long-sought-for 24-pounder * embedded up to its
axle-trees. We had great difficulty in getting
our guns over this bad ground ; but at last we
reached sounder soil, and then we advanced
rapidly. As soon as we came within one thou-
sand yards of the enemy, a tremendous fire
opened upon us ; but Lieutenant Warren, a fine
young fellow, who commanded the leading guns,
never stopped until within five hundred or six
hundred yards of the rebels, when he opened fire
on them. In a few minutes Captain Middleton
joined him with the remainder of the battery.
Captain Remmingtou now galloped up with his
troop, and came into action in an excellent posi-
tion behind a bank, at a range of two hundred
yards or less. This concentrated artillery-fire
told with such terrible effect upon the enemy,
crowded into a mass, with their guns, bullocks,
baggage, that they gave way and retreated as
fast as possible along the river bank, where it
would have been difficult to pursue them in force,
owing to the marshy state of the ground. How-
ever, the irregular cavalry managed to overtake
and to cut up some of them. My gallant regi-
ment, the 9th Lancers, was in support of our
batteries. We captured fifteen of the enemy's
guns, with the finest bullocks I ever saw, belong-
ing to the Gwaliar contingent. We were only
just in time ; for as we came up to the ferry, we
* This was one of the two which mysteriously disap-
24-pounders captured in the peared whilst our troops were
Kalpi road on the 6th, but continuing the pursuit.
SIR COLIN AS A GENERAL. 279
found the rebels preparing to embark the gnns Book xi.
in some boats which they had collected for the & ^1 '
purpose." A gallant and effective deed of arms, D 1 e 8 c 57 -
told in the modest language eminently charac- Character of
teristic of the chief actor in the scene ! But Hope Hope Grant -
Grant was as modest as he was daring, as care-
less of self as he was prodigal of his zeal. His
forced march of twenty-five miles, and the prompt
movement which followed it, enabled him to re-
pair the mismanagement at the Subadar's Tank
on the 6th.
The rebel army was now utterly crushed. In Results of the
the two days' fight, the 6th and the 8th, it had efhanf °8th. he
lost thirty-two guns, a strong position, and a vast
number of killed. The two parts of which its
army was composed had been for ever separated ;
the one driven headlong to Kalpi; the other, pre-
vented from crossing into Oudh, had fled without
its guns to Bithor, there still within our reach.
These great results had been accomplished by the
British with a loss to them of only ninety-nine
killed and wounded ! *
The battle established the right of Sir Colin sir Coiiu
Campbell to be regarded as a great commander. £* eEL" & *
In attacking with five thousand men an army of
fourteen thousand regular troops, in addition to
some odd thousands of irregulars, occupying a
very strong position, it was necessary to run some
risk ; and there can be no doubt that in leaving
* The official return was : four subalterns, one staff-
two subalterns, one sergeant, sergeant, five sergeants,
i'ii rani and file, killed ; two seventy-one rank and file,
field officers, three captains, wounded.
280 HIS TACTICS JUSTIFIED.
Book xi. Greathed's weak brigade, not exceeding one
a L!!. * thousand men, to guard his centre whilst he
Dec 5 8 massed the rest of his army against the extreme
right of the enemy, Sir Colin did leave an opening
of which a Napoleon or a Frederic would have
taken advantage. But the great thing for a
general is to know when to dare. Sir Colin knew
that the opponents' general was neither a Napo-
leon nor a Frederic, and that the soldiers he com-
manded were neither Frenchmen nor Prussians.
He felt that with his actual opponents he could
take liberties which they would not resent. It is
true that he risked his centre, but the false attack
which it made reduced all danger in that quarter
to a minimum. Knowing his enemy, as he did,
it was a sound and daring policy, a policy certain
to obtain the end he was aiming at — that of pre-
venting an attack — to order Greathed to feign an
onslaught on the enemy's position at the moment
he was about to hurl the bulk of his forces against
their right wing. This movement would appear to
the enemy the necessary corollary of the heavy
artillery fire to which they had been subjected from
the intrenchment. The plan succeeded, as it emi-
nently deserved to succeed. Completely imposed
upon, the enemy's centre and left remained quiet
whilst their right was being destroyed. They
allowed the centre to be hemmed in in front by
Greathed's weak brigade, and on the right by
"Walpole — and why ? Simply because Greathed and
"Walpole played offensive and not defensive parts.
Sir Colin understood Indian warfare well, and he
knew that attack supplied inferiority in numbers.
HOPE GRANT DESTROYS BITHOR. 281
The theoretical weakness in his plan of attack Book xi.
