Lieutenant Cave, and Mr Wood, midshipman, were also wounded; as was Captain Peel, as has been described. Indeed, of the whole detachment, only three officers came out of action untouched.
Not only were the subordinate officers of the navy thus conspicuously brave and active, but a sailor was from the first one of the ruling spirits of the campaign. To Sir Edmund Lyons did England owe, in an incalculable degree, the success which attended our arms on the shores of the Euxine.
He it was who organised and conducted the expedition to the Crimea, prepared the means of landing, and superintended all so closely, that “in his eagerness he left but six inches between the keel of his noble ship and the ground below it.” Not only in matters connected with the transport of the troops, but also in every subsequent stage of the expedition, Sir Edmund Lyons gave the most valuable assistance to Lord Raglan and his successors. How, at the battle of the Alma, he supported the French army by bringing the guns of his ship to bear on the left flank of the Russians, and what a conspicuous part he took with the Agamemnon on the first bombardment of Sebastopol, are incidents well-known at the time. But he had more to do in the way of advice and of encouragement than the public ever heard of. Day after day he might have been seen on his grey pony, hovering about the English lines on the heights of Sebastopol; he was present at Balaclava, and he was present at Inkermann. It was thus that, having conveyed our soldiers to the Crimea, he saved them from being compelled to leave it, baffled, if not vanquished. A day or two after the battle of Balaclava, Sir Edmund Lyons, on landing, learnt to his astonishment that orders had been issued to the naval brigade to embark as many guns as possible during the day, for Balaclava was to be evacuated at night,—of course, surrendering to the enemy the greater portion of the guns. On his own responsibility, the admiral at once put a stop to the execution of this order, and went in search of Lord Raglan, who, it appears, had come to the resolution of abandoning Balaclava, in consequence of the opinion expressed by the engineers, that, after the loss of these redoubts in our rear lately held by the Turks, we ought to concentrate our strength on the plateau. Taking Lord Raglan aside, Sir Edmund Lyons strongly opposed these views. He pointed out that the advanced position in the valley in front of which these redoubts were situated had been originally occupied in accordance with the advice of those very officers, and in opposition to that of Sir Edmund, who had suggested at the time that they were covering too much ground. He argued that, as the engineers had been mistaken once, they might be wrong again; and he clinched his argument by saying that, whatever might be the value of his opinion in such a case, he was at all events entitled to pronounce an opinion as to the insufficiency of Kamiesch as a harbour for the allied armies; that this harbour was utterly inadequate; and that the abandonment of Balaclava meant the evacuation of the Crimea in a week. After some conversation, Lord Raglan said, “Well, you were right before, and this time I will act upon your advice.” Sir Edmund obtained leave to countermand the orders which had been issued; Balaclava was maintained as our base of operations, and the army was saved from what might have proved an inglorious defeat, if not a terrible disaster. This, as we have said, was perhaps the most important of all the services rendered by the admiral, and he well deserved the peerage which it earned for him.
Sir Stephen Lushington, having attained his rank as admiral in July 1855, was succeeded in the command of the naval brigade by Captain the Honourable Henry Keppel, whose gallantry on various occasions had been especially conspicuous. At length, on the 19th September, Sebastopol having fallen, the gallant naval brigade was disbanded,—the jovial bluejackets leaving Balaclava to return to their ships, amid the enthusiastic cheers of their red-coated comrades, among whom but one feeling was universal, that of regret at losing the company of so merry a band. Not a soldier but admired their bravery, their invariable good-humour, and marvellous aptitude in adapting themselves to whatever circumstances they might fall in with.
Expedition to Kertch.
The importance of securing the outlet to the Sea of Azov had long been seen; and on the 22nd of May an expedition sailed from Balaclava, under the joint command of Sir George Brown and General D’Autemarre, for the purpose of capturing the fortresses of Kertch and Yenikale, which command its entrance. They had under them 15,000 troops and five batteries of artillery. Admirals Lyons and Bruat accompanied the expedition. While the troops were landed some miles to the south of Kertch, the squadron proceeded on to attack it in front; but, before they arrived, the Russians, believing that they could not defend the place, evacuated it, as did most of the inhabitants. Yenikale was deserted in the same manner, and the armies and fleets achieved a bloodless victory, while the smaller steamers of the squadron were sent off up the Sea of Azov in chase of the Russian men-of-war.
A light squadron of English and French vessels was placed under the command of Captain Lyons of the Miranda, with directions to capture and destroy all the ships, magazines, and stores of provisions belonging to the enemy. The larger quantity of provisions for the Russian army in the Crimea had hitherto been conveyed across the Sea of Azov. In a few days the Miranda and her consorts destroyed four months’ rations for 100,000 men, and not less than 300 Russian vessels.
This work was ably done, and individuals often even thus had opportunities of exhibiting their gallantry. Arriving off Genitchi on 29th May 1855, with his little squadron, Captain Lyons sent Commander Craufurd with a flag of truce, to demand the surrender of a number of vessels which were seen, as well as government stores. This demand being refused, the squadron opened fire on the town, while the boats under the command of Lieutenant Mackenzie pulled in, and set fire to seventy-three vessels and some corn-stores on shore. The wind shifting, there seemed a probability that the more distant vessels and stores might escape.
As the enemy had had time to make preparations, another expedition would be, it was evident, more dangerous than the first. As, however, the vessels were in a favourable position for supplying the Russian armies in the Crimea, and their destruction was of the greatest importance, Captain Lyons despatched the boats, commanded and officered as before.
Seeing that there would be great risk in landing a party in presence of a superior force out of gunshot of the ships, Lieutenant Cecil Buckley, Miranda, Lieutenant Hugh Burgoyne, Swallow, and Mr J. Roberts, gunner of the Ardent, volunteered to land alone and fire the stores. While these three gallant officers proceeded on their dangerous undertaking, Lieutenant Mackenzie pushed on under a fire of four field-guns and musketry, and destroyed the remaining vessels, the ships resuming their fire on the town. The shore party succeeded in reaching the stores, to which they effectually set fire. On their retreat to their boat, they were, however, very nearly cut off by a body of Cossacks who charged down on them, but they got safe on board. Though several shots struck the boats, only one man was slightly wounded.