THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 290, 21 August 1882, Page 2

THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.

A New York Herald special, dated on board the Invincible, has the following details : —

At half-past six a quiet order was passed round the deck to load with common shell ; and a gleam of satisfaction shone on the men's faces. At seven o'clock the signal was made by Alexandria to open the ball by firing one gun. A heavy boom came across the water, and then there was an anxious pause. Would the Egyptians answer, or would they evacuate the forts? But at the batteries opposite we could see the men loading the guns — they would fight. The order was given to commence independent firing, and the signal was run up for the fleet to begin a general engagement. A deafening salvo from five nine-inch guns went from the side of the Invincible, while overhead ten Nordenfeldt guns on the top helped tbe din which burst forth from all the ships. A bank of smoke, which at once arose like a wall from our ship, prevented' me from seeeng the result of our fire, but from the tops, it was seen that shells had struck rather low, and the sights were raised from 1350 to 1500 yards. The I Monarch and the Penelope had both been at work close at hand, and the roars of their heavy guns, and the ceaseless rattle of Gattlings and Nordenfeldt machines, and' the shrieks of rockets from Which the Monarch was discharging, added to the sound of our own guns, made up a deep continuous din, impossible to describe, and bewildering to hear. If any momentary interval the sound of the guns from the other division of the fleet told that they I also were hard ,at work. Hardy, a midshipman posted on tho maintop, signalled the direction of the course of the shells, and the accuracy of the fire improved. Meanwhile, the enemy's shots were coming thick and fast, their aim, being direoted chiefly against the Penelope and Inflexible. They were firing principally round shot. Twenty minutes after the" first gun was fired from Fort Royal, the braces wero shot away, and immediately after a shot penetrated Her forward; a splinter wounding a stoker severely. At this time they appeared to have got the range pretty accurately, and round and conical shot whistled thickly between tho. masts. I went round the ship and found the men fighting the .main deck* guns all stripped to tho waist. Between each shoe they had to sit down and wa\t until tho smoke cleared. They were anxious to know the result of their work, and asked eager questions of me as to what could bo scon above ; but I could toll them little, tho sinoko being liko a veil between us and' the shore. Tho events of the day show .that the determination, expressed by Arabi and his party to oppose the fleet to the death has not so far been a vivm boast. They fought their guns to tho last, bub the fire of tho fleet was so crushing aud their niotal so superior, as to make their resistance ineffective. They, appeared tfc possess no shells, which was fortunate for us, for had they used these iußtead of round shot, our casualties would have been larger. As it is, our success, although not bloodless, has been aohiovod at a much loss cost than could have been expected from tho formidable nature of tho forts we bad to attack. Tho most interesting incident, was the fight between the gunboat Condor, commanded by Lord Charles Beresford, with the Agorni fort. His little vessel went, close under the guns of the fort and- opened a tremendous fire, but was unable to silence it. The admiral then signalled other gunboats to assist' in, the engagement. A correspondent* who was aboard tho Condor sends the following account of the plucky feat performed by, that little gunboat : — At 8 o'clock the Temepirc got afloat, and the Condor made straight at the secuud'strongost fort

that is the Marabout. The Condor only carries three guns — two 64-pounders and one 7-inoh Woolwich rifle gun. The fort had at least four very heavy pieces of artillery, which were annoying the Penelope, the Monarch and Invincible. Running in within 1200 yards of these guns, a single shot from which would have suuk her, the Condor managed before the signal was given to cease firing at 11 o'clock, to silence two if not three of these great guns. The Admiral ran up the signal, " Well done, Condor," and later on sent the Bittern and Beacon to assist in the work. The fire from the Marabout Fort was by no means contemptible, our vessel was a small object on the water, and was only hit once by round shot, bnt heavy missiles fell thick, and close all round us. The Inflexible was enabled to shell Mexo Forts with one of her turrets, while she pounded Baseltine with tbe other. Tbe accurate practice which she was making with her four monster guns at this time, called forth rounds of applause from everyone aboard this vessel. Every shell seemed either to burst right over Rasellin, or to pitch on the very parapet of the Mcx fort upon the hill. The lighthouse has not escaped unscathed. One shell I saw burst half way up the tower, and two large holes ai-e now risible to tbe naked eye, at two miles distance. The ranges at which the Inflexible fired varied from 5000 to 3000 yards. According to the accounts of persons who remained in the city, bands of marauders, during and after the bombardment of the forts, made their way into almost every house. Plundering and burning began on the 12th. Scarcely any European dwelling was spared. Stores of petroleum were sent to Alexandria a week before the bombardment, specially to^set fire to the town. The incendiaries state that they received instructions to fire the houses. A second visit to the town showed that many houses which were yesterday intact are to-day in ashes, among them the British consulate. Eye witnesses relate that soldiers and others, after plundering houses, heaped up bedning saturated with petroleum and then set it on fire.

One sister of the Khedive's wife died' from premature confinement during the bomdardment. During tbe massacre the soldiers set fire to the house of a timber merchant. A maid servant escaped to a garden, where she remained surrounded by five soldiers, laughing at her agony and firing at her, but purposely avoiding inflicting fatal injury, preferring to see her burn to death. Finally Bne rushed through the flames, and though wounded by bayonet thrusts succeeded in securing a refuge in tbe ruins, where she was discovered by marines, and handed over to the Americans. Along the line of Arabi Pasha's retreat from Alexandria, are several villages, the people in which are starving. Soldiers robbed them of everything. The entire route is lined with dead horses and carriages. It is reported that the Bedouins harras'sed the soldiers during their retreat, killing 200 of them. Several huge pits have been dug as graves, into these most of the dead have been thrown as they fall. It is estimated that in the forts alone 400 of Arabi's troops have been killed. All sorts of reports were circulated as to the number of Christians killed : from 200 to 2080 are said to have been massacred, but there are no reliable data.

As the forts were in a complete state of ruin, the effect of the explosion of the great shells must have been terrible. The strongest walls have crumbled. It is marvellous how the Egyptians fought their guns so long. The Khedive's palace, lying behind the fort, is also badly knocked about. Several rooms were destroyed, while fragments of shells were scattered broadcast. In the court yard, near the entrance of the fort, we found a sentry who waß lying dead. The first battery we entered, whose magazine first exploded, we found contained 18-inch rifled guns, which were dismantled by our fire. The ground was torn up, the walls . shattered, and the whole place dismantled. The guns which had been dismounted had been tilted backward, and made a complete somersault, falling upon and crushing the gunners, who Btill lay beneath.