The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-19 00:00:00

behind a succession of villages, and obstinately disputed for 140
minutes every inch of the ground, but I was enabled, by a flank
movement to my right, to turn his left, and this gave us the vic-
tory. Nana Sahib had barbarously murdered all the captive
women and children before the engagemeut. He has retired to
Bliitoor, and blew up this morning, on his retreat, the Cawnpore
magazine. He is said to be strongly fortified. I have not yet
been able to get in the return of killed and wounded, but esti-
mate my loss at about 70, chiefly from the fire of grape.
Au officer writes from Allahabad as follows on the
26th of July :
Havelock's force left Allahabad on the evening of the
7th, the rain pouring down in torrents ; and, after it ceased
raining, the heat of the sun became so intense that
several of the force were smitten doWn by sunstroke,
Of the 78th three died from this cause, viz.. Quarter-
master-Sergeant Tullock and Privates Gibbs and Menzies,
of the Grenadiers. When the brigade were about fifty or
sixty miles from this they found the enemy drawn np in
great numbers, and occupying a strong position to oppose
the further progress of our little force. Before the action
commenced, General Havelock addressed the 78th thus
" Highlanders! when we were going to ilohatirah, I
promised you a field day. I could not'give it you then, as
the Persians ran away; but, Highlanders, we will have it,
to-day, and let them see what you are mude of." At it
then they went, and our men did show them what they
were made of—for, after several hours' hard fighting, the
rebels fled, and our fellows charged and captured eleven
guns at the point of the bayonet, together with some
ammunition and treasure. After this affair, the brigade
recommenced their march, and coming across the
scoundrels a second time, gave them battle, dis-
persed them, and captured four more guns. When
within six miles of Cawnpore, they came across the
enemy a third time, drawn up for battle, and again
fought them, but this was the hardest fight of any they had
hitherto engaged in. The mutineers however fled, after
a fierce encounter, leaving us in possession of the field,
and fourteen guns; we cut the rebels up fearfully, and
might have done still gretter execution if we had any
cavalry that could be relied upon. After the action was
over, General Havelock disarmed and dismounted the
native cavalry, and made coolies of them for refusing to
charge when ordered. It is likely they will be hung.
General Havelock gave our men great praise for their
bravery that day. Upon the Highlanders and our old
friends and fellow-campaigners, the 64th, fell the brunt of
the battle, but the filth suffered moat. Everything is
quiet in this place, but we are all on the alert and pre-
pared for an attack, as there is every reason to apprehend
one from the inhabitants, who do not seem to relish the
summary manner in whizli we hang numbers daily. Our
regiment is scattered all over the province.

On entering Cawnpore our soldiers were horrified at
the spectacle that met their eyes. They marched
straight to a place where they were t)lii 175 women
and children were confined, but on their arrival they
found that they had come too late! They only
found the clothes of the poor victims strewn over
the bloodstained ground. The scene of this horrible
catastrophe was a paved courtyard, and one of the
Highlanders in writing says:--
There were two inches of blood upon the pavement. and
from the report that we got from the residents of the piked
it appears that, after we had beaten the enemy the evening
previous, the sepoys and sowara entered the place where
the ur.happy imams where, killed all ladies, and threw the
chit seen aave, as well as the ladies' dead bodies, into a
well in the compound. I saw it, and it was an awful sight.
It appears from the bodies we saw that the women were•
stripped of their clothes beioie they were murdered.
The extent of the frightful catastrophe now be-
came known. A wholesale massacre had been per-
petrated by the fiend Nana Sahib : 83 officers, 190
men of her Majesty's filth Foot, 70 ladies, 12a
women and children of her Majesty's 32nd Foot, and
the whole European and Christian population of the
place, including civilians, merchants, shopkeepers,.
engineers, pensioners and their families, to the num-
ber of about 400 persons, were slain. The court-
yard in front of the Assembly-roams, in which Nana
Sahib had held his headquarters, and in which the
women bad been imprisoned, was swimming in
blood. A large number of women and children, who
had been spared alter the capitulation for hostages,
had been barbarously slaughtered ou the previous
morning—the women having been stripped naked,
beheaded, and thrown into a well ; the children
having been hurled down alive upon their butchered
mothers, whose blood yet reeked on their mangled
bodies. We hear of only four who escaped—a Mrs.
(Ireenway, wife of a merchant, and three India-
Britons :

The history of the world (says the Bombay Telegraph',
affords no parallel to the terrible massacres which during
the last few mouths have desolated the land. Neither age,
sex, nor condition has been spared. Children have keen
compelled to eat the quivering flesh of their munlered
parents, after which they were literally torn asunder by the
laughing fiends who surrounded them. Men in many
iipitances have been mutilated, and, beforebeing absolutely
kille I, have had to gaze upon the last dishonour of their
wives and daughter* previous to being put to death.

After two days' rest at Cawnpore, General Have-
lock followed Nana Sahib to Bhitoor. It was by
nature and art an almost impregnable position. But