Show correspondence OF THE rhe ajl CRIMEAN WAR by ft a utah man who was there no 3 ALMY uintah county wyo editor deseret news in the semiweekly semi weekly NEWS of june esth appeared a note from john reynolds in answer to an inquiry about the gallant in the battle ot of balaklava I 1 always understood from information received on the spot that the light cavalry went into that engagement ga strong aud and returned with only eleven men mez it happened 1 I in company with a number of my shipmates went on shore to view the scene of the conflict shortly alter the en engagement dead horses were lying in all directions with their ac coutre ments untouched on the way to the front we met several ambulance wagons coming in with the dead sad and wounded in some places the ground wits was thickly y strewn with grape shot the orders old nicholas sent bent to his bin army having been to give iye them grape shot grape shot and IT to take balaklava at any cost because most of the ammunition forage and provisions of the allied armies were stored there had the russians succeeded in acco accomplishing ni p their designs in all probability I 1 ty they would not only have destroyed t the he shipping hip in the harbor but would it have av driven the english army into the sea to briefly describe balaklava it was it a natural barbor situated on tue black sea nine miles ironi from in the form of a basin about one wile mile in circumference cum ference surrounded on three sides by high rocky cliffs the entrance was zig I 1 zag edg and ana lust just sufficiently wide to allow I 1 a two t wo decker war shiy ship to pass into the basin which was dep asep enough to float vessels ot of the largest build early in the morning of the day the battle was fought as a precautionary move the shipping in the harbor was ordered out to the open sea our vessel the paddle steamship emperor ot of hull huil among the number this vessel having superior saloon and cabin accommodation was chosen by lord raglan commander in chief of to convey his staff of officers fio 60 in number 47 horses of his regi feht the letb to on the bos photons pho ious rons I 1 join joined edthe the ship in london in tibe tae capacity of baker and assistant to the saloon saloon cook we proceeded to plymouth got our troops tro opt crew and cargo aboard and were secona beconi on the list to start for the seat oi of war mr the oily cuy of london paddle steamer of aberdeen proceeding prece eding us by 24 hours we landed our troops all safe at acu tarl tari and were employed for about two months thereafter along with other steamers in picking pic kini up transport sailing vessels wit troops and towing them up to headquarters the french troops made their headquarters at gallipoli Gallt poli a turkish town of the dardi nelles nellea when the british and french troops were all landed at their sev several eral headquarters the steamers with as many sailing vessels as they could tow tu together gether with the turkish fleet and aaa transports and allied arm armies ies on board proceeded proceeded roce eded to varna a town on the mack black sea about miles from balaklava at this place the cholera broke out and made sad havoc among tte tho trae ji our skipper fell a victim to this Oco scourge urge notwithstanding all that could be done to save him he died in six hours illness in the midst of this distress orders were given tp to proc to balyi Balak laya the three allied armies with all their munitions of war were shipped in one day from varna to join the ibe allied fleets awaiting them at a place called BaI bay when all was arranged the beene that presented itself was truly grand at all points as tar hr as the eye could discern was a complete of lorest lores masts conversation was kept up by flag nag sigual minal telegraphy between the vessels vessels it may be noted in passing that the in some parts is a very narrow gut with a strong seven mile an hour current running from the black sea towards the golden HOLD hoin and it forms the key to the mediterranean so 80 much coveted by bythe the russians and to defend which was one of the main causes that led to the war passing passius I 1 over the time that the battles of alms inkerman and balaklava were fought the next grand move was the attack ot of the allied fleets on the forts of Seba sevastopol sebastopol the day previous to the light an officer of the rank of post captain came on board our steamer and gave orders to the skipper to have all hands on deck after all were formed in line he I 1 commenced to barr harr angue the crew i about what was to be done on the morrow predicting that the combined fleets would smash up the torts borts sevastopol va ba would fall and the day alter we were to have a glorious feast of roast beef and plum pudding to celebrate the evest ile he wound wouna up his speech by asking those to step f forlai d who would volunteer to tow a couple of line of battle ships lashed alongside the to within gunshot gun shot range of the ports the idea of such p L thin iron shell of a steamer as the ibe emperor was to venture within gunshot ranse range where a couple of balls would have sent her to the bottom in 20 90 minutes was too absurd seeing that none ot of the crew would consent lie he wrathfully told us he would send a boat from her majesty Maje Is