The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-16 00:00:00

THE PRESS, JANUARY 16, 1858.

We question if the intelligence by this mail has
been surpassed in interest by any previous coineau-
nications from India. " Since the commencement
of the rebellion," writes a correspondent, "no mail
has taken to England such disastrous intelligence
as will the present—never, perhaps, has our power
in India &neared in so precarious a position." The
events detailed and announced are as important as
they are numerous. The abandonment of the Resi-
dency of Lucknow, the death of Havelock at Al um-
bagh, the surprise of Windham at Cawnpore, the
rapid and creditable success of Sir Colin Campbell,
the descent of Jung Bahadoor into the plains of
Bengal, the advance southward of the Oude
rebels, and the numerous petty but continual
outbreaks in different parts of the country, are all of
a nature to attract our warmest interest and sym-
pathy, we fear, to demand our gravest attention,
and to dissipate entirely the stupid boasts of those
shortsighted partisans who, for the last six weeks,
have incessantly proclaimed the rebellion to he sup
pressed, and the complete pacification of India to be
at hand.
As the main interest of all operations centres in
the force under the immediate direction of the Com-
mander-in-chief, we will commence our brief sum-
mary with the events connected with the final and
complete relief of the garrison at Lucknow by Sir
Cohn Campbell. Our last detailed intelligence left
Sir Colin in possession of certain portions of Luck-
now. It appears that his victories, though terribly
destructive to the enemy, were only achieved with
severe loss to ourselves-000 being reported to have
fallen in the three last days' fighting. The enemy,
notwithstanding these victories, still numbered at
least 50,000 fighting men, who showed less inclination
to retreat than determination to defend the city
street by street and inch by inch. To attack them
was to sacrifice a force already reduced and risk
the necessity of a third relief. The Commander-in-
chief, encumbered with women and children and
sick and wounded, therefore determined to evacuate
Lucknow. Three days were employed shelling the
palace, with the view to cheat the enemy into
the belief that an assault was intended ; and jthe
ruse was successful. At midnight, on the 22nd of
November, the whole of the garrison, the State
prisoners, and the treasure were withdrawn " in
presence of the whole force of Oude." Many of
the guns were destroyed, the remainder were carried
off, and the Residency, the scene of such terrible
suffering and such heroic endurance, was abandoned
to the enemy.
The retreat, designed with profound forethought,
was conducted with exquisite skill, and in so masterly
a manner as to draw from the Commander-in-chief
the warmest encomiums upon the officers and men
engaged. We do not here enter into any account of
this manoeuvre. Sir Colin Campbell's despatches,
published above, supply all details. The rebels
entering the Residency on the 23rd, were blown up
by two of our men who remained behind to fire the
mine, and who it is feared lost their lives on the
occasion. At Alumbegh Sir Colin halted, on the
21th, for some hours, collecting his scattered forces
and arranging for the permanent defence of the
position ; and here he sustained a loss which in
1 India has spread universal gloom, and in England
clouds the glory of the Relief t

Sir Henry Havelock, worn out with fatigue, exposure,
and mental suffering, expired at the Alumbagh on the 2rali
of November. How he died no one in Bengal yet knows.
According to one account, his toil, never remitted, however
his health might be impaired, brought on an attack of
acute dysentery. According to another, his death was the
effect of wounds received in action. The Government
has published no particulars, and has noticed hint only at
the tail of a general order about the garrison.
While Sir Cohn was at Alumbagh the Gwalior
rebels, whose indecision for so many months has
been of the greatest advantage to us, at length re-
solved upon definite measures. Cawnpore had been
left under the command of Gen. Windham. He had
with him about 3,000 men, consisting of portions of
the 34th, 04th, 82nd, and 88th Regiments, besides
artillery. It is said that his orders from Sir Cohn
were on no account to risk an engagement. How-
ever that may be, he heard on the 20th that the
Gwalior rebels were advancing on Cawnpore. On
the 25th information reached him that the advanced
guard had arrived at Pandoo Noddy, about eight
miles from Cawnpore. These were not the Gwalior
troops : they were Doer Singh's rabble, who having
been beaten out of Behar in August by Vincent
Eyre, bad since
•joined the Gwalior disciplined
troops, and had come on as their advanced guard.
General Windham, deceived by his spies, assuming
these rabble to be the Gwalior troops, marched out
of Cawnpore on the 20th, attacked, and after a
contest of an hour and a half's duration, beat them.
Of what ensued we have no definite details, but it
would appear that General Windham, presuming a
little upon his victory, neglectsd to take those pre-

-
cautions so essential in the face of an enemy. But,
be that as it may, the main body of the Gwalior
rebels, finding their advanced guard driven iu, and
no doubt well served by their spies, who in all pro.
bability represented Sir Colin as shut up in Lueknow,
made a rapid detour to the Delhi road, and on the
morning of the 27th marched on the station of Cawn.
pore from the westward. Instead of attacking with
promptitude, they contented themselves with as.
suming a threatening attitude at Nawabgunge, a
suburb two miles distant from Windham's standing
camp :

