CRIMEAN WAR - Lt. Alfred John Austin, 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot. Autograph letter signed, 25th May 1855, Heights above Sebastopol, to his sister Isabella.
Content details a French attempt to seize a Russian position near the Flagstaff Battery, which initially failed with heavy casualties but succeeded the following night and a personal anecdote about narrowly escaping death. 4 pages totalling 7 sides including crosswriting, 11cm x 18.5cm

Excerpts include "Today we had a Division parade and after it was over I went down to the [word missing] of Inkerman, close to the bridge which crosses the Tchernaya by Kamara, to see the position that our troops took up after this morning. There were the French, Sardinians, English and Turks. We crossed the river close to the bridge and took a Russian battery of 3 guns and a number of prisoners, we lost very few men ...
Tonight the troops are to advance to the heights of the other side of the river. We are now gaining ground on the Russians. On Tuesday night last, the French went to take a Russian battery close to the Flagstaff Battery, when they got about halfway to it, they met the enemy advancing to make a sortie on them.
The consequence was that both sides lost a great number of men and the French were not able to take it. But next night they took it with very little loss, but the Russians lost a fearful number. Dr. Hamilton is going home tomorrow and has kindly taken a small parcel, the contents of which are all Russian. There is one bullet which has the market of one of our Rifle Barrel on it. I wish great care to be taken of it for it was very near killing me on Sunday last.
I was sitting under the parapet and had my Scotch Plaid fastened over my head in the sand bags on top of the parapet & then it went over a pile of arms with a cover to protect from the sun. I was sitting there when the bullet came through a sandbag and passed through my plaid and struck the Rifle that was nearest me, it then fell at my feet..."

Alfred John Austin (1832 - 1887) took part in the Siege of Sebastopol and the Assault on the Redan. Listed as retired by January 1860. He later moved to New Zealand and worked as a rabbiter.