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March 18th. Yesterday being St. Patrick's day, many officers and men were to be seen early in the morning on the hill-side in search of something green to wear as a substitute for a real shamrock, the old symbol of Erin. In the afternoon we had horseraces to celebrate St. Patrick's day, and show that Irishmen, though far from their native land, had not forgotten the rights and ceremonies by which this celebrated day was remembered by them. They were in excellent spirits, the day was fine, and the ground dry; both officers and men enjoyed the day's sport; the thunder of the siege guns rose up frequently above the shouts of the crowd in the heat of the races. There has been a fierce struggle between the French and Russians last night, for the possession of the rifle-pits. These pits are situated in front of the Mamelon, and the Russian sharpshooters occupy them every night, and keep up a most galling and destructive fire against the exposed parts of the advanced trenches of our right attack as well as that of the French. The shot of our batteries make the rifle pits too hot a place for the Russians during the day, but at night they come back and re-occupy them, supported by large bodies of infantry; in these encounters the enemy has had many men killed and wounded. These rifle pits have cost both armies large quantities of ammunition, as well as the sacrifice of many men; but the French are determined to wrest them from the Russians at any cost, for they are a source of the greatest annoyance to them. They sent a strong force of about six thousand men down close to our second and light divisions, before dusk yesterday evening, and shortly afterwards they were sent to the advanced trenches, on our right; the covering party and riflemen were ordered out to occupy the rifle pits; they advanced but found the Russians had anticipated them, and that the enemy were already in possession of the pits. A fierce battle then commenced, but it was found that the enemy were there in much larger force than was expected; therefore the French could not then drive them from their position, notwithstanding their repeated attempts to do so. The contest was carried on by musketry, and the volleys which rang out incessantly for five hours, roused up the whole camp.
From the roll of musketry, and the flashing light in front, one would have thought that a general engagement between large armies was going on. The character of the fight had something peculiar about it, owing to the absence of round shot or shell. About 7.30 o'clock, p.m., the 4th division was turned out by order of the General, Sir John Campbell, and took up its position on the hill near the Green Hill battery, and the light division, under Sir George Brown, at the same time marched towards the 21 gun battery; the second and third divisions were also turned out and marched to the trenches in their front, after the French had desisted and retired from the assault on the rifle-pits. These divisions, after remaining under arms for five hours, were marched back to their respective camps. Had the French required our assistance we were ready to give it; but they were determined on taking these pits, which are in front of their advanced trenches, without any aid from us. The Zouaves bore the heaviest part of this battle; we could distinctly hear their officers between the volleys of musketry, cheering on their men, and encouraging them, and the rush of men generally followed, then a volley of musketry was heard, followed by rapid file firing, then a Russian cheer and more musketry. Between each volley we could hear the officer again giving the command. This work went on for about five hours, when the French at length retired. The French loss at this affair was twenty officers and 200 rank and file killed, wounded and taken prisoners; the Russian loss was over 600 killed and wounded.
March 18th, 5 p.m. General Canrobert attended by his staff, passed down by our right attack, and examined the position of the rifle-pits, Malakoff and Mamelon. At twilight a strong force of French with a battery of field pieces were moved down towards the advanced works, and another attempt was made to take the rifle-pits, and after a hard-fought battle they succeeded in dislodging the Russians, amid a blaze of fire from the forts at daybreak. The French now directed a heavy fire from these pits against the Mamelon and Malakoff, reversing the sand bags and loop holes.
