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October 7, 1854.] THE LEADER. 939
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The Minister'for War ha* made the follow...
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" As no account has yot been received of...
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The expedition to the Crimea , fortunate...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
On.' Friday Morning The Following Was Pu...
" The various columns of the army had to cross several w livers in succession , in order to ton the Gulf of Sebas- tl topol and enter the mountain country before they could cl arrive at Balaklava . ^ "Mlenschikoff has been driven to a distance-with the "tn ¦ wreck , of bis army . ai " Marseilles , Oct . 5 CNTigkt ) . sn " The Fury "brings news from Constantinople of the se 27 tli . Sebastopol is commanded by the allies . p £ " The Kuasiau naval division has made an -unsuccess- — ful endeavour to push out with fourteen sail . In "In the battle of the Alma , the Russians defended lo the heights with 100 guns , yet the allies carried the sa Summit . nt " The want of cavalry -was much felt in the pursuit . so " Up to the 24 th there lias been no further fighting nc in the Crimea . m " The 23 rd Regiment lost all its officers but three , of th ¦ whom . Captain Bell was the senior . th " Colonel Ainslie was killed in planting a standard on al the heights of Alma . w ; " General Brown had a horse killed under him . uj " Sebastopol is invested . " it = THE BATTLE OF ALMA . v S 1 ' " It appears from the accounts which have reached the m French Government , that the battle was fought within . ei a very short distance of the sea coast . The French , army , eA consisting of either three , or four divisions , occupied the J " right , and was consequently nearest the sea . ' The English . ** occupied the centre , and the Turks the left . The Trench le army being nearest the sea , fully oiie-half of it -was pro- sa tected by the ¦ fire from the steamers , so that the extreme P light arid centre of the French line did not suffer much . m The French division -which suffered most was on the left w of the Trench lme , and next to the English . It was tr commanded by General Thbmasson , who , as you are aware was desperately wounded , and who is said to have st since died of his wounds . . a * " The brunt of the battle fell upon our countrymen , al who have not only had the post of honour , but , it is st feared , have been the greatest sufferers . At the French a I Ministry of War it is stated that , from the information . w "which has arrived , there is reason to believe that the ai loss of the English far exceeded that of their army . n < The main charge must ha \ re been a tremendous one . It " ^ seems that , although the Russians were posted on the ** opposite side of a deep ravine , and on the top of a steep " and difficult bank , where they had deliberately iaken up ~ their position , and where they were protected ! by their S ( artillery , the whole of the English army and the left AV division of the army stormed this formidable position in J u front and carried it . Every military man knows what | a desperate affair such an attack is , and the little we i S ( yet know of the storming of the heights of the Alma j n leaves no doubt that it will be recorded in our aunala as * one of the most glorious exploits of our brave country- t : men . " £ wei the — lost sail not the tha sibl . iiot sk — so up 1 I !
October 7, 1854.] The Leader. 939
October 7 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 939
The Minister'for War Ha* Made The Follow...
The Minister'for War ha * made the following au .- ^ nouncenients : — " An extraordinary Gazette will bo published so soon A as th < 3 names of those who have fallen in action , or have ^ beon wounded in the Crimea , shall have been received ; « and the Royal Commission authorising the collection ' ^ and control of a " Patriotic Fund" for the relief of'the r widows and orphans of soldiers , sailors , and marines killed or dying on active service in the present war , will ¦( also be pxiblidhed at the same time , if not previously ] promulgated . ] " "War Department , Oct . 3 , 1851 . " , —————— 1 " ' i I 3 *
" As No Account Has Yot Been Received Of...
" As no account has yot been received of the arrival , at Marseilles of a steamer from Constantinople with the , details of the battle of the heights of the Aliwn , the Duko of Newcastle thinks it right to make known that ho , fears tlio account of the casualties on that occasion caunot tic published before Monday , at the earliest . " War Department , 8 i > . m .,. Oct . fi , 185-1 . " * 0 0 "
The Expedition To The Crimea , Fortunate...
