The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-19 00:00:00

carry them six hundred miles up the river was vaih—the
boatmen proved their devotion to the King by, removing
every boat likely to be useful to the invaders, and such
was the unpleasant and herirdous pesi ion of the British
at the commenmaicut of the rainy tearon, the longeEt,
petbaps, in any part of India, And during which no
troops could heep the field.
About the end of May, RS the Burmete troops swarmed
in, they gradually
.hecame more daring, approached the
position, and cc)aintenced stoekading thi
in the jangle, within heating of the advannd pasts._ At
length •Sir A. Campbell -ordered out a recon-
noitering party, and the stool:4de, being-. in-
cemplete, was abandoned, the rt alese slowly
retiriag through the jupgle before the British trons
until they reached a village' protectedtwo stocka.,lk-v.
A heavy fire was 'opened from o...i:se en the Ilithh,
which-they were 'unable to taut n, 'rain com--
pletely wetted their muskets. The order acs
ehezr-r* with the bayoriet,',,,nd three Compsnler, rushtd
*
for ward; and :soon reed their- way into •t

interkr.

and as th 6 Bunrei:.., NT: ouLl neither give 1.1-4 r-take

frarful butchery enien:d, the only
'- exit being a small rry:Vute at the back of st c
rs-TYektrlep, in whith the d fis t (Terri we hentie-'
triciible 6onfu,ion. This wo tit first er'ci
0.:1,7.116Z; ;1:C r•
irmnressed'ihe Burmese with r:spect valour,
the victory having ty.cn won with Ettt'll ii':pertionate
MQ;"l$, It :aught the E.,- ro obyt.ltnte
g,al!tyl,r7 0:' the 1.3.1rny• -
he cut r , • -
served that cinus7--' - •
cyriorr, w 1.1,1
: o
• -. .
goo-!, v;.-s 1.0111:f ' • - :
icht strugee rrG• f.. er,cd
village of Klantsnfliii,, Ligiwr up tLic.r:-
Lathe on eh° It:e,h; of Jene, but -IT vie ;,-..i.'st;,.,bet,'",l4f-vgns
jangle the advancing Coluwn f.ased ptit:ireektd
by a formidable stockade, protected en lured sides b
the jungle, and the vieible front being' 14 fect"hig=h, fortiY-
fiut by p.,;„9, branches, ac-1 palisades, driven diagonal,
into the ground.' Two 18-pounclore were brought up
to breach the work—a large gap Was soon
made, and the troops rushed forward. The
usual work of tlaughtcr commenced in the intericir,
and upwards of 200 Burmese were left dead in it: - The
Burmese commander was killed by a shower of grape, and
the erublema of his authority, the state umbrella, sword.
and spear, found near the body. Next morning the great
Kemmendine stockades were bombarded, the effect of
the shells in the crowded stockade being so terrific, that
when the columns of ettaels moved forwaid the Burmese
-evacueted the works. Towsrls the end ofJruitcr, inf,.rce-
mente having arrived. to the= Burmese, a formidable es-
sardt was made on the British lines, bat the fire of some
field pieces loaded with grape and shrapnel turned the
fate of the day in favour of the Britith. Meantime the
troops suffered severely from the want of fresh •piovision
and vegetables;
.multiiudes sickened every day, the mor-
tality became alarming, and out of -nearly 40,0'00 men
not one-fourth were fit for field duty. The next. peat
action was fought at Kemmeroot, about ten miles from
Rangoon,-and ended in the capture of ten formidable
stockades, thirty pieces of artillery, and a serious loss in
men to the Burmese; but the British general was unable
to take'advantsge of the panic be had created, and could
not advance a days' march into the country. A mari-
time expedition two or three hundred miles down the
coast to the province of Teriasteriin was, however, com-
pletely successful. The principal cities .were: reduced
without difficulty, several excellent harbours were ob-
tained, and the climate hell g salubrious, therm who had
been prostrated by the pestilential climate of Rangoon,
soon recovered their health and efficiency.-
Towards, the end of July .the King of Ayes not being
able to account for the continued successes of a mete
handful of British troops, sent two of his brothers •to
superintend the operations of the war, accompanied by
numerous astrologers, to point out the most favourable
moment of attack. The British commander resolved to
antictpate them, and made a most successful attack upon
some stockade positions in the river, capturing eight
pieces of cannon and a considerable quantity of ammu-
nition. At midnight, on the 30. h of August, the, Bri-
tish position was attacked in turn by a considerable
force, but the Burmese were repulsed with great
slaughter. Au attempt was made to f.dlow up this
success, bat owing to want of good feeling bete n Col.-
Smyth and Genets! Campbell, the latter having re-
fused to send a European detachment to cheer and
support the Sepoys, the British were c.s.mpelhd to re-
treat, with a serious killed and wounded, and
Colonel. Smyth never held op his head 'afteiwards.,. hut.
conk into an t arly grave: Tho health of the troops be
gen to improve in the month of November, cud a premise
of an early movement in advanco haia gr: ass efl'ect tiprsa
the hospitals. A 're' iaforcernent of two lirit4h rcgirtriit9.
SOIE-0 battalions of native infantry, a tqutafren of
cavalry, a troop of hopes) artillery, and -a, recirct
coins, with 500 Mine; boatennfri.,naCtitta,org,r,-achtd
-RartgoOn about this period," and transports' with draft
cattle re, beginning to arrive., -when it was ailanurictd
thut aloha Bandocls, the ht-..t general-in the Burmese
service, and cane of' tb 0 most formidable the Couttt 0f,.1.1-,va
had Y*, t sent into the'teld, wee suivaticing at the' head of
a-powerful ertny, hi order to captuie or expel the Bri-
tish from Rangoon. On 'the :.30t1 NovetAtEr the
whole farest in 'front of the Ekes, DegAl Pegoda weS
filled with Burmese trees t, and all n'

