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Leader (1850-1860), 13th January 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 28

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      elusion that the queer-looking cortege Is cavalry , _ or , &J ^ J ^? &SZ ? fZpZ &Wi 3 ^ S ^* i-2 S STS Light Dragoons , the 8 th Hussars , the 13 th £ « ht DragSons , and 11 th Hussars-that formerly had aTeffecti ^ strength of some 2600 sab res , cannot now Song Si aU Sount 200 men in a state fit for even tempoW service . The Scots Greys are numerically STsbSU t regiment out here . It mounts 70 men out of which only about 25 men and horses are fit for service in the field . For some three or four weeks t » ast we have known that our cavalry , as an arm of the servicewas no more -, but still , out of

      compli-, ment , it was spoken of as a division , and was , therefore , on the whole , a pleasant fiction to believe in . But now all onr cherished fancies are destroyed—the term cavalry has no signification ; the 15 or 20 men remaining out of each regiment are all formed into one corps , and used in xsarrying biscuit up to the camp . Each soldier leads one horse , which is always such a mass of bones , sores , and general dilapidations , as would excite the indignation of that most polite of philanthropists , the secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals . The led horse carries one bag of biscuit , and frequently is unable to bear this weight ( 80 lbs . ) more than half the distance to the camp , when they fall and get rid of two burdens—their lives and their

      biscuits—together . Among these cavalry stalk all kinds of officers , some mounted , some on foot . The rough , heavy-looking men in tarpaulin coats , sou ' -wester caps , and high boots are generally officers in the Guards . The very seedy' looking individuals , in dilapidated garments , with bread bags tied round their legs , are officers from the naval brigade . The mounted men , who mostly resemble shipwrecked mariners , who have stranded somewhere on a mud bank and waded through it to the shore , are cavalry officers . Among these motley characters , gentlemen walk about with great-coats , made out of their holes it for

      blankets by the simple process of cutting m their arms . These garments , though primitive-looking , are warm , and to attain that desideratum there is nothing one would not wear in the Crimea . Some of the common soldiers mount Russian great-coats , others have extraordinary-looking habiliments , made somehow out _ of morsels of old sails—the remnants of the wrecks which have drifted in from outside the harbour . Just around the landing-places—or rather what are supposed to act as such—are crowds of lounging Turks , who concentrate all their feeble energies upon purloining a morsel of biscuit from the bags which are piled up on shore . "

      BEL . A . TIVE 8 TRBNGTH OF KtJSSIA ATO THE AXLIE 3 . The corespondent of the Herald seems to fear that our recent endeavours have been equalled by the enemy : — " The small ' cohorns ' are to be moved into a little breastwork at the Ovens , and employed in throwing 5 £ - inch shell among the troops working the batteries , and into the nearest guard-houses and troop-stations . These little mortars , which two men can run away with with perfect ease , will certainly do as much service in this way as their larger comrades . Their range is not above 1200 of 1300 yards , " butrfrom ^ the"Ovens at ~ that" range they can command most of the south side of the town , and nearly all the batteries opposed to the English .

      " As far as I can judge from carefully surveying , the external means of defence at the disposal of the enemy fully equal' our means of attack . The whole place is literally circle within circle of redoubts , all of which are grim and dark with cannon . Fortunately , the insane project of trying to destroy these earthworks is now no longer talked of . It is upon the town , and those in it , that we wish to produce an effect with our mortars ; the trenches and redoubts must all be taken at the point of the bayonet , " All that I fear is , that the enemy have mounted as many , mortars as ourselves . Those who are generally well-informed on these points say they have not , and I

      sincerely hope they are right , for although these mortars would not shield them from the effects of ours , we should suffer heavily in working the batteries . The Russians have lately been busy inside their redoubts ; they now , of course , know well we are getting up mortars , and I cannot help thinking we shall find them as well prepared with those engines as ourselves . It is too much to suppose that such an arsenal as Scbastopol would be without mortars , and it is almost too much to suppose that , if they were , tho Russians would neglect to uso them . A week or ten days now must solve all doubts on tho subject . If they have them wo shall Buffer almost as severely from their bombardment as they will from ours . "

      BRITISn COOLNESS . A French soldier thus testifies to tho coolness of the English soldiers under occasional fire ;—" The English are the most free and easy men we know . . The following , which occurs under our' eyes , will appear , perhaps ' scarcely credible . In the trenches they light a fire , make their tea , and then , sitting down on tho back of tho trench , quietly smoke-. The sentinel now and then goes and looks over the parapet , and , if he sees nothing , he comes down again among hia comrades . A shell falls , ) but no one takes any notice of it . If ono of tho party should bo hit , two of his comrades

      rise up and carry him away with the greatest coolness ; the others do not stir- With us we are careful not to make any fire . We suffer more in the trenches from this circumstance , but we have less casualties , as the smoke of a fire forms a good mark for the enemy ' s batteries . _

