The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-18 00:00:00

STORMING AT BHURTPORE.

Though the- date of the:following letter is old, yet the
details are in a great measure new. The description of
the appalling circumstances of the assault is deeply inte-
resting; and what gives it greater value is, that it is writ-
ten by an officer high on the staff of the army.
" HEAD-ItUARTERS2IIIIIIRTPORE, FEII. 7.

" It would be thought, perhaps, treating generals and
conquerors with superciliousness, if I were to say nothing
of them from this recent scene of their recent aehieYe-
ments : my being present, and part of the army, here,
account one of the insist extraordinary occurrences in my ser-
vices of 33 years in all climates of'the habitable globe, and
I would not have missed this, and the spectacle of the
morning of the 18th'of last month, for any consideration
under the sun. Long before this can reach yon, you will
be aware of the immense army collected- forthe attack of
this place under the Commander-in-chief, Lord Comber-
mere • by which this fortified• city and citadel were in-
vested on the 100 of Weitiber ; and the approaches were
carried on forthwith. The enemy had niude. several gal,
lant attacks without success. They hail, fortunately for
our operations, delayed letting the water into the ditch,
until the day before our troops presented themselves : a.
part of the cavalry were fortunate enough to fall in
'with the enemy's division that were cutting the dikes
of the jeel (or reservoir). reserved for the filling of it;
these were defeated and dispersed, and we kept pos-
t session of the water. In" a few days. our, ordnance
opened on the fortress, shell and shot, while the, enemy
kept up a heavy fire also. It was found that our heaviest
shot made but slight impression on the immense thick.
mud walls of the place, and the little that was made in the
day was regularly filled up by the enemy in the night, who
continued to work steadily, notwithstanding the fire that
was kept up on the place, the whole night. However, on
the 17th of January, a breach in the long-necked bastion
on the left being said to be nearly practicable, and an im-
pression being made on the bastion on the right, under
which one of the mines (it containing 12,000 lb. of
powder) had been extended under the ditch, it was re-
solved to give the assault on the morning of the 18th, and
the springing of the great mine j was to be the signal for
advancing : when the Commander-in-Chief gage the order
to fire it, I happened to be near him, and from the angle
of that mortar battery beheld a very grand sight, (while
waiting in silent anxiety for the great explosion, two trifling
ones. took place, the blowing up
.the eountersearp, and'
there was an exclamation, has the mine failed ?) at the same
instant, the ground, the wall, the bastion, and its cavalier,
appeared to heave up.‘ then an explosion, with a trembling
of the earth, took place, clouds of dust, and masses of earth
rose up and rolled off like the waves in a stormy ocean;
some of the troops and officers, especially of his Mitiesty's
14th Regiment, who were waiting too near, suffered much;
they told me afterwards it was as if the last day. had come-
and 'Overwhelmed them in palpable. darkness;, but it was
the last day to 22 of the 14th Grenadiers, who were killed
on the spot, and many ()Meek were nearly so, , The Com-
mander-m Chief ,owed his safety to his military secretary,'
(Col. Pinch, pulling him down on his face) ; Brigadier-Gene-
rids M'Combe and Patton were knocked down, apparently
lifeless ; many had their limbs so shattered as to require
immetliata amputation. However, the vit,w from the
battery now showed , the rampart and wall rocking
and tumbling down, crowded with the enemy, who
were overwhelmed in ruins ; in the interstices of the smoke
from all kinds of are-arms and inflammable materials or the
besieged, were seen their satires flashing in the Morning's
sun, and the points of hundreds of spears gleaming in the
dark breach, at which the 14th Regiment, and. General
Reynell's division had already commenced the tight, while
the 59th and General Nichol's division, headed by Brie-
dier-General Edwards (whom you knew in the Mauritius
as Deputy Quartermaster-general in General Sir H.
Warde's time, and who early received a mortal wound, a
two-pound shot - entering under his left clavicle, passing
through the - lungs, and coming out under the right • scas
pule; he lived 30 hours, and •is universally regretted by
the army.: be has left a wife and four young children;
she, poor creature, rushed into his tent in the middle of
the night, while I was sitting up with him, having tra-
velled from Agra in an incredible short time,)-;--Thels9th
assembled, and carried the bastion on the left; the sleigh-
ter in the 14th and.s9th,and of the enemy at these breaches,
were very great ; but the enemy (notwithstanding their
brave and determined resistance) Were goon compelled to
giveway, and the above two regiments proceeding, one.
to the right;and the other to' the left, round the ramparts,
fighting at every step, while, ender them, mines Were con
tinually exploded, at last met over one of the gates. I
saw on that morning at least 4,000 dead of the enemy,
ninny of them, indeed the most of themiof,tg foi
lertntilgeari t b
forma, with grisly beards; veterans who,ltin
and conquered in Lord Lake's attacks, were resolved nei-
ther to give nor accept of quarter, but to live or die with
their country's glory.

