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PEGU, 
 
 BEING A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS DURING 
 
 THE SECOND BUKMESE WAR, 
 
 FROM AUGUST 1852 TO ITS CONCLUSION IN JUNE 1853. 
 With a Succinct Continuation down to February 1854. 
 
 By WILLIAM F. B. LAURIE, 
 
 LIEUT., MADRA8 ARTILLERY, 
 
 AUTHOR OP " A NARRATIVE OP THE OPERATIONS AT RANOOON IN 1852," 
 " 0BI3SA," ETC., ETC. 
 
 WITH PLANS AND SKETCHES, 
 
 BY OFFICERS OP THE FORCE SERVING IN BURMAH. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 65, CORNHILL. 
 
 CALCUTTA : THACKEB, SPINK, AND 00. MADRAS : BAINBRIDQE AND CO. 
 BOMBAY: SMITH, TAYLOR, AND CO. 
 
 MD.CCC.LIV. 
 
COPY ADDED /c- 
 
 ORIGINAL TO B^ . 
 
 RETAINED ^ ^ 
 
 OCT 
 
 2 4199^ 
 
 The Author of this Worh reserves the right ofpermilling a Translation of it. 
 
 HaMHV morse 5T£PH£NS 
 
 EDIMBUROH : PRINTED BY JAMES WIUCfE. 
 
^ 
 
 TO ALL OFFICERS, 
 
 NAVAL AND MILITARY, 
 WHO WERE EMPLOYED DURING 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 THIS VOLUME, 
 
 CONCLUDING A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS WHICH MAY SERVE 
 AS A CHRONICLE TO A FUTURE GENERATION, 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 BY THEIR FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 ToNOHOo, July 1853. 
 
 O L 
 
 12769 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 After writing five Chapters of the Volume which 
 the Author has now the honour to present to the 
 Public, his Company was ordered to form a por- 
 tion of the Martaban Land Column. Accordingly, 
 leaving his elevated residence at the base of the 
 Great Pagoda at Kangoon, a slight regret at part- 
 ing being fully cancelled by the hopes of beholding 
 new and stirring scenes in a country which to him 
 possessed much that was interesting, he went forth 
 with a cheerful heart, fresh for adventure. No 
 opportunity offered for continuing the Work until 
 after arrival at Tonghoo, where he resumed his 
 labours, and eventually had the pleasure of seeing 
 his Narrative, — with its subject, — brought to a close. 
 During the march, as might have been expected, 
 there was much to observe; and the constant habit 
 of keeping daily notes never having been once 
 infringed upon, in but few instances has the Author 
 
VJ PREFACE. 
 
 been under the necessity of calling forth memory to 
 his aid. The entire Volume may be said to be 
 written from numerous carefully collected Notes, 
 for a large number of which the Work is indebted 
 to the kind and liberal exertions of Officers serving 
 with the Army of Burmah. To write anything like 
 a correct Narrative such assistance was absolutely 
 necessary, and very rarely has the Author been 
 compelled to depart from his proposed rule of 
 not venturing on any ground unless Notes were 
 furnished by one engaged, or a spectator. 
 
 It is natural to imagine that such oppressive 
 heat as that which has been experienced in Burmah 
 during the past season would tend to burn up, 
 as it were, the mental energies of a writer. A 
 distinguished literary Bengal civilian, * of days 
 gone by, has a Calcutta stanza for the month of 
 May, to the following effect: — 
 
 " But all in vain I sigh for lands . 
 
 Where happy cheeks with cold look blue ; 
 "While here, i' the shade, the mercury stands 
 At ninety-two." 
 
 But what is this to Prome and Tonghoo, the former 
 Principalities of the Kingdom of Ava, where in the 
 
 * Henry Meredith Parker. 
 
