THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (_continued_).
Windham at Cawnpore--His Indecision--Partial Success followed by
Defeat--Sir Colin Campbell to the Rescue--Battle of Cawnpore--Seaton
advances from Delhi--His Campaign in the Doab--Combats of Gungaree
and Puttiala--Hodson's Ride--Campbell at Futtehghur--Condition
of Central India--Relief of Mhow--Capture of Dhar--Fighting
in Malwa--Battle of Mundasore--Relief of Neemuch--End of the
Campaign--Rose at Indore--The Problem of the Recovery of India--Oude
or Rohilcund?--Combat at Shumshabad--Plans for the Reduction of
Lucknow--Waiting for the Nepaulese--Franks's March--Battle of
Budhayan--Campbell's final Advance--The Enemy's Position--Outram
crosses the Goomtee--Capture of the Martinière--Outram's
Successes--The work of the 11th--Death of Hodson--Capture of
the Imambara and the Kaiserbagh--The Loot--Outram pauses--The
Fall of Lucknow--Lord Canning`s Proclamation--The Conquest of
Rohilcund--Nirput Singh's Resistance--Sir Colin marches on
Bareilly--Battle of Bareilly--The Moulvie attacks Shahjehanpore--It
is relieved by Brigadier John Jones--Sir Colin returns to
Futtehghur--End of the Campaign.
It was rather a misfortune for Sir Colin that he had been obliged to leave
at Cawnpore, not a Neill or a Havelock, but General Windham, who owed his
military good fortune not to especial or eminent military qualities, but
to the place he occupied in correspondence from the Crimea, and to the
part he played--that of a brave soldier--in the last attack on the Redan.
His position at Cawnpore was an arduous one, too arduous for an officer
who was simply brave. Enemies were gathering round him. He had to preserve
the bridge over the Ganges into Oude, to keep up the communication with
Allahabad, to watch night and day the hostile force at Calpee, of which
the famous Gwalior Contingent formed the nucleus, and to improve his
defences. He had general instructions, and of course he was ordered not
to assume the offensive unless compelled. But these instructions supplied
guides to his discretion; they did not fetter it.
The Gwalior Contingent, knowing that Sir Colin had passed into Oude,
crossed the Jumna themselves in the middle of November, and approached
Cawnpore. They moved slowly, and spread themselves out as if they intended
to attack the place on all sides, and overwhelm the defenders by sheer
weight of numbers. Had they moved rapidly they might have done so; but had
Windham possessed Havelock's military skill and resolution, he would have
cut them up in detail before they could reach him in masses. Unfortunately
he deemed it necessary to submit every plan to the Commander-in-Chief,
and even when he found that the road from Cawnpore to Lucknow was closed
by roving parties of the enemy, he still deemed it his duty to wait for
an answer. Windham not only delayed, but fearing that Sir Colin might be
in difficulties himself--as if Sir Colin Campbell with 5,000 good troops
was likely to get into a scrape--Windham parted with a body of Native
Infantry from Madras, and sent them to Bunnee in Oude.
Fortunately for him, although no doubt acting on a sound principle in
striking at Cawnpore, the enemy was timid in his approaches, and a long
time making up his mind. Thus the hesitation was tolerably equal on both
sides. In the meantime four regiments from Oude went over to the enemy,
and he seemed disposed to join issue. Windham, gaining confidence as his
numbers grew, encamped outside the city, with the canal covering his
front. The enemy had pushed up his advanced guard to within three miles.
There were 3,000 men with guns on the banks of the Pandoo Nuddee, now
the mere bed of a stream. On the 26th of November Windham moved out with
1,500 men and eight guns, and falling briskly upon them, routed chem in
a short time and captured three cannon. Our loss was fourteen killed
and seventy-eight wounded. Although the troops defeated were not the
Gwalior men, the result of this action showed the advantage of prompt and
judicious offensive. But that mode of warfare had been adopted too late.
When he had carried the enemy's position, Windham saw, from a hill, the
main body of the enemy not far distant, and he returned to Cawnpore with
the certainty that he should be attacked.
Yet even now he did not give the enemy credit for audacity greater than
his own. He thought they had been checked by the stroke he had just
delivered. So he went into camp among some hillocks and brick-kilns on the
Calpee road outside the town. Thus the town was in his rear. When he rose
on the 27th there was no sign of the foe. The Gwalior men were playing
a fine game. They intended a surprise, and they succeeded, for Windham
does not seem to have known how to get intelligence--a great defect in
a general. In broad daylight, at ten a.m., while he was reconnoitring,
the enemy, who had moved up unobserved, opened fire in front and flank,
and took the general by surprise. They had advanced with much boldness,
crossed the Delhi road and the Bithoor road, and thus showed a front
extending from the canal on their right nearly to the Ganges. Windham met
them in front with the 88th and the Rifles, and on the right flank with
the 34th and 82nd. There were ten guns in action on our side, the enemy
had forty. Then ensued a most unsatisfactory combat: assailed in front and
flank, Windham's troops resisted for five hours. All that time the enemy
confined himself to a cannonade. But he was creeping up on both flanks;
and, greatly alarmed for his bridge, Windham gave orders to retreat. As
the camp followers and drivers had fled, he had to abandon his standing
camp to the foe. Thus he retired in the face of an enemy who had not
courage sufficient to molest him in retreat!
Windham now disposed his troops in position where they could cover the
entrenchment, and spent an anxious night, not knowing well what to do.
He had forwarded alarming letters to Sir Colin Campbell, and three of
these in succession were delivered to the Commander-in-Chief, as he was
marching from Bunnee towards the cannonade, of which he could hear the
noise. All that day, the 28th, as Campbell's immense train was working
through the dusty roads of Oude, Windham was fighting for his post. On
the left, Walpole, with the Rifles and four guns, successfully defended
that flank and actually captured two pieces of cannon. On the right the
enemy came on in greater force, swarming down the Bithoor road, hoping to
carry the entrenchment, or at least to take positions that would give them
the control of the bridge of boats. Brigadier Wilson, a zealous officer,
led part of the 64th against four guns, and captured them at the cost of
his life; but when taken they could not be held. The enemy came on like
a tide, rolling nearer and nearer every hour, except on the left, where
Walpole kept him at a distance. On the right front of the entrenchment
were a church, a chapel, and the assembly rooms. These were all defensible
posts, but at dark Brigadier Carthew deemed it expedient to withdraw.
