two hours after crossing the river, percy with his two companions saw on the plain the camp of the sikhs. as they did not wish to enter until evening, they turned off from the road and rode into a clump of thick bush a quarter of a mile away, and there waited until sunset. then they mounted again and rode boldly into camp. with the exception of the tents of a few of the military chiefs and sirdars, the troops were not under canvas, although many had erected shelters of bushes or blankets. here and there some attempt at regularity marked the places where regiments of the regular troops had established themselves. here the horses were picketed in line, but among the followers of the sirdars every man had fastened up his horse just where it pleased him, without the smallest attempt at order.
the new-comers chose a vacant spot at the edge of the encampment, picketing their three horses together, and raised in front of them a rough tent consisting of a couple of blankets supported by some sticks they had cut in the bush. here they lighted a fire and cooked a meal. one or two of the sikhs strolled across to question them, and bhop lal and his comrades repeated the story that had been told at the ford, which was accepted as perfectly satisfactory. they in turn asked a few questions as to the various sirdars present, and as to which body they had better attach themselves. when they had finished their meal they sauntered off into the camp.
there was but one topic of conversation among the troops. they were to cross the sutlej, if not on the next day, on the one following. a portion of the army was to besiege ferozepore, while the rest marched forward to sweep away the british forces at loodiana and umballa. it was evident from their conversation that they greatly under-estimated the british strength at each of these cantonments, and that the gradual arrival of reinforcements had passed entirely unnoticed by the sikhs on the northern side of the sutlej. they anticipated no difficulty whatever in destroying the british forces at the first onset. their statement as to the number of troops who would take the field at once, agreed with those of the soldiers at the ford, and they deemed that this fifty thousand men would amply suffice to conquer the whole country north of the jumna, and that with their full fighting power they should be able to overrun the whole of india.
"we have heard all that we want," percy said to the men after they had strolled for an hour in the sikh camp. "we had best move quietly off at once before the camp begins to get quiet. our fire will have burnt out by this time, and even if they should notice us moving, the men near will suppose that we are merely shifting our quarters, and are moving over to the sirdar we have decided to follow."
they had some difficulty in finding their tent again in the darkness, and as soon as they did so the blankets were taken down, rolled up, and strapped behind the saddles. the picket pegs were pulled up, and leading their horses they moved off, skirting for a time the line of the camp, but gradually increasing their distance until two hundred yards away from it, when they thought it quite safe to mount and ride off in the darkness. they had some trouble in striking the road again; when they did so they halted for a consultation. it was decided to turn off and encamp again for three or four hours in order to rest the horses, and then to make for the river bank and wait there until the first light of morning showed them a point where they could swim their horses across, for the presence of the guard at the ford rendered it impossible for them to use that passage again. this plan was carried out, and they arrived at the bank, some three or four miles below the ford, just as daylight began to appear. the bed of the river was wide, and the stream, broken by sand-banks, flowed in several channels.
"there will be no great difficulty in crossing anywhere here," percy said; "the channels are nowhere very wide, and even if we are swept down the stream it will not matter, as we can rest after each swim. we had better start at once. should there be any sikhs about they will hardly make us out till it gets lighter, and we may hope to be pretty well beyond musket-shot before they can come down to the water's edge. they will not be likely to try to follow us across, and if they do so, with the start of a quarter of an hour we ought to be able to throw them off our track."
they were not disturbed while making the passage. this was, however, more difficult than percy had anticipated, for the current in two of the channels was very strong and swept them down some distance before they could obtain a footing on the sand-bank. apparently no watch whatever was kept by the sikhs excepting at the fords, and nothing was seen of the enemy. on reaching the opposite bank they gave the horses a short rest to recover their breath, and then rode on to basseean.
"what! are you back already?" major broadfoot said when percy was shown into his tent. "i did not expect you back until to-morrow at the earliest. have you really been in the sikh camp?"
"yes, sir; we were there about three hours, which was quite sufficient to learn everything that we required;" and he then gave the officer the news that they had gathered.