PREFACE. Vn 
 
 shade the mercury has stood at 105" and 108° for 
 several days together? To heat therefore, as well 
 as to the din of war and the frequent difficulty of 
 procuring correct information, many failings may 
 be attributed. And yet, after all, the Author is 
 not sure if he could have sent forth a better book 
 from his quiet "OwPs Nest" in the old Tower at 
 home ! Perhaps too much attention has been paid 
 to military detail, which to non-professional readers 
 cannot be nearly so interesting as that which relates 
 to "society and manners," and which details, critics 
 say, form the life and soul of a literary picture ; but 
 although nothing more than a military account is 
 here attempted, the former will be found not to have 
 been altogether neglected, proving at least a wish to 
 give the work something of a general chjwacter. To 
 the vast numbers of his countrymen who must have 
 felt an interest in this War it is to be hoped that a 
 faithful chronicle of events is here presented. 
 
 To the Officers who have illustrated the Work 
 the Author tenders his warmest thanks. To the 
 London Press, for the consideration, attention, and 
 even praise, that has been bestowed on his former 
 Volume, he feels particularly grateful. Such encou- 
 ragement, he trusts, will be found to have had its 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 result in the preparation of the present Volume ; no 
 man having a right to listen to " the voice of praise"" 
 who does not look upon it as an incentive to increased 
 endeavour. 
 
 A variety of interesting matter has been thrown 
 into the Appendix which it was not necessary to 
 introduce elsewhere, but which will be found to con- 
 tain much that is illustrative of the character and 
 action of the Second BurmesefcVar. 
 
 W. F. B. L. 
 
 ToNGHOO, July 1853. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 I. Our Position, 
 
 II. Martaban, 
 
 III. Before the Advance on Prome, 
 
 IV. The Army of Ava, 
 V. Notes in September, 
 
 VI. The Advance on Prome. — Doings at 
 
 Rangoon, 
 
 VII. Capture and Occupation of Pegu, 
 
 VIII. The Burmese Investment of Pegu; — 
 Critical Position of Major Hill and 
 his Troops, 
 
 IX. Relief of Pegu, and other Opera 
 
 TIONS, 
 
 X. The Proclamation, 
 XI. Burmese Night-attack on Prome, 
 
 XII. The Martaban Land Column. — To 
 Martaban, . 
 
 XIII. From Martaban to Shoe-Gyne, 
 
 XIV. From Shoe-Gyne to Tonghoo, 
 
 Page 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 33 
 
 46 
 
 77 
 100 
 
 114 
 
 120 
 140 
 148 
 
 154 
 168 
 205 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter page 
 
 XV. Notes ON Bassein, . . . 218 
 
 XVI. The Disaster near Donnabew, . 226 
 
 XVII. At Prome and Meeaday, . . 234 
 
 XVIII. Gold. — The Dawn of Improvement, . 244 
 
 XIX. Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape's 
 Operations against the Chief Myat- 
 TooN, . . . . . 251 
 
 XX. Notes at Tonghoo, on the Frontier, . 276 
 
 XXI. Lord Dalhousie's Policy in the Second 
 
 Burmese War, . . . 307 
 
 Notification at the Termination of the War, 354 
 
 Supplement to the Pegu Chapters — containing 
 Pegu transactions from November 1852 
 to January 1853, .... 358 
 
 Continuation of the Narrative to the month 
 OF February 1854, — 
 
 Part I, . . . . .380 
 
 Part II, . . . . . 396 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS & NOTES :— 
 General Godwin's Farewell Address to 
 
 the Army of Burmah, . .413 
 
 Mortality among the Troops in Burmah 
 
 DURING the War, . . .415 
 
 The Campaign in Burmah, 1853, . . 422 
 
 Notes, ..... 426 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. PAGE 
 
 I. Memoranda regarding Martaban, . 433 
 
 II. The Army of Ava, . . . 437 
 
 III. The Madras Army, . . . 439 
 
 IV. River Steamers for the Irrawaddy, . 443 
 V. The Prome Despatches, . . . 446 
 
 VI. Extracts from Officers' Letters, . 459 
 
 VII. Pegu, (from the Letter of an Officer 
 
 present at the Capture,) . .466 
 
 VIII. The Pegu Despatches, &c., . . 469 
 
 IX. A Curious Burmese Document, . . 498 
 
 X. The Karens, . . . .500 
 
 XI. Notes on the Sitang Bore, . . 505 
 
 XII. ToNGHoo Despatches, -Martaban Column, 507 
 
 XIII. The DoNNABEw Despatches, . .516 
 
 XIV. The late Duke of Wellington on the 
 
 Second Burmese War, , . 530 
 
 Postscript, — 
 
 The Author's Tribute to the departed 
 
 General, (Godwin), . . . 533 
 
ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 To Face 
 Pegu, ..... . Title 
 