It was at this moment the leading troops under Hope Grant, with Peel's
naval guns, arrived in sight of the bridge, and found that it was under
the fire of the enemy's cannon. Staff officers rushed over to inquire for
Sir Colin. He had crossed the bridge, after ordering the naval brigade
to post their guns on the left bank to answer and extinguish the fire
of the enemy. Sir Colin's presence rescued Windham from the plight into
which he had got himself from an undue fear of responsibility. His force
was diminished by upwards of 300 men. Sir Colin at once took measures to
secure the bridge. He pushed the infantry, with the cavalry and some field
guns, across, and during the night brought over the wounded, and women and
children. The infantry and horse had, in the meantime, occupied positions
covering the road to Allahabad; and under cover of these, and the fire
from the left bank and from the fort, the huge convoy from Lucknow moved
day by day over the bridge. It was not until the 30th that the last cart
came across, and not until the 3rd of December that the convoy with the
women and children had been despatched under escort for Allahabad. Two
more days were consumed in caring for the wounded. All this time Sir Colin
was obliged to permit the enemy to remain in Cawnpore, and to maintain a
desultory skirmish, using guns when the mutineers showed any audacity.
Free from his encumbrances, Sir Colin at once struck a heavy blow.
His plan of action was based on the position of the enemy. He observed
that the town of Cawnpore separated the right from the left; that on the
right was the camp of the Gwalior Contingent, and behind the right the
road to Calpee, the line of the enemy's advance and his line of retreat.
Sir Colin saw that by falling with his whole force on the right, he could
smash the enemy in detail. He therefore, on the morning of the 6th, drew
up his troops under cover of some old buildings on the Allahabad road, and
ordered Windham to open a heavy fire from the entrenchment, to deceive the
enemy into the belief that the attack was coming from that side. The camp
was struck and the baggage put under a guard near the river. Then Windham
opened fire about nine, and at eleven o'clock Sir Colin deployed his
infantry and attacked the enemy. For a brief time the guns on both sides
were engaged; then the infantry columns dashed over the bridge of a canal
that covered the enemy's front, Captain Peel and a soldier of the 53rd,
named Hannaford, leading over one of them with a heavy gun. The whole
line, filing over, re-formed on the other side, covered by Punjab infantry
in skirmishing order, and then went steadily into the heart of the enemy's
right. The attack was irresistible. The enemy gave way at all points,
and in two hours our troops were in his camp, and his men were flying in
disorder along the Calpee road. The cavalry had been sent to the left,
in order that they might get well in the rear, but, badly guided, they
went too far to the left, and came up late, but still in time. Without
losing a moment, Sir Colin sent them, with Bourchier's light guns, in hot
pursuit, supporting them with infantry. On reaching the enemy's camp he
had detached General Mansfield, his accomplished chief of the staff, with
a strong column, to the right, to assail the enemy's left, now gathering
round a tank, called the Soubahdar's Tank. The pursuing column, headed
by the artillery, followed the fugitives closely, Bourchier's Battery
going two miles without a check, and alone, and coming four times into
action in that distance. Then the battery halted until the cavalry came
up and the pursuit was renewed. In the meantime Mansfield had routed the
enemy on the Bithoor road, and driven them off in that direction. The
next day Hope Grant followed them with a strong force. He made a march of
five-and-twenty miles, and coming upon the enemy as they were crossing the
Ganges, succeeded in capturing all their guns and ammunition.
[Illustration: THE SLAUGHTER GHAT, CAWNPORE.]
There was now no hostile force of any magnitude in the Doab, except that
which the Nawab of Furruckabad had collected round him, and with which he
domineered over the country between the Ganges and Jumna, as far to the
north-west as Allyghur, and to the south-east as Etawah. Before dealing
with the enemy who swarmed in the regions north of the Ganges, from
Goruckpore to Rampoor, it was necessary to clear the whole of the Doab,
restore and secure complete communication between Allahabad and Delhi, by
way of Agra, and procure from the North-West ample supplies of transport.
In order to accomplish this, a vast convoy had been collected at Delhi,
and a column organised under the orders of Colonel Thomas Seaton, to
escort it to Cawnpore. The plan was for Seaton to take his convoy to
Allyghur, leave it there under the guns of the fort, defeat the enemy,
whose bands made the roads insecure, and then join Sir Colin, whose force,
divided into two columns, was, when united and reinforced by Seaton, to
concentrate on Futtehghur, the fort which commanded Furruckabad and the
passage of the Ganges. By these means it was thought the whole of the
Doab would be cleared of the enemy; and the means proved to be equal to
the end. At the same time, the engineer brigade and some Muzbee sappers,
with guns and ammunition, were sent from Agra to Allyghur, there to meet
Seaton. The latter force reached Allyghur on the 10th of December, and on
the 11th Seaton's column and convoy came in from Delhi. Leaving his convoy
under the guns of the fort, Seaton at once began active operations against
the enemy, and fought a brief, spirited, and important campaign in the
Doab. He had with him two regiments of infantry, the 1st Bengal Fusiliers
and the 7th Punjabees, a squadron of Carabineers, and Hodson's Horse,
under Hodson himself, and eight guns. At daybreak on the 12th he marched
out in search of the enemy, and was not long in finding him.
Crossing the Ganges Canal a few miles from Allyghur, Seaton halted for the
night at Julalee, and the next day moved on to Gungaree. Here the troops
arrived about eight o'clock. The camp was pitched, and all prepared to
rest for the day as usual. Suddenly the pickets began firing. Instead
of waiting to be attacked in their lines at Khasgunge, the enemy, 5,000
strong, had become the assailant. This somewhat astonished the officers,
and they only understood the reason later. It appears that the enemy,
acting on false information, had moved out, hoping to surprise a weak
detachment of the Belooch Battalion. Hence their boldness. They came on
with some spirit, but were shocked to find themselves in front of a strong
force of all arms. In a moment our guns dashed to the front and opened
fire. The Carabineers charged the enemy's battery and took their guns, but
lost three out of four officers. At the same time, Macdowell, commanding
Hodson's Horse, seeing the Carabineers attacking, shouted "Charge!"
and rode into the foe with such goodwill that he scattered them in all
directions.
The next day the troops marched to Khasgunge, Hodson leading, and on the
16th pushed on to Suhawun. Here they heard that the enemy had rallied at
Puttiala, where they had entrenched themselves, resolved to fight. On the
17th the column moved out, and the advanced guard under Hodson found the
enemy in position in front of a fortified village, his right resting on a
ravine, his centre across the road, covered by slight entrenchments, and
his left "in the air," as the military phrase is, resting on nothing, and
entirely dependent on a mass of cavalry for protection. Colonel Seaton
at once determined to attack the left. Our infantry were moved out to
that flank, and Hodson's Horse held in readiness. The Carabineers and
four guns made a demonstration on the other wing. The artillery shook the
cavalry by a smart fire of shell, and then advancing, got into position,
which enabled them to rake the whole line. Hodson had followed the guns,
and seeing the enemy waver, called on his men to charge. They willingly
obeyed, dashing into the camp and through the village, and down upon the
enemy flying in disorder towards Furruckabad. The cavalry pursued eight
miles. They met with no resistance, and slew hundreds of the enemy. We
lost but one man killed and one wounded. Our officers felt pity for the
poor wretches whom duty compelled them to destroy. And well they might.
