During the engagement Koer Singh’s irregular lines on the left had moved round, and were threatening our right wing under cover of the jungle and broken ground, but they were checked by the fire of the Sikhs and volunteer yeomanry, and of a howitzer under the skilful management of Staff-Sergeant Melville, Royal Artillery. After an hour’s resistance the whole body of the enemy fell back on Judgespoor, pursued by our men, who captured two guns during their flight, and followed them up to the walls of the stronghold, which consisted of an extensive mass of buildings, protected by lofty walls with loopholes for musketry, and capable of offering a protracted resistance if properly defended. The mutineers were seized with such a panic that they offered no resistance, and our men entered Koer Singh’s fortress in triumph at one P.M., where they found ample accommodation and refreshment after their rapid march. Koer Singh had evacuated his stronghold only one hour before the triumphant entry of our men, and fled in the direction of Jutoorah, seven miles to the south, where he had another fortified residence in the jungle. He was pursued by eighty men of the 5th Fusiliers, under Captain L’Estrange, and the Volunteer Yeomanry, who, on reaching Jutoorah, found that he had continued his flight towards Sasseram with the remains of the 40th Regiment of Native Infantry, who alone of all the rebel army still continued to share his fortunes. Captain L’Estrange not having sufficient forces to follow up the pursuit, contented himself with destroying the place, and then returned to Judgespoor. Our troops found abundance of provisions there; the stores of grain alone would have sustained twenty thousand men for six months; they were distributed among the starving villagers, who had been plundered by Koer Singh and his followers. At two P.M. on the 15th of August, Judgespoor was evacuated, and the stronghold, including a new Hindoo temple, on which large sums had been expended, was blown into the air. Major Eyre then advanced as far as Peeroo in pursuit of Koer Singh, when he received instructions from Sir James Outram to return to Arrah, and to join the force which was now on its march for the relief of Lucknow. Major Eyre’s battery and the detachment of the 5th Fusiliers shared in all the honours and dangers of that successful enterprise, and suffered severely while forcing their way into the town. The gallant L’Estrange, whose name has occurred so often in the course of this narrative, and who was known to us as a young officer of superior intellect and studious habits, was mortally wounded; three of his brother officers shared the same fate. Mr. Mangles still survives to enjoy the reward which he earned by his courage and humanity.
CHAPTER XXII.
CAPTAIN HENRY EVELYN WOOD, 17TH LANCERS.
No young officer in the service has had greater opportunities of distinguishing himself than Captain Wood, or earned a better title to the distinction of the Victoria Cross. He is a son of Sir John Page Wood, Bart., of Rivenhall-place, near Witham, Essex, and a nephew of Sir W. Page Wood, Vice-Chancellor of England. Our readers, on reading this simple record of his numerous acts of bravery, will be surprised to learn that he has not yet completed his twenty-eighth year; in truth, his name became familiar to the world at a period when most boys of his age and position are still seated on the benches at Eton, mastering the intricacies of the Latin grammar and reading of the deeds which similar heroes in ancient times performed. He was intended at first for the sister branch of the service, and entered the navy as a midshipman. During the Crimean War he had an opportunity of serving on board H.M.S. Leander, under the command of the gallant and much lamented Sir William Peel, who had the rare faculty of inspiring all around him with the same heroic spirit by which he himself was animated. Henry Evelyn Wood soon secured the confidence and won the admiration of the captain of the Leander, whom we find writing to Sir John Page Wood, on the 18th of April, 1855, in the following terms:—“You will be glad to hear that not only has your son shown the most beautiful courage in battery, but his conduct and his manners are as exemplary as his courage.”
Such tributes of praise are the most precious reward of parents whose sons are fighting the battles of their country. Our young hero had soon an opportunity of justifying, in the eyes of the public, the praises bestowed upon him by his leader, to whom, at his own request, he was appointed aide-de-camp—no mere honorary appointment, as the sequel will show. On the 18th of June an attack was made on the Redan, and young Wood, who was foremost in the fray, was wounded by a grape-shot in the arm. Such a wound would have placed most men hors de combat, but the young sailor thought only of his duty. With the huge grape-shot protruding from his arm, he assisted in placing one of the scaling ladders against the walls of the Redan, and continued on the scene of combat throughout the day. His gallant conduct and patient endurance of physical suffering excited the admiration of all who took part in this affair, and called forth the warmest approval of our leaders in the Crimea. The following day Sir Stephen Lushington wrote to his uncle, Captain Mitchell, R.N.:—“You will be sorry to hear that your young nephew, Wood, has been wounded in the arm by a grape-shot. The shot struck the bone obliquely, and was cut out when he got into camp. I saw him in the trenches, and he bore it like a hero. He was Peel’s aide-de-camp, and Peel endeavoured to keep the boy from the murderous fire into which they plunged with the scaling ladders; but he would take no refusal, and went out with the rest. Wood will be at Razatch to-day, in Lord Raglan’s carriage.”
Lord Raglan knew how to appreciate such conduct: not satisfied with placing his carriage at the disposal of the wounded sailor, he thus marked his sense of approval in one of his despatches:—“Amongst those who greatly distinguished themselves were Captain Peel, Mr. Daniels, and Mr. Wood.” Official etiquette prevented Lord Raglan from alluding more particularly to Wood’s conduct in a public despatch, but on the 21st of June he wrote the following kind note to Captain Mitchell:—“I am very glad to have had the opportunity of being in any, the smallest degree, useful to your nephew, Mr. H. E. Wood, whose distinguished career cannot fail to enlist everybody in his favour. I am rejoiced to hear that he is going on well. I am assured that the bone is not injured.” It was by such little acts of kindness that Lord Raglan endeared himself to all who had the honour of serving under him, and such tributes of praise are naturally cherished by their relations as the most precious relics.
Nor was Sir William Peel backward in testifying to the distinguished valour of his gallant aide-de-camp. Writing to his brother, Frederick Peel, Esq., M.P., on the same occasion, he says:—“Would you let Sir Page Wood know that his gallant son behaved with extreme intrepidity? He was, or is, my aide-de-camp, and received a severe wound from a grape-shot, but will not lose his arm. I can assure you I thought more of that boy than of anything else, and tried in vain to plead some excuse for getting him out of the way, but he would be my aide-de-camp, and it would have been a worse blow to have denied him. Thank God he is safe, and it was such a relief to me.” This letter gives us a keen insight into the character of both. No one can read of the ardent impatience of the young sailor-boy to share in the dangers of the field, the reluctant consent wrung from Peel by his importunity, the consciousness of the latter that a refusal would have been more keenly felt than the wound itself, his anxiety about his safety throughout the day, and his gratitude to God for the preservation of his life, without feeling that the most heroic courage is often accompanied by an almost feminine tenderness of heart. We admire Peel for his bravery shown on many a battle-field, but we love his memory for the care with which he watched over the sailor-boy placed under his charge on the 18th of June, and the joy he felt and expressed on finding that his wound was not mortal.