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Leader (1850-1860), 9th December 1854, Edition Town of 2, Page 1156, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      " We were landed to lie under the orders of Captain Parker , of the Royal Marines , but under the command of Captain Burridge , R . N ., late flag captain . As soon as the boats touched the shore , Captain Burridge cried out , ' Follow me , men ; follow me , marines . ' Off they all went into the thicket ; some taking one direction , some another , and all going in a' different one to that which was laid down . At this time musket and grape shots were flying aronnd us . After getting through the thicket we ascended a hill , when the enemy very soon surrounded us . It was dreadful to see how oar poor fellows were falling in all directions . They drove us over an immense cliff ,- how we got down it I don ' t know . At this time , poor Captain Parker was shot , and a French officer . Lieutenants Bl'Callum . and Clements

      were each wounded badly in the bead . A steamer seeing the state of affairs came up to cover our retreat . We were perfectly paralysed and took to the boats . Some few who were left on the beach -were open to a deadlyfire from the enemy , which came from , all directions . A more disastrous or ill-managed affair never took place . Out of 350 landed , about 107 were killed or wounded ; and the only effect produced must have been that of giving the enemy the most thorough contempt of the powers of the foe they have to deal with . Is it not de ^ plorable that naval officers will -take military command !

      and the more so particulary in this instance , for a better officer than poor Parker was does not exist . In the rebellion in Canada , Captain Parker , then a young . fir 6 t lieutenant , proved himself to possess great judgment and undaunted courage , and for his gallant conduct was promoted by the . conunander-in-chief in Canada , to brevet captain . Had he in this instance been allowed to take military command , in all , human ; probability many a valuable life would-have been spared , and things would have assumed a very different aspect . Cannot the Admiralty put a stop to these thing 3 ? If not , God help us next spring V—Daily News .

      Untitled Article

      THE LATE ADMIAAI . PRICK . Hear-Admiral D . Price , who committed suicide in the Pacific , had seen some active and severe service . He served as midshipman of the Ardent , at Copenhagen , in 1801 v midshipman of the Centaur , which captured four French frigates in 1806 , and in the boats of that vessel at the bombardment of Copenhagen , in 1807 , and a second time in the boats of . the Centaur , iii cutting out a despatch boat under Moen Island , -where he was slightly wounded ^ and in that ship , at the capture of a Russian 74-giin ship , in 1808 ; lieutenant of the Ardent in 1809 ; twice prisoner . to the Banes , when protecting convoys in the ( Great Belt ; lieutenant of the Hawk at the destruction of a IFrencu frigate , the Amazbhe , and capture

      and destruction of a French convoy and three armed hrigS ; ' ¦ off , Marcouf ; and ; commanded the boats , in bringing off some transports and a 10-gun brig in the face of a heavy fire from the shore . He served in the gig , of the same ship in attacking a French convoy and a French schooner ; was on this occasion a second time severely wounded ; from 18 U to the termination of the war he served in various expeditions and engagements , including a night attack upon New Orleans , where he was wounded a third time . He was also in the boats at the attack upon ITort Bowyer , in Mobile Bay , at the capture of transports , &e ., and bore the flag announcing peace . Efe had been officially mentioned eight times and gazetted three . '

      Untitled Article

      MILITARY RIOT AT CHATHAM . A onEvr number of volunteers , chiefly from the 94 th Regiment , have recently joined the 18 th , ordered to the Crimea . As soon as the bounty money was paid the town became a scene of riot and debauchery . On Tuesday night , soon after " tattoo" had been sounded , a number of the 18 th commenced scaling the barrack wall , and proceeded to visit the several public-houses , making a disturbance in each . Several of them were observed to be armed with bludgeons and pieces , of wood , with which they paraded the streets , finally making their way into Rochester ,

      ¦ where several of them entered the North Foreland pubuc-ljouse . The landlord , seeing their conduct was likely to become violent , called in police-constable Tremaine , and that officer after much entreaty persuaded them to leave . Ab soon qb they had reached the street , their conduct became very violent , and a flghfc ensued with the police , many of whom wero seriously hurt—one named Tassell being in great danger . Finally , with the assistance of the niioro peaceable military , the rioters were overcome , and six were made prisoners . They are remanded .

