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Leader (1850-1860), 20th October 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3

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      / ' . „ Ip^ E War. An Entikb Ilefjeat Of...

      Kertch for Taman with ten gunboats , a despatch-boat , and a steamer . On arriving off Piranagoria , he threw some shells into the redoubt , and proceeded to disembark at about a mile from the fort . During this interval , the Russians abandoned the place , and the Allies took possession of it , in the presence of a force of cavalry from 600 to 800 strong , which retired immediately a few shells were thrown among them . •* On the following day , our troops were employed in destroying all the houses in Phanagoria that could have been converted into shelter for troops at Cape St . Paul , j Sixty-six cannon and four mortars were found in the : fort ; at Taman , there were eleven 24-pounders buried in the sand . By the 2 nd of October , the destruction of Taman and Phunagoria was complete . The expedition was about to return to Kertch Commandant lionet warmly eulogises the active co-operation of Captain Hall , with three gunboats . " Rumours of peace negotiations have been rife for some time past ; but they have no foundation . The Prussian Correspondenz contradicts the report that Prussia is attempting to mediate between Kussia and tho Allied Powers ; and add ? , that , on sounding' the Allies , Prussia found them so disinclined to negotiate at this moment that she made no proposals .

      '¦•> - £ a e t i f 1 > i I Sala . Their supports occupy a ridge from thu ? place , stretching towards the south to Marknl . The main position of the army is on high , bold ground , extending from Aitodar to MarkuL , with the reserves posted between the village of Urkusta and the Bridge of Tinli . The corps is further to be reinforced , with the view next week of making a strong reconnaissance of the ground from Foti Sala towards Wyenbasb , on the left bank of the Kateha . " I have omitted to report that Lieutenant-General Markham has been compelled by illness to return to England for a few months . He sailed on the 29 th ultimo . "

      i i " AN KNGLISH PRISONER IN BfSSIA . An officer of the Light Division writes as follows from the Crimea , under date of September 26 : — " Captain James Duff , of the 23 rd Regiment , who Was taken prisoner on the 5 th of November , 1854 , the day of the battle of Inkerman , arrived here a few days ago , having been exchanged at Odessa . He was taken prisoner while on picket in the White House ravine , leading to Careening Bay . He attributes the fault of his capture to a party of men of the — division on his right , who fell back without passing on the alarm . Duff and his picket were fighting in front , and had nearly expended their ammunition , when , to their surprise , they suddenly found some of the enemy on their -flank . The men perceived that they were being . surrounded , and attempted to fall back . As they did so , one man who kept close to Duff was knocked over by his side . He then tried to make fur a path leading up the hill , and had proceeded a few yards when he met some Russians hi front , directly opposing his further progress . They had got round them . Eight or nine men then closed upon Duff , and , as he still struggled to escape , one man gave him a tap on the head with the butt of his musket , which slightly stunned him . The Russians then carried liim off in triumph ; they would not let him walk . He ¦ oou recovered from the blow on his head , and while £ uing along was fully aroused by a volley of Minie" rifle > alls which came whistling among his escort . Two or

      THE CAVALRY ACTION NEAR EtTATOIUA . Marshal l'elissier gives the following account of this brilliant affair : — " As had been agreed upon between Ahmet Musliir Pacha and General d'Allonville , three columns left Eupatoria on the 2 Uth , at three o ' clock in the morning , to march against the enemy . The first column , directed to the south-east , went to take up a position at the extremity of the isthmus , towards Saki . It had only a few squadrons before it , and these it easily kept in check , assisted as it was by two gunboats . The second , commanded by the Mushir in person , passing through Orar Atchin and Teiech , advanced on Djollchak , destroying in its march all the enemy ' s stores . The third , at the head of which was General d'Allonville , consisted of j twelve squadrons of his division , of Annand ' s battery j ( horse artillery ) , with two hundred irregular horse and six Kgyptian battalions . This column crossed one of the arms of Lake Sasik , and marched through Chiban on Djollchak , the joint rendezvous , where the two other columns arrived at about ten o ' clock in the forenoon . The two latter columns had driven before them some Russian squadrons , which had fallen back successively on their reserves . General 1 'Allonville was having the horses baited , when he observed a movement on the part of the enemy ; the latter , * 'ith eighteen squadrons , several sotnias of Cossacks , anil iomc artillery , was endeavouring to turn the General ' s "ight by advancing between him and the lake . General

      | < j | | i i j ' three of them were wounded , and the remainder then ! allowed him to walk with them to the rear . Some ol ; the men spat upon him , and he thought they would have j shot or bayoneted him had it not been for the protection of the soldier who particularl y regarded him as his own especial property . It appears that every i Russian soldier who captures an officer , and can produce him alive , gets the order of St . George . During the first part of Captain Duff ' s imprisonment , he was treated badly enough . His uniform was taken from I him , and he was supplied with clothes of a very coarse j description . He was marched through the country with : a gang of convicts—felons of the worst description—! who were being removed for transportation to the penal settlements of Siberia . With these men , and with two soldiers of the guard , one on each side of him , he slept at night and had his meals , and they were taught to regard him , and called him , their ' camarade . " As they passed through some villages , the bigoted peasantry pelted them with stones . There was no opportunity offered for ablution , and the state of dirt and neglect into which they fell became most repulsive . The

