The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-05 00:00:00

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LIBRARY EDITION of ALISON'S EUROPE, with PORTRAITS.
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NEENSewSmRaS.
Oxford
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continue to
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o mR.

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SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
TIMES. The intelligence from India, though
heralded by royal salutes and announced in terms of
official gratulation, will only be received in this country
with universal sentiments of regret and dismay. The
field of Ferozeshah has been fought over again, with the
simple difference that the carnage was on this occasion
purely gratuitous, and the result wholly unproductive.
When the Seikhs were encountered in full march against
the British territories there was no alternative bat to
close with them; and the cheiik thus given, though at a
heavy cost, did conduce to the object of the campaign and
the termination of the war. But, in the battle which we
have now to rcord, we shall look in vain for any fea-
tures of encouragement, except that unflinching intre-
pidity of conduct which becomes the more lament-
ably conspicuous from being so recklessly misused.
Lord Gough, by the last advices from the army of
the Chenaub, was encamped at Janiki, about fourteen
miles from the enemy, with an advanced corps
under General Thackwell some two miles in front.
Actuated either by some indefinite desire to resume
operations, or by a resolution to terminate, at all
events, a period of protracted inaction, the Commander-
in-Chief, without waiting for intelligence from Moultan,
broke up his camp on the 9th of January, and made a
short march in the direction of the enemy. In this new
position he was joined by an additional brigade of in-
t entry, and after a halt of two days, the whole force again
advanced on the morning of the 12th to Dingee, a village
about half. way between Sadulapore, where General
Thackwell's affair took place, and Mong, where the
enemy were supposed to be intrenched. On the 13th
the march was still continued in the same direction, and
the enemy's camp was soon brought partially
in view. It appeared that Shore Singh, though,
still holding his position at Meng, had occu-
pied in great force a low range of bills at
Russoolpore, a village a mile or two above Meng
and somewhat closer to the stream. What followed we
must tell as it is told, for it is utterly impossible to give
any order or perspicuity to the details of an action which
was fought without any discoverable direction, intention,
or plan. As soon as the advancing force came upon the
outposts of the enemy the artillery was ordered to the
front to clear the ground, and when this had been effected
the Commande-in- Chief, after a little countermarching,
gave orders to halt for the night. He had thus brought
his troops within two or three miles of the enemy, and it
was presumed that next morning the armies would be
engaged. Shere Singh's camp appeared in view on the
low hills of Russool, but the disposition of his forces had
been but very vaguely ascertained, nor was it known
either where his chief strength lay, how far he was pro-
tected by the nature of the ground, or what preparations
ho had made to receive the attack which for at least four
days past he must have anticipated. A thick jungle of more
than two miles in depth was interposed between the two
camps, but what it concealed was altogether unknown.
It was now two o'clock in the afternoon, and the men
were marking out their quarters for the night, when a
round shot or two, pitching close to the Commander-in-
Chief, informed him that he had got within range of the
enemy's guns. This rough message seems to have irri-
tated him to an extravagant degree, and instead of en-
camping, as intended, and in spite of the urgent re-
monstrances of his staff, he gave immediate orders for a
general assault. The army had marched that morning
in a certain order of battle, and this order we may pre-
sume was still to some extent unbroken. The cavalry
was distributed between the two wings, the 2d Brigade
with the 9th Lancers and 14th Dragoons being on the ex-
treme right,and the Ist Brigade, with the 3d Dragoons on
the extreme left. Next to the cavalry, on each flank,
came the Horse Artillery, the infantry brigades being