The enemy were country folk, ignorant and misled, with no heart in the
cause, and no discipline. We took that day fourteen guns and all the
ammunition. The leader of the beaten army had fled at the first sound of
our guns.
After halting three days at Puttiala, the column, having thus effectually
scared the enemy, returned to Gungaree, to cross the Kallee Nuddee there,
and then striking across country, fell into the trunk road again at Etah.
The Rajah of Mynpooree had collected a force wherewith to dispute the
road, and Seaton bent his steps towards him. There on the 27th he attacked
the rajah and his men, and routed him out of hand, taking six guns, and
following the fugitives for many miles. Thus the road down the Doab was
cleared by Seaton's column, and the convoys from Agra and Allyghur began
to move down towards Cawnpore. Seaton was made a brigadier and elevated to
the dignity of Knight Commander of the Bath.
In the meantime Brigadier Walpole, with a small column, had marched
from Cawnpore on the 18th of December, had cleared the left bank of
the Jumna, and reached Etawah on the 29th. Sir Colin Campbell, with
the main body, had moved up from Cawnpore towards Futtehghur. On the
29th news reached the camp of Seaton, at Mynpooree, that Campbell was
at Goorsaigunge, about thirty-eight miles distant, and Hodson at once
volunteered to ride over and open communication between the two columns.
On the 30th, accompanied by Macdowell and seventy-five of his Horse, he
started. Halting at Bewar to feed, he left fifty men there and pushed on
with the rest to Chibberamow. Here he left the remaining twenty-five and
with Macdowell rode off for the camp of the chief. But when he arrived
at Goorsaigunge he found that the camp was fifteen miles farther off.
Nevertheless thither he went, and there he found Sir Colin, who made him
heartily welcome. After dinner, Hodson and his friend set off on their
long ride of fifty-four miles, and reached their destination in safety
after several narrow escapes. This was a daring feat, and such feats
made Hodson famous among all soldiers, and adored by his own. Seaton now
brought down his convoy, Walpole came in from Etawah, passing Mynpooree,
and overtaking Seaton at Bewar on the 3rd of January, 1858. That day Sir
Colin had reached the Kallee Nuddee. His engineers were busy repairing
the suspension bridge, when the Nawab of Futtehghur brought up all his
force and attacked the working party. Thus assailed, Sir Colin fell upon
him, and in a short time routed him off the field and took all his guns.
The same day he moved close up to Futtehghur. The nawab blew up his
palace, and escaped into Oude; but Nazir Ali Khan, chief instigator of the
massacres that had taken place there, was captured and hanged. The fort
had been abandoned and thus was Futtehghur recovered. It was an important
place. Here was the depôt of the Gun Carriage Agency, and here were
stores of clothing. Seaton and Walpole having come in, headquarters were
established at Futtehghur.
Here we will leave the Commander-in-Chief meditating important schemes,
while we lead the reader into fresh fields, and bring up a long arrear
in our narrative, to pave the way for the splendid campaign of Sir Hugh
Rose in the burning plains of Central India. The tempest that broke over
Bengal and the North-West had swept away every atom of our authority in
Central India, except at Saugor and at Mhow, the hill fort near Indore.
From the middle of June we had no representatives in the districts between
the Nerbudda and the Jumna. The shock had reverberated, though faintly,
in Madras and Bombay, having been counteracted in the latter presidency
by the energy of Lord Elphinstone, and having only slightly affected the
mounted force there. But it had been felt in the Deccan, over which ruled
the Nizam, who, like the Guicowar, in Gujerat, derived his authority
originally from the Great Mogul, and who now subsisted, as a native
prince, by virtue of British forbearance, and the dictates of good policy,
if not of justice.
The task of restoring British authority in Central India devolved upon
the Bombay and Madras Governments, but especially on the former; and
Lord Elphinstone was not found wanting in the hour of trial. He was not
satisfied with the repression of mutiny and signs of mutiny in the
territory under his rule. He sought aid from Ceylon; he intercepted the
China force; he urged the instant return of the troops from Persia; and
he organised a movable column at Aurungabad to march upon Mhow. On the
13th of June the 1st Cavalry of the Hyderabad Contingent--that is, the
force supplied by the Nizam, refused to obey orders, then mutinied and
fled. General Woodburn, to whose hesitation the disaster was due, shortly
afterwards obtained leave on sick certificate, and Colonel Stuart, of the
14th, took command. The column marched from Aurungabad on the 12th of
July; on the 21st it crossed the Taptee; on the 29th, after being joined
by all the cavalry of the Hyderabad Contingent, under Captain S. Orr,
the force effected the passage of the Nerbudda, then rapidly rising from
the rains in the Vindhya Mountains; and on the 2nd of August the troops
entered Mhow, which, rejoicing to be "relieved," fired a salute. Here they
remained for two months, their progress stayed by the rains; and during
this period they reconstructed the fort, making it larger and more easily
defensible.
Neither Holkar nor Scindia, although powerful princes, could restrain
their troops from mutiny. To the west of Mhow is the little State of Dhar;
and since the greater princes could not control their mercenaries, it
was not to be expected that the lesser should succeed in so doing. The
Dhar troops revolted; the Bheels and budmashes joined them; the rajah was
powerless. They seized the fort of Dhar, and harried the country side.
In the middle of October the brigade set out to drive them from Dhar,
and to restore order in the Malwa country. The force arrived in front of
Dhar on the 22nd of October. The enemy, with more valour than prudence,
left their stronghold to fight a battle. They were charged and routed
by the 25th Bombay Native Infantry, their three guns were captured, and
they were driven into the fort. On the 24th the siege train came in after
a fatiguing march through heavy roads; and Brigadier Stuart immediately
laid siege to the fort. The place was invested; batteries were thrown
up; and the wall in one place was breached. The enemy, who had made a
good defence, now pretended to parley. Firing was suspended; and while we
parleyed with them, they examined the breach, and they rejected all terms,
asserting that they could only treat with the rajah. The next day the
sappers inspected the breach, and reported it practicable. The stormers
rushed in, and found the place empty. The enemy had got through the
cavalry outposts unobserved. In Dhar our troops took an immense booty. It
was the property of the infant rajah, who was not in arms against us, but
himself a sufferer; and, contrary to all justice, we declared it prize and
divided it amongst the brigade. In addition to this, Dhar was annexed.
The enemy, flying from Dhar, went to Mahidpore and there were joined by
the contingent of that little State. Tho palace and fort of Dhar were
blown up and burned--a most unjustifiable proceeding. Leaving this ruin
behind them, the column moved north-west towards Mundasore, with the
legitimate object of punishing the Mahidpore Contingent, and rescuing
the fertile plains of Malwa from men who were no better than robbers
and marauders. They were burning villages, beating the inhabitants,
and carrying off the women. On the 14th of November Captain Orr, who
had closely followed the enemy, surprised him in his camp at Rawul.
