Thomas W. Knox

“ It is probable that few volleys so immensely powerful, and at the same time so suddenly discharged, were ever known before since artillery was invented.
The suddenness of the shock, together with its magnitude, seemed for a time to have paralyzed the defenders of Sebastopol. Their batteries were not sufficiently manned to enable them to reply with any vigor to such a tremendous fire, and the French prevented in great measure any movement to man the batteries by the energy and celerity with which they continued the iron hail which began so suddenly. ”

“ The great mass of the ruins was enclosed between the sea-wall, and the Flagstaff batteries, and farther beyond could be seen the city itself, rising apparently in terraces along the hill-sides, displaying fine dwellings, public edifices of red or white sandstone, and magnificent churches, the whole liberally sprinkled with gardens, and with rows of trees growing in the promenades. ”

“ Turkey demanded modifications which Russia refused; Turkey declared war against Russia on the 5th of October, and Russia declared war against Turkey on the 1st of November.
A Turkish fleet of twelve ships was lying at Sinope, a port on the southern shore of the Black Sea. On the 30th of November the Russians sent a fleet of eleven ships from Sebastopol which destroyed the Turkish fleet, all except one ship that carried the news to Constantinople. Then the allied fleets of the French and English entered the Black Sea, and the war began in dead earnest. ”

“ The French attack on the left was a failure and caused a heavy loss to the assailants. As soon as the French flag was hoisted on the parapet of the Malakoff, rockets were sent up from the English advance trenches as a signal for the English assault on the Redan. The French had made their assault on the Malakoff with four divisions of their Second Corps, two divisions forming as storming columns. The English attacked the Redan with only two divisions, one being held in reserve and practically not engaged. ”

“ Then they stopped almost as suddenly as they began, in order to give the guns a chance to cool. The Russians instantly took advantage of the lull in the fire by coming out to repair damages. They emptied bags of sand and earth on the outside of their parapets, rolled out gabions, and did other work usual in the reparation of artillery fire. Their artillerymen also took advantage of the lull by opening fire on the batteries of the naval brigade in the English lines, and delivered their shot with such precision as to cause the English in that locality a good deal of trouble. ”

“ On the 20th of September the battle of the Alma was fought by fifty-seven thousand English, French, and Turkish troops, against fifty thousand Russians. The battle began at noon, and four hours later the Russians were defeated and in full retreat. The Russians lost five
thousand men, and the Allies about three thousand four hundred. The Allies might have marched into Sebastopol with very little resistance, but their commanders were uncertain as to the number of troops defending the city, and hesitated to make the attempt. ”

“ A panic seemed to seize some of the men, while others acted bravely and rushed forward to obey the orders of their officers. They were not sufficiently strong in numbers to perform the work, and as fast as they advanced they were swept down by the Russian fire. ”

“ The loving are the daring.
The following account of the sixth and last bombardment of the defences of Sebastopol was written by an eye-witness within the British lines. The bombardment began on the morning of September 5th, three days before the Malakoff and Redan were assaulted. ”