2-969-794 - /Heritage Images

Destruction of the Docks, Sebastopol - from a sketch by J. A. Crowe, 1856. Crimean War. 'It was the intention of our engineers to blow in a portion of the English half of the docks...the charges in the side and bottom of the French east dock exploded almost simultaneously...[and] shook the ground all round terribly, and propelled large stones perpendicularly up in the air to the height of at least 900 feet...The demolition of the French east dock was complete. The quantity of powder expended in blowing up this dock alone was 10,000 lb., with 33 charges in all. After the Russians had fired a few badly-aimed shells, and the French and English engineer had examined the debris, the former again fired the four charges that had not gone off. After the lapse of a few minutes these exploded, and thus the west and east docks of the French half...were completely destroyed'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.