CHAPTER XIIL ASSAULT AND CAPTURE OF DELHI. Colonel KEITH YOUNG to his wife. DELHI (IN THE CHURCH), Monday, 14th September (2§ P.M.). By God's great mercy here we are, safe within the walls of Delhi, and all of our Staff party have escaped unharmed. Shute, Nicoll, and Metcalfe are now here in the veranda with me; Hodson I saw a little while ago, well. Mactier is up at the field hospital looking after the wounded, of whom, I am sorry to say, there are a good many; the only officer I have heard of as killed is Fitzgerald, Her Majesty's 75th. We have guns (the enemy's, that we took at the Water Gate) bearing on the bridge, and we are now shelling from near this some parts of the city where the mutineers still are. We hold the Cashmere Gate, the Cabul and Moree Gates, Skinner's house, and the College; and I hope the whole city will be ours before night, for the wretches have run away in great numbers. is May God watch over and protect you and the dear children, my constant prayer. (Diary) 14th September.-Up at 3 A.M., and soon after go down to Ludlow Castle with the General and party. Such noise and confusion! The storming parties in three columns and a reserve column. Anxious time waiting for the assault; it was rather late, coming off an hour after daybreak. I should think quite successful, but great loss on our side; few of the enemy killed, apparently. The Water Bastion a terrible smash. At the Church, and in the evening Skinner's house. ASSAULT OF DELHI. 283 Extract copy from Mr BARNES's letter, The troops were under arms, and left camp this morning at 3 A.M. Assault at daybreak, and city successfully carried. General Wilson sent a despatch to his wife, dated City of Delhi, 10 A.M. Hard fighting going on, and the columns making slow progress. Several strong positions still to carry, and a stand will probably be made around the King and Palace. No list of casualties. Lord WILLIAM HAY to Mrs KEITH YOUNG. SIMLA, 16th September. MY DEAR MRS YOUNG,-Oblige me by sending these copies of telegrams to all Chota-Simla, including Colonel Congreve, Mrs Norman, Mrs Thomson, Wiggins, Greathed, &c. I think it most satisfactory. The loss in the 1st is very heavy, but the rest have got well off.-Yours in haste, Telegrams. W. H. 14th September (11 P.M.). report, 3.30 P.M., and no progress to-night. Our Our position is the same as the last attempt will be made to make further mortars have been taken into the city, and are firing against the Palace, and Selimgurh, and the town. The battering guns have also been taken in to breach the magazine. The guns and mortars captured on the bastions have been turned against the mutineers. They continue to offer the most determined resistance. Our loss is very severe, especially in officers. KILLED. Captain G. G. M'Barnett, 55th Native Infantry. DANGEROUSLY WOUNDED. Brigadier Nicholson. Captain Rosser, 6th Dragoon Guards. Major Jacob, 1st Fusiliers. Captain Greville, 1st Fusiliers. 284 THE PALACE IS SHELLED. Lieutenant Speke (doing duty). VERY SEVERELY WOUNDED. Lieutenant A. G. Owen, 1st Fusiliers. SEVERELY WOUNDED. Lieutenant Chesney, Engineers. SLIGHTLY Wounded. Lieutenant Bond, 57th Native Infantry. Lieutenant Shebbeare, 60th Native Infantry. 15th September. All quiet during the night; very hard fighting going on this morning. The mutineers still hold the Selimgurh battery. 15th September (9 A. M.). We continue to occupy the city from College Garden to Cabul Gate. The enemy holds the magazine, which we are now shelling; the Palace likewise being shelled. Many of the mutineers have fled since yesterday. Our loss estimated at five hundred, thirty officers; among them seven Engineers. Major Jacob has died of his wounds. Colonel KEITH YOUNG to his wife. DELHI (SKINNER'S HOUSE), Tuesday, 15th September. Here we are, you see, having passed a very quiet night in Skinner's house, which was found to be more comfortable than the Church, there being a regiment of Europeans there. We got our beds down and our servants, and, after a scrambling kind of dinner, were not sorry to have a good night's rest. You would be rather amused could you see us now. We have a few chairs, but no tables, and I am writing this on the top of a hat, a regular fashionable ventilator, which Hingham brought in yesterday, hat-box and all, as his lawful plunder! The General and all his party are BRIGADIER NICHOLSON DANGEROUSLY WOUNDED. 