Lugard, on the 15th, Kunwar Singh drew up his
forces along the banks of the little river Tons,
commanding the bridge of boats across it, and
resolved to dispute the passage. But the wily
chieftain had matured plans far deeper than even
THE PASSAGE OF THE TONS. 471
those about him could fathom. He knew very Book xii.
well that the soldiers who had failed to stop the
small force of Lord Mark Kerr would have no Ap 1 r 8 il 8 { 5
chauce against the more considerable brigade of piansof
Sir E. Lugard. He therefore so arranged his ^gh. ar
forces that whilst those upon whom he could
most depend should defend the passage of the
Tons as long as possible, the great bulk, travers-
ing the town, should march with all speed to the
Ganges, and, crossing that river at or near
Ghazipur, should endeavour to reach his
native jungles at Jagdispiir, there to renew the
war.
Lugard attacked the rebels with great vigour. Lugard forces
But for some time he failed to make any im- f 6 tne S ToS.
pression upon them. They held the bridge of
boats with a resolution and perseverance worthy
of veterans, and it was not until they had by
their long resistance ensured the safety of their
comrades that they fell back. Lugard then
crossed the Tons, and at once detached half a
troop of horse artillery, the Military Train, and
two squadrons 3rd Sikh Cavalry in pursuit. In
this action Mr. Venables, the indigo-planter,
;il ways to the front, always daring, and always,
from his intimate acquaintance with the country,
eminently useful, was severely wounded. To the
regret of every soldier, he died of his wounds. Death of
Mr. Venables.
lb- had rendered splendid and unpaid service to
bifi country. In fche earlier days of the mutiny,
when all had been clouded and gloomy, he had
Bel a noble example to everybody, and, when his
station had been abandoned by the civilians, had
472 KUNWAR SINGH FALLS BACK, UNBEATEN.
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
April 15.
The rebels
retreat, but
are not
beaten.
The pursuers
make little
impression
upon them.
Lugard sends
Douglas in
pursuit.
shown the power of preserving order which even
one resolute Englishman can wield in India.
The rebels had taken every advantage of the
firm resistance made by their comrades at the
Tons, and the pursuers had a gallop of twelve
miles before they caught sight of them. And
when they did see them, the sight was far from
reassuring. Instead of a defeated and scattered
host seeking safety in flight, they came upon a
body of men retiring unbroken and in good order.
They were the men of the old Danapiir brigade,
of the 7th, 8th, and 40th Native Infantry. But
the pursuers did not hesitate. They charged
— to make, however, no impression. " It was all
we could do," wrote one of the officers engaged,
"to hold our own against such odds. Imme-
diately our cavalry charged they stood and formed
square, and used to abuse and tell us to come on."
The loss of the British was considerable. Hamil-
ton of the 3rd Sikhs, a very gallant officer, was
killed charging the squares. And although, by
greatly daring, the British force succeeded in
cutting off three of the enemy's guns, they found
it useless to continue the pursuit. They there-
fore halted at Nathupiir, where they had fought,
watched the enemy disappear in the direction of
the Ganges, then sent their killed and wounded
into Azamgarh, with a request for reinforcements.
Lugard, after crossing the Tons, had encamped
at Azamgarh, and drawing to himself the garrison
of the place, was preparing to move actively
against two rajas, allies of Kunwar Singh — who,
after the battle, had taken a northerly direction
THE PURSUIT OP KUNWAR SINGH. 473
towards Oudh — and to watch the reuniting por- book xn.
tions of G-hulam Husen's force. But the naoment *£_
he received the report of the pursuing column Ap ,Jf52^ 17 .
halted at Nathupur, he detached Brigadier
Douglas at the head of a wing of the 37th, the
84th, one company Madras Rifles, four guns
Major Cotter's battery Madras Artillery, two
5-^-inch mortars, to reinforce them. Douglas
started at once, and reached Nathupur that night
(16th April).
Meanwhile Kunwar Singh had halted at the Kunwar
r ° i i £ Singh halts
village of Xaghai, near Azamgarh, about tour- a t Naghai.
teen miles from Nathupur. The reasons which
influenced Kunwar Singh, at so critical a con-
juncture, cannot be divined. It is fair to believe,
however, that knowing, from the custom of his
enemy, he would be pursued, he hoped to be able
to strike him a blow so disabling as to permit him
to continue his retreat without further molestation.
Certain it is that he had occupied a strong position,
and arranged his forces with considerable skill.