with his family, attempted
" The usurper, Doonjun Sal,
ttho
ee aa
last
cp during
of
the
mpi
e gitet storm,g, and
when h a
some
d 0 succeededfthe cavalry as far a s
stopped
p ets,
them; a skirmish ensued, in which the royal party were
overpowered, and it was only on the cavalry's stripping
them (according to their custom), and seeing jewels acid
gold mohirs roll about, that they discovered the rank of
those they had taken. One of Doonjun's sons bad his
finger shot off in the skirmish; rsaw him shortly after, 1w
said it was only whet a soldier must expect and bear; nor
would he permit any one to hold his hand while it was
dressed, and he neither winced nor flinched ; this young
Jhaut is only nine years and a half old,
" The citadel surrendered at discretion, as soon as they
saw our guns brought to bear on the gates and other posts.
Thus has Bhurtpore, so long the boast and pride of fin-
doostan, ceased to tower, and at last lies humbled in her
gore • avenging the many gallant fellows who suffered it,
Lord Lake's attacks, which were as heartless as they were
headless. It was here Colonel Lindsay lost his leg, and
I could not but think of him, while Lieutenant Daly, of
the 14th Grenadiers, a very fine young fellow, was having
his leg amputated at the breach. The booty found here
rupeesex altogether; as for me, I am not dia.
peex(plaectitoends of many, it does not ex.
any, It is said that the
whole
vioner
thuro,letldeh:ohfa had
nidt i
an not Governmentch in that .W 45 taken Oa account of the
haso teedpl oi iisrot not eldat:ciifka,lrl eo;flt
ntli2eyiedri
Baja, and if it is right, with all my heart : the youngnajah,
I,7laistill,l:lllDke oposunntrtoillinlatoisixoe'ul,naounfsdi theill v;sli Ille en lon
gs comparison
ngill frtlitlisiltlotleayi
tstidtli irvisonifint:lggldhutrelireltiB:
for-
tresses of the Areas, Deeg,
Gods in
Sitnel.o,sspourreeianideirneadnunpero
the downfal of the master-fortress; the result must have
the most beneficial effects for the Indian Government, in
tending it, influence; the conclusion being,
the British
the alteration that will follow of the feelings of the maw,
preogarersdwinigliciltistiti:eii‘rveßriaahtnidiinsmerslaroedf
iensvtanliweilibslite'n(gbeing
un_
posed that the
noptroretesiesttiOltils, of their
uothing
can
withstandebrietepeereerdaerde(hietroe,risiet isn sn
the retreat of the 10,000 would be a trifielisttoutliel"loitthwltet
tttead toaas'sinate.Auer
might attempt,
eatutperiiiliiist,ntlionirsettetrinithattoaCttaelicilipi
•-• This army is under
marching orders against the Nei,
of Alvar who refaso
DUI/ whom tll4 C4°VelliMent Ilttve patronized, tie was