After we had taken full possession of the town of Gurrah Mundellah, I
was directed, at about ten o'clock at night, to proceed alone and
examine a distant temple, to ascertain if it was a safe asylum to lodge
men in for the night. This temple stood at the end of a long street, to
which I was obliged to grope my way, guided only by the distant fired
hut, or a peeping star. Why did the general send me alone? Because he
knew I would go, and it was better to risk the life of one man than five
hundred. I cannot say that I had any great _penchant_ for this job; but
off I marched without a murmur. It was the general's part to order, and
my duty promptly and cheerfully to obey. The night being dark, and the
dead and the dying lying in all directions, it was no very enviable
trip; but duty led me through every difficulty. My pace was slow and
cautious; not quite so slow as the goose-step, but something near it. In
each hand I had a pistol, and I kept one eye turned to the right and the
other to the left, now and then stealing a glimpse to the front, but
could not spare time to look behind me. Occasionally my pointed toe
would come in contact with a dead body or wounded man. This created
sensations by no means agreeable. I had not proceeded far, when some
person seized my leg, and said, "Who are you?" This a little startled
me; I suddenly drew it away, and said I was his friend. "Then give me
some water," said he, "for I am wounded." I felt every inclination to
render the poor creature this service, but it was quite impossible; so I
passed on, but had hardly recovered my fright, when a large beam that
was on fire fell with a tremendous crash, and several voices were heard,
and the sound of persons running from the place where the beam fell. I
stopped for a moment to listen, but all was again quiet, and I moved on
slowly till I reached the foot or steps of the temple, when I heard the
tinkling of a small bell. I ascended the steps and reached the door,
when I heard some person murmuring out his midnight prayers. I at last
peeped in, and discerned an aged priest prostrating himself on the
ground before one of his gods. A small lamp was suspended from the
ceiling. I entered and gave him the customary salute of the evening, but
he had not the politeness to return my salute, but blew out the light
and ran out precipitately, and I followed him, having first minutely
surveyed the temple. What the priest took me for I know not, but
probably for a ghost, for he was out of the temple in a moment. I
returned by the same streets I came down, but a little faster. When
about half-way, I heard voices; then horses' feet; and, at last, I could
see several men on horseback approaching, and soon found, by their
conversation, that they were some men from our camp, belonging to our
ally, Scindia, who had got in for the purpose of plundering. I slunk
behind a hut till they had passed, as I knew well that these marauders
would have cut my throat for the sake of the buttons on my coat; so I
permitted them to pass on, and I had hardly emerged from my
hiding-place, when a huge Pariah dog set up a tremendous howling. He was
sitting down close by a dead man, no doubt his master, for on the
following morning he was still there, and howled piteously when any one
approached the body. The poor animal was shot, and thus put out of his
misery.
I at last reached the general, and made my report; after which I had the
honour of escorting two companies to the temple; but the old priest had
not returned. I then had to return alone; and, having established the
troops, the general and suite, myself among the number, returned to
camp, and, after a good dinner, retired to bed and slept soundly.
We recommenced our work on the following morning. On our arrival in the
town, we were informed that a Captain B. and about fifty men had been in
the fort the greater part of the night. On receiving this information,
the general could hardly credit the assertion; but, on approaching the
fort, he found it was true. The gate of the fort was thrown open, and we
entered; and, never did human eye look on more accumulated woe and
misery than the scene before us presented. The carnage far exceeded that
of Hattrass, or of any of the other storms I have had the unpleasant
task to narrate. I shall not attempt to describe the scene; and, should
these Memoirs ever meet the eye of any of my fair countrywomen, I am
confident they will thank me for the omission. Suffice that upwards of
five hundred bodies were, in the course of the day, committed to a large
well, into which the enemy had thrown many of the dead during the siege.
This well was closed up; and a man of the artillery sculptured on a
stone, with his bayonet,
THE SOLDIER'S GRAVE.
There let them rest in peace!
We had scarcely proceeded one hundred yards when we met Captain B. and
his men, with the keeledar and another person in custody. The general
thus addressed him, "Captain B., by what authority have you acted as you
have done, and thus, without orders or instruction, permitted your men
to enter the fort?" The captain told a lame story, to the effect that
the keeledar had offered him a bribe to permit him to escape through the
limits of his post; and that, having refused this, he received
information that, if he wished, he might march his men into the fort.
