BOOKS.

A. STAFF - OFFICER' S LETTERS PROM READ -{117ARTERS.* THIS narrative of the Crimean war, from the first arrival at Scu- tari in April 1854 to the capture of Sebastopol in September 1855, ewes its, principal value and attraction to the position of the au- thor. Beyond a better account of such military matters as battles, in which the successive movements are more clearly brought be- fore the mind than in the narratives of amateurs and-newspaper cor- respondents, and the problem more distinctly- worked out, the gene- ral pictures are not superior to what we have had. already. As regards the encampment at Varna, the march from Alma to Ba- liiklava, and the sufferings of the troops from November 1854 to 4anuary or February 1855, many other accounts are fuller and more pictorial. The close connexion of the author with .the Com- mander-in-chief, and in matters that did not fall under his own Observation the evident means he possessed of obtaining the best information, give its character to the. story.. This original or secret kind of knowledge appears in various forms. Sometimes it indicates that the popular opinion of the army was held by per- sons at head-quarters,—for instance, the judgment passed by the writer on Admiral Dundas and Lord Cardigan, more especially as to the Balaklava business and the speech at the Mansionhouse din ner ; at other times it paints character in the form of anecdote, or conveys a feeling of dissatisfaction with respect to departments ; now and then it exposes the errors or exaggerations of gentlemen of the press. The most important part of the information relates to the charges of apathy, ikc., that have been brought against Lord Raglan, and the statements that the English army retarded the movements of the combined forces and exhibited a general inferiority to the French. It is not improbable, indeed, that these popular charges and the more specific statements in the ill-ad- vised. book by M. de Bazancourt, may have induced the publica- tion of these selections from the letters and journals of the Staff- Officer. If any additional matter has been inserted with a view to a more complete account, as appears to be the ease, it rests, no doubt, on authority equally good as the day-by-day narrative. • From the outset there appears on the part of the French a perhaps over-sanguine calculation on being able to do more in a given tine than the more careful Englishman: would promise ; when the time came the French were not ready, but the English were. Thus, when the invasion of the Crimea was decided on, "the French said they would certainly be ready by the 8th of this month CAugust]. Lord Raglan said he thought the 14th the earliest period at which he could be prepared. A few days ago, the Marshal [St. Arnaud] sent to say he must have ten days longer, and said that their arrangements could not be completed till the 20th instant. Yesterday the 13th] it was officially re- ported to Lord Raglan that everything was ready for the embarka- tion of the English troops." There appears to have been a fussy sort of activity or display on the part of our allies based less on a reasonable object to be attained than on Some transient impulse, or perhaps an offer to do what was likely to be declined, and thus take credit for nothing. Lord Raglan refused to move on the day. after the battle of n a; because he had then to bury the dead and attend to -the wounded, especially the Russians ; but on the day of -the battle Marshal St. Arnaud had declined to -be a party to pressing the retreating enemy when pursuit would have been of the greatest use.

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"Shortly lifter, on these heights, Lord 'Raglan met Marshal St. Arnaud ; where, after mutual congratulations, Lord Raglan wished very much that some pursuit should be made of the retreating Russian army. He offered our cavalry, and I think two or three batteries of artillery, but said the in- fantry had suffered so much that they could not well advance without weak- ening too much the English force. Marshal St. Arnaud replied that he could send no infantry, and that his artillery had exhauste their ammu- nition ; indeed, ' he appeared to think that quite enough had been done. Lord Raglan saw there was no help for it, and therefore, much against his will, gave- up the pursuit. The French had upwards of 12,000 men who had never been engaged, besides the division of Turks (6000 men); whereas we had only the Third Division and a portion of the Fourth, in all perhaps 7000 men, that had not taken a part in the action—in fact, not more than Sufficient for the immediate necessities of the camp. It was a great error on the part of the French, and one of which they repented when it was too

late."

In like manner, Lord Raglan urged upon General Canrobert a pursuit after Inkerman by a body of fresh French troops ; but it -was delayed till it was too late. So also the English commander recommended an assault upon Sebastopol immediately after the same battle, when the Russians were dispirited by their great losses ; but in vain. At least half-a-dozen instances are given of French delays in commencing fire, or declining assault. In fact, Canrobert's vacillation and changes of purpose were such that, • Letters from Head-Quarters; or the Realities of the. War in the Crimea. By an Officer on the -Staff. In two toltimes. With a Portrait of Lord Raglan and Plans. Published by Murray.

though he was personally well liked and of undoubted bravery, it became absolutely necessary to appoint a successor.

