DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16616#0010
Vol. XXIX.]
INTRODUCTION.
[July to December, 1855.
am bathed in perspiration." He thenceforth remained in the
Palace, but worked as usual in his Cabinet. On the 1st of
March, however, soon after hearing of the unsuccessful attack
by the Eussians upon Eupatoria, he became slightly delirious,
and it was evident that a fatal termination to his illness might
be expected. The Empress had herself been and Avas ill—but
she left her apartment to attend upon her husband. When
made fully aware of his danger, he sent for his eldest son, the
Czarovitsch, and also for his Confessor. He received the
Holy Communion, and after some affecting conversation with
his wife and son, gave an audience to two or three of the great
officers of State ; but when this was over, refused to take any
further part in secular business, and on hearing that letters
had arrived from Prince Menschikoee in the Crimea, he
would not have them read to him. On the 2nd of March
about noon, he told his son to tbank the garrison of Sebastopol
in his name for their heroic defence, and after uttering the
words, "Tell Fritz" (the King of Prussia, his brother-in-
law), "to remain the same for Russia, and not to forget the
words of papa (les paroles de papa)," he began to repeat after
his Confessor the prayers for the dying, but soon lost the power
of speech, and calmly and peacefully expired.
Much public dissatisfaction had been expressed at the want of
action displayed by our fleets, and Punch did his part in rousing
the sluggards. Sir Charles Napier, on his return from the
Baltic, had been ordered to haul down his flag, and Rear-
Admiral Dttndas was appointed to the command in the
Baltic, Rear-Admiral Penatjd commanding the French fleet.
The allied fleet of forty vessels lay for more than three
weeks inactive on the north side of Cronstadt, and then pro-
ceeded to attack and destroy a small Russian fort, but effected
no other exploit. A part of the squadron then advanced
towards Cronstadt, and fished up a large number of infernal
machines, one of which exploded on board the Exmouth, and
wounded Admiral Seymour. The bombardment of the gra-
nite-built Sweaborg did not take place until August, but as it
was the last exploit of the Allied Fleets we will treat of it at
once. After above a thousand tons of shot and shell had been
thrown into the forts by the English alone, the bombardment
ceased on the morning of the 11th, having done considerable
damage, and caused a terrific explosion within the batteries,
which is thus described by an eye-witness:—"A monster
explosion took place which lasted without intermission for
more than two minutes; it was like a volcano in a state
of eruption, vomiting forth lighted shells, roofs of houses,
and beams of timber. Following this, in the course of half
an hour, three other explosions took place, which set fire to
the barracks and town in four places."
Captain Lyons had met with better success in the Sea of
AzofF, having destroyed numerous magazines and stores, and
compelled the Russians themselves to blow up the fortress of
Anapa.
It is not within our limits to follow all the phases of the
War, and we must therefore be content to chronicle a few of
the most prominent occurrences noticed in the present volume.
The Russians made an attack on Eupatoria, and were gal-
lantly repulsed by Omar Pasha and a French detachment.
At Sebastopol, in front of the MalakhofF, and a little to the
right of the trenches of the allied army, rises an elevation
which afforded an admirable position for attack, either upon
Sebastopol itself, if it was occupied by the Allies, or upon the
French works if the Russians got possession of it.
The Russians were well aware of the importance of this
knoll, and on the night of the 9th of March, a body of troops
silently advanced from Sebastopol under cover of the darkness,
and rapidly constructed a redoubt upon it without experiencing
any disturbance from the Allies, who were disagreeably sur-
prised, when the day dawned, by seeing the mound occupied
by works which hourly gained strength. On the second night
after its occupation by the Russians, a vigorous attempt was
made by the French to dislodge the enemy and get possession
of the knoll, but they were repulsed with loss, and the attack
wholly failed. The work was afterwards known amongst the
besieging forces as the Mamelon Vert, but was called by the
Russians the Kamtschatka Redoubt.
The enemy lost no time in sinking a number of pits in front
and on each side of their new acquisition, to serve as cover for
riflemen. They were mere excavations in the ground, faced
round with sand-bags, which were loop-holed for rifles, and
banked with the earth which had been thrown up from the
pit. Each of the pits contained about ten men. These " rifle-
pits," became a source of great annoyance to the French, who
had to work their way up to the Mamelon, whilst exposed
to a galling fire from the Russian sharpshooters.
