CONTINUATION OF THE SIEGE.
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The day following this victory a council of war was assembled, and it was resolved to postpone the assault until fresh reinforcements should arrive, and, at the same time, works for the defence of the Inkermann position were ordered to be forthwith commenced, as there was then every probability of the allies having to winter in the Crimea.
It is calculated that at this time forty-six thousand five hundred and thirty-seven rounds of ammunition had been expended. It is singular that Russian shot had been collected by the soldiers, and fired back into Sebastopol. By the general order, dated 24th. October, 1854, payment was authorized of fourpence for each small shot, and sixpence for each large shot brought into camp; but a subsequent order on the 4th. of November following cancelled the foregoing. A similar circumstance occurred during the Peninsular war, and it excited the surprise of the Duke of Wellington.[166]
At this time the nights became intensely cold, and the incessant rain caused the roads to be anything but passable; whilst on the 14th. a tremendous hurricane, tearing many of the tents to pieces, and scattering their goods, added to the discomforts of the troops. Several French, British, and Turkish vessels were either lost or damaged from the same untoward circumstance; and most unfortunately the “Prince” steamer, with the winter clothing for the English army, and a good supply of engineer stores and ammunition, was shattered to 418pieces on the rocks at Balaklava, and one hundred and thirty-seven souls perished. It would be difficult to depict the desolation which the hurricane occasioned in the encampment of the allies, and the next day the soldiers found ample employment in repairing its ravages. Poor fellows, they needed nothing further to aggravate the privations already endured.
During the night of the 20th. of November, an affair occurred which drew forth the praise not only of Lord Raglan, but also of the Commander-in-Chief of the French army. The Russian advanced posts in front of the left attack of the British, having taken up a position which incommoded the troops in the trenches, and occasioned not a few casualties, besides taking in reverse the French troops working in their lines, a detachment of the first battalion of the Rifle Brigade, of two hundred men, under Lieutenant Tryon, was directed on the night of the 20th. to dislodge the enemy. The caves in which the Russian riflemen had established themselves, were popularly known as the Ovens. This service was most gallantly and effectively performed, but at some loss in killed and wounded. Lieutenant Tryon, who rendered himself conspicuous on the occasion, was killed; he was considered a most promising officer, and held in the highest estimation by all. Several attempts were made by the Russians to re-establish themselves on the ground before daylight on the 21st., but they were instantly repulsed by Lieutenant Bourchier, the senior surviving officer of the party. The detachment received well-merited praise, and the conduct of Lieutenants Tryon, Bourchier, and Cuninghame, was highly commended. So highly prized was this little exploit by General Canrobert, that he instantly published an “Ordre Général,” announcing it to the French army, and combining, with a just tribute to the gallantry of the troops, the expression of his deep sympathy in the regret felt for the loss of a young officer of so much distinction as Lieutenant Tyron.
The Russians moved upon the British advanced pickets, in front of the left attack, on the 12th. of December, in some force, but were instantly driven back by a detachment of the first battalion of the Rifle Brigade on the right, and by one 419of the 46th. on the left. The firing, however, was kept up for some time afterwards.
A sortie was made by the enemy on both the right and left attack, during the night of the 20th. of December, the one being conducted silently, the other with drums beating, and shouting; the first was probably the real object of the advance, as nearer to the Inkermann heights. Owing to the extreme darkness of the night, the Russians were enabled to approach very near the right attack without being perceived, and, having made a sudden rush upon the most forward parallel they compelled the men occupying it to withdraw, until reinforced by a party under Major Welsford, of the 97th. Regiment, when it was regained possession of, and the enemy retired, not, however, without occasioning some loss in both killed and wounded. Lieutenant John Byron, of the 34th., was taken prisoner.
On the left attack the enemy were met with great gallantry by Lieutenant Gordon, of the 38th. Regiment, who, when supported by the covering party of the trenches, under Lieutenant-Colonel Waddy, of the 50th., succeeded in at once driving them back. Here the loss was still more severe, Major Möller of the 50th., falling mortally wounded; Capt. Frampton and Lieutenant Clarke, both of the 50th., were taken prisoners. The gallantry and vigilance of these troops, and the distinguished conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel Waddy, were highly praised.
