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(lOVKHXOH fJENEHAL OF CANADA. !{Y HIS GHATKFl'L SKF?VANT. THK AUTHOli. Ni PIJEFACK ' Tn ])resentin.if this, the history of my life, to the puljlic, L may as well say at the outset, that 1 do not put it forward as a work of literary merit, hut as a narrative that ean he read and I trust understood bv others than those who have reeeived a elassieal edueation. I am now passed middle age, and any one who knows what the eondition of the middling elass in Ireland was, some fifty years ago, may form some eoneeption of the amount of sehooling I had the ehanee to ol)tain. Still I have hoi)es that some amusement, combined with instruc- tion mav l)e found c(nitained in the following: pai»es. I have to thank mv dear old coiinade the late Thos. Kaughnan, for some valuable as- sistance, withoiit which pei haps more than one incident herein contained would have been imperfectly remembei-ed or it might be forgot- ten altogether. Scmie one once said: " Anv man over fortv vears should be his own doctor." Ke this as it may, I am ()foi)inion that no man I'KEKACE under that age, should uudertiike to be his own bioj^rapher, but being as I have said on the (iownward side of tlie hill of life, I may take it, that my career of a soldier being ended, the only part of my existence likely to interest the ])ul)lic has been passed, and I therefore feel justified in offering them these memoirs. Many of the incidents described, are known to myself. Nobody but those who have been in the battle, can form any opinion of how little any individ- lal knows of what is going on around him, '3xcept just in his immediate vicinity, conse- quently if any one particular attack were des- cribed by say half a dozen men, each descrij)- tion would differ widely from the others as probably no two men would have the same experience even in the same battle, although they might be sepeiated by only a few yards during the ac;ti(jn. If I appear sometimes egotistical, please srived over 10 yeiirs thnrinat (ialway, Dublin, Tt'inplernore anil ('nder the Britisl: navy riding in the gale Anxiously awaiting order's to set sail. THK LIFE OF .lAMKS (OI ALLKV, CHAP. I WIk'Ii I was voiintr. I hvA a notion that I would likf to ioin the annv unpay, .splendid uniforms, first class rations, and noble discharge. When speaking of campaigns, battle fields, long marches, and forlorn hopes, (the hard viscissitudes of martial life), he declaimed like one who knew some- thing of the terrible drama of war and all its horrors, in which soldiers are the principal actors. " We want alile bodied men," continued the sergeant, "of fine " limb anntlemen. " There is no compulsion nnnd ! you must all be free " and willing ! Remember that the cor])s I am enlist- " ing for, is .imongst the brwest and most honorable 12 THE I.tFE OF JAMES () MALF.EV. " in the service ; with the l)est officers to be found in " the British Army. " I hold Her Ma'esty's commis- " sion to enlist for the 17th Regiment, The Leicester- "' shire Royal Bengali Tigers, Scarlet uniforms, lilly " white facings. Now ! ( Jentlemen, select this choice " corps. For young fellows, who can do nothing "' better, it holds out the following inducements, it is a " noble profession, it creates aml>ition, gives oppor- " tunit}' for distinction as well as due crc'dit to genius " and leads through valor, and dut}' faithfully " performed to promotion and lionor. Heroes are not " found amongst peasants but in the army rustics may, ■" and often do, achieve fame far beyond what tliey ' might suppose possible. For such young men as you " the service is the proper place; where you can make " a fortune in a few years, and ma\' be, win your *' swords antl spurs, as many a noble fellow has done " before and as an}' one of you can do if you are so " minded. Hurrah ! ! Hurrah 1 ! The Queen was cheered and blessed, and the Sergeant was beseiged b}' applicants, ready to take tiie Queen's Shilling. Afi/cr he had performed the solemn ceremony of enlisting a half dozen country fellows I myself stepped boldly up and said " Sergeant " r wish to enlist in the 17th Regiment. Bravo ! " shouted the Sergeant " you are just tlie young lad " I want for that galland regiment. Upon my reputa- " tion there is not a gentleman in the three kingdoms " does me greater honor than yourself by selecting " the Royal Bengali Tigers for your future career. I " have not the slightest doubt but that you will be one THE LIFE OF JAMES o'MALf.EV 13 "if the best and bravest soMiers • and attain the " highest rungr in the ladder of promotion. " He then told me to hold out my hand, and answer the following questions : " Are you free, able, and willing to serve Her " Majesty, Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors for " a period of 10 years or until you are legally discharged ? " I answered, " I am ". The customary ceremony on such occasions was then gone through in a manner that did credit to the sergeant. The " signi- ficant shilling " was placed in my hand " in the name of the Qiieen ", binding me irrevocabFy to Her Majesty's Service and as an addition to the 17th Regiment. The ribbons were affixed to my hat by the gallant sergeant who marched me and six others before the doctor, who approved of our appearance and V)efore whom we subsequently passed satisfactorily. Here I may say incidentaly that I have never had cause to regret Joining Her Majesty's Service. The morning following my enlistment, tlie sergeant took me and the others before a magistrate at 10 o'clock and we were sworn in, after which each received half-a-crown called swearing in money. Probably few happier groups of young fellows could be encountered than that of which I was one. Laughter and good storias were the rule to which (particularly, the latter) tha sergeant contributed no small share. Of ^.he many battles which he described, none made sucii an impression on my mind as his de.scription of the battle of " Waterloo " in wl)ich he was an active participaut. As the descriptic , given n 14 THE LIFE UK JAMES «) MAM.EV. ill his own words (as nearly as my memory will bear me out) may interest my readers, I will endeavour to produce the story here, verhatim. CHAR 11 Ket'ore commencing-, he took a long pull at his can- teen, which was slnn*;' by a leather strap at his side. The smack t)t' his lips and his jolly manners impressed me with the belief that the canteen contained some- thino- stronger and more to his taste than "Adanisala." F(jrtifying himself still further with a pincli of snuti' he said : " (Jn the lM)0 prisoners, but two eagles from the enemy. The prisoners were sent to Brus- sels as the first fruits of British success. But our cavalry pushing their advantage too far, were met by a strong body of Cairdssier^t, on one flank and Lancers on the other, and having charged up to the enemy's guns (which covered the attacking columns) and cut down the gunners, were forced to retire cutting off an angular portion in their retreat. This movement was however dearly purchased by the death of their com- mander, but his brigade avenged him so well, that almost the whole of the Polish Lancers were cut to pieces, before the strife terminated. Napoleon still persisted in obstinate attacks, and his infantry colunms advanced, supported Ijy a division of Cuirassiers. Opposed to these were the British briga«le of heavy IS THE MFK OK .lAMKS O.MAM.KV. crtvulry, a corps that lias ever done England " Yoe man's Serv^ice "; Their meeting was worthy of the ancient Roman tirena, as they fought, not at long range like the modern mode of warfare, hut sword to sword : desperate blows and passes being exchanged. Hut notwithstandincr the weiffht and armour of the Cuirassiers the power of their horses and the undoubted courage of their riders, they could not stand the shock, but were ridden down in masses. Probably this was one of the fiercest and closest cavalry fights that was ever witnessed, and ended in several hundreds of the French being driven headlong over a deep gravel pit, in a confused mixture of men and horses, exposed to a close fire, which quickly ended their sufferings. One good effect of this impetuous British charge was to cause the enemy to pause, l)ut only to be followed by a more furious < islaught of fresh s(|uadrons. Napoleon exhausted his energies in fierce attacks both horse and foot, relying upon his artillery for support ; 250 guns keeping up a constant fire upon the allied position, this fire was so destructive, that the "Iron Duke" directed his troops to retire beyond the exposed ridge and lie down on the ground, until on the near advance of the enemy's horse, they were ordered to stand up in s(|uares advance, meet and repel their charge. Nothing dismayed the French cavalry repeatedly charged the very centre of our position colunni, following column like the waves (^f the sea. Vain and useless was their devotion to their cause and country as they came up time and again to bi-eak the British square, only to retire with great loss. 1'heir . THE LIFE OK .lAMES oMALI.EV. Id e performed, he rode up to the Duke delivered his answer and then dropped dead from his horse. And at this time there was no certainty that all this sacrifice had not been made in vain. The French although repulsed on every side persisted in making incessant ')0 THE LIKK h they obeyed ana rushing down the hill were upon the French with charged bayonets, causing even THE I.IKE OK JAMES () MAIJ.LV. 25 that crack regiment the Veteran (Juards of France, the chosen of Napoleon's Army to turn tail and i\y. The Hritisli followed them in fine stvle and nearly destroyed then- Ney fought sword in hand even after Ids horse was sliot from under him. His uniform was complete- ly riddled by buUnts and lie was the last to quit the stru^^le. Napoleon's last hope was gone, when he saw the flower of liis army i\y before the impetuous charge of the British troops, but when he saw liis cavalry fly and nuxing with the fugitives trample them down, he cried " all is lost " then, shook his head and turned as pale as death. Soon after, two bodies of F»ritisli caval- ry rapidly advanced upon either flank and the Prus- sians were closing up his rear. Now was the time (had Napoleon's spirit dictated it) for him to die a brave warrior's death. But no, he said to his aide-de- camp who remained at his side, the fatal words "All is lost ! and it is time to save ourselves ! ! " and putting spurs to his horse, /u.nifd and jied leaving to thei/ fate the gallant soldiers who had that day shed their blood with such profusion. Considering that he was looked upon by his army as perfectly invincible, it may well be imagined what an utterly " routfd. " feeling must have prevailed amongst his adherents when his crack regiment turned and fled. Meanwhile the whole British army, led by the illustrious contjueror hiuiself, charged the French who still maintained the combat, Amidst increasing slaughter, the whole of Napoleon's grand army, fled from the indomitable bravery of the British. As our troops followed up, the french guns had gradually ceased Hiring, the gunners having aban- 26 THE J.IFE OF ..'AMES oMAELEY. donetl them. The drivers cut the traces of their liorse.s, in order to enable tlieni to i\y tlie (juicker. Infantry, cavahy, officers and men, were mixed up in their headdong Higlit, strewing the giound as they went witli tlieir wounded, dearl and dying. As they ruslied over waggons, arms, and over-turn- ed ai'tillery, pursuers and pursued tore madh' over all tliat lay in tlieir path. A slight attempt at resistance was mad«' by four or five battallions of the Old Impe- rial (Juanls, wlio threw themselves into S(|uares anV JAMES () MALI.EY. Wlien reposing that night on my pallet of straw. By the wolf-scaring baggot that guarded the slain ; At the dead of the night a sweet vision I saw, And twice ere the morning I dreamt it again. Methought from the battle-field's dreadful array. Far, far I had roamed on a desolate track,— T'was autumn, and sunshine arose on the way, To the honie of my fathers, that welcomed me back. I flew through the pleasant fields, traversed so oft In life's morning march when my boom was young : I heard my own mountain goats bleating aloft. And I knew the sweet strain that the corn reaper sung. Then pledged me the wine-cup, and fondley, I swore. From my liome and my weei)ing friend never to part : My little ones kissed me a thousand times o'er. And my wife sobbed aloud in her fulness of heart. " Stay, stay with us -rest !— than art weary and worn ! " And fain was their war-broken soldier to stay; But sorrow returned with the dawning of morn, And the voice on my dreaming ear melted away. At tile conclusion of his vocal effort the applau-se was almost deat'eninu', (hiring which he took the opportunity of fillino- his pipe and commenced smokinp^. Whilst thus regaling' himself with the fnigrant weed, he gave us (juite a few wrinkles as to our future belia- viour both in and out of the liarrack room. I have often thought since, what a henetit it would he to soldiers in general if their enlisting sergeant would only take the pains in the In filming to im))res.s upon the minds of the young recruits the heneHts accruing from hi)nest, kindly, and manly behaviour not only when forced, but when any opportunity offered for the display of such (jualities. This is 28 THE LIFE OP JAMES O MAJJ.EY. precisely M-hat our sergefint did with us, and, I for one, certainly was much struck by the advice so kindly offered and I must say that, I have reeson to believe that much of my success whilst in the army vas due to my having endeavoured to carry it out in practice. Men who do what is right, very soon find their names, favorably known in the highest quarters and are often surprised to find how quickly their superior officers find out and appreciate their merits. Consequently promotion is frequently very rapid, proving the truth of the old adage " Virtue is its own reward ". In fact, if a man realy and conscientiously performs his duty, there is no place in the world where he will be better appreciated or where his position will be more quickly benefitted, then in the British army. All men who liave risen above the social level, upon which they were born, have been men ever ready to lend a helping hand to a comrade or even a stranger when it seemelin. Arrivinj^ at the station we could see Wellinoton's monument in PluHiiix Park. Here we were met l)y our own regi- mental hand, also the hand of the 'i!)th who played us up to Richmond harracks. On arrival we were told off to our respective ([uarters and dismissed. There are splendid, large, airy harracks sutHcient for two regiments, with excellent officer's and stafi' (juarters, but verv bad accomodation for married soldiers, who were ol.)liged to rent apartments outside, and live like many of the civilians in tenement houses. This is a great inconvenience to married soldiers which the authorities ought to remedy witliout further delay, if they have not already done so. The military force in ])ublin consisted of the 1st Dragoon Cuards stationed in the Royal barracks under command of Lord Car- t 1 34 THE LIFE OF JA.MES OMAI.EEY dijjan as well us the Scott Greys. The 11th Hussars and tlie lOth Lancers in Islantl Bridiiu hanacks. Thi-ee batteries of the Royal Artillery were stationed in Portobello. The 17th and 89th were (juartered in Richmond barracks. The 27th Enniskillen (now 27 Royal Irish Fusilliers) lay at the Royal ^uirracks as well as the 52nd Li^ht Infantry and !)lst Re- giment, besides those at the depots at Begijars Bush barracks. The whole were under the connnand of Major General, Sir Edward Blakeney, (the Com- mander in-chief of the force in Ireland) whose (juarters were situated at The Old Man's Hospital near Phu'nix Park. The regiments furnish the garrison duties in their turns daily ; the regiment forming the Castle guard, finding the staff colours, etc. The colours are trooped every morning on the esplanade at JO o'clock when the guards are inspected by the Town major and the men marched off to their respective r.osts. The numbers of the different guards are as foiiows : Castle guard, one captain, one subaltern, two sergeants, two corporals, and 27 privates. Lower Castle, one sergeant, one corporal, and I) privates. Vice Regal Lodge, one sergeant, two corporals and 21 privates. (Jld Man's Hospital, one sergeant, two corporals and 15 privates. Kilmainham, one corporal and three privates. Arbour Hill Hospital, one sergeant,one corporal and 15 privates. Magazine in the Park, one sergeant, one corporal and 9 privates. Island Bridge, one sergeant, one corporal and 15 privates. Bank of Ireland, opposite College Green, one subaltern, one sergeant, one corporal and 15 privates. Richmond, one sergeant, two corporals THK I.IFE OF JAMES O MAFJ-EV. 35 and 15 privates. Mount Joy Guard, one corporal and 8 men. Kelievin<,^ the Castle Ouard, is one of tlie most impressive martial cereuKmies and invariably attracted lart^e crowds of people to witness it, as well as to enjoy the inspiritinf,^ strain of the military hands which discoursetl the liveliest music during the performance of this duty. Hefore the old guanl marches ott', the new g^uard plants its colours in the centre of the castle yard with a doul>le sentry over them. Two sentries are posted at the (,^ate of the Castle yard, and two on the door of the Castle itself, under the portico. All the sentries of the old fjuard havincif been relieved, the guard is marched otl' by its Captain, the subaltern carrying the colours : the new guard saluting the oM by presenting arms, and then taking the place of the old. The relief being told oft", they are dismissLMl to the guard room. The guards alwavs take their rations with them, which consists of three-(juarters of a pound of l)eef or mutton, one pound and a half of bread, one pound and a half of potatoes and onions, one eighth of an ounce of tea, a quarter of an ounce of coti'ee, two ounces of sugar, with pepper and salt to each man. There being only one pot and pan to each guard room, you will readily perceive that they are kept in active use from the time the men mount post in the morning until (J o'clock in the evening : every relief boiling their potatoes and making tea or cott'ee as they come off sentry. I w^s detailed for guard at the Old Man's Hospital, which is a large estal»lishment and consists of the Major general's quarters, and the English church, where the troops from Richmond attend divine service 36 TMK I. IKK by a country grateful to them for their past services in her behalf. Tponbeino" relieved from ^uard next day, we luid " kit inspection " by the c p. m. There was on board ai>^/ut 203 picked men from the various corps in Dublin. The men had a very smart soldierly appearance, and altogether, seemed to deem it quite an honor to have been selected for this service. All being ready the captain called out " All aboard " and immediately after- wards the steamer moved out slowly from her moor- ings, passing clear of the shipping, and Pigeon House Fort on the right, where several detachments had assembled and who gave us three lusty cheers, such as only Briti t soldiers and sailors know how to give, as the steamer rushed ^nwards. Soon city and shore were passed and then there was nothing to be seen but sky and water. Towards night, the clouds looked threatening; but darkness closed about us without anv TilE LIFE OF JAMES OMAELEV, 39 bad wer.tlier putting in an appearance, although many of the soldiers, never having had experience of the sea. thought we were in for a hig storuj. But although the yteanier rolled and pitched to a degree that to us landsmen was very trying, that was tlie extent of our misfortune. After a pretiy good deal of this kind of movement, (which the sailors only regarded as childs' play) we steamed into Liverpool about 6 o'clock a. m. were we disembarked and having !*;ot breakfast, marched to the Railway station taking the o'clock train for London. The morning was fair and the train went along at good speed, covering the distance of ISO miles in 5 hours, thus making an average of -iO miles an houi', and arriving at Euston Station on time. Our (quarters in London w-ere in Regents Park. The procession on the morning of the 18th of November althougii nescessarily of a melancholy appearance, was most imposing. We had good wearther and the troops looked simply splendid. Most of the way from the Chelsea Hospital, where the body had lain in state, right up to St Pauls' Cathedral, the streets were lined on botli sides with both Cavalrv and Infantry. Noon sharp the cortege left the hospital escoi'ted by a guard of honor. The bands played the "Dead March" and minute guns were fired as the procession proceeded on its way to the last earthly resting place of the departed Hero, w^here on arrival the body was lowered into the crypt in close proximity to the corpse of the ever memorable Lord Nelson, waiting for the last trumpet to call the quick and the dead. The funeral 40 THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEV. was beyond doubt one of the ij^randest and most solemn that was ever seen before in Enghmd or any otlier country and is probably remembered to this day by some of tlie soldiers (if still living) that took part in it. Wlien all was over, we returned l)y rail the follow- ing' morning to Liverpool taking the steamer at G p.m. for Dublin wliere we arrived twelve hours later viz (5 the following morning, after rather a rough passage. It is the rule to change the regiments stationed in J)ul)lin, from one barracks to another, every 10 months. Ours having put in the regulation time in Richmond, we exchanged with tlie ()3rd from the Royal barracks. The first of April we marclied from our old (juarters meeting on our way tlie G8rd who beino- the junior regiment, saluted us, the 17th, according to the rule of etiquette in force in the service. On arrival, our quarters were taken up in Valentine Square. We were mightely pleased with this exchange as we were thereby brought closer to the various amusements sights, etc., of the city. Twelve men of each company were now armed with the Enfield Rifle which, although, now considered an obsolete weapon, was at that time a considerable improvement upon the arms carried by us, viz the old " Brown Bess." They were ordered to proceed to tlie Pigeon House fort in order to undertro a course of instruction in the handling of the rifle, on the beach. On completion of this course the rifles were 'landed over to twelve others and soon until tlie entire briefade had been tlioroughly drilled in their use. In the summer of the same year I.S5.3, Dulilin was visitcil by the Queen and Prince Albert. THE LIFE OF JAME.S U M ALLEY 41 A iiiessac^'e having been received that the Royal party were to land at King'stown, the grenadiers, and light company were ordered to proceed by rail from West- land Kow station to that place to do duty as a guard of honor, leaving the Royal Barrack at S a. m., under the command of Capt. John Croker, who was killed some time afterwards on the LSth June LSoo in the memorable assault on the great Redan. Our forma- tion was arranged in such a manner that it left a passage between our two lines for Her Majesty and Consort to pass from their y^icht, wdiich came along- side the (juay ; a red carpet having been laid down previously for their Majesties to walk on, to the rail- way carriage prepared for their reception and then in waiting. After standing in position for upwards of an hour or more the Royal yacht was at last seen steaming into harbour, at sight of which, the different shipy in port, iired a royal salute, whilst from the merchant vessels and people congregated about, deaf- eaning cheers arose, testifying to the warm place the Queen held in the hearts of her subjects. Plainly visible walking the decks, were Her Majesty and tlie Prince, and both were highly pleased with their enthusiastic reception. Upon arrival the Royal Party landed withoutdelay and as her Majesty stepper! ashore, the guns of St Georges' battery paid her homage, at the same time the bands broke out with " God save the Queen " most heartily rendered. Their Majesties were then conveyed by -special train to Dublin escorted by their guard of honor, where the <.^ueen opened the great exhibition at Merrion S(juare, the special guard 42 THE LIFE Of JAMES O MALLEV. of lionor for tliis occasion beinu' fnniislied by the l()th Lancers. On the conclusion of the ceremony tliev went to the Vice Ref^'al Lodge, accompanied by several troops of cavalry. Some thonsan'• ''''"•' At '»•'-■ all hut hare piV ' : " T '" '''''"' -"' d-I.e.l al,o«t like i^a i .t ,,, 'h'^,'."""""^^''''''^ ""« ^■■-.attherate-ifr; ftJ-''-weregoi,,g morn,no-.at 8 o'clock uv , , ,' ' "" '"""• -^'ext ■ "'^''*' '''•^akfast comprising ■■I rilK l.fKi: OK JAMES ()M.\I.I,KY. ¥.f hard sen hiscnit ( " luii'd tack "' as it is culled), and cocoa wliich latter was excellent and after the meal was ended, all hands were orderetl on deck witii the exception of the orderly men, who prepared tlie meals and kept the place clean and in order. At 12 o'clock the sound of the ^^ro^^ huole was heard and there were very few aV)sentees from this parade. We were serveut most of then» put in an appearance at their «hnner of salt beef and plum puddinf(. IJy the time diimer was over a chancre liad taken place in the weather and we were now enjo3'in<;' a l)ri«,ditsky and shining sun : a most a^reahle sight to us landsmen. The mess gathered upon deck to smoke and talk, the pro^^ress of the ship forming' a staple article of conversation. This subject was appar- ently, the first thino' in the morninj^- and the last at night in every body's mind. The sailors made them- selves very agreable and fre<|uently enlivened us with sea songs whilst engaged in their various employments. By (i o'clock a.m., the decks were all clean and dry, anay of Biscay '. ly this time the motion (jf the vessel had ceased totroulde any of us and many of the officers and men assembled on deck to watch our course and look out for lanout the same rate of speed as she ha«l been doin aVtout as if it were iioina" to the bottom every minute The boatswain's whistle was plainly audible above the howlini;- of the storm and the creaking' of the .strained spars and cordage. The sailors Were oi"(Un'ed to take insai'sand haul the ship close. ( )ne particularly heavy sea struck lis nearly amidships and in a moment there was a confused niass of men, women, children, and movables knocking about in all directions. As usual there was a perfect chorus of screams from the frightened women and indeed many men did not look particularly cheer- ful about the matter, but in another minute we were dashing onwards once more. Fervent prayer was the order of the day, or rather night, on board for b\' this time it was past 12 o'clock and pitch dark. In fact all acted as though they momentaril}- expected to l)e THE LIFE OK .JAMES () MALI^EY. 51 ( culleil before their («<»(!. It was hotli t»iucliin<; aiul uwe iiispiriiin- to find so many stroii^^ men ackno\vle MALLEY. the meantime the upper deck was well washed, cleaned and once more put into somethinii like order. I was a good deal surprised wlien at ahout 10 a. m., the follow- ing morning the look-out at the mast head cried out •' Land ho! ! " I could see no land and it was (|uite a long time )>el:'ore I did, for to me, wiiat they called land, only looked like a cloud in tlie distance. When we were about 10 miles off' how- ever, its highest peaks, the lofty headland and cliifs of cape St Vincent were plainly discernahie, tosfetflicr with its liuht-house and convent. It was the first land we saw. On our right we caught a good glimpse of the white mountains of Africa as we crossed Trafalgar hay. On the left, close to us as it seemed we had the coast of Spain and as the crops were then very nearly ripe the view was enchanting. Shortly we came into the straits of Oihraltar and were soon abreast of the Rock itself which of course was of great interest in the eyes of all aboard and upon sight of whicli the ship hctisted luir flags. We cast anchor in the harbour of (fii)raltar and shortly after the healtli officers' boat Hying the yellow flag came off' to us to L'n(|uire as to our sanitary condition. As our doctor lowever gave us a clean bill of health, we wereimme- diateU' u'iven v/rders to disembark, Mav I'^tli bS.H at (i p. m. The right wing formed in open columns of companies right in front of the vv Mole. Consider- ing the roughness of our passuge and tlie knocking about we had all had, tlie men looked both well and clean. The .band and pipers of the !>2nd Highlanders .and the band (»f the 89th played us to the Caseman THE LIFE OF .lAMES O M ALLEY. 58 Barrackjs, wliere we were (|uartere(l. We were followed i»y a motley crowd of Irish, Enylish Spaniards Italians, Moors and Jews. We were welcomed by several soldiers from the uarrison who were plea.sed to .see a new reoiment arrive to share their millitary duties. About half past two the followinu' day, the Dunbar arrived havinii' <''i l)oard the left winy. 'I'hey landed at *^ p. m., and joined head (|Uarters shortly afterwards. No company proceeded tn Catalan Hay outside the city gates, on detfichments. The ret^iment was exempt next day from iiarrison liuty in order for them to uet their 1 lauiiaii't-' and settle down in thoir • |Uarters. The guards with colours were trooped every day at 10 a, m., (Sunday excepted) on the esplanade under the tield officer, assited liy the Town Major just the same as if at home. All regiments i-oiiiu to (libraltar are obliiicd to furnish so many men tove the sea level bein^' one of the largest rock forma- tions in the world. Algiers lies live miles south of (lil)raltar. Tlie west forms a tine harlMjur. It is a lar^e seaport town called Algezier. The climate is very warm and pleasant throuu'liout the entire year. The troops have bathini;' parades twice a week. At 4 o'clock in the morning when t'le t;un tiri.