Giving them no time to recover their equanimity, and without waiting for
reinforcements, the Hyderabad Horse, charged the guns, regardless of the
shower of grape they poured forth, and fought with such good will that the
enemy was routed and the guns were taken. The enemy, chiefly Arabs, fought
bravely and we lost a hundred killed and wounded. The column pursued,
passing through Jacra, where they were joined by the Nawab, who had
remained faithful, and thence onward towards Mundasore, the headquarters
of the enemy, now mustering 5,000 strong. Crossing the Chumbul without
opposition, the column halted a day to try seventy-six mutineers,
all of whom were shot for the murder of their European officers and
non-commissioned officers. On the 21st of November the force was before
Mundasore.
Here the enemy fought a battle. Their right rested on a village, their
left on Mundasore, their centre stood across the parade ground. Our
troops drew up opposite, the cavalry being held in readiness to charge.
The combat, however, was short. Plied by a heavy fire of artillery, the
enemy soon showed symptoms of weakness; and as our infantry dashed into
the village, the whole of the natives began to run. Then the cavalry went
forward, and drove them headlong into Mundasore. It was not Brigadier
Stuart's object then to assault the town. He desired to reach Neemuch and
rescue the Europeans, who, since the mutiny of the 3rd of June, had been
shut up in a fort, surrounded by enemies. He therefore crossed the Sore
river, and made a flank march past Mundasore on the 22nd, in order to
reach Neemuch, which lay to the north-west of the rebel stronghold.
The enemy in Mundasore made a sally, which was easily repelled, and the
column took up the route for Neemuch, eager to be there, for the heroic
garrison was reduced to the last straits for food. Hearing of the approach
of the column, the enemy quitted Neemuch and drew up across the road.
Here they were found on the 23rd, posted among the tall waving crops,
behind deep watercourses, full of water. After disposing of his baggage,
Stuart brought up his guns, and, under cover of their fire, formed his
line, infantry in the centre and cavalry on the flanks. Then ensued a very
severe fight. In spite of the fire of our cannon, the enemy became the
assailant, but found the 25th Bombay Regiment too much for him, while the
cavalry charged and captured the guns. The enemy now fell back fighting,
inflicting considerable loss upon us; while his friends from Mundasore
attacked the baggage, but were driven off by the dragoons. Routed from the
field and thrown into disorder at all points, a strong body established
themselves in a village, and here defied the whole army. The place was set
on fire with shells, but the Rohillas would not give in, and night fell,
leaving them in full possession. The next day the cannonade was resumed,
and continued until the village was burnt to a mere shell; yet still these
brave fellows held on. A little later about 200 surrendered and then our
infantry took the place by storm.
This action relieved Neemuch effectually. The pent-up Europeans came forth
to tell how many desperate attacks they had beaten off and how grateful
they were for their rescue. The column marched back upon Mundasore, and
found that the enemy had fled on learning the issue of the combat on the
23rd. Leaving the Hyderabad Contingent in Mundasore, and breaching the
wall of the fort to make it untenable, Brigadier Stuart led his column
back to Indore, by way of Mahidpore and Oojein. The object of this march
was to disarm Holkar's refractory troops, who did not submit to his will
until they saw the head of Stuart's column moving upon the town. Holkar
thus recovered his power, and we ours. Sir Robert Hamilton, a most able
man, succeeded the somewhat imperious and brusque Durand, as Political
Agent, and on the 16th of December Sir Hugh Rose arrived to take command
of the army. The campaign in Malwa had thus ended, and it was not until
January, 1858, that Rose set out on his brilliant campaign in Central
India.
[Illustration: THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW. (_See p._ 250.)]
The mere struggle for existence had long been over. The work of regaining
empire was about to begin. Nearly 30,000 men had come out from England,
and the remaining part of our story will show how they were employed,
and how their work was done. We left the Commander-in-Chief encamped
at Futtehghur in the beginning of January, 1858. Here he remained for
the rest of the month; his troops engaged in watching the enemy on the
opposite shore of the Ganges, and himself occupied in an important
correspondence with Lord Canning with regard to the next step in the war.
The problem to be solved was whether the army, now augmenting daily,
should be used against Lucknow or Bareilly, whether Oude or Rohilcund
should be first conquered. It was an exceedingly difficult question.
The whole country from the mountains to the Ganges as far as Allahabad
swarmed with enemies. The two centres were Bareilly in Rohilcund and
Lucknow in Oude. The larger number and the better forces were in Oude;
the more active and threatening, so far as the upper and central parts of
the Doab were concerned, the districts of Meerut and Saharunpore, were
in Rohilcund. To crush the latter first, and thus remove all chance of
an irruption on the Great Trunk Road, and into any part of the country
on the right bank of the Ganges, seemed to Sir Colin the wiser plan; but
Lord Canning thought differently. He saw less political danger from the
new-born royalty of Khan Bahadoor at Bareilly than from the resuscitated
royal government at Lucknow; for one of the wives of the late king had
set her son on the throne. The Governor-General feared the effect upon
Jung Bahadoor--now leading 9,000 of his Ghoorkas from the hills to operate
in Goruckpore--of leaving the rebels in Oude untouched while Sir Colin
cleared Rohilcund; and he apprehended that an attempt would be made by
Oude men to break into the fertile provinces on the left bank of the Lower
Ganges. It was at best a choice of evils which lay before the soldier and
the statesman; and it may be presumed that, in a military point of view,
the former was right; while, from the political point of view, the balance
of reason was on the side of Lord Canning.
In the meantime Sir Colin kept a sharp watch upon parties of the enemy
who were known to have assembled both above and below Futtehghur, intent
on breaking into the Doab and plundering. Walpole watched the fords below
and Hodson above. Adventurous parties of the Rohilcund forces crossed the
Ganges at Soorajpore, about twenty miles up the river, and a large body
prepared to follow. Well informed of their movements, Sir Colin waited
until they crossed, and approached near enough to be within reach. They
numbered about 9,000, and came on very confidently, and, giving out that
they intended to attack Furruckabad, they encamped at Shumshabad, and were
fairly in the trap. The enemy were beaten, pursued, and driven over the
Ganges. Their guns and ammunition, as usual, were captured.
This action ended, Sir Colin left Walpole with a small force at
Futtehghur, and marched for Cawnpore. The Governor-General had come up
to Allahabad, in order to be nearer the scene of action, and thither Sir
Colin went to settle, in a personal interview, the more important details
of the campaign. The result of this interview was the completion of an
extensive plan for the reduction of Lucknow, and the dispersion of the
armed mob who held it. Sir Colin Campbell, with the main body, 18,000
strong, with 180 guns, was to march from Cawnpore; while General Franks,
with 2,500 European troops, and as many Ghoorkas from Jung Bahadoor's
army, now in Goruckpore, as he could obtain, was to move up the Goomtee.
