Dost Mahomed Khan, the ruler of the country, assembled a formidable host in position near Ughundee; but ascertaining that his soldiers had resolved to abandon him, he fled with a body of select cavalry, leaving his artillery in position; and the British army, advancing by triumphant marches to the capital, replaced Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk in the possession of the palace of his forefathers, from which he had been an exile many years. The conquest of a kingdom was thus achieved, by British skill and enterprise, with trifling loss, and the army pitched its tents in a rich valley near the capital.
The services of the Thirteenth Light Infantry were afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to bear on their regimental colour the words “Affghanistan” and “Ghuznee.” A medal was given by the restored monarch to the officers and soldiers present at the storming of Ghuznee, which Her Majesty Queen Victoria authorized them to receive and wear. An order of merit was also instituted by the Shah, called the Order of the “Dooranée Empire,” the decorations of which were conferred on’ the general and field officers; and Her Majesty was graciously pleased to grant permission to Sir Robert Sale, of the Thirteenth, to accept and wear the insignia of the first class, and Brevet Major James Kershaw and Captain Hamlet Wade the insignia of the third class of the order. Colonel Robert Henry Sale, was promoted to the rank of Major-General in Affghanistan, and was appointed by Her Majesty to be a Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath; Major Edward T. Tronson was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in the army, and Captain James Kershaw to that of major, for their services in this campaign; the promotions taking place from the 23rd July, 1839, the date of the capture of Ghuznee.
Names of the officers of the Thirteenth who received the Ghuznee Medal:—
| Brigadier Robert Henry Sale. | Major Edward Tronson. |
| —— William Dennie. | —— Tristram Squire. |
| Captains. | |
| George Fothergill. | John Taylor. |
| William Sutherland. | Horatio Vigors. |
| James Kershaw. | Henry Havelock. |
| Robert Pattisson. | |
| Lieutenants. | |
| Arthur Wilkinson. | Rollo Burslem. |
| James Fenwick. | John Wood. |
| John Foulston. | Frederick Holder. |
| Peter Jennings. | William Sinclair. |
| Philip Von Streng. | Hon. Emilius Forester. |
| Alexander Holcombe. | Thomas Oxley. |
| George King. | David Rattray. |
| Ensigns. | |
| Edward King. | Richard Frere. |
| George Mein. | George Wade. |
| Paymaster Harry Carew.—Adjutant Hamlet Wade. | |
| Assistant Surgeons J. Robertson, M.D. and G. Barnes, M.D. | |
A complete change had been achieved in the aspect of affairs beyond the Indus; the chiefs of Cabool and Candahar, who had entertained hostile designs against the British interest, had been deprived of power, and the territories they ruled had been restored to a friendly monarch. These splendid results accomplished, part of the army was withdrawn from the country; but the Thirteenth Light Infantry were selected to remain in Affghanistan, to support the government of the restored Shah, against the machinations of the chiefs who had usurped his authority during his exile.
The regiment was encamped near Cabool until November, when it marched into garrison at the Bala Hissar, or citadel of Cabool, in which stands the palace, with the thirty-fifth native infantry, and a detail of artillery, and remained there during the winter, which was an unusually severe season. Brigadier Dennie commanded the garrison, and Lieutenant Hamlet C. Wade, who had been selected by Lieut.-General Lord Keane to serve on the general staff of the army, was appointed major of brigade to this force.
1840
In May, the regiment moved into camp much reduced in numbers, having suffered very severely from disease. On the 24th September it was again called upon to take the field, having been attached to the force, under Sir Robert Sale, directed against Dost Mahomed in the Kohistan of Cabool; and it marched that day.
On the 29th September, the regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Tronson assisted in carrying the town and forts of Tootumdurra, at the entrance of the Ghorebund Pass, occupied by Ali Khan, a refractory chief of the Kohistan. The loss of the Thirteenth was limited to two privates wounded; one mortally.