Twelve years of a soldier's life in India: being extracts from the letters of the late Major W. S. R. Hodson ... including a personal narrative of the siege of Delhi and capture of the king and princes

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Preface To The Third Edition

I HAVE now been able to complete the series of extracts from my brother's letters, down to the morning of the fatal 11th March. The greater portion of the Fourth Chapter of Part 11. will be found to have been added since the first edition.

I have to apologize for an inaccuracy in the quotation which I gave from Sir Colin Campbell's letter on the occasion of my brother's death. A correct copy of the letter in full will be found at page 398. I have not found it necessary to make any other corrections of importance. Cases have been pointed out to me, in which officers who took part in different operations described, and did good service, are not mentioned by name ; but I felt that I could not supply any such omissions, without taking upon myself a responsibility which I have disclaimed.

It was very natural that my brother, in writing to his wife, should make especial mention of those in whom she was interested. It is probable, too, that in some cases, subsequent information would have modified views expressed at the moment, but

46 PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

I have adhered to the principle of giving his letters as they were written day by day.

The favorable reception given to the former editions of this work, has quite satisfied me that I was not wrong in supposing that my brother's character only required to be known, in order to be estimated as it deserved, by Englishmen of every class and profession.

CooKHAM Deane, July, 1859.

Preface To The First Edition

It can scarcely be needful to make any apology for offering to the public this record of one who has attracted to himself so large a measure of attention and admiration. Many, both in this country and in India, have expressed, and I doubt not many others have felt, a desire to know more of the commander of Hodson's Horse, and captor of the King of Delhi and his sons.

My original intention was to have compiled from my brother's letters merely an account of the part he bore in the late unhappy war. I very soon, however, determined to extend the work, so as to embrace the whole of his life in India.

I felt that the public would naturally inquire by what previous process of training he had acquired, not merely his consummate skill in the great game of war, but his experience of Asiatics and marvellous influence over their minds.

The earlier portions of this book will serve to answer such inquiries ; they will show the gradual development of my brother's character and powers, and that those exploits which astonished the

48 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

world by their skill and daring, were but the natural results of the high idea of the soldier's profession which he proposed to himself, honestly and consistently worked out during ten years of training, in perhaps the finest school that ever existed for soldiers and administrators. They will explain how it was that, in the midst of a struggle for the very existence of our empire, he was able to call into being and bring into the field around Delhi an " invincible and all but ubiquitous " body of cavalry.

The dragon's teeth which came up armed men, had been sown by him long before in his earlier career in the Punjaub. There, by many a deed of daring and activity, by many a successful stratagem and midnight surprise, by many a desperate contest, he had taught the Sikhs, first to dread him as an enemy, and then to idolize him as a leader. Already in 1849 the Governor- General had had " frequent occasions of noticing not only his per-' sonal gallantry, but the activity, energy, and intelligence with which he discharged whatever duties M^ere intrusted to him." Even then the name of Hodson, although unknown in England, except to the few who watched his course with the eyes of affection, was a sound of terror to the Sikhs, and a bugbear to their children. In 1852 he earned this high praise from one best qualified to judge : " Lieutenant Hodson, marvellously attaching the Guides to himself by the ties of mutual honor, mutual daring, and mutual devotion, has on every

Preface To The First Edition. 49

opportunity proved that the discipline of a public school and subsequent University training are no disqualification for hazardous warfare, or for the difficult task of keeping wild tribes in check."

The title given to this book will sufficiently indicate the principle on which, particularly in the first part, I have made selections from my brother's letters. My object has been to show what a soldier's life in India may be, and what in his case it was ; how wide and varied is the field which it opens for the exercise of the highest and noblest qualities, intellectual and moral, of our nature ; and how magnificently he realized and grasped the conception.

His letters, written in all the freedom of unreserved intercourse, will give a truer notion of his character than the most labored description ; they exhibit the undercurrent of deep feelings that ran through even his most playful moods, the yearning after home that mingled with the dreams of ambition and the thirst for the excitement of war, the almost womanly tenderness that coexisted with the stern determination of the soldier. They show that though his lot was cast in camps, he was not a mere soldier ; though a hanger-on on the outskirts of civilization amidst wild tribes, he had a keen appreciation of the refinement and elegancies of civilized life ; that though in India, he remembered that he was an Englishman ; that though living amongst the heathen, he did not forget that he was a Christian.