-s from the 54 THE LIFE OF JAMES () MAI, LEV. rock, the city gates are opened by the Town Major with a posse of guards. Tlie market now opens and the Spaniards come pouring in witli a plentiful supply of water mellons, grapes and all kinds of fruit which can be purchased for a mere song. Goats milk is the only kind in use in Ui])raltar. On the Queen's birth- day, tiie troops in garrison consisting of twocompanys of sappers and miners, three batteries of Royal artillery, and four regiments of infantry, were drawn up in line on the neutral ground at the North front. At noon each man was furnished with 12 rounds of blank cartridge. On the stroke of 12 by the tower clock a gun was tired from the Sky Battery. This was the signal for a Rfiyal salute. The batteries on the rock as well as tlie men-of-war in harbour, tired the regula- tion 21 guns each. The trcjops then tirfMl the feu de join. After the smoke had cleared aw^y, tliey waved their shakos in the air, and gave three cheers for Her JMajesty. The spectators of whom there were some thousands enjoyed this gnind millitary spectacle in hon()Ui' of the Queen's birthday. The troops then marclied past in slow, (|uick, and LEY. up The Britisli (Jrenadiers. Captain Jolin Croker was then called upun tu respond and said : " Brother officers and men ot the 89th regiment. This cordial reception anoyH,ovvn,— With its tears we'll chase away our own. The morning may l)e bright But this may be the last night That we shall ever pass together here. The next night where shall we And our gallant comrades be, But, no matter, grasp the sword and away, boys, away — No matter grasp the sword and away. Let those who brook the lot Of the Russian great despot Like cowards at their home they'll stay Cheers for our Queen be given Whilst our souls we trust to heaven, Then for Britain and our Queen, boys, hurah ! Hurah ! hurah ! ! ! For Britain and our Queen, boys, hurah ! On tlie inornino- of our departure, the reoiment paraded on tlie square of tlie casement barracks for tlie last time, and havino- been called to attention by Colonel McPlierson, K. C. B., received the words of conunand " Quick march : " The men marched ott' throuoh the Town to the tune of " The o-irl I left l)ehind me" played by the band, followed as u.sual by a laro-e crowd. En route to the New Mole where the steam- ship Tamer was lying along-side the warf waiting to take the different troops to the seat of war, W(- were heartily cheered. The parting with our relatives and friends was a sadley trying ordeal, but our Queen and country required us to meet the Russians in mortal 5S THF LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. combat and we liad to iro. At 11 o'clock all being ready, the Captain gave tlie word, and the steamer moved out from the wharf, the band playing " Anld Lang Syne." As soon as the vessel rounded the New Mole, her speed increased and soon Europa Point with its barracks and batteries was turnetl. Next morning the deck was washed at 5 o'clock, and at 10 a. m., the commanding officers' parade took place : the men appearing in first class condition. The weather was tine and the ship moved along at good speed. A Mediterranean sun-set being somewliat of a novel sight to the majority on board, caused us to assemlde on the deck to witness it and certainly we were delighted and surprised at the magnificent sight. The following morning after parade, the men amused them- selves as best they could, by playing games, etc. After dinner the band played on deck, pleasing all on board v/ith the fine martial music. For three days we had Africa on our right as we passed down the Mediterra- nean. By 7 o'clock a. m. in the morninii' of the 8rd Aug., land had been reported by the look-out. As we neared the spot, it appeared to us a rocky island. It was Malta. Those who had not visited the place before, were somewliat surprised at this curious city. Batteries on all sides fairly bristled with guns. To the right of the cit}^ could be seen spires and domes above the houses. The harbour was crowded wi+h shipping. We made a grand passage of 1800 miles in three days. Soon after our arrival a coal barge came alongside and about GO Maltese connnenced loading us with coal. They carried the coal on their -,»^-j,^, ^i^fisgf, THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEV. 5:) backs ill baskets. A great source of amusement both to officers and men, was watcliini;' tlie divers wlio came aloniiside in small boats. The boat was manaijed liva boy tlius leaving the diver at lil)erty to attend to him- self. Their MALLEV. (U A-liicli for roper loin- liful to lie against the bulwarks. By noon the t'ollow- iii^ (lay, however, the weather haardanelles, tlm straits are very narrow certainly not more than a cjuarter of a mile in some places. We ran close to the bank in order to get sufficient water on the European side. Opposite the town of Gallipoli, its breadth becomes greater, being about 4 miles. It expands to. the sea of Marmora. The Turkish batteries on both sides saluted us continualy as we passed and cheered us in their own way. We had Asia Minor on our right and Turkey on our left. Considering the splendid country Turkey, is it does realy seem a shame to see it in the hands of such a set of tjood-for-nothinix thieves as the Turks are. As we passed the numerous forts at night-fall we were challenged in all kinds of peculiar ways, burning blue lights wliich wtre replied i (12 'I'HK \AVK i)V .lAMKS () MALL?:V to by our ship Imrnino' itluL' lights as well. It took us all nights to cross the sea of Marmora owiu;^^ to there lieiiio- a very stroiiiu' current a<,oiinst us. Shortly after ItreaUfast ne.xt mornini;', we sifrhtealaclava II ai- hour. (Jur number went up at once hut failed to i^et any response, so we entered the small harhour throunh a narrow passajjje crowded with shippiiii/. Running aloncjside the led^e of rock on the left we came to a standstill in 25 fathoms of water and made fast to iron h(Joks fastened in the rock for that purpose. Ahout lialf past two o'clock on the next day, the rei^i- ment disembarked in heavy marching ordei*. Previ- ously to this we had been served with the following articles viz: One tent to every IG men, one fryin;;panj one camp kettle, hand-saw, axe, sliovel, spade, and 2 bill hooks to each mess, and one blanket with three (lays' siiip's provisions to each man. We marched off' at the word of command, the camp ec|uipa(|e bein^- distributed amonost the men of the company. Rain was pouring down in torrents and we were soon wading knee deep in mud, making our journey most tedious as we tramped on through muck, mire, and heaps of forage and stores which lay totaly unpro- tected from the weather, all around Balaclava. The weather was so bad that we had to stop outside the town and pitch our camps on the side of Kadikoie Hill, close to the plains of Balaclava for the night and while we were so doing we got wet through. Very little comfort was experienced by us that night, in our drenched clothes and 1)lankets lying on the wet ground (U THK 1,1 FE OK .lAMKS () MA F, LEV. / liut the jiiniiiunition wr uhvays mana^'t'd to keep dry. Nine o'clock the picket sentri«js wen- posted I'ound our camp, and at reveille next ni(jrninju we were (|inckly on tlie alert. r)ur food consisteeing unahlc to procure any of that Hnid. After marching four miles throunh the mud of Balaclava, we looked out f]ankets nor cl<»thes bein^if much dryer, and the thunderinu' of the j.»uns effectually piHivented any of us from n'ettlij^ to sleep. We endeavoureM wiliii THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. 67 which we were armed ! ! On the 18th December 1854, I was rne of the covering party in tlie advance worksi in front of No. 11 battery on the left attack. One of the sliells from the Flag-stafF battery exploded in the trench and a splinter of it pierced my head causing a deep and serious wound. This was the first blood drawn in our regiment. Two men lifted me up, and carried me to Green Hill Battery where my hurt waS attended to by a navy doctor. As 1 was being con- vej'^ed there, a cannon ball tired after us by the Russians whistled past us close to our ears : barely mising us. The doctor after dressing my wound endeavoured to persuade me to go to the hospital, but I volunteered to join my comrades again and try to get revenge on the enemy. I resumed duty as soon as the doctor had finished with me, and under cover of night we marched to camp where we made our usual meal of biscuit, cold water and as a change, a little raw pork. We were soon lying down in our tents, our feet to the pole with our knapsacks under our heads and our blankets round usi without any warm food or lire. Not knowing one hour from another when we were going to be attacked, we were ordered not to undress so as to be in readiness to turn out at a moments' notice. The reader will per- ceive that our surroundings could not be called luxurious, even by the greatest stretch of imagination. During the night, an alarm was given that the enemy had advanced on our trenches in great forco, upon which we were turned out and marched down. As we went down to the trenches at tlie doubjj, the roaring of the cannon and cracking of nuiskeiry was deadfuh i 68 THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. our way being lighted up by the flashing of the guns. By the time we reached the Green hill trenches, the enemy had been repulsed with great loss and many of them lay dead and wounded all around the scene of action. Our loss was comparatively trifling, nine men wounded and four killed. We returned to camp and rested undisturbed untill the morning feeling both tired and wet. At 8.80 a. m.. Lord Raijlan and his staflT came te get a good view of 8el)astapool from Cathcarts Hill. He was accompanied by General Pelassier and his stafl". As soon as breakfast was over, all available men after funishing tlie trenches were employed in carrying round shot and shell from the s'ege train to the trenches. This work was very hard as each man had to carry two round shot weighipg 68 lbs apiece one being slung in front and the other behind in l)iscuit bags, sinking in the mud at veiy step. This and dragging heavy guns into position occupied the whole day. In the evening a comrade of mine and .myself went over to see Michael Kelly a friend of mine from Gahvay, who was in the 88tli regiment and who had fought at the battle of Inkei'man. He gave us a long account of that battle which for the beneflt of my readers, I will relate as I heard it from him as near as my memory ^^ill pei'mit. JL THE LIFE OF JAMES OMALLEY. 00 CHAPTER VI The rattling of musketry, tlie roar of big guns, and the burstling of shells, such was the reveille on the 5th November LS54. The British troops rushed from their tents into the murky air outside, where the men bewildered by the fog, darkness and uproar scarcely knew where to expect the unseen enemy. All was surprise and confusion. Round shot flew past with angry rush and bursting shell scattered ruin and destruction on all sides. Tents wei'e knocked over and torn to ribbons. Round shot, after upsetting some poor victims bounded down to n\ iiere the cavalry horses were placed. Near the windmill orderly men in camp had just begun to struggle with the rain endeavouring to light a tire for breakfast. The outlying pickets were surprised and forced to retire before a surperior force, contesting however, every inch of ground as they fell back on the main boily, when the assend»ly was at once sounded for the allied army, causing all to be innneiliately on the alert. The alarm lu'lny ^Iven that the Russians were advancing, the tidings of di.aiay which the}^ brought, were ([uickly verified, by the uncerimonious whistling of shot and the explosion of shell amongst the tents. Astronef nmrmer was heard mino-liuo- with the thunder and din of camion and muski'trv. It swelled loueca- me aware that, owing to the French and Englisji .sent- ries being divided by the Russian cemetery making communication somewhat difficult between the two, that this presented, a somewhat weak s})ot in the lines and this knowledge encourageil them to haz/ard an attack on our position. In front of the left attack there were some trenches which ran down bv the edui; of the cemetcr\', from the harbour, which divides the town from the military barracks. They were commanded by the Russians on the one side and the Ih'itish on the other. The ceme- tery divided the third division from the French attack. Therefore in order that the cemetery should be guarded, communication between the French and Fncrlish sen- tries should have been imperative. Knowing tliis to be the case the Russians entered tlie cemetery and managed to pass our sentries by their being mistaken for French, as they answered the challenges and gave orders to their men in that language purposely to throw our men otl" their guard, who were bayoneted and the enemy were into our ti-enches liefore they were recognised, killing and wounding a great many of our men, a major of the 50th among.st the latter beside tak- 78 THE LIFE OF JAMES <) M ALLEY. \n^ two officers and sixteen men prisoners. Wlien their treaeliery was detected liowever a deadly strife com- menced, our brave men determining- tliat if tliev iiad to die they would at least sell their lives as dearly as possible, and doin^^ their best to keep back the hordes of the Russians who were all this time Hocking into the trenches like hounds after a fox. After this struggle we returned to camp with our wounded and soon crawled into our wet tents thoroughly wearied and rested our selves until the orderly S(a'geant aroused us from our much needed sleep, at day-break, to resume the day's toil of carrying shot, shell, and amunition, and dragg- ing V)ig guns into position, or home ecjually hard work. I was one of a foraging party detailed that same morning for a foraging expedition to the valley of the Tchernaj'^a River in search of fire wood. Taking our water kegs and bill hooks we started fully determined to get some wood if possible. Crossing the plateau we reached Inkerman Heights, where that terribly hard contested battle had been fought. It stirred up a deep feeling of commiseration for those brave fallen comrades who had fought so bravely for victory, when we saw the numbers and size of the high mounds of earth marking their graves. But as we descended into the ravine on the other side of the Heights, we were greatly surprised to see over 150 dead Russians, stiff and stark lying at the bottom of the ravine in the dried up water course where they had been hastily buried : the earth that had covered them having been washed away, and there they lay in their torn clothes and accoutrements, all of which we reported at head- I IWr. THE I.IFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. 