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1sevvy8.jpg2018-03-06T20:21:27-05:00The Siege of Sevastopol: Inside the Walls1A Vignetteimage_header2018-03-20T22:16:08-04:00An entry in the diary of Dmitry Valentinovich Yepifanov, soldier in the Imperial Army of Tsar Alexander II June, 1855
I am weary. Every day we are bombarded heavily, and it seems as though it will never end. The guns roar on and on, even into the night. The walls remain strong, for the time being. Just the other day I was on duty in the Great Redan - such a stout example of our defensive architecture! Along with the Nicholas fortress and the Malakoff Redoubt, it is one of the defensive structures upon which I rest my hopes of surviving this siege. What other city is protected by such behemoths of stone and iron? Despite our formidable defenses, the things I see unsettle me. Well, they used to. In a horrible sort of way I have grown accustomed to the blood trickling from mens' ears after the deafening blasts that occur when an enemy shell explodes close by. I have seen all manner of wounds and have heard all pitches of pained outcry. Now, when I see these things, I only feel numb - numb and tired. It feels as though we have been under siege for years, when in fact it has only been some eight months or so. I pray to God that I will live to see the end of this terrible siege. Here is an illustration I made of some of the things I have seen in these long eight months.
Based loosely on details given in the memoir of Lamar Fontaine.
Fontaine, Lamar. My Life and My Lectures. Neale Publishing Company, 1908.
Image: “Siege of Sevastopol.” Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/siege-of-sevastopol/.
