Recollections of a Military Life

by Sir John Adye

[CHAPTER II]

COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMEAN WAR—INTERVIEW WITH NAPOLEON III

It is time now to pass on from the early reminiscences of a period of peace to the more interesting and important events of active service, in which for some years it was my good fortune to share.

In the spring of 1854, after a peace which in Europe had lasted nearly forty years, the British navy and army were again called upon to take part in a great war; and the whole nation soon became deeply absorbed in the stirring events of the Crimean campaign. Lord Raglan at that time was Master General of the Ordnance and was also appointed to command the expedition, and I had the good fortune to be selected as Brigade Major to the artillery under General Cator.

There is perhaps no operation of war more difficult than that which this country has to undertake in the embarkation of its army for a continental campaign. It is not merely as regards its personnel; but large reserves of ammunition and stores, and the armaments and equipments of the artillery, engineers, medical, commissariat, clothing, and other departments have to be embarked, and all so arranged as to be prepared for rapid landing after a long voyage, and possibly in the face of an enemy. In proceeding to the Crimea eight batteries of horse and field artillery, several siege train companies, and large reserves of munitions for the army were embarked in Woolwich dockyard during March and April. The combined naval and military arrangements were efficiently carried out; and although the field artillery were conveyed in sailing vessels, and were several weeks at sea before arrival at Constantinople, the loss of horses was only 4 per cent. out of about 1,600 embarked.

Towards the end of April Colonels Strangways and Lake, Captains Patton, Gordon, and myself (all artillery officers) were directed to proceed viâ France to Marseilles for Malta. On arrival at Paris, Colonel Strangways, who was personally known to the Emperor Napoleon, received a message that his Majesty wished to receive him and his brother officers at the Tuileries. Strangways informed our ambassador, Lord Cowley, who, however, said it was not according to etiquette, and that we ought to attend a levee in the usual way, and declined to go with us; so we put on our uniforms and drove to the Tuileries in a fiacre without him. The servant at the entrance seemed rather surprised when we said we had come to see the Emperor; but after conference with a staff officer, we were conducted through the 'Salle des Maréchaux' to an inner room, and were received very kindly by Napoleon, who was in the uniform of a general. He made inquiries about the amount of artillery we had embarked for the East; spoke about the difficulty of conveying horses for a long voyage; and expressed a hope that the French and English armies combined would be able to act decisively—and then, wishing us prosperity, he invited us to come and see him again on our return. Alas! we were not destined to do so. Strangways was killed at Inkerman; Lake, who had a horse shot under him at Alma, and another at Inkerman, was invalided and died soon after; Captain Patton died of cholera at Balaclava; and many years elapsed before I had another interview with Napoleon, under very altered conditions, shortly before his death at Chiselhurst.

We arrived at Malta about the middle of May. The streets were full of French soldiers on their way to the East; and there was a great deal of cheering and enthusiasm. On the 15th we embarked in the 'Medway' for Constantinople with the 55th regiment. As we approached the Dardanelles we passed a sailing transport, with part of a cavalry regiment on board, and as they had been some weeks at sea, and were making no progress owing to calm weather, we induced our captain to take her in tow. The officers in the transport made signs of their wish to communicate, so we lowered a bottle tied to a long string, which they picked up as it floated past, and we then pulled it back. We expected their inquiries might be as to the position of the Russians and the progress of the war, but their message was: 'Can you tell us who won the Two Thousand Guineas? We have several bets, and are very anxious!' As we entered the Dardanelles we were boarded by two French officers from a small transport, who begged assistance, as they were short of provisions, having only biscuits, and no water. We provided them with what was requisite, and also took them in tow. They belonged to the Chasseurs d'Afrique, and had been forty days on passage from Algiers. Passing Gallipoli, where there were several men-of-war at anchor and considerable French and English encampments on shore, we arrived at Constantinople on May 20.

Our troops of the various arms were now arriving daily, and were accommodated either in the great barrack at Scutari, or encamped on the plain outside, in close proximity to large Turkish cemeteries. All was bustle and animation. The scene, however, soon changed, and at the end of May the Light Division under Sir George Brown re-embarked, entered the Black Sea, and landed at Varna, followed shortly after by the whole of the allied armies.

Until my arrival at Constantinople, I had never seen Lord Raglan. Owing, however, to the failure of General Cator's health almost immediately on his landing, and to the numerous artillery matters which required discussion and decision, it so happened that I had from that time almost daily interviews with the Commander-in-chief. In fact, during the succeeding twelve months, and until his death in June 1855, it was my good fortune to be closely associated with Lord Raglan in the great events which rapidly succeeded each other. General Cator's advice to me was, never to trouble Lord Raglan more than absolutely necessary with details, to listen carefully to his remarks, to try and anticipate his wishes, and at all times to make as light as possible of difficulties. These excellent suggestions I did my best to carry out.