At the same time General Penny and General Chamberlain were to invade
Rohilcund, while the Ghoorkas at Nynee Tal were to descend into the
plains. Sir Hugh Rose also was afoot, marching from Indore upon Saugor;
and General Whitlock, with a Madras force, was to move from Jubbulpore on
Banda. Other columns were on the move from Bombay into Rajpootana, where
our troops had not only relieved Neemuch, as already recorded, but had
recovered Ajmere and Nusseerabad. In this quarter the Rajahs of Tonk and
Bikaneer were our fast friends. Thus at the beginning of 1858 the numerous
troops sent from England began to tell, and from all quarters the rebels
and mutineers were threatened with certain destruction.
The main body under Sir Colin had been in great part pushed across the
river from Cawnpore, and occupied camps on the road to Lucknow, Onao,
which the reader knows, Nawabgunge, deeper into Oude, Bunnee, where
there is a bridge over the Sye, Jellalabad, a fort near the Alumbagh,
and finally the Alumbagh itself, where Outram had held his own so long
in front of the insurgent army. Sir Colin was ready to march early in
February; but he had to wait, until his patience was quite exhausted,
for the march of Jung Bahadoor up the Goomtee. Lord Canning hoped to
produce a great moral effect upon the mind of the Hindoos by showing them
so stout a Hindoo as Jung Bahadoor as his ally. But the Nepaul chief moved
slowly. He did not bring with him the men of the fighting caste of Nepaul.
He brought the scum of the hills, and these worthies plundered every rood
of ground over which they passed. Lord Canning had no sooner got them from
the hills than he wished them back again; but as they were there, and as
their chief was burning for military distinction, he was obliged to let
them go on. Therefore Sir Colin made all his arrangements for moving on
Lucknow and so disposed his troops that he could concentrate them at the
Alumbagh, as soon as it was plain that Jung Bahadoor was near at hand, or
that he could be stayed for no longer.
[Illustration: THE SECOND RELIEF OF LUCKNOW, 1857.
FROM THE PAINTING BY THOMAS J. BARKER.]
In the meantime Brigadier General Franks, who had been warring
successfully near Allahabad and Jounpore, had collected a column 5,700
strong, 2,000 of whom were Europeans, the rest being Ghoorkas, with
twenty-four guns at Sigramow on the road from Benares to Lucknow. His
orders were to march up the right bank of the Goomtee, and arrive within
one march of Lucknow by the 1st of March. The population were hostile;
there were 30,000 men in arms on the line of operations; the roads were
in many places unbridged, in others almost impassable; the distance to
be traversed was about 130 miles. On the 18th of February Franks was at
Sigramow. In his front were two bodies of the enemy, 8,000 at Chanda and
10,000 more eight miles distant. He designed to beat them in detail. He
therefore gave out that he should march on the 20th. The rebel chief
ordered his troops to concentrate on the 19th. But Franks moved on the
19th himself; before noon he had beaten the 8,000 at Chanda; and resting
his men, turned at eventide on the 10,000 coming up on his left flank,
and routed them also. The enemy were thus skilfully driven off the road
to Lucknow with a loss on our side of only eleven men; and seizing the
moment, Franks pushed his column, with its immense baggage train, through
the defile of Budhayan, without the loss of a cart or a man. This was a
fine piece of work.
The enemy, making a wide detour--which, as Franks was so encumbered,
he was unable to do--reappeared on the Lucknow road two miles beyond
Sultanpore. Here were collected 25,000 men, of whom 1,100 were horse and
5,000 Sepoys, with 25 guns. They occupied a compact position, showing a
line a mile and a half long, the front being covered by a ravine, the
left resting on the Goomtee and the right on a serai. The road to Lucknow
ran through the position at right angles, and was commanded by five heavy
guns at the point where it crossed the ravine. There were six guns on the
right, the remaining fourteen being distributed along the front. Franks
marched from Budhayan on the 23rd; and, feeling the enemy, he approached
him in order of battle, brought up his troops in columns, the British
Brigade in front, the Ghoorkas in rear, and making a show of assaulting
the position in front, rode up with his cavalry, sixty horse, and a few
score riflemen, and drove the enemy's pickets over the ravine. His design
was to impress the enemy with the belief that he was about to assault
their centre; and to prevent them from discovering his real intentions, he
kept the horsemen close to the ravine. Riding off to the left, he hoped to
find a point where he could cross the nullah, and turn their right. This
he found. Then swiftly and secretly marching the British Brigade to the
left, while he kept the Ghoorkas on the road, he turned the enemy's right
so completely that he forced his way on to the Lucknow road, captured the
guns, and pushed the enemy into the ravine. The Ghoorkas charged upon
the front and finished the action. By these skilful movements, showing
real soldiership, Franks, at the cost of eleven men, turned the enemy's
position, killed and wounded 1,800 men, dispersed an army, and captured
twenty-one guns. This was a great exploit. The fruit of it was an open
road to Lucknow, by which he marched to join Sir Colin Campbell.
Sir Colin had become impatient of further delay. He knew that Jung
Bahadoor was on the Gogra on the 24th, and that Franks had thrashed the
enemy on the 23rd; and as he knew Franks would be up to time, and as he
could do without Jung, he determined to cross into Oude. The troops, as
we have said, were in camp on the road to Lucknow. The enemy, growing
suspicious of all these preparations, resolved to assume the offensive.
The Sepoys, horse and foot, came out of Lucknow, and assaulted Outram's
camp on several occasions. On the 27th the headquarters crossed the
Ganges, and on the 1st of March Sir Colin was at Buntera, ready for
work. All the men were drawn together. The engineering preparations were
complete. A cask-bridge had been made, whereon to cross the Goomtee. The
heavy guns were up. Franks was close at hand, and Jung Bahadoor over the
Gogra. Leaving his heavy guns at Buntera, Sir Colin, on the 2nd, marched
with a strong force of all arms to seize the Delkoosha palace and park, in
order that he might make this the base of his operations against the city.
He took the post with little resistance from the enemy, and established
his headquarters at Bibiapore, on the Goomtee, east of the park. On the
3rd the siege train arrived, and on the morning of the 4th General Franks
marched in and joined the grand army. The same evening the siege began.
The advanced posts of the enemy were over the canal, the principal outpost
being the Martinière on the left front. On the north bank of the Goomtee
the enemy occupied some of the few buildings and the suburb; but he had
no works on that side. This was a strong position, but it had a great
defect, and of this defect Sir Colin Campbell took full advantage. As
the enemy's entrenched line rested on the Goomtee, and as the other bank
was not defended, by crossing the river Sir Colin saw that he could take
each of the enemy's lines in reverse, and so render them untenable. He
wished to capture the place with as little loss as possible, and to make
his artillery do the work. Therefore he gave Outram a strong force of all
arms, and directed him to cross the Goomtee at Bibiapore, march up the
left bank, establish his batteries, and force the enemy out of his lines.
One bridge was finished on the night of the 4th, and a party of infantry
was sent over to cover the men building the second. The enemy now scented
danger, brought down troopers and guns, and opened on the bridge. But the
picket of infantry scared the cavalry by a random volley, and our guns,
replying to the enemy, soon made him withdraw. He was now too late. The
second bridge was finished, and the column ready to cross.