The Staff-officer thinks General-Pelissier's change of time in the assault of the Malakoff on the 18th June causing, as it did, General. Mayran's mistake of a signal and premature advance, was the source of the failure on that occasion; but he has a much higher opinion of Pelissier as a general than of Canrobert, owing to the decision of the former. Here is his first council.

"It was to discuss these propositions that a council of war was held at the French head-quarters, consisting of the principal officers of engineers and artillery of the English and French armies. Marshal Mistier was also present, and made a speech to the officers previous to the council, in which he stated that he was aware that those whom he then addressed would be very diligent in devising various schemes for the reduction of Sevastopol, but he begged to inform them, that on the 7th instant the Mamelon Vert, the Ouvrages Blanes and the Quarries must be taken ; adding, 'Lord Raglan and I have decided it' ; and he therefore wished to impress upon them, that they were there only for the purpose of arranging and settling the best means of carrying this decision into execution. I undAtandtbat here General Boa- quet took upon himself to dissent altogether from the views of the Com- mander-in-chief, but was immediately stopped by General Pelletier, who begged to remind him of what he had just said—that the attack was decided upon. General Bosquet made no further remark. General Niel then got up, having in his hand a long written statement, which he proceeded to read as follows= In operations of this kind it is necessary to commence at the beginning : now, to commence with the left.' General Pelinsier here interrupted him, and, pointing to the map, said, We will suppose the left side not to exist ; we will speak as if there was no left. I know you are all gentlemen of genius and science, and could give me good advice if I asked it. But I do not want it. The entire responsibility belongs to Lord Rag- lan and to me. I have announced to you our determination : the Mamelon Vert, the Ouvrages Blanes' and the Quarries, are to be taken on the 7th of June. Now if any of you have suggestions to make as to the means of ac- complishing this end, pray state them.' You may imagine after this no one was bold enough to go contrary to General Paissier's wishes ; and the French generals for the first time were astonished to find that they had a man Of spirit and determination as their chief, whose will was law. "After this considerable snubbing, the council resolved itself into a com- mittee for settling the details and the plan of attack ; which was accordingly dune, and they also decided that a heavy cannonade should be opened for Mar-and-twenty hours previous: then nothing remained to be arranged but the hair at which the assault was to take place. The French generals were for the most part in favour of an attack au point du four' ' as they said that theii men couldthen be placed in the advanced trenches without being ob- served by the enemy. This was objected to by the English officers of the council, as they said daybreak would be the very time at which the enemy would be most likely to be expecting an assault, and consequently be prepared for it. In the middle of the discussion, General Pelissier inter- fered, and said, 'Lord Raglan and I have made our determination ou that point also. The attack will take place late in the afternoon, with sufficient time for our troops to get established in the works before dark.' The coun- cil Was then broken up."

With regard to the larger operations of the war, it appears that the English majority decided the Crimean invasion. "It is said that Lord Raglan, Sir George TroWn Sir Edmund Lyons and Admiral Bruat, were for the expedition ; Marshal St. Arnaud, Admiral Dundas, and Hamelin, against it." It is affirmed that General Burgoyne suggested the flank march, and the capture of the Malakoff as the key of Sebastopol, which had it been pressed at the outset might have caused the much earlier fall of the town ; that the Kertch expedition was an English conception, carried out almost in defiance of the French military authorities ; while various impracticable schemes conceived at Paris had to be re- jected by Lord Raglan. In the matter of discipline the advan- tage was all with the British forces. The French began their free eourses immediately upon landing. "Lord Raglan rode all round the outposts again and was very much an- noyed to find that during last night the Zouaves had been into the village of Tagailii and robbed the inhabitants of everything. Our men of the Rifles, who were quartered there, interfered as much as possible, but without coming to actual blows it was impossible to stop them. The commanding- officer of the Rifles—I think Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence—turned out his men, and placed sentries all round the village, and made every Zouave put down whatever he had taken : when they had all gone, some of our sen- tries were surrounded by walls of fowls, and geese, and turkeys, &c. I understand that twelve men of the Zouaves have already been taken prison- ers by the Cossacks in one of their marauding expeditions."