      WANT OF MANAGEMENT AT HBAD-QUAKTEBS . An officer , writing on the 16 th . of December , gives , a catalogue of complaints which , it is painful to remark , are corroborated by many writers : — " One of the worst and most culpable items of Lord Raglan ' s want of forethought has been , it appears to me ? the little care he has taken to prevent sickness among the men . I wish you could see our condition at the moment I am writing . Yesterday ( the 15 th ) we had rain all day , and it poured incessantly all night . Towards morning the wind became more northerly , and , instead of rain , snow fell . The ground is now white , notwithstanding the slush and mud , and it continues snowing heavily . In the ravine the water is flowing

      with the noise and fulness of a considerable stream . An order has just been given for seventy men to go into Balaklava for the rations of salt pork and biscuit for the regiment ; ' the b&t horses , from neglect of shoeing , inattention , and overwork , have foundered days ago . These men have not been able to get any breakfast , because the little brushwood they have collected would not burn in such weather . Some of the men have been out in the trenches or on picket all night , and are drenched through . Can you wonder at there being disease ! Notwithstanding the immense number of sick sent away lately , there are this time six hundred sick in the Light Division to-day . In General Orders there appears a notification 'that in future the

      issue of fuel will be limited to the troops encamped above Sebastopol . ' Now , would not any one seeing this order imagine that we , in common with others , had had fuel issued to us ? Yet , I assure you , upon my honour , we have never had one ounce issued to us since we have been here . And as to there being fuel at Balaklava for us , it might as well be in London ; for the authorities know—or ought to know , if they cared to do so—that we have not the means of bringing it up . We have hard work , from the fact of no roads having been attempted to be constructed until the weather was too bad to make them ; and from the failure ' of our limited means oF transport to get up the daily allowance of pork and biscuit for the men , they are frequently compelled to

      subsist on half-rations . Do you remember Lord Raglan promising in his Alma despatch that he would take steps to bring up the officers' bat horses as soon as possible ? They have never been brought up yet , and some regiments are to this day without the baggage they had to leave in the transports on landing . Unless persons are sent out to erect the wooden houses , which we read are coming to us , we shall never get them ; they will remain as lumber at Balaklava , or be monopolised elsewhere . From the constant exposure to the weather , the little rest at night , the small allowance of food , and the great difficulty of cooking it , the want of

      proper clothing , and other matters , you can scarcely conceive what the men encamped before Sebastopol and engaged in the siege operations have been sufferings from what I hear , I am quite sure ^ that Lord Raglan , who'is neveFs ~ eW ~ amo ^ idea of it . At headquarters , where there are all the luxuries of a good house and a good table , matters are very different , and at Balaklava , and near it , the troops have many advantages which cannot be obtained here . They can always get their full rations , and are in the way of procuring many things from the ships in harbour . We who are here can see what a different result there would have been had

      only a moderate amount of the caution and forethought been exercised by our military powers which our allies have exhibited . Instead of being diminished to a mere handful of effective men , as we are at present , from disease and loss in battle , we should have been a good efficient force . Dazzled by despatches and brilliant displays of personal prowess and hazardous exploits , you people in England may not now see this ; but I expect even you , when you come to ' pay the bill , ' may have a suspicion that some of the items in the account are a little higher than they need have been . I know very well that , were one of your City houses to conduct their

      affairs as I have seen the great military establishment in the Crimea carried on , there would be but one result , and that would be announced in the Gazette too , though not an extraordinary one for the purpose perhaps . Wo should think ourselves well off if we had tho means of hutting ourselves , but we have no timber for roofing , and it is cruel to ask tho men , who are half dead from their ordinary work and fatigue duties , to do any extra labour . A few have contrived to get huts erected , and , though no servant would live in such a dwelling in England , I aasuro you their proprietors are envied enough hero . "