On the following day (27th Nov.), Windham withdrew
his camp in the direction of the city of Cawnpore, with
high brick-kilns on either side of the town close behind
him. About eleven the enemy came on, and with a very
extended line quite outflanked us on both sides, The
fire was heavy, but not very accurate, as the loss on our
side was nothing; but the day began with disaster, and
things never mended. The detachment of the Naval
Brigade, in oharge of two 24-pounder iron guns, &ban.
doned their guns when the enemy were 1,100 yards Lff,
and left them standing on the road for others to bring
in. The enemy got round Windham's right and into
cantonments whilst the fighting was going on in front.
An alarm was spread through all, and a retreat was
sounded—helter shelter, all came tumbling back into the
fort. One of the 24-pounders got upset in the town, and
was left behind, and the chaos of the intrenchment at
nightfall was beyond parallel. Colonel Adye and Capto in
Austin crept out at midnight with 100 men into the
heart of the city, and succeeded in recovering the
24-pounder, and brought it back, or it would now have
been in the enemy's Lands. The following day an advance
of skirmishers took place, and extended over an immense
radius. The Rifles succeeded in eaptui ing two IN-pounders,
but the right advance was wit so fortunate. Wilson, :he
brigadier, was shot at the head of his regiment; the bri-
gade-major fell with him ; also the quartermaster-general,
as well as Major Stirling, commanding the 04th; and this
force was compellei to retire, leaving its dead and wounded
behind, with the exception of the brigadier, who just
lived half an hour after reaching his tent. The follow.
ing day the troops were so fagged as to be forced to con-
fine themselves in the intrenchments, the evening closing
in upon us, and opening fire on the works. Fortunately
the chief, on his way back from Bunnie, heard the firing
and pushed on with all speed, crossing himself that
evening and his force the following morning, the fourth
day (November 30). Owing to the ladies and wounded,
we have been inactive now for four days. The rebels are
some 500 yards outside the works, and fire at us as it
suits their pleasure, selecting the hospital principally,
which they have hit several times. Musketry goes on
all night, and artillery at times. As I write, an occasional
roundahot goes over or into the camp. You will hear
how some regiments behaved. All the cimp fell into the
enemy's hands, and the tents burnt, and there are now
only 100 to issue for all comers ! All the Uwalior Con-
tingent is here—some 12,000 men. What Sir Colin in-
tends to do is a mystery, but we wait from hour to hour,
from day to day, for some move. All are anxious, as
you may suppose, and the loss will be heavy, no doubt.
At one period of the second day an attempt was
made to storm a battery of six guns. The Rifles
and the Gith were ordered to take it; the troops
went at it with all the dash of British soldiers. An
officer, who was himself in the melee, will tell the
rest :

The brigadier gave the word to charge, and " at 'em "
we went; but sadly reckoned without our host. You will
imagine wtiat a fire we were exposed to when 1 tell you
that we went in 1.1 officers and 100 men ; of the former,
seven were killed directly, and two wounded ; of the latter,
only 18 killed, and 13 wounded—so the officers were evi-
dently picked out. We fought at the gnus for about ten
minutes. Two were spiked—one by Major Stirling, who
rushed up to it, sword in hand. The native gunners rushed
at us in the most ferocious manner, cutting with their
swords, and throwing bricks. By the latter, Captain
Bowlby and I were knocked down together, but jumped
up again directly, when the devils came at us again with
swords and shields. I fired my pistol at one fellow, and I
suppose I hit him, for he did not come on. Brugsdier
Wilson was kilted. I was just behind him, when his 'Rose
was struck by two balls. He was afterwards shot through
the body. However, we were regularly beaten off, and then
commenced a must terrible retreat. The guns—six in
number—and swarms of infantry poured in a withering
fire. As I ran to the rear, officers and men were shot down
within a yard of me ; but I escaped by the greatest
miracle. I ran by the brigadier's side, until his horse was
hit, which was about 20 yards from the muzzles, when
I passed him. Directly an officer was down the sepoys cut
him to pieces with their tulwars. But just fancy 100 men.
charging six guns and about 1,001) infantry

In this terrible affair Wilson, Stirling, Mut?lV,
M'Crea, Gibbons, Mackinnon, and every officer on
the staff were killed. The guns, charged to the
muzzle with grape, were fired at less than "20
yards. After this some confusion appears to have
occurred in ca:np ; and the end of the whole affair
was that General Windham was forced to retreat
into the intrenchments of Cawnpore,leaving standing
camp, stores, camp equipage, and the entire station
of Cawnpore to the west of the canal in the hands
of the enemy. Our loss was proportionately heavy,
and several of our men, and even some officers, fell
alive into the Lauds of the enemy. It is stated in
private letters that one of these was forthwith
banged on the very gallows Neill bad erected to hang
the Brahmins, a second beaten to death with shoes,