THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA. 20th. September, 1854.

Lord John Russell’s memorable words in the House of Commons, on the 17th. of February, 1854, “May God defend the right,” like those of Nelson, “England expects every man this day will do his duty,” had an electrical effect, and made the country nerve itself for the approaching contest, which, for some time threatening, shortly afterwards commenced. The nation sympathized with the efforts of the Turks, under their distinguished commander, Omar Pasha, and after the terrible massacre at Sinope, hostilities became inevitable.

Before the end of February the Guards and other regiments had embarked for the East, the Queen, from the Balcony of Buckingham Palace, bidding the former farewell. Each regiment as it marched for the port of embarkation, was greeted with hearty and sympathetic cheers, which showed the popular opinion in favour of the coming struggle. Lord Raglan, so long the Military Secretary of the great Duke of Wellington, and afterwards the Master General of the Ordnance, was appointed to the command of the British Forces destined for the East.

The official declaration of war appeared in the London Gazette, on the 28th. of March, and that of the Emperor of the French, the ally of England, was published simultaneously. The first place of rendezvous was Malta, and thence the troops proceeded to Gallipoli and Scutari, and subsequently to Varna, which was reached towards the end of June. After the gallant defence of Silistria, and the repulse of the Russians, in which Captain James Armar Butler, Ceylon Rifle Regiment, and Lieutenant Charles Nasmyth, Bombay Artillery, as volunteers, so highly distinguished themselves, and where the former, with the brave Turkish commander, Mousso Pasha, met a soldier’s death, Turkey became no longer in danger of invasion, and the allied armies, being released from supporting by their presence the valour of the Ottoman troops;—the expedition to the Crimea was determined upon.

381On Thursday, the 7th. of September, 1854, the fleet conveying the allied army, sailed from Baldjick Bay, whither the troops had proceeded from Varna, for the Crimea. Cholera still prevailed, but the voyage materially improved the health of the soldiers. The British troops consisted of one thousand one hundred cavalry, three thousand one hundred artillery, and twenty-two thousand five hundred and ninety infantry; making a total, of all arms, of twenty-six thousand eight hundred men. The French troops, under the command of Marshal St. Arnaud, amounted to nearly the same numbers, namely, twenty-six thousand five hundred and twenty-six, which, with seven thousand Turks, under Selim Pasha, attached thereto, made an aggregate force of sixty thousand three hundred men, with one hundred and thirty-two guns, of which sixty-five pieces of ordnance belonged to the British Siege Train. The general rendezvous was the Isle of Serpents, whence, on the 11th. of September, the expedition proceeded direct to its destination, and two days afterwards the fleets halted in the Bay of Eupatoria. The occupation of Eupatoria was gained without resistance, and the same night the fleet sailed for Kalamita Bay, and anchored at 8 a.m. on the 14th., at the position near Old Fort, distant about eighteen miles south of Eupatoria, which had been ultimately selected as the point of debarkation.

The soldiers of No. 1 company of the 23rd. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, under Major Lysons and Lieutenant Drewe, were the first British troops that landed in the Crimea. Some arabas having been seen in the distance, this party was at once dispatched by Brigadier-General Airey, Quartermaster-General, in pursuit of them; after marching some distance they got within reach of the waggons, and fired a few shots at the Cossack escort who were endeavouring to save them. These horsemen forthwith galloped off, leaving fourteen arabas full of fire-wood and fruit, with their drivers and bullocks; this was the commencement of the Land Transport of the Army.

No opposition was offered to the landing, which was effected without any casualties or accidents, save a few horses drowned. The weather, which had been fine, changed; in the afternoon it rained, and at night the troops on shore were deluged, rain coming down in such torrents as could scarcely be surpassed 382even in India. With morning the clouds cleared away, and a bright sunshine made amends for the past night, and the trials of the first bivouac in the Crimea.

