FOURTH BOMBARDMENT OF SEBASTOPOL.

The fourth bombardment commenced on Sunday, the 17th. of June, at daybreak, when a very heavy fire was opened from all the batteries in the British and French trenches, and maintained throughout the day. The effect produced was so satisfactory, that it was resolved the French should attack the Malakoff on the following morning, and that the British should assail the Redan as soon after as might be considered advisable.

It was originally proposed that the artillery fire should be resumed on the morning of the 18th., and should be kept up for about two hours, with a view of destroying any works which the Russians might have thrown up during the night, and of opening passages through the abatis that covered the Redan; but during the evening of the 17th., Lord Raglan 434received an intimation from General Pelissier, who had in May succeeded General Canrobert in the command of the French army, that he had determined, upon further consideration, to cause the French attack to take place at three o’clock on the following morning. Before that hour Lord Raglan with the head-quarter staff and other officers assembled at the appointed post. As day broke the French commenced their operations, and as their several columns came within range of the enemy’s fire they encountered the most serious opposition, both from musketry and the guns in the works which had been silenced the previous evening. Lord Raglan observing this, at once ordered the British columns to move out of the trenches upon the Redan. It had been arranged that detachments from the light, second, and fourth divisions, which were placed under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, should be formed into three columns; the right one to attack the left face of the Redan, between the flanking batteries; the centre to advance upon the salient angle; and the left to move upon the re-entering angle formed by the right face and flank of the work; the first and last preceding the centre column.

On the signal being given the flank columns at once advanced, preceded by covering parties of the Rifle Brigade, and by sailors carrying ladders, and soldiers carrying wool-bags; but they had no sooner shown themselves beyond the trenches than they were assailed by a most murderous fire of grape and musketry, and all in advance were either killed or wounded.

Major-General Sir John Campbell, who led the left attack, and Colonel Shadforth, of the 57th., who commanded the storming party under his direction, were both killed, as was also Colonel Yea, of the Royal Fusiliers, who commanded the right column.

“I never before witnessed,” writes Lord Raglan, “such a continued and heavy fire of grape combined with musketry from the enemy’s works, which appeared to be fully manned; and the long list of killed and wounded in the light and fourth divisions, and the seamen of the Naval Brigade, under Captain Peel, who was unfortunately wounded, though not severely, will show that a very large proportion of those that went forward fell.”

435By half-past three it was perceived that the French had not succeeded in their attack upon the Malakoff. All the batteries were ordered to resume their fire as heavily as possible, but about half-past seven the firing slackened, in consequence of the attack being relinquished.

The superiority of the fire of the allies had led both Lord Raglan and Pelissier to conclude that the anniversary of Waterloo would have been crowned with a happier result; but the Russians shewed that their resources were not yet exhausted, and that they had still the power, either from their ships or from their batteries, to bring an overwhelming fire upon their assailants.

Whilst the direct attack upon the Redan was proceeding, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England was directed to send one of the brigades of the third division, under the command of Major-General Barnard, down the Woronzoff Ravine, with a view to give support to the attacking columns on his right; and the other brigade, under Major-General Eyre, still further to the left, to threaten the works at the head of the Dockyard Creek.

The success achieved by the third division on this eventful day, was detailed in a supplementary despatch from Lord Raglan. By this it appears that the first brigade, under Major-General Barnard, proceeded down the Woronzoff Road, and was placed in position on the right of the ravine, ready to co-operate with the columns of attack on the right; whilst the second brigade, under Major-General Eyre, moved down the ravine which separated the left of the English from the right of the French advanced works, for the purpose of attacking the enemy’s ambuscades, and making a demonstration on the head of the Dockyard Creek.

The service was performed with the utmost gallantry, and, notwithstanding that they were exposed to a most galling fire, the troops maintained themselves in the position they had taken up during the day, and in the evening withdrew, unmolested, leaving a post at the cemetery, which had been one of the objects of the attack in the morning.

Between one and two o’clock a.m., Major-General Eyre had moved off with his brigade, consisting of the 9th., 18th., 28th., 43638th., and 44th. regiments (total strength about two thousand bayonets), and proceeded down the ravine, on the left, by the French picket-house, for the purpose of attacking the enemy’s ambuscades, and of making a demonstration on that side.

In attacking the first of these ambuscades the troops were anticipated by the French, who cleverly took the Russians on their left flank as they advanced in front, and made several prisoners. Beyond this the French had no instructions to co-operate, and the Major-General therefore pushed on an advanced guard, under Major Feilden, 44th. composed of marksmen from each regiment, supporting it on the right by the 44th. and 38th., and on the left by the 18th. regiment, keeping at first the 9th. and 28th. in reserve.

The enemy, whose strength could not be estimated, occupied a strong position; their right rested on a mamelon, their left on a cemetery. These points were occupied by marksmen. The intervening ground was intersected, and the road barricaded with stone walls, which the men were obliged to pull down, under fire, before they could advance. In rear of this position, towards the fortress, the Russians occupied several houses, and there were bodies of them seen in rear, as reserves. This position, under the fire of the guns of the fortress, was strong, and it could not be expected to be carried and retained without incurring considerable loss, and which was experienced both in officers and men, all most nobly discharging their duty. The 18th. regiment pushed on, and occupied some houses immediately under Garden Battery. The 44th. occupied some houses on the right, from whence they kept up a fire on the enemy’s embrasures. Lieutenant-Colonel Lowth moved on with his regiment (the 38th.), and after taking possession of some houses in front, endeavoured to turn the flank of a battery which annoyed the troops in front. These parties were afterwards from time to time reinforced or relieved by the 9th. regiment, the 28th. regiment being drawn up in line in rear, to support the whole.