drawn up in the centre, with the field batteries in the
intervals between them. No new disposition was made
with reference to the sudden resolution to attack, no
reconnaissance of the enemy's position was effected,
nor were any preliminaries arranged to secure any plan
or concert in the general engagement. The action com-
menced with a cannonade, which, on our side, had such
little definite object that the gunners contented them-
selves with directing their fire against the smoke, sup-
posed to indicate the position of the Seikh pieces. At
length the left division of the army under Brigadier
Campbell, was ordered to make " a flank movement' —a
manceavre which disclosed too plainly that the Seikh
artillery was to be found, as usual, where it could act
with the most destructive effect. No sooner were the
troops within range than some heavy batteries, before
unobserved, opened a cross-fire upon them, under which
officers and men fell by hundreds. The leading brigade,
consisting of the 24th Foot and the 22d and 25th Regi-
ments of Native Infantry, advanced resolutely upon the
guns, but upon arriving at the batteries were so terribly
weakened by losses and so exhausted by their blind
struggles in the jungle, that they were compelled to re-
tire upon the regiments which had been ordered to their
support. Their place was: taken by the sth brigade,
which succeeded, under a tremendous fire of round shot,
grape, and, and musketry, in reaching the battery, and
capturing and spiking the guns, but so com-
pletely were they then enveloped by the Seikh
infantry that it was found advisable to close up and
retire. This is almost the only definite operation
of the battle, and with so terrible a loss was it at-
tended that the total discomfiture of the enemy
would have been dearly purchased at such a sacrifice of
life. The 24th lost its colonel, 1 major, 3 captains, 3
lieutenants, 4 ensigns, and 218 men killed on the spot,
and 1 major, 2 captains, 7 lieutenants, and 244 men
wounded. In one of the native regiments brigaded with
it the loss in killed and wounded was 4 officers and 204
men. The sth brigade (Mountain's) had no fewer than
27 officers and 859 men hors de combat, a list to which
5 officers and 240 men were contributed by the 29th
Foot. The rest of the battle was a confused melee of de-
tached and unconcerted conflicts, in which each brigade
and regiment, after plunging in the jungle and finding
itself attacked, defended itself as best it might. The 2d
European Regiment was at one moment so wholly sur-
rounded that it had to fire in every direction and to
charge alternately straightforward and rear rank in
front. Infantry were entirely unsupported by cavalry, and
cavalry by artillery. Field batteries were exposed
to capture for want of troops, and troops were
unable to make head against the Seikh artillery for
want of guns. It is impossible to see without infinite
concern that some sudden panic caused the disastrous
retreat of a most celebrated regiment, and entailed the
actual loss of a portion of the British artillery. Whether
this misfortune originated in any mistake in orders is not
yet ascertained, but the circumstance is rendered pro-
bable, not only by the misdirected bravery of this corps
at Ramnuggur, but by the distrust and suspicion which
a succession of such disasters has generated both in
officers and men. It is now well known that the Seikh
tactics are artful in the highest degree, and moreover
that they are unmatched by any corresponding perspi-
cuity on the part of the British commander. The conse-
quence is, that almost every movement on the enemy's
part is looked upon as a feint. We have the best autho-
rity for stating that General Thackwell, in the affair at
Sadulapore, was only withheld by the caution thus made
so imperatively necessary from seizing what appeared to
be so favourable an opportunity of crippling his antago
nist. Even in the case of the fori; of Attock, our private
correspondence informs us that the whole affair—
attack and defence—is now reported to have been a feint
to allure us across the Jhelum—an improbable story, but
one which forcibly exhibits the relative estimation in
which Seikh and British tactics are held. As the
struggles in the jungle ended at last in the dislodgment
of Share Singh from his position, and in the occupation
of the field of battle by our troops, there is certainly a
conventional justification for terming the result a victory.
