Chapter M (7)

“Now commenced one of the most memorable sieges which history has ever recorded. Others have exceeded it in the number of men engaged, in the length of time occupied, but none in heroic episodes and unflinching constancy. On the 14th of April, batteries were thrown up on the north bank of the Danube, opposite the devoted town, and a vigorous bombardment opened, but without much effect. On the 28th the first assault was made, but so hot was the reception the attacking force met with, that three weeks elapsed before they had sufficiently recovered to completely invest the town. By that time 53,000 Russians had surrounded the fortress, and batteries had been established, commanding the most important points. On the south-west front, and consequently the land side of the town, two very important earthworks were thrown up, known as Arab Tabia and Illanii. The ground on which these works were situated rises in a series of platforms, which virtually command the town. Their defence, therefore, was of the utmost importance to the brave garrison. Again and again, for the space of ten weeks, did the enemy precipitate strong columns of men against these mounds of earth, and again and again were they driven back with enormous loss. In vain the Russian cannonade levelled the bastions and slaughtered the defenders; others supplied their places, and once more the works rose defiantly. The Russian shells swept the ground, and the Turks burrowed in the trenches, till the advancing columns of assailants rushed to the breach. Then the undaunted defenders sprang upon them, and hurled them back, covered with defeat. Every attack was made with increased numbers, and made only to be the more ignominiously defeated. Mines were stealthily advanced towards the works; but the Turks countermined, and the Russian sappers were blown into the air. All this while an incessant bombardment from the river batteries poured death into the town. But the undaunted besieged never for a moment relaxed their resistance. Three master-spirits guided their operations, and infused heroic courage into their ranks. Captain James Butler, a young Englishman, who had volunteered for service in the army of the East, had joined the garrison, in company with Lieutenant Nasmyth, another young officer, animated by similar motives. These two gallant men were the very soul of the defence, and aided by the brave Maussa Pacha, the Ottoman Commander, successfully defied the power of the assailants. Butler, as the senior of the two Englishmen, assumed a position readily acceded to him by his Turkish allies, and to him they were indebted for the admirable construction and disposition of the defensive works. Lieutenant Nasmyth proved himself a most able seconder of his friend’s exertions, and in the capacity of “special correspondent” of the _Times_ newspaper, made all Europe acquainted with the details of this extraordinary siege.

“Straining every nerve, and exhausting every resource, to become masters of the place, the Russian Generals summoned to their aid the larger portion of the right wing of their army, thus materially weakening their power of opposing the Turkish forces to the westward of Silistria, who, in consequence, obtained some easy successes. On the 12th of May, a tremendous assault was made by the besiegers on the town, and repulsed after a sanguinary struggle, in which more than 2000 Russians was lost. Ten days afterwards another assault was attempted, and again was the enemy defeated. With true Russian wiliness, overtures were secretly made to Moussa Pacha to betray his trust, and for an adequate price to deliver the fortress to the Czar. The brave man scornfully rejected the proposition, and bade the enemy to take it if they could. Meanwhile, Omer Pacha was anxiously endeavouring to succour the devoted garrison. Obstacles interposed by the stupidity, if not traitorous connivance, of officials in the ministry, had hitherto effectually tied his hands; but at length, on the 5th of July, a detachment of Turkish troops effected an entrance into the town after a smart skirmish; and on the 8th, about a thousand more literally cut their way through the Russians, and were added to the garrison. Aided by those welcome reinforcements, the Turks now assumed the offensive, and on the night of the 13th made a sortie, and succeeded in destroying the Russian works, springing their mines, and inflicting a terrible loss upon their ranks.

“It was now evident to the Russian Commanders that, if the town were to be taken at all, it must be by a _coup de main_, and a grand assault was ordered for the 28th of June. But they had miscalculated the valour of their soldiers. Daunted by the warm reception they had hitherto experienced, they absolutely refused to march again to the breach; and nothing but the threat of stopping their rations unless Silistria were taken the next day, could induce these valiant warriors to perform their duty. On the next day, the Russian Generals led their half-starved and unwilling forces against the redoubts of Silistria. The Commanders, Prince Paskiewitch, Count Orloff, Generals Schilders, Gortschakoff, and Luders, placed themselves in the very front of the attacking force, anxious to stimulate the soldiers by their own exposure. The assault was attempted, and most triumphantly repulsed. The Russians were thrown into the utmost disorganization, and fled precipitately from the well-directed volleys of the garrison. Their leaders, too, paid dearly for their temerity. Paskiewitch himself was severely wounded; Schilders had both his legs shattered, Luders his jaw shot away, Count Orloff was killed, and Gortschakoff received a serious wound. Nor did the brave defenders escape without irreparable loss. Their gallant chief, Moussa Pacha, was struck on the head by a round shot, and expired instantly; and the noble Butler fell a sacrifice to his undaunted courage. The Turkish reinforcements outside the garrison fell upon the rear of the retreating Russians, and completed the rout their compatriots had so gloriously initiated. Beaten on every hand, the enemy dashed pell-mell across the river, in confused retreat towards Foktchani. The siege was raised. More than 30,000 Russian soldiers had perished in the attempt to take Silistria, and the broken remnant was now in full flight, owing its safety solely to the limited number of the victorious Turks, which forbade pursuit.

