The Young Dragoon: Every Day Life of a SoldierDrayson, Alfred W. (Alfred Wilks)
History
The Young Dragoon: Every Day Life of a Soldier
Drayson, Alfred W. (Alfred Wilks)
Soldiers -- Juvenile fiction
whole affair was seen from the decks of many of the vessels, that of the
_Himalaya_ being crowded with officers and men of the 8th Hussars and
17th Lancers. The officer in command of the Cossacks dismounted, and
his men followed his example. Walking and crouching behind their
horses, they approached the two generals, who, the instant they saw the
danger, turned and ran down the hill, the Cossacks throwing themselves
into their saddles, and flourishing their long lances, preparing to
pursue. Their career was, however, cut short, as the riflemen suddenly
rose up and fired upon them; but the distance was too far, or the aim
too bad to be effective, for no saddles were emptied, and the party
rapidly disappeared behind the hill amidst a cloud of dust. We
afterwards heard that one of the peasants had been wounded by the fire
of the rifles while at work with his team on an adjacent farm.
As each of our divisions of infantry landed they marched away from the
beach, some in one direction and some in another, until the shore, as
far as the eye could reach, was literally covered with armed men, whose
bayonets flashing in the sun had a very pretty effect, as seen from the
decks of the transports by the force still waiting their turn to land.
At about noon the rain began to fall, and the wind getting up, the whole
aspect of things underwent a change for the worse. The rain continued
to fall steadily, and, to make matters worse, the men had no tents.
Each was landed with his great coat and rations for three days, with a
drop of rum to keep him warm. In this state the majority of our
infantry had to pass their first night on hostile ground; but the
cavalry still remained on board their respective transports. While the
disembarkation still went on, some of our men-of-war boats were sent
along the shore to reconnoitre, and found a Russian encampment,
containing, it was said, about 5000 men; this they shelled, and soon
destroyed. The rain continued to fall, but notwithstanding this, no
orders were given to land the tents, only one for General Evans being
sent on shore.
Sir George Brown and staff were fortunate to procure a native cart,
beneath which they slept, and no doubt soundly. Notwithstanding this
night's misery, every man being wet through and without a change of dry
linen, or a bit of dry wood to make fires, the soldiers were in good
spirits, the sea voyage of about fourteen days having freshened them up
wonderfully; and they had the ever-cheering prospect before them--
although the consummation of their wishes was destined to be long
deferred--of eventually being inside the walls of Sebastopol, with the
whole of the Russian stores and baggage at their chief disposal.
Indeed, the fact that our commanders considered that we should be in the
Russian stronghold in the course of a few days, was the reason why the
tents were not landed simultaneously with our forces.
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