      cond Allotiville , whom the Mushir caused to he supported in the rear l > y two regiments of Turkish cavalry and the six Egyptian battalions , immediately proceeded towards i the end of the lake , in order to surround tho enemy . Tho promptitude of this movement enabled the 4 th Hussars , led on in the first line by General Walsin Esterha / . y , to ' charge the enemy with drawn sabres , while General ChampeYoii , with the 6 th and 7 th Dragoons , in the second and third lines , dashed at the Russian Uhlans , an < l drove them into headlong tlight , harassing them for more than two leagues . As tho enemy kept his ground at no one point , and avus ! flying in all directions , General d'Alloiivillc caused hid .-quadrons to halt , picking up , before retiring , all that remained on the field of brittle . This day obtained for us six pieces of ordnance ( three of them being guns and three howitzers ) , twelve chests , and one lield forge , with their teams ; J ( jy prisoners , of whom one is an officer , Lieutenant 1 'rocopwiteh , of the 18 th I'lihms ; and 260 horses . The enemv loft on the ground about tifty killed , among whom was recognised Colonel Andreouski , , of tho ltfth Uhlans , of General Korff ' s division , who commanded against us on that day , and who was coiiRi- ¦ dored in tlm Russian army to be an ollicer of grout merit . Our losses are , in comparison , extremely trilling . , We had fiix killed and twenty-nine wounded . Messrs . Pujade , A . D . C . to General Walsin , and l ) e Sibert lie t Cormilloii , ordnance oiliecr to tho same general , are '

      dition of the prisoners , however , could hardly be expected to attract attention , for it would seem the officer who commanded the guard over the prisoners of war and the convicts , though unfettered by restrictions , exhibited as little anxiety about the surface of his own person as he did about those of the men he was guarding . When the insect visitors who honoured him with their presence became too numerous and too importunate , his servant was desired to remove n portion of them , ami the occasions for this interference were- rather frequent . Onoe during the long inarch , this officer was seen to have applied soap and water to his person , but only onoe during the route of seven hundred miles to Moscow . At last , Moscow was reached ; and here not only the scene was changed , but the condition of tho British prisoners . A house was given up to them , and they received frequent civilities and attention froin the better classes of society in this city . They were invited tojVtes and parties , and in certain circles , more especially among the ladies , were made especial objects of compassion , and became tho lious of tho day . No difficulty was experienced in getting bills on certain London houses cashed , and a premium was given on tho exchange . They found also at Moscow a clergyman of the Church of F . ngland . At . Odessa , they experienced the . same kind of civility as at Moscow ; but th < - ' social parties and entertainments were wanting . The uewrt of the l >; ittlc of tho Tcheruaya ainl its termination luid reached this latter place bct ' iTo Captain Dull' left , and tho attempt again . *! the Allied position wu . i admitted on all Mile- > to have luvn ilotVatcil . Tho failure jirodiiced jjonoral Mini marked depression of spirits . Strange to nay , die Ku .--.--i . in - pretend not ( o regard Alma , and Inker man us defeats ; they .--. ly thai their General ordered the troops to retire from motives of policy , but wore- not iliivou Imok . The hutilo of thi- Tohornuyu , jieeording to them , was our lirsl real victory . "

      among the lnttor . " GortschnkofT attributes the defeat to Lieutenantgeneral do , Kortf having , in the course , of falling bui'k on Karagourt , halted , caused his men to dismount in order to rai . vi the guns from the foro-oarri : igos . and neglected to dispose his advance troops in convenient order and at "Tho requisite distance from his position . I'lie result of thin was that the French cavalry appeared on tho right flank and rear nf Korll ' s detachment , and decided the fate of the day .

      MOVKMKNTS IN Till : I IIIMI V . General Simpson , writing to Lord I'anmureoii October < 'th , saya : — Since I IhhI . had the honour of addressing you , I have Hi-cu Lieutenant ( Jeiu-ral Vivian , ami 1 am happy to inform your lordship that ho qnito approves of the , decision I had formod of . unit ing the Contingent at Kerteh . bom . i ie W tlummuid men have alread y arrived there , and ( every exertion is being made to ensure them their sup ' ,, 'V , ' " " ll ( l fuo 1 > or tll ( 1 "inter . "Tho eorpH of General iU > ( Salles have , during the past week , puriluul forward their advanced posls to the high ground on tho left bank of thy Hcll . ok , overlooking Foti i

      October 20,1855.] The Leader.

      October 20 , 1855 . ] THE LEADER .

      999

      Wai! Miscf.I. Lanka. Thk Oi.I> K'Ation G...