navy and take us all aboard a man of bf war and andi make us tight on making enquiry about the matter we learned that 0 before re leaving the cabin he be nad had primed elf with a tumbler of brandy and t tat he went far disorders his orders However w everee we did tow in two line of batt battle 1 e 8 ships hips next day and then retired to a sa safe fe dib distance tance and cast case anchor with a calm sea and a clear sky we could see where the balls from the russian forts struck the water the british on the right the french in the middle and the turks on the left peppering away at the forts tor lor turee hour and a half but beyond blowing up the magazine of fort constantine about 20 minutes after the action commenced and boarding the tort fort which was done by the the agamemnon very little impression was made during the night following the russians fank sank a aulber number of their war vessels across the mouth of toe bay opposite the forts which prevented all further operations ot the fleets during daring the winter AS many ot the crews marines and gunners as could be spared were and equipped fur service to assist the army on snore the next thing of any importance that happened was the great gale ot nov in the black sua sea in which souie some millions worta worm of shipping was destroyed such wits was the force of the Hale gale Abat XUat all or of the vessels driven ashore dragged both anchors along with them the most unfortunate ot ol all was the loss of tile the iron screw steamer prince having on board a cargo valued at over a million pounds sterling in winter clothing and money tu pay i ay tue ine troops she was anchored odside of balaklava under tinder the lea ot of a rocky cliff and as the gale was blowing inshore they got cottam up but wuen hueu heaving anchor sue bue around and tue cable got foul of her fan being thus completely at the mercy of the gale she dashed against the rocks and went down in 80 f fathoms of water with all on board buch was the account lurnis furnished hed us when we returned to balaklava from varna with a cargo of french troops 53 horses and a number of brass cannon some of which had bad done service under the first napoleon we left lef t varna early on the morning of the having in tow two small french brigs bries also loaded with troops sad and horses shortly after leaving varna the wind began to blow heavily by 8 am it rose to a perfect hurricane and so continued for 24 hours the waves ros rosi to the height of what might well be called mountains to secure the safety of our own vessel the captain ordered the towing cables to be cut and let the two vessels go we learned a f few days afterwards ta that 0 one ne of the brigs was totally W wicked wip ked ed ithe the other weathered the gale I 1 iwald wid id not begin to dese describe ribe the situation on board the emperor the troops had to be kept below under battened down 1 aiches latches and suffered terribly next morning the cook managed to prepare breakfast under difficulties cul ties cut but finding the stewards in no no hurry harry to take it the troops and officers were too sick to eat he swore terrifically and finally carew the food out of the galley on the deck from whence it was picked up by the sailors in the twinkling of an eye the bakery was in the pantry on deck where all the cabin crockery and cold met meat Is lu u fowls etc etca were stowed betar s retiring for the night I 1 secured well as I 1 could but to my emergh tt li in the morning I 1 foun found d WB t heavy bleavy crockery had burst the locker doors the bake trough rough was overturned bread sponge flour broken dishes cold meat boiled ham roast fowls all ail mixed in a neap heap and on top or of all the marble slab blab unde tor for pastry the whole lu in a pool of sea water six inches dv deeta we had six horses more than we had stalls for these were haltered to the bulwarks bulwa ou on deck and all died from iu luxuries luries received irom from being pitched arsts side aide to aide of the decks those lu in the stalls were more fortunate being blung to the roots roofs of olabe the stalls by broad belly bands which kept them on their leet out of the whole number we lost eleves elevee the balance being more or less demoralized aud and until unlit tor for immediate service we got into port just as th eXale was dying away and alter aldir landing our troops toot took a tour alou along tue the coast to view the wrecks many of the sailors who managed to get ashore from the wrecks were either taken prisoners or slaughtered by the russians Kus Rus to prevent the enemy from plundering the wrecks the english sailed a few of their gunboats gun boats as oear dear short shore us as they could float with safety for the krotec lion ot ol the ves vessels and and what could not be taken off the beach into deep water was stripped of everything of any ally value and burnt to the waters edge our captain gave permission to the carpenter third steward four seamen and 1 to man one of them the bouts boats and board one of the vel vessel iselt new lull full rigged ship called the tyrone ot of london driven ashore ou on this her first trip with both anchors down from this vessel we took 7 bout boat loads of wreckage including a full set of new sails that had never been bent beat we could have had a large