The above was before the march began ; the following is soon after the arrival at Balaklava.

"Marshal St. Arnaud was brought into the town this afternoon in a very weak state, and accommodated with the best house to be found. Ile is to embark for France immediately, but is so ill that his medical attendants doubt his living to see it again. Although" the town is garrisoned by the English, and it had been an agreed thing that the French troops were not to enter it, they nevertheless took advantage of the Marshal being there to bring in a battalion of Chasseurs and some Zouaves by way of a guard over the Marshal's baggage, &c. ! and of course began to commit excesses, pil- laging and destroying everything they could find. However, it was not al- lowed to last long ; for the English authorities interfered, and before night our troublesome allies were sent out of the town, except a guard of honour at the Marshal's quarters. I must tell you a little instance of the cool way in which they try to appropriate everything to themselves. During the short time they were in the town, they discovered the four mortars that we found in the old Genoese fort above the harbour, and which had fired on us when we advanced towards the town. These mortars had not as yet been removed. A large body of Chasseurs, under the command of their officers, proceeded to take them down, utterly disregarding the injunctions of the English sentries. Finding expostulations useless, one of our men went and informed Sir Edmund Lyons, Lord Raglan and almost all his staff were out on the reconnaissance,) who, I understand, immediately landed a body of marines from the Agamemnon, and then quietly waited till the French, after no little trouble, arrived with the mortars. He then went up to the officer in command, thanked him most politely for the trouble he had taken, and informed him that he had landed some marines to take possession of them. The Frenchman looked astonished, then foolish, but could make no resistance to their being at once carried on board the Agamemnon."

Upon the sufferings of the army during the deadest part of the winter of 1854-'55 the Staff-officer touches generally, admitting

the sufferings, but avoiding details. Upon the falsehood of the reports that Lord Raglan rarely visited the camp or the sick he is precise; Lord Raglan was constantly about. The chief superiority he assigns to the French in the medical department is in their ambulance arrangements; our carriages were too heavy. Of the respective losses he speaks thus in a final summary. After alluding to the comfort of the English troops in the winter of 1855-'56, he continues— "Such, however, was unfortunately not the case with the French, for disease made dreadful havoc in their army, and death sadly thinned their ranks. The Commissariat and Medical Department, which had been so often extolled during the active operations of the last campaign, and which were being perpetually held up by the English press as models to be imi- tated by the British Government, all at once appeared in their true light. From the accounts of all who witnessed it, nothmg could be worse than the state of the French army., during the first quarter of the year 1856. They appear to have been indifferently fed and badly clothed; typhus fever raging at the time among them drove immense numbers into hospital, where their state was truly deplorable. The ambulances were so dreadfully crowded, the medical officers so overworked, that many of their patients were necessarily neglected ; added to which, there was the greatest want of the most ordinary medicines, and a perfect dearth of medical comforts and even necessaries. In the months of January, February, and March 1856, between 30,000 and 40,000 men of the French army were acknowledged by the authorities to have died of disease ; this being over one-fifth of their force in the East. Yet during the severest weather of the months of De- cember, January, and February, 1854-55, when the English army was suf- fering its greatest hardships and its most severe loss from sickness and dis- ease, the deaths in proportion were not quite one-tenth of the strength of the British force then m the East. During the war in the East, the English loss was as follows,—killed in action, 158 officers and 1775 men ; died of their wounds, 51 officers and 1870 men ; died of disease, 55 officers and 15,669 men. It would appear also that 2873 men were discharged from the service in consequence of being incapacitated from disease or wounds ; which makes a total loss during the two years of the war (from the 31st of March 1854 to the 31st of March 1856) of 264 officers and 22,187 men. * * * "The French have always carefully concealed the return of their losses from the public ; so that it is not, generally speaking, known how enormous they were. But the author remembers perfectly Marshal Pelissier telling- Lord Raglan, about the middle of June 1865, that the French army in the East had lost, since the commencement of the war, upwards of 72,000 men ; yet the French Government, in June 1856, state their losses to be, in the army, during the two years of war, 62,492. This statement may give the reader some idea of the way the official returns are cooked by the French Government."

