Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/52

 30 THE BATTLH OF BALACLAVA. CHAP, drawn, extending along a distance of between two ' and three miles, in which nature had done so .ineo" 11 " much for the defence that, by expending upon it defence. a moc { era t e amount of labour, and arming the works there constructed with a few naval guns of position, our Engineers were enabled to place all this portion of the inner line in a fair state of security, without diverting from the duties of the siege any very large body of men.* The guns thus planted were manned, it seems, by our Marine Artillery ; and the only bodies of infantry which this line of more than two miles absorbed, were the 1200 marines from our fleet, under the com- mand of Colonel Hurdle, with two companies of the 93d Eegirnent.-J- Towards the north, the hills opened, and the place could be approached by the gorge of Kadi- koi ; but even there, at intervals there were spurs thrown out from the neighbouring acclivities which offered good sites for several small field- works, and by taking advantage of these, our Engineers completed their inner line of defence. The troops on which Sir Colin Campbell relied for the defence of the gorge were the main body — that is, six companies of the 93d Highlanders, fence was, I think, 26. The Engineers were confident in the security of the 'inner line,' and at times certainly Sir Colin Campbell shared their belief ; but I gather that he was brought into an anxious state of mind by the peculiar responsibility which weighed upon him, and his language in regard to the security of the position was not always the t Our Engineers put the length of the line, taken altogether ' boul three miles.' — Official Journal, p. 41.
 * The number of guns in battery along this inner line of de-