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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd November 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1047, Untitled Article

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      WAR MISCELLANEA . Courts-Martial in tiik CriSika . —Private James Salmon , 93 rd Highlanders , was condemned to death by a Court-martial before Sebastopol , for deserting from the trenches , with intent to go over to the encenemy . He has borne an indifferent character ever since he joined his regiment ; but General Simpson , while concurring in the justice of the sentence , has commuted the punishment to penal servitude for life , " entirely from consideration of the good and faithful conduct of the regiment and of the army . "—Trumpeter John M'Gall , 5 th Dragoon Guards , has been sentenced to transportation for life , for having attempted te shoot Sergeant Edward Plant , under some slight provocation . Tiik Asglo-Italias Legion . —General Percy , according to the Piemonte , has resigned the command of the Anglo-Italian Legion , and he is to be sneceeded toy Colonel Read . Otchakoff . — A . telegraphic despatch from JVicholasiff to St . Petersburg , duted Oct . 18 th , gives an account , or rather a bare notification , of the blowing up of the Nicholas Battery at OtchakofF ; and another messsnge , dated the following day , adds : —" Since the despatch of yesterday left , to the present time , the enemy has attempted nothing of importance . The fleet , whioh is ly ing in the open sea , at some distance from the month of the liman , has not changed its position . The samo number of vessels remain at the mouth of the river . One of the gunboats , while taking soundings , approached the entrance of the Bug . This morning , the vessels moored in the road of OtchakofF , were reinforced by two mortarboats , eleven gunboats , and two steamers , detached from the fleet . We can count eighty-eight vessels of different kinds . The enemy have increased the number of their tents pitched on the Spit of Kinburn ; there is no movement in this direction . " The 97 th at the Risoan . —The following acoauat of the conduct of this regiment on the 8 th of September , is from ihe letter oP an officer to a friend : — ' The 97 h led the way , and placed the ladders against thff parapet of the Redan , after the Mulakoff was takt-n by the French . The first part of our regiment consisted of one hundred and « ixty men , under Major Wolsfortl , with the ladders . The mnjor was the first to mount one , and was about to g « r . in at an embrasure , when a gun inside was firerf , and the shot took off his head . OUr poor colonel , the Hr > n . Henry Ilandcock , led the assaulting party of the !) 7 th , which consisted of two hundred men . Our present flcrgcant-mnjor waa with him all the time , and has hiiico told me that before he got into tho ditch he got a blow of a Htone on tho chest , which ho did not mind , The ladder wan then placed for him to mount tho parapet , which lie did , and cot innido tho llodan , followed cloat-ly by the sergeant-major . Ho vras only there a short ttmo when ho was struck by a bullet on the left aido o { tho head . At the time , ho was raiding his sword and calling to his men to follow him . Feeling himself wotuulwl , ho said , ' 1 am hitv but never mind ; follow me , sergeant . Ho only advnnc . i « l a few steps , when lie full unconaolous , from which Btato ho never recovered . Ho diod fifleon hours after . AH speak in tho highest manner oftlio bravery ho showed , and all regret IiIh loss veiy much . I cannot toll y ou how miserable I feel—nil my companion * either killed or wounded ; out of three hundred ami hlxly men « ent into action , ono hundred and ninety-effflit uro killed , wounded , or missing . Thirteen otfccrfl went into ^ Lr « : ^ 7 ~^~ ^ z ^^^^ zsp' ^ - - iMT ££££ ¦ - ZZ-rtf rf *

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      Nov . 3 , 1855 . ] ¦ THE LEADER . * 1047

