bleak, barren, stony, hill 
 country, with not a single feature to recom- 
 mend it, a cold north piercing wind blowing 
 into our canvas dwellings day and night, 
 the great city in our front, and a Russian 
 army of 25,000 or 30,000 men three miles 
 in our rear, so that we are ever on the alert, 
 and seldom indeed do our men get one 
 whole night under their blankets. There is 
 a great scarcity of fuel, nothing, indeed, of 
 the kind but what the men can grub up of 
 roots and twigs from stunted oak, to boil 
 their kettles, and green bushes make but a 
 sorry fire. Yet there is no complaint, ex- 
 
 329 
 
LETTERS ON THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 18o4. 
 
 cepting-, indeed, that they do swear at their 
 ration of green coffee, the raw berry, to 
 roast and grind as best they can ! Tea is 
 always most acceptable, and they like it 
 next to their rum, which ration is liberal, 
 and keeps up the heart and spirit in the 
 long nights of out-post duty in the trenches. 
 The officers are no better off; they live on 
 their rations, and complain of nothing but 
 "that rascally double income-tax,^' which 
 prevents many from indulging in some few 
 luxuries that may be obtained at times from 
 the ships, but at a price beyond their means. 
 "What did you get in Balaklava?" I 
 asked an old officer to-day. "Nothing," 
 he said, quietly; "I don't consider myself 
 justified in paying those sharks 100 per cent, 
 profit for their good things while I have my 
 family at home, two boys at school, and 
 labouring here with a double income-tax on 
 my back, where a man's life is not worth a 
 day's purchase!" His remark was unan- 
 swerable. The cavalry tournament which 
 came off on the 25th of last month in the 
 valley of Balaklava was a brilliant affair as 
 regards the valour and power of our horse 
 over the Cossacks ; our charge was irresisti- 
 ble; our dragoons were more than a match 
 for five times their number. But what 
 cavalry could stand against a Cross-fire of 
 two batteries ? At one battery the Russians 
 were cut down at their guns, but our people 
 were too dashing, and never ought to have 
 advanced without support. All this oc- 
 curred in consequence of the Turks aban- 
 doning their post and flying from their 
 guns. Our dragoons — officers and men — 
 fought bravely, nobly. Many a Cossack's 
 head was cleft in two by the British sabre, 
 and many a bridle-arm hung by the bloody 
 sleeve, never to draw another sword in any 
 cause ; and many who wore the hussar blue 
 embroidered jacket of the czar lay in a bath 
 of his own blood on the gray, cold, sod ; 
 never was a sight more grand than, from the 
 brow of this great arena, to look down and 
 see this bloody charge. Our loss was great, 
 and much to be lamented; that of the 
 enemy was five times more. On the follow- 
 ing day their infantry and guns attacked 
 our right, , but they were repulsed with 
 heavy loss on their side, retiring whence 
 they came minus, in killed and wounded, 
 some 600 men in an hour or two. 
 
 The French are working well on our left. 
 
 They have got a fine battery within 400 
 
 yards of the town, and two parallels still in 
 
 advance to 150 yards, ftdl of sharpshooters. 
 
 330 
 
 They have been pounding at us now for 
 thirty-five days, and we have been whacking 
 at them for seventeen days in return for their 
 incivility, and it may be another fortnight 
 before we gain the city. Have it we must, 
 but they are very strong, and full of re- 
 sources ; they open some new battery every 
 day; and it is impossible to get at their 
 ships. Indeed, the whole place is so strong, 
 so full of deep ravines, and batteries, and 
 obstacles, it requires great judgment and 
 caution. There is no rest for any one, day 
 or night. They opened such a fire at three 
 o'clock this morning as few people ever 
 heard, and kept blazing away till daylight, 
 expecting, no doubt, that we were about to 
 assault the place ; but we are not ready. 
 
 From a non-commissioned officer in the 
 1st royals : — 
 
 Camp, Balaklava, Oct. 36th. 
 
 Through God's mercy I have been saved 
 from one of the most horrible engagements 
 that ever British soldiers were sent into. 
 But, before I proceed further, let me ac- 
 knowledge the receipt of your kind letter 
 of the 7th inst., which I received this morn- 
 ing. I have not as yet received the news- 
 paper, but I dare say I shall get it to- 
 morrow, as it takes a long time to sort 
 them. Well, to proceed. I informed you 
 in my last that we were mounted and under 
 arms every morning a little after three, as 
 we were constantly expecting an attack 
 from the Russians, who have been largely 
 reinforced; so yesterday morning we were, 
 as- usual, drawn up opposite our encamp- 
 ment, while the general went to reconnoitre. 
 About half-past six, the guns (which had 
 been placed by us at commanding points at 
 the end of the plain which extends about 
 three miles from Balaklava, and near the 
 village of Camara) began to open fire upon 
 the enemy, who were advancing in great 
 numbers. These guns were held by the 
 Turks. We advanced to the end of the 
 plain and within range of the Russian guns, 
 which began to play upon us in a very rapid 
 manner. A large 32-pound shot passed 
 through our squadron, breaking the legs of 
 two horses, and we soon began to think it 
 was time to move off, as in another minute 
 a ball struck a man right in the head, and, 
 of course, killed him instantly. Several 
 other casualties took place in the right 
 squadron, but I was too busily engaged with 
 my own lot to take notice of all that passed. 
 I am sorry to say that the Turks gave way 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the war. 
 
 very soon, and the Russians sent up vast 
 columns, took the heights, drove the Turks 
 away, and, of course, captured all the guns 
 which had been placed there in the earth- 
 works. Our light field-guns were no match 
 for the immense artillery which the enemy 
 brought against us; besides, our artillery 
 began to suffer severely in men and horses. 
 As we were not supported by British infan- 
 try, of course we were obliged to retire, 
 which we did for about four miles, or about 
 one mile in the rear of our camp, having 
 ridden over all our tents and their contents. 
 There was half a regiment of highlanders 
 stationed near our camp on the left of seve- 
 ral thousand Turks, commanding the road 
 into the village of Balaklava. ' As we ex- 
 pected, the Russians advanced in great 
 force, the Cossacks skirmishing, and after 
 them about 2,000 regular cavalry. They 
 drove in the whole of the Turks, but, seeing 
 a body of infantry standing firm in line, 
 advanced in capital order to charge. They 
 advanced to within 300 yards of them, when 
 the highlanders poured in such a fire upon 
 them, that some dozens of saddles were soon 
 empty. It was now our turn ; the Russians 
 increased in great numbers, when we ad- 
 vanced. The grays and part of the Ennis- 
 killens were the first to meet them, and, to 
 do the enemy justice, they advanced in 
 much better order than we did ; but they 
 could not stand a moment the charge of the 
 British cavalry, for one squadron of the 
 grays upset a whole regiment of them. We 
 were soon at the support, and the enemy 
 retired, but not in confusion. I fully ex- 
 pected we should follow and charge them 
 again, as I am confident we could have 
 taken the whole of them prisoners, but, 
 marvellous to say, the order was given to 
 retire, and a more confused rabble was never 
 seen. However, the Russians retired beyond 
 the heights which they had won, and very 
 soon after our infantry began to arrive, as 
 the news had reached Lord Raglan of our 
 perilous state, and he sent the first and 
 fourth divisions to our aid, and I felt quite 
 comfortable as the guards and highlanders 
 came in. I never was so vexed in my life 
 to think that 3,000 Russian cavalry were 
 within the grasp of our small force, and our 
 commander allowing them to retire unmo- 
 lested. 
 
 Oct. 37th. — I could not write any more 
 yesterday, as we were constantly on the 
 look-out, expecting the enemy to attack us, 
 I will now go on with my horrible narrative 
 
 of the doings of the eventful 25th of October. 
 As our infantry began to arrive at noon, we 
 again advanced to the heights which the 
 Russians had won, and which the Turks had 
 so shamefully abandoned. We could see 
 them bringing up immense reinforcements, 
 and their artillery quite outmatched our 
 light pieces. We advanced to the heights, 
 and got on the edge of a plain (or I may 
 call it a gorge), on the other side of the 
 heights, and there we rested, waiting for 
 orders, or for an opportunity to get at them 
 again, but the chance was lost. Now comes 
 the dreadful news. About two o'clock 
 Captain Nolan, who was one of Lord 
 Raglan's aides-de-camp, came galloping 
 down from Sebastopol, his horse quite 
 blown, and, as he rode past, he inquired 
 for Lord Lucan, who was close by. He 
 said : " It is Lord Raglan's order that you 
 force the enemy to retire ; there they are — 
 charge them." Lord Cardigan was imme- 
 diately ordered to charge with the light 
 brigade, who took them up in gallant style, 
 in two lines. They had to gallop, I should 
 say, upwards of a mile and a-half. We 
 were the next support, the grays on the 
 right of us, and the other heavy regiments 
 in our rear. The light brigade went so 
 rapidly, that we almost lost sight of them, 
 for a more horrible fire was never heard 
 than what was opened upon us. We were 
 actually under a cross-fire of thirty guns in 
 our front, and ten on each flank from the 
 heights. Just as we got under the cross-fire 
 I could see the remains of the light brigade 
 returning, scarcely a mounted man, and 
 dozens of poor fellows crawling along on 
 foot to the rear. Lord Lucan saw that a 
 great error had been committed, as we were 
 now under the fire of fifty heavy guns, and 
 just within range of the Russian riflemen, 
 who poured in their shot like hailstones. 
 We were, I should say, steady under this 
 horrible fire for upwards of half a minute, 
 and how a single man of us escaped is quite 
 a mystery. I cannot tell you all the casual- 
 ties, but, just as we were about to return. 
 
 Colonel Y got his leg shattered by a 
 
 shell ; Captain E •, Captain C , and 
 
 Mr. H got severe musket-wounds. I 
 
 have every reason to be thankful to God 
 Almighty for my safe deliverance from such 
 
 a horrible scene. R 's horse was shot 
 
 dead just on my right ; little trumpeter 
 
 S was severely shot on my left ; and a 
 
 young lad, named A , had his arm blown 
 
 off by a cannon-shot just in front of me. 
 
 331 
 
LETTBKS ON THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 In fact, the shot and shell from fifty pieces 
 of cannon, and supported by some tens of 
 thousands of infantry, and several thousand 
 cavalry, was too much for 1,300 cavalry. 
 So we were obliged to retire, which we did 
 without the least confusion, till we got just 
 out of range of their guns. But I should 
 here observe, a regiment of French cavalry 
 had opportunely arrived, and charged the 
 batteries on the left heights, and forced the 
 Russians to take their guns from that point, 
 so that the poor royals were saved the loss 
 of many other poor fellows. I cannot tell 
 you the number of killed men or wounded, 
 either in our own or any other regiment; 
 but no doubt a complete list will be pub- 
 lished in due time : but this I can say, that, 
 after that fatal charge, the light brigade did 
 not bring 100 men out of action, who went 
 upwards of 800 into action. They behaved 
 most gallantly; they charged through the 
 immense battery of thirty guns in front, cut 
 down every gunner, and took nearly the 
 whole of the guns, but they were then 
 exposed to the fire of several immense 
 squares of infantry, and were, I may say, 
 almost totally destroyed. I never saw poor 
 Lord Cardigan in such a way in my life ; 
 he only obeyed orders, and how he escaped, 
 God alone knows. Poor Captain Nolan, 
 who brought the fatal order to advance, was 
 immediately afterwards killed by a large 
 shell striking him in the breast. Our loss 
 has been immense ; and I could not attempt, 
 nor would I wish, to describe the horrible 
 sights which I saw on the field that day ; 
 but if it should please God to spare me to 
 return to you, many a long tale of horror I 
 shall be able to describe. We retired just 
 out of range of their guns, and we then dis- 
 mounted, as some of our infantry had ad- 
 vanced, with the rifles in front, and a rein- 
 forcement of French at the same time arrived 
 on our left. It was now getting towards 
 nightfall, and neither men nor horses had 
 tasted food or water the whole day. Little 
 
 W , just at this time, came up from our 
 
 camp with a load of corn for the horses and 
 some biscuit and runl for the men, which 
 refreshed them very much ; and, as it was 
 
 now getting dark, L and I made a fire 
 
 and boiled a drop of water in a mess tin and 
 made some tea, which much refreshed us. 
 
 T and L escaped. N had his 
 
 horse shot from under him, and he has gone 
 to Scutari, as his health has been very bad 
 for some time past. Aboat nine o'clock we 
 made immense fires to deceive the enemy, 
 333 
 
 and, after posting a strong picket, we retired 
 to our lines, bu,t not to rest, as we had to 
 get up our picket poles, pack up our bag- 
 gage, and retire about another mile nearer 
 to Sebastopol, and it was twelve o'clock 
 before we could lie down that night, having 
 been under arms and mounted nearly twenty- 
 one hours. 
 
 From a soldier of the 4th dragoons : — 
 Camp, near Sebastopol, Oct. 26th. 
 
 My dear Parents, — I take the pleasure 
 (having stolen a few moments) to write 
 these few lines to inform you that I am, 
 God be thanked for it, enjoying good health, 
 after having been engaged in a hard-fought 
 battle with the Russians on the 25th of 
 October. I am, however, sorry to say that 
 a great many of my poor comrades met with 
 their death- wounds, but in an heroic manner. 
 The light dragoon regiments got a dreadful 
 cutting up, among which was my regiment 
 (the 4th light dragoons), the 17th lancers, 
 the 8th hussars, the 13th light, dragoons, 
 and the 11th hussars. Of the five regi- 
 ments just mentioned we can scarcely 
 muster what would complete our regiment. 
 My regiment (the 4th light dragoons) came 
 from England 300 strong, and now we have 
 not more than 100 left from deaths, from 
 sickness, and killed in battle. However, 
 what are left of us are all very thankful that 
 we have been so fortunate, after the great 
 hardships we have undergone since we left 
 old England. Oh ! how thankful I am ! 
 Dear parents, I am sorry I have not much 
 time now, as we expect every moment to go 
 and attack the enemy, who are in sight of 
 us. We gave them a great "slaughtering 
 yesterday, and at daybreak this morning 
 our big guns are at work slaughtering at 
 Sebastopol, which has been the case for the 
 last twelve days. A great many of the Rus- 
 sian artillery soldiers, together with many of 
 the townspeople, have been killed, and the 
 town set on fire. Dear mother, do not 
 alarm yourself about me; I have a good 
 opinion I shall see you again. I shall 
 never forget the 25th of October — shells, 
 bullets, cannon-balls, and swords kept flying 
 all around us. I escaped them all, except a 
 slight scar on my nose from the bursting of 
 a shell, and a slight touch on the shoulder 
 from a cannon-ball, after it had killed one 
 of our horses ; but, God be thanked, it did 
 not disable me. The Russians fight hard 
 and well, but we will make them yield yet. 
 Dear mother, every time I think of my poor 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the war. 
 
 comrades it makes my blood run cold, to 
 think how we had to gallop over the poor 
 wounded fellows lying on the field of battle, 
 with anxious looks for assistance — what a 
 sickening scene ! In one part of the battle 
 I lost my horse, owing to the one in front 
 of me being shot dead, and my poor horse 
 fell over it, and I was unhorsed ; in getting 
 up my horse took fright and got from me ; 
 but, fortunately for me, I saw another that 
 some pcor fellow of the 8th hussars had 
 been killed from ; I mounted it in a moment 
 and was in the rank again. On our return 
 from the charge I got my own horse again ; 
 he had galloped to the camp, and, dear 
 parents, I was as glad when I saw him there 
 as if I had got half the world given to me. 
 Dear mother, after the battle of the Alma I 
 
 wrote to . I hope she got the letter. 
 
 Give my kindest love to her, as also to Mr. 
 Greenbank and poor Agnes, grandfather, 
 &c. I have not time to say more, as things 
 look rather queer, and as if we will soon be 
 engaged again with the enemy. I hope to 
 hear from you soon, and when I return to 
 old England, if God spare me, I will tell 
 you all. Corrie, from Pooley-bridge, and 
 Bob Mitchell, of Penrith Town-head, are 
 botti well. I often think of you, and I am 
 sure you daily pray for my safe return. 
 
 Tell to write to me. I will write 
 
 again, but it is hard work to get stamps 
 
 and paper. When I wrote to , after 
 
 the battle of the Alma, we had only lost 
 two men; but in this battle we have lost 
 the better half. But I keep in good heart. 
 We have hitherto thrashed the Russians, 
 and we shall do so again. 
 
 The following letter is from a corporal in 
 the 5th dragoon guards, one of the regiments 
 engaged in the battle of the 25th : — 
 
 Balaklava, Oct. 27th. 
 
 Dear Father and Mother, — I am glad to 
 tell you that we had an engagement with 
 the Russians on the 25th of this month. 
 We turn out in marching order every morn- 
 ing at four o'clock ; it is quite dark then, so 
 we stand to our horses till about one hour 
 after daylight, because we expected an attack 
 before this, as they have been gathering 
 their army about three miles from our camp 
 this last fortnight. They had before the 
 action 34,000 men. Well, on the morning 
 of the 35th, just as daylight was breaking, 
 the cannon commenced firing from our bat- 
 teries on the hills, and about seven o'clock 
 we advanced just opposite our batteries under 
 
 VOL. I. t2 X 
 
 the hill. We could not see our enemies; 
 but they kept firing at our artillery, and 
 shell was flying over our heads and dropping 
 all around us. Our artillery had to retire, 
 as they had no more ammunition ; so after 
 awhile the Turks started, left the batteries, 
 and ran down the hill as hard as ever they 
 could. Well, the enemy got possession of 
 our batteries, and we could see them bring- 
 ing their guns up the hill, and in a few 
 minutes the shot and shell were coming 
 pretty fast ; they were firing 6-pounders at 
 us, and we could see the balls coming ; we 
 shouted out, " Look out, boys \" They 
 came with such force against the ground 
 that they would rise and go for half-a-mile 
 before they would touch the ground again. 
 Us and the grays lost some horses there. 
 We had to retire out of the range of the 
 guns. We had no infantry up at the time, 
 except the highlanders, for the Turks had 
 all run away, so their cavalry came gallop- 
 ing over the hills. Some of them went to 
 attack the highlanders, who formed squares, 
 and popped them off nicely, so they retired 
 from them. In the meantime another lot 
 of cavalry came to attack us. I suppose 
 they thought we should run. At first we 
 thought they were our light brigade till 
 they got about twenty yards from us ; then 
 we saw the difference. We wheeled into 
 line. They stood still, and did not know 
 what to do. The charge sounded, and away 
 we went into the midst of them. Such 
 cutting and slashing for about a miuute, it 
 was dreadful to see; the rally sounded, but 
 it was no use — none of us would come away 
 until the enemy retreated ; then our fellows 
 cheered as loud as ever they could. When 
 we were in the midst of them my horse was 
 shot ; he fell, and got up again, and I was 
 entangled in the saddle ; my head and one 
 leg were on the ground. He tried to gallop 
 on with the rest, but fell again, and I managed 
 to get loose. While I was in that predica- 
 ment a Russian lancer was going to run me 
 through, and I could not help myself. Mac- 
 namara came up at the time, and nearly 
 severed his head from his body ; so, thank 
 God, I did not get a scratch. I got up, 
 and ran to where I saw a lot of loose horses ; 
 I got one belonging to one of the EnniskU- 
 lens, and soon was along with the regiment 
 again. When I had mounted again I saw 
 a Russian who had strayed from the rest ; 
 he rode up to try to stop me from joining 
 the regiment again. As it happened, I had 
 observed a pistol in the holster-pipe, so I 
 
 333 
 
LETTEJIS ON THE WAR.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 took it out, and shot him in the arm; he 
 dropped his sword, then I immediately rode 
 up to him and ran him through the body, 
 and the poor fellow dropped to the ground. 
 Lord Lucan said, when we charged, that we 
 were into them and the devil could not get 
 us away from them. Lord Raglan sent his 
 compliments to General Scarlett, and said 
 that the heavy brigade behaved gallantly. 
 We had two men killed — Corporal Taylor 
 was one, and Ealing was the other — and 
 fourteen wounded. In the evening they 
 wanted to give the light division a chance, 
 and sent them to retake the guns. The 
 poor fellows went, and not half of them 
 came back. The Donaly's are safe. We 
 expected an attack this morning, but they 
 did not advance. We expect to be engaged 
 to-morrow, but we don^t care a pin about 
 them as long as we have plenty of our 
 infantry. That day there was none there 
 but cavalry and artillery. I have no more 
 to say this time. 
 
 I remain, your affectionate son, 
 
 T. GouGH, 5th light dragoons. 
 
 The quaint orthography and simple lan- 
 guage of the following letter may, perhaps, 
 provoke a smile from the reader ; but, with 
 sensitive minds, the touching pathos of the 
 latter part of it may also excite a tear : — 
 Camp in front Sebastopol, Oct. 28th, 1854. 
 
 Dear Mother, — With great pleasure I 
 answer your most kind and welcome, but 
 troubled letter. Dear Mother, the news 
 you heard about Sebastopol being taken is 
 all false, it was only the battle of Alma 
 that we fought, and we had to Cross a river 
 up to our Arms while we were fighting ; the 
 English lost about 1,500 killed and wounded 
 altogether, and the French the same ; but 
 the Russians lost about 8,000. It took us 
 five days to bury their dead. Dear Mother, 
 I am sorry to tell you that poor George* got 
 shot in the leg above the knee, and was 
 forced to have his leg off at the thigh, and 
 his being so very weak from the hardships 
 that we have to go through it caused his 
 death in two days, but I was with him all 
 the time ; he died very happy, and wished 
 me to let you know that he died a honour to 
 his Country ; he felt that he was quite pre- 
 pared to die, and told me to bid you all his 
 last farewell until we'll meat in the Next 
 world, witch I hope we will altogether. 
 Dear Mother, I hope you wiU not frett any 
 more than you can help about it, for you 
 * A brother in the Soots Fusileer Guards. 
 334 
 
 have two Brave Sons in the Army yet, and 
 will take satisfaction for their poor Brother's 
 Death, if pleas God spairs their lives, which 
 I hope will. Dear Mother, I would have 
 wrote to you before about it, only I thought 
 that Sebastopool would, have been taken 
 before. Know we have been twelve days 
 trying to take it, and we cannot take it at 
 present, but I don't know much longer it 
 will last. Our regiment was in front of the 
 town on 2oth of this month ; we were lying 
 down behind bushes when about 3,000 Rus- 
 sians come out on the top of us. The 30th 
 Regiment was just behind us, and they 
 come up to help us, and such a thrashing 
 they never got in their lives before as they 
 got then; out of the 3,000 that came out 
 they had only 500 whent back. We killed 
 about 900 and wounded about 1,100, and 
 took 500 prisoners, witch we got great 
 praise for. The 30th regiment lost five men 
 killed and fifteen wounded, and, thank God ! 
 there was not a man in our Regiment touched. 
 Dear Mother, it would take me a week to 
 explain all the little battles that we have, but 
 our regiment is very lucky. We lost 101 in 
 the Battle of Alma, and that was on the 30th 
 of September, and we have been fighting 
 every day since, and our Regiment have not 
 lost a man, since whitch I pray to God for 
 his Assistance to us, and being on our side, 
 which I think He is. Before you get this 
 letter I think that Sebastopol will be blown 
 up in the hair, for they have it all laid with 
 powder ready ; but we don't know the day 
 it wiU be. Shallto sends his kind love to 
 you all as well as me, and he says you will 
 stair to see him come home soon with metals 
 on his breast, what some men that have beeoi 
 twenty-one years in the service cannot show. 
 Dear Mother, you must excuse the writing, 
 for I have the knapsacks for my table and 
 the ground for my Chair. I hope that you 
 will answer this letter as soon as you can, 
 and by that time I think that we will be in 
 quarters somewhere, for the weather is get- 
 ting to Cold in this Country for lying on 
 the Camp, and if we are settled in quarters 
 I will send you all the news I can about the 
 war, witch will make you stare to think 
 how men can go through it, and thank God 
 we have plenty to eat and drink. Poor 
 George's last words was : " Arthur, iny dear 
 Brother, be sure and write to poor Mother, 
 and tell her I die quite happy, and be sure 
 to always write to her to let her know how 
 you are getting on." He shook hands with 
 us both and kissed mc for you, and my 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the WAll. 
 
 Brother Shallto for his Brothers, and then 
 he went off quite easy. I saw him buried 
 and everything. . . . When you writes 
 please to send me a few Envelopes, as there 
 is none in this country, so I must conclude 
 with both our kind loves to you and All the 
 family, and still we remain, your most 
 affectionate and well-wishing sons, 
 Corp. Arthur and Private Shallto DtTFr, 
 55th Regiment of Foot. 
 
 The following, from a sergeant, was pub- 
 lished in the Sunderland Times : — 
 
 British Camp, Crimea, Oct. 37th. 
 
 My dear Mother,— The siege of Sebas- 
 topol is now going on. We opened fire at 
 half-past six o'clock on the morning of the 
 17th of this month, and I am happy and 
 proud in stating that I had the extreme 
 pleasure of firing the first shot at the enemy's 
 works from our land batteries, being in 
 command of No. 1 gun, a 24-pounder, on 
 the right of the left attack. I first received 
 the order to fire, when bang went an iron 
 messenger, of twenty-four pound weight, 
 right into the enemy's works, and after it 
 nearly forty more, from the guns in our 
 battery J and then, by the "powers," did 
 not the Russians send their shot and shell 
 into us ! Ay, as thick as hail they flew over 
 us; and what from the thundering of the 
 guns — all very large ones — and the whistling 
 of the shot and shell, as well as the explo- 
 sion of the latter, which threw their broken 
 contents whistling into the air, believe me, it 
 was perfectly deafening; my ears whistled 
 and sang for days after, and at times I could 
 not speak for it. Well, although they served 
 us out with a plentiful supply of iron hail, 
 we gave them as good a supply back again, 
 vrith much better effect, as every shot we 
 fired told upon their fortifications or the 
 town. . . . About ten o'clock we had 
 silenced several of their guns. We have 
 been most fortunate in killed and wounded, 
 only having lost one captain, who had the 
 top part of his head taken away by a round 
 shot, and two gunners, who died of their 
 wounds. There are three or four broken 
 arms, and a few cuts and bruises, but all 
 very trifling. On the right attack they 
 have had about forty killed and wounded. 
 The first day, from our battery, 3,400 shot 
 and shell were fired into the Russian works. 
 We are beating them on all sides, and it is 
 expected that the fortress of Sebastopol will 
 soon be ours. The English and French 
 fleets bombarded the forts on the first day, 
 
 but they have done nothing since. A Rus- 
 sian army of about thirty or thirty-five 
 thousand men, marched over the heights to 
 the relief of Sebastopol, but they were met 
 by our troops and beaten. Great numbers 
 were killed and wounded on both sides, but 
 the Russians about ten to our one. The 
 fighting is now going on, only about one 
 mile distant from our camp. I am going 
 over to-day to see what I can of the field of 
 battle on the 25th inst. It is stated by the 
 people who got out of the town of Sebas- 
 topol, that both men, women, and children 
 are lying in the streets, killed by our bom- 
 barding it. We have set the town on fire 
 several times with red-hot shot. One of 
 our guns burst, the other day, while firing 
 hot shot — there were two killed and four 
 wounded. We have blown up several of the 
 Russian magazines, Upon the whole, the 
 Russians are very good artillerymen, but 
 they cannot come up to us. The whole 
 army is looking up to the siege artillery, 
 and as they pass us they say, " Go at her, 
 my lads, and good luck to you ! Pepper 
 into them, and we will soon take the town." 
 Fighting is nothing when you get used to it. 
 I think nothing of it. We go to the guns 
 with the same indifference as if we were 
 going to practice. Please God I will be at 
 home before long, and tell you more; and 
 you may rest assured that, before this letter 
 reaches you, we wiU be masters of Sebas- 
 topol, and levelled it to the ground. The 
 fire is going on now from both sides, al' 
 though it is nearly dark. 
 
 The following wild and dashing produc- 
 tion, the letter of a thorough soldier, one 
 who seems to love fighting for fighting's 
 sake, will be read with interest. It is from 
 a captain in the Enniskillen dragoons : — 
 Camp, near Balaklava, Nov. 2nd, 1854. 
 
 Dear Jack, — ... I am, you see, 
 alive at this date, but God knows for how long 
 after. You have, I presume, devoured all 
 the accounts which have been sent home as 
 to our glorious charge. Oh, such a charge ! 
 Never think of the gaUop and trot which 
 you have often witnessed in the Phcenix-park 
 when you desire to form a notion of a gen- 
 uine blood-hot, all mad charge, such as that 
 I have come out of — with a few lance prods, 
 minus some gold lace, a helmet chain and 
 brown Bill's (the charger's) right ear. From 
 the moment we dashed at the enemy, whose 
 position, and so forth, you doubtless know 
 as much about as I can tell you, I knew 
 
 335 
 
i,lSTTEJlS ON THE WAR.j 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854.. 
 
 nothing, but that I was impelled by some 
 irresistible force onward, and by some in- 
 visible and imperceptible influence to crash 
 ei'ery obstacle which stumbled before my 
 good sword and brave old charger. I never 
 in my life experienced such a sublime sen- 
 sation as in the moment of the charge. 
 Some fellows talk of it being " demoniac." 
 I know this, that it was such as made me a 
 match for any two ordinary men, and gave 
 me such an amount of glorious indifference 
 as to life, as I thought it impossible to be 
 master of. It would do your Celtic heart 
 good to hear the most magnificent cheer 
 with which we dashed into what P- 
 
 W calls "the gully scrimage." For- 
 ward — dash — bang — clank, and there we 
 were in the midst of such smoke, cheer and 
 clatter, as never before stunned a mortal's 
 ear. It was glorious ! Down, one by one, 
 aye, two by two, fell the thick-skulled and 
 over-numerous Cossacks and other lads of 
 the tribe of Old Nick. Down, too, alas ! fell 
 many a hero with a warm Celtic heart, and 
 more than one fell screaming loud for vic- 
 tory. I could not pause. It was all push, 
 wheel, frenzy, strike and down, down, 
 down they went. Twice I was unhorsed, 
 and more than once I had to grip my sword 
 tighter, the blood of foes streaming down 
 over the hUt, and running up my very 
 sleeve. Our old Waterloo comrades, the 
 grays, and ourselves, were the only fellows 
 who flung headlong first into the very heart 
 of the Muscoves. Now we were lost in 
 their ranks — now in little bands batthng — 
 now in good order together — now in and 
 now out, until the whole "levies" on the 
 spot plunged into a forming body of the 
 enemy and helped us to end the fight by 
 compelling the foe to fly. Never did men 
 run so vehemently — but all this you have 
 
 read in the papers 
 
 I cannot depict my feelings when we re- 
 turned. I sat down completely exhausted 
 and unable to eat, though deadly hungry. 
 All my uniform, my hands, my very face 
 were bespattered with blood. It was that 
 of the enemy ! Grand idea ! But my 
 feelings — they were full of that exultation 
 which it is impossible to describe. At least 
 twelve Russians were sent wholly out of the 
 " way of the war" by my good steel alone, 
 and at least as many more put on the pas- 
 sage to that peaceful exit by the same excel- 
 lent weapon. So also can others say. What 
 a thing to reflect on ! I have almost grown 
 a soldier philosopher, and most probably 
 336 
 
 will one of these days, if the bullets which 
 are flying about so abundantly give me time 
 to brush up. 
 
 My dear fellow, our countrymen have not 
 tarnished their fame in the Crimea. Gal- 
 lantry and. glory will never abandon the 
 march of Celtic bands — never ! Oh, that I 
 could have patience to write you of such 
 deeds of individual heroism as have come 
 within my notice ! Fictionists are shabby 
 judges of true bravery. No novel ever had 
 a sham hero who comes up to the realities I 
 have witnessed. One of my troop, for in- 
 stance, had his horse shot under him in the 
 melee. " Bloody wars," he roared, " this 
 won't do," and right at a Russian he ran, 
 pulled him from his horse by the sword-hand 
 in the most extraordinary manner; then 
 deliberately cutting off his head as he came 
 down, vaulted into the saddle, and turning 
 the Russian charger against its late friends, 
 fought his way. This took less time to do 
 than I to tell it. I saw another of our 
 fellows unhorsed and wounded, creep under 
 a Russian charger and run the sword up his 
 belly. The animal plunged and fell on his 
 slayer, crushing him to pieces. . . . We 
 must take this doomed place, even, as 
 O' Grady says, if we be doomed who take it. 
 Any one of our fellows is a match for three 
 Russians. . . . The light cavalry charge 
 was a desperate but a grand affair. Lord 
 Raglan is blamed. The general belief is, 
 that Nolan gave his orders literally. Lucan 
 is a regular fire-ball, but not mad enough to 
 have done that without strict commands. 
 . . . We want reinforcements very badly; 
 without them we cannot continue to contend 
 against fearful odds. 
 
