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October 14, 1854.] THE LEADER. 967
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TIIE WOUNDED. With tlie triumphs of ii s...
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CHOLERA IN THE CKIMKA. Ix would nppuar f...
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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.
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Interesting Episodes In The March, Durin...
Algiers , rose rapidly , and was appointed to the command of the province of Constantino , which in 1849 he completely subdued . In 1851 he commanded , one of the most glorious campaigns of the French in Algeria , that against the Kabyles . He returned to France in . that year with the rank of lieutenant-general , and attached himself to Louis Kapoleon , by whom he was made Minister of War . In 1852 he was created a Marshal , Senator , and afterwards Grand Ecuyer to the Emperor . In ten years he rose from the rank of tl Chef de liatallion" to that of Marshal of France . He was twice married .
The Turks at Alma . —There is scarcely any mention of the Turks during the battle in any of th ' e despatches . The truth is , that the division to which they were attached was not called on to join in the attack , and they were scarcely , if at all , under fire . It is , how--ever , stated that they did good service in harrassing the retreat of the Russians , and they had a loss of about 230 killed and wounded . The -AitiSTOCiuAcv in the Battle . —The Earl of Listowul ' s son , Lord Ennismore , of the Fusilier Guards , is reported as wounded severely , and the earl ' s brother , Capt . the Hon . C . Hare , of the 7 th Fusiliers , has met with a similar casualty . Capt . the Hon . Wm . Monek , also of the Fusiliers ( brother of Viscount Monek , M . P . for Portsmouth ) , who was killed at the head of his
company , was a great favourite in the 7 th , and will be deeply regretted . Lieut , the Hon . C . Crofton , of the same regiment , who was wounded , is eldest son of Lord Crofton , and grandson to the late Lord Anglesey . He was page of honour to her Majesty before his entrance into the army about a 3-ear ago . " in the-23 rd ; ' Fusiliers * Captain Arthur " Williams "Wynri , who lost his life in the conflict , was cousin of Sir " Watkyn Williams Wynn , Bart .., ML P ., and son of . the late Eight Hon . C . " W . Wynn . Sir William Young , of the 23 rd , who was also among the killed , was the lineal descendant of Sir John Young , who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots , as her chamberlain , on hex return from France to Scotland , in 1561 . He was just twenty-one years of age , had 1 been about four years in the service , and was married Only a few weeks before his embarkation for the seat of Avar .
Lord Chewton is wounded . He is the eldest son of the Earl of Waldegrave , and is a captain in the Scots Fusilier Guards . Lieutenant the Hon . H . Annesley , of the same regiment , is a younger brother of Lord Annesley . Captain Horace Cust , of the Coldstream Guards , is the only officer of tlie Household Brigade who fell . lie Was a cousin of the young'Earl Brownlow . Amongst the wounded is the Earl of Errol , who is , in virtue , of his office of high constable , the first subject in Scotland after the blood-royal . ¦ Two members of Parliament had narrow escapes—Sir De Lacy Evans having received a severe contusion in the right shoiiklcr , and Colonel the Hon . -Percy Egerton Herbert one in the back of the neck . The former gallant officer , as is well known , represents Westminster ; the latter , Ludlow .
October 14, 1854.] The Leader. 967
October 14 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 967
Tiie Wounded. With Tlie Triumphs Of Ii S...
