A personal journal of the seige of Lucknow

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PERSONAL JOURNAL

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A PERSONAL JOURNAL

SIEGE OF LUCKNOW

BY CAPTAIN E. P. ANDEESON,

2$tli Regt., N.L,

COMMANDING AN OUTPOST,

AUTHOR or THE "TRANSLATION OF THE GOOL-I-BAKAWLI,'
&c., &c,

EDITED, "TCSril A PBE^ACS A.71D INTRODUCTION,

, BY T. CAKNEGY ANDEESON,
LIEUT. \Wi Regt. NJ.

LONDON:
W. THACKEE AND Co., 87, NEWGATE STEEET,

CALCUTTA : THACKEE, SPINK AND Co.
BOMBAY : THACKEK AND Co.

1858.

" Ne cede mails,
Sed contra audentior ito." VIRGIL.

(Do not yield to misfortunes, but advance to meet them with
greater fortitude.)

NENfcY MORSE STEPHENS

Extract from BRIGADIER INGLIS'S Despatch, dated
Lucknow, September 26, 1857 :

" At Captain Anderson's post they also came boldly forward
with scaling ladders, which they planted against the wall; but
here, as elsewhere, they were met with the most indomitable reso-
lution, and theteaders being slain, the rest fled, leaving the ladders,
and retreated to their batteries and loopholed defences, from whence
they kept up, for the rest of the day, an unusually heavy cannonade
and musketry fire."

511493

DEDICATION.

TO THE MEMORY

OF THE LATE

SIB HENBY HAVELOCK, K.C.B.

I FEEL sure I consult the wish of my brother
in dedicating the records of this memorable siege
to the memory of the gallant and lamented Sir
Henry Havelock, the Tutor of the garrison, and
the TJltor of our murdered friends and relatives.
It was to his energy and dauntless bravery that
the first news of relief was brought, on the 25th
September, 1857 ; and though the removal of the
sick, wounded, &c., &c., was not accomplished ti]l
the 22nd of November, still all the praise was due to
the first gallant band of 2,500 men under Havelock,
which, notwithstanding the armed hosts opposed
to it, fought its way through them to our suffer-
ing countrymen's relief.

G-eneral Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B. , lived not

VI

to hear that his country had rewarded him. His
spirit passed to a higher tribunal, to be judged for
all that the man had done during an eventful life.
He breathed his last on the 24th November, 1857.
To his memory the following pages are dedicated.

The author thus wrote, in mentioning the news
of their first relief: ""We were very glad, I
assure you, to see the first relieving force under
Havelock and Outram. They saved us, as we were
getting very weak in numbers ; but their force
was small ; and after fighting its way into Luck-
now, it could not get out with us, as we had so
many ladies, children, and treasure in cash."

THE EDITOE.

n tfje Beatfj of Sir ^enrg f^abekrcfe,

Who died at Lucknow of dysentery, brought on from over

fatigue and anxiety, November 24, 1857.

" O let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee : accord-
ing to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to
die." Psa. Ixxix., ver. 12.

The funeral rite is over,

The mighty spirit's fled ;
A nation mourns in sadness,

Brave Havelock is dead.
The vital spark is extinct,

We shall see his face no more ;
And we, who lately worshipped him,

His great loss now deplore!
Oh! speak the word but softly,

For our bosoms sore have bled;
A nation's woes are outpour'd,

Great Havelock is dead.
The Hero of so many fights

Is dead, and great's our grief,
'Twas he who earned the laurel,

And to Lucknow brought relief.
When those we lov'd were struggling

With foes, and worse, with death ;
'Twas he who saved them to us

Now he's breath'd his latest breath.
But we'll reverence his memory,

Say how gallantly he led ;
The foremost in a dozen fights

Brave Havelock is dead.
Oh ! speak the word but softly,

For our grief is new and great;
We shall hear no more of Havelock,

Whose deeds our hearts elate.
We have lost him at a moment

When he'd gained the hope of years
Distinction hard-fought, dearly-earn'd,

And now we mourn in tears
The loss of one, whose very name,

Like Gilead's soothing balm,
Brought comfort to the heart of all,

And direst pain could calm.
Oh! speak the word but softly,

That mighty spirit's fled :
A nation mourns in sadness

Great Havelock is dead!

T. C. ANDERSON,
(Lieut. 12th Regt. Bengal Army.)

INTRODUCTION.

THE Editor deems it necessary to make a few
remarks by way of introduction to this narra-
tive of the Siege of Lucknow, in order to the
right understanding of it. Captain Anderson
was placed in command of an outj>ost, which
was situated in his own house ; and had under
his command eighteen men and one subaltern
officer, making his force consist of twenty men,
including himself; and yet, with this little
Band, he held his place for five months, not-
withstanding there were nine (9-pounder) guns
playing on his house day and night.

There never was such a siege as that of
Lucknow ; nor can history furnish anything
approaching a parallel to it, either in the ex-
traordinary circumstances of its siege, or the
bravery of its garrison, including that of the

INTRODUCTION. ix

ladies and women shut up there. The Spartan
women of old were celebrated in having cut off
their hair to make bow-strings for their hus-
bands, but the heroism of our sisters at Luck-
now surpasses any of their deeds.

When we reflect on the privations and hor-
rors to which they were subjected, one can
hardly believe that it is not from a long dream
that we have awakened. Hope was so long de-
ferred, that we had truly almost numbered the
heroic little garrison with the dead. Let Britons
feel proud of their countrymen and women,
and remember, whenever dangers threaten
them, that the same God, who watched over
our relatives at Lucknow, ever watches over
us, and nerves the weak heart in the hour of
trial, and always defends the right. Too much
credit cannot be awarded them for their endur-
ance during all the trials of those five months.
Each member of that garrison should receive
the Victoria Cross, as a memorial of Her Ma-
jesty's favour, and in recognition of their
bravery.

X INTRODUCTION.

I commit these pages to the Public, ear-
nestly trusting that they may receive a fa-
vourable reception, and that any faults may
be attributed to me, and not to the Author,
whose time was very limited for writing, besides
being much harassed by sickness and grief.

T. C. ANDERSON.

Feb. 22nd, 1858.

PEEFACE.

THE incidents related in the following pages
are from the commencement of the siege to its
termination, on the relief of the garrison by
the force under Sir Colin Campbell. Captain
Anderson was subsequently appointed to the
Commissariat charge of the Division, under
Colonel Grant, sent to Bithoor ; but ill health
has so shaken his constitution, that he pur-
poses visiting England immediately. Colonel
Grant, in his despatch, attests to the value of
the services of Captain Anderson, which were
" very arduous/' In order to give the Public
the earliest benefit of his notes, I have deemed
it right to publish them in their present form,

xii PREFACE.

though the style might have been improved,
had there been sufficient time to re-write the
journal

LONDON,
February, 1858.

P.S. Additional copies of Captain Ander-
son's Journal of the Siege of Lucknow being
required, I have taken the opportunity of
correcting a few errors which escaped obser-
vation during the rapid printing of the earlier
copies.

March, 1858.

A PERSONAL JOURNAL

SIEGE OF LUCKNOW.

CHAPTER I.

FOR many months before affairs had reached
that fearful state, to which this narrative al-
ludes, most people might have observed the
surly and "sinister glances of the natives of
Lucknow, as well as those of our Sepoys, who
were on duty at the Residency, in the city.
For my own part, I felt satisfied that some-
thing was about to occur, and I did not hesi-
tate to state my opinion openly ; moreover, at
a later period, I urged the necessity of some
, steps being taken to collect our Oude Pension-
ers, so as to have a body of men able to oppose
our Sepoys, should they attempt to give trouble ;
but, as to the extent to which the Bengal mu-
tiny finally reached, I imagine few individuals
had formed any opinion. Whilst affairs were
B

in this state, and during the time that various
daily occurrences seemed to prognosticate evil,
the mind of a great and generous man was at
work that man was Sir Henry Lawrence,
the Chief Commissioner at Lucknow, by whose
wonderful foresight the little garrison of the
said place was eventually saved from total an-
nihilation ; when I say annihilation, I mean
that such would most probably have been the
awful result, had Sir Henry not laid up a vast
supply of grain. If we had run short before
relief arrived, we should have had to retreat on
Cawnpore ; and with our sick, wounded, ladies
and children, I think any reasonable person
will admit such would have been totally im-
possible.

Although almost every thinking European
in the place must have, more or less, observed
the signs of the times, few, I imagine, ever
supposed that what they then saw was but
one symptom of that great Mutiny, which ex-
tended from Calcutta to the Punjab, and finally
shook the foundation of our immense Indian
empire to its very base. At this critical con-
juncture, Sir Henry Lawrence proved himself
a man of consummate wisdom, and an indivi-

3

dual ably fitted for the emergency : he acted
with caution, and without creating the least
alarm, he calmly prepared for the coming strug-
gle. Business was regularly carried on in the
public offices up to the latest moment ; but. at
the same time, great warlike preparations were
in progress at the Residency, the spot chosen to
be the place where the European inhabitants
were to make their "grand stand/' Earth-
works and defences were thrown up, and, as
far as time and circumstances would permit,
the whole position was strengthened by bat-
teries, ditches, and stockades'; besides this,
ammunition w^as collected, guns were brought
in, and last, not least, grain in vast abundance
was stored within our intrenchments. Not-
withstanding all these ample arrangements, I
am sorry to add, that some individuals have
hinted that " more might have been done ;"
however, had their opinions been taken before
the curtain of futurity was drawn up, I have
no doubt that their foresight would have been
found about on a par with that of a certain
personage of notoriety, who said that an intel-
ligent young civilian was "beside himself,"
when the individual alluded to wrote in to say
B 2

4

that he had good reason to suppose that his
district would be soon up in arms ! ! I differ
entirely with such ungrateful people ; and I
feel proud to acknowledge that I believe Sir
Henry Lawrence (by the aid of a merciful
God) was the mortal chosen to be the means
of saving the little garrison of Lucknow ; and
I thank Providence we had such a man at
such a fearful time. Long may the memory of
this great man rest in the minds of all true
Britons. Alas ! that he was not spared to re-
visit his country at the close of such a glorious
career.

CHAPTER II.

AT nine o'clock, p.m., of the 30th May, 1857,
the Sepoys at the cantonment four miles from
Lucknow broke into open mutiny. The native
troops consisted of the 13th, 48th, and 71st
regiments of Native Infantry, the 7th Native
Cavalry was at Modkeepore, some miles off.

The firing first commenced at the lines of the
71st N. I. The Europeans were lying under
the guns, which opened with grape on the mu-
tineers ; but as the rebels were partially hidden
by the huts, few of them were killed. Briga-
dier Handscomb, although advised not to do so,
approached too close to the lines, and was im-
mediately shot. All this took place just as the
evening gun fired. Poor Grant of the 71st,
who was on duty, was shot at his post ; one
man of the guard tried to conceal this officer
under a soldier's cot, but to>no purpose, he was
killed by the rest who came up to the spot.
Lieut. Chambers of the 13th N. I. had two
very narrow escapes, he first of all received a

shot- wound, and fell flat on his face, upon which
a heavy fire of musketry was opened on him,
but most fortunately not a single bullet hit him.
With great difficulty Chambers managed to
reach his own house, where his servants washed
and dressed his wound, and he then imme-
diately mounted his horse, and galloped to the
part of the cantonment where the Europeans
were located When doing so, he came upon a
body of fifty of the rebels, and he had to charge
right through them ; here, again, he was fortu-
nate, he rode through them without receiving
a single wound, of course the darkness alone
favoured his escape, as the whole body fired a
volley right at him as he passed. After this,
the Sepoys went about setting fire to the
officers' houses, and all was noise and uproar.

At the Residency, in the city, we were all
very anxious ; all that we could see were bright
flames rising up from the cantonments, and
every now and then we heard the report of a
gun, followed by rather sharp musketry fire.
Early the next morning I rode up to can-
tonments, and on the road I met an unfortu-
nate European merchant and his wife. The
poor man had an infant in his arms, and his

wife was walking beside him ; he told me that-
some villagers entered his house, and after in-
sulting both him and his wife, they plundered
all his property. These unfortunate people had
been in the fields all night, expecting every
moment that the villagers would follow up and
murder them ; they appeared tired and dirty ;
the man had escaped with only his trousers,
and he had a rough cloth thrown over his
shoulders, but no shirt, shoes, or hat

On reaching cantonments I found the few
men of the native corps (who had remained
faithful) all drawn up on their respective pa-
rades. The Europeans, with the cavalry and
guns, were in advance, and a fire was being
kept up on the mutineers, who were in rapid
retreat across an open plain. The cavalry did
nothing, and were like the rest, in a state of
mutiny ; the greater part, I understand, then
and there galloped over to the mutineers. At
the lines I saw the bodies of a few of the
Sepoys, who had been killed the previous night
by grape ; the wounds were frightful one
man had a hole of four inches diameter through
his chest, his face was cut open, and he had a
broken leg ; all seemed to have died in fearful

8

agonies. The grain merchants in the Bazar
were rushing about, and saying that during
the night the mutineers had broken into their
shops and plundered all their property ; their
mat doors were lying on the ground, here and
there were bags for grain, and numerous broken
earthenware pots, &c., all proving that their
account was but too true. At a well I observed
marks of blood, and a bystander told me that
a wounded mutineer had crawled there, and
being overcome by thirst, and having no cord
to draw water, the wretched creature could re-
sist the temptation no longer, so he terminated
his miserable existence by throwing himself
into the well.

During the confusion, and whilst all the
military men were at their posts, an officer's
wife, with five little children, remained in her
house (i. e., whilst the mutineers were setting
fire to most of the buildings in the place). She
would most certainly have been murdered, had
not a noble Seik protected her ; he made
her leave the house, and he hid her in the
vicinity till he got an opportunity of making
her safe over to her husband, who had been
absent on duty, having been suddenly called

away when the alarm was given in canton-
ments. Here, again, we have to thank Sir
Henry, as he had previously insisted on all
ladies leaving the cantonment, and this person,
who now escaped so fortunately, was the only
one who remained, thinking that nothing
would really occur. If Sir Henry's directions
had not been attended to by all the other
ladies, the loss of life would have been some-
thing very awful.