285 staying here. I have brought no writing materials from camp with me, and am indebted to Maisey for this sheet of paper and a pen. I dare say it will be two or three days yet before we are in full possession of the city and Palace, but I believe the intention is to use our artillery to clear away the scoundrels that are still in the city, and there will be no more storming like yesterday, and such dreadful loss of life. I suppose our loss could not be less than six or seven hundred killed and wounded. Amongst the former, I am sorry to say, there are six officers whose names I have heard: Tandy of the Engineers (no Artillery officers killed or wounded except Tombs-a slight contusion); Rosser, Carabineers; Murray, 42nd Native Infantry, with Guides; Bradshaw, Her Majesty's 52nd; M'Barnett, 55th, with 1st Fusiliers; and Fitzgerald, Her Majesty's 75th. Of the officers wounded, I have heard the names of Greathed, Engineers, arm broken, but will be saved; Brigadier Nicholson, dangerously, it is feared; Reid, Sirmoor Battalion, severely but not dangerously; Jacob and Greville, 1st Fusiliers, very severely; Nicholson, junior, lost his arm. There are a good many more, but nobody, I think, that you know or have heard of. Waters, of the Rifles, also is wounded. I have not yet told you how it was that we didn't get possession of the whole of the city yesterday, as it was expected and intended we should have done. It was all owing to that wretched Cashmere contingent, which formed a part of Reid's column, which was to have cleared out the suburbs of Kissengunge and then have entered the city by the Lahore Gate. The contingent ran off immediately the enemy's guns opened on them, abandoning three of their own guns. Reid was wounded, and the column was obliged to return to Hindoo Rao's without effecting their object; and the consequence was that our columns in the city were obliged to pull up in the positions we now hold. All, however, is going on satisfactorily now. We are bringing on lots of guns and mortars, and this in the course of two or three days will clear the place very effectually and without loss to us. Several Natives of the city-men, women, and children—have come in to pray for quarter, which has been given them, they being turned out of the city; but Sepoys who have come in to give themselves up have been told they cannot be received. I fancy, 286 MANY MUTINEERS LEAVE THE CITY. however, that this will be altered in future, and that unconditional surrender will be permitted. Many of the mutineers left the city last night, principally cavalry, going towards Rewaree, apparently. An ayah came in just now to say that there are two children of Mr Skinner's concealed in the city, also two ladies, Mrs Ord and Mrs Olivia; as far as we could make out, all the men, she said, were killed. I have just heard that Robert Pemberton, Engineers, was wounded yesterday, but very slightly—a flesh wound in the arm— and he is about his duty again to-day. Colonel Campbell, Her Majesty's 52nd, was also wounded yesterday in the wrist. Such a packet of English letters came yesterday! I enclose one or two, and you shall have the rest to-morrow; I haven't time to send them to-day. Brind was here just now, and asked me to mention him as being quite well; if you see his sister-in-law, tell her he was going into battery, and would not have time to write. George Hall, too, was in with us yesterday evening, and asked me to say he was well, and probably wouldn't be able to write to-day, as he was on duty, but no chance of his being actively employed. Mrs Greathed's husband is quite safe, and so is Major Brooke, though he was reported wounded at first. Burnside, too, was over here a little while ago, looking very well. I must now say good-bye; it is 2.30 P.M., and everything going on well. Lots of people coming to give themselves up, and they say that there are very few Sepoys now left in Delhi. (Diary) 15th September.-Deal of firing last night, but we all got a good sleep. Must have had seven or eight hundred casualties yesterday. At home at Skinner's all day, writing and sleeping. Rather hot. Hard at work making a breach in the magazine, and in the evening reported practicable, and storm to be in the morning. Nothing done further towards the city; much less firing from the enemy to-day. DELHI (SKINNER'S HOUSE), Wednesday, 16th September. I rode up to our camp this morning, and there had the happiness to receive your letter of the 13th. All has gone on well since I wrote to you yesterday, and I was able to take up to camp the pleasing intelligence of our being in quiet possession of |