March 23rd. The 17th Regiment furnished a working party of one hundred men for the advanced trenches yesterday evening. At twilight, when we got to the trenches, the engineer officer laid out the work. It was a new trench. Every file of men got a pickaxe and shovel, and were placed at six yards apart, on the open ground, without any shelter from the Russian grape and canister. We placed a man on the look-out for the flash of the guns, while we worked hard to throw up cover. About twelve o'clock the sentries in advance of us gave the alarm, by firing upon the advancing Russians, who came so suddenly we had scarcely time to snatch up our rifles before they were upon us, bayoneting us before we were prepared to receive them. When the sentries first discovered them they were close upon us. Taken at a great disadvantage, and pressed by superior numbers, we met them hand to hand with the bayonet; our men fought like British lions, meeting the assault with undaunted courage. We drove the enemy back at the point of the bayonet; pursued by our shot, they retired under cover of their batteries. The attack was general along the whole line. At ten, p.m., our batteries, with the French, began to shell the town, pouring our rockets every five minutes in streams into the city. The sentries in advance of Chapman's battery gave the alarm also that the Russians were advancing in force on the trenches; the 20th, 21st, 57th, and 68th Regiments were the covering parties on the left attack. They were pretty well prepared for the enemy. About the same time the French were attacked by columns of the enemy. As the French were sorely pressed, our troops extended along a portion of their trenches. On the left attack the Russians advanced in great force, through a weak part of the trenches, turning the third parallel; they killed and wounded several of our men, and had advanced to the second parallel, when our covering party came down upon them and drove them back after a sharp conflict. On the right the Russians came on our men very suddenly. The 34th Regiment had a strong force to contend against, and as Colonel Kelly, their commanding officer, was leading them on, he got wounded and was taken prisoner by the Russians, and carried off to Sebastopol. After an hour's fight the enemy were driven back to their batteries. During this affair we had ten officers and one hundred men placed hors-de-combat; the French had fifteen officers and two hundred men killed, wounded and taken prisoners. On the other hand, the enemy lost between seven hundred and eight hundred men. The number of dead Russians lying along the front of our trenches proved that they got a severe chastisement, and that they experienced a heavy loss.
The bodies of one officer and sixteen men remained in our trench until next day, and in front of our trenches the ground was covered with their dead. About one o'clock next day flags of truce were run up from the Redan and Malakoff, and shortly after white flags were waving from the top of ours and the French batteries. Previous to the white flags being run up, not a soul was visible in front of the lines. The instant the flags were hoisted, friend and foe swarmed out of the batteries and trenches. The sight was a strange one,—the French, English and Russian officers saluting each other most courteously as they passed, and a constant interchange of civilities took place. But while all this civility was going on, the soldiers of both sides were carrying off their dead comrades from the blood-stained ground, which was covered with strong proofs of the recent battle. There British, French and Russian soldiers, lying as they had fallen in their gore, with broken muskets, bayonets, pouches, belts, fragments of clothing, pools of blood, broken gabions, fascines, and torn sand-bags, visible on every side; and the solemn procession of soldiers, bearing their comrades to their last resting place, looked a most ghastly spectacle. In the midst of all this evidence of war a certain amount of lively conversation took place between the Russians and our men, such as, "Bono Inglais, Francais no bono, Rooso bono," and they led us to understand that they liked the British soldiers much better than the French, although we always made it hot for them whenever we met, for which they gave us the name of "red devils." It took two hours to bury the dead; at the end of that time the armistice was over, and scarcely had the white flags disappeared behind the parapet of the Redan, before a round shot from the sailors' battery knocked through one of their embrasures, raising a pillar of dust; the Russians at once replied, and the roar of the big guns drowned all other noise. It is generally believed by the officers and men, that our batteries will open a general bombardment on Sebastopol about the tenth of April. The greatest excitement and activity are displayed in Balaklava, at the railway station, and all round the harbour, with crowds of fatigue parties and labourers engaged in piling up shot and shell, and loading the railway with ammunition, of which immense quantities are being sent up to the front.
The first passenger train from the front to Balaklava was one loaded with sick soldiers, who were sent down to Balaklava.
On the 2nd April, five trucks filled with sick and wounded men ran down from the front in less than half an hour; the men of course were much more comfortable than those sent down on mules during the winter. Sickness in camp, I am glad to say, is diminishing every day; instead of sending down a thousand men a week to Scutari, as we did a month ago, we now despatch on an average only two hundred.