 Sketch Plan of Prome, . . .79 
 
 Plan of the Fort and Pagoda at Pegu, . 100 
 
 Sketch Plan shewing the Positions of the Bur- 
 mese AND British Troops previous to the 
 Night- Attack on Prome, . . .149 
 
 Sketch of affair before Gongoh, 18th January 
 
 1853, . . . . .176 
 
 Sketch of the Town and Stockade of Shoe- 
 
 Gyne, . . . . .202 
 
 Sketch Plan of the Tonghoo Fortress, . 214 
 
 Plan of Stockade of Meeaday, . . . 237 
 
 Rough Sketch of Brigadier-General Sir John 
 
 Cheape's Operations against Myat-Toon, . 257 
 
 Plan of Breastwork captured from Myat- 
 Toon ON 19th March 1853, . . 267 
 
 Plan of the British Positions at Martaban, . 433 
 
 Plan of Prome and Environs, . . 449 
 
THE 
 
 SECOND BUEME8E WAK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUR POSITION. 
 
 Nothing has ever been said or wTitten more charac- 
 teristic of the British mind, with regard to general 
 conquest or success, than the great Nelson"'s well- 
 known reply to Captain Berry, before the memorable 
 battle of the Nile, When Nelson informed him of the 
 plan of attack, the delighted Captain exclaimed — " If 
 we succeed, what vn\\ the world say ! " " There is no if 
 in the case," replied Nelson ; " that we shall succeed 
 is certain : who may live to tell the story is a very 
 different question," 
 
 Here was confidence ; and in this confidence lies 
 the grand secret of nearly all our successes, naval 
 and military, from the time when the insatiable 
 ambition of Napoleon the Great led him to Egypt — 
 that he might the better devise plans for the deetruc- 
 
^ THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tion of British power in India — down to the day when 
 Rangoon fell into our hands — we trust for ever ; and 
 the well-timed capture of this valuable possession by 
 the Government of British India perhaps saved it 
 from becoming a prize to gratify the ambition of 
 America. With like confidence Olive conquered 
 India when the power of France in the East was in 
 the ascendant, and Dupleix, with his mighty schemes, 
 sought to be lord of all. With this angelic attri- 
 bute Warren Hastings consolidated the conquered 
 Empire, and, confident that he had done his best for 
 his countrymen in such a vast field of labour, went 
 fearlessly through that long and important trial, which 
 has furnished a grand subject for the brilliant pen 
 of Macaulay. With confidence also, when a storm 
 was gathering around us, the JNIarquess Wellesley 
 defeated French, ISIahratta, and Mogul political 
 scheming, and won for himself an imperishable name 
 in our Indian Annals. With like confidence 
 Wellington began in India that extraordinary career 
 of success which led him on conquering and to con- 
 quer, until Napoleon fell, and the peace of Europe 
 was established. But why enumerate more examples 
 of men who have shunned mistrust and embraced 
 confidence ? Suffice it to say, that to such confidence 
 our most distinguished Governors -General and Mili- 
 tary Commanders, who have played their parts well 
 in Hindustan''s wide theatre, will owe much of the 
 credit that may be given them by generations yet 
 unborn. 
 