70 quartors. We continue*! our journey however until we arrived at an old bridge wliere wo cliin])ed up tlie side of a steep hill covered up with wood but crowned at the suunnit by a Russian battery. Here we commenced work, and as fast as we cut stuff, we threw it down to the bottom of the Ravine where it was collected by two of our men and tied into bundles. We did not take loni;" in procuring as much as we could possibly take with us and with our bundles on our shoulders we esca}){Ml along the edge of the ravine, in order to elude the vigilance of the Russians. Fortunately for us we managed to get away unhurt altlunigh we were close under their batteries, which kept up a continual fire over our heads at our men oj^posite on the heights. When we returned tt) camp our comrades were over-joyed at our success in obtaining fuel and our officers that we had got back with whole skins. It did not take long for the men to chop up what we had collected and to set fires going. Camp kettles filled with pork and salt beef were soon boiling and sending forth grateful odors which were snuffed in by the hungry Uicn gathered round the cooking food. As soon as we had cooked sutllcient food to satisfy our craving, we abandoned the fires for benefit of our officers who had been attracted by them and were agreeably surprised to find a goodly quantity of fuel and a eonsetjuent hope of a hot meal for once as they, like ourselves had been faring very badly lately. Tliey thankfully accepted our places and sent their servants to prepare some food. Cooking done, we all sat down on the gfround and fell to with a will so TMK MFE OF JAMES O MALEEY. as this was tlie first liot meal tliat we had l)een able to uet, since our diseinbarkatioii at Halaklava and it tasted extra good in consequence. Wlien the niesU came to an end, wrMiad scarcely lit our pipes and composed ourselves for a little enjoyment, when the orderly sergeant entered the circle and read the gen- eral orders to the efl'ect that in " C(^nsequence ol' the " other regiments being so reduc«'d by sickness and " death, we were to Furnish from the 17th 400 men for " trench duty, every alternate evening until further '■ orders. In the meantime owinij to the lull in the tirintr " of the Russian batteries on our attack together with " the favorable state of the ground conse((uent on the " hard frost of the preceding night, the whole of the " regiment will turn out at once and haul big guns down " to som(; favorable spot near the ( Jreen Hill battery, in " order to be able to place in position when night fell." It gave us pleasure to learn that our brave and dear old friend Colonel AlcPherson, K. C. B., had been promoted to be Brigadier-General in our own division ant into another trouble,and this was pretty frequently, causing another exhibition of pluck and perseverance to ell'eet its release and eventually it was placed on the platform with its muz/le in the embra/ure or placed in some other convenient spot, ready for mounting oii 82 THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. the platform. But for every gun which we had been able to put into position the Russians had put four, and no wonder considering that they liad so many more men to spare to put to the work. After perform- ing this fatiguing lab(^ur, we were marcheuy him from me to brin^ forage from IJalaklava. Hut I idtimately went to Dr. Simpson of our own regiment to whom I sold the brute for ten shillings. The following day my couirades and 1 were for the Frenches but before our time for meetinj; I went over to the French Bazaar and boucfht four pounds of bread which cost me ten dollars, and fetched it into camp being the Hrst soft bread we had tasted since our leaving (.Gibraltar and in consequence it was like a bancjuet to us. I wished I could catch a donkey every day and sell it for ten shillings but I was hai'dl}^ as anxious to cut my shin bone again. After the usual inspection we marched oft at sunset upder the command of Colonel Lord Russell then enl. iiel of the 1st battallicm of the rilie brigade, the field officer of the night. AHliough we advanced on the trenches with the greatest caution the Russians, as I have stated, had managed to ascertain with accuracy tlie time «.f our relieving and as usual we were kept busy dodging their confounded death dealing missiles. Every now and then a shell would fall amongst our men and this meant a gap in our ranks. However by our taking notice of the flashing of the guns we were pretty well enabled to judge wliere the shot or shell as the case might be would fall and took care not to be in or near tliat place, (hi arrival at Green Hill battery half our nuinl)er were told off* as working, and the other half for a covering party. Tne party to which I be- longed had been told off' ior a \ery dangerous duty under tlie command of Lieutanant Thompson, viz : to S4 THE T.IFE OF JAMES O MALT.EY. gatlier earth and till sand bag.s and carry it fifty yards on our shoulders for the purpose of building a battery on the fourth Parallel. We were under a desparately fierce tire the whole night, from the Russian Hag-staff battery. Severel times the}^ prevented us from canying on work. We had a good many men wounded and were not son-v when the hour of twelve had arrived when we retired for a brief season froui labour, for refresh- ment consisting of biscuit, water, and a glass of rum : the latter was thaidvfully received from the hands of the colour sergeant who had been told off with four men to attend to the office of catering out this very needfull reviver. Having somenhat appeased the wants of the gnawing worm of hunger with the hard tack and aforesaid accompaniements, v,e had barely finished the last morsel when we were alarmed by the outlying sentries retiring into the trenches crying out : " Stand to your arms 1 the Russians are coming in strong force " which was soon confirmed by the appea- rance of a dark column moving steadily up the hill side, towards us. This news put us on the qai vive with a determination to give theni as warm a recep- tion f\s they had ever iiad. We had a splended leader in Colonel Lord Russell, one of the bravest men that ever buckled on a sword. In the mean time our artillery had opened a withering fire on the advancing mass and we made good use of our muskets as we bla/ed away continuously, but notwithstanding this seethin.L'." fire which mowed them down like grass they continued to advance in good order, with a persistance and recklessness of life, worthy of a better cause. THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLLY. .S.5 The poured into our trendies l)ut as tlie\" came on we gave tlieni tlie hayonet after (lischaroinjL^ tlie contents of the barrels in tlieir faces. 'I'liis was one of tlie bloodiest encounters ever seen since the earth was cursed by wnr, and as the enemy acjain and a^ain charged us. we n"ot so jammed up as to he (}uite unable to shorten arms, and as we pulled the bayonet out of one man, we dashed the brains out of another with the butt-end and wlien we could not reach their heads we struck them on the shins. Some of our men <>-ot clinched with the Russians and lists were freciuently- in use. Tlie Russians must have had friohtl'ul loss when we ultimately drove them back, as TN lay dead ripht in the trenches to sav nothing: of those who ilropped outside or crawled away to die of their wounds elsewhere. I'hat brave officer Captain King was in command and cave us the word to use the bayonet on the bodies of our antagonists and gi^e it them strong, and we did as they very soon found to tlieir^cost. We formed up in close colunni and by this quick movement we were at a decided advantage and made the fray so hot for the foe, that they began to lose courafife and iiave back, trvinn- to save their bacon being then the pi-incipal thought uppermost in their minds. Once clear of the trenches the}' lost no time in doubling back on to their liatteries, with us in full pursuit, but the said batteries being at n<^ great distance we were unable to persue them far, certainly not as far as we should have liked, I'or of course no sooner were our movements observed, than a most trcmenfore we had time to get to our sorrv shelter. Even when we did airive at our dreary tents, there was but little comfort in store for us for there was no fire and nothing to make one of, and in onr wet clothes, chilled almost to the marrow, we devoured our biscuit and water w^ith what appelite we might, after oiling and cleaning our guns. We were glad however despite our discomforts to lie down and trv to snatch a few brief hours of sleep on the muddy ground, (not being allowed to take off anything though) as it was an impossibility to say at what minute we should be called up to repel another attack, and it would not do, dealinii: as we were with such a horde of blood-thirsty savages to be caught unprepared. However the enemy who by-the- bye must have been in even worse plight than our- selves aud quite as thankful for some sleep let us alone. THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. 87 Shortly after 10 a. in., botii .sides hoisted Hags of truce and the hostihties were suspended to allow of tlie burial of the dead, an operation that lasted somL'jthree hours. As the last spadeful of earth was thrown over the fallen, the flags were lowered, thus giving the signal for the resumption of the battle, which began to rage fiercely as ever, neither side forgetting the number of dead comrades to be avenged. Tlie next day a party of us consisting of about 20 men of whom I was one, under the command of Lieutenant Williams went on a five mile tramp into Balaklava for pork and biscuit, our stock having become pretty low. The weather can only be described as simply diabolical, the wind storming and blusterous, slushy, and the rain never ceasing to come down as if to create a second deluge. We had a frightfully hard time returning loaded with provisions as we were, and the night to make matters still more pleasant, was pitch dpi-k, so that we were unable to pick our steps and many a rough tumble was the result. Bad news awaited us on our arrixal when Heaven knuws a little cheering intelligence was badly needed. It appears that some one going into the tent of one of the Captains of artillery a brave and trusty officer, dis- covered tlie poor fellow dead, lie having been suffocated by the fumes of a charcoal fire which he had lit in his tent to try and get a little v/arinth, before he lay down to sleep. This sad occurrence which was deeply regretted by all, had one beneficial effect, as it proved a warning lesson to a good many of the officers who had been in the habit of doiiii>' the same tliinii" and 88 THE LIKE OF JAMES () MALLEY. closing up tlieir tenis as tight as possible and many- were astonished that a similar fatality had not occurred before. The condition of the roads, now, from the everlasting down pour of the past few days, was such that the transport of shot and shell could only be carried on with the greatest difficulty and by surmount- ing almost crushing obstacles, proving the game and bottom of the British troops. The continual traffic too had not improved matters and all that could pos- sibly be done was to get up small supplies of provisions to our camp at a time. Such a dreary waste of wet,^ slusli, and muck as was to be seen all around our camp and indee \,x> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. <^ .v^-^^ V fA 1.0 I.I 'MIIIM ilM ''' Ilia ..^ mil 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -^ 6" — ► ^7i m SSi. A '^A e. e, ^e» ^i- % /A // d^. Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER NY I4S80 (716 1 872-4503 '^.y ^ l-?. C/i <> 92 THE LIFE OF JAMES o'MALLEY. h- their fire annoyed us very much ami was a source of danf^er they could no more affect the valour and determination of the British than they could, like Joshua of oKl cause the sun to pause in its course. He took aarians. The nightly mantle of darkness at last arrived much to our relief ami kindly hi«l the hideous scene of des- truction and slaught<'i-, when w(i were relieved from the perilous ]H)siti(>n l»y the 21st Fusiliers, who were let in for a day of hard work, repaiiinaj eml)razures, which had been knocked as one of our .nen observed " sky high and to smithereens" by the constant assaults upon them, during the last few hours. Taking advan- tage of the darkness we marched into camp under as much shelter as we couM find from the elements which still continued to torment us as much as ever. We befrjui to wondci- if there ever was a fine day in this climate, as this time the monotony ol' the scene was varied hv a blindiuir snow storm. We were all covered with frozen ice and snow on reaching our tents, and jiny <>m»,' with the slightest notion of what camp life, even under favorable circumstances, is, may iniMoini' what kind oF shelter a cii'cular tent affords against a perfectly arctic fall of snow accompanied by a fi(?rce gale of wind. Famished, weary atid tired to death after 12 hours hard f'i'htini' smoke-beirrimeil and unable to indulije in such a luxury of a bath we liuddled ourselves together in the tent to try and get as warm as our THE LIFE OB' JAMES O MALLEY. 93 mud saturated clothes and blankets would allow us to. The reader, who, perhaps, has never passed a night in the open air can little conceive what our condition was, but he or she, as the case may happen, probably recollects some time during their lives when they had got a bad wetting in a sudden storm, and knew the discomfort of wet habilliments for only a few hours. Let then multiply their feelings on the occasion by thirty or more and then they will fall far short of the realities of our situation at the time I am writing about. It is scarcely necessary for me to repeat that we never slept without our arms by our sides and in fact seldom even undoing a buckle ur a button as the Russian tactics seemed to be always to surprise us et night jifter harrassing us all day ; in fact to try and do what if they had known us1)etter they would never have attempted, viz : to wear us out. The snow drifted heavily andon the wind wardsideof our tentsdrif ted right under the canvass and whorled around us scarcely less than if we had been sleeping in the open air. The roads were rendered so bad that supplies were all but cut off and indeed for some little time quite so. We were ac- cordingly put upon half rations. The horses and mules carrying provisions up from Halaklava, got pounded and stuck in the sncw and died where tliey stopped and fell. Worse still our men were d^'ing by want, ex])o- sure, and hard work, even faster than the horses, and by all accounts received at head-quarter the Turks were dying by the dozen at a time at Halaklava. In fact, hostilities were almost at a sianth regiment had desembarked and were just forming up in columns of contpanies, preparatory to jolnir.g the camp before Sebastapool. We also noted with some envy that they were well provided with warm clothingagainstthe seve- rity of the weatlier and looked very al.