Our Sailors: Gallant Deeds of the British Navy during Victoria's Reign

by William Henry Giles Kingston

The Russians, in return, endeavoured to injure the vessels of the Allies, and to protect their shores by the employment of infernal machines, as they were then called. We call their much more certain and more dangerous successors submarine mines, and regard them as a regular means of defence. These were intended to explode under water, and some were fired by voltaic batteries, but invariably failed of going off at the proper time; others exploded on being struck; but though the Merlin ran on to one, which went off under her bottom, comparatively slight damage was done her. The articles in her store-room, directly over the spot where the machine struck her, were thrown about in every direction, showing the force of the concussion. Admiral Dundas and several officers with him had, however, a narrow escape, one of the machines exploding while they stood around it examining its structure.

Bombardment of Sveaborg.

Among the more important performances of the allied fleet in the Baltic was the severe injury inflicted on the fortress of Sveaborg, one of the strongest belonging to Russia to keep her neighbours in awe in that part of the world.

The fortress of Sveaborg is built on a granite island about a mile in advance of Helsingfors, the Russian capital of Finland. There are eight island rocks connected by strong fortifications, and in the centre is situated the fort in which the Russian flotilla was congregated. It was looked upon as the Gibraltar of the North, and had been considerably strengthened since the commencement of the war. The citadel of this water-surrounded fortress is called Wargon. The allied fleet, consisting of seventeen British men-of-war, fifteen gunboats, and sixteen mortar-vessels, with two French men-of-war, six gunboats, and five mortar-vessels, left Nargen on the 6th of August, and anchored the same night among the islands about five miles from Sveaborg. During the night and next day, some batteries were thrown up on the neighbouring islands; and early on the morning of the 9th, the squadron having taken up their positions,—several behind the islands, where the enemy’s guns could not reach them,—the bombardment commenced. The showers of shot and shell told with terrific effect on the devoted fortress; powder magazines and stores of projectiles one after the other blew up, and fires broke out in various directions, which all the efforts of the garrison could not extinguish, and in a short time the whole of the arsenal was reduced to ashes. Still the mortars continued to play, to prevent the fires which were blazing up around from being extinguished. Very few men were wounded, and none were killed during the whole of the operations. Although the naval and military stores were destroyed, the fortress still remained intact. The Russians, however, had been taught the lesson that it would be better for them in future not to make aggressions on their neighbours, or to venture hastily into war.

Captains Yelverton and Vansittart had already shown them how little they could rely on their boasted fortifications, by destroying all between Viborg and Helsingfors, Fredericksham, Kotka, and Swartholme.

The White Sea Squadron.

A small squadron, consisting of the Eurydice, twenty-six guns, Miranda, fifteen, and Brisk, fourteen, had been sent in July 1854 into the White Sea, to destroy the Russian shipping and forts on the coasts of Russian Lapland.

On the 23rd of July the town of Novitska was attacked and burned by the Miranda and Brisk.

On the 23rd of August the Miranda anchored off Kola, the capital of Russian Lapland. A flag of truce was sent on shore, demanding the surrender of the fort, garrison, and government property. All night the crew remained at their quarters, and no answer being returned in the morning, the flag of truce was hauled down, and the ship, getting within 250 yards of the battery, opened a fire of grape and canister. A party was then landed under command of Lieutenant J. Mackenzie and Mr Manthorpe, mate, who, at the head of a party of bluejackets and marines, rushed up, sword in hand, to dislodge the enemy from the batteries and to capture the guns. A hot fire was opened on them from the towers of a monastery; but they soon drove out the garrison, who took to flight, and it, with all the government stores and buildings, was immediately set on fire and completely consumed.

Kola lies thirty miles up a river of most difficult navigation, with a strong current, and often so narrow that there was scarcely room for the ship to swing. Captain Lyons also had a very uncertain knowledge of the strength of the enemy; but nothing could check his determination, and it was, as we have seen, rewarded with complete success. Taking into consideration the difficulties to be encountered, this was one of the most daring naval exploits performed in the north. The Miranda, at the approach of autumn, returned to England, and from thence went out to join the fleet in the Black Sea.