The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-22 00:00:00

EXTRACT FROM BRIGADE ORDERS.

Camp before Raupekapeka, Jan. 11, 1846.
The officer commanding the force, against the rebel chiefs
Heke and Kawiti, has the greatest satisfaction in congratu-
lating the whole of the force at the brilliant success that has
attended their operations of the last two days. The capture
of a fortress, of such extraordinary strength, by assault, and
nobly defended by a brave and determined enemy, is of itself
sufficient to prove the intrepidity and gallantry displayed by
all concerned, whether seamen, marines, troops of the line,
artillery of H.E.I.C.'s service, and the volunteer pioneers;
and it will be a most pleasing part of his duty to bring such
conduct to the notice of his Excellency the Governor of New
Zealand, and through him to that of her Majesty, and his
Grace the Commander-in Chief.

The Colonel cannot conclude this order without expressing
his admiration at the brave and intrepid conduct displayed
by our native allies on every occasion since these operations
commenced, and more particularly during the assault of the
pah, on which occasion their bravery was fully equal to
what might be expected from the bravest of her Majesty's
troops.
The Colonel commanding feels the greatest regret at the
loss of so many brave men as have been killed and wounded
on this occasion ; but it will be considered as an alleviation
by their friends, that they have fallen while nobly perform-
ing their duty to their Queen and country.

Camp at the Raupekapeka,
Kawiti's Pah, Jan. 11, 1846.
Sir,—lt is with extreme satisfaction that I have the honour
of acquainting your Excellency that Kawiti's stronghold, or
pah, at the Raupekapeka, was this day carried by assault by
the force under my command, after a bold and determined
resistance on the part of the enemy, who continued the action
long after he had been driven from the fortress; but the
ardour and intrepidity displayed by the British force of every
description, as well as by our native allies, overcame every
obstacle, and after three hours' hard fighting the enemy was
obliged to fly, and dispersed in different directions.
The detail of this attack, as well as that of the preceding
day's cannonade, shall be laid before your Excellency with
the least possible delay.
I greatly regret to add that our loss on this occasion has
bean hoevy,- as will bo aeon by the itiCIOSeCt list of killed and
wounded, but when the extraordinary, strength tor tnb place
assaulted is taken into consideration, I am only surprised it
has been so small.—l have, &e.
H. DESPARD,
Acting Colonel on the Staff, commanding the Troops.
To his Excellency Governyr Grey, &c.

Return of Killed and Wounded of the force under the com-
mand ofColonel Despard, 99th Regiment, Acting Colonel on
the Staff, during the assault on Kawiti's Pah, on the 11th
January, 1846 :
H.M.S. Castor.—Killed, 7 seamen; wounded, 10 seamen
and 2 marines.
H.M.S. North Star.— Killed, 1 marine; wounded, 2 sea-
men, including Mr. Murray, midshipman.
H.M.S. Calliope.—Killed, 1 marine; wounded, 1 marine.
H.M.S. Racehorse.—Wounded, 1 seaman.
H.E.I.C. S. Elphinstone.—Woundml, 1 seaman.
H.M. 58th Regiment.—Killed, 2. privates; wounded, 10
privates.
H.M. 99th Regiment.—Killed, 1 private; wounded, 1
private.
Volunteer Pioneers.—Wounded, 1 private, also 2 during
the previous operations, one since d ead.
Officer wounded.—Mr. Murray, midshipman of her Ma-
jesty's ship North Star, severely, but not dangerously.

