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

FEBRUARY 22, 1849:

to go off, 13 guns of different calibre and in good condi-
tion, which it may reasonably be presumed were intended
to Le used against Lord Gough and his army.—Star,
Jan. 9.

THE GEORGE AnmsToNG.—The particulars of the loss
of this vessel by tire have reached Calcutta. She had
set sail on the morning of Friday last, at nine o'clock.
Oa her progress down the river, off the Fort Gloster
11ills, she slipped from her anchor and ran ashore. The
fire was caused by a spontaneous combustion of a quan-
tity of jute which formed part of her cargo. One hun-
dred bags of sugar was all that could be saved of the
whole of the cargo, which fortunately does not appear
to hare been very valuable. The spare sails, the chro-
nometers, and the ship's boats, with some stores, were
saved also, and sent up to town in boats by the captain.
The crew, which consisted of English seamen, instead
of lending their assistance to savo as much as possible
from the fire, were in a state of helpless intoxication,
having gained access to the liquor cask o❑ board, and
indulged themselves._ There were also 200 bags of salt-
petre in the vessel's bottom, and fears were entertained
that they would explode. To prevent this the bottom of
the ship was scuttled.— Hur4ai u, Jan. 9.

MOULTAN-DETAILS.

The intelligence from Moultan contsined in our last
extended to the 18th December, at which date a portion
of the detachment under Major Hallett, consisting of the
3(1 Native Infantry and Turnbull's battery, had gone
down to the banks of the Raves to escort the Bombay
siege guns into camp. The train, consisting of thirty
pieces of ordnance of the larsest size, had been sent from
Sukkur up the river in boats, and landed within seven
males of General Wbish's camp. A part of the column
under Colonel Dundas bad crossed the Sutlej, fifty miles
from Moultan on the 15th ; the rest followed without
delay, and the whole joined head-quarters on the 21st.
The Bengal troops were not slow in examining the
condition and appointments of their newly-ar-
rived companions in arms, nor stinted in their
acknowledgments of the admiration excited by
them. On Christmas morning the right brigade
of the Bengal cavalry and horse artillery moved to their
new position at Seetul-ke-Maree, the remainder of the
column followed a few hours afterwards. The new camp
was fully occupied by sunset—the sappers and park in
the centre, the infantry on either side, the cavalry and
bore artillery on the extreme right. The order taken by
the Bombay was similar to that of the Bengal column,
the cavalry covering their left. The two were placed in
line on the 26th. Edwardes's troops moved some way
backwards to form a depot. They ultimately took up
the ground formerly occupied by Shore Singh and his
men just before their departure. The enemy were seen
to watch our movements carefully, and from the clouds
of dust observed to rise they were supposed to be moving
in force in the vicinity of their outworks. The Bengal
troops took up nearly the same line of ground that they
had occupied on the occasion of the former attack; the
Bombay column held the position formerly maintained
byjEdwardes, Lake, and Cortlandt. On the morning of the
27th orders were issued for th formation of four co-
lumns of attack. The whole were under arms by eleven
a.m.' and moved out about one P.N. A wing of the Bth,
with the 49th and 51st, were left to protect the Bengal
camp; the other wing of the Bth, and three companies
of her Majesty's 10th Foot, formed the reserve. The
attack was opened by Edwardes and his levies, who at-
tacked the bridge at Sheesh Mehul, with a view of dis-
tracting the attention of the enemy. The first division,
under Colonel Young, consisted of a portion of her Ma-
jesty's 10th and the 52d Native Infantry. They moved
to the right, making for the brick-kiln facing the eastern
angle of the fort; this they captured with but little re-