      Untitled Article

      THE ARISTOCRACY AND THE ARMY . The Times , in ita impression of Wodnoadfly , has the following unintentionally true remarks qn some of the conventional ovila or " the Service i "" Lot us aoo how this state of things bonrs at this moment on the prospects of our army in tho Enst . The most important condition of its buccobs is the character of tho Commander-in-Chief . Its courage , ita fortitude , and ita discipline ore undoubted , and will ) bo shown even moro In the direst rovorao than in tho most brilliant

      success . But something more is wanted to lead it to victory , and that must be found in the genius and enterprise of the commander . If the army is led by a man who has hitherto shown no other excellence than the art of keeping his mien out of danger , it is obvious that no positive results are to be expeeted from such negative excellence . Nobody would say this of Lord Raglan . He ha ^ shown not only the utmost personal courage , but great enterprise and talent . He has only exposed himself to , danger so much as to suggest the painful inquiry- —Who is to succeed him , in the lamentable contingency of pur losing his services ? As it happens , all the Generals "who at first commanded divisions are either killed , or wounded * or invalided , with one

      exception . . . Sir Richard England is now . second in command , and , if Lord Raglan's health should fail him , or a shot from some : Jying : battery hovering opposite the Commanderin-Chjef ' s staff should perchance hit its mark , then the future success of this unparalleled enterpr ise , and the whole of the great interests at issue , will be committed to a general in whom it would be ridiculous to say that confidence is placed , for the simple reason that nobody can . point out , anything he has done . We . are not at all denying £ hat discretion is a virtue necessary to success , and . that a . man who can take care of himself may so for be . presum . ed tabe capable of taking care of others , or . any object committed to his attention . But Sir Richard : England can scarcely be said to have been in

      act . . yet during the . present campaign , excepting as regards the work of the , trenches . He was not engaged at ; AJma . nor" at Balaklava , and on the terrible day of Inkerman his division , was only partially engaged , one brigade under Sir Richard himself taking the ground vacatedby the Second Pivision . as it advanced to the attack . . Sir Richard may or may not be a man of the highest genius and courage , but he has not hitherto shown those qualities , and , strange to say , his not showing thenv , or not taking the opportunity to show them , has led to the present probability that he may one day take the high post from which some of the ablest and bravest men in the British army are now excluded by death , wounds , or sickness . Are we prepared to find

      Sir Richard England as Commander-iri-Chief ? Lord Rag-Ian is 64 ; at that age lie can hardly be expected to stand several weeks of a thermometer below zero so well even as the French General of 45 . He has always been forward in action \ he may not always be fortunate . Should he fall , it would be forty days before a successor sent'fronk this country , or appointed by orders from this cotmtryj could- take the command . Meanwhile Sir Richard England would become general — so days irresistible routine . We may ask if Government is prepared for such an appointment , and whether it would not do well , to nominate at oace a new second in command moreworthy , of eventually , succeeding to the comniandin-chief $

      , "Again , after every battle there appears a solemn document awarding the meed of praise to those who have distinguished themselves in it . To be mentioned in the Gazette , an object of the most ardent ambition ; and the ceremony is suggestive of the Fame we see on out monuments , crowning her sons with undying bays . But here , again routine comes in with its usual crushing severity , and the whole affair has sunk into such a matter of . form that very few readers think it -worth while to gp through the document , looking on it much as they > yould qn a . page of the Army List . In the Gazette we published , on _ Bionday Lord Raglan named all tho Generals of Division and Brigade , and aft , their staiflfs . As a record of services , nothing could be teas to the

      purpose . The Battle of Inkerman was fought and won . entirely by the battalion officers and the soldiers . It is called in the camp ' the Soldiers' Victory . ' In such a conflict one would think the battalion officers , and even the most prominent soldiers , should bo named , —certainl y not that they should bo omitted , -while officers on tlie staff , evon » p » t engaged , are duly enumerated . Again , at the Alma , Captain Maude ' s battery of artillery co n tributed greatly to the success of tho day , but it is only in'thift' last despatch , and in dcferenc 6 to tho universal fooling of th < j army which appreciated his services , now loudly expressed , tbat his name 'is mentioned . Tho staff , of course , consists , to begin with , of promising and gonoiaUy meritorious men , nnd their services aro

      necessarily , brought under the eye of the General ; but ¦ yre submit they ought not to bo brought forward so exclusively as to give the idea that it is they who have won " the battle , and ( that all the rest are mere sorvants and machines , who may do their duty , but have no pretensions to fame . Yet courage is an indispensable clement of merit , and that courage ennnot but bo much proved In a regimental command . It is noticed by Napier that tho Duko of Richmond , then Lord March , had served on Wellington ' s stuff during the wholo of tho war , without a . hurt j but , being m « do a captain of the 52 nd

