The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-14 00:00:00

THE BRITISH ARMY IN OUDE.

(From the Times' Correspondent.)

BRITISH CAMP, NANPARAH, Christmas Day.
My last letter brought my narrative of the ope-
rations and marchings of the column under Lord
Clyde down to this day. As the rain ceased, and
the tents dried, his lordship seemed to entertain
intentions of marching in the afternoon; but
Christmas, the ruin to puddings and dinners, and a
thousand little projects for celebrating the great
English festival, and, above all, the absence of any
very definite or decided good to be gained by
marching were all so ably urged by various inte-
rested persons that the intention was abandoned.
Hospitality had ample exercise. The Carabineers,
the Rifles, the 7th Hussars, the Artillery, the
Engineers, had their guests and their state banquet.
Nor let it be supposed that in this out-of-the-way
camp at Intha, where no Christmas was ever kept
by Europeans before, there was any poor fare or
parsimonious menu and garniture. How diffe-
rent from our first poor Crimean banquets !
Here were mighty barons of beef, great turkeys,
which in Galway phrase were " big enough to draw
a gig," mutton of grain fed sheep, adipose poultry,
game, and fish, without any flavour of tin and
rosin, made dishes, poulets aux truffes fricandeaux,
rissoles, and all the various triumphs of the
French cuisine, somewhat tarnished by na-
tive practice and tradition, all spread on snowy
white tablecloths in well-lighted tents, well-served
by numerous hands. Here, too, were beakers of '
ale, Bass and Teanent, from distant Trent and
Glasgow, and Dublin and London porter ; moselle,
" Simkin," which is Anglo-Indian for champagne,
of curious growths and unknown fabricators ; sherry
from places far more recondite than Xeres ; rare
old port, rather bothered by travelling 20 miles a-
day, but strong as bottled lions. Then the plum-
puddings and minced pies, made by heathen hands
and black-faced cooks, were objects for the envy of
the subtlest artists in all broad England. The
Artillery sang Christmas carols, the Rifle band
played its best and choicest, and there was rejoicing
in the wide expanse of tents till 10 o'clock came,
and by degrees voices and lights died out, and
Christmas bad passed at Intha. Our enemies, by
all accounts, did not pass the day so pleasantly.
Bainie Madhoo, with some 4,000 men under dif-
ferent leaders, was reported to be at Churda some
18 miles in our front. They had fallen back from
Nanparah the night before our arrival at Intha, and
Bainie Madhoo had succeeded in 'persuading them
to come to Nanparah and attack us on our march,
but the rain prevented the movement, and the
Sepoys and Nujeebs are still posted in gardens and
enclosures near the Fort of Burjiddiah, which the
Nana is believed to occupy: There is a report that
they are badly off for provisions.
SUNDAY, DEC. 26.
The first bugle sounded at 5.15, and at 6.15 the
column was on its way northward to seek the
enemy. It was exceedingly raw and cold, a thick
fog obscured the face of the country, but we could
make out that it was still level and well cultivated,
and the hoof and the cannon beat down rising
crops of young corn. About ten o'clock the fog
cleared away, and soon afterwards we came in
sight of a belt of jungle, spread like a green wall
across the horizon. Some of our spies returned,
and declared the enemy were at Nanparah, a few
miles in our front. They had left them the night
before full of the determination to fight, stimulated
by the idea, perhaps, that we were only 500 British
and a lot of Chuina (cobblers) natives.
About 11 15 we halted, and, as the enemy were
reported to be still several miles ahead, we drew up
at Nanparah, and the whole force breakfasted,
having started fasting. At 1 o'clock the column
reformed and moved on again. A part of the Rifles
were sent forward to clear the jungle in skirmish-
ing order, and the cavalry flankers were called in.
Just at this moment two sowars rode in sight in the
jungle, surveyed us for a moment, and at once
turned their horses and disappeared. There was a
little trouble at first in finding the path which led
into the recesses of this natural fortress, and, had
the enemy chosen to have occupied it, they could
have held it, and inflicted great loss on us without
much risk to themselves, till we had ascertained
their position. The jungle consisted of trees fas-
tened together by a network of prickly shrubs, long
creepers, and branches. Here and there it was broken
into knolls, with open spaces of hard soil. The sur-
face was intersected by watercourses, now dry, in the
soft sand of which could be traced the tracks of
wild beasts and the footprints of elephants, proba-
bly those of Bainie Madhoo, when falling back from
Nanparah. This latter place, by the by, we find
nearly deserted, and surrounded by the marks of
the rebel encampment. A strong fort occupied one
angle of the town, which was further protected by
mud bastions, on which much labour had been re-
cently bestowed; and Bainielqafihoo had in vain
