The next morning three days' rations were served out to the troops,
and the advance begun; the movement being directed against the
Secunderbagh, a large garden surrounded by a very high and strong
wall loopholed for musketry. To reach it a village, fortified and
strongly held, had first to be carried. The attack was led by
Brigadier Hope's brigade, of which the regiment formed part. As
they approached the village, so heavy a musketry fire was opened
upon them that the order to advance was changed and the leading
regiment moved forward in skirmishing order. The horse artillery
and heavy field guns were brought up, and poured a tremendous fire
into the village, driving the defenders from their post on the
walls.
As soon as this was accomplished, the infantry rushed forward and
stormed the village, the enemy opposing a stout resistance,
occupying the houses and fighting to the last. The main body of
them, however, fled to the Secunderbagh. The 4th Sikhs had been
ordered to lead the attack, while the British infantry of the
brigade were to cover the operation. The men were, however, too
excited and too eager to get at the enemy to remain inactive, and
on leaving the village dashed forward side by side with the Sikhs
and attacked the wall. There was a small breach in this, and many
of the men rushed through it before the enemy, taken by surprise,
could offer a serious resistance. The entrance was, however, so
narrow that very few men could pass in, and while a furious fight
was raging inside, the rest of the troops tried in vain to find
some means of entering.
There were two barred windows, one on each side of the gate, and
some of the troopers creeping under these raised their shakos on
their bayonets. The defenders fired a heavy volley into them, and
the soldiers, leaping to their feet, sprang at the bars and pulled
them down by main force, before the defenders had time to reload.
Then they leaped down inside, others followed them, the gates were
opened, and the main body of troops poured in.
The garden was held by 2,000 mutineers. With shouts of "Remember
Cawnpore," the troops flung themselves upon them; and although the
mutineers fought desperately, and the struggle was continued for a
considerable time, every man was at last shot or bayoneted.
In the meantime a serious struggle was going on close by. Nearly
facing the Secunderbagh stood the large Mosque of Shah Nujeeff. It
had a domed roof, with a loopholed parapet and four minarets, which
were filled with riflemen. It stood in a large garden surrounded by
a high wall, also loopholed, the entrance being blocked up with
solid masonry. The fire from this building had seriously galled
Hope's division, while engaged in forcing its way into the
Secunderbagh, and Captain Peel, with the Naval Brigade, brought up
the heavy guns against it. He took up his position within a few
yards of the wall and opened a heavy fire, assisted by that of a
mortar battery and a field battery of Bengal Artillery; the
Highlanders covering the sailors and artillerymen as they worked
their guns, by a tremendous fire upon the enemy's loopholes. So
massive were the walls that it was several hours before even the
sixty-eight pounders of the Naval Brigade succeeded in effecting a
breach.
As soon as this was done the impatient infantry were ordered to the
assault, and rushing in, overpowered all resistance, and slew all
within the enclosure, save a few who effected their escape by
leaping from the wall at the rear.
It was now late in the afternoon, and operations ceased for the
day. The buildings on which the enemy had chiefly relied for their
defence had been captured, and the difficulties still to be
encountered were comparatively small. The next day an attack was
made upon a strong building known as the Mess House. This was first
breached by the artillery, and then carried by assault by the 53rd
and 90th regiments, and a detachment of Sikhs; the latter, single
handed, storming another building called the Observatory, in the
rear of the Mess House.
At the same time the garrison of the Residency had, in accordance
with the plan brought out by Kavanagh, begun operations on their
side. The capture of the Secunderbagh and Mosque had been signalled
to them, and while the attack on the Mess House was being carried
out they had blown down the outer wall of their defences, shelled
the ground beyond, and then advanced, carrying two large buildings
facing them at the point of the bayonet.
All day the fighting continued, the British gaining ground on
either side. The next day the houses still intervening between them
were captured, and in the afternoon the defenders of the Residency
and the relieving force joined hands. The total loss of the latter
was 122 officers and men killed and 345 wounded.
Frank Mallett's letter to Sir John Greendale was not sent off. He
received a bullet through the left arm as the troops advanced
against the Secunderbagh, but, using his sash as a sling, led on
his company against the defenders crowded in the garden, and took
part in the desperate fighting. Three of his brother officers were
killed during the three days' fighting, and five others wounded.
"Well, Marshall," he said on the evening of the day when the way
was open to the Residency; "you have not cheated your creditor, I
see."