      GIVING THE TimK . HIS BUK . . The correspondent of tho Morning Chronicle thus extenuates tho character of the Turkish soldiers , who , it appears have scarcely got a fair chance : — " It ought not to bo lost sight of , in speaking of the Turks , that they are our allies ; and , in justice it must bi > observed that they arc contending with difficulties which they cannot adequately provide against . Tho Turkish Government does not know how to meet tho exigencies of such a war as this . See the difficulties

      that exist for victualling our own troops , and reflect upon what a commissariat the Turks must have to look tofor their supplies ! The Turkish troops in the Crimea have not received pay for upwards of a year , and have been starving ever since their arrival in that wretched country . Of late the British commissariat has undertaken to send them provisions , and this out of commiseration for their sufferings . The Turkish authorities , nevertheless , pretend to be zealously caring for the wants of the troopsand to be getting ready abundant supplies , _ •_ . m ___ ^ AiMMliinM # viiV * / Yarn tTAAIM . ATM ? T ^ fTa ^*

      -, for the forces that have been sent to the Crimea . This is a sad country , and it is sickening to make such revelations as the following . An intelligent commissariat officer called upon the Minister of War the other day , to make inquiry as to what provisions were being sent up for the Sultan ' s troops in the Crimea . Everything was ready . A steamer ia the port , laden with abundant stores , was under orders to sail that night for Balaklava ; and the proffered aid of the British commissariat would not be needed ,

      and was gratefully declined . The assistant commissary , however , having , in his residence here , learnt how to value the assertions of a Turkish pacha , took note of the steamer ' s name , and very quietly walked down to the port , and went on board her . The provisions for upwards of 12 , 000 soldiers—the ample supplies—consisted of sufficient biscuit for the one day ' s consumption of 500 men ! In justice , it must be admitted that when unfortunate soldiers never get their pay , and have nothing to eat , they cannot be expected to fight ; the only matter for astonishment is how they manage to run away ! The common Turk is a good soldier , but the army ia wretchedly officered . The Turkish soldier , well fed , and well commanded , will fight as well as any man . " The following is from a Constantinople letter published in the Courrier de Marseille : —

      " The sad conduct of the Turkish troops in the affair of the 25 th of October must be well remembered . The deplorable flight of the Turkish troops could only be attributed to the conduct of the two chiefs , who were the first to fly before the enemy . It was on that day that the Russians were enabled without resistance to take possession of two redoubts which had been placed in charge of the Turks . By order of the Sultan , a special military commission was formed to examine the charges brought against the two generals . All the complaints being fully supported , Suliman Pacha and Halet Bey were condemned to degradation and to seven

      years' hard labour . The sentence was carried into effect " on the Place of the Seraskierat , in presence of the garr ison of Constantinople and an immense ^ crowd . After , a reprimand from the Minister of War , who warmly inveighed against their cowardice , they had the insignia of their rank torn from them , as well as all their decorations . The soldiers appointed to execute this duty did it with a kind of brutal satisfaction , which was loudly applauded by the people : Immediately after the troops had filed off , the two prisoners were conducted to the steamer which is to convey them to Cyprus , where they will work in the galleys . "

      ADMIRALS HAMEI / IN AND BRT 7 AT . The following is the farewell address of Admiral Hamelin , on _ res . igning the command ofthe .. Black Sea fleet to Admiral Bruat : — " Officers and Sailors , —Being raised to a dignity , which is partly of your creation , I have received orders to return to France with all my staff . " I am happy to leave the squadron in the hands of an admiral , whose experience and intrepidity render him so worthy of such a command . " Officers and Sailors , —When history shall recount the campaign of the Black Sea and the Crimea , a page will be reserved for you worthy of the glorious antecedents of our navy .

      "The Emperor has listened to several applications made to him for the reward you have deserved . His just mind will at a later period think of the remainder . That he will do so , the warm support of our Minister of Marine is for me an assurance . Vive VEmpereur . " The Admiral of France , " Hameux "

      Vice-Admiral Bruat , on succeeding to the command , published tho following order of the day : — " Officers and Seamen , —Wo arc about to lose our worthy chief ; his illustrious services have received their reward . After having called oh me to second him , the Emperor has called on me to replace him . Faithful to tho traditions bequeathed on us by a glorious past , we shall continue to lend to our valiant army and to our bravo allies that warm co-oporation " to which ho has already rendered such flattering and cordial justice . On tho day of combat the same patriotic cry will still rally us round tho flag of Franco— Vive VEmptreur I "

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      INCIDENTS . A New Russian Rifi . e Coki'B . —A letter from St . Petersburg states that the crown serfs have offered n contingent of 00 , 000 mon , to bo employed ns sharpshooters . Among them are'to bo all the ermine hunters , who are estimated at 20 , 000 . It ia known that this animal can only bo aimed at from a considerable distance , and must bo hit in tho nose to avoid injuring tho skin . Tho whole of these hunter * , so tho letter says , nro to bo immediately organised

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 13, 1855, page 28, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2073/page/4/