“Powerful, D’Jounie Bay,
October 13, 1840.
“After the great advantages gained by the Emir Bechir over Osman Pacha, at Merouba, it became necessary to move on Souliman Pacha, defeat him, and obtain possession of Beyrout; I in consequence directed the Emir Bechir to join me on the heights of Ornagacuan on the 9th inst., and on the 8th General Jochmus marched with four battalions, and was followed the day after by the Arab battalion, composed of Turkish and Egyptian deserters; on the 9th two steam-boats anchored in St. George’s Bay, with a Turkish and marine battalion, ready to disembark when necessary. At nine in the morning I arrived on the heights, and found that our picquets had been driven in by an enemy we did not expect in that quarter; a Turkish battalion and the mountaineers sent them back; and on reconnoitring I found to my surprise between 2000 and 3000 men in a position that appeared unassailable. No time was to be lost, as the deserters assured me they expected a reinforcement of 2000 men the next morning.
“My own position was strong, being in a long narrow range of hills; my left almost inaccessible, and my right protected by a deep gorge, at the head of which the hills on which I was posted, after a considerable descent, turned off to the right; this part of the hill the enemy occupied in force, amongst rugged, and apparently inaccessible rocks; a road considerably below the top of the mountain wound round it; above the first position there was a second, still stronger, and above that again a third. In the course of the day, I learned that the Emir Beshir had crossed Dog River, and arrived at Basquinta, in the enemy’s rear; I desired him to continue his march, and I directed Omar Bey, who had been left with four battalions in our lines, to march at night with two on Argentoun, descend into the deep gorge of the Dog River with great caution and secresy, and cross over to Bechfeya, in the rear of the enemy, and effect a junction with the Emir Beshir; this very dangerous movement (for had he been discovered in the bottom of the gorge he would have been destroyed) was executed with great skill by Omar Bey, and about two o’clock we were delighted to hear a firing in the enemy’s rear. By this time the other two Turkish battalions who were ordered from our lines were in sight, and another that I had passed over the gorge in our right was rapidly advancing on the enemy’s left.
“All being prepared to the best of my ability, I directed the armed peasantry to throw themselves among the rocks, and advance on the enemy, and two Turkish battalions and the Arab were held in readiness to march along the winding road; the peasantry were very shy, and required a great deal of coaxing to get them forward, but knowing the country they took a long circuit on the enemy’s left, and advanced unseen to the heights without firing a shot. A Turkish battalion now advanced ‘en tirailleur’ in front, which they did with caution, but great gallantry, under a very heavy fire; and as they advanced they unexpectedly found much good cover under the rocks.
“A second battalion, led by General Jochmus, was directed to advance along the road in column, but they broke into skirmishing parties; the Arab battalion was then advanced up in column, but there was no keeping them together, they also broke into skirmishers, and the whole advanced with so much rapidity that I thought it best to keep my last battalion in reserve, to cover their retreat in the event of disaster. This was an anxious time, for our success depended on the steadiness of the Turks when they came in contact with the enemy on the top of the hill; but it was soon over; the moment the hill was crowned the firing ceased, and the Egyptians laid down their arms. The reserve was now brought up, and the battalion which had crossed the gorge was making great progress on the enemy’s left; a heavy fire was kept up from the second position, and it was with some difficulty I succeeded in getting the troops to make a second attack, but the example of Selim Pacha, General Jochmus, and the Turkish officers, who all behaved well, succeeded in bringing them again to the scratch, and in less than half an hour it became a complete rout, leaving all their baggage, ammunition, and provisions in the second position. Night put an end to the pursuit. Ibrahim, who commanded, escaped with a few men, and the rest dispersed, leaving between 600 and 700 prisoners.
“A rather ludicrous scene took place on the heights, at the end of the battle: our own Arab battalion, seeing a force coming forward, took them for the enemy, and placed themselves in position under a wall (that had been thrown up to resist Omar Bey), he, on the other hand, took them for the enemy, and a sharp fire was opened on both sides; I, however, arrived in time to prevent mischief, which might have been serious.
“A green Turkish standard was taken, but General Jochmus informs me it was lost, but I am disposed to think it has been improperly concealed by some one instead of being brought to head-quarters. I have not been able to get the returns of the killed and wounded, but I believe it to be under fifty; that of the enemy, from their position, must have been less. The first effect of our forward movement, as you already know, has been the evacuation of Beyrout; the effect of our victory over Ibrahim, the entire disorganization and submission of the army of Souliman Pacha to the amount of nearly 3000 men, and the whole of the artillery and stores.
“I landed at D’Jounie on the 10th of September, with the army you did me the honour of putting under my command, consisting of 5300 Turkish troops and 1500 marines, which has from time to time been reduced to half that number; and by the 10th of October we have made about 5000 prisoners, and nearly 5000 deserters have come over; the whole of Lebanon is nearly free, Tripoli alone remains to be taken, which I am of opinion will be an easy conquest, if attacked immediately.
“It is now my pleasing duty to express to you, Sir, how much I have been satisfied with the conduct of Selim Pacha, General Jochmus, Omar Bey, and indeed all the Turkish officers. Lieut. Bradley has accompanied me on all occasions, and has been everywhere most forward, and I beg strongly to recommend him for promotion; Mr. Pearn, the master of the Powerful, and my old companion in arms in Portugal, joined me as a volunteer, as did also Lieut. Duncan, who I sent to lead the mountaineers. I am also much indebted to her Majesty’s Consul General, Lieut.-Colonel Hodges, who did me the honour of serving with me in the action. I have requested Selim Pacha to furnish me with the names of the Turkish officers who particularly distinguished themselves, and which shall be forwarded as soon as possible. In giving up the command of the army to Sir Charles Smith, I beg to return my thanks to you for the confidence you have placed in me, and to assure you that I have spared no pains to render all the service in my power to the cause of the Sultan.