"No, Captain Mallett. I thought of him when those fellows in the
mosque were keeping such a heavy fire upon us as we were waiting to
get into the Secunderbagh. It seemed to me that his chance of ever
getting his money was not worth much. How the bullets did whizz
about! I felt sure that we should be all mown down before we could
get under the shelter of the wall.
"I don't think I shall ever feel afraid in battle again. One gets
to see that musketry fire is not so very dangerous after all. If it
were, very few of us would have got through the three days'
fighting alive, whereas the casualties only amount to one-tenth of
the force engaged. I am very sorry you are wounded."
"Oh, my wound is a mere trifle. I scarcely felt it until the
sergeant next to me said, 'You are wounded in the arm, Captain
Mallett.' The doctor says that it narrowly missed the bone, but in
this case a miss is as good as a mile. I am very sorry about
Hatchard and Rivers and Miles. They were all good fellows, and when
this excitement is over we shall miss them sadly. It will give you
your step."
"Yes, I won't say that it is lucky, for one cannot forget how it
has been gained. Still it is a good lift for me, for there are two
or three down for purchase below me, and otherwise I should have
had to wait a long time. It puts you one higher on the list,
Captain Mallett."
"I am going to clear out altogether as soon as the fighting is all
over, so whether I am fourth or fifth on the list makes no
difference whatever to me."
"Still it is a great satisfaction to have been through this and to
have taken one's share in the work of revenge. It was a horrible
business in the Secunderbagh, though one did not think of it at the
time. The villains richly deserved what they got, but I own that I
should not care to go into the place again. They must have suffered
tremendously altogether. The Colonel said this afternoon that he
found their loss had been put down as at least six or seven
thousand."
The regiment took its full share in the work that followed the
relief of Lucknow, portions being attached to each of the flying
columns which scoured Oude, defeated Kunwer Singh, and drove the
rebels before them wherever they encountered them.
In the beginning of February the vacancies in the ranks were filled
up by a draft from England. The work had been fatiguing in the
extreme, but the men were as a rule in splendid health, the
constant excitement preventing their suffering from the effect of
heat or attacks of fever.
Two companies which had been away from the headquarters of the
regiment for six weeks, found on their return a number of letters
awaiting them, the first they had received since leaving England.
Captain Mallett, who commanded this detachment, found one from Sir
John Greendale, written after the receipt of his letter from
Cawnpore.
"My Dear Mallett:
"We were all delighted to get your letter. Long before we received
it we had the news of the desperate fighting at Lucknow, which was,
of course, telegraphed down to the coast and got here before your
letter. You may imagine that we looked anxiously through the list
of killed and wounded, and were glad indeed that your name in the
latter had the word 'slightly' after it.
"Things are going on here much as usual. There was a terrible
sensation on the very morning after you left, at the disappearance
of Martha Bennett, the daughter of one of your tenants. She left
the house just at dusk the evening before, and has not been heard
of since. As she took nothing with her, it is improbable in the
extreme that she can have fled, and there can be little doubt that
the poor girl was murdered, possibly by some passing tramps.
However, though the strictest search was made throughout the
neighbourhood, her body has never been discovered.
"We lost another neighbour just about the time you left--Percy
Carthew. He went for a year's big game shooting in North America.
We don't miss him much, as he lived in London, and was not often
down at his place. I don't remember his being there since you came
back from the Crimea. Anyhow, I do not think that I ever saw you
and him together, either in a hunting field or at a dinner party;
which, of course, you would have been had you both been down here
at the same time. If I remember right, you were at the same
school."
And then followed some gossip about mutual friends, and the letter
concluded:
"The general excitement is calming down a little now that Delhi is
taken and the garrison of Lucknow brought off. Of course there will
be a great deal more fighting before the whole thing is over, but
there is no longer any fear for the safety of India. The Sikhs have
come out splendidly. Who would have thought it after the tremendous
thrashing we gave them a few years back?
"Take care of yourself, lad. You have the Victoria Cross and can do
very well without a bar, so give someone else the chance. My wife
and Bertha send their love."
Two or three of his other letters were from friends in regiments at
home bewailing their hard fortune at being out of the fighting. The
last he opened bore the latest postmark. It was from his solicitor,
and enclosed Marshall's cancelled bill.
"Of course, as you requested me to give 300 pounds for the
enclosed, I did so, but by the way in which Morrison jumped at the
offer I believe that he would have been glad to have taken half
that sum."