Just about this period, I was struck with
something rather extraordinary that I saw in
the city. One evening I was passing through
a gateway near the King's palace, and I there
observed the head of a half-grown buffalo. It
seemed but lately killed ; and it was placed
with the horns downwards, and over the lower
jaw, and through the horns, was a garland of
small white flowers. I mentioned this to some
of the residents at Lucknow, but no one
seemed to think it was a matter of any impor-
tance ; but I cannot help thinking that it was
one of the many ways in which the fanatic
Mussulmen endeavoured to make us detested
by the Hindoos. I fancy it was as much as to

10

say, "See, the Europeans kill buffaloes in
your very streets ! "

After all these occurrences, a general rise in
the city was fully expected. Men were seen,
here and there, with figures dressed up as
European children ; and, much to the amuse-
ment of the mob, the heads of these dolls were
struck off with sword cuts. I was told this by
two or three men who actually saw what I
now describe. Seditious placards were found
stuck up in all the principal streets, calling
upon all good Mussulmen and Hindoos to rise
and kill the Christians. An unfortunate per-
son, named " Mendes," went to his house in
the city, and thinking that all was quiet, he
fell asleep in an upper room. He had not been
there long, when several armed men (supposed
to have been some of our police) rushed in
and killed him with sword cuts. The body was
brought in, and it was indeed fearful to see
the way in which it had been cut about
Another old man, who had formerly been in
the King of Oude's service, also got a sword
cut, but escaped into the Residency. The body
of a female (supposed to be a native Christian)

11

was brought in, literally cut into four pieces.
Reports now spread that the Rajas were col-
lecting all their forces to attack Lucknow ;
and the general belief amongst the natives in
the garrison was, that the Mussulmen had
determined on killing every Christian in Oude
before the end of the feast of Ramazan.

As a sort of proof of the intentions of the Mus-
sulman population, it is as well to state that
they now assembled in immense numbers at
all the mosques, and afterwards paraded about
the city, to let us see, I imagine, that they
mustered very strong. Men were also seized
with letters directed to our Sepoys ; and our
private servants began to complain that the
grain merchants and shopkeepers would not
supply them with food without getting ready
money; and as these people always before
trusted our servants for months, it was direct
proof that the shopkeepers knew what was
going to occur. Government paper was sel-
ling as low as thirty-seven rupees for
the hundred, and even less ! One day, a
Fakir came up to a European sentry, and
after giving him abuse (which the man did not
understand), he drew his hand across his own

12

throat, as much as to say that the sentry and
the rest of the Europeans would soon be
slaughtered. This rascal got 150 lashes for
his pains, and was placed in irons at once.
Other individuals were seized within our in-
trenchments, in the very act of altering the
elevating screws of our guns. They were also
duly punished. Preparations were now made
for public executions ; the mutineers who were
caught were hung at the Muchee Bawan, a
native fort, which Sir Henry Lawrence had
strengthened, and which it was intended to
hold ; but subsequently it was blown up, after
the retreat from Chinhut. The city police
were drawn up in a line, three or four deep,
opposite the gate of the Muchee Bawan ; the
troops inside the fort were all ready at the
loopholes, and at every commanding spot.

On the day I allude to, nine wretched men
were marched out of the fort gate, and their
countenances told plainly that they were muti-
neers. Most of them were fine stout men, and
they walked up to the gallows with a firm and
determined step. They did not, however, re-
main calm. When the fatal noose was being
adjusted, some begged most humbly for

13

pardon; others called out to the mob, and
asked if there were not any good Mussulmen
or Hindoos present, to save them from the
cursed Feringees, or Christians ? A wretched
Hindoo, when about to die, called out, " Alas !
alas ! you Mussulmen caused all this ! " An-
other poor wretch said, " Save me ! save me !
I have a wife and some little children, who
must starve I" The sentence had been passed,
and there was now no hope for pardon ; at a
given signal five men were launched into
eternity, and it was a melancholy sight to
see the shudder that came over the four other
men, who were on the gallows immediately
opposite, as they saw the drop fall, and then
observed five men dangling in the air before
them : an instant or so more, and they were
themselves in a similar position, their drop
having fallen.

CHAPTER III.

FOR a considerable time after the occurrences
mentioned in the preceding chapter, every day
was sadly marked, either by the news of
Europeans having been cut up, or by the
arrival of parties from the various districts
around Lucknow, who came dropping in, one
after another, and all looking most miserable
and care-worn. The persons I allude to had,
in most instances, lost all they possessed, and
had managed only to escape with the clothes
they had on their backs. A young civilian
had a fortnight of the most intense anxiety ;
he dare not remain in his house, as he well
knew that there were people about him who
wanted to take his life, and yet, as he had
received no orders, he dare not leave his dis-
trict to come into Lucknow. Many of the
district officers were kept at their posts, as
their withdrawal would have created alarm,
and made matters worse than ever ; and under
these circumstances, it rested with each man to

15

make the best arrangements he could ; and to
prepare, if possible, to secure a retreat at the
last moment. The gentleman I allude to
managed most cleverly. He pitched several
tents, and kept perpetually moving from one to
another ; and as they were at some distance
apart, he did not create suspicion by saying,
when he left one, that he would return probably
in a couple of hours or so. Thus, by a well
arranged plan, this young civilian escaped with
his life, after having remained at his post till
the last moment ; and, moreover, being often
for two whole weeks without any settled
abode, deprived of rest and proper food, and
on several occasions actually surrounded by
mutineers, amongst whom he rode during the
night without being recognized.

It was during these days of intense anxiety
(i.e., for us at Lucknow) that I was suddenly
called one afternoon to join a party of volunteers,
about to proceed into the district to escort a
party of European fugitives from Seetapore. I
was told by the person who came to me, that Sir
Henry Lawrence wanted some volunteers to
accompany a party of Seiks who were going out
under a Captain Forbes, I did not lose a single

16

moment. I ordered my horse, and being joined
by a Frenchman named Geoffroi, I rode up
the cantonments to the Residency. It would
seem that Captain Forbes did not expect
volunteers, as he proposed to me that I should
take charge of some elephants that were going
out for the fugitives ; however, I declined the
honour, stating that I had come to form part
of an escort for the Seetapore refugees, and
not for elephants. Upon this Captain Forbes
politely permitted me to join his party, or
else I should most certainly have returned
to Lucknow, as I had no idea of being made
an elephant driver, although I was fully pre-
pared to assist in escorting the unfortunates
we were expecting.

We had not gone far from the cavalry
station of Modkeepore (which is just beyond
the cantonment), when we observed a body of
men in a clump of trees ; and on advancing
further we found that we had fortunately
come upon the Seetapore people, who were half
inclined to think we were enemies, instead
of friends, as we appeared so suddenly. There
were ladies on horseback, and in various kinds
of vehicles, both European and native. Buggies

17

were filled with children, and all the party
looked tired and careworn. We were not
long in escorting them to the city, where they
all were put up for a day or so at the Re-
sidency, till arrangements could be made for
their proper accommodation. I will now de-
scribe the Seetapore mutiny, as related to me
by an officer of the 41st Regiment N. I.

" We were all very anxious about Lucknow,
having heard of the Barrackpore, Delhi, and
Meerut affairs. One Sunday afternoon (i.e.,
31st May, 1857), I saw a man mounted on
a camel coming into Seetapore from the Luck-
now direction. He appeared very tired, and
he looked at me, and passed on ; he then came
back, and wanted to know if I was an officer.
I said, I was ; he then added, ' The troops at
Lucknow have risen, and have been chased out
of the station by the Europeans ; when I left,
bullets and round shot were flying about/
&c., &c. After this, the man asked for Mr.
Christian's house; and having pointed out the
direction, I hastened to inform our colonel, who
said it was a matter of little importance; in
fact, he did not entirely believe the report.

"I had not been home an hour, when I

18

got an order to be ready to march with a wing
of the corps towards Peer Nuggar ; and when
we reached the bridge there, we found that
the passage had been blocked up with empty
carts, by orders of Captain Sanders, who had
this done to stop the mutineers advancing from
the Lucknow direction. We remained there
that day and the next, and returned on the
3rd to Seetapore, having heard of the mutiny
of the 1 Oth Oude Infantry. The men were, as
usual, dismissed on the parade ground as soon
as we came in, but I remarked that they gave
a very unusual shout as they broke off. I
never remember their having been guilty of
making any such unusual noise at any former
time when dismissed from an ordinary parade,
and I felt rather suspicious as to what this
really meant. About an hour or two after this
the whole corps 'was up/ and I went and
brought over my children to Major Apthorp's.
The Major determined on asking Christian's
advice, but poor Christian said that he did not
care if all the regiments did mutiny ; that
he had 300 police and a number of armed
servants and Chuprassies on whom he could
depend!! and that he would, with these,

19

make f a stand' to the last. I now thought it
was better to ask our colonel if I could be
of any use in the lines ; but he replied, that he
was himself going with some companies to the
Treasury, and that there was really nothing in
all this to be the least alarmed about,

" All the officers and ladies were now assem-
bled at the colonel's house, and in the verandah
some officers were standing with guns, &c., in
their hands. Just then, a soldier rushed up
from one of the streets in the lines, and made
a signal to us not to move ; he then ran to the
rear-guard, said something, and again rushed
back. The men of the rear-guard and others
(some seventy in number) now assembled, and
said, they would remain with us. In the mean-
time, the colonel rode off to the Treasury with
four companies, and on the way, the Sepoys
were beating their breasts > and saying, that they
would fight to the last for their colonel, and
would not permit the rascals of the 10th to-
do any harm. The poor old colonel, on hear-
ing all this, turned to his adjutant, and said,
1 Is it not affecting to see the devotion of the
men?'

" Our colonel now formed up the companies
c 2

20

at the Treasury, but as there appeared no symp-
tom of any disturbance, he was about to
return ; upon this, the adjutant, Lieutenant
Graves, said, that he did not like the looks of
the men ; that, in fact, he did not think they
would obey the order to march back from the
Treasury. Just then, the colonel gave the order,
'Threes, left shoulders forward/ and at that
moment, a Sepoy of the Treasury guard stepped
forward, and shot him dead, and he fell from
his horse. The adjutant, on seeyig this, turned
his horse's head towards cantonments, but had
hardly done so, when a volley was fired at
him. He received a bullet- wound in the temple,
and his horse was shot under him ; he then
ran on foot for a few paces, when he fortunately
met the havildar major of the 41st N.I., who
gave him his pony, and thus he managed to
reach the lines.*

" We now heard a constant musketry fire ;
and of the seventy men who were first with
us, only twenty or so remained ; they had
dropped off one by one, on various pretences,

* Lieut. Sm alley and the Sergeant-Major have not been heard
of since; we suppose they were killed on the spot, when the colonel
fell.

21

and Major Apthorp now offered those re-
maining a sum of 8,000 rupees (in the name
of the officers), if they would accompany us to
Lucknow ; they agreed, and we started off
forthwith, as there was no time to lose : as
we went off, we saw the bungalows in our lines
on fire, and we all were rather alarmed (when
we had only got two miles), by hearing a cry
raised, that armed men were following us up.
We found that this was a party of nineteen
men, who said they had come to protect us ;
we were afraid to trust them, however, so they
were made to keep behind till we reached Peer
Nuggar. Here we consulted as to whether they
should be allowed to join us or not, and as we
could not well reach Lucknow without their aid,
and also as we felt ourselves a match for them,
in case of any treachery on their part, we de-
termined to let them accompany our party.

" In the distance, the whole horizon seemed
to be lit up by the fires in the cantonments we
had left, and we were thankful that we had
escaped at least so far. Some villagers on the
road, on seeing our Christian drummers, said,
' If we had only some horsemen here, we would
cut up every one of you/ Well, we reached

22

Baree, and there we managed to send in a
scrap of paper to Sir Henry Lawrence, to ask
for a party to be sent out to escort us into
Lucknow."

As far as I have since been able to glean
(from people who came in), it would appear,
that poor Mr. Christian was finally obliged to
retreat, when too late, and he had managed to
get across a river (i. e. y the one on the banks
of which the bungalows in the civil lines were
built), when he was shot down. It is reported
that Mrs. Christian, on seeing her husband fall,
threw herself on his body, and was cut down
immediately after.

Another account I heard was, that the ladies
were seen rushing from Mr. Christian's house,
and that rounds of musketry were fired upon
them as they ran screaming towards the river.
A report also got abroad, that Mr. Christian
was only wounded, and was alive up to the
8th of June, 1857. The person who told me
said that he himself had escaped with his wife
into the jungle, where he was chased by the
villagers, and he had to pay four men one
rupee each, for every coss, or two miles, to
show him the road. This person also said,

23

that the mutineers were holding auctions in
the villages to sell off the plundered pro-
perty of officers, and that at these sales the
rascals danced wildly about, and cried out, " See
the nice things that the officers have brought
for us from England!"

At one of the out-stations a horse was seen
to gallop in, at full speed, with his flanks all
bespattered with blood, and without a rider ;
it would seem, that some poor fellow had rid-
den to save his life, and had been shot some
distance from his house ; and that the horse, on
finding that he had lost his rider, at once made
off for his stable, where he arrived, snorting
and terrified, and stood quite still, till seized
by some natives.

When all these dreadful murders were going
on in the districts around, a poor little child, of
only two years of age, had escaped, while its
father and mother had been killed. It would
appear that the poor little creature wandered for
a day or two about a large house, from room
to room, calling out "Mamma," and not a
soul amongst the servants would come near it ;
and there it might have died of starvation, had
it not met a worse fate. A Sepoy recruit was

24

passing this spot, and on hearing the cries of
the child, he entered the bungalow ; but no
sooner did he observe that it was the child of
a vile CHRISTIAN, than he at once dashed
its brains out with the butt of his musket.

