New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-01
.rt e, peariy Eve months, tae greater portion oi
III TINA they were without any Dews whatever


wh;eh time they were without any De~s whatever
from the British forces. They fought, and hoped
AGAINST hope, ss II behooves men 70 do when they
have their live. 10 sell dearly as they can, snd
women and children 10 defend against Asiat'c
cruelty. Again, fu!l credit do We give them for
their watchfulness and perseverance,. But, after
the experiences Of Wheeler's surrender at Gavin
pore, who would not have done the same!
4, to the attempt to turn the defense of Luck
now into piece OF unparalleled herolsm, it's H.
diculous, especially after the clumsy report OF Gen.
IDglis. The privations of the garrison we're con-
fined to scanty shelter and exposure to the weather
(which, however, did not produce any serious
disease, and as TO provisions, the very worst they
had consisted in "coarse beef and still coarser
Aour," far more comfortable fare than besieged
soldiers are accustomed to in Europe Compare
the defense Of Lucknow against stupid and lgno-
rant barbarian rabble with that Of Antwerp, le3l,
and the Fort of Malghcra near Venice, in l5i5 and
40. not to speak of Todtlcben at SevastopoI, who
had far greater difficulties to contend with than
Gen. Inglis Maghera was attacked By the best
engineers and artlleymcn Of Austria and defended
by weak garrison of raw leyies; fourftths OF
them had no bOmb-proof shelter; the low soil Gre
ated malaria more dangerous than an Indian
climate; hundred guns played upon them, and
during the last three days of the bombardment,
forty rounds were fired every minute; still the fort
held out month, and would have held out longer,
if the Austrians had hot taken hold of position
necessitating their retreat Or take Dantzlc, where
Bapp with the sick remnsnts Of the French regl-
ments returned from Russia, held out eleven
months. Take in fact any respectable siege OF
modern days and you will find that more skill more
spirit and quite as much pluck and endurance were
shown against quite as great odds as in this Luck
now affair.
The Dude insurgents, however, though contempt
ble in the field, proved, Immediately after the ar
rival of Campbell, the strength of national inour-
neither attack the City Of Lucknow with his forces
nor bold his own. This ia quite natural, and will
appear so to any one who has attentiyey read the
French invasion Of Spain, under Napoleon. The
strength of national nsurrectiOn does not lie in
pitched battles, but in petty warfare in the defense
Of towns, and in the interruption of the eneIny's
communications. Campbell accordingly prepared
for the retreat with the same skill with which he
had arranged the attack. few more positions
about the Residency were carried They served to
deceive the enemy as TO Campbell's intentions and
TO cover the arrangements for the retreat. With
daring perfectly justified in front of such an OPP
ponent, the whole army, small reserve excepted,
was employed TO occupy an extensive line OF out
posts and pckets, behind which the women, the
sick and wounded and the baggage we're evacu-
ated. As soon as this preliminary operation was
performed the outlying pickets fell back, concen'
trating gradually into more solid masses, the fore
most of which then retreated through the next line,
again to form as reserve to the rear. Without
being attacked, the whole of this maneuver was
carried out with perfect order; with the exception
of Outram and a small garrison left at Aumbagh
(for what purposes we do not at present see), the
whole army marched TO Cawnpore, thus eyacuating
the Kingdom of Dude.
In the mean time unpleasant events had taken
place at Cawnpore. Windham, the hero Of the
Redan," another Of those officers of whose skill We
are told that they have proved it by being very
brave had on the 2Gth defeated the advanced guard
of the Gwalior contingent, but on the 9th he had
been severely beaten by them, bis camp taken and
burned, and he himself compelled TO retreat into
Wheeler's old intrepchment at Cawnpore. On the
28th they attacked this post but were repulsed,
and on the 9th Campbell defeated them without
scarcely any loss, taking all their gsand train, and
pursuing them for fourteen miles. The details of
all these affairs are 30 far but scanty; hut this much
is certain, that the Indian Rebellion ia as yet far
from being Quelled and that, although most or all
British reeniorcements have now landed, yet they
disappear in an almost uuaccountable manner
Some 20, 600 men have landed in Bengal, and still
the active army is no larger than when Delhi was
taken. There is something wrong here. The
climate must make terrible havoc among the new
cOmers.