“With the exception of the small force which still lingered in the plague-stricken plains of the Dobrudscha, not a Russian remained to the south of the Danube. The mighty legions, precipitated so recklessly across the Danube, were dead upon the Turkish bank, or flying ignominiously from the scene. The despised Turks were the triumphant conquerors, and the great Czar had received another and a greater blow from the “sick man.”

SLAUGHTER OR MASSACRE.--Under this head both Ancient and Modern History abound with events which can be so called. The following are among the most remarkable, as recorded by various authors:

The Carthagenians in Sicily who were totally slaughtered, 397 B.C.

2000 Tyrians crucified and 8000 put to the sword by Alexander the Great. 331 B.C.

The Romans throughout Asia, women and children not exempted, cruelly butchered in one day, by order of Mithridates, King of Pontus, 88 B.C.

The massacre of Roman Senators, &c., 86 B.C.

That of Octavianus Cæsar to the Manes of Julius Cæsar, 41 B.C.

Jerusalem, 1,100,000 Jews cruelly put to the sword, A.D. 70.

Cassius slaughtered 400,000 of the inhabitants of Selucia, A.D. 167.

Eighty Christian Fathers by order of the Emperor Gratian were put into a ship which was set on fire and then driven out to sea, A.D. 370.

Belisarius massacred 30,000 citizens of Constantinople, A.D. 552.

That of the Albigenses and Waldenses, A.D. 1209.

The Sicilian Vespers--all the French in Sicily butchered without distinction of age or sex, the first bell for vespers being the signal, A.D. 1282.

That of St. Bartholomew’s day throughout France, August 24th, 1572.

Ismael, 30,000 of the inhabitants old and young slain, December, 1790. _See Ismael._

Of all the whites in the Island of St. Domingo, March 29th, 1804.

Massacre of the Mamelukes in Egypt, March 1st, 1811. _See account appended to this list._

Sinopé during the Crimean war, 1854.

MASSACRES IN ENGLISH HISTORY.

Of 300 nobles on Salisbury Plain, A.D. 474.

The Danes in England, November 13th, 1002.

The Jews in England, A.D. 1189.

The unoffending McDonalds of Glencoe, 1692. _See account appended to this list._

Massacres of Cawnpore, Delhi, and other places during the Great Indian Mutiny, 1857. _See Cawnpore and Delhi._

SLAUGHTER or MASSACRE OF GLENCOE.--This barbarous and diabolical massacre, which, at the time of its commission, excited universal and heartfelt indignation, took place in February, 1692. About the middle of 1691, “as the Highlanders were not yet totally subdued, the Earl of Breadalbane undertook to bring them over by distributing sums of money among their chiefs; and £15,000 were accordingly remitted from England for that purpose. The clans being informed of this, suspected that the Earl’s design was to appropriate to himself the best part of the money; and when he began to treat with them, they made such extravagant demands, that he found his scheme impracticable. He had therefore to refund the sum he had received; and resolved to wreak his vengeance on those who had frustrated his intention. He who chiefly thwarted him was McDonald of Glencoe, whose opposition rose from a private circumstance, which ought to have had no effect on a treaty that regarded the public weal. McDonald had plundered the lands of Breadalbane during the course of hostilities; and the Earl insisted upon being indemnified for his losses, from the other’s share of the money which he was employed to distribute. The Highlander, however, not only refused to acquiesce in these terms, but, by his influence among the clans, defeated the whole scheme, and, in revenge, Breadalbane devoted him to destruction. King William had, by proclamation, offered an indemnity to all those who had been in arms against him, provided they would submit and take the oaths by a certain day; and this was prolonged to the close of 1691, with a denunciation of military execution against those who should hold out after the end of December. McDonald, intimidated by this declaration, repaired, on the very last day of the month, to Fort William, and desired that the oaths might be tendered to him by Colonel Hill, governor of that fortress. As this officer was not vested with the power of a civil magistrate, he refused to administer them; and McDonald set out immediately for Inverary, the county-town of Argyle. Though the ground was covered with snow, and the weather intensely cold, he travelled with such diligence, that the term prescribed by the proclamation was but one day elapsed when he reached the place, and addressed himself to Sir John Campbell, sheriff of the county, who, in consideration of his disappointment at Fort William, was prevailed upon to administer the oaths to him and his adherents. Then they returned to their own habitations in the valley of Glencoe, in full confidence of being protected by the government, to which they had so solemnly submitted.

Breadalbane had represented McDonald at court as an incorrigible rebel, as a ruffian inured to bloodshed and rapine, who would never be obedient to the laws of his country, nor live peaceably under any sovereign. He observed, that he had paid no regard to the proclamation, and proposed that the government should sacrifice him to the quiet of the kingdom, in extirpating him, with his family and dependants, by military execution. His advice was supported by the suggestions of the other Scottish ministers; and the King, whose chief virtue was not humanity, signed a warrant for the destruction of those unhappy people, though it does not appear that he knew of McDonald’s submission. An order for this barbarous execution, signed and counter-signed by his majesty’s own hand, being transmitted to the master of Stair, secretary for Scotland, this minister sent particular directions to Livingstone, who commanded the troops in that kingdom, to put the inhabitants of Glencoe to the sword, charging him to take no prisoners, that the scene might be more terrible. In the month of February, captain Campbell of Glenlyon, by virtue of an order from major Duncanson, marched into the valley of Glencoe with a company of soldiers belonging to Argyle’s regiment, on pretence of levying the arrears of the land-tax and hearth-money. When McDonald demanded whether they came as friends or enemies, he answered as friends, and promised, upon his honour, that neither he nor his people should sustain the least injury. In consequence of this declaration, he and his men were received with the most cordial hospitality, and lived fifteen days with the men of the valley in all the appearance of the most unreserved friendship. At length the fatal period approached. McDonald and Campbell having passed the day together, parted about seven in the evening, with mutual professions of the warmest affection. As soon as Campbell had retired, he received the following letter from major Duncanson, quartered at Ballachalis, a place some distance from Glencoe. It is dated the 12th of February, 1692, and runs thus:--

