by G. A. Henty
Chapter 15: Assaye.
While the Deccan had been torn by civil war, the Government ofBombay had extended their territory. The Nabob of Surat, who hadbeen under their protection, had died; and they had taken thegovernment of the province into their own hands. A civil war havingbroken out, at Baroda, they had supported one of the rival princes;and had, after a good deal of fighting, placed their candidate onthe throne--various districts being assigned to them, in return fortheir assistance.
Holkar, on hearing of Bajee's arrival at Bassein, placed hisbrother Amrud on the musnud, and commenced a series of atrocities,in Poona, equal to that which it had suffered at the hands ofGhatgay; respectable inhabitants being robbed and ill treated, manytortured, and some killed, in order to wring from them thetreasures that they were supposed to have concealed.
During the months that followed his return to Calcutta, Harryremained attached to the staff of the Marquis of Wellesley--for tothis title Lord Mornington had succeeded, during his absence, onthe death of his father--and was sent on various missions; amongothers accompanying the Governor General's brother, the HonorableHenry Wellesley, to the court of Oude. He could now speakHindustani, as well as Mahratti; and was very useful in acting asan interpreter, and in aiding to carry on the negotiations.
In February, 1803, he was sent by the Governor General to join theforce that Major General Wellesley was preparing, in Mysore, to aidBajee Rao to recover his throne. The treaty that the latter hadconcluded with the Government, on his arrival at Bassein, was amost advantageous one to the English. In return for theirassistance, he agreed that a force of infantry, with guns andEuropean artillerymen, should be stationed within his territories;their maintenance being paid by handing over to the Company a largeamount of territory. The two parties were to support each other incase of war, and the Peishwa bound himself not to make aggressionsagainst other states, nor to negotiate with them without theGovernor's consent. The Peishwa agreed, also, to abandon theMahratta claims on Surat, and other districts that had beenoccupied by the English.
On arriving at General Wellesley's camp, Harry reported himself tothat officer for service.
"I am very glad to have you with me, Captain Lindsay. I havefrequently heard my brother speak of your services, and yourperfect knowledge of Mahratti, and your acquaintance with itspeople will be of great value to me.
"You know the Peishwa well. Do you think that he will be faithfulto the engagement that he has made with us?"
"Certainly not, sir. He has been intriguing, ever since he ascendedthe musnud. His duplicity is only equalled by his treachery and, assoon as he is restored, in Poona, he will again begin his intrigueswith Scindia and the other Mahratta chiefs."
"That is the opinion that I have formed of him, from what I haveheard," the general said. "However, the terms of the treaty willrender him practically our servant; for we shall maintain a body oftroops near Poona, which will effectually prevent any scheme of hisfrom succeeding.
"What course Holkar will take, we cannot say; but the otherMahratta chiefs have all entered into a confederacy against us, andwe shall have the forces of Scindia, of the Rajah of Bhopal, theRajah of Berar, and the Rajah of Kolapoore to deal with."
The partition of Mysore had, indeed, done much to unite theMahrattas together. The ever-increasing power of the British was aserious source of alarm for, in addition to Mysore, Lord Wellesleyhad, without a shadow of justification, obtained the control ofOude.
"I am sorry, sir, that the Rajah of Berar has declared against us.I was nearly three months with him; and should, after the news ofthe capture of Seringapatam, have fallen a victim to the fury ofthe Mohammedans in the city, had he not taken me under hisprotection. But at the same time, I have no doubt in my mind thathe was ready to join whichever side was victorious."
"You have, then, no good opinion of the Mahrattas, CaptainLindsay?"
"I have met but one honest man among them. Nana Furnuwees was notonly an extraordinary man, but devoted his talents wholly to thegood of the state. His word could always be relied upon. His lifewas simple, and his habits frugal. I honoured and esteemed him,greatly."
"Yes, it was owing to you, as my brother told me, that he wasreleased from prison. I was greatly struck with the story, when Iheard it; because it showed how much can be accomplished, even bythe youngest officer who is active, and enterprising, and ready toact on his own initiative. I saw a copy of Mr. Uhtoff's report ofthe affair.
