THE BATTLE OF SOBRAON--THE ENEMY DEFEATED AND DRIVEN ACROSS THE RIVER
WITH ENORMOUS LOSS.
It has before been mentioned, that the Sikh entrenchments presented to
us a semicircular figure, the rear of their position resting on the
re-entering sinuosity of the river. On the left of the enemy's works, a
high parapet had been thrown up, and part of this front was protected
by a nullah, with a steep bank acting as a counterscarp, and the bed of
this watercourse was filled, in some places, by deep pools of stagnant
water, which extended along the centre. On the right flank, the track
of the nullah was but faintly marked; and in this quarter, the works
had not been completed, and were not more formidable than the trenches
at Ferozeshuhur, before described. Batteries were disposed along the
face of the entrenchments, and the whole area had been defended with
traverses and ditches, which defiladed the garrison from a direct fire,
in any direction where our guns could be brought to attack. A raised
battery of the enemy's heavy guns, placed at the bridge, commanded the
approaches, and swept the whole works in reverse. Guns were also placed
on the opposite side of the river, which threatened the position, in
case of its falling into the hands of the British.
The works were garrisoned principally by regular battalions of
infantry, whose cantonments consisted of wicker-work huts, behind the
parapet along the right.
The British forces advanced to envelop these works, one regiment being
ordered to precede and carry the enemy's main picket at the point of
the bayonet, when the mortars and howitzers, which were to be advanced
to the front, were to open on the Sikhs.
The cavalry formed a wing on each flank of the British attack, to guard
against any diversion which might be attempted by the enemy's cavalry,
which swarmed in incalculable numbers near the fords on the opposite
bank of the Sutlej.
As we lay under arms on our allotted posts, every ear was intently
listening, in expectation of the first boom from the mortars and
howitzers, which were to announce the commencement of the work of death.
All awaited in silent and earnest attention the appointed signal, and
scarcely the clash of a sabre could be heard which might convey to the
enemy's pickets an alarm of the approach of the formidable host which
were preparing to assail the doomed garrison. Not even an expiring
groan or shriek had been heard from the Sikh advanced posts, which had
been marked for destruction, and we were speculating whether the misty
appearance round the horizon would be dispelled by the increasing light
of day, when a flash from our batteries, succeeded by the roar of one
of the monster howitzers, and the rushing sound of the hissing mass
of iron hurled forth and bursting over the Sikh entrenchments, was the
long-expected herald of battle.
Light flashed upon light in regular succession from the batteries, but
the fuses of the shells were too short, and they burst high in the air,
much to the enemy's comfort. The fire from the howitzers appeared to be
more effectual, and we marked them bursting and ricochetting along the
entrenchments. Hitherto, not a shot had been returned by the Sikhs, and
we almost conjectured, owing to this unusual silence, that the enemy
had either evacuated their position, or had lost heart, and resolved
to retire. The heavy guns were limbered up, and advanced further to
the front, and when daylight began to show with some distinctness the
neighbouring objects, our batteries once more opened at a nearer range.
All doubt as to the Sikhs being still in their works was soon cleared
up, for no sooner had they felt the weight of our shot, and perceived
we were in earnest, than a fierce reply of defiance was hurled from
every battery, and the stunning roar of the rival artillery rolled in
tremendous waves along the plain.
The dense clouds of smoke which enveloped the front of the contending
armies, rolled thicker and thicker, penetrated by the angry and rapid
flashes from the heavy guns; and as the destroying missiles hissed and
ricochetted along the hard ground, it appeared wonderful that any were
spared from the iron paths of devastation torn along the soil in almost
every direction.
Our mortars still continued to burst harmlessly in the air, and the
Sikh works were so well defiladed from direct or even ricochet fire,
that it soon became evident that the enemy would never be driven
from his position by a cannonade, which was answered with unabated
vigour. The investing force was therefore ordered to advance to closer
quarters, whilst the artillery, which was disposed in positions with
each division, covered the approach by an incessant cannonade. The
centre and right divisions of the British line were intended to engage
the enemy's attention, whilst the real attack was directed against the
Sikhs' extreme right, where the entrenchments were known to be weakest,
being incomplete. Each brigade moved forwards with alacrity to the
attack, hastening onwards, under cover of the wreaths of smoke which
rolled along their front.