On the 22nd of March, the garrison of Sebastopol made a
desperate sortie, and were not repulsed without great loss on
both sides. On the morning of the 9th of April, the whole of
the batteries of the Allied Army opened upon Sebastopol,
the rain falling in torrents, and the atmosphere so thick and
foggy, that it was impossible to see more than a few yards
from the guns, In the course of the day the fire of the
Mamelon and the Flagstaff Battery was silenced, but the
bombardment continued for several days without any decisive
result.
Brave and able as General Canrobert was, he did not
satisfy the expectations of the French Emperor, and it was
thought advisable to place the chief command of his army
before Sebastopol in more energetic hands. General Can-
robert accordingly, on the 16th of May, applied for leave to
resign his command, alleging the plea of ' shattered health,'
and he asked the Emperor to transfer the command to
General Pelissier, whom he designated as ' a skilful and
experienced leader.' At the same time, General Canrobert
set a noble example of disinterestedness and devotion, by
beseeching the Emperor to leave him still a soldier's place
(place de combatant) as leader of a simple division. The
Minister of War in reply informed him, that he should have
the command of the corps of General Pelissier.
On the night of the 1st of May, the French made a suc-
cessful attack upon the Russian outworks and succeeded in
carrying them.
In an expedition to Kertch and the Straits of Yenikale, Sir
George Brown commanded the English and General
D'Atttemarre the French part of the combined forces, and a
squadron of small steamers were under the command of
Captain Lyons. The enemy, however, abandoned and set
fire to Kertch, destroying enormous quantities of corn and
flour. During the three days Captain Lyons destroyed more
than one hundred of the enemy's vessels, and performed—he
and his officers—many acts of gallant daring.
On the 7th of June the French attacked the Mamelon and
two other redoubts, and after a bloody struggle for more than
an hour, the French eagles were planted in triumph on the
three redoubts. They then made an attempt to storm the
MalakhofF, but were repulsed.
The English were equally successful at the Quarries which
INTRODUCTION.
[July to December, 1855.
am bathed in perspiration." He thenceforth remained in the
Palace, but worked as usual in his Cabinet. On the 1st of
March, however, soon after hearing of the unsuccessful attack
by the Eussians upon Eupatoria, he became slightly delirious,
and it was evident that a fatal termination to his illness might
be expected. The Empress had herself been and Avas ill—but
she left her apartment to attend upon her husband. When
made fully aware of his danger, he sent for his eldest son, the
Czarovitsch, and also for his Confessor. He received the
Holy Communion, and after some affecting conversation with
his wife and son, gave an audience to two or three of the great
officers of State ; but when this was over, refused to take any
further part in secular business, and on hearing that letters
had arrived from Prince Menschikoee in the Crimea, he
would not have them read to him. On the 2nd of March
about noon, he told his son to tbank the garrison of Sebastopol
in his name for their heroic defence, and after uttering the
words, "Tell Fritz" (the King of Prussia, his brother-in-
law), "to remain the same for Russia, and not to forget the
words of papa (les paroles de papa)," he began to repeat after
his Confessor the prayers for the dying, but soon lost the power
of speech, and calmly and peacefully expired.
Much public dissatisfaction had been expressed at the want of
action displayed by our fleets, and Punch did his part in rousing
the sluggards. Sir Charles Napier, on his return from the
Baltic, had been ordered to haul down his flag, and Rear-
Admiral Dttndas was appointed to the command in the
Baltic, Rear-Admiral Penatjd commanding the French fleet.
The allied fleet of forty vessels lay for more than three
weeks inactive on the north side of Cronstadt, and then pro-
ceeded to attack and destroy a small Russian fort, but effected
no other exploit. A part of the squadron then advanced
towards Cronstadt, and fished up a large number of infernal
machines, one of which exploded on board the Exmouth, and
wounded Admiral Seymour. The bombardment of the gra-
nite-built Sweaborg did not take place until August, but as it
was the last exploit of the Allied Fleets we will treat of it at
once. After above a thousand tons of shot and shell had been
thrown into the forts by the English alone, the bombardment
ceased on the morning of the 11th, having done considerable
damage, and caused a terrific explosion within the batteries,
which is thus described by an eye-witness:—"A monster
explosion took place which lasted without intermission for
more than two minutes; it was like a volcano in a state
of eruption, vomiting forth lighted shells, roofs of houses,
and beams of timber. Following this, in the course of half
an hour, three other explosions took place, which set fire to
the barracks and town in four places."