From the Staff-officer's position with Lord Raglan, he had god. opportunities for picking up anecdotes; which he does not miss. They mostly illustrate the coolness or the kindness of his chief. This is from the beginning of Alma. "Lord Raglan had placed himself with his Staff in front of the troops : and I must tell you that by this time the Staff had grown to three times its proper number ; that is to say, every officer of the Commissariat or Medical Department who had a quadruped chose to join the Head-quarter Staf as probably the best position "for seeing the battle. I should think there could not have been less than fifty or sixty mounted officers. This great number began to be a nuisance, as it perpetnally obstructed the view, and they crowded round the Commander-m-chief in a manner that in any other ser- vice would have been thought highly impertinent, and resented accord- ingly. Some one suggested to Lord Raglan that it would be as well to hint that those gentlemen not actually serving on the Staff had better move off. However, Lord Raglan, with his usual good-nature, said, Let them stay' ; and then added, You know, directly, we get under fire, those not obliged will depart, you may rely upon it.' Lord Raglan was quite right. In two minutes the first shot was fired against us by the enemy. I looked at my watch ; it was exactly half-past one p. m. The shot, which was evidently fired at the Staff, (the only body of horsemen in sight and the most ad- vanced,) fell short and bounded over us with a whiz that made many duck their heads. You should have seen the hangers-on scattered, in all direc- tions. There was no more crowding round Lord Raglan."

This story of the author of ROthen on horseback, at Alma, shows in Lord Raglan not only the kind-hearted but the well-bred man. "I must tell you a little anecdote of Lord Raglan and a certain author who is well known in the literary world. This morning, when Lord Raglan was waiting, surrounded by his Staff, for the troops to get into their places, a gentleman joined us on a handsome little grey pony. This pony began neighing and screaming in the most wonderful manner, and so continuously that one could hardly hear what was said. At last it attracted Lord Raglan's attention ; and he said, I never heard a pony make such a row ; does any one know who the gentleman is ? ' Some one of the Staff said, think he is one of the newspaper reporters, my Lord; shall I tell him to go away ? ' Lord Raglan laughed, and said, ' If you do he will show you up, you may depend upon it.' It so happened that I had made this gentleman'i; acquaint- ance on the beach a few days before. So I told Lord Raglan that it was Mr. Kinglalce, the author of Bakes. 'Oh!' said my Lord, most charming man !' and was going to speak to him, when Marshal St. Arnaud came up ; so for the time he could not do so. About eleven o'clock, as we were nearing the Russian position, indeed when within sight of them, Lord Raglan and his Staff were riding in: advance ; presently a pony dashed past us at a fu- rious pace, and who should it be but Mr. Kmglake ! On he went right through our skirmishers, with his horse's head between his legs ; but, fortu- nately for his rider, the saddle got forward, and after a time went over the horses ears : of course the author of Bithen went with the saddle. It was rather an absurd thing just before a battle : we all laughed, except Lord Raglan, who rode up to him and inquired most kindly after him ; offered hint (I think) one of his own ponies to ride, and told his orderly to put the saddle to rights. Mr. Kinglake was all thanks. That night, after the battle, Lord Raglan met him wandering about, not knowing where to go ; so he sicked him to dinner. Of course he came, and delighted every one present with his charming manner and conversation." The following is from the assault on the 18th June. Lora

Raglan and General Jones had placed themselves in an exposed situation for the sake of the view it commanded.

"I should have told you, that from the moment of the first advance of the British troops, and when the enemy opened their terrible fire of grape-shot, &c., we found our situation in the mortar-battery anything but pleasant, as these dreadful missiles came about us like hail ; and, considering the danger we were in, it was wonderful that any escaped alive. Lord Raglan desired every one, both officers and men, to sit down, so as to keep as much under cover as possible, and not attract the attention of the enemy by looking over the parapet. But his Lordship and General Jones, from the first moment that we came into the battery until after our troops had retired, leant over and watched the assault of our allies first and afterwards our own. It was strange to observe the countenances of these two veterans : perfectly calm and collected, they talked earnestly to one another, but without any ex- citement being apparent in voice or gesture, disregarding alike the heavy round shot and Afinie ball which every moment flew close past them. Shortly after the first advance of our troops, General Jones, while leaning over the parapet conversing with Lord Raglan, was struck on the forehead by a grape-shot, which of course knocked him backwards—we all thought dead -, he was caught when falling by one of his aides-de-camp, and gently laid down on the ground. It was a pitiful sight to see the poor old general, with a frightful gash across his forehead, his face covered with blood, which came streaming down from the wound. However, to the great delight of all, upon being given some water, he appeared to revive, and a medical officer being in attendance, his wound was dressed and a bandage placed round his head. He shortly after took his place again by Lord Raglan's side ; who, when he ascertained that General Jones was not mortally wounded, had returned to watch the progress of the attack."