“SIR,--You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the
McDonalds of Glencoe, and put all to the sword under seventy
years of age. You are to have especial care that the old fox and
his sons do upon no account escape. This you are to put into
execution at five o’clock in the morning (Saturday, the 13th)
precisely; and by that time I will strive to be with you, with a
stronger party. If I do not come to you at five, you are not to
tarry for me, but to fall on. Secure all the avenues, that not a
man may escape. _This is by the King’s especial command_, for the
good of the country, that these miscreants may be cut off, root
and branch.”

This was instantly communicated to the officers and men under his command, and immediate preparations made for carrying the inhuman massacre into effect.

The younger McDonald, perceiving the guards doubled, began to suspect some treachery, and communicated his suspicion to his brother; but neither he nor the father would harbour the least doubt of Campbell’s sincerity; nevertheless, the two young men went forth privately, to make farther observations. They overheard the common soldiers say they liked not the work; that though they would willingly have fought the McDonalds of the glen fairly in the field, they held it base to murder them in cold blood; but that their officers were answerable for the treachery. When the youths hasted back to apprise their father of the impending danger, they saw the house already surrounded; they heard the discharge of muskets, the shrieks of women and children; and, being destitute of arms, secured their own lives by immediate flight. The savage ministers of vengeance had entered the old man’s chamber, and shot him through the head. He fell down dead in the arms of his wife, who died next day, distracted by the horror of her husband’s fate. The laird of Auchintrincken, McDonald’s guest, who had, three months before this period, submitted to the government, and at this very time had a protection in his pocket, was put to death without question. A boy of eight years, who fell at Campbell’s feet, imploring mercy, and offering to serve him for life, was stabbed to the heart by one Drummond, a subaltern officer. Eight and thirty persons suffered in this manner, the greater part of whom where surprised in their beds, and hurried into eternity before they had time to implore the divine mercy. The design to butcher all the males under seventy years of ago that lived in the valley, the number of whom amounted to 200, was defeated by Duncanson not arriving in time to secure the passes, so that one young man and woman had nearly succeeded in escaping, and were climbing the last rugged height of their native place, when they were discovered, and shots immediately sent after them. Struck by one of them the unfortunate young man made a convulsive spring, and fell headlong into the valley below. His companion, alarmed by the report, lost her hold, and tumbled after him. They were both killed by the fall.

Campbell, having perpetrated this brutal massacre, ordered all the houses to be burned, made a prey of all the cattle and effects that were found in the valley, and left the helpless women and children, whose husbands and fathers he had murdered, naked and forlorn, without covering, food, or shelter, in the midst of the snow that covered the whole face of the country, at the distance of six long miles from any inhabited place. Distracted with grief and horror, surrounded with the shades of night, shivering with cold, and appalled with the apprehension of immediate death from the swords of those who had sacrificed their friends and kinsmen, they could not endure such a complication of calamities, but generally perished in the waste, before they could receive the least comfort or assistance. This barbarous massacre, performed under the sanction of King William’s authority, answered the immediate purpose of the court, by striking terror into the hearts of the jacobite Highlanders; but at the same time excited the horror of all those who had not renounced every sentiment of humanity, and produced such an aversion to the government, as all the arts of a ministry could never totally surmount. A detail of the particulars was published at Paris, with many exaggerations, and the jacobites did not fail to expatiate upon every circumstance, in domestic libels and private conversation. The King, alarmed at the outcry which was raised on this occasion, ordered an inquiry to be set on foot, and dismissed the master of Stair from his employment of secretary; he likewise pretended that he had subscribed the order amidst a heap of other papers, without knowing the purport, of it; but as he did not severely punish those who made his authority subservient to their own cruel revenge, the imputation stuck fast to his character; and the Highlanders, though terrified into silence and submission, were inspired with the most implacable resentment against his person and administration.”

