On the 13th of October a large force of the enemy having concentrated in the valleys of Baidar and the Tchernaya, and threatening Balaklava, Sir Colin Campbell was sent down by Lord Raglan to assume command of the troops in Balaklava. He immediately ordered a force of 331 officers and men of the 93rd, under Major Charles Henry Gordon, to proceed to the heights eastward of Balaklava to assist in intrenching and strengthening the position there already occupied by the marines. Below these heights, eastward of Balaklava, and on the western heights, a number of intrenched batteries had been raised, to command the approaches to Balaklava. Each of these was manned by a force of about 250 Turks, and they formed a sort of semicircle, being numbered from the eastward from No. 1 to 6.
About 7 o’clock on the morning of Oct. 25th, a large force of the enemy debouched from the direction of the Tchernaya and Baidar valleys, and attacked the Turkish redoubts with a large body of skirmishers and artillery. The British force, which had been under arms since before daylight, consisted of about 800 marines on the heights, with the detachment of the 93rd under Major Gordon. The main body of the regiment under Lt.-Col. Ainslie, was drawn up in line on a small hill in front of its encampment, covering the approach to Balaklava from the plain, having some Turkish regiments on the right and left; and on the left front the brigades of light and heavy cavalry were drawn up in columns. The action commenced by the Russians concentrating a severe fire of artillery upon No. 1, the eastward redoubt, from which, after a short resistance, the Turks were dislodged, and the redoubt, containing three guns, was captured by the enemy. In obedience to an order previously received in case of such a casualty, Major Gordon with his detachment at once proceeded to join Lt.-Col. Ainslie in the plain, a distance of about two miles. The capture of No. 1 redoubt was speedily followed by that of Nos. 2 and 3, when the Russians commenced a severe fire upon the flying Turks. The 93rd, now joined by the detachment from the heights, was directed to advance, covered by the light company, and throwing forward the left. The enemy then opened upon the regiment with round shot and shell from the redoubts from which they had driven the Turks. This caused some casualties, and the 93rd was ordered by Sir Colin Campbell—who at the moment may be said to have commanded in person—to retire under cover of a small rising ground immediately in the rear, where the regiment remained for a short time lying down under a fire of artillery, till a large body of cavalry appeared on the opposite side of the plain, about 1000 yards in front. The order was then given to the regiment, which was in line, to advance a short distance to the summit of the rising ground in front, and to commence firing upon the cavalry, which were bearing down upon it at a rapidly increasing gallop. To quote the words of Dr Russell, the well-known Times’ correspondent, who witnessed the action:—
“The Russians in one grand line charged in towards Balaklava. The ground flies beneath their horses’ feet; gathering speed at every stride, they dash on towards that thin red streak tipped with a line of steel. The Turks fire a volley at 800 yards and miss; as the Russians came within 600 yards, down goes that line of steel in front, and out rings a volley of Minie musketry. The distance is too great, the Russians are not checked, but still sweep onwards through the smoke with the whole force of horse and man, here and there knocked over by the shot of our batteries alone. With breathless suspense every one awaits the bursting of the wave upon the line of Gaelic rock; but ere they came within 200 yards, another deadly volley flashes from the levelled rifle, and carries terror into the Russians. They wheel about, open files right and left, and fly back faster than they came. ‘Brave Highlanders! Well done,’ shout the spectators. But events thicken, the Highlanders and their splendid front are soon forgotten. Men scarcely have a moment to think of this fact, that the 93rd never altered their formation to receive that tide of horsemen. ‘No,’ said Sir Colin Campbell, ‘I did not think it worth while to form them even four deep.’ The ordinary British line, two deep, was quite sufficient to repel the attack of these Muscovite cavaliers.”
Another attack by the Russians was gallantly repulsed by the heavy cavalry, and about 10 o’clock A.M. the Guards, along with the 42nd and 79th Highlanders, came up under H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. It was about this time that the heroic but disastrous charge of the light cavalry under Lord Cardigan took place, after which the First and Fourth Divisions advanced, the enemy retiring and concentrating on Nos. 1 and 3 redoubts. At nightfall the First and Fourth Divisions returned to their position before Sebastopol, the 42nd and 79th remaining behind at Balaklava. In this engagement the 93rd had only 2 privates wounded. The Russian force was estimated at about 18 battalions of infantry, with from 30 to 40 guns, and a large body of cavalry.
