to proceed. Inever before witnessed such a continued and heavy fire of grape combined with musketry from the enemy's works, which appeared to be fully manned; and the long list of killed and wounded in the Light and Fourth Divisions, and the seamen of the Naval Brigade, under Captain Peel, who was unfortunately wounded, though not severely, will show that a very large proportion of those that went forward fell. Major-General Sir John Campbell, who led the left attack, and Colonel Shadforth, of the 57th, who commanded the storming party under his direction, were both killed, as was also Colonel Yea, of the Royal Fusiliers, who led the right Column."

It was beyond all question a signal, and for the time a decisive repulse, and it was the more mortifying as it occurred on the anniversary of a day so glorious in the annals of England.*

One brilliant episode, however, in the midst of our reverse, occurred in the gallant exploit of a body of troops of the Third Division under General Eyre.

He made an attack at the head of a body of 2000 men of the

The following gives the amount of our loss on the 18th of June-21 officers, 144 men, killed; 68 officers, 1058 men, wounded; 2 officers, 150 men, missing. Grand total, 1443.

The French loss consisted of-37 officers killed, and 17 taken prisoners; 1544 noncommissioned officers and privates killed or missing. On the evening of the 18th 96 officers and 1644 men went to the

ambulances.

According to the Russian account the loss of the enemy during the bombardment

and assault of the 17th and 18th of June was:- -2 superior officers, 14 subaltern officers, and 781 soldiers killed, 4 superior officers, 43 subaltern officers, and 3132 men wounded; 1 general, 5 superior officers, 29 subaltern officers, and 815 men who

received contusions.

VOL. XCVII.

Third Division, which was intended rather as a demonstration to divert the attention of the enemy, than a real assault. General Eyre moved down to the ravine, at the head of Dockyard Creek, on the left of our line of attack, and having driven in some ambuscades in front, found the Russians strongly posted between a cemetery on their left, and a mound or hillock on their right, and protected by stone walls, which intervened between them and the advancing English. Our men were obliged to pull down these walls, in order to get at the enemy, who kept up a vigorous fire, both on the ground and from some houses which they occupied, while the guns of the fortress thundered upon the assailants. The position of the Russians was, however, gallantly carried, and General Eyre firmly established himself in the cemetery, and occupied some houses on the spot, ready to take advantage of whatever opportunity might occur, if the Anglo-French attack on his right proved successful. Although exposed to a concentrated fire from the Russian guns, our men held the ground they had won until late in the evening, when the failures of the attacks on the Malakhoff and Redan compelled them to retire, and they fell attempt being made by the enemy back upon the camp without any to molest them. The ground they had so gallantly won was, during the night, occupied by large working parties from our lines, and remained in our possession.

While the assault was going on, several vessels from the allied fleet opened their fire upon the town and its sea defences, but with little effect, and unhappily Captain Lyons, the gallant commander of

[R]

the Miranda, and son of the English Admiral, was severely wounded in the leg by a shell, and soon afterwards died.

The Russians had good reason to be proud of their success. Prince Gortschakoff, in his despatch, describing the events of the two days, said :—

"The enemy having resolved to make a decisive attack on our left flank, opened, on the 5th (17th) of June, at 3.30 A.M., a 'fire of hell' against the fortifications of the Karabelnaia Faubourg (sections 3 and 4). For two consecutive hours, all their batteries fired almost uninterrupted broadsides. On our side, we kept up a quick fire in return. At two in the afternoon, at a given signal, the besiegers opened a heavy fire against our right flank; the fire, which was now opened along the whole line of our defences, lasted till an advanced hour of the evening.

"At dusk, and throughout the night, the enemy threw shells and rockets into the town, into the roadstead, and the north side. A steam-frigate, which had left the allied fleet at the same time, fired broadsides into the roadstead and against the town. The greater portion of its projectiles fell into the sea without touching our ships. "This terrible cannonade, and incessant bombardment, did not prevent the brave defenders of Sebastopol from actively repairing the damage done to the works; despite a terrible front and flank fire, the works were successfully completed, the guns which had been dismantled replaced by new ones on every point, and on the morning of the 6th (18th) of June, we were perfectly prepared to receive and drive back the enemy...

