The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-22 00:00:00

OVER L.LA NT) MAIL

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IN]) A.

T
CAPTURE OF MOULTAIN.

We have received from Marseilles our advices and
papers from India in anticipation of the overland mail of
the 19th of Junuary. The dates thus received are, from
Moultan to the 6th, the army of tile Punjaub to the sth,
Calcutta to the Sth, and Bombay to the 19th of January.
We have the satisfaction to announce from these ad-
vices that the town of Moultan had been captured by our
troops, although the citadel, at one angle of the town,
still held out in possession of Moolraj with a consider-
able portion of his forces. The speedy fall of the citadel,
however, seemed certain. It must soon have been made
untenable under the close fire of 150 pieces of artillery;
or, if this proved ineffteeual, it was to have been mined.
Operations began on the e7lll of December. The pro-
ceedings will occupy no mean place in the history of
siege operatious. The suburbs were carried by the
bayonet in the most dashing manner, and the town cap-
tured by bombardment, breach, and storm. The actual
issue—viz., few killed on our part, great loss to the
enemy, and complete possession of the town within a
week—speaks for itself as to the real character of the
operations.
The tactics of the final assault do not appear to have
materially differed from General Whish's first plan, ex-
cept that the Bombay force took the position previously
occupied by Edwardes, Lake, and Cortlandt; and on this
occasion Edwardes merely manoeuvred with his troops to
distract the enemy's attention. The town was surrounded
on all sides, and attacked, in the first instance, without
regular approaches, while an incessant cannonade of shot,
shell, and rockets was kept up to damage the defences,
to awe the besieged, and to keep them to their works,
and which ultimately enabled the besiegers to select the
best ground for breaching, according to established rules.
The only disadvantage of such a plan was overcome by
the probability—almost amounting to a certainty—that
the attacking body could not suffer annoyance from any
attempt by the other forces of the enemy to relieve the
besieged; while it had every advantage in hardihood and
expedition, worthy of the large force employed, and
consistent with the necessity which existed for the
speedy reduction of the place.
We shall now proceed to examine the details before
us. Shortly after the arrival of the Bombay division,
With the siege-train, noticed in our previous advices, the
force began to take up a final position. On the 27th of
December the suburbs were attacked at two separate
Points, where high mounds in the neighbourhood of
massive buildings had hitherto afforded to the Seikhs
their best positions for our annoyance. The enemy were
gallantly driven in and routed, our troops advancing in
line with the bayonet, and under a loss on our part of
about 100 killed and wounded. Heavy batteries were
then erected at those mounds, which were at about 300
Yards' distance from the walls. The enemy's fire at this
time is described to have been well and long sustained,
but ultimately slackened, in consequence of several ex-
Plosions of his service magazines, probably caused by
our shells. Daybreak of the 29th opened from the Bri-
tish lines with a heavy fire of musketry, and the simul-
taneous discharge of the mortar guns, after which the
other heavy artillery and howitzers were pushed to
within 80 yards of the walls. The enemy's fire then
nearly ceased, while our own continued incessant, and
evidently with great effect upen the enemy's works.
Our batteries then began to breach. Next day a large
Magazine exploded in the town under our fire, and a
conflagration of grain stacks succeeded. All this, how-
ever, did not appear to daunt the courage of the Seikhs,
now in the close vicinity of the British troops, for the
fire of their matchlocks increased and became more
effective. At length, after an incessant roar of cannon
and rattle of musketry for about 50 hours, the close
attack was commenced by the advance of two columns
from the Bombay army, while the Bengal „force moved
forward on the other side. The gate selected for the
attack of the Bengal force was, on the arrival of that
Column, found not to have been made practicable, and to
present besides an open drop in front, with strong de-
fences in the rear. But meanwhile the Bombay column
had successfully effected its entrance, and the first colours
were planted in Moultan by a Sergeant-Major of the
Company's Fusileers. This occurred about three o'clock
in the afternoon of the 2d of January. The Bengal co-
lumn, after having been obliged momentarily to retire,
quickly followed in the steps of their more fortunate
comrades, and the town appears to have been ten
minutes afterwards in our possession, although it was
tnot until near sunset that all our troops had en-
eseerend. Considerable bodies of the Seikhs were
in the dusk emerging upon the plain in
the direction,
it is said, of Sirdarpore ; but, al-
though the cavalry did their best to scour the country
throughout the night, little could be effected, except in
the capture of small parties, in consequence of thickly
intersecting nullahs, or watercourses. Fourteen guns,
with twenty-five elephants, many horses, and a vast
supply of grain, were found in the town, and the other
booty, in the nature of property, is said to be of con-
siderable value. A Frenchman, we are told, gave him-
self up. What he had been doing is not mentioned.
During the first night of our occupation a mine was
sprung by the enemy, but without mischief.
The most dashing exploit occurred at day-break of
the following morning, the 3d, at the moment that a
heavy cannonade opened from the town upon the inner
citadel; when Captain Young, in command of three com-
panies of her Majesty's 10th Infantry, and at the sug-
gestion, it is said, of Lieut. Maunsell, of the Engineers,
seeing a favourable moment, dashed at the only gate
left in the hands of the enemy—one which led from the
town across the deep moat of the citadel. Powder-bags
were attached, while some of the party scrambled
over the gate with ropes, and in a moment, though
strongly guarded, the gate was captured by a coup de
main, and the enemy disarmed in its narrow passage.
The gallant fellows who were engaged were naturally
led in their excitement to explore the ditch surrounding
the citadel, now first exposed to vie w, which appeared
at the moment undefended, but they had nearly paid
dearly for their temerity. Some wooden palings have
been at once withdrawn, a masked gun was run out,
and a charge of grape fired; but which, happily, did
no harm. The cannonade now continued from
every point of the town, and was often aimed, upon the
information of frequent deserters, at the point where
the principal magazine was said to be situated; a course
Which there can be no doubt was wiser than to risk a
descent into a ditch 24 feet in depth, and upon which it
Wl.lB observed that the muzzles from the guns opposite