The morning of the 19th. of September witnessed the commencement of the march of the allied forces towards Sebastopol, and in the evening occurred the first actual encounter with the enemy. This took place between the advanced cavalry of the British, supported by the first brigade of the light division, and a strong body of Dragoons and Cossacks with artillery. The Earl of Cardigan’s brigade of Light Cavalry exhibited most praiseworthy steadiness, his lordship’s coolness and spirit being specially mentioned in the official despatch, and the enemy’s artillery was soon silenced by the batteries which Lord Raglan ordered to be brought into action. Four men only were wounded in this affair, and the allies bivouacked on the left bank of the Bulganak. This insignificant stream was most welcome after the wearisome day’s march, made under a burning sun, and an absence of water. On the morning of the 20th. of September both armies moved towards the Alma. It was arranged that Marshal St. Arnaud should attack the enemy’s left, by crossing this river at its junction with the sea, and immediately above it; the rest of the French divisions were to move up the heights in their front, whilst the right and centre of the Russian position were to be attacked by the British.

By nature the position taken up by the Russians, which crossed the great road about two miles and a half from the sea, was very strong. The bold and almost precipitous range of heights, varying from three hundred and fifty to four hundred feet, that from the sea closely bordered the left bank of the river, here terminated and formed their left; and turning thence round a spacious amphitheatre, or wide valley, ended at a salient pinnacle, where their right rested, and whence the descent to the plain was more gradual. The front was about two miles in extent. Across the mouth of this great opening occurred a low ridge of different heights, from sixty to one hundred feet, distant about six hundred to eight hundred yards from the river, to which it was parallel. The river, although generally fordable, had extremely rugged banks, which were 383in most parts steep;—the willows along it had been felled to prevent them from affording cover to the assailants, with the exception of those below the bridge, which were full of Russian riflemen.

On the right bank of the Alma, in front of the position, at a distance of about two hundred yards from the river, is situated the village of Bourliouk;—the wooden bridge of which had been partly destroyed by the Russians.

The key of the position was the lofty pinnacle and ridge before described, and there consequently the preparations for defence were the most considerable. Half-way down the height, and across its front, was a trench extending some hundred yards, to afford cover against an advance up the even steep slope of the hill. Somewhat retired on the right was a powerful covered battery, armed with heavy guns, which flanked the entire right of the position. Artillery was also posted at the several points which best commanded the passage of the river and its approaches. On the slopes of these hills, which formed a kind of table-land, were placed dense masses of the enemy’s infantry, and the heights above were occupied by his great reserve, the whole variously estimated from thirty to upwards of forty thousand men.

Such was the Russian position; but its extraordinary strength only stimulated the allies to deeds of more than ordinary daring,—on this, for the first time during many centuries, that British and French soldiers were to fight side by side.

Half an hour before the battle is thus vividly described by Mr. N. A. Woods, in his work entitled “The Past Campaign: a Sketch of the War in the East, from the Departure of Lord Raglan to the Capture of Sebastopol”:—“The day was clear and hot: not a cloud in the sky—not a breath in the air. Except the clank of artillery chains, and the occasional neigh of a horse, there was a dead silence, which, as your eye glanced over the glittering masses of soldiers, was solemn and impressive. The close dark lines of our adversaries at the side of the Alma were equally steady. So still, so silent, lay both posts, that had I shut my eyes, I could have imagined myself in a perfect solitude.”

A change was soon to come over the scene, and the stillness 384was about to be broken by the stern alarums of battle. Both armies advanced on the same alignment, the British in contiguous double columns, with the front of two divisions covered by light infantry and a troop of horse artillery; the second division, under Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, forming the right, and touching the left of the third French Division, under His Imperial Highness Prince Napoleon, and the light division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, the left; the first being supported by the third division under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England, and the last by the first division, commanded by Lieutenant-General His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. The fourth division, under Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir George Cathcart, and the cavalry, under Major-General the Earl of Lucan, were held in reserve, to protect the left flank and rear against large bodies of the Russian cavalry, which had shown themselves in those directions.

