The Heroic Garrison by V. A. Stuart

Author:V. A. Stuart
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781590133293
Publisher: McBooks Press
Published: 2003-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

The rear-guard and Colonel Napier’s reinforcements marched into the Residency as dawn was breaking on the morning of September 27, and both General Outram and General Havelock were waiting to receive them. Napier reported, with some satisfaction, that in addition to the Terhee Kothee and the Furhut Baksh, the greater part of the Chutter Munzil Palace had now been occupied.

“Colonel Purnell, with a company of the 90th, and Captain McCabe with a strong party from the old garrison, discovered a large force of the enemy in occupation of part of the Chutter Munzil enclosure, Sir James,” he said. “They were there, I suspect, with the intention of catching us in an ambush, but Purnell and McCabe, assisted by Lieutenant Aitken and his Bailey Guard sepoys, annihilated them. Eyre’s guns are safe—they can be brought in through the palaces whenever you wish . . .” he gave details of how the guns had been gotten out, praising Olpherts’ courage and ingenuity, and then added, with a tired smile, “And a party, under Lieutenant Moorsom, succeeded in breaking through to the square where our wounded were massacred yesterday.They rescued Surgeon Home of the 90th and ten survivors, of whom four are unwounded. One of the wounded officers— poor young Swanson of the 78th—died as we were bringing him in, and I regret to have to tell you that Colonel Sheridan, of the Volunteer Cavalry, who went out to seek aid for the party, is missing and must be presumed dead.”

“Sheridan was a most gallant officer,” Outram said. “And you say Crump has also been killed . . . dear God, we can ill sustain the loss of such men! What of Andrew Becher, Bob? Did you bring him in?”

Napier inclined his head. “He’s badly wounded, sir. I had him taken to the hospital, and young Arnold of the Blue Caps with him. But I’m afraid . . .” he did not complete his sentence and instead asked anxiously, “Are we to go or stay, Sir James?”

Sir James Outram exchanged a wry glance with General Havelock. “That question is still under discussion . . . and may well be decided for us by expediency. Up to the present, both General Havelock and I incline to the feeling that—provided we can secure the essential carriage for the wounded and the women and children—the old garrison should be evacuated to Cawnpore as soon as possible. Our relief force would then continue to defend the Residency.”

“And Colonel Inglis doubts that the carriage can be secured,” Havelock put in wearily. “He also doubts whether we can feed our combined forces—least of all the cavalry horses—until the commander-in-chief gets here. So it would seem to be a choice between two evils, Colonel Napier. The gun-cattle we have brought with us will suffice to provide fresh meat for a limited period, of course, and if Barrow and Hardinge can break through with their cavalry to the Alam Bagh, all may be well. In the meantime, Sir James intends to extend our defensive perimeter .

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.