"Well, you will be attached to my staff, with no particular duties,at present; but doubtless we shall find plenty for you to do, whenwe once cross the frontier into the Mahratta country."
Harry found that, in addition to the eight thousand infantry andseventeen hundred cavalry, under the command of General Wellesley,the Nizam's force of eight thousand regular troops and fifteenthousand irregulars were advancing towards the frontier, the wholecommanded by Colonel Stephenson. On the 25th of March these forcesadvanced, and were joined by numerous small Mahratta chiefs in thePeishwa's interest. General Wellesley's army advanced straight onPoona, which was evacuated at once by Holkar's force and, as it wasstated that he intended to burn the town, before he retired, thegeneral hastened forward with his cavalry and, on the 20th ofApril, took possession of the place. Colonel Stephenson, whosecooperation was no longer required, moved north towards theGodavery, to protect the country against the irruptions of Holkar.
Four weeks later Bajee Rao arrived from the coast, and resumed hisseat on the musnud amid great rejoicings by the inhabitants; whohad suffered terribly, both at the hands of Ghatgay and Holkar.
Scindia, having recovered from the effects of his defeat by Holkar,had returned, crossed the Nerbudda, and encamped on the Nizam'sfrontier. He was busy preparing for war, in conjunction with theRajah of Berar; and had even made overtures, to Holkar, to join inopposing the English. Bajee Rao himself, as was afterwardsdiscovered, was also in friendly communication with Scindia.
The Resident at Scindia's court was ordered to leave it, unlessthat prince retired from his position on the Nizam's frontier.Scindia, when summoned, sent a defiant reply and, as it was nowevident that war was impending, General Wellesley was invested withfull powers; and Lord Lake, who commanded the army of Hindustan,was ordered to advance to attack the formidable force of Frenchinfantry, under Perron, and take possession of Delhi, Agra, andother places held by the Mahrattas. Another attempt was made topersuade Scindia to retire; but evasive answers were returned, andit was not until the 3rd of August that the Resident quittedScindia, and Wellesley prepared to attack Ahmednuggur.
The possession of this place was of great importance, because itwas situated close to the Nizam's frontier, and afforded greatfacilities for future operations. The town was surrounded by awall, flanked by towers; and was defended by a number of Arabs, anda battalion of Scindia's regular infantry. These offered a vigorousresistance for, after a breach had been made in the walls, and thetroops had entered, they retired; fighting from house to house, andkeeping up a heavy fire. However, by nightfall they were driveninside their fort.
A battery of four guns was erected, within four hundred yards ofit; and these opened with such effect that the governorsurrendered, on being allowed to depart with the garrison and theirprivate property.
On the 24th, General Wellesley crossed the Godavery; ColonelStephenson moving in the direction of Aurungabad. Scindia and theRajah of Berar were now within forty miles of him; but theysuddenly turned off, as if intending to make a dash for Hyderabad,where the Nizam had expired, three weeks before.
Wellesley followed close after them, and they then turned and tookup a position to the north of Julnapoor, a town lying east ofAurungabad. On the 2nd of September, Julnapoor was captured byColonel Stephenson; who afterwards made a night attack uponScindia's camp, inflicting considerable loss.
On the 21st the whole Mahratta army, with sixteen battalions ofregular infantry, were encamped twenty-two miles north of Julnapoorand, the next day, the army marched against them by two rou
tes;Colonel Stephenson taking the western road, and General Wellesleythe eastern.
The next afternoon, when about to halt, General Wellesley learnedthat the Mahrattas were encamped about six miles from him, on thebanks of the Kaitna. He determined to attack them at once, withoutwaiting for Colonel Stephenson; for in another day they would, inall probability, send off their infantry, and begin to carry on adesultory warfare with their horse.
Plan of the Battle of Assaye.]
The general rode on, with his staff and an escort of cavalry, andobtained a view of the Mahratta host from rising ground. They werein the fork formed by the junction of the Kaitna with the Juah.Their right consisted wholly of cavalry, and was protected by thehigh and rocky bank of the stream; which was, at one or two points,impassable for guns. Their left, consisting of the infantry andartillery, was posted in the village of Assaye, which lay near thefork of the river.
