The Crimean Expedition, to the Capture Of Sebastopol Vol. II: Chronicles of the War in the East, from its Commencement to the Signing of the Treaty of Peace, Vol. II

By Baron César de Bazancourt

This important historical account is the first in a series of two volumes, first published in 1856—the same year as the original French edition.

The author, Baron de Bazancourt, was appointed official historiographer by Napoleon III, and charged with the responsibility of producing a history of the French part in the war in the Crimea. On arriving there in January 1855, he was warmly welcomed by the principal officers of the Army and, in writing his two volumes, he has drawn from “these living sources, the valuable and authentic documents which have guided [him] through the labyrinth of this complicated work.” Bazancourt was privy to the original journals of the various Divisions, as well as those of all the military operations of the campaign and the siege:

“It is upon the very spot where the greater part of these events had passed, that those who had directed them have recounted to me their most striking episodes. I inquired,—I listened,—and I wrote. Not a day passed, but had its labour and its allotted task.”

An invaluable addition to every personal, professional or educational British Military History library.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Normanby Press
• Release date: Jan 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787203419

Baron César de Bazancourt

César Lecat baron de Bazancourt (1810-1865) was a French military historian, director of the library of Compiègne under Louis Philippe. He was born in Paris and was appointed official historiographer by Napoleon III, whom he accompanied during several campaigns. The results of these expeditions appeared in his works on L’Expédition de Crimée jusqu’à la prise de Sébastopol, chronique de la guerre d’Orient (1856); La campagne d’Italie de 1859, chronique de la guerre (1859); and Les expéditions de Chine et de Cochinchine (two volumes, 1861-62). He was also the author of three novels: Georges le montagnard (1851), Noblesse oblige (1851) and La princesse Pallianci (1852). He died in 1865.

Book preview

This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.pp-publishing.com

To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books—[e-mail]

Or on Facebook

Text originally published in 1856 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2016, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

THE CRIMEAN EXPEDITION, TO THE CAPTURE OF SEBASTOPOL:

CHRONICLES OF THE WAR IN THE EAST, FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT TO THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY OF PEACE

BY

THE BARON DE BAZANCOURT,

CHARGED WITH A MISSION TO THE CRIMEA BY

HIS EXCELLENCY

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

VOL. II

TRANSLATED BY ROBERT HOWE GOULD, M.A.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

BOOK FIRST. 5

CHAPTER I. 5

CHAPTER II. 22

CHAPTER III. 35

CHAPTER IV. 52

CHAPTER V. 66

CHAPTER VI. 75

CHAPTER VII. 87

CHAPTER VIII. 97

BOOK SECOND. 107

CHAPTER I. 107

CHAPTER II. 121

CHAPTER III. 140

CHAPTER IV. 152

CHAPTER V. 164

CHAPTER VI. 180

CHAPTER VII. 191

CHAPTER VIII. 200

CHAPTER IX. 219

NOTE. 223

DOCUMENTS IN AUTHENTICATION. 224

ADDITIONAL AND TRANSITORY ARTICLE. 232

FIRST CONVENTION ANNEXED TO THE PRECEDING TREATY. 232

SECOND CONVENTION ANNEXED. 233

THIRD CONVENTION ANNEXED. 234

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 236

BOOK FIRST.

CHAPTER I.

I.—WE have stated, in the First Part of the present work, that the experience of the 17th October had modified resolutions adopted somewhat at hazard, and founded upon hypotheses and the reports of deserters. Light was thrown upon the reality of the obstacles which would have to be surmounted in order to penetrate into the town.

It was necessary to abandon the hope of storming those ramparts, in which it was so much the more difficult to effect a breach, because the greater part of the town was protected only by embankments of earth, and formed rather a vast entrenched camp than a regularly-fortified place;—drawing its strength from the very irregularity of its defences, which are more natural than artificial.

The place has borne the fire better than was expected, writes General Canrobert to the Minister of War; and he adds,—

On the 17th our troops took possession of the plateau, which is in front of the point of attack called the Flag-Staff Bastion, and now occupy it. This evening (the 18th), we shall construct the mask of a battery of 12 pieces; and, if it is possible, that of a second battery, on the extreme right above the ravine. All our means of attack are concentrated upon this point, and must, I hope, speedily disable it, with the assistance of the cross-fire of the English batteries, which will attack its left front.