TIIE WOUNDED . With tlie triumphs of ii successful battle , there must always he mingled the pain attendant ' on knowing of the fearful sufferings of the wounded and dying . It is to be feared that in the present instance those sufferings have been aggravated by a deficiency of everything that was necessary to mitigate them . The following extracts . are taken from various sources : — _ " It is with feelings of surprise and anger that tlie public will learn that no sulHcienb preparations h ive been mudo for the proper care of the wounded . Not oiilv are there not sufficient surgeons—that , it might be urge ' d , was unavoidable j not only are there no dressers nml nursed—that might be a defect of system fur which 110 one is to bliime ; but , what will bo said when it is known that thure is not even
linen to make bandages for iho wounded ? The greatest commiseration prevails for tho sufivringrt of tlio unhappy inmatoB of Scutari , wul every family is giving shouts and old garments to supply thoir wants . But : why could not this clearly foreseen wiint huvo boon supplied ? ( Jim it bo said that tho "battle of tljis Alma Jius boon nn event to tnko the world by surprise ? IIus not tlio expedition to tho Crimea ¦ been Lhu talk of the lust four months ! And when the Turks gavo up to our use tlio vast barracks to form 11 hospital 11 ml ¦ dcp 6 t , was it not on tho grounu that tlio loss of the iinyliuU troops whs suns to bo considerable wlion engaged in so dangerous an pntorpriiio ? And y ^ t , after thu troops huvo boen -six months in tho country , there is no preparation for tho commonest surgical oporationn 1 Not only are tho mi-ii kept , in some cuses , for a week without tho " lmud of n medical
man coming near their wounds—not only nro they left to oxpiro in agony , unheeded mid nlnikon off , though ' catching doHpovatoly at tho aurgoou wtacnovur ho mnlcos liis rounds through tho foutid strip , but now , when tliuy are placed in tho spacious building , vvhoro wo were- led to lioliuvo Hint everything was ready whidi could ua . io their pain or Iheililuto then- riKiovory , it U found that tho coiimiouent . appliances of " workhouse hick w « rd aro wunting , and that , tho niuii inusl < lio through tho medical HtufF of tho liritir . li army having torgottcw that old nigs uro iiuuoMsury for tho drowsing of jvounda . If Purliitrnont worn uittlng sonni notice would pro-«« Wy bo tiikon of these facto , whiuh am notorious , and have « xcitod much concern ; as it im . it , rests with tho Government to malco inquiries into tho oomluot of those who must have « o firuatly nogleotuittlioir duty . " A naval ofllcor of tho Ajyumomnon writesi-
" There has been a great want of proper medical assistance ; the wounded were left , some for two nights , the whole for one-, on the field . From the battle they have been bundled on board ship by 600 and TOO , without any medical attendant . There were no proper means for removing the wounded from the field . If it had not been for Admiral Lyons and the in-shore squadron , 1 know not what would hnve happened . He an-d the sailors of his squadron have behaved nobly ; I cannot describe to you all they have done . The seamen and marines , with oars and hammocks , brought the wounded to the bench , pkiced them on board tlie transports , and tended them like nurs .-s ; officers and all took part , night and day , in the good work ; I never saw & uc ! i devotion . Peel , Dacres , Drummond , Moire—in fact , all tlie captains , vitli Lyons at their head , vere indefatigable ; and yet remember that there were two divisions of the army that had scarcely lost one man , and mi < rht have done
somethingfor the wounded . The number of lives which have been sacrificed by the want of proper arrangements and neglect must be very considerable . The French , on tlie other hand , managed admirably . I believe the whole of their wounded were brought in immediately after the battle . Priests and medical officers were everywhere . The general officers , Cunrobert included , and officers of every grade , were superintending the removal of those who had ' fkllen . . Mules with slung seats and beds were' employed in conveying the wounded . I tell you all this from what I saw myself . I went everywhere , determined to judge for myself . Ten medical officers have just arrived from England , and it is to be Imped that they will do something towards remedying the neglect which has hitherto distinguished our medical staff . To add to our misfortunes , the Fourth Division was . encamped on tin old encamping ground of the . Russians ; the eliolera has consequently broken out with great Violence among them . "
A medical officer of the navy writes :- — " For the post two days I have been literally in a sea 61 blood , as I luive been employed attending on the Wounded Kussi-itis on the battle-field of Alma . " jSTo description I could give would , realise the horrors of war—the dead , the dying , horses , guns , carriage's , pefc-mele—headless trunks , bodies minus arms or logs , mutilation of every sort and kind , —that my blood ill most freezes at the recollection . Every available hut was improvised into an operating : theatre , and under every disadvantage we performed the most-formidable surgical operations . You may judge how expeditiously we had to get through things when I mention that I extracted 23 balls in less than three hoursi . Dressings were out of tlie question . Our surgical bivouacs were readily known by the number of legs and arms strewn 1
