War With The Burmess.
The Times, 1824-07-26T00:00:00

Thefollowiing, from the Calcutit Gover-nment Gaaetfe of the 3d of M8sUch5 gives the particulars of the r4pulse of the British in an en. gagement writh the Burtnese on the 21st of February:- " Onthe 21st ult. the detachrent under the commapid of Lieut.. Colonel Brown proceeded against tile stockades erected near Dood- patlee, and occupied by that portion of the Burmese armv wlhich made invaded Cuchar via Munnipore. Several spirited attacki were iade upon the enerny, under cover of a heavy fire from three -ix-pounders, all of' which failed, ..nd after a most severe action, which lasted during the day, the detachnment wag drawn off, and returned to Jittraporc, leaving a strong party at Tailyn to watch the enemny. Oar loss has been severe. Lieutenant Armstrong, of the 10th regiment, killed, Capt. Johnson, of the 23d regiment, and Ensign Barbanie, of the 10th regiment, severely wounded, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bowen, Captatn Bowe, and Ensign Groves, slightly; the number of Sepoys killed and wounded amounts to about 150. The party of the Burniese is supposed to have con- saisted of about 2,000; they defended themselves with great bravery, and their loss must have been considerable. By the last accourts the Burmese remained in their position at Doodpatlee, and were employed in strengthening their works. ,ieut.-Colonel Bowen apeaks in high terms of the conduct of the Mllunnipere Chief, (;unebeer Sing, and his followers. Being in front when our troops were advancing, they attacked a party of tlhe enemy's iiorse and foot retreating iti disorder froe their several positions on the banks of the river, and killed a nurmber of tbem."' (From the Gozlergrcnt Gazette of March G.] " The latest reports from our troors on the field enable us to state that the Burnmesedlost between 400 and 5f0 men in the attack on the stockade at Doodpatlee, and that they evacuated it a few days after, and were retreating on Munnipore. " Lieutenant-Colonel rines, who arrived at Jtuttrapore on the evening of the 27th ult,, and togk coromand of the troops,J was to proceed in pursuit ef the enemy on the 28th." 'The followving letter, which appears in the Calcutta Gaeette of the 11th of Alarch, and is written by an officer on the spot, contains by far the most minute accounts of the attack made by our troops upon the stockade at Doodpatlee:- 1' On the River under Tailyn in Cachar Feb. 29,1824. " flaving just returned from visitiag the stockaae at Doodpatlee, enmbrace a teisure moment to give yoa an idea of it from thc ob- setvation I made, and of the jallant though tunfortunate attack by our troops. "'This indescril.ably strong position was north and south across a narrow slip of level country,l,aving bills on its north face and the river Soorma on its south, with a deep ditch about 14 feet wide in front of a fortificl wall, cannon proof to the front or western face; with a double fence thickly planited at the bottom with bamboo spikes, over-topped with longer ones, slopingooutwards, ann vesv strong. The ditch wa covered with long grass, and quite hid fronii view until voti arrived at it ; the north tace was areso very strong, having a parapet with a ditch iniside, and spiked towards the hills for about lb paces; the east face much the same us the north, with the addition of strong redoubts; the south face was by no reans so strong. and afforded the only way of entering bv a narrow opening, but this so completely hid, that clance only coald direct our troops to it, and then tlhe rosl up the bank was steep anzi rugged, that a few determined men mighlt bid defiance to hundreds. Lieutenants IM'Lean and Barbaric, witlh a few men, however, weq, nearly sIc- cecding at this point, for they arrived at it, but the fire was so well directedi upon them, that a fewv men who were with them were con- stantly knocked over. " I understand Lieutenant-Colonel Bowen, on the morning of the attack, canme on a-head with five compe1nies to reconnoitre, leaving Afajor Newton to follow with the guns, and remainder of the force ; very shortly after the Lieutenant-Colonel's departure, firing was heard in the rear, when the guIns which were drawin byelephants came on with suchI rapiditv, that the column was kept at a run, and no time was lost in bringing themii to withiin 120 paces of the stockade, and not 250, as formerly stated, for the distance was trac- ed yesterday: here the elephants were unharnessed. and Mltajor New. ton, assisted by Li7eutenant Adjutant M'Lean, laid the three guns, and k.pt up-a very sharp and well-directel lire for ai considerable tine; the inen working them were trained by Al\ajor Newton to the exercise fromn the wing of the corps with which he;vas originally de. spatched from Dacca, and their conduIt on this occasion, I under- stand, was verv conspicuous and worthy of notice; several of them were knocked down by the enemy's fire. The execution of the ar- tillery, in the absenc of an artillery officer, excited the admiration of this little force yesterday, on discovering the effects inside the place. O!e of r'te Burmese chiets was cu in two by a round shot. and the grape slaughtered a number ; in short, there can be no donbt that the guns, and hearing of tie approach of more, and of Co- lonel Innes' dietachmernt, have driven them clear out of the cou,ntry. Af er an exposlure to the enemy's fire fair moretliaan three hAura, Iientenant-(olonel B3wen, who had been wounded in the hills to the northward, arrived, formed the troops into line, and ordered a charge on the west face-a imtore gallant onie cannot be imsaginwd the men did all that couldi possibly be expected of men; the charge was madle up to the spikes, arid the enemyb about 2,000, behindi the ditch, pnirred in their destructive fire. File firing in a square on parade was a jok" to it: this, together with the obstaclesi in front, made the poor fellows step back, btit none went to the rizht 4obut utitil the retreat was 'sounded. Here was a dispensa- tion of Providence, for which all engaged oUghlt ever to be grate- *ul ! How so many fine officers escaped, who were all conspicuous in the examiple they set their men, is miraculous, or how more than a a fourth of the men returned is equally to be wvondered at ; much, however, is to be attributed to the badness of the enemy's muskets and the tinie they take to reload them. The inside of tie stockade was found studded by sunk redoubts, so that an interior warfare was evidently premeditated, and the work of murder would doubtless have been very bloody had we fbrced a passage here or at -Juttri- pore. A Burmese orderly-book was found, and the names of 42 Burmahs and a chief, who were killed in the attack at Bickrampore, were struck off the list of the army. The Assasnese wliose loss was the severest on the oceasion, were not noticet., and an order was issued in the book that any officer or soldier heard speaking of the affair at Bickrampore should suffer instant death; previous to this business, services of conmparatively trifling ilature had been perform- ed by Lieutenant-Colonel Bowen's detachment, having dislodged ed body of the Assamese troops from one or two stockades at Bilkoo.- lali without loss on either side. Our loss at Doodpttlee, I regret to state, was severe; Lieutenant Armstrong, of the 10th, killed; Licutenant-Colonel 8owen slightly wounded with a spent ball; Lieutenant Graves slightly in tite arm: and Ensign Barbarie dan. gerousty, Leg since amputated ; about 12U men of the 10th killed and wounded. Captain Johnson, a very active and gallant officer, I regret to say, was very severely wounded through the knee, and about 40 men of the detachment of 23d Ruingpore were killed and wound- ed, includieng the42 men spiked in the feet and legs opposite Buddee- pore, where the enemy had commenced making some stockades. Our carrp hospital is tolerably full." 1741? P77rTI TIf1 URMRSR.