CRIMEAN SERVICES OF “l” TROOP, NOW “ O '' BATTERY, R.H.A. 345 
adds to its security, rendering it completely land-locked. Outside 
the shore is one continuous cliff varying from 200 to 800 feet. At the 
head of the Bay the hills slightly diverge and form a narrow valley, 
that is terminated by a small hillock round which the village of 
Kadikoi was built, this valley on our arrival was a charming spot, 
studded with farm-houses, vineyards, and orchards teeming with fruit, 
now the blight of war has passed over it, scarcely a blade of grass 
remains to tell what it once was. The south-western range of moun¬ 
tains extends along the shore towards Baidar, whilst those on the 
northern side form the plateau on which the Allied armies have en¬ 
camped, and taken up their position before Sebastopol, including within 
our lines the valley of Karani, the Monastery of St. George and 
Kamiesh Bay. 
27th of September.—The principal portion of the army marched to 
the heights above Sebastopol, the Cavalry and Troop being in advance, 
saw only a few Cossacks, and had a good view of the city, took 
possession of the heights undisturbed by the enemy, and we now 
technically “sat down before it.” The Troop was ordered to take 
possession of a gentleman's house and protect it from destruction, but 
as usual the Cossacks in their retreat left us little to protect, furniture 
all destroyed, beds and everything that had the slighest stuffing ripped 
open and the contents strewn on the floors. I have never seen 
such a complete wreck of what must have been a luxurious, if not a 
happy home, the house was surrounded by vineyards. It afterwards 
was the residence of Lord Raglan, we were left there in peace and quiet 
until the 3rd of October, when we marched back to Balaclava and 
joined the Cavalry Division, we encamped in an old redoubt over 
Kadikoi, where we remained until the 26th of October, when we accom¬ 
panied the Cavalry to the camp within the lines on the Sebastopol 
heights, and our place was taken by a Field Battery (Barker's), the 
redoubt re-made and armed with heavy guns. 
During the interval, the Troop and Cavalry were before daylight 
every morning under arms in the plain, and generally returned to camp 
about 7.30 o'clock. The Balaclava plain, which is an expansion of the 
valley already mentioned, is of a quadrilateral shape, bounded on the 
east by the range of mountains on which the village of Kamara is 
placed, on the north by the range of hills, the Fedukhine hills on the 
south bank of the river Tchernaya, the west by the precipitous face of 
the high ground or steppe forming the heights of Sebastopol, and on 
the south by the continuation of that range to Balaclava, or rather to 
Kadikoi. It is intersected through the centre by a low range of hills, 
having five or six conical points on which earthworks were thrown up, 
and the Turks placed in them being the advanced line of defences for 
the protection of Balaclava, the second line being from the sea on the 
east of the town along the range of heights by Kadikoi round to 
Inkerman, where the siege works commenced, thus enclosing the whole 
of the Chersonese Cape in the hands of the Allies. 
7th of October.—The Russians made a strong reconnaissance this 
morning and crossed the Tchernaya range, we had a shot at them but 
they were too far to receive any damage from us, 