News of every sort now began to come in
from every quarter ; and on the 26th of June
a salute was actually fired at Lucknow, for the
fall of Delhi, which event did not occur till the
19th of September, 1857. Besides this, it was
said, that an attack on Lucknow was inevitable ;
and amongst the thousand rumours that spread
over the garrison, one was, that the enemy
intended to enter Lucknow, carrying setars or
harps, and arrayed in marriage garments. It
was stated, that they would make their ap-
pearance during the night, in palkees, at a
time when such processions are mostly seen in
native cities. Such reports as these were very
easily believed by all the CROAKERS* of the
garrison, and vivid comparisons were imme-
diately drawn between Troy and Lucknow ;
and it was said, if the former city was lost by
a horse, why should we not fall by a palkee ! !

* A name given to individuals, who spoke in a gloomy way
during the siege.

25

CHAPTER IV.

WHEN matters began, day by day, to assume
a still more serious appearance even than be-
fore, and murders were even more frequent,
Sir Henry Lawrence deemed it expedient to
enrol all the European and Eurasian writers in
the public offices as volunteers, and he directed
arms and ammunition to be served out to
them. Some of these men were taken into
the volunteer cavalry (which was also com-
posed of officers, civil and military), and the re-
mainder were drilled as infantry.

At the commencement, when these men
were first brought together (to be regularly
drilled by sergeants from Her Majesty's 32nd
Regiment), the chance of ever making them
act in a body seemed almost a hopeless task.
There were men of all ages, sizes, and figures.
Here stood a tall, athletic Englishman there
came a fat and heavy Eurasian, with more
width across the waist than about the chest.
Next to the Eurasian came another of the

26

same class, who looked like a porter barrel
(i. e., short and squat), and the belt round his
waist very closely resembled a hoop. Not far
off you observed an old, bent-double man, who
seemed too weak to support the weight of his
musket and pouch.

Such, dear reader, to a casual observer was
the general appearance of our volunteers ; but
we must not always judge by appearances.
Amongst this awkward-looking body there
sprung up, during the siege, bold, intrepid, and
daring men ; and I may say, in fact, that the
whole of them, more or less, did excellent ser-
vice ; and, had it not been for our volunteers,
we should never have been able to garrison
the place. It was very creditable to these men
that they so soon fell into military ways, and
finally became a willing and obedient body,
and fit for most ordinary duties required of a
soldier. Of course there were some instances
where, for marked bad conduct, punishments
were absolutely necessary to keep up disci-
pline, but such was not to be wondered at,
when we remembered that most of these men
had never been subject to any kind of re-
straint ; their only duties had been to attend

27

office regularly, and write during the time they
remained there, and, consequently, they had
the mornings and nights all to themselves ; but
now they were suddenly in a very altered po-
sition, and were obliged to be present at their
respective posts or guards, between stated
hours, both by day and night ; and, besides,
they had to do sentry duty, with firelock and
belts, &c., &c.

At first some of these men did not quite
approve of this sort of work ; they thought it
was rather degrading to carry a musket, and
they did not see why they should obey a ]ieu-
tenant, or why they were not in every respect
just as good men as even the Brigadier him-
self ! A few went so far as to forget them-
selves, and the punishment they promptly met
with just quietly intimated to the others that
martial law was the order of the day, and that,
for whatever they now did, they were respon-
sible to the military authorities.

However ludicrous these volunteers appeared
when simply r"rawn up in line, it was posi-
tively nothing to the figure they cut when
put into motion by the words of command,
"March!" and "Mark time!" from the drill

28

sergeant. All the spectator could observe
were some dozen pairs of very indifferent legs,
simultaneously jerked out to their full stretch
and then as quietly dragged back again, as if
the owners of these said legs had all made a
terrific kick at some very dangerous reptiles,
and then thought better of it. It was, in fact,
painful to observe the constrained attitudes of
certain individuals, and amongst the number
was a little man, very prim, and " stuck up,"
who really appeared to have led himself
to suppose that the fate of all Oude de-
pended on his placing his left foot as far
as possible from his right ; and it seemed that
he was urged to attempt this difficult feat
simply because a tall grenadier fellow beside
him had succeeded in stretching his compass-
like legs over some yard- and a quarter of
ground. Not long after the word "March!"
came the order to " Charge ! " and I verily be-
lieve that the most morose or grave person on
earth could not have refrained from laughter ;
for whilst the little prim man was doing his
utmost to dislocate both his hip joints for the
good of the Honourable Company, another,
with the rotundity of a beer barrel, was vainly

29

trying to make himself into a light infantry
soldier, and had succeeded in getting up a very
puffed appearance, and had bathed himself in
perspiration by endeavouring to "double" a
distance of some twenty yards. He looked
exactly what one might fancy a " walrus"
would appear in his last expiring throes !

Notwithstanding all these little absurdities,
I must admit that the drill-sergeants eventu-
ally succeeded in making these recruits load
and fire pretty well; and, after all, this was
indeed the main object, and not such an easy
matter to accomplish, as very many of the
volunteers had never before handled a musket,
and had probably never seen a balled cartridge.
Amongst them, however, there were some
Europeans who had good guns and rifles of
their own, and so had some of the Eurasians,
and these individuals did good work with them
in all the attacks. You might often see a man
run out during an alarm, with a musket in one
hand and a double-barrelled gun in the other,
and the latter was generally reserved for " close
quarters/' i. e., when the enemy came up rather
close to our works. These volunteers were
now appointed to different outposts and garri-

30

sons, and from this time they commenced to
do regular sentry duty. They had strict or-
ders to challenge all persons approaching their
posts, and were constantly reminded of the
necessity of being " particularly on the alert,"
a phrase which at last became so common, that
the staff officers, who came round, were always
laughed at when they made use of it.

As to the further peculiarities of our volun-
teers, and the anecdotes connected with their
first attempts at soldiering, I must refer the
reader to the next chapter.

CHAPTER V.

THE house I lived in at Lucknow was the
one I had occupied ever since the annexation
of Oude, in which province I was an Assistant
Commissioner. When the buildings about the
Residency were being put into a state of de-
fence, my house was one of those chosen to
become an outpost. The wall of the enclosure
round it was thrown down, and a stockade
was put in its place. Within this stockade
was a ditch ; then a mound of about five feet ;
then another deep ditch, with pointed bam-
boos placed at the bottom.

This little outpost was situated on the
Cawnpore road ; and as we had the enemy
(throughout the siege) only forty yards dis-
tant from us on the left, and some seventy to
eighty yards to our front, it was one of the
most exposed outworks in the place. Besides
this, we were always under a very heavy fire
from the enemy's guns no less than nine can-
non of sizes (from six to eighteen and twenty-

32

four pounders) were in positions so as to keep
up an incessant fire by day and night ; and when
it is remembered how dose the enemy's artil-
lery was planted, some idea may be formed as
to the effect of their shot and shell on this
building. Amongst the heavy ordnance there
\va< a Company's eight-inch howitzer, which
had fallen into the enemy's hands during the
retreat from CHINHUT. This immense piece
used to throw eight-inch shells clean through
two walls of the house, and right into the only
room where the volunteers and myself had to
sleep.

From the above, it will be seen that this
outpost was one of the most advanced out-
works of the whole Residency position, it being
the outer house of our left flank, facing the
Cawnpore road. To our right was the Cawn-
pore battery ; and immediately in our rear
were four other little garrisons, called "The
Post Office/' " The Judicial Commissioner's/'
" Mrs. Sago's" (formerly a girls' school, called
after the head mistress), and "The Financial
Commissioner's;" these were respectively to
our right, centre, and left rear. During attacks,
shell were thrown over our house from the

33

"Post Office/' and a musketry fire from
" Sago's," and " The Judicial Commissioners/'
swept our left face most completely/'

Being thus situated, we had to commence
our work of "keeping a sharp lookout" for
some considerable time before we were actually
besieged. Field officers now began to go their
rounds at night, and the volunteer sentries
regularly challenged people passing on the
Oawnpore road. Attached to this garrison,
which was placed under my command, were
eight volunteers, and amongst them were two
foreigners, one an Italian, and the other a
Frenchman. The former was a Signor Bar
sotelli, and the latter a Monsieur Geoffroi.
Both of these gentlemen behaved most admi-
rably during the siege, and shot several of the
enemy ; and their conduct, in every way, was
highly praiseworthy. Later in the siege, I had
nine Europeans and a sergeant of Her Majesty's
32nd Foot placed under my orders ; and thus,
with a subaltern officer and myself, we mus-
tered, in all, only twenty men !

Before any fighting commenced, Mr. W.
Capper, of the Bengal Civil Service, volunteered
D

34

to become one of my little garrison ; and he
is also included in this number.

Before proceeding further, I cannot praise
too much the conduct of this young civilian,
whose energy, coolness, and bravery, were
alike conspicuous during our weary and ha-
rassing siege. First of all, Mr. Capper went
manly to work, with firelock and pouch, and
did regular sentry duty as a common soldier ;
and a precious good and attentive one he
was. After this, at my request, he assisted me
in my duties in the capacity of an officer, and
was accordingly relieved from sentry duty,
although we both, of course, " turned out "
during every attack, with our musket and pouch.
He is an instance of a gentleman putting aside
all pride, and subjecting himself (for the good
of the State), to all manner of exposure, danger,
and fatigue, and acting under the orders of a
military officer whose rank, in a civil capacity,
was under his own. I am also happy to add
that we never had a difference of opinion in
duty matters throughout the siege. Mr.
Capper was a Deputy Commissioner, at a
salary of 1,000 rupees ; he had the entire

35

charge of a district; and he is the person
mentioned in Chapter III., who managed so
cleverly to elude the vigilance of a set of
ruffians who were watching a favourable op-
portunity to take his life. I have thus far
been particular to mention these three gen-
tlemen volunteers by name, so that there may
be no mistake as to whom I allude when I
introduce any anecdote connected with the
other volunteers. Whenever any of these
three gentlemen, therefore, may be the subject
of my future remarks, I shall mention them
by name. As regards the other volunteers, of
either my own or other garrisons, I reserve to
myself the right of speaking of them generally;
my object being simply to describe laughable
occurrences, without the most remote wish to
hurt the feelings of any individual. And now,
having said so much, I shall proceed with my
narrative.

It must be remembered that, at the com-
mencement of the siege, volunteers kept chang-
ing from post to post, as they met friends or
relatives. We, therefore, had an opportunity
of seeing all sorts of odd characters. One of the
very first persons who gave trouble was an

36

European, who had formerly been in the Com-
pany's army. I had been out dining, and on
my return, I found all my servants in a great
state of alarm. They told me that the " sahib,"
or gentleman (who had introduced himself only
the same day), had been threatening all of
them ; and, moreover, that he had beaten a
couple of the Eurasian volunteers, and was then
marching up and down in the verandah, with
a drawn sword, and behaving altogether like a
madman.

On learning this, I walked upstairs, and
found the gentleman, as described I knew
my best plan was to go up to him at once ;
and, in doing so, I took the precaution of
edging up to his sword arm. To my great
astonishment, he said nothing; but looked
bewildered. He had, evidently, been drunk,
and was now " coming round" I said, "I
understand you have been threatening my
servants, and ill-treating two Eurasian volun-
teers." He replied, "IVe done nothing of
the sort. I have been doing sentry duty, as
these niggers wanted to kill me. I saw what
they were about, the devils! Ha! ha!"
" Well," I added, " before saying any more, be

37

good enough to give me up that sword/' He
laughed, and said, "Well, I've no sort of
objection to do that/' and forthwith he handed
it over to me.

I now called the two volunteers, and my
servants, and investigated the case ; and I
found that the drunkard was in the wrong.
I now told this man that I should report the
whole affair, and he began to speak in rather a
loud tone of voice ; and this brought over a
couple of stout Europeans from another gar-
rison. As soon as they saw the man's state,
they asked permission to take charge of him
till morning. I accepted their offer, and 'off
went the drunkard.

The guard where he was taken to was a
pretty strong one, so there were more sentries
than at my post. The prisoner was put under
a sentry, and his bed was taken over to him.
He remained perfectly quiet for some time, and
then suddenly raised himself on the bed, and
was about to make a rush at a sickly-looking
Eurasian who was sentry over him. Just then,
a strong hand was placed on his throat, and
when the drunkard looked round, he saw a
stout Englishman standing over him. The

38

prisoner now began to kick and swear ; but
another European came up, and whilst the
drunkard swore he would kill every one about
him, his arms and legs were fastened down to
the cot, and a rope, doubled, was passed be-
tween his teeth, as the noise he made was
enough to alarm the whole garrison. After
this, the prisoner was carried, on the cot, to
the main guard of Her Majesty's 32nd Kegi-
ment, and I never saw him afterwards. I
heard, however, that he had become a steady
man, and that the poor fellow lost his life
whilst doing duty at our guns during an
attack

One evening, on account of some noise in
the street, I had to "turn out" the volun-
teers, and whilst under arms, I observed that
one man was absent. I went to hunt him up,
and found him dancing madly about the room,
in a bewildered state. He could not find his
musket ; and then he had upset all his percus-
sion-caps ; and, moreover, could not find his
cartridges. I never saw such terror depicted
in any man's countenance ; and as a sort of
punishment for his carelessness, I hinted that
it was just possible (if people did not keep

39

their arms, &c., all ready), that the enemy
would rush in and cut them to pieces.

Another volunteer of the same class came up
to me one day, and said, in the gravest manner
possible, " What are we to do, sir, if we are
charged by elephants ?" I could hardly answer
the man for laughing; but when I recovered
my gravity, I told him that such was a difficult
question to answer properly ; but, at all events,
whether able to keep off such huge animals or
not, Government would expect each individual
to make the attempt. The little man seemed
satisfied, but his expression plainly told that he
had considerable doubts in his own mind as to
the ultimate chance of his ever escaping with
life if exposed to such a fearful encounter ! !