 We close this chapter with the following 
 account, from a correspondent of the Morn- 
 ing Chronicle, of the new-comers in the 
 Crimea : — 
 
 "It is curious to trace these fresb men 
 through the phases of their acclimatisation 
 to the campaign. I had the good fortune 
 of meeting two of them the other day, just 
 as, covered with dust and perspiration after 
 a long day's hard ride, I was galloping over 
 the road from Kadikoi to Balaklava. They 
 stopped me, but if they had not done so I 
 should certainly have stopped them. They 
 were worth looking at ; it made me feel at 
 home, and I had a great mind to ask them 
 for the whereabouts of an omnibus, or the 
 starting of the last Woolwich train. They 
 looked for all the world as if somebody had 
 
A.D. 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [fresh arrivals. 
 
 packed them carefully in a box, with plenty 
 of wadding and tissue-paper, and sent them 
 down to St. Katherine's wharf, with direc- 
 tions of ' This side up,' and ' Fragile— not to 
 be roughly handled.' The men had fancy 
 whips too, slight whalebone affairs, whose 
 ephemeral existence half-an-hour's ride on 
 a Cossack horse would most assuredly ter- 
 minate. And their bright silver spurs had 
 actually round rowels — good-natured in- 
 offensive rowels, that reminded one of park 
 nags and a decent canter across Dulwich- 
 common. And the men's faces were round 
 and jolly, red and white, and their chins as 
 smooth as a real young lady's on her first 
 coming out. While humbly replying to 
 their stern questions, I looked at these men 
 with undisguised astonishment, while they 
 with a well-bred indifference, which it did 
 my heart good to see, scanned and marked 
 down my tarnished gold lace, rusty sword, 
 and unblackened boots, and slightly smiled 
 at the haversack which dangled at my side, 
 
 and the rough Cossack pony which shook 
 its long mane in their smooth faces. That 
 was some days ago. I have seen the men 
 since with half their shine taken out of them 
 by a couple of nights under canvas and a 
 few meals on (not at) our camp mess-table, 
 the ground. Their blue and velvet bore 
 traces of dust, their metal sheaths had sus- 
 picious spots about them, and their chins 
 were darkened with a beard of two days' 
 growth. They rode rough Cossack ponies, 
 and groaned under the weight of heavy 
 haversacks, and, what is worse, their faces 
 somewhat pale and jaundiced, gave indica- 
 tions of that terrible 'seediness' which 
 affects new comers, which, if neglected, 
 sends them either home on sick leave, or to 
 some shunned spot outside the camp, where 
 the turf is broken and the brown earth 
 heaped in little hillocks, where the weary of 
 the army take their long rest, whither no 
 bugle call reaches, and no alarm gun sends 
 its booming sounds." 
 
 CHAPTEB XXII. 
 
 ATTACK ON EUPATORIA, AND REPULSE OF THE RUSSIANS ; INVASION OF THE ALLIED CAMPS BY TROOPS OF 
 RIDERLESS HORSES; PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL ; SINGULAR INSTANCE OF RUSSIAN 
 AUDACITY ; THE VACILLATION OF AUSTRIA, IN CHECKING THE ADVANCE OF THE TURKS, ALLOWS THE CZAR 
 TO TRANSPORT TROOPS FROM BESSARABIA TO THE CRIMEA ; IMPOSING RELIGIOUS CEREMONY IN THE 
 RUSSIAN CAMP ; THE BATTLE OF INKERM.1NN ; DESPATCHES DESCRIBING IT ; ATTACK ON THE RUSSIAN 
 SETTLEMENT OF PETROPAULOVSKY, IN KAMSCHATKA, AND REPULSE OF AN ALLIED SQUADRON. 
 
 It will be remembered by our readers that 
 the allies had at first intended to land on 
 the Crimea at Eupatoria. That intention 
 being abandoned, we mentioned (see p. 331) 
 that Eupatoria was taken and garrisoned by 
 a body of marines under Captain Brock, 
 who received the title of governor of the 
 town. The favourable disposition of the 
 native inhabitants, who readily brought in 
 large supplies of cattle, speedily made the 
 place one of great importance and value. 
 In order to give Captain Brock the means 
 of resisting any attack that might be made 
 upon the town, her majesty's ships Leander, 
 Firebrand, Megxra, and one French and 
 two Turkish line-of-battle ships were de- 
 tached from the allied fleet. These, to- 
 gether with the marines (750 in number), 
 under Captain Brock's command, and the 
 
 earthworks thrown up around the town, it 
 was considered would be sufficient for its 
 defence. It was to be supposed that the 
 Russians would not suffer the allies to hold 
 Eupatoria without a struggle; an attack 
 upon it was expected, and for some time 
 rumours were in circulation that a large 
 force of the imperial cavalry had been seen 
 in the neighbourhood. By the 11th of 
 October, this rumour was converted into a 
 certainty by the appearance on the steppe 
 of large bodies of horse, who threatened the 
 town on the land side. 
 
 At the request of Captain Brock, some 
 trifling reinforcements and one fleld-piece 
 were landed from the ships. The gun was 
 placed in a commanding position at the 
 back of the town, where it adjoins the 
 steppe. A small redoubt was also thrown 
 
 337 
 
ATTACK ON EUPATORIA.l 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.b. 1854. 
 
 up, and a party of sailors st?,tioned in it. 
 In the course of the morning Captain 
 Brock, accompanied by Captain King, to- 
 gether with one of the marine officers and 
 the field-piece, made a reconnaissance on the 
 steppe. Suddenly a body of Eussian cavalry, 
 amounting to about 600, made their ap- 
 pearance, and advanced within 500 yards. 
 Their opening ranks revealed four guns, 
 which commenced a fire of shot and shell, 
 some of which fell within the town. Cap- 
 tain Brock boldly replied with his single 
 field-piece, and a shell from it which burst 
 among the enemy's ranks, killed or wounded 
 'fifteen. So unequal a contest, however, 
 could not be continued ; and Captain Brock, 
 being unsupported by small arms, ordered 
 his party to retreat within the town. In 
 this retreat they were compelled to abandon 
 the gun, though not before it had been 
 spiked and taken to pieces. 
 
 The firing had given the alarm within the 
 town, and the whole of the blue-jackets 
 and marines belonging to the Leander and 
 Megmra, and headed by lieutenants Hamil- 
 ton and Campbell, together with the Rev. 
 Stuart Eobson and Mr. Irvine, advanced 
 under arms towards the steppe, to support 
 the field-piece. On their arrival at the 
 scene of action they discovered that the 
 enemy had retired. The gun was therefore 
 unspiked, remounted, and escorted back to 
 its position. The crews of the Leander and 
 Megcera remained at or in the neighbour- 
 hood of the redoubt during the day and 
 night; and about three o'clock on the 
 morning of the 13th, the midshipman on 
 watch with the field-piece, observed a body 
 of the enemy's cavalry advancing towards 
 the redoubt by a road which led to it from 
 the steppe. He immediately fired upon 
 them ; and the officers, seamen, and marines, 
 rushing from a house close at hand, where 
 they had been quartered, lined the redoubt 
 and barricades on its right. 
 
 A sharp contest began. The gun was 
 fired, reloaded, and fired again with inces- 
 sant rapidity ; and a shower of bullets from 
 the muskets was poured upon the enemy. 
 After a time the latter retired, finding the 
 redoubt was not to be taken by surprise, 
 nor readily captured. Our little force was 
 then strengthened by the arrival of Lieu- 
 tenant Pym, of her majesty's ship Firebrand, 
 with a party of thirty-five men, another 
 field-piece, and a rocket tube. Another re- 
 doubt was soon thrown up for their recep- 
 tion, and the first one strengthened by hav- 
 338 
 
 ing its ditch widened and deepened, and the 
 breastwork made more substantial. 
 
 The enemy made another advance on the 
 15th, burning the villages and carrying ofl:' 
 corn and cattle in every direction on the 
 north side of the town. They were, how- 
 ever, dispersed with considerable loss by the 
 Firebrand and the Arrow gun-boat, which 
 approached the shore and fired shells among 
 them. Another body of 300 Russian cavalry, 
 who had advanced to the southern entrance 
 of the town, with the intention of cutting 
 off the herds of cattle which had been 
 driven in from the steppe for safety, were 
 dispersed by the Leander. On the 19th 
 the enemy, taking advantage of a thick fog, 
 pushed forward a body of cavalry towards 
 the windmills outside the town, in which 
 Lieutenant Hood, of the Arethusa, had sta- 
 tioned himself with a party of blue-jackets. 
 The tars succeeded iu driving the Russians 
 back, but not before several of our poor 
 Tartar allies were killed or wounded. Every 
 day this kind of skirmishing took place, and 
 as the videttes of the enemy were within 
 three miles, and their numbers were sup- 
 posed to amount to 3,000 or 4,000, Captain 
 Brock and his garrison were kept perpetually 
 on the alert. They strengthened the de- 
 fences of the town, erected several strong 
 redoubts, armed with field- pieces and rockets, 
 at the back of it, and stationed a large pro- 
 portion of the force in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood. They closed the streets which 
 debouched upon the steppe with strong bar- 
 ricades, and felt something like confidence 
 that they could bid defiance to any number 
 of cavalry who might venture to force an 
 entrance. 
 
 "We will now take up our narrative from 
 the close of Chapter XX., and proceed to de- 
 scribe the progress of the celebrated and 
 terrible siege of Sebastopol. We have de- 
 tailed the brilliant charge of our light 
 cavalry on the 25th, with its fatal result, 
 and the repulse of the Russian sortie on 
 the 26th. On the 27th the fire on both 
 sides was very feeble, and nothing of im- 
 portance took place. During the night, or 
 rather at about four o'clock the following 
 morning, a singular incident occurred. The 
 sharp sound of musketry was heard from 
 several directions along the right flank, both 
 from the French and our own pickets. The 
 sentries in advance were startled by the 
 hurried tramp of horses, and perceived 
 through the darkness what appeared to be 
 a body of cavalry charging down upon 
 
A,D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [visit to the ettssun camp. 
 
 them. Notwithstanding the fire with which 
 they were greeted, the supposed troopers 
 still rushed onward, but without any regu- 
 larity, in small detached parties. Soon they 
 passed close by the pickets, and were found 
 to be a body of riderless horses, but fully 
 equipped and accoutred; saddled, bridled, 
 and all. They were recognised as belonging 
 to Russian dragoons. It was supposed that 
 the horses, ready for mounting, probably 
 for a sortie, were frightened by some shells 
 exploding amongst them, and breaking from 
 their pickets, took the direction of our lines. 
 Nearly 200 were caught between the French 
 and English. Many of those taken by the 
 latter were grays of good height and in 
 excellent condition. They were therefore 
 sent to make up deficiencies in the ranks 
 of the Scots grays. 
 
 Shortly after the engagement at Balak- 
 lava (on the 27th or 28th), Captain Fel- 
 lowes, an aide-de-camp, was sent with a 
 flag of truce to the Russian camp on the 
 Tchernaya. His object was to ascertain the 
 particulars of our loss, to request permission 
 to communicate with our wounded and cap- 
 tive officers, and to obtain leave to bury such 
 of our dead as might have fallen in front of 
 the Russian lines. This message was scarcely 
 a judicious one, at least the latter part of it ; 
 for a request for permission to bury the dead 
 is usually the plea of the vanquished to the 
 victors. 
 
 As Captain Fellowes, attended by an 
 interpreter and a trumpeter, approached 
 the Russian lines, two officers, accompanied 
 by two Cossack lancers, rode forward to 
 meet them. TheRussians inquired, in French, 
 what was the object of the flag of truce. Cap- 
 tain Fellowes made known his errand ; upon 
 which one of the Russians remarked, " You 
 will be good enough to turn round, for you 
 cannot approach our camp so near. This is 
 an afiair for the general to deal with, and I 
 shall communicate with him." The officer 
 rode away, and the English party were com- 
 pelled to turn round so as to have their backs 
 to the, Russian camp. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, an elderly officer, 
 supposed to have been Prince Gortschakoff, 
 attended by a small staff and by the Rus- 
 sian who had gone to seek him, rode to- 
 wards them, and said in a gruflf harsh 
 voice — " Je suis le gimral in chef id; que 
 voulez wu^ de moi Messieurs?" Captain 
 Fellowes again explained the object of his 
 mission, aiid when he desired permission 
 for burying the dead, the Russian general 
 
 exclaimed indignantly, "JVe have buried 
 the dead. Tell my Lord Raglan that we 
 are Christians, and though we make war, 
 we perform all the duties of Christians ! 
 The dead are buried. The wounded arii 
 taken care of." Captain Fellowes then 
 handed to the Russian chief two letters, 
 with which he had been charged by two 
 Russian officers who were prisoners of the 
 English. Having received the letters, the 
 general declared that he was unacquainted 
 with the names of the officers in the hands 
 of his troops, but said, that if Captain Fel- 
 lowes returned the next day he would ascer- 
 tain their names, and have any letters they 
 might wish to transmit conveyed to him 
 for delivery. Finally, he became more 
 courteous, and said, as Captain Fellowes 
 retired, " Vous m'excuserez si je vous dise 
 que voire attaque de 25me eiait une attaque 
 b^te, purlant selon la loi militaire." 
 
 When Captain Fellowes returned to the 
 enemy's camp, on the 29th, he was informed 
 that there were only two British officers in 
 the hands of the Russians, both of whom 
 were wounded, though not seriously. They 
 were Lieutenant Clowes, of the 8th hussars, 
 and Cornet Chad wick, of the 17th lancers. 
 He learnt, however, that fifty-eight non- 
 commissioned officers and privates belonging 
 to our noble cavalry were captives. Of 
 these only fifteen were not wounded. The 
 Russians brought letters from Lieutenant 
 Clowes and Cornet Chadwick, in which they 
 stated they were provided with medical at- 
 tendance, and were exceedingly well treated, 
 but that they were in want of some clothing 
 and money. The Russian officer expressed 
 his opinion that our cavalry attack on the 
 25th was a " charge des fous." On that 
 occasion the Russian lancers were seen 
 killing and stripping the wounded as they 
 lay on the ground. The rich trappings of 
 our light cavalry were, in some cases, the 
 cause of their wearer's death. The Cossacks 
 knew that they would not be allowed to 
 take the clothes of those who were living, 
 and therefore they dispatched the poor 
 wounded men who lay in agony at their 
 feet. "Do you see that?" exclaimed a 
 Russian officer to an English one, as he 
 pointed to the gold cord of a shako ; " I can 
 tell you one of our Cossacks would ride a 
 hundred miles to get hold of such a pretty- 
 looking thing." 
 
 The 29th passed away without the oc- 
 currence of any event of moment. The 
 fire from the Russian batteries blazed away 
 
 339 
 
CONTINUATION OF THE SIEGE. j HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 as usual, and it seemed as if the stores of 
 warlike matdriel within Sebastopol were 
 inexhaustible. The firing of the allies was 
 rather feeble. The arrival of the Times 
 newspaper in the camp, containing a copy 
 of Lord Raglan's despatches relating to the 
 battle of Alma, created much excitement.* 
 
 On the 30th, that brave old veteran. Sir 
 De Lacy Evans, who . had been suffering 
 severely from illness, had a fall from his 
 horse. He was so much shaken by it that 
 he was compelled to resign his command to 
 Brigadier-general Pennefather, and go on 
 board the Simoom, to get more attention 
 asid nursing than it was possible that he 
 could receive in our ill-provided camp. The 
 accident eventually compelled the old war- 
 
 * The special correspondent of the Times, to 
 whose admirable letters we were much indebted for 
 our description of the glorious events of . the 20th 
 of September, says, when writing from the camp on 
 October 29th : — " Onlooking at mv own account of 
 the battle of the Alma, which was written literally 
 on the field — part of it while exposed to a broiling 
 sun, the morning after the action, on the grass, in 
 the open air (for tents were rare coverings then, and 
 all that were on the heights were crowded)— part 
 while exposed to an incessant fire of small-talk in a 
 tent full of' excited and garrulous' officers, I find I 
 have made mistakes which! confess without a blush, 
 and which, I trust, are excusable under the circum- 
 stances in which I was placed, especially when it is 
 considered that the undertaking, under the most 
 favourable conditions, is not an easy one. Por in- 
 stance. Lord Raglan and staff did not cross the 
 stream by the bridge. It had been destroyed by the 
 enemy, and was impassable till repaired by the exer- 
 tions of Captain' Montagu and his sappers. Nor did 
 the highlanders ' take' the battery which dealt such 
 destruction upon us. As I saw their advance, their 
 bonnets mingled with the bearskins of the Russians, 
 they appeared to have got into the guards' battery, 
 but the fact is, their line was considerably to the left 
 of the line of. the guards, and the left of the guards 
 extended- beyond the front of the battery, so as to 
 turn its:.right flank. The march of the highlanders 
 took place !up the other slope of the hill, and it was 
 their firm appearance, together with the tremendous 
 volleys the' three regiments poured into the Russian 
 infantry on' their' flank, which produced such an effect 
 on the Russians. -The highlanders, as will.be seen 
 by the returns, were . exposed to very, little, fire ; 
 scarcely any of the enemy's guns bore upon them, 
 andtheir aa.vance'was too rapid to allow the Rus-: 
 sians ' to take their measure' for practice. There 
 is no doubt the light division, the 7th, 23rd, 33rd, 
 and 19th first carried the battery opposed to them. 
 A man of the 7th rushed in and bayoneted two men 
 inside the earthworks, when the regiment was obliged 
 to re-form. Colonel Yea made him a sergeant on 
 the spot. A man of the 33rd chalked the number 
 of his regiment on one of the guns which was sub- 
 sequently taken by the grenadier guards, and I un- 
 derstand the gun has been given up to the former 
 regiment. Men of the 7th, 33rd, 23rd, and 55th 
 were all inside the battery at one time or other ere 
 the Russians were finally broken. Major-general 
 340 
 
 rior to return to England — but we are anti- 
 cipating : before his retm'n he appeared 
 once more upon the battle-field, under cir- 
 cumstances which stamp him as a noble 
 rival of those heroes of classic times who 
 have for centuries enjoyed the homage of 
 the world. 
 
 During the 31st the siege went on with- 
 out advancing. It was reckoned that the 
 Russians fired two shots to every one of 
 ours. " The weather," said the correspon- 
 dent of the Morning Herald, " has changed 
 for the worse permanently. All our araba 
 drivers and interpreters say that the winter 
 here is fast setting in ; and, indeed, it re- 
 quires no prophet to convince us of the fact. 
 The wind and cold during the day may be 
 
 Codrington, who led his brigade of the light division 
 in a manner beyond all praise, was twice within the 
 earthwork of the battery. JSrffo, he must at one 
 time have been driven back along with his men. 
 Indeed,' I saw the Russians coming out of the bat- 
 tery and actually charging the light division, which 
 was broken up into clumps of men firing indepen- 
 dently on the enemy, and huddled together round 
 their officers ; but they never crossed bayonets, ex- 
 cept perhaps in one or two instances, when some of 
 them closed 'with the 55th, and they all dearly re- 
 pented their temerity. At one time an order was 
 actually given to halt or to fall back and re-form. 
 I am assured Colonel Yea declared he would not go 
 back an inch, and that be remained with a portion 
 of his regiment (the 7th) firing away till the supports 
 came up. It was not the Scots fusileers — it was the 
 grenadier guards who got first into the battery or 
 redoubt; the Scots fusileers were broken and dis- 
 ordered by the tremendous fire to which they were 
 exposed and by the men of the light division, who 
 were retiring to re-form, and who passed through 
 the files of the regiment. It was while they were in 
 this state so many of their officers were marked out 
 and wounded by the enemy. Lieutenant Nixon and 
 three men of the rifle brigade went skirmishing up 
 the hill in front of the Coldstream guards. The 
 riflemen were all dispersed in little groups, and ad- 
 vanced, led by their officers, along the front of all 
 our line, so that they were often exposed to two 
 fires. The 30th, 55th, and 9.5th did their duty 
 equally well ; no officers or men ever behaved better, 
 and it was perhaps erroneous to have said that the 
 19th, that Brigadier-general-'Codrington's brigade of 
 the light division,' or that Brigadier-general Penne- 
 father's brigade of the second 'division ever 'retired,' 
 as it is asserted that there were some men of the 
 regiments forming these brigades who never receded 
 a step. They certainly never tamed their backs on 
 the enemy — not one of them faced about. If they 
 were driven by an overwhelming fire to draw back 
 to re-form, they drew back with their front to the foe, 
 and never ceased their fire. I have said so much on 
 this point because 1 find some most excellent soldiers 
 and estimable men have rather taken it to heart that 
 I should have stated their regiments were driven 
 back ; nor are they even contented with Lord Rag- 
 lan's statement that the first brigade of the light 
 division, ha'ving carried a redoubt, ViS 'obliged 
 partially to relinquish Hs hold.' " 
 
JJrawn.&.^Erujravtd hyl) JFcuntL. 
 
 THR LONBOW PKIWrrNr- A-^Ii PL'TiLiSHING C0MPA"W7 
 
A..D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [ttDSSIAN FALSEHOOD. 
 
 avoided by exertion, but it becomes unen- 
 durable in the night, when we lie on the 
 ground in our tents, shivering and thinking 
 of the happy times when we took off our 
 clothes and went to bed under a more stable 
 covering than an ordnance umbrella, as the 
 tents are called. But, seriously speaking, 
 the change in the weather during the last 
 few days has shown to all concerned the 
 importance of bringing the present struggle 
 to a speedy conclusion. In fact, the cold 
 and damp have now become so intense, that 
 any attempt to remain under canvas for 
 another week will put half the allies in 
 hospital. ' Ye gentlemen of England, who 
 sit at home,' &e., can have no idea of the 
 positive suffering which is entailed upon all 
 who, in this weather, live under canvas, 
 and sleep in their clothes on the damp 
 ground. For the last three nights I have 
 been compelled to rise nearly every two 
 hours and run about outside my tent lite- 
 rally to keep myself from freezing, and on 
 no occasion have I thus hurried forth into 
 the raw keen moonlight without finding 
 hundreds of others similarly engaged. The 
 actual cold one might contrive to keep out, 
 but the wind and ,dew penetrate through 
 everything." 
 
 The same writer gives the following ac- 
 count of the way in which Russian officers 
 endeavour to transform their soldiers into 
 wild beasts : — " I have conversed with many 
 of the Russian prisoners, and they have all 
 'nformed me of circumstances which I could 
 hardly credit, but that they were repeated 
 from so many different sources. For cer- 
 tain, three days after the battle of the Alma 
 the Russian regiments were addressed by 
 their different commanding officers, who, in 
 terms of deep regret, informed them that 
 events had come to their knowledge which 
 showed that the Russian prisoners and 
 wounded who fell into our hands were 
 treated with the most barbarous cruelty; 
 the injuries of the wounded were never 
 dressed, the prisoners were flogged, tasked, 
 and starved, until death terminated their 
 sufferings. These facts, which the officers 
 stated they knew on the very best authority, 
 were publicly promulgated through Sebas- 
 topol at the time when the Russian lists of 
 killed, wounded, and prisoners were also 
 issued from the government office. They 
 said the sensation which these statements 
 excited in Sebastopol (where all had a friend 
 or relative to deplore among the killed and 
 wounded) was indescribable. The most in- 
 
 VOL. I. t2 Y 
 
 tense and deadly hatred was felt towards 
 the allies, coupled with a determination to 
 resist them to the very last extremity. The 
 common soldiers among themselves made a 
 vow never to be taken alive. The reasons 
 which the Russian commanders had for 
 circulating these atrocious calumnies will, 
 of course, be apparent. Under the idea 
 that he was defending his life, they gave 
 the Russian soldier a desperate courage 
 which patriotism and duty were unable to 
 call forth. Before the battle of the Alma 
 every Russian soldier received a treble al- 
 lowance of spirits, and since then those who 
 are fighting in the earthworks against our 
 trenches, receive four times the usual quan- 
 tity." 
 
 During the night of the 31st, there was 
 an " alert" which roused the French troops. 
 A body of Russian troops, in the valley 
 beneath the heights of Balaklava, were oc- 
 cupied for more than an hour in firing at an 
 imaginary enemy before them. After that 
 they returned to their head-quarters, br.t 
 what their object was is unknown. It must 
 have arisen from mistake ; and some persons 
 even said that the Russians fired by accident 
 at their own troops. A correspondent from 
 the camp says (writing on the 2nd of No- 
 vember) — " We hear the distressing intelli- 
 gence, that 3,000 workmen are building 
 huts at Constantinople for the army to 
 winter in, and that they also are fabricating 
 sheds for horses. A winter here is a truly 
 dismal prospect. All that has been written 
 about the beauty of this district, and of its 
 fertility, is utter rubbish. There are mag- 
 nificent mountain-ranges over Balaklava, 
 but the country between that town and 
 Sebastopol is a waste, covered with thistles 
 and stones, and intersected by rocky ravines, 
 once fiiU of stumpy brushwood, now full of 
 stumps only." The same writer describes 
 the condition of the poor Turks, from fever 
 and want of attention, as wretched in the 
 extreme. They died in swarms, and the 
 sick were seen staggering along the lanes, 
 or lying in the streets of Balaklava, with no 
 one but their own miserable companions to 
 mitigate their sufferings. 
 
 On the 3nd of November three English 
 soldiers deserted to the enemy. All of 
 them had been flogged the day before for 
 some offences. Whatever censure we might 
 feel disposed to pass upon the conduct of 
 these men, this fact compels us to withhold. 
 Their desertion must be attributed to the 
 barbarous system which had degraded them. 
 
 341 
 
PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 To make the soldier regard himself as a 
 man of honour, he must be treated as such. 
 Dogs only and not men can caress the hand 
 that scourges them. The shame of the lash 
 makes a soldier forget his country. Put 
 the erring soldier to death, if it is necessary 
 for the sake of discipline, but do not put 
 him to shame. 
 
 The particulars of each day occupied in 
 the siege would, in some cases, be merely 
 a repetition of what has been already re- 
 lated. We shall not, therefore, dwell upon 
 every trifling incident, but hasten forward 
 to the almost sublime exhibition of heroism, 
 daring, and endurance we shall speedily 
 have to relate. We must first, however, 
 refer to some despatches forwarded by Lord 
 Eaglan to the Puke of Newcastle. One 
 stated that the majority of the wounded in 
 the hospitals were making a satisfactory 
 progress towards recovery, although, it 
 added, " there is too much reason to appre- 
 hend, that among such a number of severe 
 and dangerous injuries, a certain proportion 
 of casualties must occur." Two others con- 
 tain references to, and lists of, the officers 
 who had distinguished themselves on the 
 memorable 25th of October. The last gives 
 an account of the progress of the siege up 
 to the date it bears : — 
 
 Before Sebastopol, Nov. 3rd. 
 My Lord Duke, — Since I wrote to your 
 grace on the 28th ult., the enemy have con- 
 siderably increased their force in the valley 
 of the Tchernaya, both in artillery, cavalry, 
 and infantry, and have extended to their left, 
 not only occupying the village of Camara, 
 but the heights beyond it, and pushing for- 
 ward pickets and even guns towards our 
 extreme right ; and these yesterday fired a 
 few shots, apparently to try the range, which 
 fell somewhat short. 
 
 These movements have induced me to 
 place as strong a force as I can dispose of 
 on the precipitous ridge in that direction, in 
 order to prevent any attempt to get round 
 to Balaklava by the sea ; and the whole line 
 is strengthened by a breastwork which has 
 been thrown up by the highland brigade, 
 the royal marines, and the Turkish troops, 
 thus circumscribing that part of the posi- 
 tion, while immediately in front of the 
 gorge leading into the town a strong redoubt 
 is in course of being completed, which is 
 to be garrisoned by the 93rd regiment and 
 armed with several guns, and on the high 
 ground behind and to the left is a battery 
 manned by seamen, which terminates the 
 342 
 
 position to be defended by the troops under 
 the command of Major-general Sir Colin 
 Campbell. 
 
 Further to the left, and in a more elevated 
 position, is the brigade of the first French 
 division, commanded by General Vinois, 
 ready to move to the assistance of any of 
 the British force that may be assailed, and 
 maintaining the connexion between the 
 troops in the valley and those on the ridge 
 on ■which the main armies are posted. 
 
 The harbour of Balaklava is under the 
 charge of Captain Dacres, of the Sanspareil, 
 and Rear-admiral Sir Edmund Lyons is in 
 the roadstead outside, and is in daily com- 
 munication with me. 
 
 Thus, every possible step has been taken 
 to secure this important point; but I will 
 not conceal from your grace that I should 
 be more satisfied if I could have occupied 
 the position in considerably greater strength. 
 
 With reference to the operations of the 
 combined armies engaged in the attack on 
 Sebastopol, I have the honour to state that 
 there is no material diminution in the 
 enemy's fire, and yesterday morning, two 
 hours before daylight, the cannonade from 
 all parts of the south front was heavy in the 
 extreme, both on the French and British 
 lines, and it occasioned, I deeply regret to 
 say, some loss, but less than might have 
 been expected under the circumstances. 
 
 In the meanwhile the French, who have 
 before them the town and real body of the 
 place, have taken advantage of the more 
 favourable ground, and are carrying on ap- 
 proaches systematically on the most salient 
 and commanding part of the enemy's lines ; 
 and they have constructed and opened bat- 
 teries, the precision of the fire from which 
 has most materially damaged the Russian 
 works, although, as yet, they have not suc- 
 ceeded in silencing their guns. 
 
 The weather is still fine, but it has be- 
 come extremely cold, and there was a severe 
 frost last night. 
 
 I beg to submit to your grace the nominal 
 returns of casualties among the non-com- 
 missioned officers and rank and file from 
 the 22nd of October to the 1st of Novem- 
 ber, both days inclusive, and a list of officers 
 killed and wounded between the 27th of 
 October and the 1st of November. 
 
 Captain Maude, of the horse artillery, an 
 excellent officer, is, I am assured, doing well. 
 I likewise enclose the naval return of 
 casualties. 
 
 I have, &c., Raglan. 
 
A.D. 1854] 
 
 WAR WITH EUSSIA. Fpreparations op russia. 
 
 A strange instance of Russian craft and 
 cool audacity occurred on the day when the 
 above despatch was written. A French 
 officer — or rather a man in the uniform of 
 one — sauntered into the English lines, 
 entered into conversation with those whom 
 he met, smoked, talked and laughed ; and, 
 at length, got into a sort of discussion about 
 the strength or weakness of their position in 
 the rear towards Balaklava. Our officers, 
 believing they were talking to an ally, 
 expressed themselves with more freedom 
 than wisdom, and referred very frankly to 
 the weak points and difficulties of our posi- 
 tion. An officer of the 79th was at length 
 struck by the strange accent and curious 
 idiom of the supposed "Frenchman, whom he 
 suspected to be no other than a Russian spy. 
 Fearful lest in seizing the man he might be 
 insulting one of our brave allies, and not 
 having any device ready in his mind to test 
 the truth, he sent a messenger to convey his 
 suspicions to Sir Colin Campbell. The 
 quick eye of the stranger observed the 
 movement, and he gradually drew off from 
 our lines towards the valley, but in so unem- 
 barrassed and natural a way, as to perplex 
 those to whom the officer had communicated 
 his misgivings. Shortly afterwards he quick- 
 ened his pace into a run, and actually got 
 away into the Russian lines, leaving his late 
 companions staring after him in astonish- 
 ment. The cool resolution necessary for 
 such an adventure may be guessed, when we 
 mention that, had he been captured, he 
 would have been hanged as a spy. 
 