OUR POSITION. O 
 
 The great Political, it would seem, must be con- 
 fident in himself rather than in others. The great 
 General, again, must be rather more confident in his 
 soldiers than in his own tact or skill. Some may ob- 
 ject to this, and declare for an equal share of con- 
 fidence in both — which, perhaps, is better. These 
 few remarks on a leading cause of success have been 
 suggested by a glance at our position in Burmah, just 
 six months* from the day we left the Madras shore, 
 to which, alas ! many who then quitted it, full of life, 
 and hope, and joy, shall never more return. It is a 
 position achieved by us from confidence in our mental 
 and physical resources. It is a position which has 
 given confidence particularly to the most ancient 
 inhabitants of the country, and has filled them with 
 a cheerful hope, far greater than that they experi- 
 enced in the last war, of being released from the 
 tyranny and oppression of the Government of Ava. 
 It is a position in which so much confidence apparent 
 on the side of our paramount power, and, it might 
 be said, on that of the dawn of enlightenment and 
 civilisation, has caused with the enemy to vanish 
 away, in a great measure, that overweening confi- 
 dence in themselves and their resources which igno- 
 rance was rash enough to array in the field against 
 us. The future historian may write that the Second 
 Burmese war was chiefly caused and prolonged by a 
 few blustering Burmese officers, the representatives 
 of a self-interested rabble, whose chief object was to 
 
 * This volume was commenced in September 1852. 
 
4 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 fill the golden ear of royalty with false reports, that 
 they might prop up a government fast falling to 
 decay, and with greater vigour sow the seeds of ruin 
 in these fertile and beautiful regions. He will then 
 probably gladly tell how the British power came for- 
 ward in time of need with that protecting hand which 
 has been so often held forth in similar missions, and 
 which we trust may be so employed until peace se- 
 cures in her fair dominions the entire human family. 
 
 The Burmese Empire, like other Oriental despot- 
 isms before it, is worn out by its own vice and 
 tyranny, by its utter incapacity to govern ; and yet 
 it has managed to become nearly one hundred years 
 old. 
 
 Rangoon, Martaban, and Bassein, are in our 
 possession, to the infinite delight of the Peguese, 
 or former lords of Burmah, The Irrawaddy, that 
 noble highway, or rather grand artery of the coun- 
 try, is in our hands, which has enabled us for some 
 time to cut off" the enemy's resources. General God- 
 win, with a British force consisting of between two 
 and three thousand men, with a fair proportion of 
 artillery, is on his way to take possession of Prome, 
 and to establish — we trust finally — as ours, that 
 ancient boundary between two kingdoms ; and many 
 a glad heart has gone along with the gallant veteran, 
 steaming up the magnificent waters, rejoicing in 
 being free from the monotony of life at Rangoon. 
 The Bay of Bengal continues to keep up its own ani- 
 mated scene, and its billows are fresher than ever. 
 
OUR POSITION. O 
 
 as if they shared the joy of the Irrawaddy, while 
 the steamers and transports rush across the bhie 
 waters with brave reinforcements for the " Army of 
 Ava." 
 
 Who will deny that such vigour is highly credit- 
 able to the Indian Government ? that such energy 
 and such resources do infinite honour to our Indian 
 Empire, which, although it is not yet a century since 
 Clive won Plassey, is now the wonder and admira- 
 tion of the world ? But in the face of this hard- 
 won glory there are still some good people in Eng- 
 land, perhaps among them those who love above all 
 things to make a public " show," who, to adopt 
 what may be a Free-Trade quotation, see or read of 
 " nothing but growth," and for the most part talk 
 of " nothing but decay ! " 
 
 Among those who have rendered service in any 
 profession, which has gradually worked its way up 
 to public favour, and look back with pride to the 
 day they entered it, not the least important are the 
 members of that army which, " originating in a few 
 gunners' crews and factory guards, has, in the course 
 of not quite two centuries, swollen to that gigantic 
 and well-disciplined host known as the Company "'s 
 Army." * And now, six months after our arrival, 
 far beyond the country of its birth, it has sent for- 
 ward a gallant portion of its sons on another grand 
 enterprise, as pioneers to clear the way for justice 
 and civilisation. 
 
 * Begbie's "Services of the Madras Artillery.'" 
 
6 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 To carry on the chain of this humble Narrative, 
 the reader must start from the conclusion of the 
 first Volume ; and it shall be our endeavour while 
 rambling along, without respect to any particular 
 style, to include as much general and interesting 
 information as it is in our power to give under the 
 circumstances, regarding the people and portions of 
 these " golden dominions" to which the energy and 
 enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon have brought him. 
 