quantity of saddles and artillery outfits but as that mat was government property we did not hazard the risk ot or keeping them the up a lew few feet ot the upper deck the articles had to be fished up wita hooks aul aua au l tackle the principle part ot of the cargo apparently consisted of baled hay bay imore before leaving the emperor the C captein up told us ua not to venture ort on shore except at our own risk some of the boys boya did go lever ih eless although a low lew cossacks cas sacks coald plainly be been riding aroun around dats at a distance oc tho the beach our ships carpenter said in his thirty years experience as asa a sea going man he be never witnessed such a acene dead bodies were lying in every conceivable position some halt berried in the sand soon after this event the troops had bad to pass through the riggs nap 0 o ot of a russian hussian winter though of short duration some 6 or 8 weeks I 1 it is very severe while it lasts the s soldiers old 1 er 8 often came on board while we were lying in balaklava and told us their whiskers had been f frozen rozen to tile the ground in the night not a few of the officers who hadbo had to do their own cooking would come on oa hoard board beg for a hard ship biscuit and relish allt it as a sweet morsel I 1 was thus brought face to face with the stern realities of hard campaign an account of which correctly recorded in history shows it was a badly managed affair from beginning to end so far atlease at leant least as the british were cone concerned to for r while the british were thinking tg the french wert acting in a manner that thai showed they had not forgotten tile the lesson of the retreat from Irom moscow under the first napoleon Napo leoa when the winter set in tile the french found themselves snug in winter fixings it the report was true that the prince could have landed her cargo some days aws before tae storm but was prevented toy by Lord algian Banian 11 0 ou account of some bowe misunderstanding a grave responsibility restad either on the cora commander huander in chief or theador ralty rally jin in london one thing I 1 do know the prince steamer lay at anchor tor a week defore before our vessel lef left t balaklava for varna and when we returned not a of 01 her was to be seen about the beginning of february 1855 feeling a little home sick I 1 asked fr for and onta obtained ined imy my discharge dis charse at balaklava got a to constantinople in one of the austrian mail boats and en engaged aged as cook on board a small brig brigantine brigant anAne lne bound for england angia nd with a cargo of linseed lio seed la in bulk here I 1 got a taste of what sailors faveto i endure at sea living on salt bunla ahk and nd hard tack bior for three months from the time we left Constantino constantinople till we crossed the bay of biscay there was wasa a cond confined con tined tied succession of storms on one occasion the vessel was three days aud and nights hove to under a small rag of canvass and was driven SW inkes out of her course coarse no ao sun to be seen in the skies the captain could take no reckoning when we arrived at falmouth almouth jP there was not a pound of biscuit left iu in the lockers or tiny any other food save a lew few pounds of rice six weeks being an ordinary voyage in fair weather for a sailing balling ship from constantinople to Hug england I 1 spent a few weeks in lou london taking in the sights notably the british museum the crystal palace then removed to sydenham the national gallery of paintings tower etc I 1 will close this narration by relating my experience on board an unlucky ship so designated by the english press after making her first voyage to balaklava and back this vessel the transit was a large iron screw navy transport st steamer eiLmer next maize in size to the himalaya the largest merchant screw steamer then afloat she was built at portsmouth and fitted op in a hurry burry for the special purpose of carrying out troops and horses to help take cc baa but she get in time to do much good I 1 the transit sailed sail ad from sheerness with troops and hordes on the she lath day of july 1855 my rating eating was i military stewards mate there were between 60 and 70 commissioned officers in the cabin on the M main deck the naval offic officers erli quarters W were 4 re 1 on oll the upper deck aue three ays out the report spread that the phlp was on fire which caused much couste consternation ra abou sua and conf uon bof or A while the fireway bythe the aid of two powerful powers ul one for foi r pumping into the ves riot pumping out and by abet blankets over the hatch batch mi ise sailors continued pumping jot after all danger was past until r t was I 1 given iven out that the linia sipi and d sure e enough to he was the en engineer ineer nod agine which was below the up P to his ankles in salt aters g the machine for all it d he succeeded in land tee ahe harbor of brest ft A tV ilEon on the coast of france on an invest investigation iga tion that anter who had charge of kept the wrong pump amstead of pumping water 0 chip hip they were pumping illiard hard as old harry would I 1 e fire was caused either fro bance uce or neglect of the en ge e in allowing one of toe the ag get so lo 10 low W in water as to ba 1 me of the upper tubes and pe |