SLAUGHTER or MASSACRE OF THE MAMELUKES, March 1st, 1811.--“It has been related, that one of the chief means employed by Mahomet Ali in civilizing Egypt, or in improving the state of the country, was the destruction of the Mamelukes--a class of hired foreign soldiers, who, as usual in such cases, were opposed to all changes in the government. It was only by resorting to a barbarous stratagem in one of his campaigns, that the sanguinary blow was struck. The following is an account of this sanguinary affair:

“The chiefs of the Mamelukes, with their adherents, being assembled, by invitation from the Pacha of Egypt, within the citadel of Cairo, after a time, according to eastern custom, coffee was brought, and, last of all, the pipes; but at the moment when these were presented, as if from etiquette, or to leave his guests more at their case, Mahomet Ali rose and withdrew, and, sending privately for the captain of his guard, gave orders that the gates of the citadel should be closed; adding, that as soon as Siam Bey and his two associates should come out for the purpose of mounting, they should be fired upon till they dropped, and that at the same signal the troops posted throughout the fortress should take aim at, every Mameluke within their reach, while a corresponding order was sent down at the same time to those in the town, and to such even as were encamped without, round the foot of the fortress, to pursue the work of extermination on all stragglers that they should find, so that not one of the proscribed body might escape. Siam Bey, and his two brothers in command, finding that the Pacha did not return to them, and being informed by the attendants that he was gone into his harem (an answer that precluded all farther inquiry), judged it time to take their departure. But no sooner did they make their appearance without, and were mounting their horses, than they were suddenly fired upon from every quarter, and all became at once a scene of confusion, and dismay, and horror, similar volleys being directed at all the rest, who were collected round, and preparing to return with them, so that the victims dropped by hundreds. Siam himself had time to gain his saddle, and even to penetrate to one of the gates of the citadel; but all to no purpose, for he found it closed like the rest, and fell there pierced with innumerable bullets. Another chief, Amim Bey, who was the brother to Elfi, urged the noble animal which he rode to an act of greater desperation, for he spurred him till he made him clamber upon the rampart; and preferring rather to be dashed to pieces than to be slaughtered in cold blood, drove him to leap down the precipice, a height that has been estimated at from thirty to forty feet, or even more; yet fortune so favoured him, that though the horse was killed in the fall, the rider escaped. An Albanian camp was below, and an officer’s tent very near the spot on which he alighted. Instead of shunning it, he went in, and throwing himself on the rites of hospitality, implored that no advantage might be taken of him; which was not only granted, but the officer offered him protection, even at his own peril, and kept him concealed so long as the popular fury and the excesses of the soldiery continued. Of the rest of that devoted number, thus shut up and surrounded, not one went out alive; and even of those who had quietly remained in the town, but very few found means to elude the activity and greedy search that was made after them--a high price being set upon every Mameluke’s head that should be brought. All Cairo was filled with wailing and lamentations; and, in truth, the confusion and horrors of that day are indescribable; for not the Mamelukes alone, but others also, in many instances wholly unconnected with them, either from mistake, or from malice, or for plunder, were indiscriminately seized on and put to death; so that great as the number was that perished of that ill-fated body, it yet did not comprehend the total of the victims. The strange fact of the leap and escape of Amim Bey, and of his asylum in the officer’s tent, reached at last the Pacha’s ears, who sent instantly to demand him; and when the generous Albanian found that it would be impossible any longer to shelter or screen his fugitive, he gave him a horse, and recommended him to fly with all speed into Asia, where, in the palace of Suleyman Pacha at Acre, he found safety.”

SLAVE TRADE.--The following is a good description of this horrible trade now nearly at an end:--

“On our return from Brazil, we fell in with a slave-ship. She had taken in, on the coast of Africa, 336 males and 226 females, making in all 562, and had been out seventeen days, during which she had thrown overboard 55. The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways, between decks. The space was so low, that they sat between each other’s legs, and stowed so close together, that there was no possibility of their lying down, or at all changing their position, by night or day. As they belonged to, and were shipped on account of different individuals, they were all branded, like sheep, with the owners’ marks, of different forms. These were impressed under their breasts, or on their arms, and, as the mate informed me, with perfect indifference, “queimados pelo ferro quento--burnt with the red-hot iron.” Over the hatchway stood a ferocious-looking fellow, with a scourge of many twisted thongs in his hand, who was the slave-driver of the ship; and whenever he heard the slightest noise below, he shook it over them, and seemed eager to exercise it. As soon as the poor creatures saw us looking down at them, their dark and melancholy visages brightened up. They perceived something of sympathy and kindness in our looks, which they had not been accustomed to, and feeling, instinctively, that we were friends, they immediately began to shout and clap their hands. One or two had picked up a few Portuguese words, and cried out, “Viva! viva!” The women were particularly excited. They all held up their arms; and when we bent down and shook hands with them, they could not contain their delight; they endeavoured to scramble upon their knees, stretching up to kiss our hands; and we understood that they knew we had come to liberate them. Some, however, hung down their heads in apparently hopeless dejection; some were greatly emaciated, and some, particularly children, seemed dying. But the circumstance which struck us most forcibly, was, how it was possible for such a number of human beings to exist, packed up and wedged together as tight as they could cram, in low cells, three feet high, the greater part of which, except that immediately under the grated hatchways, was shut out from light or air, and this when the thermometer, exposed to the open sky, was standing in the shade, on our deck, at 89 deg. The space between decks was divided into compartments, three feet three inches high; the size of one was sixteen feet by eighteen, and of the other, forty by twenty-one; into the first were crammed the women and girls; into the second, the men and boys: 226 fellow-creatures were thus thrust into one space 288 feet square, and 336 into another space 800 feet square, giving to the whole an average of twenty-three inches, and to each of the women not more than thirteen inches, though many of them were pregnant. We also found manacles and fetters of different kinds; but it appeared that they had all been taken off before we boarded. The heat of these horrid places was so great, and the odour so offensive, that it was quite impossible to enter them, even had there been room. They were measured, as above, when the slaves had left them. The officers insisted that the poor suffering creatures should be admitted on deck, to get air and water. This was opposed by the mate of the slaver, who, from a feeling that they deserved it, declared they would murder them all. The officers, however, persisted, and the poor beings were all turned up together. It is impossible to conceive the effect of this eruption--507 fellow-creatures, of all ages and sexes, some children, some adults, some old men and women, all in a state of total nudity, scrambling out together to taste the luxury of a little fresh air and water. They came swarming up, like bees from the aperture of a hive, till the whole deck was crowded to suffocation, from stem to stern, so that it was impossible to imagine where they could all have come from, or how they could all have been stowed away. On looking into places where they had been crammed, there were found some children next the sides of the ship, in the places most remote from light and air; they were lying nearly in a torpid state, after the rest had turned out. The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death; and when they were carried on deck, many of them could not stand. After enjoying for a short time the unusual luxury of air, some water was brought; it was then that the extent of their sufferings was exposed in a fearful manner. They all rushed like maniacs towards it. No entreaties, or threats, or blows, could restrain them; they shrieked and struggled, and fought with one another, for a drop of this precious liquid, as if they grew rabid at the sight of it. There is nothing which slaves, in the middle passage, suffer from so much as the want of water. It is sometimes usual to take out casks filled with sea-water as ballast, and when the slaves are received on board, to start the casks and refill them with fresh. On one occasion, a ship from Bahia neglected to change the contents of the casks, and on the mid-passage found, to their horror, that they were filled with nothing but salt water. All the slaves on board perished! We could judge of the extent of their sufferings from the afflicting sight we now saw.”