sistance. Colonel Nash's column (the 2d) consisted of
three companies of her Majesty's 32d Foot, six of the
72d Native Infantry, with four horse artillery guns and
two 18-pounder howitzers. ;They moved straight to the
attack of the suburbs on the right of the Mursdee Ava
mound, facing the Khoonie bastion of the fort. The
60th Rifles having taken the mound, the column pushed
on through the suburbs, when Captain King, of the 32d,
with his company, succeeded in getting within a
hundred yards of the Delhi-gate, which post he held.
The Bombay column (3d), immediately under Colonel
Dundas, consisted of five companies of the Fusiliers and
four of the 4th Native Rifles, with Bailey's battery ;
while the left division, under Colonel Capon, consisted
of five companies of the 60th Rifles, five of the 3d Na-
tive Infantry, with Turnbull's battery. The whole force
pushed on at once. The column under Colonel Young
formed line under a building and some huge mounds of
earth near the Eedgah beyond Rain Teerut, and then
advanced steadily under a somewhat heavy cannonade
from the fort. Various straggling posts having been
forced, they soon reached some large, unfinished
trenches, the occupants of which took to, their heels.
They then swept past the mounds on which were some
newly-constructed batteries, but no guns, and so on to
the splendid mausoleum of Dewan Sawun Mull, the late
ruler and father of Moolraj. This post, which might
easily have been maintained against large odds, had
seen left undefended, and a party of our troops took pos-
session of it without resistance, and were left in charge.
The blue mosque was next taken possession of; it was
found full of old men, mostly faqueers, and of women.
They were permitted to remain unharmed in the asylum
they had chosen. Some armed men, who were seen
making their escape from the shops and houses adjoining,
were pursued as far as safety allowed—some of the more
impetuous following them to the edge of the glacis. The
funs were now brought up, and a selection made of the
posts which bad been taken. A clump of trees was for
a time occupied by 30 or 40 men only, and the enemy
observing this made a dash at it and for a time were sue-
sessful; they then pushed on, and endeavoured to close
with our troops, when they were driven off by
a bayonet charge, and the garden re-occu-
pied The Bombay troops experienced but little
resistance until they approached some enclosures,
where a sharp fire assailed them and some
casualties occurred. Some of the Fusiliers engaged hand
to hand with the enemy, and the sword-cuts with which
the dead and wounded were gashed showed how close
and severe had been the encounter. They speedily got
a battery into play, while the infantry pushed on and
captured the enclosures, taking possession of a garden
which was well defended. The right meanwhile made
their way towards the mound of Mundee Ave, 600 yards
,rota the city, which they captured. The whole of the
columns were equally successful, and as evening closed
in we had everywhere approached close to the walls of
the town. Batteries were now commenced—one on the
right within four hundred yards of the fort walls,
another on the Mundee Ave mound, a third close to the
post occupied by Captain King, of the 32d, and a fourth
on the extreme left, about 100 yards from a large bastion
in the city wall. The following were the casualties up
to the evening of the 20th:—Killed—Major John Gor-
don, 60th rifles; Lieut. Younghusband, 9th Bombay Na-
tive Infantry. Wounded—Lieut.-Colonel Nash, 72d
Native Infantry; Major Case, 32d Foot; Lieut. H. A.
Playfair (since dead), 52d Native Infantry; Lieut. Hill,
Bombay Engineers; Capt.- Bailey, Bombay Artillery
(arm lost); Lieut. Baugh, 9th Bombay Native Infantry;
Lieut. N. W. Dyett, 3d Bombay Native Infantry,
.lightly; Ensign Napier, 3d I )mbay Native Infantry;
Lieuts. Brooke, 60th Rifles, and Straubenzee, 32d Foot;
