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N"o. 397, October 81,1857.] THE LEADER. ...
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THE INDIAN REV01T.—?—¦
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FALL OF DELHI. A. perfect hurricane of j...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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N"O. 397, October 81,1857.] The Leader. ...
N " o . 397 , October 81 , 1857 . ] THE LEADER . 1035
The Indian Rev01t.—?—¦
THE INDIAN REV 01 T . —?—¦
Fall Of Delhi. A. Perfect Hurricane Of J...
FALL OF DELHI . A . perfect hurricane of joy passed over London on Monday evening on its becoming generally known that Delhi had fallen before our arms . The fact of the telegraphic message having arrived "began to be known in Borne quarters about five o ' clock , and it ¦ was not long before extra editions of the chief papers were issued ; but the first bare intimations of success rather stimulated than satisfied the curiosity of the public . The intelligence , as in the case of the battle of the Alma ( on the third anniversary of "which , by the way , our present success was finally achieved ) , was read from the stage at all the theatres , and was received with tumultuous applause , followed by the National Anthem . On Tuesday and the following dny , people -were obliged to content themselves with the brief and somewhat confused details
of the telegrams from various sources ; but the papers of Thursday contained fuller accounts , though even these are not so complete as what we may expect to receive by the next mail . However , they possess a deep interest , as will be seen from the particulars which we now proceed to give . " The siege train , " writes the Bomhay Times , of October 3 rd , " arrived on the 5 th September , and active preparations were immediately made to commence offensive operations . Several batteries , armed with heavy guns , were established in commanding positions , within a short distance from the city walls , so that , the bastions could be destroyed by our fire . This was successfully accomplished , but with the loss of two officers ,
Lieutenant Hildebrand , of the Artillery , and Lieutenant Bannennan , of the Beloocu Battalion , who were killed . Having thus established batteries in . advanced positions , the bombardment of the city commenced , and the Cashmere and Mooree bastions suffered severely from our shot and shell . Tlie enemy replied smartly with grape and musketry , but our loss was inconsiderable , and our fire was kept up with undiminished vigour . On the 10 th and 11 th of September , one or two sorties were made by the enemy , but without any result , notwithstanding the proximity of our batteries to the walls . For two days longer , our artillery continued to play on the city , until , on the 12 th , the Cashmere bastion and half the adjacent curtain were in ruins . "
It -was now determined to assault the city ; and by the morning of the 14 th the preparations for this were completed . Previously to . the attack , however , General Wilson issued to his troops tlie following order , which lias been highly commended : — " The force assembled before Delhi has had much hardship and fatigue to undergo since its arrival in this camp , nil of which has been m ost cheerfully borne by officers and men . The time is now drawing near when the Major-General comiminding- the force trusts that their labours will be over , and they will be rewarded by the capture of the city for all their past exertions , and for a cheerful endurance of still greater fa . tiy . ue and exposure . The troops will be required to aid and assist the Engineers in the erection of the butteries and trenches , ami in daily exposure to the sun , na covering parties .
" The artillery will have even harder work than they yet liavc had , and which they have so well nnd cheerfully performed hitherto ; this , however , will be for a short period only ; and , when ordered to tlie assault , the Major-General feels assured British pluck and dotermi-r Tiation will carry everything before them , and that the bloodthirsty and murderous mutineers , against whom they are lighting , will be driven headlong out of their stronghold , or be . exterminated ; but to enable them to do this , he warns the troops of tlie absolute necessity of their keeping together , and not straggling from their columns , ity this can success ojily be secured .
" IVlnjor . ( jencrnl Wilnon need lmrrtly remind the troops of the cruel murders committed on ' their officers and comrades , an well as their wives and children , to move them in the deadly struggle . No quarter should bo given to the mutineers ; nt tlie samo time , for the sake of humanity , and the honour of tho country they belong to , lie calls upon thorn to sparo n . 11 women nnd children that may come in their way . " It is so imperative , not only for their Rnfetv , but for tho success of tho aBanult , that men should not
straggle from their column , that the Mnjor-( xonoral fcoln it his duty to direct all commanding oflleora to impress thin strictly upon tlieir mmi , and he is oonlHlent that , after tins warning , tho men ' s good sen . se and discipline will induce them to oboy their onic « rH and keep steady to their duty . 11 ; in to ho oxplauu-, 1 to every regiment that in « iiHorinuniUo plunder Will not be a lowed ; that pri ™ « KcmtH huvo h , U , mpoiiite ,, by whom all captured property will l » n i-oUwtfil nnd Hold , to Im > . divided mwonlmjr to thorul ™ and roinilatioiw » oiithln head , fairly union all mini eiiWnK « l : « nil that any man found guilty of having eone . ealed captured property will bu made to rentoro it , and will forfeit nil
claims to the general prize ; he "wiH also be likely to be made over to the Provost-Marshal to be Buanmarily dealt with . The Major-General calls upon the officers of the force to lend their zealous and efficient co-operation in the erection of the works of the siege now about to be commenced . He looks especially to the regimental officers of all grades , to impress qipon their men , that to work in the trenches during a siege is as necessary and honourable as to fight iiv the ran"ks during a battle . He will hold all officers responsible for their utmost being done to carry out the directions of the engineers , and he confidently trusts that all will exhibit a healthy and hearty spirit of emulation and zeal , from which he has no doubt that the happiest results will follow in the brilliant termination of all their labours . "
The word having been given to march , the army moved down in three columns . The assault took plnce eoon after daybreak ; the storming was-entirely successful , and we weTe soon in possession of the end of the fort , with the Cashmere , Cabul , and Mooree gates and bastions , the English church , Skinner ' s house , the College , and the grounds about . The breach had been formed near the Cashmere-gate ; and , on entering it , very little -opposition , was experienced . The troops then advanced along the ramparts to the other points , and during their progress the resistance was obstinate and sanguinary .