By the same despatch, General Canrobert announced that he had received almost the whole of the reinforcements of infantry, which he expected from Gallipoli and Varna.

General Levaillant had just arrived with his staff,—which raised to six Divisions the effective force of the expeditionary army.

Nothing indicated that the Russian Army had made any change in the positions which they occupied and where they awaited reinforcements.

II.—During the day and night of the 18th, 5,750 workmen (as many from the Engineers as from the Artillery), were employed to repair the damage caused by the fire of the 17th. The extension of the trench towards the Flag-Staff Battery was commenced, despite the very heavy fire of the town; but, in many places, the soil was impracticable, the rock coming to the surface and rendering it necessary to construct the exterior parapets by the aid of fascines and sacks of earth, and frequently by a double row of gabions, placed one upon another. The sharpshooters, hidden in small trenches or pits, in advance of the portion of the parallel already opened, harass the enemy’s gunners by the precision of their aim, which strikes the artillerymen at their pieces,—although directly any one of them is fired, the embrasure is carefully closed by a port or shutter.

The night has come; the works in front are continued upon the right bank of the ravine which descends toward Sebastopol; while the batteries are restored to condition, and ready to open their fire afresh on the following day.{1}

III.—And in fact, on the 19th of October at half-past six o’clock in the morning, the roar of the fire, which had been, for an instant, suspended, recommences. The English batteries, which had not ceased firing during the whole of the 18th, redouble their energy, and the town replies with extreme violence. From every point the fire is rapid and terrible. The town, and the positions of the besiegers are soon enwrapped in a thick veil of smoke. A dense fog soon comes to augment the obscurity. The gunners charge their pieces, and fire them without being able to see the direction of their aim. On all sides thundering explosions, and incessant flashes, which traverse, and seem to rend, the immense veil which envelops the combatants. Two Officers of the Staff of the General commanding the Siege-corps,—Major de Laville and Captain Schmitz, brother of the Captain of Artillery killed by a ball a few days previously,—go, by order of General Forey, to ascertain the result of the fire of the batteries. The first proceeds towards the trenches, the second towards the Genoese Fort, which, alone, under the command of the brave naval Captain Penhoat, had continued its fire, without any cessation, although the town had, since the previous day but one, combined all its efforts to crush it.{2} This battery consisted of four howitzers of 22, and one gun of 50.

IV.—Through the pale and dense obscurity thrown over the whole plain by the fog and by the smoke of the combat, the two officers take their way. The ground which they traverse is ploughed, as they pass, by projectiles of every nature, which burst and quiver amid the uptorn soil.

Oar batteries are in good condition; the parapets resist; no considerable injury has, thus far, come to interrupt our fire. The battery No. 5, alone, taken in rear and flank, was so severely injured, that orders were given, about 9 o’clock, to cease its fire. The greater part of its guns were damaged at the muzzle, and nearly all the artillerymen disabled by the tempest of projectiles which had poured upon them unceasingly.

When Captain Schmitz reached the battery of the Genoese Fort, he found it literally shattered. One single piece continued to fire; all the others, entirely disabled, lay helpless upon their broken carriages. The parapets were broken down, and the platforms deluged with blood, while bombs and Shrapnel-shells{3} were bursting in every direction.

Captain Penhoat, erect amid these ruins, superintended the firing of his solitary piece, and coolly gave the word to his gunners.

While I can fire a single shot; I shall remain here, said he to Captain Schmitz.

General Canrobert, informed of this courageous and pertinacious resistance, repaired, himself, to the Genoese Fort. He gave its brave Commander the praise which his conduct in this unequal contest so well merited, and ordered the suppression of the battery.{4}

Little by little, during the morning, the fog had risen, and a favourable wind had dissipated the clouds of smoke, which enveloped the hill and the besieged city.

The tower of the central bastion was completely shattered during the day; and the right front of the Flag-Staff Bastion had suffered so greatly, that on the following day only two pieces were in condition to fire.