      WAI ! MISCF . I . LANKA . Thk Oi . i > K ' atIon Gimkvanvi : i . s worse ( him over . Kxoept dm the review day , tho Mritish surgeons have hud no moat Cur throe weeks , and of ion no bread . Tho '

      I supplies in the bazaar have either ceased or are so totall y inadequate to the demand that only the first comers can be served ; and the surgeons have been indebted for their meals either to the kindness of transport captains , the hospitality of naval officers , or to chances of various kinds . A few days since , I met one of the dressers carrying home a small piece of boiled ham , which he was going to eat for his dinner , and which he had bought of a Frenchman for five francs—just onehalf of his net daily pay . The inspector , Dr . Fuller , has gone to England , avowedly to endeavour to obtain the recal of the staff , and there are some floating rumours of his success ; but it is feared by most of the officers here that interested misrepresentation of various kinds will deter the Government from this just and necessary step . —Times Eupatorian Correspondent . Thb New Danger dj the North . — Foiled in the South , Russia would seem to be turning her attention to the Baltic for the site of some new fortress and naval depot from which she may awe the world . " Every improvement of modern science , " says a letter from Stockholm , " is being applied to the Russian navy , under the unceasing superintendence of the Grand Duke Constantine , who long since proposed , and is now actually fitting up , the larger ships -with screw propellers . We know that Cronstadt cannot be taken by land , and after seeing what the Allied fleets have been able to achieve in two campaigns we are inclined to believe it would be equally difficult to carry it by sea . Two-thirds of the Baltic shores are under Russian dominion , besides the Aland Archipelago , which extends to within three geographical miles of the Swedish coast , about three days' march from Stockholm , which is quite open on the land side . Near the coast of Norway , the Russians have long coveted the bay of Varangen , which never freezes , and which , besides its valuable fisheries , has the inestimable advantage of being within one hundred and fifty miles of Scotland . What has failed in the east will most assuredly be attempted in the Scandinavian peninsula , and there Russia will meet with greater advantages and less difficulties . It is , however , to be hoped that those who govern Europe will not overlook the quarter where the storm is gathering , and that energetic measures , taken in time , will prevent a recurrence of the danger , which has been averted in the south by so much bloodshed and such lavish expenditure . " A New Carbixe . —M . Prelaz , a gunsmith of Lausanne , has invented a carbine which -will hit at the distance of 4050 feet . Russia is in treaty for the right of using this invention , and it seems probable she will

      obtain it . French Workmen for the Crimea . —The 3 fonitettr denies the statement that workmen of different trades have been engaged to go to the Crimea . Heligoland . —Huts for the British Foreign Legion at Heligoland , and for the English troops who are to form the garrison of the island , have just been completed . They can lodge five thousand men , and comprise beds , kitchen utensils , & c . An apparatus has been titted Hp for converting the sea water into fresh water , there being a want of that commodity on the island . Tiuk English Foreign Legion us America . —In the Philadelphia District Court , Charles Herk has been pronounced "Not Guilty , " and E . H . Pekin has been found " Guilty , " of enlisting recruits for the English service ; sentence was deferred . The summing up of the judge was decidedly anti-English . Sitka . —The Aniphitrite has been visiting the river Amoor and Sitka . At the latter place she burnt a Russian steamer , but spared the town . A New Russian Levy . —An Imperial tikase ordere the embodiment of the militia in the provinces of Orenburg and Samara . The levy is to commence on the 15 th of next mouth and terminate on the 15 th of December . The proportion is to be 23 in every 1000 souls .

      The Akkanoements at Sebastopol . — The joint commission appointed to report on the booty found in Sabastopol , and to determine its mode of distribution , ha * completed its labours . The report vras signed by th * i qoinmissionerd on the 1 st ult . & 8 tK > cannon of largeantl small calibre , 0 steam-eugines , 18 , 000 or 19 , 000 ballsy bomb-shells , anchors , chains , rigging of all kinds , & c , have been found . The commission has decided that till the booty shall be divided between France and England : but it has beeu agreed at the same time that , after having valued the different articles according to their weight , the distribution shall take place in . proportion to the number of men in each army ; and that if , on this calculation , England should have a right to only one-fourth of the whole , she should restore to France the vtiliu * of the additional amount slio may have received , at tho rate of ten centimes per kilogramme , the price of old iron . There is no mention of the Turks hi the report . As to tho Sardinians , ii in unnecessary to s * ay that , being included in the English army , tltoy have a claim to a portion of tho amount assigned to tho latter . The following arrangements have been m « du with regard to tho town : —That portion of the city comprised within tho Quarantine , Fort Xielu . la .-s tJio Military Harbour , and tho Flagstall' Mattery , * h , M bo t looxoluaivo property of tho French . Tl . o KngHsh . »« " ' | ™ *« heir part tho Iwaheln . -. m sul . ml . s « l " <• " < » " '"»« that tho French will be . Too to oroor h , » , » i « i . I- ' » £ •* »»* to . iho Careening Buy , tho Docks , & o . -Letter Jro . n bebastojiof ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 20, 1855, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20101855/page/3/