There was evidently a mystery in all this, and the ill-natured world
said many unkind things on the subject; but how far these may have been
true I cannot pretend to say. Certain it is, however, that there was
something that came out a short time afterwards, that would have brought
the affair under the investigation of a general court-martial; but the
individual died, and the affair died with him, and he was buried on the
spot. He was an officer of unblemished character; and little did he
think that the spot where he was accused of committing his first offence
would be his grave. The keeledar was a most respectable-looking man, and
elegantly dressed; but I do not think I ever saw a more careworn and
dejected face than his in my life-time. He seemed weighed down with woe.
He salaamed to the general in a most respectful and humble manner, and
said, "Do what you please with me," at the same time offering his head.
I was desired to inform him that he must answer for his rebellion before
a court-martial, and that his life would be the forfeit if he could not
state satisfactory reasons for his treachery and rebellion, and satisfy
the government that this act of disaffection was not his own. He
replied, "I am as willing to meet death as I am to meet you here." He
was placed in security, and our next object was to dispose of the
prisoners. These were in number about two thousand, and more than
one-third of them were wounded. They were allowed their option, either
to return to their homes, or remain in the town. The greater part of
them availed themselves of the former offer; and, having been deprived
of their arms, they went off to join their families, and bear the sad
tidings to many an anxious wife of her husband's death, and to many a
fond mother the bitter news of her son having been shot.
Having arranged everything for the protection of the property, I was
appointed a prize agent for head-quarters, and we immediately commenced
collecting the property to one spot. My first care was to put double
sentinels on the entrance to the zenanah, till I could, with the other
two prize-agents, search that place; but, as they were busy in another
place, I took a peep at my double sentinels, and found one of them had
left his post, and gone inside. I met him coming towards me with two
large boxes, about two feet by three. I asked him what he had got there,
and he said that they contained nothing but paun. I told him to give
them to me. He did so, and I found them of an enormous weight. They
contained, in fact, the whole of the jewellery of the zenanah. In the
verandah were large bales of shawls and silks, sewn together like
quilts, and in an inner room was the family of the keeledar, consisting
of his wife and two daughters, who, on beholding me, threw themselves at
my feet, and begged for mercy in the most beseeching manner.
I could as soon have laid the finger of harm on the author of my being;
indeed, the duties of my present situation were repugnant and
uncongenial to my feelings; but, whatever situation I was appointed to,
or intrusted with, I always made it my primary object to fulfil the
several branches of it in the most rigid manner, consistent with the
rules of the service and usages of war; and, therefore, the more
sympathetic feelings were absorbed in those of duty. I, however,
consoled these poor weeping creatures with the full assurance of their
safety and protection against harm or pollution, of which they expressed
the most dreadful fears. This privileged right of war, so esteemed by
the native powers, has in no instance ever stained the victorious
banners of the East India Company; but these females had wrought their
anguished minds on this subject to a pitch of frenzy and distraction,
and all I could do and say could not drive from their fear-distorted
features the evident dread under which they laboured. When, at length, I
called God to witness the sincerity of my assurances, I could see a ray
of hope beam and shine through their tears of apprehension, and their
tempestuous bosoms became comparatively quieted and calmed. The thanks
and prayers of the elder daughter would have affected with pity and
commiseration the most tyrannic heart. She was, I think, the most
perfect beauty I had ever seen. Her form was sylph-like and elegant; her
features regular and beautifully shaped; and her eyes were of a jet
black, and peeped from under her dark eyebrows like stars stealing from
behind the murky clouds of night. Her voice, when she spoke, was
extremely sweet, and the words of consolation which she addressed to her
aged mother, would have drawn tears of pity from the most obdurate
heart. When she threw herself at my feet, and supplicated for mercy, her
piercing and anguished looks stole drops of pity from my eyes; and the
conjuring expression of her beautiful countenance would have won the
most savage bosom to commiseration. She seized my sabre, which was
suspended from my side, and grasped it with both her hands, till I
solemnly pledged myself for her protection and safety. When I did this,
her beautiful eyes beamed forth that gratitude which she could not find
words to express. I assisted her to rise, and then placed the three
ladies in a room upstairs, till they could, with propriety, be made over
to the keeledar, who was at present in custody, and must meet the
sentence of a general court-martial. It was supposed that nothing could
save him from the heavy penalty of his rebellion.