SLUYS, NAVAL BATTLE OF.--In this battle Edward III gained a signal victory over the French. The English had the wind of the enemy, and the sun at their backs, and began the action, which was fierce and bloody--the English archers galling the French on their approach; 230 French ships were taken; 30,000 Frenchmen were killed, and two Admirals; English loss inconsiderable.--Fought, June 24th, 1340.

SMOLENSKO, BATTLE OF.--One of the most memorable battles fought during the Russian campaign of 1812, between the French and Russian armies. Fought, August 17th, 1812. The French were three times repulsed, but at last gained the victory, and on entering Smolensko, found it in ruins, on account of their bombardment.

SOBRAON, BATTLE OF.--_In India._--Fought, February 10th, 1846, between the British army, 35,000 strong, under Sir Hugh Gough, and the Sikh force on the Sutlej. The enemy were dislodged after a dreadful contest, and all their batteries taken; and in attempting the passage of the river by a floating bridge in their rear, the weight of the masses that crowded upon it caused it to break down, and more than 10,000 Sikhs were killed, wounded or drowned. They also lost sixty-seven cannon and some standards. The British lost 2383 men.

SOLEBAY, NAVAL BATTLE OF.--Between the fleets of England and France on the one side and the Dutch on the other; the Allies commanded by the Duke of York. The Dutch were compelled to flee, having lost three ships, but the English lost four. In this obstinate and bloody engagement the _Earl of Sandwich_ man-of-war blew up, and 1000 men were either killed or wounded. Fought, May 28th, 1672.

SOLFERINO, BATTLE OF.--This great battle, one of the most bloody ever fought, took place during the war of Italy and France against Austria. Fought, June 24th, 1859. The loss on both sides was tremendous. The Austrians mustered 250,000 men; the Allies 150,000. The number slain and wounded ranged from 30,000 to 37,000. The result of this battle was the Austrians repassed the Mincio, whilst the Allied headquarters were placed at Cavriana.

SORTIE FROM SEBASTOPOL.--The great sortie, during which the good Captain Hedley Vicars was killed, is well described in the following account:

“On the night of the 22nd of March, the enemy, about 7000 strong made a sortie from the works of the Mamelon, which the French, as already related, had so gallantly endeavoured to wrest from them. The distance between the advanced parallels of the opposing forces was not more than sixty yards; and the Russians were fully alive to the necessity of preventing, if possible, any further advance on the part of the Allies. The French and English Generals were equally aware of the importance of the position, and not less than 6000 or 7000 French soldiers were nightly marched down to the trenches; our working and covering parties numbering about 1500. Advancing stealthily in two columns, the enemy attacked the head of the French sap, and were gallantly met by a division of the 3rd Zouaves, under Chef de Bataillon Balon. Three times was the attack made, and three times repulsed, not without great loss both to assailants and defenders. Finding themselves unable to force the French lines in this direction, the enemy changed his front, and threw himself against the left of the French position; but here, too, our brave Allies were equally on the alert, and a sharp volley assured the adventurous Russians that but little success was to be hoped for in that quarter. Rapidly extending their attack, they succeeded in occupying the nearest English parallel, and thence poured a murderous fire into the French lines. General D’Autemarre, the officer in command, seeing the fierce nature of the attack, now ordered up the 4th battalion of the Chasseurs-à-Pied, who, in a vigorous bayonet charge, drove the enemy from his position.

