On this page

• Text (1)

  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.

  • 

    J^ B93 > ^QSEB 3, ' JB&i ' . J . . T H J...

• Transcript

  • 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.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    The Indian Revolt. Anornsr Targe Mass Of...

    peaca having scarcely- Weeai ^ nterrapted by the mutiny of , the disarmed 2 $ tn N . I . at-. . Lahore . This regiment rose against its officers , killed its commander , Major Sjiioer , the quartermaster sergeant , and two native xion'CotnraissioQed officers , and then fled up the right bank of the Ravee . It -was , ihowever , speedily overtaken , dispersed , aa . d destroyed . Scarcely a . man now remains unaccounted for . '' Through the fatal omission to « ut out the gangrene when first discovered at Meerutj and the delay subsequently in extirpating the disease of mutiny , the mortal corruption has continued to spread . It has at length touched the armies of Bombay and Madras , On the 3 lst of July , a part—less than two hundred men—of our

    27 th N . I ., stationed at Kolapore , suddenly broke into open mutiny , and seized the regimental treasure chest The officers having timely notice , all escaped the search , that was made for them at their houses , but subsequently three of them—Lieutenant Korris and two young ensigns , Stubbs and Heathfield—fell in the way -of the mutineers and "were killed . The rest of the regiment appear to have desired , and tried to remain , neutral , and it has very properly beeu disarmed , both at Kolapore and Kutnagherry , There have been sinister reports about the state of the 28 th and 29 th N " , I . at Dhzirwar and Belgaum , and isolated individual displays of disaffection lave occurred in them , on which possibly the rumours in question were based . It -was thought , however , that

    the mutinous feeling was- confined to these three new regiments , all raised in 1646 , and was accounted for by something in the material of which they are composed . We now learn , however , that a part of the 12 th ST . I . at Nusseerabad has caught the infection . It protected a fanatical mutineer of tho 1 st Cavalry , who endeavoared to incite both regiments to an outbreak , and who attempted , under that protection , to take the life of the brigadier commanding tb « station- The fanatic was killed by the European artillerymen and one of thelr officers , and the mutinous portion of the 12 th has been disarmed . What further is to be done with it remains to be seen . The quiet energy and activity displayed by the local Government in regard to the

    position of the 27 th ' and its neighbours , was highly commendable . The great advantage given us by the means of sea conveyance was promptly seized . Detachments of Europeans from Bombay were landed at convenient points on the coast , and mutineers and waverers found themselves confronted by English soldiers" English sailors too , before they dreamt of their vicinity . At present , we believe , the whole Presidency is quiet , and we trust it may so continue . In its capital , the Mabomedan . community are just concluding the celebration of the Mohurrum in peace , the public tranquillity having been uninterrupted save by a paltry row between some Sepoys of the native regiments and some of the native police , the result , not of mutiny or Mohurrum , but of a longstanding quarrel .

    " From Madras we learn that the 8 th Light Cavalry , after -volunteering to proceed to Calcutta , began to bargain , while on the march , for the grant of some old allowances . The result was that its horses -were taken away and sent to Calcutta without their riders ; but , whether the troopers finally refused to proceed , or whether the authorities declined to send them , is at present a matter of conflicting assertion . " Some further items of intelligence are thus communicated in Governmen t and newspaper telegraphic despatches , the dates being from Calcutta up to August 23 rd . from Bombay up to August 3 . 1 st , and from Aden up to the 14 tli ult . : —

    " Great anxiety is felt as to the fate of Lucknow , where a thousand Europeans , a large proportion of whom are women and children , are blockaded by the rebels under JNena Sahib . The 6 th and 90 th Regiments are on their way up the river to reinforce General Havelock ' s Division ; bnt it is doubtful whether the garrison of Lucknow has provisions to enable it to hold out . " Lord lilgia has made over the Shannon and the Pearl to the Indian Government , and was about to return to China in the Ava , chartered steamer . "Captain Peel , with four hundred seamen and ten-68-poimdera , left Calcutta in a steamer towing flats , on the 18 th August , for Allahabad . " The Maharajah Gholal ) Singh died at Cashmere on the 2 nd of August . [ This is tho second time within the last few months that his death has boon reported . It was contradicted tho first time , and may not he correct ovou now . ]