 " The energy and enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon ! "" 
 What a vast field for reflection do these words pre- 
 sent to the mind ! They concern not one country, 
 not one system of laws, not one sovereign, not one 
 creed, but they have to do with many countries, 
 many legal systems, many sovereigns, many creeds. 
 In these eight words is a power which may, in one 
 sense, be likened to the Hindu deity with four heads 
 and numerous arms ; but which, unlike that mytho- 
 logical symbol, is not destined to exhibit only the 
 likeness of a wonder-working exterior ; for it must 
 travel over the earth, put down tyranny and oppres- 
 sion, encourage industry and commerce, promote 
 learning and the true religion, and every art and 
 every science, so as to aid the grand cause of uni- 
 versal justice and freedom here, and assist in teach- 
 ing others to hope for the reward of their being, in 
 those high destinies which most surely await all the 
 sons of earnest and useful progress ! 
 
MARTABAN. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MARTABAN, 
 
 From the former portion of this Narrative the 
 reader may have gained some slight idea of Marta- 
 ban. It was thrice briefly touched upon: — first, 
 on the occasion of our attack and capture at the 
 commencement of the war ; then a few remarlcs 
 were given concerning the beauty and probable 
 utility of the Province ; then came Moung-Shoay- 
 loang, the notorious Dacoit chief — the Rob Roy 
 of these fertile regions — who was sent from Ava by 
 the Golden Foot to retake Martaban, or forfeit his 
 head in the event of failure. He did signally fail ; 
 but we have yet to learn whether Moung-Shoay's 
 head is off, or still upon his shoulders. Notwith- 
 standing the cheapness of heads in this country, 
 the latter is the most probable conclusion — Dacoit 
 chiefs may have a head to spare. While presenting 
 a record of this daring design to re-capture Marta- 
 ban, nothing was said regarding the gallantry of 
 the troops engaged. The enemy mustered in con- 
 
8 THE SECOND BURMESE AVAR. 
 
 siderable strength, but they were vigorously 
 repelled through the exertions of our small force, 
 foremost in which ranked Major Hall, and officers 
 and men of the 49th Madras Native Infantry ; and 
 the energy and talent of Commodore Lynch, also 
 the zeal and promptitude of Lieutenant Purvis, 
 were of no ordinary value on this trying occasion. 
 Of the latter officer, and others who were present, 
 it may be well to give the following extract from 
 " Station Orders by Major R. Hall, Commanding 
 Martaban, 10th June 1852 :" — " Major Hall 
 tenders his best thanks to Lieutenant Purvis and 
 the detachment of Artillery (Madras) under his 
 command, whose excellent service at the guns pre- 
 vented the enemy from assembling near us in strong 
 bodies ; to Captain Stewart and his detachment of 
 the 49th M. N. L, who pursued them in skirmishing 
 
 order until they discovered their stronghold 
 
 To Captain Rickards, who proceeded with reinforce- 
 ments, composed of a detachment of H.M's. 51st 
 K. O. L, I., under Captain Anderson, and a detach- 
 ment of the 49th, under Captain Coxwell ; but 
 whose arrival to rout the enemy was unfortunately 
 anticipated by the gun-boats of the Feroze ; and to 
 all officers and men engaged on that day ." The 
 supreme director of the enemy''s attack is said to 
 have been the Ex-Governor of Martaban, who 
 marched from a strong Burmese post called Shoay- 
 gyne or Shwe-gyen, on the Sitang River, Some 
 
 * Wednesday 26th May 1852. — See also Appendix, No. I. 
 
