A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks: Showing the Cost of War in Blood and Treasure. A Personal Narrative of the Crimean Campaign, from the Standpoint of the Ranks; the Indian Mutiny, and Some of its Atrocities; the Afghan Campaigns of 1863Gowing, T. (Timothy)
History
A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks: Showing the Cost of War in Blood and Treasure. A Personal Narrative of the Crimean Campaign, from the Standpoint of the Ranks; the Indian Mutiny, and Some of its Atrocities; the Afghan Campaigns of 1863
Gowing, T. (Timothy)
Crimean War, 1853-1856 -- Personal narratives
The enemy's loss was something awful. They acknowledged a loss, from the
5th to the 8th September inclusive, of upwards of 25,000 officers,
non-commissioned officers and men! Thus the final effort for the capture
of this town cost in round numbers between 35,000 and 40,000 men. Such
are some of the so-called "glories," but I would rather say "horrors" of
war.
THE SPOIL.
The extent of the spoil captured by the Allies was almost incredible,
notwithstanding all that the Russians had expended or destroyed. The
cannon of various sizes numbered 3,840, 128 of which were brass (a great
number had been thrown into the harbour, in order to avoid their being
taken); round shot, 407,314; shell, 101,755; canister cases, 24,080;
gunpowder, 525,000 lb; ball cartridges, 670,000 rounds, and other
articles too numerous to mention. The spoil was equally divided between
our people and our gallant Allies.
Low down the billows under,
Lies now his vaunted thunder,
Every plank is split asunder.
Honour the Crimean Army,
No more his cannon frown,
Above his boasted town;
Bastions and forts are down;
And all his proud array of ships,
And his guns with fiery lips,
lie cooling beneath the wave.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE REDAN AFTER ITS CAPTURE.]
This mighty contest was, for the time it occupied and for the means
employed on both sides, without a parallel. The vast resources of the
British Empire had been largely drawn upon before haughty Russia could
be humbled. The forces employed, the greater portion of which were
carried there and back by the fleets of Old England, were as
follows:--210,000 French, 105,000 British, 40,000 Turks, 15,000
Piedmontese, with 1500 guns, and over 80,000 horses, to say nothing of
the enormous quantity of war material and food required for that great
host. This force had been confronted by far more than an equal number of
Russians. The annals of war have nothing to compare with it, and all
former campaigns sink into insignificance. Four great battles had been
fought and won by the Allies, followed by an arduous and unparalleled
siege of eleven months' duration, terminating in a glorious victory, and
the total destruction of 118 ships of war, the capture of a fortress
defended by 6,000 pieces of cannon, and the final defeat of an army of
150,000 men which defended it. Old England may well be proud of her army
and her navy, which enable her to bid defiance to the world.
Shakespeare gave utterance to the simple truth, when he said:--
Come the three corners of the world in arms,
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true.
INSIDE SEBASTOPOL.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account