/night be depressed. As it was, the citadeisubseqtiently
kept up a stout fire of matchlocks, from which the par-
ties at the nearest guns had to be protected by trenches.
Escalade, of course, was talked of.
The following is a list of the killed and wounded at
Moultan:—
"Killed—Major J. Gordon, 60th Rifles; Lieutenant
Youughusband, 9th Bombay Native Infantry.
" Wounded—Lieutenant-Colonel Nash, 72d Native
'lliantrY; Major Case, 32i Foot; Lieutenant 11. A.
Playfair (since dead), 52d Native Infantry ; Lieutenant
Bombay Engineers ; Captain Bailey, Bombay
Artillery (arm lost) ; Lieutenant Baugh, 9th Bombay
Native Infantry ; Lieutenant N. W. Dyett, 3d Bombay
Native Infantry, slightly ; Surgeon J. P. Maleolmson,
3duornbay Native Infantry, slightly •, Second Lieute-
nant G. Napier, 3d Company Ist Battalion Bombay Ar.
tille
7, slightly ; Lieutenants Brooke and Straubenzee,
Foot, 32d
I severely ; Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, 51st Native
nf
antrY ; Lieutenant Armstrong and Ensigns Gillon
and AFflougal, 72d Native Infantry."
These casualties all occurred on the 27th of Decem-
ber. No account of those which happened on the 2d
of January has yet appeared, further than that Captains
E. W. D. Leith and T. Tapp, and Lieutenants E. A.
Law, W. Gray, and E. Dansey, of the Ist Bombay
Fusiliers, with about forty men, were wounded, and
four men killed ; Lieutenant Garforth, Bengal Engi-
neers, severely wounded ; Lieutenant Taylor, of her
Majesty's 32d Foot, wounded, with two men killed and
ten wounded.
We observe among the wounded the name of Dr.
Malcolmson, with whose public services we happen to be
acquainted. His life has for many years been daringly
exposed in the cause of his profession, and as a geologist,
in India and at Aden, and at length has been risked in
the noblest exercise of his duty.
We noticed in our previous advises that Lord Gough
had moved up to the rear of General Thackwell's di-
Vision, By a further disposition of the forces the main
army at length formed one camp, disposed in parallel
lines, with the principal artillery on the left front flank,
,and Lord Gough encamped in the rear. Attock still
'old out, and we now hope that it is to be considered as
:life. The Governor-General's camp was pitched near
'"e field of Sobrson. There was a rumour that Earl
Dalhousie would be compelled shortly to leave India in
!onsequenee of ill health. The main body of the Seikh
-1111 still continued to occupy their former strong posi-
en, somewhat further removed from the stream, in-
deed, but still flanked and covered by the river and the
Jangle.
It is said that a body of somo thousand Affghans,
With twelve guns had gone down to the Jhelum, but had
refused to cross to the Seikh camp until they received
a certain amount of pay and food in advance ; terms
which, it is added, Shere Singh was himself too much
straitened to be able to accord them. Some other
body of similar character, or, perhaps, the identical
byes, might, it was rumoured, threaten the peace of Sinde
detour.
Dost Mahomed is at present master of Peshawur,
with 8,000 troops. We are told that there was a ru-
rllut in high quarters that Dost Mahomed and Chuttur
Singh might be allowed to share the mountain out-
skirts of the Punjaub from the Jhelum to Peshawur.
Our correspondent, writing from Bombay on the
19th, adds :—" The mail has been successively detained
from the 15th to the 18th and 19th of the month, but
rohing has arrived of any additional interest from
nitan. Mining operations would require a week or
ten days. You will be glad to hear that Khan Singh,
Who was sent with Agnew and Anderson to be the Go.
ernor
of Moultan, in place of Moolraj, and who so
.t!eacherously assisted in their murder, was blown up in
he explosion of the main magazine. The Seikh who
achally murdered Agnew was cut down when we took
the lace. The Bombay column that did such good ser-
tas led by Colonel Stalker, and headed by the Ist
Eut open )Regiment, well known as the 'Bombay Toughs.'
e./ elk 'bred the breach most gallantly, and in 10 minutes
ewerere possession of the town. The Bengal column
found the breach they were intended to assault
eim-
practicable, having been 'retrenched ' by the enemy. As
regards the explosion, it was known that the enemy had
141/4143 a principal magazine in the Jurama Musjid