;a :n=x-

whirl**,

win!e

it 2

ht the -we-cxl

- -
seundcid with:the str.okes of axe and and th
crash of Catlin, trees. The Burnate:e lineA extendA it
semi-eirealer direction from :he river hank above Kau-
mendiee to the village et Pczeadcun, Next morning a
fierce attack was made upon Kemmendine, the reduettou
of that place.heing a necessary preliminary to an attack
on the whole of • the British position—the contest was
long and bhstinate, but the Burmese were ultimatEly' re-
paired wi hAreat. lest, the tret. beets nod 'vessels in the
river:hieing brought their guns Co boar upon the enor-
mous masses. 'ln the cotme of the day several dense
columns of the Burmese el, filed in fri..nt of the Great
Pagoda, and in a few house the British were completely
surrounded by the swerreieg reussea, nothing hut the
narrow channel of the river being unoccupied in their rear.
As' soon as this extraordinery aLd presumptuous forma-
tion was c unpleted the Burmese threw aside their spears
and eamkets, and commenced operatiens with their en-
trenching tools with such activity that in the course of a
couple Of hours the whole line had disaPpearee, and
could only, be traced by a parapet of new earth gradually
iecreas!ng in height, and assuming such forms as the
skill are] science of the engineers suggested.- The move
ing masses *Lich had so lately attracted the anxious at-
.tention of the British had sunk into the ground, and to
any one who had, not witneessd the whole scene the ex-
istence of these subterranean columns could not be cre-
dited, and to the invaders, who had watched the whole
.of the strange proceeding, it seemed like the work of
magic or enchantment. In the afternoon a strong`Eng-
lish detachment made a sortie to discover .how the
hostile force was arranged. The movement was Nt holly
unexpected by the Burmese, and being unprepared for
resistance they were taken in flank and driven from
their cover with considerable loss, leaving large quanti-
ties of arms and tools behind them. Information. Was.
thus obtained by the British of the Burmese mode of
warfare, and the manner in which they push forward
their approaches. The trenches were found to be
a succession of holes, capable of containing two seen
each, and excavated so ES to obtain shelter both from
the weather and the fire of the enemy—even a shell
exploding-in the trenches could only kill two men. As
the troops are not relieved, esch hole contained a supply,
of rice, water, and even fuel, and a bed of straw under'
the bank, in which one man slept while his ocrarg"
Watched. When ono line of this trench is comph tcd, its
occupiers,. taking advantag©
of the night, push 'forward
to where the second line of trenches is w
to be opened,
their place being immediately taken up by fresh troops
from the rear, and so on progressively, the numle:r
trenches occupied varying according to the nutlike t!
the ground, the Ibrce ot the besiegers, or the pans e
the. general., At the same t:1330 a number of large ter.formiddllere rafts were sent down the river to Let fire
fi
to thwthipping at Rangoon; but the skill and intrepidity
averted the danger. For three or
efofutrhedeßy'Shrihseh enemy
ywere snowed to push forward their
undergrued epprosches till they had s.irrivi:d within ball