One fine evening before dark I had to pass
the spot where a volunteer sentry was placed ;
he was a tall, slim, and girlish-looking youth,
with an uncommonly black face. As I ap-
proached him, he shouted out, " Who comes
there V although he saw who I was, and, more-
over, he knew my name. This was done, of course,
to show how attentive he was to orders. I gave
the usual reply, and was about to proceed, when
this warlike man brought his musket down to

40

the charge, and said, " I'm sorry I cannot let
you pass, sir, till I call the sergeant of the
guard/' Now, all this might have spoken very
well of the volunteer had he then and there ex-
pired on the spot after such a noble deed, and
nothing more been heard of him ; but, alas !
time often tells some tales that are not always
very pleasant. On a very dark night, not long
after this, the same individual was on sentry
when a person approached his post. Now,
whether from fear, or otherwise, I cannot say,
but this is certain, viz., that he never halted
the person as he did me, nor did he recollect
that his duty was to stand firm and call the
sergeant ; but, putting his musket over his
shoulder, he trotted off to the guard ! ! Whilst
conducting the stranger, by keeping well in
front, he also kept a careful glance to the rear,
to see that he did not lay himself open to an
attack, and thus he led the way, and finally
called out, as he reached the guard-room, " Ser-
geant, somebody 's come/' The sergeant re-
plied he was very happy to hear so, and warned
the brave man not to bring such intelligence for
the future, and led him to understand that a
sentry should not leave his post till properly
relieved.

41

At the beginning of the siege drunkenness
was, I am sorry to say, rather common amongst
the volunteers, and several got into rows ; one
man shook his fist in the face of an European
sentry whilst in a state of intoxication,
another beat a native severely, and so on, day
after day, till they were punished with severity.
On one occasion a lot of these Eurasians met
at the quarters of a very quiet individual of
their own class, and there commenced to drink
very hard. After they had expended all their
grog, they called upon the master of the house
to provide them with money to purchase more ;
this he positively refused to do, and it ended
in these drunkards upsetting all his chairs and
tables, and then leaving the place, calling him
a horrid miser.

It was often amusing to listen to the remarks
of these volunteers during the nights we were
visited by grand rounds. On one of these oc-
casions a young fellow was in a great state of
anxiety as to how he was to present arms.
Signor Barsotelli, however, consoled him by
saying, " Never mind, sir, make a leetle noise ;
who's to see in the dark?" Another night,
when our good Italian was suddenly called up

42

from a sound sleep, he exclaimed, "I think
these grand round officers do this for their
own amusement/' However, nothing on earth
could keep Signor from the steady performance
of his duty. In another moment there he stood,
with a musket in one hand and a double-bar-
relled rifle in the other, at his side was a huge
cavalry sword, and pendant over his breast
hung his ammunition pouch, resembling very
much an Italian hand-organ. This latter part
of Signor 's military equipment was rather in
his way than otherwise, but he did not exactly
know where else to put it ; and he was not a
little pleased when told that the pouch of the
English soldier is worn at the back. What
with a gun in both hands, and a huge sword
constantly getting between his legs, he had
quite enough to do without the extra anxiety
about the horrid cartridge pouch, which con-
tained some sixty rounds of balled ammunition
into the bargain.

Before closing this chapter, it may not be out
of place to mention what I heard said one
evening by some men of Her Majesty's 32nd
Foot. They were talking about the sad death
of a cavalry officer, who was killed at Modkee-

43

pore( on the night of the mutiny in canton-
ments. One soldier said, " Poor young fellow !
he was hardly seventeen years of age, so I
hear." His comrade added, " I wouldn't care
so much about his age ; but fancy, the rascals
would not let the poor fellow put on his boots
he had only one boot on when we found him/'
This gives a good idea of a soldier's notion as
to how a person should be killed it speaks
volumes as to the true Englishman's idea of
" fair play/' The fact was, this honest fellow
could not bear to think that the poor young
officer had been surprised ; had he heard that
he had been killed in fair fight, he would have
certainly thought nothing of it. One of this
party, whilst speaking of the siege, said, "I'm
sure there'll be some wet eyes for me at home
by this time, I was such a pet at OUT house."
A comrade said, " What, Bill ! you a pet ?
queer folks, I think, as would make a pet of
you." This last remark struck me as rather
laughable, as Bill was certainly a very rough-
looking individual, and not one that a lady
would be likely to fall in love with at first
sight.

CHAPTER VI.

MATTERS now began to get worse and worse,
each day, and even the men who had re-
mained faithful to us up to this time began
to be very anxious; so much so that one
evening a Sepoy sentry suddenly threw down
his musket at his post, and bolted away as fast
as possible. He was observed by an European
sentry, who fired at him, but missed him. On
the 12th June, 1857, the Police Battalion
stationed in the city broke into open mutiny,
and marched away towards the Dil-Kusha
Park. Some little delay occurred before in-
telligence reached the authorities at the Re-
sidency, so that the mutineers got off some
considerable distance.

A party of about 200 of Her Majesty's 32nd
Foot, some Seik cavalry, and a few mounted
volunteers, with a couple of guns, went in
pursuit. I joined this expedition, having
nothing better to do. We came up with the
mutineers when they had almost crossed the

45

Dil-Kusha Park, and found them retreating
in tolerable order, but rapidly, towards a
large village. The Seiks and the mounted
volunteers charged over the plain ; the former
in a compact mass, and the latter galloped here
and there after the stragglers. I daresay some
twelve or fourteen men were cut down in this
manner ; and on our side we lost only two
Seiks ; and a civilian, named Thornhill, was
severely wounded in the arm and breast.

The mutineer who wounded Mr. Thornhill
defended himself uncommonly well for some
time. He was charged by five of the volun-
teers one after another, but by keeping his
bayonet right before his body, he managed to
make each horse shy just as the rider had got
to almost the proper distance to make a cut.
At last, up came an able-bodied gentleman,
named MacRae, who cut the fellow right over
the forehead, and as he was falling, another
volunteer, at the same instant, galloped past,
and ran the mutineer through the ribs with
his sword. Our guns opened on the retiring
body with grape, but with little effect, as
the distance was too great ; however, soon
followed round shot and shrapnell, and the

46

deep gaps which appeared now and then
midst the mass as it moved off, told plainly
that a good many had bitten the dust. It
now began to get late, and the order was
given for the party to return. I suppose that
the loss of the mutineers in this retreat could
not have been less than forty killed.

As we approached the town of Lucknow, we
lost our way, and I firmly believe that the
city watchmen tried to lead us into an ambus-
cade, as they pointed to us to take a road to
our front, and when we advanced, a sharp fire
of musketry opened from a lot of gardens in
the immediate vicinity. The men were now
halted, and most fortunately an officer of the
party knew the proper road, and we at once
diverged to our right, and thus entirely avoided
the other route.

Soon after this, the Muchee Bawan proved
to be not so strong as it was expected, and all
the Government treasure was removed to the
Residency. News arrived of the party under
Captain Hayes being massacred. It was re-
ported that Captain Hayes was run through
the body by his own men ; that a young gen-
tleman, named Fayrer, had his head cut ofi

47

as he was quietly drinking at a well ; that
Lieutenant Barbor cut down one and wounded
two mutineers before he fell ; and that Captain
Carey only saved his life by the speed of his
horse. Here is another instance of the fidelity
of our native soldiers. Fancy men turning
upon a few officers in this cowardly manner,
and then murdering them in cold blood, with-
out any cause whatever ! But let us not dwell
over what might tempt us to call down a curse
on such ruffians. Let us calmly await the
pleasure of Him who hath said, " Vengeance
is mine, I will repay." And in doing so, let
us rest assured that He can send a balm to
heal the many, many fond hearts that have
suffered by all these horrid events, which it
now becomes the duty of the narrator to de-
scribe to the best of his ability.

As we were at Lucknow, we had to trust
of course to the reports that were brought in
of these murders, and amongst them we heard
also of a party having left Shahjehanpore for
Seetapore, as the latter place was considered
safer ; also, it would appear that they were
escorted by men of the 28th Regiment N.I.
As this little party approached Seetapore,

48

a Sepoy came running up to them, and called
out "Victory! victory!" meaning, I sup-
pose, that all the Seetapore folks had been
killed, or driven away. Whereupon the 28th
set to work, and deliberately murdered almost
all the party. It is said that they all met
death in the calmest manner possible, that
most of the ladies and gentlemen were on their
knees, with their arms across their breasts,
and their eyes fixed towards heaven.

On the 16th June, several rich men of the
city were seized on suspicion. We heard that
amongst them were some fat, portly old crea-
tures, who got into such a horrid state of
alarm, at the idea of being hung, that they
humbly prostrated themselves on the ground,
and vowed they were quite innocent. After
this, when some of them got off, it was said
by the natives that they had attempted to
leave the city with all their wealth, but were
followed out by some of the Lucknow rascals,
and killed on the road. We heard also that
the Nana/s men at Cawnpore had an idea that
the whole of the European intrenchment was
mined; and it was said by the natives that
the Bithoor Raja (i.e., the Nana) intended to

49

drive a couple of hundred asses towards the
intrenchment at night, and that he fully be-
lieved the Europeans would consider it an
attack, and blow up their mines, after which
he fancied he could safely rush in and take
the place. Some of our private servants now
became alarmed, and most of them began to
run away, and we were put to great incon-
venience. On the 28th June, at 2 o'clock a.m.,
the rains regularly set in, and the change was
pleasant.

On the 30th June, a party consisting of
some 300 of Her Majesty's 32nd Regiment,
some 24 volunteer cavalry, 150 Seiks and
Hindostanees, with an 8-inch howitzer, and
eleven field guns, moved out to attack a large
body of the mutineers at a place called Chin-
hut. Our force went up the road in column,
with the howitzer and other guns in advance.
The mutineers had taken up a very strong
position; their centre formed a sort of semi-
circle across the road, and their right rested on
a grove, and their left on an intrenched village,
in which they had some guns ; there were also
a couple of guns right in the enemy's centre,
and pointing down the road our troops went

50

up. The intrenched village to the right was
full of men; the body in the centre was un-
doubtedly very strong; and the grove to the
left was filled with skirmishers.

As our attacking party approached the
enemy's position, the Europeans were formed
into a sort of line on both sides of the road.
The enemy at once opened fire with their
guns, situated on the road, and our 8-inch
howitzer immediately returned the compliment.
The first two shots from the enemy's guns
killed a havildar of artillery and a horse. On
this, the native artillerymen took our guns
down a slope into very bad ground, and they
were got out with much difficulty: and dur-
ing the fight some of our native artillerymen,
with their guns, also went straight over to the
enemy, and this, of course, caused much alarm
and confusion.

After a little delay, however, these guns
were got out of the broken ground, and brought
to bear on the intrenched village to the enemy's
left, from which the enemy also returned a
sharp fire. For about twenty minutes a con-
stant discharge of musketry was kept up from
both sides; and in the meantime an officer

51

rode up with orders for the troops to the left of
the road to move up to the grove. This was
done, and the Europeans kept up a sharp lire
on the enemy's skirmishers, who were posted
there. From some unaccountable cause, our
troops to the right were seen to retire; those
on the left, at the grove, now commenced to
fall back, and on reaching the road, they found
all the rest had gone. This seemed the signal
for a regular retreat, and such it really became.
The volunteer cavalry faced about, and fronted
the enemy several times, and did good service ;
the Seiks and Sepoys with the party both
behaved very well indeed, and kept up a fire,
as they retreated, on the enemy. The splendid
8-inch howitzer and three guns fell into the
hands of the enemy, who rapidly followed up
our retreating force. This sad affair cost us no
less than the lives of 112 men of Her Majesty's
32nd Regiment, and five officers ; and had
the cavalry of the enemy done their duty,
very probably not a single man would have
returned, as the distance they retreated was
between seven and eight miles.

This disaster was caused by Sir H. Lawrence
having been deceived by his spies. He had no
E2

52

idea that the enemy mustered so strong ; and,
moreover, he was urged to send out this party
by people at Lucknow. I understand that he
regretted this step up to the day of his death ;
and there is no doubt the thoughts of this sad
disaster affected his general health. Gentle-
men who were out say that the mutineers
mustered between six and seven thousand
men. Some even went so far as to say that
their force amounted to nearly double this
number. But, notwithstanding such fearful
odds, and the fact of our native artillery hav-
ing deserted us, some officers seem to think
that the enemy were in retreat themselves
when our force retired ; and many now believe
that, if we had only taken out European gun-
ners, we should at least have been able to re-
tire without much loss. The men of Her
Majesty's 32nd Foot did all they could ; but I
fancy the force they had to fight was far too
strong for them, even under the most favour-
able circumstances ; and, as for the enemy
being in retreat, such is most unlikely, as they
followed our men very close, and the greater
part of the soldiers who fell had not a single
wound, but were completely exhausted, and

53

deliberately laid down on the road to be killed,
as they positively were dying of thirst and
over-fatigue. Alas ! alas ! that such good, brave
souls should have perished in this manner !

So soon as our troops reached the Iron
Bridge, one party went off to the Muchee
Bawan, and the remainder came into the Resi-
dency : all the men were completely knocked
up, and looked most miserable. The enemy
kept up the pursuit, and we were now really
and truly besieged at Lucknow. The gates
were shut, and our guns opened. The muti-
neers soon filled the streets, and came howling
up close to the outposts, where we were all
ready for them ; they also forthwith com-
menced getting guns into position.

