War-Department, November 1, 1855.
LORD PANMURE has this day received a Despatch and its Enclosures, of which the following are copies, addressed to his Lordship by General Sir James Simpson, G.C.B.
Sevastopol,
October 20, 1855.
MY LORD,
I AM happy to be able to congratulate your Lordship on the successful termination of the expedition to Kinbourn. I transmit a copy of the report of Brigadier-General the Honourable A. Spencer. This contains all the information I have received on the operations, with the exception that in a private note, Sir E. Lyons mentions that the enemy have exploded the three forts at Ochakoff, commanding the northern entrance into the Dnieper.
In consequence of the continued fineness of the weather, great progress has been made in the construction of the road and railway. The divisions have all got some weeks’ supply of rations in their camp; and I entertain no anxiety of there being a scarcity of anything during the approaching winter.
I informed your Lordship, in my despatch of the 13th instant, that the Highland Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell, were to proceed to Eupatoria, and co-operate with the French; but upon the receipt of your telegraphic despatch of the 13th instant, apprizing me that the Russians had resolved to hazard a battle, and attack the Allies, I did not consider myself justified in weakening the force under my command by so many men, and I therefore counter-manded the movement.
I have the honour to enclose the weekly reports of Colonel McMurdo and Dr. Hall.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) JAMES SIMPSON,
General Commanding.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c. &c.
Camp before Kinbourn,
October 17, 1855.
SIR,
IN reporting, for the information of the General Commanding the Forces, the fall of the garrison of the Fortress of Kinbourn, this day, I have the honour to state, that the force under my command, as per state enclosed,* effected their landing on Monday, the 15th, unopposed.
Owing to a heavy surf, and which continued all day yesterday, the landing has been accomplished with some little difficulty. The troops, however, were all got on shore on the first day, and have since been employed in entrenching our position. There are rumours of a force of the enemy collecting at Kherson, about 40 miles from here, but our immediate neighbourhood appears to be clear.
The advanced line of the position, flanked on both sides by the sea, is held by the force under my command, and is about a mile in extent.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) AUGUSTUS SPENCER,
Brigadier-General Commanding English
Land Force.
The Military Secretary, &c.,
Head Quarters.
Head-Quarters, Land Transport Camp,
Crimea, October 15, 1855.
THE arrivals during the week have been limited to railway horses. 19 landed from Her Majesty’s ship Assistance, and 79 from the steam transport Arabia.
Each vessel lost a horse on the passage; but on the whole they have arrived in fair condition.
I have had them put under cover; and hope, with care, to have them in working order in the course of a week.
The work of ballasting is progressing favourably, and as many waggons and teams are supplied for this service as are required without much prejudice to the ordinary demands.
The precautions taken by Mr. Beatty are likely to be effectual in securing the line for the winter; and I only regret that the state of this able engineer’s health will compel him to relinquish his work for a while. He will leave it in able hands, however. Mr. Campbell has served with Mr. Beatty from the beginning, and is now actively engaged in carrying out his plans upon the line.
Nothing but the application of science could enable the British Army to exist in its present position.
The little harbour of Balaklava which I can liken to nothing than the eye of the needle, through which the camel must pass, is now embraced on either side by the railway – its branches leading from the various wharves and storehouses, to depôts outside the town, where room (though not sufficient) is afforded to the transport to load up. Waggons and their teams are thus allotted for the special service of drawing supplies of fuel, hay and corn, to these depôts, independent of the trains which proceed to the front. The narrow ways of the little town are thus relieved in a great measure from the interminable crush of animals and carriages throughout the day, which effectually impeded one another, and caused the death of many.
The road is another important work, the progress of which I watch with the greatest interest. I am an old road maker myself, and believe the line to be good.
But the most important work of all will, in my opinion, be the floating factory.
This is a measure worthy of England; for her base is on the waters, and she has now floated Woolwich to her army in the Crimea.
I have minutely inspected this vessel and her fittings (and moreover drawn largely from her stores), and have been struck with admiration at her capacities.
I have had the fashion of the boxes of wheels taken, and I hope to have them cast in large numbers.
Iron axles can be welded and turned, engines fitted, and timbers sawn; in short, I have no longer to look 3,000 miles for the source of vitality. I hope now to be enabled to make provision for the Spring; for the transport is so situated that the material parts of all the carriages must become worn out by the incessant traffic to which it will necessarily be exposed throughout the entire winter.
I reckon that every waggon, with its horse, harness, and driver, must travel on an average of 14 miles daily, over indifferent roads, and that this wear and tear must extend over a period of six months; at the end of which time, when the army, refreshed, will call upon this corps to take it into the field, neither waggons nor harness will be in a serviceable state. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that strong reserves of wheels, axles, shafts, poles, and harness of every kind should be ready; and although I see that the floating factory can do much, it will be necessary for the arsenals at home to help, especially with harness, which should be very strong, and serviceable.
I think it would be worth while to ascertain, by comparison, the relative quality and prices of the English and Sardinian mule waggon harness. It may be found that the advantage, as to cost, is on the Sardinian side, and that the stout white leather of which it is composed is more durable than that furnished to this corps.
The general organization of this corps proceeds satisfactorily. I was glad of an opportunity lately, when a division of the army was under orders for Eupatoria to try the efficiency of the corps. Two divisions of transport, composed of 3,000 animals, with their proportion of waggons, carts, ambulances and artificers, were ready for embarkation in a very short time, and appeared very efficient and complete.
The scope of the intended operations of the force being afterwards limited to three or four days, the amount of transport was proportionally reduced to nearly one half.
The bulk of the transport of an army is entirely regulated by the radius of intended operations – it is solely a question of supply. Thus, for these three days, which were intended to be the scope of the operations at Eupatoria, the Commissary-General made a requisition on this department for 1,500 pack animals and 20 carts. The requirements of the other branches of the force were trifling compared to this demand, and it will enable his Lordship to form some idea of what the requirements of the whole army will be, when it takes the field in a country devoid of resources.
I will here venture to express an opinion, as it bears materially upon the subject of transport; it is that our soldiers should habitually move with three days’ provisions on their person, whether it be in war or peace, the weight should never be diminished.
The Roman soldiers used to be clad in heavier armour during peace, than they wore on a campaign, so that war with its burdens and toils should sit lightly upon them. The French soldiers in the present campaign carry four days’ provisions, besides their tents; and if the British soldier should do the same, 1,500 animals to every 6,000 men that take the field, would be saved to the transport of the army.
I make these observations with profound respect to the opinions of my superiors, and in the spirit and intention of these reports, viz., to do all that lays in my power to make the British army moveable and efficient.
To return to the corps. The arrival of the young English drivers is a timely resource, as the natives had begun to desert in great numbers, notwithstanding the precautions I have taken to prevent them, in communication with the police and Admiral Freemantle.
I have obtained labourers from Constantinople to aid in building stables, and I hope that the most valuable of the animals will soon be under cover.
I have adapted the constructions entirely to the nature of the ground on which the several camps are pitched, which, being principally rocky, I find the simplest mode to be that of excavating a couple of feet, and running a centre wall with a roof on either side. The earth thrown out by the excavation being mixed with manure, forms everyday a higher bank outside, so as to increase the protection and warmth of the stables.
Stone is abundant, and I am making use of the materials of the packing cases, in which the bat saddles are sent out, for planking.
M. McMURDO,
D. G.
* 1st Brigade, 4th Division; Royal Marines, 1,200 men, rank and file; Royal Engineers, Artillery, and detachment of Cavalry.
Admiralty, November 1, 1855.
DESPATCHES, of which the following are copies, have been received from Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., G.C.B., Commander-in -Chief of Her Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
No. 859. Royal Albert, off Kimburn,
October 18, 1855.
SIR,
MY letter of the 6th instant, No. 834, will have informed the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that an allied naval and military expedition was to leave the anchorage off Sevastopol, on the following day, for the purpose of taking and occupying the three Russian forts on Kimburn Spit, at the entrance of Dnieper Bay; and the telegraphic message, which I forwarded to Varna last night, will soon communicate to their Lordships the success which has attended this enterprize.
It is now my duty to give a more detailed account of the proceedings of the expedition.
I have therefore the honour to state, that we arrived at a rendezvous off Odessa, on the 8th instant, but owing to strong south-west winds, which would have prevented the troops from landing, it was not until the morning of the 14th instant, that the expedition was enabled to reach the anchorage off Kimburn.
During the night the English steam gun-vessels, Fancy, Boxer, Cracker, and Clinker, and four French gun-vessels, forced the entrance into Dnieper Bay, under a heavy but ineffectual fire from the Spit Fort, and on the following morning the British troops, under the orders of Brigadier-General Honourable A.A. Spencer, together with the French troops, under the command of General Bazaine, were landed about three miles to the southward of the principal fort, and thus, by these nearly simultaneous operations, the retreat of the garrisons and the arrival of reinforcements were effectually cut off.
In the evening the English and French mortar vessels tried their ranges against the main fort with excellent effect.