"this is most important," major broadfoot said. "sir henry returned half an hour ago from loodiana. i will take you with me to his tent. he may want to ask you further questions."
the commander-in-chief after hearing percy's report asked him several questions in order to find out whether the statements had been made by one native only; but percy replied that they had spoken to a score of soldiers, and that all were in perfect agreement as to the force that would cross the river, and the division that would be made of the forces and their object in so doing.
"i thank you, sir," sir henry said when he had finished. "your information is most important, and you have carried out your mission with great ability and intelligence. major broadfoot will take notice and bring it to my attention later on."
the commander-in-chief thanks percy for his report
the commander-in-chief thanks percy for his report
half an hour later despatches were sent off to the commander-in-chief at umballa, ordering him to move forward at once with his whole force; and to loodiana, ordering general wheeler to carry out the measures that had been agreed on between him and the governor-general on the preceding day, namely, to abandon the cantonments, to place all stores in the fort, to move there all the sick and others unfit to take the field, with a force sufficient to hold the place for a time against any attack that might be made upon it, and to march with his main body to basseean so as to protect the vast amount of stores accumulated there, from any sudden dash by the enemy. in the evening a messenger came in from ferozepore, saying that a large body of sikhs had during the day crossed the river.
the next morning, the 13th of december, the governor-general issued a proclamation to the chiefs and people of the protected states, pointing out that since 1809 the british government had scrupulously fulfilled the terms made with runjeet singh, and that notwithstanding the disorganized state of the lahore government during the last two years, and several most unfriendly proceedings on the part of the durbar, the governor-general had continued to evince his desire to maintain the relations of amity and concord which had so long existed between the two states.
the attitude of the sikhs, however, had continued to be more and more unfriendly, and the army had now, without a shadow of provocation, invaded british territory. the governor-general therefore declared the possessions of maharajah dhuleep singh, on the left or british bank of the sutlej, confiscated and annexed to the british territory. the ranks of all sirdars, zemindars, and tenants in the said possessions who should evince their fidelity to the british government should be respected. the governor-general called upon all chiefs and sirdars to co-operate cordially with the british government. those who did so would find their interest promoted thereby, while those who took the opposite course would be considered as enemies and treated accordingly. the inhabitants of all the territories on the left bank of the sutlej were requested to abide peacefully in their respective villages, and all parties of men found in arms would be treated as disturbers of the public peace.
fortunately the sikhs after crossing on the 12th, instead of marching at once upon basseean, halted until their heavy guns were taken across on the 16th. on the afternoon of the 14th general wheeler, who had marched at daybreak, arrived in front of basseean; and on the 16th general gough, the commander-in-chief, arrived there, with the force from umballa. had the sikhs pushed forward at once after crossing, basseean with its great stores of provisions must have fallen into their hands, and a week or ten days must have elapsed before arrangements for provisioning the umballa force could have been made. in that case the whole sikh army would have been able to concentrate its efforts upon the capture of ferozepore, which, in the absence of any fortifications capable of withstanding powerful artillery, could scarcely have been defended successfully.
percy had been kept actively employed during the three days that intervened between his return to basseean and the arrival of the column from umballa, in the work of carrying copies of the general's proclamation over the country, and delivering them to the head men of the villages. he acted as interpreter to the officers who, attended by small escorts of cavalry, performed this work, and was on horseback from daylight to dark each day. after the arrival of general wheeler's division he spent his evenings with his acquaintances there. the troops were all in high spirits because the long uncertainty was at an end, and that at last they were to meet the men who had so insolently been threatening an invasion. the fact that the odds would be enormously against them was considered a matter of no importance whatever, for the british troops had so long been accustomed to victory in india that the idea of a reverse was not entertained for a moment among the soldiers, although among the officers, who were aware of the bravery and fighting power of the sikhs, the prospect was regarded with a good deal of anxiety.
all the accounts received bore out the correctness of the information that percy had obtained. twenty-five thousand sikhs, all regular soldiers, had taken possession of the wells round the village of ferozeshah, half-way between basseean and ferozepore, and entirely cut the communication between the two places; for owing to scarcity of water no other road could be used for the advance of an army except that passing through ferozeshah. the sikhs were well aware of this fact, and on their arrival they had at once begun to throw up strong intrenchments. another sikh army of twenty-three thousand, and sixty-seven guns, under tej singh, remained watching the british force at ferozepore.
