From a Photograph] [by Elliott & Fry.
MR. (NOW SIR) WM. H. RUSSELL, LL. D.
The first of War Correspondents. Born in 1821; joined the staff of the Times in 1843, and has represented that paper in all the considerable wars which have occurred since.
A novel feature in the Expedition to the Black Sea was the presence with the army of war correspondents, representing the leading daily papers. This was a symptom of that growth of journalistic enterprise which was to receive such notable impetus in the following year by the abolition of the newspaper stamp duty. |War Correspondents.| The name of Mr. W. H. Russell, representing the Times, will be long remembered as that of the pioneer in this new and exciting form of literature. The vivid descriptions sent home of the splendid conduct of British troops in the field, and the excellent relations established between them and their ancient foes the French, were eagerly perused in England, and sent up the enthusiasm to fever heat.
But if the war letters in the newspapers were of good service in allaying public impatience by reporting valorous exploits and heroic endurance, they tended to intensify the anxiety when the campaign became prolonged towards winter, without any decisive result. It had been expected that Sebastopol would be carried by a coup-de-main; so it might have been, perhaps, had the victory of Alma been followed up, even on the day after the action. But the views of Maréchal Saint-Arnaud prevailed again; the project of assaulting Sebastopol on the north side was abandoned; and the Allies undertook the terribly hazardous, though, as it happened, successful flank march upon Balaklava, which, with its convenient harbour, was selected as the English base and depôt, while the French chose Kamiesch Bay.
The Battle of Alma took place on September 20; on the 23rd General Todleben, commanding the defences of Sebastopol, sunk seven war vessels at the mouth of the harbour. The Allied Fleet, from which this operation was plainly visible, were thus effectually shut out; the golden opportunity of the speedy capture of the city by a combined land and sea attack had gone by. Such an attack was made on October 17, but the fleet could only play at long bowls, and the French batteries were silenced in a few hours. The first attempt ended in failure. There was nothing for it but a prolonged siege, and the Allied Land Forces were insufficient to invest the town effectively. Moreover they were threatened by a Russian army outside, constantly reinforced by fresh troops from the interior. The besiegers themselves had to stand on the defensive.
W. Simpson, R.I.] [From Colnaghi’s “Authentic Series.”
IN THE BATTERIES BEFORE SEBASTOPOL.