    Most of tho Bengal regiments have been disarmed . A « o remainder of her Majosty ' a 83 rd Regiment has arrived at Bombay from the Mauritius . Central India » s tranquil , all being reported quiet At Magosn , Saugor , andJubbulpoor . A . part of tho Jouspoor Legion lias mutinied at Mount Aboo , but no mischief was done at tho station . "Agm waa saf 0 up to tlie lgth of August . No enemy wna ncar it at the last dates . Mnjor Georgo and Major Aitomas died there of illness nnd wounds on tho lth of August . Mnjor Banks has boen shot dead at Lwuknow : ^ o cn uso is not known . Another European force bo-«« w « enor « l llnvelock ' s has arrived at Cnwipore . J ^ nonu Ncill has attacked and defeated a large force "Mlcetod near that city . An officer reports Unit lie haw on n ° f Ncna SnUib aml his f « ulli | yVwho took to n boat . " ranges and wore swamped . Lieutenants Thomu imd l > eUfi > S 30 , reported to bo dead , were alivo nt

    Cawnpore . Major-General Van Cortlandt was in full possession of Hissax and Hansi" General Nicholson arrived before Delhi on the 8 th of August . His troops were expected on the 13 th , and all would arrive by the loth , on which date the army before Delhi -would number about 11 , 000 men . Further reinforcements , it was computed , would , early in September , increase our numbers to 15 , 000 men . It was generally eKpected that the assault on the city -would take place on the 20 th of August . The King is reported to be sendi ng his zenana to Rhotuck . General Wilson has completely surrounded Delhi , cutting off all communication . The mutineers are dispirited by continual defeats and want of ammunition , and in the city dissensions are common among the Mahomedan-s and Hindoos .

    " The 68 rd Native Infantry and 11 th Irregulars were disarmed at Berharnpore on the 1 st of August . There has been a disturbance at Neemuch , of which the particulars are not folly kno ^ svn . Twenty-one troopers of the 2 nd Light Cavalry have deserted . Colonel Burard reports the whole of Western -Mahwa to be in a very disturbed state , and that a large body of men are collected at Mundisore . All is quiet at 24 " agpore and Hyderabad . " The Calcutta Government summary supplies the following information with respect to the native states and chieftains : —

    " Holkar is believed to be quite loyal , though appearances were against him . Of Scindia we have no trustworthy information ; it is certain that he has taken the regiment of the Gwalior Contingent into his pay , but with what purpose we do not yet know . At Chore , in the Brio-pal State , the Bhopal Contingent is reported to have seized some guns and a howitzer , and to have raised the Mahornedan standard . Amjchra Rajah revolted , and took possession of Mehidpore ; he has been partially coerced by Holkar . " The chief of Jhabooa has behaved -well in protecting Captain Hutchinson , the Bheel ageut , and the other Europeans ; he has been thanked . The Rajah of Rewah . is thoroughly true , and is aiding us in every way . " The Punnah chief and others of Bundlecund are

    believed to be loyal , The conduct of the Jyepore and Bhurtssore Su-dards is reported by the Laeut .-Governor to have been very questionable . All the other native states in . Rojpootana ivere all right , and Aj mere quiet on the 31 st of July . " In the same communication we read : — - " Major Eyre , with three guns and about one hundred and fifty Europeans , defeated the rebels under Kover Sing , on the 12 th of August , and relieved the Europeans

    who had been for some days besieged in a small house at Arrah , and with the aid of fifty Sikhs had gallantly defended themselves . Kover Sing has fled over the hill towards Rohtas . On the 19 th , he was at Akburtore Eteas Rohtasgur ; bis brother Amur Sing was in the hills flanking the Grand Trunk-road . All is quiet between Benares and Sherrghoty . Seven lakhs of treasure at Gya havo been brought into Calcutta by the collector , Mr . Alonzo Money , with the aid of a few Europeans , and about one hundred Sikh soldiers .

