THE BATTLE OF THE TCHERNAYA On the evening of the 15th of August several Tartars brought in news that the Russians were preparing for an attack; but so often had similar rumors been received that little attention was paid to their statements.

It was known indeed that they had received very large reinforcements, and the troops had been several times called under arms to resist their repeated attacks.

These, however, had all passed off quietly, and when the troops retired to rest none thought that a great battle was going to take place on the morrow.
The Tchernaya, after leaving the valley of Baidar, flows between a number of low swells of ground, and formed the front of the allied armies on the plains.

On the extreme right the Turks were stationed.
Next them came the Sardinians, whose position extended from a stream flowing into the Tchernaya at right angles to an eminence known as Mount Hasfort.

In front, and divided from it by an aqueduct which, too, ran parallel to the river, was another hillock accessible from the first by a stone bridge at which the Sardinians had a breastwork.
Their outposts extended some distance on the other side of the Tchernaya.