^an and comforta- ble in their new fur caps and long b«)ots in comparison and contrast to us who had been out so long and had not received a single fresh article of clothing, notwith- standing that, that, which we had on was in tatters, the result of the continual battles, sorties and night attacks, trench work, and other arduous duties. Hven our boots were hardly any protection to our feet, the leather havin"; shruid\ from the wet and our feet hav- ing swollen from the cold. Many of the men had a hard tinie to get their boots on at all and in some cases if they tc*ok theni oH", they could not get them on again and hAd to go on duty bare footed, as many an old Crimean veteran can testify to-day. Next 4 i)H THK l.IKK OF .lAMKS oMALLKV. »l inuniing there W)i8 wliut in a picture, wouitl lie called a l>eautit'ul scene of ex<|uiKite wliitencHs wliicli pre- sented to our view the whole of the mountains of ha Ink lava, and McKen/ies heights and along the vally on the south side of the Tchernayer river covered with several feet of snow. To us however, in our light the beauty of the scene was somewhat K)st as we were not in a suHicientK' ('((mfortahle frame of mind to enjoy it greatly. The cold was greatly ineiejised by the high wind and caused the njercury in the ♦ loctors thernK)nH'ter to retri.st»'r mnnv deirreeH helow zero: it seemetl us if it blew sheer through our v«'ry bones an«l on more than one occasion my hair has aetuallv frozen to the cape of mv coat. This weather would have been fai* more welcome t«) us than the w»t and nnul, had we only bein clad in suitable garments to resist the climate, but as our clothing was. totally inadequate for the severity of a Crimean winter, our hardships not oidy in the trenches but at all other times may be ct)nceived. Kancy leaving the earth W(>rks or whatnot after 12 hours heavy fighting, only to couje into a miserable wet slopp}' tent, without hm or surticient foo«l ! ! cramped and half frozen to death, no chance to procure a hot meal or even a warm cup ()f anything of which wc were so much in neeein«; al>le to j;o witliout entirely, nocossity which is truly said to he the mother of invention com- pelled us to iniprovise a pair out of our Mankets, which answered the purpose t(»Ierahly well. During the hours we could ;;»*t for sleep our greatest difficulty was to prevent (/urselves from getting frostbitten owing to the intense cold. Hut oiw p«)or fellow, a «;ood soldier, and faithful comrade, named (}(>orge Miirtin, met his death hy freezing in his tent «luring one hitter night. Another of our comrades, named Stevenson, was also found frozen to ileath in his tent one morniny: hv the orderly corporal when rousing the men and we had fi3veral of the orti(;ers and men badly frostbitten who however escaped death, and the number admitted into the hospital from the trenches who had been nearly frozen to death amounted to over (iO in twentv-four Iiours. The lo.ss of horse.s to the cavalry division amounted to over 70 within a few days and it was sad contemplate on the number of brave men who had been spared death from the Imllets of the Russians only to meet with it in a more terrible form from hardships, and the |)rospect of many more falling victims in the event of this cruel weather continuing. The conunis- .sariat horses and mules were dvinif bv the score, atnl it seemed the most likely thinK .lAMKS o'M ALLEY. Sehastapool and either tak»' it or die in Hie attempt, a <|uick death liein^ preferable to siicli aj^ony as (h'ath Itv inches caused hy hick of even the connnonst of coininon necessaries. Like true sohliers we did not mind death with lionor, hut to die like neglected d(»j;.s, went .sorely a^^ainst the ^n-ain. It was a depressinif si^ht to sec day after day, comrade after con^rade con- veyed to tin' new l»urial ^'round .which liad been opened on the hillside, to he laid in one of tlie numerous gra- ves already opened to receive an inmate, no fmu'i'al honours hein^ paid for lack of time and men, all available men for duty hein^ engaged either in the trenches or on anununition fatii^ue, that is supplying' the trenches with slH»tand shell as 1 have already des- crihe«l. The soldiers although Vtearing all without mur- muring, felt their spirits ^retting lower and lower every dayand plodded alongwith their burdens on their backs in solemn and^signiKcant silence, despair being plainly written on their conienance, and regardless of any object whatsoever, resigned evirienlty to the will of the Almighty and expecting death with an ap.ithy born of an utter weariness of their hardships. The duty of carrying provisions and ammunitions fron> Halaklava to the front was no less fatiguing and trying on the men, than fighting in tlu; trenches. Every man carried a large bag of biscuit or pork and they marehecl with this load a di.stance of Hve miles. Horses and mules could never have done such hard work as they could not have kept their feet and were dying all along the way. The French and Turks .suHered equuly with our men and had considerably THE I.IKE OF .lAMES uMALLEV. 101 more sickness ainotj^ tluMu. One day on a t'oraj^in^ exjUMlitioii for wood, \v«' went into several oF tlieir tents aneen jnrlad to wrap a portion ot* the hianket round my feet to prevent them from ^ettinut have possossion of that ]>lar(> \vi> int«>n(|(>ri(l;^«' on the nortli si(K' into Si-ltastapool. After we hay a ntoiintain pass lietweeii tiieni and Sinipteiopal on the south sich' hut this at'trrwaids turn«'d out to l»e a mistake On .Fanuarv Idth. it heinir oui* turn Tor (hit\", 400 ni-n of the 17th. Hi'^Minent were de'taili'd and marched to tlic trenches at tin* usual ♦i'n' vi/ sun-down to relieve the IHtli. and oTth. and resume our wonte(l vij^nlance and hard (i^jhtin^. i\,ven hefere wt- ha' arrived we were wet to the sl\ in and I'elt chilled hy a heavy thaw which had set in (|uite as suddenly as the frost. It is a pecti- liarity of this climate in winter that oru' cannot ttdl wethei'oneis to he frozen or drowned hcfore ni;;htthe changes hen^ so very sudilen. When we ari'ivcd at th»' trenches we found them half full of Water and nnid : a j)leasant prospect for us to have to pass the .ni^dit up our thi^dis alm«)st in ice cold wate^*. We had no sooner relieved our comraWrs than it hecame evidi-nt to us that th<' Russians were very actively enpi^etl, evidently celehi'atin^ one of their ^^leat festivals of which their church has manv, for llumin<^ l)rii>ht li»dits shone from the windows of all the private houses and puhiic huihlinns. 'I'hey aK MAI, LEY i< naya River with rows of lij^Iits in tlie form of a cross, which shone hrifrhtiv thronuarded amiinst. About the liour of twelve all the church bells in the city began to peal and clan^- and it was theti evident that the Russians were engaf^ed in performing ^ome solemn religious ceremony amid the glare of torches and the ponap of gorgeous ritual, and with chant and hymn heard only by the denion of war. Tlie (Jreek priests were exciting to frenzy by their gesticulations curses, j)rayers, denunciations, and in fact by every means in their power, the Russian soldiery. They liarrangued them in the most passionate langu;Vj>e, and by the most powerful appeals they knew how to apply to stir them up to sally forth like the send-savages that they were under vain promises and ))rophesies tliat they were certain of victory against the British who were represented to them as being nearly half starved weakened and an easy prey to con(|uer and their superstitions zeal was ardently appealed to, to drive us, the infidels and heretics from Viefore tlie impreg- nable walls of their city. Thus the priests worked upon their people and stirred them up to do the best that their natures would let them. Notwithstanding THK LIKE OF .lAMES OMALLEY. 105 that tliey were apparently engrossed with their reli- gious ceremonies, we were warned not to relax our vigilance in the slightest. On the contrary, all our advanced posts were strengthened in order to he in ri'adiness for an attack on our position which we i'ully expected to he the end of theirA'hurch husiness. And it was as well that we were prepareil, for soon after the Russians emerged from their various places of worship, which was about one o'clock in the morning, they gave three united patriotic cheers whicii were bourn on the breeze to the ears of our artillery and blue Jackets, who at once responded by opening a vigorous Hre upon them seconded by the French on our Hanks. The Russians, not to be behindhand, opened on us one of the fiercest catmonades we had up to that time experienced. It seemed as if the Hame and smoke from their l)atteries poured forth not in jets, but on«> continued blinding Hood. The city was as n;uch illuminated by the Hashes of guns and mortars, and the bursting of shells as though every house had suddenly tuj*ned on an immense electric light, so that we could see the houses, buildings, etc., as well as the battei-ies as distinctlv as in broad day lijrht. Tht latter seemetl fairly swarming with soldiers anrazures with such t*'rriV)ly correct calculation that many of their batteries were dismantled and their ijuns silenced. Our gallant artillery, ably seconded by the P»lue Jackets, oave so i^ood an account of themselves, that they eft'ectually prevented both the (Jarden and ("row's nest batteries from doini>" any more miscliief. As tliese two batteries had been playintr very heavily on our left attack it was a (i^reat point gained to have them ])ut hoi's (If comhdi. Whilst all this fighting was going on, a strong body of the enemy, undt-r cover of their batteries had been pushed u]i the hill sides on our advanced works over the Worand/roff Road, The alarm was given ot once, by the outside sentries and we lost no tinre in mounting the parapet. As soon as they came close enough to make our fire effective Me gave them a withering volley from right ;ind left, and the field officer in charge at once disnatched messenirei-s to the other parralells for re-inforcements, which arriveif in good time to assist us in driving the Russians from (Hir trenches. Notwithstanding our warm recep- ti(m of them, the enemy persistantly and rapidly advanced on our works, although we blazed awa\ at them as fast as we could load and pull trigger. When THE MFK UF .lAMES OMALLEY. 107 they Ciiiiie to close (jiuirters we stood on tlie escarp- ment of tlie pampet and jL^ave them the bayonet left and ri<;l»t in tine style. Our officers fought in the bravest manner and inspired the men by their example as they cut ivat loss. In the pursuit, they got inside the Russian advanced batteries where a desperate hand to hand battle ensueil, but l»y a dis])!ay oi gi'eat valour they managed to cut their way clear of the enemy, returning Hushed with victory to their own trenches. The old saying "after a stoi'm comes a calm " was realized in truth on this occasion, for next morning evervthinn was (luiet enough, except perhaps an odd shot or two exchanged as a remindei'. We were relieved that morninii" bv the 21st Fusiliers and marched back to camp looking like scare crows in our ragged and battle stained uniforms, tired, cold and hungry, after our hard Hglit and only Ht to lay down and sleep for a week. What with the mud wet anil muck of all sorts with which our clothing (such as it was) was saturated I dont know but what it was more of a nuisance to us than a comfort. It had thawed duwing the night and then THE LIKE OK JAMES oMAI.I.EV 109 V hi |)t It h it turned tu a sluirp fro.st and in consequence we were ornan»ented at all points with lon^jf icicles which kept up a sort of rr-ttlin^ noise as we marched along. In the morning when we woke we found the door of our tent blocked up with snow which had fallen since we came to camp, to the «lepth of three and four feet in some places. Having heen detailed for fatigue duty the previous night we hastened to join our party who were going to the connnissariat depot for provisions. <)n our arrival there we noticed that pi-eparations were going forward for a general homhardment, very rapidly, for upwards of NO siege guns and thirteen mortars were all rea«ly up at tin* depot, and if the frost and snow eoiitinucd, would shortly be in position in the batteries, l^ut ulthough the frost made it easier ti haul heavy ordnance into position, there were plenty bad effects from it in the way of men being frozen to death in the tents or badly frost bitten not to mention those M'ho had suffered internally fi'om its effects. When a path had once been broken thi-ough the snow the horses could yet alonijniueli easier than when thev had to wade knee deep in mud, with the gun sticking fast every fifty yards or so. Still the temperature was very trying, especially as we had no wood with with which to build a fire. Many regiments had been served out with fur coats and long boots, mitts, guein- ,seys, socks, flannels and waistbands, but none of these cond'orts had reached any of the 17th regiment except those in Hospital who had received a few articles of warm clothing. Onr army jiresentcnted a miseiablo appearance, scanjely a regiment being I'ecogni/able • 1 ,•-••■ 110 THE LIFE OF .JAMES OMAIJ.EV. except by its well kiKnvn camp yroiuuls. The officers conld not have l)eeii distin^ui.she*! from the privates unletss tlu'V wore their s\vor' with which we Imd up to the present heen invested the reader mav he able to form an idea of whixi our deh^ht was when we heard the welcome news, that the (juarter-master had received amongst other useful nescessaries for the regiment a ^ood supply of lonj^ boots, sheepskin jackets, warm inside clothing, fur caps, and last, but not least, Kntield rifles to supercede the "Old Hrown Hess." Much as we were in need of these essentials, conveyance of them to our camp from Halaklava entailed on our men the work of comnn'ssariat nmles. However as tliev wen* all for our own especial comfort and beneHt, we marched bravely, not forijettini'' to call in on our return at ■"Mother Siem)'*^" a sort of half-wav house from Halaklava, where we all had a ^lass of rum each or cognac brandy according to taste which considerably <'levated our spirits and enabled us to continue t)ne Journey blithely, notwithstamlino our burdens. As we advanced towards the front with t)ur loads on our backs, like beasts of burden, we passed on the way a larue cavalcade of dving' soldiers who were beinfj sent down to Halaklava Hospital on horses and iimles. It ^vas a most melancholy and woul'ul look in*,' procession. Many of these poor men were already in the throes of •death and could not survive sufhciently to reach their t. 'stinati(m. The mode of procedure was foi- two nu»n to be carried on one nnile or horse in panniers slung one at each side of the beast. The »»nly remark made by our men on seeing* a dead man ))ass, was, " There ■" goes anothei" poor fellow out t>l' ])aiii and suH'erinoat ■" any rate." :■ il r^ 112 IMF \A\-K OK .lAMKS (>M ALLEY. m\ Tlie snow luivinj; been will packed and tlie road made hard, we made rapid projjress and arrived in camp before niglit-fall. The numher of dead horses and nniles that wt; saw alon^- the way presented a strange spectacle. Some had di'opped dead from sheer exhaustion and were frozen stiH" hut most of them liad been slaiji l»y the Fninch and Turks who used tlie liides to cover tlieir tents. I'lie followinn- morniuii we j^ave in the "Old Brown Hess" and received in exchanjLje the Kntielil Rifle. We also received a goodly supply of warm clothint*-, Joni>- hoots far caps sheepskin- coats and cond'ortahle uniler-frarments with a few- watch coats for the sentries. 