. , , j. ,i Chapter IV.
was, then, under the circumstances ot the case,
no weakness at all. The plan was admirably Dec. 8 9-h.
adapted to the occasion, and the execution was
worthy of the general. It was no barren victory.
One section of the rebel army did indeed escape,
though with heavy loss, to Kalpi, but the other,
forced to evacuate the town, was pursued to the
Ganges, and deprived of its power for mischief
on the banks of that river.
Nor did Bithor itself escape. Sir Colin Camp- Bithor is
bell, on receiving from Hope Grant a report of
his success, directed that officer to march at once
on the residence of Nana Sahib and destroy it.
Grant set out on the 11th. He found the place
evacuated. He carried out his orders by blowing
up the temple and burning the palace. Amongst
the booty discovered in a large well contiguous to
the palace were " some curious pots, lamps which
seemed of Jewish manufacture, and spoons of a
barbaric weight. All were of the purest metal, and
all bore an appearance of antique magnificence."
Of the large programme Sir Colin Campbell Two parts of
p i . • • i at Sir Colin's
had sketched out for Ins operations m the North- plans have
west Provinces and Oudh, the two first had now pushed 000 â„¢'
been accomplished. He had relieved Lakhnao,
and he had utterly defeated the rebel army
threatening Kanhpiir. His way was now clear
for the performance of the third act of the
drama — the opening communications between
Kanhpiir and the Panj&b. This accomplished,
he would be free to take vengeance on Lakhnao,
and to reconquer Rohilkhand.
282 THE MINOR PARTS OF THE GREAT SCHEME.
book xi. It is necessary that the reader should bear in
mind that whilst the main action of the campaign
Deo.9-ii. rested with the army led by the Commander-in-
Minor parts of Chief, there were other actors who contributed
schemed be effectively, though on a smaller scale, to bring
considered. to a perfect conclusion the general scheme which
had been sketched out. In a previous chapter*
I have referred to the order given to Colonel
Seaton to escort a convoy from Aligarh to the
south-west. His movements, which would also
serve to reopen completely communication with
the north-west, will be noticed in the next chapter.
I shall then have to transport the reader to the
east and north-east, to witness the other opera-
tions, conducted by columns under Brigadiers
Franks and Rowcroft, and by the Nipalese force
under Jang Bahadur, having for their object to
co-operate with the fourth great movement con-
templated by Sir Colin Campbell — the reconquest
of Lakhnao.
Page 118.
283
want of
carriage
BOOK XL
CHAPTER V.
Aftek the decisive actions of the 6th and 8th sirCoiin's
December, Sir Colin Campbell was naturally de- hampered by
sirous to push onwards whilst the memory of the
defeat of the rebels should be yet fresh in the
minds of the combatants and their sympathisers.
But there was one material difficulty in the way of
his progress. His means of transport were re-
stricted. It had taxed his energies to the utmost
to procure carriage in sufficient abundance to
serve for the transit of the ladies and children,
sick, and wounded he had rescued from the
Residency. These, to the number of at least two
thousand, had been sent to Allahabad. In leaving
Outram with four thousand men at the Alambsigh,
he had supplied him with the means of moving his
troops in case of necessity. For his own entire
army, forced to march rapidly a distance of fifty
miles, he had not retained the wherewithal to
enter upon a harassing campaign. He could
284
WALPOLE IS SENT TO MAINPURI.
Book XI.
Chapter V.
1857.
December.
The carnage
arrives,
arid Sir Colin
detaches
Walpole to
Mainpuri.
equip a column, but not an army. The supply
of camels from northern and central India was
cut off. He was forced, then, to remain inactive
until the carriage conveying the convoy of ladies
should return from Allahabad.
This carriage did not reach Kanhpiir till the
23rd December. Meanwhile Sir Colin had been
maturing his plans. Fathgarh — the Fathgarh
whose Nawab had cast in his lot with the rebels,
and had aided the mutinous sepoys in the de-
struction of our countrymen * — Fathgarh was
the first point to be attacked. The occupation
of this place, about midway between Allahabad
and Dehli, would complete the command over the
Doab, which had been secured only partially by
the reconquest of Dehli and the maintenance of
Agra and Allahabad. That point regained, Ro-
hilkhand would still remain to be conquered and
Lakhnao to be regained. To quench the embers
of the insurrection in the minor places on the
left bank of the Jamna, and to the east of Allah-
abad, flying columns would, it was hoped, prove
sufficient.
