The Sun.
London, England, 1820-05-15 00:00:00

TO TOE ADJUTANT-ORNERAL OF THE ARMY.

Sea-1 have the satisfaction to report the town
of Ras-ul-Khyma, arer a resistance of six days,
Was-taken possession of this morning by the force
tinder my comnrand. Previous to making you ac-
quainted with the circumstances which led to this
fortunate result, I Anil' do myself the honour
briefly to detail the events et hid) occurred between
the period of my last communication and the
commencement of the operations before Ras-td-
Khyma. On the ISth tilt, after completing my
arrangements at Muscat, the Liverpool sailed for
the rendezvous at Kishme. On the 21st we fell
in with the fleet off the Persian coast, and an-
chored off the Nam! of Litrack on the 24th of
November. As it appeared probable that a con•
sirterable period Vr (mid elapse before the junction
of the ships which were detained at. Bombay,
conceived it woutd prove highly advantageinis to
avail myself of that interval in acqniting as ac-
curate a knowledge of the sttength and defences of
Eas-ul-Kliyina as I.ersonal observation could sup-
fry, and I gladly embraced the proposal of Capt.
Collirr, that site Liverpool should proceed thither
for that purpose. The senior enincer was ac-
cordingly taken on board, and hating sailed from
Lartack on the morning of the 25th. we anchored
off Ras-id-Khytna the '27th. The place was closely
and repeatcdly reconnoitred ; and the weather
cowinuing !avowable for our operations, I de-
termined to order down the rroor, commence
the attack without waiting for .t he rear tianspotts,
as the season of the north-west winds was ispidly
arproacning, and Capt. Collier appeared appre-
hensive that a further delay might prove detri-
mental to the enterplize. A vt_ssel was therefore
dispa•ched with instructions to Captain Walpole,
who eras left in-cliarge of the fleet, and on the
21 inst. the transports arrived, under convoy of
the Curlew.

No time was lost in making the necessary pre—
parations for lauding, which was effected the fol•
lowing morning 'without opposition, at a spot
which had been 'previously selected for that pur-
pose, about two miles to the southward of the
town. The troops were farmed across the isth-
mus connecting the peninsula on which the town
is situated with the neighbouring country, and the
whole of the day was occupied in getting tents an
shore to shelter the men from the rain, landing
engineers' tools, sand-bags, &c. aod making ar-
rangements preparatory to commencing our ap-
proaches the next day. On the morning of the
4111, the light troops were ordered in advance,
supported by the pickets, to dislodge the etieniy
from a batik within 900 yards of the outer tort,
which was expected to afford good rover for the
men, and to serve as a depot for stoics precious
to the erection of the batteries. The whole of
the light companies of the force, under command
of Captain Backhouse, of his :Majesty's 47th regi-
ment, accordingly moved forward, and drove the
Arabs with great gallantry fro► a date grove,
and over the hank above described, close under
the walls of the fort, follo-kved by the pickets un-
der Major Aloksworth, who took post at the
sand-bank, whilst the European light troops were•
skirmishing in front_ The enemy kept up a sharp
fire of musketry and carrots during these move-
ments ; and 1 regret to add, that M or Moles-
worth, a gallant and zealous officer, was killed
by a cannon•shot at the head of the pickets.
Lieut. Stepney, of the 65th, was wounded on this
occasion. The troops, however, maintained their
position during the day, and in the night effeeted
a lodgment within 300 yards of the southernmost
tower, and erected a battery for four guns, to-
gether with a mortar battery on the right, and n
trench of communication forthe protection of the

covering party.
The weather having become rather tinfavour-
. able for the disembarkation of the stores required
for the siege, it was with considerable difficulty
that this primary object was effected ; but every
obstacle was surmounted by the zeal and indefa-
tigable exertions of the navy, and on the morn-
ing of the 6th we were enabled to open three
18-pounders on the fort ; a couple of howitzers
and 6 pounders were also placed in the battery
on the right, which played on the defences of the
towers, and nearly silenced the enemy's fire. The
Liverpool, during these operations, watped in as
close to the shore as her draught of water would
permit, and opened her guns on the town, which
must have created considerable alarm in the gar-
risiun, but she was unfortunately at too great a
distance to produce any decided effect. The enemy,
who during the whole of our progress exhibited
a considerable degree 'of resolution in withstand-
ing, and ingenuity in counteracting, our attacks,
sallied forth at eight o'clock this evening along
the whole front of our intrenchments, crept
close up to the mortar battery without being per-
ceived, and entered it over the parapet, after
spearing the advanced sentries. The party which
occupied it was obliged to retire, but being im-
mediately reinforced, charged the assailants, who
were driven out of the battery with considerable
loss. The attack on the left was repelled instan-
taneously by the spirited resistance of the reco-
vering party, under Major Warren, who distin-
guished himself much on this occasion by his
coolness and gallantry. The enemy repeated his
attacks towards the morning, but was vigorously
repulsed. During the 7th every exertion was made
to land, and bring up the remaining guns and
mortars, which was accomplished during the
night, after incessant labours, by sailors, as-
sisted by working parties from the troops, and
those of his Highness the Imaum, who cheer-
fully volunteered their services. They were
immediately placed in the battery, together
with two twenty-four pounders, which were
landed from the Liverpool, and in the morning the
whole of our ordnance opened on the fort, and
fired with scarcely any intermission till sunset,
when the breach on the curtain was reported
nearly practicable, and the towers nearly un-