50 PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

I have not attempted to write a biography, but have allowed my brother to speak for himself, merely supplying such connecting links as seemed absolutely necessary.

Indeed, I could do no otherwise ; for unhappily, during the twelve years of his soldier's life, — those years in which his character received its mature development," — I knew him only by his letters, or by the reports of others ; when we parted on board the ship that carried him from England, in 1845, we parted to meet no more in this world. My recollections of him, vivid as they are, are not of the leader of men in council and the battlefield, but of the bright and joyous boy, the life of the home circle, the tender and affectionate son, the loving brother, the valued friend, the popular companion.

Of what he became afterwards my readers will have the same means of judging as myself. He seems to me to have been one of whom not only his family, but his country may well be proud, — a worthy representative of the English name and nation amongst the tribes of India, an impersonation of manly straightforwardness, and unhesitating daring, and irresistible power.

I cannot doubt but that the verdict of his countrymen will confirm my judgment.

Many too, I believe, wiU agree with me in thinking that these pages prove that the poetry and romance of war are not yet extinct, that even the Enfield rifle has not reduced all men to a

Preface To The First Edition. 51

dead level, but that there is still a place to be found for individual prowess, for the lion heart, and the e^gle eye, and the iron will. One seems transported back from the prosaic nineteenth century to the ages of romance and chivalry, and to catch a glimpse, now of a Paladin of old, now of a knightly hero sans peur et sans reproche ; now, of a northern chieftain, " riding on border foray," now of a captain of free-lances ; yet all dissolving into a Christian soldier of our own day.

Most striking of aU, it has appeared to me, is the resemblance to the romantic career of that hero of the Spanish ballads, who, by his many deeds of heroic daring, gained for himself the distinguished title of " El de las Hazanas," — " He of the exploits." Those who are acquainted with the chronicles of the Conquest of Granada, will almost fancy in reading these pages that they are hearing again the story of Fernando Perez del Pulgar ; how at one time by a bold dash he rode with a handful of followers across a country swarming with the enemy, and managed to force his way into a beleaguered fortress ; how at another he galloped alone up the streets of Granada, then in possession of the enemy, to the. gates of the principal mosque, and nailed a paper to the door with his dagger ; how again he turned the tide of battle by the mere charm of his eagle eye and thrilling voice, inspiring the most timid with a courage equal to his own ; how he made the enemy lay down their arms at his word of com-

52 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

mand ; how the Moorish mothers frightened their children with the sound of his name ; how he was not only the harebrained adventm-er, delighting in peril and thirsting for the excitement of the fight, but also the courteous gentleman, the accomplished scholar ; as profound and sagacious in the council as he was reckless in the field, and frequently selected by the wily Ferdinand to conduct affairs requiring the greatest prudence and judgment.*

It may be, however, that affection has biassed my judgment, and that I shall be thought to have formed an exaggerated estimate of the grandeur and nobleness of the subject of this memoir. Even if this be so, I shall not take much to heart the charge of having loved such a brother too well, and I shall console myself with the thought that I have endeavored to do something to perpetuate his memory.

If, however, any young soldier be induced, by reading these pages, to take a higher view of his profession, to think of it as one of the noblest fields in which he can serve his God and his country, and enter on it in a spirit of self-sacrifice, with " duty " as his guiding principle, and a determination never to forget that he is a Christian soldier and an Englishman, I shall be abundantly rewarded ; my main object will be attained.

CooKHAM Deane, December, 1858.

* See Washington Irving, &c.

Chapter I

EARLY LIFE — RUGBY — TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE — GUERNSEY MILITIA pp.57 — 61

CHAPTER H.

ARRIVAL IN INDIA — CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLE J, BATTLES

OF MOODKEE, FEROZESHAH, SOBRAON OCCUPATION

CHAPTER HI.

FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN FUSILEERS — CASHMERE WITH SIKH ARMY — LAWRENCE ASYLUM — APPOINTMENT

TO GUIDE CORPS — June, 1846 — Oct. 1847 . 82— 102 CHAPTER IV.

EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAUB AS SECOND IN COMMAND OP THE CORPS OF GUIDES, AND ALSO AS ASSISTANT

TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHORE ROAD-MAKING AND

SURVEYING — CAMPAIGN OF 1848-9 — CAPTURE OF FORTS — • BATTLE OF GUJERAT — ANNEXATION OP PUNJAUB— Ocf. 1847 — Maro/i, 1849 . . 10.3 — 141

54 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

ANNEXATION OP PUNJAUB — INCREASE OF CORPS OF GUIDES AT PESHAWUR — TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPART- MENT AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER — April, 1849

CHAPTER VI.

