The battles of the world

by J. Douglas Borthwick

RIFLE PITS, CONTEST AT THE.—Crimean war. “The bombardment was re-opened on Easter Monday, the 9th April, soon after daybreak. Heavy rain fell all day, and the dense atmosphere prevented our men from observing the effect of the fire. This time the fleets did not share in the bombardment. At the close of the day, it was evident that our weight of metal, though greatly superior to that employed on the occasion of the first bombardment in October, was yet inadequate to the task of destroying the colossal works of the enemy. In vain our artillery pounded the earthworks and batteries. In vain showers of shell were poured into the town. The Russian engineers proved themselves consummate masters of their art, and every morning fresh guns poured forth a deadly reply from the repaired embrasures. Their resources seemed literally inexhaustible, and their courage was fully equal to the occasion. For more than a week the tremendous bombardment continued, and notwithstanding the intensity of the fire from the French and English batteries, comparatively little effect was produced. In the meanwhile both armies worked assiduously at the trenches. The French succeeded in carrying their parallels yet nearer to the Mamelon, a large rounded hill in front of the Malakoff Tower, and covered with rifle pits and earthworks; while the English gradually extended their lines towards the formidable Redan. Their great difficulty lay in forming a trench which should connect the zigzags leading on the right towards the Malakoff, and on the left towards the Redan. In order to obstruct the formation of this work, the enemy established a series of rifle-pits which enfiladed the new parallel, and whence considerable loss was inflicted upon our working parties. In addition to the fire from the rifle-pits, the enemy brought down a 12-pounder gun which swept our trenches, and effectually hindered the progress of the work. It became necessary, therefore, to attempt to drive the Russians from their vantage-ground; and on the night of the 19th of April, Colonel Egerton, at the head of 250 men of the Light Division, attempted the exploit, dashed from the breastwork, and, taking the enemy by surprise, drove him out. The successful English immediately established themselves in the pits, but the Russians were too sensible of the value of the position to permit the advantage to remain undisputed, and marched down a column 1000 strong, to attempt the recovery of the pits. Our troops met them with a well-directed volley, which shook their ranks and then closed with them in a deadly contest. The enemy was, after an obstinate fight, completely routed, and the British had secured an important advantage, though not without the loss of the gallant Colonel. On the following night, the second line of rifle-pits was also carried, after a feeble resistance; and our working parties were thus enabled to pursue their labours without annoyance, and in comparative security.”

ROADS, LORD COCHRANE AT BASQUE.—“Our fire-ships were sent in, each conducted by a lieutenant and five men; the ships were sixteen in number, and some very heavy. When they got in, the French ships cut and slipt, nine sail of the line got on shore on the Isle of Aix, and the next morning we discovered them: the fire-ships having done little good, the small craft and frigates were ordered in to attempt to destroy them. The place where they lay was like Portsmouth harbour, under the fire of the two batteries, each of which had three tiers of guns, of twenty-nine each, all heavy metal: the navigation to get at them was very difficult, in some places there being only four fathoms water. Just as we were sitting down to dinner on board the Revenge, our signal was made to go in and assist the gun and mortar vessels; our ship was cleared for action in fifteen minutes, and in half an hour we were alongside of three sail of the line, when we opened a dreadful cannonade on them, which continued for an hour and a quarter, the Warsaw, a fine 80-gun ship, and the Aquilon, struck to us. We were now in a very critical state ourselves, being in only five fathoms water, which was ebbing very fast; the batteries on shore, having got our length, struck us almost every shot for the last quarter of an hour; luckily, a breeze springing up, we got off into deeper water, and out of reach of their guns, when we anchored again, and sent our boats to take out the prisoners, and set them on fire, about seven, p.m. At nine they were all in flames, and at two in the morning they blew up with a tremendous explosion; the French set fire to the Tonniere, and the Imperieuse to the Calcutta; three other ships of the line were on shore, very much mauled by the frigates and boom-ships; some of them were on their beam-ends, and but little chance of getting off again. The captain of the Warsaw was on board our ship; he said, they were bound out to relieve Martinique with troops and provisions. I went on board his ship after she struck, and the decks were strewed with dead and dying, a most dreadful slaughter. We also lost several killed and wounded, and our ship was much cut up in sails and rigging.

