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

THE

i '' -

OVER 1.,: ot ri MAI TA

INDIA.

CAPTURE OF MOT:LT.4N.
We have received from Marseilles our advises and
Papers from India in anticipation of the overland mail of
the 19th of January. The dates thus received are, from
Moultan to the 6th, the army of the Punjaub to the stb,
Calcutta to the Bth, 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
troop,' 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 ineffectual, it was to have been mined.
Operations began on the 97th of December. The pro-
ceedings will occupy no mean place in the history of
'liege operations. The suburbs were carried by the
bayonet iu the most dashing manner, and the town cap-
tured by bombardment, breach, and storm. The actual
i'sue—viz., few killed on our part, great loss to the
"env, 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
occunied by Edwardes, Lake, and Corilandt; 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
We shall now proceed to examine the details before
a& Shortly after the arrival of the Bombay division,
with the siege-traib, 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
Vastly driven in and routed, our troops advancing in
'ine With the bayonet, and under a loss on our part of
'theist 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 upon 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,
Lire of their matchlocks increased and became more
Ofective. At length, after an incessant roar of cannon
and rattle of musketry for about 50 hours, the close
reek was commenced by tha advance of two columns
areal 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
resent besides an open drop in front, with strong de-
flees in the rear. But meanwhile the Bombay column
ad successfully effected its entrance, and the first colours
l'cre planted in Moultan by a Sergeant-Major of the
Co
mpany'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
trot until near sunset that all our troops had en-
tered. Considerable bodies of the Seikhs were
steh: diirtreetthi
ae dusk emerging upon the plain in
then hthe itis said, of Sirdarpore ; but, al-
did their best to scour the country
g throughout cavalryoth night,
little could be effected, except in
.he capture of small parties, in consequence of thickly
intersecting nullahs, or watercourses. Fourteen guns,
with twenty-five elephants, many horses, and a vast
ZePPly of grain, were found in the town, and the other
„opty, in the nature of property, is said to be of con-
72rehle value. A Frenchman, we are told, gave him-
lan up. What ho had been doing is not mentioned.
-'oritig the first night of our occupation a mine was
'Prang 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 corn •
Palliest 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
barn across the deep moat of the citadel. Powder-bags
were attached, while some of the party scrambled
aver the gate with ropes, and in a moment, though
Arongly guarded, the gate was captured by a coup de
and the enemy disarmed in its narrow passage.
ei-'he gallant fellows who were engaged were naturally
led in their excitement to explore the ditch surrounding
the citadel, now first exposed to view, which appeared
at" the moment undefended, but they bad nearly paid
oaerly for their temerity. Some wooden palings have
beent at once withdrawn, a masked gun was run out,
and a charge of grape fired; but which, happily, did
el° harm. The cannonade DON continued from
infr), point of the town, and was often aimed, upon the
rraation of frequent deserters, at the point where
which' 0. principal magazine aas said to be situated; a course
there can be no doubt was wiser than to risk a
,descent into a ditch 24 feet in depth, and upon which it
''as observed that the muzzles from the guns opposite
might
; be'depressed. As it was, the citadel subsequently
"Pt up a stout fire of matchlocks, from which the par-
ts lit the nearest guns had to be protected by trenches.
Escalade 06' course, was talked of.
arThe following is a list of the killed and wounded at