At my garrison a sharp fire was kept up
from our loopholes ; but the enemy brought a
gun to bear on the pillars of our verandah, and
soon brought it down with a terrible crash.
Mr. Capper happened to be in the verandah,
and was firing out of a loophole, when a shot
struck one of the pillars, and down it came.
This gentleman was buried under some three
or four feet of masonry, and, wonderful to say,
he came out almost unhurt. There was, I

54

fancy, no other such wonderful escape during
the whole siege as this, and Mr. Capper has
every reason to thank Providence for having
his life spared in such an extraordinary man-
ner. As the immense beams of the verandah
were falling, they were suddenly checked by a
single stout beam (which had been raised about
two feet from the floor of the said verandah,
and formed a step for the volunteers to fire
off), and in the interim Mr. Capper's head,
most fortunately, got under the space between
this beam and the verandah floor, so that the
other beams came down at a slant, instead of
flat. When we heard that he was buried, we
all rushed to his assistance, and heard only a
low voice, saying, " I'm alive ! Get me out !
Give me air, for God's sake I"

Some one remarked, " It's impossible to save
him ;" upon which Mr. Capper's voice was
heard to proceed, as if from a vault, saying,
" It is possible, if you try."

We set to work at once, and a long and
tedious affair it was. First we had to displace
huge pieces of masonry, and, as we did this,
the broken bricks and lime kept filling up the
little air-holes, and poor Mr. Capper was con-

55

stantly obliged to call out for "more air/'
During this time, be it remembered, the enemy
kept up an incessant fire of round shot and
musketry on the spot, knowing that we were
working there ; and all we had to protect us
was about six inches of the wall, that just
covered our bodies, as we lay flat on our sto-
machs, and worked away with both hands.
After labouring for three-quarters of an hour,
and when we were all quite exhausted, we
managed to get the whole of Mr. Capper's
body pretty free ; whereupon we set to work
to get his legs out, and it was some little time
before we could enable him to move his lower
limbs. Throughout all this, a corporal, named
Oxenham, of Her Majesty's 32nd Kegiment,
behaved most nobly, and exposed himself con-
siderably, so as to expedite the work of dig-
ging out our unfortunate volunteer, whose ap-
pearance amongst us seemed like as if one had
risen from the grave ; we fully expected, at
least, to have found that all his limbs had been
broken ; whereas, on the contrary, he had
merely a few bruises, and felt faint.

On the 1st July, the whole force at the
Muchee Bawan was withdrawn into the Resi-

56

dency, and this affair was arranged uncom-
monly well. The ammunition was all collected
in one place ; the guns were spiked and dam-
aged as much as circumstances would permit ;
and at a given signal (at midnight), the force
marched out, whilst a slow match, attached to
a train leading to the magazine, was lighted.
Just as our men reached the Eesidency, a
magnificent explosion took place, and Muchee
Bawan was instantly in ruins. Strange to say,
not a single man was wounded when this
movement took place, although the mutineers
were in possession of the whole city, and had
been firing on the Residency and the Muchee
Bawan throughout the day. The officers and
soldiers lost all their property, as no baggage
could be removed ; and the best proof that
this movement must have been managed well,
is, that the enemy were not aware of what
was being done.

After our troops had retired down the
road, the enemy seemed to have gained an
inkling of what had occurred, as they brought
some guns, but it was too late ; two round
shot came screaming down the street, and
hurt none, as our men had now reached

57

the Eesidency gate. Some little excitement
took place, as the gate was locked, and the
person who had the key could not be found
for a little while ; and during this trying
period, the troops outside fancied themselves in
rather an awkward position ; and so they might
have been, had cavalry been in pursuit !

As our men were leaving, a soldier of Her
Majesty's 32nd Foot was lying intoxicated at
the Muchee Bawan. A sergeant tried to get
the man to accompany him, but to no purpose ;
all he got were harsh and angry words. He
therefore told the man that if he would not
come away, that he could not wait to be
blown up or killed by the enemy, and then
he left him. Strange to say, the next morning,
the drunken man came into the Residency.
He was quite naked ! and when asked how he
had escaped, he replied, " Sure I didn't see
e'er a man in the place/' How the poor creature
ever managed to get in, is a perfect miracle ;
the streets must have been lined with men ;
but, perhaps, in the darkness, and as he was
naked, they may have mistaken him for a
mendicant, as some of this class do wander
about in this indecent manner, when not
checked by our police.

58

CHAPTER VII.

WE were now, to use a slang expression,
" fairly box'd up" at Lucknow. A man could
not show his nose without hearing the whiz,
whiz of bullets close to his head. The shots,
too, came from every direction ; and when a
poor fellow had nearly jerked his head off his
shoulders in making humble salutations to
passing bullets, he would have his penance dis-
agreeably changed into a sudden and severe
contortion of the whole body, to avoid a round
shot or shell. So soon as a man left his post,
he had no time for meditation, his only plan
was to proceed rapidly, in fact, to walk slow,
at some places, was very, very dangerous, and
many a poor fellow was shot, who was too proud
to run past places where bullets danced on the
walls like a handful of peas in a frying-pan.

I had no less than five horses shot in the
enclosure about my house : two of them were
my own. The servants who attended them
all ran off so soon as they saw that matters

59

had reached this fearful state, so the poor
animals were left without any person to give
them water or food. Some were wounded, and
others were almost dead. To go near them was
impossible by day, and at night it could only
be managed with difficulty. At last some of
the horses died, and the stench was so fearful,
that, to prevent a pestilence, we were obliged
to drag them away, and throw them into a
well. Those that were wounded, we had to
get out as well as we could, and let them loose
into the city. One poor horse of mine had his
leg broken; I had, therefore, to creep upon my
hands and knees to cut the rope he was fas-
tened by, and then I found the poor brute
could not walk. However, no time was to be
lost ; so I got a person to prick him up in the
rear, whilst another pulled at the head-rope ;
thus, on three legs, and actually hopping
along, this poor horse was driven out of the
place. All we dreaded was their dying, and
our having no means of removing them. My
poor little pet dog, whilst playing about the
place, was shot through the bowels, and came
running up, yelping most piteously, with the
blood gushing from the wound. A tame pigeon,

60

too, as it hopped about at the doorway, had its
head shot off. I have merely mentioned these
little circumstances to show how dangerous it
was to go much about, as bullets came from all
sides.

Soon after the falling of the verandah upon
Mr. Capper, the cannonade on the whole
upper part of the house became so severe
that we were forced to leave the upper de-
fences for want of cover, and retire on the
lower story. Just before this, I was firing
from a loophole on the stall's, when a round
shot came and carried away a large piece of
masonry about a foot above my head. The
bricks flew all about me, but I was not hurt.
At about the same moment, another shot
carried away the greater part of our parapet,
and went clean through the body of one of our
Seiks, who was also in the act of firing. The
poor fellow never moved ; the shot had made
a hole of four inches in diameter in his chest,
and had passed through his back. It was now
high time to look to the lower defences, as we had
no place where we could fire from in the upper
part, as round shot and shell began to sweep
the whole of the top rooms from end to end.

61

Now the only room in the lower story,
which was fit for us, was occupied by a huge
Eurasian and his wife ; but rather than put
these folks to any inconvenience, I remained
in a passage with the volunteers and some
Seiks, as uncomfortable as any one could be.
Our miseries had now, indeed, begun in real
earnest ; we had no place to either bathe or
dress ; and to cook food was impossible, as we
had no servants. We therefore subsisted, for
some little time, on biscuits, sardines, &c., &c.
Both of these individuals were fond of the
bottle, and when "in their cups/' they were
like cat and dog. The man used generally to
get sleepy, and retire to his couch, whilst his
wife became dreadfully loquacious. This lady,
I beg to state, did not address me ; her con-
versation was with the Eurasian volunteers ;
but T had the benefit of it all, having no place
to sit in but the passage, where this horrid
female persisted in coming, much to my disgust.
First of all, she would give all the dark gentry
about her a full and true account of her pa-
rentage ; and though we well could see that
she had never been out of India, she used to
talk of her " dear Ireland/' Then came a long

62

description of all the gentlemen who had made
love to her before she had reached the shady
side of forty ; and, finally, we had the inte-
resting description of all the difficulties that
her fond husband had to surmount before he
was honoured with her hand and heart. She
would tell us, too, that her husband was not
dark, oh no, he was only sunburnt ; but if
we did not believe her, all we had to do was
to bare his arm up to the elbow, and we should
find it like snow.

But this was not the only way in which this
horrid woman was disagreeable ; she used some-
times to get the real "blue devils/' and then
she would beat her bosom, and tell the Seiks
on guard that we should all be cut up;
that no troops could come to our assistance,
&c., &c. At last, she got so bad, and was such
a perfect nuisance, that I reported her conduct,
and got both her and her husband removed
from our garrison. Had she remained, she
would probably have made every Seik desert
from us, by reason of all her gloomy con-
versations. I had, I found, been rather con-
siderate at first to this class of people, who do
aot appreciate the principle of " suaviter in

63

modo," they require also the "fortiter in re,"
to keep them in some sort of awe of the per-
sons they are supposed to be placed under.

We were now surrounded, night and day,
by all the city blackguards, as well as the
mutineers, and they must have been very
numerous, if we may judge by the uproar they
made. On one occasion, as we were turned
out on account of some alarm at night, I
heard a soldier say to another, " I say, Bill,
I'm blow'd if these here Budmashes* don't yell
like so many cats/' Bill replied, " Yes, they
do, and I only wishes I was behind them with a
tin pot of biling water as they opens their
d d mouths/' Another European, who was
close at hand, and had been quite distracted by
the incessant noise of one of their war clarions,
remarked, " I only wish I had a holt of the
black rascal as plays that ; I'd not kill the
vagabond, I'd only break that infernal hin-
strument over the bridge of his nose/'

Having the enemy always so close to us, we
were obliged to be constantly on the alert, and
it became absolutely necessary to visit the sen-
tries several times in every hour throughout

* Rascals, men of bad reputation.

64

the night. Our poor men were very hard
worked, and had often to go on sentry duty
after, perhaps, digging in the batteries, &c., &c.,
for a couple of hours before ; on this account
we had to make every allowance for their being
both tired and sleepy ; but, nevertheless, as the
lives of the whole garrison depended on the
vigilance of the outposts, it became an officer's
bounden duty to keep the men at their work.
One night I observed a sentry who certainly
seemed asleep ; he had his head bent down on
his breast, and he did not challenge me as I
came up to his post. I watched him for a little,
and then, to give him a chance, I called out,
<c Sentry/' in an under tone ; the man started ;
but so soon as he observed me, he quickly
recovered his self-possession, and said, quite
calmly, " I was just thinking, sir, how sad it is
that one half of the world does not know how
much the other half suffer." I must admit I
was not prepared for such a philosophical re-
mark from a sentry ; and as he was a good,
steady soldier, I did not press the matter
further ; more particularly as the attitude I
found him in did admit of his having been in
a state of deep thought ! ! I remained, and had

65

a little talk with this man, and I found he was
a "character/' He told me that he had previ-
ously been called by his comrades " a man of a
pleasant temper ;" but that grief had made him
surly and morose. He had lost his wife and a
little girl, and when these were taken from him,
he said he began to hate all mankind, and be-
came a cross-tempered individual. "Ah/' he
exclaimed, " you never saw such a queer, old-
fashioned, wee thing as my little daughter was,
sir, it was just like me, and that's why I
liked it so much ; the poor little creature usecl
to know me so well, and run after me, calling
out " Papa ;" and the soldiers used to say she
was the very image of me. I used to love that
child, sir, and when it died, I became a wretched
man, and cared for nothing." Another night I
caught another sentry asleep, and I told him
that he would be reported; the poor fellow
was in a great state of alarm, and after making
all kinds of excuses, he said, loud enough for

me to hear, ' D n that great coat, it was it

as caused all this/' The fact was, he had made
himself rather too comfortable, and thus had
fallen asleep. I really felt very much for the
men of Her Majesty's 32nd Foot ; they cer-
P

66

tainly had hard work, and much exposure ;
besides this, the men were not strong, and
many of them, rather than remain in hospital
(when really ill), used to come on duty when
they could hardly stand. I once or twice
actually insisted on poor fellows returning to
hospital ; all they used to say was, " Well, sir,
in these times every man must do his best/'
Some poor creatures looked more like ghosts
than men, so much were they reduced by dy-
sentery, fever, &c., &c.

67

CHAPTER VIII.

ON the 1st of July, 1857, Sir Henry Law-
rence was mortally wounded by the explosion
of a shell, and that great man lingered till the
4th, and then died. His death cast a sad gloom
over the whole garrison, and many a stout
heart began to feel anxious as to how matters
would be conducted after the demise of one in
whom all had trusted. From this till the 10th
of August I have little to say, each day was
marked by the usual occurrences, and the fire
of the enemy was as usual. On the 10th of
August, 1857, however, the enemy, in immense
numbers, made a general assault on our posi-
tion, and we fought them till two o'clock, p.m.
The attack was made with greater determina-
tion than any before, and upon all sides at the
same moment. To describe every paltry attack
would be impossible ; all I attempt to give is a
fair and honest description of what took place
at our post, leaving the description of other
attacks and assaults on other places to those
who had to defend them.
F 2

68

The enemy, after collecting in immense num-
bers, advanced upon the Cawnpore Battery and
our post ; they came on with a rush, and nine
men actually pushed through our stockade, and
reached the mound in front of our inner ditch.
They had fixed bayonets and trailed arms, and
ran with their backs bent to avoid our fire as
much as possible. No sooner did these men
make their appearance, than they were met by
a tremendous fire from the men of my outpost
and the Cawnpore Batteiy, as also by a flank
fire from the " Judicial Commissioner's," which
was commanded by a brave officer (Capt. Ger-
mon, of the 13th N. I.) who commanded Seiks
and also volunteers of the Uncovenanted ser-
vice. I think I may safely say, that not one
man of these nine escaped. During all this, a
heavy cannonade was kept up on both sides,
and I never saw such a musketry fire in any
of the battles in the Punjab.

