Redan, found the work abandoned. It was not, however, deemed necessary to occupy it until daylight.

During the night extensive explosions were heard, and great fires were seen in the town. It soon became known that the Russians were retiring from the south to the north side, by means of the raft bridge recently constructed, and which was afterwards disconnected and conveyed to the other side. The men-of-war were all sunk during the night.

In Mrs. Henry Duberly's "Journal kept during the Russian War" occurs the following description of the Redan after the final contest, and it is eminently suggestive:-"What wonderful engineering! What ingenuity in the thick rope-work which is woven before the guns, leaving only a little hole, through which the man laying the gun can take his aim, and which is thoroughly impervious to rifle-shot! The Redan is a succession of little batteries, each containing two or three guns, with traverses behind each division; and hidden away under gabions, sandbags, and earth, are little huts, in which the officers and men used to live. Walking down amongst these, (for we were obliged to dismount,) we found that tradesmen had lived in some of them. Henry picked up a pair of lady's lasts, the precise size of my own foot. Coats, caps, bayonets lay about, with black bread and broken guns."

Thus ended the great siege of Sebastopol: the fortress had fallen, but Prince Gortschakoff, in his retreat, sustained his well-earned fame. The following telegraphic message was transmitted to the Commander of the Forces in the Crimea:

"The Queen has received with deep emotion the welcome intelligence of the Fall of Sebastopol. Penetrated with profound gratitude to the Almighty, who has vouchsafed this triumph to the Allied Army, Her Majesty has commanded me to express to yourself, and through you, to her Army, the pride with which She regards this fresh instance of their heroism.

"The Queen congratulates Her Troops on the triumphant issue of their protracted Siege, and thanks them for the cheerfulness and fortitude with which they have encountered its toils, and the valour which has led to its termination.

"The Queen deeply laments that this success is not without

its alloy, in the heavy losses that have been sustained; and while She rejoices in the Victory, Her Majesty deeply sympathizes with the noble sufferers in their country's cause.

"You will be pleased to congratulate General Pelissier, in Her Majesty's name, upon the brilliant success of the Assault on the Malakoff, which proves the irresistible force, as well as the indomitable courage of our brave allies.

With the fall of Sebastopol the MEDAL History of the Campaign in the Crimea terminates, and it therefore only remains to add, that in October following Kinburn was captured by the troops under Brigadier-General the Honourable Augustus Spencer, and the garrison of thirteen hundred men became prisoners. The troops employed on this successful service consisted of an escort of cavalry, four guns, the 17th., 20th., 57th., and 63rd. regiments, and two battalions of Marines.

The Crimean campaign will be ever remembered for the first employment, to any extent, of the rifled musket, the use of which has created a revolution in warfare. Other novelties, before alluded to, were also adopted. The sacrifice of life during this protracted siege was immense, but the numIbers who died from disease far exceeded those who fell on the field of battle.*

* Number killed, wounded, etc., of the British army in the Crimea, from the date of embarkation for the East, to the 30th. April, 1856.