the british force at basseean consisted of three thousand eight hundred and fifty europeans and eight thousand natives, with forty-two guns, and on the morning of the 18th of december marched for ferozepore. they reached their camping ground round the village of moodkee at one o'clock in the day, and as soon as arms were piled began to cook their dinner. a few sikh horsemen had retired from the village on their approach, and some scouts were sent out to ascertain if there was any considerable body of the enemy near at hand; these returned in a short time, saying that a large force had taken up a position three miles away. there were, indeed, twelve thousand of them, principally cavalry, with twenty guns. from friends at basseean they had learnt that an advance was to be made by the british, and thinking that it would be but an advance-guard, lal singh had with this body of troops left the camp at ferozeshah early in the morning and had taken up his position before the arrival of the british army at moodkee. as soon as the news was received the troops got under arms and moved forward, the artillery and cavalry leading the way and the infantry following in support. when they had gone two miles the enemy was seen ahead of them.
the country was a dead flat, covered at short intervals with a low thick jungle and dotted with sandy hillocks. it was difficult to judge of the strength of the sikh force, but in order to oblige them to display it, the cavalry, with five troops of horse-artillery, moved forward, and as the infantry formed into line opened fire. this was answered by a very heavy cannonade on the part of the enemy; but in a very short time the rapid fire of the horse-artillery, aided by two field batteries, so discomfited the enemy's gunners that their fire gradually subsided.
in order to allow the infantry to advance without the artillery in front of them being pushed forward too closely to the jungle, sir hugh gough ordered a portion of the cavalry to make a movement on the enemy's flanks. the 3d light dragoons, the governor-general's body-guard, the 5th light cavalry, and a portion of the 4th lancers dashed round the left of the sikh army, and sweeping along the whole of its rear, forced the artillerymen to leave their guns, and put their cavalry to flight. at the same time the remainder of the 4th lancers and the 9th irregular cavalry, with the light field battery, performed a brilliant charge round the enemy's right. successful as these operations were, they would have been much more so had not the enemy been so hidden in the jungle that their position could scarcely be made out.
the british guns again opened fire and the infantry advanced. evening was now falling, and the increasing darkness added to the difficulty of the attack through the thick jungle.
the sikhs fought stoutly, and several times clung to their positions until driven from them at the point of the bayonet; but they were not able to withstand the steady pressure of the british advance, and, astounded and discomfited at the unexpected valour of a foe whom they professed to despise, they fell back from point to point, and finally made off in the darkness. had the battle commenced at an early hour the cavalry would have converted the defeat of the enemy into a rout. as it was, seventeen of their twenty guns were captured, and their losses in killed and wounded were very severe. lal singh himself was wounded, and had a narrow escape of being taken prisoner.
the british loss was sixteen officers and two hundred men killed, and forty-eight officers and six hundred and nine men wounded. sir robert sale, the hero of jellalabad, was among those mortally wounded. the defeated sikhs made their way back to ferozeshah, while the british returned to moodkee, which they reached at midnight. the next morning two heavy guns, escorted by the 6th light infantry, and the 41st, reached moodkee. their march had been a long and fatiguing one, as they had made twenty-seven miles through an arid desert, and were overcome with thirst and fatigue, when some elephants sent out with water to meet them brought them relief. it was late in the evening before the column came in, and in order to give the men time to recover from their fatigue it was decided to halt for another day.
it was settled that the sick, wounded, and baggage should be left in the little fort at moodkee, with a regiment and a half of infantry to protect them should the enemy's cavalry work round to the rear of the army. messengers were sent off to ferozepore to inform sir john littler, who commanded there, of the victory at moodkee, and to order him to leave five thousand men to hold the town and watch tej singh, and to march with his five thousand remaining men and twenty-one guns to join the commander-in-chief, both forces to march at three o'clock on the morning of the 21st. sir henry hardinge offered to serve as a military man under sir hugh gough, and was appointed second in command of the army.
the marches were well timed, and the junction with sir john littler's force was effected at the village of misriwala, within sight of the sikh camp, at one o'clock.
