With Dr Robertson were Captains Colin Campbell and Townshend of the
Central India Horse, Lieutenant Harley of the 14th Sikhs, Surgeon--
Captain Whitchurch, Captain Baird of the 24th Punjaub Infantry, and
Lieutenant Gurdon, who was acting as political officer before Dr
Robertson's arrival; the troops consisted entirely of natives, there
being eventually shut up in the fort, in addition to those named, 543
persons, of whom 460 were combatants, namely 361 Kashmirs and 99 Sikhs.
On the 3rd of March, Captain Campbell with 200 men was sent out to make
a reconnaissance in the direction of Sher Afzul's position, and with him
were Captains Townshend and Baird, and Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch,
joined afterwards by Dr Robertson and Lieutenant Gurdon. They were at
once attacked by the enemy in strong force, and were met with a very hot
fire, and eventually had to retire to the fort, fighting every inch of
the ground, with the enemy on the front and both flanks, and firing from
the cover of garden walls. Captain Campbell being wounded, the command
devolved upon Captain Townshend, who fought his way back with his
wounded to a small hamlet where Dr Robertson was rallying the men;
meantime a message had brought out from the fort Lieutenant Harley and
50 Sikhs, a reinforcement which enabled the party to retire steadily
into the fort, which they reached at eight o'clock. At the same time a
detachment of 50 men under Captain Baird and Lieutenant Gurdon were
hotly engaged in another part of the ground. Captain Baird was wounded
early in the action, and under the care of Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch,
while Lieutenant Gurdon conducted the retreat to the fort. With
Whitchurch were a few Kashmir sepoys and some hospital bearers, but the
two parties soon got separated in the _melee_, and Whitchurch and his
men had to fight their way back inch by inch, carrying their wounded
officer. Every now and then they had to stop and make bayonet-charges
to clear the enemy out of the shelter of stone walls around them, and
when at length they reached the fort nearly half the party had been left
dead on the field, yet not a man had left the party. Poor Captain Baird
was hit three times in the retreat, and died next day; while, strange to
say, his gallant rescuer, Whitchurch, escaped untouched. Many heroic
acts are done by our men in war and peace, but none can be greater
heroes than these few sepoys, who were able so long to bear the strain
of an apparently hopeless retreat and retire orderly, resisting all
temptation to a _sauve qui peut_, when a speedy retreat without
encumbrance of the wounded and bearers must at times have seemed the
only chance for life. For his gallant conduct on this occasion,
Surgeon--Captain Whitchurch received the Victoria Cross.
The total loss on this day was very heavy, and in addition to Captain
Baird, General Baj Singh and Major Bhikam of the Kashmirs, and about 60
men, were killed; an ominous outset for the defence, which at first had
a very depressing effect upon the troops, the majority of whom, it must
be remembered, were of newly raised regiments, and without any British
troops to give them confidence. Everything therefore depended upon the
vigilance and calmness of the few British officers, one of whom
unfortunately, Captain Campbell, was severely wounded in the knee, the
command in consequence falling upon Captain Townshend.
From this day the siege commenced, and the fort was cut off from the
outer world. On taking stock of their resources the garrison found
that, everyone being on half rations, there was supply until about the
middle of June, by which time, if they could hold out, they might expect
relief; while there was a supply of about 300 rounds of ammunition per
man. Of water there was no lack, as fortunately when first the fort was
occupied a covered way had been made down to the river, and this covered
way was all through the siege one of the principal objects of the
enemy's attacks, and had to be held day and night by a strong guard.
The fort itself was 80 yards square, the walls being 25 feet high, and
made of stone held together by a frame-work of wood, and 8 feet thick at
each angle was a tower, while a fifth guarded the way to the water.
Outside the walls were gardens and out-buildings, which afforded shelter
to the enemy; these, owing to the rapidity with which the siege had
developed, there had been no time to destroy, and this necessary work
had therefore now to be done under fire. The enemy all through fought
very well, and made every use of the cover afforded to their riflemen,
who were excellent shots; and they built sangars on the rising ground
above, commanding the fort, so that it was necessary for the besieged to
build sheltering galleries to protect the men going from post to post.
Hardly a night passed without an attack of some sort, and three times
the enemy succeeded in setting the towers on fire, only to be
extinguished with great difficulty by the use of earth and water. The
enemy employed every device to get into the fort, and succeeded in
mining close up to the walls, adding thus the labour of making
counter-mines to the other tasks of the garrison. The principal fight
took place on the 17th April. The enemy had been for some days previous
in the apparently innocent amusement of making a noise with drums and
pipes in a summer-house not far from the walls. One of the men
suggested that the noise was made to cover the sound of mining--a not
uncommon trick of Umra Khan's. Accordingly men were told off to listen,
and the sound of mining was heard close to a tower, so close indeed that
no time was to be lost in blowing it up. This dangerous duty was
successfully performed by Lieutenant Harley, who rushed the summer-house
with 100 men. There was a fierce hand-to-hand fight, and some 30
Chitralis were killed, and the mine successfully destroyed; Harley and
his men regaining the fort in an hour and twenty minutes. From the
start 22 of the brave 100 were hit, of whom 9 were killed. Nothing of
importance occurred after this, for the enemy had heard of the close
approach of Colonel Kelly, and by the 19th of April had disappeared.
Thus ended a defence as gallant as any recorded in this book. For
forty-six days this little band of sepoys, with five English leaders,
held the fort, with inadequate defences and no artillery, against a
superior force; the sepoys suffering greatly from want of food, for
their caste forbade their eating horseflesh,--their ghi or melted
butter, which is as meat to the native, had run out, and all they had
left was half rations of flour. To the want of food must be added the
mental effect, first of the disastrous day at the opening, then of the
absolute ignorance of the measures taken to relieve, and the apparent
hopelessness of their position, if we are to take due measure of the
pluck and determination of the garrison.