No sooner did the Sikhs perceive that the storm of their works was
resolved upon, than the whole of their infantry lined the parapets,
and the roll of musketry which tore through our ranks, accompanied by
the steady and regular booming of their guns from every battery along
their position, seemed to threaten our army with ultimate destruction.
Struggling forward a few paces, and then lying down whilst the iron
storm swept over them, each brigade continued to advance, including the
centre and right, for the enemy's numbers were so great, that he was
enabled to maintain the defence of his whole extensive front.
A rolling fire of musketry now burst from the line of British
assailants, as they neared the object of attack in sadly diminished
numbers, and with numerous breaks, caused by the obstinate and
incessant storm of destruction poured from the Sikh batteries and
entrenchments.
On the British left the struggle was less fierce, for the Sikhs had
most unaccountably placed fewer numbers to defend their weakest
points, and the fifth brigade of Sir Robert Dick's division penetrated
the enemy's works with trifling loss, thus taking the position in
reverse. But, in the meantime, each brigade along the line had closed
with the entrenchments, marking their advance by a crimsoned track of
fallen soldiers upon the glacis, where the dead and wounded told an
incontrovertible tale of the resolution with which Sobraon had been
defended.
On the left centre of the British attack, Lieut.-Col. Franks, of the
10th Foot, had led his regiment to within a distance of about one
hundred and fifty yards of the entrenchments, when, reserving their
fire, they rushed forwards, and bore down all opposition, driving
before them the Bundookcheras, and using the bayonet with a deadly
effect, and such as served to refute, for a second time, Colonel
Michel's strictures on that incomparable weapon.[52] This advantage
being gallantly seconded by every brigade in the division, placed the
ultimate success of the day beyond a doubt, though it was purchased by
the life of their leader, the gallant Sir Robert Dick.
On the extreme right of the British attack, the enemy's works had been
completed, and more resembled a fortification than a common field-work.
The storm of this post had been assigned to Sir Harry Smith's division,
and to them were opposed the flower of the Sikh army. The resolution
with which it was defended was tragically proved by the mangled and
shattered bodies of the assailants strewed along the front. Twice had
H.M. 31st Regiment nearly surmounted the lofty parapets, when they were
hurled back by the overpowering weight of the defenders, and reduced
to the mere skeleton of a regiment;[53] but the gallant 50th rushed
forwards in support of their old comrades; and these two regiments,
conjointly, overcame every obstacle, and plunged amongst the masses of
the enemy, where the conflict raged for a time with desperate ferocity.
One of the enemy's howitzers, served with incredible activity,
committed dire havoc amongst the British ranks. Lieut. Smyth, of the
50th Regiment, being on that flank, dashed forward with the remnant of
his company to capture the obnoxious engine of destruction. When within
a few yards' distance, the howitzer was trained upon the intrepid
assailants, and discharged its murderous contents of grape-shot upon
the devoted band.
The greater portion of the storming party, including their leader, were
swept down by the fire; but the eight or nine men remaining untouched,
rushed with irresistible fury on the foe; and the wounded officer,
when he arose, found that the shattered remnant of his soldiers had
bayoneted the artillerymen beside their howitzer, and repulsed the
defenders, who exceeded their assailants by at least five to one. I
consider this individual instance serves as an illustration of how the
enemy were defeated on this as on previous occasions. When a small body
of devoted soldiers, careless of life, resolved on victory, and united
by the iron bands of discipline, are brought to bear on a portion of an
enemy who want confidence in each other, the attack must be successful,
although the loss sustained may be severe.
In the meantime, whilst the combat raged with unabated fury at the
entrenchments, Gen. Gilbert's division, to whom was allotted the attack
of the centre, had been exposed to the fire of the heaviest batteries,
and a shower of musketry, which would have staggered and repulsed any
but the hardiest British veterans. Winning their way gradually, though
occasionally wide gaps were torn through the line by the sweeping fire
from the batteries and parapets, this gallant band at length surmounted
the entrenchments, which were as formidable an obstacle as had fallen
to any soldier's lot to carry during this campaign. When once within
the works, and the mortal hand-to-hand conflict raged around, the
result was no longer doubtful, although the obstinacy of the enemy's
resistance promised a piteous bill of mortality in this division.