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      , nlv sixty sail of the line - two of them steamers -remain in the neighbourhood of Kinburn , and hat only five gun-boats are anchored in the jiman . The allied fleet has been seen in the icinity of Kherson . Laro-e French reinforcements are still sent out ; nd the English and Sardinians likewise are aup :-leuting their army . ' Generals Bosquet , Meliuet , nd Frochu , have returned to France . From Asia we have scarcely any news . Omar > asha lias established liis head-quarters at oukoum-Kaleh ; and 12 , 000 horses have left Irzeroum with provisions for Kars , with which lace it is said Om : vr is in communication . The North yields as little intelligence a" ? the xtreme East ; but we learn that three French unboats , on their return from the Baltic to ranee , have arrived at Elsinore , as well as the luglish hospital-ship , the Belle Isle ; and that reat part of the fleet will winter in the Baltic Lieutenant-General Sir William John Codriugin , K . C . B ., is our new Cominander-in-Chief in ie Crimea . The coolness exhibited by him at Le battle of Inkerman , on which occasion he as the first to discern the approach of the Eusans , and his general devotion to his duties during ie whole of the war , seems , as far as we can jt judge , to stamp him as a man fit to hold the ghest place . He is now in his fiftieth year . E FALL OF KIKBDRN—SIR BDlltrsi ) LYONS ' s ACCOUNT . Under date October 18 th , Sir Edmund Lyons commucates a detailed account of the operations which termi-Lted in the reduction of Kinburn . The expedition under dmiral Stewart reached that fortress on the 14 th ult . ; it , owing to adverse winds , it was not until the 17 th at operations could commence . The floating batteries ortar-vessels , and gunboat ? , then opened lire and before ion , the buildings in the interior of the fort were in imes , and the eastern face had suffered very considreably . At noon , " says Sir Edmund " the Roj'al Albert , Igiers , Agamemnon , and Princess Royal , accompanied ' Admiral Bruat ' s four ships of the line , approached > rt Kinburn in a line abreast , which the shape of the ast rendered necessary , and the precision with which ey took up their positions in the closest order , with jiboms run in and oniy two f ..-et of water under their keels , is really admirable . " At the same moment , the squaons under the orders of Rear-Admirals Sir Houston ewart and Pellion pushed through the passage between tchakoff and the spit of Kinburn , mid took the forts in yerse , whilst the St . Jean d'Acre , Curacoa , Tribune , d Sphinx , undertook the centre battery , and the annibal , Dauntless , and Terrible , that on the point of a spit . " [ The result of these arrangements is already io \ vn . ] THIS FALL OF KIN'DUKN ' . — . RtlSSIAN ACCGOUNT " Telegraphic de-patch from Nicholaieff , forwarded by derof his Majesty the Emperor , on the 17 th of October , sving to the situation of the fortress of Kinburn , which es at tho extreme point of the peninsula of the same me , on tho left bank of the liman of the Dnieper , and the very entrance of that water , the communications of choluiefr' with this fortress had been carried on only by iv of Qtuhiikoff , and were maintained by me ins of rowats , and of a marine optical telegraph established at : chaUoff . " On the appearance of tho enemj- ' s vessels in the inn , the direct communication by water with Kinburn iscd . From all tho information received the day before stenlay , yesterday , and to-day , from Otchakoff by sans of this telegraph , the following result is obtained : — " Tin ; fortress of Kinburn , after hiving sustained on tho til a brisk canonado , and a bombardment of gun-bouts , > rtar bontn , mid steam-frigates stationed in tho lhnan , lied to it on its own side by n rapid and well-directed ' . of its own guns . At nightfall tho fire censed on both us . Yesterday ( tho 10 th ) it was renewed , and itinued tho whole day , but with less vigour , lis morning at nine o ' clock , eleven additional wteainajntefl and a ninety-gun ship of the lino joined the vohs previously lying in tho linmi ) , » md the whole comsneud together a most violent horizontal and vertical 3 , in which the remainder of tho enemy ' s fleet joined in the soa . " This infernal fire continued until lialf . pnst two in tho : ornoon . At that time , tho f ortress , all the buildings in a interior of which were in flames , ceased to roplj ' , and s enemy then discontinued his fire . At throe o ' clock , o bouts bearing a flag of trace approached the fortress , o which half an honr afterwards entered the enemy ' s iops , forming part of'those who hnd previously made a icent on the land . Aftorwnrds , tho vessel lying in tho inn proceeded in the direction of Otchakon" and tho cholnieff battery , situated in the opposite coast ; but uj > this evening they have not opened fire . " THIC IIUMSIAN V 1 CKB 1 ON OF TIIK ATTACK ON KAH 8 . Tho following itt from ( he Inoalide Jtusan : — " General wiraviuir announces , under tho dale- of tho !)< ith of Sepnbor , that , having been informed that the Turkish

