Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 2.djvu/332

 302 THE EMBARKATION. CHAP, put to sea on the 5th of September with his sail- XIX __^J_ ing fleet; so when, on the same morning, Lord ^ucid'toset Ra-ghin reached Baljik, he was surpvised by the theEngirsh! intelligence that the Marshal had already sailed wm anT.il^' out on board the Ville de Taris. and?he"'"* On the evening of the 6th the British arma- boTrTthem. mcut was ready, and the arrangements for the The naval voya^TC of the wholc flotilla complete. The French forces of the ^, ,. , p^„ ■^ n i AUies. fleet already at sea consisted of fifteen sail of the line, with ten or twelve war-steamers, and the Turkish fleet of eight sail of the line, with three war-steamers; but the French and the Turkish vessels were doing service as transports, and were so encumbered with troops that they could not have been brought into action with common prudence. It was upon the English fleet, therefore, that the Dutydcvoiv- duty of protecting the whole armada really de- Engiishfleet. volvcd ; aiid, supposiug that the enemy were aware of the helpless state of the French and Turkish vessels laden with troops, and of the enormous convoy of transports which had to be protected, he might be expected to judge that it was incumbent upon him to come out of the har- bour and assail the vast flotilla of transports ; for under the guns of Sebastopol the Paissians had fifteen sailing ships of the line,* with some frigates and brigs, and also twelve war-steamers, though of these the Vladimir was the only powerful vessel.-f- To encounter this force, and to defend from its enterprises the rest of the armada, t Unless the Bessarabia be countcil as a powerful steamer.
 * Some say sixteen.