April 6th. This evening our mortar battery fired several shells into the Redan, and after the explosion, beams of timber, trunks of bodies, legs and arms of human beings, were seen to fly up in the air; and after a time a blaze of fire ran along a portion of the works, which sprang from one of the enemy's mines. The 68th Regiment furnished one hundred men for a working party in the advanced trench last night, and were pounced upon by a working party of Russians, who were throwing up a trench, within sixty yards of them, and a regular hand to hand fight ensued. The men of the 68th who were armed with the new Enfield rifle, could not draw their ramrods; the wood of the rifle, being new, had swelled with the rain and continued dampness, causing the rifle to get woodbound, this has occurred more than once to my own knowledge; therefore after the first volley, they had no resource but to use their bayonet and butt end of their rifle, billhooks, pickaxes, and spades, which they were working with when the Russians came upon them. After the sentries gave the alarm, the covering party from the third parallel came to their assistance, and at last the Russians were repulsed after a severe struggle. Our loss was about 60 men killed and wounded; the Russians lost 200 men killed and wounded, out of 800 who were engaged in the affair. I am glad to state that the 17th Regiment have got up two wooden huts at last, one for the grenadiers and the other for the light company; and besides, we are now getting a small supply of wood from the commissariat department. The weather is fine, and the camp ground getting dry. We have also got a divisional canteen established, close to the camp of the 57th Regiment. We can now purchase several articles of luxuries, such as butter, cheese, bread, bottled ale and porter, besides several other useful articles, which the men require to nourish and strengthen them, after the hardship they suffered during the severe winter. As regards food and shelter, our men are getting better off every day! we are getting flannel comforters now when we do not want them. It is a pity we did not get these things last winter. All the materials we possess now were to be had for moving them, and the thankfulness which the survivors feel for the use of them is tinged with bitter regret that our loved departed comrades can never share again our present comforts. As these neat huts rise up in rows one after the other, the eye rests sadly on the rows of humble mounds which mark the resting-place of those who perished in their muddy blankets under a wet and cold tent. There is not a regiment out here but has some generous friend in the mother country, whose care and bounty have provided them with luxuries and comforts beyond all price to the sick and declining soldier; some have sent tobacco, cheese, arrowroot, and warm clothing. The bounty, kindness and love of the people at home have now most liberally contributed to the wants of the army. About 12,000 Turks have just landed at Kamiesch Bay; they had a long march to the heights of Balaklava. It was astonishing that so few men fell out of the ranks or straggled behind. They had a good brass band, which astonished the British soldiers by "Rule Britannia" as they marched past our camp; most of the regiments were preceded by drums, fifes, and trumpets.
The colonel and his two majors rode at the head of each regiment, richly dressed, on small but spirited horses, covered with rich saddle-clothes, and followed by their pipe-bearers, The mules, with the tents, marched on the right, and the artillery on the left; each gun was drawn by six horses; the baggage animals marched in rear. The regiments marched in columns of companies, most of the men were armed with the old flint-lock muskets, which were clean and bright. They all displayed rich standards blazing with cloth of gold, and coloured flags with crescent and star embroidered on them. All the men carried a small pack with a blanket on top, a small piece of carpet to sit on, and cooking utensils. As they marched along they presented a very warlike appearance, the reality of which was enchanced by the thunder of guns at Sebastopol, and the bursting of shells in the air. The troops attended divine service on Easter Sunday; the Roman Catholics have erected a small chapel in the 4th division, and a priest celebrated mass outside the chapel, and preached a most eloquent sermon. The troops were formed up in close column by regiments, forming three sides of a square the chapel filling up the fourth side. It was a very imposing sight; the square of soldiers standing with fixed bayonets, and presenting arms at the elevation of the Host, the priest in the centre, bare-headed, and his vestments flowing in the breeze. The Protestants attend divine service in the open air regularly on Sundays, since the chaplains to the forces have arrived. On Easter Sunday the French had High Mass in each of their camps, with all the pomp of military bands. On last Saturday the regiments of the 4th division turned out every man off duty, and dug a deep trench and built a fence round the burial ground, placing a rustic gate at the entrance.