Under General Gilbert's command were the Sirmoor battalion, which had
joined the force at Loodiana, and these fine little Goorkhas gave
evidence that they had not degenerated in military prowess since the
memorable Nepaulese war. The corps is composed of riflemen, carrying
in their girdles a crooked knife, (termed a "kookery,") to give the
coup-de-grace to the wounded, and they used the hideous instrument
with unaccountable zeal against the Sikhs. As they were known to
possess relatives and connexions amongst the Khalsa troops, it had
been a matter of doubt with many that their hands would have been
amongst the foremost in the field, but the battle-cry roused their
hereditary ardour, and overcame every other consideration. Their
gallant leader, Captain J. Fisher, whose exploits with the rifle are
well known to those who have been his companions in the hunting-fields
of the Dhoon,[54] had just surmounted the parapet, when he perceived a
battery not sixty yards distant from him, which continued to gall the
assailants with incessant rounds of grape. Seizing a rifle from the
hands of one of his Goorkhas, Fisher rested his arm on the parapet, and
the next second pierced with a rifle-ball the artilleryman, who was
about to apply the slow match to the touch-hole of a cannon. Receiving
the loaded rifles from the hands of the soldiers, who handed them up
to their commander, he continued to deal rapid destruction amongst the
Sikh golundauze.
A party of Sikh infantry, who were placed in defence of the battery, at
last perceived the marksman, who was quickly silencing their cannon,
and, pouring a volley in that direction, the gallant soldier rolled
back amongst the corpses which strewed the exterior of the works.
The field of Sobraon did not bear on its crimsoned surface a soldier
more deeply regretted by all who knew him than the fallen chief of the
Sirmoor battalion.
The Sikh breastworks had now been carried at several points, and
the enemy fell back towards their second lines. Slowly retreating
towards the inner entrenchments, and yet holding their assailants in
check whilst retiring, they now received a cross-fire from the left
division of the British, which had gained their position by a flank
attack, and with inconsiderable loss. A rolling and tremendous fire
now opened along the whole victorious line of the British, which tore
the Sikh battalions with murderous effect, as their order became more
compact from being compressed on each side. Still, the enemy retired
in creditable array, and showed a threatening front, whilst mown down
by musketry, and charged by the 3rd Light Dragoons, which were led by
Sir Joseph Thackwell into the Sikh entrenchments. Forced backwards,
step by step, towards the river, the foremost of the retreating enemy
thronged upon the bridge of boats, which soon gave way under the
inordinate weight, and left the fugitives to perish in the waters
under the accumulated pressure of their wounded and drowning comrades.
Most of the Sikh battalions, finding the bridge destroyed, entered the
fords, still preserving their ranks to the very edge of the river; but
the waters had risen considerably during the night, and the fords were
nearly impracticable.
The banks of the Sutlej were now lined by the whole force of our
infantry; and the horse artillery having hastily taken up the most
advantageous position which could be found for pouring destruction
into the retiring army, the storm fell with merciless violence upon
the fugitives, who were now struggling in one mighty, confused mass to
reach the opposite shore. So large a mark as the enemy's commingled
hordes presented, could scarcely be missed; and the round shot,
musketry and shrapnel, which swept the surface of the river with deadly
precision, soon converted the greater portion of the Sikh army into a
hideous and straggling wreck of humanity.
The sluggish waters of the Sutlej, clogged with human carcases, swelled
and foamed over wounded and unwounded, locked in the struggling
embrace of mortal peril, and bore them slowly onwards to destruction,
making room for succeeding crowds destined to share a similar fate.
The scattered remnants of the battalions which had defended the
entrenchments of Sobraon with such gallantry and resolution, landing
on the opposite shore, fled wildly from the awful scene of carnage;
and half a winter's day served to destroy for ever those daring and
organized battalions, to accomplish whose discipline and efficiency
had occupied the lifetime, and employed unceasingly the energies of
the old Lion of the Punjaub. Had the master and founder of the Sikh
military power been spared, or his sagacity and political wisdom been
inherited by any of his successors, this day of death would have been
averted, or at least deferred to a succeeding generation. But the God
of Christians, Sikh, and Mahomedans, ordained it; and let the cavillers
at our day's labour turn over the pages of the Old Testament, and
study the military commission of Joshua, before they exclaim against
the catastrophe of Sobraon.
