CHAPTER XII.
COMMANDER (NOW CAPTAIN) FIOTT DAY, R.N., AND THE VICTORIA CROSS.
Our sailors do not occupy a very prominent place in Mr. Desanges’ Victoria Cross Gallery. We find that only four of his paintings have been devoted to the gallant deeds of our naval heroes, but we must not infer from this that British sailors are inferior to British soldiers, or that blue jackets have deteriorated since the days of Nelson. This is far from being the case, as we all know. But two conditions are necessary to constitute a hero: it is not enough that a man be brave, he must also have an opportunity of displaying his bravery. There are, doubtless, many Hampdens sleeping in our village churchyards, and many Nelsons serving on board our ships; all that has been wanting is the opportunity of displaying their patriotism or their courage. We are all more or less the creatures of circumstances; the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, because the swift and the strong are often debarred by fate from either running or fighting. Time and chance, as the wise man tells us, happen to all. Nelson would never have been a hero if he had not robbed an orchard, and Fiott Day might have been known only as a very intelligent commander in the British navy if it had not been for the Crimean war.
It was one of the oratorical or conversational hits of Lord Palmerston, that if the Crimean war had no other advantage, it at least extended our knowledge of geography. Some hard-headed people may imagine that we paid dear for the lesson, but not one will deny that the long-protracted contest did increase our knowledge of those semi-barbarous regions, the names of which, we fear, were little familiar even to those schoolboys who had gained the first prizes in geography. Knowledge thus acquired, however, is seldom permanent; when the war ceased, our interest in the localities where the great battles were fought became less vivid. It is well that the rising generation, in whom all the hopes of England are centred, should be familiar with the courage, the endurance, and the heroic deeds of those who took part in that disastrous war; such knowledge excites their sympathy, stimulates their ambition, and elicits that spirit of adventure which has made Britain the mistress of an empire far more extended than that of ancient Rome.
Mr. Desanges has trusted more to his pencil than his pen in depicting the gallant deed by which Captain Day obtained the Victoria Cross. We read that “with great gallantry this officer landed and twice successfully carried out a reconnoissance within the enemy’s lines at Genitchi, advancing to within about 200 yards of the enemy’s gun-vessels.” Most readers will exclaim, “Where is Genitchi?” Few even professed geographers would be able to answer such a question, and as our interest in paintings depends much on our intimacy with the scenes they represent, we invite our young readers to do as we have done—to open their atlases at Russia in Europe, and to examine the map. It may save time to state at once that this incident occurred during the Crimean war, and that Captain Day commanded one of the vessels engaged in the expedition. Now, on examining the southern extremity of Russia in Europe, it will be seen the only entrance from the Sea of Azov into the Senish or Putrid Sea is through the Straits of Genitchi. These straits are very narrow in most maps—in fact, so narrow that we have to strain the eye a little before we can perceive them. On the right-hand side of these straits stands the town of Genitchi, from which they derive their name. It is situated on the slope of a lofty eminence, and is a place of considerable strength.
During the Crimean war it was strongly garrisoned with nearly twenty thousand Russian troops, to protect it from the attacks of the allies. To the left is the Spit of Arabat, which was occupied by strong bodies of Cossack horse artillery and cavalry, which formed a continuous line of pickets all the way to Arabat. It is about seventy miles in length, and of an average breadth of half a mile, though in some places it is not more than two hundred yards. Its broadest part is opposite the town of Genitchi, where it is between three and four miles across. At this particular point it is covered with numerous lagoons and strips of water, varying in size, all of which are covered with thick rushes and weeds, and are a favourite resort of different kinds of water-fowl. We have mentioned that pickets of Cossacks were stationed along the whole of the Spit of Arabat, and there were constant skirmishes between them and our sailors. Such slight exchanges of civility tended to vary the monotony of naval life, but the adventure in which Captain Day distinguished himself was of a far more dangerous character.
It is said that he advanced within two hundred yards of the enemy’s gunboats; but to understand the exact nature of this heroic deed we must enter more into detail. On the inner side of the Spit of Arabat, opposite the town of Genitchi, were several guard-houses, in front of which four gunboats were moored, in such a position as to cover the entrance of the straits, and to bring under their fire any vessel that attempted to force its way. Setting aside these gunboats, it would have been a most hazardous undertaking for any boat to have attempted to pass the town so as to reach the Sivash, as the passage is not more than three hundred yards broad, and the whole of the heights which command it were lined with troops and field-pieces. Any boat that attempted to run the passage would have been within range of the fire of all these field-pieces, and exposed to almost certain destruction. Still it was of the last importance that the passage should be made, as it was only in this way that the supplies which were poured into the Crimea and enabled the Russians to prolong the contest could be cut off. These supplies were conveyed from the mainland by the Chingan bridge, and the great object of the naval expedition was to destroy this bridge. Still the undertaking, as we have said, was most hazardous, and another plan had been attempted. To Captain S. Osborne belongs the honour of having first discovered the position of this bridge. Captain Osborne is, doubtless, known to all our readers as a charming writer as well as a brave sailor, and he had recourse to an ingenious expedient to obtain the desired information. He caused two light boats, which he had transported across the narrowest part of the Arabat spit at night, to be launched on the Sivash, and approached near enough to the bridge to ascertain its exact position. It was a work of great difficulty to get even these light boats pushed through the mud, and Osborne narrowly escaped being captured. It would have been impossible, of course, to navigate heavily-armed boats on the muddy straits, supposing that our sailors had succeeded in getting them across the spit. Several experiments were made, but the attempt was given up as impracticable.
Soon after the fall of the south part of Sebastopol, Captain Day was stationed in the Recruit, which was under his command, off the Straits of Genitchi. While cruising along the coast, he had his attention directed to the fact that the enemy’s forces appeared to be less numerous than usual, more especially in the vicinity of the town and on the opposite spit. He at once despatched two gunboats to explore; on their return they reported that few of the enemy were to be seen. A brilliant idea occurred to Captain Day; it struck him that now was the time to make his way across the spit, and to capture the gunboats which covered the passage. He at once proceeded to act upon it. At this time, the writers of leaders in the daily press were very critical in regard to our navy, and easily proved upon paper that it was practicable to force a passage through the Genitchi Straits. There was a feeling among our sailors that if the thing could be done it would be acceptable, not only to the admiral in command, but also to the public at home. Good people at home, who carelessly criticise the exploits of our soldiers and sailors by their comfortable firesides, little imagine what daring deeds are done to secure their applause. “What will they say at home?” was the exclamation of Nelson after one of his great victories; and the man who does not value the good opinion of his fellow-citizens is not likely ever to do a heroic deed, or to occupy a niche in the temple of Fame.