Sir Colin Campbell's movements against Fath-
garh were planned with his usual caution. Avail-
ing himself of Seat on' s march from Aligarh, he
directed Walpole to make a semicircular sweep
by the Kalpi road via Akbarpur to Itawa and
Mainpuri, at once threatening the Kalpi force and
clearing of rebels the districts dependent upon
Agra. At Mainpuri Walpole would effect a junc-
Vide volume i. pp. 335 to 346.
ITAWA RESISTS WALPOLE. 285
tion with Seaton, who was to wait for him there. BooK xi.
These, uniting^ their forces, were then to march on —
Fathgarh, upon which place the Commander-in- December.
Chief would move by the direct road from Kanh-
piir. In recounting these separate movements, I
propose to follow first Walpole, then Seaton;
then, leaving the two combined, to proceed to the
leader, who had the shortest distance to traverse,
and upon whom it devolved to fight the decisive
battle.
"Walpole, taking with him the 2nd and 3rd Waipoie
• -r» • t en T-i marches on
battalions Rifle Brigade, a detachment 38th .boot, itawa.
Bourchier's battery, Blunt' s troop of horse ar-
tillery, and one company of sappers, set out on
the morning of the 18th December. The column
marched by Akbarpiir to Itawa without adventure
of any kind. Itawa had been plundered in the
early days of the mutiny.* It was now a wreck;
the church, the court-house, the private resi-
dences were in ruins ; but it was now held by
the rebels.
On learning of Walpole' s approach the majority a few fanatic
of these men evacuated the place. A few fanatics, way.
however, occupying a covered, square, loop-holed
enclosure, determined to hold out to the last.
Few in number, armed only with muskets, they
were animated by a spirit fiercer even than the
spirit of despair — by a determination to die mar-
tyrs to their cause. Walpole reconnoitred the
place. It was, for a place to stop an army, in-
significant. It could easily be stormed. Yet to
Volume i. pp. 160tol63.
286
BOUKCHIER BLOWS UP THE REBELS.
Book XI.
Chapter V.
1857.
December.
The place they
occupy is
blown up.
Walpole
reaches
Mainpuri.
Composition
of Seaton's
force.
storm it in the face of its occupants would cost
valuable life, and it seemed that easier and less
costly means were available.
These easy means were at first tried. Hand
grenades were thrown in ; an attempt was made to
smoke them out with burning straw. But all in
vain. Through their loop-holes the rebels poured
in a constant and effective fire on the assailants,
and for three hours kept them at bay. At last it
was resolved to blow up the whole place. For this
purpose Bourchier, aided by Scratchley of the
Engineers, made a mine, with a number of his
gun cartridges, in the roof. The explosion con-
ferred on the defenders the martyrs' honours they
coveted. It buried them in the ruins.
This happened on the 29th December. The
column marched without further adventure to
Mainpuri, and the following day, the 3rd Feb-
ruary, joined Brigadier Seaton's force at Bewar,
fifteen miles distant, on the road to Fathgarh.
Meanwhile Seaton, appointed to the command
of the force ordered to escort to Kanhpur a large
convoy of grain and stores,* had set out on the
9th December for Aligarh. He had under him,
of artillery, two hundred and thirty-three men,
manning six 9-pounder guns, two 6-pounders,
two 18-pounders, one 8-inch howitzer, and two
5-| - inch mortars ; of cavalry, a squadron of the
Carabineers, and a few of the 9th Lancers, one
hundred and forty in all, and Hodson's Horse,
five hundred and fifty strong, led by Hodson ; of
Vide page 118.
SEATON MARCHES ON ALIGARH. 287
infantry, the 1st Fusiliers, three hundred and Book xi.
seventy-six strong ; the 7th Panjab Infantry, five J *?—
hundred and forty strong ; of sappers, one hun- De *ember.
dred and twenty. He was joined on the march
by Wales's Horse and some Sikhs.
The nio-ht before Seat-on left Dehli he was in- Seaton, leam-
'11111 C 1111 ln £ *^ a * *^6
formed that a considerable body or rebels had rebels are in
assembled in the Aligarh district, and that they aStrictf^
were threatening to attack the small force with
which Colonel Farquhar held it. "With charac-
teristic vigour, Seaton, in spite of his convoy,
proceeded to Aligarh by forced marches. Arriv-
ing there, he placed his convoy under the guns of
the Aligarh fort, made arrangements for a field
hospital, rid himself of every ounce of extra bag-
gage, and taking with him a small portion of the marches
i -ii pioiTt against them,
fort garrison (one hundred men ot the ord Euro-
peans) under Major Eld, set out to join Farquhar.
He found him encamped at a place called Gangari,
close to the suspension bridge over the Kali river.
