orcements that could possibly arrive had reached us with the siege-train, and the effec

n artil

valr

antry

-

,

artil

alry

antry

appers, mine

-

,

-

tota

ith four guns, and the cavalry of the Jhind Rajah, perhaps 400 mo

re skeletons, the strongest mustering 409 effective rank and file, and the weake

city and surrounding country-a formidable disproportion to our scanty force when it is recollected that they were protected by strong fortifications mounting upwards of fifty guns, with an un

e the rebels, as well as those whose loyalty was wavering, that the British arms were irresistible. Moreover, there was

hen the Major-General commanding the force trusts that its labours will be over, and it will be rewarded by the capture of the city for all its past exertions, and for a cheerful endurance of st

e Major-General feels assured British pluck and determination will carry everything before them, and that the bloodthirsty and murderous mutineers against whom they are fighting will be driven headlong out of the

ives and children, to move them in the deadly struggle. No quarter should be given to the mutineers; at the same time, for the sake o

sense and discipline will induce them to obey their officers and keep steady to their duty. It is to be explained to every regiment that indiscriminate plunder will not be allowed; that prize agents have been appointed, by whom all captured property will be collected and sold, to be divided, according to

he works of the siege now about to be commenced. He looks especially to the regimental officers of all grades to impress upon

rs, and he confidently trusts that all will exhibit a healthy and hearty spirit of emulation and zeal, from w

of a three months' campaign, and enervated by continuous work in the deadliest season of the year, these gallant European artillerymen earned during those last days of the siege, by their zeal and devotion, the heartfelt thanks of the whole army. The old Bengal Artillery have a splendid roll of services, extending for upwards of 100 years; still, in the annals of tha

y the General. They acquitted themselves well, were of great use to the gunners in lightening the arduous d

treme right, was severely pounded from the Mori bastion and Kishenganj, but when the guns got into full play the fire from the former grew gradually weaker and weaker, till it was completely ove

t curtains knocked to fragments, and a large breach opened in the walls. On the extreme left, at the Custom-House, our battery, as before related, was only 180 yards from the city, and the cr

in and roar were deafening; day and night salvos of artillery were heard, roll following roll in endless suc

re the walls; they sent a storm of rockets from one of the martello towers, and fired a stream of musketry from the ramparts and advanced

This gun was admirably directed, and could not be silenced notwithstanding all our efforts. One officer, looking over the parapet to see the effect of his fire, was struck by a shot from the

vigilance. We were almost always under fire from the enemy; but with the utmost cheerfulness, and even, I may say, good-humour, the whole of the infantry did all in their power to lighten the work of the overtasked artillerymen: comrades we were, all striving for the accomplishment of one purpose-that of bringing swift and sure destru

the effects of the round-shot on the ramparts and bastions. Few of the enemy could be seen; but every now and then some would show themselves, disappearing when a well-directed shot struck in too c

ck forest of trees and gardens, while shells would burst high over the city, illuminating the spires and domes, and bringing into prominence every object around. There was not onl

and Watson, advanced to meet the enemy. There was a short but sharp encounter at close quarters, in which thirty rebels were killed, the remainder flying at full speed towards the city. The sorties from the gates turned out comparatively harmless, and seemed meant only as demonstrations

spirits of the Delhi Field Force, was killed in No. 3 Advanced Battery, a post he had occupied since September 8, and which was more than any other exposed to the enemy's fire. He had se

met in General Wilson's tent, at which all the superior officers of the army were present. All the arrangements for attack were perfected, and the