'I'he following' evening- the coverin<»' partv for the advanced trenches was fur- nisluMl hy our own reniment. Tla^e were within one hundred and fifty yards of the Creek battery. The ni<^ht althou^^di cleai" and dry was intensely cohl Itut we were all in excellent spirits comparatively comfor- table in our new clothing. Scarcely had we taken up our position in the trenches when the enemy opened a sharp tire of musketry on us, as if they knew that we liad been supplied with new arms and were challeng- ing us to show what we couM do with them. Wether or no, we were not long responding to the challenge and in such a fashion as to astonish them. Still the garden. Crow's nest, Creek and Barrack batteries kept up a steady Hre on us during the night. Confusion could be heard within their batteries as well as their sup- ports a«lvancing to re-in force, and soon after they re- plied to our fire with a vengeance. It seemed as if their onslaught was particularly directed against our THK LIKE OK JAMES <» MAM-EV 118 attack tlio whole ni^lit l<)n^^ At ln-eak of day there was iierce firing on botli si l«'s all along the lint's. The Russians couM not liave had less than four thousaml men or even more whilst we had only loOO, still the firing of both big guns and snuili arms was so conti- nuous that it kept the place lighted as if with gas or electricity at the same time the lines were marked by thick curhng smoke as it came out of the cannon's mouth. About one o'clock tlir fire rather slackened on both sides, but severe riffe shooting from behind the the parapet was kept up as on every other night. We pushed our advMnce turned into defences for their sharp shooters, ani'se situation than we were and sufferinf'' (juite as nuich hardship, nothwithstanding the reports that we had heard of large quantities of food being thrown into their stoi'es, together with other stores, supposed to have come from Odessa recently. i^ ,»-^ 114 THE LIKE OK JAMES O MAI LEY. I; ft: '■ I' '& ' As soon as we returned to cainp in the inornintf we luul u ^()()(1 supply of hot coffee and fried biscuit, (piite n luxury, nevcrthele.ss, the clear frosty weather, the transport of j)rovisionN ami other munitions of war entailed considerahle hardships on our weary soldiers, and worse than all, our sick in the Hos])ital niadf l»ut little progress, towards recover}', and the nuniher who were sent down to Halaklava for treatnu'iit proved the unsatisfactory cor.dition of our army. Those rei^iments which had been tlu; worst cut up and lost the greatest innnber of inen from sickness, etc., had their clothing convcn'ed from Balaklava by Spanish mules. On February l behind. One poor y*>nn^ fellow who had recently heen diHcharncd from the Hospital, fell wn completely exhausted. Captain John ('rok(?r, a kind and ^oot. Iltui we l»een, but live minutes later it is most proliaide tluit the poor fellow would liave j^one j)ast all human skill and surgery. The fearful storm which had been raging in all its fury during the night sonu^what abated during the early hours of morniiiir havini" exhaustcMl its violence, and the sun shone forth in its full splendour frtim a clear but frosty blue sky. Notwithstanding the apparent fineness of the weather however, tlieeold still continued to be something frightfully intense, but fortunately for us our warm clothing having as 1 said arrived, mitiii'ated to a certain extent its severitv so far as we were concerned. There is no <|oul>t but that hatal»Ie foes of coM, wot, and ton-. The atiiios- pliiTo was witliouta cloud to ea'^t the .slii;lit«^st sluulow on the l)ri^Iit ami <^litt«'rin;4' snow, and c'onsrtinontly Wf luid a splendid vit'W of tlio city of Schastapool and its surroundi!)<^s, drsj-ite tlio da//Jinn I'H'rcts of tliesun on the white surface of ice. The Pontoon hridi^e erected hv th(! liussians which crossed tlie harbour from the (lovermnent P»uildin^s was we couhl see, crow(U;d with sailors and soldi(M-s, wlio were busily eiiipioyed in ])as,sin^' su])j)li«'s to the other sidt!, thus showi us plainly that their conimis- .variat ile])ot lay in rear of the kedan and op])osite the Hre of our batt«'ries. Kurthri- on, towards Inkerman, the llarracks and white houses, loomed up in the y us throu^di the frostv air. 'I'he loftv liouses which oc('ur)i<'d the hill side oave old Sebastapool a very ^rand appearance. Xobody was to be seen in the streets except the loni; coated soldiers ruiniin^ across the ()|)en space from one battery to tlui other, as they relieved nuard or postcMl sentries. The town was surrounded by formidable earth works ten feet high with emb)-a/ui;'s from which the cannons protruded in our dii-ection. Many of the houses and cottaj^es in the subui-bs wliich had be»ui rendered useless l)y our gunnery, as habitations, were utilized by the Russians as covers for their sharp- shooters. During the day they did all they could to annoy us, by shelling our position from a mortar battery, with the result that they dismounted some of our guns destroying the platforms and poitions of the i !J llcS THE LIFE OK JAMES () MAIJ.EV. earth works. Tins battery was situated towards the sea, and every minute or so a sliell could be seen coming towards us, across a liill that intervened between us and tliem,to tiie great tlisturbance of our working party who were tlirowing up earth works towards the Quarantine Fort. They kept us busy lt)oking out for tliese very ugly visitors. First we saw the white smoke rush into the air and form into rings then followed a heavy dull report then the shrill whistle of the shell as it made its rapid transit through the air. At night the approach of a shell resembled the flight of a coniet, as a ball ot tire having a tiry long tail passed on its way. Sometimes when it struck the earth it would sink deeply into it and as it exploded would send 'liowers of stones, earth, etc., flying about and causing destruction to everything in its vicinity. When the smoke cleai'ed away, perhaps the men were gathered round some poor fellow who had been struck and who was subsecpiently born away on a stretcher, a small mound of earth finally marking the last earthly resting place of one more brave soldier who had perhaps left a wife and little ones, to mourn his loss. Perhaps by goo 1 luck we saw a shell tly over us or out of our position and only cause a disturbance to the earth, but our reflections whilst it was on its way to us were not of the pleasantest description and the shrill whistle which heralded its approach caused many an Muxious glance to be directed towards it to ascertain where it was going to strike so that we might get into a secure place under cover behintl the traverse. 1 was often put on the look-out for the shells, and as I have THK LIFE OK .JAMES () MAIJ.EV. 119 lieforo niontionod from long practice I coukl juilge with accuracv where it would strike and so fri\e notice "to the men of the sj»fe-jt retreat. After tht» explosion Ava.'^ over, we i-esumed our posts and our gunners paid them back in their (»wn coin, hy sending a thirteen inch shell slap into the very battery, that had just made us a present of one, and we went for them with the musket whenever they appeared at an embrazure to load or tire a nun (»r otherwise presented themselves T^.ot a man of them dan^ venture his liead above the parapet for fear he should get a bullet through it as most likely they would, for our bdlovrs were on the alert for a chance shot, and many were the allurements thrown out to draw them from our covei-. The dodge of putting a cap on the top of a rami'od though as old as the hills, nevertheless seldom failed to " fool them " as we called it. and a shot at it was the result, when we at once let it drop ."ind the Russians thinking it was another man down would cheei* like mad and in their enthusiasm prol)ably expose themselves thus giving our fellows wlu» weie on the qui rive the chance of shooting tiiem down. We passed tlie night thus until relieved at the usnal time by the 1st Royal Regiment, marching back to our cheerless camp, under the accustomed sliower (if bullets, a compliment, the enemy never l)y any means forgot to pay us, but one with which we could have readily dispensed, as more than one man fell kiled or wounded under their lu^t tire. One nioht it was the turn of the French to be surprised by a sudden attack, but they proved themselves eipial to the occa- 120 THE LIFE OF JAMES OMALLEY. w R 111 sion, as usual, gallantly repulsing the foe witli tolerably heavy loss. The following day a recjuest was made to Lord Kaglan by the Russian (Jeneral Ostensacken, for an amnistice to allow them to bury their dead which was granted not a shot Iteiuij tired from 12 to I p.m. No soonei' were the white Hags run up on both sides than a large body of men issued from the Hedan, Flagstaff' and Malakoti" butteries and proceeded to carry otl' the dead, (jur men assisted by the French emerging from the batteries on our side to perform the same errand. A few Russian otHcers advanced a portion of the way towards our batteries where they were met by some Fnglish and French officers when such a bowing and scraping and interchange of extreme courtesies was gone through that any one might have supposed that they were all bosom friends instead of foes. About 1 p. m., the unpleasant task of burying the dead having been finished, both sides retired to their entrenchments the white flags were lowered and (.)n the instant the war was raging as fiercely as ever. Once more the air becamed charged with every kind of desT destructive thing known in warfare. Meanwhile the preparations for a general bond>ardment of Sebastapool were making rapid progress and arrangements were being made to send up two thousand rounds of amnm- nitiori per day from the harbour to the front. Some- whei'e about .'iOO mules were pressed into the service in addition to the railway which was making rapid strides towards completion. The Highland brigade, besides all the a.itillerv horses were einployed daily in transport- ing shot, shell, etc., to the front. This duty came rather THE IJKE OF JAMES OMAr-KEV. 121 hard on tlie Higlilan o'clock p.m. That same evening myself and some GO other men were tlier Seacole's " known as the half-way house, and was graded up as far as the ■l ■Hi 128 THE LIFE OF .lAMES () MAIJ.EY. of " Old Erin," but finding nothings ^reen except a species of palm tree they cut pieces of that and wore them as an emblem. In the afternoon we had horse races to celebrate the day and to prove that although far from his native land an Irishman never forgets it, nor the forms and ceremonies in vogue on that day. Tliere was much hilarity among the crowd of sports- men who took part in the racing and all were in good spirits notwithsanding what they had sutlered, but the \ thunder of the big ^uns before Sebastapool and the explosions of shells had a slightly chilling efi'ect. Still after the anxiety, manifested during the passage of a shot or shell, had passed over, the excited crowed cheered nwd shrieked as lustily as before when an infantr}' bob tail, took the pole from a cavalry charger, and came in first by a short head. But the effects o*"* military influence were not wanting, for between th? intervals of excitement the bands of the Irish regiments throughout the camp enlivened the day with the crash of martial music and popular airs, which sounded very sweetly in the distance. Next night but one, our regiment furnished a working party of one hundred men at the trenches. We were told off, in gangs of ten men each to cut a new advance trench. Every file of men g(^t a pick axe and shovel and were placed at six paces apart on the open ground without any shelter or cover whatever, and exposed to the fire of the Russians which was levelled incessantly at us in order to frustrate our attempts at trench making and throwing up of earth works. Of course we kept the usual look-out whilst all hands worked hard digging THE LIFE OV JAMES () MAM.LY. 129 n hole and throwing up cover for ourselves. About half-past twelve, the sentries in front of us seein<^ a column of Russians emerge from theii* Itatteries, <(ave the alarm hy Hrin^' upon them, but the alarm unfortu- nately was rather late in coming' and the foe was anion<(st us bayonetinf^ our men almost before we knew they were coming and we were not half prepared to meet them, in consequence. Taken at a great ilisadvantage and contending aguinst a greatly superior force, we were I'airly cornered, but when a man is in 41 tix like this, he generally tloes his best to get out of it as best he can, and so it was with us, for we met them hand to hand and fought like so many lions never flinching nor giving an inch of ground with the result that we made them turn tail at last and rim for their batteries as if Old Harry was after them, pursu<'d by our shot until they got under cover. The attack was general along the whole line. At 2 p. m., our batteries in conjunction with the French began to shell the Town in return for their attack upon us, pouring our rockets and sh3lls in successive streams, like lightening into the very heart of the city setting many of their finest buildings on fire. When next the Russians advanced on our trenches they found us well prepared to receive them as they «oon knew to their cost lait the French were somewhat taken Ijy surprise, so our troops extended along a portion of their trenches over-lapping them and then backing them up. On the left attack the enemy advanced in great force, and finding a somewhat weak spot in the third parrallel, they killed and wounded 5 I :U) TIIK I.IKK OF .lAMKS (► MAI.LKV. (juite H number of our uicn and Iwid uctually udvance^f to tlie Hocoiwl parnllol wlion our covcrin*,*' party cliarj^^Ml : officer was leading them on against the enemy in the most gallant mannei', he was severely wounded taken prisoner, and carried off' into Sebastapool. It took a good hour's haid and stubbon fighting to drive t!ie enemy ofV. but they were at last made to retreat leaving the place strewn pretty thickly with their dead. Duiiiig this aflaii", wc had five men killed and seventeen wounded, but the French loss was much heavier. On the other hand, the Russian loss could not have been less than sevtm or eight hundred. The number of liussians Ivino' wounded in our ti'enches and on the field proved that they had received severe chastisement which they most certainly deserved, and they lost (juite a nund)er of officers, as well as men. In our trench, the bodies of one officer and IS men, remained until next day : the ground, wa.- Uterally covered with their dea MAI.LKV i:U ivs|)(.'ctive batteries mul comiiietiee«l to pick out tlieir Coiiirudes and to hear tlit-in otf the Held. It was a HtranL''e siLdit, for notwiti.tandiiii:- all that luul occurri'd* s were excjiant'inn; tlie Kni-lish, Freiieh, and llus^iin civilities just the same as on a ))r('vious occasion, lauiihin;; and ciiattin«f ' sea tten^d amoni?st around them. Broken <;abioiis, fascines, and dela]>i- dated sani I 1 lati's we re sisibic on all sides whilst the solonni procession of soldici's bcarini;' their comrades to their last resting- place lookeil a mehmcholy. not to say ghastly spectacle. In th(> midst of these results of war a certain amount of conver.s«ition not at all o f a melancholy tendency was taking place between our men and the Russians, such as "Mono In^lais ! " " Fran- ■^•ais no bono .' " " Kooso bono ! " leading us to believe that they liked the British soldiers, much better than they did the French which heaven knows they liad no ijfreat reast)n for doiuir for we alwn\'s madt! it as hot for them as we knew how and b>i' which thev gave us the name of " Red devils." It must have taken more than three hours to l)ury the dead, who were layed down gfutly sitle by side in one deep, wide pit, when observations somethinn' like the following, would escape the lips of a man who i "rmnTn'Ti 132 THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. ■... s i 1 recognised a mesf-mate in the pory corpse then bein|»^ brought upon the stretcher for interment. " That's- " poor Peter Abbott ! ! he was my right hand man ! " " There's Dan Sullivan he'll never jjuv ould Blake " about his bald pate again ! ! " " Look at sergeant " Kent ! Devil a man he'll ever put in a guard room " again ! but no matter, he was a good duty sergeant " but rather strict. What's the good of all his stiict- " ness to him now ? " '' Oh ! poor An«ly Uynes, I " know him by his red hair ! Lord have mercy on his- " poor soul and may the soil rest lightly over his " ashes ! He was a good kind hearted creature " and so on. When the time for truce had expired, the white Hjigs had scarcely disapeared, before a round shot from the sailors' battery, knocked through one of the pillars of the Redan raising a perfect cloud of dust. The Russians were by no means slow to reply and soon war was raj^ng as hard and fast as ever. W^e were not soi'ry when our relief arrived that morning for we were considerably depressed at having to bury so many of our brave comrades that day who had fought so gallantly the night previously. But every- thing in this world is bound to come to an end some time, f.o the long wearisome day terminated as we were marched to oui camp under cover of darkness. Next day as we were eating our dinner in our tent (if I may be pardoned tor so calling it, but I think " tiffiin " as the swells say would be the more appro- priate term for we had nothing before us that would justify me in dignifying it with that appellation, save THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. 