V.—The works of construction and repair continued with activity, in the trenches. More than 6,000 workmen were employed.

But the enemy, on his side, employed himself actively in repairing and augmenting his lines of defence; while his artillery covered with grape-shot the points where the progress of our trenches became apparent. The whole population of Sebastopol could be seen, employed in carrying earth, gabions, and fascines; every night the works increased, uniting with each other; and the hostile batteries were multiplied, under the skilful and indefatigable direction of the Captain of Engineers, Todleben.{5}

The earth arose on all sides, until it seemed as if the very soil of the Crimea had come to the aid of the besieged town.

Since the action of the 17th, writes the English Vice-Admiral Dundas, the enemy has worked incessantly, to repair his batteries, and to erect upon the North side of the harbour new works, which command the approach by land and sea.

In fact, upon both sides, everything that human power and intelligence can create is multiplied without limit.

Despite the constantly-recurring difficulties afforded by the masses of rock, we advance every night, with sure steps; we establish new batteries, of which we hasten the armament; and we enlace the Flag-Staff Bastion in a network of trenches. The two companies of sharpshooters continue to inflict terrible losses upon the enemy. Ambushed in front of our parallels, they carry death behind the Russian ramparts. The enemy frequently fires upon them all his pieces, charged with grape-shot, with unparalleled inveteracy.

VI. From the opening of the fire, the Russians had not attempted any demonstration whatever, against the besiegers. They had only shown themselves, on the 18th, upon the heights of Balaklava. Lord Raglan, his Staff, and strong detachments of the French corps of observation, immediately proceeded to that quarter; but after a few cannon-shots fired from the redoubts erected by the Turks above the plain of Balaklava, the Russians retired.{6}

Without doubt, the enemy did not consider our works near enough to the place, for it to be necessary to seriously interfere with them, otherwise than by the redoubled fire of his artillery. Nevertheless, on the night of the 20th to the 21st, a strong detachment of Russian volunteers, commanded by resolute officers and protected by the darkness, reaches our trenches unperceived. They penetrate into the batteries 3 and 4, and shouting wildly, rush with audacious courage upon the guards of the trenches. The gunners, surprised by this attack, seize their arms, placed against the ramparts of the battery, and fight hand to hand amid the darkness. The enemy, nevertheless, succeed in spiking three mortars on the right of battery No. 3; and they pour into the other battery, where they also spike four pieces. But the first moment of confusion is passed; at the voice of Lieutenant Lebelin de Dionne, commanding the battery 3, and of Lieutenant Clarin, who commands the battery 4, the gunners rally and return vigorously to the fight. The company of voltigeurs of the 1st battalion of the 74th had rushed forward at the first cry of alarm; and one part deploy upon the breastworks in order to guard against a fresh surprise, while the other rushes forward with the bayonet. Captain Herment is at the head of these intrepid soldiers; he rushes upon the enemy, who maintain themselves, however, with resolution, in the interior of the two batteries. A Russian soldier wounds the Captain in the forehead with a bayonet. A hand-to-hand struggle ensues between them, in the midst of this furious mêlée, and a voltigeur kills the hostile soldier. During this time, a section of foot-chasseurs of the 5th battalion, brought gallantly forward by Lieutenant Vernot, vigorously supports the voltigeurs of the 1st battalion, the other companies of which have advanced, and encircled the invaded work.{7}

The Russians retired, leaving seven dead and four wounded; of which one was an officer, who, on the following day died in the ambulance of his wounds.{8}

The next day, General Canrobert, in giving to the energetic conduct of the companies which had been indicated to him the praise which they merited, called to mind in an order of the day, that vigilance in war, and above all before a besieged place, was the first of duties.{9}

The seven pieces were unspiked, and able to resume their fire, on the following day.

VII.—It was on the night of the 21st to the 22nd, that the tracing of the second parallel was commenced, directly the communication by zigzag, upon which it was to be supported to the right and left, had been executed. In consequence of this new development of our trenches, our works of approach against the place were divided into two attacks, called the left-attack and the right-attack.

