THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 344, 16 February 1856, Page 6

THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN.

We extract, from the " Home News" of the 4th of October, the following letters from parties engaged in the attack. Lettek from an officer, dated Sept 10.—The 19th regiment has suffered severely. We have 10 officers wouudeil, four dangerously, and llie others, all hut three, severely. We have 27 killed and 118 wounded unions ihe men, ami this out o! a force of '37it, all we could collect to go into action. Some of the officers particularly distinguished themselves. Captain Bright, who was doing the duty <>>' paymaster, in the absence of Captain Glendinuing from illness, and who might have remained in camp if he had chosen, went at the head of his company into action, was in the thick of it hut came out unhurt. Captain Chippendall stood for a long time, amidst a shower of musket balls and grape, on the first parapet of the Redan, waving his forage cap on the top of his sword to encourage the men to come on. Nothing could exceed his gallantry. It is a miracle that lie escaped. At last he was pushed from the parapet into the ditch, and fell among the heaps of dead and dying. A man who was by his side also fell at the same time, and was transfixed through the body by a bayonet. Lieutenant Goren and Lieutenant Molesworth displayed threat bravery. The latter, though a youngster (quite a lad, just joined) had the coolness to light a cigar while up at the Redan, in the midst of the fire. A shell burst over his head ; one fragment knocked the cigar out of his mouth, another struck him on the back of his head and sent him senseless into the ditch. It was not for many hours after he was carried up to the camp that he recovered from the first effects of the blow from the piece of shell ; it must have glanced oft', for the wound it made was very slight. Major Warden was knocked over before he got up to the ditch ; so also was Colonel Unett, who commanded the regiment. The former had a narrow escape. A piece of shell, or a stone knocked up by a round shot, passed across his face, injuring one eye and shinning him. He was rendered blind for a time, but his sight was in no danger. Colonel Uuett received a ball in the hip, which bec.ime fixed in the thigh bone. He was being carried back to the camp, when a musket half entered his neck and shattered his'collar bone to pieces. One of the men who was carrying him on the stretcher was also wounded at "the same lime. One of the last remaining on the parapet was a gallant young boy. Lieutenant Massy, who had only lately joined the regiment. Just at the last the poor youth received a ball which broke his thigh-bone, and befell down towards the ditch. In the hurry he was not noticed by the men who were retiring, and he was left among the heaps of dead unable to move till an early hour the next morning. Some men of the 93rd Highlanders then noticed him, and he was carried up to the camp, where'he had been given up for killed. He did not fall to the bottom of the ditch, and some Russians coming out took away his sword and havresac but did not maltreat him. A few of our men' were taken prisoners in the Redan, and were only found m the town to-day. They ha-! received injuries which prevented them from moving, and were left in houses which had been converted into hospitals. Letter from a soldier of the 79//, retjimmL , Iffi- «• The Fie"eh "«««■"«•' the Malakiioft „, two hours, and the Russians that were driven from it ran to the Redan against the En-ash. So that the English had vUvh\. '?/" "ne- [ hey '"'wever, went on undaunted le.. forward by their officers, who Con-in for death or victory The I 5u K lLsb dimi^l dieir ladders ani.dsl the fire from the Russian battenes and |,as« over a ditch six feet deep, lill H«H«hlled wuh dead anddvins. They „o t into the R«.1«,,, fou,i,t like heroes, but fallu,, ■»s». l.r.ore superior numWs they had to reti-e overpowers. Again, however,'they made*,, ou,ht^n-tn,,esth,i,. o,n number in fro^of ;;?;««<■ t« re^ ,„ mr H ;i VHHC(itI t ; cnc |™ n'glu was comiiiLC on \v,. „ „. i > ■