While this was going on in the French trenches, to the right of our lines, our troops were also engaged in repelling an equally determined attack. A portion of the Russian columns advanced under cover of the darkness, and succeeded in approaching the English lines. The first intimation our men had of the threatened attack was from the advanced sentinels, who quietly fell back with the intelligence that a large body of the enemy was approaching our position. The English troops engaged that night in the trenches consisted of detachments of the 7th, 34th, 77th, 88th, 90th, and 97th regiments, under the command of Colonel Kelly, of the 34th. The advanced posts on the right nearest the French lines were composed of men from the 77th and 97th, led by Captain Vicars, who, hearing the approach of the enemy, ordered his men to keep silence. On came the Russians, and when within a few yards of the English trenches, they rushed forward and leaped into the works. They were immediately met by the brave defenders of the lines, who, hitherto motionless, now made an irresistible charge upon the advancing foe, and after a few moments of desperate hand-to-hand conflict, literally pitched them from the parapet. Captain Vicars, who led his men with distinguished courage, met his death in this vigorous repulse. Major Gordon, of the Engineers, who commanded the detachment on the right, was severely wounded. While the attention of the defenders of the trenches was thus drawn to the conflict in this direction, the enemy made another attempt to penetrate our lines farther to the left, where two mortars had been established for the defence of the trenches. Here they succeeded in gaining a footing, notwithstanding a most brilliant resistance from a few men of the 90th, who actually drove them from the battery, though they were unable effectually to oppose their advance. The 7th and 34th, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Tylden, were now brought up to the scene of action, and gallantly met the fierce assault. After a severe contest, the Russians gave way, and were precipitated from the works. A general attack was now made upon the retreating masses, who fled utterly beaten. The French followed them so far as to be enabled to destroy some of the rifle-pits they had established on the slope of the Mamelon, which had been the means of such constant annoyance to our Allies. In this pursuit Colonel Kelly was killed. The Russian loss must have been very great. On our side, the casualties were not more than 38 killed and wounded; the French lost over 300.

On the next day an armistice, for the purpose of burying the dead, was requested by General Osten-Sacken, the Russian Commander. This was granted, and for two hours, on the 24th, the guns ceased firing, and the officers and men of the opposed armies enjoyed a brief respite from their deadly contest. There was a natural desire on each side to approach as nearly as possible the lines of the other; and the soldiers mingled freely in the open space between the Allies on the one side and entrenched sides of the Mamelon in front. Burial parties were formed and the dead and wounded of either army borne away by their comrades. Meanwhile the officers chatted and exchanged cigars, and the men passed equivocal compliments--such as their very limited acquaintance with each other’s language would permit; the Russians making kind inquiries as to when the Allies would favour them with a visit at Sebastopol; and our fellows requesting them not to trouble themselves with special preparations, as they intended to make themselves quite at home when they did come. The dead and wounded, in every variety of attitude, were a frightful spectacle, even to those inured to scenes of strife and bloodshed. At length the armistice expired, the white flags disappeared from the parapet of the Mamelon, the stragglers hastily ran to the protection of their works, and in an instant the boom of hostile cannon again thundered on the ear, and clouds of white smoke again obscured the scene of the brief truce.”

SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEAS, THE.--“The grand truth embodied in the majestic lines--

“Let us be back’d with God, and with the seas,
Which he hath given for fence impregnable,
And with their helps alone defend ourselves;
In them, and in ourselves, our safety lies.”

seems to have been a heartfelt conviction in the breasts of all true Englishmen, long centuries before the poet was born.

King John, whom history has generally branded as a very unworthy monarch, had some redeeming kingly qualities--not the least of which was his determined assertion of England’s sovereignty of the seas. He ordered his sea-captains to compel all foreigners to salute his flag by “striking” their own national flags, and, probably, by also lowering their topsails (as was the practice at a subsequent period), in acknowledgment of England’s maritime supremacy. If any foreign ship, even though belonging to a friendly power, refused compliance, it was to be seized, and adjudged a lawful prize. This and other facts lead to the conclusion that John only enforced an ancient claim to dominion of the seas, which had been asserted and enforced occasionally time out of mind.

Edward III, during his wonderfully long reign of fifty-one years, was a most jealous asserter of his sovereignty of the seas, over which he claimed a judicial power. Dr. Campbell says that Edward, “in his commissions to admirals and inferior offices, frequently styles himself sovereign of the English seas, asserting that he derived this title from his progenitors, and deducing from them by the grounds of his instructions, and of the authority committed to them by these delegations. His parliaments, likewise, in the preambles of their bills, take notice of this point, and that it was a thing notorious to foreign nations that the King of England, in right of his crown, was sovereign of the seas. In old “Hakluyt’s Voyages” is printed a very curious poem, called “De politia conservativa maris,” supposed to have been written in the time of Edward IV. It contains a number of separate chapters, each of which is full of most valuable and instructive information concerning the commerce of England with various countries. The unknown author, who must have been a man of very extensive information in his day, urges most strongly his countrymen to maintain inviolate the sovereignty of the seas, as the only means to preserve their prosperity and safety.

