The British Expedition to the CrimeaRussell, William Howard, Sir
History
The British Expedition to the Crimea
Russell, William Howard, Sir
Crimean War, 1853-1856
At one o'clock most of the regiments of the Light Division had moved off
the beach over the hill, and across the country towards a village, to
which the advanced parties of the French left had already approached.
The Second Battalion of the Rifle Brigade led the way, covering the
advance with a cloud of skirmishers, and pushed on to the villages of
Bagaili and Kamishli, four miles and three-quarters from the beach, and
lying in the road between Tchobatar and the Alma; and the other
regiments followed in order of their seniority, the artillery, under
Captain Anderson, bringing up the rear. One wing of the Rifles, under
Major Norcott, occupied Kamishli--the other, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Lawrence, was installed in Bagaili, and they were supported and
connected by a small party of cavalry. By this time the rain began to
fall pretty heavily, and the wind rose so as to send a little surf on
the beach. The Duke of Cambridge's division followed next in order. The
2nd Division followed, and Sir De Lacy Evans and staff inspected them on
the beach. Up to three o'clock we landed 14,200 men, and two batteries
of artillery. Many of the staff-officers, who ought to have been
mounted, marched on foot, as their horses were not yet landed. Generals
might be seen sitting on powder-barrels on the beach, awaiting the
arrival of "divisional staff horses," or retiring gloomily within the
folds of their macintoshes. Disconsolate doctors, too, were there,
groaning after hospital panniers--but too sorely needed, for more than
one man died on the beach. During the voyage several cases of cholera
occurred; 150 men were buried on the passage from Varna, and there were
about 300 men on board not able to move when we landed. The beach was
partitioned off by flagstaffs, with colours corresponding to that of
each division, in compartments for the landing of each class of man and
beast; but it was, of course, almost beyond the limits of possibility to
observe these nice distinctions in conducting an operation which must
have extended over many square miles of water. Shortly before two
o'clock, Brigadier-General Rose, the Commissioner for the British Army,
with Marshal St. Arnaud, rode over from the French quarters to inform
Lord Raglan, by the authority of the Marshal, that "the whole of the
French troops had landed." Disembarkation was carried on long after
sunset, and a part of the 3rd and 4th Divisions remained on the beach
and on the hill near it for the night.
All the regiments were the better for the sea voyage. The 20th and 21st
Regiments and the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade looked remarkably
fresh and clean, but that was accounted for, without disparagement to
their companions in arms, by the circumstance of their having so
recently come out, and that the polish had not been taken off them by a
Bulgarian summer. The Guards had much improved in health during their
sojourn on shipboard, and were in good spirits and condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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