The general determined, at once, to attack at this point. The forceunder his command consisted of four battalions of Sepoys, and the74th and 78th Regiments; with the 19th Dragoons, and threeregiments of native cavalry--in all, four thousand five hundredmen. Opposed to them were ten thousand five hundred disciplinedtroops, taught and commanded by European officers; Scindia'sirregulars, and the infantry of the Rajah of Berar; with awell-appointed train of artillery, of over a hundred guns, and someforty thousand cavalry.
From the position in which the British force arrived they had tomarch, for some distance, parallel with the river; and exposed to aterrible artillery fire, which created such havoc, especially amongthe bullocks drawing the guns, that the cavalry could not moveforward. The infantry therefore proceeded alone, crossed the Kaitnaby a ford; and then, swinging round, advanced against the village.While they were crossing the river, the Mahratta cavalry werebrought up from their former position, and took post behind Assaye.
The steadiness with which the little force advanced to the attack,against so immense an army, had already had the effect of shakingthe Mahrattas. It seemed to them that their opponents must beconscious that they were invincible. Pouring in a volley, the firstBritish line charged with the bayonet. The Mahratta infantry atonce wavered, and then gave way; and fell back on their secondline, posted near the Juah.
As the 74th Regiment passed through the village, a body of Mahrattahorse charged them; but they were met by the British cavalry, whodrove them, with great slaughter, into the river. The secondMahratta line gave way, with scarcely any resistance; and theBritish cavalry, pressing hotly after them, cut them up terribly.The infantry followed, as quickly as possible.
But suddenly there was a roar of guns, behind them; and the flyingMahrattas at once rallied, and faced their pursuers. As theyadvanced, the force had captured the Mahrattas' guns; but numbersof the artillerymen had thrown themselves down, lying as if dead.As soon as they saw that the British line was still pressingforward in pursuit, the artillerymen leapt to their feet and,turning the guns, opened fire.
The general at once put himself at the head of the 71st Regimentand the native cavalry and, after a desperate conflict, in whichthe general had his horse shot under him, succeeded in recapturingthe guns. In the meantime, Colonel Maxwell with the cavalry had,again and again, charged the fugitives who had rallied; andsucceeded in completely breaking them up, but was himself killed.
The battle had lasted three hours. One thousand five hundred andsixty-six of the British force were killed, or wounded, beingrather more than a third of the troops engaged. The enemy lefttwelve hundred dead on the field of battle, and the country throughwhich they retreated was covered with their wounded. The camp, witha number of bullocks, and a large quantity of military stores andninety-eight cannon, fell into the hands of the victors.
Scindia, in great alarm, sent an ambassador to the British campand, after various conferences, a truce was agreed upon between himand the general; the conditions being that Scindia should notapproach within forty miles of his frontier, and that the Britishshould not enter his dominions.
On the day after the battle of Assaye, the general sent for Harry.
"Captain Lindsay, I have a mission which you can carry out betterthan any of my other officers. I wish you to make your way acrossthe country, to inform General Lake of the victory we have won; andto point out that, at present, Scindia is paralysed, and will beunable to send troops to aid his force in the northwest for, shouldhe do so, I shall at once enter his territory.
"Do not run the risk of returning, but tell Lord Lake that myorders are that you shall remain with him. I do not think that weshall have much fighting here though, no doubt, later on, Holkarand the Rajah of Berar will reform their armies and try conclusionswith us again; while, on the other side, there is likely to beheavy fighting. You must, of course, travel in disguise, but youare already accustomed to that."
"I will willingly undertake the mission, sir."
"Would you like to take anyone with you?"
"I should be glad if you will give me four troopers, from one ofyour native cavalry regiments. I shall, of course, ride as a pettychief, but I might be interrupted in small villages, were I alonewith only my servant; whereas, if I had four followers, it wouldappear natural to them, as even the pettiest leader is alwaysaccompanied by a party, however small, of horsemen."
"Certainly. I will give orders to the colonel of the 1st Cavalry tochoose four well-mounted men, who can speak Mahratti. There aremany such in his regiment."
