The bloody fields of Crimea

The journey by sea

After departing England we were to stop at Turkey before finally arriving in Crimea.
It was a long and uncomfortable journey. We tried our best to stay in the upper decks as the lower ones were quite unsanitary. Cholera was running rampant amongst the men, at least the filth and lack of hygiene reminded us of home.
Despite those problems morale remained strangely high. Our comrades traded stories and sang songs, and spoke of their hopes and expectations of the journey ahead. One such soldier was Eddy smith, an expert in survival according to himself. He had served in India and other places around the world, and allegedly survived in the wilderness alone for months after his company was ambushed, he survived off the land before being found and rescued by British cavalry, or so he says. Charlie seemed very intrigued by his stories and became a fan of his, jack seemed to think they were over exaggerated tales of minor skirmishes, I personally didn't know what to believe.
Another fellow soldier we met was 'big billy'
A tall chubby lad who had learning difficulties, he struggled to understand a lot of things, however he was good at following straight orders. He never managed to get a job other than heavy lifting in dockyards or factories, mainly because of his strength. His brother Henry joined up with him mainly to look after him. Henry had a tough exterior and liked to act as though he possessed no emotion.
We all began to get to know each other and get on well.

Some weeks later we arrived in turkey and then departed for Crimea. Shortly after we left turkey that we found ourselves crossing the Black Sea. We could see the mountains and hills of Crimea from the ships main deck. We stared at them in silence for about five minutes, not knowing wether to display excitement or fear.