The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMR 12, 1857.

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writing from " Camp, Guznee -de Nuggur," gives
tome details which are interesting. Under date of
une 3rd, he writes :
We left Meerut on the 27th ult. Our force was
400 rank and file, 24 sergeants, 12 buglers, and
about 20 officers of our battalion, 200 troopers of the 6th
Dragoon Guards, one battery and halts troop of artillery—
of all ranks under 1,000 ; arrived here on the morning of
the 30th. At about four the same day the insurgents took
up a most capital position, about a mile from our camp, and
commenced operations with some very heavy guns. My
company," D," was ordered in advance, got under a wall,
and returned the fire in first-rate order. I fired the first
shot on our side. We remained under cover and un-
supported for about half an hour, when the remainder of
our boys came up at the double, and our captain was
ordered to charge the guns. Off we galloped. They sent
several rounds of grape and canister into us, but we dodged
them. As soon as we saw the explosion down we went flat
on our faces, and up, off, sad down again before we cculd
say " Jack Robinson." We got up to the guns, drove the
niggers to the devil, and thought we were all right, when off
went their ammunition. They bad put a slow match to
it. Our captain (J. Andrews) and four men were killed by
the explosion, and several wounded. We captured the 24•
pounder siege gun and five others. Their field batteries
they took away. They next took up their position in front
of a large walled village, and fought like devils. We drove
them into the village and set fire to it. We were obliged
afterwards to go through the fire and drive them out. At
last we broke them. A small band, about thirty, got together
at the back of the village, and stood their ground till the
whole were killed. They actually crossed bayonets with
ours, and met their death like Trojans. We returned to
camp about nine p.m. At two o'clock the next day they
came out again, and fought the same battle over again.
We drove them from their position, and that was all. They
numbered about 6,0(X), with a great many guns. Their
cavalry charged oar guns over and over again. Both men
and officers who have fought side by side with them say
they could not have imagined that any of the native troops
could have fought so well. I had several very narrow
escapes, but one particularly so. In the village I went into
a but ; one of the gents was behind the door ; as soon as I
showed my nose he made a chop. I twigged him in time,
took a step to rear, fired through the door, and cooked his
goose. The officer commanding my company, Lieutenant
Napier, the second day was shot in the leg, which has
since been amputated. [This gallant young officer died
after two days' lingering pain.] We expect to join the forces
of the officiating commander-in-chief to-day or to-morrow.
As soon as that takes place we're off for Delhi ; no quarter
to be given, as they give us none. We were obliged to
shoot their wounded. They fought more desperately
when hurt than when whole. We picked up several of our
old rifles, which were lodged in the Delhi magazine. Delhi
Fort now mounts upwards of 150 heavy guns and field
pieces innumerable, ammunition, shot, and shell in abun-
dance, so that we may expect rather warm work. The
Commander-in-Chief Anson died of cholera at Kurnaul
about ten days ago. General Barnard is officiating. We
have been reinforced this morning by 100 rank and file of
ours from Meerut, and the Ghoorka regiment (natives)
from the hills, 600 men. On account of the difficulty in
procuring carriage we could only bring one change of
clothing, and no white outer clothing. We are wearing
the same as we did on Christmas-day, and what we have is
as ragged as it can be ; bolting through brambles and
briars does not much improve one's outward appearance.
Our greatest difficulty is in procuring water, and what we
do get is very bad. The river is so very muddy that we
cannot possibly use it. In case of accidents 1 have written
a letter, which you will only receive iu the event of my
getting a " gooser." My initials are on the outside of the
envelope.
have written this squatting on the ground ; we don't
deal in tables, and I must leave off for a sleep, as we
expect a row this evening. I inclose a copy of our
battalion order after the actions, also a rough plan of the
battle field.
The foregoing letter has great force and freshness,
and is important in many respects. It testifies to
the courage and resources of the enemy with whom
we have to grapple. The statement, also, " are
now wearing the sante clothes as we did on Christ-
mas-day," is most significant. It proves that the
universal neglect of the requirements of the army
in ammunition extends to other important points.
Under date of 14th June, writing from " The
Camp before Delhi," the same writer supplies the
following graphic account of a skirmish :
The Rifles were ordered to advance in skirmishing
order, which we did in fine style, and by an able flank
movement, which does our commanders who planned it
the greatest credit, we took possession of the whole range,
captured the guns, and drove the enemy into the city. It
was fine sport for our fellows. We kept behind the rocks
as we advanced, and all the niggers could see was the flash
of our pieces. Our first point is to look out for cover—up
a tree, behind a tree or rock, in a hole, or, in fact, any.
where where we can see without being seen. We took
and shot two Europeans this day; one of them confessed
that there were ten more in the service of the King of
Delhi. Captured seventeen guns this day, with a very
large store of ammunition, shot, &c. They came out in
great force at seven p.m. the same day and tried very hard
to dislodge us, but it was "no go." They have been out
six times since, driven back with great loss each time.
They are getting reinforcements every day; the 60th
Native Infantry and 4th Native Regular Lancers joined
them from the waterside the day before yesterday, at two
p.m., and gave ns as tight a fit as we have had yet. If it