We were the whole day getting together the prize property--elephants,
camels, horses, bullocks, &c. During the day, the general visited the
keeledar's afflicted family. He assured them of their protection and
safety, and ordered that every requisite for their use should be given
them, more especially their clothes, which were splendid indeed! They
were protected, consoled, and sympathized with. It is the boast and
pride of the brave to administer succour to the afflicted, and wipe away
the tear of sorrow. Our brave general was humane as he was brave; and
when he visited this weeping family, he said, "Shipp, this is a sad
sight; what can possibly be done to relieve their distress?" He desired
me to inform them of his inclination to alleviate their sufferings;
that they should, in the course of the day, see their father; and that,
should they wish it, they might be permitted to see him every day, but
that, for the present, he must live separate from them. The general
desired me to say everything that could console them. The elder daughter
threw herself at his feet, and thanked him for his kindness. I saw the
tear stealing down the gallant general's cheek as he turned his head
from her; and for a time he was so overpowered by his feelings that he
could not speak.
In the course of the day the ladies were permitted to visit the
keeledar. They proceeded, veiled, to the room in which he was confined;
and the meeting was truly distressing. The daughter whispered words of
comfort into her father's ear, and did her utmost to console and support
him; begging him not to be so dejected, and assuring him that they had
fallen into the hands of merciful and humane persons, whose general had
himself assured her of her safety and protection from all harm. She
continued, "Come, dear father, cheer up;" and she kissed away his tears,
and wiped his eyes with the end of her white muslin dress. The old man
cried and sobbed most piteously; but, having given full vent to his
tears, he was more cheerful. They remained with him about a couple of
hours, and then returned to their apartments in the zenanah, greatly
composed and comforted.
The prize property was removed to camp, and sold by public auction,
which lasted a whole day. It realized a very large sum of money. The
general court-martial for the trial of the rebel keeledar now assembled,
composed entirely of native commissioned officers, the senior officer
acting as president. A warrant had been granted by the governor-general
in council of Fort William, for the convening of native general
courts-martial, for the trial of all such persons as might rebel against
the government. This man now stood arraigned before a tribunal thus
constituted, charged with treachery and rebellion against the
government. Forty years' service crowned the brow of the venerable
soubahdar who presided on this occasion, and he was a very shrewd clever
fellow. The proceedings were conducted by a European officer, through an
interpreter, and committed to paper in English. The crime with which the
prisoner stood charged was read to him by the interpreter. He seemed
perfectly to comprehend the charge against him, and he pleaded "Guilty."
This he pronounced in a manly and firm voice, stating, that he fought
entirely irresponsibly, and that he was ready and willing to meet the
penalty of the law, and atone for his disobedience with his life. Here
he struck his bosom, and seemed to wait the order for his execution. The
president turned round to him, and said, in a most pathetic manner,
"Keeledar, you have now put your seal to your own death by that
confession; but have you not got a wife and children? If you have no
value for your own life, will you also murder them?" This appeal, urged
in the most impressive manner, roused the keeledar from his lethargy. He
started, looked wild, paused; his lips seemed to quiver; and his head
dropped on his heaving bosom. There seemed to be an innate working of
the soul--a dreadful struggle between two contending feelings. The good
and humane president soothingly said, "Take your time, ere you pronounce
the sad doom of your wife and children--your time is ours." The whole
court, and the numerous spectators, now waited with breathless
impatience and anxiety, to hear the keeledar's reply. At last he said,
"Your observation relative to my wife and children is just. I will not
be the means of agonizing their feelings; but," continued he, "what will
the rajah say, should I deceive him?" The rajah's treachery and
rebellion were explained to him, and he was apprised of his elopement,
and the probability there was that he was dead. Upon hearing this, his
feelings seemed to undergo another struggle, and, after a short pause,
he drew from his bosom a long roll of paper, which contained the most
peremptory instructions from the rajah, to fight the English, "as long
as one stone of Gurrah Mundellah stood upon another, and as long as one
drop of water remained in the Nerbuddah, to wash away their blood." This
letter was received the very day he had promised to give up the fort to
Major O'Brien. Other documents fully proved that his resistance to the
government was in fulfilment of the positive orders of his master. He
was consequently fully acquitted, but kept in custody for some time. He
was afterwards pensioned by the Company. Had this man been hanged, it
would have cast a gloom over our victory. He afterwards confessed to me,
that the difficulty he had experienced in resolving upon the course
which he at last was induced to pursue on his trial, arose from his
doubts whether it was more honourable to sacrifice his own life, or
eternally to offend his tyrannic master. He expressed himself as being
very grateful to the court for their great care and anxiety about him,
more especially to the good soubahdar. I immediately communicated the
fact of his acquittal to his agonized family, who prostrated themselves
on the earth, and said, "Bless the humane English! may they long live
and prosper in this land!" Immediately after his acquittal he was
permitted to live with his wife and daughters, and he was received by
them with feelings that would have done credit and honour to a more
enlightened family. From that moment his beautiful daughter was no more
visible; but they all proceeded with us towards the small fort of
Huttra, until the turbulence of the country in which the keeledar
resided had in some measure subsided, when he was permitted to return to
his home.