      , like a good 8 nldior > joined life regiment tho night before the brtttlp . Sljot through the chest a few hours afterwards , ho learned by experience th « dlflereuco between the labour ^ and . dangers of otnff and rogimentnl olllcors , which , aro generally in the luvorao ratio to their promotions . ' . In tho chflrge at Bnlaklnvn a Captain Low , of tho 4 th Light Dragoons , h said to havo porformod prodigies of personal valour , which belong rather to tho warfare of the middle *» geu tlian to our day ; but ho is not so much as mentioned j while at Inkerman tho deeds of sovoral private soldiers , and of ono sorgoant of

      the Guards in particular , are the talk , of , the whole army , but find no place in the despatches . This , of course , is no fault of Lord Raglan , who only follows precedent ; but is it jiot time to change a system which makes the despatch of the Commander-in-Chief so > little in accord with the observation and feeling of the army ? Several soldiers , indeed , have lately been presented with commissions without purchase , but something more is wanted than the faint hope of a commission , which may possibly be a very inappropriate way of rewarding a particular act of courage . Men want honour , which is never out of place to those who deserve it : and this is

      not given by the indiscriminate distribution of medals , or even by an occasional commission . But th « most serious consideration is , we want Generals , and we ought to encourage the production of the article by recognising merit wherever it makes itself apparent , instead of confining it to the staff , which iia selected in gTeat measure , not from merit , but from favour and family connexion . ' Every French soldier / said Napoleon , ' carries the materials of a marshal ' s staff in his knapsack . ' It is far otherwise in our service ; at least , if the materials are there , the soldier ia not permitted to turn them to account . "

      » The Times is- incorrect respecting Sip Richard England—the command would devolve-upon Sir John Burgoyne . However , that in no way affects their argntneiit . >

      Untitled Article

      ALDERMAN SIDNEY AND X 0 BD ABERDEEN . Albekmak Sidney , when Lord May or , laid before the Court of Aldermen notice of " A motion of an address to the Crown , ' for the removal from her Majesty ' s Councils of "the Right Hon . the Earl of Aberdeen . '" The Court persuaded him to withdiaw the motion , and subsequently branded him with V cowardice " for the withdrawal , at the same time saying that no motion could be withdrawn . The Lord Mayor also sai ( l that Alderman Sidney had since quite changed his ideas oh the subject . The Alderman , in an indignant letter to -the Times , explains

      that" There is a wide distinction between the heroic bravery of our troops , and the policy of dooming those troops to perish on the inhospitable mountains of a foreign , shore , in being ordered to undertake an herculean task at so advanced a period of the season , insufficiently provided , with medical aid for the sick and wounded , badly clothed , with the cola earth their only bed and . the heavens their only' canopyy and reinforce ments delayed until their numbers ' become so reduced as to make ono tremble at the bare thought that 8 , 000 brave men should- be compelled to conquer or die in the resistance of an enemy seven times their number . , * He also say 8 j that since giving notice of the motion— ¦ ¦ ¦ . ;

      " Parliament has been summoned to assemble at a very early day , and every one will prefer -that the Minister should have tho fullest opportunity for explaining his conduct to the conntry prior to a verdict being given- I urged this in a letter to the Lord Mayor , and that letter having been read to the aldermen assembled at the Mansion-house should ' , in common fairness , have been communicated to tho public . "

      Untitled Article

      CONTINENTAL NOTES . French Railways . —The railway from Calais to ^ Boulogne , the idea of which , is sivid to be due to the Emperor himself , is not to follow the coast , but , starting from the Pont Sans Paroil , is to pass by Guinea , and , after traversing the cantons of Mar quise , Desores , and Sanier , to join the Boulogne line at Neuchutel . This route will be somewhat longer , but will present fewer difficulties of execution . The principal work will bo a tunnel at Fienne . Vice-Admiral Hamhlin Promoted . —M . do IJartic , aide-de-camp to the Emperor , is about to proceed to the Black Sea to present Admiral TIamelin with tho baton of a full admiral , j ust granted to him by tho Emperor . ,

      Tents fob the IFrenoh Aumy . —The Emperor has made his choice among the model tents erected tinder hia windows in the Tuileries gardens . A contract has , been made , and the Patrie says that before the end of the month a sufficient number to shelter tho whole Eronch army , horses nud mon , will have arrived in tho Crimea , French Ubinforckments . —Three thousand eight hundred infantry , of various regiments , have left Marseilles for the Crimea , in the large steamers Thames , Ripon , Candin , and Kmou . Horses for tho nrcillory and cavnlry are embarked daily , for the most part in sailing transports . A Distinction . —In n witty pamphlet , recently published at Berlin , entitled MMloir and Sohultze ' a Travel * in the ( Sitesian ) Kiesen Gebirge , tho following dialogue passes botween Pasquino and Marflsa , of tho Prussian capital : — .

      " MUller : Slmll wo go to Posen to seo the frontier whore Russia begins and Prussia ends ? " Sohultze : Thank ye , I'd rather bcq tho frontier where Kussia . ends and Prussia commences !"

      Untitled Article

      3 . 156 HE lirjEABEB . [ Satorpay , ^ ^^^ ^*~^ m * l ^* m * W % I ¦— ^ M . ^ - iTn ^ * ' '' ¦!¦ . ¦¦ i ¦ -- ¦« ., ¦

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 9, 1854, page 1156, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2068/page/4/