June 16th.—Everybody here is infinitely disgusted at learning the truth about the report of a riot at Simla, and the opinion is universal that —— ought to be removed. Neville Chamberlain is Adjutant-General of the army, and Pat Grant Commander-in-Chief. I do not think either of them will approve of any "soldier" showing his prowess in fighting helpless women and children, or of one whose only courage is exhibited on a peaceful parade, or when an unfortunate subaltern is to be bullied. The weather is intense to-day, and I am uncomfortable from having caught a heavy cold, but it will soon go off, I dare say. I mentioned that four of us had been ordered to prepare a project of attack, and that we had suggested and arranged a bold but perfectly feasible coup-de-main; it was approved and ordered, but in consequence of ——'s not bringing up his troops, was forced to be abandoned; it has again been ordered, countermanded, and finally abandoned. A council of war sat yesterday, and resolved to wait for reinforcements!! our scheme, however, is on record, and our names attached. General Barnard told me yesterday he wished I was a captain, for he would pledge himself to get me a majority for what I had already done; he thought he "might safely promise that at least." But, alas! I am not a captain.
June 18th.—I was not able to write yesterday, for the cold I mentioned as having caught in common with many others in camp, turned into a sharp attack of bronchitis, or inflammation on the chest, and I was really very ill for some hours. To-day I am thankful to say I am much better, though very weak; the inflammation has disappeared, and I hope to be on my horse again to-morrow, in spite of all the doctor says. Every one is very kind, the General particularly so; he insists on having me in his own tent, as being so much larger than my own, and he takes the most fatherly care of me. I can see no reason strong enough to induce me to consent to any ladies coming to camp; it is true that a Captain ——, who with his wife escaped from Delhi to Umbâla, has dragged the unfortunate woman back here again, though expecting her confinement, and with not a shadow of comfort or shelter, except a tent. Even Mrs. ——,[25] and all the others of her sex, have been sent back to Meerut; they never ought to have been allowed to come with us; the greatest consolation to us here is the thought that those dearest to us are in safety, and free from the heat and dangers and annoyances of our life here. Poor Brown was badly wounded last night in the shoulder. I much fear that Dr. Hay has been murdered at Bareilly; his name is among the missing, and scarcely a hope remains.
June 19th.—I am up and dressed, and crawling about a little to-day, but much weaker than I fancied, and dizzy with quinine, and vexed at being useless at such a time. The General nurses me as if I were his son. I woke in the night, and found the kind old man by my bedside, covering me carefully up from the draught. The delay and absolute want of progress here is very disheartening. There have been repeated attacks upon us; all of course with the same result, (but, for that matter, we are as nearly besieged as the rebels themselves are,) and we lose valuable lives in every encounter, the sum total of which would swell the catalogue to the dimensions of that of a general engagement. Our plan of carrying the city by a coup-de-main was frustrated the first night by the fears and absolute disobedience of orders of ——, the man who first lost Delhi, and has now by folly prevented its being recaptured. The General has twice since wished and even ordered it, but has always been thwarted by some one or other; latterly by that old woman ——, who has come here for nothing, apparently, but as an obstacle; —— is also a crying evil to us. The General knows this, and wants to get rid of him, but has not the nerve to supersede him; the whole state of affairs here is bad to a degree; it is true we always thrash the fellows when we can get at them, for they are contemptible as an enemy in the open field, being formidable in numbers only; but the immense resources placed in their hands, by the possession of our magazine and arsenal, inside a walled and fortified town, make it very difficult for an army, unless provided with a proper siege equipment and engineer park, to drive them out in orthodox fashion we have certainly plenty of guns, but we have not men to work them; and of the latter, thanks to ——, we have absolutely nothing, so we do nothing but fire away long shots at the distance of a mile, and repel the enemy's attacks; instead of which we ought to have had our batteries close up to the walls, and been through them, days ago. It was from the conviction that we had no regular means of reducing the place by the fire of our artillery, and at the distance we now are from the walls, and that it was vain to expect our commandant of artillery to attempt any bolder stroke than ordinary with the few guns for which he had hands, which induced me to press the capture of the place by assault, blowing open the gates with powder bags, and rushing in with the bayonet. All was arranged, and under Providence I venture to believe success was certain, but as I say, all was frustrated by terror and disobedience. I fear now nothing can be done for many days, and until other troops arrive; meanwhile the evil is spreading, and disaffection, to use a mild term, increasing. I fear there is no room to doubt that Dr. Hay is dead; he was actually hung, with other civilians, in the market-place at Bareilly, after going through a mock form of trial. All the Europeans at Shahjehanpoor have, we hear, been murdered while they were in church, at the same moment, as nearly as possible, that the Bareilly tragedy was going on.
June 20th.—I am much better to-day, but still very weak, yet work I must. There was a sharp fight again last evening. The enemy came down and attacked our rear, and a sharp conflict ensued between some 2,000 Sepoys with six guns, and 300 Europeans with one gun. The result was as usual, but two events occurred which were important for me. Colonel Becher was shot through the right arm, and Captain Daly badly hit through the shoulder.
