224

MORNING AFTER THE BATTLE.

CHAPTER XIV.

Inkermann on the Morning of the 6th November. -Burial of the Dead. -Inhumanity of Russian Troops.-Flag of Truce.-Our Trenches. -Mode of constructing them.-How Batteries are erected.-Camp Life.-Soldier's Fare.-Alarms and Sorties.-Severe Privations.-The Hurricane.-Tents down.-No Shelter.-No Provisions.-Number of Shipwrecks.-Loss of Life.-Destruction of Stores.-The Duke of Cambridge. His perilous Position.-His Sympathy for the Men's Sufferings. Sketch of his Character.-Work in the Trenches.Sharp Look-out.-Expert Marksmen.-Misery of Camp Life.-Difficulty of getting up Stores.-Bad Roads.-63rd Regiment annihilated by Disease. The few left removed to Balaklava.-Progress of the Siege.-Prospect brightening.-Arrival of Stores.-Comfort for the Troops.-Arrival of Navvies.-Commencement of Railroad.—Things looking up.

THE small space of ground on which the battle of Inkermann was fought presented a frightful spectacle on the following morning. Most of our own wounded had been attended to and removed the evening before; and, being so near to camp, many officers and men who were not seriously injured, returned to their tents; and, with a little aid from the regimental surgeon, were soon again fit for duty. Hundreds of the Russian wounded lay scattered along the ground, besides the vast numbers they had themselves conveyed away during the action. More than a thousand Russian corpses were collected within a short space of the Sandbag Battery, and alongside of the ravine the relative proportion of killed between the allies and Russians was considered to be about 1 to 5 Russians.

A strong fatigue party was told off to remove the wounded Russians and bury the dead; and, while engaged on this painful duty, the Russians, with their characteristic brutality, fired on them from their batteries, a thing so unusual among civilised nations, that Lord Raglan sent an officer, under a flag of truce, to demand from the Russian commander some explanation in regard to such atrocities; as, if persisted in, they might provoke a severe retaliation. Prince Menschikoff replied that the acts complained of were done by his troops, under excitement, and without authority; but that they should not be renewed.

On the return of our division to camp we had to resume

DESCRIPTION OF OUR SIEGE OPERATIONS.

225

our work in the trenches; and, as many of my present comrades, as also some among my non-military readers, may not be able to thoroughly understand what is meant by duty in the trenches, perhaps I may be permitted to give some little explanation on that point. The term siege, in its ordinary acceptation, supposes a city, town, or fortress, to be surrounded and invested by a vastly superior force, who would thus have the means, by cutting off their supplies, of starving them into a surrender, and, at the same time, if they have the means to construct batteries, to mount guns and mortars of the largest calibre, so as to effect a breach in the walls sufficiently large to enable the besiegers, with their superior numbers, to carry the place by storm. What is called the siege of Sebastopol, however, was altogether of a different character, inasmuch as, though partially invested, the Russian garrison had still the road of communication open to them, and could bring in any amount of men, material, and provisions which they might require; and, so far from the besieged being inferior in numbers, they were actually vastly superior, so much so, as to enable them to leave an effective force to defend the part assailed, while they could detach large armies or divisions, in overwhelming numbers, to operate on the flanks and rear of the besiegers; and, if we keep this circumstance in view, we can then form some idea of the difficult task assigned to the allied troops, in carrying on offensive operations against an almost impregnable position, and, at the same time, to defend their own lines from attack, as was the case at Balaklava and Inkermann; and it was under these extraordinary and difficult circumstances we were called upon to act on the south of Sebastopol.

The Fourth Division, to which our regiment belonged, took up position on what is called the Heights of Sebastopol, not quite out of the reach of the enemy's guns, of which we had many striking proofs; and our first work in the trenches was for the construction of what was afterwards called the Greenhill Battery. On the evening selected for the commencement of this job, about 800 men, unarmed, each carrying a pickaxe or shovel, advanced stealthily to the front, preserving the most profound silence, with instructions, in case of an attack from the town, to fall back slowly on the regiments in our rear, who were under arms to protect us. The lines being

226

NATURE OF DUTY IN THE TRENCHES.

traced out by the sappers and miners, under their superintendence we began to work, hoping that we should be able to throw up as much earth as would defend us from the enemy's shot when they should discover our intention of making a closer acquaintance with them; and, while a large portion of the men were engaged in digging out the foundations, others were employed in filling bags with clay, and carrying them to the persons who were occupied in building the battery, with the aid of fascines, gabions, etc.