Sixty-seven pieces of cannon were abandoned by the enemy in their
entrenchments, and round every gun in the batteries lay the golundauze,
who had sworn to conquer or die, and had fulfilled their oath.
Every trench was filled to the brim with Sikh corpses, and the
blood-stained area of the entrenchments told a fearful tale of
massacre; but whilst that overgrown assemblage of lawless soldiery
continued in existence, the Punjaub or the British frontier could
entertain no hope of permanent security. Every Sikh carcase which
floated on the Sutlej, or lay stiffening on the gory field of Sobraon,
was one obstacle removed to the re-establishment of order and good
government; and with such an object in view, the destruction of the
Sikh army became a more imperative duty than the removal of any noxious
or venomous animal which might lie in the path we are about to pursue.
The enemy's cavalry, and a few battalions of infantry, which had been
posted in a threatening attitude at the fords of Hureeka, when the
result of the day became apparent, opened a harmless cannonade, from
their nine pounder battery, on the British Cavalry Brigade (which had
been placed to check any diversion in that quarter), and then departed,
taking the route leading towards Lahore.
Before the sun had reached the horizon, not a vestige of that mighty
host which had so long insulted our north-western frontier was to
be seen, save a few dusky tents on the verge of the plain, and
the lifeless bodies lying in the trenches of Sobraon, the lawful
inheritance of the vulture and jackals.
Abundance of Sikh ammunition and stores for carrying on the war,
found in the works, were collected by our artillery and destroyed.
To a late hour of the night of the 10th of February the explosion of
these magazines caused the earth to tremble as with an earthquake, and
sounded like the expiring echo of the thunders which had rolled in
deafening peals throughout the morning.
Immediately the enemy had finally disappeared, parties were detached
from each regiment to bury their dead, and the British army returned to
the quarters which they had quitted on that memorable morning. The 10th
of February brought no rest to our gallant chief, who hastened, after
the enemy's defeat, to Ferozepore, to direct the passage of the Sutlej
by Sir John Grey's division on that very night, when, it was natural
to suppose, there was little likelihood of the Sikh army taking any
measures to oppose our progress. The pontoon train, under the direction
of our engineers, was in readiness for this important movement, and the
advanced guard of the army crossed without any accident on the bridge,
which was finally completed within two days for the transit of the
whole army.
The wounded on the British side had been better provided for than on
any former occasion, although the number of soldiers who had been
struck down caused a scarcity of conveyances. All were as speedily
as possible removed into Ferozepore, where the whole cantonment had
been converted into a hospital, and every attention was bestowed which
medical aid could afford or humanity suggest.
On the day following the action, many Sikhs came across, unarmed, in
search of their deceased comrades, and no interruption being offered
to them in the discharge of these sacred duties, in a short time small
fires were seen to arise on various parts of the field of battle, and
many of the fallen warriors were consigned to the flames.
Two days after the battle, the strange sight was witnessed of British
and Sikhs, Hindoos and Mussulmen, wandering indiscriminately over the
field where all had so recently been engaged in mortal contest.