Irrespectively, however, of our own terrible loss—a total
of some 93 officers and 2,500 men—it does not appear
that any step has been gained towards the suppression
of the rebellion or the conclusion of the
war. Lord Gough is encamped a few miles nearer the
Jhelum than before, but four short miles from his front
sits his indestructible enemy, with a force re-
cruited to a greater strength than ever, and
with confidence increased from repeated experi-
ments. There is matter, we fairly acknowledge,
for admiration as well as astonishment in the re-
sources developed by the Seikh commanders; nor is the
surprise less in India than at home. The ravery and
discipline of their troops are readily explained by the
fact that they are literally marched against us from our
own parade grounds. For the last two years we have
been drilling, arming, and clothing them, and our Sepoys
now find themselves opposed to battalions dressed in red
coats, and using the same arms and discipline as them-
selves. still it is wonderful how, without any known
deplts of material or any long-concerted organization,
these two generals could keep together so large a force
in such effective condition. From the camp we have in •
telligence a week later than the battle, when both
armies appeared indisposed to any immediate renewal
of hostilities. The prospect, however, was considerably
more assuring to our troops than to the enemy. It
is said, and not- without likelihood, that the Seikhs
suffered even more in the enggagement than ourselves;
and, although Chuttur Singh may bring up some rein-
forcements, yet there is no probable support from this
quarter which will compensate for the British brigade
ordered up from Lahore, and the 10,000 admirable troops
flushed with victory, which might, by the 10th or 12th
of February, have arrived at camp from Moultan. De-
sertions of some note are reported from the Seikh lines,
and certain alleged attempts of Shore Singh to parley
would seem to indicate his own doubts about the ultimate
result. Negotiations, however, are not likely to be much
in favour with our Commander-in-Chief, nor is there
any chance of their being unbecomingly conducted either
by Major Mackeson, the political agent with the force, or
Sir H. Lawrence, who had just joined the arm. The final
capture of Moultan is of course an event of the highest
importanee at such a conjuncture as this, and the recent
effectual pacification by Brigadier Wheeler, of the local
disturbances in the Baree and Rechna Dooabs has re-
lieved us from some very dangerous neighbours. But
this management of affairs must be summarily closed.
We recently expressed our apprehensions that Lord
Gough's successor would arrive too late to save gratui-
tous bloodshed, but we admit we were unprepared for
such an exposure of temerity as this. The Commander-
in-Chief, it is said, " when all was over," was received
by the troops as he rode amongst them with every de-
monstration of joy, This is highly probable. He had
been fighting as a common soldier in their ranks. At all
events he had been seen in no other character, nor was
anything known of the General-in-Chief except that he

was undoubtedly in the thickest of the melee. But
this will never do. Even if the dominion of British
India be beyont the reach of such fortune, the lives of
British soldiers are"far too precious to be thus staked at
hazard. The Eisikh Commander has only to lay his
trap and :the English general will rush into it without
bait or bidding. A demonstration of a few horsemen or
the insult of a single shot will lure him into any position
most desirable for concerted slaughter. If a mine could
be constructed large enough we might hear by the next
mail that Lord Gough and his army had been blown
into the air. Awful is the responsibility of those who
have so long maintained in command a general whose
incompetence they have never hesitated to confess, and
who have tenderedthe feelings of an obstinate old man
at the expense of a carnage which has filled so many
households with mourning, and deprived the British
army of hundreds of its choicest soldiers.
CHRONICLE.—Another of Lord Gough's terrible
successes! Another, and a more deadly, Seikh retreat!
We have to record an engagement, attended by a more
prodigal waste of life than has been sustained by our
army since tho massacre of Caubul, and by scenes of
humiliation from which even that disastrous campaign
was free. The last and most calamitous consequence of
incompetent generalship had at length overtaken the
Commander-in-Chief's force. Disheartened by wanton
exposure and fruitless sacrifices, even discipline and oft-
proved valour had, ie some instances, given way: and
British troopers were seen, on the battle-field of Alex-
ander, flying, in shameful rout, before, barbarians! As
we cannot, alas! hush up these things in silence, we
will, at least, endeavour to point out the cruelty of
the ordeal which, issued in so unnatural a .catas-
trophe. It will be remembered that Lord Gough had
resolved to remain quiet until intelligence should
reach him of the tali elf Mseeltan. But a less inspiriting
event was destined to be the signal for renewed activity.
On the l.Oth of January Major Mackeson communicated
to the Commander-in-Chief the news of the sur-
render of Attock to the A ffghans, and strongly
urged the advisableness of striking an immediate
and decisive blow. Accordingly, two days after•
wards, the troops were marched twelve miles
in advance of their original position, and on the
13th, the Commander-in-Chief came in view of Shere
Singh's camp. Order of battle was then formed, Briga-
dier-General Campbell's division being supported, on the
right and on the left, by Pope's and White's brigades of
cavalry. At this point the baggage was ordered to halt;
and the troops moved on, carrying, with ease, an ad
vanced post of the enemy that lay to their right.
