The following despatch from the Secretary of State for War,
convey- ing the thanks of the Queen to the Army for their services at the battle of the Alma, was incorporated by Lord Itaglan in a general order dated October 27. The language of the Duke of Newcastle, from its earnest simplicity, lends force to the Royal message.
" War Department, 10th October 1854. "My Lord—Major Lord Burghersh arrived here early in the morning of the 8th instant, and delivered to me your Lordship's despatch of the 23d ul- timo, communicating the details of the glorious and important victory on the banks of the Alma, which your telegraphic despatch, received on the 1st of this month, had already led me to anticipate. "I lost no time in submitting to her Majesty your Lordship's able and in- teresting description of this great conflict ; and it is now my gratifying duty to express to your Lordship the sense which the Queen entertains of the valu- able service which you have rendered to this country, and to the cause of the Allies, and the high approbation which her Majesty has been pleased to ex- press of the brilliant gallantry of the forces under your command, their dis- cipline—worthy of veteran soldiers—and their irresistible resolution, which no disadvantages of position could subdue. " The Queen commands me to convey through your1Lordship her Majes- ty's commendation and thanks to Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, the other Generals of Divisions, and to all the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the army, who have on this occasion revived the re- collection of the ancient glories of British arms, and added fresh lustre to the military fame of England.
"Her Majesty feels additional pleasure in thus recognizing the noble daring of her soldiers and sympathizing in their victory, when she reflects that that courage has been evinced, and those triumphs won aide by aide with the troops of a nation whose valour the British army has in former times admired and respected in hostile combat, but which it has now for the first time tested in the generous rivalry of an intimate brotherhood in arms. Her Majesty trusts that the blood of the two nations so profusely shed on the banks of the Alma—a subject of deep regret to herself and her people—may consecrate an alliance which shall endure for the benefit of future genera- tions when the remembrance of this battle-field is hallowed by gratitude for the consequences, as well as the glories, of victory.
" Within the compass of a despatch, your Lordship has comprehended every detail which is necessary to render intelligible the plan of operations agreed upon by Marshal St. Arnaud and yourself, and the mode in which that plan was carried out by the ability of the officers and the bravery of the men of the Allied armies. On one subject alone you are silent--your own distinguished service. To this, however, others have borne witness; and her Majesty is profoundly sensible that, if her army has shown itself worthy of its ancient renown, its commander has proved himself able to uphold it, and has fulfilled the prediction written forty years ago by him under whom he learned the art of war, and whose loss we still mourn, that ' he would become an honour to his country.'
"I am instructed by her Majesty to express to your Lordship the very sincere sorrow which she has experienced from the perusal of the long list of gallant officers and men who have been either killed or severely wounded in this memorable engagement. Such a victory could not be attained with- out a heavy loss ; and there is every reason to believe that no disposition of your forces would have entailed a less sacrifice, and at the same time ob- tained a result so decisive that it may be hoped much future bloodshed will be prevented. Her Majesty trusts that such of her subjects as have been plunged in grief by the loss of relatives and friends will find some consola- tion in the reflection that those who have not survived to share in the triumph of their comrades have fallen in ajust cause, and that their names will henceforth be inscribed in the annals of their country's glory.
"The Queen will be most anxious to receive such further despatches from your Lordship as may tend to relieve the affectionate anxiety of the friends of the wounded ; and her Majesty trusts that a very large proportion of these brave men may before long be restored to the ranks of your army, and may enjoy in future times of peace the well-earned honours of their gallant exertions.
" The patience with which the regimental officers and men bore, without a murmur, the unusual privations to which they were necessarily subjected after they landed in the Crimea, has elicited her Majesty's warmest sym- pathy and approval. Their sufferings from disease before that time were such as might have subdued the ardour of less gallant troops, but have in their ease only proved that in the hour of battle they remember nothing but the call of duty.
" Your Lordship's cordial acknowledgment of the invaluable services rendered by Sir Edmund Lyons and the officers and seamen of the Royal Navy will be as highly appreciated as it is justly deserved by those gallant men. Deprived of an opportunity of vindicating their ancient prowess against a fleet which refuses to take the sea, they have rendered every as- sistance in their power to the operations of the Army, and their noble con- duct on the field of battle, where they soothed the sufferings of the wounded, and performed the last sad offices to the dead, will ever be remembered to their honour, and bind still more indissolubly the bonds which have long united the military and naval service of the Queen.
" I have the honour to be, my Lord, your most obedient
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