Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/188

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156 I UK APKIL BOMbAliDMENT. (J ha P. 'travelling- carriage.'* It was with the four guns already established in battery that Older- shaw undertook to fight. The effort about to be made was regarded by the scientific conductors of the siege as a bold, if useful, experiment ; and therefore it was that an sir Gerald able young officer of our Engineer force (now a Graham. „ . ° s tar-famed victorious commander) went down to the 3d Parallel on the morning of the 13th, and there — first from a part of the trench close adjacent to Oldershaw's battery, and afterwards, until wounded, from within the battery itself — observed the course of the fight.t For means of showing what was confronted by our four 32- pounder guns, I gladly resort to his words. Sir uis account Gerald Graham thus writes to me: — 'On the 13th of what the . . ._ battery con- ' oi April, I was the Engmeer officer on duty on ' the Left Attack, and I took a strong interest in ' the artillery conflict about to commence. It ' was our first attempt at taking up an advanced ' position for our artillery, and I knew well that ' we were greatly overmatched by the enemy's ' guns in number, weight, and position. Before ' us, we had the Barrack and Creek batteries ; to ' our right, the Great Eedan ; and to our left, ' the Flagstaff and Garden batteries.} The latter

  • So left, it was presumed (see footnote ante, p. 146), because

out of order. Captain Oldershaw caused it to be moved to the most sheltered part of the battery. t At the time, a lieutenant, now General Sir Gerald Graham, R.E., V.C., K.C.B., renowned for his victories in the Eastern Soudan. X There being two tiers of these, and of widely different