The enemy, through the night, seemed to have some suspicion of what we were about, and sent a few cannon-shot and shell among us, with but very little damage to us. Just before daybreak we were relieved by another body of men, who would advance in the same silent, cautious manner, and we would make our way back to camp, When the battery had been formed, platforms raised, and guns brought up and planted, it would bide its time for use. Vast numbers of men were similarly engaged in digging trenches right and left, parallel with the enemy's works, and extending for a considerable distance; and, when these were completed, other trenches would be formed still further in advance, nearer to the town, communicating with each other, the men in them protected from the enemy's shot by the embankment thrown up, and so by degrees, carrying on and erecting batteries, so close as to be effective for the purpose intended. The men on duty in the trenches were necessarily obliged to exercise a constant vigilance during the night, to prevent surprise by sorties, which generally take place under cover of the darkness, when numbers of the besieged are sent out, with instructions as to the duties they are expected to perform, and receiving, if it can be had, an extra allowance of spirit, as a stimulant. The object of these nocturnal expeditions is, to attack the works and spike the guns, by driving pieces of iron into the vent or touchhole of the cannon, which would destroy their efficiency for a time, if not render them altogether unserviceable.

As the parties in the trenches have no opportunity of knowing when these sorties are to be made, or the particular part to which they are directed, they generally have to maintain their position at any sacrifice, until the firing shall give intimation of their danger, and bring troops up to their support. The fighting, therefore, under these circumstances is of the

COMFORTS OF CAMP LIFE.

227

most determined and desperate character. These obstinate conflicts were of almost nightly occurrence; but the Russians, though well primed with brandy, and on all occasions having the advantage of numbers, were invariably driven back with great loss, after leaving the ground between the batteries covered with their dead. The allies, however, did not content themselves with simply repelling them, but would often pursue them, even to the entrance of the town, when they, in their turn, would be compelled to retire, being exposed to the fire from the batteries. These duties in the trenches were excessively severe, and I have often seen men drop down from sheer fatigue and exhaustion; and many of us would be found asleep, standing leaning against each other. When we were relieved and returned to camp, instead of refreshment and repose, we had to look after our rations, and, when obtained, there was much trouble in preparing the meal; for instance, we had coffee served out, but, being in its green state, before it could be made available as a beverage, it had to go through the processes of roasting, grinding, and boiling, and this without any of the necessary utensils; but, "necessity being the mother of invention," we, after roasting or burning the coffee, would bring in the aid of a thirty-two-pound shot to grind it, when it was boiled in the camp kettles, which were immediately afterwards required to cook the pork for dinner, if there was any allowed; hitherto, indeed, we had been supplied with it pretty regularly: but, as the road to and from Balaklava became bad, we had often to wait for, and frequently to go without, our daily bread.

We had been for some time lodged in tents, but they were none of the best. While the weather kept tolerably fine, however, we managed to rub on with them, and the fact of our being rather overcrowded had one advantage, as it enabled us to keep each other warm; but the few opportunities we had of attending to personal cleanliness, caused our blankets and clothing, as well as our persons, to be teeming with vermin. It is said the Russians are so accustomed to these interesting little creatures, that one of them, seeing one on the collar of his coat as he sat at dinner, seized it between his fingers, and put it inside his clothes, remarking, as he did so, 'You rascal, if I catch you out of your quarters again, I'll kill you." Our tents were calculated to hold, each eighteen

228

PERSONAL APPEARANCE-THE STORM.

men, supported by a centre-pole, and the extremities fastened to the ground by stakes; whatever might be the state of the weather, the cooking had to be performed in the open air.

It is related of George the Third, that on reviewing a certain regiment of militia, he asked:

"What regiment is this?"

"The King's Own, your Majesty," was the reply.

"Oh, ah!" said the King; "it's a good job they are mine, for I think nobody else would own them."

Such also might have been said of us, from our appearance; for, owing to our rough service, working in the trenches, sleeping on the ground, &c., our appearance was anything but soldierlike; and the officers were very little better off than the men; but, as the horse-dealer said, "though we were rum ones to look at, we were good ones to go," and under tattered garments was found some sterling metal.

On the 13th of November we had a stiff breeze blowing, which increased during the night, and before daybreak on the 14th increased to a perfect hurricane, with thunder, lightning, and rain, which rendered our tents comparatively useless, for the water came pouring through them as through a sieve. As daylight broke in upon us, a most extraordinary scene presented itself, as far as the eye could reach. Such was the violence of the storm, that the tents were uprooted, poles broken, horses blown down, carts upset, and articles of every conceivable variety scattered in every direction. The Crimea is said to be periodically visited with these storms, but it was admitted that none had for years been so severe. Let those who have been always well and securely housed, well clothed, and well fed, just imagine what must have been our position through that awful day: no shelter, no provision cooking, saturated with rain, and up to the ancles in slush and mud, every now and then blown down by the violence of the storm. The horrors of that day and night made a lasting impression on my memory; even the descriptive powers of Russell, great as they undoubtedly are, failed to depict, in all its horrid truthfulness, the miseries attendant on that fearful visitation. But, if our position was so bad, how fared those on board ship, did they ride the storm out securely? Alas, no! the shores of the Black Sea told a sad tale; scenes of the most disastrous nature presented themselves along the coast from the number of wrecks,