Lieut. Tyrwhitt, 51st Native Infantry; Lieut. Armstrong
and Ensigns Gillon and Macdougal, 72d Native Infan-
try. Her Majesty's 10th had three men killed and
five or six wounded. The 52d Native Infantry two
or three killed and 17 wounded. The artillery at
Ram Teerut had one killed and seven wounded out of
12 men. The 4th Rifles had five killed and 18 missing,
of whom 13 were supposed killed, and the remaining five
were known to have been taken prisoners. The Fusiliers
had six killed and twenty wounded. The casualties in
the 3d Bombay Native Infantry are said to have been
twenty; in the 9th and 19th Native Infantry two each.
The troops bivouacked in the posts they had taken pos-
session of, and were relieved next morning. The Bengal
an.l Bombay mortar batteries were both at work by
dawn. These and a few other batteries continued to
play on the town throughout the whole of the 28th. The
riflemen held the suburbs everywhere, and the day was
chiefly spent in relieving and re-posting troops, and
making arrangements for the attack of next day. To-
wards evening the vertical fire became tremendous.
During the night of the 28th we commenced shelling the
city and fort from the mound and extreme right battery,
firing a shell every ten minutes. On the 29th the 18-
pounders opened on the Delhi-gate, and next morning
the heavy guns were actually breaching within 80 yards
of the wall. A plan, combining the recommendations of
Colonel Cheape and Major Scott appeared to have been
adopted; the town, according to the suggestion of the
former, was attacked, and its walls breached, but with.
out any view to its being stormed. The attention of
Moolraj was desired to be distracted, and his guns to
be turned in this direction, until we should be enabled to
establish a heavy battery under the walls of the fort,
which would, it was expected, be in full operation before
he could move his artillery. The injury inflicted on the
enemy must have been severe; repeatedly was the town
seen to be on fire, and the masses of dust raised by the
shells showed how fatal our mortar practice must have
proved. Still the defence was most gallantly maintained;
the guns of the insurgents were most admirably directed;
their fire continued unslackened. After four hours'
firing from the whole of the four batteries, a tremendous
explosion occurred in the fort early its the forenoon,
which must have spread devastation on every side. The
grand magazine was supposed to have blown up; clouds
of dust and smoke rose above a thousand feet into the air.
and resembled the discharge of heavy ordnance close by.
Sir Henry Lawrence reached the camp on the 28th, and
the same day visited the different posts round the fort
and town, in company with General Whish and Major
Edwardes. During the whole of the 30th and 31st the
fire continued incessant, the batteries of the Bengal co-
lumn on the one side answering those of the Bombay
troops on the other. The walls were now tottering
everywhere, but still no signs of a breach such as could
be attempted with hope of success. Moolraj's guns
slackened their fire for a little from time to time, but
continued to be worked with wonderful activity and per-
severance. The fire was, however, not very destructive.
On the 31st December, the enemy, still undaunted, made
a sortie from the city on the allied troops under Ed-
wardes•' they were met by a detachment headed by
Colonel Sir H. Lawrence, and Mr. M'Mahon, a volun-
teer, and driven back with heavy loss. About noon a
tremendous conflagration burst out in the fort; it
continued to rage all day with unabated fury, and when
night set in it lighted up the firmament and landscape
around. It proved to be the principal store of the be-
sieged; 50,000/. of grain were afterwards understood
to have been destroyed, while vast quantities of 011 and
other combustibles added fury to the flames. The
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nothing could surpass in perfotion the Fact*