TOUR IN CASHMERE AND THIBET WITH SIR HENRY LAW- RENCE — TRANSFER TO CIS-SUTLEJ PROVINCES — June, 1850 — Oct. 1851 157 — 177

CHAPTER Vn.

MARRIAGE — COMMAND OF THE GUIDES — PESHAWUR — EUZOFZAI — FRONTIER WARFARE — MURDAN — Jan.

CHAPTER Vni.

REVERSES — UNJUST TREATMENT — OFFICIAL ENMITY

LOSS OF COMMAND — SUPPRESSION OF REPORT — RETURN TO REGIMENTAL DUTIES — BETTER PROS- PECTS — MA.JOR TAYLOR'S REPORT — TESTIMONY OF SIR R. NAPIER — MR. MONTGOMERY — NoV. 1854 —

Part II

NARRATIVE OF THE DELHI CAMPAIGN, 1857, 1858. CHAPTER I.

OUTBREAK OF REBELLION — MARCH DO ViTN TO DELHI FROM DUGSHAI WITH FIRST EUROPEAN BENGAL FU- SILEERS — APPOINTMENT TO INTELLIGENCE DEPART-

CONTENTS. 55

MENT — RIDE FROM KURNAL TO MEERUT TO OPEN COMMUNICATION — ORDER TO RAISE REGIMENT — DEATH OF GENERAL ANSON — May lOth — June Sth,

CHAPTER n.

SIEGE OF DELHI — June — August .... 246 — 306

CHAPTER m.

SIEGE OP DELHI, CONTINUED — ROHTUCK EXPEDITION — ASSAULT — DELHI TAKEN — CAPTURE OF KING — CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF SHAHZADAHS — August 17th — Sept. 25th 307 — 359

CHAPTER IV.

OPERATIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF DELHI — SHOW- ERS'S COLUMN — SEATON'S COLUMN — ACTIONS AT GUNGEREE, PUTIALEE, MYNPOOREE — RIDE TO COM- MANDER-IN-CHIEF'S camp — JUNCTION OF FORCES —

shumshabad — Oct. — Jan 360 — 418

CHAPTER V.

ALUMBAGH, LUCKNOW — THE BEGUM'S PALACE — BANKS's HOUSE — THE soldier's DEATH NOTICES — CON- CLUDING REMARKS — Feb. — March 12th . 419 — 444

TWELVE YEARS

SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA.

PART L

CHAPTER L

EARLY LIFE. RUGBY. CAMBRIDGE. GUERNSEY.

William Stephen Raikes Hodson, third son of Rev. George Hodson, afterwards Archdeacon of Stafford and Canon of Lichfield, was born at Maisemore Court, near Gloucester, on 19th March, 1821.

As a boy, his affectionate disposition and bright and joyous character endeared him greatly to his family, and made him a general favorite with all around him, old and young, rich and poor. That which characterized him most was his quickness of observation and his interest in everything going on about him. By living with his eyes and ears open, and never suffering anything to escape his notice, he acquired a stock of practical knowledge which he turned to good account in his after-life. With the exception of a short time spent with a 3*

58 RUGBY.

private tutor, the Rev. E. Harland, he was educated at home till he went to Rugby, in his fifteenth year. Home life, however, had not prevented him from growing up an active, highspirited boy, full of life and energy.

His feats of activity at Rugby still live in the remembrance of his contemporaries and the traditions of the school. The following is an extract from a paper in the Book of Rugby School, published in 1856 : —

Who does not remember the fair-haired, light-complexioned active man whose running feats, whether in the open fields or on the gravel walks of the Close, created such marvel among his contemporaries. He has carried his hare and hounds into his country's service, and as commandant of the gallant corps of Guides, has displayed an activity and courage on the wild frontier of the Punjaub, the natural development of his early prowess at Crick and Brownsover.

A very similar notice appeared in a periodical during the recent campaign : —

The Rugboeans have had their Crick run. Six miles over heavy country, there and back, to the school gates by the road, is no mean distance to be done in one hour twenty-nine minutes.

