The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-14 00:00:00

PEGU DISPATCHES.

NOTIFICATION.
Fort William, Foreign Department,
Jan. 4, 1853.
The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council is
pleased to direct the following extracts from dispatches
relative to recent operations in the neighbourhood of
Pegu shall be published for general information.
The Governor-General in Council has to express his
approbation of the alacrity and spirit with which this
harassing duty has been performed, and his sense of the
services of the Major-General commanding, and of the
officers whose names he has specially brought to the
notice of his Lordship in Council in the dispatch of the
24th ult.

The Governor-General in Council particularly desires
to record his high approbation of the gallant conduct of
Major Hill, of the Madras Fusiliers, and of the officers
and men under his command, in their defence of the po•
sition they held at Pegu.
By order of the Most Noble the Governor-General of
India in Council. C. ALLEN,
Official Secretary to the Governor of India.

EXTRACT FROM A DISPATCH FROM MAJOR-GENERAL
GODWIN, C. 8., COMMANDING TROOPS. IN AVA, ARRA.-
CAN, AND TENASSEEIM PROVINCES, DATED DECEMBER
29, 1852. No. 22.
In my last despatch from Pegu, dated the 15th inst.,
after having relieved it from the enemy, I had the
honour of informing you, for the information of the Go-
vernor-General in Council, that it was my intention to
advance into the country and free that garrison from
the near position of the Burmese army.
At that time I had been informed they were at Le-
phangoon, but from subsequent information I found
them entrenched and entrenching themselves in great
numbers on a plain about four miles north of the Pagoda,
at a place called Kaleetat. It took till the 17th instant
to procure what carriage was available for the commis-
sariat stores, when 18 buffalo hackeries were prepared to
contain six days' provisions.
The troops left the Pagoda about seven o'clock a.m.
on that date, to the amount of about 1,200 men consist-
ing of about 600 of the Bengal Fusiliers under Lieute-
nant-Colonel Tudor ; 150 of the Madras Fusiliers,
under Captain Renaud ; 500 Seiks, under Major Arm-
strong ; and 160 of the 10th Bengal Native Infantry,
under Captain Munro. I had no guns, for I had no
means of drawing them. We had to pass through a
very o
a jungleno b ef for
plain, about
miles two i
n miles, when we de-
extent, covered with
ripe paddy. We then had a good view of the position
of the enemy and their probable numbers. They were
b uc hed o thick
n
admirably posted behind an entrenchment with a battie,
large spars formed their breastwork, and it appeared to
be about a mile long, filled with masses of men, a few
hundreds of the Cassay horse, some elephants, and a few
guns. .

- It was from this post that the men were furnished to
invest our garrison at Pegu. From my force I had to
give a baggage guard of 200 men. With the remainder
I quietly advanced on their position, inclining to
my own right to threaten their left, Which
with at least
n m
was open,
their right being supported by a large tope of trees, and
flanked by a thick jungle. They fired a gun occasion-
ally as we advanced, and from their quiet and deter-
mined
enfe
attitudern
e eof
behind
imice,
intheire, I
had
great
they would stand our assault. These men were from
the garrisons of Sheogyne, Sitang, and Beling, had been
very active in giving constant alarms to Martaban and
who Moulmein,
would
fight
; had
and thesemeof
tcharacter,hese mento o
had been killed
, of being men
on the walls in their assaults on Pegu.
When I was within about 400 yards of their position,
I detached 200 men of the Bengal Fusiliers, under Major
Seaton, to drive in two outposts in front of the right of
their position, for I changed my mind and determined
to attack them upon their right, in the hope of our meet-
ing. Major Seaton very soon performed this service,
the enemy retiring upon their main entrenchments, ex-
changing musketry.
I now formed the columns of attack—Major Seaton's
party of the Bengal Fusiliers and Major Armstrong,
with his Seiks, to attack the tope, with two companies
of the Bengal Fusiliers under Lieutenant Lambert but
attached to Major Armstrong's column. ,
I stopped Major Seaton's attack, seeing that they had
loaded the jungle, which his left flank would have had
to pass in gaining the tope, with hundreds of men.
I had strong reserves close up, and ready to assist in
the assault. It was a very interesting sight to see our
little columns moving up to the attack of this host of
people,ss visible.ostron I w
g lyposats so
ed'andina"lain" where every
object confident we should get in
among them that when the smoke cleared away, after
the impetuosity of the attack, it was like magic their
escaping us. The Seiks at the tope were like lightning
at them, and Lieutenant Lambert, who had thrown his
column in the flank of the long entrenchment close to
the tope would have prevented their firing except on
each other, and I believe the rapidity with which the
advance closed upon them threw them off all guard, and
they considered flight their only safety,
After the action, the troops rested in the shade of the
tope for an hour. We then proceeded on to Lephangoon,
a distance of ten miles, which we reached at half-past
seven a,m., marching altogether about fourteen miles.
This is the largest and finest village I have seen in the
country, with a great many excellent farmhouses in it,