The Perrysburg journal. [volume], December 30, 1854, Image 1

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THE PERRYSBIM JOURNAL.
A Republican Newspaper -Successor to the "Fort Meigs Reveille,5' and " Perrysburg Star."
VOL. 2.
PERRYSBURG, WOOD COUNTY, OHIO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1854.
NO. 40.
The Battle Eve in the Russian Camp.
A correspondent of Paris La Fresse com
municates the following curious information
respecting the proceedings in Sebastopol,
and the. Russian camp, from the arrival of
the. reinlorcements under General Dunnen
berg till the battle, of Inkermann :
T.'ie new reinforcements which had come
to the. nsistance of the Russians had been
already announced to the commander-in-chief
Irom Perekop. It was known that
ihis army, cominanded by Dannenberg the
most able, we are assured, of all the. Russian
g'Mi'M-dls and by the two archdukes, Michael
and Nicholas, was composed of the. 10th,
11th, and 12ih divisions. Each of these
corps consists of sixteen battalions of in
fantry, of two bittcries of artillery, and a
force of cavalry, the number of which is not
accurately known. Altogether 30,000 have
arrived at Sebatopol, post haste, having left
their baggage behind at Nicoluieff.
Having reached a forest, two leagues to
the northeast of Sebastopol, the army halted,
end t lie two archdukes put themselves in
communication with Prince Menschikoff,
who paid them a visit. A council of war
was held on the 3d, at which the two arch
dukes, Prince Menschikoff, and General
GortchakofT, were the only persons present.
It was decided at the council that an attack
should be made upon the allied forces two
days afterwards. The army was to advance
towards Inkermann, to take possession of
the fortified works which crown the heights
and surround the plain of Inkermann.
After having accomplished this, the arm'
was to attack the eastern side of the French
works towards Btlaklava.
At the same time a vigorous sortie was to
be made to help these operations. The point
chosen was a spot between the Fort Quar
antine and the Southern Fort. A portion of
trie garrison OI the city ana the southern
Fort was to attack and destroy the first and
second French batteries, which are causing
considerable damage in the town.
Matters leing thus arranged, Prince Mens
chikoff reserved to himself the command of
the town and the disposition of the columns
which were to make the sortie. The army
and the reinforcements which had come up
were placed under the command of General
GortchakofT. The army of operation was to
receive also draughts of troops from the gar
rison of Sebastopol. The archdukes were
placed on the staff.
Measures were immediately taken to ensure
the due execution of these plans.
On the 4th a solemn celebration took
place. A mass was chanted with all solem
nity by bishops who had come with the
archdukes. At the end of the mass the
troops were assembled, and one of the pre
lates addressed them. 1 should have been
incredulous as to the details which I am
about to communicate, had I not received
them from a Russian officer, at present a
prisoner at Balaklava, and if they had not
been confirmed by special investigations
which I have made for the purpose ol ascer
taining their truth.
The bishop began by reminding the soldiers
of their duty to the Czar and their country,
and drew their attention to the two arch
dukes who had come to share their dangers.
He then spoke of their enemies, and gave an
explanation of the battle of the Alma, cal
culated to flatter the self-love and to elevate
the courage, of the imperial army. The
English came under the special notice of the
bishop. Ho said they were poor soldiers,
destitute of all energy, and hostile to the
cause of God. His allusions to ihe French
were a mere echo of the. proclamation of the
Czar at Moscow in the year 1S12.
The most remarkable point, however, was
the strange conclusion of the address :
If you are conquerors (cried the. bishop)
great joy is in preparation for you. We
know from unimpeachable sources that these
English heretics have in their camp an enor
mous sum, wnicn uocl wm give into your
liands. This sum amounts to thirty million
roubles. The emperor makes you a present
of the third part of this tremendous sum.
The second third is reserved for the purpose
of rebuilding of Sevastopol, which you are
on the point of relieving. The remainder
will be divided among the. princes and offi
cers who will to-mori'ow be your com
manders in the battle. Every one of you,
soldiers, will receive 580 roubles. To the
wounded the Emperor promises a month's
pay and rations. As to those of you chosen
by God for a glorious death, your Emperor
will permit you to dispose of your share in
the booty by will. Whatever may be the
wishes of any one of you, they will be re
spected solemnly.
The speech was terminated by an appeal
to the God of armies to bless the soldiers of
Russia. A distribution of medals and coro
nets followed.