Mallett had gone into his tent to open his letters in quiet. He
presently went to the entrance, and catching sight of Marshall
called him up.
"I have managed that affair for you, Marshall," he said; "and have
arranged it in a way that I am sure will be satisfactory to us
both. You must look upon me now as your creditor instead of
Morrison, and you won't find me a hard one. Here is your cancelled
bill for four hundred and fifty. I got it for three hundred, so
that a third of your debt is wiped off at once. As to the rest, you
can pay me as you intended to pay him, but I don't want you to
stint yourself unnecessarily. Pay me ten or fifteen pounds at a
time at your convenience, and don't let us say anything more about
it."
"But I may be killed," Marshall said, in a voice struggling with
emotion.
"If you are, lad, there is an end of the business. As you know, I
am very well off, and the loss would not affect me in any way. Very
likely you will light upon some rich booty in one of these affairs
with a rebel Rajah, and will be able to pay it all off at once."
"I will if I can, Mallett, though I think that it will be much more
satisfactory to do it out of my savings, except that I shall have
the pleasure of knowing that if I were wiped out afterwards you
would not be a loser."
A few days later Frank Mallett was sent with his company to rout
out a party of rebels reported to be in possession of a large
village twenty miles away. Armstrong was laid up by a slight attack
of fever, and he asked that Marshall should be appointed in his
place on this occasion.
"One wants two subalterns, Colonel," he said, "for a business like
this. I may have to detach a party to the back of the village to
cut off the rebels' retreat, and it may be necessary to assault in
two places."
"Certainly. Take Marshall if you wish it, Captain Mallett. The
young fellow has been behaving excellently, and has gone far to
retrieve his character. Captain Johnson has reported to me that he
is exemplary in his duties, and has shown much gallantry under
fire, especially in that affair near Neemuch, in which he rushed
forward and carried off a wounded man who would otherwise have
certainly been killed. I reported the case to the Brigadier, who
said that at any other time the young fellow would probably have
been recommended for a V.C., but that there were so many cases of
individual gallantry that there was no chance of his getting that;
but Marshall was specially mentioned in orders four days ago, and
this will, of course, count in his favour.
"Take him with you by all means; your ensign only joined with the
last draft, and you will certainly want someone with you of greater
experience than he has."
Marshall was delighted when he heard that he was to accompany
Captain Mallett. In addition to his own company, a hundred men of
the Punjaub infantry and fifty Sikh horse were under Captain
Mallett's command, the native troops being added at the last
moment, as a report of another body of mutineers marching in the
same direction had just come in.
Frank spent a quarter of an hour in inspecting some maps of the
country, and had a talk with the native who was to act as guide.
When the little force was drawn up, he marched off in quite another
direction from that in which the village lay. Being in command, he
was mounted for the first time during the campaign. The lieutenant
in command of the Sikhs presently rode up to him.
"I beg your pardon, Captain Mallett, but I cannot but think that
your guide is taking you in the wrong direction. I looked at the
map before starting, and find that Dousi lies almost due north. We
are marching west."
"You are quite right, Mr. Hammond, but, you see, I don't want any
of the natives about the camp to guess where we are going. None of
these Oude fellows bears us any goodwill, and one of them might
hurry off, and carry information as to the line we were following.
"We will march four miles along this road, and then strike off by
another leading north. We must surprise them if we can. We don't
really know much about their force, and even if we did, they may be
joined by some other body before we get there--there are numerous
bands of them all over the country. And in the next place, if they
knew that we were coming, they might bolt before we got there.
"Besides, some of these villages are very strong, and we might
suffer a good deal before we could carry it if they had notice of
our coming. However, you were quite right to point out to me that
we were not going in what seemed the right direction."
The column started at four o'clock in the afternoon. It had been
intended that it should move off at daybreak on the following
morning, but Frank had suggested to the Colonel that it would be
advantageous to march half the distance that night.
"Of course, we could do the twenty miles tomorrow, Colonel," he
said, "but the men would hardly be in the best fighting trim when
they got there. Moreover, by starting in the afternoon, the natives
here would imagine that we were going to pounce upon some fugitives
at a village not far away."
The permission was readily granted, and accordingly, after marching
until nine o'clock in the evening, the column halted in a grove of
trees to which their guide led them, half a mile from the road.
Each man carried four days' cooked provisions in his haversack.
There was therefore no occasion for fires to be lighted, and after
seeing that sentries were placed round the edge of the grove, Frank
Mallett joined the officers who were gathered in the centre.