The wind having again veered round to the southward, with a great deal of swell, nothing could be done on the 16th; but in the forenoon of the 17th, a fine northerly breeze, with smooth water, enabled the French floating batteries, mortar vessels, and gunboats, and the Odin and the mortar vessels, and gunboats named in the margin,* to take up positions off Fort Kimburn; and their fire was so effective, that before noon the buildings in the interior of the fort were in flames, and the eastern face had suffered very considerably.
At noon, the Royal Albert, Algiers, Agamemnon and Princess Royal, accompanied by Admiral Bruat’s four ships of the line, approached Fort Kimburn in a line abreast, which the shape of the coast rendered necessary, and the precision with which they took up their positions in the closest order, with jib-booms run in and only two feet of water under their keels, was really admirable. At the same moment the squadrons under the orders of Rear-Admirals Sir Houston Stewart and Pellion pushed through the passage between Ochakoff and the spit of Kimburn, and took the forts in reverse, whilst the St. Jean d’Acre, Curaçoa, Tribune and Sphinx, undertook the centre battery, and the Hannibal, Dauntless and Terrible, that on the point of the spit.
The enemy soon ceased to reply to our overwhelming fire, and, though he made no sign of surrender, Admiral Bruat and I felt that a garrison which had bravely defended itself against so superior a force deserved every consideration, and we therefore made the signal to cease firing, hoisted a flag of truce, and sent on shore a summons, which was accepted by the Governor, Major-General Kokonovitch, and the garrisons, consisting of 1,400 men, marched out with the honours of war, laid down their arms on the glacis, and, having surrendered themselves as prisoners of war, they will be embarked in Her Majesty’s ship Vulcan to-morrow.
The casualties in the allied fleets are very few, amounting in Her Majesty’s ships to only two wounded. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded is, I fear, very severe.
In the three forts, which have suffered considerably by our fire, we found eighty-one guns and mortars mounted, and an ample supply of ammunition.
This morning the enemy has blown up the forts on Ochakof Point, which mounted twenty-two guns, and we learnt from a Polish deserter, who escaped in a boat from them during the night, that the Commandant apprehended an attack from our mortar vessels, which would not only have destroyed the forts, but also the neighbouring dwellings.
I have abstained from entering into the particulars of the proceedings of the squadron under the orders of Rear-Admiral Sir H. Stewart, as he has so ably described them in the letter which I have the honour to enclose, from which their Lordships will perceive that I have received from him on this occasion, as, indeed, I have on all others since I have had the good fortune to have him as second in command, that valuable assistance which might be expected from an officer of his distinguished and acknowledged merits; and I beg leave to add my testimony to his in praise of all the officers, and especially Lieutenant Marryat and Mr. Brooker, whom he recommends to their Lordships favourable consideration.
To particularize the merit of the officers under my command, where all have behaved admirably, would be a difficult task indeed; but I beg leave to mention that the same officers of the Navy and the Royal Marine Artillery, who were in the mortar vessels at the fall of Sevastopol, are in them now, and that on this occasion, as before, they have been under the direction of Captain Willcox of the Odin, and Captain Digby of the Royal Marine Artillery. Nor can I refrain from stating what I believe to be the feeling of the whole fleet, that on this expedition, as on that to Kertch, the talents and indefatigable exertions of that very valuable officer, Captain Spratt, of the Spitfire, and of those under his command, entitle them to our warmest thanks, and deserve to be particularly mentioned.
I need hardly say that my distinguished colleague, Admiral Bruat, and I have seen with infinite satisfaction, our respective squadrons acting together as one fleet.
I am, &c.
(Signed) EDMUND LYONS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
The Secretary of the Admiralty.
Valorous, in Dnieper Bay,
October 18, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to inform you, that, in pursuance of your orders, I hoisted my flag in Her Majesty’s steam frigate Valorous, on the afternoon of the 14th instant, immediately after the arrival of the allied fleets off Kimburn Spit, and proceeded, under the able guidance of Captain Spratt, of the Spitfire, to take up positions at the entrance of Dnieper Bay, where, with the division of steam vessels, placed under my orders (as per margin),† and in company with those under the orders of my colleague, Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion, we remained in readiness to force an entrance into the Dnieper, for the purpose directed by you, of preventing, as far as possible, any reinforcements being thrown into the forts on Kimburn Spit, as well as to cut off the retreat of the garrison, should either be attempted.
At 9 P.M. I instructed Lieutenant Joseph H. Marryat, of the Cracker, to take on board Mr. Edward W. Brooker, additional Master of the Spitfire, and endeavour with him to determine the course of the intricate channel through which we were to pass, and to lay down buoys along the south side of it; the French having undertaken to perform the same service on the north side.
I likewise directed Mr. Thomas Potter, Master of the Furious (lent to do duty in the Valorous), to proceed with two boats of the Tribune, and, protected by the Cracker, to search for the spit on the north bank, and on his return endeavour to place a buoy on the edge of the shoal off Kimburn Spit, that the entrance of the channel might be assured.
As soon as the preconcerted signal was given, indicating that this operation was effected, I despatched the Fancy, Boxer, and Clinker, into Dnieper Bay, with orders to anchor in such positions as would best protect the right flank of our troops, upon the disembarkation taking place, and to make that their chief care, as long as there was any possibility of the enemy threatening them.
During the night, Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion also sent in the French gunboats for the same purpose.
At daylight on the following morning I had the satisfaction of observing all the gunboats, French and English anchored safely to the north-east of Kimburn Fort, and without any of them having sustained damage, although the enemy had fired both shot and shell and musketry at them during their passage in. Thus the chief part of the object you had most anxiously in view was accomplished.
While still in considerable doubt as to the extent to which the channel for the larger ships was buoyed, at ten A.M. Lieutenant Marryat and Mr. Brooker came to inform me that the work entrusted to them had been completed, and that the latter officer was ready to pilot the ships in. The zealous desire evinced by these officers to furnish me personally with their report on the difficult navigation of the Dnieper deserves my warmest thanks, and the gallant manner in which Lieutenant Marryat brought the Cracker out for that purpose, under a very heavy fire from the whole of the forts and batteries, elicited the admiration of all who witnessed the proceeding.
We were now fully prepared to advance, and, in obedience to your directions, awaited the signal for general attack.
The whole of the proceedings of yesterday must be already fully known to you; but it is right that I should state briefly the share taken in them by the division you did me the honour to place under my orders, which consisted of the ships and vessels as already stated, reinforced by those named below.
It being necessary to advance in single line, it was arranged that the ships should do so in the following order.
Valorous – Captain C.H.M. Buckle, C.B., bearing my flag.
Furious – Captain William Loring, C.B.
Asmodée (French), bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion.
Cacique (French).
Sidon – Captain George Goldsmith.
Leopard – Captain George Giffard, C.B.
Sané (French).
Gladiator – Captain C.F. Hillyar.
Firebrand – Captain E.A. Inglefield.
Stromboli – Commander Cowper Coles.
Spiteful – Commander F.A. Shortt.
At noon, the signal being made from your flagship to weigh, we proceeded through the channel, each ship engaging the Spit batteries and Kimburn Fort as they came within range.
To Lieutenant Marryat, of the Cracker, is due the merit of preceding and piloting us through, which he did with great judgment.
Had the enemy continued his defence of the Spit batteries, the Sidon, Leopard, Sané, and Gladiator were directed, in that case, to remain in front of them until their fire was completely silenced; but as they were subdued by the accurate and well sustained fire which was poured upon them by the ships which you had placed to the westward of the Spit, and by those of our own squadron on passing to the eastward, this became unnecessary; the whole division, therefore, continued its course through the channel, and anchored well inside Fort Nicolaev and Ochakof Point.
During this time the four gunboats, Fancy, Grinder, Boxer, and Clinker, did good service, by placing themselves in such position as to throw a flanking fire on the middle battery and Kimburn Fort at the time our division passed within short range.
Immediately on anchoring, I transferred my flag to the Cracker, and followed by the other gunboats, proceeded close off the east front of Kimburn Fort, to be ready to act as circumstances required, should the enemy’s fire, which at that moment had entirely ceased, be renewed; however, the necessity for further action did not arise.
As the service entrusted to me was carried out under your own observation, I feel it to be unnecessary to do more than to record my grateful sense of the very satisfactory manner in which the whole of the ships under my orders took up their appointed stations, and of the manner in which all employed performed their duty.
I think myself fortunate in having for my temporary flagship so efficient and well ordered a man-of-war as the Valorous, and I feel much indebted to Captain Buckle and his zealous First Lieutenant Joseph Edye, for their unremitting attention and assistance.
1 am delighted to add, that in concerting with our gallant Allies the arrangements necessary for carrying into effect the present successful operations, I have received the cordial support and concurrence of my excellent colleague, Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion.
The anxiety which you yourself ever feel to do full justice to merit and exertion must be my excuse for presuming to request your most favourable notice of Lieutenant Marryat and Mr. Brooker. They have had anxious, difficult and dangerous work to perform, and they have each of them executed it admirably.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) HOUSTON STEWART,
Rear-Admiral.
Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund
Lyons, Bart., &c., &c., &c.,
G.C.B.
No. 843. Royal Albert, off Odessa,
October 9, 1855.
SIR,
I TRANSMIT, to be laid before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, copy of a letter from Captain Robert Hall, of the Miranda, Senior Officer in the Straits of Kertch, detailing the proceedings of an Anglo-French naval and military expedition to Taman and Fanagoria, on the 24th ultimo, for the purpose of depriving the enemy of his means of sheltering troops in the ensuing winter, and in order to procure materials for housing our troops at Cape St. Paul’s and Yenikalé.
I also enclose, for their Lordships’ information, copy of a letter from Captain Osborn, of the Vesuvius, detailing the proceedings of an Anglo-French attack on Temriouk, which, by previous arrangement, was made simultaneously with that on Taman and Fanagoria.
Both expeditions were conducted in a most satisfactory manner, and were accomplished with the loss of only one man wounded. Three of the 71st Regiment and three of the (French) Infantry of the Marine were taken prisoners, in consequence of their own imprudence.
I am, &c.,
(Signed) EDMUND LYONS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
To the Secretary of the Admiralty.
No. 9. Her Majesty’s ship Miranda, off
St. Paul’s, October 3, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to report, that according to your directions of the 25th August I put myself in communication with Captain Bonet, of His Imperial Majesty’s ship Pomone, commanding the French naval station here, relative to an expedition to destroy the Russian establishments at Fanagoria and Taman; and also arranged with Captain Osborn, that a simultaneous attack should be made on Temriouk by the Azof Squadron.
On the 24th ultimo, at daylight, the military part of the expedition, under command of Major Hunter (71st), embarked, consisting of 300 of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, carried by the Sulina, and 600 French, of the Infantry of the Marine, placed on board six gunboats of that nation; and at 8.30, the flotilla, as per margin‡, proceeded.
Arriving at Taman at noon, swarms of cavalry were seen near it and Fanagoria, and a strong body marched into the powerful earthwork at the latter place.
The gunboats appointed to cover the landing, as per margin,* immediately opened fire, and in a short time forced the enemy to retire, leaving the troops to land without opposition at the spot previously agreed upon, about a mile east of Fanagoria.
By 4, P.M., we were completely established in the fort, in which the field-piece of this ship, and four light mountain howitzers from the Pomone were placed in position. A large body of cavalry, numbering at least 600, continuing drawn up in front of Fanagoria, were dispersed by some Lancaster shells beautifully thrown from the Lynx and Arrow.
During the night a small body of the enemy fired upon our sentries and wounded a seaman of the Miranda.
The buildings within the earthwork were found to be much more extensive than was anticipated, consisting of a large hospital, some storehouses, and two very large powder magazines, in perfect order but quite empty, composing, with the houses of the employés, a very considerable establishment: sixty-six guns, chiefly of 6, 9, and 12-pounders, and four cohorn mortars were lying disabled with the work.
The storehouses were all empty except one, which contained some hospital necessaries, and the dispensary, which contained some medicines which have been preserved for the use of the squadron.
Taman was found to be completely deserted, and the houses quite empty. A large magazine of flour and another of corn were fired by the Russians before they retired, and 11 iron guns, 30 and 36-pounders, which were found buried at Taman, and were said to have been a present from the Empress Catherine, have been destroyed by us. Considerable bodies of the enemy’s cavalry hovered about during the time of our being occupied in taking down and removing the material of the building, but did not approach within gunshot.
I regret to have to report that they succeeded in cutting off three stragglers of the 71st, and three of infantry of marine.
I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the zeal and activity of the officers and men of the squadron, especially of Lieutenant Aynsley, commanding the Lynx, who, during my absence, superintended the duties of the squadron afloat, and of Lieutenant Fitzroy, of the Miranda, who had the direction of the disembarkation, &c., of the troops, as well as the shipment of the wood, &c., for removal to Yenikalé. Nothing could exceed the good feeling and cordiality existing between the officers and men of our Allies, and our own.
On the morning of the 3rd every building at Fanagoria and Taman which could shelter an enemy having been destroyed, and large quantities of the material removed to Yenikalé and St. Paul’s, the troops re-embarked; and returned to their quarters at Kertch and St. Paul’s.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) R. HALL.
Captain.
Her Majesty’s ship Vesuvius, Sea of Azof,
No. 35. September 26, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to report that, in pursuance of arrangements made with Captain Hall, Her Majesty’s ship Miranda, I proceeded, on the 23rd September, with the vessels named in the margin**, to harass and keep in check the enemy’s troops at Temriouk, whilst the allied squadron at Kertch attacked Fanagoria and Taman.
On the 24th September, at daybreak, we arrived off Temriouk Lake, and were there joined by the French steamers Milan, Caton, and Fulton.
We failed in reaching the town with our boats, the lake proving too shoal for even those of the lightest description; up to noon however we kept a large body of horse, foot and artillery in the town, the latter opening a sharp but harmless fire at us to prevent the destruction of a fine brig which was secreted just inside the lake’s entrance. Weighing from thence, the squadron, accompanied by that of our gallant Allies, under Capitaine de Frégate De Cintré, proceeded to cut off the communication between Temriouk and Taman by the narrow belt of land lying north of the lakes. In this we perfectly succeeded; for at 1 P.M. a heavy column of troops, with nine field-guns, were discovered on the march, proceeding towards Taman. Opening fire on them at 2,500 yards, we stopped their march; and after suffering severely, as it appeared to us, they retreated upon Temriouk, the Wrangler with her Lancaster guns keeping up an effective fire upon them to an extraordinary distance. Some of the enemy’s riflemen, who with much gallantry fruitlessly endeavoured to keep the beach, and save a quantity of forage, must have lost a number of men by the admirable shell practice of the French squadron. Whilst this was doing, I detached the Ardent, Beagle, and Cracker, to watch another favourable part of the neck of land. Lieutenant Campion was fortunate enough to discover that the road lay over a fine wooden bridge, which spanned a channel connecting the Sea of Azof with Lower Temriouk Lake.
The bridge was 180 feet long and 30 feet wide, composed of strong wooden piles, and sleepers at each end, and four pontoons in the centre, the whole well planked over and apparently much used. It was evidently the route of communication between Temriouk and Taman, except by the very circuitous round of the extensive lakes. The burning of this bridge effectually stopped the garrison of Temriouk, who could not be under 2,000 men and some 10 or 12 guns, arriving in time to resist the landing at Taman.
I therefore weighed, as the weather was threatening, and have since driven in and destroyed the Cossack posts which had been established in this neighbourhood, and to watch our garrison at Enikale.
Two French flags (tricolors) were found by Lieutenant Strode at one of these posts, the Russians having left them, as well as some of their arms, in making a hasty retreat. I am unable to say under what circumstances they could have got into the enemy’s possession.
Throughout these operations I have received the greatest assistance from Commander Rowley Lambert, of Her Majesty’s ship Curlew, and the zealous exertions of the officers and men in the squadron generally.
The Recruit has been left to watch the Straits of Ghenitch, and Lieutenant Day, her commander, alone, on the nights of the 18th and 21st September, passed the enemy’s picquets there, and waded up to their gun-vessels and guards in the channel. His reconnaissance confirms my opinion of their perfect readiness to resist an attack in that direction. I am sorry to say the exposure and excessive labour has caused Lieutenant Day to be laid up with a severe attack of illness.
The two Russian fishermen taken at the mouth of the Don, having quite recovered from the effects of their wounds, I caused Commander Rowley Lambert to proceed with them on the 23rd instant to Arabat Fort, under a flag of truce, for the purpose of offering to land them there if General Wrangel wished. The offer was accepted and the prisoners landed.
The squadron is now proceeding to Ghenitch to complete ammunition from the Durham, and I am in hopes that fine weather, which may be shortly expected by general account, will enable us to do more service in the coming month than that of the present one.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) SHERARD OSBORN.
Captain and Senior Officer.
Rear-Admiral Sir Edward
Lyons, Bart., &c., &c., &c.
G.C.B.
*Mortar vessels – Raven, Magnet, Camel, Hardy, Flamer, Firm. Gun vessels – Lynx, Arrow, Viper, Snake, Wrangler, Beagle.
†Valorous, Gladiator, Fancy, Cracker, Grinder, Boxer, Clinker.
‡Lynx, Arrow, Snake, Harpy, Sulina, and 10 French gun-boats.
□ Lynx, Arrow, Snake, and two French gunboats.
**Vesuvius, Curlew, Ardent, Wrangler, Beagle, Fancy, Grinder, Cracker.
Admiralty, November 20, 1855.
DESPATCHES, of which the following are copies, have been received from Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Royal Albert, off Sevastopol,
November 6, 1855.
SIR,
THE accompanying copy of a letter from Captain Sherard Osborn, of the Vesuvius, with its several enclosures, will place the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in possession of a detailed account of the active and energetic proceedings of the squadron in the Sea of Azoff, under the command of that valuable officer.