There was no difficulty about disguises, for a large quantity ofnative clothing had been found in the camp. Harry chose a dresssuitable for a native in command of some fifty or sixty men; andthe four troopers attired themselves in the garments of nativesoldiers, which indeed differed in no way from those worn by thepeasantry. Harry had packed his uniform in his native saddlebag;and also his cocked hat, after taking out the stiffening so that itwould lie flat; and had exchanged his own saddle for that of one ofHolkar's horsemen. He advised the men to do the same so that, whenthey joined Lord Lake, they would be able at once to appear inuniform. There was an abundance of native swords and spears lyingwhere the Mahratta force had been defeated.
Abdool had at once been sent into the village, and had theresucceeded in buying some brown dye, used in colouring the clothes;and with this Harry stained his face and hands and, two hours afterreceiving the order, rode out from camp, followed by Abdool and thefour troopers.
He considered that there was but little danger in the journey as,for the greater portion of the distance, he would ride through thedominions of the young Nizam. He would, however, have to passthrough the territory of the Rajah of Berar; beyond this, he wouldenter the country in which the British were already supreme. Whilein the Nizam's dominions, he experienced no difficulties; the newsof the victory of Assaye had already spread, and the inhabitantswere relieved of the fears they had been entertaining of a greatraid, by Holkar. The passage, therefore, of a petty chief with fourfollowers was regarded with indifference; and indeed, he wasgenerally supposed to be one of the Nizam's irregular cavalry, onhis way with some message to Hyderabad.
Still less attention was paid to him in the villages of Berar. Manybodies of the rajah's troops had already passed through, on theirway to Nagpore, and they were naturally taken to be some of thefugitives.
They travelled as rapidly as possible. The horses were all inuredto long journeys, and they had made from fifty to sixty miles aday. They halted at a village, twenty miles east of Nagpore.Nothing unusual had happened, and Harry had just lain down tosleep, when there was a sound as of people gathering in front ofhis hut.
He was about to rise, to see what was going on; when the door wasopened, and a number of armed villagers at once poured into theroom, and he was seized before he had time to leap to his feet. Hemade no attempt at resistance but, believing that some mistake hadbeen committed, he angrily demanded the reason of this assault.
He was dragged out into the street. As this happened he heardpistol shots and, a moment later, the four troopers rode up.<
br />
One of them had remained at the door of the hut, while the othershad lain down. Seeing a number of people moving about, he hadroused his companions. They had got out of the window at the backof the hut. Here their horses had been picketed and, mounting atonce, they rode out, just as a body of men made a rush at the doorof their hut. By the use of their pistols and swords they hadbroken through these and, seeing the crowd in front of the hut thatHarry had occupied, they charged without hesitation.
The villagers, unprepared for such an attack, fell back; losingtheir hold of Harry, and Abdool, whom they had also captured. Thelatter darted away and, in a few seconds, returned leading the twohorses.
"Shall we set the houses alight, before we start, sahib?" one ofthe troopers asked.
"No; they may rally in a minute or two, and the sooner we are outof it, the better."
He turned and started at once and, as he did so, a dropping firefrom matchlocks and guns was opened upon them. The villagers' armswere, however, wholly untrustworthy, and the powder bad. One of thetroopers was hit in the arm but, with that exception, they rode outunharmed.
"What does it all mean, Abdool?" Harry asked as, after riding fastfor a quarter of a mile, they broke into a slower pace. "Of course,they must in some way have recognized me, for I heard some of themsaying, 'Death to the English infidel!'"
"It was through me that they recognized you, sahib," Abdool said."They seized me before they entered your hut, and tied a bandageround my mouth, to prevent my giving any alarm. As they took me outinto the road, one of them said:
"'Son of Sheitan, I knew you directly I saw you. You were with thatEnglish officer, in Nagpore. Then, when I looked at the head ofyour party I saw that, though he had changed his dress, and stainedhis face to the colour of ours, it was the same man who came as anenvoy to our rajah, and whose house we attacked.
"'We shall hear what the rajah says to him when we take him toNagpore.'"
"I understand now, Abdool. I have thought of my own disguise, andthat of the troopers; but as you always, except when riding behindme, dress in your native clothes, it seemed to me a matter ofcourse that you would pass without difficulty; and it neveroccurred to me that you must, during our three months' stay atNagpore, have become known by sight to most of the people there. Itis a bad blunder, and it will be a lesson to me, in future."