    " The stations of Chupra , Chumparun , and Mazufferporc , which the civil officers had abandoned by order of Mr . Taylor , the Commissioner , have been reoccupied , and tranquillity may soon be restored . Since the last mail , the 5 th Irregular Csivnlry have left the Santal district , and are ere route to Arrah . It is known where they now are . A party of the Dinapore mutineers has been heard of about eighteen miles south-west of Mirzapore , as making for the Jumna somewhere about Calipee , with the intention , probably , of joining the Gwalior mutineers , and ultimately the Oudc insurgents .

    " Some : Rewah troops—seven hundred and fifty infantry , three hundred cavalry and four guns—had been detached by political agents to intercept them if possible , cither at the Sohagcs Ghaut of the Jonse or at Sorce . In the direction of Allahabad , the Kuttra Pass'was defended , and it is hoped that by the one force or the other they may be attacked and dispersed . "Upwards of four hundred seamen and marines and twenty officers of lier Majesty ' s frigates Shannon nnd Pearl , havo been formed into a Naval Brigade , and detached to the Upper Provinces . The brigado is furnished with ten G 8-pounders , and two or three field pieces , taken from the above vessels . All left Calcutta on the 18 th of August by steamer .

    " Tho 11 th Native Infantry at Ilelym , w , ho refused to give \ ip their . arms , have boon destroyed . The 40 th Native Infantry an < l wing of 9 th Cavalry mutinied at Sealkotc , and lulled throe or four officers , tho majority finding shelter in tho fort . Tho mutineers were attacked by Brigadier Nicholson on tho 12 th of August , and ngain on the lGth , and hardly any escaped . Their spoil fell into our hands . " The revenue in the Punjab has been paid to the last farthing , nnd the mont loyal spirit ^ pre vails not only among the Sikh uoldiory , but tho population genorully . Tho only apprehension is a failure of funds . At the cud of September or October tho Government will give its attention to Una j meanwhile , the local authorities have invited advances on loan for one year at six por coat . Tho roBult is not yet reported . "

    A French telegraphic message from Marseilles , dated Tuesday , says : — " Private lottera from Calcutta etute that tho

    population is beginning to rise in Bengal , pursuing and kiffin & English settlers , and that the revolution is becomittg general . The merchandise from the interior no longer reaches Calcutta , and the imports are accumulating in the depots . Buyers are not to be found . Money is disappearing , and the paper of the East Iodia Company is at twenty-five per cent . discount . " We need scarcely suggest caution in accepting this statement . Tiie following is an extract from a letter of an , officer in one of the Queea ' s Regiments belonging to General Havelock ' s movable column . It is dated Cawnpore , July 17 th : —

    "I was directed to the house -where all the poor miserable ladies had been murdered . It was alongside the Cawnpore hotel , where the Nena lived . I nev-er was more horrified . The place was one mass of blood . I am not exaggerating -when I tell you that the soies of tny boots were more than covered with the blood of these poor wretched creatures . Portions of their dresses , collars , children ' s socks , and ladies 1 round hats lay about , saturated with their blood ; and , in the sword-cuts on ihe wooden pillars of the room , long dark hair was

    earned by the edge of the weapon , and there htrag their tresses—a most painful sight ! I have often wished since that I had never been there , bat sometimes wish that every soldier wns taken there that he might witness the barbarities cur poor countrywomen had sufl & red . Their bodies were afterwards dragged o « t and thrown down a well outsikle the building , where tbeir limbs were to be seen sticking out in a mass of gory confusion . Their blood cries for vengeance , and should it be granted us to have it , I only wish I may have tie administration of it .