"'Quite/1:
• "Killed—Major J. Gordon, 60th Rifles; Lieutenant
• Younghuband, 9th Bombay Native Infantry.
I..!ifuzinWt4ll;nmdeadj—Lieutenant-Colonel Nash, 72d Native
Major Case, 323 Foot; Lieutenant H. A.
tlat Yfair (since dead), 52d Native Infantry ; Lieutenant
:11, Bombay Engineers ; Captain Bailey, Bombay
Artillery (arm lost) ; Lieutenant Baugh, 9th Bombay
Native Infantry ; Lieutenant N. W. Dyett, 3d Bombay
4Naiar..ve Infantry, slightly ; Surgeon J. P. Malcolmson,
uemhaY Native Infantry, slightly ; Second Lieute-
tilimilletryG,
slieLvieeree y • L
gahptiieyr, ,
3d Company Ist Battalion Bombay Ar•
32d Foot, a ; Lieutenants Brooke and Straubenzee,
Infantry ;Lieutenant Tyrwhitt,
.51st Native
tenant Armstrong and Ensigns Gillon
and MaDougal, 72d Native Infantry."
• These casualties all occurred on the 27th of Demen-
t,. No account of
those which happened on the 2d
January has yet appeared, further than that Captains
,„..1t- W. D. Leith and T
441 W, W. Gray, and E. T andlst Bombay
/‘lld Lieutenants E. A.
Dansey, of the
Fusiliers with about forty men, were wounded, and
tboar men' killed ; Lieutenant Garforth, Bengal Engi-
arra, severely wounded ; Lieutenant Taylor, of her
74iesty's 32d Foot, wounded, with two men killed and
nWO dad:
as we . observe among the wounded the name of Dr.
ii...-Lalcolmson, with whose public services we happen to be
-e-Patiainted. His life has for many years been daringly
Posed in the cause of his profession, and as a geologist,
India and at Aden, and at length has been risked in
noblest exercise of his duty.
tale noticed in our previous' advices that Lord Gough
Yin cl P oyed to the rear of General Thackwell's
/tll 41. By a farther disposition of the forces the main
tratcY at length formed one camp, disposed in parallel
aadt-418e1 with the principal artillery on the left front flank,
Gough encamped in the rear. Attock still
44 out, and we now hope that it is to be considered as
e
the
Thde Governor-General's camp was pitched near
b.l
a of Sobraon. There was a rumour that Earl
copse-11-neje would be compelled shortly to leave India in
arm quince of ill health. The main body of the Seik..
h
tiej Still continued to occupy their former strong post
Somewhat further removed from the stream, in-
' eai,ut b
still flanked and covered by the river and the
Ai% ti; said that a, body of some thousand Aff,,,ehans.,
tera,,,,,arelve guns had gone down to the Jhelum, but had
4 eer-r, to cross to the Seikh camp until they received
*hieittia, amount of pay and food in advance ; terms
aitatata'„4,4 added Shere Singh was himself too much
beci '"eu to be able to accord them. Some other
Y of • •
oue . similar character, or, perhaps, the identical
by it was rumoured, threaten the peace of Sinde
detour,
`esith"": Mahomed is at present master of Peshawur,
ken, 900 troops. We are told that there was a ru-
Nnail 111 high quarters that Dost Mahomed and Chuttur
might be allowed to share the mountain out-
-0 of the Punjaub from the Jhelum te Peshawur.
later correspondent, writing from Bombay on the
froze adds:—" The mail has been successively detained
townie 15th to the 18th and 19th of the month, but
kotiti,lg has arrived of any additional interest from
ten d'an• Mining oerations would require a week or
Ithe Ye' You will be glad to hear that Khan Singh,
aern was sent with Agnew and Anderson to be the Go.
tren:br of Moultan, in place of Moolraj, and who soeesia
the e of
assisted in their murder, was blown up in
aete,
?lesion of the main magazine. The Seikh who
thae,,leY Murdered Agnew was cut down when we took
S e. The Bombay column that did such good ser-
Ent'Pe The
by Colonel Stalker, and headed by the Ist
weed }reed
well known as the' Bombay Toughs.'
were ea itred the breach most gallantly, and in 10 tainutes
Nola ;apossession of the town, The Bengal column
aegards the' having
Praeti no breach they were intended to assault im-
kui_
1, explosion,
a cable haw b been retrenched' by the enemy. -
Is
it was known that the enemy had
principal magazine in the Jumma Idusjid