It only remains to enumerate amongst the killed and wounded those whose eminent position in the army justifies such a selection; where all were heroes any other distinction would be invidious; and a full recapitulation would exceed the limits of our task.
The course of our narrative has already embraced the fall of General Cathcart and of his Brigadier-General Goldie; but a third name, only less illustrious than the first, now claims our notice. In the early part of the day Lord Eaglan had established himself on a small knoll with the object, if possible, of gaining a view, through the mist and rain, of the battle which was raging all around him. His Staff were with him, and among them Brigadier-General Strangways. A shell fell into the centre of the Staff, burst in Captain Poulett Somerset's horse, killed another horse, and then struck off General Strangway's leg. " The poor old General," says Mr. Russell, "never moved a muscle of his face. He said merely, in a gentle voice, 'Will anyone be kind enough to lift me off my horse? ' He was taken down and
< o laid on the ground, while his life-blood ebbed fast, and at last he was carried to the rear. But the gallant old man had not sufficient strength to undergo an operation, and in two hours he had sunk to rest, leaving behind him a memory which will ever be held dear by every officer and man in the Army." There is something inexpressibly touching in this simple narrative of the last moments of a brave and good man, who died the death, as he had lived the life, of a soldier.
Among the returns of wounded are found the names of General Sir George Brown, severely; Bentinck, Torrens, severely; and Adams, who subsequently died of his wounds, severely. The Officers killed and wounded on this occasion amounted to 145; Sergeants killed and wounded to 155; and about 2,300 rank and file killed, wounded, and missing.
The Coldstream Guards, who went into action with fifteen officers, came out with eight killed and five wounded from among that small number; and losses almost equally severe occurred among the officers of more than one of the regiments engaged.
Inkermann has been called " The Soldier's battle: " justly, if it be only meant by the phrase that the nature of the attack, and the peculiar circumstances under which it was made, while they rendered impossible any extensive strategical combination to oppose it, gave an opportunity to all ranks of the army to display an obstinate courage, bordering on desperation, and which amply supplied the place of the most skilful manceuvring.
But the foregoing details imply a limitation to the truth of this description; and the vastly disproportionate number of officers who suffered, combined with the number of General Officers killed and wounded, proves to demonstration that there was no grade of the Army which did not contribute its full share to the glorious results.
This was the last serious effort of the Eussians in this year to compel the Allies to raise the siege; disheartened by repeated repulses, shattered and disorganized by their enormous losses in the place as well as in the field, with no fresh troops to bring up ignorant of the stubborn nature of the foe with whom they were to contend, they found it necessary to devote their whole energies to the task of preparation for the winter, which was now rapidly approaching.