The enterprize, which was undertaken and so successfully carried out by Commander J.E. Commerell, of the Weser, in crossing the Isthmus of Arabat, and in destroying a large quantity of forage on the Crimean shore of the Sivash, reflects great credit on that officer, and adds still further proof of his having deserved that promotion which their Lordships have lately been pleased to confer upon him. The gallantry of William Rickard, Quartermaster, of the Weser, deserves to be particularly mentioned; and I beg leave to recommend him to their Lordships’ favourable consideration for the medal and gratuity for distinguished service.
Lieutenant Geo. F. Day, commanding the Recruit, has also displayed his usual activity and zeal in harassing the enemy on the north-east coast of the Sea of Azoff; and I regret to find that his foot has been severely injured by the recoil of a gun.
I am, &c.
(Signed) EDMUND LYONS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
The Secretary of the Admiralty.
Her Majesty’s ship Vesuvius,
At Sea, October 25, 1855.
SIR,
I AM now returning westward towards Ghenitch, having been employed with Her Majesty’s ships named in the margin,* since the 9th October, 1855, along the north coast of this sea as far as Taganrog.
On Crooked Spit, as well as Bielosarai or White House Spit, the enemy had established a large force in the remains of the old fishing establishments, and constructed a series of rifle pits and breastworks, from which they opened fire upon any of our vessels taking shelter under those points; and as the enemy had a number of boats with them, with which they could easily board a vessel in distress, I thought it right to destroy the latter and dislodge the men.
The Recruit, Lieutenant Geo. F. Day, came in collision with them on the 15th instant, and although he could not dislodge the riflemen, he succeeded in destroying seven launches and five large fisheries, in spite of the enemy’s cavalry and infantry.
Lieutenant Day, I am sorry to say, received a severe injury of the foot, by the accidental explosion of an 8-inch gun, but he speaks in high terms of the satisfactory manner in which Mr. Wm. Parker, Second Master of the Recruit, executed the service entrusted to him.
On the 20th October, the Ardent, Lieutenant Hubert Campion, drove in a large force of cavalry which attempted to prevent him approaching Crooked or Krivaia Spit, and he likewise destroyed three boats.
On the 24th October, the weather was sufficiently favourable to enable me to get the Vesuvius close enough to force the enemy from their rifle-pits upon the Bielosarai Spit; at 1 P.M., the small-arm men and marines of this ship landed, under Lieutenant Chetham H. Strode, Mr. R.R. Armstrong, Mate, and Mr. H.D.R. Farquharson, Midshipman, supported by the ship and boats.
Directly the enemy saw their escape threatened, they beat a rapid retreat, though fully 150 in number, and effected their escape by a superior knowledge of the paths through the swamps. Lieutenant Strode then destroyed their posts, which had been recently re-constructed; they were eight in number, and calculated to house 200 men; besides these, eleven fine boats and an extensive fishery were set fire to, near the town of Alti.
The Recruit, Lieutenant Day, at the same time destroyed, in the neighbourhood of Marianpol, two large fisheries and some fine launches, mounted on regular travelling land-carriages, and in the evening we were complete masters of the only portion of the coast the enemy have attempted to re-establish themselves upon; and, as the frosts have already set in, I am in hopes that they will not be able to recover their ground before next spring.
The extraordinary efforts made by the enemy to prosecute their fisheries upon this coast, are the best proof of their importance.
They sometimes move down two or three hundred soldiers, who escort large launches placed upon carriages and arabas drawn by oxen laden with nets and gear, as well as fishermen to work them.
The fish directly they are caught are carted off into the interior; and when it is remembered that we have destroyed some hundred and odd launches upon one spit alone, some idea can be formed of the immense quantity of fish consumed on this coast; and in proof of its being a large item in the sustenance of Russian soldiers, I would remind you that hundreds of tons of salted and dried fish were found and destroyed by us in the first destruction of the military depôts at Ghenitch in May last.
This report is closed at Ghenitch, where I had the satisfaction of learning, as the enclosed letter from Lieutenant Commerell will shew, that he had succeeded in destroying a large collection of forage and corn at the entrance of the Solgar or Kara-Su River.
The zeal and enterprize displayed by Lieutenant Commerell on this occasion, as well as whenever any service has to be performed, is most conspicuous; and his judgment in seizing the only good opportunity that has occurred for some time to cross Arabat Spit, and traverse the Putrid Sea, deserves to be particularly called to your notice. The Quartermaster, William Rickard, praised so highly by Lieutenant Commerell, was one of my boat’s crew. I fully concur in the high character given of him.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) SHERARD OSBORN,
Captain and Senior Officer in the Sea of Azoff.
Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund
Lyons, Bart., &c., &c., &c.
G.C.B.
Her Majesty’s steam gun-vessel Weser,
Genitchi, 12th October, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to inform you that on the evening of the 10th instant, I determined, in obedience to your discretionary orders, to launch a boat across the Spit of Arabat, and destroy large quantities of corn and forage, stored on the banks of Kara-Su and Salghir Rivers, on the Crimean shore of the Sivash; the proximity of a guard signal house and signal station, also the distance the corn lay from the beach, rendered anything but a night surprise impracticable.
Having left the Weser in charge of Mr. Haswell, Second Master, and, accompanied by Mr. Lillingston, Mate, a Quartermaster, and two seamen, assisted by a party we hauled a small prize boat across the spit, embarked in her, and at half past four A.M., reached the opposite side.
Landing with the petty officer and one man, I forded the above-mentioned rivers, and at a distance of about two miles and a half from the boat, arrived at the corn and forage we were in search of, stacked on the banks of the Salghir River, evidently for transmission by water, as the river was perfectly navigable for barges, the sides being cut, and towing paths on either bank.
In a short time the forage and corn, amounting to about 400 tons, was totally destroyed, not however without alarming the guard, and from 20 to 30 mounted cossacks, who were encamped in a village close at hand. On our retreating, we were so hard pressed by them, that, but for the circumstance of the last 200 yards being mud, and the cover of rifles from Mr. Lillingston, and a man who remained in the boat, we could hardly have escaped capture. Having re-crossed the Spit, we returned to the Weser by 8 A.M.
I must bring to your notice the excellent behaviour of the small party who accompanied me, more especially that of William Rickard, Quartermaster, who, though much fatigued himself, remained to assist the other seaman who, from exhaustion, had fallen in the mud, and was unable to extricate himself, notwithstanding the enemy were keeping up a heavy fire on us, at the distance of 30 or 40 yards, as we crossed the mud.
Trusting my proceedings will meet with your approval, I have, &c.
(Signed J.E. COMMERELL,
Lieutenant Commanding.
To Captain Sherard Osborn,
Senior Officer.
Her Majesty’s ship Recruit, off
Berdiansk, October 18, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to forward you a report of my proceedings since leaving Her Majesty’s ship Curlew at this place on the 15th. According to my orders, I steered for my cruizing ground between the Dolga Bank and Whitehouse Spit. When off the latter place, observing a number of men and boats engaged in fishing, and also that many large fishing store-houses had been built since my last visit here on the 14th of last month, I hauled close in to the shore, anchoring the Recruit about 700 yards off, with the intention of landing with my boats and destroying all I could, as soon as I had driven back the troops, who were coming down in great numbers, both cavalry and infantry, to prevent us; the former we soon disposed of, but the latter, scattering themselves about in twos and threes, threw themselves on the ground, creeping along so that we could not see them to stop their advance with our shells from the ship; I therefore resolved to land at once, in hopes, by the quickness of our movements, to get our work over before they could possibly close on us. Unfortunately for me, I regret to say, that whilst directing the pointing of an 8-inch gun to where I believed some of these riflemen to be, (just as I was on the point of going into the boat to land) the gun, from some unaccountable cause, went off, and, in recoiling, the whole weight of both gun and carriage came down on my left foot, injuring it very severely and breaking several bones, which I fear will lay me up for some time.
I was thus rendered incapable of landing, so sent Mr. Parker, Second Master of this ship, on shore in charge of the boats and landing party, who succeeded in carrying out my instructions as to the destruction of all the boats there (seven in number), many new fishing nets of great length, five large new fishing establishments, full of quantities of fishing tackle and other gear: this service he performed in a most gallant manner, and much to my satisfaction, as they were the whole time exposed to a very smart and annoying fire from the enemy’s concealed infantry (at a very short distance), who, in spite of our fire from the ship, had managed to creep down close to them, favoured by the inequality of the ground and the long grass, so that our party had to make a long detour (covered by a hot fire of rifles from the Recruit) to prevent them being cut off, and to get to their boats. The Russians kept up a constant fire of rifles from the lighthouse, in which they had succeeded in lodging themselves, upon the boats, and then upon the ship, which we returned with rifles only, and I think to some purpose, until we weighed and shifted further out. Not a man was hit, though ship and boat were many times. As I did not wish to injure the lighthouse, I did not attempt to fire, so as to dislodge them, with shot or shell from the guns.