Having left a regiment for the protection of the fort of Huttra, we
proceeded towards Saugar. On our way we had to call on several smaller
forts, the occupants of which gave them up without a murmur; and in a
short time we reached our cantonments: but scarcely had we had time to
cool ourselves, when we were again put in requisition, and directed to
proceed against the strong stone fort of Gurrah Khootah. Towards this
fort we moved some time in the month of March, 1819; and we were not
displeased with the news, as we were indebted to the keeledar of that
fort an old grudge, for his impudence when we passed it some few months
before. The garrison was overbearing, and it was high time to bring them
to their senses. This fort belonged to Scindia, one of our allies, but
had been sold by the garrison, for their ten months' arrears of pay, to
a neighbouring rajah, who could not or would not give it up without a
fight for it. The circumstances of the purchase are these:--
Some years before that period, the fort of Gurrah Khootah was besieged
by a considerable force from the Deccan, and they persisted in the siege
for some eighteen months, but could not take it. The rajah, then its
owner, not being able to drive the invading force away, solicited Jean
Baptiste, a bastard Frenchman in Scindia's service, to disperse the
besiegers, with a promise that he would reward him for so doing with
some land in the vicinity of the fort. This was accepted by the
Frenchman, who, with a considerable force, succeeded in driving the
besiegers to their own country. This accomplished, he took up his ground
on the place the besiegers had left; and, a day having been appointed
for the arrangement of the promised reward, the hypocritical Jean
Baptiste marched into the fort in the greatest splendour and
magnificence, with colours flying, drums beating, war-trumpets
screeching, &c. His forces were permitted to enter indiscriminately, and
no treachery was even dreamed of. When the usual greetings and
congratulations were over, shoulder to shoulder, and breast to breast,
at a preconcerted signal, the unsuspecting and unarmed garrison were
pounced upon, and driven out of the fort, and deprived of their wives
and daughters. Jean Baptiste then gave, or sold, the said fort to
Scindia, who placed in charge of it one Harratoone, an Armenian.
The garrison, under this man's command, sold the fort for their arrears
of pay, and the purchaser was the grandson of him whom Jean Baptiste had
so treacherously deceived; and, if every one had his right, it was
legally his own without paying for it.
This grandson of the original owner of the fort paid up the arrears of
the garrison--eighty thousand rupees--the old garrison walked out, and
he walked in. Scindia, however, still considered this fort to be his;
but, as he could not take it, he called upon us, his allies, to take it
for him. Had it been the old garrison, we should have been better
pleased; but it was our duty to obey orders; so to work we went, the
garrison having positively refused to give it up without a struggle.