musket-shot of the Brithh liner. A !evens onslaught was
:-
,
then made upon "them, and. atier an uhstinate enefLet, tsee. y
fled into the jungle, leaving behind them their &Rillry
t)ols, and avast quantity of small arms. The following day
the troops titirtmad at the Great Pagoda followed up
'this success, while another division attacked the enemy's
camp at Della. In both cases the British were triune_-
pliant—the Burmese were driven from their ' entire posi-
tion, with the loss of all their artillery and the material
of the arraz. The Burmese army of reserve,amounting
to 25,000 men, was attacked on the 15th
the trenches carried with An appalling December, and
slaughter
fugitives. It was estimated that, in the le
between the Ist and 15:h December, series of eetions.
Burmese had fallen, aild'their arm upwards of 10,000
disorganized. army had been completely
This may be said to have be
the fortunes, of the British—l:3 population
the turnip
g point of
began to return to their homes,
supplieslaat ltangnooll
lme p
visions and vegetables beca andle ntitul. of
fresh
rience and- information had been Much expe7
obtained,
considerable cost, of the character although at
of the Burmese and the racter and mode of are/taro
nature of L" h.
of country. Tile
year closed without any renewal
part of the Burmese, or without aggressions on the
on the part of the British. Their any decided advantage
he-
zardous and inconvenient; , position was
healthy—they had never been the climate was ea-
ten miles from Rangoon, although able to advance
than France had sent to Algiers they had a larger force
taken to Egypt. The army or than Napoleon hod
M4y, and the 11th of Febr had
landed en the 11th of
Uary, nine months afterwards,
found them still at Ran
that time the y had lived goon, and nearly the whole of
upon salt provisions. All their
supplies were obtained f
and every bullock landed India'
et an enormous cost,
re-
verses
had also taken l cost at least 101. Serioik'rce,
destined to cc-operate place
in Arracan, where ac-
tually attacked by
the
twlth that at Rangoon,
wasback with
great loss. The army •
uirrnese, End driven t
most extraordivary alarmfell
b"
upon Ben-
gal, the peat entry ontti was created tl-4roomu
gthe fields,
reports were spreadthate frontiers
Burmesefled :rem
were invincible,
and it was with
aita theil)ty
tatthe native mer-
chants at Calcutta could be dissuaded from removing
their familieS and property. effect of this panic,
together with a very ill judg -d curtailment of their
extra field allowance to the. sopo'y regiments, led to very
.ementable results, -In the eautenvacnts of Barreckpore
were Tiartered the 26th, 47th, 62d, and 10th Regiments
cf Bur gil Infantry. They were all under orders for
service, some to embark for Itangoer, and others to
march upon Arracan. When ordered to parade fur in-
spection on the 30th of October, the 47th positively re-
fused to turn out. Portions of the 62d and 10th joined
the mutineer', and the Royals and 49th British, which
had not yet quitted Calcutta, were moved to the bar-
racks. A brigade of.artillery was planted so as to com-
mend ihnrear of the malcontents on the esplanade.
Another effort vma made to lead them into submission,
but they rejected it, anti tho guns immediately opened,