Some companies of infantry, having in advance of them 40 foot-chasseurs deployed as sharpshooters, covered this work, which the enemy did not attempt, however, to disturb.

At daybreak, says the Journal of the Siege Corps, the gabionnade, completed throughout almost its whole extent, and protected by a strong parapet, perfectly covers the workmen.

Upon all the menaced points, the enemy hastily constructs new batteries against our works. They have constricted some upon the opposite side of the ravine descending to the South harbour and traversed by our first parallel; they attempt, on another point, to establish flying batteries against our most advanced works; but the sharpshooters, by their well-sustained fire, force them to renounce this project.

VIII.—It is useful, in order to well understand the importance and the tracing of our excavations, to enter into a few new topographical details.

The engineers had understood the necessity of carrying the attacks towards the east, and of advancing upon the Flag-Staff Battery. This new point of attack presented the advantage of protecting the works of excavation from the fort of the Quarantine, by the interposition of the bastion of the western tower.

It was necessary to excavate methodically, across a surface difficult to work in most places, and under a fire, active, regular, and perfectly well directed. We were, therefore, to prolong towards the east, (so as to encircle the Flag-Staff Battery) the trench opened for the construction of the first eight batteries. This first parallel joined the depôt of the trenches, (the Clock Tower), by a communication, adapted to cover the march of the guards of the trenches and of the workmen; and was itself protected by a trench opened in the rear, in order to support by mortar batteries the new excavations, which were to be undertaken to communicate with the second parallel.

These important works were commenced, by following, on the right, a hollow of the ground, nearly parallel to the small crenelated wall which unites the Flag-Staff Bastion to the base of the Military Fort. On the left, the works were advanced through another undulation of the soil, which traverses the curtain and leads to the Artillery Bay.

It is upon these two works that the second parallel rests. It is strongly supported on the right, by the precipice of the ravine called the English, which descends towards the foot of the harbour, and is attached, at the extreme left, to the fortified line of the first attack.

IX.—The activity displayed, on their side, by the Russians, was a warning which daily bid us bestir ourselves. From the constant increase of the works of defence, could be inferred the apprehensions which the Russians entertained of an attack by storm.

The enemy, says the Journal of the Siege Corps, in abandoning such of his batteries as are subjected to the fire of our pieces, hastens to open others, in levels which are out of sight; and thence, at suitable declinations, they disturb our works, by inundating them with shells, balls, and grape. They transport their guns wherever they can find shelter from the rifles of our marksmen; and fire from points the most distant from the place.

No reflecting mind could underrate the material difficulties, which were encountered at every step, and against which we had struck our heads during the day of the 17th.

General Canrobert, accordingly, wrote to the Minister of War, under date of the 22nd:—The difficulties which we have to encounter are of two kinds;—those which result from the nature of the soil,—whose surface of earth, even now insufficient, diminishes in exact proportion to our approach to the place;—and those which result from the number and calibre of the pieces of artillery which the enemy opposes to us, along a front nearly in a straight line, and far extended. In this respect, the resources which he draws from his ships, stationary in the harbour, (whether in men or material,) are almost inexhaustible, while ours are necessarily limited.

These few lines described the situation, not only for the present, but, also, for the future;—they explained the efforts which it would be necessary to make against the place, and the delays which must necessarily result therefrom.

At this time, the General-in-Chief also wrote to the Minister of War,—This state of things makes of the siege of Sebastopol one of the most laborious operations, encountered for a long time; and he was obliged to add, at a later period, one of the most gigantic works, which has ever been inscribed in the annals of war.{10}

Notwithstanding the energy of the besieged in repairing the damage caused by our artillery, we could note, daily, considerable deteriorations in their works; and our bombs often lit up fierce conflagrations which spread a red veil of light along the horizon, and seemed to envelop Sebastopol in their wings of fire.

The city has suffered much from our fire, wrote the Commander-in-Chief; and we know that the losses of the besieged are enormous.