The 17th I stood along the spit to see if anymore boats or nets could be found along the shore where I could destroy them, as also to drive away a number of troops I saw hidden behind some banks, and at the same time to try and set fire with carcases to a number of new stores, built on the broad part of the spit high up but too far off for me with my small force to attempt to land and destroy.
I could see no more boats, but their perseverance in thus rebuilding these houses, boats, and nets, with the fact of so many troops being there to protect them, tells its own tale, that they must be much in want of provisions.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) GEO. F. DAY,
Lieutenant-Commander.
Captain Osborn, Senior Officer.
*Curlew, Recruit, Ardent
War-Department, November 27, 1855.
LORD PANMURE has this day received a Despatch, and its Enclosures, of which the following are copies, addressed to his Lordship by Sir Wm. Codrington.
Sevastopol, November 13, 1855.
MY LORD,
HAVING so lately assumed the command of the Army, I have not sufficient materials, nor do I consider it necessary to write a separate despatch.
The return of the troops from the expedition against Kinburn was announced to your Lordship by electric telegraph, on the 3rd instant.
I do myself the honour to transmit the copies of reports received from Brigadier-General Honourable A. Spencer, giving a more detailed account of the proceedings of the force under his command than he had hitherto been able to make, and two reports from Brigadier-General Lord George Paget, with an account of two reconnaissances that were made by the allied cavalry from Eupatoria.
I have, &c.
W. CODRINGTON,
General Commanding.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c. &c.
Her Majesty’s ship Royal Albert,
off Sevastopol, November 4, 1855.
SIR,
IN reporting the return of the Expeditionary Land Force under my command from Kinburn, I am now enabled to make, for the information of the Commander-in-Chief, a more ample report of their proceedings, than in my previously hurried despatch I was able to do.
The landing of the troops, three miles from Kinburn Fort, was effected without opposition on the 15th October. Owing to a heavy surf there was considerable difficulty in it, but the infantry were all on shore by 11 o’clock (it commenced at 8 A.M.), and from the activity of the Royal Navy employed, the cavalry and most of the artillery were landed in the course of the day, though the first portion of the commissariat was only landed, and with great difficulty, on the evening of the second day.
The whole force was very shortly in position. The orders I had received from the French General Bazaine were, to protect with the English troops the right flank from any attack the enemy might make, for the relief of the garrison, from Nicolaieff or Cherson; whilst the French line was to be in our rear but facing the fort.
The ground I occupied was about a mile in extent; the regiments were deployed into line, every advantage being taken of the nature of the ground, which was undulating.
The tents were pitched in rear of the battalions as they arrived from the landing-place. The regiments were employed immediately after landing in entrenching their own fronts, thus making our general line of field works from the sea on either side. A work was also thrown up in the course of the following day, on the left flank of the line, to be occupied by field pieces or by ship guns, should the fort not fall immediately. The nature of the ground rendered any assistance from the allied gun-boats impossible.
The French had hastily thrown up a place d’armes in rear of our right, from which a re-embarkation, if necessary, might have been satisfactorily accomplished.
The bombardment from the ships commenced on the afternoon of the 15th, but from the state of the weather it was discontinued; and on the 16th they were unable to resume it from the same cause.
By the morning of the 17th, the field works thrown up by the troops were, as far as circumstances would admit of, very defensible, although too extensive. The outlying pickets had also thrown up small entrenchments at their respective posts: that morning at daybreak I made a reconnaissance with the detachments of French and English cavalry and the 57th Regiment. The weather becoming thick the infantry returned after a march of four miles out. The cavalry proceeded to the village of Paksoffka, a few miles further, which they found deserted: at 10 A.M. the ships opened fire, and at three o’clock the forts surrendered, with about 1,400 prisoners; 17 officers, and 739 men were given over to me by General Bazaine, and were subsequently sent on board Her Majesty’s ship Vulcan, to proceed to Constantinople. On the following morning the forts at Ochakoff were blown up by the enemy. French and English Commissioners were appointed for the taking over of the materiel found in the forts of Kinburn, and for the temporary division of the place. On the 19th, I moved the English camp to the immediate neighbourhood of the fort, and occupied the southern shore; the ground is here nearly level with the sea, and so perfectly smooth that it is easily protected by ships on both flanks. On the 20th the English force, with the exception of the 21st Regiment, who were left to do the duties at Kinburn, joined the French in a reconnaissance under General Bazaine. The troops carried three days’ provisions, and the Commissariat were able to carry three more. We halted and bivouacked that night at the village of Paksoffka, about eight miles’ march of sandy soil. The French occupied a village at a short distance. We had no tents, but the weather was fine, and there was plenty of wood and hay, and a large supply of cabbages, and other vegetables. The inhabitants had all left. On the 21st, halted. The following day, with the cavalry, artillery, and three battalions, I accompanied General Bazaine, with a part of the French force, to the village, of Skadoffka, about five or six miles; country very open, with occasionally deep sand; always plenty of water in the villages. Having burnt the village, we returned that day to Paksoffka. The detachment of Carabineers, under Captain Wardlaw, had pushed on by my direction to a village about three miles further, where they found inhabitants, who told them that some Russian cavalry had left them that morning.
On the 23rd the whole force returned to Kinburn. On the march our rear was threatened by about 250 of the enemy’s cavalry, who, however, soon retired. On the 27th the cavalry and artillery were embarked, and on the 30th the whole of the infantry, to return to the Crimea, leaving French troops to garrison the fort.
I cannot speak too highly of the assistance I have received from the co-operation and counsel of Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, and of the support afforded me by him and the Officers of the Royal Navy under his command, – to whose excellent arrangements, for the landing and re-embarkation of the troops, I have been much indebted.
I beg to assure the Commander-in-Chief of the great satisfaction I have felt in serving under the orders of General Bazaine in this expedition.
I have received every assistance from Colonel Hurdle, Royal Marines, who commanded a brigade (2 battalions Royal Marines and 63rd Regiment); 500 marines were added, through the consideration of Sir Edmund Lyons, to this force.
Also from Colonel Lord West, 21st Fusiliers, commanding a brigade (17th, 20th, 21st, and 57th Regiments); who mentions his Brigade-Major, Captain Earle, 57th Regiment, and his Aide-de-Camp, Captain Carleton, 21st Fusiliers. Colonel Hurdle mentions Captain Rodney, Royal Marines, and Captain Ellis, Royal Marines, his Brigade-Major and Aide-de-Camp.
I was also ably supported by Brevet-Major Best, commanding Royal Engineers; Captain Johnson, commanding Royal Artillery; Captain Wardlaw, commanding detachment 6th Dragoon Guards; Brevet-Major Gordon, commanding 17th Regiment; Captain Gray, commanding 21st Fusiliers; Lieutenant-Colonel Evelegh, commanding 20th Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Warre, commanding 57th Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Lindesay, commanding 63rd Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, commanding battalion Royal Marines; Lieutenant-Colonel Holloway, commanding battalion Royal Marines; Brevet-Major Smith and Brevet-Major Hallewell, Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-Generals, were of great use to me; as also my personal Staff, Captain Robinson and Captain Baillie, 44th Regiment; and Lieutenant St. Clair, 4th Regiment, acting as interpreter.
Dr. Gordon, Principal Medical Officer, Deputy Assistant-Commissary-General Power, Captain Clavell, Royal Marines, acting as Provost Marshall, and Lieutenant Young, Land Transport Corps, were all most zealous in their several departments.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) AUGS. SPENCER,
Brigadier-General.
To the Quartermaster-General,
&c., &c., &c.
Eupatoria, October 30, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to report that the allied forces stationed here, disposed as per margin,* marched on the small town of Sak, on the morning of the 27th instant, under the command of General of Division D’Allonville.
At the further extremity of the strand that divides the sea from the lake of Sazik Gualoie (by which route the column marched), the ground rises to the level of the steppe land that universally prevails. On reaching this point the allied cavalry and horse artillery made a rapid advance to the front, for about five miles, in an easterly direction, passing to the left of Sak.
We there found the enemy in much the same position in which we had left them on the 23rd instant, though they had, to a certain extent, entrenched themselves.
General D’Allonville from this point opened a fire with much effect, which continued for nearly an hour, and which was warmly responded to by the enemy.
Captain Thomas’s troop of Horse Artillery being supported by the 12th Lancers; the Carabineers, 4th and 13th Light Dragoons being in second line, in reserve.
The loss to the Allies on this occasion was 30 killed and wounded; one English Artillery-man having been slightly wounded, two horses killed, and three wounded.
We then withdrew to the town of Sak, where we bivouacked for the night.
At daybreak, on the 28th instant, the cavalry and horse artillery made another advance in rather a more northerly direction (to the south of the village of Temesh), in the endeavour to turn the right of the enemy, or to draw him into action, which, however, he appeared to shew no disposition to respond to, and we consequently returned to our bivouack at Sak, in front of which the infantry had remained to secure our rear.
On this second night there was a total want of water, in consequence of the drain upon the wells the night before, and there was an absence of water for a circumference of many miles to our front. The column therefore returned to Eupatoria yesterday, the 29th instant.
