My Dear Annie,
Most sincerely do I sympathize with you in the loss of your dear good Husband, poor Henry; he was so genial, cheery, kind, and courteous to all who came in contact with him, and much beloved and respected by everyone in this Force. No braver or truer soldier lost his life in that ill-fated attack on Deh Khoja. I miss him so very much, we were thrown so much together during the last four months. No man was more keen for a fight than poor Henry, and when the day of battle did come, right gallantly he led his men, sacrificing his life in the humane effort to rescue a wounded man from falling into the hands of the enemy. From Trumpeter McGlynn, C/2 R.A., who was his Orderly Trumpeter on the 16th August, I have heard the following account of how poor Henry fell:—After half an hour's skirmishing they reached the village, and on entering, Henry and the Trumpeter had just dismounted, when a volley from the enemy so startled their horses they broke away, and galloped back to within the City. Henry advanced through the village on foot, cheering on his men amidst a galling fire of musketry, which the enemy poured on them from loop-holed walls. Arrived in the centre of the village, Captain Cruikshank, R.E., fell badly wounded. At this time our men were being driven back by superior numbers and the heavy fire from the houses. Henry helped to carry Cruikshank; succeeded in getting him out of the village, of which they had got clear about 30 yards, Henry still supporting Cruikshank, when he was struck down by apparently a bullet in the head. Trumpeter McGlynn states that he fell forward on his face and never moved after; so poor Henry's death must have been instantaneous. The Trumpeter and a few men of the 7th Fusiliers tried to carry off the body, but were compelled to desist owing to the enemy making a rush on them. Deh Khoja was evacuated on the night of the 24th, and on the following day search was made for the bodies of our fallen. Henry's was found and buried near where he fell, under a Peepul tree, the Rev. Mr. Cane, our Chaplain, having read the Burial Service. This terrible loss of life at Maiwand and Deh Khoja has cast a gloom on all here, and no man is more generally sorrowed for and regretted than poor Henry—every inch a soldier. No man worked harder to put this City in a state of defence. I looked upon him as one of our rising Generals, who, later on, would have shone out with much distinction.
From Colonel B.
Kandahar, 14th September, 1880.
My dear Major H.,
I am sorry I have been unable, through press of work, to fulfil my promise before now, and send you the particulars of the unfortunate affair of Deh Khoja, on the 16th August, as far as they are known by me, which cost us so many valuable lives, and more especially that of my dear friend General Brooke, whose loss was deeply felt by everyone here, for he was not only much loved by all, but he had proved himself to be possessed of the greatest energy and cool good judgment, and had consequently gained the confidence of all ranks, both senior and junior. I have no hesitation in saying that we are indebted to him for much that was done to strengthen our position here, and in the arrangements for the defence. He never rested until he got the Pathans turned out of the City, and the place disarmed. How much he did do, and how much his wise influence effected will probably never be known fully by the Public; but from a perusal of his Diary which I gave you, it will be seen how continually active he was in carrying out the work assigned to him, and what his opinions were on many subjects. He was strongly opposed to the attack on Deh Khoja, for many reasons, which he gives in his Diary, and he was mainly instrumental in its being abandoned the week before, when it had been resolved on. The attack was finally decided on, the following week, on the advice, I believe, of the Commanding Engineer, in consequence of our working parties employed outside the Kabul Gate, in demolishing some buildings, having been prevented by the fire from Deh Khoja completing the work. His objections to it were stronger than before, as it was known that the enemy had been busily employed all the week in fortifying the village, and he feared that the loss would be greater than we could afford, or than the good to be gained. He could not, however, urge his objections, as he had done on the previous occasion, as he was nominated to command the attack. The force was composed of 300 Cavalry, 300 Royal Fusiliers, and 500 Native Infantry. The Cavalry left the Eedgar Gate at 4 o'clock in the morning, and making a wide detour of the village of Kairabad took up a position in the rear of Deh Khoja, i.e., on the west. Our guns on the walls then commenced a bombardment to prepare the Infantry attack, and at 5·30 a.m. the Infantry moved out of the Kabul Gate, covered by riflemen from the walls. Immediately they got out into the open they came under a very heavy fire from the village, which is from 700 to 800 yards from the City, but the troops advanced in splendid form and were never once checked. They entered the village at the south, as had been previously decided on, and we then lost sight of them, but we could hear them hard at work with their rifles. I need not describe the village, for you have seen it and know what a labyrinth of narrow streets and high walls it is, every enclosure being a regular little fortification, so that as soon as the enemy was driven out of one position they ran into another like a lot of rats, and our force was too weak to hold the positions as they were taken. General Brooke, however, pushed on with his troops right through the village from south to north, and leaving a strong party of the Fusiliers at the latter part, he retraced his steps with a view of completing the capture, but by this time the enemy began to pour in from the south of the village; these were reinforcements sent by Ayoob Khan from the cantonments as soon as he had heard the firing going on. They advanced by the gardens and village on the south of the City, which afforded them shelter from our fire until they came opposite our S. E. Bastion where we had a 40-pounder and 9-pounder which gave them several rounds, but did not do them much damage, the practice being bad. It did not at any rate check them. Our cavalry, however, seeing them coming, moved down in that direction and stopped them for some little time, but being exposed to a heavy fire from the enclosures when they could not act, they had to be withdrawn. On finding that the enemy were crowding into the village from the south, General Brooke sent his Brigade-Major to General Primrose to report matters and to ask for orders, the reply to which was to retire his Force at once, but by the time this officer got back to the village the enemy held it in such force he could not get to General Brooke, who was still in the centre of it. A Trumpeter of C/2, who was with General Brooke all the time, informed me that when they returned from the north of the village and had reached about the centre, they found Captain Cruikshank, R.E., severely wounded, and unable to move, and finding that the enemy was closing in on them all round, General Brooke looked out for some defensible place into which he could get the party which was with him, consisting of men of the Fusiliers and Native Sappers, and for this purpose he made for a court-yard in which there were buildings, but directly they entered it they were met by a heavy fire. It was here that Captain Cruikshank begged him to leave him to his fate, and save himself and party, but he nobly refused to do this, and thinking there were still some of his party in the south of the village where he had left them, he determined to push on in that direction, so calling for volunteers of the Fusiliers to carry poor Cruikshank, they moved down to the south under a heavy fire and got out into the open. All the parties had been compelled to withdraw, and there was nothing left for them but to make the best of their way back to the City, taking advantage of what cover they could find. They were much hampered by having to carry poor Cruikshank, and they had frequently to change the men who were carrying him. It was during one of these changes, when they had got about 100 yards from the village, and poor Brooke was supporting Cruikshank with his left arm while the men were being relieved, that he was shot through the back, just between the shoulders, and fell dead; at the same time a number of Ghazis made a rush on them from the village, and the remainder of the party retreated hastily towards the City. On the 25th August the village was evacuated by the enemy, and we went out to bury the bodies. I found and recognised poor Brooke's body. He was lying among several others, and Cruikshank and a Sergeant Strong were close to him. It was a fearfully melancholy sight, but it was a great satisfaction to recover the bodies and to give them burial, which we did under a tree close to the spot where they fell. While deeply grieving and lamenting over his death and those who died with him, one cannot but feel proud of his noble and gallant conduct in sacrificing himself in endeavouring to save a brother officer. Among the papers which I gave you, you will find one containing his views on the situation in Afghanistan, which will repay perusal, and which will, no doubt, be valuable to his family. I have his sword, which I forgot to give you with the other things I had selected to send home. I will take care of it till I get an opportunity of sending it home.
From Mrs. L.