the british force after the junction had been effected consisted of five thousand six hundred and seventy-four europeans and twelve thousand and fifty-three natives, with sixty-five guns; the sikhs numbered twenty-five thousand regular troops and ten thousand irregulars, with eighty-eight guns; while tej singh with his twenty-three thousand regulars and twenty-seven guns was only ten miles distant. the country was a dead flat studded with trees and jungle, and the clouds of dust that rose beneath the feet of the troops rendered it extremely difficult to direct their movements in such a country. skirmishers were sent forward to ascertain the exact position of the enemy, but the troops were allowed to rest for some time after their hot and dusty march. the commander-in-chief would gladly have waited until next morning before calling upon them for the efforts that would be necessary to carry a position so strong as that occupied by the sikhs. it was, however, impossible to wait, for there was no water, and moreover tej singh with his army would certainly be up before morning.
at moodkee percy had seen but little of the fighting, although for some hours he had been under fire. his place was behind major broadfoot, who was with the commander-in-chief's staff. the jungle at first and the darkness afterwards shut out the absolute conflict from view; and as the enemy's cannon-balls flew overhead or ploughed up the sand, and the air resounded with the sharp short ping of their musket-balls, his feeling as he sat inactive on horseback was one of far greater discomfort than he had felt when exposed to an even heavier fire at the attack on his uncle's fortress. that the british were winning he knew by the advance that was from time to time made by the party, and by the fact that the firing gradually receded.
"you have been under fire before, groves," major broadfoot said to him, "so i suppose you don't mind it."
"i certainly don't like it, sir. before, i had something to do and did not think much of the danger, and i should not at all mind if you were to send me with a message into the thick of it, but to sit here doing nothing with balls buzzing about is certainly very unpleasant."
"it is unpleasant; i find it so myself," the major said; "but as my post is here with the commander-in-chief, and there is no errand on which i can send you, we must sit it out. if the general wants to send a message and his aides-de-camp are all away, i will tell him that you will carry it for him."
there was, however, no message to be sent. beyond the fact that the troops were steadily advancing, the commander-in-chief himself knew but little of what was going on. it was a soldiers' battle. except for the flank movements of the cavalry there was no manoeuvring. each regiment pressed straight forward, pushing the enemy back wherever it found him.
"we shall see more of it to-day, groves," the major said as they were waiting for the orders for the troops to advance against the sikh intrenchments. "there is daylight, and as the task of carrying that position will certainly be a severe one, sir hugh will move forward with the men, and is likely to be in the thick of it."
the sikh intrenchment was about a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, including within its area the strong village of ferozeshah. the sikhs had the advantage of being thoroughly acquainted with the country, and as they were prepared for an attack upon either side of their position, it was decided that the effort should be made against the long front. the british were formed in three divisions, commanded respectively by major-general gilbert, sir john littler, and and brigadier-general wallace. they were formed in line, with the whole of the artillery in the centre, with the exception of a troop of horse-artillery on each flank and one in support. the second line was composed of the cavalry and the reserve under sir harry smith. the artillery were first moved to the front, and the battle began by a discharge from a mortar battery. the sikhs did not reply, and the whole of the artillery then opened fire to ascertain the position of the enemy's batteries, when the sikhs at once responded.
the whole line then advanced and again the artillery opened fire. this movement was repeated until the guns were within three hundred yards of the enemy's intrenchments. in spite of the much more rapid fire of their guns, our artillery were unable to silence that of the enemy, whose pieces were protected to a great extent by the earthworks. seeing this, the general gave the order for the infantry to advance to storm the intrenchments. general littler's division directed its march against the village, and by so doing caused an opening in the line between it and brigadier wallace's division.
in spite of the terrible storm of grape from the enemy's batteries and the heavy sikh musketry fire, littler's men held on their way until close up to the works. then they were unable longer to withstand the storm of fire, and fell back.