 This circumstance was not without its 
 significance, and ought still further to have 
 sharpened the vigilance of the allies. Pre- 
 parations were making, on the part of the 
 Russians, for a tremendous and decisive 
 blow ; such a one as should crush the 
 invaders on their soil, or sweep them back 
 into the sea. On Saturday, the 4th of 
 
 * See page 127. We have there said that we do 
 not endorse M. Kossuth's -views ; but we also said, 
 and we here reiterate, that, combined with some 
 errors, there is much truth and wisdom in them ; 
 much of that prescience which must ever be the 
 characteristic of the great statesman. He returned 
 to this subject in an eloquent oration delivered at St. 
 Martin's Hall on the evening of the 29th of Novem- 
 ber, the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Polish revo- 
 lution of 1830. Our readers will not, we think, quar- 
 rel with us for here selecting a passage or two from 
 that oration, — delivered, it should be premised, after 
 the glorious struggle we are just about to describe. 
 We are aware that the Times has done its utmost to 
 cast discredit, and even ridicule, upon the views of 
 M. Kossuth ; but although we most willingly acknow- 
 ledge the extraordinary talent, and even genius, 
 
 November, the Russian army to the rear of 
 the allies received enormous reinforcements 
 from Bessarabia. For this circumstance we 
 have to thank the Austrians, whose forces 
 in the Danubian principalities checked the 
 advance of Omar Pasha from Bucharest into 
 Bessarabia. The Austrians said they could 
 not sanction the invasion of Russia; they 
 represented it would look like aggression on 
 their part ; and the Turkish general was not 
 strong enough to act in defiance of them. 
 The advance into Bessarabia was therefore 
 abandoned, and the czar thus permitted to 
 transfer his troops from that locality to the 
 Crimea. Metaphorically speaking, it was a 
 miracle — a miracle which excited the wonder 
 and admiration of Europe — that the enor- 
 mous numbers of the czar's troops did not 
 successfully carry out his intention. The 
 adamantine firmness of the English troops, 
 and the dashing heroism of the French, 
 drove back the torrent of barbaric power, 
 but at a sad and fatal cost — at the cost of a 
 sea of blood, with the sacrifice of hecatombs 
 of heroes. Such were among the early 
 fruits of our Austrian alliance. We may be 
 mistaken ; Austria may have been honest, 
 and this result an accidental one. Still it 
 was the result of our Austrian connexion. 
 Bitter, we fear, must be that tree — a very 
 Upas tree, breathing forth seductive but 
 deadly odours — that yields such delusive 
 fruit ; fruit which, like the beautiful apples 
 of Sodom, delighted the eye, but turned to 
 ashes on the lips. Once again the warning 
 words of the eloquent Hungarian intrude 
 themselves into our memory : " You have 
 been taught, by superficial professors in 
 your schools, that it was the generals Frost 
 and Famine which defeated Napoleon [spoken 
 in allusion to his invasion of Moscow.] No: 
 he was defeated by having taken Austria and 
 Prussia for allies."* 
 
 The reinforcements from Bessarabia, 
 
 sometimes exhibited in the columns of that mighty 
 European organ, still it must be admitted that the 
 Times does occasionally print a leading article of a 
 sophistical, superficial, and even silly character ; and 
 never, we think, did any more sophistical, superficial, 
 and silly article disfigure Its pages, than that m which 
 this oration of M. Kossuth was pretended to be re- 
 viewed. With respect to England's policy towards 
 Austria, the orator spoke as follows : — " England has 
 bent her mind on bringing Austriaover to herself; she 
 has sacrificed to this one aim everything — numerous 
 millions spent in vain, the life-blood of the flower of 
 England spilt in vain, principles, political reputation, 
 the liberal character of the War, and the very issue 
 of the war — everything. And has your government 
 gained Austria ? Has it gained that Austria to whom 
 it has sacrificed everything — that Austria of whom 
 
 343 
 
KOSSUTH ON OPR POLICY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 which joined the Russian army on the 
 4th of Novemberj are said to have amounted 
 
 even the Times is bound at last to acknowledge that 
 ' You are fighting her battle more than your own ?' 
 "What a proud sneering there was in official quarters 
 when I, months ago, told the good people of Eng- 
 land that they believe they pay and bleed for free- 
 dom, when in reality they are made to fight for 
 Austria. Now, it comes out at last. Truth will 
 come out, like murder will. Well, has your govern- 
 ment gained Austria ? Go and read the well-founded 
 lamentations in the organs — even the ministerial 
 organs — of publicity about the treacherous attitude 
 and the overbearing insolence of that Austria which 
 your government persisted in courting with so much 
 submission, and which in return facilitates the en- 
 terprises of Russia, insults your allies, and counter- 
 acts your combinations. It is not only that you have 
 not gained over Austria, but you have the Turks 
 arrested in the midst of their victorious course ; and 
 the fruit of their heroic struggle, poor Wallachia, 
 played over into the treacherous hands of despotic 
 Austria. There is the Turkish army paralysed on 
 the one hand, and there is on the other hand the 
 czar made and left free to throw overpowering num- 
 bers upon the flank and rear of your gallant raiiks 
 in the Crimea. There you have the spirits of the 
 Turkish army, high-flowing as they were by the vic- 
 tories at Silistria and Giurgevo, now depressed; 
 there you have the spirits of the Russian army, de- 
 pressed as they were, now restored. And, oh ! I 
 could tell you what it is to neglect the moment of 
 spirited excitement in a victorious army, and what 
 it is to give time to a demoralised enemy to resume 
 its spirits and to take breath. One such moment's 
 neglect in a war, and it is not battles, gentlemen, 
 not battles, but empires that may be lost by it. And 
 last, alas ! not least, there is Sebastopol. Every Brit- 
 ish heart has watched the great bloody drama there 
 with intense anxiety. I am not wanted to tell you 
 the tale of your heart. I am not wa,nted to describe 
 how your braves have found there an intrenched 
 camp,' with an army, instead of a fortress with a gar- 
 rison (as your government appears to have antici- 
 pated), how new armies are pouring upon your 
 shattered ranks, as your government does not appear 
 to have anticipated, or else it would be more than 
 error to act as the government did. All I am wanted 
 to do is to quote from public reports these words : — 
 ' The question is no longer whether we shall take 
 Sebastopol or not. The siege of Sebastopol, though 
 not raised, may be regarded as at a stand-still. We 
 are reduced to the defensive.' Such is the situation. 
 ' The tables have turned ; Russia is the besieger, 
 you are the besieged.' And at what price has this 
 situation been purchased ? Gentlemen, on the 5th 
 of July, ten weeks before England embarked on that 
 expedition, ill-advised as well as ill-prepared, I, in a 
 speech, the contents of which would have been well 
 for Great Britain to mind, spoke these words at 
 Glasgow : — ' Not one out of five of your braves will 
 see Albion again.' Of course, I used the number 
 figuratively, as indicative of a great loss. Now, it is 
 a sad tale ; number your dead, your wounded, and 
 your disabled— more than 20,000 men out of 30,000 
 are already lost. My sad anticipations are literally 
 fulfilled ! And here at home ? Why, here the num- 
 ber of widows and orphans applying for support to 
 patriotic charity amounts to 11,000! Such is the 
 position, gentlemen. Now, with that position thus 
 344 
 
 to 45,000 men, under the command of 
 General Dannenberg and the grand-dukes 
 
 analysed, I call on contemporary age and on history 
 to say whether I was exaggerating or too harsh in 
 saying that England's policy has been wrong, that it 
 has been successful nowhere, but inefficient, unsuc- 
 cessful, and disastrous everywhere. But you are 
 told for all consolation that ' no human foresight 
 could have fully anticipated the extraordinary posi- 
 tion which you find yourselves in.' Now, as to this, 
 I must say it is not true. Many a man must have 
 anticipated that position. I, for one, have foretold it 
 fact by fact, and word by word. And I certainly claim 
 not the slightest credit for perspicacity on that account. 
 I wonder how any thinking men could do otherwise 
 than know all this. Yet, if such there were, they 
 could have used the modest light of my poor oil 
 lamp. It is true the people of Great Britain gave me 
 tremendous cheers in return, and went home to toil 
 on, and then to sleep. It is as if I would have been 
 mendicating favours for myself, whereas it was Eng- 
 land's honour, dignity, interest, and sniccess that I 
 held up before their eyes. They went to toil and to 
 sleep, and the flower of your nation went to die ; and 
 now, after my disregarded words have proved true, 
 some of them (the Scottish press) say — ' The words 
 he spoke read like the inspiration of a seer, or a pic- 
 ture drawn from history.' Others, the Times, say — 
 ' No human foresight could have anticipated the 
 extraordinary position in which England finds her- 
 self.' Extraordinary ! Why, what is there extra- 
 ordinary in the inexorable logic of concatenation 
 between cause and efiect? Is it extraordinary 
 that Sebastopol is found to be an intrenched camp 
 with a numerous army in it? Is it extraordinary 
 that the czar is pouring whole fresh armies to its 
 defence ? The czar has been left perfectly free, and 
 with ample time afforded to do it ; nay, in fact, he 
 has been invited to do it by the Turco-Austrian 
 treaty, negotiated under England's auspices. The 
 extraordinary in the matter is not that he has sent 
 reinforcements to Sebastopol, but that he has not 
 sent double the number, and a month earlier. * * 
 ***** To have a radical cure you must 
 penetrate to the seat of the evil. The real source of all 
 your difficulties is Austria. Every child knows this. 
 Either England fears Austria too much, or loves her 
 more than she ought. This is the evil. Don't fear Aus- 
 tria, throw her overboard, and you are » ufe ; if not, 
 not. Referring to what I was saying about the com- 
 parative barrenness of a success at Sebastopol — a 
 success, besides, sure to come at a later period — I 
 really believe even now it would be better for you to 
 shift the theatre of the war, provided it be not too 
 late. Men who, 14,000 strong, have beaten 60,000 
 Russians, can gain no more glory by the barren 
 laurels gathered on the ruins of Sebastopol than 
 they have, and can nothing lose in their reputation 
 by being dispatched to triumph on a better field, 
 richer in results. And, oh ! what could be done with 
 men like these on the right spot. To engage in a 
 wrong direction may be an error — to persist in a 
 wrong direction and sacrifice life (and such life !) 
 may look like a crime, the retribution of which may 
 yet fall heavily on your heads. Shift the theatre of 
 the war ; insist peremptorily on Austria's evacuating 
 the principalities, and on siding with or against you ; 
 advise the sultan to grant independence to the 
 Roumains and arm them ; enlist the Polish emigra- 
 tion — not in Turkey, but here ; mind where the weak 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [russian craft and fanaticism. 
 
 Michael and Nicholas. They had been 
 brought to the Crimea, in carts and wag- 
 gons, -with singular rapidity, and their 
 arrival increased the number of the Russian 
 army in our rear to about 70,000 men ! 
 The arrival of such a force gave fresh hopes 
 to the garrison of Sebastopol, and roused 
 the enthusiasm of the Russian troops almost 
 to madness. They longed to encounter the 
 invaders of their territory, and resolved that 
 a sortie from the fortress should accompany 
 the attack from -without that was to be 
 made upon the allies. 
 
 During the 4th an imposing religious 
 celebration took place in the Russian camp. 
 A mass was solemnly chanted, and, at its 
 conclusion, the troops were assembled and 
 addressed by one of two bishops who had 
 arrived with the archdukes. The particulars 
 of the address were received by a correspon- 
 dent of the French press, from a Russian 
 officer who was afterwards taken prisoner. 
 The prelate reminded the soldiers of their 
 duty to the czar and to their country, and 
 told them that the two archdukes had come 
 to share with them their dangers and their 
 glory. He explained away the defeat of the 
 Russians at the Alma, and gave such an 
 obUque description of the events of that 
 great contest, as was calculated to flatter 
 the self-love and to elevate the courage of 
 the imperial army. The English were, he 
 said, but poor soldiers ; destitute of all 
 energy, and hostile to the cause of God. 
 His allusions to the French were not of a 
 more flattering character, being merely an 
 echo of the proclamation of the czar at 
 Moscow, in the year 1812. For solemn 
 and unblushing falsehood and profane assur- 
 ance, the conclusion of this episcopal ad- 
 dress perhaps stands alone. It was as fol- 
 lows :— " If you are conquerors, great joy is 
 in preparation for you. We know from 
 unimpeachable sources that these Enghsh 
 heretics have in their camp an enormous 
 sum, which God will give into your hands. 
 This sum amounts to thirty millions of 
 rubles. The emperor makes you a present 
 of the third part of this tremendous sum. 
 The second third is reserved for the purpose 
 of rebuilding Sebastopol, which you are on 
 the point of relieving. The remainder will 
 point of BusBia is, and strike there. And wherever a 
 government is playing false to you, ca 1 on the nations 
 ft oppresses. These are your radical remedies; but 
 remember that while in matters of internal progress 
 you may say, by-and-by we shall come to that, in a 
 war everything depends on moments. Opportunity 
 lost is a campaign lostr-may be even more. Poland 
 
 be divided amongst the princes and officers 
 who will to-morrow be your commanders in 
 the battle. Every one of you, soldiers, will 
 receive 580 rubles. To the wounded the 
 emperor promises a month's pay and ra- 
 tions. As to those of you chosen by God 
 for a glorious death, your emperor will per- 
 mit you to dispose of your share in the 
 booty by will. Whatever may be the wishes 
 of any one of you, they will be solemnly 
 respected." The speech terminated with an 
 appeal to the God of armies to bless the 
 soldiers of Russia ; and it was followed by a 
 distribution of medals and coronets. Not 
 only were the Russian soldiers thus spi- 
 ritually intoxicated, but a quantity of spirits 
 was dealt out to each man, to madden and 
 brutalise still further the ferocious passions 
 of those ignorant instruments of despotism. 
 
 The night of the 4th of November was a 
 very miserable one. An incessant rain had 
 continued to fall for four-and-twenty hours, 
 and, towards morning, a heavy fog settled 
 upon the heights and the valley of the 
 Inkermann. Such was the weather, from 
 fog and drifting rain, that it was difficult 
 for any one to see two yards before him. 
 Our pickets and men on outlying posts 
 were drenched and chilled, and their arms 
 wet. At four o'clock the church bells 
 within Sebastopol could be heard ringing 
 drearily through the murky air; but that 
 had been frequent lately, and excited no 
 attention. 
 
 At five o'clock a fancied sense of security 
 prevailed in the camps of the alUes. This 
 was speedily dissipated by the rattling of 
 musketry from the pickets of the second 
 division. An immense army of Russians 
 had stealthily approached, and were ad- 
 vancing upon the English camp. Their 
 gray great-coats rendered them difficult to 
 be seen through the fog, even when close 
 at hand. Our pickets behaved with that 
 resolute bravery which is the usual cha- 
 racteristic of English troops. When forced 
 to retreat by the musketry of the enemy, 
 they retired slowly towards the brow of the 
 hill, defending every inch of the ground 
 against the overwhelming numbers of their 
 assailants. The pickets of the light division 
 were soon after driven in and compelled to 
 
 is your surest remedy even to-day, but how much 
 surer and easier would it have been six months ago. 
 I do not speak from even patriotic egotism. This 
 ^rgr — such as it is — and may it be carried'on, or ar- 
 ranged, in the worst possible manner— is manifestly 
 an indication of retributive justice, slow, but sure in 
 its decrees." 
 
 345 
 
BATTLE OP INKERMANN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 fall back on their main body. Indeed it 
 was evident that a powerful attack had 
 been made upon the right of the position of 
 the allied armies, with the intention of 
 forcing them to raise the siege, and, if 
 possible, of driving them headlong into the 
 sea. 
 
 The second division,* under Major-general 
 Pennefather, was first marched up to repel 
 the attack; then the light division, under 
 Sir George Brown, was brought to the 
 front ; and, finally, part of every regiment 
 (except the third division, who were in re- 
 serve, and the highland brigade, who were 
 at Balaklava) were included in the battle. 
 The struggle began about seven in the 
 morning, when our troops were subjected to 
 a tremendous fire from an advancing but 
 unseen enemy. The battle of the Inker- 
 mann,t prominently as it will ever stand in 
 the military history of England, is one that 
 almost defies, or rather eludes, description. 
 The darkness that prevailed, the confusion 
 of that terrific struggle, and the woody 
 nature of the ground on which it was fought, 
 rendered it a matter of extreme difficulty, 
 even to those who were present, to convey a 
 clear account of it ; how much more so, then, 
 must it be to us who write at a distance 
 from the theatre of that heroic struggle. 
 We will not run the risk of giving a feeble 
 account of it ourselves, but quote that 
 written by the special correspondent of the 
 Times, which, though from uncontrollable 
 difficulties necessarily imperfect, i3 never- 
 theless a brilliant, spirited, and chivalrous 
 description. His preliminary account over, 
 he thus continues : — 
 
 " And now commenced the bloodiest 
 struggle ever witnessed since war cursed 
 the earth. It has been doubted by military 
 historians if any enemy have ever stood a 
 charge with the bayonet, but here the bayo- 
 net was often the only weapon employed in 
 conflicts of the most obstinate and deadly 
 character. We have been prone to believe 
 that no foe could ever withstand the British 
 soldier wielding his favourite weapon, and 
 that at Maida alone did the enemy ever cross 
 bayonets with him; but at the battle of Inker- 
 
 * The command of this division belonged to the 
 noble old veteran Sir de Lacy Evans, who (as we 
 have related) was compelled by illness and the 
 effects of a fall from his horse to resign it to his 
 junior, Brigadier-general Pennefather. On hearing 
 the firing, the old soldier proceeded to the point of 
 attack, and remained there until the termination of 
 the struggle, but he generously declined to take the 
 command of the division from General Pennefather, 
 346 
 
 mann not only did we charge in vain — not 
 only were desperate encounters between 
 masses of men maintained with the bayonet 
 alone — but we were obliged to resist bayonet 
 to bayonet the Russian infantiy again and 
 again, as they charged us with incredible 
 fury and determination. The battle of In- 
 kermann admits of no description. It was a 
 series of dreadful deeds of daring, of san- 
 guinary hand-to-hand fights, of despairing 
 rallies, of desperate assaults — in glens and 
 valleys, in brushwood glades and remote 
 dells, hidden from all human eyes, and from 
 which the conquerors, Russian or British, 
 issued only to engage fresh foes, till our old 
 supremacy, so rudely assailed, was triumph- 
 antly asserted, and the battalions of the czar 
 gave way before our steady courage and the 
 chivalrous fire of France. No one, however 
 placed, could have witnessed even a small 
 portion of the doings of this eventful day, 
 for the vapours, fog, and drizzling mist ob- 
 scured the ground where the struggle took 
 place to such an extent as to render it im- 
 possible to see what was going on at the dis- 
 tance of a few yards. Besides this, the irre- 
 gular nature of the ground, the rapid fall of 
 the hill towards Inkermann, where the dead- 
 liest fight took place, would have prevented 
 one under the most favourable circumstances 
 seeing more than a very insignificant and 
 detailed piece of the terrible work below'. 
 It was six o'clock when all the head-quarter 
 camp was roused by roll after roll of mus- 
 ketry on the right, and by the sharp report 
 of field guns. Lord Raglan was soon in- 
 formed that the enemy were advancing in 
 force, and soon after seven o'clock he rode 
 towards the scene of action, followed by his 
 staff, and accompanied by Sir John Burgoyne, 
 Brigadier-general Strangways, R.A., and 
 several aides-de-camp. As they approached 
 the volume of sound, the steady, unceasing 
 thunder of gun, and rifle, and musket told 
 that the engagement was at its height. The 
 shells of the Russians, thrown with great 
 precision, burst so thickly among the troops 
 that the noise resembled continuous dis- 
 charges of cannon, and the massive frag- 
 ments inflicted death on every side. One of 
 
 whom he considered to be acting with great judg- 
 ment. 
 
 t Inkermann is a village and seaport of the Cri- 
 mea. It was once a celebrated city, the Soros of the 
 Greeks, and has numerous caverns cut in the rock, 
 supposed to be the work of the monks in the middle 
 ages. The place received its name of Inkermann 
 from the Turks, from " In" (cavern) and « K.ermann" 
 (fortress.) 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [battle op inkermann. 
 
 the first things the Russians did, when a 
 break in the fog enabled them to see the 
 camp of the second division, was to open fire 
 on the tents with round shot and large shell, 
 and tent after tent was blown down, torn to 
 pieces, or sent into the air, while the men 
 engaged in camp duties and the unhappy 
 horses tethered up in the lines were killed or 
 mutilated. Colonel Gambler was at once 
 ordered to get up two heavy guns (18-pound- 
 ers) on the rising ground, and to reply to a 
 fire which our light guns were utterly inade- 
 quate to meet. As he was engaged in this 
 duty, and was exerting himself with Captain 
 D'Aguilar to urge them forward. Colonel 
 Gambler was .severely but not dangerously 
 wounded, and was obliged to retire. His 
 place was taken by Lieutenant-colonel Dick- 
 son, and the conduct of that ofiicer in di- 
 recting the fire of those two pieces, which 
 had the most marked effect in deciding the 
 fate of the day, was such as to elicit the ad- 
 miration of the army, and as to deserve the 
 thanks of every man engaged in that bloody 
 fray. But long ere these guns had been 
 brought up there had been a great slaughter 
 of the enemy, and a heavy loss of our own 
 men. Our generals could not see where to 
 go. They could not tell where the enemy 
 were — from what side they were coming, nor 
 where they were coming to. In darkness, 
 gloom, and rain they had to lead our lines 
 through thick scrubby bushes and thorny 
 brakes, which broke our ranks and irritated 
 the men, while every pace was marked by a 
 corpse or man wounded by an enemy whose 
 position was only indicated by the rattle of 
 musketry and the rush of ball and shell. 
 
 " Sir George Cathcart, seeing his men dis- 
 ordered by the fire of a large column of Rus- 
 sian infantry which was outflanking them, 
 while portions of the various regiments com- 
 posing his division were maintaining an un- 
 equal struggle with an overwhelming force, 
 rode down into the ravine in which they were 
 engaged to rally them. He perceived at the 
 same time that the Russians had actually 
 gained possession of a portion of the hill in 
 rear of one flank of his division, but still his 
 stout heart never failed him for a moment. 
 He rode at their head encouraging them, 
 and when a cry arose that the ammunition 
 was failing, he said coolly, ' Have you not 
 got your bayonets ?' As he led on his men 
 it v/as observed that another body of men 
 had gained the top of the hill behind them 
 on the right, but it was impossible to tell 
 whether thev were friends or foes. A deadly 
 
 volley was poured into our scattered regi- 
 ments. Sir George cheered them and led 
 them back up the hill, but a flight of bullets 
 passed where he rode, and he fell from his 
 horse close to the Russian columns. The 
 men had to fight their way through a host of 
 enemies, and lost fearfully. They were sur- 
 rounded and bayoneted on all sides, and 
 won their desperate way up the hill with 
 diminished ranks and the loss of near 500 
 men. Sir George Cathcart's body was after- 
 wards recovered, with a bullet wound in the 
 head and three bayonet wounds in the body. 
 In this struggle, where the Russians fought 
 with the greatest ferocity, and bayoneted 
 the wounded as they fell, Colonel Swyny, of 
 the 63rd, a most gallant ofiicer, Lieutenant 
 Bowling (20th), Major Wynne (68th), and 
 other officers, whose names will be found in 
 the Gazette, met their death, and Brigadier 
 Goldie (of the 57th regiment) received the 
 wounds of which he has since died. The 
 conflict on the right was equally uncertain 
 and equally bloody. In the light division, the 
 88th got so far into the front that they were 
 surrounded and put into utter confusion, 
 when four companies of the 77th, under 
 Major Straton, charged the Russians, broke 
 them, and relieved their comrades. The 
 fight had not long commenced before it was 
 evident that the Russians had received orders 
 to fire at all mounted officers. Sir George 
 Brown was hit by a shot, which went through 
 his arm and struck his side. I saw with 
 regret his pale and sternly composed face, 
 as his body was borne by me on a litter early 
 in the day, his white hair flickering in the 
 breeze, for I knew we had lost the services 
 of a good soldier that day. Further to the 
 right a contest, the like of which, perhaps, 
 never took place before, was going on be- 
 tween the guards and dense columns of Rus- 
 sian infantry of five times their number. 
 The guards had charged them and driven 
 them back, when they perceived that the 
 Russians had outflanked them. They were 
 out of ammunition too. They were uncer- 
 tain whether there were friends or foes in 
 the rear. They had no support, no reserve, 
 and they were fighting with the bayonet 
 against an enemy who stoutly contested 
 every inch of ground, when the corps of 
 another Russian column appeared on their 
 right far in their rear. Then a fearful 
 mitraille was poured into them, and volleys 
 of rifle and musketry. The guards were 
 broken ; they had lost fourteen officers, who 
 fell in the field ; they had, left one-half of 
 
 347 
 
BATTLE OF INKERMANN.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 their number on the ground, and they retired 
 along the lower road of the valley. They 
 were soon reinforced, however, and speedily 
 avenged their loss. The French advanced 
 about ten o'clock, and turned the flank of 
 the enemy. 
 
 " The second division, in the centre of the 
 line, were hardly pressed. The 41st regi- 
 ment, in particular, were exposed to a terrible 
 fire, and the 95th were in the middle of such 
 disorganising volleys that they only mustered 
 sixty-four men when paraded at two o'clock. 
 In fact, the whole of the division numbered 
 only 300 men when assembled by Major 
 Eman in rear of then camp after the fight 
 was over. The regiments did not take their 
 colours into the battle, but the ofBcers never- 
 theless were picked off wherever they went, 
 and it did not require the colour-staff to in- 
 dicate their presence. Our ambulances were 
 soon fiUed, and ere nine o'clock they were 
 busily engaged in carrying loads of men, all 
 covered with blood, and groaning, to the 
 rear of the line. 
 
 " About half-past nine o'clock, Lord Rag- 
 lan and his staff were assembled on a knoll, 
 in the vain hope of getting a glimpse of the 
 battle which was raging below them. Here 
 General Strangways was mortally wounded, 
 and I am told that he met his death in the 
 following way : — A shell came right in 
 among the staff — it exploded in Captain 
 Somerset's horse, ripping him open ; a por- 
 tion of the shell tore off the leather over- 
 alls of Captain Somerset's trowsers ; it then 
 struck down Captain Gordon's horse, and 
 killed him at once ; and then blew away 
 General Strangways' leg, so that it hung by 
 a shred of flesh and a bit of cloth from the 
 skin. The poor old general never moved a 
 muscle of his face. He said merely, in a 
 gentle voice, ' Will any one be kind enough 
 to lift me off my horse?' He was taken 
 down and laid on the ground, while his 
 life-blood ebbed fast, and at last he was 
 carried to the rear. But the gallant old 
 man had not sufficient strength to undergo 
 an operation, and in two hours he had sunk 
 to rest, leaving behind him a memory which 
 will ever be held dear by every officer and 
 man of the army. 
 
 " The fight about the battery to which I 
 have alluded in a former part of my letter 
 was most sanguinary. It was found that 
 there was no banquette to stand upon, and 
 that the men inside could not fire upon the 
 enemy. The Russians advanced mass after 
 mass of infantry. As fast as one column 
 348 
 
 was broken and repulsed, another took its 
 place. For three long hours about 8,500 
 British infantry contended against at least 
 four times their number. No wonder that, 
 at times, they were compelled to retire. 
 But they came to the charge again. The 
 admirable devotion of the officers, who 
 knew they were special objects of attack, 
 can never be too highly praised. Nor can 
 the courage and steadiness of the few men 
 who were left to follow them in this sangui- 
 nary assault on the enemy be sufficiently 
 admired. At one time the Russians suc- 
 ceeded in getting up close to the guns of 
 Captain Wodehouse's and of Captain 
 Turner's batteries in the gloom of the 
 morning. Uncertain whether they were 
 friends or foes, our artillerymen hesitated 
 to fire. The Russians charged them sud- 
 denly, bore all resistance down before them, 
 drove away or bayoneted the gunners, and 
 succeeded in spiking some of the guns. 
 Their columns gained the hill, and for a 
 few moments the fate of the day trembled 
 in the balance ; but Adams's brigade, Penne- 
 father's brigade, and the light division, made 
 another desperate charge, while Dickson's 
 guns swept their columns, and the guards, 
 with im.diminished valour and steadiness, 
 though with a sadly decreased front, pushed 
 on again to meet their bitter enemies. The 
 rolling of musketry, the cra.sh of steel, the 
 pounding of the guns were deafening, and 
 the Russians, as they charged up the heights, 
 yelled like demons. They advanced, halted, 
 advanced again, received and returned a 
 close and deadly fire ; but the Minie is the 
 king of weapons — Inkermann proved it. 
 The regiments of the fourth division and 
 the marines, armed with the old and much- 
 belauded brown Bess, could do nothing, 
 with their thin line of fire, against the 
 massive multitudes of the Muscovite in- 
 fantry ; but the volleys of the Minie cleft 
 them like the hand of the destroying angel, 
 and they fell like leaves in autumn before 
 them. About ten o'clock, a body of French 
 infantry appeared on our right — a joyful 
 sight to our struggling regiments. The 
 Zouaves came on at the pas de charge. The 
 French artillery had already begun to play 
 with deadly effect on the right wing of the 
 Russians. Three battalions of the chasseurs 
 d' Orleans (I believe they had No. 6 on 
 their buttons) rushed by, the light of battle 
 on their faces. They were accompanied by 
 a battalion of chasseurs indigenes — the Arab 
 sepoys of Algiers. Their trumpets sounded 
 
1854.J 
 
 WAR WITPI RUSSIA. 
 
 [battle of inkekmann. 
 
 above the diii of battle, and when we watched 
 their eager advance right on the flank of the 
 enemy, we knew the day was won. Assailed 
 in front by our men — broken in several 
 places by the impetuosity of our charge, 
 renewed again and again — attacked by the 
 French infantry on the right, and by artil- 
 lery all along the line, the Russians began 
 to retire, and at twelve o'clock they were 
 driven pell-mell down the hill towards the 
 valley, where pursuit would have been mad- 
 ness, as the roads were all covered by their 
 artillery. They left mounds of dead behind 
 them. Long ere they fled, the chasseurs 
 d'Afrique charged them most brilliantly 
 over the ground, difficult and broken as it 
 was, and inflicted great loss on them, while 
 the efl'ect of this rapid attack, aided by the 
 advance of our troops, secured our gu-ns, 
 which were only spiked with wood, and were 
 soon rendered fit for service. Our own 
 cavalry, the remnant of the light brigade, 
 were moved into a position where it was 
 hoped they might be of service, but they 
 were too few to attempt anything, and while 
 they were drawn up they lost several horses 
 and some men. One officer. Cornet Clev- 
 land, was struck by a piece of shell in the 
 side, and has since expired. There are now 
 only two officers left with the fragment of 
 the 17th lancers — Captain Godfrey Morgan 
 and Cornet George Wombwell. At twelve 
 o'clock the battle of Inkermann seemed to 
 have been won, but the day, which had 
 cleared up for an hour previously so as to 
 enable us to see the enemy and meet him, 
 again became obscured. Rain and fog set 
 in, and as we could not pursue the Russians, 
 who were retiring under the shelter of their 
 artillery, we had formed in front of our 
 lines, and were holding the battle-field so 
 stoutly contested, when the enemy, taking 
 advantage of our quietude, again advanced, 
 while their guns pushed forward and opened 
 a tremendous fire upon us. 
 
 " General Canrobert, who never quitted 
 Lord Raglan for much of the early part of 
 the day, at once directed the French to 
 advance and outflank the enemy. In his 
 efforts he was most ably seconded by Gen- 
 eral Bosquet, whose devotion was noble. 
 Nearly all his mounted escort were down 
 beside and behind him. General Canrobert 
 was slightly wounded. His immediate at- 
 tendants suffered severely. The renewed 
 , assault was so admirably repulsed, that the 
 Russians sullenly retired, still protected by 
 their crushing artillery. 
 VOL. I. t3 z 
 
 " The Russians, about ten, made a sortie 
 on the French lines, and traversed " two 
 parallels before they could be resisted. 
 They were driven back at last with great 
 loss, and as they retired they blew up some 
 mines inside the, flagstaff fort,- evidently 
 afraid that the French would enter pell-mell 
 after them. 
 
 " At one o'clock the Russians were again 
 retiring. At twenty minutes to two Dick- 
 son's two guns smashed their artillery, and 
 they limbered up, leaving five tumbrels and 
 one gun-carriage on the field." 
 
 This great battle, which commenced at 
 seven in the morning, was riot entirely over 
 until three in the afternoon; the terrible 
 struggle having thus lasted eight hours. 
 The loss of the allies (especially the British) 
 was terrible ; but they succeeded in driving 
 back the enormous masses of Russians that 
 were hurled upon them, and in securing a 
 bloody victory. The Russian army was 
 variously estimated at from 45,000 to 60,000 
 men. Its object was to crush the allies, 
 and, by one terrible and desperate effort, 
 terminate the struggle. To accomplish this 
 the Russian soldiers fought with an obsti- 
 nate and furious bravery they had never 
 displayed before. But what was the result? 
 — an ever glorious one for England and her 
 brother, France. An army of not more 
 than 8,000 English and 6,000 French (for 
 no greater number could be spared from 
 the conduct of the siege) arrested the pro- 
 gress of the Russian columns, hewed them 
 down by sheer strength of muscle and 
 adamantine resolution, and finally swept 
 them reeling back, bleeding, decimated, and 
 dispirited. The battle, however, was one of 
 a negative character ; it was ra.ther a gigan- 
 tic instance of heroism, by wliich we saved 
 ourselves from impending destruction, than 
 a victory over the enemy. The Russians 
 were repulsed, and repulsed with a terrible 
 loss ; but it could scarcely be said they were 
 defeated. Their loss was at first said to be 
 about 9,000 in killed and wounded. Lord 
 Raglan subsequently said that they left 
 near 5,000 dead upon the field, and that 
 their casualties altogether amounted to not 
 less than 15,000. Prince Mentschikoff 
 speaks thus indefinitely upon this subject : — 
 " Our loss in dead is not exenctly known, but 
 the number of wounded extends to 3,500 
 men and 109.oBieefs."" The much greater 
 amourit of slaughter amongst the Russians 
 than that which took place in the allied 
 army, is partly accounted for by the fact 
 
 349 
 
RESULT or THE BATTLE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854, 
 
 that our mere handful of men, broken up 
 into skirmishing parties, did not present the 
 same mark to the artillery of the enemy as 
 their massive columns did to ours. 
 