The fire of our heavy cannon increased in violence every hour, and the silence of the enemy's batteries assured us of th

teries. It was a hazardous duty, exposing them to peril of their lives; but these brave young fellows executed their task in safety, and, unobserve

lt; and long before midnight each regiment in camp kne

formed, the position and de

75th Regiment, 1st Bengal Fusiliers, and Punjab Infantry,

sisting of H.M. 8th (the King's) Regiment, 2nd Europeans, 4th Si

ampbell, consisting of

oorkhas, and 1st Punj

hmir Gate after it sho

ine

city, was composed of the 61st, the Belooch battalion, 4th Punjab Infantry, and the Jhind troops-altogethe

mediate command of General Nicholson, on whom devolved

Sirmoor battalion of Goorkhas, detachments from European regiments, and the Kashmir contingent. This column was to atta

se Artillery, took up their position on the right of No. 1 Advanced Battery, facing the Mori Gate, and within range of Kishenganj. Their obje

r horsemen and infantry to harass, if not imperil, its safety, and that of the many, sick and wounded. As will hereafter be seen, great danger resulted from the arrangements made in this respect; and had the enemy, after our unsucce

a character of determination among the officers and men, a cool, deliberate conviction that, under Providence, success would crown our a

rn out at a moment's notice, we lay down on our beds waiting for the signal to fall in. This came at about three

g posts, the force moved by the road to the neighbourhood of Ludlow Castle, and close to No. 2 Advanced Battery. Our movements were entirely concealed from the enemy; the darkness which prevailed, and the ample cover from trees, gardens, and houses,

point to point to perfect his arrangements. Our artillery fire ceased as if by magic; and a stillness, which contraste

the right and left of the Koodsia Bagh. Then followed Nos. 1 and 2 Columns, which, in

e with excitement, we watched our comrades marching to the attack. Presently the order

ullets, causing great havoc among our men, the scaling-ladders were let down. The ditch here, 20 feet deep and 25 feet broad, offered a serious obstacle to the quick advance of the assaulting columns; the men fell fast under the withering fire, and some

bastions and ran pell-mell into the city, followed by our men. Some few stood manfully and endeavoured to ch

d by No. 5, advanced along the covered way and passed into the city. We had only been, met by desultory fire from the enemy,

rallel in the annals of the British army. In broad daylight, a small band of heroes advanced to almost certain death; but with a determination and valour seldom heard of, after repea

from the enemy would permit, the force re-formed, under the orders of General Nicholson. Nos. 1 and 2 Columns united, and under

into the heart of the c

d by a circuitous route

ost sight of this forc

ga

whole day? From every window and door, from loopholes in the buildings, and from the tops of the houses, a storm of musketry saluted us on every side, while every now and then, when passing the corner of a street, field-guns, loaded with grape, discharged their cont

exposed to the same terrific fire, and after great trouble succeeded in taking possessi

ce that, after losing many men, and being without powder with which to blow up the gates of the mosque, it was forced to retire. The streets, we heard,

uous fight was maintained. The system of attack in which we were engaged allowed of no formation being retained. Isolated groups of men, European and native, led sometimes by officers, and

of women yelling and screaming. Keeping these as a cover for their retreat, the rebels got clear away, the soldiers having desisted from firing the moment the women appeared.

n, turned sharply round the corner of a street, and was met by a force of sepoys coming from the opposite direction. A shot struck him, and he was felled to the ground from the blow of a sword, and would have been quickly despatched had not Moylan rushed to his rescue. Discharging his musket, he shot one of the assailants, and charged with the bayonet. This was broken off; and then, with firelock clubbed, he stood over the prostrate officer, dealing such fearful blows with the wea

ofessional duties, a number of sepoys poured a deadly fire from the far end of a street into the group of wounded of which he was the central figure. This was too much for the surgeon, who, drawing his sword, called on some men of the regiment close by, and led the

y justified their reputation. Cool and determined, they kept in check the impulsive valour of the young soldiers, and assisted their officers on various occasions when it became almost impossible to control their ardour. Till late at night the fighting nev

ates, and were found, in several instances days after, with their throats cut and otherwise mutilated. The hope of finding plunder in the

ough their whole advance, their loss was very heavy, but, still pressing forward, barrier after barrier was taken, the guns on each bastion, after its capture, being at once turned on the city. Their goal was the Burn bastion and the Lahore Gate, and all that men could do with their diminished numbers was tried at those points without effect. The rebels we