The expedition to the Crimea , fortunate in all other things , is fortunate in having an historian ¦ wor thy of tb-o occasion . Tho special correspondent of tho Times has alwtiys distinguished himself for able and graphic accounts of tho proceedings in the Black Sea * tout his last lottera , containing tho nju . ' - xnlivooftho sailing of tho oxpeclition and the dobarlcation , are , wilhoub question , unequalled in poriodicjiil or newspaper literature . For atyle , spirit , and descriptive power , grasp of detail , and anecdote , notiung has over been , produced liko it . Wo reproduce a few extracts , only regretting that they aro afow :- — Tub ITuckx wicicms Axoiion . —Sir Edmund Lyons in evidently an curly riwor . At half-past four o ' clock on Thurndny morning , three gunn from tho Agamemnon in quick . succession woke u [> tho HlooporH of tho ileot . The signalmen ittiulo out through Uxo haze of morning twilight the Joyful order fluttering in tho coloured bunt lug from tho niiy . en of tho admiral , " l ' rupnro to weigh anchor ) " and hi a qunrtor of nn hour tlio volumes of ernoko rising from tho wtouinoTH , mingled with white fltroaks of stonm , showed that not . much time would bu loat in obeying it . Exo seven o ' clock , tho atoumcre liiw II n ^ ' e - 3 _ n ° > o- co in on in hu vS . — ng gh yf ito bu u *(
¦ | ghed anchor , and each , was busy " dodging about" fir mass of transports to pick up its own particular co charges- This was a work of time , of trouble , and of m difficulty . Towing is at all times an unpleasant opera- fr ( tion , but it is especially difficult to arrange the details , ha and to get the towed vessels under way , when there is so : such a mass of shipping to thread as there was at pre- at sent . When the vessels were found , aad the hawsers sk passed and secured , then came the next great difficulty po to get them into their assigned places in the several oH lines of the different divisions . There was some time to < before the lines were formed , and the signal "to Ai " was given . With a gentle breeze off shore , the vi < flotilla started hi nearly the order assigned to it but se < some changes took place , which at this moment I am Tl in a position to state .. The lines , were about half a an mile apart , and each line was four or five miles long , for se < towing power of the several steamers was so unequal th t the weaker ones tailed off and , the stronger got go ahead , in sj > ite of repeated orders to keep station . It on was a vast armada . No pen could describe its effect w < upon the eye . Ere an hour had elapsed , it had extended st < itself over half the circumference of the horizon . Pos- wi y no expedition so complete and so terrible in its means of destruction , with such enormous power in Ni engines of war , and such capabilities of locomotion , -was w ; ever yet sent forth by any worldly power ; for the con ^ - sc junction of such a corps cTelite—the -whole disposable th British arrny—with a fleet of such strength , and an artil- sic lery of unequalled range , severally provided , too , it is co said , with missiles of unexampled force , has assuredly no ar parallel in history . Our speed was restricted to four ar miles and a half per hour , but with a favouring wind it th was difficult to restrain the vessels to that speed , and the m transports set no sail . cl : Tiie Fleet at Sea . —The fleet , in five irregular and . to straggling lines , flanked by men-of-war and war steamers , m advanced slowly , filling the atmosphere with iimumer- tl able columns of smoke ,, which gradually flattened into le : streaks and joined the clouds , adding to the sombre appearance of this Tvell-nanxed " Black" Sea . The land h . £ was lost to view very speedily beneath the coal clouds fit and the steam clouds of the fleet , and as we advanced , m an object was visible in the half of the great circle tu which lay before us , save the dark waves and the cold C ( y . Not a bird flew , not a fish leaped , not a sail wl dotted the horizon . Behind us all -was life and power G ' vitality , force , and motion—a strange scene in this tb -called Russian lake ! "From time to time signals fit were made to keep the stragglers in order , and to whip ai the laggards , hut the execution of the plan by no vr means equalled the accuracy with -which it had been pi set forth upon paper , and the deviations from the mathe- ti matical regularity of the programme were very natural . The effect was not marred by these trifling departures I ) from strict rectilinearity , for the fleet seemed all the h greater and the more imposing as the eye rested on these t » huge black hulls weighing down ur'oii the face of the g waters , and the infinite diversity of rigging which g covered the background with a giant network . li The Landing . —About nine o ' clock one black ball 1 < was run up to the fore of the Agamemnon , and a gun tl was fired to enforce attention to the signal . This meant , " " Divisions of boats to assemble round ships , for which a they aro told off , to disembark infantry and artillery . " tl There was , as I have said , no enemy in sight , but long sj before the French had landed their first boats' cargo tho ii figure of a mounted officer , followed by three Cossacks , " " had fallen within the scope of many a glass . Tho r Russian was within about 1100 j-ards of us , and through a good telescope we could watch his every action . He rodo slowly along Iby tho edge of the cliff , apparently noting the number and disposition of the fleet , and taking notes with great calmness in a memorandum book . He wore a dark green frockcoat , with a Httlo silver luca , a cap of tho samo colour , a sash round his waist , and long leather boots . Ilia horse , a fine bay charger , was a strange contrast to the shaggy rough littlo steeds of his followers . There they were , u tho Cossacks , " at laHt |—stout compact-looking fellows , with sheep-skin caps , uncouth clothing of indiscriminate cut , high saddies , and littlo fiery ponies , which carried them with wonderful case and strength . Each of theso CosmvcKh carried a thick lunco of somo fifteen feet in length and n heuvy' -looking snbro . At times they took rapid tiiniH by the edge of the cliff in front of ws-r-now to tho loft , now to the rear , of thoir officer , ( t « d occasionally they dipped out of sight over the hill altogether . Than they came back , flourishing thoir Inncos , and pointed to tho nooiuiHilutiiig masses of tho French , on their right , not more than half a mile from thorn , on the shore , or Bcninpercd over tho hill to report progress as to the linos of Knglinh boots advancing to the beach . Their officer behaved very well . Ho remained for an hour within range of a Minie rifle , and when tho Highflyer Htood In cIoho to shore , while ho -tvas coolly making n sketch in hirt portfolio of our appearance , wo all expected they woro going to drop a Hh « H over hhnnclf and hi » littlo party . "VVo woto glad our expectations were not ronliHo ' cl , if it wore only on tho chance of tho sliotch being tolonibly good , so that tho Cmr might really boo what our nrrnnda was liko . 8 m U Koitois Bkown and tiik Cohsacks . —Monntiino the English boats were noiiring the nhoro , not in tho order of tho programme , but i » i irregular pjnni | in : n company of a regiment , of tho Light Divlrtion , tho 7 tl » Fusiliers , under Lieute »« nt-Colon « i Yoa , 1 think , lnmlud B first m had at too The and see the got one tlie and are the cliff to the left had first th first an ! ; j - j g i I i , " i ' ; 3 in , i i b / it - ,. i , d . s if it n I- h in a ih " t , iy iy io ot or es : er ir in in ey do re- n . at .
on the beach to tie left of the cliffs ; then came a company of the 2 d Battalion of the Rifle Brigade , comanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence . A small boat : from the Britannia , commanded by Lieutenant Yesey ' , , however , preceded tho Fusiliers , and disembarked / some men on the beach , who weal down into , the holkwr , the foot of the eliiFs . The Russian continued hi ^ sketching . Suddenly a Cossack crouched , down and , pointed with his lance to the ascent o £ the cliff . Tb , e , officer turned and looked in the direction . We looked ,, , and lo ! a cocked hat rose above the horizon , . Another figure , with a similar head-dress , came also , £ q , view . The first was Sir Gforge Brown , on foot ; the * second we made out to be Quartermaster-Qvnoral Airey . scene was exciting . It was evident the Russian the Cossacks saw Sir George , but that he did not . them . A picket of Fusiliers and Riflemen followed ^ General at a considerable interval . The Russian , on his horse , the Cossacks followed his example , and . of them cantered to the left to see that the French ; were not cutting off their retreat , while the othei § stooped down over their saddle-bows and rode stealthily ^ with lowered lances , towards the Englishmen .. Sir George was in danger , but he did not know it * Neither did the Russians see the picket advancing to *» wards the brow of the hill . Sir George was husyr scanning the country , and pointing out various spots tii , Quartermaster-General . Suddenly they turn , and slowly descend the hill- —the gold sash disappears—the cocked hat is eclipsed—Cossacks and officers dismount , steal along by the side of their horses . They , tooj hid from sight in a short tini « , and on the : brow of cliff appears a strhag of native carts . In about five * minutes two or three tiny puffs of smoke rise over tha . , and presently the faint cracks of a rifle are audible the men in the nearest ships . In a few minutes more the Cossacks are visible , flying like the wind oa road towards Sebastopol , anoV crossing close to the of the French Iine 9 of skirmishers . When we landed w « heard that Sir George Brown a near escape of being taken prisoner . He was the to land , and pushed on without sending vedettes ormen in front , though he took tte precaution , very for-r . tunately , to bring up a few . soldiers with him . The Cossaeks , who had been dodging him , made a dash , when they were within less than a hundred yards . The General had to-run , and was only saved from capture by . e fire of the Fusiliers . The Cossacks bolted . The blood spilt in this campaign was that of a poor boy , arabjee , avIio was wounded in the foot by the volley which dislodged them . Meantime swarms : of boats were putting off from the various ships to carry the English , troops to land . . The Bkacii . —By twelve o ' clock in the day , that barren and desolate teach , inhabited but a short time before only by the seagull and wildfowl , -was swarming with life . From one extremity to tho other bayonets listened , and red coats and brass-mounted shakoa 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 , tho familiar address of " Bill" to " Tom , " or of "^ l ' at" to Sandy , " and an occasional shout of laughter . Very amusing was it to watch tho 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 tow ( tho latter purchased for the service } , would conic up alongside a steamer or transport in which troops wero ready for diseinbarcation . The oflicors of ca , ch company first descended , each man in full dress . Over his shoulder waa slung his havreuack , containing what had buen , ere underwent the process of cooking , 4 ^ 1 ( 1 . of salt meat , and a bulky mass of biscuit of the same weight . This was his ration for throe days . BeaidoH this each ouicor carried his greatcoat , rolled up and fastened in a hoop round his body , a wooden canteen to hold water , a , smajl ration of Hpirits , whatever change of under-clothing hecould manngo to stow away , his forage cap , and , in most instances , a revolver . Each private curried his blanket and greatcoat strapped up into a kind of Unap « nek ; inside which was a pair of l > oot » , a pair of sockst , a shirt , and , at tho request of the mcu themselves , a fomgo cup ; ho also carried his wiltw canteen and the same ratioua as the officer , a , portion of the rue ** cooking apparatus , tirclock and bayonet of oourne , curtou . ch byj > and 50 rounds of ball cartridge ! fur MiuiJ , 00 rounds for oinootli-boro arms . Tins Sailors' Caisio ok t « k Souhkiu * . —Ludicrously kind woro the sailors to soldiers who wwo suppo . sod to be > HtiU oaily on U » isir HCUnlogs . Ah each man e « uno creeping down tho ladder Juols . helped him along tondcrly fiom rung to rung till ho was niifo in tho boat , took his firelock and stowed it away , roinuvod ' ' ¦ ¦* J' » M ]) - « u « U him ! puokwd it « nugly under tho mint , patted l > li «» oa tho buok > and U > U him " not U > bo ufViunl ou «¦ ' »« W ) ltor ; tiwuAed " tlie m . jer , " iix fact , in u vory ki »« l «»< u " 1 1 ' ^ way , an tli « . u li lui w « r « « i lnrrto l ) ll ( 1 ' ' , '''i' " ' ^ ' ^' of on " ,,.. , " who W « rt not to l . o Mtf l . tei . CMl « r h > M . mih , f oi any account , and di <» it . all m q ^ kl y ll » « «^ K » paildle-bux Im . iiIh , cmtuininK 1 O « '"«»• Y \ V \ J" , tow nii . iUoH . The .. th » . l « . t . « rt .. « k tho i-ml-ll --Im n u tow , ^ jVSSwS eE ^ sr ^ tsrfftf . -nns
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 7, 1854, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07101854/page/3/
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