THE NIGHT AFTER THE BATTLE.
An eye-witness thus describes the night after the battle:
“On the evening of the battle I went over the field. All the wounded had been removed. There is nothing so awful as the spectacle of the bodies of those who have been struck down by round shot or shell. Some had their heads taken off by the neck, as with an axe; others, their legs gone from their hips; others their arms; and others again, who were hit in the chest or stomach, were literally as mashed as if they had been crushed in a machine. Passing up to Sebastopol, over heaps of Russian dead, I came to the spot where the Guards had been compelled to retire from the defence of the wall above Inkerman valley. Here the dead of the Allies were nearly as numerous as the enemy’s. Beyond this the Russian Guardsmen and line regiments lay as thick as leaves; intermixed with dead and wounded horses. The path lay through thick brushwood, but it was slippery with blood, and the brushwood was broken down and encumbered with the dead. The scene from the battery was awful beyond description. I stood upon its parapet at about nine at night, and felt my heart sink as I gazed upon the scene of carnage around.
“The moon was at its full, and showed every object as if by the light of day. Facing me was the valley of Inkerman, with the Tchernaya, like a band of silver, flowing gracefully between the hills, which, for varied and picturesque beauty, might vie with any part of the world.
“Yet I shall never recall the memory of Inkerman valley with any but feelings of horror; for round the spot from which I surveyed the scene lay upwards of five thousand bodies.
“Some lay as if prepared for burial, and as though the hands of relatives had arranged their mangled limbs; while others again were in almost startling positions, half standing or kneeling, clutching their weapons or drawing a cartridge.
“Many lay with both their hands extended towards the sky, as if to avert a blow or utter a prayer; while others had a malignant scowl of fear and hatred. The moonlight imparted an aspect of unnatural paleness to their forms, and as the cold, damp wind swept round the hills and waved the boughs above their upturned faces, the shadows gave a horrible appearance of vitality; and it seemed as if the dead were laughing, and about to rise. This was not the case on one spot, but all over the bloody field.”
The whole of the 6th (the day after the battle) was devoted to the sorry task of burying the dead. A council of war was held, presided over by Lord Raglan, at which it was determined to winter in the Crimea, and orders were issued accordingly.
Large reinforcements were demanded both by Lord Raglan and General Canrobert, which, with considerable promptitude, have been despatched by their respective governments, and many of them are already on the spot.
In the period which has elapsed since the battle of Inkerman no battle has been fought. The usual routine of siege operations has gone on; sorties have taken place from the besieged city, both upon the French and English lines, which have, in every instance, been victoriously repulsed. But a more formidable enemy than the Czar of all the Russias has taken the field against the Allies. Winter, with his chilling aspect and freezing breath, accompanied by his suite of sleet and storm, and hurricane and snow, has made his appearance more terrible than for many a year past. At times all operations have been suspended; the trenches filled with water, and many a shivering form has laid itself down without even the comfort of a plank between it and the dripping earth to dream of home and to die. The sufferings of such are known only to Him who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
On the 14th November, one of the fiercest storms known within the memory of man burst over the Black Sea. Off Balaklava, where the cliffs are steep and abrupt, eight transports became total wrecks, and every soul on board but 30 perished.
A magnificent new steamer, the “Prince,” of 3,000 tons burden, having arrived but a few days previously from England, and landed in safety the 46th regiment, was obliged to anchor outside in consequence of the crowded state of the harbor. The hurricane took her unawares, and was so severe that her cables parted; the roaring surf tossed her like an egg-shell upon the rocks, and the next instant nothing but a wreathing mist could be seen hanging over the spot where her noble timbers lay buried. Out of 150 souls on board, but six were saved. Her cargo was invaluable at that particular time, and consisted of a great portion of the winter clothing for the troops, including 40,000 suits of clothes, and large quantities of shot, shell, and medical stores. Altogether, 18 British and 12 French ships were lost at Balaklava.
Off the Katcha, five English and eight French ships were cast ashore.
At Eupatoria, the Henri IV., a French ship of the line, the French war-steamer, Pluton, seven French and five English transports, and a Turkish line-of-battle ship, were driven on shore.
During the confusion of the storm, an attack was made on the town of Eupatoria by 4,000 Russian cavalry, with 14 pieces of artillery, but was gallantly repulsed by the cannon and rockets of the garrison.
The continuance of unfavorable weather has rendered the camps almost untenable, and the roads impassable. The British government, to obviate the difficulty, have sent out all the materials necessary for the construction of a railroad from Balaklava to Sebastopol heights, with a sufficient number of navvies (or laborers) to complete the same at an early day.
On the 2nd of December, a change took place in the views of the Austrian cabinet, which was interpreted as favorable to the Western Powers.
