They were, moreover, engaged in a series of siibtle manoeuvres down in the ravines, to turn the flank of unwary sentries, in order to get to the front, and their success was most creditable to their enterprise and ingenuity. The Tartars, Turks, and Eupatorians were singularly perturbed for such placid people, and thronged every knoll which commanded the slightest glimpse of the place. At lOdo (General Pelissier and his staff went up to the French Observatory on the right. The French trenches were crowded with men as close as they could pack, and we could, through the breaks in the clouds of dust which were most irritating, see our troops, all ready in their trenches. The cannonade languished purposely towards noon; but the Kussians, catching sight of the cavalry and troops in front, began to shell Cathcart's-liill and the heights, and the bombs and long ranges disturbed the equanimity of some of the spectators by bursting with loud "thuds" right over their heads, and sending '"the gunners' pieces" sharply about them..Aiiter hours of suspense, the moment came at last.
A five minutes bel'ore twelve o'clock the French, like a swarm of bees, issued forth from their trenches close to the doomed Malakhoff, scrambled up its face, and were through the embrasures in the twinkling of an eye. They crossed the seven metres of gi'ound which separated them from the enemy at a few bounds — they drifted as lightly and quickly as autumn leaves before the wind, battalion after battalion, into the embrasures, and in a minute or two after the head of their column issued from the ditch the tricolor was floating over the Kornilofi' Bastion. The musketry was very feeble at first — indeed, our allies took the Russians by surprise, and very few of the latter were in the Malakhoff"; but they soon recovered themselves, and from twelve o'clock till past seven in the evening the French had to meet and repulse the repeated attempts of the enemy to regain the worlc, when, weary of the fearful slaughter of his men, who lay in thousands over the exterior of the works, and, despairing of success, the Muscovite General withdrew his exhausted legions, and prepared, with admirable skill, to evacuate the place.
Of the French attack on the left I know but little. If intended in earnest, it was not successful, and caused great less to our allies. As soon as the tricolor was obsen'ed waving through the smoke and dust over the parapet of the Malakholf, four rockets were sent up from Chapman's attack one after another as a signal for our assault upon the Redan. They were almost borne back by the violence of the wind, and the silvery jets of sparks they threw out on exploding were scarcely visible against the raw grey sky. I take it for granted that there is no one in England who is not by this time quite well acquainted with the exterior of the Redan, and who does not know its shape and situation.
In my next letter I will endeavour to give a notion of what it is like inside; at present I have no time to describe it, nor the appearance of Sebastopol, now that one can walk through its flaming streets. Now, it will be obsei'ved that, while we attacked the Redan with two divisions only, a portion of each being virtually in reserve, and not engaged in the afl'air at all, the French made their assault on the Malaklioff with four divisions of the second corps d'armee, the first and fovuih divisions formingthe storming columns, and the third and fifth heing the support with reserves of 10,0U0 men. The French had, probably, not less than 30,000 men in the right attack on the 7th of September.
The divisional orders for the Second Division were very much the same as those for the Light Division. The covering party consisted of 100 men of the 3rd Bufls, under Captain John Lewes, who highlj^ distinguished himself, and 100 men of the Second Battalion of the Ivitle Brigade, I believe under the command of poor Captain Hammond. The scaling-ladder party consisted of 160 of the 3rd Bull's, under Captain Maude, whose gallantry was very conspicuous throughout the affair, in addition to the 160 of the 97th, under the gallant and lamented Welsford. The part of the force of the Second Division consisted of 260 of the 3rd Buffs, 300 of the 41st (Welsh), 200 of the 62nd, and a working party of 100 men of the 41st.