The. officer who has given me these curious
details is a person of high family, with a
spice of Voltairianism in his composition ;
but he assures me that the scene was most
sublime. It was calculated to make a great
impression on the soldiers, on whom the re
collection of the battle of the Alma had
operated most prejudicially. Whatever
may have been the cause, whether it were the
exhortation of the bishons. the presence of
the princes, creed for gold, or anv other rea
son, there is no doubt that the Russians
fought most admirably on the morrow.
A very interesting account of the battle
is given by the correspondent of the London
Morning Herald, from which it is apparent
that the Russian soldiers astonished the allied
forces by their bravery and discipline. Take,
for instance, the following passage :
"Onr regiments halted, extended their line
to the left, and commenced a tremendous
file fire. The enemy, in disorder, hardly re
turned a shot, but stood their ground, and
fell by hundreds and hundreds. Thrice ihey
moved up stolidly to break our line on the
left, and were met each lime by terribl j vol
lies of musketry, until they closed in, when
our fellows charged and massacred them at
the point of the bayonet. The fortune of
the day still hung doubtful. The enemy
were getting up their strength for a final ef
fort, when Canrobert came up with three
regiments ot Zouaves, five regiments of
French infantry, and a strong force of artil
lery, and commenced a terrible attack on
theenemy's right flank. This occurred about
11 o'clock, and from that moment the Rus
sian chance was hopeless. Yet, though un
der the French fire they were literally fall
ing by battalions, they never showed the
least signs trepidation or disorder. On the
contrary, they formed up in the most beauti
ful order, altered their front so as to meet the
attack of the French, and extending their
line to the left, prepared to resume their at
tack upon the. English. At that time how
ever, our men were well prepared, and with
out any order or arrangement, flung them
selves headlong upon the enemy, charging
with the bayonet.
"The Russians boldly charged with the
bayonet also, and for the 6pace of five min
utes, the 30th, 41st, 49th, 80lh, and six or
seven Russian regiments were stabbing, beat
ing and firing at each other in the most fear
ful manner.
and
began retiring
Inkermann heights
At last the enemy gave way,
in good order across the
Until I saw it, I never
in my lite could have believed that any
troops in the world could have retired under
such a murderous fire in perfect order. The
French and English, with a whole mass of
artillery, followed close upon the retreating
battalions, pouring in volley after volley of
grapeshot, shell and musketry. In fact, it
was a perfect carnage. Yet, in spite of this,
the enemy kept their order, retreating at al
most slow time, and every five or ten min
utes halting and charging desperately up the
hill at our men and the French. In these
charges the Russians lost fearfully. We re
ceived them with volleys of musketry, and
then dashed at them with the bayonet. In
one of these charges, the 50th French. regi
ment of the line recaptured the two guns
which in the corr.mencemet of the day we
had lost. By half-past two o'clock, the
great mass of the enemy had completely
fallen back, leaving between 7,000 and 8,000
dead upon the field behind.
Lord Raglan's despatch, refers to the aw-
Jful spectacle presented by the field after the
battle. 1 tie correspondent ot .the Herald
'says that the horrors of the scene beggar
all description. Groans and screams of
agony were rising up from all parts of the
held, while the Russian ships and fortifica
tions threw a perfect storm of shell over it,
killing indiscriminately the Russian, Eng
lish, and French wounded. A correspondent
of the Times, asserts that many of the
wounded died for want of assistance, even
water being scarce, and brought from a great
distance. As the ground was thickly cover
ed with dwarf oaks, and the wounded lay
scattered among them.it was a work of time
to hunt them out, even with the necessary
force to do so. The dead horses were so
numerous that it was no easy matter to get
even the camp clear of them, and the ground
being hard.and stony, it was very difficult
to dig graves for even the dead men, so that
the horses could only be collected and drawn
to a distance. The dead soldiers were buried
in great pits, the Russians being kept sepa
rate, and the French and English together.
The English have been ordered hereafter to
fight in daylight in their red coats, as in the
late battle the French mistook their great
coats for those of the Russians, and fired on
them.
Lord Raglan. When the announcement
was made that Lord Raglan was a pointed to
the command of the British land forces des
tined for the Turco-Russian Avar, it struck
men, familiar with the namesof public men
Ot England, with miroriw..
It appears that the individual named, has
been known as Lord JMtzroy bomerset. He
has been for a long time, high in command
in the army, and enjoyed a distinguished
position in India, and was recently second
in command in the British army. He is 70
years of age, and great-uncle to the present
Duke of Beaufort. He must have been quite
recently created a peer. His title is derived
from castle Raglan, an ancient feudal castle
in Wales. His family like, the collateral re
lations of other noble families, are of course
quartered on the public. It is of his broth
er Lord Charles Somerset, that the following
anecdote is told.