the left brigade of the reserve under sir harry smith was at once ordered forward to fill up the opening left in the line, and advanced against the village with splendid bravery. wallace's and gilbert's divisions on the right and centre were more successful than that of littler, and gallantly stormed the intrenchments in front of them in spite of the desperate bravery of the sikhs; but just as they had achieved this feat night fell suddenly, as it does in india. the air was obscured by dust and smoke; none knew the position of the troops to the right or left of them. great piles of dry forage were alight in the sikh camp, and frequent explosions of loose powder took place.
sir harry smith's brigade had stormed the village and held it, but were in complete ignorance of what was taking place elsewhere; while littler's division, which had suffered terribly in its advance, had retired, but no one knew in which direction. just before dark the 3d dragoons, on the extreme right, were ordered to charge, and dashed headlong into the sikh camp, adding to the utter confusion that prevailed there, and cutting down numbers of the enemy, but losing themselves ten officers and a hundred and twenty men out of four hundred.
to advance further was hopeless. there was no saying what obstacles might be encountered in the darkness—friends might fire into each other, regiments lose their way and be destroyed, and all order and regularity be lost. consequently sir hugh gough, fearing to keep his men in a position in which they would be exposed to be overthrown piecemeal by rushes of the enemy, told the officers about him to ride off and order all the troops to abandon the positions they had won, and retire outside the intrenchments, and there to lie down in readiness for a renewed attack in the early morning. wallace and gilbert's divisions obeyed the orders, sir harry smith's received none, but after holding the village until about ten o'clock at night, and knowing nothing of the position of the troops on his right, he abandoned it and also fell back.
the position of the british was most serious; the whereabouts of the divisions of sir harry smith and general littler could not be discovered, and the other two divisions, thinned by their losses, might be attacked in the morning by a vastly superior force, for it was probable that tej singh with his army would arrive during the night. the sikhs had withdrawn their guns as the british rushed forward to the assault, so that their artillery was still intact, and as soon as they found that their intrenchments were evacuated they advanced and kept up a continuous fire of cannon and musketry at the unseen foe, who were lying but a hundred and fifty yards away. the fire of one of the batteries was so destructive that sir henry hardinge mounted his horse and called to the 80th regiment:
"my lads, we shall have no sleep until we take those guns." the regiment leapt to its feet and at once advanced, and, supported by the 1st bengal europeans, again stormed the intrenchments, drove the sikhs from their guns, spiked them, and retired.
percy had had nothing to do during the advance, but when the orders were given for the troops to retire he had assisted to carry them to the different regiments, as the whole of sir henry hardinge's staff, with the exception of his son, had been killed or wounded, as had most of those of sir hugh gough. major broadfoot had fallen. captain nicholson, assistant political agent, was also killed, and indeed all the political agents with one exception were either killed or wounded. percy had felt almost bewildered with the roar and din of the battle; but the feeling of excitement was so great, that although officer after officer fell round him the thought of danger to himself scarcely entered his mind. he mechanically followed with the rest of the staff as the general had ridden hither and thither along the line, but he felt almost as one in a dream until he was called upon with all the rest of the officers round the general to carry orders to the troops to retire.
on his return from this duty, sir henry hardinge begged of him to ride off and to try and discover the whereabouts of the missing divisions; and, accompanied by his two men, who had kept a short distance behind him during the fight, and had both escaped unwounded, he rode about for some hours in the jungle, but without success. he was, indeed, himself lost, and at last threw himself off his horse to wait till morning should show him the bearings of the enemy's camp. but few words had been exchanged between him and his followers during the ride, for he was still dazed by the battle, and was parched with thirst and exhausted by fatigue and emotion.
"it has been a terrible day," he said, as he threw himself down on the ground after flinging the bridle over a bough of a low tree to prevent the horse from straying.
"it has, indeed, sahib," akram chunder replied. "never did i hear so terrible a roar of fire. i thought that my time had come, for it seemed as if every man must be swept away. it looked like madness to attack such a position. i did not think that men could do it."
"it was wonderful," bhop lal joined in; "truly the british are marvellous fighters. the sikhs are no cowards, and yet though they must have been two to one, and had strong intrenchments behind which their guns were sheltered, they could not withstand them. i have wondered often how it was that so many kingdoms have been conquered, so many armies defeated, by your countrymen. now i wonder no longer. when you said that the english would certainly beat the sikhs i thought you were wrong, though it was not for me to contradict you. now i see that you were right. the sikhs have found their masters, and after all their boasting have been defeated on their own ground, and with numbers, position, and everything in their favour."