was not to be found in India. He lingered for some days in great torment, expiring on September 23, mourned by everyone in the force, from the General in command to the private soldier, all of whom knew his worth, and felt that in the then momentous crisis his absence from amongst us could ill be borne. No eulogy can add to his renown; through his efforts, more than

d suburb of Kishenganj. About 100 men of my regiment were engaged in this affair; and from

mir troops, were formed up on the Grand Trunk Road, opposite the Sabzi Mandi picket and at the foot of the ridge. Now the sun had risen, and still he watched for the signal, whe

these in great force, and pouring a heavy fire on our troops when only fifty yards distant. A rush was made for the earthworks, which were taken in gallant style; but the want of field-guns was here felt, and the enemy retired a short distance amongst the gardens,

se half-disciplined levies, attacked them on all sides with great vigour. Our allies made no stand, and soon became completely disorganized, flying at length in headlong rout, with the loss of all their guns. No

Maharajah of Kashmir when they should arrive home, leaving the guns behind. With difficulty restraining a laugh, we assured them that we could give no information on the subject, and counselled them to search among the guns on the bastions near the Lahore and Ajmir Gates. They succeeded eventually in fi

tained their ground, and our men could make no impression on them, chiefly from the want of field-guns. Major Reid, moreover, was wounded at an early stage of the act

and at length, after losing one-third of its number, the column fell back in good order to its original starting-point near the Sabzi Mandi, and Kishenganj remained in the hands of the enemy. Had that position been taken, and No. 4 Column, according to instructions, pushed on to th

, to make an attack on the almost unprotected camp. The danger fortunately passed off, the rebels probably having little heart to join in operations to our rear when they heard the news of the signal success of our columns in the city. S

y remained, keeping a watchful lookout for some hours, till orders came for the brigade to move towards the walls of Delhi. They halted opposite the Kabul Gate, at a distance of 400 yards, and were at once exposed to the fire from the bastions, and to musketry from the gardens

he circumstances were most critical, when a body of Guide Infantry, coming up at the time, threw themselves on the rebels, maintai

he ground, they never flinched from their post, forming a living target to the fire of the rebels. The same may be said of the Sikh and Punjabi cavalry, who displayed a coolness and intr

e of the fortifications of Delhi, was in our possession, with all the intervening bastions, ramparts, and walls. Some progress had been made into the city opposite, and to the right and left of the Kashmir Gate, and along the line of walls. The College and its grounds, Colonel Sk

aged, and when the relative forces are considered, far exceeding that which was suffered by the British army during the assault on the Redan on September 8, 1855. The deadly and destructive nature of street-fighting was here apparent, and the long-sustained contest, lasting more than twelve

d Goorkhas, side by side with their English comrades, pressed into the forefro

and numbers were killed in the houses; but the greater part of those who fell were no doubt carried off by the rebels.

, and eager to take vengeance on the murderers of women and children, the men in their pitiless rage showed no mercy. The dark days of Badajoz and San Sebastian were renewed on a small scale

nd when the wherewithal to indulge it lies spread before him, as was the case at Delhi. When and by whom begun I cannot say, but early in the morning of the 15th the stores had been broken into, and the men revelled in unlimited supplies of drink of every kind. It is a sad circumstance to chronicle, and the drunkenness which ensued might have resulted in serious consequences to the army had the enemy taken advantage of the

captured bastions, on which were mounted our own and the enemy's heavy guns; and one for mortars was erected in the College grounds, which shelled the Palace and the Fort of Selimgarh. A few houses were taken in advance of our positions, but no furth

of British rule in India. "In an extraordinary situation extraordinary resolution is needed," was the saying of the Great Napoleon, and to no crisis in our history was this dictum more applicable than that at Delhi in September, 1857. Mutiny and rebellion spread their hydra heads over the land, disaffection was rife in the Punjab, our only source of supply for operations in the field; and nought could stay the alarming symptoms save the complete capture and retention of the

