The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-24 00:00:00

THE MUTINIES IN INDIA.

DINAPORE AND ARRAH.
The following is a copy of the greater part of a
le:tor received from a medical officer in her Ma-
jesty's 10th at Dinapore

DINAPORE, AUG. 2.
" Since I last wrote to you the native regiments
here have mutinied, but without any loss of life to
us. I told you all along the rascals would never

attack the 10th. We are all so much disgusted here
with the whole affAir that really, as an officer of the
regiment, I have neither patience nor time to give
a full account of the very bad management of the
general and his staff in allowing the three regiments
to escape. They went off in the direction of the
Soano River, which they managed to cros3, and
afterwards marched towards Arrah. The day of

the mutiny, and a few hours before it broke out,
the general commanding gave orders for the removal
of tie percussion caps from the magazine situated
at the top of the native lines.. This was dime at an
early hour of the morning, and as the artillery cart
pasted down where the native regiments were parad-
ing, the 7th and Bth gave a shout, and showed evi-
dent symptoms of their desire to stop it ; but they
were prevented, and the cart was brought safely on
to our mess room. These two regiments were in open
revolt at 6 o'clock a.m. The general was informed
of the fact, and in plale of ordering up the guns and
the 10th to disarm the 7th, Bth, and 40th, on the spot,
he only issued the supine order for native officers to
collect the caps the Sepoys were in pomession of, and
report to him by 12 o'clock that this was effected.
When the native officers went to carry, or pretended
to ca.' ry, this contemptible and temporising order
into effect, the 7th and Bth would not give up their
caps, but some of the 40th complied. The European
officers belonging to the regiments afterwards went
up to the rebels, and endeavoured to get them to
do so, but their efforts were unavailing. The Sepoys
told their officers to be off, and fired upon them, but
h appily without killing or wounding any of them.
" The hospital-guard saw all this, and perceiving
the officers running towards the 10th's lines the
. &gnat guns were fired off from the hospital. The
whole of my patients got on the top of it. They
kept up a steady fire, and managed, infirm in health
as they were, to kill about a dozen of the scoun-
d els. The regiment turned out, and every one
was in his place in the course of a few minutes. I
galloped round the houses, and got all the ladies,
women, and children brought down to the barracks.
The order was given, Guns to the front,' and on
we went in the fond anticipation of cutting these
three rebel regiments to pieces. Some of the 37th
Queen's, who arrived here the day before, were
thrown out in skirmishing order. The 10th ad-
vanced with their guns, and great was our mortifi-
cation when we perceived the Sepoys running
acrcss the country like deer. We tired six guns
after them without effect, and here ended this most
disgracefully-mismanaged affair. One fellow fired at
myself as I was carrying an order, but the ball didnot
hit me. Some of the men saw where it came from,
and found him concealed in one of the huts ;
they soon despatched him. We only killed about 30 of
the mutineers ; had they stopped, and given the
gallant 10th a chance, they would have bagged the
whole, or at all events the greater proportion of
them ; and it is galling and most mortifying to the
regiment to think that it has br en prevented doing
so by the imbecility of the General, whose cowardly
conduct for many weeks past has been the means
at least of bringing a heavy affliction upon her
Majesty's 10th. I must here explain that after the
rebels ran off an order was given (two days after-
wards) for the head-quarters of the regiment to
proceed to Arrah by a steamer to relieve some Eu-
ropeans besieged in that place. This order was,
however, cancelled, and a small detachment of the
10,h was sent, under the command of one of our
i•enior captains (Dunbar). The strength of the de-
tachment amounted to 150 men and four officers.
There were also 230 men of the 37th, and a propor-