Then he turned, and spoke to the troopers.
"You have done well, indeed, tonight," he said, "and I owe it toyou that I have escaped, if not death, an imprisonment of months.If I had been taken to Nagpore, and handed over to the rajah, hewould doubtless have imprisoned me; but would not have ventured totake my life, for he would have known that the part that he hadtaken against us would be more readily forgiven, than the murder ofa British officer. But I do not think I should have reached thepalace. Furious as the people must be at their crushing defeat atAssaye, they would have torn me to pieces, the moment they heardfrom my captors that I was an Englishman; therefore I feel that youhave saved my life.
"How was it that you were not also surprised?"
When he heard how the alarm had been given, and how they had atonce mounted and ridden out, just as a party were about to enterthe hut, he said:
"It was well done, and shows that you are quick fellows, as well asbrave. I shall report your conduct when we join the army, and shallmyself give you a batta of six months' pay.
"Now, we will ride on for a few miles, and then leave the road andtake shelter, till morning, in a wood. The horses have had fivehours' rest at the village, and there will be time for them to haveas much more, before we mount again.
"It is lucky that you bought some grain for them, this evening,instead of waiting till the morning, so they can have a good feedbefore starting."
Henceforth they avoided the villages as much as possible, andpassed unquestioned until they reached the Hustoo river which, atthis point, formed the eastern boundary of Berar. They swam thehorses across and, after stopping for a few hours at Dundava, rodeon; and continued their journey due north, and crossed the Soneriver at Maunpoor, having accomplished a journey of nearly athousand miles in twenty days.
On arriving there Harry found that General Lake had left, six weeksbefore, and had encamped at Secundara where, on the 26th of August,despatches had been received from the Governor General, authorizingactive operations against Scindia and his allies; and two dayslater the force halted on the Mahratta frontier, within sight ofthe mosque at Coel, where Perron was encamped.
Perron, a French officer in Scindia's service, commanded no lessthan forty-three thousand men, and four hundred and sixty-fourguns. About half of these were with Scindia in the Deccan, and theforce encamped at Coel numbered about twenty thousand.
Perron, an active and ambitious man, had assumed an almostindependent position. A large grant of territory had been given himby Scindia, and in this he ruled with absolute authority and, hadit not been for the interposition of the British, it is probablethat he would, ere long, have assumed the position of anindependent prince. Indeed, his army of partially disciplined menwas more than a match for the whole force of Scindia.
At a short distance from Coel was the fortress of Alighur, whichwas considered to be almost impregnable. It was defended by atriple line of walls and fortifications, so that an enemy enteringit would have to advance by a devious route from one gate toanother, exposed all the time to a terrible artillery fire. It wasalmost surrounded by a swamp, and the only approach was along anarrow strip of firm ground, leading to the gate.
Early on the morning of the 29th, the British troops advanced toattack Perron's force; but it at once drew off, although theinfantry were supported by twenty thousand horse. Believing thatAlighur was impregnable, Perron left a strong force there under oneof his officers, named Pedron, and marched with his army towardsAgra.
On the 4th of September a storming party, commanded by ColonelMonson, left the British camp; and was accompanied by twobatteries, each consisting of four eighteen-pounders. A portion ofthe defenders was posted on the strip of dry ground, outside thegate, where a battery with three guns had been mounted. Beforedaybreak, Colonel Monson moved forward, with two companies of the76th Regiment. The enemy took the alarm before he reached theirbattery, and fled towards the gate, without waiting to dischargetheir guns.
Monson pressed after them, in the hope of being able to enterbefore the gate was shut; but he was too late. The entrance wasraked by the guns on the walls, which opened with a destructivefire of grape. Ladders were applied to the walls, but these weremanned by so strong a body of pikemen that it was found impossibleto gain a footing. So bold were the defenders that, as the soldiersfell back, they ran down the ladders and pursued them hotly; butwere soon beaten off.
A six pounder was brought up to burst open the gate, but its firedid but little damage; and a twelve pounder was then employed. Thegates yielded, and the storming party rushed in. But during thetwenty minutes that had elapsed, between the guns opening fire andthe time at which the gate yielded, the troops had been exposed toa terrible fire, both of grape and musketry. Colonel Monson waswounded, and the loss was heavy.