Occupying groves of large trees, he had covered
his front with breastworks, and had disposed his
guns so as to reap the greatest possible advan-
tage from their working. Here Douglas found Douglas
o ° , j , , attacks him
him on the morning of the l/tli, and here he there,
attacked him. But again did Kunwar Singh dis-
play great tactical ability. He kept Douglas at
bay till he bad secured two lines of retreat for
his main columns, which he had divided. He
then fell back leisurely, and though many of his Kunwar
meu were cul up, they maintained to the end of S'skii-"
the day their determined attitude. As soon as fl,llv -
474
PURSUIT OF KUNWAE SINGH.
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
April 17-20.
Douglas
pursues,
and
Kurt war
Singh
retires.
Douglas
tracks and at
last reaches
him.
Douglas's pursuit — continued for four or five
miles — relaxed, the two divided columns reunited,
and took up a position for the night.
Douglas lay that night at Ahiisi, within six
miles of the rebels. Early next morning he
started again in pursuit. But the rebels had
been equally prompt, and inarched that day with-
out molestation to Nagra, eighteen miles distant.
They were followed all day by the British cavalry
and horse artillery, but the infantry did not come
up in time to permit Douglas to engage. He en-
camped that night within three or four miles of
the enemy's position. But Kiinwar Singh was
well served by his spies. No sooner had he heard
that the British had halted for the night than he
broke up his camp, marched to Sikandarpur,
crossed the Grhagra by the ford near that place,
and pushed on to Mannahar, in the Grhazipur dis-
trict. There he and his followers halted, wearied
and hungry, hoping they might have time for sleep
and food before their pursuers should appear.
But Douglas would allow them time for neither.
At midnight on the 18th he heard of their move
towards Sikandarpur. At 2 o'clock in the morn-
ing he was on their track, and marching all day,
picking up many stragglers as he proceeded, he
bivouacked that night within four miles of Kiin-
war Singh's position. He did not rest there long.
Hoping to catch the enemy, he turned out his
men at a very early hour on the 20th, and march-
ing rapidly, found himself at daylight in front of
his enemy.
That position was neither so strong nor so well
PURSUIT OF KUNWAR SINGH. 475
chosen as that at Naghai. The defence conse- book xn.
quently was less determined, and the disaster was lA v__^
greater. Douglas advanced his infantry under Aprffib.
cover of a fire from his guns, at the. same time that Douglas
he threatened the enemy's right with his cavalry. deSats'tie
The rebels made no stand, but fled in disorder, rebels at
Mannahar.
leaving on the field a brass 9-pounder gun, several
limbers and waggons, an immense quantity of am-
munition, a large amount of treasure, a number
of carts and bullocks, four elephants, and the
colours of the 28th Regiment Native Infantry,
which were found wrapped round the body of a
Siibadar who was shot. The rebels were pursued
for six miles, but, in pursuance of a preconceived
plan, their several columns took different routes,
to reunite again at a given hour of the night at
some settled spot. What was this spot Douglas
found it impossible to find out. Accordingly,
when darkness set in, he bivouacked, prepared
to move early on the morrow.
But Kiinwar Singh had displayed his accus- Ktinwar
tomed subtlety. His object was to cross the cumberiege 8
Ganges. He had impressed the country people J^Q^es
and many of his own following that having no into Bihar.
boats it would be necessary to cross the river on
elephants, of which a certain number still remained.
By this report he hoped to deceive the English
general. But, meanwhile, he had, by means of his
agents, collected a sufficient number of boats at
Sheopur Ghat, ten miles below Balliah. When,
therefore, night fell, he inarched off to this point,
and outwitting Colonel Cumberiege, who with
two regiments Of Madras cavalry was waiting to
■±76 KUNWAR SINGH BAFFLES THE PURSUERS,
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
April 21-22.
He retires to
Jagdispur.
Captain Le
Grand
resolves to
attack him.
pounce upon him at Balliah, succeeded in em-
barking all his men except two hundred before
the British appeared on the scene. Douglas, in-
deed, had started in pursuit at 2 o'clock in the
morning, but misled by the false information
circulated by Kiinwar Singh, he only reached the
right track in time to cut off the two hundred
men of whom I have spoken, to capture some
elephants and another brass gun, and to sink one
— the last — of the enemy's boats.
Kiinwar Singh thus crossed the Ganges in
safety. He made his way without delay to his an-
cestral domain at Jagdispur. Here he found his
brother, Ammar Singh, with several thousand
armed villagers ready to support him. Kiinwar
Singh posted these and the few men who, after
crossing the Ganges, had adhered to his fortunes,
in the jungles covering his castle — the same thick
jungles which Yincent Eyre had forced on the
12th August of the preceding year.
