The Press.
London, England, 1857-11-07 00:00:00

THE PR E S S,, NOVEMBER 7, 1857.

cavalry with which the plain swarmed in front, and then
backward at the small, thin line of men struggling ou,
with sloped arms, knee•deep in swamp. Yet there was
not one of those grim-bearded Englishmen that did not
know we should beat the foe ; and a groan ran down the
line, " Oh, that we had cavalry to cut the dogs up !"
During this advance the artillery came into action as
there was occasion for it, and pressing forward, gun after
gun of the enemy was abandoned on the road. while those
in the front of the left flank stuck in the swamp as they
tried to carry them off, and were left to their fate. At last
our guns came near enough to open on their infantry, and
saddles began to empty amongst their cavalry under the
fire of our Enfield rifles on the right. The horsemen
went threes about; there was a waver amongst the infantry ;
and then the whole went off pell•mell to a village in the
distance across the plain, where we saw them huddled
together like a flock of sheep, leaving us masters of the
field and fifteen captured guns.
It was now past two p.m., and the troops halted where
they stood, for a couple of hours, to cook and eat.
After this they marched to Busarut Gunge, a walled
village surrounded by swamps, about eight miles
ahead, to which the enemy had retreated, and where
they made another stand :

On reaching this place we found they had three more
guns in position—two behind a mud wall built across the
road, and one on an elevated mud bastion. The two guns
on the road were quickly smashed and silenced by the fire
of our artillery, but the little fellow in the bastion—a small
native piece—remained popping away after our troops had
advanced, till a lucky 9-pounder knocked him off his
perch. The aepoys made but a feeble defence, and were
apeedily driven out of the village. Not so the match-
lockmen. They fought boldly and well, but our men
were fierce and flushed with success, and house after
house was stormed and carried till the village was finally
evacuated. _ _ _ _ _

Here I cannot help putting on record the indomitable
courage—after his own fashion—of one of those Oude
villagers, who was in a little mud fort at the entrance of
the place which had been stormed, and carried first of all.
This single man had hid himself, and escaped the general
bayoneting, and after the soldiery had passed on there was
he, firing his solitary matchlock as briskly as ever, on the
guns, the baggage, the elephants—everything that came
near him; and he wouldn't be quiet though called to
repeatedly. So the end of it was a party of Sikhs went
and smoked him out; and the poor wretch was shot
through the head as he was craning over the parapet for
a last hit at his enemies.

The English troops encamped that night on the causeway
beyond the village, having fought from sunrise to sunset,
and captured twenty-one guns, amongst which were two
complete 9.pound English batteries, bran new, from the
Cossipore foundry.
The resistance was so great and so unexpected at
these villages, and the loss inflicted upon our little
army so severe (nearly 100 killed and wounded), that
General Havelock determined to retreat. So the force
marched back to the village of Mungulwarra, and,
strengthening their position, waited for reinforce-
ments. At this time a manifesto was issued to the
villages of Oude, stating the reason why we had
entered their country, &c. Sce. In the opinion of our
correspondent, this was injudicious in the face of our
retreat, and in endeavouring to estimate the obstacles
to the present attempt of Havelock to relieve Luck-
now, it is important to notice the effect he attri-
butes to this manifesto and our retreat :

Had this proclamation been issued when the English
army first crossed the river the people fur whom it was
intended would have received it at more than its full worth;
it would have quieted the minds of the cultivators, and the
effect ou our operations would have been proportionate.
It was not done; we marched on ; and the men of Oude
stood in doubt as to whether our hostilities would be
directed against them or not. But when the proclamation
came forth, after the English had retreated !—to use the
quaint language of my informant the spy—" Now the
zemindars laugh; and those who sat quiet in their houses
before rise up and gird their swords round their loins, and
are off with their fifteen or twenty matchlockruen to join
the Nana Sahib '—for I forgot to mention that this arch.
villain is, as I anticipated, by no means defunct : he
crossed the river into Oude, fought against us at Busarut
Gunge, and was the first to run away.
That this, is not exaggeration, we shall see in the
future operations related of the force.
On the 4th August, Havelock once more advanced,
having received reinforcements of some 150 men and
two 24-pounder guns. The enemy had again come
down to Busarut Gunge, and were said to be collected
in great numbers, and strongly intrenched at a place
called Nuwab Gunge, five miles beyond, on the road
to Lucknow. The troops bivouacked at Unao that
night, and on reaching Busarut Gangs next morning
were met by the fire of two guns :

To these our heavy guns responded, doing fearful
execution amongst the crowds which filled the village;
while the position was turned by a flank movement to the
right of a portion of the force, consisting of the 78th, the
Fusiliers, and the Royal Artillery battery. The remainder
of the troops then passed on through the village, and came
to the causeway crossing the swamp, from the other side
of which the enemy were keeping up a hot fire of match-
looks and guns, both on the causeway and on the right

