The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-23 00:00:00

INDIA. THE CALCUTTA MAIL. The following telegram bag been received from Alexandria, via Corfu and Malta, January 21, 7.30 a.m.:— ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 17. The Indian mails have arrived, with dates from Cal cutta to the 2.lth of December, and Hong Kong to the 16th. The psrjaub has brought the mail from Bombay, with intelligence to the 29th. The Furruckabad rebels have been defeated in two engagements, in the latter of which, on the 18th, the dis persion of the enemy was complete. Their guns were captured ; our loss is trifling. No further intelligence from Oude. The 11th Cavalry mutinied on the Ist of December. They were overtaken near Purneah. Eleven were killed, but the remainder escaped. The 17th Native Infantry are under orders for China. Exchange at Bombay. 2a. 2 2.31 At Calcutta, 2s. 2id. for Credits. The French admiral has proclaimed the blockade of Canton river on the pert of France. The island of Donan, opposite Canton, was occupied on the 15th of December by the English and French forces. l'he Chinese were allowed 10 days to accept an ultima tum. Exchange at Hong Kong, 4s. I Id. ; Shanghai, 6s. 4id. to 6s. 6d. At 3 p.m. a steamer, with London mails, has been sig nalled. The following telegram was received at the Foreignoffice, through Corfu, on Friday morning, at 7.30 a.m. : ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 17. The Candia arrived at Suez on the 14th inst., bringing dates from Calcutta to 25th December ; Madras, 29th Dec.; (Mlle, 9th January; and Hong Kong, 10th December; but no news of importance. The East India Company's steamer Punjaub also arrived at Suez on the 13th inst., with Bombay dates to 29th December ; she left the (3eroze at Aden, coaling. A small force from Delhi, under Colonel Seaton, encountered a body of rebels at Guingeree, on Dec. the lath, took the guns, killed 150 men; we lost few men, and three officers. Again, on the llth December, the same column attacked a strong force of the enemy intrenched at Putalem, near Fntteyghur, killed about 600 of them, including many chiefs; and took eleven guns with their camp, and parted [pursued?] the routed enemy seven miles. Our loss was trifling, including only one officer killed. Communication by post between Bombay and Calcutta had been reestablished, letters and papers having been received. The Southampton and Prince Albert, with troops, had reached Bombay, 12th. Lord Elgin's ultimatum was delivered to Yeh, who shows no disposition to [.iomething omitted]. The island of Sonan was occupied without resistance on the 15th. GREEN, Acting Consul General. THE FIGHTIN(} AT CAWNPORE. The arrival of the Bombay mail of the 2tth Dee. confirms the brief statements previously received relative to the recent fighting at Cawnpore. It ap pears certain that General Windham'e force was neatly overpowered by the Gwalior rebels, and that only the opportune arrival of Sir Colin Campbell saved us from a second crave disaster at Cawnpore. To understand the nature of the recent fighting at Cawnpore it is necessary to bear in mind three dis tinct positions—the intrenchment on the Ganges, held by us ; the town of Cawnpore, immediately in front of the intrenchment; and Windham's camp, six miles in front of the town. Upon the departure of Sir Colin Campbell for Lucknow, General Wind ham was left in command at Cawnpore with a force mustering 2,500 bayonets and 12 field guns, with some 30 siege guns in the intrencb ments. General Windham bad formed an advanced camp about six miles in front of the city. The Gwa lior Contingent, consisting of four batteries of artillery, two regiments of cavalry, and seven regiments of infantry, all highly disciplined, and swelled to near 20,000 men, with 42 guns, by the junction of the remnant of the Dinapore mutineers, the contingents of all the ill-disposed rajahs in that part of' India, with the whole body of ruffians and bandits from the country around, crossed the Ganges on the 24th of November, and advanced on Cawnpore. General Windhatn, at the bead of 1,500 men and 8 guns, left hie camp on the 20th to meet them, and coming up with the advanced guard of the rebels at the village of Kutree, gave them battle and defeated them under the following cir cumstances, detailed by an officer present with his regiment, the Connaught Rangers : Camp, Cawnpore, Nov. 27,1657. We fought a battle yesterday with the Gwalior rebels, 8,000 woo& with 20 piss, against 1,000 of oats and 0 THE PictESS, JARUARY 23, 1858. guns, in which we drove them back five miles and cap tured, three guns, and left numbers of them dead on the field. The particulars are as followa :—We were encamped five miles from here, in the direction of the rebels ; and General Windham, knowing that they had taken up a posi tion which they meant further to strengthen, determined (small though his force was) to eject them. We were therefore ordered the night before last to be under arms and to have our tents struck an hour before daybreak yes terday morning, and be ready for action. Everything was ready by half-past seven, when we marched off the en camping-ground, the 34th, 82nd, and Rifle Brigade in front, and we bringing up the rear. Just as we were marchirg off, an order came that a strong guard, under the com mand of an officer from each regiment, was to reitifome the original guard iu charge of the tents and commissariat, there being great likelihood of the rebels attacking them. I being first for iltuaril