      troops had received reinforcements in" the vicinity of Batoum , and that the enemy proposed to make a movement upon the Gouriel and Akhaltsyk , and at the same time advance from Erzeroum upon Kars , he resolved to attack the latter fortress on the 29 th . i Three columns were selected for this operation : the first under the command of Lieutenant-General Kovalevskv , the second under Major-General Maydel , and the thirdunder Major-General Count Nyrod . In addition , an intermediate column was formed , commanded by General Prince Gazarine , as well as a general reserve , confided to Lieutenant-General Brummer . Finally , a detachment , led by Major-General Bazine , was intended to act according to special orders . " The columns maiched to the attack in the greatest order and with the greatest intrepidity . The attack of Major- General Bazine was even crowned with success ; but , unfortunately , almost at the beginning of the engagement , several of the commanders and the superior officers under their orders were killed or wounded . The result j was , that the unity of the operations was broken , and the most brilliant efforts , during a bloody conflict , which lasted several hours , could not restore it . General Mouravieff having convinced himself of this impossibility , advanced the reserve , and under its protection the assaulting columns effected their retreat . The obstinacy with which our troops fought is above all praise . During the engagement , they took from the Turks fourteen flags and some field colours , and spiked or dismounted several pieces of artillery . " Our loss is not yet exactly known , but it is very considerable . The loss sustained by the enemy must also have been very great . Of our generals , Prince Gagarine , General Kovalevsky , and Major-General Bronevsky are seriously wounded , and Major-General Maydel less dangerously . " The blockade of Kars is re-established as before the attack . *' A despatch from General Williams to Lord Clarendon has been published , but does not add any details of importance . In addition to the names of Lake , Teesdale , and Thompson , that of Mr . Churchill , attache to the English mission in Persia , is honourably mentioned as directing the fire of a battery throughout tho action ; and Dr . Sandwith , who had charge of the wounded , and Messrs . Zohrab and Rennison , interpreters , are alluded to with high praise . DRUNKENNESS IN THE CAMP . To the wholesome labour and activity that now prevail , as well as to the fineness of the weather , the healthy condition of the army is doubtless due . It certainly is not attributable to sobriety and abstinence , for I regret to say that drunkenness is very prevalent among the men . The well-intended kindness of the " Queen's sixpence " is doing , I ft-ar , much harm , used as it is by a very large portion of the soldiers as a means of excessive drinking . The consequence of thia , and of the insubordination and many offences it leads to , is a large amount of punishment of various kinds —extra guards , stonecarrying , and flogging . The cartwheel ( here substituted for the triangle ) is frequently rigged , and the Provost-Marshal and his assistants have plenty on their hands ; but twenty-five lashes , or even lifty , are all insufficient to wean the British soldier from bis favourite vice . I hoar of regiments in which there are literally scores of men under punishment of ono sort or other for intoxication . One regiment was cited to me ( I refrain from naming it ) in which there were sixty offenders of thissoit atone time . In another , nine sergeants were broken for drunkenness . On Saturday , there was an issue of hack pay ( the extra sixpence ) , and I never witnessed a more disgraceful sceno than was presented by the part of tlio camp in which I happened to bu at about an hour before sunset on Sunduj' afternoon . I have no reason to believe that it wns confined to that part of tho camp , but I mention only that whioh I and a military friend who accompanied mo actually saw , as wo leant again » t u railing enjoying tho beauty of the evening . Half thet men who passed along u truck a little in our front wer « more or less intoxicated . Some were merely unntendj ' , others staggered and straggled out of tho path . Some woro pugnacious , and we saw two fight- * begin , which were only put an end to by the arrival of a patrol . Nono inoro than myself , would advocate every reasonable indulgence to an army which has deserved so well of its country as that of the CrimcH , displaying , as it has done , on repeated occasions , and for long periods , the utmost valour , fortitude , and patience . Hut . if moans are not found of cheeking tho grout drunkenness that at present goes on here , the result will ho a grievous nnnndal to the Horvlce . At the same time that I gladly record tho physical well-being of the troops , I am bound to declare my conviction that they have never , since tho commencement of tlie war , been in worse discipline and subordination . ' — Times Correspondent . The AiAjKn Fukkts okp Ookhsa . — Monday , Oct . H . —A hot , bright sun l i ghted up the round mirror of Hoa of which wo woro tho centre this flue morning . Although many big ships were near , and a groat flotilla was moving all around tiie edge * of our groat circle , hor Majesty ' s ship l'Anonynio appeared on-thin'fine- Monday morning to bo the central point on a bright dickering shivering , mirror , fringed by columns of smoke or framed

      in by the masts of the distant fleet , fine as cobwebs on the edge o f some ancient cheval glass of Louis- Quatorze . . . . . There stood an extensive city , built on the curve of a high sea shore , with descending terraces and broad flights of steps to the beach , which was enclosed by broad quaj r s and the walls of ports and casemated batteries , all shining "brightly in the morning sun . Broad esplanades or boulevards lined with trees towards the sea-front ran along the top of the bank , with a background of stately mansions worthy of the best '' rows " near the Regent ' spark ; and we could see a numerous and gaily-dressed crowd of men and women all along the promenade gazing on the dark clouds of smoke which were slowly drifting in on them from the distance . Behind and in continuation of this esplanade are splendid residences , with pillared porticoes and ornamented peristyles , magnificent public institutions—tho temples erected by despotism' to civilization in hope of making peace with her—barr . iclcs , palaces , governor's house , prisons , rising in front of a confused and graceful mass of domes , columns , steeples , and spires . One huge dome is of an intense ultra-marine blue , and is topped by a gilt cupola ; another is of bright green , surmounted by a golden star ; here is a Greek temple , there a Tartaresque-looking mosque ; there an unmistakeable 'little Bathel , " here a Bj'zantine church ; again , an Eastern ' minaret-like spire ; further on , an indubitable Sir Christopher Wren steeple . —Times Correspondent ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 3, 1855, page 1047, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2113/page/3/