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September 8, 18&5.] THE LEADER, ^^^^ ^ 5...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The War. Since Tihe Commencement Of The ...
learn that it 1 b expected the Russians rail be -compelled to aot again on ( the offensive . Eadikoi as en-. tirely . destroy M'bysfiTe . The camp at JVIaslak continues to supply large bodies of Erench soldiers from the Crimea ; but it . continually . receives fresh . troops -from France . The brigade of General Sol ifi . to leasve . ¦ Gunboats of -the Allies having appeared at the . mouth of -the Danube , the Russians have forbidden the navigation of that liver to neutral vessels . Intelligence from ^ Odessa states -that thousands of ^ Russians were -busy in . fortifying and intercepting -the passes eommunicatiag with the iPutrid Sea . The Anglo-Turkish contingent was , on the 23 rd df August , ready to embark , awaiting only the English foreign Isegion . The steamer X / ady Jocelyai is . aground off Scutari .
All the English gunboats in the Baltic which , are unfit for service have received orders , by the Basilisk , * to ; proceed home , towed by 'the Magicienne . They have left Helsingfors . general la marmora ' s account of the battle of
THE TCH 5 RKATA . The following extracts -from the " Sardinian General ' s report -to General Simpson will be Tead with interest : — "Upon receiving -the report of Colonel Dessaint , attached to the French head-quarters , which you were good enough to communicate to me on the evening rof > the day before yesterday , and by w hich we were -led-to expect very Shortly an attack on the line of "the Tohernaya , I at onee gave orders that my troops should be under arms yesterday morning at an earlier hour than . usual .
» ' At break of day , -our outposts stationed on the Mamelon which commands Tchorgoun -were enveloped ; ^ a ^ welt-sustained fire of artillery , -which proceeded from three 'batteries posted opposite 'to the breastworks by which our outposts were covered , and on the two Mamelons further to the "right , -which form the two banks of the Soutiou . They were at the same time vigorously charged by three Russian columns , which came on with fixed bayonets , and attacked our breastworks in front and rear . The men composing these columns carried ladders with them , to scale the parapets . The preconcerted signal of alarm was immediately given ; and the troops took up the positions which had been assigned to them in anticipation of this ttttack . ...
" Attacked in the rear by the enemy ' s artillery , and charged by three columns of infantry , the outposts , after an hour ' s firing , fell back , the reinforcements I had sent to them greatly facilitating their retreat . . . . " In the meantime , the Russians had stationed fresh batteries near the centre of their -position , and had ¦ -opened a most effective fire of artillery on the tSte-depont at Traktir , and on the French positions on our left . A'Column of infantry , under cover of this fire , attacked the Mamelon which formed the extreme right df General d'Herbillon ' s division . This first column had crossed the Tchernaya , -and surmounted the steep ascent of the Mamelon in spite of the fire of the tirailleurs , when it was vigorously attacked by the French troops in support , and hurled back , broken and disordered , into the Tdhernaya .
" As I considered , from the subsequent dispositions of the enemy ' s forces , that he only intended to make a demonstration of artillery before our position , while he concentrated his infantry chiefly on the extreme right jofrthe Third Division ( Faucher ' s ) , on which point a second column was now advancing , I ordered a portion of my 5 th Brigade , under the command of General Mallard , to march to the support of the right wing of the fltfnench , and I -posted two of our batteries in a position from whence they could maintain an oblique fire upon itho iRusBinns . At the same time , I requested the English cavalry to move down into the plain to be in readiness to charge . I had given similar orders to my iown cavalry .
"'The enemy , repulsed at all points , commenced his vetreat . ;© ne column , which appeared to mo to consist of a division , retreated by the valley of tho Sou-Jiou . Another division , the one which had attacked our outposts and the French right in the morning , fell back upon the zigzag Mamelon ; while u third division followed the road which leads to Mackenzie ' s Farm . . . . " Later in the dny , T crossed tho Tchornaya with four squadrons , and marching in a parallel lino with the zigzag Mamelon , camo upon tho old Russian redoubt , whanoe I could easily discern , at a little distance before us , « very fine array of regular cavalry , supported by Jiorso artillery . It was distributed in twelve eopnrato bodies , and must have been composed of at least fifty squadro ns . This ouvnlry did not fall back on Mackenzie ' s road till tho whole of tho infantry and artillery hud effected their rotrout .