This fort stands on the river Scend; and two sides of it are protected
and guarded by that river, which is deep. The other two faces are
protected by a strong stone wall thrown round the fort, on the banks of
a branch of the same river. It was, therefore, necessary that we should
make ourselves masters of this outwork, before we commenced breaching
the fort. For this purpose a corner bastion was selected, where the
water of the river was not more than three feet deep. In a few hours the
breach was ready, and the moon's rising was the time appointed for the
storming of this bastion. The ascent was high and difficult. The general
was in the battery when the storming party moved out, and I was rather
surprised to see him proceed with them down to the river. I, of course,
stuck close to his elbow. The enemy soon observed us, and commenced a
heavy fire, but too high. Our brave sepoys mounted the breach like
heroes; but at the top the fight seemed desperate on both sides, and at
one time we thought our men were giving way. Impressed with this notion,
our brave little general dashed through the water, and was on the top of
the bastion in a moment, and soon cheered his men in. The enemy fled
towards the fort, and left us in quiet possession of the outer
fortification. There was a large house, about two hundred paces from
this corner, which our men occupied during the night, and we returned to
the camp pleased with our day's exploit, and that we had not stained Old
England's banner.
On the following morning the engineer fixed on a place for the batteries
on the opposite side of the river, and breached an enormous bastion,
which, like that of the fort of Mundellah, ran down to the water's edge.
In four-and-twenty hours the heavy guns were moved down and put into
their places for work, establishing our grand magazine in a village
immediately behind them, to which a road had been dug for the purpose of
conveying the ammunition, without being exposed to the firing from the
fort. The general gave most positive orders, before he left the battery,
that no ammunition should, on any account, be lodged in the magazine,
but that it should be kept behind the village. These orders having been
given, we rode home to breakfast. I had scarcely swallowed a mouthful
when the general seemed restless, and presently said, "Shipp, saddle
your horse immediately, and ride at speed to the grand battery. I have a
strange presentiment that all is not right there." My horse was saddled
in a moment, and I galloped down with all possible speed. When I arrived
at the battery I really thought I should have fallen off my horse, for
the first things that met my eye were the whole of the tumbrells, with
shots and shells, and some thousands of rounds of gunpowder. These were
all drawn up in the battery, and a single shot from the fort would have
blown them all up. I ordered them to be removed instantly behind the
village; and this we completed without the enemy's firing one shot. I
found, on inquiry, that the captain to whom the general's command was
given, delivered his orders to his subaltern--the subaltern to the
sergeant--the sergeant to the corporal--and so on to the poor stupid
driver of the bullocks. I hope this circumstance may meet the eye of
the young soldier, and teach him the absolute necessity of the strictest
obedience to orders, and impress upon his mind that, whatever may be his
rank, it does not place him above seeing things executed himself. Had
those tumbrells, through the neglect which occurred, been blown up, many
lives must have been destroyed, and the loss of the contents of the
tumbrells would have obliged us to have raised the siege, and given the
enemy time to fortify their fort. All this mischief would have fallen on
him whose imperative duty it was to have seen the general's orders
obeyed, and not to have intrusted their execution to others. Crimes out
of number would have been framed against him: such as utter contempt of
orders--pointed neglect of duty--wantonly destroying the lives of his
soldiers, and the property of the government with which he had been
intrusted. Nothing could have saved his commission; and, if the accident
had happened, what could have soothed his feelings? As it was, the
escape was quite providential; for, scarcely had the last tumbrell got
round the corner of the village, before the enemy commenced a heavy
cannonade on the very spot from which the ammunition tumbrells had been
removed. On my return towards camp I met the general riding towards the
fort at speed, still imagining that something was not right. When I
reported to him the circumstances just described, he rode on and
admonished the captain in most severe terms; but his heart was as humane
as it was brave, and he soon pardoned the neglect, and forgot all about
it.
We then went round the other works, to see that everything was safe and
in obedience to his orders. In the mortar-battery, the general observed
to the captain of the artillery, that he thought the magazine was too
close to the battery; but the officer explained the nature of its
construction, which satisfied him of its security, and we rode home
again.