On returning from the failure of the 18th June, Lord Raglan found a letter announcing the death of his last surviving sister. This was soon followed by the death of General Estcourt. Ex- ternally Lord. Raglan kept up his spirits but the Staff-officer observes "that he looks far from well, and has grown very much aged latterly." Five days afterwards, the scene had closed. This was the last day.

"On the morning of Thursday (28th), a consultation was held upon his case by his personal medical attendant and two of the principal surgeons of the army ; and they decided that a telegraphic message should be sent to England, to the effect that Lord Raglan was much better. Just as the Military Secretary was going to send it off, Dr. Prendergast, who ap- parently did not take so sanguine a view of the case, strongly urged that it should he altered to Lord Raglan has passed a tranquil night, and is no worse this morning,' or words to that effect. I should tell you that Dr. Pren- dereas„ t was constantly with his Lordship, and was unremitting in his at- tentions to him, sleeping, the two nights of his illness, in his clothes, in a room next to Lord Raglan's. It was not until about half-past three p. that Lord Raglan's servant went to fetch Dr. Prendergast, who had left him a few momenta before ; saying that he thought his Lordship worse. I under- stand the Doctor found him very low, and complaining of pains ; however he did not anticipate any immediate danger, till half-past four o'clock, when a sudden change came over him and he saw he was sinking. He then sent to Colonel Steele, and said that he thought a telegraphic message to that effect should be sent home. Soon after five o'clock, it was generally blown at Head-quarters that Lord Raglan was dying ; about which time he became insensible, and so continued to the last. All was over at twenty- five minutes before nine p. m. The whole of his personal Staff were with him when he died ; also his nephew, Colonel Somerset, (Rifle Brigade,) Generals Simpson and Airey, and Colonel Lord George Paget. The Prin- cipal Chaplain to the Forces went into his bedroom shortly before his death, and read the service; and after, when all was over, a prayer was offered up by him, in which all most earnestly joined. Nothing could have been quieter or more peaceful than his deathbed—so calm, and without an effort. It was scarcely possible to tell the moment when his spirit fled to rest. I need not tell you the grief of all present ; it can better be imagined than de- scribed.

"By nine o'clock, it was known to the Generals of the English army that Lord Raglan was no more ; and they all immediately came up to Head- quarters to express their sorrow, and gaze once more on the features of him whom they all loved and revered. His death has created a profound sen- sation in the army -, now that he is gone, every one finds out what a loss they have sustained. Our allies, especially the French, have shown great sympathy, with us on this sad occasion. The Commanders-in-chief of each army, and the Admirals of the Allied Fleets, came up to Head-quarters on the morning of the 29th instant, to take a farewell look at their late col- league. All seemed deeply impressed by the event. It was a touching sight to see these old warriors, who had so often looked death in the Ace un- moved, shedding tears of regret over the body of our late beloved com- mander. General Pelissier stood by the bedside for upwards of an hour, crying like a child. General Canrobert also testified the most profound grief on seeing the remains of him for whom he entertains a sincere affection."

The author returned to England soon after Lord Raglan's death ; but from private letters and other sources he continues the narrative to the capture of Sebastopol, and indeed to the end of the war. The account of the failure of the attack upon the Redan is more clearly stated perhaps than it has been elsewhere. The force employed was insufficient for the service ; the different messeners sent by Colonel Windham to demand reinforcements were lulled; soon after he himself reached General Codrington the English were driven out of the Redan, and there was too much confusion in the trenches from the wounded, &e. to admit of reorganizing the columns for a new assault, even if the men, after such a repulse, had been in a good frame of mind for it. What is not made clear is the paucity of numbers in the first as- sault; the fighting column only consisted of one thousand men.