X.—The whole army was burning with impatience; each soldier, listening only to the inspiration of his own courage, longed for an immediate assault. The Commander-in-Chief, also, was equally eager; he watched all occasions, and prepared secretly his means of attack, that the favourable moment might not escape him; but his ardour was controlled by the sense of his responsibility, and by that supreme law, which commands the Chief of an army not uselessly to shed the precious blood of his soldiers. Often, in the morning, when in the early dawn his approach could hardly be perceived, he was out, reconnoitering, accompanied by one or two officers of his Staff; advancing as close as possible to the place, in order, himself, to ascertain the nature of the ground, and to select the most favourable points for attack.

XI.—Whilst the events which we have narrated were passing on the left of our positions, the corps of observation, commanded by General Bosquet, and the English Divisions on the heights of Inkermann and in the positions of Balaklava, were kept constantly under arms, by continual alertes, which certainly indicated a decided purpose on the part of the Russians to bring on some serious action upon that side.

The army of Prince Menschikoff had been strengthened by considerable reinforcements, lately arrived.

On the 23rd the heads of the hostile columns were discerned on the side of Inkermann.

During the 24th a large body of Russian troops was perceived in the upper part of the valley of the Tchernaya. This was the corps of General Liprandi, taking up its position, and reconnoitring the ground for the projected attack of the next day. That part of these forces which could be seen, says the Journal of the Siege, was about 15 battalions, and from 3 to 400 cavalry and artillery.

In fact, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army had directed General Liprandi, commanding the 12th Division of Infantry, to attempt a vigorous assault on Balaklava on the 25th.

XII.—Early in the morning, the troops under his command left the village of Tchorgoun by two defiles.

The first object of the enemy’s army was to carry four little redoubts, hastily erected to protect a chain of low hills, which runs across the plain. These redoubts, remote from all means of succour, were very incomplete works, and afforded but insufficient protection against any serious attack. Each of these positions was guarded by Turkish troops; three of them were armed with cannon.

The only regiment that was in the plain, says Lord Raglan in his despatch, was the 93rd Highlanders.

The first attack of the enemy was directed against the redoubt near the village of Kamara. It was carried after a short resistance. The combat nevertheless was honourable to the Turks; for, according to the report of the Russian General, the loss of the enemy in this redoubt, in dead alone, amounts to more than 170 men.

The Russians lost no time in seizing, also, upon the three other contiguous works; which the Turks, from their inferiority in number, and from the incompleteness of the works themselves, could not defend. The enemy occupied the redoubts 1, 2, and 3; but abandoned redoubt 4, as it was too much advanced. This redoubt, adds General Liprandi, was immediately destroyed, its guns spiked, the carriages and wheels broken up, and the pieces thrown down the mountain.

Emboldened by this first success, the Russian cavalry advanced immediately, in great numbers, supported by its artillery, which, covering the whole line of battle, tore up with its projectiles that side of the hill which was occupied by the Highlanders. The Turkish soldiers, who had abandoned these untenable positions, were drawn up on the right and left of the English regiment; and balls and bombs swept the hillock and caused considerable loss to the troops assembled in masses on this point. While the English batteries, established on the heights, played with success on the enemy’s columns, Sir Colin Campbell posted his regiment with the Turks behind a rising ground which screened his men from the murderous fire of the enemy’s artillery.

XIII.—Suddenly a body of about 400 cavalry, detaching itself from the mass which was advancing across the plain, towards the very spot where the English light horse were encamped, turned abruptly to the left, to attack at once in front and on the right flank the regiment of Highlanders. This brave regiment (commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Ainslie), drawn up in line, awaited, with intrepid coolness, the arrival of the enemy. When he was at a little distance, the Scotch, forming in serried ranks on the brow of the hill behind which they had been placed, received the Russian cavalry with a point-blank discharge, which threw their ranks into disorder, and checked the attack. A second time they returned to the charge, on the right flank of the Highlanders; but they found before them the same immoveable human wall, and were welcomed with the same fire. They soon drew bridle and disappeared, like those passing storm-clouds which burst and then are lost in the heavens.