The consequence is, that I have in effect to see to the whole work of the Quartermaster-General of the army; and in addition, the General has begged me as a personal favor to take command of the Guides until Daly has recovered. I at first refused, but the General was most urgent, putting it on the ground that the service was at stake, and none was so fit, &c. &c. I do feel that we are bound to do our best just now to put things on a proper footing, and after consulting Seaton and Norman, I accepted the command. How —— will gnash his teeth to see me leading my dear old Guides again in the field. If I can but keep it till Delhi is taken I shall be satisfied, for I think I shall be able to do something towards so favorable a result. Shebbeare was appointed second in command at my request. He is an excellent soldier. General Barnard[26] has written most strongly in my favor, and has voluntarily pledged himself to get me my majority as soon as ever I am a captain. I confess I feel a little proud at being earnestly requested to take again the command of which the machinations of my enemies had deprived me. Our loss altogether last night was not more than 50 killed and wounded; we took two guns;—enemy's loss about 500.
June 21st.—I have been on horseback to-day for the first time since this attack of illness, so I may be considered finally recovered, only I still feel considerable weakness. It is very annoying not to be quite up to the mark in these stirring times, especially when so much work has fallen to my lot. I am fortunate, however, in not being, like many of our poor fellows, laid up with wounds and serious ailments. God has been very good to me, and in nothing more so than in preserving what is most precious to me from the horrible danger and suffering of so many of our poor countrywomen and children. How thankful I am now that Reginald exchanged into an European corps. I never see any of these unhappy refugees, as we call the poor officers whose regiments have mutinied, wandering about the camp, without uttering a mental thanksgiving that he is safe from that at least. I feel more strongly every hour that I should not have been justified in refusing the command of the Guides under present circumstances. We are, in point of fact, reduced to merely holding our own ground till we get more men. The drain on our resources has been enormous, while those of the enemy have proved so much greater, both in men, ammunition, and strength of position, than we expected, and they have fought us so much more perseveringly than was deemed possible, that it has become imperatively necessary to be stronger before striking the final blow. The plan for carrying the city[27] by assault, which I feel convinced would then have been successful, has now become impracticable. The enemy are stronger, we are weaker; besides that, they would be prepared for any coup-de-main now. General Johnstone is to be here by the 23d, we hope with considerable reinforcements, and more will follow. I trust that a few days then will end this business, as far as Delhi is concerned, and so enable a part, at least, of the force to move on towards Allygurh, and reopen the roads and dâks, and restore order for the time; but when the end will be, who can say?
The rising in Rohilcund will, I fear, assume formidable proportions and give us much trouble, as I think we shall scarcely be able to do anything there before the cold weather. There is, in fact, every prospect of a long and tedious campaign. May God's wisdom direct and His mercy defend us!
June 22d.—The hottest day we have had yet; but while I know that the hill stations are quiet, I can bear anything with equanimity. The rumors down here, of all that has been doing and feared at Simla, have been enough to unnerve any one who does not know the truth. Lord W. Hay's judgment and energy deserve every praise. Personally, I cannot but feel gratified at the marked pleasure all hands, high and low, have shown at my renewed command of the Guides. All congratulate me as if they were personally interested; and as to the men themselves, their vociferous, and I really believe honest, delight is quite overpowering. The wounded generally are doing well, poor fellows, considering the heat, dirt, and want of any bed but the dry ground. Their pluck is wonderful, and it is not in the field alone that you see what an English soldier is made of. One poor fellow who was smoking his pipe and laughing with the comrade by his side, was asked, what was the matter with him, and he answered in a lively voice, "Oh, not much, sir, only a little knock on the back; I shall be up and at the rascals again in a day or two." He had been shot in the spine, and all his lower limbs were paralyzed. He died next day. Colonel Welchman[28] is about again; too soon, I fear, but there is no keeping the brave old man quiet. Poor Peter Brown[29] is very badly wounded, but he is cheerful, and bears up bravely. Jacob[30] has "come out" wonderfully. He is cool, active, and bold, keeps his wits about him under fire, and does altogether well. We are fortunate in having him with the force. Good field-officers are very scarce indeed; I do not wonder at people at a distance bewailing the delay in the taking of Delhi. No one not on the spot can appreciate the difficulties in the way, or the painful truth that those difficulties increase upon us. The very large reinforcements which the enemy are receiving, (the whole Bareilly and Rohilcund force, some 5,000 men, are on their way to join,) more than counterbalance the aid which can reach us, so that when the last party arrives the odds will still be immensely against us. It would not so much signify if we could but get them into the open field, but for every gun we can bring to bear upon them they can bring four heavier ones against us. We drive them before us like chaff in the field, but they can and do attack us in two or three quarters at once, and our unfortunate soldiers are worked off their legs. I do not say this to make matters look gloomy, for I am as confident as ever of the result; but we may be a long while yet, and a weary while too, before that result is arrived at. Baird Smith will be here as Chief Engineer in a day or two, and if we can manage to get some batteries made suddenly, we may carry the city shortly; but there are great obstacles. I regret more than ever that the assault was not made on the night of the 11th, when they were unprepared for us, and so much fewer in numbers. Now they increase daily, and the city is so overflowing, that the rascals are encamped outside the gates under cover of their formidable batteries, and in the glacis; so much for giving our arsenal into native keeping. All is well at Agra; beyond that, we know nothing.
June 23d.—The rebels came out again this morning in considerable force, with the avowed intention of attacking us on all sides. They have been frustrated, however, save on one point, and firing is still going on. They do little more than annoy us, and the only great evil they cause, is the keeping our men out for hours in this scorching heat. The worst of all is, that we can do but little harm to them, as they are well under cover. The rascals most forward to-day are the Jullundur troops, who ought never to have been allowed to join the king of the rebels here at Delhi; why they were not pursued and cut up, is at present a mystery, but indignation is strong in camp against those who suffered their escape.
General Johnstone has met with a serious accident at Paneeput, I hear; most unfortunate indeed.