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An Incident ix the Reserve . —When the fourth division , first heard the roar of cannon it was at some twelve miles' distance from the scene of action- Double quick march -was instantly commanded , and when at length it became necessaiy to take & moment ' s repose , the sick and exhausted were ordered to step out of the ranks . Although the whole division might have been comprised under the latter category , but one man- presented himself , and a drop of brandy having refreshed him , he retook his place . " When at length the division arrived on the field the action was over , but that by no means detracts from the meed of praise it has earned .
Castnon and Pkisonees . —Three cannon ( brass 32-pounders ) fell into the hands of the British . Two general officers -were taken prisoners—one in . the redoubt by tie 77 th , the other after the action by Captain Richards of the Artillery . One was sent on board the Britannia , the other on board the Agamemnon , and an officer of the latter ship states that a " pretty specimen of a general he is . He is more distressed about the loss of his uniform coat and epaulettes than anything else , and is constantly -worrying about them , and repeatedly has asked for a flag of truce to "be sent to Sebastorpol for his things . "
Menschikoff ' s Carriage . — Prince Menschikoifs carriage and coachman -were taken , and have been sent to Constantinople ; the former is publicly exposed at Tophane . In . the carriage were found the full particulars of the English army , their strength ., &c , showing howwell the spies in the Englislh camp must have done their treacherous work . Menschikoff ' s Opinion of English Soldieks . —In part of a despatch found in his carriage Menschikoff says : —" Although 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 foice three weeks , and certainly half as long as Sebastopol itself . "
Mbn-schikoff Nearly a Prisoner . —It is confidently . reported that Meiisehikoff was suffering severelv from illness during the battle ; so much so that he had to be supported . There are also reports of his having been wounded- ^ one aceount says in the feet ; another , in the hands . During the retreat he was in a square formed by a brigade posted on the road from Kalamita , when the English and French cavalry broke the square , and he did not escape without difficulty , owing his safety to the swiftness of his horse .
Menschikopf Attempts Suictoe . —It is' said that after the victory of Alma , Menschikoff attempted to cut his throat , but -was prevented by some officers near him . ' Menschikoff ' s notion of what the Battle was to be . —At the commencement of the action many ladies were on . the heights . Prince MenscMkoff had given them to understand that on the part of the Russians . it would be a mere review—that the allies would nob be able to meet his heavy artillery , and would retreat . He had a firm opinion that he could hold his position for three weeks , and had written to tell the emperor so .
Umi Russians after the Baotxe . —Several of the wounded Russians fired at our wounded who were lying disabled near them . One man deliberately fired at and wounded an artilleryman who had just given him some water to quench his burning tliirat . An indignant guardsman instantly clubbed the scoundrel ; but , on the whole , they appeared thankful for the attention shown them— -as well they might . Some of our poor fellows seemed jealous of this good treatment , and appeared to think themselves neglected . To o-no man I observed , aa a consolation , that , under similar circumstances , the Russians would have sho-wn him equal kindness . " Devil a bit , " said the man ; and I believe ho was right .
Sir Colin Campbki . ii , and the Highlanders . — Tho Guards and Highlanders dasliecl into the redoubt . Sir Colin Campbell was at tho head of tho latter , far ahead of his men , shouting " We'll hao none but Highland bonnets hero ; " but tho Guards preosed on abreast , and claimed with tho SSad Regiment tho honour of capturing a cannon—an honourable rivalry , and flattering to both corps . The Kuswunns who resisted wore killed or scattered , and , throwing away their knapsacka n . nd muslccts , even their boots , tho remnant dispersed over the country , .
Cai'turu ov a Fbjknoh Opfiokk . —Lord Raglan states in his despatch : "I lament to Bay that Lieutennnt-Colonel Lagondie , who was attached to my hoadquartorB by tho Emperor of th « Fronoh , fell into tho onomy ' B hands on Iho 19 th , on his return from I'riuco Napoleon ' s division , whore ho had obligingly gone at my request with a cornimuiLontton tolas Imperial Highness . " It soomfl that Lieutenant-Colonel Lngomlio wub flhortsightod , and gnllopud up to a Russian regiment , mistaking it for nn luiglmh 0110 . La J ressts staton that Colonel Lngondio has © fleeted his ottenpo , and rejoined tho English army . Ti «» " MoiiAUi" op Tine Ifurrau Tkoojps . —Lord
Raglan bourn high toMhnony to tho apirit which provailw in tho UritiHh army . 1 In Maya ;— " I cannot omit to miiko known tho ohoorfulnai-m with which tho . reghuontnl officers of tho army lmvo wubiwitted to moat unusual privations . My anxiety lo brln # into tho country every cavalry and infantry tioldior who was available prevented mo from embarking thotr Imggago animals , and those oIucctb have witSi thorn at this moment nothing hut what they can owrrv , and they , equally with tho
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 bat horses at the earliest moment . The conduct of the troops has been admirable . " When it is considered that they have suffered severely from sickness during the last two months ; that , since they landed iu 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 excessive ; and that they have been pursued by cholera to the very battle-field , I do not go beyond the truth in declaring that they merit tho highest commendation .