133 ourusuU rations of hard tack, salt junk and coffee) there walked in one of the Enniskilleners who was em- ployed in dispatch duty on Cieneral Pennyfeather's staff, whose tent stood in convenient proximity to ours> and after joining us at our request in some of the good things that were going, lit his pipe sociably and then amused us very much by a thrilling recital of the battle of Halaklavrt, in which he had been. The veracity of more than one incident related so ably by him, was vouched for by the scars he exhibited about his body. One sabre cut had deprived him of his left ear. I will endeavour for the edification of my reader to repeat the story as nearly as I can in the manner in which he told it. rl CHAPTER X " If I live a liundred years" said he, " I shall never forget that memorable morning the 25th of October. Before we hail time to water our horses or to eat any- thing ourselves, which we had not done since the day before, we were alarmed by the trumpet sounding "boot and saddle " and we had no time to surmise what was the matter, when we found ourselves drawn up in squadrons on the slope behind the redoubt in front of our camps. On glancing to the left, we beheld ten or eleven compact columns of Russiaii cavalry who had .'U THI-: LIKE OF -lAMES ((.MAEI.EV. ! '! just debouched from the naiTow iiioiinbiin passes near the Tcherruiya riv(^r and were advancing in a deter- mined manner up tlie phiins towards Balak lava covered by regular lines of field batteries of at least 25 or MO pieces strong. Two batteries of liorse artillery were already almost a mile in advance of the remainder and firing with eternal strength on the redoubts which were manned by tlie timorous Turks, and from which came puffs of smoke at intervals. Behind these guns> were enormous bodies of Russian cavalry. They were massed together in dense, solid columns and advanced pn echelon towards the '^Fnrks. The Valley was lit up with the blaze of their sabres, lances, and eay unifoi'ms, green and gold, blue and silver with furred pelises. and jackets richly embroidered on the breast and sleeves an 1 all the glitter of a fine eijuipnient. Theii* number was something over two thousand five hundred strong. In the fi'ont and extended along the intervals between each battery of guns were lines of Co.ssack skirmisher.s. The first effect of the enemy's appearance was to cause lU) end of a commotion aiiujugst the wearers of the turbans and fez caps in the re■: il 4lMMMi 140 THE LIFE OF JAMES (> MALLEY. some one inade a jjj^reat mistake. Hut wlu) that man was could not be found out, for (leay this tcn'ific oiislau/^dit, ns well they iiii^ht he, waver before theii- desperate aMifei 144 THE T>TFE OK JAMES ()M ALLEY. :', i For tht» path of honour lies Across a lon^ and r-uKK*'ly of fire-wood and altogether the prospect was Itrinhter. The weather too was getting tine aud the camp ground s in their favorite spot at the Greeidiill trench, from whence they could uet a uood view all alon*"' the whole line of the batteries. At 5 o'clock the sun set in a dark pall which covered the sky, and caused a pale light to fall upon the masses of curling vapoui" across the line of the batteries. The outlines of the town were just faintly visible through the smoke and iviin and the town itself scmed (juivering in the lia'ht of the lines of tire around it. The u'l'ound beneath was. lit up by inscessant flashes from the artillei'v, and lonji- tails of smoke streamed across it, spurting up 'ii thick volumes tinged with tire. The same evening at sundown our regiment furnished 450 men for the trenches. As we were relieving the THE I, IKE OF JAMES () MALLEY. 151 he 21st and 57tli ren^iinents, tlie Russians opened up a truniendous Hre from the batteries, but our gunners marks, patching up embrazures and plat- forms and mountinjj; big guns. We had mounted two guns in the second parallel, broken platforms had been replaced and «himaged guns surrendered their places to others. On the evening of April VM\\, again the batteries on both sides commenced their terrible duel as usual, and from the way in which the Russians replied to us, it was manifest that they must liave exerted themselves in a wonderful manner to repair damages, for they THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. had replaced four or five guns, that we had by our tire rendered of no more vahie as weapons of war, hy others, and repaired broken embrazures and parapets and were fully as ready so far as we could judge, to receive our tire as we were to encounter theirs. The fire did not slacken the whole of the night but if any- thing increased. About three o'clock as we were repair- ing a battery on the left of the second parralell, the Russians opened a fierce fire both of shot and shell. A piece of one of the latter knocked the head off the shoulders of one man bespattering Captain O'Connors' face with his brains. Whilst getting the man's brains washed ofi'his face and clothing, another shell exploded near us a piece of which struck Lieutenant William's and cut his eye right out of his head ; Morgan Belton and William Stevens being severely wounded with another piece of the shell. We conveyed all that were wounded, to Green Hill battery where their wounds were attended to b}^ the doctor and after the necessary operations they were conducted to the Hospital. The sailors did not escape scathele.'-'s, for although the}^ only worked about forty guns, in the different batteries, they lost more men in proportion to their number than we or any of the siege trains did. About the time that Lieutenant Williams received his wound they had seventy men killed and wounded. The sailors in Peels' battery on the right attack had silenced five of the best guns in the Redan, (a most important piece of service), the previous day, but the Russians replaced them during the night and opened fire from tliem vengefully in the morning. The RedaD THE LIFE OF JAMES OMALLEY. 153 itself was very niuch damaged in the riglit and front face, many of the embrazures liaving been rendered together with the guns, quite useless, but the enemy worked hard to repair damages all night long. They were so numerous that they could easily spare the men, and besides they had no shot and shell to carry from a distance like we had. Twenty thousand Sardi- nians now arrived and camped on the plain of Balaklava. They had arrived a few days before and their tents were extremetj' simple, consisting of four of their lances stuck at the corners and the canvas strechcd over and around them. They had with the-.ij, their transport horses, mules, carts, and other vehicles and were in fact all ready equipped to take the field. The infantry use a stick anan to open our fire and this was kept up for some four liours witliout intermission. The superiority of our arni» over that of tlie enemy was proved at various points before niglitf-ill. (^specially on the Kedan whicli was the especial point upon whicli the .'Jiiloi's concentrated their attention. Aftei'dark the fire somewhat slackened on both sides hut the sjime relative advanta;L;e was maintained by our ai-tillery. Our batteries continued to fire steadil}'' until (Jay-break, wlien it assumed a sudden fury. Until the critical moment arrived this- was maintained with the utmost activity. This affair commenced at about 4.30 p. m., when the head of the French attacking- colunms scrambled up the hills like so many cats on the road to the Mameion. A rocket was thrown up as a signal to our men, and instantly our small force made a ru.sh at the (|uan'ies. Vrv- viouslv to this, the Abimehni had l)een stormed by the French. This was situateule we di"ov(} out the Russians, turned round the nabions and com- menced to fortify ourselves in our newly accjuired position. Sergeant Savnoe of the .SSth Connaught Rangers succeeded in capturing two of the Russian officers whom he conveyed to the trenches, thereby- securing his commission as Lieutenant. At the time that the French went up the side of the hill to take the Mameion, the Zouaves had not been idle and were soon upon the parapet firing down upon the Russians. It was not long before a flag was seen flying there as a signal for a rallying post. Up and down it went THE \AVV. OK JAMES O MAIJ.KV. 1 55 US the battle ra^ed around it. At last they fairly poured into the place and a titice hand-to hand encounter followed, with bayonet, musket or anything that could be laid hold ot* and after a hard contest for possession the French succeeded in sending the Russians to the right-about. At the same time our men were fiohting at the (piarries and had I'epelled five successive attacks of the Muscovites who nevertheless displayed the most daring bravery to maintain possession of their position. During the night, they made repeated attacks upon our men to try and regain their lost ground, but our men steadilv defended what thev had won and even at tlie sacrifice of many lives succeeded against superior numbers which were continually being re-in- forced. The number of hand-to-hand contlicta that took place were unknown but they must have been manv. The fiercest sortie of the enemv occured about three o'clock in the morning when the whole of the batteries were lit up with a blaze of tire; and storms of «hot and shell were thrown fi'om the Kedan and other batteries. The position held both by French and English at break of day was very iniportant, and the morning brought out the advantages gained and lost, together with the painful scene of the dead and still sutierinii' victims. On our ^ide we had bsO men and 5 ofHcers killed and wounded, the French losino- al)out 500 men and officers. The ne.xt day the Russians hoisted a Hag of truce (by order of Prince CJortchaskoti') to allow tiit-m to bury their dead, which was acknowledged by Lord Raglan. 'I'he Hag Vv'as exhibited from the Malakotf to 150 THE LIFE OF .lAMES OMALLEV. the Redan, and Flagstaff batteries. (Jreen Hill battery responded with the usual white flag us did Peel's, Considering the grave condition of affairs and the critical position in which the contending armies stoo MAIJ.EV. I i I I ^ i i tho sioiial from the French, a slii'll cjiiiie from the Ket'aii, and stnik sergeant Coiiuoll of the (}ana(li(;r Company tnarinii'' liim into shreds and tlirowiiif^ one of his let's Hfty yards off wliich was found afterwards and identified by the refijimental numher oi\ liis aoeks. We had much hetti'r hav(» tried to jjet into the Kechin, than to stand tliere in susjiense for our men were ialHn^ fast. When the signal rocket was at hist tlirown up, a harJ tiyht he^aii wliitrli lasttid for about an lumr, the French tlau beijixr seen Hyinj'" from tlio Malakoff about (i a.m. No sooner was this seen than tiie l>ritisli ^'onunenced to storm the Reihin. A party was at once told off to carry seal in iif ladders antl woolpacks, the latter were placed upan the Held as cover for the rifle- men, who wen; told off to cover the advance of tlie storming' ])arty. Whilst we were in front ol" the RedMU and at least fifty yards away, the French were once njore dispossessed of theMalakofl'by force of arms, and the davliirht beincj obscured by the smoke of the ^uns to the nundter (jf five hundred, besides between five and six hundred thousand rifles, we were unable to see that the French no lon^^er held possession of the Malakoft". The Russians liavinu' reca])tured this batters' inune- diately reversed the nuns and turned their fire on the British troops massetl on the plains in front of the Redan. As the allied troops advanced to the assault- they were met by a shower of shot, shell, i;rape and canister, rifle bullets and pieces of old iron, even old nails which were discharo-ed by the Russians from the Redan, besides bein^" harrassed by a cro.ss fire from the Malakofi". causini;' immense slauD'hter. II THK MKK OK .lAMKS OMAI.LKV. lof) ( )ur mMienil Sir .lolin Campbell and our Captain .lolni Croker were killed as we n()t close up to the Redan. I was close to him in the front rank when he fell. Many of the ladder men were killed and the ladders strewed the field. }^y dint of perseverance and hard work, the ladders wei-«' j^ot as far as the ahatis, where there was another delav lor durinLf the ni^ht the Ku.ssians had !('])aired and strengthened it. M'his oltstructed the advance of the ladder party who used the ^n*eatest exertions to remove that barrier. All who were not shot, worked throni^di and deposited their ladders in tlie ditch of the Kedan. The stormin^^ party coiisistinnof the 17th. 21st, oTth and (iMrd reniments inclndint>-the liitle brii'adeattack«'d the left side of the immense and formidable stronghold. The litdit Division led bv (leneral IJrown consisted of the 7th, -Ilh'i], 'MWd, :\Uh, 47th. 77th, S.Sth and 9()th reo-iments and were situate.Sth, :5.Sth, 4(5th, .S!)th and J>7th began to move. \t the siii'nal for the ireneral assault, the ISth Royal '^y li.sh being the storming party, i-ushed at the cemetery tm the left attack and got possession, dislodging the Russians witli small loss. But the moment the Russians retired, tiie Barrack, IGO THE LIFE OF JAMES OMALLEY. Garden, and Crow's Nest batteries opened a lieavy fire upon us whieli was responded to by our No. 11 battery, which very soon silenced them. The 18th at once rushed out of tlio cemetery towards the town and succeeded in ^retting into some houses, Captain Harris was ^aUantly leading, his company, when he was shot. Once in the houses the men prepared to defend themselves. Meanwhile the enemy did their best to blow them to pieces with shot both grape and cannister, but the men kept close thougli their lossw^as great. They had entered the houses during the early part of the day, and were unable to leave them until evening. The enemy at last blew up a great many of them nnd set fire to several others. When our men rushed out, the fire was spreading all over. The 9th also effected a lodgement in some houses and held posses- sion as well as the KSth. It is a grave question, why these men were not supported by adequate bodies of troops so as to enable them to take the enemy in the Hank and move round behind the Redan. This was no fault of the men, neither was it the men's fault that the Redan was not breached by round shot and the Jibatis swept away, before the assault was made. And the assault being made, whose fault was it that large bodies of troops were not rushed forward to the Redan ? It certainly was not tlie men's, nothing could surpass the daring, bravery, and courage of both officers and soldiers of the British army when they were brought properly into action. But when a mere fmndful of men were sent to take a THE LIFE OF JAMES O MALLEY. 