" Tho losses sustained by our troops , a portion only of whom was engaged , was vary iueoiiHidorublo . They amount to about two hundred men placed hunt do combat ; and I impute tho fact of our not having lost more men unaiol y to tho works wijth which wo fortified our position , nnd to tho batteries of hoavy guns which you wore so obliging as to lend us for their dofonco . It is , howovor , iny painful duty to announce to your Excellency that Count Montovooohio , thogonornl commanding the Fourth
I Brigade , is -mortally wounded ; a ball passed through ' I his chest . " * > BOUT r & ZC THE TCHERNATA . i A French officer gives -the following particulars of the last Russian reverse-: — " The -victory of the 16 th is 'much -more Important than was at-first supposed . The Russians have not less ¦ than ? 8500 hors de combat . They left 3000 dSaad on the field . Our loss is now ascertained ^ correctly ; we 'have ' 1- , 87 of whom are officers , hors de combat , and the Sardinians have , it is said , not mow ' than from 300 to 400 . "We have ascertained from the prisoners -that at the council of war held on the 18 th on sine toasts of Inkerman it was decided that an attempt should be -made to force our position between the Tflberoaya and the'Sapoune , and to cut off -the siege works tfrom ; the mainbody . It 4 s said that several , generals ,- and especially * Osten-Sacken , were opposed to this plan , < bttt the chief of the staff , General Kotzebue , 'demonstrated < the advantage of the operation . .... " At two . A . M ., the Russians , taken in flank , and cut to pieces by our field artillery , which General Lebeuf had placed at a short distance ifrom 4 he bridges ^ established by the Russians on the Tchernaya . were in fiill retreat , still galled by our artillery and by the rolling , fire of musketry from our infantry and > the -Zouaves . The scene at that moment was one of awful . confusion ., It was in vain that the Russian generals made the most ( desperate attempts to stay and rally-the thousands who were wildly flying ; the Russian soldiers , pame + stricken ,. under the influence of terror opened for -themselves a passage through the battalions , decimated 'a nd falling by hundreds under the fire of two batteries of " * he Im-, penal Guard and two English batteries 'established on . the 'heights which -command Tohorgoun . The Abridge , j
- which was far too narrow for the heavy , compact mass which rushed to it , became the scene of the most-fright ful confusion . The cavalry , equally terrified , spurred - their horses into the-very midst of the wretched fugitives ,, and trampled them under foot , without regard *© -sine dying - and mutilated , who lay in heaps mnder ikein . The waters of the Tchernaya , red with gore , bore Along a crowdrOf carcases . Rafts had been hastily put together to . facilitate the retreat of -the Russians . Our men profited by them , and dashed along in pursuit-of the flying foe . It was then that a considerable number of prisoners was made ; and up to this moment I'have , counted 1800 . Over an extent of « ight kilometres the , ground was strewn with dead bodies , with the mutilated and the dying . "
GENERAL -D'HERBILLON SURPRISED . —TIJE RUSSIANS FIRING ON THEIR OWN MEN . Some surprise has been excited by the compliments paid by General Pelissier to General dTIerbillon ( after the action on the Tchernaya ) , seeing that the latter allowed himself to be surprised—for one can call it nothing else , since the round shot sounded the rdveil of th ' e French , and that the Russians were already on the brow of the hill when the artillery horses were still fastened to the picket ropes , unharnessed . The fact is , the soldiers extricated the old gentleman from a very unpleasant fix—a very common circumstance in this war , in which the chiefs almost invariably perpetrate gigantic absurdities , to be atoned for by the gallantry and blood of their men . General d'Herbillon has the reputation in
the French army of being a " vieux bonfiomme , or , in other words , a jolly old dog , whom bad luck waits upon in all his enterprises : in this instance fortune seems to have had pity upon him . ... It is , by-the-by , positively asserted by a great number of French officers that the Russians fired grape upon their own men , who were running back after their repulse on the heights . They state , that they distinctl y saw guns in the rear fired , and the grape-shot throw up amongst the fugitives those well-known little puffs of dust which it raises whoro it strikes . Although I saw pretty clearly everything that passed , I can say nothing in this matter , except that I remember noticing some guns fired , which were apparently far out of the French range , and wondering what it meant . —Daily News Correspondent .
