The Express.
London, England, 1858-01-13 00:00:00

(FROM 017 R SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

CALCUTTA, Dec. 11, Mt
Although not first in the order of events, yet
they command a far greater amount of interest than
the occurrences elsewhere, the operations at Caws.
pore and Lucknow must primarily be related. hp
my last letter I described the successful relief of tie
latter place, and the glorious interview between Sir
Colin Campbell and Havelock. This occurred on the
17th November. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th our
guns were employed in firing at and shelling the
palace, preparatory, it was supposed, to an attack re
the city, in which the enemy still clustered in SWUM&
But it was soon found that, although Sir Colin had •
sufficient force perhaps to execute this maneuver
with success, yet in attempting it he must lose an
enormous proportion of his army, and possibly be
unable to escort the ladies and wounded to Om..
pore. Every consideration gave way to this met
paramount one. It_proved fortunate that ILINIAIge

communications with (..I.wnpore, and to save that
place from a second capture. It was by no means
an easy matter to move the ladies out of the place
in which they had so long borne up against priva-
tions and danger with more than heroic fortitude.
The palace was not taken, and the enemy were still
pouring in a musketry fire from all directions.
One of their guns firing round shot proved
very troublesome, and could not be silenced ; it
lay in a hollow on the ground without its carriage
behind a number of mud walla, ander cover of which
the rebels still crouched. However, the operation
commenced on the 21st, was completed on the 22nd,
and on the evening of that day the force retired by
the same route by which they had advanced upon
Dil-Koosha, the hunting park mentioned in my last
letters one of the first places captured by Sir Colin
in his advance. The rear guard was formed by the
Lucknow defenders, under the command of General
Outram. On the 24th, without being in the
slightest degree molested, the force retired
on Alumbagh, whence the road to Cawnpore
was open. On the day following Outram's
rear guard rejoined them, and—in what words ,
shall I tell it?—Havelock died. This thin spare
man, who on leaving Calcutta for Allahabad in
June last, looked as though a week's exposure to the
terrible sun of the hot weather and rainy season
would break him down, not only bore up success-
fully against it, but watched his younger and NOM
lusty comrades go down one by one under its effect.
He alone remained as vigorous and active as before,
probably more so u the mind found a larger scope
in which to exercise the body. The secret was,
Havelock had lived a temperate life; a meal to him
was not the gratification of an appetite, but merely
a neoessity of existence. Ho was, besides, animated
throughout this campaign by the highest and
holiest feelings. Like the stern warriors of Crom-
well he marched on with a purpose—that purpose
after many uncertainties, many vicissitudes, many I
defeats, as it were—for he was repulsed in three
attempts—he was permitted to accomplish. Bat las
had no owner seen the ardent desire of ki• hoofs
fulfilled, he bad no sooner beheld the Residency eva-
cuated, than an attack of dysentery, against which
he had long struggled, overwhelmed him, and he
died. His death, like the untimely end of the gal-
lant Neill, has been mourned in India as a national
misfortune.

On the 27th Sir Colin set out from Alumbagh, on
his return to Cawnpore, heaving Sir James Outran
with a thousand men to hold the former place. The
line of march, including besides the troops, ladies,
wounded, and camp followers, extended over eight
miles, and the rear guard never came up till the
following morning. On the 27th they mucked
fourteen miles, and on the 28th they left their
ground at 7 a.m., marched for twelve hours—thirty

miles—without intermission. The troops, tired and
hungry, were delighted at the approach of food and
rest ; but many got none. Sir Colin Campbell had
Laud heavy firing in the direction of Cawnpore, and
ordered the Artillery and Cavalry to push on with-1
out delay. A message too had reached him, to the'
effect that the Gwalior troops had attacked the place.
Before chronicling the results of Sir Colin's move-
ments, it may be as well to relate the events which
had occurred at Cawnpore in his absence.
Cawnpore had been left under the command of
General Windham, the hero of the Redan. He had
with him about 3,000 men, consisting of portions of
the 34th, 64th, 82nd, and 88th Regiments, besides
artillery. It is said that his orders from Sir Colin
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 bad arrived at Pandoo Nuddy, about eight
miles from Cawnpore. These were not the Gwalior
troops : they were Koour Siegh's rabble, who
having been beaten out of Bebar in August by yin.
cent Eyre, had since joined the Gwalior disciplined
troops, and had come on as their advanced guard.
Windham,thinking they were the Gwalior troops,went
out on the 26th to attack them, and after a contest
of an hour-and-a-halfs duration, beat them. He

thought, most probably, that this defeat must so
disorganise the rebels that they would make no more
head against us. At all events, all accounts agree
in stating that no precautions whatever were taken
against surprise, that oar standing camp remained
as though we were in a peaceful cantonment, and
that no attack was anticipated for a moment. But
the Owalior men were rather enraged than
discomfited. They had sent forward /Co=
Singh's rabble as a "feeler," both to deceive
Windham and to mask their own move-
ments. They were very nearly being atiocenfuL
Finding fromWindbam's attack onKoour Singh that
he was prepared to expect them on the east side of
Cawnpore, they moved rapidly on to the Delhi
road, making a circuit, and then on the morning of
the 27th marched on the station from the westward.
Instead, however, of attacking with promptitude,
they contented themselves with assuming a threaten-
ing attitude at Nawabgunge, a rehab two miles dis-
tent from Wiadham's standing vamp. This enabled
the latter to make preparations. He ordered out
the troops,and, marching at the head of mere Boo-
pesos than the lamented Havelock had ever bad
under his command, went down confident of moans
to attack the rebels. Our troops, accustomed to be
led to victory, went on with their usual dash, the
64th, one of Havelock's victorious regiments, hid-
ing. They charged a battery in the left centre of
the enemy's line, sad pined it, the enemy yielding