The enemy were believed to be some thirteen
miles distant. Seaton at once, then, crossed the and sends
, ., ., Tiii- i • Hodson to
river, marched a mile and a halt, encamped in reconnoitre.
some fields, and sent Hodson to the front to
reconnoitre.
Whilst Hodson, accompanied by Major Light Beaton and
of the Bengal Artillery, a very gallant and skilful ^ breakfast-
soldier, were galloping to the front to reconnoitre, ^ g b ' r ° r ak a ^
Seaton and the other officers sat down to their
breakfasts, whilst the men, hungry after their
march, watched the cook-boys as they prepared
for them the same stimulating meal. The officers
had breakfasted, the men were about to sit down
288 ATTACKS THE ENEMY NEAR GANGAEI.
Book xi. to their breakfasts, already placed, smoking hot,
— before them, when the alarm called them, fasting,
December. ^o their posts. Half a minute before, Light,
when the galloping at full speed, had brought the in-
sormded. formation that the enemy was advancing on
both flanks. At once all was bustle and anima-
tion. The infantry, without waiting to put on
their coats, turned out, as in the Dehli days, with
their muskets and side-arms. The cavalry were
in their saddles in less than three minutes. The
gunners, always on the alert, were not a whit
The troops behindhand. In less time than it has taken to
turn out, fast- . .
ing. describe it, all arms or the force, thus suddenly
alarmed, were in their places. On the extreme
right were the Carabineers and Lancers ; on the
extreme left Hodson's Horse; the 1st Fusiliers
and one hundred men of the 3rd Europeans were
in the centre behind the guns ; on the left of the
1st Fusiliers were the Sikhs and Rifles.
Seaton ad- Seaton moved forward to meet the enemy. He
thJreifefs. 1118 had scarcely set his troops in motion when Hod-
son rode up and reported to the Brigadier that
he had seen the enemy some miles in front filing
through a village with guns; that having watched
their further proceedings, he had sent on Light
to make his report. Hardly had he finished
speaking when the heads of the enemy's columns
appeared in sight — two large bodies, one on each
flank. Their infantry soon followed, filling up the
gap between the two. Seaton at once ordered the
guns to the front. These at once opened on
the enemy. The hostile guns replied, and though
the reply was feeble, yet from the position they
AND COMPLETELY DEFEATS THEM. 289
had taken up they were able to rake the British Book xi.
line. Seeing this, Wardlaw of the Carabineers, ' ^-!!
who had received discretionary orders, charged December,
the enemy's battery. The guns turned at once Gallant
upon the gallant soldiers led most gallantly. But SSKJjS?
nothing stopped them. Out of the five officers who, in spite
with the Carabineers three, Wardlaw, Hudson, turethTgS
and Vyse, fell dead ; the lieutenant of the handful
of Lancers charging with them, Head, was dan-
gerously wounded, whilst of the men six were
killed and eleven wounded ; but the guns were
captured ! The cavalry were then led by the only
surviving officer, Lieutenant Russell, along the
fields, and his men, making good use of their
carbines, cleared out the enemy without further
loss.
"Whilst this was happening on the left, Hodson Hodson over-
i •-ij-i-i-i-i-i'-i-i- • • i throws the
on the right had dashed with his regiment against enemy on the
the enemy's horse, and had overthrown them. ng t-
The infantry did not pause to receive. Throw-
ing away their arms, they ran to hide themselves
in the fields and ravines, or to continue their flight
over the country. They had lost all their guns, one The enem y
J J i completely
9-pounder and two 6-pounders, and — what was dofeated.
of greater importance — had received " great dis-
couragement." It appeared that they had no idea Their mis-
that Seaton had come up ; they hoped to have to
do only with Farquhar's small force of Biluchis.
The discovery that a considerable European force
was marching through the districts was ;i warning
to them that from that time forth their occupa-
tion was gone !
This fight received from the inline of the town
II. I«.)
290
FINDS THE REBELS AGAIN AT PATTIALI.
Book XI.
Chapter V.
1857.
December.
Seaton occu-
pies Khas-
ganj,
and pushes on
to Pattiali,
where, hear-
ing of the
rebels, he
sends Hodson
to recon-
noitre.
Hodson re-
ports the
position occu-
pied by the
enemy.
Seaton forms
his plan.
near which it was fought the title of combat of
Khasganj. That town was occupied the follow-
ing morning. It was a strong place, filled with
brick houses, and surrounded by old gardens, en-
compassed with strong mud walls, and, if well-
defended, would have been hard to take. Seaton
then pushed on to Sahawar, and the next day,
the 17th, to Pattiali. When, however, passing
through a village about two miles of this place, a
few shots were heard, and Hodson, who was with
the advanced guard, sent word that the enemy's
outposts had fired their muskets, and galloped
off. On receiving this report, Seaton brought all
his men through the village, then halted, and
served out bread and grog to the men, whilst
Hodson and the engineers went to the front to
reconnoitre.