" He was Governor of the Cape of Good
Hope, and was minus a large amount in the
government chest. He returned to England
on the plea of ill health, and at the same
time when his defalcations were not gener
ally known. He was accosted one day by
an old acquaintance, who enquired what was
the nature of the disease which compelled
him to relinquish the Governorship, he re
plied 'A severe disorder in the chest' and
passed along.''
American Settlers in Palestine. About
two years ago eight American christians con
ceived and carried out the novel idea of
planting an American colony in the Holy
Land. They first located near Jerusalem, but
subsequently removed to a place near Joppa,
in the Plains of Sharon. Here they devoted
themselves to the arts of agriculture and to
the cultivation of friendly relations with the
Arabs. The. New York Sun says they pro
cured American implements from that city,
and adds :
" The emigrants, in their letters home, give
the most glowing and attractive descrip
tions of the fertility of the soil. They are
able to raise three crops in the year two in
summer, by means of irrigation, and one in
winter, when they have the aid of the win
ter rains. The crops grow luxuriantly, and
yield more abundantly than in the United
States; and nearly every kind of vegetable,
1 . u . ... .
fruit or grain raised in this country can be
procured in Palestine." -i . '
Battle of Inkermann. The official ac
counts 'of the battle of Inkermann are as
follows : In this tremendous conflict, ac
cording to Lord Raglan, there were only 8,
000 British and 6,000 French troops engaged.
Him yei iney oeai duck and deieated, in the
estimation of the same authority, 60,000
Russians the enemy's. loss being nearly 5,
000 killed and 10,000 wounded. Lord Rag
lan had seen in his early days much service
in the great Peninsular campaigns; but in
describing this teirific engagement he makes
this forcible remark, which reveals the terri
ble nature of the carnage "I never before
witnessed such a scene as the field present
ed." The Russian and official statement
admits that 42 officers and 2,969 privates
were killed total 3.011. Their wounded,
they say, were 206 officers and 5,701 soldiers
total 5,997, raising the killed and wound
ed above nine thousand but they say noth
ing of their men who were made prisoners.
Some Russians, both officers and soldiers,
were taken prisoners in the act of murdering
the wounded, which had caused explana
tions to be demanded of the Russian commander-in-chief.
Death of Gen. Strangeways. A shell
came right in among the staff it exploded
in Capt. Somerset's horse, ripping him open ;
a portion ot tne shell tore off the leather
overalls of Capt. Somerset's trousers; it
then struck down Capt. Gordon's horse, and
killed him it once, and then blew away Gen.
Strangeway's leg, so that it hung by a shred
of flesh and a bit of cloth from the skin. The
poor old General never moved a muscle of
his face. He said merely, in a gentle voice.
Will any one be kind enough to lift me off
my horse ?" He was taken down and laid on
the ground, while his life-blood ebbed fast.
and Bt last ho wae ratimrl in K vo&v. - But
the gallant old man had not sufficient
strength to undergo an operation, and in
two hours he had sunk to rest, leaving behind
him a memory which will ever be held dear
by every officer and man of the army.
The Mormon Governor. Brigham Young
must be a spirit-rapper, if we are to believe
his statement as to how he gained wealth.
In a lecture at the Tabernacle he said :
" Thousands of dollars worth of property
in houses and lands, which the Lord gave
me, are now in the East, in the hands of our
enemies. I never said they were mine, they
were the Lord's and I was one of His ser
vants. When I went to Kirtland I had not
a cent in the world, for previous to this I
had given away everything I possessed, that
I might be free to go forth and proclaim the
plan of salvation to the inhabitants of the
earth. Neither had I shoes to my feet, and
I had to borrow a pair of pants and a pair of
boots. I staid there five years, and accumu
lated five thousand dollars. How do you
think I accomplished this? Why, the Lord
Almighty gave me those means. I have
had that done for me that has caused me to
marvel. I know as well as I know that I
am standing before you to-day, that I have
had money put into my trunk, and into my
pocket, without the instrumentality of any
man. This I know to a certainty."
Fire at Union Village. We regret to
learn, that a fire occurred at Union Village,
four miles from Lebanon, on Monday eve
ning' last. It was seen issuing from a large
ba rn, on the West Brick Farm, about eleven
o'clock. Twenty-seren head of fine cattle,
worth $75 a head, and one heifer, just im
ported from England for White Water Vil
lage, were destroyed, besides the barn and
nearly all its contents. Six calres were
saml by being thrown out of the window.
This is a greater loss than the nominal value
of the cattle, as they comprise the best
breeds, and had been selected with the usual
care of the Shakers. The fire is eurjnosed to
have been the work of an incendiary, fLebt
Star,' - w" . ! .