In the reign of Charles I, both the French and Dutch began to express great jealousy of the British claim to dominion of the seas, and Hugo Grotius endeavoured very learnedly to prove that Albion had no better natural right than Holland, or any other maritime nation, to such a title. Our own equally learned and eloquent Selden retorted by his celebrated treatise “Mare Clausum.” We need not quote any of his arguments, which are generally profound, and, if not always impregnable to impartial criticism, are at any rate patriotic and singularly striking and ingenious. Suffice it that the general conclusion to which he arrives is conveyed in one very impressive sentence: “That they (the English) have an hereditary, uninterrupted right to the sovereignty of their seas, conveyed to them from their earliest ancestors, in trust for their latest posterity.” Mainly with a view to enforce his claim to the sovereignty of the narrow seas, did Charles I endeavour to provide a naval force sufficient to overawe both French and Dutch, and therefore issued his writs for levying “ship-money”--a most fatal undertaking as concerned himself; for, as every reader knows, this arbitrary measure (however honourable its original motives might have been) was the beginning of that deplorable alienation between the King and his subjects which resulted in the great civil war, and eventually cost the hapless monarch both his crown and his life.

In 1635 the King, by his secretary of state, addressed a long and deeply interesting letter of instructions to his ambassador at the Hague, in order to enable the latter to explain and justify to their “High Mightinesses” his naval preparations, and their meaning and objects. We will extract a few passages illustrative of our theme: “We hold it,” saith King Charles, “a principle not to be denied, that the King of Great Britain is a monarch at land and sea, to the full extent of his dominions; and that it concerneth him as much to maintain his sovereignty in all the British seas, as within his three kingdoms; because, without that, these cannot be kept safe, nor he preserve his honour, and due respect with other nations. But, commanding the seas, he may cause his neighbours, and all countries, to stand upon their guard whensoever he thinks fit. And this cannot be doubted, that whosoever will encroach on him by sea, will do it by land also, when they see their time.... The degrees by which his Majesty’s dominion at sea hath of later years been first impeached, and then questioned, are as considerable as notorious.... But withal, considering that peace must be maintained by the arm of power, which only keeps down war by keeping up dominion; his Majesty, thus provoked, finds it necessary, for his own defence and safety, _to re-assume and keep his ancient and undoubted right in the dominion of the seas_, and suffer no other prince or state to encroach upon him, thereby assuming to themselves or their admirals any sovereign command, but to force them to perform due homage to his admirals and ships, and to pay acknowledgments as in former times they did.”

The Protector of the Commonwealth proved himself quite as jealous of maintaining the power and privileges of the navy, as any of his kingly predecessors, and he did what not one of them had ever effected, namely, made a treaty with the United Provinces (the Low Countries), by which it was solemnly stipulated “that the ships and vessels of the United Provinces, as well those fitted for war as others, meeting any ships of war of the said Commonwealth in the British seas, shall strike their flag and lower their topsail, in such manner as had been any time before practised under any former government.” This was in 1654. After the restoration, Charles II renewed the treaty in 1662, and in 1667, in almost precisely the same terms as the above; and at the conclusion of the Dutch war, in 1673, in the fourth article of the treaty of peace it was expressly stipulated that if any “ships or vessels of war, or others, or whether single or in fleets, shall meet in any of the seas from Cape Finisterre to the middle point of the land of Vanstaten in Norway, with any ships or vessels belonging to his Majesty of Great Britain, whether those ships be single or in greater numbers, if they carry his Majesty of Great Britain’s flag or jack, the aforesaid Dutch vessels or ships shall strike their flag and lower their topsail, in the same manner, and with as much respect, as has at any time and in any place been formerly practised,” &c. The reader will bear in mind that the Dutch were at that time the most powerful naval power next to Great Britain. The treaty appears to have confirmed the dominion of the latter beyond what might properly be called the “narrow,” or “British seas,” including, as it did, all from the south-west of Portugal to a cape in Norway.

During the reigns of the four Stuart kings, as well as under the protectorate of Cromwell, the “Mariners of England,”

“Whose flag has braved, a thousand years,
The battle and the breeze,”

did indeed jealously “guard our native seas,” and assert and maintain their country’s sovereignty thereof. In 1652, two fierce actions were fought on this very score “On the 14th of May, Commodore Young fell in with a Dutch convoy, escorted by three ships of war, from whom he civilly demanded _the usual honours to be paid to the English flag_. The Dutch commander positively refused to comply, giving as a reason that he had express orders from the States-General not to pay those honours which the English exacted from their ships in the Channel. Commodore Young, on this refusal, fired into the Dutch, which brought on a smart action; but at length the Dutch ships struck, and, _after paying the compliment_, were allowed to proceed on their voyage.” Only four days later, Blake himself and Van Tromp had a far more serious encounter on the very same score. Van Tromp and his fleet stood towards Dover, off which Blake was lying with fifteen men-of-war, and paid no respect whatever to the English flag. Blake instantly fired, from his own ship, three unshotted guns at the Dutchman as a reminder of his want of respect. Van Tromp retorted with a broadside. “A most furious engagement instantly began. At first the whole of the Dutch fleet directed their fire at the English admiral, but he was soon bravely supported by the rest of the ships, and Commodore Bourne joining at the same time with eight sail more, obliged the Dutch to bear away, though still superior in number, and seek shelter at the back of the Goodwin Sands, after having been most severely mauled. The action lasted from four till nine at night. One of the Dutch ships was taken, and another sunk.”