The Troops Actuallt Engaged . —The order of the divisions from right to left was as follows : —On the extreme right were the brigades of Sir De L . Evans ' s division ; next came Sir George Brown ' s division ; and on the left of all -were the Guards . The 3 rd division was in support . The 4 th division was in reserve . It will thus be seen that little more than 14 , 000 of our infantry were actually engaged with the enemy ! Two divisions never fired a shot . The victory was won by the Guards , Highlanders , Light and 2 nd divisions , opposed to at least 20 , 000 Russians , and the number of French who disposed of the other 20 , 000 of the Russian army was in like proportion with the bulk of their army . The critical moment was at the advance of the 1 st
division , and that advance was a sight never to be forgotten . As they marched up the hill the lines of the black bearskins were barely wavering ; they were nearly as straight as if on parade , and the light division complained that the men of the Guards were losing time in dressing up as if on parade ground , when they should have been supporting the regiments exposed to such crushing fire . While the Guards were running up they fell fast , and at last the Duke of Cambridge , anxious at the loss of one regiment , seemed inclined to retire his men only for a
moment to re-form , but was diverted from doing so by the advice of Sir € olin Campbell . They continued the advance therefore , swallowed up in smoke , and rent through every instant by shot , and after a momentary check , rushed into the battery . The Grenadiers and Scots Fusiliers contended eagerly for the honour of being first in , and still more eagerly for the honour of capturing the beautiful brass gun . The fire of the Highlanders and . its effect , and their appearance at the other side of the hill , coupled with their deadly volley , caused the instantaneous rout of the enemy . The Two Aemjes . — "What They had Each to do .
—There is this very peculiar feature about the action — that the English liad the very thing to do which they alone could have done , and that the French had to do work for which they were particularly suited . Ours it was to face steadily the fire of tremendous batteries ; to advance with a rush , steady and sure , and resistless as the swell of the ocean , against a wall of fire and solid masses of infantry 5 to struggle on , at one time overwhelmed by crashing volleys of grape and musketry , at another disorganised by round shot , winning tho ground from death at every pace ; to form tranquilly nncl readily when thrown into momentary disorder , and at last to nail victory to our colours by tho never ~ failLng British bayonet . 'It is said that several French officers
have declared , since they viewed the ground , that they thought their men would not havo been able to carry tho position as we did . General Canrobert , in a moment of enthusiasm , exclaimed to one of our Generals , at tho close of tho day , " All I would ask " of fo rtune now ia that I might command a corps of English troops for thrco short weeks ; I could then die happy ! " On tho other liand , tho French had to scale tho sides of steep ravines covered with dense masses of infantry , supported by clouds of nkirmishcrs ; they had to clumber up rocky steeps defended by swarms of sharpshooters ; they had to most
gam a difficult position with quickness and alacrity . Delay would havo boon fatal ; slowness o movement would havo lost ua the battle , for without tho French on tho heights on our right wo must have Ijeon driven across tho Alma , aa they would have boon swept into the valley had wo failed in carrying our batteries . Their energetic movements , their rapid flamoliko spread from crag to crag , thoir coasoloss fusillade of the deadly rifle , wore all astonishing , and paralysed tho enemy completely . Wo , porhnps , could never have mndo such a rapid advance , or havo got over so much ground in the same timo .