I beg to report that I have attached Captain the Honourable Charles Keith, 4th Light Dragoons, to General D’Allonville, during the time the troops are in the field, and that I sent Captain Clifton, 12th Lancers, on board Her Majesty’s ship Diamond, to assist Captain Hamilton, R.N., in his operations.
I have, &c.
(Signed) GEO. PAGET,
Brigadier-General, Commanding British
Troops at Eupatoria.
To his Excellency,
The General Commanding-in-Chief.
Eupatoria,
November 3, 1855.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to report that a portion of the allied troops stationed here, under the command of General of Brigade Ali Pasha, strength as per margin,† were sent yesterday to the village of Tchotai, fifteen miles to the north of Eupatoria, in consequence of information of some stores of hay, live stock, &c., having been collected there by the enemy.
The two squadrons of the 12th Lancers with this force, were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tottenham of that regiment, whose report I have the honour to enclose, and by which it will be gratifying to observe, that this operation met with the most complete success.
The remainder of the allied forces here made at the same time a demonstration to the right of this village, for the purpose of drawing off the attention of the enemy; the English Brigade of Cavalry advancing as far as Yultschuk, the French on their right.
Colonel Pole, 12th Lancers, was in command, an attack of fever having for some days confined me to my bed, and he reports that no enemy made its appearance in any force.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) GEO. PAGET,
Brigadier-General, Commanding British
Troops at Eupatoria.
To his Excellency,
The General Commanding-in-Chief.
Eupatoria, November 3, 1855.
MY LORD,
I HAVE the honour to report that, agreeably to Brigade Orders of the 1st instant, I proceeded at 4 A.M. yesterday, in command of two squadrons of the 12th Royal Lancers, to join the force under Ali Pasha, ordered to assemble in front of the Turkish cavalry camp.
At daylight we marched through Alchir to Tchotai, a village about 15 miles from this. The Turkish cavalry were in advance, supported by the English and French squadrons. We arrived at Tchotai about half-past eleven, and captured 1 Russian Commissariat Officer (as it is supposed), 1 Cossack, about 40 arabas, and about 3000 head of horses, camels, oxen, and sheep; 3 Russian carriages were also brought in, and a considerable number of the inhabitants of the village.
We started on our return at half-past one, having set fire to the villages and destroyed 30 large ricks of hay. We arrived in camp about 8½ P.M.; no resistance was offered by the enemy.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) W.H. TOTTENHAM.
Lt.-Colonel, 12th Royal Lancers.
Brigadier-General Lord George Paget,
Commanding the Light Brigade,
Eupatoria.
*1st Column, under the command of Mushir Achmed Pasha:-
Division of Turkish and Egyptian Infantry, each with a battery of Artillery.
1 brigade of Turkish Cavalry, with a troop of Horse artillery.
2nd Column, under the command of General of Division de Failly:-
A section of French Engineers.
9 battalions of French Infantry.
2 battalions of Artillery.
3rd Column, under the command of General of Division d’Allonville, Commander-in-Chief:-
A brigade of Turkish Cavalry (Ali Pasha).
Division of French Cavalry, with its troop of Horse Artillery (General Esterhazy).
Brigade of British Cavalry, with its troop of Horse Artillery (Brigadier-General Lord George Paget).
†Under the orders of General of Brigade Ali Pasha:-
Bashi Bazouks.
2 Regiments of Turkish Cavalry.
2 French squadrons (Hussars).
2 English squadrons (Lancers).
War-Department, November 29, 1855.
LORD PANMURE has this day received a Despatch and its Enclosures, of which the following are copies, addressed to his Lordship by General Sir William Codrington, K.C.B.
Sevastopol, November 17, 1855.
MY LORD,
ON the 15th instant, about 3 P.M., a terrific explosion shook the camp of the army and spread heavy destruction in the immediate neighbourhood of its force; even here, at Head-Quarters, two and a half miles perhaps distant, it burst open and broke windows, all felt the power of it, and the high column of smoke, with shells bursting in the midst and around it, told too well the cause, and showed the danger of all within its reach.
It was not long before we were on the spot: to the sudden burst had succeeded a continued and dark drift of smoke, which told its tale of continued fire and of danger; constant bursting of shells was going on, and the ground was covered with bits of wood, musquet balls, and splinters of shells from the first heavy explosion, which had strewed the ground with destruction, and killed and hurt very many people.
100,000 pounds of powder had exploded in the French siege train, set fire to all the stores there, and to our neighbouring English park where all was fiercely burning, whilst the tendency of the light air at first threatened a second and as serious an accident from powder, not eighty yards off, for the roof of the building had been damaged and the door blown in by the shock.
Some General Officers had fallen in and marched part of their divisions down, others sent some in fatigue, some with stretchers for the wounded, all exerted themselves with the French with an energy and disregard of danger that was admirable; blankets were taken to the exposed store, placed and wetted on the roof by water being passed up in buckets; the doors were covered with wet blankets and sandbags, and in a short time it was reported and looked safe, though the closeness of the fire and frequent explosions could not allow the feeling of security. Many detached though small fires were burning, and the ground of both the French and English parks, a space of 150 yards across, was a mass of large fires, some of fuel, some of huts, some of gun carriages, boxes, handspikes, and rope.
The fortunately light air had rather changed its direction, and by breaking up and dragging away things, a sort of lane was at last formed, the fires cut off, and gradually got under control, because confined to smaller though fierce fires, but manageable.
I saw every one working well, and I know that French and English took live shells from the neighbourhood of danger to a more distant spot, and at a later period parties threw what earth the rocky soil could give, upon the fires, and helped much to subdue them; all was safe about 7 P.M., and a strong guard and working party posted for the night.
The army was under arms, the following morning before daylight, and everything being quiet, I ordered the divisions to turn in, and continue the working parties in the roads, which I had counter ordered for that morning.
The exploded powder store was situated in the ruins of some walls which had advantageously been made use of for the purpose of shelter; it had been the store of supply to the French attack on the Malakoff front, and it contained the powder which had been brought back from their batteries.
It is at the head of the ravine, which, as it gets towards Sebastopol, forms the steep and rocky valley of Ravin du Carénage.
The Light Division was on the ground which it first took up in October, 1854; the Rifles on the right, then the 7th, the 33rd, and 23rd; on their left the 34th Regiment, which subsequently joined, was on the right front in advance; and the vacating of a spot of ground by the Sappers’ camp, enabled me when commanding the division to place the Artillery and Small-arm Brigade on the immediate right of the Rifles.
The French subsequently brought their main siege train and store to the position it has now for some time occupied.
Daylight showed the damage, of which I have given your Lordship an outline in another letter.
But the more important and sad part is the loss of life, and the wounded who have suffered. One officer and 20 non-commissioned officers and men, killed; 4 officers and 112 non-commissioned officers and men, wounded; with 7* missing, show the sudden and fatal power of the shock, which not only destroyed in its immediate neighbourhood, but wounded, by shell and splinters, some at a distance of three-quarters of a mile.
The loss of our Allies is distressingly heavy.
I have, &c.,
W.J. CODRINGTON,
General Commanding.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c. &c.
*Six artillery men since accounted for and alive. – W.C., 1 P.M. November 17.
Admiralty, December 7, 1855.
DESPATCHES, with Enclosures, of which the following are copies, have been received from Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
No. 951. Royal Albert, Kazatch Bay,
November 24, 1855.
SIR,
THEIR Lordships are aware that when the small gun-boats were no longer required at Kinburn I sent them back to Captain Osborn, to afford him the means of destroying, at the latest period of the season, the harvest of this year, which I understood to be collecting in the neighbourhood of Gheisk-Liman, for the purpose of being transported in the winter months, partly to the enemy’s army in the Crimea over the frozen Gulf of Azof, and partly to his army in the Caucasus by the military road.
2. The enclosed copy of a letter from Captain Osborn will show their lordships that in this, as on many former occasions, he has fully justified the confidence I have placed in him. The skilfulness of the arrangements made by him, and the admirable manner in which they were executed by himself, by Commander Kennedy, of the Curlew, and by the officers and men under their orders, completely frustrated the efforts of the large force that was brought against them in defence of the stores, which the enemy appears to have considered safe from any naval attack, in consequence of the shallowness of the water.
3. The effects of this brilliant enterprize, in the destruction of so much corn and forage at the commencement of winter, cannot fail to be severely felt by the Russian armies both in the Crimea and the Caucasus.
4. Commander Kennedy, in reporting his large share in the proceedings of the day in the command of the Curlew, states to Captain Osborn that at one place alone the rows of stacks were six deep and extended two miles, and it appears that for economy in transport and storage the straw was cut near to the ears of the corn,
5 As the ice is now forming on the shores of the Sea of Azof and the squadron is withdrawn, I feel it to be due to Captain Osborn to record that under circumstances of great difficulty, occasioned by unusually tempestuous weather, he has most ably continued through the summer, and brought to a successful close in the autumn, operations novel in their nature and extremely detrimental to the enemy, which commenced auspiciously in the spring under the direction of the late Captain Lyons of the Miranda; nor is it too much to say, that both commanding officers were supported throughout, by as dashing and as intelligent a band of young officers, seamen, and marines, as ever shone in the British Navy.