1071

wing of our force, who returned their fire with interest
across the water. Taking advantage of the diversion thus
made, the 84th dashed across the causeway and began
skirmishing on the other side. The heavy guns followed,
and opened fire at grape range on the enemy's cavalry, who
were scattered to the four winds by three volleys.
We were now in a thickly cultivated country, studded
with petty hamlets, each of which was filled with match-
locknien. The whole force crossed the causeway and
spread out to right and left, engaging the villagers and
driving back the sepoys in front, while the guns moved
along the road in advance. In this order we passed through
the belt of cultivation, and came out on an open plain,
where stood large tents and small, and half a dozen diffe-
rent camps crowded with troops under as many different
fortified villages, bristling with matehlockmen. Our
artillery immediately opened fire on the largest camp,
where was a pretentious red and white striped tent, with
numbers of cavalry and infantry, and some guns, all of
which beat a most precipitate retreat directly the '2 I.pound
grapeshot and shrapnel began to drop amongst them. But
our guns were far in advance of our infantry, and could not
venture to follow up without support ; a halt was therefore
sounded, to allow of the remaining troops coming up : and
when they arrived the order was given to cook and eat,
while a consultation was held as to the expediency of
pursuing the advantage already gained, and going on to
attack Nuwab Gunge.
That a council of war never fights is proverbial,
and so the result of their deliberations is easily an.
ticipated. The council decided on a retreat :
And, in my humble opinion, wisely so, for the chance
was gone. Before this we had only a few wrongheaded
zemindars to contend with o►► the side of the mutineers ;
now the whole population were up in arms against us.
The sepoys we held of small account; but it would be no
slight thing for a thousand people to fight a whole people.
Besides which, there was no concealing the fact that our
English soldiery were now to a certain extent disheartened.
Sickness, exposure, and unremitting fatigue had done their
work. Cholera, fever, and dysentery were rife in the
camp ; and a late order containing an insinuation against
the courage of an unnamed portion of the force—that
force which had fought and done so much for its com-
mander—had, as a matter of course, been taken to itself
by each individual regiment, and created a feeling of uni-
versal dissatisfaction.

It was stated—with what truth I know not—that the
cause of the previous retreat was the receipt of a positive
order from the Governor-General, which reached the officer
commanding the force on the evening of the first fight
at Busarut Gunge, to retreat upon Cawnpore, and that the
advance upon this occasion was made solely on the
general's own responsibility, in direct opposition to his
order. If so, it is greatly to be regretted that this amount
of moral courage on the part of the general should only
have been displayed at a time when its results were utterly
futile. Before, such disobedience of orders would in all
probability have saved Lucknow; now, it only entailed a
useless fight, and prostrated so many more of our scanty
force by death, wounds, and sickness.

The army marched back once more to Mungul-
warra, commenced preparations for recrossing the
Ganges, and had pissed over all their stores and
baggage by the 11th August, when suddenly infor-
mation arrived that the enemy were coming down
in force. The " turn out " was sounded, and in less
than an hour the troops were once more off in ad-
vance, with their arms in their hands, the clothes
on their backs, and without another thing :
When they reached Una°, lo I there WRS not a soul to
be seen; but there came in real information to the effect
that the enemy, under the impression that we had crossed
the river two days previously, had really come down in
force to Busarut Gunge, and that 4,000 infantry and NO
cavalry, with one horse•battery and some native guns,
were now lying encamped in front of that place. Having
gone so far, therefore, it was now impossible to retreat in
the face of the enemy without a fight. Accordingly, the
English force bivouacked that night on the plain, and
marched forward at dawn next morning.
Meantime the enemy, hearing of our advance, bad
worked hard all night intrenching themselves, and when
we drew near we found them very strongly posted—their
right resting on a small village on the main road, where
they had guns in battery—their left on a mound about
400 yards distant, which they had cut down into another
battery mounting three guns—the interval between con-
nected by a ditch and breastwork lined with infantry, with
cavalry massed on their left flank, ready to act—if they
dared.

To oppose these we had not, I believe, more than 800
effective men in the field, for 2(X) had been left behind to
guard the river. The plan of battle was soon formed.
The 78th Fusiliers and four guns moved off on the right
to attack the left of the enemy's position ; the heavy guns
on the left, supported by the 84th, went along the road to
encounter the enemy's right battery, and the remaining
troops and guns took the centre.
Our right, for the ground was good and the men fresh,
moved fast, and soon came into action with the enemy's
left. They seemed particularly jealous of this movement,
and turned all the guns they could bring to bear upon us.
I certainly was never under so heavy a fire in my life. In
five minutes after we came into action, ever] man at the
gun I was laying was wounded with grape, except the sei
geant and myself, and four of our gun•cattle were knocked
over by round shot. The other three guns suffered nearly
as much, and we found our fire had little effect on the
battery in our front—their guns were too well protected.
So we limbered up and got out of that as fast as we could,
taking ground more to the right, and then found it was