This Ckntris ov thh FraiiT . — -The struggle was prcominontly between tho British infantry and tho Russian artillery . This was tho cont . ro of tho Russian position , to which was opposed tho English division . Sir G . Brown , a gooil judge , doclnroa ihnt in tho Peniiwular Rtrugglo tho English had encountered no such position . Tho Russian artillery was concentrated in tho contra ; consequently , tho lire which encountered tho French was chiefly that of musketry . Txus Final Cuahois . —Tho inowt ; formidable post of all was that wliioh tho GuardH and HighlaudorH wcro advancing to attack . As I have wild , it ; wna an 011-tromihed earthwork , mounting Hovon long br « nn » 2 and 2 ' 1-pouxidorH , and occupied by about 2000 infantry 5 while a ibroo of nearly 5000 , on tho fining ground bohlml , protected it ) ullll mora , Doforo mulling to M 10 attack tho whole division lay down in one of tho Russian tranches to load and close up . Whilo here tho Hon
Major Macdonald , the duke's aide-de-camp , with the greatest courage and coolness scrambled out of the trenca on horseback to reconnoitre the enemy's position . The instant he showed himself a shower of balls and musket bullets was directed against him . One of the former struck his charger full in the chest , and hurled both horse and rider to the ground . Fortunately Major Mac donaldwas only slightly hurt by the fall , and some officers who saw the occurrence rushed to his assistance and extricated him from his mangled steed . With great coolness the major mounted a horse which was offered him , and rode back to the trench uninjured , though the bullets were whistling around him in all directions . Instantly afterwards the division rose and made a dash up the hill at the batteries
. They were met by a tremendous fire , which stretched many of them on the ground to rise no more . Yet in they went without returning a shot . The enemy in the battery then ceased firing , reserving it to be dealt with deadly effect when the Guards closed ; but the regiments behind on the hill kept up an incessant discharge o musketry upon the advancing line . Still cheering and steady , the Guards and bonnie Scots moved forward , keeping their line , reserving their fire , and filling up gaps as fast as they were made . In a few minutes they were within twenty yards of the work , when from every part of it gleamed forth a murderous discharge . The line of Guards , which was directly facing the guns , seemed to stagger and reel under the fearful volley . There was an instant ' s pause
while the duke rushed to the front , and gave the command to file . The three battalions raised their firelocks and discharged them with one stunning report , and then lowering to tne charge , with one wild cheer , dashed over the works , aoid were in the battery . The Russians retreated upon the hill in confusion and dismay , carrying off all the guns but one , which the Guards'took . They gave the enemy no time to rally , "but pursued them up the hill , wheie the supporting Russian regiments were trying to check the rout . The latter , animated by the example of tlieir officers ^ attempted to rally , and opened a . file fire , but the spirit of their , men was . utterly gone . The Guards came up , and , forming line exactly as if on review , commenced , in return , a murderous file fire . Nothing could stand before it . The Russian lines seemed
to melt away , . till at last all fled in confusion . The Highlanders , who had advanced to the left of the Guards , behaved with , the . same distinguished courage . They never fired a shot until close upon the Russian regiments , when they gave them a volley and charged . The enemy fell back , but at a little distance rallied , and , lowering their bayonets , advanced a few feet , as if to charge . With a cheer of joy tlie Scots accepted the challenge , a : nd charged at them , but the mere aspect of the Highlanders was enough , and throwing off their packs the Russians fled .
The Russian Position . —The Russian position was enormously strong . Fancy a gradually sloping country , without a single object to protect advancing troops , ending in a river sweeping round high cliffs of earth , in the centre of which , about three miles from the sea , was an amphitheatre of hills ; this amphitheatre commanded the principal forda over the rivet and the open countrv beyond ; it was strengthened by an earthwork with ten or twelve guns , and a permanent battery of twelve guns more . The great mistake of tho Russians consisted in not sufficiently fortifying tho heights to their loft , which might have been rendered exceedingly strong . Indeed , it is tho general feeling that such a position hold by French or English troops would have been almost impregnable . Tho French having turned tho Russian flank and hold the heights , our troops advanced steadily under
a most tremendous fire from the butteries . They bruko in crossing tho river , and tho light division rushed up the slope without pausing . Two regiments—it is impossible to reconciles tho conflicting accounts , each regiment saying that tho other gnvo Avuy—recoiled beneath tho tremendous fixo of tho Russian batteries . This part of tl . e battle is much criticised by some of tho military ax \ - thoritios , who declare that our troops wero oxpoacd to almost inevitable destruction ; the earthwork was , howover , triumphantly carried , and tho battla decided by nn admirable movement of the Highland Brigade , under Sir Colin Cnnupbell , to whom ovory one assigns tho decisive movemont which secured comploto victory ; but Uw slauglitor hero was terrific . The oldest geuoral « dccluro that in no battle heretofore fought havo eo muny dead been hoaped up in one spot .
Afteh this Battuc . —As wo advanced up tho slope tho indications of carnage bocawio inoro marked , and the nearer wo enmo to the fatal battery tho thicker wore our noblo dead . On a grasny » lopo on that hill side , -with tho soft September Hunnhino looking on them out of tho cloudlofis heavens , hiy , with thoir faces to tho sky , Col . Chewier and four of his gallant otticars , two more lying a fow yardn distant . Ono could not look on thoir calm , still faces ¦ without thinking of tho blank they would
make at English flroHidcs . They lay buried together like Holdiem may on that , lona Crimean hill nido ; it in a holy npot now . Thoy man-hoil " right up to that turrlbU ) battery , through that sulphurous mint ofdciath , did < tho . *> gallant roginiuntH , « h Hluiulily m though it had been on a parado , and laid down thoir young lives for mother England na cheerfully an they would havo lain down to rowt , Thickly among them lay tho wounded and dying of tho foomon , proving how dearly they had sold their gallant lives . Tho deeds of valour told of aa performed
Untitled Article
964 THE LE A D E R . [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 14, 1854, page 964, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2060/page/4/
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