It is a source of heartfelt satisfaction to the Major-General to be able, to a certain extent, to confer on the native portion of the garrison an instalment of those rewards which their gallant and grateful commander has sought for them, and which he is very certain the Governor-General will bestow in full; and though the Major-General, as regards the European portion of the garrison, cannot do more than give his most earnest and hearty support to the recommendations of the Brigadier, he feels assured that the Governor-General of India will fully and publicly manifest his appreciation of their distinguished services, and that our beloved Sovereign will herself deign to convey to them some gracious expression of royal approbation of their conduct.
Brigadier Inglis has borne generous testimony to the bravery, vigilance, devotedness, and good conduct of all ranks; and to all ranks, as the local representative of the British Indian Government, the Major-General tenders his warmest acknowledgments,—he would fain offer his special congratulations and thanks to the European and Eurasian portion of the garrison whom Brigadier Inglis has particularly noticed, but, by doing so, he would forestall the Governor-General in the exercise of what, the Major-General is assured, will be one of the most pleasing acts of his official life.
No. IV.
From Brigadier Inglis, Commanding Garrison of Lucknow, to the Secretary to Government Military Department, Calcutta.
Lucknow, September 26th, 1857.
Sir,
In consequence of the very deeply-to-be-lamented death of Brigadier-General Sir H. M. Lawrence, K.C.B., late in command of the Oude Field Force, the duty of narrating the military events which have occurred at Lucknow since the 29th of June last has devolved upon myself.
On the evening of that day several reports reached Sir Henry Lawrence that the rebel army, in no very considerable force, would march from Chinhut (a small village about eight miles distant, on the road to Fyzabad) on Lucknow on the following morning; and the late Brigadier-General therefore determined to make a strong reconnaissance in that direction, with the view, if possible, of meeting the force at a disadvantage, either at its entrance into the suburbs of the city, or at the bridge across the Gokral, which is a small stream intersecting Fyzabad road, midway between Lucknow and Chinhut.
The force destined for this service, and which was composed as follows, moved out at 6 A.M. on the morning of the 30th of June:—
Artillery.—Four guns of No. — Horse Light Field Battery, four guns of No. 2 Oude Field Battery, two guns of No. 3 Oude Field Battery, and an 8-inch howitzer.