d were overruled by the chief officers in the force, and even the gallant Nicholson from his death-bed deno

especially on the College compound, while the heavy guns at Selimgarh and some at the magazine shelled those gardens and houses adjacent-even as far as the Kashmir Gate-occ

with no resistance on our way, and on approaching the breach saw only a few defenders on the ramparts, who opened a fire, which, however, caused little damage. A rush was at once made, the men gaining the top of the bridge without difficulty, and bayoneting some sepoys and firing on the remainder, who fled through the enclosure and were driven out at the gates on the opposite side. We had only about a dozen men killed and wounded, but of th

enturesome than the rest, climbed on ladders to the top of the walls, plying us with musketry and hand-grenades, while others during the night mounted the high trees overhanging the enclosure, and with long

r into the crowded parts of the city. Houses in commanding situations were taken and made secure from assault by defences of sand-bags. Great judgment was shown in these operations, and the losses in cons

llege grounds on the Selimgarh Fort and the Palace, those from the bastions still firing into a large portion of the city. Skirmishin

ity. This church had been built by the gallant and philanthropic Colonel Alexander Skinner, C.B., an Eurasian and an Irregular cavalry commander of some eminence during the wars in the beginning of the century. H

de the building were remains of their cooking-places, with broken fragments of utensils. The walls, too, had suffered much from the effects of our bombardment from September 11 to 14, the church being in the line of fire directed on the bastions. Many, no doubt, would consider it a sacrilege to qua

e field-guns and musketry of the rebels. There was also another unsuccessful attack made on the Burn bastion and Lahore Gate by the right column, in which the 75th lost one officer and many men killed. The arrangements f

els in great numbers were evacuating the city by the south side, the Bareilly and Neemuch brigades making off in the direction of Gwalior. Certain it is that from this period signs of waning strength appeared

en up with events more startling than astronomical phenomena) till reference to an almanac explained the mystery. The eclipse had, we were told, an alarming effect on the mutineers, who attribut

ile the 60th Rifles and others, perched on the tops of houses, took unerring aim at the rebels clustered in the open space. The sa

e 19th, when sitting in the church compound watching the shells exploding over the Palace and Selimgarh, we heard distinctly, through the intervals of firing, a distant, confused hum of voices, like the murmur of a great mult

cost us the lives of so many men, were taken, the column pushing on along the walls to the Ajmir Gate, which also fell into our hands. There were few d

igns of animation in that quarter. Powder-bags were brought up and attached, to the great gate, which was quickly blown in; and the 60th Rifles, with some Goorkhas, rushed into the enclosure. A score or two of armed fanatics offered some resistance, but they

e Delhi Gate. This was deserted, save by some sick and wounded sepoys, who were put to the sword; and the horsemen, riding

ipal buildings were occupied by our troops, and guards were placed at each gate with orders to prevent the ingress or eg

ng was a vast structure, belonging to a rich native, and had been furnished in a style of Oriental magnificence; but now nothing but th

killed and wounded about 200 officers and men, making the to

otal being close on 4,000. Add to these fully 1,200 who perished by cholera and other diseases, a

solution, the siege carried on with dogged pertinacity and without a murmur, proclaimed to the world that British soldiers, in those stormy t

erfectly equipped, and with little knowledge of the dangers to be surmounted and the difficulties arising on every side, each man of that force felt himself a host, and devoted his energies-nay, his very life-to meet the crisis. None but those who were there can for one moment realize through what suffering and hardship the troops passed during the three months the Siege of Delhi lasted. Day after day, under a burning sun or through the deadly time of the rainy season, with pestilence in their midst, distressing accounts from all parts of the country, and no hope of relief save through their own unaided exertions, the soldiers of the army before Delhi fought with a courage and constancy which no difficulties could daunt and no trials, however severe, could overcome. In the end

61st Regiment, served in the batt

e names of the Engineer

H.M. 52nd Regiment

Lieutenants Moore and Young we

Her Majesty's 61st Regiment