;enable. Involaiale straingemenfa %vc7a nia ie r 0
the assault, and the troops ordered to move di/e4,
to the trenches at day-break the next N;orning.—
The bombardment continued during the night; and
the batteries having recommenced their
.fire hefore
day-light, completed the breaches by eight o'clock.
The party moved forward about eight o'clock, and
entered the fort through the breaches without
firing a shot ; and it' soon appeared that the enemy
had evacuated the place. The town was tiikeil
possession of, and almost found entirely deserted,
only IS or 20 men, and a few women remaining
in their howses. Upon the whole, it appears evi-
dent, considering the spirited behaviOur of the
enemy, at the commencement of the siege, that
their sudden resolution to evacuate the place was
occasioned by the overwhelming fire of the •artil-
lery, of which they could have formed no previous
idea, and which the ample meaos`placed at my
disposal enabled me to bring against the town.
Our loss, 1 am happy to say, is much less than
could have been expected from the length of the
siege aid the obstinacy with which the enemy
disputed our approaches. I have had no means
of ascertaining Weir's, but it must have been
severe.

I beg that you will assure his Excellency that
feel entirely satisfied with the conduct of. the
troops ; their gallantry hts betn exceeded only by
their pat ielie.? and cheerfulness under every species
of privation and fatigue; and the peculiarity of this
service has called forth a toll display of these qualities
which ore edt►tily creditable to the soldier as the
most intrepid tic's of bravely. By the orders which
I do myself the honour to inclose, his Excellency
will be enabled to estimate the ser'ices pettoulled
by Captain Collier and the naval part of the ex-
pe and I can only add, that the acknow-
ledgn►ents therein expressed are scarcely anequate
to the assistance I have received from them.
I have the honour to he, &c.
(Sinned) \V. GRANT KEIR, Major-General.

Camp Itas.t.ll 9tll Dec. 1819.
Return of Casualties in the Force• under the command of

Major-General Sir W. G. KEI R., K. NI. T. during the ope-
rations iwainst Rat-ul-Khyma, from the 4th to Sth December,
1819, inclusive.
Camp at Ras- til-Khyma, 10th Dec. 1819.
Detachment of Artillery.—Wounded-1 drummer, 2 rank
and file : grand total, :S.
His Majesty's 47th regiment.—Killed—l major, t rank and
file: grand total, 2.—Wounded, 16 rank and file : grand
total, 16.
His Majesty's 65th regiment.—Killed-3 rank and file :
grand total, 3.—Wounded 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 21 rank
and file ; grand total 23.
Ist Battalion Td Regiment Native Infantry.—Wounded-
-1 baviLlar, 4 rank and file : grand total, 5.
Detail Battalion.—Wounded-1 hatildar, 2. rank and file:
grand total, 3.
Sappers attached to the Engineer Department.—Wounded
—1 rank and file.

Total.—killed-1 major, 4 rank and file: grand total, 5.
—Wounded—one captain, 1 lieutenant, 2 havildars, 1 drum-
mer, 46 rank and file : grand total, St.
Name of the Officer Killed.—Major B. C. Molesworth, his
Majesty's 47th regiment.
NVounded— Captain John Clutterhuck, his Majesty's 65th
'regiment, Brigade Major; Lieutenant .1. It. Si epary, ditto.
Oigued) E. G. STANNOS, Deputy AdjutAlett.

MADRAS; JAN. 18 --Ottr private letters from
Calcutta give us deplorable accounts of the great
mortality which prevails in that city. The deaths
are said to be more numerous than at arty former
season. The following is an extract from one of
them :

0' Death has been making great havock among
us lately, and all our quidnuncs are positive
that no such sickly season has 'OCCOrrcd for
many years ; I cannot say that I think So ;
however, the alarm is so predominani, that 1
believe lam left solitaty in my opinion. One
thief; has certainly been rather peculiar to the ail-
ments of late occurrence, as those who have
fallen sick have been generally filled with
the .appt ehension of fatal consequences, end
I believe many deaths hale resulted from this
pusillanimous abandonment of hope, before
disease had , put on a serious appearance
I have indeed been oftener than usual at the bu-
rying ground, following my vleceased ft ientis, and
circumstances have given an unusual turn to my
thoughts on such occasions. One ,day, Captain
M`Qtreen, of the 75th regiment, and myself, went
in the same buggy to witness the interment of a
Highlander, one of our friends; the next time I
went down Park-street, was following the temains
of poor 111• Queen, with Captain Roebuck march-
ing by my side in perfect health ; and the
other day Roebuck was also put under the
sod. Some folks have been seen making their
purchases at auction one day, and the under-
taket's black-bordered card has been inscrib-
ed with their names the next. • One petty
jut yman did his duty in the box one day in good
health, and when next called it was found that
he bad been-deposited inthe narrow-house. These
circumstances are striking enough, bitt still 1
think 1 have seen periods of as great mortality in
Calcutta."