The second gate was forced with comparatively little difficulty,although a terrible fire of artillery and musketry was kept up,from the walls on either side of the road, and from the bastioncommanding it. The assailants pressed so hotly, upon the defendersof the second gate, that they gained the third before the enemy hadtime to close it.
But another and stronger gate had still to be passed, and here adesperate stand was made. The troops were obliged to take shelter,close to the wall, until the twelve pounder was brought up. It wasof little avail, for the artillerymen were shot down as soon asthey endeavoured to work it. At length, two or three officersgathered a party, and made a rush at the wicket gate. Half a dozenmuskets were discharged, together, at the lock; and the gate atonce gave way.
The whole party rushed forward into the interior of the fortress,gained the ramparts, and opened fire on the enemy, who i
n vainattempted to drive out the force gathered near the gate; andPedron, finding further resistance impossible, surrendered.
The loss of the victors, in killed and wounded, amounted to twohundred and twenty-three; while that of the garrison, in killedalone, exceeded two thousand. An enormous quantity of militarystores was found here, the French having made it their chief depot.The number of guns captured was two hundred and eighty-one.
On the 7th of September, the army marched for Delhi. On the way,General Lake received a letter from Monsieur Perron, saying that hehad quitted the service of Scindia, and requesting a free passageto Lucknow. The easy capture of a fortress that he and hisengineers had rendered, as they believed, impregnable, and the lossof all his military stores, sufficed to show him that he could nothope to withstand the progress of the British; and that it wasbetter for him to resign, at once, than to continue a hopelessstruggle, especially as the loss of Alighur would excite the furyof Scindia, and possibly lead to his arrest and execution. He had,indeed, received information that he had already lost Scindia'sconfidence; and that intrigues were being carried on, with some ofhis officers, to deprive him of his jagheer and command.
His request was therefore granted and, escorted by a party of hisown bodyguard, and by some British dragoons, he proceeded toLucknow and, afterwards, settled in the neighbourhood ofChandernagore.
The capture of Alighur had indeed made a tremendous impression uponthe native mind and, as the army advanced, several fortresses thatmight have made a long defence were abandoned.
On the 11th, General Lake's army encamped within six miles ofDelhi; but the tents were but just pitched when intelligence wasreceived that a large force of the enemy was in position, two milesdistant. It consisted of sixteen battalions of regular infantry,six thousand cavalry, and a large train of artillery; commanded byMonsieur Bourquieu, Perron's second in command.
General Lake at once, with the whole of his cavalry, reconnoitredthe position that the enemy had taken up. It was two miles from thecamp, and consisted of a low hill, covered by broken ground on eachflank. Seeing that the enemy could only be attacked in front,General Lake ordered the infantry and artillery to come up.
While waiting for their arrival, the cavalry suffered some lossfrom the enemy's artillery fire. The general, seeing that it wasdoubtful whether an attack on so strong a position would besuccessful, determined to attempt to draw the enemy from it. Thecavalry advanced a short distance and then, as the fire upon themredoubled, they were ordered to fall back. Their line had hiddenthe approach of the infantry from the enemy; and the latter,believing that the cavalry were retreating, left their entrenchmentsand started in pursuit, with shouts of victory. The cavalry openedright and left, and the enemy found themselves face to face with asteady line of infantry; who at once advanced, the general himselfleading them, at the head of the 76th Regiment.
A tremendous fire was opened upon them by the Mahratta guns but,when within a hundred paces of the enemy, the whole line fired avolley, and then charged with the bayonet. The enemy did not standfor a moment but, seized by a panic, fled in all directions,pursued by the cavalry and the horse artillery battery. Thesefollowed them as far as the banks of the Jumna, and great numbersof the enemy lost their lives in endeavouring to cross the river.
The British loss, in killed and wounded, was nearly six hundredmen; while that of the enemy was estimated at two thousand.Sixty-eight pieces of cannon, two waggons laden with treasure, andthirty-seven with ammunition fell into the hands of the victorswho, on the 14th, crossed the Jumna, and took possession of thecity without opposition; being welcomed enthusiastically by thepopulation, who had long groaned under the terrible oppression oftheir Mahratta masters.