We were in hopes of opening our breaching-guns on the following morning,
for which purpose we all rode down to see them commence. The
shelling-battery had commenced the day before, and did wonderful
execution. The guns were loaded; the match was lit; when, on a sudden,
our attention was drawn from the contemplation of this view to one of a
less pleasant nature--an awful explosion in our mortar-battery, the
shells from which were ascending some yards above the heads of the
artillery-men, and then exploding. I was immediately dispatched to
ascertain the cause of this unfortunate occurrence. I rode within a
hundred and eighty yards of the fort, but I was not conscious that I was
so near, till their balls roused me from my reverie. Something still
kept blowing up in our mortar-battery, so that I had not time to go
further round. I continued my course, therefore, as hard as my horse
would go, till I arrived at the river. The crossing, at this part of the
river, was completely commanded by three guns, which the good-natured
souls in the fort had laid for me when I should get in the middle of the
said crossing. The water was about four feet deep; consequently, my
progress was slow. The first shot went about twenty yards over me; the
next fell short; but the third struck the water so close to me, that the
spray covered both myself and my horse, and I was wet through. In this
state I dismounted, keeping my horse between me and the fort, for I had
still the worst part to go over. The moment they saw me dismount, there
was a general shout from the bastion, conceiving that the last shot had
killed me. This shouting and taunting roused the indignation of the
aid-de-camp, and, to check their mirth, he mounted again, and took off
his hat and waved it in defiance of them. Upon this they sent three
messengers at once, but not one came to me. Before I reached the battery
the enemy were, naturally enough, very busy in availing themselves of
the general panic caused by our mortar magazine having blown up. Near
the battery, the first object that met my sight was a native gunner
literally skinned from head to foot, crying most piteously for a drink
of water. Nearer the battery lay several European and native soldiers
dead. Everything was in the greatest confusion, and consternation was on
every countenance. The dreadful catastrophe happened in the following
manner:--
Behind the mortars lay some hundreds of shells, ready loaded, to be used
as they might be required; a shell, fired from one of the centre
mortars, burst in the muzzle; the fusee recoiled and fell on the loaded
shells; these exploded, and communicated with the magazine, which, at
that moment, a person had entered for the purpose of bringing out some
requisite. The explosion blew up this poor man, the unfortunate native
gunner before spoken of. It was more than twenty paces between the
magazine and the spot where this poor creature was found. In two days
after, he died. The melancholy event could not have been foreseen or
prevented; but the consequences were serious--sixteen men suffered, four
of them Europeans. Three of the victims were lying in the battery,
without their bodies having been even touched with gunpowder. They died
from concussion of the brain. One European was blown some yards into the
river, without the slightest injury. Conductor Glassop, of the Bengal
Foot Artillery, a man of upwards of twenty stone, was standing amidst
the shells when they blew up, and, strange to say, escaped uninjured.
Circumstances like these are the inscrutable doings of Providence, and
far beyond man's poor and narrow comprehension. At this time the general
had himself arrived, and having ascertained the cause of the sad
catastrophe, could only add his moiety of commiseration for the poor
sufferers. Blame could not be attached to anyone. The affair was one of
the unavoidable accidents of war, which no human foresight could have
guarded against or prevented.
The enemy, availing themselves of the calamity, rushed to that side of
the fort in great numbers, and brought every moveable gun and matchlock
to bear on the scene of woe. Having removed the dead and wounded to
camp, we reloaded the whole of the mortars and howitzers in the two
batteries, and levelled them at the multitude of people that had
collected on the fort. They were fired in quick succession, when a
general flight took place, and many of them ran their last race. Nearly
sixty shells, with some few shots, were fired in a few minutes, and not
a soul could for some time afterwards be seen at the same side of the
fort, save some few bearing away the dead and the wounded. We then gave
them three cheers, but they returned not the greeting.
At this moment our breaching-battery opened with a salvo, accompanied
with three hearty cheers, which that side of the garrison returned.
After this we went on coolly and systematically, and we returned home
again, visiting the several posts and batteries. In the evening, the
European soldiers were committed to the grave, followed by their
comrades, who dropped a tear to their memory.
The following morning I went to breakfast with Captain Daggalier, of the
old 13th regiment Bengal Native Infantry, in the large house occupied by
our men, about five hundred yards from the fort. We were busily engaged
upstairs securing a hearty meal, when a large three-pound shot found its
way through the window of the room in which we sat, and passed under the
table between my legs and those of Captain Daggalier. This convinced me
that there is some advantage in having long legs. Mine were so
excessively lanky, that I could only just screw them under the edge of
the little camp-table; from which fact only I can still boast of having
two legs. I need not say that the tea-things, breakfast, &c., were
broken and upset. I joined another party, and, having finished my
breakfast, I proceeded to meet the general, who had arrived to examine
our approaches in this direction.
[Illustration]