Upon approaching within range of the guns, whose fire soon became extremely formidable, the two leading divisions deployed into line, and advanced to attack the front, the supporting divisions following the movement. Scarcely had this taken place, when the village of Bourliouk, immediately opposite the centre, was fired by the Russians at all points, creating a continuous blaze for three hundred yards, obscuring their position, and rendering a passage through it impracticable. In consequence of this, two regiments of Brigadier-General Adams’s brigade, part of Sir De Lacy Evan’s division, had to pass, under a sharp fire, the river at a deep and difficult ford to the right; whilst his first brigade, under Major-General Pennefather, with the remaining regiment of Brigadier-General Adams, crossed to the left of the conflagration, opposed by the artillery from the heights above, and pressed on towards the left of the position with the utmost gallantry and steadiness. Meanwhile, Sir George Brown, with the light division, effected the passage of the Alma in his immediate front. The advance was made under great disadvantages, the rugged and broken banks of the river offering most serious obstacles, whilst the vineyards through which the troops had to pass (the men suffering from thirst eagerly seizing bunches of 385grapes,^[154]) and the felled trees rendered every species of formation under a galling fire almost an impossibility. Sir George, nevertheless, persevered in this difficult operation, and the first brigade, under Major-General Codrington, succeeded in carrying the great redoubt, aided materially by the judicious and steady manner in which Brigadier-General Buller moved on the left flank, and by the advance of four companies of the Rifle Brigade, under Major Norcott. The heavy fire of grape and musketry to which the troops were opposed, and the casualties sustained in consequence by the 7th., 23rd., and 33rd. regiments, compelled this brigade partially to relinquish its hold. The Duke of Cambridge had succeeded in crossing the river, and had moved up in support; when a brilliant advance of the brigade of Foot Guards, under Major-General Bentinck, drove the enemy back, and secured the final possession of the work.

Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, with the Highland Brigade, advanced in admirable order and steadiness up the high ground to the left, co-operating with the Guards. Major-General Pennefather’s brigade, which had been connected with the right of the light division, forced the enemy completely to abandon the position they had taken such pains to defend and secure, and which was considered almost impregnable.

The 95th. Regiment, immediately on the right of the 7th. Royal Fusiliers in the advance, suffered equally with that old corps and the 55th. an immense loss. The aid of the Royal Artillery in all these operations was most effectual, whilst the exertions of the field officers and the captains of troops and batteries to get the guns into action, were unceasing, and the precision of their fire materially contributed to the victory. Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England brought his division to the immediate support of the troops in advance; and Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart was actively engaged in watching the left flank of the enemy. It likewise appears by Lord Raglan’s despatch, that although the nature of the 386ground did not admit of the employment of cavalry, they succeeded at the close of the battle in capturing some prisoners.

The cheerfulness with which the regimental officers had submitted to unusual privations was not forgotten. It being necessary to bring into the country every available cavalry and infantry soldier, prevented the embarkation of the baggage animals, so that the officers had nothing but what they could carry, and were, with the men, without tents or covering. Not a murmur was, however, heard, for all appeared impressed with the necessity of the arrangement. “The conduct,” adds his lordship, “of the troops has been admirable. When it is considered that they have suffered severely from sickness, during the last two months; that since they landed in the Crimea they have been exposed to the extremes of wet, cold, and heat; that the daily toil to provide themselves with water has been excessive, and that they have been pursued by Cholera to the very battle-field,^[155] I do not go beyond the truth in declaring that they merit the highest commendation. In the ardour of attack they forgot all they had endured, and displayed that high courage, that gallant spirit, for which the British soldier is ever distinguished, and under the heaviest fire they maintained the same determination to conquer, as they had exhibited before they went into action.”

Nor were the Royal Navy omitted, for his lordship continues,—“I should be wanting in my duty, my Lord Duke, if I did not express to your Grace, in the most earnest manner, my deep feeling of gratitude to the officers and men of the Royal Navy, for the invaluable assistance they afforded the Army upon this, as on every occasion where it could be brought to bear upon our operations. They watched the progress of the day with the most intense anxiety; and as the best way of evincing their participation in our success, and their sympathy in the sufferings of the wounded, they never ceased, from the close of the battle till we left the ground this morning, 387to provide for the sick and wounded, and to carry them down to the beach—a labour in which some of the officers even volunteered to participate—an act which I shall never cease to recollect with the warmest thankfulness.”