assaultc qua int
on i n
that
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day,
an d
Camp before the Raupekapeka, Jan. 12,1846.
Sir,—ln my letter of yesterday I bad the satisfaction of
details.a excellencyno% thepro
needfall
to
of
communicateK awi t pab,t bh ye
On the morning of the 10th ii astant, our advrnced bat-
teries being completed (one within 350 yards, and the second
about 160 yards off the pah), a
general fire was commenced
from all the guns with a view of
opening a breach into the
place, and several rockets were tl mown into it at the same
time, for the purpose of driving the enemy out. The fire
was kept up with little intermissn )n during the greater part
of the day, and towards evening it was evident that the outer
works on those parts against which the fire was directed,
were nearly all giving way ; but the numerous stockades in-
side, crossing the place in differerit directions, and composed
of much stronger timbers, were sccarcely touched. Towards
evening our fire slackened, and was only continued occa-
sionally during the night, to pre vent the enemy attempting
to repair the breaches that had Ix ien made.
On the following morning, ti le 11th instant, no person
being observed moving within tl le pah a few of our native
allies, under a chief named William Wake, a brother of
Tomaiti Waka Nene, went up to the place, for the purpose of
observing whether or not the en emy had evacuated it. This
party entered the breheh unopposed, which being perceived
from the nearest battery, a
party of 100 men of the
troops, under Captain Denn,, was pushed up rapidly,
and together with the native is,y gained the inside of the
stockades before they were per calved by the enemy, who at
the time were sheltering then nselves from the fire of our
guns on a sloping piece of ground in one of their outworks.
Our parties had scarcely gained the inside when they were
noticed by the enemy, and a. heavy
fire of musketry in-
stantly poured in upon them. The stockades, however, now
became our protection, and slrong reinforcements being
immediately brought up from c amp, possession of the place
was secured, in spite of all th.e efforts of the enemy to
drive us back, being obliged to retreat and shelter him-
self in a wood opposite the east face of the pah, where the
trees being extremely large, a' id forming complete breast-
works, many of them having bee in cut down previously, and
evidently purposely placed in a defensive position, he
was enabled to maintain a hfaavy fire against us for a
considerable time, until a do orway in that face having
been broken open, the seen ian and troops rushed out
and dislodged him from his position. He, however,
still continued to keep up .1 fire from the woods, but
more with a view to cover his retreat, and enable him to
carry away his wounded men, than with any expectation
of renewing the contest. The attack commenced about
ten o'clock A.M., and all firing had ceased about two P.M.
The extraordinary strength of this place, particularly in its
interior defences, far exceeded . any idea I could have formed
of it. Every hut was a con 11)103 fortress in itself, being
strongly stockaded all round • with heavy timbers sunk deep
in the ground and placed clot se to each other, few of them
being less than one foot in eiiameter, and many considerably
more, besides having a strong embankment thrown up be-
hind them. Each hut had Os° a deep excavation close to it,
forming a complete bomb-pyoof shelter, and sufficiently large
to contain several people, where at night they were com-
pletely sheltered from both shot and shell.
The enemy's loss has bi ten severe, and several chiefs on
their side have fallen ; the numbers I have net been able to
ascertain, as they inveiriably carry off both killed and
wounded when possibl e. Several of the former were,
however, left behind ; and it has been decidedly ascer-
tained from a wounded prisoner, that the chief Heke had
joined Kawiti in the p. ah on the afternoon preceding the
attack.

As
ns,itthneessto assaulto u, r
iotpmerasy-
________
be thought unnecessi try to draw your attention to those per-
sons who lEmxaeyellseanycyacbtasuaiblyee engaged
an eye-iwn
sons who had a greater opportunity than others of distin-
guishing themselves ; but the satisfaction I feel in recording
tio
the • obligations I am under to those persons makes me
persevere in doing so. ',.co the officers, seamen, and
marines from her Majesty's ship, for their extraordinary
exertions in dragging the guns* over steep hills and through
difficult and thick woods, as w.ell as for their distinguished
bravery in action, the service 013 this occasion is greatly in-
debted. To Captain Graham, o f her Majesty's ship Castor,
for his co-operation, and the reac liness with which he afforded
every possible aid and assistance since his arrival. To Capt.
Sir E. Home, who had previ,au.Sly been the senior naval
officer, and who, not only upon the present occasion, but
on all former ones, has used tlae most strenuous exertions to
forward all the objects of the expedition. To Commander
Hay, of her Majesty's ship Racehorse, who commanded the
whole of the seamen attache( I to the force, and who so
greatly aided our operations by his personal exertions and
example, not only during the assault, but in all the previous
difficulties we had to encounter. To Lieutenant Otway, of
her Majesty's ship Castor, commanding the small armed
seamen. To Lieut. Falcon, of leer Majesty's ship Castor ;
Lieut. Bland and Mr. Nopps, m ester, of her Majesty's ship
Racehorse ; and Lieut. Leeds, of the Hon. East India Com-
pany's Elphinstone, who all directed the fire of the guns
with
susehjaprecision And excellenc ; and to Lieut. Egerton,