The Christmas before Sebastopol will not be easily forgotten; the time-honoured phrase of wishing a merry one, and a happy new year, must have sounded almost as a mockery to the suffering troops. During December the weather became very severe, and the duties more and more arduous; both officers and men were frequently on duty two and three nights in succession, without any shelter from the snow and rain; provisions and forage became scarce, owing to the want of transport; and the young soldiers, unable to bear the hardships and fatigue, died in numbers.
Neither was the commencement of the new year more promising; when the commissariat transport broke down, it became necessary to send fatigue parties to carry up rations 420and warm clothing from Balaklava, a distance of seven miles; horses and mules were picked up wherever they could be found, officers’ chargers not excepted. Men were frequently found dead in the trenches from cold and exhaustion. The sick present and absent at Scutari on the 11th. January, 1855, amounted to sixteen thousand and one men.[167]
Such sufferings excited the public feeling, and Mr. Roebuck’s motion for a committee of enquiry occasioned a change of ministry, when Lord Palmerston became Premier, and Lord Panmure was appointed Secretary of State for War. It is not, however, within the scope of this work to dwell upon the political view of the campaign; its object being to show how the Medals were won. No sympathy could have cheered the soldiers more than that expressed by the Queen in a letter to Mrs. Sidney Herbert, which fortunately was published.[168] Constant visits of the Sovereign to the bed-sides of the invalids on their arrival in England, and substantial acts of kindness in finding occupation for several of them, shewed Her Majesty’s deep interest in her soldiers.
In January a railroad was commenced from Balaklava to the camp, which may be classed as one of the “curiosities 421of war.” At this period the French army had been reinforced, and consisted, in round numbers, of about sixty-seven thousand men.
The Russians still retain the old style of reckoning, and, during the night of the 12th. of January, 1855 (their New Year’s Day), they made a powerful sortie, under protection of a heavy cannonade, along the Woronzoff Road and the ravine on the extreme left, on the French and English trenches, but were ultimately forced to retire. The following morning was the commencement of a severe frost, the snow in some places on the plain being eighteen inches deep, whilst the drifts were not only deep, but in many spots dangerous. The old adage that “it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good,” was here realized, for the ground became hardened and consequently improved, by the frost, which aided the communication to the front: there was, however, a drawback on account of the difficulty of obtaining fuel for cooking and hospital requirements. Indeed the scarcity of wood of any kind was great. The brushwood along the Inkermann ridge had long been used up; the soldiers had even employed the vine roots to cook their meals. Fortunately large quantities of charcoal were arriving at Balaklava, and although the seige works did not improve by the employment of the Turkish troops in bringing up this necessary article, the comfort of the army was materially increased. Warm clothing also arrived; but sickness could not be reduced.
About the middle of January there was a marked improvement in the weather, and on the 21st. a French Division afforded valuable relief to the British by relieving the pickets of the Second and Light Divisions, and enabled the latter to afford better covering parties for their batteries. It was fortunate at this period that the enemy was ignorant of the small number of men employed in their defence.[169]
The hospitals in Constantinople, from the improvements 422effected therein under the superintendence of Florence Nightingale, were already bearing fruit, by the number of convalescent soldiers constantly returning to the Crimea.
On the 2nd. of March occurred the death of the Emperor of Russia, and the event appeared at first calculated to lead to peace, but that hope soon vanished. During this month the operations of the siege began to be more actively carried on; large working parties were employed, and an approach was made from the middle ravine to the twenty-one gun battery; a new approach was also made to the right of the advanced work, or third parallel; this trench was extended to communicate with the new French right attack against the Mamelon and Malakoff; old batteries were repaired, and new ones constructed, and the guards of the trenches were increased. On the 16th. of March, Lieutenant-General Simpson arrived to undertake the duties of Chief of the Staff, and Sir John McNeill and Colonel Tulloch, who had been sent out by the government, to report upon the state of the army, arrived a few days before.