rion of officers, the whole force conititutininenrly
400 men, including eight or 10 officers of the native
regiments from here, who volunteered. The boat
containing the 37th got aground, brit they were
taken on board of the one which was proceeding up
with the 10th men. They all landed safely, and
continued their march towards Arrah, the whole
being under the command of Capt. Dunbar, who
made a sad mess of it. He did not, it appears, take
the precaution of throwing out an advanced guard,
and when ourgallant sOldiers were marching on inthe
full hope of doing good work they were, about two
o'clock in the morning, fired upon by 2,000 Sepoys,
who were lying in ambush for them. Capt. Dun-
bar was killed on the spot, as well as three offi-
cers of the 37th. The men became panic-stricken,
and they retreated in the direction of the steamer,
which lay two miles out in the stream. Both de
tachments were severely handled, and the 10th
have lost 70 mete killed and wounded in this tiger-
innate expedition. The 37th sustained pretty
much the same loss. The remainder of the detach-
ment arrived back here on Friday. All our men
are badly wounded, and for the last two days I
bare had hard work amputating and extrac'ing
balls; I wash the blood from my bands to go and
write this to you, and again to return to the hos-
pital. In the absence of Dr. Gordon, on medical
cert•ficate, you are aware that 1 have had full me-
dical charge of the regiment for nearly 12 months
past, and in the present untoward emergency I
have had plenty to.do, and with little assistance,
on account of Dr. Tulloeh, the second assistant,
leing with a detachment at Benarer, and from Mr.
Tucker, the junior assistant, having been sent off
to Patna in medical charge of another detachment
on the very day the wounded arrived back from
Arrah ; but I have now got assistance, and will
manage to get a sleep to-night. Poor Erskine was
mortally wounded in the abdomen ; he expired
yesterday. Sandwith and Bet'ye were also woundvd,
but b eth, lam happy to say, are doing well. The
names of the officers of the 37th killed are—Lieu-
tenant lirgenall and Ensigns Birket and Sale.
Mr. Ingleby, of the 7th Regiment, was also killed.
He was one of the European officers of the native
regiments who volunteered, several of whom
,hare
come back here badly wounded ; some have ben
drowned, and others are missing. The medic tl
officer sent in charge were a'so wounded, and
all the medical stores I sent for the use of
the men have been lose. I need not say that
the poor ladies and wives of the men are in great
distress about their husbands. All the ladies are
ordered from this to Calcutta. The 10th, now
here, are greatly reduced in number., and we have
at this time only four officers fit for duty ; but we
expect more troops daily. The treasure has been
removed from here, and we are all in great excite-
ment. If you will refer to my letters written more
than two months ago, you will read in them, that
I th..n advocated the disarming of these regiments,
and frankly stated that the General would some
day regret his misplaced o mfidence in them. That
day has at last arrived, end I p onounce him alone
responsible for the lives lost and the blood that has
been shed. In the Wi o'e of Her Majesty's army
there is not a corps in higher discipline than the
10th. The gallant Colonel Franks made them a
model regiment. Their movements were as one
man, and I will not admit that even the Guards
could have gone through their evolutions with the
same, or at least with more precision and soldier-
like bearing than this regiment to which I have
the honour to belong ; and although three regi-
ments were opposed to us wa were burning to get
at them, notwithstanding we had little more than
400 effective bayon&s, for, what with the detach-
ment at Benares and the sick in hospital, the above
number was all we had here. Tho discipline and
efficiency of the regiment are well preserved by
the gallant officer, Colonel Fenwick, now in com-
mand, and had it been his lot to take charge of the
smell expedition sent to Arrah this catastrophe, I
think, would not have happened, because he would
have been more cautious.
" General-Lloyd had been, I am informed, nearly
50 years in India, and from bodily infirmity is
altogether unfit for such a command in such trou-
blesome times. Surely it is high time for any field
officer -Le retire when he requires help to be put on
and taken off his horse We are all disgusted with
,him, and vexed beyond measure that he has ]re-
vented the brave 10th froai proving to the world
that with only 400 men they would have licked,
and that most effectually, three regiments of in-
surgent Sepoys.
't We hear that large supplies of troops are coming
to our aid. I hope the British Government will
bear iu mind the necessity -of keeping up a con-
t need flow of fresh regiments for some time to
clime, so as to supply the deficiency which sickness
will create. It is not the mere sending of 50,000
men that will do in this Presidency alone, unless
that number is steadily kept up by an iefusion of
healthy men sent oet for souse years to come, to
supply the place of invalids sent home and the sick
in hospital. This) believe me, is a most trying ell-