But if, as I have already had occasion to re-
mark, there was no William Tayler to exercise a
vigilant supervision over the several districts of
western Bihar, neither was there a Vincent Eyre
to retrieve the errors of the Bengal Government.
It happened that Arah was at this time occupied
by a party of one hundred and fifty men of the
35th Regiment, one hundred and fifty of Rattray's
Sikhs, and fifty sailors of the Naval Brigade, the
whole under the command of Captain Le Grand
of the 35th. Le Grand, knowing well what Vincent
Eyre had accomplished in the same locality, how,
with a smaller force at his disposal, he had beaten
AND COMPLETELY DEFEATS LE GRAND. 477
an enemy certainly not less numerous, and far bookxii.
better armed and disciplined, determined, if pos- & v_^_
sible, to emulate his example. Accordingly, on Apriiifa.
the 23rd April, he inarched from Arah with the
force I have mentioned, and two 12-pounder
howitzers. Early on the morning of the 23rd he
came upon the little army of Kim war Singh. It He attacks
consisted of about two thousand men, dispirited,
badly armed, and without guns. It occupied the
thick jungle, about a mile and a half in depth.
Le Grand began the action with a fire from his two
howitzers. These, however, seemed to make no
impression on the enemy, and the infantry were
then brought up to make the charge which, against
Asiatics, has never failed. The exact course of the
events which followed has never been clearly ex-
plained. But this is certain, that at a critical
moment of the advance into the thick jungle, when
the men in extended order were about to rush
forward with a cheer, the bugle sounded the re-
treat. By whom the order to sound was given, and is com-
or whether it was intended to sound the retreat, defeated.
is not known. The effect of it on a scattered body
of men unable to see each other was to cause ir-
retrievable confusion. To repair it Le Grand used
every means in his power, but in vain. The evil
had been done. The men fell back in disorder,
followed by the enemy, and abandoning the
howitzers, fled to Arah. The 35th suffered very
severely. Two-thirds of their number, amongst
them Le Grand and two officers, were either killed*
casualties were in two men, Bailors nineteen,
killed, 35th, one hundred an«l Sikhs niue, officers three.
478
DOUGLAS CROSSES INTO SHAHABAD.
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
April.
Brigadier
Douglas
crosses into
Shahabad.
Death of
Kiin-war
Singh.
Ammar
Singh suc-
ceeds him.
or died from apoplexy on the retreat. The gunners,
refusing to retire, were killed at their guns. The
disaster was complete.
This disaster threw the district once more into
disorder. A panic ensued at the station of Chapra,
and expresses were sent from Danapiir to Briga-
dier Douglas, urging him to cross the river with-
out delay. Douglas, whose incessant pursuit of
Kiinwar Singh without tents had tried his men
to the utmost, had been inclined, when the rebel
chief had escaped his clutches, to wait till his
heavy baggage should arrive. But on receipt of
the expresses from Danapiir, he crossed the
Granges, 25th April, at Sina Ghat, pushed on the
84th Foot and two guns to Arah on the 29th, and
followed himself two days later.
But before Douglas could act against the rebels,
a material change had taken place in their affairs.
Whether Kiinwar Singh was wounded at the
action fought at Mannahar, or, whether, as some
of his followers aver, as he was crossing the
Ganges, this is certain, that immediately on his
arrival at Jagdispiir he underwent amputation of
the wrist. He was an old man, and the shock
was too much for him. He died three days after
he had defeated Le Grand.
Kiinwar Singh was succeeded by his brother
Ammar Singh. Though hardly the equal of his
brother in military skill, Ammar Singh was not
one whit behind him in energy and resolution, and
the manner in which he conducted the operations
which followed left little to be desired in a par-
tisan leader.
LUGARD OCCUPIES JAGDISPUR. 479
The rebels, after defeating Le Grand, bad fol- book xii.
° i a i Chapter III.
lowed up tbeir victory by an attack on Arab.
Though repulsed, they still continued to threaten May ;
it, and as their numbers were daily augmenting, Douglas
Douglas thought it advisable to await the arrival arrival of
of Lugard, who had warned him of his approach. Ward,
Lugard, who, since I last spoke of him, had ^^^
remained at Azamgarh, occupied in clearing the
surrounding districts, had no sooner heard of
Kun war Singh's successful passage of the Granges
and the disaster of Le Grand, than he set off with
a portion of his brigade, crossed the sacred stream
on the 3rd and two following days of May, and
marched at once to the neighbourhood of Arab.