After these had been knocked over, the
leaders tried to urge on their men. Again and
again they made the attempt, but back they
had to go by a steady fire. Their chiefs came
to the front, and shouted out, "Come on, come
on, the place is ours, it is taken! 3 And the

69

Sepoys would then rush forward, then hesi-
tate, and finally get under cover of the stockade,
and keep up a fearful fire. Some hundred of
them got under the Cawnpore Battery, but found
the hand-grenades rather disagreeable, and had
to bolt rather sharp. Poor Major Banks came
up, and cheered us during the hottest fire, and
we were glad to see him. Our shell now began
to fall amongst the enemy, and this still further
roused their indignation ; you could hear addi-
tional yells, and horrid imprecations on the
heads of all CHRISTIANS. No less than three
times were we assaulted by enormous odds
against us, and each attack was, thank God r
successfully repulsed. There we were, a little
body, probably not eighty men in all (i. e.,
Cawnpore Battery our post, and Capt. Ger-
mon's) opposed to several thousands of merciless,
blood-thirsty fanatics. We well knew what
we had to expect if we were defeated, and,
therefore, each individual fought, as it were,
for his very life ; each loophole displayed a
steady flash of musketry, as defeat would have
been certain death to every soul in the garrison.
Had the outposts fallen, they were in such im-
mense numbers that we could never have turned

70

the enemy out, and then not a man, woman, or
child, would have been spared. It was, indeed,
a most anxious time, and the more so as we
did not know how matters were progressing
at other points. We dreaded that the others
might have been even further pressed than we
were. At intervals I heard the cry of " More
men this way," and off would rush two or three
(all we could possibly spare) here and there;
and then the same cry was repeated in an op-
posite direction, and again the men had to rush
to support their comrades who were more hotly
pressed, and so on ; as the pressure became
greater at particular places, men rushed to those
spots to give assistance.

During this trying time even the poor
wounded men ran out of the hospitals, and
those who had wounds in the legs threw away
their crutches, and deliberately knelt down and
fired as fast as they could out of the loopholes ;
others, who could do little else, loaded the
muskets, whilst the able-bodied soldiers fired ;
and in this odd manner these brave men of
Her Majesty's 32nd upheld the honour of their
nation, and strained every nerve to repel the
furious attacks of the enemy.

71

Two very determined rascals came up close
to the wall of the battery, whereupon Capt.
Green, of the 48th N. I., shot them both in
the face with two discharges of little bullets,
and they went off howling fearfully. A
standard-bearer was very conspicuous, and he
was fired at by at least a dozen individuals,
some say he was blown up almost at the same
moment by the explosion of a shell, whilst
others assert that, when he fell mortally
wounded, another mutineer seized him by the
belt, and threw himself, with the body of the
wounded standard-bearer, over our stockade.

During all this I was commanding six men
of Her Majesty's 32nd Foot on the outside of
my house, at the place between the Cawnpore
Battery and my post ; and as my presence was
required, I went in and out of the battery, and
fired my musket whenever I had the best
chance of hitting the enemy. It was thus that
I saw the whole of what I have now attempted
to describe.

In the interior of my garrison the truly brave
and heroic Mr. Capper and a subaltern officer
kept the volunteers at their loopholes, and
every man did good service during the attacks

72

by keeping up a constant and rapid fire on the
enemy. Monsieur Geofiroi heard one of the
chiefs say, " Come on, brothers, there's nobody
here ;" upon which he replied in a loud voice,
" There are plenty of us here, you rascal." And
as a further proof of his assertion, he shot the
leader dead, and followed up by sending a bullet
into another man, who was close behind him.
Our good old friend, Signor Barsotelli, got very
excited as the enemy rushed past the stockade.
He said to the Frenchman, " Son dentro per

Dio," in Italian "They are in, by G "

However, he did as he had always done before,
he placed himself in a good commanding posi-
tion, and then asked the officer in command if
he should fire, his expression generally was,
" Here we dominate, shall I strike ?" All this
time he was, probably, standing at a loophole,
with his eye fixed on the sight of his musket,
and his body in such an attitude that any one
could see he was full of determination.

On this memorable 10th of August both
Signor Barsotelli and Monsieur Geoffroi killed
several men, and did good service ; in fact, I
knew not any one in these garrisons who did
not behave well ; and in such a fight as this, the

73

difficulty only would be, to find the man who
had NOT shot down at least one or two of the
enemy. A pretty good idea may be formed as
to how our fire told on the mutineers, when it
is stated by the natives, that their loss on the
10th of August was 470 men killed ; out of
this, they say, that full 100 fell opposite the
flank we defended. It was also stated that
the standard-bearer was pierced by seven bul-
lets, and that a Moulvie,* who urged on the
mutineers, was shot through the hand. As a
general rule, more than double the number of
men are wounded to those that are killed ; .so
the loss of fighting men on the enemy's side
must have have been very, very great on this
occasion ; and they learned such a severe les-
son, that they did not try another attack tifl
some time after.

It is quite impossible to form any idea of the
exact number of the enemy ; some say 20,000,
and others 40,000 menf were around us on the
10th August ; all I can say is, that I saw quite
enough soldiers to convince me that a kind and
merciful Providence alone saved us on that

* A learned man.

f I heard after, 100,000 men, and 107 guns.

74

fearful day ; we were but as a drop in the ocean,
when compared with the enemy, and we only
held the place by a perfect miracle.

I have omitted before to state, that on the
afternoon of the 29th July we heard guns
close to the outskirts of the city, and every one
expected to see our troops come in ; but, alas !
we were doomed to be disappointed. On the
30th, a beautiful peacock came and perched on
our ramparts, and there plumed its feathers ;
it remained a little while, and then flew across
our position. Some of the soldiers wanted to
shoot it, but I told them not to destroy a bird
of good omen ; had I not spoken, the bird would
have been made into a mess in less than ten
minutes, so anxious were the men for some
change of food.

From this time, every day became more and
more tedious, and good old faces began to dis-
appear gradually and gradually each day ; here,
a week before, you saw fourteen men laughing
together ; to-day, the number had dwindled
down to ten ; a day or so more, and you
remarked one less ; then another, and an-
other, till you were positively afraid to ask
for a friend. I have seen men in hospital, and

75

have left them doing exceedingly well. I have
sent them books to read, &c., &c., and on going
a day or so after, I have found another sick or
wounded man in my friend's cot, and have been
told by a patient, " that the gentleman, who
laid there, was buried last night/'

Sad, sad indeed is the feeling one experiences
on such occasions ; each man, as he parts for the
night, has considerable doubts as to his seeing
his friend in the morning. A friend comes in,
and says, " Have you heard the news ?" You say
No, and he continues "Poor So-and-so was
looking out of a loophole, and was shot through
the head ; young So-and-so was hit last night
by a round shot, which carried away both his
legs, and there is no hope for him ; but the
worst of all is, that So-and-so was hit by a
round shot, and the whole of the back of his
head was carried away, the skull was quite
empty, and the poor fellow's brains were dashed
all about a gun, close to which he was stand-
ing." Now all this is very fearful for a man
to hear at every hour of the day, besides see-
ing every now and then the body of some poor
fellow carried away to hospital, who has, per-
haps, been conversing with you a few minutes

76

before. A great many men were killed by
standing incautiously at the loopholes ; some
would fire, and then look out to see if their
shot had taken effect, when a return bullet
would kill them on the spot. I saw one poor
fellow, of Her Majesty's 32nd, who was killed
in this way, but he was not the only man ; I
was close beside him at the time, and warned
him to be careful, and not to stand opposite the
loophole after firing ; however, he forgot what
I said, and in a few seconds after, he fell back,
with a groan, quite dead a musket ball had
entered his eye, and passed through his brain ;
poor fellow ! we soon picked him up, only to find
that the pool of blood under his head plainly
indicated that his life had left him, and horrid
to relate, we saw bits of brain amidst the gory
flood, about the spot where he fell

77

CHAPTER IX.

WE are now in the month of August, and no
signs of relief; the heat, too, is intense, and
we have no servants to pull our punkahs. Dead
bodies are decomposing in all directions outside
the entrenchments, and the graves in our church-
yards are so shallow, that the whole air is
tainted with putrid smells ; now our torments
commence in real earnest. We are pestered to
death by swarms of great, cold, clammy flies,
which have probably been feeding off festering
corpses in the vicinity ; we cannot read, sleep,
or eat our food, with any degree of comfort.
We had only one Madras boy between five of
us to do all the work, and he fell ill with fever ;
we had, therefore, to chop our own wood, pre-
pare the fire, cook the food, &c., &c. ; besides
this, we had to wash our own clothes, and per-
form (each in our turn), the lowest menial duties.
A nice state of affairs for folks who are gene-
rally termed officers and gentlemen ? but so it
was, and there was no help for it ; our little

78

garrison was so exposed, that not a servant
would stay there, whilst other people in the
place had as many as six and seven servants
throughout the siege ! !

In the midst of all these miseries (when,
perhaps, in the very act of cooking !) you would
hear the cry of " Turn out ! " and then you had
to seize your musket, and rush to your post.
Then there was a constant state of anxiety as
to whether we were mined or not ; and we
were not quite sure, whilst we were at a loop-
hole, that we might not suddenly see the ground
open, or observe the whole materials of the
house fly into the air by the explosion of a
mine ! ! Shells came smashing right into our
rooms, and dashed our property to pieces ; then
followed round shot, and down tumbled huge
pieces of masonry, and bits of wood and bricks
flew in all directions. I have seen beds literally
blown to atoms, and trunks and boxes were
completely smashed into little bits. When an
8-inch shell exploded in the room, you could not
see anything for several minutes, and all we
heard after was the cry of individuals, asking
each other from opposite directions, if it was
" all right ?" and now and then a poor fellow

79

would be seen to creep out of a heap of lime
and bricks, and say, "I'm not hurt, thank
God."

I recollect, one day, after the bursting of a
shell, Signor Barsotelli looked for his trunk,
and found that it had been blown up com-
pletely. He now wished to have a little fun,
so he called his Madras boy, and said, " Where
is my trunk?" The boy went off, and looked
in the corner, where the trunk always stood,
but found it not ; he could not understand this,
so he came with a face of astonishment to his
master, and said, " Trunk not got, sir." Signor
pretended to be angry, and said, " Not got a
trunk, you rascal, where is it ?" In the mean-
time, some one drew the lad's attention to some
bits of wood in the corner, which were all that
remained of Signer's trunk, and the boy's face
brightened up, as he said to his master, "Before,
trunk got, sir now, not got shell break
him."

Signor Barsotelli was both a clever and polite
man. On one occasion, he had an opportunity
of examining a person's head, having been re-
quested to do so, as he had studied phrenology ;
now, whether he observed that there was some-

80

thing rather mild in the person's temperament
or not, I cannot say, but he calmly said, " I
observe by your head, sir, that the organ of
combativeness is not largely developed. I think
you would be well suited for a " Justice of the
Peace." Whether Signor had his doubts as to
the bravery of the individual, from what he
observed in his manner, or whether he really
judged by his head, it is, of course, difficult to
determine ; however, this is true, that the
unfortunate was a soldier, and as such, he must
have felt a little disappointed to find he wanted
what a soldier most requires.

Again, as regards Signer's politeness, he
had been terribly annoyed for some time by
a person spitting a perfect puddle close to where
le sat. Signor was very, very uneasy for a
nttle, at last he got up, and brought a spade
full of earth, and as he threw the contents on
the pool of saliva, he said, " Excuse me, sir, I
vomit." If this little act, and these few im-
pressive words, had not the desired effect, I
know not what would have better tended to
prevent a repetition of the filthy trick which
had quite upset the Signer's equanimity.

These are simply the day occurrences, which

81

were followed by the long, dreary nights. We
would sit for hours, expecting every mo-
ment to be attacked. Officers would come
round, and say, in a solemn manner, "The Bri-
gadier requests you will be particularly on
the alert/' Here and there, by the glimmer
of a miserable lamp, you observed the pale, care-
worn faces of half a dozen volunteers. One
man loading his musket, another looking at
his pistol, and a third filling his cartridge-box.
One of the party would presently shoulder his
musket, and go off to stand on sentry, whilst
another dived down into our mine, to see
that the enemy were not getting under our
house. Presently you would hear the sudden
cry of a sentry calling out, " that the enemy
were advancing." Then came the rattle of
musketry, followed by the cry of " Turn out \"
on all sides. Now, you hear the grape strike
against our batteries and earthworks ; the
musket bullets fly over in showers ; round shot
come through our walls ; and loud above all you
distinguish the sound of the enemy's clarions/'
and numberless bugles blowing the " advance/'
Now and then, midst the roar of artillery, you
could hear elephants trumpeting as they were
G

82

made to drag heavy guns from position to
position, and the change of direction of a
shot immediately after told plainly that the
enemy had moved a gun. We remained per-
fectly quiet too, generally, so that they might
not know how many we mustered. We let
them fire away, and waited patiently to listen
if they were creeping through the long grass
that grew all around our intrenchments, and
strained our eyes to see in the darkness. Every
now and then we fancied we saw the figure
of a man, and then it seemed as suddenly to
disappear. Sometimes the moon, shining on
the leaves of the castor-oil tree, used to look
like men's turbans, and more than once we
were induced to fire at them. Every now
and then you heard orders given to load the
guns with "grape" over the "round shot/'
and our men would be seen running for hand-
grenades, &c., to be all ready in case of a rush
at our position. In the meantime you would
see little streaks of fire passing rapidly over
your head, and some seemed as if they were
coming right down upon you. Then you sud-
denly heard a loud report, and the cry that
followed told you our shells were bursting

83

amongst the enemy. Soon you heard a sharp
whiz over your head again, and you would
see a huge splinter of a shell bury itself in a
wall close to you, or probably plough up a foot
of the earth close to where you stood, so that
often we were in as much danger of being
killed by our own shells as by the enemy's
shot these splinters often come back some
hundred yards.