 The loss of the English was very severe. 
 Fourgenerals — Cathcart,Strangways,Goldie, 
 and Torreus — were killed ; and four others — 
 Brown, Bentinck, Buller, and Adams — were 
 ■wounded. Of the oflBcers, forty-three were 
 killed and 102 wounded, besides thirty-two 
 sergeants killed and 121 wounded. As a 
 •whole, the English loss amounted to 463 
 killed, 1,952 wounded, and 198 missing : 
 making a total of 2,6 12 ! That, too, out of 
 a force of only 8,000 men! The French 
 had 1,726 killed or wounded. At the lowest 
 estimate of the Russian army, it was three 
 times as numerous as that of the allies ; at 
 the highest, more than four times. Verily, 
 with all its losses, terrible as they were, 
 and notwithstanding its equivocal victory, 
 England and France had more cause to be 
 proud of the battle of Inkermann than of 
 any other exploit achieved by either of these 
 great nations. It was a soldier's battle, in 
 which we were saved by the muscle, nerve, 
 and courage of our men. At the same 
 time, it must be admitted that the English 
 exhibited a want of caution, or they would 
 not have been surprised as they were by so 
 vast a force. The point of attack was known 
 to be the weak part of our position, and 
 there were no supports near. Both our 
 flanks were nearly turned ; and the Russians 
 might have succeeded in their intention of 
 annihilating us but for the heroism and 
 resolute hardihood of our officers and men. 
 We owe the victory, such as it was, to 
 strength, not to superior intelligence and 
 foresight. The Russians behaved with great 
 barbarity to the wounded, dispatching with 
 their bayonets all who fell. An English 
 officer, being slightly wounded, was unable 
 to join his men as they retired for a time 
 overwhelmed by numbers. On recovering 
 the ground, they found their officer stabbed 
 all over and stripped. A wounded Russian 
 officer was seen to limp about the field, 
 actually employed in stabbing the fallen 
 , with his sword. Being taken prisoner by 
 an orderly of the Duke of Cambridge, his 
 royal highness promised the wretch that he 
 would do his best to have him shot for his 
 inhumanity. 
 
 A military man gave the following ac- 
 count of the appearance of the field after 
 the battle : — " On our ridge, where were 
 our batteries, the ground was covered with 
 350 
 
 dead, principally Russians, their bodies fear- 
 fully shattered. They fought desperately, 
 and at one time were nearly outflanking us 
 and carrying the ridge. One Russian, or 
 rather his remains, lay on the parapet of 
 the breastwork; had it not been for his 
 clothes, he would have dropped to pieces. 
 He had literally been blown from the muzzle 
 of a gun while in the act of climbing over 
 the breastwork. I then went to the ridge 
 and knoll where our advanced pickets had 
 been, and which were occupied for a time by 
 the Russian artillery. There there were not 
 so may bodies, for the Russians had doubt- 
 less carried them ofi"; but there were gun- 
 carriages smashed (the guns had been car- 
 ried back by the Russians), and numbers of 
 horses killed and wounded by cannon-balls, 
 many disembowelled, and others horribly mu- 
 tilated and still alive; some still standing with 
 one leg shattered. I then crossed the road 
 which runs over the field of action, where 
 our right had been. A little in advance is 
 a battery for two guns, which had been 
 erected for the purpose of silencing a Rus- 
 sian battery on the other side of the Inker- 
 mann valley. This having been done, the 
 guns had been long since removed. Here 
 the fight had been fiercest, and the sight 
 exceeded all description. For a great dis- 
 tance the ground was absolutely covered 
 with dead — Russians, Zouaves, Frenchmen 
 of the line, English guardsmen and lines- 
 men, lay heaped together. Here was the 
 greatest slaughter, but everywhere where 
 any fighting had been, there was no want of 
 bodies ; and I am certain, judging from 
 three visits to the ground, that for every 
 Englishman or Frenchman there were eight 
 or ten Russians. The wounds were fright- 
 ful ; some unfortunate creatures were ripped 
 open with shot or shell ; some had their 
 legs blown off; others were headless; and 
 the brains of many had actually dripped out 
 of the immense holes made by the Minie 
 bullets, leaving the skull empty." 
 
 On the 7th the sad business of the burial 
 of the dead was commenced. Large pits 
 were dug and the bodies laid in crosswise, 
 head and feet alternately. The English and 
 French were laid together, but the Russians 
 were buried separately. Such was the dislike 
 that the French and English soldiers had 
 to their barbarous foes, that they had a re- 
 pugnance to placing even a dead Russian in 
 the same cart with the corpses of their own 
 countrymen. So laborious was this dreary 
 work of burial, that the multitudes of dead 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [lord raglan's despatch. 
 
 horses which lay about on the scene of 
 carnage were not put underground, but 
 merely dragged to a distance from the 
 camp, to prevent them from creating a 
 pestilence amongst the troops. 
 
 The despatches in reference to this bril- 
 liant battle will possess far more than ordi- 
 nary interest. They are documents which 
 the historian will preserve and dwell upon 
 with powerful emotions of patriotic ardour. 
 We first give a copy of that addressed by 
 Lord Raglan to the English war minister : — l 
 Before Sebastopol, Nov. 8th. 
 
 My Lord Duke, — I have thei honour to 
 report to your grace, that the army under 
 my command, powerfully aided by the corps 
 of observation of the French army, under 
 the command of that distinguished officer, 
 General Bosquet, effectually repulsed and 
 defeated a most vigorous and determined 
 attack of the enemy on our position over- 
 looking the ruins of Inkermann, on the 
 morning of the 5th instant. 
 
 In my letter to your grace of the 3rd, I 
 informed you that the enemy had consider- 
 ably increased their force in the valley of 
 the Tchernaya. The following day this 
 augmentation was still further apparent, 
 and large masses of troops had evidently 
 arrived from, the northward, and on two 
 several occasions persons of distinguished 
 rank were observed to have joined the 
 Russian camp. 
 
 I have subsequently learnt that the fourth 
 corps d'armee, conveyed in carriages of the 
 country, and in the lightest possible order, 
 had been brought from Moldavia, and were 
 to be immediately followed by the third 
 corps. 
 
 It was therefore to be expected that an 
 extensive movement would not be long 
 deferred. 
 
 Accordingly, shortly before daylight on 
 the 5th, strong columns of the enemy came 
 upon the advanced pickets covering the 
 ' right of the position. These pickets be- 
 haved with admirable gallantry, defending 
 the ground, foot by foot, against the over- 
 whelming numbers of the enemy, until the 
 second division, under Major-general Penne- 
 father, with its field guns, which had imme- 
 diately been got under arms, was placed in 
 position. 
 
 The light division, under Lieutenant- 
 general Sir George Brown, was also brought 
 to the front without loss of time ; the 1st 
 brigade, under Major-general Codriugton, 
 occupying the long slopes to the left towards 
 
 Sebastopol, and protecting our right battery, 
 and guarding against attack on that side ; 
 and the 2nd brigade, under Brigadier- 
 general Buller, forming on the left of the 
 second division, with the 88th regiment, 
 uuder Lieutenant-colonel Jeffreys, thrown 
 in advance. 
 
 The brigade of guards, under his royal 
 highness the Duke of Cambridge and Major- 
 general Bentinck, proceeded likewise to the 
 front, and took up most important ground 
 to the extreme right on the alignement of 
 the second division, but separated from it by 
 a deep and precipitous ravine, and posting 
 its guns with those of the second division. 
 
 The fourth division, under Lieutenant- 
 general Sir George Cathcart, having been 
 brought from their encampment, advanced 
 to the front and right of the attack ; the 
 1st brigade, under Brigadier-general Goldie, 
 proceeded to the left of the Inkermann-road ; 
 the 3nd brigade, under Brigadier-general 
 Torrens, to the right of it, and on the ridge 
 overhanging the valley of the Tchernaya. 
 
 The third division, under Lieutenant- 
 general Sir Richard England, occupied in 
 part the ground vacated by the fourth 
 division, and supported the light division by 
 two regiments under Brigadier-general Sir 
 John Campbell, while Brigadier- general 
 Eyre held the command of the troops in the 
 trenches. 
 
 The morning was extremely dark, with a 
 drizzling rain, rendering it almost impossible 
 to discover anything beyond the flash and 
 smoke of artillery and heavy musketry fire. 
 
 It, however, soon became evident that the 
 enemy, under cover of a vast cloud of skir- 
 mishers, supported by dense columns of in- 
 fantry, had advanced numerous batteries of 
 large calibre to the high ground to the left 
 and front of the second division, while pow- 
 erful columns of infantry attacked with great 
 vigour the brigade of guards. 
 
 Additional batteries of heavy artillery were 
 also placed by the enemy on the slopes to 
 our left ; the guns in the field amounting in 
 the whole to ninety pieces, independently, 
 however, of the ship guns and those in the 
 works of Sebastopol. 
 
 Protected by a tremendous fire of shot, 
 shell, and grape, the Russian columns ad- 
 vanced in great force, requiring every effort 
 of gallantry on the part of our troops to 
 resist them. 
 
 At this time two battalions of French in- 
 fantry, which had on the first notice been 
 sent by General Bosquet, joined our rightj 
 
 351 
 
LORD Raglan's hespatch.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 and very materially contributed to the suc- 
 cessful resistance to the attack, cheering 
 with our men, and charging the enemy down 
 the hill with great loss. 
 
 About the same time a determined assault 
 was made on our extreme left, and for a mo- 
 ment the enemy possessed themselves of 
 four of our guns, three of which were retalien 
 by the 88th, while the fourth was speedily 
 recaptured by the 77th regiment, under 
 Lieutenant-colonel Egerton. 
 
 In the. opposite direction the brigade of. 
 guards, iinder his royal highness the Duke of 
 Cambridge, was engaged in a severe conflict. 
 The enemy, under the cover of thick 
 brushwood, advanced in two heavy bodies, 
 and assaulted with great determination a 
 small redoubt which had been constructed 
 for two guns, but was not armed. The combat 
 was most arduous, and the . brigade, after 
 displaying the utmost steadiness and gaU 
 lantry, was obliged to retire before very 
 superior numbers, until supported by a wing 
 of the 20th regiment of the fourth division, 
 when they again advanced and retook the 
 redoubt. 
 
 This ground was afterwards occupied in 
 gallant style by French troops, and the 
 guards speedily reformed in rear of the 
 right flank of the second division. 
 
 In the meanwhile Lieutenant-general the 
 Hon. Sir George Cathcart, with a few com- 
 panies of the 68th regiment, considering that 
 he might make a strong impression by de- 
 scending into the valley, and taking the 
 enemy in flank, moved rapidly forward, but, 
 finding the heights above him in full occupa- 
 tion of the Russians, he suddenly discovered 
 that he was entangled with a superior force, 
 and while attempting to withdraw his men, 
 he received a mortal wound, shortly pre- 
 viously to which Brigadier-general Torrens, 
 when leading the 68th, was likewise severely 
 wounded. 
 
 Subsequently to this the battle continued 
 with unabated vigour, and with no positive 
 result, the enemy bringing upon our line not 
 only the fire of all their field batteries, but 
 those in front of the works of the place, and 
 the ship guns, till the afternoon, when the 
 sj'mptoms of giving way first became appa- 
 rent ; and shortly after, although the fire did 
 not cease, the retreat became general, and 
 heavy masses were observed retiring over the 
 bridge of the Inkerraann, and ascending the 
 opposite heights, abandoning on the field of 
 battle five or six thousand dead and wounded, 
 multitudes of the latter having already been 
 352 
 
 carried oS" by them. I never before wit- 
 nessed such a spectacle as the field prfcsented ; 
 but upon this I will not dwell. 
 
 Having submitted to your grace this im- 
 perfect description of this most severe battle, 
 I have still two duties to discharge, the one 
 most gratifying, the last most painful to my 
 feelings. * 
 
 I have the greatest satisfaction in drawing 
 your grace's attention to the brilliant con- 
 duct of the allied troops. French and Eng- 
 lish vied with each other in displaying their 
 gallantry and manifesting their zealous devo- 
 tion' to duty, notwithstanding that they had 
 to contend against an infinitely superior ^ 
 force, and were exposed for many hours to a 
 most galling fire. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that they 
 have daily, for several weeks, undergone 
 the most constant labour, and that many 
 of them passed the previous night in the 
 trenches. 
 
 I will not attempt to enter into the detail 
 of the movements of the French troops, lest 
 I should not state them correctly ; but I am 
 proud of the opportunity of bearing testi- 
 mony to their valour and energetic services, 
 and of paying a tribute of admiration to the 
 distinguished conduct of their immediate 
 commander. General Bosquet ; while it is in 
 the highest degree pleasing to me to place 
 upon record my deep sense of the valuable 
 assistance I received from the commander- 
 in-chief. General Canrobert, who was himself 
 on the ground and in constant communica- 
 tion with me, and whose cordial co-opera- 
 tion, on all occasions, I cannot too highly 
 extol. 
 
 Your grace will recollect that he was 
 wounded at the Alma. He was again 
 wounded on the 5th, but I should hope that 
 he will not long feel the effects of it. 
 
 I will, in a subsequent despatch,* lay before \ 
 your grace the names of the officers whose ' 
 services have been brought to my notice. I 
 will not detain the mail for that purpose 
 now ; but I cannot delay to report the 
 admirable behaviour of Lieutenant-general 
 Sir George Brown, who was unfortunately 
 shot through the arm, but is doing well ; of 
 Lieutenant-general his royal highness the 
 Duke of Cambridge, who particularly dis- 
 tinguished himself; and of Major-general 
 
 * This subsequent despatcli is dated November 
 11th ; and however gratifying its contents must be 
 to those officers who are honourably mentioned in 
 it, it is, as may be imagined, altogether destitute ot 
 interest to the non-military reader. 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [lord raglan's despatch. 
 
 Pennefather, in command of the second 
 division, which received the first attacli, and 
 gallantly maintained itself, under the greatest 
 diflSculties, throughout this protracted con- 
 flict; of Major-general Bentinck, who is 
 severely wpundedj Major-general Codring- 
 ton, Brigadier'general Adams, and Brigadier- 
 general Torrens, who are severely wounded j 
 and Brigadier^general BuUer, who is also 
 wounded, but not so seriously. 
 
 I must likewise express my obligations to 
 Lieutenant-general Sir Richard England, 
 for the excellent disposition he made of his 
 division, and the assistance he rendered to 
 the left of the light division, where Briga- 
 dier-general Sir John Campbell was judi- 
 ciously placed, and eflFectively supported 
 Major-general Codrington ; and I have great 
 pleasure in stating that Brigadier-general 
 Eyre was employed in the important duty 
 of guarding the trenches from any assault 
 from the town. 
 
 Lieutenant-general Sir De Lacy Evans, 
 who had been obliged, by severe indispo- 
 sition, to go on board ship a few days pre- 
 viously, left his bed as soon as he received 
 intelligence of the attack, and was promptly 
 at -his post ; and, though he did not feel 
 well enough to take the command of the 
 division out of the hands of Major-general 
 Pennefather, he did not fail to give him his 
 best advice and assistance. 
 
 It is deeply distressing to me to have to 
 submit to your grace the list of the killed, 
 wounded, and missing on this memorable 
 occasion. It is indeed heavy, and very 
 many valuable officers and men have been 
 lost to her majesty's service. 
 
 Among the killed your grace will find the 
 names of Lieutenant-general the Hon. Sir 
 G. Cathcart, Brigadier- general Strangways, 
 and Brigadier-general Goldie. 
 
 Of the services of the first it is almost un- 
 necessary to speak. They are known through- 
 out the British empire, and have, within a 
 short space of time, been brought conspicu- 
 ously before the country by his achieve- 
 ments at the Cape of Good Hope, whence 
 he had only just returned when he was 
 ordered to this army. 
 
 By his death her majesty has been de- 
 prived of a most devoted servant, an officer 
 of the highest merit, while I personally have 
 to deplore the loss of an attached and faith- 
 ful friend. 
 
 Brigadier-general Strangways was Known 
 to have distinguished himself in early hfe, 
 and in mature age, throughout a long 
 
 service, he maintained the same charac- 
 ter. 
 
 The mode in which he had conducted the 
 command of the artillery, since it was placed 
 in his hands by the departure through ill- 
 ness of Major-general Cator, is entitled to my 
 entire approbation, and was equally agree- 
 able to those who were confided to his care. 
 
 Brigadier-general Goldie was an officer of 
 considerable promise, and gave great satis- 
 faction to all undet whom he has served. 
 
 It is difficult to arrive at any positive con- 
 clusion as to the actual numbers brought 
 into the field by the enemy. The configu- 
 ration of the ground did not admit of any 
 great development of their force, the attack 
 consisting of a system of repeated assaults 
 in heavy masses of columns j but, judging 
 from the numbers that were seen in the 
 plains after they had withdrawn in retreat, 
 I am led to suppose that they could not 
 have been less than 60,000 men. Their 
 loss was excessive, and it is calculated that 
 they left on the field near 5,000 dead, and 
 that their casualties amount in the whole, 
 in killed, wounded, and prisoners, to not 
 less than 15,000. 
 
 Your grace will be surprised to learn that 
 the number of British troops actually en- 
 gaged little exceeded 8,000 men, whilst 
 those of General Bosquet's division only 
 amounted to 6,000, the remaining available 
 French troops on the spot having been kept 
 in reserve. 
 
 I ought to mention, that while the enemy 
 was attacking our right, they assailed the 
 left of the French trenches, and actually got 
 into two of their batteries j but they were 
 quickly driven out in the most gallant man- 
 ner with considerable loss, and hotly pursued 
 to the very walls of Sebastopol. 
 
 I have, &c., , Raglan. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. 
 
 The despatch of General Canrobert, ad- 
 dressed to the French minister of war, was as 
 follows : — 
 Head-quarters before Sebastopol, Nov. 7th. 
 
 Monsieur le Marechal, — I have the honour 
 to confirm my telegraphic despatch of the 
 6th of November, couched in these terms : — 
 
 "The Russian army, increased by rein- 
 forcements from the Danube, and the re- 
 serves in the southern provinces, and ani- 
 mated by the. presence of the grand-dukes 
 Michael and Nicholas, yesterday attacked 
 the right of the English position before the 
 place. 
 
 353 
 
DESPATCH OF GEN, CANROBERT.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854, 
 
 " The English army sustained the combat 
 with the most remarkable solidity. I caused 
 it to be supported by a portion of the Bos- 
 quet division, which fought with admirable 
 vigour, and by the troops which were the 
 most easily available. The euemy, more 
 numerous than we were, beata retreat with 
 enormous losses, estimated at from eight to 
 nine thousand men, 
 
 •"This obstinate struggle lasted the whole 
 of the day. On my left General Forey had, 
 at the same time, to repulse a sortie of the 
 gafrisou. The troops, energetically led on 
 by him, drove the enemy from the place, 
 with the loss of 1,000 men. 
 
 " This brilliant day, which was not 
 finished without loss to the allies, does the 
 greatest honour to our arms." 
 
 The action, of which the above telegraphic 
 despatch forms the summary, was most ani- 
 mated and warmly contested. 
 
 At the first gunshot the deserters who 
 came to us revealed the real situation of the 
 Russian army in regard to numbers, and 
 enabled us to calculate the reinforcements it 
 had successively received since the battle of 
 the Alma. They are — 1st contingent,' from 
 the coast of Asia, Kertch and KafPa ; 2nd, 
 six battalions and detachments of marines 
 from Nicolaieff ; 3rd, four battalions of 
 Cossacks from the Black Sea ; 4th; a great 
 portion of the army of the Danube ; and 
 the tenth, eleventh,, and twelfth divisions of 
 infantry forming the fourth corps, com- 
 manded by General Dannifenberg. These 
 three divisions were transported by express, 
 with their artillery, from Odessa to Sim- 
 pheropol, in a few days; 
 
 Afterwards arrived the grand-dukes Mi- 
 chael and Nicholas, whose presence could 
 not fail to produce great excitement among 
 this army, which forms, with the garrison of 
 Sebastopol, a total of at least 100,000 men. 
 It was under these circumstances that 
 45,000 men of this army attacked by sur- 
 prise the heights of Inkermann, which the 
 English army could not occupy with a suffi- 
 cient force. Only 6,000 English took part 
 in the action, the rest being engaged in the 
 siege works. They valiantly sustained the 
 attack until the moment when General 
 Bosquet, arriving with a portion of his 
 division, was able to render such assistance 
 as to insure their success. One does not 
 know which to praise the most — the ener- 
 getic solidity with which our allies, for a 
 long time, faced the storm, or the intelligent 
 vigour which General Bosquet (who led a 
 354 
 
 portion of the brigades Bourbaki and Ante- 
 marne) displayed in attacking the enemy, 
 who rushed upon their right. 
 
 The 3rd regiment of Zouaves, under the 
 chiefs of battalion, Montandon and Dubos, 
 supportbd, in the most striking manner, the 
 ancient reputation of that force. The Al- 
 gerian riflemen (Colonel de Wimpfen), a bat- 
 talion of the 7th light (Commander Vaissier), 
 and the 6th of the line (Colonel de Camos), 
 rivalled each other in ardour. Three charges 
 were made with the bayonet; and it was only 
 after the third charge that the enemy sur- 
 rendered the ground, which was covered 
 with his dead and wounded. The Russian 
 field artillery and artillery of position was 
 much snperior in number, and occupied a 
 commanding position. Two Jiorse batteries, 
 commanded by M'. de la Boussiniere, and a 
 battery of the second division of infantrj', 
 commanded by M. Barval (the whole undci- 
 the .orders of Colonel Forgeot), sustained 
 the struggle during the whole day, in con- 
 junction with the English artillery. 
 
 The enemy decided upon beating a retreat, 
 leaving more than 3,000 dead, a great 
 number of wounded, a few hundred prisoners, 
 and also several caissons of artillery, in the 
 possession of the allies. His losses, alto- 
 gether, cannot be estimated at less, than 
 from eight to ten thousand- men. While 
 these events were being accomplished on the 
 right, about 5,000 men m'ade a vigorous 
 sortie against ' our attacks to the left, fa- 
 voured by a thick fog and 'by ravines which 
 facilitated their approach. The troops on 
 duty in the trench, under the orders of 
 General de la Motterouge, marched upon 
 the enemy, who had already invaded two of 
 our batteries, and repulsed him, killing 
 more than 200 men within the batteries. 
 The general of division, Forey, command- 
 ing the siege corps, by rapid and skilful 
 arrangements, arrived with the troops of the 
 fourth division to support the guards of the 
 trenches, and marched himself at the head 
 of the 5th battalion of foot chasseurs. The 
 Russians, beaten down upon the whole of 
 their line, were retreating precipitately upon 
 the place with considerable losses, when 
 General de Lourmel, seeing them fly before 
 him, and urged by a chivalric courage, 
 dashed in pursuit of them up to the walls of 
 the place, where he fell severely wounded. 
 General Forey had much difiiculty in with- 
 drawing him from the advanced position to 
 which his brigade had been hurried by 
 excess of bravery. The Aurelle brigade, 
 
inl: IrOWDOH PHINTraC A^TD PDBLISHINC COMPAT^r 
 
1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [french order of the day. 
 
 which had taken up an excellent position 
 to the left, protected this retreat, which was 
 effected under the fire of the place with 
 considerable loss. Colonel Niol, of the 26th 
 of the line, who lost his two chiefs of bat- 
 talion, took this command of the brigade, 
 whose conduct was admirably energetic. 
 The enemy, in this sortie, lost 1,000 men in 
 killed, wounded, or prisoners, and he re- 
 ceived a very considerable moral and material 
 check. 
 
 The battle of Inkerm^nn, and the combat 
 sustained by the siege corps were glorious 
 for our arms, and have increased the moral 
 power which the allied armies have attained ; 
 but we have suffered losses to be deplored. 
 They amount, for the English army, to 2,400 
 men killed or wounded, among whom are 
 seven generals, three of whom were killed ; 
 and, for the French army, to 1,726 killed or 
 wounded. We bitterly lament the loss of 
 General de Lourmel, who died from his 
 wound, and whose brilliant military qualities 
 and conduct in private life seemed to promise 
 future renown. I also have the regret to 
 announce to you the death of Colonel de 
 Camos, of the 6th of the line, killed at the 
 head of his troops at the moment when it 
 engaged with the enemy. 
 
 The vigour of the allied troops, subjected 
 to the double trials of a siege, the difficulties 
 of which are without a precedent, and to 
 actions of war which tecall the greatest 
 struggles of our military history, cannot be 
 too highly eulogised. 
 
 I enclose my order of the day to the army 
 for the battle of the 5th. 
 
 Accept, &c., 
 Canrobert, the General-in-chief. 
 
 ground more than 4,000 of his men killed 
 or wounded, and carried away at least as 
 many during the battle. 
 
 While these events were in course of 
 accomplishment, the garrison of Sebastopol 
 made a sortie upon the left of our attacks, 
 which afforded to the troops of the siege 
 corps, and particularly to the fourth division, 
 led most vigorously by General Forey, the 
 opportunity of giving the enemy a severe 
 lesson. The troops employed in repelling 
 this sortie gave proof of an energy which 
 much increases the reputation they had 
 already earned by the patience with which 
 they supported the onerous and glorious 
 labours of the siege. I shall have to men- 
 tion regiments and soldiers of all kinds and 
 of all ranks who prominently distinguished 
 themselves during this day. I shall make 
 them known to France, to the emperor, and 
 to the army. But I was anxious, at the 
 first moment, to thank you in their name, 
 and to tell you that you hate just added a 
 voluminous page to the history of this diffi- 
 cult campaign. 
 
 Canrobert, the General-in-chief. 
 Head-quarters, before Sebastopol, 
 Nov. 5th, 1854. 
 
 General Canrobert also issued the follow- 
 ing general order to the French army : — 
 
 Soldiers ! you have had another glorious 
 day. 
 
 A great portion of the Russian army, 
 favoured by the night and the fog, was able 
 to establish itself, with powerful artillery, 
 upon the heights which form the extreme 
 right of our position. Two EugUsh divisions 
 sustained an unequal fight with the invincible 
 solidity which we know to be the charac- 
 teristic of our aUies ; while a part of the 
 Bosquet division, conducted by its worthy 
 chief, came up to their support, and rushed 
 upon the enemy with a boldness and intelli- 
 gence to which I here render forcible homage. 
 Definitively driven back in the valley ot 
 the Tchemaya, the enemy left upon the 
 
 The Russian account of tbis battle, ad- 
 dressed by Prince Mentschikoff to the Em- 
 peror- Nicholas, and dated November 6th, 
 runs as follows. It will be seen that a de- 
 feat is acknowledged, by the Russian gen- 
 eral ! — 
 
 Yesterday, at Sebastopol, from the direc- 
 tion of bastion No. 1, there was a sortie, in 
 which the following troops took part. Of 
 the tenth division of infantry, the regiments 
 of Catherinenborg, Tomsk, and Kolyvan ; of 
 the eleventh division of infantry, the regi- 
 ments of Selinghinsk, Yakoutsk, and Ok- 
 hotsck } of the sixteenth division of infantry, 
 the regiments Vladimir, Souzdal, and Oug- 
 litch; and of the seventeenth division oi 
 infantry, the regiments of Boutyrsk, Boro- 
 dino, and Tarontino. There was as much 
 artillery as could be taken, considering the 
 difficulty of passing the gates. A portion of 
 the troops passed by the Inkermann bridge. 
 The command of the troops was intrusted to 
 the general of infantry Dannenberg, com- 
 mander of the fourth corps of infantry. 
 
 Our first attack upon the heights was 
 very successful. The English fortifications 
 were carried, and eleven of their guns 
 spiked. Unfortunately, in this first move- 
 ment, the commanders of the troops of the 
 
 355 
 
RUSSIAN ACCOUNT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 tenth division, who attacked the intrench- 
 ments and the redoubts, were wounded. 
 During this period the French forces arrived 
 to the assistance of the Enghsh. The siege 
 artillery of the latter was placed in position 
 on the field of battle, and it was not possible 
 for our field artillery to contend against 
 such an advantage. The superiority in 
 number of the enemy's men armed with 
 carbines occasioned a great loss of horses 
 and men belonging to the artillery, and of 
 officers of infantry. This circumstance did 
 not allow of our finishing, without sacrificing 
 the troops, the redoubts which we had begun 
 to raise during the fight upon the points 
 which the position of the enemy commanded 
 even up to the town of Sebastopol. 
 
 The retreat was effected in good order 
 upon Sebastopol and by the bridge of Inker- 
 mann, and the dismounted guns were 
 brought back from the field of battle to 
 the place. 
 
 The grand.dukes Nicholas Nicholaievitch 
 and Michael Nicholaievitch were in the midst 
 of the terrible fire which prevailed, and set 
 an example of coolness and courage in the 
 fight. 
 
 Simultaneously with this sortie the Minsk 
 regiment of infantry, with a light artillery 
 battery, under the command of Major-gen- 
 eral of artillery Timofeiefi", executed another 
 against the Freilch batteries, and spiked fif- 
 teen of their guns. 
 
 Our loss in dead is not yet exactly known, 
 but the number of wounded extends to 
 3,500 men and 109 officers. Among the 
 latter are Lieutenant-general Soimonoff, who 
 received a ball through the body and soon died 
 from the wound; major-generals Villebois 
 and Ochterlohne j colonels Alexandrofi", com- 
 mander of the infantry regiment of Cathe- 
 rinenborg, Poustovoitoff, ditto of the infantry 
 regiment of Tomsk, Bibikoif, ditto, com- 
 mander of the chasseurs of Okhotsck, Baron 
 Delwig, ditto of the infantry of Vladimir, 
 and Vereuvkine-Scheluta, ditto, commander 
 of the chasseurs of Borodino. Major-general 
 Kischinsky, chief of the artillery, received a 
 contusion from the bursting of a shell; 
 Major-general Prince MentschikofiF, belong- 
 ing to the suite of your imperial majesty, a 
 contusion in the neck ; Colonel Albedinsky, 
 aide-de-camp of your imperial majesty, and 
 Captain Greigh, of the cavalry, my aide-de- 
 camp, a contusion in the head. 
 
 General Dannenberg had two horses killed 
 under him, and all the persons by whom he 
 was surrounded were wounded. 
 356 
 
 The loss of the enemy cannot have been 
 less considerable, and the sortie of General 
 TimofeiefiF cost the French dear ; for, while 
 he was pursuing them with formidable 
 masses, they fell under a violent fire of 
 grapeshot from bastion No. 6, 
 
 While these movements were being exe-. 
 cuted, the troops under command of Priijce 
 Gortschakoff made a strong demonstration 
 against Kadikoi, and thus kept in inactivity 
 the enemy's detachment at Balaklava. 
 
 The news of the battle of Inkermann was 
 received in England with mingled emotions 
 of sorrow and of pride ; sorrow for the frights 
 ful loss we had sustained, and pride for the 
 heroism of our troops. That event had 
 made a great alteration in our position ; we 
 could scarcely be called besiegers, for we 
 also were ourselves besieged. It became a 
 question rather of defence than of aggression. 
 It was evident that we had underrated the 
 strength, resources, and power of dogged 
 resistance of the enemy ; and the attention 
 of the allies was rather occupied in con- 
 sidering how they should secure themselves 
 against the enormous armies of the foe, than 
 in prosecuting the siege of Sebastopol. 
 Indeed, for a time, the latter was at a stand- 
 still ; and neither the allies or the Russians 
 were in a condition to continue the struggle 
 with activity. The cry from the seat of war 
 was, " Help us, or we are overwhelmed !" 
 and both England and France responded to 
 the demand for more men. 
 
 After the battle of the Alma, her majesty 
 sent to the British troops information of her 
 approval of their heroic conduct. She was 
 pleased again to do so — and that in warm 
 and earnest language — after the great strug- 
 gle in the valley of the Inkermann. The 
 following despatch, to which we particularly 
 direct the attention of the reader, was ad- 
 dressed by the English minister of war to 
 Lord Raglan : — 
 
 War Department, Nov. 27th,.1854. 
 
 My Lord, — I received on the 22nd instant 
 your lordship's- despatch of the 8th of this 
 month, communicating the intelligence of 
 the glorious battle of the 5th, in which a de- 
 termined attack by vastly superior numbers 
 of the enemy was completely repulsed by 
 the unfaltering steadiness and gallantry of 
 the allied armies. 
 
 I immediately laid before the queen the 
 details of this important victory, and it is 
 now my grateful duty to express to your 
 lordship her majesty's high appreciation of 
 
A.D. 1854. J 
 
 the noble exertions of her troops in a conflict 
 which is unsurpassed in the annals of war for 
 persevering valour and chivalrous devotion. 
 The strength and fury of the attacks, re- 
 peatedly renewed by fresh columns with a 
 desperation which appeared to be irresistible, 
 \yere spent in vain against the unbroken 
 lines and the matchless intrepidity of the 
 men they had to encounter. Such attacks 
 could only be repulsed by that cool courage, 
 under circumstances the most adv*se, and 
 that confidence of victory which have ever 
 animated the British army. 
 
 The banks of the Alma proved that no 
 advantages of position can withstand the 
 impetuous assault of the army under your 
 command. The heights of Inkermann have 
 now shown that the dense columns of an 
 entire army are unable to force the ranks of 
 
 * This language ia not a mere rhetorical flourish. 
 On the contrary, it is only a faint representation of 
 the hearty cordiality wliich existed between the 
 French and English soldiers, and extended to the 
 French and English nations. Of this the following 
 interesting letter from a resident in Paris affords 
 conclusive evidence: — 
 
 " To the Editor of the Times. 
 
