quarters without having struck a blow at the Russians. We moved from Aladyn to our present camp Gevorckhn, last Thursday fortnight, and they now talk of moving us back again to Varna, to the south side of the Baj'- (we were on the north side before), with the intention, I hope, of embarking for the Crimea. I suppose you have heard of the false move the French made to the Dobrutska. St. Arnaud heard of a body of 10,000 Russians being still there, so without saying to Lord Raglan a single word of what he was going to do, he marched off suddenly three Divisions of from 6000 to 10,000 men each to surprise them; the expedition signally failed — there was no such Russian corps there; all they saw were a few Cossacks, the wells were choked with dead bodies, and after a forced march which the Zouaves made, they suffered to such an extent that the cholera broke out and that Division of 8000 is said to have lost 75 officers and 3400 men. The whole expedition returned, and the loss of the French army I have been told on the best authority amounts to 7000 men. I should think St. Arnaud would most undoubtedly be recalled, for a more disgraceful display of generalship I never heard of. Thank Heaven we are in better hands. Lord Raglan knew well the unhealthy state and absence of all food in the Dobrutska, and would never have dreamt of such a reckless scheme. There was a tremendous fire at Varna three days ago, and about one-third of the town entirely destroyed; a great deal of our own and of the French Commissariat stores are destroyed, but I believe it originated accidentally in one of the French shops, although at first attributed to the Greeks. Since writing the above I have just heard, with reference to our movements, that we march for Varna on Tuesday, and about a week afterwards embark for Sebastopol.... — Ever your affectionate son,
Fredk. Stephenson.
To his Brother
Varna, August 23, 1854.
My dear William, — Since I last wrote to you from Aladyn you have, I suppose, heard from my mother that we had moved to the hills to a village called Gevorcklin; we have now left that, and have marched back to Varna, not exactly to our old ground but to the hills on the other, the south side of the Bay.
This move was made, I believe, for two reasons; first,
to move us to healthier ground, for the cholera and dysentery have laid us sadly prostrate, and, secondly,
to be handy for embarkation. I fancy there is no doubt whatever that we are on the eve of some great expedition; preparations of all kinds are being made.
The artillery are being practised at embarking and disembarking, cavalry equipments and stores of all kinds are being shipped, there is a Turkish fleet of
12 sail of the line in the Bay, and it is said that from
15,000 to 20,000 Turks will accompany us. Sebastopol is, I firmly believe, the object in view, but there are a great many that do not believe it, and are more inclined to think that a landing at Odessa with a view to acting upon the enemy's left and rear is the probable plan.
There is no doubt that we should have been off a week ago if it had not been for the cholera, which has so decimated the French army and visited so severely our own and both the fleets as effectually to paralyse our movements. The loss in the English army has been 18 officers dead and 40 invalided, and amongst the men 800 deaths, from which you may judge how many sick there have been altogether. This sickness and mortality commenced about the last week in July,
but is now rapidly disappearing; during that time there was scarcely an officer or man in our Brigade that was not affected with diarrhoea or something worse; of course, a good many had it in a very trifling form, but very few, if any, escaped altogether. Our Brigade lost two officers the day before yesterday. Colonel Trevelyan
1854] A STRANGE COFFIN 97