* Dr. Arthur Leared, Finsbury Place, South, and 12, Old
Burlington Street, London. Chap, xlviii., pp. 810, 811.
According to the imperial commissioner with the French army, the month
of January "was fertile in partial combats, and sudden but sanguinary
and obstinate struggles." Mr. Woods, the correspondent of the London
_Morning Herald_, affirmed that the combats were useless skirmishes.
February in the Crimea was chiefly signalized by the battle of
Eupatoria, which, as shown in a previous section of this chapter,
issued in the signal defeat of the Russian army by Omar' Pasha, and was
probably the cause of the czar's death. The accession of Alexander II.
to the throne of the Russian empire, while it encouraged diplomatic
efforts for peace, led to renewed efforts for war, the young emperor
being anxious to show his people zeal for "the orthodox church," and
reverence for the policy of his predecessor, whom Russia regarded as
a saint and a martyr. The Emperor Alexander resolved upon a desperate
effort to bring the war to an issue favourable to his empire by force
of arms, unless, through the instrumentality of Austria at the Vienna
conference, he could more cheaply conquer peace.
During the month of March, the allies became more active in the siege of
Sebastopol. Efforts were put forth of a sanitary nature, which improved
the health of the troops, and means of storage and transport were
greatly facilitated and enlarged.
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