Now it was that the full strength of the Seikh
position became first apparent. Their line extended
a mile in length; their flanks were well secured;
and their centre was protected by field-works. The
ground immediately in their front was much broken,
and covered with jungle. This ground had not yet been
reconnoitered; it was past one o'clock, arid the troops
had been six hours under arms, without rest or refresh-
ment. Common prudence dictated a halt fur the night.
The day was too tar gone, even had the troops been less
spent, to admit of their making the most of any advan-
tage they might gain in an attack. A halt was accord-
ingly ordered. The colour-men were actually pitching
their tents, when an incident occurred which changed
all the Commander-in-Chiet's plans. Some Seikh horse
artillery advanced, and commenced firing on our skir-
mishers. Upon an attempt ,being made to silence this
attack with our heavy guns, several batteries, hitherto
concealed by jungle, at once opened their fire, and it be-
came clear that the encamping ground was completely
within their range. Thereupon his Excellency at once
countermanded the halt, and resolved upon throwing his
jaded troops into a general engagement. Can anything
be conceived more imprudent? An event, which
only betrayed the deceptive nature of the ground,
and the necessity of a more accurate ac-
quaintance with its character, is made a motive
for precipitating a contest, in which our troops may
be said to have fallen victims to a continued series of
ambuscades. The batteries which had roused the Com-
mander-in-Chief to this desperate resolution, were not
the only ones which were concealed. After this pre-
liminary cannonade, in which our artillerymen were only
guided in their aim by the smoke of the enemy's guns,
Campbell's division, consisting of the 3d, 4th, and sth
brigades of infantry, made a fi ink movement, the imnaes
diate result of which was to expose their own flank to
the fire of a concealed battery. The division, however,
still pushed on—the 3d, or Pennycuick's, brigade taking
the lead. Unsupported by artillery, this gallant brigade
had charged up a hill crowned by a Seikh battery,
which, wearied as they were, they carried at the point
of the bayonet ; and they were engaged in spiking the
guns, when, another ambuscade discovering itself, a
murderous fire opened upon them from a concealed
Seikh regiment, and forced them to retreat. What were
the effect of these two surprises? On regaining the
main body, her Majesty's 24th Regiment alone was
found to have suffered a greater amount of casualties
than have fallen to the lot of any single regiment since
the Caubul massacre. Out of 800 men, upwards of 400
were killed and wounded. Among the officers, Briga-
dier Pennycuick himself, the lieutenant-colonel, the
major, four captains, arid seven subalterns had perished;
ten were disabled; making in all twenty-four officers,
whose services were lest to their regiment. Adding to
these casualties the lasses of the 22d and 25th Native
Infantry, we find this one brigade furnishing a list of
27 officers and 749 men killed and wounded! We in-
stance it as only one, though the most disastrous,
among the results of the Commander-in-Chief 's ig-
norance of the ground, and of the disposition of the
enemy. There were, alas ! other parts of the geld,
where these tremendous disadvantages were not met
in a spirit of such Heroic self-devotion. The Seikhs
were pushing on successfully on the left, when a por-
tion of the left, or White's brigade, consisting of the sth
Bengal Light Cavalry and a squadron of her Majesty's
3d Dragoons, was ordered to check their advance. The
Dragoons gallantly dashed through the enemy's ranks,
and after a prolonged disappearance, as gallantly cat
their way back again, to their anxious comrades. But
they had charged alone--the native troops had broken
and fled ! On the eztrenie right, rope's brigade of
cavalry were the actors in a scene still more humiliating
to the feelings of Englishmen. This brigade, consisting
of her Majesty's 9th lancers, her Majesty's 14th Dra-
goons, and the Ist and 6th Native Cavalry, had got un-
expectedly entangled in the jungle, and wore exposed to
a murderous fire. The brigadier gave the order to re-
tire, when, with the exception of the 9th Lancers, the
whole brigade fled preciaitately—throwing into confu-
sion the Horse Artillery in their rear, and never draw-