Captain Lyons had met with better success in the Sea of
AzofF, having destroyed numerous magazines and stores, and
compelled the Russians themselves to blow up the fortress of
Anapa.
It is not within our limits to follow all the phases of the
War, and we must therefore be content to chronicle a few of
the most prominent occurrences noticed in the present volume.
The Russians made an attack on Eupatoria, and were gal-
lantly repulsed by Omar Pasha and a French detachment.
At Sebastopol, in front of the MalakhofF, and a little to the
right of the trenches of the allied army, rises an elevation
which afforded an admirable position for attack, either upon
Sebastopol itself, if it was occupied by the Allies, or upon the
French works if the Russians got possession of it.
The Russians were well aware of the importance of this
knoll, and on the night of the 9th of March, a body of troops
silently advanced from Sebastopol under cover of the darkness,
and rapidly constructed a redoubt upon it without experiencing
any disturbance from the Allies, who were disagreeably sur-
prised, when the day dawned, by seeing the mound occupied
by works which hourly gained strength. On the second night
after its occupation by the Russians, a vigorous attempt was
made by the French to dislodge the enemy and get possession
of the knoll, but they were repulsed with loss, and the attack
wholly failed. The work was afterwards known amongst the
besieging forces as the Mamelon Vert, but was called by the
Russians the Kamtschatka Redoubt.
The enemy lost no time in sinking a number of pits in front
and on each side of their new acquisition, to serve as cover for
riflemen. They were mere excavations in the ground, faced
round with sand-bags, which were loop-holed for rifles, and
banked with the earth which had been thrown up from the
pit. Each of the pits contained about ten men. These " rifle-
pits," became a source of great annoyance to the French, who
had to work their way up to the Mamelon, whilst exposed
to a galling fire from the Russian sharpshooters.
On the 22nd of March, the garrison of Sebastopol made a
desperate sortie, and were not repulsed without great loss on
both sides. On the morning of the 9th of April, the whole of
the batteries of the Allied Army opened upon Sebastopol,
the rain falling in torrents, and the atmosphere so thick and
foggy, that it was impossible to see more than a few yards
from the guns, In the course of the day the fire of the
Mamelon and the Flagstaff Battery was silenced, but the
bombardment continued for several days without any decisive
result.
Brave and able as General Canrobert was, he did not
satisfy the expectations of the French Emperor, and it was
thought advisable to place the chief command of his army
before Sebastopol in more energetic hands. General Can-
robert accordingly, on the 16th of May, applied for leave to
resign his command, alleging the plea of ' shattered health,'
and he asked the Emperor to transfer the command to
General Pelissier, whom he designated as ' a skilful and
experienced leader.' At the same time, General Canrobert
set a noble example of disinterestedness and devotion, by
beseeching the Emperor to leave him still a soldier's place
(place de combatant) as leader of a simple division. The
Minister of War in reply informed him, that he should have
the command of the corps of General Pelissier.
On the night of the 1st of May, the French made a suc-
cessful attack upon the Russian outworks and succeeded in
carrying them.
In an expedition to Kertch and the Straits of Yenikale, Sir
George Brown commanded the English and General
D'Atttemarre the French part of the combined forces, and a
squadron of small steamers were under the command of
Captain Lyons. The enemy, however, abandoned and set
fire to Kertch, destroying enormous quantities of corn and
flour. During the three days Captain Lyons destroyed more
than one hundred of the enemy's vessels, and performed—he
and his officers—many acts of gallant daring.
On the 7th of June the French attacked the Mamelon and
two other redoubts, and after a bloody struggle for more than
an hour, the French eagles were planted in triumph on the
three redoubts. They then made an attempt to storm the
MalakhofF, but were repulsed.
The English were equally successful at the Quarries which