Our chief loss was in attempting to reach the Jumma Musjid , and to penetrate beyond the Cabul gate . Preparations were soon made to turn the guns from the captured bastions on to the city ; but the enemy for a time retained possession of the Lahore and other bastions , tlie Palace , Seleymgli ur , and the chief parts of the city . ' Large bodies of the mutineers , however , were seen retreating , and at night the rebel cavalry left , and mad « off , it was believed , in the direction of Kewaree . On the 15 th , many of the city people came in to beg for quarter , which was granted them . The Sepoys themselves wanted , to come , but ¦ were not permitted .
The magazine was slvelled on the second day , and the captured guns on the Mooree and Cabul bastions were brought . to bear on the Barn bastion and Lahore gate—positions occupied by tlie mutineers . By eight in the evening , we had made a breach in the magazine , and tlie enemy ' s musketry fire was much reduced . At daylight on the 16 th , the magazine was stormed by the 61 st . foot , the Belooeh battalion , and part of Wilde's regiment . Foirty of the rebels were killed , though in this particular exploit our loss was but small . One hundred and twentv-five guns were
taken in the magazine . Our mortars continued to play on the Palace from the magazine enclosure ; the enemy entirely abandoned the Kishengunge battery , and thus yielded into our hands five 18-pounder mortars , which were found in position , and which swelled the number of pieces of ordnance taken in and before the city to upwards of two hundred . The battery across the river opposite Kinghur was also abandoned by the Sepoys , who , broken up into detached groups , now fought from the tops of houses in a disorganized and desperate manner .
Dewan Hurree Chund , the commandant of the auxiliary force sent by the Maharajah Kimblieer Singh , died of cholera on the lGth : our own loss of officers on that and tlie other days , from wounds received in action , was heavy . By the evening , however , we had established a line of posts from the Cabul gate to the magazine . An attempt was made by the enemy to retake the latter , but it was repulsed , though not without loss to us in killed and wounded . Of the events of the 17 th , 18 th , and 19 th of September , we have no record ; but , on Sunday , the 2 Dth , the entire city was occupied by our troops , who hud thus to encounter six days' fighting before the stronghold of the rebels fell completely into their hands . What has ljecomc of the so-culled King is uncertain . He and his two sons appear to have
escaped disguised as women , while tho letnalos of the Zenana tied dressed in men's clothes . It has been reported at Ahmedabad , on the authority of letters from Ajmere , that the King has been captured ; but this eeeuis not to be certain . Two regiments and a half are stated to have reached Khoorja from Delhi , nnd to have said that they were on their way to Lucknow , their home , and the pluco where they swear they will die . 'They were badly off for arms , but possessed money . They reported that the streets of Delhi during tho contest were knee-deep in blood . The Paris Prcsee asserts that the English found Delhi denuded of provisions ; that thuir communica > tions have been cut off by tlie insurgents ; and that their position is now changed into that of the besieged , instead of tho besiujjers . , l $ ut this must be received with caution .