XIV.—The second corps of cavalry, much more numerous than that which had attacked the 93rd Highlanders, now descended towards the plain, where the English heavy cavalry, commanded by Brigadier-General Scarlett,—(after having for two hours, under the continued fire of the enemy, protected, by frequent changes of position, the retreat of the Ottoman troops)—were assembled in two brigades, near the encampment of the light-horse. This corps had just received from Lord Lucan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry, orders to take post on the left of the Scotch, when the head of the Russian column was seen on the heights in the rear, descending the slope of the hill. To confront this hostile column, Scarlett’s brigade (the Scots Greys and Enniskillen Dragoons) had rapidly to traverse the light-cavalry camp, where the tents were not yet all struck. The ground over which the squadrons marched, was, in this place, planted with vines; and the horses could advance but slowly through the obstacles encountered at every step, and which hindered the cavalry from forming in two regular lines.

The Russians had already reached the plain; they had deployed on each flank, and awaited the English cavalry with a firm aspect. Having got through the vineyard, the English advanced to the encounter;—but a few paces separated them from the enemy. The shock of these two bodies of cavalry must be terrible!

There was a brief pause—of a few seconds, perhaps. Then suddenly the English officers waved their sabres aloft; a few pistol-shots were heard; the lines broke; men and horses were mixed, confounded together; a tumult of human voices, of neighings of horses, and clashings of sabres on the helmets of dragoons followed; it was a struggle man to man, inextricable, impossible to describe! But the Russians had the advantage in numbers, and the three English squadrons of the first line, who had charged with matchless impetuosity, found themselves outflanked by the enemy’s cavalry, and on the point of being surrounded. At this moment, General Scarlett sent his aide-de-camp, Major Connolly, to order the 5th Dragoons to advance on the extreme right, whilst the 4th Dragoon-Guards made a similar movement on the left. The energetic attack of these two squadrons on both the flanks of the enemy, changed the face of the combat. In vain the Russian cavalry endeavoured to rally, and to resist this impetuous shock; they were utterly overpowered; and suddenly wheeling round, regained, in disorder, their positions in the rear, drawing with them the infantry posted on the redoubts nearest to the allied armies. The English cavalry pursued the enemy for a while on the plain, while the field artillery opened its fire upon them.

The charge executed by General Scarlett’s Brigade, writes Lord Raglan, was one of the most brilliant I have ever seen ; and indeed it excited the admiration both of the English and of the French troops, who, crowding the heights, had been witnesses of this brilliant combat.

XV.—It is important to say a few words, as to the measures adopted by the two armies, to oppose the projected attack of the Russians on Balaklava. At half-past seven o’clock in the morning, the Commander-in-Chief of the French army learned that the Russians intended to make an assault on the English at Balaklava. He immediately hastened to the plateaux occupied by our troops, where Lord Raglan and all his staff were already assembled. These plateaux, which border the valley of Balaklava, form the extreme limit of our defensive position. The enemy occupied the opposite hills, their masses covering the wooded heights in the distance, on the side of the Tchernaya.{11} The head of their column alone was visible; it might be estimated at 20,000 men. The rest of the army was hidden by the ravines and the high brushwood which covers all these tracts. His evident intention, said General Canrobert, in his despatch to the Minister of War, was, what it always will be, to induce us to descend towards him, and thus quit our excellent positions.

General Bosquet was, also, at the first sound of the cannon, on the spot. The 2nd brigade of the 1st Division, commanded by General Vinoy, marches immediately towards the slopes which lead to Balaklava, for the purpose of supporting the English and connecting the two armies. The 1st brigade, under the orders of General Espinasse (who commands the Division par interim) guards the hill, with the battery of the Division, and the brigade of the Chasseurs d’Afrique.

All the intrenchments that we have raised to defend our positions are lined with foot-chasseurs and Zouaves, armed with rifles of long range.

The troops of the 3rd Division take post behind the crests of the hills, and the horse artillery of the reserve, harnessed, and ready to march at the first signal, place themselves on the right. These movements being executed, the Commander-in-Chief and the Generals of Division station themselves on the central point of the heights between the hill of Balaklava and a place where a telegraph has been raised. From this point they can examine the ground, follow the movements of the enemy, and appreciate the results of his combined attack. At a little distance are stationed Lord Raglan and his numerous staff.