There was a day when the gallant leader of HodsorCs Horse always led in this run. We think we see " larky Pritchard," as he was familiarly designated, in his blue cloth jacket, white trousers, his well-known belt, and his " golden hair," going in front with his nice easy stride, (for

EUGBY. 59

he never had any very great pace, though lie could last forever,) and getting back coolly and comfortably to " Bons " when the rear hounds were toiling a mile behind. There never was such a boy to run over, after second lesson, to Dunchurch to see the North Warwickshire, or to give himself a " pipe-opener " to Lutterworth and back between callings over, till the doctor vowed he would injure his heart. How true it is that men who have distinguished themselves most in school sports come out the best at last.

It was not, however, only in active sports that he showed ability. As head of a house, during the later portion of his Rugby life, he gave equal indications of " administrative capacity."

His tutor, (the present Bishop of Calcutta,) speaking of his having been transferred to his house, in which there were then no praepostors, " because, from his energetic character and natural ability, he seemed to Dr. Arnold likely to give me efficient help," continues : " He gave abundant proof that Arnold's choice had been a wise one. Though he immediately reestablished the shattered prestige of praepositorial power, he contrived to make himself very popular with various classes of boys. The younger ones found in him an efficient protector against bullying. Those of a more literary turn found in him an agreeable and intelligent companion, and were fond of being admitted to sit in his study and talk on matters of intellectual interest. The democrats had got their master, and submitted

60 CAMBRIDGE.

with a good grace to power which they could not resist, and which was judiciously and moderately exercised. The regime was wise, firm, and kind, and the house was happy and prosperous.

" From all that I knew of him, both at Rugby and afterwards, I was not surprised at the courage and coolness which the Times compared ' to the spirit of a Paladin of old.' I cannot say how much I regret that I shall not be welcomed in India by the first head of my dear old house at Rugby."

From Rugby my brother went, in October, 1840, to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here, as might have been expected from his previous habits, he took an active interest in boating and other athletic amusements, while at the same time he by no means neglected the more serious and intellectual pursuits of the University. He had a very considerable acquaintance with, and taste for, both classical and general literature, but a constitutional tendency to headache very much stood in the way of any close application to books ; and, after he had taken his degree in 1844, was one strong reason for his deciding on an active rather than a studious life. The Indian army seemed to offer the best opening, but while waiting for a cadetship, in order to prevent superannuation he obtained, through the kind introduction of Lord de Saumarez, a commission in the Guernsey Militia from Major-General W. Napier, the Lieutenant-Governor, and there com-

GUERNSEY MILITIA. 61

menced his military life. From the first he felt that the profession of a soldier was one that required to be studied, and took every opportunity of mastering its principles.

On his leaving Guernsey to enter the Hon. East India Company's service, Major- General W. Napier bore this testimony to his character : " I think he will be an acquisition to any service. His education, his ability, his zeal to make himself acquainted with military matters, gave me the greatest satisfaction during his service with the militia."

CHAPTER 11.

ARRIVAL IN INDIA. — CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ,

1845-46.

My brother landed at Calcutta on the 13th of September, 1845, and, with as little delay as possible, proceeded up the country to Agra, where he found a hearty welcome beneath the hospitable roof of the Hon. James Thomason, Lieutenant- Governor of the Northwest Provinces, an old family friend and connection, who, from that time to his death, treated him with as much affection, and took as deep an interest in his career, as if he had been his own son.

He was appointed to do duty with the 2d Grenadiers, then forming a part of the Governor- General's escort, and, accordingly, left Agra on November 2d. In the following letter he describes his first impressions of camp life in an Indian army.

After mentioning a delay caused by an attack of fever and dysentery, on his way to the camp, he proceeds : —

I was able, however, to join the Grenadiers at four o'clock on the morning of the 7th, and share their dusty

CAMP. 63

march of ten miles to the village near which the Governor-General's camp was pitched. Since that day we have been denizens of a canvas city of a really astonishing extent, seeing that it is the creation of a few hours, and shifts with its enormous population, some ten or fifteen miles a day. I wonder more every day at the ease and magnitude of the arrangements, and the varied and interesting pictures continually before our eyes. Soon after four A. M., a bugle sounds the reveille, and the whole mass is astir at once. The smoke of the evening fii'es has by this time blown away, and everything stands out clear and defined in the bright moonlight. The Sepoys, too, bring the straw from their tents, and make fires to warm their black faces on all sides, and the groups of swarthy redcoats stooping over the blaze, with a white background of canvas, and the dark clear sky behind all, produce a most picturesque effect as one turns out into the cold. Then the multitudes of camels, horses, and elephants, in all imaginable groups and positions, — the groans and cries of the former as they stoop and kneel for their burdens, the neighing of hundreds of horses mingling with the shouts of the innumerable servants and their masters' calls, the bleating of sheep and goats, and louder than all, the shrill screams of the Hindoo women, almost bewilder one's senses as one treads one's way through the canvas streets and squares to the place where the regiment assembles outside the camp.