On the morning of the 6th, Outram's column of all arms marched through
the woods to the Goomtee, and began to cross. He led it at once up the
Goomtee. The enemy, becoming aware of the movement too late, hurried out
to oppose him. From the Delkoosha our officers could mark his progress by
the clouds of dust above the trees, coming nearer and nearer; then the
rush of fugitives in white; then the clearing of the cloud by the Queen's
Bays in scarlet uniform, riding with flashing sabres; finally, the Horse
Artillery coming out at a bound, and trying in vain to overtake, with
shot and shell, the bulk of the enemy. Outram had routed him with ease,
and he encamped for the night on what was once the Lucknow race-course.
This being done successfully, Sir Colin threw up batteries in his front
to play on the Martinière, to keep down the fire of the enemy's line, and
to attract his attention from Outram. Captain William Peel, disdaining
the enemy as his wont was, took his naval guns into his battery across
the open ground, the sailors conducting their guns with a coolness equal
to that of their famous leader. Although a considerable impression was
made on the fantastic Martinière, the enemy held on to it, and one gun
seemed quite beyond our reach, for none of ours could touch it, or reduce
it to silence. But another enemy was coming on them. Outram, who had
been attacked on the 8th--an attack which he easily repelled--became the
assailant himself on the 9th, and pushing everything before him, closed
with the Goomtee, and bringing up a mass of guns, ploughed up the rear
of the first line of hostile trenches. At the same time the batteries
in front of the Delkoosha, especially Peel's, were rapidly smashing the
Martinière; and Sir Colin, seeing how matters were going--how effective
the fire was, both from his own and Outram's guns, directed the assault
of the Martinière. The Martinière was very easily taken. The leading
regiments were the 42nd and 4th Punjabees; the supports were the 38th,
53rd, 90th, and 93rd. The storming party used the bayonet only. The guns
covered the attack. The whole force was under Lugard.
Outram had been most successful. He had pushed his conquering column up to
and within the walls of the Badshahbagh, and his heavy guns had so raked
the enemy's lines in front of Campbell that they appeared to be deserted.
An officer volunteered to cross the Goomtee and see. Plunging in, he
swam over. "Suddenly," writes Dr. Russell, who was in the Martinière,
"we saw a figure rising out of the waters of the Goomtee, and scrambling
up the canal parapet, which just terminates at this place. He gets up,
stands upright, and waves his hand. 'What is he?' 'He must be one of our
fellows, sir; he has blue trousers and red stripe.' And so it was--Butler,
of the Bengal Fusiliers," had done this exploit. The Highlanders and
Sikhs now dashed at the line, and were soon in possession of the extreme
left, and the portion in front of the Martinière. All this time our guns
were pounding the city on our left; and such was the effect of Outram's
flank movement that the enemy abandoned Banks's House and the whole line,
and our troops took secure possession. On the 10th we were occupied on
both sides of the river in battering the place, and preparing for the
next move. By the incessant exertions of Lieutenant Patrick Stewart the
telegraphic wire followed the Commander-in-Chief everywhere, so that he
was in direct communication with Calcutta every morning, and with Outram
also, for Stewart carried a branch line over the Goomtee.
[Illustration: DEATH OF HODSON. (_See p._ 266.)]
On the 11th both forces made great progress. Jung Bahadoor brought his
army into camp, and was sent to hold the left on the canal. Outram made
a vast stride forward. Dividing his force into two columns, he sent one
to the iron bridge and one to the stone bridge. The troops advanced,
literally chasing the enemy before them, and slaying hundreds. Both
bridges were taken, but it was not deemed expedient to hold the stone
bridge, and the right column returned to a position in a musjid west of
the Badshahbagh. But the iron bridge was held by a strong force. All day
Outram's batteries had been firing steadily into the huge buildings on
the other bank, especially into the Kaiserbagh, and were enfilading the
enemy's second line with effect. Nor were Sir Colin's batteries idle.
They were breaching the Begum's Kothie. When the breach was practicable,
the Highlanders, this time the 93rd, and a Sikh regiment, went at this
place, and carried it with a rush. Adrian Hope led the column. Mounting
to a window by the aid of his men, he tumbled through among a crowd of
Sepoys, who fled at "the apparition of a huge red Celt, sword and pistol
in hand." The men followed, carrying everything before them at the point
of the bayonet, until the place was cleared of all except skulkers, who
were even found next day, and who from dark holes slew some of our men. On
the right the 53rd had carried the Secunderbagh without opposition, and
even the Shah Nujeef; Captain Medley, with a handful of native sappers,
gallantly holding it all night. This brought the Commander-in-Chief into
direct communication with Outram over the river. The mortar batteries
were at once turned upon the Kaiserbagh and the Imambara, and up towards
the latter Robert Napier, a most accomplished soldier, was pushing a sap
by the aid of his engineers. Thus a great day's work had been done. The
Kaiserbagh and the Mess House alone remained in the enemy's hands, but
the former was strong. While Mansfield was superintending the capture of
the Begum's Kothie, Sir Colin had to go through the disagreeable duty
of receiving Jung Bahadoor. The reputation of the Nepaulese was of ill
savour; and it was not pleasant to a frank soldier like Colin Campbell to
take the hand of a man who had murdered his kindred.
The work of the 11th was most satisfactory; but in the storming of the
Begum's Kothie, as in the assault on Delhi, Britain suffered a great
loss. At the latter fell Nicholson, at the former Hodson was mortally
wounded. On his way to select a camping-ground for his Horse, he heard
firing, and, riding up, found Brigadier Napier directing the attack on
the Begum's Kothie. With the assaulting column, beside Robert Napier, he
went into the place. It was taken; but Sepoys were still in hiding, and
the soldiers were looking for them. Turning to his orderly, he said, "I
wonder if any of the rascals are in there." He looked into a dark room--it
was full of Sepoys; a shot was fired and, staggering back, Hodson fell.
The Highlanders rushed in, and killed every man in the room; while poor
Hodson's orderly, a large, powerful Sikh, carried his master out of
danger. He was taken to Banks's House, and there the next day he died, in
the presence of Napier and his faithful orderly, who hung over the corpse
crying like a child. He was buried on the 13th, Sir Colin Campbell and a
host of officers attending his funeral, to mark his regret and esteem for
"the most brilliant soldier" under his command.
The work of sapping up to the Imambara, the next place to be taken,
now went briskly on. Napier's sappers were engaged in opening wide
communications to the rear, and in breaking through the houses in front,
so that heavy guns might be brought up to breach the walls. Into the
enemy's posts poured an incessant fire of shell from the batteries of
Outram, as well as those of Sir Colin; and the rattle of musketry never
ceased while there was daylight. The army was now extended from the
Badshahbagh, on the right, over the Goomtee to the front of the Imambara;
and the moment had now arrived when this building could be breached with
effect. The guns were placed behind a wall thirty yards from the building,
and their huge shot went crashing through the massive structure, breaking
down several walls at each blow. From the house-tops and the windows
and loopholes the enemy fired heavily at random, and did little harm.