The news he received there led Lugard to Plans ° f
believe that the rebels, who were reported to
number eight thousand, were intrenching them-
selves in tbe jungle between Bihia and Jagdispur.
He resolved, therefore, to occupy with his main
body a position in front of the western face of
the jungle, guarding Arab with a detachment,
whilst Colonel Corfield, commanding a small force
at Sahasram, should march from that quarter to
his aid.
Lugard reached Bihia on the 8th, sent back Lugard
o -i ~ -i i i occupies
thence the detachment to guard Arab, and then jagdfepdr.
marched on the 9th to a plain a little to the west
of Jagdispur. Eere he intended to halt to await
the arrival of Corfield. But the enemy's move-
ments forced him to change his plan. On the
afternoon of that day Ammar Singh, covering his
movement by a threatened attack on Lugard's
camp, marched from the jungles with the bulk of
480 THE REBELS DISPERSE ONLY TO REUNITE.
Hook XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
May.
Progress of
the cam-
paign.
The per-
sistent dis-
persion of the
rebels,
only to
reunite.
his following in the direction of Arah. Lugarcl
resolved, then, to attack at once. Checking the ad-
vance on Arah with his cavalry and guns, he then
divided his force into three columns, and driving
the enemy before him, occupied Jagdispiir. In
this operation he did not lose a single man killed,
and only a few were wounded. The rebels fell
back on Satwarpiir, a village in the jungle district.
The day following, Lugard, sensible of the
necessity of following up his advantage, set out
in pursuit. On the 11th he was joined at Piru,
seven miles south-west of Jagdispiir, by Corfield,
who, fighting almost daily and always success-
fully, had made his way from Sahasram. That
same day he surprised and defeated the rebels at
Hetampur. From this day, skirmishes were of
daily occurrence. On the 12th, he beat them at
Jathin, whilst Corfield drove them from Diivim.
On the 20th they were again beaten, though they
managed to kill an officer, Dawson, of the Mili-
tary Train. Lugard, however, avenged his death
on the 27th by inflicting a crushing defeat upon
them at Dalilpiir, recapturing the two howitzers
they had taken from Le Grand. On this occa-
sion he did not lose a single man.
But these victories did not crush the rebellion
in the district. On each occasion the rebels,
knowing every inch of the country, dispersed to
reunite in nearly the same strength as before.
Dividing themselves into small parties, they or-
ganised a system of freebooting, dangerous to life
and property, and threatening to the stations, the
peaceful villages, and the isolated posts all over
THE REBELS STILL HARRY THE DISTRICT. 481
the country. It was impossible to wage a war of BooK xn.
extermination. Yet the jungles offered the rebels a ^-
a means of defying for a series of months disci- j^?*
plined soldiers led by skilled and capable generals. The defy
In vain were their positions marked, encircled, a^e^soheme
and then marched upon from different quarters. is de ^sed by
The smallest delay on the part of one of the con- with the
verging columns gave them the opportunity, of
which they were ever prompt to avail themselves,
to escape. Nor was it until the genius of a staff
officer serving under Douglas devised a plan, based
upon his experience of its efficiency elsewhere,
that a certain means was attained for the exter-
mination or expulsion of the persistent rebels.
The nature of that plan will be developed in the
pages which follow.
After the defeat at Dalilpiir on the 27th, the
rebels broke up into small parties, and commenced
their new trade of marauding on a large scale.
One party attacked and destroyed an indigo fac- They hany
tory near Dumraon, another plundered the village
of Rajpur near Baksar, a third threatened the
railway works at Karamnasa. These proceedings
spread dismay and disorder throughout the Shah-
abaci district.
In the campaign up to the point which I have
now reached, the British troops had suffered
greatly from the heat and exposure to the sun.
But in the presence of the occurrences just re-
corded, Lugard was compelled to keep them Lugard again
actively employed. To facilitate their movements
and to lessen the chances of the escape of the
enemy, lie scl to work to intersect the jungles by
n. 31
482
LUGARD RESIGNS HIS COMMAND.
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
June.
but many
escape.
Lugard
resigns his
command
from ill-
health.
roads. On the 2nd June, he divided his force
into two parts, the one at Keshwa the other at
Dalilpur, opposite points on the edge of the
jungle. Between these he cut a broad road.