A second bugle sounds "the assembly." There is a blaze of torches from the Governor's tents ; his palanquin carriage, drawn by four mules, and escorted by jingling troopers, trots to the front. The artillery thunder forth the moi'ning gun, as a signal that the great man is gone, — the guns rattle by, — the cavalry push on after

64 CAMP.

them, — and then at length our band strikes up. " Forward" is the word, and the red (and black) column moves along, by this time as completely obscured by the dense clouds of dust as though they were in London during a November fog. We are not expected to remain with our men, but mount at once, and ride in a cluster before the band, or ride on a quarter of a mile or so, in twos and threes, complaining of the laziness of the great man's people, and of the dust and cold, as if we were the most ill-used of her Majesty's subjects. As soon as we're off the ground, and the road pretty clear, I dismount, and walk the first eight miles or so, this being the time to recover one's powers of locomotion. The cold is really very great, especially in the hour before sunrise, — generally about one and a half or two hours after we start. It soon gets warm enough to make one glad to ride again, and by the time the march is over, and the white city is in sight, the heat is very great, though now diminishing daily. It is a sudden change of temperature, truly, — from near freezing at starting, to 90° or 100° at arriving; and it is this, I think, which makes us feel the heat so much in this climate. In the daytime we get on very well ; the heat seldom exceeding 86°, and often not more than 84° and 82° in tents. It sounds hot, but a house or tent at 84° is tolerably endurable, especially if there is a breeze. My tent is twelve feet square inside, and contains a low pallet bed, a table, chair, two camel trunks, and brass basin for washing. I will get a sketch of the camp to send you.

Nov. ISth. — This nomad life is agreeable in many respects, and very healthy, and one sees a great deal of the country, but it destroys time rather, as the march is not over, generally, till half-past nine or ten,

CAMP. fio

and then breakfast, a most eagerly desired composition, and dressing afterwards, do not leave much of the day before the cool evening comes for exercise, or sightseeing and dining, and by nine most of us are in bed, or near it.

Dec. 2. — Umbala. — We had a short march of six milea into Umbala this morning, and I got leave from our colonel to ride on and see the troops assemble to greet the Governor-General. I never saw so splendid a sight: 12,000 of the finest troops were drawn up in one line, and as I rode slowly along the whole front, I had an excellent opportunity of examining the varied materials of an Indian army. First were the English Horse Artillery ; then the dashing dragoons of the 3d Queen's, most splendidly mounted and appointed ; then came the stern, determinedlooking British footmen, side by side with their tall and swarthy brethren from the Ganges and Jumna, — the Hindoo, the Mussulman, and the white man, all obeying the same word, and acknowledging the same common tie ; next to these a large brigade of guns, with a mixture of all coloi's and creeds ; then more regiments of foot, the whole closed up by the regiments of native caA^alry : the quiet-looking and English-dressed Hindoo troopers strangely contrasted with the wild Irregulars in all the fanciful ^*?^uniformity of their native costume ; yet these last are the men / fancy for service. Altogether, it was a most interesting sight, either to the historian or soldier, especially as one remembered that these were no men of parade, but assembled here to be poured across the Sutlej at a word.

The " pomp and circumstance " of war were soon to be exchanged for its stern realities, as will be seen in the following letter to his father, dated Christmas Day, 1845 : —

Camp, Sultanpook.

I take the first day of rest we have had, to write a few hurried hnes to reheve you from any anxiety you may have felt at not hearing from me by the last mails, or from newspaper accounts, which will, I fear, reach you before this letter can. I am most thankful to be able to sit down once more to write to you all but unharmed. Since I wrote, I have been in four general engagements of the most formidable kind ever known in India. For the first time we had to contend with a brave and unconquered people, disciplined, and led on like our own troops by European skill ; and the result, though successful to our arms, has been fearful indeed as to carnage. You will see accounts in the papers giving details more accurate than I can possibly furnish, both of our wonderfully rapid and fatiguing marches, and of the obstinate and bloody resistance we met with. On the 10th of this month, on our usual quiet march to Sirhind with the Governor-General's camp, we were surprised by being joined by an additional regiment, and by an order for all non-soldiers to return to Umbala. From that day we have had the fatigues and exertions of actual warfare in their broadest forms, — marching day and night unprecedented distances, scarcity of sleep and food, and all the varieties of cold and heat. I enjoyed all, and entered into it with great zest, till we came to actual blows, or rather, I am {novi) half ashamed to say, tiU the blows were over, and I saw the horrible scenes which ensue on war. I have had quite enough of such sights now, and hope it may not be my lot to be exposed to them again.

