CRIMEAN WAR probably Sir Alexander MONCRIEFF (1829-1906, Army Officer and Engineer)

Fine long Autograph Letter signed 'F. Berkeley' to 'Dear Moncrieff ' saying that he has "not written you for a long time because I know Walker keeps you au courant of Regimental occurrences and besides that there is really nothing to write about ..." asking him to "try and procure my Kafir Medal for me as I find other officers have got it, I believe nothing short of a Corporal and a file of the Guard will get anything from that department, I have the ribbon but I will not wear it until I receive the Medal. I perceive from what you wrote to Walker some little time ago that you consider my ideas of Officers messing by Companies to be correct, unluckily it was not so ordered from the beginning & now every mess in the Battalion would have to be broken up, but when we move in the Spring it can easily be done & I am sure ultimately to the increased Comfort of all. De Bathe has not yet turned up and I am sure I wish he never would. Stephenson, Hepburn and myself considered that it was only right that on his arrival he should be called upon to deny having used language derogatory to the honour and character of the Regiment ... We thought it better to be done officially by the C.O. than individually and run the risk of creating a party for and against him. We therefore spoke to Walker on the subject who, when he heard the language represented to have been used by de Bathe entirely agreed with us & I believe wrote to you on the subject ... It is a very unpleasant business and I do not see how de Bathe is to get out of it as Wilkinson must have had very good authority for what he wrote, and he said he thought the Battalion ought to be made aware of it. Mostyn and Wheatley arrived yesterday and come up to day, it is lucky for them they did not arrive a week ago for they would have found themselves in for a frost with the thermometer down at 4^o below zero fahrenheit, it freezes here at night but the sun is warm in the middle of the day. We are all very well and jolly & had a very merry Xmas and I have no doubt but that we shall get through the winter capitally, in fact from what I hear I think the Autumn rains the worst part of it and they are over. We are not yet hutted and I much doubt our being completed at all, I do not pretend to say whose fault it is but the first division appears to me always to come second best off. We all condole most sincerely with poor Ridly's misfortune and I have no doubt he will receive a score of letters by this mail asking for all the particulars. Such a bonne fortune at his time of life does not happen to every one. I regret to say that Foley showed a great want of feeling on the subject and treated the matter with much levity threatening to write him a letter, however that exertion I think will be a little too much for him. Foley is getting quite fat and the buttons fly off his trousers. He is becoming quite uneasy about the size of what he calls his tummy I really have nothing more to write about ….", he ends with a postscript that "Young George is in great force, he has grown a good deal and is a very good looking fellow", 4 sides 8vo., Crimea, 27th December

Alexander Moncrieff was an army officer and engineer, who following observations of action in the Crimea in 1855 conceived of the idea of mounting guns on curved elevators, which would allow them to recoil backwards and downwards, the recoil energy being used to raise a counterweight returning the gun to the firing position. Attached to the Royal Arsenal 1867-1875, Moncrieff worked out the details of his "disappearing carriage" for heavier and lighter guns, publishing in 1873 a pamphlet on the system which he explained and defended in lectures and journals. He received £15,000 for his invention, and the "Moncrieff system" was adapted to siege and fortress guns, and was widely used in the coastal defences of Britain and the colonies. Moncrieff was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, was elected FRS in 1871, and was made CB in 1880 and KCB in 1890.
The Crimean campaign had opened in September 1854. Three hundred and sixty ships sailed in seven columns, each steamer towing two sailing ships. Anchoring on 13 September in the bay of Eupatoria, the town surrendered and 500 marines landed to occupy it. This town and bay would provide a fall back position in case of disaster. The ships then sailed east to make the landing of the allied expeditionary force on the sandy beaches of Calamita Bay on the south west coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The landing surprised the Russians, as they had been expecting a landing at Katcha; the last minute change proving that Russia had known the original battle plan. There was no sign of the enemy and the men were all landed on 14 September. It took another four days to land all the stores, equipment, horses and artillery.
The landing was north of Sevastopol, so the Russians had arrayed their army in expectation of a direct attack. The allies advanced and on the morning of 20 September came up to the River Alma and the whole Russian army. The position was strong, but after three hours, the frontal attack had driven the Russians out of their dug-in positions with losses of 6,000 men. The Battle of the Alma had 3,300 Allied losses. Failing to pursue the retreating forces was one of many strategic errors made during the war.
A chatty letter about regimental life amongst the officer class at the height of the Crimean campaign detailing life in the camp over the winder of 1854-55.

Item Date:  1855

Stock No:  39173      £375

             Add to Wish List     Order/Enquire