"Before Sebastopol, Nov. 8, 1854.
"My Lord Duke,—I have the honour to report to your
Grace that the army under my command, powerfully
aided by the corps of observation of the French army,
under the command of that distinguished officer,
General Bosquet, effectually repulsed and defeated a
most vigorous and determined attack of the enemy on
our position overlooking the ruins of Inkerman, on the
morning of the 5th instant.

"In my letter to your Grace of the 3rd, I informed
you that the enemy had considerably increased their
force in the valley of the Tschernaya. The following
day this augmentation was still further apparent, and
large masses of troops had evidently arrived from the
northward, and on two several occasions persons of
distinguished rank were observed to have joined the
Russian camp. I have subsequently learnt that the
4th corps d'armée, conveyed in carriages of the country,
and in the lightest possible order, had been brought
from Moldavia, and were to be immediately followed
by the 3rd corps. It was therefore to be expected that
an extensive movement would not be long deferred.

"Accordingly, shortly before daylight, on the 5th,
strong columns of the enemy came upon the advanced
picquets covering the right of the position. These
picquets behaved with admirable gallantry, defending
the ground foot by foot against the overwhelming
numbers of the enemy, until the 2nd Division, under Major-
General Pennefather, with its field-guns, which had
been immediately got under arms, was placed in position.

"The Light Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir
George Brown, was also brought to the front without
loss of time; the 1st Brigade, under Major-General
Codrington, occupying the long slopes to the left towards
Sebastopol, and protecting our right battery, and
guarding against attack on that side, and the 2nd
Brigade, under Brigadier-General Buller, forming on the
left of the 2nd Division, with the 88th Regiment, under
Lieut,-Colonel Jeffreys, thrown in advance. The
Brigade of Guards, under his Royal Highness the Duke
of Cambridge and Major-General Bentinck, proceeded
likewise to the front, and took up most important ground
to the extreme right on the alignement of the 2nd
Division, but separated from it by a deep and precipitous
ravine, and posting its guns with those of the 2d Division.
The 4th Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George
Cathcart, having been brought from their encampment,
advanced to the front and right of the attack; the 1st
Brigade, under Brigadier-General Goldie, proceeded to
the left of the Inkerman road; the 2nd Brigade, under
Brigadier-General Torrens, to the right of it, and on the
ridge overhanging the valley of the Tschernaya.—The
3rd Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard
England, occupied in part the ground vacated by the
4th Division, and supported the Light Division by two
regiments under Brigadier-General Sir John Campbell,
while Brigadier-General Eyre held the command of the
troops in the trenches.

"The morning was extremely dark, with a drizzling
rain, rendering it almost impossible to discover anything
beyond the flash and smoke of artillery and heavy
musketry fire. It, however, soon became evident that
the enemy under cover of a vast cloud of skirmishers,
supported by dense columns of infantry, had advanced
numerous batteries of large calibre to the high ground
to the left and front of the 2nd Division, while powerful
columns of infantry attacked with great vigour the
brigade of Guards. Additional batteries of heavy
artillery were also placed by the enemy on the slopes to
our left; the guns in the field amounting in the whole
to 90 pieces, independently however of the ship guns,
and those in the works of Sebastopol.

"Protected by a tremendous fire of shot, shell, and
grape, the Russian columns advanced in great force,
requiring every effort of gallantry on the part of our
troops to resist them. At this time two battalions of
French infantry, which had on the first notice been sent
by General Bosquet, joined our right, and very
materially contributed to the successful resistance to the
attack, cheering with our men, and charging the enemy
down the hill with great loss. About the same time a
determined assault was made on our extreme left, and
for a moment the enemy possessed themselves of four
of our guns, three of which were retaken by the 88th,
while the fourth was speedily re-captured by the 77th
Regiments, under Lieutenant-Colonel Egerton.

"In the opposite direction the Brigade of Guards,
under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, was
engaged in a severe conflict. The enemy, under the
cover of thick brushwood, advanced in two heavy
bodies, and assaulted with great determination a small
redoubt which had been constructed for two guns but
was not armed. The combat was most arduous, and
the brigade, after displaying the utmost steadiness and
gallantry, was obliged to retire before very superior
numbers, until supported by a wing of the 20th Regiment
of the 4th Division, when they again advanced and
retook the redoubt. This ground was afterwards
occupied in gallant style by French troops, and the
Guards speedily reformed in rear of the right flank
of the Second Division.

"In the meanwhile, Lieutenant-General, the Honourable
Sir George Cathcart, with a few companies of the
68th Regiment, considering that he might make a strong
impression by descending into the valley, and taking the
enemy in flank, moved rapidly forward, but finding the
heights above him in full occupation of the Russians he
suddenly discovered that he was entangled with a
superior force, and while attempting to withdraw his
men, he received a mortal wound, shortly previously
to which Brigadier-General Torrens, when leading the
68th, was likewise severely wounded.

"Subsequently to this, the battle continued with
unabated vigour and with no positive result, the enemy
bringing upon our line not only the fire of all their field-
batteries, but those in front of the works of the place,
and the ship guns, till the afternoon, when the symptoms
of giving way first became apparent; and shortly after,
although the fire did not cease, the retreat became
general, and heavy masses were observed retiring over
the bridge of Inkerman, and ascending the opposite
heights, abandoning on the field of battle five or six
thousand dead and wounded, multitudes of the latter
having already been carried off by them. I never
before witnessed such a spectacle as the field presented,
but upon this I will not dwell.

"Having submitted to your Grace this imperfect
description of this most severe battle, I have still two
duties to discharge, the one most gratifying, the last
most painful to my feelings. I have the greatest
satisfaction in drawing your Grace's attention to the brilliant
conduct of the Allied Troops. French and English
vied with each other in displaying their gallantry and
manifesting their zealous devotion to duty,
notwithstanding that they had to contend against an infinitely
superior force, and were exposed for many hours to a
most galling fire. It should be borne in mind that they
have daily for several weeks undergone the most constant
labour, and that many of them passed the previous night
in the trenches.

"I will not attempt to enter into the detail of the
movements of the French troops, lest I should not state
them correctly, but I am proud of the opportunity of
bearing testimony to their valour and energetic services,
and of paying a tribute of admiration to the
distinguished conduct of their immediate Commander General
Bosquet, while it is in the highest degree pleasing to
me to place upon record my deep sense of the valuable
assistance I received from the Commander-in-Chief,
General Canrobert, who was himself on the ground and
in constant communication with me, and whose cordial
cooperation on all occasions I cannot too highly extol.
Your Grace will recollect that he was wounded at the
Alma. He was again wounded on the 5th, but I should
hope that he will not long feel the effects of it.

"I will, in a subsequent despatch, lay before your
Grace the names of the officers whose services have
been brought to my notice. I will not detain the mail
for that purpose now, but I cannot delay to report the
admirable behaviour of Lieutenant-General Sir George
Brown who was unfortunately shot through the arm,
but is doing well; of Lieutenant-General His Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge, who particularly
distinguished himself; and of Major-General Pennefather
in command of the Second Division, which received the
first attack, and gallantly maintained itself under the