The various episodes of this victory would fill a volume of themselves; the newspapers were eagerly sought after, and the letters from the actors in the busy scene of war, and from correspondents of the public journals proved of untiring interest. Some of the epistles are full of graphic touches; they show how the Duke of Cambridge roughed it like the rest, and slept with his head covered by a tilt cart. How Sir George Brown’s horse, pierced by eleven shots, brought him to the ground, but rising unhurt, he again led the soldiers on. How Colonel Chester, with eight officers, fell at the head of the 23rd. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and how severely the regiment suffered. As Corporal Harwood writes—“Our artillery kept up a tremendous fire at them for an hour and a half, at the end of which the order ran through our lines, ‘Light division advance and take the entrenchments.’ The 23rd. was in the light division, and on we went, covered by two companies of the Rifle Brigade. We crossed a vineyard, and were led by Colonel Chester through the river, the opposite bank of which was very steep. The Colonel went through with us,—we all shared alike,—and as we clambered out the enemy gave us a fierce fire, the cannon belching forth murderous volleys of grape and round shot, and musket-balls fell as thick as hail. The men fell dead and wounded before me and at my side. They fell in every direction, and mechanically I still pressed on untouched. Up the hill we went with the Rifle Brigades, and half-way up the heights we reached the cannons’ mouths, which were planted on the entrenchments. Our regiment was about to cross to the stockade in the enemy’s position, when the word was given, ‘Cease firing, and retire,’ because we were in danger of firing on the French. Our Colonel rushed in front of us, shouting ‘No, no, on lads!’ He fell with the word on his lips; he never spoke or raised his head again. We did retire then, and an unfortunate mistake it was, for the enemy returned to the guns we had once silenced, and gave us some terrific volleys; but we soon rallied, and supported 388by the 7th., 33rd., a portion of the Guards, and the Highlanders, we rushed up the hill again, and the enemy fled in every direction.”

This letter refers to an unfortunate mistake which occurred. A mounted officer called out “Cease firing; you are firing on the French;” the words ran down the line and caused some hesitation and confusion. The Russians took advantage of it in a moment, and advancing some heavy columns, drove the light division back from the redoubt; the first division, then at some distance in the rear, at once advanced and re-took the redoubt. The light division rallied, and again pushed on in a second line, when the key of the enemy’s position having been thus forced, and his left turned by the French, the foe retreated on all sides.

More than ordinary interest was created by the circumstances under which Captain and Lieutenant Eddington, of the 95th., met their deaths. When the former dropped, early in the charge, with a ball in his chest, he was left for a few moments on the hill side, while the regiment fell back to re-form. A Russian rifleman, kneeling down beside him pretended to raise his canteen to the wounded officer’s lips, and deliberately blew his brains out. This was in sight of the regiment, and as they charged up the hill, the Lieutenant, maddened by the sight, rushed forward to avenge his beloved brother’s death, but in a few moments met a similar fate, his breast being absolutely riddled with the storm of grape shot and rifle balls.

During the battle the Russians had succeeded in getting away all their guns but two, one of which, a sixteen-pounder, with two horses to it, was taken by Captain Bell, of the 23rd., who received the Victoria Cross. This officer ran up to the driver as he was trying to make off, and held a pistol to his head; the man jumped off his horse, when the captain took the gun back to the rear. Captain Donovan, of the 33rd., scratched his name on the other gun, but there being no horses to it, he could not remove it. Lieutenant-Colonel Chester and Captain Evans were killed near the redoubt, and Major Lysons being at the time with the second division, as Assistant Adjutant-General, Captain Campbell 389next took the command, but was soon hit, first slightly on the head;—in a few minutes afterwards he received a ball in the thigh, which obliged him to go to the rear; the honour of bringing the Royal Welsh out of the action was thus reserved for Captain Bell.

In all battles the defence of the colours necessarily forms an interesting feature, and Alma exhibited several instances. The 33rd., Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, had nineteen sergeants killed or wounded, chiefly in defence of the colours. Captain Robert William Hamilton, of the Grenadier Guards, was wounded when carrying the colours, but continued with them throughout the day. The Scots Fusilier Guards had a memorable contest for theirs. Lieutenants Lindsay and Thistlethwayte, who carried the colours, cut their way through the enemy, and though the broken staff and the marks of sixteen bullets showed the severity of the struggle, and the colour-sergeants were struck down pierced with bullets, yet, bearing as it were “a charmed life,” these gallant officers, unwounded, bore their colours triumphantly to the top of the hill.