I am, &c.
(Signed) EDMUND LYONS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
The Secretary of the Admiralty, London.
No. 41. Her Majesty’s steam-sloop Vesuvius,
off Gheisk, November 7, 1855.
SIR,
AFTER dark on the evening of the 3rd instant, the squadron under my command was assembled and anchored in 16 feet water, off Gheisk-Liman, and I made arrangements for the morrow to operate against the extensive collection of corn, forage, and fuel, belonging to the enemy, stacked along its shores, so as to distract the attention of the large force which, from previous observation, I knew to be in the neighbourhood.
Under Lieutenant Ross, of the Weser, I placed the Curlew in the temporary charge of Lieutenant Miall and the Ardent in charge of Mr. Tilly, Second Master, each vessel having sufficient men left in her to weigh an anchor, or fight a gun, and man a few boats, giving orders to Lieutenant Ross to close in on the northern face of Gheisk, and to be prepared to co-operate with me inside the Liman.
The Vesuvius I left in the offing, denuded of every available person; embarking officers and men as in the annexed list, from the Vesuvius, Curlew, Weser, and Ardent, with their boats, we left at daylight, towed by Her Majesty’s gun-boats,
Recruit, Lieutenant G. Day.
Boxer, Lieutenant S.P. Townsend.
Cracker, Lieutenant J.H. Marryat.
Clinker, Lieutenant J.S. Hudson.
By 6.30 A.M. the flotilla was off Vodina, three miles north of Glofira; here long tiers of corn-stacks and much fuel was stored along the coast, with a Cossack guard for its protection; I immediately detached Commander Kennedy with the boats, covering him with the gun-vessels, and in a short time all was in flames, and the party cleverly re-embarked at the moment that a large body of Cossacks rode up from Lazalnite.
The town of Glofira became the next point of attack; it was greatly changed in appearance since visited by Captain Rowley Lambert in July last. Corn stacks, for some miles in extent, might now be seen along its southern and eastern face, placed close to the water’s edge ready for transport; and between the rows of houses tier on tier were to be seen.
An entrenchment had been cut along the edge of the cliff commanding the spit; large bodies of dismounted cavalry were seen lining it, and armed men shewed in the rear of every house.
To endeavour to flank the defences, as well as destroy the corn stacks stored on a high hill east of Glofira, I despatched Commander Kennedy, with the boats of Her Majesty’s ship Curlew, a paddle-box boat and cutter of the Vesuvius, the whole towed by the Clinker, Lieutenant Hudson, with orders to turn the spit end, and then attack in that direction, after giving a certain time to allow the enemy’s attention to be divided by the other attack. The gun-boats Recruit, Grinder, Boxer, and Cracker, opening fire on the entrenchments with Shrapnell shell, and on the corn ricks with carcases.
As the enemy could only be dislodged from the extreme west, and the carcases did not well answer, and moreover endangered the whole town, I despatched Lieutenants Day and Campion with the small force of marines available, a howitzer boat and two rocket boats, to aid more effectually in carrying out my object.
Lieutenant Campion, with Mr. Verey, gunner, charging at the head of the marines, supported by Lieutenant Day and the seamen, all being under a sharp fire of musketry, succeeded in driving the enemy, with considerable loss, out of their trench work, and captured a small brass piece, and then steadily forced them back, with loss, from store to store, until the whole of the vast quantity of corn, stacked ready for thrashing and transport, was in flames.
The gallant manner in which Lieutenant Campion led the marines deserves to be brought under your notice.
Seeing the enemy collecting a number of men, ready to charge our men if they advanced beyond a ravine on the east face of the town, I recalled my force, and had the satisfaction of seeing all embarked, with only one man wounded.
The vessels off Gheisk were now seen to be engaged, Lieutenant Ross, of the Weser, having placed them in capital positions; and, as the enemy moved down large bodies of troops, especially cavalry, to resist his landing, and opened fire on him, he very unwillingly had to fire on the town, to dislodge them.
The proceedings of Lieutenant Ross were ably executed, and he fully succeeded in keeping in check a heavy body of cavalry which might have much incommoded the small force under Commander Kennedy, who, by the most strenuous exertions, had reached his position, and finding the cliff too steep to scale in the face of a large number of troops, who were firing on him from its crest, he very judiciously executed the duty I had entrusted to him, with the gun and the carcase rockets of the ship’s boats, setting every store in flames, except one large government building considerably in the rear.
Commander Kennedy speaks in the highest terms of his party, for the shallowness of the water obliged the crews of the boats to be rowing and wading through the water from noon until midnight, the season too being now very cold.
Throughout the night the stores were burning fiercely, a sheet of flames extending fully two miles, but the town of Glofira, except where the troops had used the houses against us, remained untouched.
At an early hour on the 6th November, we weighed and proceeded into the Liman, steering towards Gheisk; the valuable services of Mr. George Perry, Acting Master of the Vesuvius, and Mr. Parker, Second Master of the Recruit, came here into play; and, at an early period, I had the satisfaction of seeing all the gun-boats anchored just in their own draught of water, within long gun-shot of the east extreme of Gheisk and the neighbouring steppe, along the edge of which, for four miles, corn and hay was stacked in quantities far beyond what I had conceived to be possible, and at the base of the steppe, as well as that part of the spit commanded by the town, timber yards, fish stores, boats, &c., in numbers were accumulated.
To attack upon as many points as possible was, I thought, the only way to foil the troops that had now had 36 hours to prepare for us; the gun-boats Grinder, Boxer, Cracker, and Clinker, were left to cover the landing party. To Lieutenant Ross of the Weser, I signalized to prepare to land, and divided the force in the Liman into three bodies; the left under Lieutenants Day and Townsend, consisted of boats and men of Recruit and Boxer; the centre I entrusted to Commander Kennedy, having under him Lieutenants Hamilton, Campion, Marryat, and Mayne, with all the boats of the Curlew, Ardent, Grinder, and Cracker, and port rocket and gun-boats of the Vesuvius, in charge of the officers named in the margin;* the right division under Lieutenant Chetham Strode, and Lieutenant Hudson, consisted of the starboard gun-boats of Vesuvius, and those of Clinker, together with some marines, Mr. R. Farquharson, Midshipman, in charge of the latter. Lieutenant Ross, on the west side of Gheisk Spit, had the boats and small-arm men of the Weser, with a small force from Curlew and Ardent, under Lieutenant Miall, and Mr. Tilly, Second Master, in readiness to cooperate.
The different parties pulled in and effected a landing at appointed places, fully a mile apart; the Russian troops, within light breastworks, attempted to prevent them, but failed, and in a few moments a screen of flames and smoke rolling from our men towards the enemy, prevented the latter seeing where or how to manoeuvre, in order to cut off any of our small detachments.
On the right and centre the enemy mustered strongest, and at one time observing a column of some 1500 Cossacks moving rapidly off the left, I directed Commander Kennedy (who by that time had connected his fires with those of Lieutenant Day) to re-embark all but the marines, and with them to proceed to his right, and I reinforced him with the marines of the Recruit and Weser, under Lieutenant Campion. This answered perfectly; the enemy arrived too late to save anything on the left, whilst our men steadily worked towards the right division, under Lieutenants Strode and Ross, who, in spite of a heavy but badly directed fire from the houses on the heights, steadily held their ground, and effectually destroyed a great accumulation of materials for boats and ship building, fish stores, cavalry camp gear and granaries.
When everything but the town of Gheisk was destroyed, I ordered the embarkation to take place, and detached some boats to cover Lieutenant Ross, between whom and his boat the enemy were throwing a body of men, who, by their uniform, I believed to be regular infantry. By 2 P.M., everything was finished, and all the parties safely re-embarked on board their respective gun-boats, the casualties amounting to only six men wounded in all, one of them dangerously and another severely.
Nothing further being left within our reach in Gheisk-Liman, except the store of corn which escaped on the previous day at Glofira, I, therefore ordered Commander Kennedy with the moiety of the boats to return to their respective ships, and remained with the Recruit, Ardent, Boxer, and Cracker’s boats to finish what had escaped east of Glofira.
On the 6th the weather, which had favoured us most providentially, changed; fogs and strong breezes came on, but directly I was able, the rocket boats and carcases were again employed upon Glofira until the fires extinguished yesterday were re-lighted, and another extensive accumulation of corn in flames; I then weighed and returned to the Vesuvius, reaching her the same afternoon.
I despair of being able to convey to you any idea of the extraordinary quantity of corn, rye, hay, wood and other supplies, so necessary for the existence of Russian armies both in the Caucasus and the Crimea, which it has been our good fortune to destroy.