was detained for this duty. I was, therefore, out of range of fire all day. When we got near the ground where we expected the enemy, General Wind ham paid us as great a compliment as could be ; he halted the column, and said that he must have the 88th in front; he knew they were the men to take the position. The other regiments wheeled back, and our detachment, 300 in all, went to the front, and on the order being given, away they went, some Rifles in skirmishing order before them, the 34th supporting, and the 82nd in reserve. We were received by a tremendous fire of grape and shell, and well-directed artillery, which, however, was not long sus tained, as our men drove them back although at great disadvantage, the men being for the most part under cover. We finally succeeded in capturing three guns out of the four we came up with, and as the enemy were in flight, and we had no cavalry to pursue them, we returned with the guns and came back to camp. The 34th claim a share in the honour of taking the guns. Our men were dead beat, coming so far and having all the fighting to themselves; the 34th came up fresh, and when they saw the guns were to be taken they made a rash for it and got up to the battery alongside the 88th. The loss of the force on the whole is not very severe. The 34th lost six killed and wounded ; the 82nd, four; the Rifles, about ten; the 88th, forty, and five officers. One of our captains, Day, was hit with grapeshot in the head and fell into a very deep well, where be was searched for in vain for a long time and could not be found. Poor fellow, be went through the Crimean campaign without a scratch, and he was killed by almost the first shot fired yesterday. Ensign Mitchel was struck by a round shot on the thigh and very dangerously wounded. The alarm has just sounded, so I must stop this letter for the present. The battle was abort, sharp, and decisive. It began at ten a.m. and was over by half past eleven a.m. Not deeming it wise to pursue the enemy further, General Windham fell back to his old camping ground the same evening. The rebels, although beaten, took heart npoh the advance of their main body, and followed our troops to their camping. ground. Early the next morning the rebels, strongly reinforced during the night, came down in force upon our encampment. They attacked Windham at noon in front and flank, and, after ten hours' hard fighting, forced him to retreat, leaving his camp and baggage in their hands. " I bad hardly," writes an officer, "got through my morning's work when a number of natives reported to me that the mutineers were down upon us, and advised, indeed urged me, to rush into the intrenchment ": I delayed, to have my breakfast, to fortify myself for the day; and afterwards went to see the authorities, all of whom laughed at any idea of danger, although we heard the fighting going on distinctly about half a mile from my house. It was So near that Captain Sankey, of the Madras Engineers, and myself went to see the fun. I could not resist tik temptation of witnessing an engagement so near. Our force must have been nearly 2,000 strong; but the strength of the enemy was unknown, I may say de spised, until they completety outflanked us. About this time one of the aides-de-oamp came up with a report to General Windham that the rebels were attacking the fort, when the order for a retreat was given. Soon after this, however, they found out that it was a false alarm, and an attempt was made to recover our position. But it was too late, and our ground was lost, the enemy having taken advantage immediately of our move. A general panic followed, and every one who could rushed into the in trenchtuents on the 27th, about four p.m. An eyewitness, who reached Cawnpore from Futtehpore on the afternoon of the 27th, describes the retreat of our troops to have been a regular pelt rata rout On arriving at the gate of the fort I found that the people, civil and military, were rushing from their houses and tents with whatever clothes sod turniture they could snatch up. I ordered my garry-waggon into the fort. The driver went away with the horse, and I saw him no more. He left the vehicle in a most exposed place; but I could not get it moved afterwards, as it was heavy. 3.20 p.m.—Saw oar troops retreating into the outer intrenchment. A regular panic followed. Trains of elephants, camels, horses, bullock-waggons, and coolies, came in at the principal gate, laden with stuff. 'The principal buildings in the fort are the general hospital, the sailors' hospital, the post-office, and the commissariat cellars. Around these houses, which are scattered, crowds of camels, bullocks, and horses were collected, fastened by ropes to stakes in the ground, and among the animals piles of trunks, beds, chairs, and miscellaneous furniture and baggage. There was scarcely room to move. The fort may cover three or four acres, I shnald say. Met one of the chaplains, hastening into the intrenchment. He had left everything in his tent outside. The servants almost everywhere abandoned their masters when they heard the gm& ldomited aims ware galloping across the rough ground between the inner and outer intrench ments, and dhoolie after dhoolie, with its red curtains down, concealing some poor victim, passed on to the hospitals. The poor fellows were brought in, shot, cut, shattered, and wounded in every imaginable way; and as they went by, raw stumps might be seen hanging over the sides of the ilhooltes, literally like torn butcher meat. The agonies which 1 saw some of them endure during the surgical operations were such as no tongue or pen can describe. The surgeons, who did their utmost, were so overworked that many sufferers lay bleeding for hours before it was possible to attend to them. Here and there, both outside the hospitals and within them, a man lay on his bloody litter breathing out his life. The groans and cries were heartrending. 