THE WAR IN INDIA.
The Punjaub had, in 1847, as already related, been the theatre of most stirring incidents. The reader of this History can hardly fail to have observed, that although the defeat of the Sikhs was so complete, the subjugation of the spirit of that people was far from having been effected. The dispersed Khalsa army cherished a fierce hostility to the government of British India, and they were ready to enrol themselves under the banner of any chief who would lead them, in numbers sufficient to afford hope of success, against their recent conquerors. An opportunity occurred in the person of Moolraj, the chief of Mooltan. Mooltan is a large and fertile country, situated between the left bank of the Indus and the right bank of the Sutlej, and terminates at one end where these two rivers form a junction. It gives its name to the capital, which was protected by defences unusually strong for an eastern city.
When the British obtained the submission of the regent of the Sikh monarch, Dhuleep Singh, Mooltan was governed by Moolraj. Moolraj owed allegiance to the government at Lahore, to which the chieftainship of Mooltan had been subjected by conquest. The durbar of Lahore purposed the deposition of Moolraj, and negotiated with him for that purpose. He affected to acquiesce, and, in consequence, Mr. Agnew, a political agent of the Honourable East India Company, and Lieutenant Anderson, of the Bombay Fusileers, were deputed to attend the new governor appointed by the government of Lahore, to instal him in his office. This official was named Sirdar Khan Singh, and was an object of extreme jealousy to Moolraj. The party arrived at Mooltan, accompanied by their respective suites and a small escort of cavalry. On the 17th of April, the authority was surrendered in due form by Moolraj, and the object of the British officers seemed to be accomplished. On the 18th they were attacked and desperately wounded; it was at first supposed from a sudden impulse on the part of the soldiery of Moolraj, but it was afterwards known to be the result of treachery. The officers, accompanied by the new governor, were carried to a small fort outside the town. A fire was opened upon the place from Mooltan, but it was ineffectual. A few days afterwards, however, the fort was attacked by the soldiers of Moolraj; the Sikhs who garrisoned the place, and among whom were the escort, treacherously opened the gates, and the assailants entered, foaming with rage, and demanding vengeance upon the infidel officers. Lieutenant Anderson was in a dying state; but Mr. Agnew, although so badly wounded, defended himself with resolution to the last: both officers were murdered. Moolraj declared that he had no knowledge of the transaction, but no one believed his disclaimer. Intelligence of these barbarities reached Lahore with the speed so peculiar to the East; and a force of three thousand cavalry and some infantry was dispatched, under Sirdar Shere Singh, against the refractory city. There happened to be upon the Indus, at the head of a small force, a young and gallant officer who had served with distinction upon the staff of Lord Gough, and who was favourably known by his clever contributions to the India press on the state of the Company’s territory, civil and military: this officer was Lieutenant Edwardes. He was engaged in settling a disturbed district of country, and in collecting the land tax due to Moolraj, as Sikh governor of Mooltan. At the same time, Colonel Van Courtlandt, a native of India, and a distinguished officer in the service of the Company, occupied Dherra Ismael Khan, also in the neighbourhood. Lieutenant Edwardes crossed the river into the Deerajat, whence he wrote to the Khan of Bhawulpore, requesting him to make such a movement of troops as would prevent Moolraj from falling upon either of their forces. The khan’s territories were so situated as to enable him to effect a military disposition to accomplish this object. The khan made the required demonstration. When Edwardes crossed the Indus, he left a detachment of three hundred horse to protect the collection at Serat, where, on the 18th of May, they were attacked by a body of cavalry exceeding their own in number, sent against them from Mooltan, with ten light field-guns (zumbooruks). The British force so manoeuvred as to attain a good position, although under the fire of the zumbooruks, and then charged brilliantly, dispersing the Mooltanese, and capturing their guns.
Colonel Courtlandt was as prompt as Edwardes in the measures taken by him. He left the port of Dherra Ismael Khan, and proceeded by the base of the hills southward. On his route he was joined by a Beloochee chief, with one hundred of his wild followers. Courtlandt detached these, with a portion of his own troops, against the fortress of Sunghur, westward of the Indus. The commander of the fort refused the summons of surrender, and for six hours maintained a gallant resistance; he then brought off the garrison by a skilful manoeuvre, reaching Mooltan in safety.