Sir Colin Campbell in his despatch drew Lord Raglan’s special attention to the gallantry and eagerness of the 93rd under Lt.-Col. Ainslie, and Lord Raglan in his despatch to the Duke of Newcastle spoke in high terms of the conduct of “that distinguished regiment.”
After this the 93rd, along with the rest of the Highland brigade, had heavy duties to perform in intrenching the position at Balaklava; and now that the weather began to break, and the clothes of the men were in tatters, and the accommodation afforded by the tents miserably insufficient, their condition was wretched indeed. The climax came on the 14th of Nov., when the ever-memorable hurricane swept almost every kind of shelter off the face of the ground, and tore the tents to rags, leaving the poor soldiers completely exposed to its violence. All this, combined with the wretched and insufficient food, soon told sadly on the health of the soldiers. It was only in the spring of 1855 that anything was done to remedy this state of matters. With the erection of huts, and the arrival of good weather, the health of the regiment began to improve. Meantime, from Oct. 1854 to March 1855, nearly the whole regiment must have, at one time or other, been on the sick list, and nearly 100 died from disease. Among the latter was Lt. Kirby, who arrived in the Crimea on Dec. 2nd, and died on Feb. 15th following. We may also mention here the deaths of Lt. James Wemyss, of cholera, on June 13, and that of Lt. Ball, of fever, on June 18.
It is unnecessary to enter into the details of the siege of Sebastopol, in which the 93rd, like all the other regiments in the Crimea, had to do its share of harassing and dangerous duty. The regiment took part in the expedition by the Straits of Yenikale to Kertch in the end of May and beginning of June, returning to Balaklava on the 14th of the latter month. In the first assault on Sebastopol on June 18th, 1855, the 93rd, with the rest of its division under Sir Colin Campbell, held a position close to the Woronzoff Road, in rear of the 21 gun battery, ready to act as circumstances might require. This attack, as is known, was unsuccessful; and from the 18th of June to the 22nd of August, the duties in the trenches of the right attack were entirely performed by the First, Second, and Light Divisions alternately, and during this period the 93rd sustained a loss of 6 killed and 57 wounded, several of the latter dying of their wounds. On the night of the 6th of August Bt.-Major J. Anstruther M’Gowan of the 93rd was unfortunately severely wounded and taken prisoner, while visiting some sentries posted in front of the advanced trench right attack. It was a considerable time after his capture that it was ascertained that Major M’Gowan had died of his wounds on August 14th at Simpheropol.
Lt.-Col. Ainslie was compelled twice to proceed on sick leave; first on the 28th of June, when Major Ewart assumed command of the regiment, and again on August 17th, when Lt.-Col. Leith Hay occupied his place. We may state here that Lt.-Col. Ainslie did not return to the regiment, retiring on Jan. 25th, 1856, when he was succeeded by Lt.-Col. Leith Hay.
On the 8th of Sept. the second grand assault upon Sebastopol took place, and early in the morning of that day the whole of the Highland brigade marched from Kamara to their old encampment on the heights before Sebastopol, where the knapsacks were deposited. The brigade then proceeded at once to the trenches of the right attack, remaining in support during the attack, in which, however, the Highlanders took no part. The assault on the Redan having again failed, the Highland brigade was pushed on to occupy the advanced trenches of the right attack, remaining there during the night, ready to repel any sortie that might be made. On the 9th it was the intention again to assault the Redan, the four Highland regiments to form the storming party; but on the night of the 8th the Russians evacuated the south side of Sebastopol, and the brigade in consequence returned to Kamara on the evening of the 9th.
A circumstance connected with the evacuation of Sebastopol should be mentioned. About midnight on the 8th, the Russian fire having previously ceased, and everything appearing unusually quiet, Lt. W. M’Bean, the adjutant of the 93rd, left the advanced trench and approaching the Redan, was struck with the idea that it was deserted by the Russians. He accordingly gallantly volunteered to enter it, which he did with a party of 10 volunteers of the light company, under Lt. Fenwick, and a like number of the 72nd, under Capt. Rice; they found no one in the Redan but the dead and wounded left after the assault. The party, however, had a narrow escape, as an explosion took place in the Redan shortly after.