An announcement in n . postscript of tho SiiuUrm , dated September J > : } rd , explains why thero is a gap in tho intelligence : — " Tho Lahore- daks , of tho 15 th , lflth , nnd 17 th aro now duo . Information has been received Jicro from Jtfooltan that , about ninety miles front that place , tho dfllc horsns luul been seized nud carried away by some iniinujiloiH , which has emitted mi interruption in the diilt . Active meuKurcH have-, however , been adopted by Mnjor Hamilton , commimtioiior of Mooltan , for
keening open the line , and the Lahore dak is Jtoudv expected . " J The loss on both Bides in the taking of Delhi was considerable—ou that of the rebels very great . Full particulars are not yet known ; but it appears that about forty British officers , and six hundred men , were killed and wounded . The killed among the officers include Lieutenant Bradshaw ( 52 nd *) Lieutenant Fitzgerald ( 75 th ) , Lieutenant Tandy ( Engineers ) , Lieutenant Murray ( Guide Corpo ) , Mafor Jacob ( 1 st Fusiliers ) , Captain Ross ( Carabineers ) and Lieutenant Humphreys ( 4 th Punjab Infantry ) the last three of whom died of their wounds . The wounded , but surviving , officers are , Brigadier-General Nicholson , Lieutenant Nicholson , of Coke ' s Jiegiment ; Greathed , Maunsell , Chesney , Salkeld , Brownlow * Hovenden , and Medley ( Engineers ); Waters and
Curtis ( 60 th Kifles ); Anson , A . D . C . ; Baynes and Pogson ( 8 th Foot ) ; Greville , Wemysf , and Owen ( 1 st Fusiliers ) ; Reid ( Sirmoor Battalion ); Boisragon ( Kumaon Battalion ); Pemberton , H . Guatavinale ( Sappers ); Cuppage ( 6 th Cavalry ); Bayley and Atkinson ( 52 nd Foot ) ; Shebheare ( Guides ) ; -Graydon ( 16 th Grenadiers ) £ Spece ( 65 th N . I . ) ; Lambert ( 1 st Fusiliers ); Gambie ( 38 th N . I . ) ; Hay ( 60 th N . L ) ; Prior ( 1 st Punjab Infantry ) ; and -others whose names are not yet known . Prior to the assault , Captain Fagan , of the Artillery , a verybrilliant and dashing officer , was shot through tlie head , and killed , while looking over the breastwork to observe the line of fire from the new battery . Major Campbell , of the Artillery , and Lieutenant Lockhart , were also wounded a few days hetore the storming of Delhi . The Bombay Times relates : —
• The news of the fall of Delhi reached the Governor of . Bombay while a large dinner party was being entertained at Government House . Lord Elphinstone immediately announced the joyful tidings to the assembled company , and called upon them to fill their glasses , and drink to ' The health of General Wilson and his brave Army . ' This was done with much enthusiasm , the band striking up ' The British Grenadiers . ' " An interesting anecdote of the last days of the rebels ' power in Delhi is contained in a letter from , the English camp , dated September 2 nd : —
" The drama is drawing to a close , and the bloody rebels are well aware of such being the case , as on the 31 st ult . they sent in a white flag to ask for terms , offering to give up all actual murderers . The answer was as follows ;—' The British Government will hold no terms with murderers , rebels , and mutineers . Surrender must be unconditional . Any other rebel coming to propose other terms will be liuog . All future negotiations will be carried on at the muzzles of our guns . ' " In a communication from the Chief Commissioner ' s Office at Lahore , dated September 16 th , we read : —
"No official account has yet been received of the successful attack by a portion of General Van Cortlandt ' s force on the rebel village of Mungella , but a number of the 10 th Cavalry men have been killed , and thirteen of them , with some . othere , made prisoners , were immediately executed on the spot . About 20 , 000 rupees ' worth of plunder is said to have fallen into the hands of our men , and eighty horses and some two thousand head of other cattle u General Van Cortlandt reports the destruction on
the 13 th instant , by a portion of the Hurrianah irregular force under his command , of the insurgent village of Mungulpore . The rebels drew up a force of from seven . hundred to eight hundred horse , from four hundred to live hundred infantry , and some guna , to defend tlie village ; but , alter the exchange of a few shots , they broke and lied with the utmost rapidity , leaving their camp in our bunds ju . st as it stood ; some ammunition and five cart-loads of Sepoys' things , such as coats , pantuloous , & c , "
Other important facts from the seats of rebellion are thus summarised by the Bombay Times : — " The IIon . J . It . Colvin , Lioutenunt > -Governor of the North-West Provinces , died at Agra on the 9 th of September . All was quiut at Agra up to tho 19 th idem . Havelock ' s and Outram ' s forces crossed the Ganges on tlu 19 th of September , to advance to the relief of Lucknow . Bundeluuud is in a disturbed state , Saugor and Jubbulpore being threatened by the Dinaporo rebeln , under Kooci Singh . Tho troops in A imam hnvo evinced a mutinous spirit , and are plotting ogainat tho British Government , Her Majesty ' s 21 st and 2 tfrd Regiments and 98 rd High landers have reached Calcutta .
lhe , nativo artillery at Hyderabad , in Scindo , wen disarmod on tho . 9 th of September , a conspiracy having been discovered among tho gunners . The 21 st Kogiment Bombay Nativo Infantry were disarmed ut Kurrnchoc on tho 14 th of September , thomon having organized an oxtomivu plot to murder tho [ European inhabitants . Eightatui of tho conspirators woro ttuiuiniirily executed , and twonty-two transported for life . " At Shikurpore , in Upper Scindo , a disturbance occurred on the ilird of Septombur , tho imtivo artillerymen having Hciitud tho guns , but wore noon boaton oil' by tholoyul portion of tho troops . An attempt was nuulo at Ahmedub . ul , on tho 15 th of Boptomhor , to croatu n mutiny among tho 2 nd Bombay Grenadiers ; but the
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 31, 1857, page 1035, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_31101857/page/3/
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