The Three Commanders

by William Henry Giles Kingston

“The admiral is signalising us,” exclaimed Higson; “we are to run alongside the Briton, and carry her into action.”

No sooner had he uttered the words, than a loud cheer arose from the crew; in a short time, having obeyed the order she had received, they were where they had longed to be—in the line of battle, under the enemy’s fire, the Briton having, as was the case with many of the other ships, landed a considerable number of her people to join the naval brigade on shore. A portion of the Tornado’s crew were called on board to assist in working her guns; happy did those consider themselves who were thus employed. Among the officers were Mr Mildmay and Tom and Archie. As they were stationed on the upper deck, they could occasionally see, when the dense wreaths which encircled the combatants blew by, what was going forward. Mr Mildmay stood as cool as usual, every now and then pulling out his notebook and making notes in it.

“I really believe,” said Tom to Archie, laughing, “that he’s writing a poetical description of the battle. Perhaps it’s a song, to be called ‘The Battle of Sebastopol’—‘There we lay, all that day, At stone walls a-blazing away!’”

“I wonder when the Russians intend to give in—it doesn’t seem much like it at present,” observed Archie; “I expected that we should sail up the harbour and sink their ships.”

“They’ve done that already themselves, right across the mouth. I heard the first lieutenant tell the master so,” said Tom.

“I only wish that they were afloat, and that we were fighting them instead of these forts,” observed Archie. “When we have knocked them to pieces, I don’t see what good they will do us.”

“Why, of course, to help the soldiers on shore to get into the place,” answered Tom.

These remarks, which were made at intervals between the firing of their guns, were cut short by a shot killing two of the crew of one of the guns under Tom’s command. He had to summon others to take their places; after this he felt very little inclination to talk, nor, indeed, had he much opportunity of doing so. The position of those who remained on board the steamer was very trying; they had nothing to do, but were tolerably secure from damage, while the enemy’s shot went flying over their heads. Hour after hour the battle continued to rage, the troops on shore being hotly engaged with the batteries turned towards them, the thundering roar of their guns answering to those of the ships. Never, perhaps, in the same space of time had so many round-shot and shells been flying through the air.

Little more could be seen of the ships in line across the harbour’s mouth. The French remained stationary, but some of the English frequently moved their positions to the support of Sir Edmund Lyons and the inshore squadron, which were enduring the brunt of the battle, exposed as they were to the tremendous fire from Fort Constantine and other batteries. Now flames were seen to burst forth from the Queen, when, a steamer taking her in tow, she stood off to extinguish them. Some time afterwards the Albion was seen to be on fire, fearfully mauled and unable to fire a shot, with the risk of drifting on shore. She also stood off, helped by the steamer attending her.

The Rodney was now seen standing in to support the Agamemnon when she took the ground, and though exposed to a tremendous fire, she continued fighting her guns. It seemed almost impossible that she should escape destruction, but she still kept firing away till, two steamers going to her assistance, she at length got clear. Not till darkness came on did the battle cease, when the ships returned to their anchorage. Jack was thankful to find that Murray and the midshipmen had escaped, though five of his own crew and many more of the Briton’s had been killed. The next morning the “butcher’s bill,” as Jos Green called it, was made out, when it was found out that forty-four British seamen had lost their lives, and that two hundred and sixty-six had been wounded, while the Albion and Arethusa had been so knocked about in their hulls and rigging that the admiral sent them off to Malta to be repaired.