of both armies. Shells were in the course of the
night thrown in throes and fours at a titre; the arectacle
presented wns indescribably awful. An attack had been
resolved upon for New Ycer's-day, but though the
breaches were fest widening as the day advanced, none
were considered practieeble when night set in. An at-
tack was, however, ordered to be made next morning,
and a furious cannonade 1143 maintained throughout the
night. Early on the morning of the 2d, accordingly, the
Bengal column. consisting of her Majesty's 32d, and the
49th and 72d Native Infantry, advanced on the breach
near the Delhi aslate, the Bombay troops pushing on for a
part where the wall had been knocked down on the oppo-
site side. The former body on approaching experienced a
fierce and determined resistance, and found the entrance
impracticable, a large mass of wall remaining undo-
stroyed. They retraced their steps accordingly, and made
their way as speedily as possible to the other side of the
town, in hopes of gaining admission: here they found
that the Bombay column had been able to enter. They,
too, had for a time been stoutly withstood, when they
forced their way at the bayonet's point—the Fusiliers
first planting tl.eir colours within the city. On this oe •
easion the fole.ving officers were wounded :—General
Staff—Captain 'l'. Tapp severely; 6001 Ritles—Major
M. G. Dennis; Ist Fusiliers—Captain li. %V. D. Leith,
severely; Lieutenants E. Dansey, W. Gray, severely,
E. A. Law, severely, and %V. M. Mules; 3d Bombay.
Native Infantry—Ensign Shaw; 4th Bombay Rifles
—Lieutenant 'l'. S. Warden, severely; 19th Bom-
bay Native Infantry— Ensign Gordon ; Lieutenant
Garforth, Bengal Eter'ineers; and Lieutenant Ta)lor,
her Majesty's ned Foot. A single gate, and a
part of the city, still remained in the hands of
the enemy. During the night a mine was
sprung on us, from which the Bombay troops
suffered severely. Next morning the cannonade was
renewed against the fort. At daybreak on the 3,1,
Colonel Young, with three companies of her Majesty's
10th, made a dash at the Dowlut•gose. The men
scrambled over by the help of ropes, and charged the
enemy in the narrow streets and lanes. Their success
was complete. The total number of fighting men now
believed to be in the fort was considerably under 2 000.
The spoil from the town and neighbourhood now began
to be collected—anything like pillage was strictly pro
bibited. Some native bankers had offered 30,0001. fur
the protection of their property. Some elephants, and
a large number of baggage-cattle were brought in. A
Frenchman who had been in the insurgent service sur-
rendered himself, and various other prisoners were vo-
luntarily placing themselves in our hands. Many fugi-
tives had escaped, the country being so intersected
by canals as to prevent pursuit. One body
of about 1,000 strong had marched off in order.
Our news extends to the evening of the 4th:
before the steamer leaves we snail most likely hear of
the capture of the fort, and be in possession of much
more full particulars than those we are now able to
give. We mentioned in our issue of the 17th of De-
cember that Narain Singh had on the let left Moultan
aids a force of some 2,000 men and two guns, and taken
the route to the Salt Range by the river. He was at
first supposed to have been desired to move on Jhung
to raise supplies and make preparations for the retire-
ment of Moolraj and the garrison, expected to attempt
to escape when they felt themselves pressed. In our
last it was stated that Jacob's Horse had on the 18th
been sent out to prevent their return with stores to
Moulton; Emaum-ood-Deen, who had been sent out to
watch his movements, having foiled him in his pur-
poses. Conjecture on all points proved at fault : Mool-
raj and the garrison had determined to fight it out
to the last ; and Narain Singh and his troops having
no stomach for the fight, which could not but end in the
overthrow and destruction of the insurgents, chose to
withdraw while retirement was in their power. Emaum-
ood-Deen was successful in driving the Seiks from the
neighbourhood of Jhung, and compelling them to take
the direction of Shere Singh's camp. The Commander-
in-Chief having heard of their upward march, on the
31st of December, dispatched a detachment to intercept
him. It consisted of her Majesty's 9th Lancers, the sth
and Bth Light Cavalry, with two troops of Horse Artil•
!cry (Duncan's and Fordyce's)—the whole commanded
by Brigadier White. The force had not been able to
learn anything of the object of their search, and returned
to camp on the evening of the 4th of January. Narain
Singh had before made overtures of service to General
Whish on terms we did not at the time care to accept of, and
he is said to have made proposals to Lord Gough, which
are not likely to be closed with—the Seikhs having, most
probably, determined to be guided by circumstances.
He would most probably hear of the fall of Moultan by
the time our troops gut near him, and finding that no
better could be done, he may, very probably, ofliz to
join us as an ally instead of meeting us as an enemy. It
must, at the same time, be remembered, that it has of
late but rarely happened that conjecture in reference to
Seikh purposes has been verified by fact. If Narain
Singh is really anxious to join the insurgents in the
field, it will be very difficult indeed in such a country
for any force of ours, however strong or well ccmmanded,
to prevent him, when it is so easy to pass to the right or
left of us. Our latest letter from Lord Gough's camp
mentions the prevalence of a rumour that he had been
seized by Emautn-ood-Men, and was a prisoner, in his
hands.

INVASION OF SINDE BY THE
AFFGHANS.
(From the Bombay Telegraph and Courier Extra.)
" Telegraph and Courier Office, Bombay, Jan. 19.
" information has been received of the advance
against the Sinde frontier of 12,000 Afghans, with 14
gulls, under Dost Mahutned's nephew and one of the Can-
dahar chiefs. They are said to have traversed the
Khajuek Pass, and to be now marching on Shirkarpore.
We know not how they will get through the 80/an,
which at this time of the year is covered with snow. An
extra council sits to-day, doubtless to consider the ne-
cessity of fresh reinforcements being sent to Sinde."