Lord Raglan, from his elevated position, which enables him to embrace all the operations in one view, and appreciate their results, seeing the enemy retreat from the ground which he had for a short time occupied, ordered the cavalry, supported by the 4th Division under the command of Lieut.-General Cathcart, to advance and take advantage of every opportunity to recapture the heights.

The enemy, writes Lord Raglan in his despatch, seemed attempting to carry off the cannon which had been taken. Lord Lucan received orders to advance rapidly, to follow him in his retreat, and to endeavour to hinder the accomplishment of his purpose.

XVI.—We have now arrived at an incident of this day, (the 25th of October,) which has occasioned cruel recriminations. We shall relate it, in all its details, with the most scrupulous and impartial exactitude.

During the few minutes which elapsed between that in which the order was given, and that in which Lord Lucan received it, the position of things had changed.

The Russians had time, says Lord Raglan, to form again on their own ground, with artillery in front and on their flanks. Not having, perhaps, thoroughly understood the order which directed him to advance, Lieut.-General Lucan thought himself obliged to attack at all hazards; and he consequently ordered Major-General Lord Cardigan to move forward with the Light Brigade.

Now, this order, of which the Commander-in-Chief speaks, should it have been interpreted by him who received it, or was it, indeed, of such a nature that it required to be executed with the blind obedience of the soldier? In this lies all the gravamen of this question, which has cost England so much precious blood.

The following were the respective positions.

The English Brigade of Light Cavalry, says the Journal of the Siege, being posted in force at some distance from the scene of this brilliant charge of English cavalry, could not, unfortunately, take part in it and complete it. It afterwards joined the Brigade of General Scarlett, and the whole Division of Lord Lucan was drawn up in a line perpendicular to that of the captured redoubts, with its right towards Balaklava.

This Division of cavalry was then, directly in front of the Russians. The latter reinforced with infantry the redoubt which was furthest from Balaklava, and occupied the heights with numerous battalions, and fourteen pieces of artillery.{12}

Meantime, two Divisions of English infantry, with their artillery, descended into the plain, occupied the approaches to this point, and posted themselves in two lines between the cavalry and Balaklava.

This position was dangerous; for the English right thus rested on the heights abandoned by the Turks, and the left, unprotected, was exposed to a battery of eight pieces, established on the large wooded hillock which commands the plain of the Tchernaya.

Lord Raglan immediately perceived the disadvantages of this position, and requested General Canrobert to let our cavalry support his left. Orders were therefore given to General Morris, Commander-in-Chief of the French cavalry, to advance; and a brigade of African Chasseurs (General d’Allonville) accordingly formed in échelons, by regiment, behind the left wing, which was composed of the English Light Brigade. It was then, that Captain Nolan, aide-de-camp of the Quartermaster-General, galloped up to Lord Lucan, and put into his hands the following order:—

Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop of horse artillery may accompany. The French cavalry is on your left.—Immediate.

R. AIREY.

XVII.—After an attentive perusal of this order, says Lord Lucan, I hesitated, and insisted upon the dangers to which it must lead. In fact, the Russian cavalry had retired upon the Jalta road; the enemy was again in order of battle, and presented a dense mass, protected by a formidable artillery. At the bottom of the valley, was the main-body of Liprandi’s Division, and, considerably in advance, crossing their fires, the two first redoubts, and that on the heights of the Tchernaya. Besides which, the hill-sides, thickly wooded, were very favourable for sharpshooting, and at the same time hid and protected strong columns of infantry.

Seeing the hesitation of Lord Lucan, Captain Nolan repeated that the orders of Lord Raglan were, that the cavalry should attack immediately.

But where, then, am I to attack? said Lord Lucan.

My Lord, replied the officer, there are your guns; and, pointing to the redoubts, there is the enemy.

It was then that Lord Lucan,—not appreciating perhaps, in its full extent, the responsibility of the important command which he exercised,—thought himself imperatively obliged to obey; and sent Lord Cardigan an order to attack.

Lord Cardigan hesitated, as Lord Lucan had done. It was an order to lead his valiant brigade to certain death, without a single chance of success. He remarked that his men would be mowed down by the cross-fire of the enemy’s batteries, for the whole distance that they had to traverse, which was considerable; and that, moreover, the infantry would open a murderous fire on them, before they could complete their charge. To these just objections, the reply was, that the orders of the Commander-in-Chief were imperative.