1()1 stroiifjhold like the Redan, armed as it was with all of le »e •y ne Dse led le lid sh a )f )f destruf d .1 by sorts immense rorce, it could not oe expected tiiat tne men could do impossibilities. At 10 o'clock in the morninf^ of the IDth, an armistice was (Granted by the Russians to Iniry the dead and accordinf^dy tiafrs of truce were lioisted on the Redan and Malakott' by onler of Prince Gortchakoft' which Lord Raglan cause;ed from the trenches and commenced to carry off the dead, burvin*; them all in one ir'^^^e in the rear of the trenches, just as they had fallen in their clothes. The officers were taken to camp an,.. ,w,«v^ : I • I 164 THE LIFE OF JAMES o'm ALLEY. CHAPTER XII. The 28tli June, 1855, was a day of sadness and regret to tlie officers and men in camp on learning tliat Lord Raglan had departed this life at o'clock p. m- His deatii appeared to still every feeling but that of respect for his memory and the remembrance of the many long years he faithfully and unretiringly served his country, and his fro(|uent cheering visits amongst the men in camp, had endeared him to the whole army A military procession was formed l)efore Sebastapool at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 8rd of July, to escort the body to Kaaiacthe Bay. As many as could be spared from duty in the trenches, with safety to the camp, from every infantry reginiput, formed an avenue from the British to the French head-quarters and thence to Kamatche Bay where the Ariadve man-of-uHiv lay ready to receive her nielancholy freight. The French troops formed a similar avenue, the cavalry and batto^i^s of artillery were formed up behind the lines of infantry, and bands were stationed at intervals playing the dead march as the procession moved slowly along the route marked out by the line of infantry. The coffin was carried on a gun-carriage, the soldiers hearse, and at each side rode the four commanders of the allied armies. Then followed the generals and officers who could be spared from trench duty. As the solemn pi'ocession moved slowly onward, minute guns were fired Ijy the field artillery of the French At Karnatche Bav, marines and sailors wero THE LIFE OF JAMES () M ALLEY. 165 formed upon tlie wharf the naval officers were in attendance and tlui hody ot* Lord Raglan was placed on board the Arutdne. Tims was he removed from tliat battle field where his body and min- to the tremendous reverberations of the heavy ordnance, raising clouds of earth and overturning batteries all along the Russian Line : two THE LIFE OF JAMES OMALLEV. 1G7 tliousund camnmades tind tifty tliousantl rities tilling tiie air with vivid sparks ami ij^Ieanis. The very daylight was ohscured and a black pall seemed to settle over every-whero renderiiif,' it as dark as niy a ti'ciULMHlons tire of slh)t shell, <4rapt', caiiistei' and iiiusketiy, and when ( Jotehas- koff'saw that the iMalakotf' was taken, he Itrou^ht all his i-e-inrorcenients against us. The survivors however advanced and reached the aliatis, the p(jinted stakes of which standino- outward presente"e uuns levelled our men to the dust. Findino- at last, that there were no supports coming to their aid, officers and men, lost heart, and retreated to their trendies for we were very glad to get out of the shower of tire. The embrazures of the parapets, the ditch and all around had become a harrowing scene of slaughter, dead and wounded being visible in all directions. Files of them lay at the bottom t)f the ditch where they had fallen Ijy the Russian shot as they were in the act of climbing up the scaling ladders. At two o'clock the attack was over, and in the pre- vious two hours, the British loss was very severe. No other day throughout the war, recorded so many killed and wounded, which amounted to the laroe number of 1800. The French loss was much greater than ours. The tiring was kept up by the Russians until about 12 p.m. when it began to slacken and tinally ceased altogether. At this time, all the British troops were entrenched awaiting to make another attack in the morning. Our battei'ies began to open a heavy tire at about 4 a.m.. but rather to our surprise we got no response. It appears as we found out later that Prince Gort- 172 THK I. IKK OK JAMES OMAIJ.EV eliaskoff'findiiif,^ liis last liope jjfone wlion tlu! MalakoH' was taken, (leterminiMl upon evacuating the Kedan and tlie Malakott' vvliicli lie did hy means of the |»ontoon hrid^'e, retreating witli four hun(h*e!• .1 \Mi:s () MAI.I.KV. i * [I V, ;\ml oil' what, m st'ciic met my eyes' All lli(> licli' onumients ami t'Nciy tliiiiu' wil hill wms dcsl loycd hy the slu'll (hat ii;iuililin,i;>'. eiiimliliiii;' ear(h w»trks. (,orii up s( reels, broUtMi muskets and <;nMs. \\'(> eame aci'oss many proofs (ha( (he Kussiaiis havery s(ret>(, were construettMl liari'icudes dr- iViuh'd hy lit'ld pieees. In some ol' the lines( houses, tluM*e wrvc heautil'ul pietui'is, Brie-a hiae, autl elegant i'unn(ure crushed and lu'oken and mingled wi(h the du»t on (helloor; our I Ji inch shidls hail had a most dveadi'id elleet. 'riu>se I'eaiful udssilcs. ol' whi( h (here wcri> sj) many thousands throwi\ in(o the (own. wcinh "JOO ll>s each and when (hey tall from a heii^ld. (hey ha\e (he |'oi\-e ol' {il't\- (vMis. and deseendino- de(M»l\- into the i'v)iuulatinHice to ^'Uard it. w hieh took possessiiai ol' some ol' (he hcst houses still standinii" and con\cr(ed (hem in(o ijnard- 1 louses. We . oull nt)\v i^et ]den(y ol' I'md I'roai the town and our I'atiii'ue parties couhl he seen hy the Russians from the north side pullini;' down llousi's to o'et at (he wood the\' containeil anil carrying' it to camp. Whilst so eneaned the Russians in\arial>lv tired upon us I'roni their position which they had strengthened l>y throw- iiio- up very strong forts, arnied with their heaviest nil; I, IKK OK .lAMKS () MAM.KV, I To •ijfunH. 'I'licy IiikI jdnccd sonic ol' tlicsc (^uiis witli tlic bn^acli sunk into tlif ^nmnd in order to ^^ri sullicicrit idi^vuiion und increase tli- lorce ol" the shot. 'They would tlii'ow u. 10 inch shell riL;ht into our canil) ainonList our iucmk 'riH\se wc called " lonir rangers'" ami they did consideralile niischiel' upsetting our tents find not ujdVe(|neiitly killinoiind wounding* Homc^ ol" our men. \V(> had I'ej^ulai' guards M,nd senti'icH all o\('i" Se.hasta.|)ool. y\s we entered some of the houses, we were horrilie(l to find that some of the dead hodies hat(;inhei' I was ordered t,o join the Royal Knefineers n.nd suhse(|nently worked with them lilowinn- n|) the ( Joverninunt docks and huildin^K in Suhastn,]»ool. I )uj'in^' the time we w ere en^^a^jed in undermining- thj docks and i)lowin<4; them up W(^ were muesli arMioy(;(l by the Hussians w ho wen; continually lirinir ;it us. When wt* had tiiiished our woi'k w c wen; i'einove(| to Halaklava, for the purpose of huiidin^ wharves and makinu roads at tliat liarbour, for landiner and transjxa-tine; |tro\ isions. We had no trench duty to juM't'orm, nothing- but the re^nihir camp guards, wliilst the oflicers amused themselves by riding- races and other sports. We had plenty of fuel and f^^ood i-ations and there were any amount of canteens on tlie eround so that we were able to make up for the hard times of the winter. Tbe army had nothing- to do but make roads all thi-ou^h the camp an liicli connected their camp with Kamiesch i^av ; thev also improved the old 'i'artar roads. Our army suffered much the k^st winter from a lack of travelling facilities, Init this beautiful road, constructed by the British army, will ever remain as a monuments of their occupation. During the two weeks in September, which followed the evacuation of the south side; of Sebastapool, the Russians were quietly butactivel}' strengthening their fortifications on the north side, making all the heiglits bristle with guns and tiring a '«hot wlienever an opport- unitl guaij W heigl weri ruuKl to ( )(| Blacl capti:| the 0,1 THE LIFE OB^ JAMES () MALLEY 177 unity presented itself to work some miscliief upon our guards, sentries, and fatigue parties in the town. We liad erected a few batteries on tlie northern heiu'hts of [i\kernian, so as to remind tliem that we were ready for them at any minute. Some camp rumours arose concerning some suppcjsed expeditions to Odessa, Nicholuti' and other sea port towns on the Bkick Sea, in Southern Russia, but tlie securing of the caf)tuv ' city was regarded at the first (hity. < >ii the 20th of Septend)er KSo5, tlie aniversary of the buttle of the Alma, a distribution of the met into the launches, they forme I several Ion!"' lines of red coats in little lioats each beinof steered by a naval officer. The tiist boat of the line was made fast to a small steam tug and the whole wer'e then towed in front of the beach, where we were to land. As the tug ran in towards the shore, she cast off the line of boats and whilst they were still under weigh, each let go the painter and headed towards the beach, comincf in close, on a sand\^ bottom. The troops at once jumped adhore, and deployed from where we landed to the River Dnieper, whilst the gun boats went up the stream. Two regiments formed an ailvancii guaivl, viz : Th(i 1st fJatallion of the Kitlc brigade, und«'i" the command of Col. Lni'd Russell, and one battalion of the Algiers Kifies. The fleet diew up in front 3f the 180 THE LIFE OF JAMES () MALLEY. garrison and opened a bombardment, and about 8 o'clock, the artillery opened a heavy fire on the fort. The Royal Albert, Algiers, Ariadne, Princess Royal, Agamemnon, and four other ships of the line, assisted by the french fleet approached abreast of the principal fort, the Sphinx and Tribune attacking the earthworks battery and the Dauntlers, Hannibal, and Terrible, took up position opposite the battery near the end of the fort, whilst the smaller vessels did ditto on the east and centre of the garrison, ^l^ter the advance guard had been sent out, we were set to work to cut a trench, from where we landed to the river Dnieper, a distance of about four miles. Whilst we were employed in digging the trench during the day, the advance guaid ha MALLEV. l«l "' Royal Albert " set fire to the (ira\v-briainst the Governor, so strongly did they resist any proposals of surrender. The garrison laid down their arms and were marched outside tlie tow^n and placed close to our camp with a chain of our sentries as well as those of the French around them. Tne number of prisoners taken was about 5,000, besides a great many killed and wounded. The majority of them were Russian Poles. Our doctors attended to their wounds in the fort. The Governor arid prisoners of war were sent off to Constantinople on board of Her Majesty 'y steamships. The captors proceeded to garrison Kinburn, repair- ing and increasing the defences, restoring the w'alls and embrazures, strengthening the parapets and casements completing efficient barracks and magazines in the interior of the fort and depositing a large amount of military stores of all kinds. When the small garrison on the other side of the esturay opposite Kinburn found that their guns could effect but little against the invaders and that Kinburn was forced to yield, they ijyji; - hS2 THE LIFE OF JAMES OMAIJ.EY. u blew up St. Nicholas fort on the inorninK\KKEV. 1 s.s of it. As nsunl it w?is dividrd between tlie French and Kni^disli. About halt'-way between PadiH'Wsky and this town, Ave came across the dwellin;^' oi' a very rich man who run up. I ila^' of truce on his liou.se, and "-urrendered liim.selt' to Col. I^ord Kus.sell, tliG couuiuukUi- of tlie advanced o-ujird, wlu) immediately placed sentries all ai'ound the premises on which were situated several wind- mil etc. W tl len tlie mam bod V arrived urn der c«)mman( I of oeneral Sinjpson, that <(allant general, at once stren<;"th- €ned tlie <;uard already stationed, in order to prevent the place froii being molested, thus showing the niagnanimity of the Bi-itish, a (juality they have always ])een noted for. The people of the town liad lied before our arrival, leaving everv tliino" behind tliem, includinix bread, butter, milk fowls, etc. As the livestock were killed we brought them into camp. We then set fire to all the (Government buildings, which were stoied with provi.si'uis, intended to l)e sent to Odessa, for the use of the army. After ran.sacking the wliole place we camped there that night, and on the following day we marched twent^'-tive miles to the next inland town. On the 21st of October we comme/iced the return Journey to Kinburn, our haversacks containing quite as much provision as each man careood will. After this he gave the 4th THK I, IKK (>K JAMES o.MAl^LKV 185 • livisiou, tlnvu days holliduys and tlion told tlic coiii- iiiaiidinpf oftiticrs to uiareli tluMr regiments to camp. Amon^rst otlu'i" impioveniciits whicli were tnudo to meet tlie wants of the army, was a lar^c reservoir in the ravine between the second li^litand the 4tli division constructed hy tlie Royal Engineers and HUcd l)y a sprinfj at tlie foot of C'atlicart's Hill. This reservoir was capable of supplying oO.OOO troops with water in abunchince both summer and winter. . In fact, everytliin^^ was done to meet the re(|uire- ments of the army, durinay when they were likely to re-commence, with all their liorrors. Tlie Vienna dipploniatists Itad oidy one montit to decieen collected in immense quantities day after day dm ing the summer months. The orders were cfiven for the various regiments to leave the Crimea, some for the Mediterranean station some for India, and some for South Africa. Some were sent home to Kiii,dand, my n-giment being ordered to British North America. All the camp, ecjuipages and stores for each regiment, ha«l to be brought into trans- port order, and evi.Tything carried to Halaklava for shipment. Alnmt the lOth May, the 17th regiment, marche(i from their old camp on ("athcart's Hill and embarked at Hahiklavu at two o'clock in the afternoon oir board of the Sir Robert Lowe. At M p. m., we moved out slowly between the rocks wliich overhang the narrow entrance to the harbour. We were on d(^ck with tearful eyes, taking a la.st look towanis (^itcart's Hill, when; we had left so many noble comrades in that cold and drsolate plateau, far away from frientain signalled her and she at once came to our assistance and towed us hack to (lihraltar wheie we remained 17 days, getting our engine I'epaired. On the 14th .lime we again left (lihraltai' and after a veiy rough passage acro.ss the Atlantic, arrived at Halifax on the 15th THE 1,IFK OK JAMKS o.MAM.KY. IfU u July, After stayiiif; tliere two or three ilays wt; set out for Quohec on tlie "22iul -inly I Noli our voya^'e liavin<^ been soniewlmt t duty to prevent desertion to tlie I'nited States. In april I.H5«S our i'eoini(.nt oot the route for Montreal. We Ud't (^)ueboc on thu lOtli arriving' in Monti'eal on tlie lltli. We took up our (juarters in the old (^)uebec HarracU •;. On the ir)th I was sent to St. Amies as corporal in coiiiiiiaiid of u look-out party- On the loth June IS.V, 1 ioined niv I'tiiiiiient in Monti'eal and took cliar^e of the re«iii.iental ]»olice. In the spring of lS»i() our rf'^-inicnt yot the route for Quebec, when, we arrived there we took up our quarters in the Citadel. In June 1