"they are not defeated yet," percy said; "they have again entered their intrenchments, and if tej singh comes up during the night their numbers will be overwhelming."
"the english will win," bhop lal said carelessly; "they are not to be conquered. besides, the sikhs move slowly, and tej singh will not be up till morning."
they had some bread and cold meat in their valises, percy had a flask of brandy and water, and his two followers waterskins hung from their horses' saddles. percy was only able to eat a few mouthfuls, and then fell asleep; but his followers ate a hearty meal, and remained smoking and talking until, when day began to break, they aroused their master. bhop lal climbed up into the highest tree he could find, and exclaimed:
"there are the intrenchments, sahib, two miles away at least."
they mounted and rode off with all speed, and found the troops already forming up. the commander-in-chief and sir henry hardinge placed themselves in front of the troops in order to prevent them from firing. moving round to the right, they entered the intrenchments with but slight opposition. the enemy's guns were taken in reverse, and wheeling round, past the village of ferozeshah, the british line swept down through the sikh encampment, and did not halt until they reached the works on the opposite side. scarcely had they won the sikh position and captured his guns, seventy-four in number, when the army of tej singh appeared in view, marching towards them.
the divisions of smith and littler, which had passed the night in the jungle, had joined the force just as they entered the enemy's works, and the troops now prepared to defend the position they had won.
no attack, however, was made. the crowd of sikh fugitives made for the army they saw advancing to their assistance, and rushing down in confusion disordered its front line and communicated their panic to the newly-arrived troops. after opening fire for some time at a distance that rendered it perfectly innocuous, tej singh's troops turned and marched away to the river, which they crossed without a halt.
the british were too weak in cavalry to follow up the enemy. several regiments had been sent off at daybreak to ferozepore in order to water their horses, as they would have been useless against the sikh intrenchments, while those that remained were unfit for active work, the animals having been twenty-four hours without food or water.
the delight of the army was immense at this unexpectedly easy termination of a fight that at one time had looked well-nigh lost, and as sir hugh gough and the governor-general rode down their lines they saluted them with outbursts of cheers.
the loss, however, had been heavy, and had fallen chiefly upon the europeans, who had four hundred and eighty-eight killed and eleven hundred and three wounded out of a total of six hundred and ninety-four killed and one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one wounded, of whom five hundred and ninety-five died subsequently or were permanently disabled.
as soon as the sikhs retreated, every effort was made to succour the wounded, and by noon all were in quarters at ferozepore and provided with cots and blankets.
among the killed were major somerset, military secretary to the governor-general; colonel wallace; major baldwin, an old peninsular officer; and many other officers distinguished for their bravery. the 62d, which went into the battle weak in numbers, had seven officers killed and ten wounded, and seventy-six rank and file killed, and one hundred and fifty-four wounded. this regiment belonged to general littler's division, which had advanced against the strongest part of the sikh position.
after the engagement was over percy reported himself to captain mills, the only one of the political officers who had escaped unwounded.
"i am glad that lad went through it uninjured," sir henry hardinge said when captain mills reported that he was the only assistant available for service. "he is a very plucky young fellow, and i noticed him several times during the fight. he was always cool and collected even under the heaviest fire, and major broadfoot reported to me very strongly upon his conduct in going into the sikh camp and obtaining for us a trustworthy report of their strength and intentions. he mentioned that he was only a volunteer serving without pay, and appointed temporarily by the resident at loodiana on the civil staff. i shall be glad if, when you send in a written report to me, you will specially mention his name."
although the sikh invasion had been repelled with such heavy loss of guns and men, the british were in no condition to follow up their advantage. were they to cross the river they might expect to meet forces far larger than those they had defeated. they were without heavy guns with which to attack fortified towns, and their numbers were altogether insufficient for such an enterprise as the conquest of the punjaub. they were therefore forced for a time to remain inactive, pending the arrival of reinforcements and siege-guns.
