and dated Stockholm, Aug. 8th, 1854
“On the 19th I went to Bomarsund in one of our steamers. We were 140 passengers and had beautiful weather all the time... We soon saw the masts of one division of the combined fleets stationed at Ledsund. We passed one after another of these giants and went quite close to the Duke of Wellington. We saw an elderly officer on board, but were not sure it was Sir Charles. We had this vessel on our right and one nearly on our left at the same time. We were also very near a very large one – I believe the Royal William, which had a very large number of men on board in grey clothes, which we learnt were Russian prisoners. They were all at midships in a heap on the deck. We were now in among the Aland Islands, and went on till we got the other division of the fleet in sight. Neither I nor my companions had ever witnessed such a sight before, and there was no want of hurraing(sic) for every vessel we passed, which was heartily responded to from the French as well as from the English. As an illustration of that, I may mention that I happened to come in company with two midshipmen at Bomarsund who had saluted us to such a degree that one – a Mr. Cartwright - lost the gold band round his cap in the waving. I recollected seeing them in a gig shortly before. The sight of Bomarsund was a melancholy one. The fortress did not seem so much damaged, but the chimneys were all that was left of the village. You know that the Russians set fire to it when they found that they were overcome. The tower that was blown up was still smouldering, but not more so than that we could get among the heaps and pick up balls and other relics. The French guarded the fortress, and I thought it singular that even the English officers were not permitted to enter. I spoke to several of them, but they all said they could not get in. We tried by sending a message to General Baraguay d’Hilliers by a countryman of ours who is in his service, but it was of no use; he could not make an exception. We were told by the French soldiers that about 25 died of the cholera every day. After we had got our steamer clear of English sailors and French soldiers, we left Bomarsund with our collections. Some had casques, others old pistols; some had brought off the Russian brown bread, that had been distributed from the fortress to the neighbouring poor; in fact, all of us had some souvenir from Bomarsund... I felt very well the rest of the day, but on the next morning I and others were unwell with diarrhea. We are hoping soon to get well again.”
The Taking of Bomarsund. Another correspondent wrote:-
- “Aug. 16th 1854. By the time you get this, no doubt the English papers will have given you a vast deal more than I can of the affair in detail. I can only write of the part in which I have been engaged. Bomarsund is the only part that is fortified of all the Aland Islands and was said to be impregnable. -
