Jack Archer: A Tale of the CrimeaHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimea
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Crimean War, 1853-1856 -- Juvenile fiction
On reaching the edge of the plateau the whole scene was visible. On
four knolls in the plain, redoubts had been erected, and these were
garrisoned by the Turks. Some two miles out ran the little river
called the Tchernaya, which runs through the valley of Inkerman into
the head of the harbor of Sebastopol, and upon this a body of Russian
troops had been for some time encamped. Large bodies of the enemy were
known to be gathered on the Mackenzie heights, a range of hills which
bounded the plain upon the opposite side. These had been strongly
reinforced, and at daybreak the Russian army, having gathered at the
Tchernaya, advanced upon the Turkish redoubts. The scene when the boys
reached the edge of the plateau was a stirring one. Great bodies of
infantry were marching across the undulating plain. Strong regiments
of cavalry swept hither and thither, and two batteries of light guns
had already opened on the redoubts. Lines of British infantry could be
seen drawn up at the foot of the slopes from Balaklava to the Marine
Heights, where the marines were getting the guns in a position to
command the plain. Solid bodies of British cavalry were drawn up near
the mouth of the valley. The drums and bugles were sounding all over
the plateau behind the group, and the troops were already forming up,
and staff-officers were dashing about with orders.
"There goes my regimental call," Harry said. "I must go back again,
Jack."
"I shall push on," Jack said. "Come along, you fellows, we're too far
off to see much of it here. Let us get down as near Balaklava as we
can."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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