Then came the order to assault; and in went the 10th Foot and Braysher's
Sikhs with a rush. The enemy, as usual, fled; and being pursued with
much eagerness, our troops emerged through the great gateway into the
main road, to find that they had turned the whole of the second line of
defence. Fortune gave them the whole second line; and now, lo! they were
in rear of the third. They had pushed up to the Kaiserbagh itself, having
broken into the rear of the entrenchments covering the great gate. Seizing
the opportunity, heavy supports were brought up from the right, and Franks
and Napier determined to take the palace itself. The order was given, and
the soldiers dashing in, the whole of the vast buildings fell easily into
our hands, so thoroughly broken was the spirit of the enemy.
"Here and there," wrote Dr. Russell, "the invaders have forced their
way into the long corridors, and you hear the musketry rattling inside,
the crash of glass, the shouts and yells of the combatants, and little
jets of smoke curl out of the closed lattices. Lying amid the orange
groves are dead and dying Sepoys; and the white statues are reddened
with blood. Leaning against a smiling Venus is a British soldier, shot
through the neck, gasping, and at every gasp bleeding to death. Here and
there officers are running to and fro after their men, persuading or
threatening in vain. From the broken portals issue soldiers laden with
loot or plunder; shawls, rich tapestry, gold and silver brocade, caskets
of jewels, arms, splendid dresses. The men are wild with fury and lust
of gold--literally drunk with plunder. Some come out with china vases
or mirrors, dash them to pieces on the ground, and return to seek more
valuable booty. Others are busy gouging out the precious stones from the
stems of pipes, from saddle-cloths, or the hilts of swords, or butts of
pistols or fire-arms. Some swathe their bodies in stuffs crusted with
precious metals and gems; others carry off useless lumber, brass pots,
pictures, or vases of jade and china. Court after court the scene is still
the same. These courts open one to the other by lofty gateways, ornamented
with the double fish of the royal family of Oude or by arched passages
in which lie the dead Sepoys, their clothes smouldering on their flesh.
The scene of plunder," he continues, "was indescribable. The soldiers had
broken up several of the store-rooms, and pitched the contents into the
court, which was lumbered with cases, with embroidered cloths, gold and
silver brocade, silver vessels, musical instruments, arms, banners, drums,
shawls, scarfs, mirrors, pictures, books, accounts, medicine bottles,
gorgeous standards, shields, spears, and a heap of things, the enumeration
of which would make this sheet of paper like a catalogue of a broker's
sale. Through these moved the men, wild with excitement, 'drunk with
plunder.' I had often heard the phrase, but never saw the thing itself
before. They smashed to pieces the fowling-pieces and pistols to get at
the gold mountings and the stones set in the stocks. They burned in a
fire, which they made in the centre of the court, brocades and embroidered
shawls for the sake of the gold and silver. China, glass, and jade they
dashed to pieces in pure wantonness; pictures they ripped up or tossed
on the flames; furniture shared the same fate." In a military point of
view the capture of this palace was a piece of great good fortune, as it
virtually gave us the command of the city. There were now only the houses
and buildings towards the old Residency; and with Outram on their flank,
they could easily be taken, and taken at leisure.
Yet, the action on the 13th might have been more successful. When the
Kaiserbagh fell, the troops on the right swept forward from the Shah
Nujeef nearly up to the old Residency, and the 20th Foot caught a host
of Sepoys in the engine-house, and slew nearly every man. At this time
Sir James Outram was ready to burst across the iron bridge. His column
was prepared, his men were eager. Lieutenant Wynne, with some sappers,
had gallantly thrown down the breastwork across the end of the bridge--a
service which won for him the Victoria Cross. But Outram did not advance.
His orders were precise, and he construed them literally. He was to
advance; but on the condition that he could do so without the loss of a
single man. Seeing a gun bearing down the long street which led to the
bridge, a gun steadily fired, Outram knew that if he charged across, he
must lose at least one man, perhaps many. He obeyed the conditional order,
and the Sepoys escaped. But had he crossed at the moment the Kaiserbagh
fell, he must have inflicted a terrible loss upon the enemy, though
suffering some loss himself.
Virtually Lucknow was now taken, but much still remained to be done.
The troops rested on the 14th, except the gunners, who were rarely or
never quiet. On the 15th, Sir James Outram, leaving a force near the
iron bridge, crossed the Goomtee, and a general attack was made on the
buildings west of the Kaiserbagh. A great deal of irregular fighting
ensued, but the enemy stood nowhere. Outram's column worked up through
the old battered Residency to the iron bridge; and as the enemy fled in
disorder over the stone bridge higher up, our guns on the iron bridge
kept up a heavy fire. That night we occupied the Muchee Bowun, and by the
18th every place was captured, except the Moosabagh, out in the country;
the city itself was occupied, and direct communication established
with the Alumbagh. Prize agents had now been appointed to secure the
plunder; but order was not restored, and every street and house had its
horrible scenes. The place was full of powder; our men were careless,
and explosions were frequent, in one of which Captain Clarke, Lieutenant
Brownlow, and thirty men were killed. On the 19th a concerted attack was
made on the Moosabagh. Here were the resolute Moulvie, stout and cunning;
the courageous and undaunted Begum, who had been the soul of the defence,
her cowardly paramour Munnoo Khan, her son, the titular King of Oude, and
some 8,000 men. The object was to catch them, but the combination failed.
Somehow the cavalry sent out to cut off the fugitives lost their way. The
enemy stayed just long enough to see the approach of the infantry and
guns; then their hearts failed them and they fled. There was one more
desperate skirmish in the city with a band of budmashes; that was the last
fight, and the capital of Oude was recovered, after being so many months
in the possession of the enemy. We took 120 guns, tons of ammunition, and
much treasure; and so splendidly was the work done that our loss did not
exceed 700 men killed and wounded.
The Governor-General now issued a proclamation, which, after setting
forth the wickedness of the rebellion, and rewarding some talookdars by
granting them a hereditary right to their lands, declared that, with these
exceptions, the proprietary right in the soil of Oude was confiscated to
the British Government. To those who made immediate submission, life and
honour were promised, but nothing more. Those who had murdered Europeans
were to expect no mercy. This proclamation created a great ferment in
India and in England. It was held to be monstrous that Lord Canning should
confiscate a province, though it is remarkable that when in the previous
year he had drawn up a proclamation which distinguished the guilt of the
rebels, he was scoffed at as "Clemency Canning." Sir James Outram resigned
rather than carry out the scheme; and Mr. Montgomery, who succeeded him,
obtained full permission to deal with each case on its merits. In England,
Lord Ellenborough, then at the Board of Control, was so angry that he
wrote a most insolent despatch to Lord Canning, on mere newspaper report;
and, not satisfied with this, he published it before he posted the
document to Lord Canning. It was an uncourteous and an ungentlemanly act,
and Lord Ellenborough had to resign his seat to save the Derby Cabinet
from censure. The fact is, the proclamation was completely misunderstood.
