The British Expedition to the Crimea

by Sir William Howard Russell

DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT.

CHAPTER V.

News of an Armistice—Destruction of the White Buildings—The Explosion—A lively and novel Scene at Traktir Bridge—Fraternization—The Cossacks—Meeting of the Generals—Death of Major Ranken—The Armistice finally settled—Ruin of Sebastopol—Can it rise again?—Visits to the Tchernaya—Discussions on Army Matters—System of Purchase—Pros and Cons.

THE Morning of February 28th brought us news of the conclusion of an armistice. The Russians had it first, by telegraph from St. Petersburg, and the mail from Constantinople brought its confirmation to the Allies. At 8 A.M. a boat, bearing a flag of truce, put off from the north side, and was met half-way across the harbour by one from the French. The Russians brought a communication from General Lüders. As if to celebrate the armistice, the so-called White Buildings were blown up in the afternoon. Soon after three o'clock, spectators began to assemble at the Redan, in front of Picket-house Hill, on Cathcart's Hill, and in other commanding positions. There was not a very strong muster at any of these places, for we were rather blasé in the matter of explosions; and, although the day was bright and sunny, the ground was very heavy with mud and snow, and the cold too sharp to be pleasant. There was a certain amount of snowballing among the pedestrians, which doubtless contributed to keep up a supply of caloric, and one or two base attacks were made upon unfortunate equestrians, who, not having snow within their reach, or a supply of ready-made snowballs in their pockets, had no choice but to charge their assailants or resort to ignominious flight. Half an hour passed; feet were very cold, noses very blue, fingers hardly felt the reins, grumbling was heard: "It is nearly four o'clock; why the deuce doesn't it go off?" Patience, I fear, was not a very common virtue in the Crimean army. An impromptu "shave," suggested by the circumstances of the moment, was passed about. "Pelissier is coming; they wait for him."

Now it so happened that Pelissier was not coming. The armistice gave him something to do and think of, and moreover, he had been disappointed a few days before, when it had been notified to him that the White Buildings were to be blown up. So he no longer put his faith in the unpunctual engineers of perfidious Albion. Some French and other foreign officers came, waiting patiently and confidingly in the Redan, and in front of Picket-house Hill, just over the ravine. Another half-hour passed. A quarter-past four, and no explosion. Strong language began to be used; wishes were uttered, the fulfilment of which would certainly not be desired by the engineers, at whose door, rightly or wrongly, the delay was laid. The third half-hour had not quite elapsed when the report spread that the explosion was "put off." According to some accounts, it would occur in an hour and a half; according to others, next day, while a third party talked of the next week; there was a general movement campwards. A few Artillery officers still stuck to the Redan; Picket-house Hill was quickly cleared, except of one or two obstinate expectants, Cathcart's Hill was abandoned by many. Just at a quarter to five, when few of the weary who had departed could have reached their quarters, and some could have been but a hundred or two yards on the wrong side of the hill-crests, out gushed a small puff of white smoke from the White Buildings—then came a big puff of black smoke. There was a slight explosion, a grumbling roar; stones were hurled into the air and pitched high over the eastern wall into the docks, and after a silence which seemed to last nearly a minute, came a series of pops and puffs as mines went off in rapid succession, an immense volume of smoke appeared, not in dense sluggish masses slowly surging up, as at the explosion of Fort Nicholas, but in a thinner cloud, which rose so high that the summit of the murky column was visible over Picket-house Hill to persons some way down the Woronzoff Road, where it passed through the Light Division camp. After the explosions of the buildings, Fort Constantine sent a solitary shell into the French side, so the armistice was not considered to be perfect until after the conference.

Major George Ranken, of the Royal Engineers, was killed at the explosion of the White Buildings. A mine having failed to explode, Major Ranken sent his men to a distance and entered the place to renew the train. From the position in which his corpse was found it was supposed that he had completed his perilous task, and was about getting through a window when the explosion took place and the building fell in. His arm was broken, and there were injuries to the skull and spine which must have occasioned instant death. Major Ranken commanded the ladder party in the last attack on the Redan. He was a most promising officer, a great favourite with his comrades, and his loss was deplored by all who knew him. It was hard to have escaped the murderous fire of the 8th of September only to die, less than five months later, crushed beneath a shattered wall. The unfortunate officer was buried with military honours, at the Engineers' Cemetery, Left Attack. He was followed to the grave by General Eyre, commanding the Third Division; by Colonel Lloyd, commanding the Royal Engineers; and by a large number of officers of his own corps and of other arms. Major Ranken had the melancholy distinction of being the last Englishman killed in the Crimea. The last Frenchman killed there fell in a duel.

THE COSSACKS.

On the morning of February the 29th there was a lively and novel scene at ten o'clock at Traktir Bridge. At its further end a white flag was hoisted, and just beyond it some five-and-twenty Cossacks halted, who had escorted thither the Russian General Timovoieff and his staff. At a few minutes past ten General Barnard and some staff officers rode down through the ravine between the two hills on which the battle of the Tchernaya was fought, and crossed to the other side of the river. The Generals who met to arrange the details of the armistice occupied two tents, pitched on a strip of greensward in the rear of the bridge. They were, General Timovoieff, Chief of the Staff of the 4th Corps of the Russian army, which was in front and furnished the advanced posts; Generals de Martimprey and Windham and Colonel Count Pettiti, Chiefs of the Staffs of the French, English, and Sardinian armies. The three latter were deputed by their Generals-in-Chief to present the proposals of armistice which these had discussed and decided upon. Their mission extended no further, and General Timovoieff, not being authorized to accept those proposals without referring them to his General-in-Chief, merely took a copy of them to transmit to General Lüders.

There were, perhaps, half a dozen other English officers, about as many French, and a much larger number of Sardinians. All these went over the bridge, and a sort of fraternization ensued between them and some Russian officers—that is to say, there was a good deal of civility, and some ill-treatment of the French and German languages; but, as to carrying on much conversation with our Muscovite friends, it was not an easy matter, for there seemed a mutual embarrassment as to what subject to pitch upon. Horses were a natural theme, and the Russians expressed admiration of some of those present, and were probably rather astonished at their good condition.

The great object of curiosity to us was the fur-capped Cossacks, around whom the allied officers assembled, examining their arms; and equipments and entering into conversation, which, in most cases, was carried on by signs. They were slender, wiry men—ugly enough, most of them—mounted on small, rough, active horses, and carrying, besides sword and carbine, flagless lances, whose long black poles terminated in a small but very sharp-pointed steel head. They seemed well pleased to cultivate the acquaintance of their enemies, and also had evidently an eye to the main chance. One of the first things I saw was a Cossack corporal proposing a barter to a Sardinian officer. The latter had a tolerably good riding-whip, for which the astute child of the Don insisted on swapping a shabby sort of instrument of torture, of which his pony was doubtless rejoiced to be rid. The Sardinian hesitated, the Cossack persisted, and the exchange was effected, the officer looking, as I thought, rather ruefully after his departed cravache, and somewhat contemptuously at the shabby but characteristic stick and thong he had received for it. The signal thus given, the whip trade soon acquired great activity. Probably some of the officers present were ready enough to part with a tolerably good whip for a bad Cossack one, as a souvenir of the day's proceedings and of the commencement of the armistice.