    " I picked up a mutilated Prayer Book . It had lost the cover , Tmt on the flyleaf is written , * For dearest Mamma , from her affectionate Tom . June , 1845 . ' It appears to one to have been opened at page & 6 , in the litamy , where I have but little doubt those poor dear creatures sought and found consolation in that beautiful supplication . It is here sprinkled -with blood The book lias lost some pages at the end and terminates with the 47 th Psalm , in -which Oavid thanlts the Almighty for his signal victories owwc his enemies , & c . " July 21 .

    " Those poor ladies -were massacred on tfce 15 th , after we had thrashed the blackguards at the bridge . The collector who gave the order for their death was tafcen prisoner the day before yesterday , and now hangs from a branch about two hundred yards off the roadside . His death was , accidentally , a most painful one , for the rope ¦ was badly adjusted , and , when he dropped , the noose closed over Ms jaw . His hands then got loose , and he caught hold of the rope and struggled to get free ; but two men took hold of his legs and jerked bis body until his neck broke . , This seems to me the just reward he should fcave got on earth , for bis barbarity . ' General Ueill , in a letter from Cawnpore , dated August 1 st , says that he has had the well into which the mutilated foodies of the poor women and children vrero thrown decently covered in and built np as one Large grave . He continues : —

    "On the 81 st ( of Joly ) , General Havolook Teturoed to the bank of the river opposite Cawnpore , where lie sonl to me for further reinforcements—requiring a battery , two 24-poundera , and 10 O 0 more European infantry , I ha . ve just written to him that there is halfi battery coming on here to-day from Allahabad , which I send on at omce to him - I can also send him two iron guns , but European infantry there is none to Bend him here . If ho waits for that , he must wait reinforcements from Calcutta , and n long delay , during which t ' rmo

    j Lucknow may share the fate which befel Cawnpore The rebels , flushed with victorj-, will return on this , reoccupy CawJvpore , and I have no troops to keep thorn ovU . I must bo starved out . Tho influence , too , cm Agra may b * most disastrous , tmt 1 hope General Havelock , who lias been so Bvccessf-al , will now advance again and relievo Lucknow , which is to bo abandoned , the force there brought in here , and by that time r-emforce mentB will iiavo arrived , ready to accompany General Hav * lock to Agra and l > elhi . "

    ' 1 ho Geneval also states that " there i « a report that a Rajah has eavod some gentlemen , ladies , and three children , from the Cawnpore massacre ; that tltey are fifty miles ofl'j and that he will Bend them to me . " Ttie following ! b an . extract from tho letter of a young officer to a friend at York : —• "Army Head-quarters before Delhi , July 25 . u My last was from this camp , dated 15 th inst . ; it gave you all news up to that < lato . I mentioned in that lotter that tho enemy was coming out : so tlicy did , and

    no > mistake ; nnd about four p . m . a brigado left our camp and went at them . My regiment wus with this brigade under Brigadier Chamberlain ; our men dashed down on Che enemy in the subziftundy , and after about half an hour ' s lighting , drove them , guns , cavalry , and a I » rg"e rw »« a ofinfaiitry , back into Delhi holtcr-skolter , cavalry , «& c , rolling into the ditch , in one pint of tho fight . The gute . H were closed agnimt friend and foo , and grapo in nhowcrH rolltid on uh and tho enemy from the walls , and af ( or cutting up Homo ilvo hundred of thorn , wo retired with n . loss of two hundred and twenty killed und wounded : fifteen otticora uro hit , none mortally , though

    J^ B93 > ^Qseb 3, ' Jb&I ' . J . . T H J...

    J ^ B 93 > ^ QSEB 3 , ' JB & i ' . J . . T H JB READER . ^ 939

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 3, 1857, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03101857/page/3/