Lieutenant Anstruther, of the 23rd. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, having been killed near the redoubt, whilst carrying the Queen’s colour, it was picked up by private William Evans, No. 8 company, who gave it to Corporal Luby; it was afterwards carried by Sergeant Luke O’Connor, who was shot in the breast, and fell, but, recovering himself, would not relinquish the colour, and carried it till the end of the action (although urged by Lieutenant Granville to go to the rear on account of his wound), for which he was praised by Major-General Sir William Codrington on the field, was recommended for, and obtained his commission in the 23rd. (in which he is now a captain), on account of his gallantry, and has received the Victoria Cross and the Sardinian War Medal.^[156] Corporal Luby has also obtained the latter for his services on this occasion.

Lieutenant Butler was shot under the regimental colour; Lieutenant Granville next volunteered to carry it, but there being no officer with his company, Major-General Codrington, 390who was riding up and down the ranks on his grey horse during the whole action, directed a sergeant to be sent to take it. The honour of carrying the colour out of action fell to the lot of Sergeant Honey Smith.

During the action the regimental colour of the 7th. Royal Fusiliers was found by Captain Pearson (Aide-de-Camp to Sir George Brown), who was then riding by, in the hands of a soldier lying on the ground, the officers and sergeants that had carried it having been disabled. He picked it up, but no officer of that corps being near, Major-General Codrington desired him to give it to Captain Bell, saying that “it cannot be in safer keeping than with the Royal Welsh.” The colour was accordingly placed between those of the 23rd. regiment, and there carried by a sergeant of the 7th., until the termination of the battle.^[157]

Lieutenant the Honourable Hugh Annesley, of the Scots Fusilier Guards, was severely wounded by a ball, which entered the left cheek and went out at the mouth, taking away the front teeth. So severe a wound did not damp the spirits of this gallant officer, for in a letter to his mother (the Countess Annesley), speaking of a friend who visited him and was scarcely able to recognise him, he expressed a hope that one of his decayed teeth had gone with the rest of his brethren; and adds that “there is a good bit of tongue gone also, but the doctors say that will not signify, and that I shall speak as plainly as ever, or at most with a becoming lisp; so altogether I think even you must allow that I have every reason to be thankful, and I hope you will not allow yourself to fret the least about me.”

In “Letters from Head Quarters,” by an Officer on the Staff, the termination of the battle is thus graphically told:—“The men were tired, and many almost exhausted for want of water. Lord Raglan rode up and down the line of troops, the men cheering him vociferously. There was such a shaking of hands; 391one felt very choky about the throat, and very much inclined to cry, as one wrung the hand of a friend; and “God bless you, old fellow—so glad to see you all right!” and like expressions, were heard on every side between brother officers. It was a touching sight to see the meeting between Lord Raglan and Sir Colin Campbell. The latter was on foot, as his horse had been killed in the earlier part of the action. He went up to his lordship, and, with tears in his eyes, shook hands, saying it was not the first battle-field they had won together, and that now he had a favour to ask, namely, that as his Highlanders had done so well, he might be allowed to claim the privilege of wearing a Scotch bonnet. To this Lord Raglan, of course, gave a smiling assent; and, after a few more words of friendship on both sides, they parted to their several duties.”

The French, with their wonted chivalry, commenced the attack, and Marshal St. Arnaud’s words evinced that they had not degenerated, and that “they are the soldiers of Austerlitz and Jena;” and he thus paid a deserved tribute to the British:—“On our left the English met with large masses of the enemy, and with great difficulties, but everything was surmounted. The English attacked the Russian positions in admirable order under the fire of their cannon, carried them, and drove off the Russians. The bravery of Lord Raglan rivals that of antiquity. In the midst of cannon and musket-shot he displayed a calmness which never left him.”

By six o’clock in the evening the French Marshal’s tent was set up on the very spot where that of Prince Menschikoff had stood in the morning; the Russian commander considered himself so secure of victory, that he left his carriage there, which Marshal St. Arnaud took possession of; and it is recorded that a party of ladies had journeyed from Sebastopol, and were stationed on a hill to witness the destruction of the allies.