_Return of Killed, Wounded, and Missing, of the Army of the Sutlej,
under the command of his Excellency Sir Hugh Gough, Bart., G.C.B., in
the action of Sobraon, Feb. 10th, 1846._
+-------------------------+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| | KILLED. | WOUNDED. |
| +-------+----------+-------+------+-----------+------|
| |Offi- |N.C. Offi-|Rank & |Offi- |N.C. Offi- |Rank &|
| | cers. | cers.| File. | cers.| cers. | File.| |
+-------------------------+-------+----------+-------+------+-----------+------+
| General Staff | ... | ... | ... | 2 | | |
| Artillery | 1 | ... | 3 | 1 | 1 | 33 |
| Engineers | ... | ... | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| | | | | | | |
|Cavalry-- | | | | | | |
| 1st Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 3rd Lt. Drag. | ... | ... | 5 | 4 | ... | 22 |
| 4th Cavalry | ... | ... | ... | ...| ... | 5 |
| 5th ditto | ... | ... | ... | ...| ... | 10 |
| 9th Irregulars | | | | | | |
| 2nd Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 9th Lancers | ... | ... | 1 | ...| ... | 1 |
| 2nd Irregulars | | | | | | |
| 3rd Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 16th Lancers. | | | | | | |
| Body-Guard. | | | | | | |
| 3rd Light Cavalry. | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|1st Infantry Division-- | | | | | | |
| Staff | 1 | ... | ... | 3 | | |
| 1st Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 31st Regt. | ... | ... | 35 | 7 | ... | 112 |
| 47th Native Infantry | ... | 1 | 7 | ...| 4 | 64 |
| 2nd Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 50th Regt. | 1 | ... | 41 | 11 | ... | 186 |
| 42nd Native Infantry | ... | ... | 8 | 2 | 3 | 53 |
| Nusseeree Battalion. | ... | ... | 6 | 1 | 6 | 74 |
|2nd Division-- | | | | | | |
| Staff | 2 | ... | ... | 3 | | |
| 3rd Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 29th Regt. | ... | 1 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 132 |
| 41st Native Infantry | ... | 2 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 100 |
| 68th ditto | ... | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 67 |
| 4th Brigade: | | | | | | |
| 1st Europeans | 2 | 2 | 31 | 10 | 16 | 142 |
| 16th Native Infantry | ... | ... | 6 | 2 | 23 | 123 |
| Sirmoor Battalion | 1 | ... | 13 | ...| 7 | 123 |
|3rd Division:-- | | | | | | |
| Staff | 1 | | | | | |
| 5th Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 9th Regt | .. | ... | 5 | 1 | 2 | 26 |
| 26th Native Infantry | ... | ... | 3 | 2 | 3 | 19 |
| H.M. 62nd Regt. | 1 | ... | 3 | 1 | 3 | 40 |
| 6th Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 80th Regt. | ... | ... | 13 | 4 | 3 | 71 |
| 33rd Native Infantry | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 54 |
| 63rd ditto | ... | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
| 7th Brigade: | | | | | | |
| H.M. 10th Regt. | 1 | 1 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 98 |
| 43rd Native Infantry | ... | ... | 7 | 2 | 9 | 85 |
| 59th ditto | ... | ... | 4 | 1 | 7 | 53 |
| H.M. 53rd Regt. | 1 | ... | 7 | 8 | 1 | 104 |
+-------------------------+-------+----------+-------+------+-----------+------+
Abstract:
13 officers, 3 native officers, 301 non-commissioned officers and rank
and file, killed.
101 officers, 39 native officers, 1913 non-commissioned officers, and
rank and file, wounded.
Lascars, Syces, and drivers, 3 killed, 10 wounded.
Grand total of killed and wounded, 2383.
_Nominal Roll of Officers Killed and Wounded at the Battle of Sobraon,
Feb. 10th, 1846._
Killed.
Artillery--
1st Troop, 2nd Brig. 1st Lieut. H.J. Faithful.
1st Infantry Division--
Staff Lieut Hay.
H.M. 50th Regt. " Grimes.
2nd Infantry Division--
Staff Lieut.-Col. C. Taylor, Brigadier.
" Lieut. T.S. Rawson.
1st Europeans " Shuttleworth.
" Ensign F. Hamilton.
Sirmoor Battalion Capt. J. Fisher.
3rd Infantry Division--
Staff Major-Gen. Sir R. Dick, K.C.B., K.C.H.
H.M. 62nd Regt. Lieut. Bartley.
33rd N.I. " Playfair.
H.M. 10th Regt. " W. Beale.
H.M. 53rd Regt. Capt. Warren.
Wounded.
General Staff Lieut.-Colonel Gough, Q.M.G., very severely.
" Lieut.-Col. Barr, A.G., severely and dangerously.
Artillery--
2nd Troop, 2nd Brig. Brevet-Major C. Grant, slightly.
Cavalry--
H.M. 3rd Lt. Drag. Lieut. J.B. Hawkes, slightly.
" " H.W. White, ditto.
" Cornet Kauntze, severely.
" Quartermaster Crabtree, slightly.
1st Infantry Division--
Staff Lieut. Holdich, severely.
" Lieut.-Col. Penny, ditto.
" Capt. Garvock, ditto.
H.M. 31st Regt. Lieut. Law, ditto.