 " Sir, — There are few subjects of greater interest 
 to Englishmen, and none of more importance, than 
 the present state of feeling in France as regards the 
 alliance, and the prospects of its duration. As I 
 have opportunities of meeting many classes of French- 
 men, and ascertaining their views, I will, with your 
 permission, send you a few straws to show how the 
 wind blows. Parties in France may be divided into 
 Buonapartist, Republican, Orleanist, and Legitimist. 
 In the ranks of the first two are to be found the 
 great mass of the people, the army, the shopkeepers, 
 and most of the bourgeoisie ; with them the alliance 
 and the war are universally popular. The republi- 
 cans have, since the declaration of war, had the 
 manliness to forget their grievances, and to ally 
 themselves heart and soul with the emperor in de- 
 fence of the cause protected by their common country 
 and defended by the French and English army. No 
 men more readily express their admiration of the 
 noble conduct of both armies at the Alma and at 
 Inkermann, none are more enthusiastic in praising 
 the heroism of our cavalry at Balaklava ; and if their 
 ' wishing could do any good,' Sebastopol would have 
 beea in our possession ere now. The hearty cheers 
 with which the blouses greet the red coats when 
 they appear on the stage at the mimic 'bataille 
 cfAlma are most refreshing to an Englishman. I 
 was purchasing a cigar a day or two since in a shop 
 on the Boulevards, when a cabman came in to buy 
 tobacco. ' is it true,' said he, addressing a French- 
 man, ' that 8,000 Englishmen kept the field against 
 45,000 Russians until Bosquet came up, and that in 
 company with our soldiers they charged the enemy 
 and killed 9,000 ?' ' Yes.' ' Then, although I have 
 always hated the English, and thought them false 
 and perfidious, if an Englishman were now to fall 
 into the Seine, I would jump after and try to save 
 him, though I can't swim a stroke. Here are 
 heroes : why the old guard could never have done 
 
 VOL. T. t3 A 
 
 WAE, WITH RUSSIA. [victoria to her troops. 
 
 less than one-fourth their numbers in the 
 hand-to-hand encounters with the bayonet 
 which characterised this bloody day. 
 
 Her majesty has observed with the live- 
 liest feelings of gratification the manner in 
 which the troops of her ally the Emperor of 
 the French came to the aid of the divisions 
 of the British army engaged in this nume- 
 rically unequal contest. The queen is 
 deeply sensible of the cordial co-operation 
 of the French commander-in-chief. General 
 Canrobert, and the gallant conduct of that 
 distinguished officer. General Bosquet ; and 
 her majesty recognises, in the cheers with 
 which the men of both nations encouraged 
 each other in their united charge, proofs of 
 the esteem and admiration mutually engen- 
 dered by the campaign and the deeds of 
 heroism it has produced. * 
 
 more ; and to think they are Englishmen, whom I 
 have been hating all my life ! But it is never too 
 late to learn.' Several English officers, wounded at 
 the Alma, lately passed through Paris, and ventured 
 in undress uniform (their only clothes) into the 
 Tuileries gardens. With shattered bodies and tar- 
 nished embroidery they looked as became men who 
 had been fighting for their country. The people 
 pressed round them in all directions, and gave most 
 hearty signs of their sympathy, desiring to shake 
 them by their undamaged hand, for most of them 
 had one arm in a sling. ' Voila des Anglais, des 
 blesses de I'Alma,' was heard in all directions, mingled 
 with words of good-fellowship from the men, and of 
 pity from the softer sex. One bid man, more prac- 
 tical than the rest, judging from the condition of 
 their uniforms and their honourable scars that they 
 must want money, offered to supply them with any- 
 thing they required, and was quite grieved that they 
 had no occasion to avail themselves of his generosity. 
 The Charivari contains a picture of a highlander 
 standing sentinel at his post with a precipice and 
 the sea immediately at his back. A French soldier 
 and a Tartar peasant regard him from below. ' What 
 folly,' says the Tartar, ' to place a sentry in such a 
 position.' ' There's no danger,' replies the chasseur, 
 ' ces soldats la ne reculent jamais.' And this is in 
 the Charivari, written by some of the most con- 
 sistent republicans in France, and so long bitter 
 against England and all connected with her! In- 
 deed, nothing can exceed the generous spirit that 
 pervades the mass of Frenchmen, both civilians and 
 military, since the details of the battle of Inkermann 
 have been published. The gallant stand made by 
 ' that astonishing infantry' has received a full meed , 
 of justice at their hands, and over and over again I 
 have been met with the remark, ' How proud you 
 should be to be their countryman ;' to which I have 
 replied, ' Yes, as you to be the countryman of those 
 who so nobly flew to their assistance.' The Journal 
 des Debats and Steele, Constitutionnel and Patrie, 
 Presse and Charivari, vie in admiration of their con- 
 duct. The Assemblee Nationale is silent, and the 
 Union, the organ of the Fusionist party, speaks of 
 the battle of Inkermann as though no Englishman 
 were present thereat. ' How cowardly in the Rus- 
 sians,' say many ; ' they always attack the English 
 
 357 
 
VICTORIA TO HER TROOPS. J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1854. 
 
 The queen desires that your lordship will 
 receive her thanks for your conduct through- 
 out this noble and successful struggle, and 
 that you will take measures for making 
 known her no less warm approval of the 
 services of all the officers, non-commissioned 
 officers, and soldiers, who have so gloriously 
 won by their blood, freely shed, fresh honours 
 for the army of a country which sympathises 
 as deeply with their privations and exertions 
 as it glories in their victories and exults in 
 their fame ; let not any private soldier in 
 
 THOSE RANK.S BELIEVE THAT HIS CONDUCT IS 
 unheeded; THE QUEEN THANKS HIM, HIS 
 COUNTRY HONOURS HIM. 
 
 Her majesty will anxiously expect the 
 further despatch in which your lordship pro- 
 poses to name those officers whose services 
 have been especially worthy notice. In the 
 meantime, I am commanded by her majesty 
 to signify her approbation of the admirable 
 behaviour of Lieutenant-general Sir George 
 Brown, and her regret that he has been 
 wounded in the action. Her majesty has 
 
 force, knowing it is the weakest. However, we 
 should not regret it, as it has shown us of what stuff 
 your army is composed, and how implicitly we can 
 rely upon it.' A veil seems to have passed from 
 their eyes, and the jaundiced hue with which they 
 regarded England and her institutions has been 
 changed to couleur de rose. To this feeling, which 
 is all but universal, there are two exceptions, — one 
 in a section of our old friends the Orleanista, the 
 other in a large portion of the Legitimist party. 
 Fortunately, their power is in proportion to their 
 number ; but we may now see to demonstration that 
 the Orleanist party sought the English alliance as a 
 means of strengthening a dynasty, and not as a bene- 
 fit to France. This section of the old Assemblee Na- 
 tionale faction is quite ready to sacrifice country to 
 party, as each person composing it would probably 
 be prepared to betray party for self. They have no 
 sympathy with the successes qf the allies, and, though, 
 they dare not openly express their hopes, nothing 
 would grieve them more than the fall of Sebastopol. 
 Knowing that success in the Crimea will materially 
 increase the emperor's popularity, while a reverse' 
 would damage his government, they forget their 
 position as Frenchmen in their hatred as partisans. 
 They desire no addition to the well-earned laurels of 
 the French army if one wreath be thereby placed on 
 the brow of Louis Napoleon. They dislike the 
 alliance because it has given power to France gov- 
 erned by the emperor, and because Englishmen have 
 sunk all cause of contention in admiration of the 
 loyalty and good faith which have characterised all 
 his dealings with them. They say that it was to 
 England they looked with hope, and now that she 
 has formed an alliance with the emperor, that last 
 hope is broken. There is no place in Europe where 
 their voice can be heard or their sighs uttered, and 
 they are no longer Frenchmen, but Pariahs. They 
 will not believe that Englishmen can be sincere in 
 their alliance with the present ruler of France. I have 
 assured them they were mistaken; that as Euglish- 
 3.5b 
 
 received with feelings of no ordinary pleasure 
 your lordship's report of the manner in 
 which Lieutenant-general his royal highness 
 the Dukeof Cambridge distinguished himself. 
 That one of the illustrious members of her 
 royal house should be associated with the toils 
 and glories of such an army is to the queen 
 a source of great pride and congratulation. 
 
 To Major Bentinck, Major-general Cod- 
 rington,* brigadier-generals Adams, Torrens, 
 and Bi^ler, your lordship will be pleased to 
 convey the queen's sympathy in their wounds, 
 and thanks for their services. 
 
 To the other officers named by your lord- 
 ship I am directed to express her majesty's 
 approbation. The gallant conduct of Lieu- 
 tenant-general Sir De Lacy Evans has at- 
 tracted the queen's especial thanks. Weak 
 from a bed of sickness, he rose at the sound 
 of the battle — not to claim his share in pro- 
 minent command, but to aid with his veteran 
 counsel and assistance the junior officer upon 
 whom, in his absence, had devolved the duty 
 of leading his division. 
 
 men we have to thank the emperor for cementing 
 the only true alliance ever formed between the two 
 countries ; that we have forgotten all old grievances, 
 and are determined to do all in our power to pro- 
 mote a long continuance of the good feeling which 
 now prevails between the two governments. French- 
 men as a body have no sympathy with their un- 
 worthy feeling, which is exceptional, and confined 
 to sections of the Orleanist and Legitimist parties, 
 and the admirers of Russia are only to be mtt 
 with among those men of letters who have been so 
 remarkably set aside by the man of action. Mean- 
 while the head of the government pursues the even 
 tenour of his way, and palace, bridge, street, and 
 square spring up and are finished as if by magic. 
 The works of the crystal palace are being pursued 
 with great vigour, and all preparation is being made 
 for the opening in May. The original building 
 being found too small for the treasures it is likely to 
 contain, a gallery has been built along the Seine 
 from the Pont de la Concorde towards the Pont de 
 Jena. This gallery is about three-quarters of a mile 
 long, and, as the sides will be of glass for upwards 
 of ten feet in height, it will make a delightful pro- 
 menade, with a beautiful view of the river and the 
 hall of the corps legislatif, the foreign office, &c. 
 Nothing can exceed the busy preparations made in 
 the army of Paris in anticipation of a winter cam- 
 paign. Every alternate day some thousands of 
 troops — horse, foot, and artillery — meet in the Champ 
 de Mars, force the passage of the Seine by the bridge 
 of Jena, which is defended by a strong iete dupont, 
 and storm the opposite heights ; or they march in 
 heavy order to the plain of St. Maur, near Vin- 
 cennes, manoeuvre for some hours, and return in the 
 evening. They seem hearty and well, are most 
 anxious for work, and very civil to Englishmen. 
 "Yours, &c., 
 
 " An Anglo-Parisian." 
 * Major-general Codrington was erroneously stated 
 to have been wounded. 
 
A.O. 185 4. J 
 
 WA.TI WITH EUSSIA. [napoleon to gen. caneobert. 
 
 Proud of the victory won hj her brave 
 army — grateful to those who wear the laurels 
 of this great conflict — the queen is painfully 
 affected by the heavy loss which has been 
 incurred, and deeply sensible of what is 
 owing to the dead. Those illustrious men 
 cannot indeed receive the thanks of their 
 sovereigns, which have so often cheered the 
 soldier in his severest trials ; but their blood 
 has not been shed in vain. Laid low in their 
 grave of victory, their names will be che- 
 rished for ever by a grateful country, and 
 posterity will look upon the list of officers who 
 have fallen as a proof of the ardent courage 
 and zeal with which they pointed out the 
 path of honour to no less willing followers. 
 
 The loss of Lieutenant-general the Hon. 
 Sir George Cathcart is to the queen and 
 to her people a cause of sorrow which even 
 dims the triumph of this great occasion. His 
 loyalty, his patriotism, and self-devotion were 
 not less conspicuous than his high military 
 reputation. One of a family of warriors, he 
 was an honour to them and an ornament to 
 his profession. Arrived in his native land 
 from a colony to which he had succeeded in 
 restoring peace and contentment, he obeyed, 
 at a moment's notice, the call of duty, and 
 hastened to join that army in which the 
 queen and the country fondly hoped he would 
 have lived to win increased renown. 
 
 The death of Brigadier-general Strang- 
 ways and Brigadier-general Goldie has added 
 to the sorrow which mingled in the rejoicing 
 of this memorable battle. 
 
 The queen sympathises in the loss sus- 
 tained by the families of her officers and 
 soldiers, but her majesty bids them reflect 
 with her, and derive consolation from the 
 thought, that they fell in the sacred cause of 
 justice and in the ranks of a noble army. 
 
 I have the honour to be, my lord, your 
 lordship's obedient humble servant, 
 
 Newcastle. 
 Field-marshal Lord Raglan, G.C.B., &c. 
 
 My Lord,— I have received the queen's 
 commands to signify to your lordship her 
 maiesty's gracious intention to confer a medal 
 upon all the officers and soldiers of the army 
 who have been engaged in the arduous and 
 brilliant campaign of the Cnmea. 
 
 This medal will bear on it the word 
 " Crimea," with an appropriate device, a de- 
 sign for which has been ordered to be pre- 
 
 ^Ttt also her majesty's desire that clasps 
 withthenamesof •' Alma" and "Inkermann 
 
 inscribed upon them, shall be accorded to 
 those who have been in either, or both, of 
 those hard -fought battles, and that the same 
 names shall in future be borne on the colours 
 of all the regiments which were engaged on 
 those bloody and glorious days. 
 
 Your lordship will be pleased to convey to 
 the army this royal command, an additional 
 proof of her majesty's appreciation of its 
 noble services and her sympathy with its 
 valour and renown. 
 
 I have the honour to be, my lord, your 
 lordship's obedient humble servant, 
 
 Newcastle. 
 Field-marshal the Lord Raglan, G.C.B., &c. 
 
 The Emperor of the French also addressed 
 the following congratulatory address to 
 General Canrobert, expressive of his admira- 
 tion of the conduct of his soldiers in the 
 East :— 
 
 Palace of St. Cloud, Nov. 24th. 
 
 General, — Your report respecting the 
 victory of Inkermann has excited deep emo- 
 tion in my mind. Express, in my name, to 
 the army my entire satisfaction with the 
 courage it has displayed, with its energy in 
 supporting fatigues and privations, and its 
 warm cordiality towards our allies. Thank 
 the generals, the officers, and the soldiers 
 for their vaUant conduct. Tell them that I 
 warmly sympathise with their misfortunes 
 and the cruel losses they have experienced, 
 and that my constant solicitude shall be di- 
 rected to the task of softening the bitterness 
 of them. After the brilliant victory of the 
 Alma, I had hoped for a moment that the 
 routed army of the enemy would not so 
 easily have repaired its losses, and that Sebas- 
 topol would soon have fallen under our 
 attacks ; but the obstinate defence of that 
 town and the reinforcements received by the 
 Russian army have for the moment arrested 
 the course of our success. I approve of the 
 resistance you made to the impatience of the 
 troops who wished to make the assault under 
 circumstances which would have entailed too 
 considerable losses. 
 
 The English and French governments 
 direct their serious attention to their army 
 in the East. Already steam-boats are trav- 
 ersing the seas with considerable reinforce- 
 ments. This increase of assistance will 
 double your forces, and enable you to assume 
 the ofi'ensive. A powerful diversion is about 
 to take place in Bessarabia, and I receive 
 the assurance that from day to day in foreign 
 countries public opinion becomes more and 
 
 359 
 
ATTACK ON PETUOPAULOVSKY.J HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 more favourable to us. If Europe should 
 have seen without alarm our eagles, so long 
 banished, displayed with so much ^clat, it is 
 because it knows that we are only fighting 
 for its independence. If Prance has resumed 
 the position to which she is entitled, and if 
 victory has again attended upon our flags, it 
 is — I declare it with pride — to the patriotism 
 and to the indomitable bravery of the army 
 that I owe it. 
 
 I send General de MontebeUo, one of 
 my aides-de-camp, to convey to the army 
 the rewards which it has so well merited. 
 
 In the meantime, general, I pray God 
 to have you in his holy keeping. 
 
 Napoleon, 
 
 Together with news of the battle of In- 
 kermann came information of another event, 
 in which the allies had suffered more and 
 gained less than was to be expected. This 
 was the partial repulse of a French and 
 English squadron from the Russian settle- 
 ment of Petropaulovsky, on the peninsula of 
 Kamtschatka. 
 
 Petropaulovsky (settlement of St. Peter 
 and St. Paul) may be called the extreme 
 north of Asiatic Russia. It is a station for 
 whalers, and for the Russian fur trade on 
 the confines of Asia and America. Its re- 
 moteness from Europe, and its natural ob- 
 scurity would have protected it sufficiently 
 from the cannon of the allied fleets, but that 
 it had attracted notice as a place of refuge 
 for the Russian squadron in the Pacific. It 
 was known that at the commencement of 
 hostilities, the Russians had three or four 
 ships of war in the Eastern seas, which, if 
 not closely watched, might do considerable 
 injury to our commerce in the Chinese and 
 Australian trade. On this account the 
 British squadron in the Pacific was rein- 
 forced by the Pique, and Admiral David 
 Price took the command on that station. 
 It was known that two of the Russian ships, 
 the Aurora and the Dwina, were vessels of 
 war well found and manned, and it was the 
 duty of the French and English ships to 
 co-operate in pursuit of them ; capture them, 
 if possible ; but if not, render them unfit 
 for service for some time. 
 
 On the 17th of May the English force, 
 consisting of the President, a fine 50-gun 
 frigate (the admiral^s flag-ship), the Amphi- 
 trite, of 25 guns, and the Virago, of 6 guns, 
 left Callao for the Marquesas, in company 
 with a French squadron. The latter con- 
 sisted of La Forte, 60 guns • Eurydice, 30 ; 
 360 
 
 Artemise, 30; and Obligado, 18. The 
 English ships were joined by the Pique on 
 the 22nd of July, that vessel having come 
 almost direct from Rio Janeiro to meet the 
 squadron. The latter had previously left 
 the Marquesas for Honolulu. To this place 
 about 300 whalers come every year to refit, 
 and its central position in the ocean makes 
 it a valuable station. During the last thirty 
 years a well-built town, containing about 
 15,000 inhabitants, has sprung up in it. 
 Two or three newspapers are published 
 weekly; a fortnightly communication with 
 San Francisco has been established ; and 
 everything bears the air of advancing civili- 
 sation. 
 
 The allied fleet left Honolulu on the 25th 
 of July ; on the 30th the Amphitrite and 
 Artemise were detached for San Francisco ; 
 and on the 28th of August, the rest of the 
 vessels arrived within sight of the mountains 
 about Petropaulovsky. A reconnaissance of 
 the bay was made by the Virago; and on 
 the 29th the fleet sailed up with colours 
 flying, and cast anchor. No sooner was 
 this done than four Russian batteries opened 
 upon the allied vessels. They were the 
 battery on SehakofP Point, on the left of 
 the entrance to the harbour; a battery on 
 the point to the right ; an uncovered battery 
 of twelve guns on a tongue of land jutting 
 out into the port near the entrance ; and a 
 battery on the peninsula, which protects the 
 city on the west. Behind this battery could 
 be seen the masts of four vessels lying in 
 the bay ; one of them was a merchantman, 
 but the others were men-of-war, including 
 (it was afterwards discovered) the Aurora 
 and the Dwina. 
 
 It was evening when the allies were so 
 unexpectedly saluted; but the Virago ad- 
 vanced towards the peninsula, and opened a 
 fire upon the Russian batteries. Nothing of 
 importance was done that night, but the 
 next morning decks were cleared for action. 
 The bombardment had just commenced, 
 under the direction of Admiral Price, when 
 a little after one o'clock he went into his 
 'abin and shot himself through the heart ! 
 The startling intelligence was instantly com- 
 municated to the French admiral, who, with 
 his aide-de-camp and surgeon, went on board 
 the President. It was too late ; the Eng- 
 lish commander was dead ; the drums there- 
 fore beat a retreat, and the preparations for 
 the battle were suspended. The unfortunate 
 admiral was always regarded as a brave man : 
 he had seen much service from 1801 to 
 
A.D, 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR "WITH RUSSIA, [attack on petropaulovsky. 
 
 1815, and had, during that period, ably 
 discharged the debt of duty which he owed 
 his country. We agree, therefore, with the 
 charitable decision which has been passed 
 upon his conduct — that his mind had given 
 way under a too serious feeling of responsi- 
 bility, and that the lamentable and unfor- 
 seen incident which ended his career at so 
 critical a moment, must be regarded as the 
 result of some human infirmity or sudden 
 visitation beyond all human control. 
 
 In consequence of the death of Admiral 
 Price, Captain Sir F. Nicholson, of the Pique, 
 became senior officer of the British moiety 
 of the squadron. The engagement was not 
 long delayed, but recommenced on the next 
 morning, the 31st of August. The fire was 
 kept up vigorously both from the ships and 
 from the land. The Virago landed a body 
 of troops near the battery on the right, who 
 advanced resolutely upon it, and in spite of 
 a steady fire from the Aurora, succeeded in 
 destroying the gun-carriages and spiking the 
 guns. The Aurora, however, having landed 
 200 men to retake the battery, the party 
 from the Virago retired and re-embarked in 
 good order. In the course of the day the 
 Russian guns were silenced, but the enemy 
 repaired their works during the night. 
 
 The following day the body of Admiral 
 Price was taken by the Virago to the bay of 
 Tarinski, where it was interred. While 
 there the vessel picked up three American 
 sailors, who had deserted from whalers, and 
 who communicated what was supposed to be 
 important topographical information re- 
 specting Petropaulosvky. When the Virago 
 rejoined the fleet, a council of war was held 
 on board the Forte, and it was decided to 
 make another attack the next day, the 4th 
 of September. Accordingly, a body of 700 
 seamen of both nations, including 176 picked 
 carabiniers, headed by Captain Burridge and 
 Captain de la Grandiere, were landed from 
 the Virago early in the morning, on the low 
 part of the peninsula. This was accom- 
 plished in safety about eight o'clock, not- 
 withstanding a fire from the battery, which 
 was, however, replied to from the ships. 
 
 The spot for landing was selected under 
 the directions of one of the American 
 sailors, who represented the environs of the 
 town as quite easy of access. Either from 
 accident, or through treachery, he led the 
 allies into a thick bush of underwood and 
 brambles, which not only placed great diffi- 
 culties in the way of their progress, but also 
 afforded the Russian sharpshooters, who lay 
 
 concealed in the bjishes, a secure and almost 
 impenetrable shelter, from which they shot 
 dead every man of whom they caught a 
 glance. The sailors fought like madmen, 
 but their efforts were of little avail against 
 a hidden and a sheltered foe. Captain 
 C. A. Parker fell dead while charging with 
 the English marines; two French officers 
 also perished. The struggle was seen to be 
 of so disadvantageous a nature, that an order 
 to . retire and re-embark was given. The 
 command was obeyed, slowly and in good 
 order, but not before the English had lost 
 about 120 men in killed and wounded, aild 
 the French a similar number. A party oi 
 the troops, while retracing their steps, lost 
 their way and found themselves suddenly 
 brought to a stand by a precipice about 
 seventy feet deep. Deadly volleys were 
 being poured in upon them in the rear, and 
 they had no alternative but to leap down 
 the precipice or run the risk of being shot. 
 Of several who did brave that tremendous 
 leap, some were killed and others maimed. 
 One object of the expedition was obtained, 
 notwithstanding its generally unfortunate 
 result : one of the batteries was evacuated, 
 many of the artillerymen left dead upon 
 their guQS, and the cannon spiked. 
 
 The Russian ship Aurora was also much 
 injured — so much so, as to be condemned to 
 inaction during the winter. A Russian 
 vessel, laden with provisions and munitions 
 of war for the garrison, and having several 
 military officers on board, was captured and 
 burnt after the removal of the cargo and 
 the crew. A Russian schooner of about 
 100 tons burden, laden with stores, and the 
 Avatscha, a small coaster, also fell into the 
 hands of the allies. Though the latter 
 failed in their attempt on Petropaulovsky, 
 the subjects of the czar by no means came 
 off seathless. Impossible as it was to form 
 an estimate o£ their loss in killed and 
 wounded, it was conjectured to have been 
 greater than that of tho allies. This must 
 be attributed to the bombardment, during 
 which many Russians were said to have 
 been cut in two by the balls from the ships. 
 The Muscovites displayed great bravery and 
 devotion to their duty. At one sentinel no 
 less than sixty rifle shots were fired; but 
 nothing could overcome his stoicism, and he 
 continued his walk up and down the ram- 
 parts of the fort on which he was stationed 
 without even turning his head either to the 
 right or left. The poor fellow escaped un- 
 hurt, as he thoroughly deserved to do. 
 
 361 
 
RETURN OF THE BALTIC FLEET.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 On the 7th of September the allied fleet 
 sailed away from the bleak shore of Petro- 
 paulovsky. The news of the failure to 
 destroy the fortifications there reaching 
 England, as it did, about the same time as 
 the particulars of the battle of Inkermann 
 arrived, created perhaps more sensation than 
 it deserved. In some places notes of fore- 
 boding were uttered, as if the power and 
 dignity of England had been weighed in the 
 balance of time and been found wanting. 
 This was to take a timid and unworthy 
 view of her character, her resources, and 
 her perseverance. England is what she is 
 in spite of many petty failures and some 
 great ones. She can afford a failure, without 
 injuring her position or sullying her name. 
 No nation can so order its goings that success 
 shall ever wait upon its footsteps, and -nctory 
 and glory be its constant attendants. In- 
 kermann, though scarcely a victory, shed a 
 flood of military glory upon the radiant arms 
 of England, which it would take a thousand 
 such petty misfortunes as those of Petro- 
 paulovsky permanently to obscure. 
 
 Id. closing this chapter we must not forget 
 that we left our Baltic fleet, under Sir 
 Charles Napier, in the neighbourhood of the 
 Aland Isles. As the winter approached, the 
 greatest part proceeded to Kiel in Den- 
 mark. There it remained until the receipt 
 
 of intelligence from Captain R. Watson, who 
 commanded the blockading squadron in the 
 Gulf of Finland, that the Russian fleet was 
 frozen in, and therefore subject to a natural 
 blockade, which rendered ours unnecessary 
 until the return of spring broke up the ice 
 and set the captive Russian vessels free. 
 Great secrecy was preserved as to the pre- 
 cise period at which the entire fleet would 
 leave the territories of the ^nemy. 
 
 A correspondent, writing from Kiel on 
 the 29th of November, says— "That the 
 powerful fleet which assembled in the Baltic 
 should return home without having effected 
 something more than the destruction of 
 Bomarsund, is a circumstance to be de- 
 plored, and will be unsatisfactory to the 
 majority of the English nation, who naturally 
 anticipated that it would have achieved more 
 important deeds. Nevertheless, it returns 
 home gradually for the winter season ; two 
 by two the ships composing it are dispatched 
 from this harbour ; and when the whole of 
 them shall have arrived in their own waters, 
 will it be greeted with that enthusiastic 
 feeling with which it was honoured on its 
 departure for the Baltic in March of the 
 present year ? Probably not ; yet the ser- 
 vice it has done has been productive of 
 some good results, and ought to be appre- 
 ciated." 
 
 CHAPTER XXm. 
 
 LETTERS FROM THE CAMP, CHIEFLY ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE GLORIOUS BATTLE OF INKERMANN ; TERRIFIC 
 STORM IN THE BLACK SEA ; LOSS OF THE PRINCE, OTHER TRANSPORTS, AND VESSELS OF WAR ; RESULTS 
 or THE STORM IN THE ALLIED CAMPS. 
 
 We return to our interesting selection of 
 letters illustrative of the war, and written 
 by those actually engaged in its terrible 
 struggles, and its still more terrible demands 
 on their capability of endurance. Our own 
 opinion of the interest and value of these 
 communications we have already expressed. 
 A few additional observations concerning 
 them, from the pen of a writer in one of 
 our leading journals, will not be read with- 
 out interest. Alluding to these letters, he 
 observes : " The graphic and life-like cha- 
 racter of the narratives contained, the cir- 
 cumstantial fidelity of the descriptions, and 
 362 
 
 the insight afforded into the daily doings of 
 that army on which the eyes of Europe are 
 fixed, were amply suflBicient to attract even 
 a desultory reader; nor do we doubt but 
 that this correspondence has become familiar 
 to most households in the kingdom. There 
 is one point, however, which calls, we think, 
 for more especial remark. Many, indeed 
 most, of the letters referred to, were written 
 by non-commissioned officers or private sol- 
 diers; that is to say, by men originally 
 taken from the lower grades of society, and 
 hitherto considered as rather unfavourable 
 representatives of the class from which they 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [letters on the war. 
 
 sprang. In times past it used to be plainly 
 asserted, that the worst man made the best 
 soldier; and, though that reproach upon 
 the profession of arms has long been re- 
 tracted, there are probably still persons who 
 think that dispositions of a reckless, irregular, 
 lawless, or somewhat immoral turn, are those 
 among which the recruiting sergeant finds 
 his best account. We can only say, how- 
 ever, that such persuasions should have 
 been most effectually confuted by the letters 
 to which we allude. Every one must have 
 been impressed with the evidence thus sup- 
 plied of the character of the British soldier. 
 It is really quite impossible that any men, in 
 any profession of life, could have written in 
 a better spirit, with a more unaffected sin- 
 cerity, or with a more entire absence of 
 unbecoming sentiment." 
 
 The first was from an officer to his brother, 
 a day or two before the battle of Inkermann, 
 in which the writer perished. He was shot 
 through the head while leading and cheering 
 on his men to a charge against the enemy, 
 and died instantly : — 
 
 Heights of Sebastopol, Nov. 3nd. 
 The Times' correspondent writes most 
 truthfully, and you may always depend on 
 what he says. His whole time is spent in 
 riding about and picking up information. 
 There is a wonderful difference between the 
 life of " Our own Correspondent" and a man 
 who has to be shot at in the trenches, or on 
 outlying picket, about twenty-eight hours 
 out of every forty-eight — for that, owing to 
 the utter insufficiency of our force, has been, 
 of late, the average of our work. If you 
 could see us, you would see the faces of our 
 men worn down with disease and almost in- 
 cessant hard work. No other class of men 
 in this world could have behaved as they 
 have done, and all without a inurmur. 
 Every one, however, is thoroughly tired out 
 with it. The cold at night is something to 
 read of, but certainly not to be experienced, 
 if possible to be avoided. The night before 
 last I had the pleasure of trying it, without 
 even my tent over my head. It was my 
 first night on picket since we have had frost. 
 However, it is of no use complaining, though 
 I candidly confess I dread the winter for 
 our men. We have no warm clothing. 
 What would I not give now for my buffalo 
 robe or even a sensible blanket ! Never 
 mind-cheer, boys, cheer! If we return, 
 how heartily we shall e°]oy our after-life 
 whatever it may be, after this! As for 
 
 fire at ours, if anything, a little faster. We 
 stand a chance of being shot every day, and 
 lead the most miserable life possible. Every 
 day we are told that, in three or four more 
 days, we are to storm the p}"»«e, but now I 
 never believe a word I hear. I suppose 
 people in England are disappointed that we 
 have not taken it yet ; but if you saw the 
 guns that are day and night sending their 
 messengers of death among us, you would 
 not so much marvel, although I for one, and 
 very many good soldiers in the army — our 
 own general (Cathcart) among the number 
 — think we should have carried the place by 
 a coup de main the day we took up position. 
 Great would have been the sacrifice of life, 
 but I doubt much if we do not lose very far 
 more wheu we do carry it, to say nothing of 
 the thousands lost in the meantime. That 
 we must eventually carry the place by assault 
 no one for one moment doubts, and the 
 enemy have had more than a month to 
 prepare a fearful reception for us, and obtain 
 reinforcements of thousands, which are now 
 hovering round us. The las't news, which I 
 have got from good authority' — as every one 
 does — is, that the French are to be ready 
 on Saturday, on which night we are to 
 attack, and need I say take, this strong- 
 hold ? That we shall take it you need not 
 doubt, but many, very many brave fellows, 
 will be the cost of the victory. Depend 
 upon it, if I survive I will write to you 
 directly I have a chance ; if I do not, my 
 dearest brother, know for sure that I fell 
 where I should — at the head of my company. 
 I could write to you for ever, but I am 
 very tired, and know not what the night 
 may bring forth. I may be in the trenches, 
 or under the walls of Sebastopol on outlying 
 picket. I am not fit for either, but as I 
 said I was well enough to go into the field 
 yesterday, I must take duty to-day. I am 
 stronger than I was, and to-day had some 
 soup and a glass of port wine. I find the 
 greatest inconvenience from cramps in my 
 stomach, which sometimes are extremely 
 painful. Several of our fellows are so bad, 
 that they are obhged to be sent on board 
 ship. I am very thankful I am not worse. 
 I can assure you that you little know what 
 we have gone through in this campaign, and 
 how bravely our men bear all. 
 
 the siege, 
 
 we fire at their batteries and they 
 
 The next letter contains a partial descrip- 
 tion of the battle of Inkermann, from the 
 pen of an officer of the 49th regiment of 
 foot : — 
 
 363 
 
LETTERS CONCERNING INKERMANN. HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1854. 
 
 Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 7th. 
 Before this can reach you, no doubt you 
 will have heard of the tremendous struggle 
 we had on the 5th, and you will be all 
 anxiety to hear of me. I would I could 
 send you intelligence of myself as quickly 
 as rumour flies. I will not enter into par- 
 ticulars of the battle, excepting such as con- 
 cern myself, for I know they will prove the 
 most interesting to you, my dear parents, 
 and the newspapers will contain full accounts 
 of the day. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th, about half- 
 past four o'clock, I went on picket with my 
 company, and such a day and night we 
 had ! the rain falling nearly the whole time ; 
 besides this, I felt ill, tired, and done up be- 
 fore I went on, and had I had a subaltern 
 to my company should not have gone at all, 
 as I had been suffering a good deal from 
 diarrhoea and overwork. However, as I did 
 not wish to throw the duty on another oflB- 
 cer, I went. I mention all this to show you 
 that it was not with any feelings of pleasure 
 that at daybredi on the 5th, when I had 
 marched half-way back to camp, and was 
 speculating on a good breakfast and a few 
 hours' sleep, I heard the fire of musketry 
 from near the ground I had just left, and 
 found, on moving to an eminence, that the 
 alarm was given, and that a general action 
 was about to commence. I immediately 
 made my men disembarrass themselves of 
 their packs, &c., and look to their arms, 
 many of which were so wet that they could 
 not subsequently be fired, and were cast 
 aside for others taken from the dead and 
 wounded. Soon after my regiment moved 
 up to where I was, and I joined them. By 
 this time the enemy had made good their 
 footing on the hills, where the pickets 
 rested, and had got their batteries into play. 
 There was a heavy mist, and that, together 
 with the brushwood, prevented our seeing 
 the enemy. Our artillery did not act in 
 consequence on the advancing columns 
 moving upon us from all sides. While in 
 line, and before moving forward, poor 
 Arthur Armstrong, our adjutant, was killed 
 by a round shot. Shortly after Major Dal- 
 ton, when he advanced to the left with some 
 companies, was shot by a Russian not five 
 yards off. Some say that he was a wounded 
 man, and that our men bayoneted him the 
 next moment. I did not see him fall. 
 Colonel Herbert, our quartermaster-general, 
 directed me to take the three right com- 
 panies into a small intrenched work on the 
 364 
 
 right. I did so, and shortly after, finding 
 that our men were being driven in rapidly, 
 I gave the word " Advance !" to my men, 
 and over we went across the embankment, 
 and, with a wild hurrah, and rapid firing, 
 drove back a large Russian column that was 
 close upon us, but which did not fancy 
 coming to the bayonet. My men behaved 
 nobly, and were the means of rallying the 
 troops previously retreating. The action 
 was one consisting of many fights, for no 
 sooner had one Russian column been driven 
 back than a fresh one was discovered on 
 either flank, and thus we were frequently 
 nearly cut off, and greatly outnumbered. 
 As to keeping any formation or together, it 
 was out of the question in the thick bush 
 we were fighting in. My men were quickly 
 scattered, and I found myself with men of 
 all corps who had afterwards come up. I 
 saw another column advancing on our left 
 flank. I tried to get the men to move to 
 the left, but one voice could do but little in 
 the din that was then going on. We, how- 
 ever, moved towards the left and centre of 
 our position with as many men as we could 
 get, and there we encountered a large 
 column, with two others in its rear in sup- 
 port. Here the fire was fearful. I distinctly 
 saw four Russian batteries, some of them 
 siege guns, playing upon us from different 
 hills. The shot from our own artillery was 
 also passing close over our heads, and bullets 
 were flying wholesale. I doubt if there ever 
 was a heavier fire than we were exposed to 
 at this spot. Fresh columns of the enemy 
 pressing, not only to our front, but on our 
 flanks also, we began to retire. I, in com- 
 mon with other officers, did all in my power 
 to make the men stand, but failed. Regi- 
 ments were mixed, and commanding-officers 
 mostly shot. It was a bitter moment, and 
 I anxiously looked at the crest of the hiH 
 towards our camp to see what supports were 
 there. I saw what I took for Turks, and on 
 approaching nearer was delighted to find 
 they were French — one regiment formed in 
 line. We retired slowly in rear of the 
 French, and there re-formed line two deep 
 with men of all corps. The Russians ad- 
 vanced, I should say, to within twenty paces 
 of the French, and were received with a 
 murderous fire. Although the French fire 
 was so effective their line wavered. What a 
 moment was that ! Had they retired the 
 Russians would have been into our camps, 
 we should have been driven to our ships, 
 and the siege raised. That was happily 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [letters concekninc* inkermann. 
 
 averted. The French officers ran about 
 encouraging their men ; the English officers 
 also shouted encouragement ; and our men 
 (not above three companies), at the example 
 of their officers, raised a loud hurrah. The 
 French drummers beat the pas de charge, 
 and their bugles sounded the advance. We 
 all then charged, and drove the Russian 
 columns rapidly before us. Up to this time 
 our artillery had not, I think, done much ; 
 but now became, with the French, more 
 effective. This was, I think, the worst part 
 of the day ; but the battle was far from over, 
 and kept on raging furiously until about five 
 o'clock in the evening ; we then returned to 
 camp — and tired I was, and hungry too, for 
 I had not broken my fast : excitement had 
 kept me going. 
 
 When I got tack, poor Major Dalton sent 
 for me ; he was going fast, and told me his 
 last wishes : the ball had passed through his 
 intestines and caused him much agony, 
 which he bore nobly; he died two hours 
 after; we buried him yesterday, at his own 
 request, by the side of poor Major Powell. 
 I had the melancholy task of writing to his 
 wife this morning ; she is residing on the 
 Bosphorus. 
 
 Few commanding-officers ever make them- 
 selves so loved by both officers and men as 
 did Dalton, in so short a time — a fine gal- 
 lant soldier, and my best friend, after 
 Powell. Armstrong, too ! another brave 
 young fellow. 
 
 Both the brigadier- general and his brother 
 are wounded, but I am glad to say not 
 seriously; they are gone with the rest of 
 the wounded to Scutari. 
 
 I walked over the battle-field yesterday, 
 and more particularly that part where I had 
 been the previous day. What slaughter and 
 what horrors ! I hear the English loss is 
 greater than at the Alma— 2,400. Our 
 division sufiered greatly, being the first en- 
 gaged. In our brigade the three coni- 
 manding-officers were killed; in our regi- 
 ment we had two officers killed and one 
 wounded ; forty of other ranks killed, and 
 107 wounded — 150 casualties. In fact, 
 every third man was hit, for I do not sup- 
 pose we had more than 450 in the field. 
 
 I have not heard what the French loss is, 
 but suspect it to be trivial in comparison, as 
 we had borne the brunt of the battle before 
 they came up. The Russian loss must be 
 tremendous; General Caurobert estimates 
 it at about 20,000. We have about 2,000 
 prisoners, and the number of dead is fearful. 
 13 B 
 
 The troops we had to contend with were 
 partly reinforcements lately arrived. What 
 atrocities they committed ! They bayoneted 
 our wounded whenever they came across 
 them. Our men's feelings were aroused, 
 and I doubt their giving any quarter in 
 future. I saved a Russian's life that day by 
 warding off a thrust made by one of the 
 57th as he lay on the ground wounded. I 
 did not at the time know how the Russians 
 had behaved to our wounded, or I perhaps 
 should not have blamed the man. General 
 Evans was not present at the commence- 
 ment of the action; he has been ill and 
 shaken by a fall from his horse. He is 
 again gone on board ship. We hope he 
 will soon rejoin us. Our tents were riddled 
 by balls and shells. In the next tent to 
 mine a shell pitched right into Dewar's port- 
 manteau, bursting inside. I have some 
 trophies of the day — a brace of pistols and a 
 medal for the Hungarian campaign. I en- 
 close the last, and will send the former at 
 the first opportunity. 
 
 Another partial aspect of the battle is 
 presented in the following communication, 
 from a non-commissioned officer of the Scots 
 fusileer guards to his family : — 
 
 Dear Father and Mother,— I take this 
 opportunity of writing to you, hoping you 
 are both in good health, as, I am happy to 
 say, thank God, this leaves me quite well at 
 present. 
 
 I received your kind and welcome letter, 
 and it gave me great comfort, for I am sorry 
 to have to inform you that your old corps 
 has had another severe cutting up— in fact, 
 much worse than the last. We have had 
 another general engagement on the 5th of 
 November. Well shall I remember that day. 
 I ought never to forget the goodness of God 
 in bringing me off the ground safe, and 
 without a scratch. 
 
 And now I will endeavour to give you an 
 'account, as far as I am able, of the battle; 
 but I must tell you that on the night pre- 
 ceding the battle it was very foggy, and the 
 morning was misty. The Russians availed 
 themselves of it. A strong force, about 
 40,000 men (we are informed), under the 
 command of General Osten-Sacken, from 
 Odessa, with numerous artillery, got posses- 
 sion of some heights, and when the mist 
 cleared away opened fire, drove in the out- 
 lying pickets, and got possession of the hills 
 overlooking the second division tents. It 
 was about a quarter-past six, a.m. When the 
 
 365 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
LETTERS CONCERNING INKERMANN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 firing commenced I was just up, and saw the 
 second division falling in. Some men were 
 killed in front of their tents. We fell in any- 
 how. We had only six companies — two on 
 picket ; the grenadier guards, five companies, 
 and I believe, the Coldstream guards, seven 
 companies. The brigade of highlanders are 
 guarding Balaklava; the second division is 
 encamped on our right. We went up, and 
 a fearful sight it was in going through the 
 second division encampment ; the shells were 
 bursting over our heads, and the cannon- 
 balls rolling through us, knocking down 
 tents, and poor bS,t-horses were knocked to 
 pieces by them. We were, of course, all 
 taken by surprise, finding the enemy being 
 so near, and had gained possession of a re- 
 doubt; and the Duke of Cambridge, with 
 only the guards and two companies of the 
 46th regiment, said, " You must drive them 
 out of it." Well, then, they were only 
 twenty yards from us, and we were firing at 
 each other. The pioneers and drummers, 
 with the stretchers, were told to find the best 
 shelter they could, and so I myself, with our 
 drum-major, were lying down behind a small 
 bush, and we both expected every moment to 
 be shot, the bullets actually passing within a 
 few inches of our heads, and breaking ofi' the 
 branches over us as we lay there. Well, 
 they succeeded in driving the Russians out 
 of the place, and got them down the hill, 
 when they were ordered to retire. They 
 retired, and the Russians came up with re- 
 doubled strength, and completely surrounded 
 us ; the Russians took possession of the re- 
 doubt. The duke said, " They must come 
 out of it again." The Russians cheered, as 
 also did the guards. Things now looked 
 desperate, as we had no support, except the 
 Almighty, and He defended the right. At 
 it they went, and for half-an-hour things 
 seemed to favour the enemy. We were all 
 surrounded — no getting out. The grenadier 
 guards nearly lost their colours; they had 
 only about forty men to defend them. We 
 gave another cheer, and out of the redoubt 
 they went again, and the grenadier guards 
 managed to keep their colours. We drove 
 them out at the point of the bayonet down 
 the hill. The guards were ordered to retire 
 again, but would not, and, in fact, could not ; 
 if they had got down this steep hill, they 
 could not have got back again well. The 
 brave French came up to our assistance, and 
 kept them at bay while we retired and got 
 our ammunition completed, and then the 
 brigade of guards were formed into one regi- 
 366 
 
 ment of six companies, and at it we went 
 again, and by this time, plenty of assistance 
 coming to us, we managed to do them, but 
 at a great loss to us. Officers behaved 
 bravely. The Coldstreams had eight officers 
 killed on the field; the grenadiers three 
 officers. Only picture to yourself eleven 
 officers being buried at one place and time. 
 There was not a dry eye at the funeral. We 
 had Colonel Walker wounded in three places. 
 Colonel Blair died, and was buried to-day. 
 He only joined three weeks ago. He was 
 shot in the breast. Our adjutant, Captain 
 Drummond, Captain Gipps, Colonel F. Sey- 
 mour, and Mr. Elkington were all wounded. 
 Colonel Ridley and Colonel Dalrymple left 
 us to-day sick. We have scarcely any officers 
 now left. We had two sergeants, four cor- 
 porals, and thirty-one privates killed on the 
 field, and eleven have died since of their 
 wounds. We sent away sixty-one wounded 
 yesterday and twenty-nine to-day to Balak- 
 lava. Yesterday we broke the battalion up 
 into six companies, and we have about six. 
 men that are too bad to be removed — in fact, 
 there are numbers more that have slight 
 scratches. We have only three regular pay- 
 sergeants now that we brought from Eng- 
 land with us. In fact, we have had a regular 
 cutting up. ■ The Russian loss is estimated 
 here at about 15,000 men killed and wounded, 
 and a great number of prisoners taken. The 
 Russians made a sortie on the left as well as 
 the right, and the French actually drove 
 them into the town, and were in possession 
 of the town for a short time, but were short 
 of ammunition and were obliged to leave, 
 imuch against our wish; but we must not 
 complain. We will be able to take the place 
 in a short time now, I expect. There has 
 been a council of war held out here all the 
 day yesterday, and all the sick are to be con- 
 veyed away as soon as possible ; and I expect 
 that this week the storming will take place. 
 We have got scaling ladders all ready, and 
 the men seem desperate ; they want to do the 
 business, if they are able. The French only 
 want the word of command to charge, when 
 there must be an awful slaughter. The 
 enemy took three of our guns ; they stabbed 
 the sergeant of the guns in seventeen places; 
 but the guns were taken again, and we never 
 lost any more guns. Our poor fellows that 
 we buried to-day were stabbed in six or seven 
 places in their bodies. We buried forty-one 
 to-day in the field, and an awful affair it was. 
 How we all escaped God only knows. Lord 
 Rftglan was wounded in the arm; generals 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [letters concerning inkeumann. 
 
 I 
 
 Bentiack, Adams, and Brown, and General 
 Canrobert, all wounded. General Cathcart 
 and Colonel Seymour, his aide-de-canjj), were 
 killed. In fact, the staff suffered very much. 
 The Buke of Cambridge was shot through 
 the sleeve of his cloak, but he is a lucky lot, 
 in the midst of it all. He led us nobly to 
 the charge, and seemed in high spirits ; and 
 I am sure he gave us a fine specimen of what 
 family he belongs to; he will make a fine 
 commander-in-chief. We had twelve hours' 
 hard fighting. I came home after carrying 
 five wounded men on my shoulders through 
 woods, and shot and shell flying in all direc- 
 tions. In fact, the first man we carried 
 away we would drop down as well as we could 
 and turn on our backs, and the shells burst- 
 ing over us ; then we would get up and run. 
 Perhaps we would get five yards, when a 
 round shot would come ; and then, when it 
 went past, we would go on. Then a shell 
 would come, and down we would go again. 
 Poor fellow, he knew how we were situated, 
 and he did not complain, though his thigh 
 was broken in two places ; and it was am- 
 putated next day; we had seven men had 
 their legs taken off, and a drummer had his 
 arm amputated. The grenadiers, and more 
 especially the Coldstreams, have suffered 
 severely. 
 
 'The brigade of guards now would not 
 muster one regiment. After I had had some 
 supper and helped myself to a drop of rum, 
 I went and helped the doctor to dress the 
 wounds of the men — an awful sight to see ; 
 but I can stand anything now — I am as hard 
 as a flint. I have some of the poor fellows' 
 blood on my hands now, and I am sure you 
 cannot form any idea of a field of battle 
 without you actually see for yourself. If I 
 am spared to come home, you will never be- 
 lieve my stories. Drummer Anderson died 
 of cholera two days before I received your 
 letter. 
 
 And now, my dear father and mother, 1 
 must now conclude, and I have reason to 
 thank God that I am spared to write this ; I 
 have taken the first opportunity of letting 
 you know. The papers, no doubt, will give 
 us praise for our conduct; but, whatever 
 you may read, be assured whatever I have 
 stated here is the truth as it happened. 
 
 The following extract of a letter, dated 
 November 6th; is from the pen of a French 
 officer of rank : — 
 
 From the camp of observation where we 
 were stationed we heard the uninterrupted 
 
 din of this bloody struggle. Our impatience, 
 our anxiety were intense, when about half- 
 past six o'clock we learned that the victory 
 was ours, and that the Russians were driven 
 back on the Tchernaya. But at what a cost 
 of human life ! The English and French 
 saw on the field of battle more than 1,500 
 of their comrades killed or wounded. The 
 Russians covered the field of battle, and if 
 you wanted to advance a step it was impos- 
 sible to do so without walking over heaps of 
 carcasses. The artillery paid no attention 
 to such impediments, and passed through or 
 over them. Our volleys first, and then onr 
 bayonet charges caused all this carnage. 
 The Russians left on that field more than 
 4,000 dead, and, with the prisoners and the 
 wounded picked up, their loss is more than 
 10,000. It was a great battle, a grand vic- 
 tory. We were only about 13,000 to more 
 than 40,000 of the enemy. The field of 
 battle is a terrible sight to look upon. The 
 ground is literally strewn with carcasses. 
 One ravine is filled with the dead. An 
 English battery, which had been surprised 
 by the Russians, is covered all over with 
 their dead bodies ; and those places where 
 the bayonet charges were delivered are 
 marked by dead bodies pierced through and 
 through in various places with that weapon. 
 Where the musketry was close the bodies of 
 those who fell exhibit very large wounds; 
 for where the mdee did not take place it was 
 at point-blank. In a word, the battle of 
 Inkermann was a prodigy of energy and 
 heroism which surpasses even the glorious 
 deeds of Alma. The Russians attacked us 
 in four divisions of about 10,000 each. 
 When one was beaten back, another came 
 on. Ours, ever the same, undismayed and 
 firm, combated these four divisions. Our 
 battalions rushed with impetuosity on the 
 whole of that army. If they recoiled an 
 inch before those fresh masses disclosed by 
 the broken line of the defeated column, the 
 charge was beaten, and they returned to the 
 combat. The colonel of the 6th of the 
 line, on foot at the head of his gallant regi- 
 ment, attracted the attention of all in that 
 fearful meUe, in which he met so glorious a 
 death. With us the moral force of the 
 army is in great measure personal, and 
 where each individual brings with him his 
 own intelligence, the combined force is 
 enormous. There is no physical force supe 
 rior to moral force where there is action. 
 The Russians, on the contrary, are ignorant 
 soldiers ; they go whither they are conducted, 
 
 367 
 
LETTERS CONCERNINQ INKERMANN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 and as no one of them appreciates or under- 
 stands his part, no one has that force, and 
 no one resists. (This is why we were con- 
 querors at the Alma when we were on the 
 offensive, and this is why we are also con- 
 querors at Inkermann when we were on the 
 defensive. The present victory will do us 
 much good; it will do so to our army at 
 large, which will henceforth count on itself 
 under all circumstances. The arrival of the 
 two sons of the czar had, it is said, decided 
 that attack. They brought up with them a 
 division from the Danube, with some bat- 
 talions of another division. They had 
 ordered the attack for the morning imme- 
 diately following their arrival. Generals 
 Mentschikoff and Dannenberg were with 
 them. I hope they have by this learned to 
 appreciate the valour of the allied troops. 
 It is to the presence of the princes that the 
 boldness of the attack and the vigour of the 
 resistance are to be attributed, but as yet 
 the justice of our cause has triumphed over 
 fanaticism. 
 
 Returning to the letters of our own 
 countrymen, we insert the following, from 
 an officer of the 20th regiment : — 
 
 Heights above Sebastopol, Nov. 6th. 
 
 As we fought another battle yesterday, 
 and the telegraphic accounts will reach you 
 first, all the good people in England must 
 be anxious to hear of or from their friends 
 and relations. At daylight yesterday the 
 Russians attacked our lines and drove in the 
 pickets of the second division, after which 
 they succeeded in gaining a footing on the 
 heights and got their guns up. At this 
 time we were marched over to support the 
 other divisions, and after that I can tell little 
 more of it than what I was actually con- 
 cerned in. Our first orders were that only 
 those of the regiment who had been in bed 
 all night were to go out, but it was soon 
 evident that we wanted all we could muster. 
 I and some others, with about 200 men, 
 had just come in from being twenty-four 
 hours in the trenches, during the most of 
 which it rained, and I was just getting warm 
 in bed when we heard the bugles sound the 
 assembly. We were marched over to where 
 the fighting was going on, and were told to 
 advance immediately and support the guards, 
 who were skirmishing in front, and to drive 
 the Russians down the hiU. The ground 
 was covered with scrubby oaks from four to 
 six feet high, among which the enemy were 
 crouched down, and firing at our people. 
 368 
 
 As soon as we came on to support the 
 guards the Russians began to make the best 
 of theji" way down the hill, and our men to 
 chase them down. We killed numbers of 
 them, and, as we had no orders to halt, we 
 continued keeping along the hill-side, about 
 half-way down, and firing at the retreating 
 enemy. I then heard the bugle sound to 
 retire, and set about trying to get the men 
 back — no such easy matter, as by this time, 
 from several regiments having been sent 
 after each other, they were all mixed up. I 
 set about getting up the hill and making 
 my way back to where we had come from 
 along with officers and men of other regi- 
 ments, when we found that the Russians on 
 the hill had got above us, and cut us off 
 from our own people. I got up to within 
 ten yards of where I could see a line of 
 heads among the brushwood and behind 
 some stones, and blazing away at us as fast 
 as they could. Our soldiers returned their 
 fire, but were at a disadvantage from being 
 exposed at such a short distance. At this 
 time Sir George Cathcart rode up within a 
 few steps of where I stood, but I heard no 
 order given, and began to have virions of 
 being shot through the head or going 
 prisoner into Sebastopol, as we could scarcely 
 muster a company, and the enemy had a 
 large force above us; some called out to 
 charge them, but at the same time saw it 
 was of no use. They stopped firing at us 
 and began to stone us, as it seemed to ifle 
 with very large stones; but I don't now 
 understand what it could be, as one struck 
 a man just in front of where I stood, knocked 
 his head to pieces, and sent him back with 
 such force as to knock over the man behind 
 him. I saw that something was clearing 
 the way in that line, and stepped aside, so 
 as to give it a chance of passing me, and 
 had scarcely done so when an officer who 
 came into my place was killed at my elbow. 
 I then saw we could do nothing where we 
 were, and thought of trying to make my 
 way to the left, which was our direction, 
 without ascending the hiU. Some men I 
 found doing the same, when we found that 
 the enemy had come down a Httle in front 
 of us, and they peppered us at a pretty rate j 
 how any one escaped in such firing is won- 
 derful. As soon as I found that we were 
 cut off a second time, I turned more down 
 the hill, and we succeeded in 'clearing them 
 by about a dozen yards, and then made the 
 best of our way to the left, keeping along 
 the hill-side, as the Russians were aJl along 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [lbttees concerning inkermann. 
 
 the hill above us, and, by good luck, got 
 back to our own people. I thank God for 
 my escape, as there was no officer that I 
 knew even by sight who was present where 
 we were intercepted that escaped except 
 myself. Sir George Cathcart and his aide- 
 de-camp, and Major Wynne, of the 68th, 
 and some others, all lost their lives there. 
 1 had not more than one or two men of my 
 own company with or near me, but there 
 was no such thing as companies or order. 
 However, here I am without a scratch, and 
 much reason to be thankful, as our loss has 
 been severe. The regiment went into ac- 
 tion under 500 strong, and our loss has 
 been 171 of all ranks, killed, wounded, and 
 missing. Poor Dowling, one of our lieu- 
 tenants, was killed, and six other officers 
 wounded ; I am happy to say that none of 
 them have lost limbs, or are considered in 
 danger. The siege of Sebastopol does not 
 progress very rapidly, but the French are 
 making approaches pretty near the town. 
 We are not able to advance our batteries, 
 from the nature of the ground. We should 
 be much the better for a good reinforcement 
 of troops, as our army is diminishing in 
 numbers. We hear of 26,000 French being 
 on their way from Marseilles to join us. In 
 writing of the battle of yesterday I forgot to 
 say that it lasted till three o'clock- in the 
 afternoon, when we had regained all^ our 
 ground, and have now set about intrenching 
 the lines. My letter is all about fighting, 
 and I suppose you see enough of that in the 
 papers, but we have no great variety here. 
 Hoping to see the end of this business be- 
 fore long, and that I may see all my friends 
 in health, believe me, &c. 
 
 The next is from a private soldier of the 
 63rd regiment: — 
 
 Camp, off Sebastopol, Nov. 6th. 
 
 My dear Mother, — I had expected that I 
 should have heard from you before this time. 
 I can tell you that us people out here think 
 a great deal of getting a letter from any of 
 our friends, more, I dare say, than what we 
 did when we were at home. I cannot tell 
 you the reason of it properly, unless it is that 
 we are in a great deal more danger, for we 
 are fighting every day, some days more than 
 others, but I think the 5th of November 
 will be recollected by a great many. I am 
 sure that it will hy me for a long time. We 
 were turned out about six o'clock in the 
 morning. The Russians were making their 
 way out of Sebastopol. We had to drive 
 
 them back. We marched up to the place 
 where they were in thousands. When we 
 got there they were beating some of our 
 other regiments back. Our regiment and 
 the 21st formed line. We then charged 
 them, and we did it most gloriously. We 
 routed thousands ; and, as fast as we could 
 run and load our pieces, so fast they fell, for 
 we could not miss them, they were so thick. 
 We chased them for the best part of a mile 
 past their own intrenchment ; and close up 
 to that, in the thick of the whole of it, fell 
 poor Mr. Clutterbuck, who was carrying the 
 queen's colour and cheering the men on. I 
 think the last words that he said were " Come 
 on, 63rd !" when he received a shot right 
 through the neck, which killed him instantly. 
 He died gloriously. I never saw a braver 
 man than him in thg field that day, although 
 it is with sorrow that I have to record his 
 death. I was by his side the whole of the 
 time ; it was between eight and nine o'clock 
 on the morning of the 5th that he received 
 his death wound. As for myself, thank God, 
 I did not so much as receive a scratch the 
 whole of the day. After the fight was over I 
 went to him, and got his remains carried into 
 the camp. I took a small piece of his hair, 
 which I send to you to give over to his 
 respected friends. His disconsolate father 
 may well be proud of having such a son, for 
 he fought and died bravely, with the queen's 
 colour of the 63rd regiment in his hand. I 
 send my kind love to his father, brothers, 
 and sisters. It is with a sorrowful heart 
 that I send this letter. Poor Mr. Clutterbuck 
 was not the only one that fell that day. We 
 lost our colonel, Swiney, killed in the field. 
 Lieutenant Curtois died as soon as he was 
 brought to the camp. As for the men killed 
 and wounded, it is a great many ; we do not 
 know properly yet how many, but it is a 
 great deal. As for the Russians, they caught 
 it in no mistake, for they lost thousands. 
 The battle of the Alma was nothing to be 
 compared to the fight on the 5th. It lasted 
 from six in the morning till four or five in 
 the evening, we firing on them as hard as we 
 could ; but I think they were glad to retire 
 into Sebastopol in the evening. I forgot 
 to tell you that we lost General Cathcart, 
 Colonel Seymour, adjutant-general, besides 
 other brave officers. Mr. .Clutterbuck was 
 laid by the side of them. I am very sorry 
 to inform you that Corporal Lovett was 
 wounded severely on the top of his head. I 
 cannot say whether he will get over it or not. 
 I send my kind love to Mrs. Lovett and her 
 
 369 
 
LETTEES CONCERNING INKEBMANN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 daughter, and if anything happens to her 
 son I will let her know by the first opportu- 
 nity. Be sure and answer this letter by the 
 first opportunity, and direct to me, "G. 
 Evans, light company, 63rd, army serving in 
 Russia or elsewhere," for fear of mistakes, 
 Give my kind love to my dear wife, son, and 
 daughter. I hope they are quite well, and 
 doing well. I hope that God will spare me, 
 so that we may live many happy days toge- 
 ther yet. Let me know is she living with my 
 mother yet. I must now conclude, with kind 
 love to father and mother, sister and brother, 
 and to all inquiring friends. 
 
 I remain, your affectionate son, 
 
 Geokqe Evans. 
 
 From an artillery oflScer : — 
 
 Sebastopol, Nov. 6th, half-past 12, a.m. 
 You will all in old England hear of the 
 desperate battle fought before Sebastopol 
 yesterday, and I sit down to give you a line 
 to say that, through God's most special 
 mercy, I have escaped unhurt, although in 
 the very thick of it from nine, a.m., till five, 
 P.M., and was during that time exposed to 
 the most awful storm of shot and shell that 
 can be imagined. 
 
 Lord Raglan ordered the siege train off 
 duty in the trenches to bring up and place 
 in position two heavy 18-pounders j this we 
 did, and worked them all day with excellent 
 effect. We contrived to bring most of the 
 fire of the Russian artillery upon us, and 
 lost many men at our guns. The enemy 
 were repulsed again and again, and at 
 length retired into Sebastopol. Their loss 
 must be awful ; such a sight as their killed 
 and wounded I never saw, lying so thick I 
 could hardly steer my horse through them. 
 November 7th. 
 We buried our old general (Strangways) 
 to-day; he is deeply regretted as a most 
 kind old man. Poor dear Townsend was 
 also buried j I regret and grieve much for 
 him. I rode and walked for an hour to-day 
 among the dead and wounded Russians ; we 
 have not yet had time to remove those of 
 the enemy's wounded who are unable to 
 walk. I did not go from any vain curiosity, 
 but to take my canteen full of good rum 
 and water, and a haversack full of biscuit 
 to the poor suffering wretches. It would 
 break your heart to see or think of half 
 what I have seen yesterday and to-day. I 
 held my wooden canteen to the lips of Rus- 
 sians wounded and dying, in every stage of 
 pitiable human suffering. Some tried to 
 370 
 
 kiss my feet, and crossing themselves, took 
 off their caps, pointed to heaven, and blessed 
 me in their uncouth tongue. I responded 
 by, also looking upwards, and pronouncing 
 the only words I found we had in common, 
 "Christian," and the name of our blessed 
 Saviour. My eyes fill with tears as I write. 
 I am sorry to say they give . no quarter to 
 our wounded ; such are their orders. Poor 
 ignorant fanatics! their leaders tell them 
 we are devils in human shape, that on our - 
 side we give no quarter, and are fighting 
 against God and the emperor. 
 
 The following is a copy of a letter received 
 from an officer in the second division : — 
 Camp, over Sebastopol, Nov. 7th. 
 
 I have such wonderful matter to write 
 about that I must begin like a journal, in 
 order to give you an idea of the dreadful 
 5th of November, when we had " gunpowder 
 plot" in quite a new style. The 4th had 
 been wet and dark the whole day, and the 
 arms were piled in the open air, as they 
 always are in camp, and, of course, wet 
 through, when it was my lot to go on out- 
 lying picTiet with my company the next 
 morning, at five, a.m. I happened to 
 be nearly junior, and so I stayed with 
 the reserve under the field-of&cer of the 
 day. About an hour after we had been 
 on we heard firing from our advanced 
 pickets, and soon after the word was 
 passed to " Stand to our arms, for the 
 enemy were coming in force," I was sent 
 on to support the advance, and on trying 
 the muskets, to my horror, I found that 
 only about fifteen out of the company 
 would go off, and out of those fifteen only 
 about six men would follow me to the front. 
 However, there was nothing to be done but 
 push to the front, and I soon joined the ad- 
 vanced picket, which I found in much the 
 same state, with regard to the arms, as my 
 own. We retired gradually before them, as 
 they were coming on in masses of columns, 
 supported with a very powerful artillery, 
 and soon had most desperate work, almost 
 hand-to-hand, in the thick brushwood, with 
 the guns playing on us in a most fearful 
 way, and ours answering them over our 
 heads, while we were firing musketry into 
 each other at between fifteen and thirty 
 paces distance, now and then charging and 
 driving them back, and then driven back by 
 superior numbers again. The French and 
 nearly every regiment of English got all 
 mixed up in one mass, which kept on ad- 
 
A.D, 1854.] 
 
 TiiBcing and retiring as we gained of lost 
 the advantage. We had luckily built a 
 loose stone wall along the front of our posi- 
 tion, which we could manage to hold against 
 ail enormous force. The aUies were five 
 times dnven back quite to the crest of our 
 position; but we every time drove the 
 enemy back and followed them up. After 
 a long time our people got some 18-pound 
 battery guns into position, by which we 
 were enabled to knock about their artillery 
 a good deal, and at last they were every- 
 where driven back. Our poor division, as 
 usual, bore the brunt of it, and our loss was 
 720 odd killed and wounded. The enemy 
 are said to have brought 52,000 men, ac- 
 cording to the prisoners, and something 
 frightful in artillery. The shot, shell, and 
 bullets were coming about us like hail, and 
 I certainly thought my time was come, but, 
 thank God, I escaped without, a scratch. 
 The battle lasted from about half-past five 
 or six, A.M., till four, p.m., and was a con- 
 stant successioH of reverse and success on 
 both sides. The brigades of the division are 
 so much cut up that they talk of making 
 regiments of them. Our brigade would 
 not make more than a strong regiment, it 
 is so mueh reduced. 
 