Such a success was not obtained without great loss. The battle commenced about half-past one, and lasted a few minutes over two hours. The British casualties were twenty-five officers killed, and eighty-one wounded; three hundred and thirty-seven non-commissioned officers and men were killed; 392one thousand five hundred and fifty wounded, and nineteen missing. The French casualties were reported as about fourteen hundred hors de combat, Generals Canrobert and Thomas being amongst the wounded; these are believed to include all those who died in the Dobrudscha.

According to Prince Menschikoff’s despatch, the Russians had one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two killed, two thousand three hundred and fifteen wounded, and four hundred and five contusions. Amongst the former were forty-five officers. Major-Generals Karganoff and Shokanoff (the first was very severely wounded, and did not recover), were taken prisoners.

About midnight the Russians crossed the Katcha—the position which it was reported to the Czar would, if not impregnable, at least be held for three weeks, having been taken in as many hours.

The sun went down on the evening of this memorable day upon a scene which words fail to describe, and scarcely imagination can conceive. For two days the armies continued on the field,—the time passing rapidly in tending the wounded and burying the slain. Short as the interval was, death had been busy,—Brigadier-General Tylden, of the Engineers, died of cholera on the morning of the 23rd. of September, just as the victors were leaving the heights of the Alma, on their march to the Katcha. Spite of warnings the soldiers devoured large quantities of grapes, apples, and pears, so abundant in the Crimea, which tended to encourage the disease. The account of victory would be incomplete without the mention of two volunteers, who remained to attend to the wants of upwards of two hundred wounded Russians that still lay upon the field; these were Dr. Thompson, surgeon of the 44th., and his servant; and the prayers of many a dying foe must have ascended to heaven for these good men who thus exhibited the highest graces of Christian devotedness. The noble-hearted Doctor fell a prey to cholera at Balaklava, on the 5th. of October following, on which day the news of Marshal St. Arnaud’s death was received in camp. He had been compelled, a week previously, through ill-health, to resign his command to General Canrobert, and died at sea on the 29th. 393of September, his remains arriving at Constantinople on the following morning, whence they were conveyed to Paris, and honoured with a public funeral.

While thanks were being offered on Sunday, the 30th. of September, 1854, for the plenteous harvest, in every church and chapel of the land, a telegraphic address announced the news of the glorious victory of the Alma, and rumour with her thousand tongues volunteered the intelligence that Sebastopol was taken. It does not appear that the false report was the result of premeditation, and although the crowning event of the war was not to take place so speedily, there was a glorious commencement of the drama, notwithstanding that the fifth act had yet to be played out. Her Majesty’s gracious approbation of the gallant conduct of the army at the battle of the Alma, was notified to the troops on the 27th. of October following, and Lord Raglan particularly adverted to that portion in which the Queen’s sympathy is expressed for the fallen, the wounded, and their sorrowing relatives.

Ultimately the allies proceeded to attack the south side of Sebastopol, and the combined forces quitted the Belbec (where they had arrived on the 24th.) on the 25th. of September, leaving a small force to threaten the northern side of the fortress, in order to cover the celebrated flank march of the combined armies, suggested by Lieutenant-General Burgoyne. Whilst on the march through the “Bush,” by McKenzie’s farm, to the valley of the Tchernaya, the cavalry and artillery fell in with the rear of a Russian division, which was on its march from Sebastopol to Simferopol; they captured all its baggage and a great quantity of small-arm ammunition. The light division was in support of the cavalry and artillery on this occasion, and the 23rd. Royal Welsh Fusiliers were leading the column; the second battalion of the Rifle Brigade went on in advance with the guns, and were in immediate contact with the enemy. On that evening, and the morning of the 26th., the troops arrived at the plain of Balaklava, having passed through a tract of country densely wooded, and without regular roads. The small garrison of Balaklava, consisting of about sixty men, surrendered at the first approach of the light division, after firing a few shot from some mortars, when this little town was forthwith entered and placed by the British in a posture of defence.

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