The confiscation was not permanent deprivation. It enabled the Government
to take a position in Oude calculated to restore men to their real
rights--to reward the faithful and punish the wrong-doers; and, above
all, under the settlement made by Mr. Montgomery, and his successor, Mr.
Wingfield, all those proprietors held from the Crown. In the end the
measure worked well, and was essentially just and politic; and, in a long
despatch, Lord Canning fully refuted the melodramatic impertinences of
Lord Ellenborough.
But in the spring of 1858, not only Oude but Rohilcund had to be
conquered. For a time the proclamation was a dead letter; the army had
still to be employed; and in April, Sir Colin, after an interview with
Lord Canning at Allahabad, broke up his force and proceeded to the work
of conquest. General Walpole started, on the 7th, with a fine brigade
towards Rohilcund. Sir Edward Lugard, with another, set out eastwards
towards Gorruckpore, where Koer Singh and a host of enemies were afoot.
A garrison was left in Lucknow, which was to be strongly fortified, and
the remaining troops marched for Cawnpore on the 13th, to move up the
Doab and enter Rohilcund from Futtehghur. The plan of campaign now was
this: Sir Colin was to effect a junction with Walpole on the Ramgunge,
opposite Futtehghur, and thence march on Bareilly by Shahjehanpore; while
General Penny, with a brigade collected at Roorkee, and Brigadier Jones,
from Moradabad, crossed the Ganges, and also made for Bareilly. Walpole
marched his column by Sundeela. Near Rhodamow he came upon a mud fort
in the jungle, occupied by a force under Nirput Singh. The place was
reconnoitred, and the cavalry reported that it could be easily assailed
in the rear; but Walpole thought that he could take it by rushing at the
front. He did not even use his heavy guns, but sent the 42nd and 93rd
against the rampart. They were driven back by the fire of the enemy. Many
men fell killed and wounded; but the greatest loss was Adrian Hope, the
pride of his brigade. The Highlanders were on the verge of mutiny, and the
officers were savage with this unskilful mode of warfare. In the night,
Nirput Singh, knowing his own weakness, ran away, and then it was seen how
easily the place might have been taken. Walpole marched on towards the
Ramgunge. On his way he heard that a body of the enemy were guarding a
bridge of boats over that stream; and dashing on with cavalry and guns, he
surprised and routed them with heavy loss. Sir Colin, marching by Cawnpore
and Futtehghur, crossed the Ganges on the 27th, and joined Walpole at
Tingree. In the meantime that gallant sailor and hope of the British navy,
Sir William Peel, had died of small-pox at Cawnpore (April 27th).
Sir Colin entered Shahjehanpore on the 30th of April without meeting
any resistance. Here he learned that Penny, leading his column through
Budaon, misled by a civilian, who trusted to native information, got into
an ambuscade and lost his life. His troops carried the position occupied
by the enemy, and marched on. Jones also had made progress, and was
approaching Bareilly from Moradabad. On the 2nd of May Sir Colin moved out
of Shahjehanpore, leaving behind a small force with four guns to hold the
gaol. He had not gone far before the energetic Moulvie, bringing a great
body of all arms, fell upon Shahjehanpore; and although he failed to take
it out of hand, he invested it, and put the little garrison in peril. Sir
Colin got news of this, but he was then near Bareilly, and had a large
army in his front whom it was necessary to fight.
Disregarding the Moulvie, and his skilful onslaught on the rear, Sir
Colin pursued his march to Bareilly, where Khan Bahadoor Khan had 40,000
or 50,000 men of all arms, and forty guns. Here, in front of Bareilly,
on the 5th of May he engaged the enemy. Penny's force had already joined
him; Brigadier Jones was on the other side of the city. While Sir Colin
attacked the enemy on the east, Jones broke into the place from the west.
The enemy were defeated, but managed to escape in a disordered and broken
state, some flying for the Ganges and some for Oude. During this action
a body of Ghazees--fanatic Moslems--made a dash on the 93rd and 42nd.
Sir Colin was near the Highlanders, but the Ghazees came on so rapidly
that he had only time to call on his men to stand firm, and bayonet them
as they came on, before the dare-devils were in their midst. A number
of them got round the flank of the 42nd, dragged Colonel Cameron from
his horse, and cut General Walpole over the head. Both were saved by the
Highlanders. "Sir Colin had a narrow escape. As he was riding from one
company to another, his eye caught that of a quasi-dead Ghazee, who was
lying, tulwar in hand, just before him. The chief guessed the _ruse_ in
a moment. 'Bayonet that man!' he called to a soldier. The Highlander made
a thrust at him, but the point would not enter the thick cotton quilting
of the Ghazee's tunic; and the dead man was rising to his legs, when
a Sikh, who happened to be near, with a whirling stroke of his sabre,
cut off the Ghazee's head at one blow, as if it had been the bulb of a
poppy!" The enemy's troopers also got round the rear and did considerable
mischief before they were driven off. But Bareilly was captured, and
the enemy dispersed. Sir Colin's first thought was for the safety of
Shahjehanpore. He sent off Brigadier Jones with his brigade to relieve
Colonel Hale; and, having established a garrison in Bareilly, followed
himself. Jones easily drove off the Moulvie's troops on the 11th, and
covered the place. Sir Colin himself marched from Bareilly on the 15th.
Arriving at Shahjehanpore on the 18th, he marched through the town, and
drew up on the eastern side. There the Moulvie had made a demonstration
with an immense force of horsemen. The action, however, was almost
wholly carried on by the artillery. When the infantry were deployed and
developed, the enemy retired. Sir Colin now handed the army over to the
command of Brigadier John Jones, and with a weak escort set off suddenly
for Futtehghur. Jones marched on Mohumdee, the last stronghold of the
rebels on the eastern frontier of Rohilcund; but the enemy would not wait
for him. This ended the campaign for the summer in Oude and Rohilcund.
While the Commander-in-Chief had been thus engaged, Sir Hope Grant, with a
flying column from Lucknow, had scoured the country towards Fyzabad, and
had surprised and defeated the enemy at Nawabgunge. Sir Edward Lugard had
relieved Azimghur, and, following up Koer Singh, had passed the Ganges,
driven the valiant old chief into the jungle, and restored confidence in
Behar. The troops were put under cover as far as possible, but there was
still considerable fighting at different points in the Doab, and north and
south of Allahabad; while Colonel Rowcroft kept down the rebel element on
the north of Goruckpore, and facilitated the march of Jung Bahadoor and
his plunder back to the mountains of Nepaul.
[Illustration: THE MARTINIÈRE, LUCKNOW. (_From a Photograph by Frith &
Co._)]