Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/222

178 THE WINTEli TIIOUBLES. CHAP, were absent — of necessity absent — from the proljable field of conflict, and our cavalry — for the most part dismounted — was nearly of course without power. When considering what means he had left him for maintaining day and night all his siege- works in front of Sebastopol, for helping to cover the siege, and finally, for sustaining, if challenged, the weight of fresh Inkerman onslaughts, Lord Eaglan used to look at the strength of liis faith- ful workers of miracle — his infantry rank and file under arms; and such of these as in Janu- ary lay gathered ' before Sebastopol ' were only 11,36-7 (^^) — a force which, after providing for the absolutely indispensable duties of maintaining his part in the siege, would leave him with only four, or perhaps only three thousand men upon wliom he would have to rely for the exigencies of any new Inkerman. From time to time, at this period, reinforce- ments were landing at Balaclava, yet unhappily did not effect a proportionate and sustained aug- mentation of the number of men under arms ; for the new-comers, all at once subjected to the liardsliips of this winter campaign, fell sick with appalling rapidity, so that even within a few days, the fresh body of troops became rather a superadded assemblage of hospital sufferers than an actual accession to strength. After disem- barking at Balaclava, the 9th Eegiment at once marclied up to the camp awaiting it on the Chersonese Heiglits ; but there sickened so fast, that of men fit for duty after only a few days