around the sceneof oar labours . Indeed , I cannot likenthe 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 , imJ when his nerve failed him I luid to wait until some one ' else , . came up . I will ' not t-ay 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 medicatrir , natuvce . In the redoubts the Russian dead lay literally heaped on each other . Nearly all the balls I extracted were . Minie ones . . Report s-iys there wore 47 , 000 . Russians on the field . They held the most formidable position any army could occupy 5 but tlie bulldog courage of our troops overcame everything , and in five hours they were masters of every commanding
position , and the , Hussion hosts were iii full retreat . No one , I belk-ve , knows the liusbian loss . I counted myself more tlian 400 llussians dead in less than three acres , and the wounded weva beyond my calculation . ' Their supplications , as 1 passed t hrough them , were heartrending—when I had attended one there wens twenty unintelligible supplications from those around me to give them my surgical aid . Our soldiers bclmved in the most humane manner towards the wounded . I wish I . could say as much for the Turks . The lutter attacked tho retreating Russian army , and those that were uot killed by their lire they bayonettetl , and cried 4 Sinope ! ' to them . Our army remained at Alma for two days after the astion to attend to the wounded , and when tliuy loft tlienj wore many of the enemy still uuoporatcsd upon . Wo have sent down then ; to-day a linu-of ' -battle ship to I 00 U after the rest , but I fear death will have played sad havoc among them . Tho Russians never look after their wounded and on our march hero ( only five miles ) we fell in with . 000 wounded Hujjsian soldiers . "
A private letter from an officer states : — " Wo huve got to Scutari at lust , but I thought we should not havo brought any men at all , a « tho men kept during tho voyage , quiclcly dying of their wound *; thorn wevo only three surgeons on board to dress and look after 000 men . My dear follow , England lias n great donl to answer for . in not having sufficient medical men to attend the wounded soldiers , who ri . ikod thoir lives and bled tor their country ' s honour . I never had my arm looked nt by a doctor from the day I recoived tho wound till yesterday , but , thank God , from previous experience , 1 w ublo to look after it myself , nnd this woundu of othors also . During our stay on board the ship many a bright nun lost ; his lifts through want of medical uttendiuiou . Wo throw about 80 or 100 overboard coining down tho Black Son ; but it in just <« bad at . Scutari . Wo disembarked on tho 2 < Mi . and wo have had neither tea , rations , nor anything , except Jib . of bread . " Another writes : —
r ( " Yoatordiiy I paid another visit to Iho hospital at Scutari . ' 1 ho great barrack , which lies about 11 hundred yards from tho hospital , bus boon got ready for sick and wounded . 1 found tho wounded at . the hospital 5 they lay along the vcblibuloH , a « well taken euro of a . s it wore potihUilo to do » iro . Being anxious to find a wounded ofllcor with whom I wm ucNjUdinted , tlio wliolo of this vnut edifice- had to bo Hunrcli «( t before 1 could find him , which enabled ino to hoc every pnrt of it . There wore not many tiiuk ut the hospital , the greater part of tho lever and cholera puliuutH having boon placed in tho othor building , which was formerly a barrack . Sick and
wounded men were being landed and carried there as wo eroded to visit it , and wo found that the most recent arrivals had been quartered there . There were a con siderable number of fever and cholera patients , and many hundred wounded , who had only been disembarked that morning and the day before . The doctors and surgeons are I regret to say , very few , indeed quite insufficient for the great number of patients ; and , though they are unremitting in their attentions , it is quite impossible that they can attend to such numbers . On the field of battle the naval doctors rendered very great services , and a good portion of the wounded were brought down to Constantinople in charge of naval surgeons . If the navy had been engaged , there would have beeii a very great lack of medical attendancefor I am
, informed from a wry good source , that though most of the steam-frigates and smaller ships have their proportion of medical officers , scarcely any of the line-of-battle ships have their full complement . The medical men at Scutari complained of the stnullness of their number , and the utter impossibility of attending to the crowds of sick and wounded . 1 have , Jiowever , reason to believe that this will soon bo remedied , as I know that the Turkish authorities have signified their readiness to do everything in their power in this emergency ; indeed , I am assured that they have behaved exceedingly well . A regiment is in waiting at the Scutari landing , and Turkish soldiers carry up-the wounded En " - hstimeii to the hospitals . " °
