280 APPENDIX TO JOURNAL OF THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

AppendixNo. 51.

At the time, therefore, of the parade of the relief, the brigades fell in as proved, each corporalmustering and inspecting his brigade, and the sergeant ascertaining that the relief was complete.

The adjutant then inspected the relief, dismissed the waiting men, ordered such number to thepark as might he required to cany small stores, saw the grog keg taken in charge, and then

marched off the party.

The officer or officers for duty always preceded the relief, and were prepared to distribute themupon their arrival in the trenches, in accordance with the director’s instructions. The place ofmeeting was the depot, unless otherwise ordered.

If carrying parties of the Line were detailed to call at the Engineer park, steady privates werekept hack as guides to accompauy them to the trenches. In the early part of the siege alsoSappers were constantly asked for by staff officers to guide working parties going on duty.

It was determined at first to send the Sappers on duty to the trenches without arms, in order tohave them free from incumbrance or inducement to neglect their work in favour of more excitingemployment; but in consequence of a party under a sergeant having missed a turning upon avery dark night, and astonished a Russian outpost by nearly marching into it, all non-commissionedofficers and men going upon night duty were afterwards paraded under arms. If the night wasfine, the relief fell in with coats rolled (d In Zouave ), and from the camp to the trenches thebrigades were always marched at ease, in order that the non-commissioned officers and men mighthe as little fatigued as possible ; they generally carried their carbines slung across the back, likethe French .

Daily, in the course of the forenoon, the adjutant always obtained from the directors and otherofficers charged with carrying on works the requirements for the next twenty-four hours, afterwhich he took from the roister the number of the non-commissioned officers required for duty,and detailed them from their respective charges ; hut this arrangement required much manage*ment in order fairly to allot the duties by day and by night, so that in the long run they shouldfall equally upon all. The sergeant-major filled up the brigades from the men next for duty.

If the requirements given to the adjutant were found to be such as "would necessitate non-corn*missioned officers or men going upon night relief without having been two nights in bed, healways again communicated with the directors, but he generally was able to inform them of wha*numbers he could conveniently furnish before taking the detail. At special times, such as duringa bombardment, or when work pressed, it was necessary to overwork the non-commissioned office 1 '®and men, hut it was never done if it could be avoided, or without due consideration.

It was at first contemplated to divide the non-commissioned officers and men into permanentbrigades of Sappers or artificers, and to send them always on duty with the same officers, hutcamp guards, camp duties, sickness, and mortality so much interfered with the carrying out otsuch a system that it was almost immediately abandoned, as being, however good in theory, hjno means adapted for practice. The duties, indeed, came round so frequently that the office 1 ’®soon become acquainted with all the non-commissioned officers and most of the men in the attach®

to which they mutually belonged.

Officers, non-commissioned officers, or men were very seldom sent to work at the attack [t ’which they did not permanently belong, and when large works were undertaken at Inkerman, ,acompany with its officers was detached from the Right attack to cany them on.

A small detachment was always required at Balaklava, but it was taken as much as possfi^ efrom the same company.

At Scutari there "was also a detachment, which was composed of convalescents, who w 01

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under Captain Gordon until reported to be sufficiently recovered to bo able to returnduty in the Crimea . Two or three non-commissioned officers were, however, attached to CapGordon, to assist him, and look after the convalescents under his charge. ^

Upon the first day of the bombardment in October detachments of Engineers were told off, ^tools prepared, in case of storming parties being suddenly ordered to turn out, but their ser'were not required.