MARTABAN. 9 
 
 have ventured to affirm that it was " a mUitary 
 blunder " our not taking and occupying that post 
 instead of Martaban. Looking attentively at their 
 respective positions on the map, and especially con- 
 sidering the proximity of Martaban to Moulmein 
 (Meelmyne), the British Cantonment, it is difficult 
 to see how any military blunder was committed 
 under the circumstances. To have occupied Pegu 
 and Shoay-gyne after Rangoon, Martaban, and 
 Basscin, would have been well, had sufficient troops 
 been available ; such not being the case. General 
 Godwin, we think, did the best in his power. At 
 the same time it is much to be regretted that after 
 virtually taking possession, he had not then suffi- 
 cient troops to spare for the occupation of such an 
 important post as Pegu, 
 
 Supposing we had not captured Martaban, might 
 not an overwhelming, emboldened, desperate band — 
 ruffians like those of the gang of Moung Shoay- 
 loang — have come down like a torrent on Moul- 
 mein ? and might not a few " Lady Sale's " fair 
 prisoners, have given us trouble for weeks to come ? 
 
 A lady some time ago wrote a vivid description 
 of our capture of Martaban, " the attack on which 
 place, with the landing of the troops, was distinctly 
 visible from Moulmein. On the morning of the 5th 
 April all the inhabitants of that station assembled 
 with telescopes at Battery Point to watch the 
 crossing of the troops and the operations that 
 followed. The sight was most beautiful ; the 
 
10 TUB SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 steamers commenced crossing the river at 6 A. m., 
 and at 8 ©""clock the British flag was flying over the 
 town !" 
 
 Dacoity has long been pursued as a profession at 
 Martaban and the adjacent Provinces. Here this 
 gang-robbery, on a large scale, appears to have 
 been carried on with as much ferocity as by those 
 troops of Mahratta and Pindarree freebooters so 
 prominent in Indian history, who came down from 
 their wild regions of hills and rivers like a flash of 
 lightning on the helpless. But this, strictly speak- 
 ing, is rather the destructive propensity of the Pin- 
 darrees than of the Mahrattas. Although the latter 
 regarded plunder as an important part of their 
 policy, still an inclination to domestic life, and a 
 strong wish to attain political power, often subdued 
 the latent desire for utter ruin and desolation. The 
 aim of the Pindarree was " not to possess a dis- 
 trict, but to sweep away all that is in it." We liken, 
 therefore, the Burmese freebooters rather to the 
 Mahrattas, acting with some skill and wisdom on 
 what for generations they have considered to be the 
 "good old rule," 
 
 " The simijle plan, 
 That they should take who have the power, 
 And they should keep who can ! " 
 
 Probably, like the Pindarrees, their bands are con- 
 tinually augmented by persons of idle and desperate 
 character. The Governor of Martaban, for years 
 past, had been a notorious Dacoit ; and, doubtless, 
 
MARTABAN. 11 
 
 under his auspices, if not under his immediate 
 superintendence, bands of hundreds at different 
 times have crossed over and attacked Mouhiiein. 
 There is Beling, a stockaded position in the vicinity 
 of Martaban, another rendezvous, of course, for 
 Dacoits, forming also a retreat for the army of 
 robbers. The destruction of this place, and similar 
 dens, we hope to record ere the conclusion of this 
 Narrative. 
 
 With reference to the Burmese attack on Marta- 
 ban before described, there appears to have been 
 some neglect in not occupying and fortifying certain 
 heights. We believe that this drew down censure 
 from the General. And surely in a new country, 
 after conquest, the most important matter for consi- 
 deration is defence ! Greater care was subsequently 
 taken ; but notwithstanding such precaution, har- 
 assing, by keeping constantly on the alert the small 
 force which held Martaban, the place was again 
 attacked at the end of July, On the 31st of that 
 month the enemy became bold. Simple allusion has 
 been made to this fact at the conclusion of our pre- 
 vious volume, but here is an extract from the 
 columns of a journalist : — 
 
 '"'' August 2d. — Last Saturday the Burmese were so 
 daring as to take up a position so close to us as to 
 enable them to send a four-pound shot rattling 
 among the Artillery barracks, but fortunately with- 
 out doing any one harm. Colonel Johnson * deter- 
 
 * Commaudiug in the Teuassseriin Provinces. 
 