Lord Cardigan bowed his head in token of obedience, without pronouncing another word, and took his place at the head of his brigade. He threw a look of profound sadness (we have been told by one who was near him) over the splendid squadrons whom an inevitable death was about so soon to decimate, and spurred his horse to a gallop, exclaiming: Forward, the last of the Cardigans! On his right, was Captain Nolan, with his sword raised, and throwing himself foremost into the tempest of shot which tore up the plain. Perhaps he felt, that after the imprudent words, which a sudden impulse of impatient valour had made him utter, he ought to be one of the first to brave that glorious death, upon which, calm and resolute, the squadrons of the light cavalry now rushed.

XVIII.—The troops, placed in successive lines, on the summit and on the slopes of the hills, saw, with the most painful sensations, that superb brigade dash across the plain to an impossible attack, the madness of which could be equalled only by its heroism. All hearts throbbed, all eyes followed them, till they were lost in clouds of smoke. Amidst the iron hail which showered upon them, they passed rapid as lightning, dashing on towards those murderous batteries which vomited upon them a torrent of shot and shell. Captain Nolan was one of the first who fell, carrying with him to his grave the key of the fatal enigma. He was struck dead, by the splinter of a shell which hit him in the breast. He uttered a piercing cry, and one of his hands convulsively grasped the mane of his horse, which continued to gallop along with the dead, as it had done with the living horseman.

This hurricane, which the fire of cannon could not check, greatly astonished the enemy. The horsemen bounded up the hills, dashed past the batteries, and cut their way through dense columns, opening wide gaps, in their deadly career. A strong body of infantry, hidden in a sheltered place, suddenly appeared, and assailed them with an obstinate fire; but the intrepid brigade, although sadly thinned by death, rushed through this fire and was immediately in front of the Russian cavalry, upon which they instantly threw themselves. A. frightful mêlée then ensued, in which infantry and horsemen were confounded in fearful tumult.

The Russians, stupefied at first by this act of desperate audacity, soon form in ranks four deep; and men and horses dash against the living rampart.{13} At this moment some regiments of Russian lancers attack the broken squadrons of English cavalry in flank; compact masses advance on all sides. This gallant brigade, unless it is to perish to the last man, must retrace its steps, traversing the enemy’s ranks, and passing a second time across the plain, enveloped on all sides with flames, smoke, and a tempest of fire."

XIX.—The brigade of African Chasseurs had hardly arrived to support the left of the English cavalry, when the light brigade rushed upon the Russian redoubts. General Morris, who knew nothing of the order sent to Lord Lucan, could not comprehend this movement. Nevertheless, seeing the disaster which menaced the Cardigan brigade, he could not remain inactive. He pushed his ranks forward at once; and with two squadrons of the 4th African Chasseurs, supported by two other squadrons of the same regiment, attacked without hesitation the Russian battery which crowns the large wooded mamelon.

These brave troops, commanded by General Allonville and Colonel Champéron, dash forward and ascend the steep sides of the hill at a gallop. The Russian battery towards which they are hastening, observes this movement and throws some shells among them, but without effect; they are already on the summit of the mamelon, and are advancing directly upon the guns, which, horsed in haste, are withdrawn at the very moment that the 4th squadron reaches the place that they had occupied. The commandant Abdelal pursues them, with his intrepid horsemen, without a moment’s delay; a dense line of sharpshooters, and two Russian squares crouching on the ground, and hidden in a jungle of thick brushwood, suddenly start up, and salute the Chasseurs with a terrible fire.

Captain Dangla, under an uncontrollable impulse of courage, springs upon the serried ranks of the enemy’s bayonets, and falls dead;{14} the chasseurs who follow him rush upon the enemy with heroic valour; nothing stops them; they cut their way, in blood, through the Russian squares; Captains Oilier and Burtin are in the thickest of the fight; it is a struggle man to man, and officers and soldiers fight with desperation. Lieutenant Gauffre of the 2nd squadron, whilst leading a most impetuous charge, is killed at the head of