" " Elmslie, ditto.
" " Timbrell, dangerously.
" " Gabbet, slightly.
" " H.G. Tritton, mortally.
" Ensign Jones, severely.
" Lieut. and Adjt. Bolton, ditto.
47th N.I. Lieut. and Adjt. Renny, ditto.
" Lieut. James, slightly.
" Ensign Walcot, ditto.
" " Oyston, ditto.
H.M. 50th Regt. Lieut.-Col. Ryan, dangerously.
" Bt.-Lieut.-Col. Pettit, ditto.
" Capt. G. Tew, ditto.
" " Bonham, ditto.
" " Needham, ditto.
" " Wilton, very severely.
" Lieut. Hough, severely.
" " J.G. Smyth, ditto.
" " C. Mouat, ditto.
" Ensign Slessor, slightly.
42nd N.I. Lieut. C. Tottenham, ditto.
" Major Polwhele, slightly.
" Lieut. Macqueen, severely.
Nusseeree Battalion. Capt. C. O'Brien, ditto.
2nd Infantry Division--
Staff Major-Gen. Gilbert, slightly.
" Lieut. F. Gilbert, A.D.C., ditto.
" Lieut.-Col. Maclaren, C.B., dangerously.
H.M. 29th Regt. Lieut. G.H. Jones, very severely.
" Capt. Stepney, severely.
" " Young, slightly.
" " Murchison, ditto.
" Lieut. Henry, severely.
" " Duncan, ditto.
" " W. Kirby, very severely.
" " C. Macdonnel, severely.
" " Walker, slightly.
" " St. G. Nugent, severely.
" " G. Henderson, contusion.
" " Scudamore, severely.
" Ensign Mitchell, very severely.
1st Europeans Capt. Magnay, severely.
" Lieut. Patullo, ditto.
" " Lambert, ditto.
" " Dennis, ditto.
" " Hume, dangerously.
" " Staples, slightly.
" Ensign Palmer, ditto.
" " Davidson, mortally (dead).
" " Innes, slightly.
Sirmoor Battalion Lieut. Beatson, severely.
16th N.I. Capt. Balderston, ditto.
" Ensign Hodson, slightly.
41st N.I. Capt. Halford, severely.
" " Cumberlege, ditto.
" Lieut. J. Stephen, slightly.
" " Onslow, ditto.
" " Kemble, ditto.
" Ensign Scatchard, mortally (dead).
" " Aikman, slightly.
" " J. Bennet, ditto.
68th N.I. Lieut. Robertson, slightly.
" Ensign Dorin, ditto.
3rd Infantry Division--
H.M. 9th Regt Lieut. Daunt, slightly.
26th N.I. Lieut. Mackenzie, severely.
" Ensign R. White, slightly.
H.M. 62nd Regt. Lieut. Haviland, severely.
H.M. 80th Regt. Capt. Cookson, slightly.
" Lieut. Crawley, severely.
" " Kingsley, ditto.
" Ensign Wandesford, ditto.
33rd N.I. Lieut. Tulloh, ditto.
63rd N.I. Capt. Ormsby, ditto.
" Lieut. Morrison, slightly.
" Ensign Barber, ditto.
H.M. 10th Regt. Lieut. R. Evans, ditto.
" " C. Lindham, ditto.
43rd N.I. Capt. Lyell, very severely.
" Ensign Munro, severely.
59th N.I. Lieut. H. Lumsden, ditto.
H.M. 53rd Regt. Capt. Smart, severely.
" Lieut. Chester, ditto.
" " Stokes, ditto.
" Ensign Dunning, ditto.
" Lieut.-Col. Gold, slightly.
" Lieut. Breton, ditto.
" Lieut. Clarke, severely.
" Ensign Lucas, slightly.
(Signed) P. Grant,
D.A. Gen. of the Army.
(Sixty-seven pieces of artillery captured, of which no official
description is published.)
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 52: Vide Col. Michel's "Abuse of the Bayonet."]
[Footnote 53: The enemy, sallying from their works, massacred the
wounded soldiers lying near the entrenchments.]
[Footnote 54: The Dhoon is a rich valley under the foot of the
Himalayahs, and the head-quarters of the Sirmoor battalion.]