Two days later, General Lake paid a visit to the unfortunateemperor, who was now eighty-three years old. He had been blinded byhis brutal conquerors, and lived in a state of misery, and poverty,greater than that of any of the tillers of the fields of the wideempire over which he had once ruled. He lived for another threeyears, and was succeeded by his son, Mirza Akbar.
Leaving a force at Delhi, General Lake marched southward, as thestrong town of Agra was still in the possession of Scindia'stroops. He arrived before the city on the 4th of October and, inthree days, had cut off their communication with the surroundingcountry; his cavalry being assisted by five thousand horse, sent bythe Rajah of Bhurtpoor, who had, as soon as he heard of the fall ofAlighur, hastened to enter into an alliance with the British.
The garrison was strong, and seven battalions of Scindia's regularinfantry were encamped on the glacis, and held possession of thetown. The garrison, however, refused to admit them into the fort;as they had determined to share, among themselves, the large amountof treasure deposited there.
Inside the fort great confusion prevailed. The troops had beencommanded by English officers, in Scindia's service, and these hadbeen imprisoned as soon as the war broke out. No answer was,therefore, made to the summons to surrender.
On the morning of the 10th, Scindia's infantry were attacked. Theyfought stoutly, but were finally defeated, and their twenty-sixbrass guns captured. Two days later, two thousand five hundred ofthem, who had retired when defeated, and taken shelter under theguns of the fort, came over in a body and took service with theBritish.
Siege operations were at once commenced and, on the 17th, a batteryof eight eighteen-pounders opened fire, with such effect that abreach was almost effected; when the garrison released the Britishofficers, and sent them to the camp to offer to surrender. Theywere allowed to do so, and to leave the fort with their clothes,but without arms. Six thousand then marched out under theseconditions.
One hundred and sixty-four pieces of cannon, with a vast quantityof ammunition and stores, were found in the fort; together withtwenty-two lakhs of rupees, which were divided among the captors.
On the 20th, Harry, with his little party, joined the army. He andhis troopers had, at Benares, resumed their uniform. He at oncewaited on General Lake, and handed him the despatch in whichGeneral Wellesley had described the victory at Assaye.
"This is great news, indeed, sir," the general said, "but I cannotunderstand how you have brought it here so speedily."
"I rode in disguise through Berar, sir, and of course the trooperswere also disguised. Except that I was attacked in one village--whereI was recognized by a peasant who had seen me, when I was staying asthe Governor General's envoy at Nagpore, before the capture ofSeringapatam--I got through without difficulty."
"Yes; I heard from the Marquis of Wellesley that the rajah had beenkept from declaring against us, by a young officer of greatability, whom he had sent to Nagpore for the purpose, and whonarrowly escaped assassination there when the news of the fall ofSeringapatam was received. I think he said that you had a perfectknowledge of Mahratti, and also of Hindustani; and that he had sentyou to accompany his brother, General Wellesley.
"Well, the news of Assaye is welcome, indeed, and Scindia will bevery chary of weakening his army in the Deccan by sendingreinforcements in this direction.
"I see, sir, that General Wellesley has begged me to temporarilyplace you on my staff as, in the present troubled state of thecountry, it would be dangerous to endeavour to make your way backto him. Of course, I will gladly do so, for your knowledge of thelanguages will be very useful to me, for none of my staff can speakeither of them well."
General Lake sent for the head of his staff, introduced Harry tohim, and informed him of the news that he had brought; and thenordered a general salute to be fired, by all the available guns inthe fort and artillery batteries. It was not long before the roarof cannon began, telling the army that a splendid victory had beenwon in the west; and a short time later notices were affixed to thegates of the forts, and other public places, relating how GeneralWellesley, with but four thousand five hundred men, had routed thearmy of Holkar and the Rajah of Berar--amounting in all to overfifty thousand, of whom ten thousand five hundred were disciplinedtroops, commanded by Frenchmen. The ne
ws excited the utmostenthusiasm among the troops, as the disproportion of numbers wasfar greater than it had been at the battle of Delhi.