1 saw one sailor carried In a litter on the shoulders of four men; he was severely wounded but kept up his spirits amazingly, and spoke to his comrades as he passed quite jocularly. But I must be brief, else I shall lose the mail. The retreat is thus explained. General Windham, who re• pulsed the enemy yesterday, went out to-day about noon to attack the three divisions of the Gwalior rebels under Nana Sahib. Windham was routed, I regret to say, and lost his camp with 500 tents, the mess-plate of six regi ments, no end of tents, saddlery, and Witness in an un finished state, and private property valued at 50,0001. So it is said. He left his flank exposed, and made no pro vision for the safety of his camp. This has been a most disastrous affair. Felt the want of something to sat in the evening, but could procure only some biscuits from the commissariat. Slept in my waggon. Other writers declare that the number of tents captured by the rebels exceeded 3,000, while the best part of our baggage, winter clothing, and other stores fell into their hands. Another writer gives 5,000 as the number of tents burned, and adds that they were on their way to the upper provinces : Now, we cannot replace these tents; there is not a suffi cient shelter for our troops left standing, as the regiments who have mutinied never failed to destroy barraeks and public buildings, and in the hot weather and rains when and how are our men to be covered ? Our troops suffered severely, and the resull'of the day's fighting was that we were driven into the intrenchment thrown up beyond Cawnpore, while the rebels reoccupied the town in force, placing their guns on the Nunkey Nawab's llnveylee, and the church. On the 28th, at noon, the rebels attacked us on both flanks. On the left Colonel Walpole, after a steady defence, made a sortie and captured two 18-pounders. On the right the attack of the rebels was pressed with great fury, so much so that Colonel Carthew, brigadier in command, sent for reinforcements, when Colonel Wilson, arriving with her Majesty's 64th, made one of the bravest charges that could be, having with only 170 men charged and taken four guns, which, for want of support, they lost again, the cavalry having come down upon them and killed six officers, and some sixty three men killed and wounded. The officers' names are Colonel Wilson, brigadier, wounded through the left cheek severely—he died a few hours afterwards ; Major Stirling, killed, cut down at the guns; Captain Morphy, brigade major; Captain or Major Macrae, quartermaster-general, also killed at the guns; two officers missing, Lieutenant Mackinnon and Lieu tenant Gibbon. It is said that they were taken prisoners, one of them hung on our own gallows, the other tied to a waggon-wheel and long tortured, being beaten with shoes upon the face, Sm. The Futtehcore correspondent quoted above thus writes : Saturday, Nov. 28. 9.40 a.m.—Heavy firing on our right. 9.50 a.m.—Heavy firing on our left. 11.15 a.m.—Brigadier Wilson has been carried into his tent mortally wounded, shot through the back and left lung. He lived for two hours, and then calmly sunk to his rest. His last moments proved him to be a hero and a Christian. The chaplain remained with him till be died. The conduct of the filth Regiment this morning hes justly excited admiration. Brigadier Wilson asked General Windham to allow him to charge the enemy with the 04th, of which he was colonel. Permission was granted. The regiment advanced in the face of the enemy, and under a murderous fire, for more than half a mile, up a ravine com manded by high ground in front as well as on the right and left. From the ridge in front four 9-pounders played upon them as they went forward. The left flank of the Gwalior rebels rested on the Ganges, and their guns were protected by dense columns of troops who lay under cover, it id were strongly supported by cavalry on their left. After disputing every inch of the ground their front line was driven back by the steady and determined fire of the 64th. It then appeared that overwhelming numbers of the hostile force lay concealed in three or four parallels behind. These rose and met the 04th as soon as the foremost officers, Major Stirling, Captain Saunders, Captain Morphy, Captain Macrae, Lieutenant Parsons, Lieutenant O'Grady, and others, reached the crest of the ridge, and charged upon the guns, followed by the column. Major Stirling fell gloriously in front of the battery, fighting hand to hand with the enemy, t.f whom he killed several. Captain Morphy was shot through the heart, and seemed to bound from his saddle, falling heavily upon his head. Captain Macrae also met his LW like a soldier with his face to the foe. Captain Saunders, commanding the leading division, dashed forward followed by Parsons and O'Grady. Par sons instantly received a severe wound in his sword arm. O'Grady cheered the men on, waving his cap in the air, until he had the honour of laying his hand on one of the guns. The regiment took up the cheer, and hurried on to the support of Saur ders anti O'Grady, now fiercely engaged $ in personal conflict with the Gwaliors. The tine old