 I must conclude this very "mild" ac- 
 count of a terribly hard action, by saying I 
 was so tired and done that I could scarcely 
 move, and I am not very much better now, 
 as I was on out-picket again last night, and 
 was on the advanced post, where it is dan- 
 gerous to sleep. 
 
 The foUoying letter is from an ofiicer in 
 the royal artillery : — 
 
 Camp, near Sebaatopol, Nov. 7th. 
 
 I had purposed to-night sitting down 
 and writing you a long letter, inasmuch as 
 the post goes out early to-morrow. I had 
 just entered my tent when I heard the 
 everlasting " turn out" sounded all through 
 the camp ; so I dressed myself, and before 
 getting on my horse wrote a few hurried lines, 
 which I had intended sending to-morrow 
 morning. Had you received it you must 
 have looked upon the production as an 
 actual curiosity; but I am happy to say 
 that it was only a false alarm, and I have 
 returned at last to finish a long letter. As 
 you most probably have seen by the news- 
 papers, the day before yesterday (November 
 5th) was to all of us a most exciting day. 
 We had a general engagement with the 
 Russians, and our loss was very far greater 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [letters concerning inkermann. 
 
 than it was at the battle of the Alma. I 
 shall try and give yoli an account of my 
 proceedings individually. November 5th, at 
 daybreak, we heard the alarm, and, starting 
 up from our beds, we were very soon under 
 way.^ We advanced through several camps, 
 consisting now of only the untenanted tents 
 of many regiments, as they had turned out, 
 having no horses or guns to look after. 
 Upon our left we heard the roll and saw the 
 smoke of our field artillery, and we went on 
 until arriving at a spot, where, I may say, 
 in all the sincerity of truth, the Minie balls 
 flew about us like hailstones— an old simile, 
 no doubt, but yet, never inind. Our poor 
 major (Townsend) had his horse shot under 
 him, and I had my mare wounded in two 
 places by Minie balls as we still advanced 
 (neither animal being disabled) up a gentle 
 slope ; but had not got very far, the shot 
 and shell falling thick all around us, when 
 we met part of an infantry regiment retiring, 
 overpowered by numbers. The crest of the 
 hill was covered with smoke, and the entire 
 ground there thickly clothed with brush- 
 wood, through which we, with the greatest 
 difficulty, moved the guns. Suddenly, the 
 smoke cleared away, and we discovered the 
 Russian infantry in great force within ten 
 yards of us. I shall never forget the aspect 
 of those fellows, dressed in their long gray 
 coats and flat glazed caps, firing most de- 
 liberately at our poor gunners^ and picking 
 them down like so many crows. We at this 
 time were under a very heavy fire of shot 
 and shell. Major Townsend saw at once 
 the critical position of the guns, and most 
 wisely gave the order to retire, as we were 
 quite unsupported — but too late; the enemy's 
 skirmishers had come up to the guns. How- 
 ever, five out of the six escaped ; and one of 
 our men, seeing the last, as was then sup- 
 posed, certain to be taken, judiciously spiked 
 it. The gun belonged to a division of our bat- 
 tery, to which was attached young Miller, one 
 of our lieutenants; and poor Major Townsend, 
 turning round his horse, seeing what Was 
 likely to occur, cried out, " You won't dis- 
 grace me." The words were hardly out of 
 his mouth when a shell burst in among us, 
 and one unfortunate fragment struck him 
 on the head, and literally crushed it to 
 pieces, of course killing hini immediately. 
 Miller drew his sword, and single-handed 
 galloped his horse towards the gun, riding 
 down one and cutting down a second Rus- 
 sian. He alone turned aside a dozen of the 
 enemy, and we recovered the gun. Was not 
 
 371 
 
LETTERS CONCERNING INKERMANN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 this a most plucky thing to do? He re- 
 turned with his gun, without having re- 
 ceived even a scratch. Our poor fellows 
 were dreadfully knocked about. We had 
 twenty-three killed and wounded. We now 
 retired beyond the hillj and, as I was walk- 
 ing my horse along, one of the officers of 
 the horse artillery rode up to me and told 
 me that the general was wounded. I, with 
 him, immediately turned off, and found poor 
 General Strangways lying on the ground, 
 with his left leg shattered to atoms. He 
 asked me who I was ; and when I told him, 
 said, " Now, remember, I die the death of 
 a soldier." He was bleeding profusely, and 
 I put a tourniquet on his leg, and got four of 
 our men to carry him on a stretcher to the 
 rear. He died very shortly, and never re- 
 covered the shock of the injury. I now 
 returned to the battery, but before I arrived 
 was again called on to see General Goldie, 
 whom I found most fatally wounded. Leav- 
 ing him, as nothing could be done in his 
 case, I cantered up the hill on my way to 
 the battery, and had the red stripe on my 
 trowsers torn away by a shell, but most 
 providentially I escaped unhurt. When I 
 got to the battery I never saw anything 
 like its condition. We had left our camp 
 in the morning in the most complete order, 
 but now how different ! — our gallant head 
 was gone, and many of our men and horses 
 killed and wounded. I now heard of Gen- 
 eral Cathcart's death, and that of his aide- 
 de-camp ; likewise, that General Torrens and 
 his aide-de-camp were wounded. The sight 
 of the field was most fearful — far worse 
 than that of Alma. We were now ordered 
 to the rear, and the action still continued in 
 the front. As to the termination of the 
 battle, if you wish to know it look to the 
 newspapers. Suffice to say we, of course, 
 conqueredT To-night there is something 
 said of a storm of Sebastopol. I hope 
 so; it may finish all for the winter. I 
 must now conclude by saying I am quite 
 well, and truly thankful for my fortunate 
 
 escape. I saw E , of the guards. He 
 
 was slightly wounded in the foot, but no- 
 thing of any consequence. 
 
 The following interesting letter was from 
 a sergeant in ^he 77th regiment : — 
 
 Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 6th. 
 
 My dear Brother, — It is with feelings of 
 
 the sincerest gratitude to an Almighty and 
 
 merciful God that I am so long spared to 
 
 write you these few lines. I owe much, 
 
 372 
 
 doubtless, to your prayers and those of your 
 dear little ones, which I hope they will con- 
 tinue to ofi'er to the Lord of mercy for me. 
 Yesterday (Sunday), the 5th of November, 
 was an awful day, and terribly so to the Rus- 
 sians. They advanced before daylight, and, 
 under cover of the darkness, almost up to 
 our lines before our pickets observed them. 
 They attacked our right flank from the 
 rear ; of course, it was our most assailable 
 point. Our poor picket fired on them, and 
 kept them at bay for awhile, but, poor 
 fellows, they were soon cut up. The firing 
 of musketry is our alarm by day or night. 
 The light division makes use of no bugle 
 sounds. We turned out in an instant, 
 being always dressed, and the whole di- 
 vision, led by General Brown, moved on 
 smartly to our right, to relieve our second 
 division, who were forced to bear the brunt 
 against the whole Russian army ; the foot 
 artillery were also briskly on the spot and 
 took position on the hills, from which place 
 they told terribly on the enemy. About 
 seven o'clock, a.m. (it might be a little 
 more) our regiment drove up in line on the 
 extreme left ; the ground was thickly covered 
 with brushwood, and there was a pretty 
 thick fog, which prevented our seeing a 
 powerful force of about 3,000 men, who 
 almost completely surrounded our poor 
 devoted regiment. We had only four com- 
 panies of the regiment present at the en- 
 gagement; the remainder were on picket, 
 guarding the batteries and trenches we 
 made round Sebastopol. Our four com- 
 panies did not amount to over 300 men. 
 General BuUer exclaimed — "Sfy God, we 
 are surrounded ! " He ordered a volley to 
 be fired into them, and charged them with 
 the bayonet, which was done in excellent 
 style, and, together with charging, we 
 cheered wildly and routed the cowardly 
 Russians in disorder and confusion, inflict- 
 ing a terrible chastisement on them in their 
 flight. This piece of brilliant service saved 
 the whole of our left flank from being 
 turned, and being placed hors de combat. 
 Our artillery secured that point for the 
 remainder of the day. These, my dear 
 brother, were awful moments. I knew not 
 the moment I should fall, probably never to 
 rise ; but God protected me, and the guar- 
 dianship of his Holy Mother shielded me in 
 these trying dangers. Among those who 
 were killed about this time was Captain 
 Nicholson, of my company — one of the 
 nicest gentlemen in the British army (he 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [letters conceening inkebmann. 
 
 leaves a wife and child to lament his loss : 
 some scoundrel took a ring off his finger ; 
 this piece of paltry robbery has caused 
 much pain in the regiment) ; and Mark 
 Casteaux, whose relations are all, I believe, 
 living in Galway. I am grieved for poor 
 Mark, and particularly for his poor wife and 
 two children, who are at the dep6t, and 
 little know of their irreparable loss ; if you 
 are acquainted with any of his friends, be so 
 good as to let them know. The engage- 
 ment commenced between four and five 
 o'clock, A.M., and continued with terrible 
 energy until about five o'clock, p.m. Lan- 
 guage fails me in attempting to describe to 
 you this awful day : the enemy were to be 
 seen, on the following day, in large heaps of 
 killed and wounded. O, what a scene of 
 carnage ! Men, horses, guns, soldiers, wag- 
 gons — all forming sickening heaps, on which 
 I will not longer dwell. The number of the 
 enemy is variously reported. I place but 
 little confidence in camp reports ; however, 
 some say they numbered 50,000 infantry, 
 and General England is reported to have 
 said they had 100,000 men against us. 
 This might be true, but I doubt it. In my 
 opinion our force — that is, French and 
 English — did not exceed 25,000 men of all 
 arms. The loss of the allies I cannot state. 
 I dare say it is pretty considerable ; the 
 /- 77th had nineteen killed and thirty-six 
 wounded. We had, of course, only four 
 companies in the field. The enemy, in 
 killed and wounded, cannot be less than 
 8,000; probably much more. This is the 
 fourth time they have attacked us from the 
 rear, and were each time repulsed with 
 great slaughter. Our French comrades 
 fought bravely ; they show little mercy to 
 the Russians : nothing can exceed the cor- 
 diality of the friendship that exists between 
 us every day in the camp, coming, as they 
 say, to see ''Man comrade Anglais;" both 
 armies detest the Turks ; and now more 
 than before, as, through their negligence 
 and cowardice, they let themselves be sur- 
 prised, and very nearly lost Balaklava. 
 Some of their officers are, or were, tripd by 
 court-martial for this affair, and the whole 
 Turkish force was brought alongside of us. 
 They were under arms, looking on during 
 the battle, but would not be permitted to 
 fire a shot or give any assistance. They are 
 this day assisting to bury the dead, the only 
 duty they are fit for. We are still hammer- 
 ing at the walls of Sebastopol ; this is the 
 twenty-first day. I cannot say when we 
 VOL. I. t3 c 
 
 will change the form of attack. We had 
 General Brown twice wounded; generalr 
 Cathcart, Strangways, and Adams, killed; 
 the latter, I believe, died of his wounds. 
 There are some colonels killed and wounded 
 — in fact, ofiicers of all ranks, but I cannot 
 at present say how many. We expect to 
 have another battle, but we will keep bat- 
 tering the fortress, and wait their attack. 
 I answered your letter announcing Mrs. 
 Connor's departure about ten days since; 
 let me know if you received it. I will be 
 thankful if you will send me in an envelope 
 the first account of this great battle that is 
 pubhshed. Cut it out of the newspaper, and 
 send it vid France. Any letters or papers 
 not sent this way are uncertain in their 
 arrival, being a month, six weeks, and 
 sometimes more, before arriving. Should 
 the Almighty God spare me, I will write 
 again when anything of importance occurs. 
 Thanks be to Almighty God, I continue to 
 enjoy good health. Diarrhoea and bowel 
 complaint carry off a great many of the 
 men. We came out 1,000 strong, now we 
 scarcely number 600 men ; indeed, they are 
 so much debilitated, that when the amputa- 
 tion of a leg or an arm takes place, which 
 is frequently done, in seven cases out of ten 
 the patient dies from exhaustion. 
 
 J. Connor, sergeant, 77th regiment. 
 
 The following letter was from a surgeon in 
 the camp before Sebastopol : — 
 
 Camp before Sebastopol, Nov. 8th. 
 
 Again I have to tell of the hard-fought 
 battle-field, and of my preservation from its 
 dangers. Praised be God, He has sheltered 
 me once more under the protection of His 
 guardian arm, so continually outstretched 
 to save and defend me from all danger. Ere 
 you receive this, the newspapers will have 
 given you the intimation of the battle just 
 fought, and of our success therein. Since 
 the commencement of the campaign we 
 have been thrice engaged in actual battle; 
 and that of Inkermann has truly been ter- 
 rible and sanguinary. Our gallant foe seems 
 determined, at least on land, to test our 
 strength, although by this time he must be 
 well satisfied that English shot and steel 
 are irresistible in opposition. 
 
 At about daybreak of the 5th the enemy 
 •was reported to be moving against us, the 
 first intimation of which was the usual de- 
 sultory firing from the English advanced 
 pickets. Fancying for a while it was but 
 an affair of outposts, I determined on lying 
 
 373 
 
LETTBRS CONCERNING IWKI3KMANN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854.. 
 
 quietly and snugly in my tent for awhile ; 
 but had no sooner so determined than the 
 booming of our field guns (of which a small 
 number are always "ready," near to our 
 most exposed position) warned me that it 
 was desirable to turn out, the more so as 
 there was heard in the distance a steady 
 roll of musketry. The alarm was general 
 through the whole allied camp, when, throw- 
 ing aside slumber and blanket too, and with- 
 out regarding my toilet (being at all times 
 ready attired for action), I was quickly in 
 the saddle, waiting my turn for duty. 
 
 In comparatively a short time our out- 
 posts were driven in, when column after 
 column of the enemy came pouring over 
 the hills which separate our lines from 
 theirs. Soon all was bustle, though order 
 prevailed intact, and quick as thought our 
 troops were face to face with their adver- 
 saries. The advance of the enemy was so 
 rapid we were taken entirely by surprise, so 
 well had they planned and directed the at- 
 tack, since their advanced troops were upon 
 our very camp ere sufficient force could be 
 brought up to oppose them. This latter, 
 however, was soon remedied, for on came 
 the artillery at a gallop, and were speedily 
 followed by the infantry, who quickly formed, 
 and were seen crowding the side and crest 
 of the hill, when the fight soon wore the 
 aspect of a real battle. My services were 
 soon in requisition, when I made, as I 
 thought, convenient arrangements for the 
 wounded, but which I was compelled to 
 abandon in the course of an hour, from 
 the circumstance of solid shot and live 
 shell falling thickly around me, so as to 
 render my position anything but agreeable. 
 I now fell back on my own camp, where, 
 having a tent and all things handy, I estab- 
 lished as comfortable a hospital as could be 
 wished, and where I was soon in requisition 
 by a host of applicants of all ranks, who had 
 been sent to the rear for surgical aid. I was 
 soon, however, again compelled to beat a 
 retreat, the Russians having advanced their 
 battalions into such a position that they 
 regularly enfiladed our whole camp. It was 
 well for the inmates of the tents that they 
 had abandoned them so speedily, for the 
 shells of the enemy blew them into shreds 
 in a short time. The battle continued for 
 hours, and we had been contending against 
 five times our number, yet, happily, without 
 our adversary obtaining command of our 
 position, or most probably I should have 
 a different tale to relate than the one 
 374 
 
 I am at the present moment so agree- 
 ably engaged in. As it was, the Russian 
 columns were so strong and numerous, andj 
 moreover, they fought so bravely and so 
 well, that the issue at one pei-iod of the day 
 was doubtful, for they charged our guns up 
 to their very mouths, and, what is more, 
 they rushed in and spiked some two or three 
 of them, and bayoneted our gunners who 
 were opposed to them. This arose in con- 
 sequence of our force being so weak that we 
 could not detach a sufficient number of in- 
 fantry to protect the artillery, and, as the 
 place where the battle happened was a hill- 
 side, covered with Jhick stunted brushwood, 
 we could not "limber-up" and retire before 
 they were among us. Their triumph, how- 
 ever, was but of short duration, for, on a 
 regiment or two moving up, our brave gun- 
 ners dashed in again, and had the good 
 fortune to recover their guns without other 
 aid than their own. This . one fact will 
 show how fiercely raged the battle, for when 
 the enemy came to such close quarters as 
 to get into hand-to-hand encounters with 
 artillery, you can imagine that the " dogs of 
 war" seemed indeed tg be let loose, and that 
 the "demon of strife" strode triumphantly 
 along, gloating over the carnage his nature 
 exults in. Dreadful indeed was the fight ; 
 far more severe than that of the Alma. 
 
 Our loss has been very sad ; three general 
 oflacers killed, and three others wounded j of 
 other ofiicers, thirty-two killed and seventy - 
 nine wounded, so that 100 will not cover 
 our loss. Our entire loss we can yet hardly 
 estimate, though it is reported that 3,000 of 
 our army are hors de combat. The whole 
 of the English force engaged numbered 
 11,000, that of the French 6,000, of whom 
 they lost about 600 ; but my own opinion is 
 that both these latter numbers are magni- 
 fied. 
 
 The strength of the Russians is supposed 
 to have been 55,000, and, from the dead 
 which strew the field, I should say there are, 
 at the least, five of them to one of oUrs. 
 Our proportion of loss of course exceeds that 
 of the French, for they did not come up 
 until a great deal of the hardest fighting 
 had been done. They are gallant fellows, 
 and right tr,usty friends they have proved 
 themselves in the fight. As far as I can 
 judge, we were in action about eight or nine 
 hours, when we succeeded in driving our 
 brave enemy from the field he had so dearly 
 claimed as his own. We obtained a great 
 number of prisoners, some ammunition wag- 
 
A.D 
 
 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA, [letters conceening inkermann. 
 
 gons, as also a Vast amount of muskets,' 
 swords, &c. 
 
 Fighting is certainly most exciting work, 
 but then the result— how dreadful! and 
 how sickening the contemplation of the bat- 
 tle-field, although there is even a fascination 
 —if I may so speak — in it, which curiously 
 disposes one to examine it in all its dread 
 details. There were to be seen hundreds of 
 slain and wounded strewing the ground; 
 where, in places, they were lying in heaps — 
 English, ^rench, and Russians — all slum- 
 bering in the friendship of death ! 
 
 On the day following the battle, after 
 taking care that my own men were properly 
 provided for, I volunteered my services to 
 the wounded Russians, when, having se- 
 lected many of the most urgent cases, I was 
 employed from morn to eve in relieving, as 
 far as lay in my power, the sad sufferings of 
 the maimed. It would appear strange to be 
 told that extensive surgical operations, after 
 most serious wounds received in battle, 
 aiforded mitigation from pain ; but so it is ; 
 for how tranquil are those who at the mo- 
 ment have lost their limbs under the sur- 
 geon's knife, in comparison to what they 
 were when lying unassisted and uncared for 
 in their wounded condition ! Very many 
 of the poor fellows manifested the greatest 
 gratitude for the services I rendered them, 
 seizing my hands and covering them with 
 kisses, and, by their upward looks, implored 
 the blessing of heaven on their benefactor. 
 Alas ! little do they know of the English- 
 man's heart, if they think he would do other 
 than befriend those in suffering, whose 
 miseries "had been occasioned solely by him 
 when pursuing the stern dictates of duty. . 
 From information derived from the pris- 
 oners, we found that ^a large portion of the 
 force we had been engaged with had only 
 arrived the day previously from Silistria, 
 and that they had been two months on their 
 march from the principalities. In regard to 
 the progress of the siege, it goes on but 
 slowly, but, no doubt, surely. You ask me 
 whether a certain amount of apprehension 
 comes over one in going into action. Most 
 certainly there does, and I believe the very 
 bravest man who lives experiences such, 
 although, of course, in different degrees ; all 
 that sort of thing soon wears off, when once 
 the mind is employed, and you are pre- 
 vented from dwelling upon the danger you 
 are exposed to. He must, however, be a 
 heartless being indeed, who can unmoved 
 behold without awe the dread reality of war 
 
 — but I much question whether such a 
 mortal ■ exists. In answer to your inquiry 
 respecting the locality of the surgeon in 
 action, I may remark that, when there is 
 only one attached to the battery, he is not 
 expected to keep close up ; but so soon as 
 he sees the position it has taken, he should 
 make arrangements as to where the wounded 
 shall be brought, as well as where he is 
 himself to be found. When the enemy is 
 in force, it would be hard to say where one 
 place was safer than another, since a variety 
 of circumstances may alter the state of 
 things, and hence it happens (unless a posi- 
 tion be taken up at a most inconvenient and 
 unreasonable distance from the great scene 
 of operations), the surgeon cannot be said to 
 be free from danger. Wherever duty calls 
 him, there is his right position; yet let me 
 entreat you to have no fear on my account, 
 rather believing that the iflmighty is con- 
 tinually mindful'of those of his creatures who, 
 with lively faith, wait on his providence for 
 protection in the hour of trial and of danger. 
 
 The following is an extract of a letter 
 from Sebastopol, dated November 6th, 
 written by an officer of the 41st regiment, 
 relative to the death of Lieutenant-colonel 
 George Carpenter : — 
 
 Our poor colonel was shot in the thigh, 
 and when down a Russian shot him in the 
 back, clubbed his musket, and struck him 
 on the mouth. These Russians are more 
 barbarous than the Burmese, and it is but 
 little quarter our men will give them the 
 next time they meet, for they all vow a 
 deadly vengeance, and it is not to be won- 
 dered at. But to the poor colonel. I saw 
 death in his face when he was brought in at 
 half-past twelve, and I told him I feared he 
 would fight no more. He was perfectly re- 
 signed, and said he had made his peace 
 with his Maker, and bade me tell his wife 
 and son they were his last thoughts ; thanked 
 me for my kindness to him and attention to 
 the sick ; and from that time till his death, 
 fifteen hours after, he thought and spoke 
 only of his poor men. We buried him this 
 morning. Poor old man ! no one ever on a 
 bed of down died a calmer death. I was 
 not with him at the time, I am sorry to say ; 
 but he had some porter, and then said to 
 his servant, " Cochrane, cover my head — I 
 am going to sleep ;" shook him by the hand, 
 and wished him good-bye. A few minutes 
 after he looked at him, and he was gone. 
 At this time I went in and found him lying 
 
 375 
 
STOKM IN THE BLACK SEA.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1854. 
 
 on his side, with his hands in an attitude of 
 prayer, his couutenance calm and placid as 
 a child's. I mourn him most sincerely, for 
 we had lately been very much together, and 
 were great friends. Cochrane's tears mingled 
 with mine over his corpse, and all regret their 
 gallant leader. I knew him sufficiently to 
 appreciate his character; he was a fearless 
 soldier and a kind-hearted man, and I am 
 proud to have been considered by him as his 
 friend. 
 
 It seemed as if the allies were to expe- 
 rience almost every variety of disaster in 
 their expedition to the Crimea, and their 
 siege .of the terrible fortress of Sebastopol. 
 Sickness, pestilence, battle, surprises, want 
 of the necessaries and decencies of life ; con- 
 tinued exposures to the bitterness of the 
 weather, including cold, wet, and slush; 
 and, though last not least, the spirits of 
 the men often broken by 'deferred hopes 
 ending continually in disappointment. 
 
 We have now to relate a calamity which, 
 though of a different kind, fell almost as 
 heavily upon the allies as the losses at 
 Inkermann. There, at least, men died 
 heroically, and in the arms of victory : in 
 this disaster, brave men perished uselessly, 
 and with them there sank into the raging 
 sea treasures of enormous value — treasures 
 which, under the circumstances, were be- 
 yond all price. About six o'clock on the 
 morning of the 14th of November, the 
 fleets and the camps were visited by one of 
 those sudden and tremendous storms to 
 which the Black Sea is subject. The tem- 
 pest first swept over Constantinople, causing 
 much damage to the loftier buildings, and 
 hurling down three minarets of the mosque 
 of Sultan Achmed, It then roared over 
 the surging sea, and drove our vessels upon 
 the rocky shore of the Crimea. The part 
 of the coast near Balaklava is lined by 
 rocks of the wildest description, some of 
 which rise 700 feet above the sea. Such 
 was the force of the waves that dashed 
 against these rugged cliffs, that the spray 
 actually overtopped them. Strong ships 
 were torn from their anchorage, and men 
 were disabled and blinded by the furious 
 wind. Language is scarcely adequate to 
 describe the horrors of this calamity, which 
 smote both ships and camps like a shock of 
 thunderbolts ! 
 
 The hurricane blew home, or towards 
 the land, and with such fury, that the 
 oldest sailors said they had never before 
 376 
 
 been in such danger. At eight o'clock the 
 ships began dragging at their anchors, and 
 iron cables snapped like bands of rotten 
 tow. Many crews, amid the mad howling 
 of the wind and the roaring of the sea, were 
 occupied in cutting away the masts of their 
 ships, as a last and only hope of preserva- 
 tion. Those who neglected this precaution 
 were th^ earliest victims to the demon 
 storm. Thirty British and French vessels 
 were wrecked, and half as many dismasted 
 at Balaklava, and eighteen wrecked or dis- 
 masted at the mouth of the Katcha. 
 
 The first ship lost at Balaklava was the 
 Progress, which was dashed upon the rocks 
 shortly after nine o'clock. The doomed 
 vessel immediately opened, and then fell 
 into a thousand pieces. Many of the crew 
 found an instant grave beneath the surging 
 sea, and the remainder clinging to the sharp 
 cliff, managed to draw themselves beyond 
 the reach of the next wave, which otherwise 
 would have hurled them back to destruc- 
 tion. The bark Wanderer was the next 
 sacrifice. The irresistible sea hurled her 
 against the rocks, and left her a mere mass 
 of broken wreck, amidst which were human 
 figures struggling desperately for life in the 
 sea of foam. A Maltese brig was then 
 driven on the fatal shore, and beaten into 
 innumerable fragments. The Resolute and 
 the Kenilworth — the former having on board 
 900 tons of gunpowder — shared the same 
 fate, and were totally lost. The noble 
 transport screw steamer, the Prince, a new 
 vessel, of 3,700 tons, which had lately 
 arrived, bringing with it the 46th regiment, 
 all the winter clothing for the troops en- 
 gaged in the siege, vast quantities of pro- 
 visions, hospital stores, and ammunition, 
 next met her fate. The loss of this splendid 
 ship and the stores it contained — (valued at 
 the enormous sum of £500,000 ; though Mr. 
 Sidney Herbert declared in parliament that 
 this was a gross exaggeration, and said he 
 believed the value of the cargo to be not 
 more than £185,000) — was a terrible ca- 
 lamity. With her was swallowed, to a con- 
 siderable extent, the means of succouring 
 our sick and wounded men at Scutari ; the 
 means of sustaining our suffering troops 
 during the winter; and also the means of 
 efficiently carrying on the siege. Fortu- 
 nately the 46th regiment had been landed, 
 but the crew and the stores remained on 
 board. On the arrival of the Prince at 
 Balaklava, the whole of her cable, from not 
 being properly clinched, ran out while she 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [storm in the black sea. 
 
 was attempting to anchor. By some mis- 
 management, a second cable shared the 
 same fate.* The vessel then steamed out 
 while a third cable was got up from the 
 hold, and with this she was brought-to, 
 though with a smaller anchor than those 
 she had lost. This answered until the 
 morning of the 14th, when it proved utterly 
 unable to hold the vessel. The crew cut 
 away her masts and put on her steam : the 
 attempt to escape from the fury of the 
 storm was in vain; the wreck of the mizen- 
 mast fouled the screw, and the noble ship 
 became helpless. She approached the rocks, 
 topped an enormous wave, and was dashed 
 on the cliffs with such violence, that in 
 about ten minutes there was scarcely a piece 
 of her a yard long remaining. " She 
 might," said a witness of the dreadful 
 scene, "almost be said to go to powder." 
 Of her unhappy crew of 150 men, only six 
 were saved; of her cargo everything was 
 lost. Unhappily, the medical stores, sent 
 out to supply the deficiencies so justly and 
 so loudly complained of, could not be landed 
 at Scutari, because, by a strange negligence, 
 they were stowed away beneath mountains 
 of shot and shell. 
 
 Shortly after the destruction of the Prince, 
 the Kenilworth and the Rip Van Winkle 
 both grounded and went to pieces, and 
 every one on board each of these iU-fated 
 vessels perished. The Wild Wave, also, was 
 shattered against the rocks, but, fortunately, 
 her crew had deserted her before the gale 
 reached its height, and had arrived safely 
 in harbour. The Marquis and the Mary 
 Anne were lost, and all on board perished. 
 The Pultowa reached the harbour, but in 
 a dismasted and sinking condition. The 
 storm' began to abate about noon, and in 
 'another hour had subsided considerably. 
 Assistance was then rendered to the un- 
 happy creatures who had survived the dan- 
 gers of that dreadful morning, and were 
 clinging desperately to the sharp rocks, and 
 vainly striving to Scale the heights. The 
 officers and crews of the merchant vessels 
 rendered most effective assistance, and suc- 
 ceeded in saving about fifty persons. The 
 crews of the Gertrude and the Tanning dis- 
 played much humanity and courage in their 
 exertions on the heights. Mr. Rivers, mate 
 of the latter vessel, was swung down by a 
 
 * It was afterwards denied that the cables were 
 not properly clinched, and asserted that the loSs of 
 the vessel was attributed to their being snapped by 
 the violence of the storm. 
 
 rope as far as its length would permit, and 
 alighted on a ledge of rock. Tying a small 
 keg of rum, with which he was provided, to 
 another rope, he lowered it into a cave in 
 which the wretched mariners had taken 
 refuge. It is needless to say how welcome 
 was the cheering liquor to those drenched, 
 chilled, and suffering men. Most of them 
 were rescued that day, and the remainder 
 the next. All vvere more or less bruised 
 and exhausted. 
 
 Though the storm ceased in the after- 
 noon, the sea still ran high, and the ships 
 which had been spared presented a melan- 
 choly appearance. Most of them were dis- 
 masted or otherwise injured, except the 
 Vulcan, which rode out the storm in safety. 
 " No words," said a spectator, " can render 
 justice to the fearful power of the wind. 
 Old sea-captains, who have grown gray in 
 their profession, state that never, save in 
 the China seas, have they encountered so 
 terrible a foe. That it was no customary 
 storm was proved by the fact of trees of 
 many years growth, standing on the quay, 
 being laid low in with the ground. . The 
 spray was hurled over the topmasts of the 
 vessels in the harbour, and fell like rain far 
 up on the' heights. Boats that touched the 
 shore were overturned, and blown along the 
 quay with great p:apidity. In the town (of 
 Balaklava) the roofs of the houses were 
 blown off, and tiles were flying about like 
 autumn leaves. Verandahs were torn away 
 by the wind, which forced in whole panes 
 of glass. At the post-office, a whole window- 
 frame was carried off to a distance of above 
 200 yards, and, strange to say, was picked 
 up uninjured." 
 
 The greater number of the allied vessels 
 were stationed in the anchorage off the 
 Katcha. There, five British transports — the 
 Pyrenees, the Ganges, the Tyrone, the Lord 
 Raglan, and the Rodsley — were totally lost, 
 together with nine others, French and Turk- 
 ish. The British transports were all first- 
 class ships, and worth upwards of £15,000 
 a-piece. Her majesty's ship the Sampson 
 fell foul of the transports Pyrenees and 
 Ganges, and was dismasted by the concus- 
 sion. " In ten minutes," wrote an officer 
 from on board one of her majesty's vessels, 
 " they cleared from her, and there lay the 
 bold, defiant little Sampson, shorn of all her 
 Jaeauty, with not an inch of anything stand- 
 ing except her funnels, her masts having all 
 gone with one awful crash and fallen inboard. 
 Her bowsprit was also broken short off, and 
 
 377 
 
STORM IN THE BLACK SEA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854 
 
 she was left a complete wreck." The Turkish 
 admiral lost two of his masts, and three 
 French line-of-battle ships their rudders. 
 Some damage was also done to the London. 
 The Cossacks, ever at hand, soon discovered 
 the disaster of the allies, and came to the 
 shore to profit by it. In a few hours an 
 oflBcer of distinction arrived from Sebastopol 
 in a carriage drawn by four grays. To his 
 presence is doubtless to be attributed the 
 comparatively humane treatment the ship- 
 wrecked mariners experienced from the 
 masters of the cliffs, who might easily have 
 destroyed them all had they 'been so dis- 
 posed. The Russian officers, influenced, let 
 us hope, by generous motives, came to the 
 top of the cliffs, and raising their hats to 
 the sufferers on board the ships, beckoned 
 them to come on shore. Feelings of dis- 
 trust, however, induced the seamen to decline 
 the invitation. 
 