endeavoured to induce his followers and the Sepoys
to dispute our progress here. The jungle was not
more than a mile broad, fortunately for our skir-
mishers. As we were passing through it a knot of
our spies started from a bush, and announced that
the enemy (two lakhs strong, 20,000 strong), with
nine guns in position, and 13 more in the rear,
were awaiting our arrival, two or three
miles further on. As we emerged from the jungle
every eye was strained to distingui.h their vedettes
along the level horizon, broken here and there by
clumps of trees and a few cottages which peered
above the dall fields. Imaginary polks of sowars
were resolved by the glass into herds of white cattle,
which were very numerous and very wild. Mile
after mile was passed, and no sign of the enemy ;
the day was waning, the sun was getting low. Sad-
denly our flankers on the left halt, and we seen in
their front a moving body, which this time consists
of horsemen riding away towards a tope in the dis-
tance. The lower part of the dark green of the
tope is fringed with a white border. A few gleams
of light flash from it in the sun. " There they are
—we have them at last !" The Commander-in-Chief
and his staff rode in advance and examined the
enemy, while the column halted. We could not
make out their guns, but we could determine that
the enemy were not more than 3,000 strong, of
which some 800 or 900 were cavalry. Elephants
could be seen on the flanks, and camels and carts
behind the tope. 'Their position was by no means
well chosen. Their proper right was partially co-
vered by a tope in advance, and on their left was a
village unoccupied, but we could not make out their
position to the rear, as the trees covered it. It was
now 3.15. The Chief at once made his dispositions
for the attack. Taking with him the squadron of
the Madras Cavalry, he placed the 7th Hussars on
our right, under Sir W. Russell ; the Carabineers
on our left, under Colonel Bickerstaff, supported by
the Ist Punjab Cavalry,which came up fresh and
willing after a march hat day of 38 miles from
Buraech, having done 100 miles in the three previ-
?US days. The portion of Horsford's Brigade in
two lines, preceded by skirmishers of the Belooch
battalion andmoved on behind
the
cavalry;
herßifleßrigade
ajesty's 20th, and the re-
mainder of the Beloochees on the left, and five
companies of the brigade on the right, the heavy
guns in the rear,
l
the gun
s in
g s front, and
Horse Artillery with the Cavalry. At about 1,800
yards the enemy opened fire from
of their balls came up to our line, four guns. None
till it was nearly in range. The which advanced
rapidly advancing, directed by Cavalry were
they Lord Clyde, but as
could do nothing against an
dense trees, they
were directed to make a wide
sweep to the right, round the village. All this
time the enemy fired briskly,
but ineffectually.
They actually tried grape sho at
were, however, tailing away fast,
t as we afterwards
half a mile. They
discovered, and the moment 6al
village, perceiving their line of retreat
ty turned the
endan-
gered, they dashed off in two bodiese
through was
aa field. At this moment Lord Clyde, galloping
the
lyde, gallopinc,
at full speed to overtake au eager young officer y:, hb
had gone off with the horse artillery guns, m
into brokenund ; his charger, a perfectly safe-
footed animal, fell and threw him With great force.
moment, his face was bleed'
He sat up in a mg ; he
tried to move his right arm, it was powerless. His
shoulder was dislocated. Fortunately, Mr. Mae_
kinnon was close behind him. In a few moments,
assisted by Dr. Gordon, who came up a moment
after the accident, he had reduced the dislocation ;
but the gallant Chief was much shaken by the fall,
though he at once got up and walked towards the
front, talking as if nothing had happened. Oar
guns were now opening on the enemy; they were
pursued by Sir W. Mansfield till darkness came on,
but we inflicted no loss. I regret that I shall have
to defer my diary of the rest of the day, and of the
27th, when we took the Fort of Mejiddiah, till the
next mail. Constant marching is a great enemy to
writing.

DEC. 29.
At
, 8 o'clock am. orders were sent round for the
re of the corps to Nanparah—the first bugle
to sound
as, 0. atllfo'clock, the force to march at noon.
There
ourse, much speculation as to the
causes of this change in the orders issued the pre-
vious evening, and the rumours which sprang
from those speculations were exceedingly absurd, a
plentiful crop of myths may be expected in a week
or two raising their
foheadsroum other places. The fact
is, that the reasons rthretturn from Mejiddiah
to Nanparah were simply
could hear no-
thing of the enemy in our direction, that Christie
was well up on our left flank and front, and that
Nanparah seemed a better point not only for V
aidingt be con-
centrating supplies for commissariat
gpurposes, but
for watching the progress of operations,
ia
them by any military movement that in
re-
quired. Of the Nana retreat no information could
be had, and the only news of the enemy was to the
effect that the"Bognm and 3,000 eepoy4 had sought