and wounded into the air It was a fine siiiht lo see Sebastopol in ruins." \ Letter from a Lance Corporal"/ Uu>7th Cmn- 1 pain/ nf Sappers and Miners. —The French took I the Maiakhoff in about ten minutes, and then ! wo made a rush on the Redan under a heavy (ire of grape and musketry, which .slaved our ; poor cliaps lik e mowing »rass. I, of course, i among twenty s appers was picked out for the storming'party—of course alwa; sin tor some fine job, but, thanks be to God, he brought me out safe and'buck the same. Now I will tell you as weil as I can how it was done. .There was a storming party of the line carrying ladders, and one sapper to every ten ladders. Well, we ran up as soon as we saw the French had got the Malakhoff, got up the ditch, lowered our ladder.^, tossed them over on the parapet, and then climbed up and commenced firing as thick as they could stand, and the suppers commencedlevelling in the ditch and building a parapet^, to take off some of their (ire on us in the ditch* Well, we remained there about an hour and a half, ami tiie Russians killed so many of our men that our reinforcements would not make up our losses. So at last they had to give thy word ; Retire.' I will tell you thn reason we had such a hard job—vmi see, all the Russians the PfcSMA'.h drove out of the Maiakhofl' ran into the Redan, so that we had double tv fight the French had, and not so many men to do it with, because our reinforcements either got killed or wounded before they could reach us, and there was such a number of Russians in the Redan that we wanted more than we had in the trenches at the time to diive them out. There was a great number of our men went in, but of course got either killed, or wounded, or taken prisoners. I assure you I never thought of coming out alive, but, thank God, I did', with two narrow escapes. You see our people knew the Russians could not bold the Redan after the French had got the Malakhoff, so our general thought he would see if they would retreat, if not he would try it again the next day. But Mr. R-i<s knew better than toehold out, and retired about 11 o'clock that night, and blew up all the works on the south side, set fire to the town, sunk their shipping, and retreated to the north' side."

The following tribute to the conduct of the Ee»lish troops is an extract of a letter published in a French professional journal, the Moniteur dc la F'ulte : — -*■ * * [ ] ];lve to j ( j V()[i mK |,j ns , a ], oljt t ] ie English. They covered themselves with .rlorv at the attack of the Redan. When "they charged the Russians with the bayonet, there was a recoil among the Muscovites .similar to that of a double-shotted irun. Then masses of troops unceasingly supervened, and attacked our heroic allies. One of the officers of the brigade winch attacked ihe Redan made an observation with reference to the subject which might explain the heavy losses of our allies in this last affair. He remarked that hardly had our soldiers arrived in the MalakhofT, than our engineers and artillery, duly provided before ■miki for such an emergency, immediately commenced turning ti, e Ulin ; of U)e W()r j. air.nnst me Russians, closing „., the breaches, placing earlhbaos—in iL word, appropriating for their defence the works we occupied. This was done with all the celerity characteristic of the Wench and was the tm.u.s of saving many hves 11,,. Russians clearly saw they never cou.d retake the Maiakhoff, for at c :cb attack t.ieywei-j crushed beneath our fire, and they "»»«l '"»• "Mernal position strung l;ach time the;- re:.«we« ,he.r onslaught. It would appear "ceonlmg „,,„„. Uml IU . w;is J^ c.^e at mo hadan, and this c.unpdlvd them to evacuate v; but I promise you that the move-mnii-,M, :(;!1 ti.ey oper.ued at that moment was tha.ol : , ir.».,p ,>i 1i0,, s and t } ial ,|,o Russians took good care not to follow th-m "

, r''- N^ni : ,-t.},'s«v.,ii. Jr l J f,r»i, « lltl Improved ! l Cl"»P^t« '••"luro. I, scm.s u,.,t wronuht ;ro«,s»lra U ,.-,hle I ,n,leralUnli, l urv condition • w.,,k,«pr, ea.m-.t he welded lo^ell.er i.i very ts UH.lecnlur amu^unuMil, „X c e(..(1i,,..1y inJ»"»««s t- us tenacity. An im , Ill!llSe U,- {- ---i«» I.ke that which . Ur . Nas.nytl, ha i ■ ,Ic' 3,is[s;T nrsoloiiKiti!i» inc ;- -1 is-,, on , i U ? liroCeM «»«1 "g««s to crys- ,^ l )l!1- «iil«i" it? substance, Jeri-esi. - rOll- t. eXUlrc' frulM wbich J it r\ ihail casi iron °f re8i"'"»B «•«» txp.osiou oi a heavy charge of gm,poVvdcr