A visit to the camp before Sevastopol . principal Eng-lish batteries were known. The former two beingunder the command of Majors Chapman and Gordon,and the latter, frequently called the sailors batteries,manned by sailors from the Diamond and Wasp, war-vessels lying in the harbor of Balaklava. CaptainPeel, K, N., a son of the late Sir Robert Peel, hadcharge of the Diamond battery. His bravery, andthe daring of his troop of blue jackets, formed thetheme of laudatory comment throughout the camp ;and on more than one occasion gained honorablemention in the despatches of the Commander-in-Chief. Ca
A visit to the camp before Sevastopol . principal Eng-lish batteries were known. The former two beingunder the command of Majors Chapman and Gordon,and the latter, frequently called the sailors batteries,manned by sailors from the Diamond and Wasp, war-vessels lying in the harbor of Balaklava. CaptainPeel, K, N., a son of the late Sir Robert Peel, hadcharge of the Diamond battery. His bravery, andthe daring of his troop of blue jackets, formed thetheme of laudatory comment throughout the camp ;and on more than one occasion gained honorablemention in the despatches of the Commander-in-Chief. Captain Peel, a tall, slender gentleman, is wellrepresented in the accompanying illustration. I hada good opportunity of scanning the Eussian worksand movements from the same excellent point ofobservation which he occupies. These batteries arethose from which such a heavy fire was poured forthat the commencement of the siege. The guns andmortars were many of them completely worn out ;several had burst, and the fragments were half buried. BEFORE SEVASTOPOL. 81 in the soft earth. The labor of getting the guns(manj^ of them from the ships of the line) up fromBalaklava, beggars all. description. Scores of menand horses were employed for many weeks in thetedious enterprise. For a space of five acres or more in the rear andaround the English batteries, the ground was closelycovered with round shot of every size, as well as aliberal sprinkling of shells that had failed to explode,and a great many fragments of the hundreds of suc-cessful ones. A pretty little valley a few hundredfeet farther back, had received the appropriate titleof The Valley of the Shadow of Death. It wasliterally piled with cold war iron, and by no means apleasant place or cross, as the Kussian gun-ners were making constant additions to the accumu-lation. Rifle balls often came over the batteries. Ihave heard them go whizzing by, like songsters onthe wing, and can say with the regulars, that themusic is not
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookidvisittocampbefor00mcco