That these vast stores should have been collected here, so close to the sea, whilst we were still in the neighbourhood, is only to be accounted for, by their supposing that they could not be reached by us, and judging by the position the squadron under the late Captain Edmund Lyons, took up in May last, the Russians had established a camp and fortified their town only to meet a similar attack.
During these proceedings we never had more than 200 men engaged; the enemy had, from the concurrent testimony of Lieutenants Ross and Strode, and my own observation, from 3,000 to 4,000 men in Gheisk alone.
Where every officer exerted himself to the utmost, and did all and more than I expected of them, it would be invidious for me to mention, one more than another; it was their coolness, zeal, and example, that rendered steady many of the younger men; who for the first time were under fire, and but for their general intelligence and zeal, the enemy would have easily frustrated our operations.
The zeal, good conduct, and gallantry of the men, was deserving of every praise.
Commander Kennedy, my second in command, gave me the most valuable cooperation, and from him as well as the reports of the other officers, I feel justified in placing before you the names of the following warrant officers and men, who, under fire, behaved remarkably well, viz.: Mr. Richard Verey, Acting Gunner of Her Majesty’s ship Ardent; Thomas Kerr, Gunner, Royal Marine Artillery, Her Majesty’s ship Vesuvius; Peter Hanlan, A.B., Her Majesty’s ship Curlew; David Barry, A.B., Her Majesty’s ship Cracker.
The enclosed plan, illustrative of our operations, by Mr. George Perry, Acting Master of the Vesuvius, will, I trust, be of use, and I beg you will allow me to call your attention to the unvarying zeal of that officer.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) SHERARD OSBORN.
Captain and Senior Officer in the
Sea of Azof.
Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund
Lyons, Bart., &c., &c., &c.
G.C.B.
*Mr. Armstrong, Mate; Mr. Scott, Gunner; Mr. Verey, Gunner.
Admiralty December 14, 1855.
DESPATCHES, of which the following are copies, have been received from Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., G.C.B,
Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
No. 962. Royal Albert, Kazatch Bay, December 1, 1855.
SIR,
I REQUEST that you will lay before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty the enclosed copy of a letter from Captain Sherard Osborn, of the Vesuvius, dated the 24th ultimo, informing me that as the formation of ice had commenced in the Sea of Azof, and as he had been informed by both M. Gopcevitch, the Austrian merchant, charged with the shipment of corn in Austrian vessels, and by the Russian authorities at Mariaupol, that all chance of neutral vessels obtaining cargoes this year was at an end, he had withdrawn to Kertch with the squadron under his orders, after assuring himself that no merchant vessels remained in that sea.
I have so frequently had occasion to bring the merits of Captain Osborn under their Lordships’notice, that it is perhaps unnecessary, on the present occasion, that I should say more than that he has maintained his high character up to the close of the service upon which he was employed for six months, and he brings under my favourable notice the gallant and zealous support he has received, from first to last, from the officers and men under his orders.
I am, &c.
(Signed) EDMUND LYONS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
The Secretary of the. Admiralty, London
No. 42. Vesuvius, off Kertch November 24, 1855.
SIR,
BEING now, in accordance with your instructions, on my road to rejoin your flag, I have the honour to report the close of operations in the Sea of Azof, and the proceedings of the squadron in that sea subsequent to my Last letter dated off Gheisk, 7th November, 1855.
On the 7th, I received your instructions, with notices relative to neutrals quitting the Sea of Azof on the 20th November, 1855.The weather became most severe, and I could only succeed in serving the notices upon the authorities on shore at Mariaupol. But on the 8th November, 1855, the shipping anchored off Mariaupol were duly warned, and on the 9th those off Taganrog likewise.
A gale of extreme violence from the eastward blew continually from that date until the 18th November, I then immediately served a notice upon the neutral shipping in Berdiansk.
There, from Mr. Gopcevioh, as well as previously at Taganrog and Mariaupol, we learnt that the Russian authorities had kept the neutrals in quarantine ever since their arrival, and that the likelihood of cargoes being procured was almost at an end.
A Russian officer at Mariaupol laughed at the idea of the neutrals believing they would get wheat this year, and told Commander Kennedy, whom I sent in there with a flag of truce, that the neutrals must stay the winter.
Under these circumstances, looking to your wishes and instructions upon the subject, it became a cause of great anxiety for me lest, by the sudden commencement of winter, or intentionally, the neutral vessels should fail to quit the sea on the 20th November, 1855.
I, therefore, as the ice had begun to make and the temperature to fall rapidly after the 13th, despatched all the squadron to Kertch except the Ardent, Snake, and Clinker, and with them proceeded up the Gulf of Azof.
We arrived off Mariaupol on the 19th and found all the neutrals had sailed for Kertch, and on the 20th I sighted Taganrog and found the roads empty, all the vessels that were there having likewise left.
The ice already extended on either hand some miles from the shore, the Don appeared to be frozen, and every indication of winter having set in, in that neighbourhood, was apparent.
At Mariaupol the river or harbour was frozen, and much ice lined the coast as far down as Bielosarai Lighthouse; the temperature at mid-day as low as 29° Fahrenheit. From thence I separated the squadron so as to examine the whole coast from Gheniteh to Enikale Lighthouse, most minutely, and not a single boat of the smallest description was to be seen.
In surrendering into your hands the prominent position in which you have been pleased to employ me for the last five months, that of Senior Officer of a detached squadron, allow me, Sir, to express, most respectfully, my deep sense of the honour you conferred upon me, and the grateful recollection of the unvarying kindness, confidence, and consideration I have experienced at your hands; without it I feel I never should, as I trust I have, succeeded in carrying out your views and instructions.
Next to that let me again remind you that my anxiety to execute your plans has ever been an easy task, supported as I have ever been by the gallant and zealous exertions of every officer and man serving in this squadron; I know not how sufficiently to express my approbation of their conduct.
And it is not the less pleasing part of my duty to assure you of the kindly cooperation I have ever received from the officers of the French Navy serving in the Sea of Azof. Among those more especially known to me, I feel justified in mentioning Lieutenant Cloue, commanding the Brandon; Lieutenant La Juchette, Fulton; and Lieutenant Vidal, of the Caton.
&c.,
(Signed) S. OSBORN
War-Department, December 18, 1855.
LORD PANMURE has this day received a Despatch and its Enclosures, of which the following are copies, addressed to his Lordship by General Sir William Codrington, K.C.B.
MY LORD,
THE enemy continue to fire occasionally, and sometimes heavily, on parts of the town. They must have expended a considerable quantity of valuable ammunition without causing us any loss or inconvenience. The enclosed Casualty Return is the first of the sort I have had occasion to report to your Lordship.
It may seem unimportant to refer to the state of roads and weather here, but their condition affects the essential communications and well-being of the army. The winter broke upon us suddenly on the 26th and 27th with snow, and has varied with gales and rain; and a very deep state of the ground has damaged all communications.
Constant presence of labourers and constant attention are requisite, and are being given to the road, which, from a peculiarity of soil and condition, was worked into holes, but which is and will continue to be of the greatest service to the army and its supplies.
I have, &c.,
W.J. CODRINGTON,
General Commanding.
P.S. – I beg leave also to forward the weekly report of Dr. Hall, the principal Medical Officer, by which your Lordship will perceive that the general state of health of the army continues favourable.
W.J. CODRINGTON,
General Commanding.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c. &c.
War-Department, January 8, 1856.
LORD PANMURE has this day received a Despatch, of which the following is a copy, addressed to his Lordship by General Sir William Codrington, K.C.B.
Sevastopol, December 25, 1855.
MY LORD,
NOTWITHSTANDING the recent severe weather, the thermometer a few nights ago having fallen nearly to zero, the general state of health of the Army has continued good. The roads are in fair working order; and though the efficiency of the locomotive engines was impaired by the frost, the damage has been made good.
The final operations on the Docks have been somewhat delayed on our side, by the influx of water, and by the freezing of pumps.
The fire from the forts on the northern side of the harbour continues, and it is at times heavy; but the casualties, I am happy to say, are few.
There has been no movement of importance on the part of the enemy in our neighbourhood of late. A detachment of French troops surprised a Cossack post near Teilion, a few days ago, killing several men, and taking the rest prisoners.
The general drill of the Army makes good progress.
I have, &c.,
W.J. CODRINGTON,
General Commanding.
The Lord Panmure, &c. &c. &c.
Head Quarters, Kertch, December 21, 1855.
MY LORD,
I HAVE with much regret to report to you the death of Captain R. S. Sherwood, of the cavalry of this force.
This officer was engaged in a skirmish, that took place on the 16th instant, between a detachment of our cavalry and a party of Russian cavalry; his gallantry in this affair was most conspicuous, as is reported to me by the officer who commanded the detachment. Captain Sherwood was severely wounded, and was carried off by the Russians; and, as I have since learnt, died on the 19th from his wounds.
I deplore his loss, for he was an intelligent and very promising young officer.
I have reason to believe that the treatment he received from the Russians was most humane and considerate.
I have, &c.,
R. J. H. VIVIAN,
Lieutenant-General, Commanding
Turkish Contingent.