"What time shall we march tomorrow?" the officer in command of the
native infantry asked.
"Not until the heat of the day is over. We have come about twelve
miles, and have as much more to do; and if we start at the same
hour as we did today we shall get there about nine. I shall halt
half a mile away, reconnoitre the place at night, and if the ground
is open enough to move without making a noise, we will post the
troops in the positions they are to occupy, and attack as soon as
day breaks.
"In that way we shall get the benefit of surprise, and at the same
time have daylight to prevent their escaping. Besides, if we
attacked at night a good many of the villagers, and perhaps women,
might be killed in the confusion.
"Tomorrow morning we will cut down some young saplings and make a
dozen scaling ladders. We have brought a bag of gunpowder to blow
open the gate, and if the main body enter there while two parties
scale the walls at other points we shall get them in a trap."
At about nine o'clock the next evening the guide said that they
were now within half a mile of the village, and they accordingly
halted. The men were ordered to keep silence, and to lie down and
sleep as soon as they had eaten their supper; while Mallett,
accompanied by the two officers of the native troops and the guide,
made his way towards the village.
It was found to be larger than had been anticipated. On three sides
cultivated fields extended to the foot of the strong wall that
surrounded it, while on the fourth there was rough broken ground
covered with scrub and brushes.
"How far does this extend?" Captain Mallett asked the guide.
"About half a mile, and then joins a big jungle, sahib."
"This is the side they will try to escape by; therefore, Mr.
Herbert, you will lead your men round here with four scaling
ladders. You will post them along at the foot of the wall, and when
you hear the explosion of the powder bag or an outburst of musketry
firing, you will scale the wall and advance to meet me, keeping as
wide a front as possible, so as to prevent fugitives from passing
you and getting out here. The cavalry will cut off those who make
across the open country. I would give a good deal to know how many
of these fellows are inside. Four hundred was the number first
reported. They may, of course, have already moved away, and on the
other hand they may have been joined by others. They were said to
have some guns with them, but these will be of little use in the
streets of the village, and we shall probably capture them before
they have time to fire a single round."
At three o'clock the troops stood to their arms, and moved
noiselessly off towards the positions assigned to them. Captain
Mallett led his own company to within four hundred yards of the
wall, and then sent Marshall forward with two men to fix the powder
bag and fuse to the gate. When they had done this they were to
remain quietly there until warned that the company was about to
advance; then they were to light the fuse, which was cut to burn
two minutes, to retire round the angle of the wall, and join the
company as it came up. The troops lay down, for the ground was
level, and there was no spot behind which they could conceal
themselves, and impatiently watched the sky until the first gleam
of light appeared. Another ten minutes elapsed. The dawn was
spreading fast, and a man was sent forward to Lieutenant Marshall
to say that the company was getting in motion.
As soon as the messenger was seen to reach the gates, Mallett gave
the word. The men sprang to their feet.
"Don't double, men. We shall be there in time, and it is no use
getting out of breath and spoiling your shooting."
They were within a hundred yards of the gate, when they heard a
shout from the village, and as they pressed on, shot after shot
rang out from the wall. A moment later there was a heavy explosion,
and as the smoke cleared off, the gate was seen to be destroyed.
A few seconds later, the troops burst through the opening. Infantry
bugles were sounding in the village, and there was a loud din of
shouting, cries of alarm and orders. From every house the mutineers
rushed, musket in hand, but were shot down or bayoneted by the
troops. As the latter approached a large open space in the middle
of the village a strong body of Sepoys advanced in good order to
meet them, led by their native officers.
"Steady, men, steady," Captain Mallett shouted. "Form across the
street."
Quickly the men fell in, though several dropped as a volley flashed
out from the Sepoy line.
"One volley and then charge," Mallett shouted. Some of the guns
were already empty, but the rest poured in their fire, when the
word was given, as regularly as if on parade.
"Level bayonets--charge!" And with a loud cheer the soldiers sprang
forward. The Sepoys, well commanded though they were, wavered and
broke; but the British were upon them before they could fly, and
with shouts of "Cawnpore," used their bayonets with deadly effect,
driving the enemy before them.
As they came into the open, and the fugitives cleared away on
either side, they saw a long line of men drawn up. A moment later a
flash of fire ran along it.
"Shoulder to shoulder, men," Captain Mallett shouted. "Give them
the bayonet."