 The day after the storm, though the sea 
 still ran very high. Commander Franklyn, 
 the agent of transports, put off in a boat 
 and reached the admiral's ship in safety. 
 Captain Mitchell, of the Queen, requested 
 and obtained permission to send assistance 
 to the wrecks. A boat from the Britannia 
 put off for the same purpose, but was nearly 
 lost in the attempt. At the same time, an 
 officer and boat's crew from the Ville de 
 Paris, who nobly endeavoured to aid their 
 compatriots, were driven on shore and made 
 prisoners by the Russians. On Wednesday 
 evening about forty or fifty men and two 
 soldiers' wives were rescued from the wrecks 
 and taken on board the Queen. The bar- 
 barous Cossacks on the beach, seeing a part 
 of their expected booty slipping through 
 their fingers, fired on the retreating boats, and 
 a seaman was killed, the bullet which struck 
 him having first passed through the bonnet 
 of one of the women. The same evening 
 the Cossacks fired a sharp volley upon a 
 wreck to which twenty or thirty struggling 
 wretches were desperately clinging. On 
 Thursday morning great numbers of men 
 were saved, and the number of lives lost 
 off the Katcha were comparatively few. 
 The men-of-war in this place rode out the 
 storm with but trifling damage. This was 
 attributed to their making periodical and' 
 carefiil scrutiny of their cables. The shore 
 off the Katcha presented a melancholy ap- 
 pearance; it was strewn in every direction 
 with fragments of wreck, casks, spars, and 
 the bruised bodies of men and horses. Here 
 and there, also, were to be seen prowling 
 378 
 
 parties of Cossacks searching for plunder. 
 These wretches afterwards brought field- 
 pieces to the coast and fired upon the 
 wrecks. This was replied to by the Firebrand 
 and the Sampson, who, whenever a group 
 of eight or ten Cossacks were seen together, 
 sent shot or shell amongst them, scattering 
 them with amazing rapidity. ,A drosky, 
 with two Russian gentlemen in it, drove 
 down to the beach and came alongside a 
 transport. They spoke to the crew with 
 great civility, and, through the medium of 
 a Swedish boy who understood what they 
 said, invited them to come on shore. " We 
 are," said they, " Christians, like yourselves, 
 and we have hearts as well as Englishmen; 
 Don't be drowned. Come on shore, and 
 we'll treat you well." "What do they 
 say?" inquired the mate of the boy. The 
 latter immediately interpreted the Russian 
 invitation. "Just tell them," continued 
 
 the mariner, "to go to , and be off 
 
 out of that, or I'll make them." The Rus- 
 sians ceased their solicitations and went back 
 to Sebastopol. 
 
 Eupatoria was regarded as a more dan- 
 gerous anchorage than either Balaklava or 
 the Katcha, and the results of the storm 
 there were extremely disastrous. The fol- 
 lowing day sixteen wrecks were lying upon 
 the sandy beach. The French line-of-battle 
 ship, Henri IV., a noble three-decker, was 
 also wrecked there. While stranded on the 
 shore the captain was compelled to fire upon 
 a body of Cossacks, who advanced at full 
 gallop to lay hands on the men of his wherry, 
 which was left on shore and could not be 
 got afloat. When the storm had subsided 
 the Russians came galloping over the crest 
 of the hill just outside the town, thinking 
 they would find the batteries deserted and 
 the men employed in assisting the wrecked 
 mariners. The remorseless enemy brought 
 up fourteen pieces of artillery, and opened 
 fire at about a thousand yards from the bat- 
 teries. They had miscalculated; their fire 
 was returned with much spirit, and, after 
 an hours cannonading, they were compelled 
 to retire. 
 
 The following account of the wreck of 
 the Henri IV. is by the Abbe Bertrand, 
 chaplain to the unfortunate vessel : — 
 
 " Our magnificent ship was wrecked on 
 the 14th, at six o'clock in the evening. The 
 tempest commenced at seven in the morning, 
 and, in spite of all our care, our activity, 
 and our energy, we had to yield to its vio- 
 lence. Since our arrival in the bay of Eupa- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. [epfecis of the storm. 
 
 toria we had two anchors thrown out, because 
 the approach of winter was felt, and it was 
 necessary to guard against the bad weather. 
 When the hurricane came on, the captain* 
 had out a third anchor and a fourth. We 
 thought we sliould be able to resist. Alas, 
 no ! The Henri IV. was destined to share 
 the fate of several other vessels that were 
 hourly broken to pieces on the coast. What 
 a terrible spectacle ! The sea was furious, 
 and bellowed so as to prevent us from hear- 
 ing each other, and the ship groaned beneath 
 the blows she received from it. The whole 
 of the furniture was flung from one part to 
 the other with the rapidity of a railroad. I 
 had remained in the captain's cabin after 
 breakfast, and while he was on the quarter- 
 deck in order to direct the movements of 
 the vessel, every article in the room was 
 flung from one side to another, and for my 
 own part I was near losing my senses. We 
 resisted for a good while ; though two of our 
 chains had broken, we held on with two, 
 and the wind began to calm down. But 
 what a sad thing it was to see the beach, on 
 which a dozen merchant vessels had been 
 just dashed to pieces. Alas ! such also was 
 the fate reserved for us. About half-past 
 five o'clock the captain and I were about to 
 sit down to dinner, when all of a sudden we 
 felt a shock, and a man rushed in and cried 
 out, ' Captain, the two last chains have just 
 been broken.' 'The two chains broken!' 
 the captain said; 'impossible!' He went 
 up on deck again, which he had only left 
 five minutes before. It was but too true — 
 the ship was on her beam-ends. There was 
 no further hope ; the sea and the wind were 
 too violent for us to hope to get out to sea. 
 We had only to resign ourselves to our fate. 
 All that was left for us was to be thrown on 
 that part of the coast where the bottom was 
 sandy. You cannot have an idea of the 
 anguish we all felt, expecting every moment 
 the first shock when the ship touched the 
 ground. We did feel the first shock, the 
 second, the third, and yet the good ship held 
 out. We were aground, but we knew not 
 at what distance from the shore, as we were 
 in darkness. The weather continued awful. 
 At last the day dawned, and we found our- 
 selves at 200 metres from the shore, and our 
 ship had not a single drop of water in her 
 hold. At some yards from us a Turkish 
 Vessel had been wrecked at eleven o'clock at 
 night, three hours after us. She drove on 
 iank, which threw her on her side, and we 
 
 saw the whole of the crew clinging to the 
 
 masts and shrouds, not being able to remain 
 on the deck, which was completely under 
 water. At last after a night passed in in- 
 describable anguish, fearing each moment 
 that the ship was breaking asunder, the day 
 dawned, and we found ourselves so near 
 land that, in the event of any great accident 
 occurring, it would not be difficult to save 
 ourselves. Fortunately, the ship is new, five 
 years having scarcely elapsed since she was 
 launched. We shall all be saved, as well as 
 the stores. We are, however, on the enemy's 
 coast, and tli£ Cossacks, who crowded down 
 to us in th^morning, have been received 
 with musketry. I do not think they will 
 return in haste. Oh ! that Sebastopol were 
 once taken ! Perhaps we are to remain 
 here until the ship is got off", and she is so 
 noble and so beautiful a vessel that it would 
 be a pity to abandon her. For the present, 
 however, we have nothing to fear." 
 
 The following is a list of the steam and 
 sailing transports lost, &c., in the Black Sea 
 during the gale of the 14th of November : — 
 
 Off Balaklava.— No. 107, the Prince 
 (screw steamer), totally lost — one midship- 
 man and seven men saved ; No. 5, Resolute 
 (ship), totally lost — magazine ship ; No. 40, 
 Kenilworth (ship), totally lost — empty horse- 
 transport j No. 63, Wild Wave (ship), to- 
 tally lost — one man saved ; No. 82, Rip Van 
 Winkle (ship), totally lost — empty horse- 
 transport. 
 
 Off the Katcha. — No. 1, the Pyrenees 
 (ship), wrecked — empty horse-transport ; 
 No. 20, Ganges (ship), wrecked — empty 
 horse-transport; No. 37, Rodsley (ship), 
 wrecked — empty horse-transport; No. 57, 
 Tyrone (ship), wrecked — empty horse-trans- 
 port ; No. 89, Lord Raglan (ship), wrecked 
 — empty horse-transport. 
 
 Off Eupatoria. — No. 3, Her Majesty (ship), 
 wrecked — empty horse-transport; No. 53, 
 Asia (ship) , wrecked — empty horse-transport; 
 No. 55, Glendalough (ship), wrecked — empty 
 horse- transport; No. 61, Harbinger (ship), 
 wrecked — empty horse-transport; No. 81, 
 Georgiana (ship), wrecked — empty horse- 
 transport. 
 
 Other wrecks and casualties at Balak- 
 lava. — No. 73, the Melbourne (steam-ship), 
 lost her fore and mainmast ; No. 2, Mercia 
 (ship), dismasted; No. 16, Lady Valiant 
 (ship), dismasted; No. 19, Caduceus (ship), 
 dismasted; No. 31, Pride of the Ocean 
 (ship), dismasted; No. 45, Medora (ship), 
 dismasted; No. 88, Sir R. Sale (ship), dis- 
 masted; Progress (bark), totally lost — a 
 
 379 
 
THE STORM ON LAND. J 
 
 HISTOII"^ OP T?HE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 commissariat hired ship, with hay and bar- 
 ley; Wanderer (bark), totally lost — ditto 
 with oats; Pultowa (bark) , totally lost — ditto 
 with biscuit; Maltese merchant brig totally* 
 lost. 
 
 The estimated loss of life in the crews at 
 Balaklava is about 300 in number ; at Eupa- 
 toria and off the Katcha the crews were 
 mostly saved. The shipping and steamers 
 at Balaklava have suffered considerably 
 from collision. 
 
 We have now to record the effects of the 
 hurricane on the allied campsjiear Sebasto- 
 pol. To do so briefly would oe unsatisfac- 
 tory ; to do so at length would be impossible 
 without drawing largely upon the account 
 by Mr. Russell, the special correspondent of 
 the Times. We will therefore extract his 
 picturesque and highly interesting account, 
 which deserves a position in some more per- 
 manent place than the columns of a news- 
 paper : — 
 
 " For about an hour I had been in a list- 
 less state between waking and sleeping, 
 listening to the pelting of the rain against 
 the fluttering canvas of the tent, or dodging 
 the streams of water which flowed under- 
 neath it, saturating our blankets and col- 
 lecting on the macintosh sheets in pools. 
 The sound of the rain, its heavy beating on 
 the earth, had become gradually syrallowed 
 up by the noise of the rushing of the wind 
 over the common, and by the flapping of the 
 tents as they rocked more violently beneath 
 its force. Gradually the sides of the canvas, 
 which were tucked in under big stones to 
 secure them, began to rise and flutter, per- 
 mitting the wind to enter playfully and 
 drive before it sheets of rain right into one's 
 face; the pegs began to indicate painful 
 indecision and want of firmness of purpose. 
 The glimpses afforded of the state of affairs 
 outside, by the lifting of the tent walls, 
 were little calculated to produce a spirit of 
 resignation to the fate which threatened our 
 frail shelter. The ground had lost its cha- 
 racter of solidity, and pools of mud marked 
 the horse and cattle tracks in front of the 
 tents. Mud, and nothing but mud, flying 
 before the wind and drifting as though it 
 were rain, covered the face of the'earth as 
 far as it was visible. Meantime the storm 
 fiend was coming, terrible and strong as 
 when he smote the bark of the Ancient 
 Mariner. At every fresh blast the pole of 
 the tent played and bent like a salmon rod ; 
 the canvas tugged at the ropes to pull them 
 up, and the pegs yielded gently. A start- 
 380 
 
 ling crack ! I looked iat my companions, 
 who seemed determined to shut out all 
 sound and sense by piling as much clothes 
 as they could collect over their heads. A 
 roar of wind, and the pole bent till the fatal 
 ' crack' was heard again. ' Get up, doctor ! 
 
 up with you; E , the tent is coming 
 
 down !' The doctor rose from beneath his 
 tumulus of clothes. . Now, if there was any- 
 thing in which the doctor put confidence 
 more than another, it was his tent-pole. 
 There was a decided bend in the middle of 
 it; "but he used to argue, on sound ana- 
 tomical, mathematical, and physical prin- 
 ciples, that the bend was a decided improve- 
 ment, and he believed that no power of 
 ^olus could ever shake it. He looked at 
 the pole blandly, as he looks at all things, 
 put his hand out, and shook it. ' Why, 
 man,' said he reproachfully, ' it's all right — 
 that pole would stand for ever,' and then he 
 crouched down, and burrowed under his 
 bedclothes. Scarcely had he given the last 
 convulsive heave of the blankets which indi- 
 cates perfect comfort and satisfaction, when 
 a harsh screaming sound, increasing in 
 vehemence as it approached, struck us with 
 horror. As it passed along we heard the 
 snapping of tent-poles and the sharp crack 
 of timber and canvas. On it came, ' a mighty 
 and a strong wind;' the pole broke off 
 short in the middle, as if it were glass, and 
 in an instant we were pressed down and 
 half stifled by the heavy folds of the wet 
 canvas, which beat us about the head with 
 the greatest fury. Half breathless and 
 blind, I struggled for the door. Such a 
 sight as met the eye ! The whole head- 
 quarters' camp was beaten flat to the earth, 
 and the unhappy occupants were rushing 
 through the mud in all directions in chase 
 of their effects and clothes, or holding 'on 
 by the walls of the enclosure as they strove 
 to make their way to the roofless and window- 
 less barns and stables for shelter. Three 
 marquees alone had stood against the blast 
 — General Estcourt's, Sir John Burgoyne's, 
 and Major Pakenham's. The general had 
 built a cunning wall of stones around his 
 marquee, but ere noon it had fallen before 
 the wind ; and the major shared the same 
 fate still earlier in the day. Next to our 
 tent had been the marquee of Captain De 
 Morel, aide-de-camp to- the adjutant-general, 
 Estcourt. It lay fluttering on the ground, 
 and, as I looked, the canvas seemed ani- 
 mated by some great internal convulsion — ■•a 
 mimic volcano appeared to be opening be- 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 neath 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 [the storm on land. 
 
 It. and Its folds assumed the most 
 fantastic shapes, tossing wildly about in the 
 storm. Ihe phenomenon was speedily 
 accounted for by the apparition of the gal- 
 lant owner fighting his way out desperately 
 against the wind, which was bent on tearing 
 his very scanty covering from his person; 
 and at last he succeeded in making a bolt of 
 it, and squattered through the mud to the 
 huts. Dr. Hall's tent, close at hand, was 
 levelled j and the principal medical officer 
 of the British army might be seen, in an 
 unusual state of perturbation, seeking for 
 his garments ere he took to flight. Briga- 
 dier Estcourt, with mien for once disturbed, 
 hald on, as sailors say, ' like grim death to a 
 backstay,' by one of the shrouds of his 
 marquee. Captain Chetwode, in drawers 
 and shirt, was tearing through the rain and 
 through the dirt, like a maniac, after a cap 
 which he fancied was his own, and which he 
 found, after a desperate run, was his ser- 
 geant's. The air was filled with blankets, 
 hats, great-coats, little coats, and even 
 tables and chairs ! Macintoshes, quilts, 
 Indian-rubber tubs, bedclothes, sheets of tent 
 canvas went whirling, like leaves in a gale, 
 towards Sebastopol. The shingle roofs of 
 the outhouses were torn away and scattered 
 over the camp, and a portion of the roof of 
 Lord Raglan's house was carried oflF to join 
 them. The barns and commissariat sheds 
 were laid bare at once. As instances of the 
 force of the wind I may mention that large 
 arabas, or waggons, which stood close to us, 
 were overturned ; that men and horses were 
 knocked down and rolled over and over; 
 that the ambulance waggons were turned 
 topsy-turvy; and that a large and heavy 
 table in Captain Chetwode's tent was lifted 
 off the ground, whirled round and round, 
 till the leaf flew off, and then came to 
 mother earth deprived of a leg and seriously 
 injured- The marines and rifles on the 
 cliffs over Balaklava lost tents, clothes— 
 everything ; the storm tore them away over 
 the face of the rock, and hurled them across 
 the bay, and the men had to cling to the 
 earth with all their might to avoid the same 
 fate. But the scene which occurred here 
 must be described separately. It forms a 
 terrible picture ; a^d the account of it, 
 whenever it may be written, will form the 
 most appalling chapter in the history of 
 maritime disasters. 
 
 " Looking over towards the hiU occupied 
 by the second division, we could see that the 
 blast had there been of equal violence. 
 
 VOL. I t3 D 
 
 The ridges, the plains, and undulating 
 tracts between the ravines, so lately smiling 
 in the autumn sun, with row after row of 
 neat white tents, now lay bare and desolate, 
 the surface turned into sticky mud as black 
 as ink, and the discoloured canvas rolled up 
 in heaps all over it. Right before us the 
 camp of the chasseurs d'Afrique presented 
 an appearance of equal desolation and 
 misery. _ Their little tentes d'abri stood for 
 a few minutes, but at last the poles snapped, 
 and they were involved in the common ruin. 
 The face of the country was covered with 
 horses, which had torn away from the 
 pickets. Nearly one-half of our cavalry 
 horses broke loose. The French, flying for 
 shelter, swarmed across the plains in all 
 directions, seeking for the lee of old walls or 
 banks for protection from the blast. Our 
 men, more sullen and resolute, stood in 
 front of their levelled tents, while wind and 
 rain tore over them, or collected in groups 
 before their late camps. Woe betide the 
 Russians, had they come on that day; for, 
 fiercer than the storm, and stronger than all 
 its rage, the British soldier would have met 
 and beaten their teeming battalions. The 
 cry was all throughout this dreadful day, 
 ' Let us get at the town ; better far that we 
 should have a rush at the batteries and be 
 done with it than stand here to be beaten 
 by the storm.' One regiment alone is said 
 to have presented some instances of an un- 
 soldierlike and disorderly disposition, and 
 that is one some of whose officers have 
 lately been much before the public. A few 
 young recruits, fresh from the comforts of 
 home, felt severely such a rude initiation 
 into the realities of the profession, and 
 seemed to think they could not be expected 
 to go into the trenches in this bad weather ; 
 but they were soon shamed out of their un- 
 willingness by the spirit of their comrades. 
 Not to digress too much, and to return to 
 the pleasant coup d'ceil before us this morn- 
 ing, let the reader imagine the bleakest 
 common in all England, the wettest bog in 
 all Irela];id, or the dreariest muir in all 
 Scotland, overhung by leaden skies, black 
 as ink and lashed by a tornado, sleet, snow, 
 pelting drizzle, and rain — a few broken stone 
 walls and roofless huts dotting it here and 
 there, roads turned into torrents of mud 
 or water across it, and then let him think 
 of the condition in which men and horses 
 must have been placed in such a spot on &. 
 November morning, suddenly deprived oi 
 their frail covering, and exposed to bitter 
 
 381 
 
THE STORM ON LAND.J 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1854. 
 
 cold and wet, witii empty stomaclis, and 
 not the remotest prospect of obtaining food 
 or shelter till the storm ceased. Think of 
 the men in the trenches, the covering par- 
 ties, the patrols, and outlying pickets and 
 sentries, who had passed the night in storm 
 and darkness, and who returned to their 
 camp only to find fires out and tents de- 
 stroyed. These were men who dared not 
 turn their backs for a moment, who could 
 not blink their eyes, on whose vigilance the 
 safety of our position depended, and many 
 of whom had been for eight or ten hours in 
 the rain and cold. These are trials which 
 demand the exercise of the soldier's highest 
 qualities. A benighted sportsman caught 
 in a highland storm thinks no misery can 
 exceed his own, as fagged, and drenched, and 
 hungry he plods along the hill-side, and 
 stumbles about in the dark towards some 
 uncertain light ; but he has no enemy worse 
 than the wind and rain to face, and in the 
 first hut he reaches repose and comfort 
 await him. Our ofB.cers and soldiers, after 
 a day like this, had to descend to the 
 trenches again at night to look out for a 
 crafty foe, to labour in the mire and ditches 
 of the works — what fortitude and high 
 courage to do all this without a murmur, 
 and to bear such privations and hardships 
 with unflinching resolution! But, mean- 
 time — for one's own experience gives the 
 best idea of the sufferings of others — our 
 tent is down ; one by one we struggle out 
 into the mud, and leave behind us all our 
 little household gods, to fly before a pitiless 
 blast which nearly carries us away to the 
 side of a broken stone wall, behind which 
 are cowering Zouaves, chasseurs d'Afrique, 
 ambulance men, hussars, infantry men, ofl5- 
 cers, and horses. Major Blane, in a state of 
 distress, is seen staggering from the ruins of 
 his marquee, under a press of great-coat, 
 across the camp, and bearing up for the 
 shelter of Major Pakenham's hut. We 
 hear that the hospital tents are all down, 
 and that the sick have had to share the 
 fate of the healthiest and most robust. On 
 turning towards the ridge on which the 
 large and imposing wooden structures built 
 by the French for hospitals and storehouses 
 were erected, a few scattered planks alone 
 met the eye. The wounded of the 5th of 
 November, who, to the number of several 
 hundred, were in these buildings, had to 
 bear the inclemency of the weather as well 
 as they could. Several succumbed to its 
 efiects. In every direction fresh scenes 
 382 
 
 of wretchedness met the eye. The guard 
 tents were down, the late occupants huddled 
 together under the side of a barn, their 
 arms covered with mud, lying where they 
 had been thrown down from the ' pile' by 
 the wind. The ofiicers of the guard had 
 fled to the commissariat stores near Lord 
 Raglan's, and found there partial shelter. 
 Inside the commissariat yard, over-turned 
 carts, dead horses, and groups of shivering 
 men were seen — not a tent standing. Mr. 
 Cookesley had to take refuge among his 
 stores, and was no doubt glad to find it, 
 even amid salt pork and rum puncheons. 
 Nearer to us hussar horses were dead and 
 dying from the cold. With chattering teeth 
 and shivering limbs each man looked at his 
 neighbour. Lord Raglan's house, with the 
 smoke of its fires steaming away from the 
 chimneys, and its white walls standing out 
 freshly against the black sky, was indeed 
 'the cynosure of neighbouring eyes.' Our 
 generals' marquees were as incapable of re- 
 sisting the hurricane as the bell-tents of the 
 common soldiers. Lord Lucan was seen for 
 hours sitting up to his knees in sludge amid 
 the wreck of his establishment, meditative 
 as Marius amid the ruins of Carthage. Lord 
 Cardigan was sick on board his yacht in the 
 harbour of Balaklava. Sir George Brown 
 was lying wounded on board the Agamem- 
 non, off Kamiesch Bay ; Sir De Lacy Evans, 
 sick and shaken, was on board the Sans- 
 pareil, in Balaklava. General Beutinck, 
 wounded, was on board the Caradoc, at 
 Constantinople, or on his way to England. 
 The Duke of Cambridge, sick and depressed, 
 was passing an anxious time of it in the 
 Retribution, off Balaklava, in all the horrors 
 of that dreadful scene at sea. But General 
 Pennefather, Sir R. England, Sir J. Camp, 
 bell. Brigadier Adams, Brigadier Buller — 
 in fact, all the generals, and colonels, and 
 officers in the field, were just as badly off 
 as the meanest private. The only persons 
 whose tents weathered the gale, as far as I 
 could hear, were Mr. Romaine, deputy 
 judge-advocate-general j Lieutenant-colonel 
 Dickson, royal artillery ; and Captain Wood- 
 ford. The first had, however, pitched his 
 tent cunningly within the four walls of an 
 outhouse, and secured it by guys and subtle 
 devices of stonework. They were hospitable 
 spots, those tents — oases in the desert of 
 wretchedness ; many a poor half-frozen 
 wanderer was indebted almost for life to 
 the shelter he there received. While aU 
 this writing is going pn, pray never lose 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.J 
 
 WAR WITH RUSSIA. 
 
 lthe storm on land. 
 
 sight, of the fact, as you sit over your snug 
 coal-fires at home, that fuel is nearly all 
 gone here, and that there are savage fights, 
 even in fine weather, among the various 
 domestics, for a bit of shaving or a frag- 
 ment of brushwood. Never forget that all 
 this time the storm is raging with increased 
 violence, and that from half-past six o'clock 
 till late in the day, it passed over the camp, 
 with the fury of Azrael, vexing and- buffet- 
 ing every living thing and tearing to pieces 
 aU things inanimate. Now and then a 
 cruel gleam of sunshine absolutely shot out 
 of a rift in the walls of clouds and rendered 
 the misery of the scene more striking. 
 Gathered up as we were under the old wall, 
 we could not but think with anxious hearts 
 of our fleet at sea — of our transports off 
 Balaklava and the Katcha — of the men in 
 the trenches and on picket. Alas ! we had 
 too much reason for our anxiety. 
 
 " Towards ten o'clock matters were looking 
 more hopeless and cheerless than ever, when 
 a welcome invitation came through the storm 
 for us to go over to the shelter of a well-pro- 
 tected tent. Our first duty was to aid the 
 owner in securing the pole with ' a fish' of 
 stout spars. Then we aided in passing out 
 a stay from the top of the pole to the wall in 
 front, and in a short time afterwards a cup 
 of warm tea was set before each of us, pro- 
 vided by some inscrutable chymistry ; and, 
 with excellent ration biscuit and some butter, 
 a delicious meal, as much needed as it was 
 quite unexpected, was made by my friends 
 and myself, embittered only by the ever-re- 
 curring reflection, ' God help us, what will 
 become of the poor fellows in the trenches 
 and on the hill !' And there we sat, thinking 
 and talking of the soldiers and of the fleet, 
 for hour after hour, while the wind and rain 
 blew and fell, and gradually awakening to 
 the full sense of the calamity with which 
 Providence was pleased to visit us. But 
 badly off as our men were, we knew that the 
 Russians in the valley and up the hills must 
 be far more miserable. At the best of times 
 their black bread and rakee make a sorry 
 meal. Our soldiers were tolerably certain of 
 good biscuit, a bit of salt pork, and a double 
 ration of excellent nim, and their coats and 
 clothes are far stouter and more durable 
 than those of the Muscovites. Towards 
 twelve o'clock the wind, which had been 
 blowing from the south-west, chopped round 
 more to the west and became much colder. 
 Sleet fell first, and then came a snowstorip, 
 which clothed the desolate landscape in 
 
 white, till the tramp of men seamed it with 
 trails of black mud. The mountain ranges 
 ' assumed their winter garb.' French soldiers, 
 in great depression of spirits, flocked about 
 our head-quarters and displayed their stock 
 of sorrows to us. Their tents were all down 
 and blown away — no chance of recovering 
 them ; their bread was ' tout mouilM et gdti,' 
 their rations gone to the dogs. The African 
 soldiers seemed particularly miserable. Poor 
 fellows ! several of them were found dead 
 next morning outside the lines of our cavalry 
 camp. We lost several men also. In the 
 light division four men were 'starved to 
 death' by the cold. Two men in the 7th 
 fusileers, one man in the 33rd, and one man 
 of the 2nd battahon rifle brigade, were found 
 dead. Two more of the same division have 
 died since, and I fear nearly an equal number 
 have perished in each of the other divisions. 
 About forty of our horses also died from the 
 cold and wet, and many will never recover 
 that fatal day and night. But the day was 
 going by, and there was no prospect of any 
 abatement of the storm. At two o'clock, 
 however, the wind went down a little, and 
 the intervals between the blasts of the gale 
 became more frequent and longer. We took 
 advantage of one of these halcyon moments 
 to trudge away to the wreck of the tent, and, 
 having borrowed another pole, with the aid 
 of a few men we got it up all muddy and 
 filthy, and secured it as far as possible for the 
 night ; but it was evident that no dependence 
 could be placed on its protection, and the 
 floor was a mass of dirt and puddle, and the 
 bed and clothes dripping wet. I mention my 
 own tent only, because what was done in 
 one case was done in others, and towards 
 evening there were many tents repitched 
 along the lines of our camps, though they 
 were but sorry resting-places. Although the 
 tents stood, they flapped about so much and 
 admitted such quantities of snow, rain, and 
 filth from outside, that it was quite out of the 
 question to sleep in them. What was to be 
 done ? Suddenly it occurred to us that there 
 might be room in the barn used as a stable 
 for the horses of Lord Raglan's escort of the 
 8th hussars, and we at once waded across 
 the sea of nastiness which lay between us 
 and it, tacked against several gusts, fouled 
 one or two soldiers in a different course, 
 grappled with walls and angles of outhouses, 
 nearly foundered in big horse-holes, bore 
 sharp up round a corner, and anchored at 
 once in the stable. What a scene it was 1 
 The officers of the escort were crouching 
 
 383 
 
THE STORM ON LAND.] HISTORY OF THE WAR WITH RUSSIA, [a.d. 1854. 
 
 over some embers of a wood fire ; along the 
 walls were closely packed some thirty or forty 
 horses and ponies, shivering with cold and 
 kicking and biting with spite and bad hu- 
 mour. The hussars, in their long cloaks, 
 stood looking gloomily on the flakes of snow 
 which drifted in at the doorway or through 
 the extensive apertures in the shingle roof. 
 Soldiers of different regiments crowded about 
 the warm corners, and Frenchmen of all 
 arms and a few Turks, joined in the brother- 
 hood of misery, lighted their pipes at the 
 scanty fire and sat close for mutual comfort. 
 The wind blew savagely through the roof and 
 through chinks in the mud walls and window 
 holes. The building was a mere shell, as 
 dark as pitch, and smelt as it ought to do — 
 an honest unmistakable stable — 'improved' 
 by a dense pack of moist and mouldy soldiers. 
 And yet it seemed to us a palace ! Life and 
 joy were inside, though melancholy French- 
 men would insist on being pathetic over their 
 own miseries — and, indeed, they were many 
 and great — and after a time the eye made 
 out the figures of men huddled up in blan- 
 kets, lying along the wall. They were the 
 sick, who had been in the hospital marquee, 
 and who now lay moaning and sighing in 
 the cold J but our men were kind to them, as 
 they are always to the distressed, and not a 
 pang of pain did they feel which care or con- 
 sideration could dissipate. A staff officer, 
 dripping with rain, came in to see if he could 
 get any shelter for draughts of the 3Srd and 
 41st regiments which had just been landed 
 at Kamiesch, but he soon ascertained the 
 hopelessness of his mission so far as our 
 quarters were concerned. The men were 
 packed into another shed ' like herrings in a 
 barrel.' Having told us, ' There is terrible 
 news from Balaklava ; seven vessels lost, and 
 a number on shore at the Katcha,' and thus 
 made us more gloomy than ever, the officer 
 went on his way, as well as he could, to look 
 after his draughts. In the course of an hour 
 an orderly' was sent off to Balaklava with 
 despatches from head-quarters, but, after 
 being absent for three-quarters of an hour, 
 the man returned fatigued and beaten, to say 
 he could not get his horse to face the storm. 
 In fact, it would have been all but impossible 
 for man or beast to make headway through 
 the hurricane. We sat in the dark till night 
 
 set in — not a soul could stir out. Nothing 
 could be heard but the howling of the wind, 
 the yelp of wild dogs driven into the en- 
 closures, and the shrill neighings of terrified 
 horses. At length a candle-end was stuck 
 into a horn lantern, to keep it from the wind 
 —a bit of ration pork and some rashers of 
 ham, done over the wood fire, furnished an 
 excellent dinner, which was followed by a 
 glass or horn of hot water and rum— then a 
 pipe, and, as it was cold and comfortless, we 
 got to bed— a heap of hay on the stable floor, 
 covered with our clothes, and thrown close 
 to the heels of a playful gray mare who had 
 strong antipathies to her neighbours, a mule 
 and an Arab horse, and spent the night m 
 attempting to kick in their ribs. Amid 
 smells and with incidents impossible to de- 
 scribe or to allude to more nearly, we went 
 to sleep in spite of a dispute between an Irish 
 sergeant of hussars and a Yorkshire corporal 
 of dragoons as to the comparative merits of 
 light and heavy cavalry, with digressions 
 respecting the capacity of English and Irish 
 horseflesh, which, by the last we heard of 
 them, seemed likely to be decided by a trial 
 of physical strength on the part of the dis- 
 putants. Throughout the day there had 
 been very little firing from the Russian bat- 
 teries — towards evening all was silent except 
 the storm. In the middle of the night, how- 
 ever, we were aU awoke by one of the most 
 tremendous cannonades we had ever heard, 
 and, after a time, the report of a rolling fire 
 of musketry came down on the wind. Look- 
 ing eagerly in the direction of the sound, we 
 saw the flashes of the cannon through the 
 chinks in the roof, each flash distinct by 
 itself, just as a flash of lightning is seen in all 
 its length and breadth through a crevice in 
 a window-shutter. It was evident there was 
 a sortie on the French lines. The cannonade 
 lasted for half-an-hour, and gradually waxed 
 fainter. In the morning we heard that the 
 Russians had sallied out from their comfort- 
 able warm barracks on the French in the 
 trenches, but that they had been received 
 with an energy which quickly made them 
 fiy back again to the cover of their guns. It 
 is said that the French actually got into a 
 part of the Russian lines in chasing their 
 troops back, and spiked some of the guns 
 within an earthwork battery." 
 
 END or VOL. I.