Frequent night alarms occurred during this month, and on the morning of the 22nd. of March, the French troops in the advanced parallel moved forward, and drove the enemy out of their rifle-pits in their immediate front, but nothing of any importance happened during the day. Early in the night, however, a serious attack was made upon the French works in front of the Victoria redoubt, opposite the Malakoff tower. The firing, which was very heavy, could scarcely be heard in the British camp, the wind being so boisterous. After attacking the head of the sap which the French were carrying on towards the Mamelon, the Russians fell in with two heavy masses on their new parallel, to the rear of which they succeeded in penetrating, after a gallant resistance. Passing along the parallel and in rear of it, until they came in contact with the troops stationed in the advanced parallel, extending into the ravine, from the right of the British advance, where it was connected with the French trench, the enemy was there met by detachments of the 77th. and 97th. regiments, forming part of the guard of the trenches, who although thus taken suddenly, both in flank and rear, behaved with the utmost 423gallantry and coolness.[170] The detachment of the 97th., which was on the extreme right, and which, consequently first came in contact with the enemy, repulsed the attack at the point of the bayonet. They were led by Captain Hedley Vicars, who fell mortally wounded, not before he had knocked over two Russians. The “Memorials” of this officer are well known in every English home, and dissipate the prevalent error that christian and military virtues cannot be united. His life was an exemplification of the motto of the 97th., “Quo fas et Gloria ducunt.” Lord Raglan stated in his despatch,—“I am assured that nothing could be more distinguished than the gallantry and good example which he set to the detachment under his command;” and added, “the conduct of the 77th. was equally distinguished; and the firmness and promptitude with which the attack, in this part of our works, was met, were in the highest degree creditable to that regiment.”
These troops were under the direction of Major Gordon, of the Royal Engineers, who was severely wounded by a musket-ball through the arm. The Russians were finally driven out of the parallel, the repulse being conducted with great judgment by this officer.
The attention of the troops in the advanced works having been by these transactions drawn to the right, the enemy took occasion to move upon, and succeeded in penetrating into, the left front of the British right attack, near the battery where two ten-inch mortars had recently been placed. They advanced along the works until they were met by a detachment of the 7th. and 34th. regiments, which had been at work in the neighbourhood, under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel 424Tylden, of the Royal Engineers, who promptly made them stand to their arms, and led them with the greatest determination and steadiness against the enemy, who were speedily ejected from their works, and fairly pitched over the parapet, with but little or no firing on the part of the British. The French, in retiring from their advanced parallel upon their supports, speedily rallied, and fell upon the enemy, whom they repulsed with great loss, and followed so far up towards the Mamelon, that they were enabled to level and destroy nearly all the “ambuscades,” or “rifle concealments,” erected along their front. This success was not accomplished without considerable loss, though that of the Russians was much greater.
Meanwhile the enemy in great numbers found their way into the advanced batteries on the extreme left of the British, which were then not armed, and immediately obtained possession of them. The working parties were, however, speedily collected and re-formed by Captain Chapman, of the 20th. regiment, Acting Engineer, and they at once drove the Russians out of the trenches with the utmost gallantry. Captain Montagu, of the Royal Engineers, who was superintending the works, unfortunately fell into their hands.
There was a suspension of hostilities for about three hours on Saturday, the 24th. of March, for the purpose of burying those who had fallen in the late encounters, when it became evident from the number of bodies of the enemy, and of the French, to whom the last sad offices had to be paid, that the loss sustained both by the French and the Russians had been very severe, particularly that of the latter. Some French, too, were found lying close to the Mamelon, a proof that their gallant spirit had carried them up to the enemy’s entrenchments.
At this period of the siege, a sixty-eight pounder manned by the Naval Brigade, caused so much damage to the Mamelon, that the Russians specially brought up a gun of similar calibre to dismount it. During the truce on March 24th., this fact was made known to the British by a Russian officer, and the next day a regular duel took place between the two guns. The enemy were confident of success, but after the interchange of about seventeen shots, the Russian gun was silenced, while that of the Naval Brigade continued battering the Mamelon as before.
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