Sometimes, in the dark nights, single men
used to creep up to see what we were about,
or else, probably, to try and spike our guns
the sentries, therefore, had always to keep a
sharp lookout. Now and then a dog got on
the top of our mound, in front of the inner
ditch, and the sentry would fire, whereupon
the yelping of the wounded animal used to
astonish the whole of the guard, and set all
the dogs in the garrison barking ; they would
collect from all the houses in the vicinity, and
rush down upon the unfortunate one, and try
to worry him to death, and so soon as the
strange dog bolted off from whence he came,
all the others followed him ; and what with
the growling, barking, and noise (as they
rushed through the outer stockade), they com-
G 2

84

pletely confounded the enemy, who thought,
of course, that the vile infidels or Christians
were upon them ; and starting wildly from
their sleep, they commenced to abuse each
other, and then to fire off their muskets in
every direction. It was perfectly wonderful
to hear the jabber they set up. One would
say, " Don't you see they are coming ? Look
out/' Another would reply, "Who are you,
to give me orders ?" The first speaker would
then say, rather mildly, " Well, do as you like,
the c Sahib log' (i. e., gentlemen) will soon
come and cut your head off. " The other would
reply, " Well, do you think they are likely to
spare you more than me ?" This conversation
would last a little while, till the man who had
got the order to be on the alert lost all pa-
tience, and would then say, " Come, come, if
you are going to threaten me, I shall run off
to the hills/' The other then would say
sharply, " Do you think you'll be safer in the
hills than anywhere else? Why, they will
chase you all over the face of the earth/' One
rascal would cry out, " You go on, brave man
that you are." The other would say, " No,
good brother, you go first." The first would

85

say, " There are hardly any of them left ;" and
his comrade would add, "Well, you try it
first go on/' Such little talks generally con-
cluded by both rascals getting into a rage, and
calling each other cowards ; and then they
would keep quiet for perhaps the remainder of
the night, but not before the noise of a few
dogs barking had really frightened them out of
their senses.

Before our first reinforcement arrived, our
Sepoys in the inside had constant conversations
with the mutineers. Our men would say,
" What have you got now for being so unfaith-
ful? You had much better disperse/' The
mutineers would reply, "What can we do?
If we go to our homes, the Feringees (Eu-
ropeans) will hunt us to death ; it is better to
remain here and die/' Then they would say
to our men, " Leave the infidels, and come out ;
we'll give you good food, and plenty of it."
Our Sepoys would say, " We have eaten the
Company's salt, we cannot break faith with
our masters, like you have." This answer
exasperated the mutineers, who would say,
" You are as bad as they are ; you have be-
come vile Christians ; but, never mind, we

86

are off to kill all the men of your reinforce-
ment ; and when we return we will pay you
off ; we will not spare a single man."

Very often, when these conversations were
going on, our Seiks used to call to their officers
just to listen to the manner in which they
were "drawing out" the enemy. Once, at an
outpost, a fellow came up and tried to make
our Sepoys go over to the enemy ; there was a
sharp young sentry on duty, and he quietly
kept the man in talk whilst he called another
of his guard, and said, in a low voice, " Knock
that chap over;" which was no sooner said
than done, thus putting an end to the con-
versation in rather an abrupt manner.

Throughout the siege the mutineers lost no
opportunity to try and make our Sepoys desert,
by telling them that they would starve us all
to death, if they could not take the place ; and
they tried to make them believe that the Eng-
lish were beaten all over India, and that there
was not the least hope of our obtaining any
relief. And there was so much delay in our
reinforcement arriving, that many began to
believe what they said ; and had the relieving
force been much longer in coming to our

87

assistance, I am afraid that even the fidelity of
our brave native troops might have been
shaken. I feel sure that every man felt fearfully
disappointed at the delay in obtaining relief,
and the poor natives would have probably
been more tortured than the Europeans, and
the enemy carried our position. It was splen-
did to see how very willingly the Seiks worked
at our mines, and to observe their alacrity in
turning out during every attack.

88

CHAPTER X.

IN addition to all I have endeavoured to
describe in the preceding pages, we had to
endure the melancholy sight of seeing the
clothes, frc., of dead men sold by public auction.
The property of deceased officers was also sold
off in this manner; and it was sad, indeed, to
observe so much appearance of actual mirth
and jollity displayed by many who were pre-
sent. How very little we all seemed to reflect
on the truth of the words, " In the midst of
life we are in death." Here you saw the coat
of your friend " put up" and tried on by one
and then another ; now and then, too, you
heard the passing joke of the crowd as to its
being a "good Jit" &c., &c. How little did
many there think that probably the next auc-
tion would be over their own clothes, and that,
too, within the space of only a few days.

In the army strong affections must naturally
exist ; and yet men, in such circumstances,
appear to act very oddly it would seem that

89

the dearest friends were forgotten the instant
that the link of friendship is broken by death.
To-day you see two men walking together, as
fond of each other as mortals can be, and in a
day or two after you hear that one has
been shot dead ; and should you happen to at-
tend the first sale that takes place, you may
perhaps see the remaining one bidding hard for
his friend's boots ! ! Yet, for all this, there is,
in reality, no want of affection. If you take
the same man quietly aside, and mention his
friend's name, it is more than probable that you
will see his eyes fill with tears : why, then, this
sudden change ? The fact is, that men in such
positions do in reality look forward to the final
separation by death as very near and probable.
Their comrades fall on all sides, and day after
day the same rites are performed, and the corpse
is speedily conveyed to the grave ; and whilst
the mourner is at the height of his grief, he
hears that another person has just lost as dear
a friend as himself. If a man, therefore, has
any real affection, no one of the crowd can pos-
sibly know his grief all are supposed to be
suffering as well as himself (who have lost
friends), and the world is the last place to turn

90

to when consolation is wanted to do so, is to
parade one's own sorrows, and to be called a
hypocrite. When a man in a siege, therefore,
purchases any portion of another's dress, he is
supposed to do so from necessity alone. For
instance, a round shot dashes out a man's
brains, and bespatters all his clothes with
blood ; yet men are, from necessity, obliged to
buy these very articles, having perhaps hardly
any warm clothes ; and at the same time, poor
fellows, they are quite prepared to part with
them on the same terms. Men seem to pur-
chase such clothing to form their own winding-
sheets ; for you may often see the same articles
exposed for sale before the last purchaser has
had time to get them washed. At such periods
there is little time for cool and calm reflection ;
all is anxiety of the worst description ; there is
a sort of constant pressure to the front, a dis-
inclination to dwell for a moment on the
thoughts of the present, and an irresistible de-
sire to fathom futurity. Your dearest and best
friend has no coffin a mere coverlet alone pro-
bably forms the wrapper in which the dear
body is committed to the earth. Death places
his cold hand in the morning, and the remains

91

of your beloved are hurried away for burial by
sunset the same day. As you approach the
graveyard, you observe probably half a dozen
other unhappy individuals, all waiting with
their dead for burial. The clergyman now has
completed the service, and the bodies are laid
in rows,* and soon follow the awful words,
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust/' "Alas! alas!"
you exclaim " Am I thus to leave all I loved
on earth ?" " Am I now to be for ever sepa-
rated from one I loved so fondly?" Dear
reader, it may be a wife, a sister, a brother, or
a friend, for whom you mourn. Far, far away
from all the dear one loved separated from
parents, sisters, and brothers, and doomed, alas !
to be buried in this manner. Oh ! could the
fond mother have seen her child at such a time,
it would have broken her heart. Could she
have seen that pale, pale face become thinner
and thinner each day ; could she have known
that the child she nursed so tenderly was now
alone amongst strangers ; or, if not alone, per-

* The churchyard was such a dangerous spot, that graves had
to be dug at night. It was entirely commanded by the enemy's
fire, and men had to work very quietly : for this reason it was
impossible to get separate graves for each corpse.

92

haps only watched by one quite distracted by
sorrow. There was no kind sister or mother
either to soothe the poor sufferer or the
mourner; none, probably, but strangers to
watch the calm patience and endurance of the
dying person. Whilst others of the same fa-
mily were laughing over a fire in dear Eng-
land, there was one of that very circle who was
lying in a most helpless state on the bed of
death !

The poor dying exile ! What a hard fate !
With no servants, no comforts, and hardly any
food suited for a sick person. There lay a dear
wife, trying to the last to console her husband.
She probably says, "I am better to-day;" and in
a few seconds after, the head falls back, the
eyes close, and death has snatched away his
victim. You follow the corpse to the grave,
and you listen attentively to the clergyman
giving some consolation to the distracted hus-
band. Suddenly you hear a rushing sound,
and find that a heavy charge of grape-shot
has just swept across your path ; the enemy
are on the alert, and have fired a cannon, on
hearing the sound of voices in the churchyard.
You return with the husband only to see

93

deeper into his misery : here are two little
children, crying for their mother ; one is dy-
ing for want of nourishment. The mother
being no more, the child must die, as no nurse
can be procured. Something must be done ;
but yet there is a want of the proper food,
and you see the poor little infant decline, day
after day. Now, you see the poor little crea-
ture gasp for breath ; it has become a perfect
little skeleton ! What is to be done ? You
rush for the doctor, and the poor father looks dis-
tracted. Where is the fond mother's hand to
soothe the babe ? What is this in such and
such a box ? Good God ! it is the poor mo-
ther's dress ! The husband wants some little
piece of clothing, and knows not where it is
to be found. Some kind lady now assists
him, and with tears in his eyes he searches all
the boxes. Alas ! this is indeed a sad, sad
sight. How neatly the poor man finds every-
thing packed away. How many little things
remind' him of his good, fond wife. A few
days more, and the baby is dead also ; and
then you proceed a second time to the grave-
yard ; you see the poor husband turn to drop
a tear on the fresh grave of his wife, and at

94

the same moment a bullet hits the ground at
his feet. You are warned that there is, in-
deed, little difference between the dead and
the living; you feel there is no security in
life. The passage to the grave is really like
passing from one room of a house to another.
We are hid from each other by a mere parti-
tion for a time, and we have the power to
meet again if we like. All that you wonder
at is, why some people should have to suffer so
much more than others in this world ? and if
these trials are sent as a punishment for sin,
how is it that those who are the most inno-
cent are the first to suffer ? babes, and mothers
too, who seem so pure and so gentle.

Those who have seen what I have described,
will ever after be the more charitable in judg-
ing of those around them. There is no rule
by which to form any correct idea of the affec-
tions of men ; our whole life is a perpetual
series of changes ; and love, in all its phases, is
continually being acted upon by the various
incidents of time, place, or position.

How apt we are to take dislikes to men
without any just reason ! How fond we are
of urging ourselves to keep up some old ill-

95

feeling ! We are not inclined to make any
allowances for our fellow-creatures, although
we see what they have to suffer ; but death
comes to us all, and if we do not now forgive,
the day may come when we may regret. We
say to ourselves to-day "Ah! they escape
the wrath of God they enjoy themselves
and we alone suffer bitter anguish/' But do
we feel the least sorrow when others are suf-
fering ? and do we ever consider that when
some have enjoyed a few days of happiness,
that they are doomed to undergo years of
misery ?

96

CHAPTER XL

MATTERS now were just as usual ; there was
never a single day or night without firing (can-
non and muskets), and when we expected rest
after real attacks, we were kept under arms
from constant false alarms ; an order would
come round to be "all prepared," as a large
body of the enemy had been seen on the move ;
we remained belted and ready for hours, but
no new enemy came in sight ; all we saw were
the rascals at their batteries, as usual, and
every now and then we heard the " Advance "
or "Assembly" sounded ; after standing to our
arms for several hours, we got the order to
take off belts. This was most harassing to the
men, as they had quite enough work without
having to attend to false alarms.

Even the little children in Lucknow now
began to think like soldiers, and they became,
as it were, fond of the " game of war/' I heard
one urchin, of four or five years, say to another,
"You fire round shot, and I'LL return shell

97

from my battery." Another, getting into a rage
with his playmates, said, " I hope you may be
shot by the enemy/' Others (playing with
grape-shot, instead of marbles) would be heard
tosay, " That's clean through his lungs;" or
" That wants more elevation!' These young
scamps picked up all the expressions of the
artillery, and made use of them at their games.

In these days the Roman Catholic priest
and Signor Barsotelli used to have most
earnest conversations as to the manner in
which we were ever to get out of Lucknow.
Signor would say, " Well, Father, if you have
to retire down a mile or two of road, with
loopholed houses on both sides, you must drop
that gown, or the enemy will catch you." The
priest would laugh, and say, "We will see."
Signor would add, " But you must take a mus-
ket, and fight the ivhole way with us" The
priest did not seem quite to understand the
necessity for this, but added again, " Well, we
shall see."

A happy time has now arrived, so we will

leave the Padre, and state, that on the 25th

September, 1857, General Havelock arrived

with reinforcements, and it was with anxious

H

hearts that we listened to the reports of >

guns. Tin- advanee was slow and steady, till

jn i -i H wa ;MI i ii,.. ,1,-n-k, when in r\\ -hed a
l"ly of Europeans into the Bailie Guard gate,
midst the din of shouts and cheers from tin-
\\hole of (he garrison. Oh, what a joyful day
lor us; we were saved!

TheEunp, .-,1 hold of all the m-w

comers, and eml.raeed them, and the night
passed in askijig repeated (ju< :U>ut

what had taken plan* in the "outer world'
since we were beseigecL

Tlu'iv was. .Inulitlrss, many a prayrr otl'nvd

up in secret for our merciful and wonderful

<lrliv<T\ ; an.l many :i ln-aiM was ivli. \,M! .,f a

sad burden of anxiety on that memorable
night. I recollect hearing Monsieur Geoffroi
say (so like a Frenchman), that if he could he
would kiss the very first man of the relieving
ion -c who came in his way. How some of our

rou-'h old soldiers would have appreciated this,

it is difficult to say ! 1 God, in his mercy, had
brought relief wheh we were almost without

hope; and I trust thai all of n were ^iiieeiely
thankful for sueh a very wonderful delivery.
To understand what we felt, it i necessary to

alter the state of affairs. If the enemy had
entered, every man, woman, and child would
have been put to death, We were ordered
never to surrender, and we were, one and all, de-
termined to die sword or musket in hand. After
the Cawnpore massacre, no man would have
agreed to treat with the rebels on any ac-
count.