Lord Cochrane caused about 1500 barrels of gunpowder to be started into puncheons, which were placed end upwards: upon the tops of these were placed between 3 and 400 shells, charged with fuses; and again, among and upon these were between 2 and 3000 hand-grenades. The puncheons were fastened to each other by cables wound round them, and jammed together with wedges; and moistened sand was rammed down between these casks, so as to render the whole, from stem to stern, as solid as possible, that the resistance might render the explosion the more violent.

In this tremendous instrument of destruction, Lord Cochrane committed himself, with only one lieutenant and four seamen; and after the boom was broken, his lordship proceeded with this explosion-ship towards the enemy’s line. Let it be recollected, that at this moment the batteries on shore were provided with furnaces to fire red-hot shot, and then his lordship’s danger in this enterprize may be properly conceived.

The wind blew a gale, and the tide ran three knots an hour. When the blue lights of the fire-ships were discovered, one of the enemy’s line made the signal for fire-ships; which being also a blue light, the enemy fell into great confusion, firing upon her with very injurious effect, and directly cut their cables.

When lord Cochrane had conducted his explosion-ship as near as was possible, the enemy having taken the alarm, he ordered his brave little crew into the boat, and followed them, after putting fire to the fuse, which was calculated to give them fifteen minutes to get out of reach of the explosion. However, in consequence of the wind getting very high, the fuse burnt too quickly; so that, with the most violent exertion against wind and tide, this intrepid little party was six minutes nearer than they calculated to be, at the time when the most tremendous explosion that human art ever contrived took place, followed by the bursting at once in the air of nearly 400 shells and 3000 hand-grenades, pouring down a shower of castmetal in every direction. But fortunately our second Nelson was spared, the boat having reached, by unparalleled exertion, only just beyond the extent of destruction. Unhappily, this effort to escape cost the life of the brave lieutenant, whom his noble captain saw die in the boat, partly under fatigue, and partly drowned with waves that continually broke over them. Two of the four sailors were also so nearly exhausted, that their recovery was for some time despaired of.

The repetition of his explosions was so dreaded by the enemy, that they apprehended an equal destruction in every fire-ship, and, immediately crowding all sail, ran before wind and tide so fast, that the fire-ships, though at first very near, could not overtake them, before they were high and dry on shore, except three seventy-fours, besides the Calcutta, which were afterwards engaged, taken, and burned.

Lord Cochrane now turned his attention to rescue the vanquished from the devouring elements; and in bringing away the people of the Ville de Varsovie, he would not allow even a dog to be abandoned, but took the crying little favourite up into his arms and brought it away. But a still greater instance of goodness was displayed in his humanity to a captain of a French seventy-four, who came to deliver his sword to Lord Cochrane, and lamented that all he had in the world was about to be destroyed by the conflagration of his ship. His lordship instantly got into the boat with him, and pushed off to assist his prisoner in retrieving some valuable loss; but in passing by a seventy-four, which was on fire, her loaded guns began to go off; a shot from which killed the French captain by Lord Cochrane’s side, and so damaged the boat, that she filled and the rest of the party were nearly drowned.”

RODNEY’S, ADMIRAL, VICTORIES.—This renowned Admiral fought, near Cape St. Vincent, the Spanish Admiral Don Langara, whom he defeated, and made prisoner, destroying eight of his ships and taking four, January 16th, 1780. On April 12th, 1782, he encountered the French fleet in the West Indies, commanded by Count de Grasse—took 10 ships of the line, and sent the French Admiral prisoner to England. The enemy lost also one ship, sunk, and three blown up.