A correspondent of the limes , writing from Constantinople 011 28 th ultimo , says : — " The _ manner in which the sick and wounded have been treated js worthy only . of the-savages of Dahomey . The suitorings on board the Vulcan Were bad enough Thero were 30 U wounded , and 170 cholera patients , nnd "" thcse were attended to by four surgeons . The scene is described as terrible lhe wounded seized the surgeons by the skirts as they priced their wuy through the heaps of dying and deadbut the surgeons shook them off . Numbers arrived at ocutan without having been touched by it surgeon sinco they tell pierced by Kusshn bullets on the slopes of the Alma ; their wounds were still ' and their strength exhausted as they were lifted out of the boats to be carried to tho hospital , where , fortunately ; surirical aid mav Im nli ' . iinp . l
But all other horrors sink into insignificance compared with the state of the unfortunate passengers by the Colombo . Xhis vessel left the Crimea on the morning of the 24 th UounUed . men were being placed on . board for two days before slie sailed , and when she weighed anchor she carried the following numbers : —27 wounded officers , 422 wounded soldiers , and 104 ii ' ussiau prisoners—ire all 553 ' souls . About half of the wounded had received surgical assistance before they were put on ' board . To supply the wants-of this mass of misery were four medical men , oue of whom was the surgeon of the ship , —sufficiently employed hi looking atter the crew , who at this place anl season are seldom tree from sickness . The ship was literally covered with , prostrate forms , so as to be almost unmanageable . The otneers could not get below to find their sextants , and tho
run was made at hazard . The vessel was at sea twelve hours longer through this mischance . The worst cases were plzieed . on tlie upper deck , which in a day or two oecame . a mass of putridity . The neglected gunshot wounds bred maggots , which crawled in every direction , 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 eflettts of the five days' misery . All the blankets , to the number of luQO , have been thrown overboard as useless . Ihn-ty men died during the voyage . Tlie surgeons worked as luird as possible , but could 1 I 0 little among so inauy , and many ail unfortunate fellow first eamo under a medical man ' s hand on his arrival at Suutari , . six days after tho battle . It is ail ungracious task to find fault and \ t * speak u » iiiaw / uiuil
„„ rt ,, M « - » »» wv UllII ^^ L ^ Ulib till unfortunate neglect has occurred since tlie arrival of tho steamer . Forty-six men have been left on board for- two days , when by some extra exertion they might havo been salely piiicod in tl » o hospital . Tho vessel is cpjite putrid , but a large number of men will bo immediately employed to clean and fumigate her , alul thus avoid tho danger of typhus , which generally arises in such conditions . Two transports wcru towed by this Colombo , and their atate was nearly as bad . No blame is due to tho medical men or tlie oflicors in command , ThoyworUourlyar . il late , are worn and Imrnissed , and feel as much pity as any one for tha unfnrtunuta dying creatures j but our whole medical system is shamefully bad .
The woi'ti-out punsiouoru who -wore brought out as un ambulance corps aro totally useloaj ) , and not only aro surgeons not to be hud , but thei'e aro no dressors and nurses to curry out tho surgeon ' s diryuLions , and to attend on tho sick during the intoi'val botwoun his vinhn . llorotho French aro greatly our supionoiH . Thoir inedioal arrangements aro oxtrvmelv good , their surgoons more numerous , and they huvo aUo tho help of the " SwtujM of Charity , " who havo accompanied tlio expedition in incredible numbers . These devoted woimni aro oxeolltnit nurses , and perform for thu sick and wounded all the ollicort which could bo roiulorad in thu moot complete hospitals . Wo huve nothing . Tho inon must attund on oacJi other , or receive- no ri'liufat all . "
Cholera In The Ckimka. Ix Would Nppuar F...
CHOLERA IN THE CKIMKA . Ix would nppuar from tlio account of the sniuo authority that tho oholuru contiauus its ravages , ila says ;—" The most nioluncholy part of the wliolo cam | mian in Iho fearful ravage mudo by oholuni nnd f'ovor . Tho opldoiuy M Hnid to incroauo d : iily ; and , tl » im « li tlib may bo 1111 oxiiggoratioii , votitiMoortitiu tli . tt > vJi . ; iimw Llio men nro oxpoMod to ttiidilon chnu Ma of ttnnp . 'rut uro a grout in ,. rlalily followd . Tho dlneiwo inuroii « od nflcr thu iliMuinbiirnalion , amd tho oxptmuro to wind Jimi rain on lhu ui ^ liL of the lllh caused tlio dewtliH of iniuiy . "
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 14, 1854, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14101854/page/7/
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