"On the 6th (18th) of June, at daybreak, the enemy, in a dense chain, supported by strong reserves, attacked simultaneously Bastion No. 1, the fortified barracks between Bastions 1 and 2, Bastion No. 2, the Kornileff Bastion, Bastion No. 3, and the socalled Gribok work, situate on the right of the Péressyp; the enemy entertained the hope of forcing a passage somewhere along this long line of defence.

"The number of troops they brought to the assault was 35,000 men, without counting their distant reserves. The French advanced on the right flank and centre, the English on the left flank.

"The besiegers, provided with ladders, fascines, and sappers' tools, advanced rapidly to the attack. Despite the heavy fire of grape and musketry we poured into them, their columns advanced, reached our ditches, and commenced scaling the parapets.

"But the line of the intrepid defenders of Sebastopol never swerved. They received the daring assailants with the points of their bayonets, and threw them back into the ditches. The enemy's columns then threw themselves on the Gervais Battery, entered it, drove out the battalion of infantry in charge of it, and, following in pursuit, occupied the houses nearest the Karabelnaia Faubourg from the Malakoff Mamelon, to the bay of the docks.

Bastions 2 and Kornileff. When the enemy had passed through our line near the Gervais Battery, Lieutenant-General Chrouleff, placing himself at the head of a company of the Sevsk regiment of infantry, which was returning from a corvée, and taking with him a battalion of the Poltawa Regiment, led them to the charge.

"These troops, reinforced in good time by five companies of the Yakoutsk Regiment, and later by a battalion of the Yelets Regiment, routed the French, and, having driven them out of the Gervais Battery, pursued them into their own trenches, putting the stragglers in the rear to the bayonet. The company of the Sevsk Regiment distinguished itself by its intrepidity during the

combat.

"On all the other points of the line of defence, the troops, animated by their commanders, RearAdmiral Panfiloff and Major-General Prince Ouroussoff, fought with exemplary courage, and drove back the assailants.

"Our batteries on the north side, and our steamers, which swept the enemy's columns at every point upon which they could bring their guns to bear, contributed considerably to the success of this brilliant affair; the steamer Vladimir in particular, commanded by Captain Boutakoff, approached repeatedly the entrance of Careening Bay, from which point it swept the enemy's reserves.

"The heroism and disregard of danger of the garrison of Sebastopol, in which all, from the general to the private, fought with most extraordinary daring and intrepidity, are above all praise. Amongst those who most distinguished themselves, in addition to

the commander of the garrison, Aide-de-Camp Count Osten-Sacken, and his colleague, Admiral Nachimoff (who so valiantly direct the whole defence of Sebastopol), I must mention Lieutenant-General Chrouleff, to whom the chief honour of the day is due, as commanding the whole of the line attacked; Rear-Admiral Panfiloff, who drove back the assault on Bastion No. 3; Major-General Prince Ouroussoff, who defeated the assailants between Bastions 1 and 2; the Chiefs of Sections, and Naval Captains de Kern and Pérélischine; Major-General Youféroff, Colonel Goleff, LieutenantColonel Malefsky, and Captain Boutakoff.

"Our losses, during the bombardment of the 5th and 6th (17th and 18th) of June, and during the assault, consist of 1 superior officer, 4 subalterns, and 530 men killed; 6 superior officers, 42 subalterns, and about 3378 men wounded.

66

'Among the brave defenders of Sebastopol, we have unhappily to deplore the loss of some distinguished officers."

The next day, Prince Gortschakoff issued the following order of the day to his troops :

"Heights of Inkermann, June 19. "Comrades, The sanguinary combat of yesterday, and the defeat of a despairing enemy, have again crowned our arms with immortal laurels. Russia owes you a debt of gratitude, which she will pay. Thousands of our comrades in arms have sealed with their blood the oath they had taken, and have thus redeemed the word I gave to the Emperor, our common father. Accept my best thanks for it.

"Comrades, considerable rein

of our holy and orthodox Russia. The hour is approaching when the pride of the enemy will be lowered, their armies swept from our soil like chaff blown away by the wind. Till then, let us put trust in God, and let us fight for the Emperor and for our country.

'Let this order of the day be read to every company and squadron of the army.

"GORTSCHAKOFF."

A short armistice afterwards took place, for the purpose of removing the wounded and burying the dead, when the Russian officers spoke of the folly of the attack, and asked whether we seriously thought we should ever get possession of Sebastopol.