MN

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1078

possible to move still more forward, and take the adverse
battery in flank. This was amordingly done, and then
we had our revenge, for they could only bring one gun to
bear on us, while we, with our four, enfiladed their whole
position It is true that at this time we were within 501)
yards of the enemy's cavalry, who, ►f they had had one atom
of pluck, could have ch.irged an:l taken our guns with the
most perfect ease ; but a handful of Fusiliers, with their
Enflelds, lying down on our right, and the small body of
volunteer horse drawn up in our rear, made us feel per.
fectly secure, and we went on pounding the battery without
paying the slightest attend ►n to the horsemen.
Presently an artillery-waggon was seen creeping out of
the battery. That was instantly knocked over, and soon
after a lucky shrapnel silenced the one gun which was
firing direct at us. Our lire grew hotter the►n ever, and at
last a swarm of men was seen rushing buck in confusion
from the trenches. Hereupon a cheer ran along the whole
of our advancing lines. The Nth quickened their pace
before breaking into one of their magnificent charges, and
the Fusiliers on our right dashed forward with a yell, in
loose skirmishing order, at the left flank of the large grove
of trees which ran along the rear of the enemy's position,
and which was full of men.

The 78th went straight at the battery, which still re-
mained crowded with men, the gunners working their two
remaining guns to the last, and only bolting when our
men were at the foot of the slope, carrying off with them
one gun, the team of which had escaped the shrapnel of
our artillery. After bayoneting all they could catch, the
78th turned the two captured guns on the enemy. Some
artillerymen were into the battery directly after, and we
had the intense satisfaction of giving the flying foe three
rounds from each of their own guns.
. .

The pos►tion was carried at all points about the same
time, the enemy flying in headlong haste. On the lett,
having the advantage of the road, they managed to carry
off their guns, as we had no cavalry to catch them, and
our men were far too much exhausted with their previous
run to follow up. Having contented themselves, there-
fore, with driving the enemy clean through and away
from the village, the force halted for a short time to
breathe, then marched back to Una°, where they cooked
food, and an in the cool of the evening back to Mungul
warns. Next morning, the kith, the troops moved down
to the river, and—so excellent were the engineer's ar-
rangements—were all crossed over and housed on the
Cawnpore side by nightfall of the same day.
Three days afterwards, the weary, worn out, foot-
sore soldiers were compelled to advance on Bhitoor,
re-occupied by the enemy in force. The action was
short, sharp, and decisive ; the enemy were beaten
out and bayoneted at all points, but our troops were
too much exhausted to follow up their success. The
writer concludes his admirable graphic letter as
follows :

In this action the ill effect of marching Englishmen in
'lndia by day instead of by night was particularly manifest.
The men came into action so fagged with the heavy road
and hot sun that ere half the fight was over they were
utterly exhausted, and could not du half the execution
they would otherwise have done had they been fresher.
Were the system of the old Indian generals adopted, of
marching during the night, halting when within a few
miles of the place till dawn, and then going on again in
the grey of the miming, every man would be fresh and
ready for any amount of work that might be before him.
Curious to relate, the enemy on this occasion seemed to
be quite as much exhausted as our own men. Some of
them actually threw themselves down from exhaustion,
and suffered themselves to be bayoneted rather than stir.
The cause of this was discovered after the action, from
one of our Thannadars who had been made prisoner and
escaped during the confusion of the flight. The day
previous was a Hindoo fast, which had been strictly kept
by all the sepoys, who therefore had to fight upon empty
stomachs. " Had we," the man said, " been able to follow
up the fugitives for another four miles we might have
killed almost the whole of them;" for he "saw the sepoys
throw themselves down on the ground by scores, utterly
unable from exhaustion to stir another step."
The troops remained that day bivouacked in and around
the old Residency, and next morning marched back to
Cawnpore, where it is supposed they will go into camp
and rest awhile. Of this, however, 1 am not as vet
certain, since I am at present away from thence, having
been despatched the next morning with a couple of guns
on board a steamer, in company with a detachment of
infantry, to proceed down the river, and destroy any boats
that might be collected on the Oude side of the Ganges.
One thing, however, is certain—the troops want rest. It
is now about forty days since the column left Allahabad,
during which time it has fought an action on an average
every fourth day, captured seventy-one guns, and lost up-
wards of a fourth of its numbers. It was really pitiable to
see the regiments marching back from Illiitoor. The 7Sth
left Allahahed over 30(1 strong : it is now reduced to less
than a hundred fighting men. The filth, that started a
few months ago for Persia a thousand strong, is now re-
duced to hardly the size of two companies; and the rest
in proportion. Meantime, report says that the Gwalior
force, fully equipped, and with thirty-one guns, are march-
ing upon Cawnpore. Truly, the sooner the English rein-
forcements come the better.

From the nature of these operaficns we can esti-
mate pretty nearly the extent of resistance General
Havelock has met with on his last advance. Whether
be will be able to overcome, as this writer expresses
it, the obstinate resistance of " a people " with a
column of some 1,800 men, the next mail in all pro-
bability will tell us. The rebels are numerous : it