| Wojna krymska oczyma kapitana Chodasiewicza. Kazali im zdobyć wioskę, w której rzekomo rozgościł się wróg.Was it possible that a Russian picket could be here unknown to General Kiriakoff? Jumping up from my hiding-place, I greatly disturbed the nerves of the sentry, and asked him what regiment he belonged to; “ The infantry regiment of Minsk, sir,” said he. “How many of you are there in the village ?” “The 2nd battalion and four guns, sir." I thought our General of Division must have been beside himself to send me on such a fool's errand, and, had it not been for the caution used in approaching the village, few of us would have returned to tell the tale, for the night was so dark that at a short distance it would be impossible to know friend from foe.
I asked where the commander of the battalion lived, and was shown the house where the lights were visible, which would have been our target had we commenced firing. I then called my two men, and the patrol conducted us to the house of the commander. I told how I came there, and that not very far off was a party of my men awaiting my signal to rush upon the village. He was kind enough to send and invite Lieutenant K——into his house, while we ordered our men to pile their arms and rest a little.
Upon inquiry I found the regiment of Minsk occupied the village in alternate battalions with four guns, by order of General Kiriakoff of our division. This will give a good idea of the generals we had in the Crimea at the battle of the Alma. The order to occupy this village was entirely forgotten when we were sent with a handful of men to attack it.
On the way back I made the artilleryman give up his horse to me, forcing him to walk, as a punishment for leading us on such a wild-goose chace, and we all began to feel tired, for we had done 51 miles in 11 hours. We got back to our bivouac at 11 P.M. I went to report our adventures to the Colonel, who sent me to General Kiriakoff, whom I could not see, as he was with Prince Menschikoff. Turning towards the sea, I had the splendid spectacle of the allied fleet, with its various-coloured lights.
On the morning of the 17th I went to the General to make my report of my last night's adventure. He answered
—“Ah! yes, I had forgotten; that'll do.”
It appears to me extraordinary how a man only village on the coast between the Alma and the Katcha, so that one would suppose it impossible to forget that it was occupied by a part of our army, situated as it was in our rear. Luckily for me I used precaution, for, had I opened fire and escaped with my life, I should have been reduced
to the ranks, or perhaps sent to Siberia.
A Voice from Within the Walls of Sebastopol, a Narrative of the Campaign in the Crimea, and the Events of the Siege , London John Murray June 1856
In the Russian service it is impossible for a General to be in fault when only a captain of a company is in question. Russia is not the free country that England is, where a free press exists, and where every man can appeal for justice to public opinion, no matter who may be his oppressors.
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During the preceding night General Chaletzky had gone out on a reconnoitring expedition with two squadrons of Hussars in white jackets, of which the commander of the battery knew nothing, as all our cavalry wore the grey great-coat. By some accident these two whitejacketed squadrons showed themselves last over the hill at some distance from the others. Lieutenant-Colonel Kondratieff, taking them for the enemy, opened fire on them, and sent them one round shot from each of his eight guns.
Lieutenant-Colonel Kondratieff cannot be blamed for this, as he only obeyed the orders of his General, who probably had forgotten all about the reconnaissance of General Chaletzky, or he ought to have warned the commander of the battery not to fire into his own men. General Chaletzky, a Polish Tatar by birth, galloped round the regiment of Borodino with his sword drawn, and at full speed made towards Lieutenant-Colonel Kondratieff. We fully expected to see a tragic end to this affair, when General Kiriakoff galloped up from the other side, and arrived just in time to prevent mischief; he endeavoured to pacify the Hussar, at least he saved the life of the commander of the battery.
This was another of the freaks of the commander of our division, from which there were seven men killed and wounded. With the Hussars there was a French Colonel, a prisoner, who had mistaken them for the cavalry of the allied army, and only discovered his mistake when too late.
To be continued
Ciąg dalszy nastąpi
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