de, which was immortalized by Tennyson in his poem.

A few days after the battle of Balaklava occurred another hard
conflict at the village of Inkerman, at the head of the harbor of
Sebastopol. On the fifth of November, 1854, a strong force of Russians
descended from the heights, and were met by the allies on the slope
opposite the ruins of an ancient town, which occupied the site in the
times of Strabo. A severe battle ensued, in which the English and
French were victorious. Many other sorties were made from the
fortress, but were designed rather to delay the siege than with any
serious hope of breaking the investment. Sometimes the conflicts,
though desultory, were severe, taking the proportions of regular
battles. But nothing decisive was effected, until winter closed on
the scene, and brought upon both the besiegers and the besieged the
greatest hardships.

The sufferings of the allies, so far away from the source of supplies,
were at times beyond description. It is doubtful whether any other
siege of modern times has entailed such cruel privations upon a
civilized soldiery. At times the combined havoc of hunger, disease and
cold was seen in its worst work in the allied camps. The genius of
Elizabeth Butler has seized upon the morning "Roll Call," in the
Crimean snows of 1855, as the subject of a great painting in which to
depict the excess of human suffering and devotion--the acme of English
heroism in a foreign land.

Meanwhile, the allied lines around Sebastopol were considerably
contracted, and several serious assaults were made on the Russian
works. On the twenty-third of February the French in front of the
bastion, called the Malakhoff, assaulted that stronghold with great
valor, but were unsuccessful. On the eighteenth of the following June
an attempt was made to carry the Redan, a strong redoubt at the other
extreme of the Russian defences, but the assailants were again
repulsed. Then, on the sixteenth of August, followed the bloody battle
of Tehernaya, in which the Russians made a final effort to raise the
siege. With a force of 50,000 infantry and 6000 cavalry they threw
themselves on the allied position, but were beaten back with great
slaughter.

In the meantime, the trenches of the allies had been drawn so near the
Russian works that there was a fair prospect of carrying the bastions
by another assault. A terrible bombardment was begun on the fifth, and
continued to the eighth of September, when bo