A treaty was signed at Vienna by the Earl of Westmoreland, the Baron de Bourgueney, and Count Buol, as representatives of their respective governments, of which the following are the principal conditions:—The high contracting parties engage not to enter into any engagement with Russia without deliberating in common. The Emperor of Austria engages to defend the Principalities against any attack by the Russians, and that nothing shall be done by his troops to interfere with the free action of the Allies against the Russian frontier. A commission, to consist of a plenipotentiary from each government, with the addition of a Turkish commissioner, is to sit at Vienna, to decide all questions arising out of the occupation. In case of hostilities arising between Austria and Russia, an offensive and defensive alliance is to be de facto established between the former and the Western Powers, and no suspension of hostilities will be concluded without the agreement of all the three Powers.
The ratifications of this treaty were exchanged on the 14th.
The King of Prussia had played so vacillating a part that the influence of that cabinet had ceased to be felt, and she was neither consulted nor regarded.
Negotiations for peace have been set on foot, with some hope of success, but as a basis for negotiation, Great Britain, France, and Austria, unanimously determined to insist upon, and abide by, the following four points:
1st. The abolition of the Protectorate over the Danubian Principalities, and the privileges of those provinces placed under the collective guarantee of the contracting powers.
2d. The free navigation of the mouths of the Danube secured according to the principles established by the Congress of Vienna.
3d. The revision of the Treaty of 13th July, 1841, in the interest of the balance of power in Europe.
4th. The abandonment, by Russia, of her claim to exercise an official protectorate over the Christian subjects of the Porte (to whatever rite they might belong) in consideration of the Powers giving their mutual assistance to obtain from the Sultan a confirmation and observance of the religious privileges of all Christian communities.
A period of fourteen days was given Prince Gortschakoff in which to communicate with his Imperial master.
In less than eight days, instead of the fourteen allowed him, the Plenipotentiary of the Czar was instructed to negotiate a peace on the minimum proposed.
No cessation of hostilities has taken place; no armistice will be listened to, and the siege goes on. Enormous preparations have been made both by the French and English, for continuing their operations with increased vigor as soon as the weather will permit. Omer Pacha has been ordered, with his army of forty thousand men, to proceed to Eupatoria, where he has landed, and will be able to operate on the rear of the Russians, while the British and French attack in front, and if kept well supplied both with men and means, we may expect something brilliant from his well-earned prowess and reputation.
Whether we are approaching the close of the war, or the beginning of it, is a question which no human foresight can, at the present moment, determine.
The question is one of deep importance to the world generally, for war brings so many evils in its train, is so exhausting in blood and treasure, interrupts the commercial transactions of nations so painfully, and retards civilization so seriously, that we cannot but hope that the year which thus commences with slaughter may close in peace.
A winter campaign under the most favorable circumstances is rife with suffering and death; but much can be done to mitigate these evils by a system of thorough discipline on the part of those in command.
Every arrival, however, from the Crimea, brings tales of woe and misery coupled with additional confirmation of the gross mismanagement which has characterized the conduct of the British army since its first arrival in the East. In battle, British officers and soldiers have proved themselves heroes, yet in the organization of the different departments, in everything which contributes to the comfort and health both of officers and men, as well as in the commissariat, they have proved themselves lamentably deficient.
In contrast with the admirable organization of the French army under similar circumstances, it would seem difficult to account for the comparative comfort in the one case, and the miserable lack of it in the other; but upon a careful analysis of the two systems, the cause becomes at once apparent. The French army is essentially a democratic institution, in which promotion depends entirely upon individual merit. Vigilance, activity, and energy is the price of position, and with a possibility of attaining a higher rank, the common soldier as well as the officer, has an incentive for extra exertion, and something to hope for in the future.
But with the British it is quite the reverse. Once in the ranks the soldier hopes for no higher position, because it is unattainable. Their officers are selected, not on the ground of merit, but because by chance born a “Somerset” or in the shadow of a title. By education well fitted to shine at court, or amid the butterflies of fashion, practical knowledge and business capacity are things of which they have never dreamed, and which so savors of the plebeian that they are led to believe themselves degraded by giving attention to details, or in the exhibition of that energy which is the secret of success in every calling.
While the execution of these minor details renders the French comparatively comfortable on the heights of Sebastopol, the British, for lack of them, are undergoing the horrors of the campaign of Moscow.
With a superabundance of everything on board ship; with cargoes of furs and warm clothing at Balaklava, the soldiers on half rations are suffering famine, and in summer garments are shivering and dying in the cold blasts of a Crimean winter. By the humanity of their allies, some have been protected from freezing by donations of the well known Algerine caban (heavy cloaks with hoods), from the French; and the British army presents the strange and humiliating spectacle of appearing in French habiliments and sacrificing its identity. If the present disasters in the Crimea shall have the effect to cause a breaking down of that Feudal system in England, which recognises one man as entitled to all privileges, and his neighbor to none; which, regardless of capacity, places names rather than men in command of armies, and in cabinets: if this change shall be effected, then will more good have been accomplished than would result from the subjugation of Russia and downfall of Sebastopol.
NICHOLAS, LATE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.