On the 1st October a force, consisting of
some 500 men of various European corps, was
ordered out to attack some guns in a garden to
the left of my outpost I was directed to
place myself under the orders of Colonel
Napier, to act as a guide, and to point out
to the men where our outposts were. A Mr.
Phillips, a brave old volunteer, took our force
out into the main street; and when we got
to the place leading to the garden, he ac-
companied one part to the left, and I took the
remainder up through the houses to the right.
After running up a very narrow lane (whilst a
few of the enemy fired down upon us from the
tops of the houses), we reached a doorway, which
I felt sure led into the line of houses we wanted
to drive the enemy out of I felt convinced of
this, as the place was one from which I had,
H2

100

throughout the siege, observed the enemy pass
towards the garden. We had a private, of
the name of Hunter, with a pickaxe, and
vseveral others of the 32nd and other corps
with us. Dawson, a private of the 32nd, with
Hunter of the same corps, were not long in
smashing in the first door. Dawson and the
rest of us immediately rushed up some steps
inside the house, and then came upon another
door fastened in a similar manner. We broke
it open in a few seconds, and then found a
clear road through the houses.

The enemy never waited to cross bayonets,
but retreated on the garden, closely followed
by our party. We found their water-skins
(niussuks) full, just as they had been using
them, and fires lit, &c., &c. Dawson had the
activity of a lamplighter, with the boldness of
a lion. He dashed on, although I called re-
peatedly to him to wait till the other men got
up, as I had heard orders distinctly given for
no advance to be made by the assaulting party
till the reserve had occupied the houses in our
rear, as they were taken. Dawson, however, was
not to be stopped ; and I did not wish to see the
man go alone, so I went also, although I felt it

was imprudent. I was not commanding, but
merely a guide.

Well, when we got up together to a narrow
passage, we found the enemy in great force,
and they beat the charge, shouted, and tried
to form up to drive us back. At this moment
there were only five men, including myself,
up ; the rest were all pretty close, but thread-
ing their way through the houses. I at once
made all present bring their firelocks to the
charging position, and cover the narrow pas-
sage. The rascals on the enemy's side dare
not advance a single step, though the yells
they gave were horrible. We waited for some
time, and were soon joined by the rest of our
men, who were close on our heels, and then it
was all right. That brave fellow, Dawson, of
the 32nd, again rushed off, unobserved by me,
and presently he came running up, breathless,
and said, " Come here, sir, and I'll show yotf
one of them." I followed him, and, sure
enough, there was a fat Pandy (a slang name
given to the Sepoys who mutinied), lying dead,
with his heels towards us. He had advanced,
unknown to us, with some twenty others, to
our left, to try and get round our party ; but

302

brave Dawson alone stood in a gap of a broken
wall of a house, and drove them all back by
his steadiness in shooting down the foremost
man amongst them. Had I been placed in
command, I might have had to check, even
further, a man who had no fault but being too
anxious to get on, without seeing how he was
supported ; and I am glad I had not to do so.

After this I went back to look for the rest
of our party, and I came upon Colonel Napier,
of our left party, and took him up to the spot
we had first got up to. The Colonel advanced,
and we came right under the enemy's guns.
They fired grape, but as the guns were high
above us, they did us no harm whatever.
Seeing that they could not dislodge us, they
commenced a heavy fire of bricks and clods of
earth ; one of these struck me on the forehead,
and cut my nose, and brought me to the
"ground. I was soon surrounded by a lot of
the Europeans, and after getting a little water,
I was all right. Colonel Napier and the officer
commanding the Highlanders came to the de-
cision that to assault the batteries at that spot
was utterly impracticable ; so these officers con-
tented themselves with planting strong guards,

103

and holding the position during the night.
The next day, as will be seen hereafter, the
garden was taken. General Outram had told
Colonel Napier that the men were to get
10,000 rupees if the place were taken that
day, but there was no order to advance further ;
had there been, Dawson would have been one
of the first into the batteries, as he was
Triad to get on. I really cannot speak too
highly of this noble 32nd man. I was struck
with his cool determination ; and really as he
rushed through the houses, I more than once
dreaded that some of the rascals might hide, as
they generally do, and then fire at us as we
passed. I fancied, too, that they would not
have left such a place, from whence they might
have been driven at any time, from its prox-
imity to our outposts, without having it all
mined, and ready to blow up at a minute's
notice.

104

CHAPTER XII.

ON the 2nd of October, 1857, the garden, in
which the guns were, was taken, but the
enemy had carried off the 8-inch howitzer. A
drummer of Her Majesty's 32nd, named Con-
way, a mere boy, presented his musket at a
huge Sepoy, and the man then fell on his
knees, and begged for his life. The boy said
in an authoritative voice, " Come along with
me/' and then placed his hands on the pri-
soner, and marched him off, and, on meeting
an officer, he said, " Here, sir, is a prisoner I
have taken/'

On the 3rd of October, General Outram in-
spected my outpost, and said he was much
pleased with our work during the siege. In
the part of the city occupied by our reinforce-
ments, a sentry was placed over a house to
prevent plundering. An officer was walking
off with some china cups, whereupon the
sentry said, " I cannot allow you to pass here,
sir." The officer was about to put the articles

105

down, when the sentry said, " There is no ne-
cessity to do that, sir, if you step just to the
right, there is a door without a panel. I am
not over IT. One fellow said to another, " I
say, Jem, I am blow'd if these here Bud-
mashes havn't gone and brought back two of
their d d guns. I'm blessed if they wont
have this here old bungalow down upon us
this time/' The other coolly replied, " Well,
let 'em bring them only the more for us to
take, that's all" This was just after a sortie,
and when these guns had been supposed to
have been spiked or destroyed.

On the 6th of October a lot of new rebels
joined the enemy. A guard of the 41st
N. I., under a havildar, came quietly into a
room close to where our guards were ; they
piled arms, and were taking it very comfort-
ably, whereupon the Europeans rushed upon
them, and killed every man. They had, in
fact, no idea that our outpost was so close. In
fact, the room was our guard-room, that had
only just been taken, and the Sepoys fancied it
was, as usual, occupied by their own side.

Private Cooney, of Her Majesty's 32nd, and
another man went into a battery, and spiked

106

some guns. As they rushed up, they called
out, " Eight and left extend ;" and the Sepoys
hearing this, fancied there was a strong body,
and bolted off. A man, being asked what he
got as plunder, said, " Devil the happerth we
got, sir, but an ould cock and a hen oh yes/'
he added, " we did get a Sepoy or two/'

A Sepoy, when caught, tried hard to be
spared, but a European said to him, "You
black rascal, do you think we are going to
carry your ugly face all over the face of the
blessed earth?" Saying this, he ran him
through with his bayonet.

18th October, the enemy made a feeble night
attack. Twenty men advanced to our stockade.
Capper killed a man, I think, on this occasion.
He fired four times.

14th November. Commander-in-Chief ad-
vanced from Alam Baugh.

16th November. The Commander-in-Chief
had got possession of the city. We were driven
from the very gates of the Khizer Baugh, or
" palace/' A person was most conspicuous on
this day, as we looked from our intrenchments.
He was mounted on a "white horse/' and was
everywhere. We all felt very anxious for this

107

man he was in the hottest fire. We found
out afterwards it was the Commander-in-Chief.
We left Lucknow on the night of the 22nd
November, 1857, at midnight, in silence; and
as we left our outposts, the rascals were firing
on our outer walls. We got safe out, without
the loss of a single man. The whole thing was
most splendidly arranged by the Commander-
in-Chief.

I have throughout this narrative endea-
voured to give as many little incidents as
possible, so that the Public may be able to
judge as to what did really occur in the gar-
rison. I am much indebted to Brigadier
Inglis for what he has been pleased to say as
regards my little post and its defenders ; but,
nevertheless, there are many little matters
which, in justice to the men of Her Majesty's
32nd, and the volunteers of the post under my
command, I felt I ought to publish. It was
utterly impossible for the Brigadier to know
all that happened at the outposts, during each
day of such a long siege ; but still the relations
of those concerned may wish to know some of
the particulars. It may even be some little

108

consolation to those who have lost their dearest
friends or relatives to know that the hardships
were such that they can see what the chances
of escape were, and they will have the satisfac-
tion of knowing that the names of those who
fell will ever be remembered with respect.

I have omitted many names, as the actual
particulars are not necessary; it is painful
enough for relations to know that those dear
to them fell doing their duty, without being
told how or where the fatal shot or bullet took
effect.

There are many brave men, too, whose
names I shall ever remember. Colonel Palmer,
who visited us so regularly, and cheered us up
with his conversations. No man in the gar-
rison was more active than the Colonel, or did
more to find out everything that was done.
Poor, good Fulton, assisted us on every occa-
sion, and did his best to help us to prevent the
enemy blowing up our post. There are, also,
the names of Innes and Anderson, of the
Engineers, whom we must ever remember with
sincere respect and feelings of gratitude ; both
of them were ever ready to assist us, and did
their utmost to keep our mines in proper

109

order. I more than once recollect Innes sitting
at the mouth of our mine, all ready to light
the train, should the enemy press us too hard.
Then the names of Tulloch and Ward are very
familiar to us ; they often came to do what
was required, and to see that we were all right.
How often have I had to ask Ward " to get a
shell thrown I" and many a time I have had
to send messages, through Tulloch, to both
Anderson and Innes, when anything was re-
quired of the Engineers, i. e. y just as he came
to see us, and inspect the works of the enemy.
Poor M'Cabe of the 32nd, how often that man
assisted us ! He used to come both by day
and night ; and he more than once threw
hand-grenades from our upper rooms upon the
enemy, who were working not twelve yards off
by our ditch.

Captain Etchhill also used often to come and
see us, and many a pleasant conversation, I
have had with him when he was in command
of the Cawnpore Battery. He is, indeed, both
a kind and a brave officer, and was always cool
and determined. I could mention many, many
more, but what is the necessity? All the
people of Luckaow well know who did their

110

duty, without any feeble efforts of mine to help
in saying so. I trust the officers I have men-
tioned will pardon the liberty I have taken in
entering their names ; and I feel sure, if they
are annoyed, they will see that I have only
done so with the best motives, namely, of sin-
cere friendship and regard. It is impossible to
be in such a siege and not feel respect for
those who fought side by side with you. I
commenced with the desire to hurt the feelings
of not a single individual. If I have failed, I
am exceedingly sorry.

J. & W. RIDER, Printers, 14, Bartholomew Close, London, E.G.

NOTICES BY THE PRESS.

A PERSONAL JOURNAL OF THE SIEGE OF LUCKNOW. By
Capt. R. P. Anderson. Edited by T. Carnegy Anderson. (Thacker
and Co.) Captain Anderson was among the most distinguished
officers who defended Lucknow against the rebel army. He is
mentioned with brilliant commendation in the despatch of Brigadier
Inglis. This brief narrative is picturesque, and contains accounts
of some remarkable incidents not elsewhere described. It may be
read with interest as a supplement to the volumes of " A Staff
Officer " and Mr. Rees. The Leader, March 6, 1858.

Captain Anderson, 25th Regiment Native Infantry. This officer
was assistant commissioner at Lucknow when the outbreak took
place. His house was within the Residency enclosure, and was
formed by Sir H. Lawrence into an outpost, defended by a stockade,
ditch, and mound. Here this officer, with ten men of Her Majesty's
32nd and ten volunteers in all twenty men successfully defended
this small fortification from the daily and nightly attacks of the
enemy, whose position was only forty yards to the left, and about
ninety to the front, with nine guns, varying from an 8-inch
howitzer down to 24, 18, and 6-pounders, during the whole siege
viz., from June 30 to Nov. 22 ; on one occasion during a day attack
the enemy penetrated the stockade of this gallant little force, but
were every one shot down before they could get out. Foremost
amongst them was their standard bearer. Captain Anderson lost
his wife and one child, entirely from the want of the necessaries of
life. One little boy, however, survives, three years old; and this
interesting little hero got so used to the blazing away of the guns,
that during the voyage home, when the ship's guns were fired, and
all the other children were frightened, this little fellow clapped his
hands and hurrahed. The only wonder is that any one of this band
of heroes survived the attack, riddled as their castle was by the
continued fire of the enemy, and many of them were killed and
buried beneath the floor of the house they so long and so faithfully
defended. After the relief of Lucknow, Captain Anderson volun-
teered and joined General Grant's force, in pursuit of the Gwalior
rebels, after their retreat from Cawnpore, and served with General
Grant till sent home on sick certificate. After General Havelock
entered Lucknow, Captain Anderson was engaged in a sortie under
Colonel Haliburton, 78th, and in taking five guns was knocked over
and hit, but not severely. The Standard, March 6, 1858.

NOTICES BY THE PRESS.

Captain Anderson, of the 25th Bengal Native Infantry, was as-
sistant commissioner at Lucknow. When the outbreak took place,
his house was within the Residency enclosure, and was formed by
Sir H. Lawrence into an outpost, defended by a stockade, ditch,
and mound. Here this officer, with twenty men, successfully de-
fended this small fortification from the daily and nightly attacks of
the enemy, whose position was only forty yards to the left, and
ninety to the front, with nine guns, varying from an 8-inch howitzer
down to 24, 1 8, and 6-pounders, during the whole siege, from June
20 to the 22nd November. On one occasion, during a day attack,
the enemy penetrated the stockade of this gallant little force, but
were every one shot down before they could get out. Foremost among
them was their standard bearer. Captain Anderson lost his wife and
one child, entirely owing to the want of the necessaries of life; one
little boy, however, about three years old, survived. This in-
teresting little hero got so used to the firing of the guns, that
during the voyage home, when the ship's guns were fired, and all the
other children were frightened, he clapped his hands and hurrahed.
The Morning Star, March 6, 1858.

Captain Anderson's volume is a pleasant gossiping affair; and
the story of the siege is not complete without it. We have already
culled from iU graphic pages. Morning Star, March 8, 1858.

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