Having driven the enemy from these points, they were continued to be occupied, with the view to ulterior movements, in the event of the attack on the right being successful, and until it was decided what portion of the ground should be retained for siege operations.

437The position was held until late in the evening, when the troops, after being exposed all day to a concentrated fire from the guns of the fortress, in addition to some field guns brought up by the enemy, were gradually withdrawn, the ground being too far in advance to be permanently occupied for siege operations, when Major-General Eyre, who had received a wound in the head in the early part of the day, gave over the command of the brigade to Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, of the 28th. regiment. No attempt was made by the enemy to molest the troops on their retiring. The losses sustained amounted to thirty-one officers, forty-four sergeants, and four hundred and eighty-seven rank and file killed or wounded.

On the 19th. of June orders were received to discontinue the bombardment, during which, from its commencement on the 17th., twenty-two thousand six hundred and eighty-four rounds of ammunition had been fired against Sebastopol.

Twenty-two officers were killed and seventy-one wounded. Two hundred and thirty men were killed, one thousand one hundred and thirty-six wounded, and twenty-four missing. The French losses exceeded this number.

On the 28th. of June, 1855, the following extract of a telegraphic despatch from Lord Panmure was published to the army in the Crimea:—“I have Her Majesty’s Commands to express Her grief that so much bravery should not have been rewarded with merited success; and to assure her brave Troops that Her Majesty’s confidence in them is entire.” This was the last general order published by Lord Raglan, for about nine o’clock of the above day his gallant spirit breathed its last. Posterity will endorse the Minister for War’s expression of Her Majesty’s grief for this great loss. “The country has been deprived of a brave and accomplished soldier, a true and devoted patriot, and an honourable and disinterested subject.” His lordship’s remains were borne to Kamiesch Bay, and placed on board the Caradoc, for conveyance to England, the officers and men of both armies vieing with each other in paying the last honours to the departed warrior.

In the absence of Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, on account of ill-health, the command of the forces devolved on 438Lieutenant-General Simpson, the next senior officer, upon whom the Queen conferred the appointment of Commander-in-Chief of the Army in the Crimea.

At five o’clock on the morning of the 10th. of July, a heavy fire was opened upon the Redan, by the allied batteries, in order to assist the advances upon that work, to which the besieged responded, at intervals, with considerable warmth. This had the effect of checking the musketry fire, which had proved very annoying. Comparative tranquility reigned in the batteries until the 17th. of July, when the enemy opened a heavy fire upon the French in the Mamelon, which was answered by the British on the Tower and Redan.

During the night of the 22nd. of July, the Russians opened a heavy fire of musketry from the parapets of the Malakoff and adjacent works, but they did not attempt an attack. They opened a similar fire in the course of the night on the left of the French. It is believed that they apprehended an attack from the French, and for this reason opened the above fire, which did no damage to either the works or soldiers.

Between ten and eleven o’clock at night on the 2nd. of August the enemy made a sortie in considerable force, by the Woronzoff road. Their strength was computed to be about two thousand, and their object was to destroy a heavy iron chevaux-de-frize, made across the above road, between the right and left attacks, and being further supported by heavy columns in rear, to take advantage of such circumstances as might present themselves. They advanced with loud cheers and bugling, and were received with great gallantry by the advanced picket, under the command of Lieutenant R. E. Carr, of the 39th., who withdrew his men, firing at the same time upon the enemy, to the main body, under the command of Captain Leckie, of the same regiment.

A heavy and well-directed fire was opened upon the enemy by the party under the latter officer, on the Woronzoff road; as also by the guards of the trenches on the right of the fourth parallel, under the command of Captain Boyle, of the 89th., and Captain Turner, of the 1st. Royals, which, in about ten minutes, caused the enemy to retire from an attack that, if it had not been so well met, might have been a serious affair.

Thus passed the time during July and August in repelling sorties from the enemy, combined with an occasional heavy firing, and in preparations for a renewal of the bombardment. As the movements of troops in Sebastopol, and the reliefs moving to and from the Russian works, could be observed from the deck of the flag-ship of Sir Houston Stewart, “Hannibal,” which was anchored off the mouth of the harbour, a telegraphic communication was established between it and a station erected on the hill in front of the light division. This directed the fire of the mortar batteries, and caused serious losses to the enemy.

In the beginning of August the troops had been unceasingly employed in strengthening and improving the advanced works, which, by the 10th., had become so close to the enemy, that it was with the greatest difficulty any approach could be made. Every precaution was taken by the allies to prevent the Russians forcing them to raise the siege by a vigorous attack from without, which was anticipated about the middle of this month.

The Czar’s last hope of relieving Sebastopol was dissipated by the battle of the Tchernaya gained over the Russians on the 16th. of August. This brilliant success was achieved by the French and Sardinian troops, and the enemy’s attempt to pass the above river, although made with overwhelming numbers, met with a most decisive repulse. The British cavalry, under Lieutenant-General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, were placed in the plain of Balaklava, prepared to take advantage of any circumstance that might present itself, but the opportunity did not arise for calling upon their services.

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