With a hoarse roar of rage, for many of their comrades had fallen,
the company rushed forward and burst through the line of mutineers
as if it had been a sheet of paper. Then they divided, and Captain
Mallett with half the company turned to the right. Marshall took
the other wing to the left.
Encouraged by the smallness of the number of their assailants, the
mutineers, cheered on by their officers, resisted stoutly. A
scattering fire opened upon the British from the houses round, and
the shouts of the mutineers rose louder and louder, when a heavy
volley was suddenly poured into them, and the Punjaubies rushed out
from the street facing that by which the British had entered. They
bore to the right, and fell upon the body with which Marshall was
engaged.
The Sepoys, taken wholly by surprise, at once lost heart. Cheering
loudly, the British attacked them with increased ardour, while the
Punjaubies flung themselves into their midst. In an instant, that
flank of the Sepoys was scattered in headlong flight, hotly pursued
by their foes. There was no firing, for the muskets were all empty;
but the bayonet did its work, and the open space and the streets
leading from it were thickly strewn with dead.
The Sepoys attacked by Captain Mallett's party, on the other hand,
though shaken for a moment, stood firm; led by two or three native
officers, who, fighting with the greatest bravery, exhorted their
men to continue their resistance.
"Would you rather be hung than fight?" they shouted. "They are but
a handful; we are five to one against them. Forward, men, and
exterminate these Feringhees before the others can come back to
their assistance."
The Sepoys were now the assailants, and with furious shouts pressed
round the little body of British troops.
"Steady, men, steady," Captain Mallett shouted, as he drove his
sword through the body of one of the rebel leaders who rushed at
him. "Keep together, back to back. We shall have help here in a
minute."
It was longer than that, however, before relief came. For three or
four minutes a desperate struggle went on, then Marshall's voice
was heard shouting:
"This way, men, this way!"
A moment later there was a surging movement in the ranks of the
insurgents, and with a dozen men Marshall burst through them, and
joined the party. These at once fell furiously upon the mutineers,
and the latter were already giving way when some fifty of the
Punjaubies, led by their officers, fell upon them.
The effect was decisive. The Sepoys scattered at once, and fled in
all directions, pursued by the furious soldiers and the Punjaubies.
Reaching the walls, the fugitives leapt recklessly down. Forty or
fifty of them were cut down by the cavalry, but the greater portion
reached the broken ground in safety. Here the cavalry could not
follow them, for the ground was covered with rocks and boulders
concealed by the bushes. In the village itself three hundred and
fifty lay dead.
"Thanks, Marshall," Frank Mallett said, when the fight in the
village was over. "You arrived just in time, for it was going very
hard with us. Altogether it was more than we bargained for, for
they were certainly over a thousand strong. They must have been
joined by a very strong party yesterday."
"I ought not to have gone so far," Marshall replied, "but I had no
idea that all the Punjaubies had come to our side of the fight. The
men were so eager that I had the greatest difficulty in getting
them off the pursuit. Fortunately I met Herbert, and learned that
all his men were with us. Then I gathered a dozen of our fellows,
and rushed off, telling him to follow as soon as he could get some
of his men together.
"You can imagine what agony I felt when, as I entered the open
space, I saw a surging mass of Sepoys, and no sign of any of you;
and how I cursed my own folly, and what delight I felt, as on
cutting our way through we found that you were still on your feet."
"Yes, it was a close shave, Marshall; another two or three minutes
and it would have been all over. The men fought like lions, as you
can see by the piled-up dead there. Half of them were down, and
twenty men cannot hold out long against four or five hundred.
"We owe our lives to you beyond all question. I don't see that you
were in the least to blame in the matter, for naturally you would
suppose that some of the Punjaubies would have joined us. Besides,
it was of course essential that you should not give the Sepoys time
to rally, but should follow them up hotly.
"Where is Anstruther?"
"I don't know. I have not seen him since we entered the square."
"Have any of you seen Mr. Anstruther?" Captain Mallett asked,
turning to some soldiers standing near.
"He is lying over there, sir," one of the men said. "He was just in
front of me when the Pandies fired that volley at us as we came out
of the streets, and he pitched forward and fell like a stone. I
think that he was shot through the head, sir."
They went across to the spot. The ensign lay there shot through the
brain. Four or five soldiers lay round him; one of them was dead,
the others more or less seriously wounded.
"Sound the assembly," Captain Mallett said, as he turned away
sadly, to a bugler. "Let us see what our losses are."