Occupying this with a line of posts as a base, he
attacked the rebels from the outside on the 4th,
and defeated them with great slaughter, the 10th
and 84th showing great dash and daring. But
still many managed to escape.
It would be tedious to follow the course of
every skirmish; to show how Douglas pursued
the rebels with energy and vigour towards Bak-
sar, and how the main body yet managed to elude
his pursuit ; how they again and again baffled
Lugard. He could beat but could not clutch them.
He had not, in fact, the means of maintaining a
continuous and crushing pursuit. The rebels,
therefore, though repeatedly beaten, were able to
rally at a distance and return by a circuitous
route to the corner of the jungle. But by the
15th June Lugard had so far succeeded that the
rebels had been expelled to a further distance
from the jungles than had ever been the case
previously, and he was able to report that the
task entrusted to him had been completed.
Wearied and broken down by the unparalleled
hardships of the contest, Lugard was then
forced to resign his command and proceed to
England. The troops were ordered into quarters.
But they had scarcely retired from the field,
when the rebels, strong in a conviction of real
success in the past, and confident that the rainy
season would secure them immunity for the four
THE EEBELS EEOCCUPY THEIE OLD POSITIONS. 483
months to come, reoccupied their old positions, Book xii.
their numbers daily increased by recruits from all &J —L
parts of the country. jJSpt.
It was under these circumstances that Brigadier Douglas suc-
Douglas, C.B., was appointed to succeed Lugard. ceedshim -
He had no sinecure. He had not even assumed
command when he heard that owing to the
manoeuvres and intrigues of Ammar Singh, the
rebel prisoners in the jail at Gaya had been re-
leased, and, joined by the police and the convicts,
had driven the English into their intrenchment.
This outrage — which was speedily repaired — was Difficulties of
followed up by a raid into the station of Arah, the firstassuming
j» -i • -i i_ j i 1 j.' j bis command.
garrison or which had been cunningly enticed
away, and by the burning of a gentleman's
bungalow. The civil authority had, in fact,
everywhere disappeared.
Under these circumstances stronger measures Douglas
n . devises means
were resorted to. Douglas was placed m com- to baffle and
mand of the whole of the disturbed districts as
far as Danapiir. The troops under his command
were augmented to a numerical strength of seven
thousand. He began at once to work on a
system. He organised strong posts at easy dis-
tances from each other in all directions. He
located his troops in such a manner that it would
be easy to mass them at short notice on one par-
ticular point. He sent out trusted sepoys in dis-
guise i" penetrate the designs of the mutineers,
Mini even to bring in their leaders, alive or (lend.
He continued with great effect the practice, ini-
tiated by his predecessor, of covering the jungles
with roads. Finally, ns a supreme remedy, he
3] *
subdue the
rebels.
484
DOUGLAS PLANS THEIR DESTRUCTION.
Book XII.
Chapter III.
1858.
June-Sept.
Operations
are neces-
sarily de-
ferred till
after the
rains.
The rebels
continue
active,
in spite of
frequent
defeats.
elaborated a plan for driving the rebels into Jag-
dispiir, as a common centre, and for there finishing
the campaign — as he had every right to expect —
by the assault and capture of that stronghold.
This plan, it will be observed, involved the
deferring of larger operations until October or
November. Meanwhile it was necessary to secure
the grand trunk road. On this road, which
traverses the lower portion of the district from
east to west, and the safety of which was of vital
importance to Sir Colin Campbell and his army,
large bodies of troops under Colonel Turner, C.B.,
97th Regiment, were constantly employed. For
the four months that followed Turner was un-
remittingly engaged on this arduous but necessary
service.
The rebels on their side were very persevering.
Am mar Singh reoccupied Jagdispiir, and his
adherents, in small parties, kept the districts in
continued disturbance throughout July, August,
and September. They seemed to be ubiquitous.
Many places in opposite directions were attacked
about the same time. Their principal deprecia-
tions, however, were confined to the country
south of the Ganges and west of the Son river.
It is true they met several reverses. On the
9th September, Colonel Walters defeated them at
Rampur ; on the 20th Captain French and a party
of the 35th destroyed their boats on the Son; on
the 14th October, Mr. Probyn, of the Civil Service,
and twenty Sikhs, ran up a creek on the Shahabad
side of the river and destroyed four large boats
defended by three hundred and seventy-five sepoys
HE EXECUTES HIS PLAN. 485
and one hundred horsemen — a most gallant per- Book xii.
formance. Not the less, however, did the rebels
continue to threaten Arah ; they even attacked October.
the cavalry picket at that station.