ing rein till they reached the camp hospital ! A court
of inquiry, it is said, vas about to investigate all
the circumstances; but whatever palliative may—and, it
is earnestly to be hoped rill--be found for this sad ca-
tastrophe, it is useless to conceal from ourselves that it
alone is worth, to the enemy, all his losses. Night
found the Seikhs driven from their position—but still
fighting. Our loss in killed and wounded amounted to
2,500, while theirs was estimated at 7,000. We had
captured twelve light pieces of ordnance and one standard,
and had lost four guns and:ix colours. Our last encamp-
ment was placed a little in the rear of the field of battle,
while the Seikhs had entrenched themselves five miles
off; but in the night they foaled means to remove most of
their spiked guns, to murder and rob the wounded, and
to mutilate the dead. In the morning, our force was in
too disabled a condition to renew the attack; and the
Commander-in-Chief had sent for reinforcements
to replace the disabled regiments. On the
other hand, the Seikhs were bragging of their
prowess, and expecting to be reinforced by
Chuttur Singh. Such were the practical results of the
contest. It would be so painful to us to speak of the
Commander-in-Chief's military conduct, throughout this
deplorable transaction, in the terms which a rigorous
justice would, we fear, imperatively dictate, that we feel
peculiar satisfaction in remembering that there is, at this
moment, no actual necessity for discussing the question
of his qualifications for command. Lord Gough's time
of service has, as our readers are aware, already expired;
and we may, therefore, hold ourselves relieved from the
unwelcome task of justifying, in detail, the opinion
which we have more than once intimated relative to
this topic. It becomes, however, all the more necessary
that we should give distinct and emphatic expression
to our conviction with respect to the appointment
of his successor —an appointment, we hesitate
not to say, which will be among the most
important, both in its immediate and its re-
moter consequences, of any that have been made by
the present generation of British statesmen. The lustre
of our arms has been dimmed; the prestige of our power
has been abated ; an empire which rests on opinion has,
for the moment, been wounded at that vital point ; and
and it is all-essential that the reparation of the injury be
thorough, decisive, and prompt. A great:military name,
a commanding military reputation—a name and reputa-
tion not misty high, but of the very highest—such can
alone meet the present exigency of British India. Under
existing circumstances, an appointment which might
otherwise have been perfectly unexceptionable, becomes,
wo need not say, of more than dubious policy. With un-
affected and cordial respect for Sir William Gomm's emi-
nent military character and well-tried services, we think
that all considerate persons must be of opinion that,
the choice of that gallant veteran would now be inex•
pedient in the extreme—for the simple reason, that his
absence at the Mauritius would occasion ft loss of many
weeks of most precious time, ere he could reach the
scene of action. Assuming that her Majesty's Ministers
cannot but appreciate the necessity of instantly placing
the supreme Indian command in the fittest hands, we
cannot hesitate in naming that name which will have
spontaneously forced itself on all minds. To General
Sir Charles Napier, the conqueror of Sinde, the empire
now instinctively looks as the man best qualified for
this onerous and noble enterprise. He knows the coun-
try ; he knows the enemy ; he knows the British army;
and, above all, the British army knows him. His very
name is redolent of victory ; and, it is a safe prediction
that, from the hour when he heads our Indian troops
they have already regained more than they have
ever lost, of the elate self-reliance which wins bat-
tles, and thepens or widens the foundations of
empire. We can scarcely bring ourselves even to allude,
at such a time as the present, to those circumstances
which might seem to render his appointment to Indian
command a subject of official difficulty and hesitation.
General Napier may have been wrong—or the East
rrdis (:,:ropany Tray have been wrorg-01., as is usual
in such cases, both may have been in fault—in the trans-
actions to which we advert; but the recollection of these
cannot, we are convinced, for one instant, influence the