PLUNDERING THE DEAD AND THE UVIONG . The following General Order has been issued at tho cainp . Wo are sorry to find that there lias boon-any necessity for it : — " Hoad-Quartcrs before Sobastopol , Aug . 20 , 1865 . " The great want of consideration shown by officers and other porriona attached to this army in visiting tho scone vi' a reeont action , and plundering the dead , or purchasing plunder from othora , haa boon the subject of grave Tomonstranoo on the part of our allies . All property whatever on tho field belongs to the victorious
nation ; to appropriate anything ia dishonest—to pur- ( chnno from thoao who havo dome « o is . to encourage'their ( dishonesty , and to aharo their guilt . The Commander ( of tho Forces hopes that this caution will bo sulliciont to j dotor those to whom it is addressed from a repetition of such thoughtless conduot . Followers of tho army are reminded that they are amonablo to its rulou and discipline . Tho police and provosts will in future receive , orders to punish offondoro on theao occasions in tho most ' Hiuriiniiry nuinnor . " * An outrage of a Ions indecent kind , yet indicating the * Later accounts state that the Count is recovering . <
existence in the-army of an clement'which we regret * to observe , is thus alluded to in another General ' -Order : " The Commander of the 'Forces regrets that he has to notice in terms of marked-displeasure an outrage that Tras' committed on the 17 th inst ., in the camp of the Eourth iBivision , the perpetrators of-which , to the discredit of the army , are still undiscovered . A number of soldiers , assembled . under pretence of spursuing a supposed spy , destroyed the-tent of a canteen keeper , plundered its contents , including aconsiderable ^ um of money , and * scapediin ithe darkness . By the Articles of War , the punishment of . such a crime is a disgraceful'dearth . The soldiers-of "this-army have 4 net their enemies nobly'in the field—they ihave endured hardship and danger with admirable fortitude . Let them not forfeit their high character by Teckle ' ss disorders in camp , or -by such discreditable breaches of discipline as that -now published . "
BURIAX . -OF THE DEAD AFTER THE ACTION OF THE 16 TH . The Moniteur publishes the following correspondence between the French and Russian generals . It is gratifying to find the . horrors of war -softened by the interchange of those courtesies which are expected between gentlemen , ? and still more by acts of genuine humanity . " ( General Pelissier to Prince Gortschakoff . " 13 Eead- quarters before ^ ebastopol , Aug . 16 . " Monsieur le Gene ' ral-en-Chef , —I hasten to forward to your Excellency a pocket-book , containing'money and a letter , which ,-on examination , were found to belongto General 5 tead , commander of a corps of -the Russian army . I have Teason to believe that the body of that genBTal'officer "remains on the "field of battle , and ordere have 'feeen - given 'to make a strict search for it . —1 'b * TOj & C , "PELISSD 3 R . "
"Prince Gortschakoff to General Pelissier . " Sebastopol , Aug . 7 ( 19 ) . " " Monsieur le Commandant-en-Chef , — I have the honour to acknowledge your Excellency ' s ¦ communication of the 16 th of August , with the pocket-book , containing money and a letter belonging to General Read . I publicly acknowledge an act of so much courtesy , and the generous solicitude which induced your Excellency to order a search for the body of that general officer . — Accept my thanks and the renewed expression of my high consideration . " Michel Goktsohakoff . "
" GeneralPeUssierto Prince Gortschdkdff . " Head-quarters before "Sebastopol , Aug . 17 . ?' Monsieur le Ge ' neral-en-Chef , —We 'have carried off ; aH the wounded on both sides of the Tchernaya within . ounreach ; the batteries at Mackenzie continue to fire upon iour advanced posts , and we cannot continue our work towards those of your men Who Btill lie on the ifield of battle . I bring this fact to your Excellency ' s knowledge , that no one may have the right to say < we left wounded men uncared for or dead "men without burial . —I am , & c , " T ^ slisbibr . "
" General Pelissier to Prince Gortschakoff . " Head-quarters before Sebastopol , Aug . 18 . " Monsieur le Ge ' ne ' ral-en-Chef , —I hasten to inform you that your despatch dated yesterday has just reached me . Without « a moment ' s loss of time I telegraphed to the General in command on the Tchernaya » to hoist the flag of truce immediately , and -to keep it ' up till eight ¦ p . m ., if necessary , to enable you to carry . out your intentions . Their realisation -maybe somewhat late , for , as I have already bad the honour of ¦ informing you , We did oil we could , despite the merciless fi * e of some of your cannon , to give succour to your wounded and 'to bury your dead . I have not yet a return of the latter taken away by us ; but , up to'the present , 88 officers and 1 G 20 non-commissioned officers and mon are under treatment in the ambulances of the Frenoh army . —I am , & c , ¦ ' •* hmbsieb . "
" Prince Gortscliakpffto General Fehssier . " Sebastopol , Aug . 7 ( 19 ) . " Monsieur le Commandant-en-Chef , — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your ' Excellency ' s communications df the 17 th and 18 th inst . I beg of your Excellency to receive my best thanks for tho c « re bestowed upon our wounded ; but at 'tho same time I must inform you that fho officers iu -command of £ ho Mackenzie batteries Tiavo declared to Jno that they did not fu-o upon your advanced posts on tho Tchernaya until "tho French sharpshooters , despite tho energetic dffbrta of thoir officers , fired . upon some of . our men , who , after the battle , had proceeded to tho banks of tho river to carry away their woundod and dead from the scene of action . It ia impossible to say which party fired flint . Tho commanders of the advanced posts cannot disobey their general orders ( to fire on tho onomy ) without flpocial countor-ordorB . The Commandora-ui-• Chief littvo ulono tho power of alleviating : by exceptional measures tho needles Bufferings entailed by war , and I am happy in rendering that juatico to your Excellency that you do everything in your power modify them .-I am , & c , ^^ Owmb 0 hAkoi * . » ™ od a ™ EQUn ^ TS cm ^ X ^ l '^ Z ^ The OmMtoticmd pnbtabes * folloWB ^^ a letter , written by a chief of battalion ™ of tho 16 th ult .: — u » uMil tho wretched oon-« Yon-would bo aurpmec o **<« £ M 10 Z ^ gam-vuQor dHlon of tho Ruaaian -mM | taj SSna « V «* » ttW attended upw « rda of fifty ot f «« " > ^»
September 8, 18&5.] The Leader, ^^^^ ^ 5...
September 8 , 18 & 5 . ] THE LEADER , ^^^^ ^
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 8, 1855, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08091855/page/3/
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