In a volume of the “Naval Chronicle,” for 1807, the sovereignty of the sea is described as being “an actual and peculiar use and enjoyment of the sea itself, and the performance of all the functions of a sovereign upon it; such as prescribing rules of navigation to those who frequent it, punishing delinquents, protecting others, and receiving from all that homage and advantage which are due to every lawful sovereign.” The writer proceeds to state that the dominion of the sea entitles the “lawful possessors” to six several prerogatives. The first two refer to the right of fishing, &c., and the residue we will give at length.

“3. To impose tribute and customs on all merchant ships and fishermen, fishing and trading within the limits of the sea that is subjected to any particular dominions.

“4. The regular execution of justice for protecting the innocent, and punishing the guilty for all crimes committed within the extent of such sea-dominions.

“5. To grant free passage through any such sea to any number of ships of war belonging to any other prince or republic, or to deny the same, according to the circumstances and occasion of such passage, in the same manner as any prince or state may grant or deny free passage to foreign troops through their territories by land, even though the prince or state to whom such ships or land forces belong _be not only at peace, but in alliance_ with the prince or republic of whom passage is desired.

“6. To demand of all foreign ships whatsoever within those seas to strike the flag and lower the topsail to any ships of war, or others bearing the colours of the sovereign of such seas.”

The latest example of an English commander insisting on a salute to his flag, which we have been able to find, occurred in the month of June, 1769, when “a French frigate having anchored in the Downs, without paying the usual compliment to the British flag, Captain John Holwell, who was the senior officer lying there, in the ‘Apollo’ frigate, sent an officer on board to demand the customary salute; the French captain refused to comply, upon which Captain Holwell immediately ordered the ‘Hawk,’ sloop of war, to fire two shot over her, which being done, the French commander thought proper instantly to salute.”

Many of the greatest of our poets have eloquently alluded to the sea-sovereignty of their native island, ramparted with tidal waters. Who does not remember the truly magnificent lines:--

“This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it as the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house
Against the envy of less happy lands!

* * * * *

England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune.”

The popular strain of Thomson’s “Rule Britannia” gives an emphatic assertion of Britain’s naval greatness. No poet, however, has so celebrated the floating bulwarks of Britain, and the “Hearts of Oak” who man them, as Campbell. His marvellously spirit-stirring lyric, “Ye Mariners of England,”[3] has no rival in its intense patriotism.

In conclusion, suffice it that for a considerable time the claim of England’s sovereignty of the seas, so far as it includes special homage to our flag, or anything resembling a judicial supremacy over the ships of other nations, within the limits of the narrow (or any other) seas, has been a dead letter. But we can well afford to dispense with what was at best a somewhat questionable sort of shadowy honour, for we know that we yet retain the substantial maritime supremacy which alone enables us to rank as the foremost nation of the world--

“Mistress, at least while Providence shall please,
And trident-bearing Queen of the wide seas!”

to quote the noble lines of the patriotic and Christian poet, Cowper. Well will it be for us to constantly bear in mind the vital truth that the same great poet proclaimed:--

“They trust in navies, and their navies fail:
God’s curse can cast away ten thousand sail!”

SPURS, BATTLE OF THE.--Henry VIII of England landed in France, July, 1513, and soon gathered an army of 30,000 men. He was shortly after joined by the Emperor Maximilian, with a well-appointed army of horse and foot. They laid siege to Terouenne, which they invested with an army of 50,000 men; and the Duc de Longueville advancing to its relief was signally defeated. The French were everywhere routed in the battle. This battle of Guinnegate was called the Battle of the Spurs, because the French made more use of their spurs than their swords. Fought 18th, August, 1513.

STANDARD, BATTLE OF THE.--Fought A.D. 1135. The following graphic account gives the reason why the engagement was so called:

“King David at once marched into England to strike for the rights of his niece. Twice he ravaged Northumberland with merciless barbarity. In a third invasion he penetrated into Yorkshire. Stephen was in the south, hard pressed by the partisans of Matilda, and was obliged to leave the northern part of his kingdom to look to its own defence. There was a man in those parts who knew what to do. This was the aged Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He assembled the Barons at York, held a solemn fast, gave them absolution and his blessing, and delivered into their hands his crozier and the holy banner of St. Peter of York. He ordered processions of the priests with crosses, banners, and relics in every parish. He enjoined all men capable of bearing arms to rise “for the defence of the Church against the barbarians.” To all who should die in battle he promised salvation. He sent forth the priests to lead their parishioners to battle. Sickness alone prevented him, aged as he was, from putting on his own coat of mail.

The English standard was erected on Cutton Moor, near Northallerton. The mast of a ship was set up on a high four-wheeled car. At the top of the mast was a large cross; in the centre of the cross a silver box containing the consecrated wafer. Below the cross floated the banners of three Saints, St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfred of Ripon. The idea of this car seems to have been taken from the great standard car which was used by the people of Lombardy.

The Scottish army was 26,000 strong. Men from the Lowlands of Scotland were there armed with cuirasses and long spears; archers from the southland “dales,” or valleys of the rivers that run into Tweed and Solway; troopers from the Border mountains, who rode small, but strong and active horses; the fierce men of Galloway, who carried long pikes and wore no defensive armour; clansmen from the Highlands with the small round target and claymore; men of the isles, who wielded a long-handled battle-axe. A strong body of knights and men-at-arms, sheathed in complete mail, rode around the King.