Second Explosion at Acre—Prisoners sent to Beyrout—The Author ordered to Alexandria with a Squadron—Letter from the Emir—Neglected State of his Troops—English Commissary-General appointed—Excursion to the Mountains—Padre Ryllo—French Priests in Lebanon—Visit to the Wife of an Emir—Bad conduct of the Turks—Letters to Lord Ponsonby, Palmerston, and Minto on the subject.
A day or two after the surrender of the ill-fated town of Acre, another severe explosion took place, but fortunately few suffered. Captain Collier had his leg broke, and Sir Charles Smith received a contusion on the foot.
The prisoners were sent in the ships-of-war to Beyrout; and I was directed to proceed there also, complete my water, and then take the command of the squadron off Alexandria, which was to be increased to six sail of the line. I had gained so much influence over the mountaineers that I did not think this a wise measure; and the Admiralty seemed to have been of the same opinion, for orders were afterwards sent for the Powerful to return.
The Admiral had decided to winter in Marmorice Bay, and leave the Benbow at Beyrout, Pique and Zebra at Acre, and the other small vessels and steamers on various parts of the coast. We arrived at Beyrout on the 9th of November, and a few days after were followed by the Admiral who, with the rest of the squadron, anchored in St. George’s Bay, with the exception of the Bellerophon, which remained off the town. The anchorage at the latter place in winter is far from safe; the former is quite open, but the holding-ground good. We found things in the same state; Ibrahim was concentrated at Zachle and Malaka, and the Turkish troops divided between Tripoli, Beyrout, Sidon, Acre, and Tyre. About this time they must have amounted to 12,000. The Emir Bechir had been left to himself to watch the mountains the best way he could, without either forces or provisions, and why Ibrahim did not attack him, and march upon Beyrout, is to me inexplicable. The Emir shall tell his own story.
“Sir,
“Ammanah, Nov. 11, 1840.
“We have received your favoured letter, and I thank you very much for telling me so soon about Acre. The 3000 muskets which you sent me the order for, I am sending for to-day, and I thank you for it. I also inform you that the troops under my command have had no provisions for three days, nor the horses any barley, and in fact nothing at all to eat. I have written to the Pacha several times, and he has done nothing. You know very well the troops cannot keep together without pay and provisions, nor the horses without barley. In consequence of this, the troops have returned to their homes; and if they remain, the enemy will come into the mountains. Perhaps this may happen, and I write this to you that you shall not blame me if it does.
“The bearer (Scheik Osman) will inform you plainly about all this, and I leave every thing to you.”
I communicated this to Sir Charles Smith, who immediately gave orders to the Turkish authorities to send the supplies that were wanted; they, however, knew very little of the movements of a Commissariat, and the probability is the orders were badly executed. Shortly after, a Commissary General arrived from England to take charge of this department.
Three days after my arrival at Beyrout, I made an excursion to the mountains, and went over the ground whence we had so recently driven Ibrahim Pacha. It was indeed a fine position; and how so renowned a warrior as Ibrahim Pacha could have allowed himself to be driven from such a post, is not easily to be accounted for. After getting possession of the third position, there is a cavalry country; and had he taken the precaution of ordering up a couple of squadrons of Souliman Pacha’s horse, and attacked us unexpectedly, we should have lost many men before we could have recovered from the disorder unavoidably caused by the difficulty of the ascent. After going over the ground, we partook of the hospitality of Padre Ryllo, at Bechfaya. He had been an officer in the Polish army; and, after witnessing the destruction of his country, became a priest, and took refuge in the mountains of Lebanon. He was a most useful and intelligent man; had a large correspondence through the country, and was most serviceable in procuring information. Besides the Padre, there were half a dozen more priests in the convent, French and Italians, who possessed great influence in the mountains, and turned their attention to the education of the people. The French priests were, generally speaking, in the interest of Mehemet Ali; and all his correspondence with the mountains was carried on through them, and by means of French vessels of war stationed on various parts of the coast. We were well aware of this inconvenience; but it was very difficult, if not impossible, to remedy it, without running the risk of collision with France, which the Government was anxious to avoid.