Lieutenant Edwardes and Colonel Courtlandt effected a Junction of their small forces, and on the 20th of May were attacked by a division of the Mooltan army. The united forces of Courtlandt and Edwardes were so disposed that not more than one thousand five hundred men could be brought into action, while the enemy numbered three thousand. The artillery force of each was about equal. Edwardes was, however, joined by a body of irregular cavalry, and a party of Beloochees, which brought up the British force more nearly to an equality of numbers. The Sikhs in British pay happily showed no disposition to fraternise with the Mooltan army, although the calculations of Moolraj were based upon such an expectation.
The enemy suffered a signal defeat and great slaughter. The Beloochees behaved remarkably well. The skill of the British officers turned the balance in favour of the native army under their command.
After this engagement, Edwardes, acting upon the authority which he possessed as a civil officer of the company, demanded a reinforcement from the Khan of Bhawulpore, and in the meantime recruited his force by Sikhs, Beloochees, Affghans, and men from the hills of various tribes. The faculty of organisation, the ceaseless activity, and the courage of this young officer were surprising. Colonel Courtlandt was also equal to the part assigned him; but, although senior to his colleague in military rank, the civil functions of the latter gave him an especial, and, in some respects, superior authority. The Khan of Bhawulpore responded to the demands of assistance, and a plan was laid for a junction of the troops. In pursuance of this, Edwardes and Courtlandt crossed the Indus on the 10th and 11th of June. Moolraj was informed by his spies of every movement, and the intelligence was conveyed to him with astonishing rapidity. He accordingly marched a large force to intercept either army, and beat both in detail. On the 14th he crossed the Chenab, leaving a considerable force on the other bank. This detachment marched to Khan Ghur, but on the following day crossed the river, being surprised at that place by the advance of Edwardes’s irregulars. The Mooltanese had barely time to cross the Chenab, when the scouts of Edwardes galloped into Khan Ghur. The Sikhs, instead of giving battle at that place, and practically attempting the scheme proposed by Moolraj, encamped on the opposite side of the river, in observation of the British officer and his little army. This delay and timidity was fatal; for Edwardes was soon joined by the infantry and a portion of the artillery of Courtlandt, whose cavalry were scouring the country. The situation of affairs became now interesting and important, for the Bhawulpore forces had arrived on the enemy’s side of the Chenab, within twelve miles. Edwardes made a retrograde movement, so as to place himself opposite the Bhawulpore encampment. The enemy advanced to within four miles of that position. In the course of the night, the raw levies of Edwardes contrived to cross the river in a very irregular manner, and within dangerous proximity to the enemy’s patrols, but were unmolested. On the 18th, early in the morning, the lieutenant crossed with the remainder of his little army, except the horses and artillery, which remained with Courtlandt on the opposite side, for a more slow and safe transport across the river. Scarcely had the lieutenant gained the opposite bank than he was attacked by the Sikh army, which had been moving up from Bugurrarah while he was gaining the passage. This was a terrible engagement. The sun had hardly risen upon river, and swamp, and undulating plains, when the Mooltanee forces fell upon the motley crowd of the British levies, and in such superior numbers that victory seemed certain. For nine hours the English lieutenant resisted the onslaught, and by his valour, activity, presence of mind, and moral influence, kept his undisciplined forces in firm front to the foe. At last Courtlandt’s guns were brought over, and made the contest somewhat equal; later in the day, two regular regiments belonging to the colonel’s division arrived, with six guns, and the enemy panic-struck fled, leaving a large, proportion of their troops upon the field, slain, wounded, and prisoners, with six guns, and their entire baggage and munitions of war. The conduct of Edwardes throughout the day was splendid, and laid a deeper foundation for his military reputation.
Moolraj retreated to Mooltan, followed by the British, and the Khan of Bhawulpore, who had rendered hitherto but little assistance, and whose movements led to the suspicion that he had more sympathy with Moolraj than he dared to avow.
On the 28th of June, a Sikh brigade under the command of Sheik-Emaum-ood-deen, which had been dispatched by the government of Lahore, arrived to reinforce the English. The whole army appeared before Mooltan, consisting of eighteen thousand men, comprising the levies of Edwardes, the division of Courtlandt, that of the Khan of Bhawulpore, and the newly arrived brigade of the sheik.