In about twenty minutes Hodson returned to
report that the enemy had formed across the
road, barring the entrance to Pattiali ; that their
right and right centre were resting on some large
ravines, on the right face and front of which earth-
works had been thrown up ; that their left centre
and left were posted in front of gardens and en-
closures, covered on the extreme left by their
cavalry, posted in an open country. In front of
the centre of their position, and about half a
mile from it, was a small village, through which,
they had calculated, the British force would ad-
vance. They had laid their plans accordingly.
On hearing this report Seaton disposed his
force for action. On the right he massed Hod-
son's Horse, the Carabineers and Lancers, and
HE ATTACKS AND DEFEATS THEM. 291
some light guns ; in the centre the Europeans ; Book xi.
on the left the native infantry, and the heavy J ' ap er
guns. His plan was to turn their left flank. _. 1857 -
° r t December.
Occupying, then, the small village of which I Begins the
have spoken with a few men, and thus constitnt- batt ]^.? ith
i an artillery
ing that village the left of his position, he brought duel ;
four guns to the front on the extreme right, and
sent four more to teike up a position almost en-
filading the enemy's position from left to right.
But before these could unlimber, the enemy opened
fire from a battery of twelve guns. In a few
minutes, however, the British guns replied, and
the duel commenced in earnest. The artillery
contest lasted about thirty minutes, the cavalry
and infantry meanwhile being halted. But as
the fire from the British guns had, during those
thirty minutes, been gradually gaining on the
enemy, when that time had elapsed, Seaton
could contain himself no longer. Giving the
order to the infantry to advance, he charged then, charg-
himself at the head of the cavalry. The enemy Chilis 18 *
did not await that charge. They broke and fled, cavalr 7-
and when the infantry, which had advanced on
receiving the order, reached the spot, they found
that their efforts were not required : they had
been forestalled by their gallant Brigadier.*
* " On we move, and, to and horse artillery, with
our surprise, without receiv- some few of Hodson's Horse.
ing .1 snot tVnin the enemy, In fact, seeing the enemy
whose guns, we found, <>n wavering, this bold charge,
reaching their position, bad Led by Seaton, decided
been captured by Ool 1 matters, s<> Ear as the guns
i, who had led the Staff were concerned." — The 1st
19 *
292
GREAT EFFECT OF HIS VICTORY.
Book XI.
Chapter V.
1857.
December.
The rebels
are pursued
and slaugh-
tered ;
among them
their heredi-
tary com-
mander-in-
chief.
Great effect
on the coun-
try of this
victory.
The gallant charge of Seaton decided the day ;
but it did not stop the slaughter. The Cara-
bineers, the Lancers, Hodson's Horse, and the
artillery " got in " among the fleeing enemy, and
pursued them for seven miles, taking blood for
blood. It is computed that not less than six
hundred of the rebels succumbed in this pursuit.
On the side of the British the loss was singularly
small, one man only having been killed and three
wounded. The number of guns taken amounted
to thirteen. Amongst the trophies captured on
this occasion were the elephant, the silver how-
dah, and the sword of the Hakim, hereditary
commander-in-chief of the Nawab of Farrakh-
abad. The Hakim himself had been killed by
Hodson. In the choice of an open position in
front of one very defensible, he had clearly de-
monstrated that the qualities which go to form
an efficient commander-in-chief are not here-
ditary.
Seaton halted three days at Pattiali, chiefly to
give time to the administrative officers to reor-
ganise their establishments and settle the country.
This halt showed him the marvellous effect which
his triumphant march had produced. On all
sides the rebels were falling back, terrified, on
Fathgarh, or endeavouring to cross the Ganges
into Oudh. Some bodies of them, of whose
movements he heard, and against whom he de-
spatched a small force, fled on the appearance even
Bengal Fusiliers after the the article was at the time
fall of Delhi (Blackwood's attached to the 1st Fusiliers.
Magazine). The writer of
SEATON MARCHES TOWARDS MAINPURI. 293
of a reconnoitring party ! * Seaton thought, book xi.
then, that he might fairly return for his J ap ei
convoy. „ 1857 ;
«/ December.
Accordingly on the 21st he retraced his steps. Hodson dis-
On the 22nd, when within a few miles of Kims- K3£w£
ganj, he was met by Mr. Cocks, the Civil Com-
missioner of the division, with the information
that a notorious rebel, named Jawahir Singh, who