Our loss has been most severe, especially in officers. Our Sepoys could not be got to face the tremendous fire of the Sikh artillery, and, as usual, the more they quailed, the more the English officers exposed themselves in vain efforts to bring them on. The gi'eatest destruction was, however, among the Governor- General's staff, — only two (his own son and Colonel Benson) escaped death or severe wounds. They seemed marked for destruction, and certainly met it most gallantly. On the 15th we joined the Commander-in-Chief, with his troops from Umbala, were put off escort duty, and joined General Gilbert's division. On the 17th we had a march of thirty miles, (in the daytime, too,) with scanty food; on the 18th, after a fasting march of twenty-five miles, we were summoned, at half-past four in the afternoon, to battle, which lasted till long after dark. Almost the first shot which greeted our regiment killed the man standing by my side, and instantly afterwards I was staggered by a ball from a frightened Sepoy behind me grazing my cheek and blackening my face with the powder, — so close was it to my head ! We were within twenty, and at times ten, yards of three guns blazing grape into us, and worse than all, the bushes with which the whole ground was covered were filled with marksmen who, unseen by us, could pick us off at pleasure. No effiDrts could bring the Sepoys forward, or half the loss might have been spared, had they rushed on with the bayonet. We had three officers wounded out of our small party, and lost many of the men. We were bivouacked on the cold ground that night, and remained under arms the whole of the following day. Just as we were going into action, I stumbled upon poor Carey, whom you may remember to have heard of at Price's, at Rugby. On going over the field on the 30th, I found the body actually cut to pieces by the keen swords of the

Sikhs, and but for his clothes could not have recognized him. I had him carried into camp for burial, poor fellow, extremely shocked at the sudden termination of our renewed acquaintance. On Sunday, the 21st, we marched before daybreak in force to attack the enemy, who had intrenched themselves behind their formidable artillery. The action began in the afternoon, lasted the whole night, and was renewed with daybreak. They returned again to the charge as often as we gained any advantage, and it was evening before they were finally disposed of by a charge of our dragoons, and our ammunition was exhausted ! — so near are we m our most triumphant successes to a destruction as complete ! The results are, I suppose, in a political point of view, immense indeed. We took from them neai'ly one hundred large guns, and routed their vast army, pi-epared, had they succeeded in beating us, to overrun Hindostan ; and it must be owned they had nearly succeeded ! It will scarcely be believed, but they had actually purchased and prepared supplies as far into the interior of our country as Delhi, and unknown to our authorities ; and the whole of Northern India was, as usual, ready to rise upon us at an hour's notice. On the evening of the 21st, as we rushed towards the guns, in the most dense dust and smoke, and under an unprecedented fire of grape, our Sepoys again gave way and broke. It was a fearful crisis, but the bravery of the English regiments saved us. The Colonel (Hamilton), the greater part of my brother ofiicers, and myself, were left with the colors and about thirty men immediately in front of the batteries ! Our escape was most providential, and is, I trust, thankfully acknowledged by us. A ball (from a shell, I fancy) struck my leg below the knee, but happily spared the bone, and only inflicted a flesh wound. I was also knocked down twice, — once by a shell bursting so close to me as to kill the men behind me, and once by the explosion of a magazine or mine. I am most thankful indeed for my escape from death or maiming. The wound in my leg is nothing, as you may judge when I tell you that I was on foot or horseback the whole of the two following days. Last night we moved on here about five miles from the scene of action, and got some food, and into our beds, after four days and nights on the ground, alternately tried with heat and cold (now most severe at night), and nothing but an occasional mouthful of black native bread. I think, during the four days, all I had to eat would not compose half a home breakfast-loaf, and for a day and night we had not even water ; when we did get water, after driving the enemy from their camp, it was found to have been spoiled with gunpowder ! It was like eating Leamington water, but our thirst was too great to stick at trifles.