12 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 mined to attack them in their stronghold, and gave 
 orders to Major Bayly to do so. On Sunday, at 
 gun-fire, they started, and when within range two 
 or three rounds of grape were fired, which caused 
 the Burmese to fly. The iron four-pounder was 
 taken, two wooden guns, and some scaling ladders, 
 but no wounded or dead were seen. So the chas- 
 tisement inflicted must have been very slight ; but 
 it has the effect of keeping the Burmese quiet, as 
 they have not been heard firing since."" That they 
 might amuse themselves by firing at us with some 
 security, we are informed "that a stockade was built, 
 to the other side of which they went when our firing 
 commenced, and hid themselves in a large cave that 
 is in the further side of the hill, coming out again 
 when the firing ceased ! " 
 
 Towards the middle of August the 1st Madras 
 Native Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Golds worthy reached Moulmein, a fortunate 
 arrival, as the garrison there was sadly in need of 
 reinforcement ; no little responsibility was attached 
 to guarding a town some four or five miles long, 
 with cantonments, arsenal, and magazine. 
 
 Having gone thus far, we now proceed to give a 
 topographical sketch of Martaban, the materials for 
 which have been contributed by Assistant-Surgeon 
 Dickinson of the Madras Army, who lately returned * 
 from that station, where he had medical charge. 
 
 " This paper was written in October 1852. 
 
martaban. 13 
 
 Martaban is on the right or north bank of the 
 Salween River, nearly opposite Moulmein, The can- 
 tonment is situated on a low, flat, piece of ground, 
 having one side facing the river; the remaining three 
 sides are surrounded by jungle and swamp. A por- 
 tion of the jungle was cleared away by the force 
 occupying this station; after the trouble of clearance, 
 small brush-wood rapidly sprang up, as if to supply 
 its place. No roads are passable during the rains ; 
 but in the hot season there is a road leading to 
 Beling, or Billing, which is said to be quite passable. 
 In the neighbourhood of Martaban there are several 
 hills, on ascending which you are filled with enchant- 
 ment at the surrounding views ; — from the hill stock- 
 ade alone there is a series of beautiful views — pic- 
 turesque woodland scenery, luxuriant foliage, giving 
 and taking beauty while reposing beside the nume- 
 rous silvery creeks. In the ground there is much 
 rock ; and the soil appears to be a dark clay. The 
 water is generally bad, and only one well could be 
 found which supplied any water that could be con- 
 sidered drinkable. The water in the other wells 
 was found to be very full of animalcidce, with a dis- 
 agreeable flavour of an aluminous nature. As a 
 station, Martaban at present is very unhealthy ; the 
 troops stationed there suffered severely from fever, — 
 arising from constant exposure at night, together 
 with the combined influence of jungle and swamp. 
 When the land wind blew a most unpleasant and 
 unhealthy odour pervaded the atmosphere. Outside 
 
14 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the stockade there is a hill, around which a stockade 
 (independent of the lower stockade) was erected ; 
 and on this work several guns were planted, com- 
 manding a long range of ground. Within this hill 
 stockade is a tank, full during the rainy season, the 
 water of which was perfectly green ; and here were 
 stationed about two hundred men. The per centage 
 of sickness was very high, being 40 per cent ! At 
 low water the Commissariat elephants could wade 
 across the river. As a military station it is thought 
 that Martaban must be abandoned. Ever since the 
 British have known the Province it has been con- 
 sidered a feverish country ; and it was no uncommon 
 thing for Surgeons to cross over to the Governor or 
 his suite to render assistance ! It is a wonder that 
 these medical philanthropists, like the immortal Sur- 
 geon Boughton, were not rewarded in some substan- 
 tial manner; such generosity on the part of a Gover- 
 nor of Martaban might have saved us a second 
 Burmese war ! From medical aid what great events 
 have sprung ! If Boughton were to appear now among 
 us, he would find a little difference in our power 
 since the year 1634, when in the Deccan he cured 
 the Emperor Shah Jehan'^s daughter, who had been 
 severely burnt by her clothes taking fire. As a 
 reward, it is well known, the Emperor gave him 
 permission to trade to Bengal FREE OF DUTY. He 
 established himself at Piply, near Balasore, where 
 he set up the English factory. There the English, 
 who now govern the vast empire of India, anchored 
 
MARTABAN. 15 
 
 their first ship.* A iew years afterwards, Boiighton 
 went to pay his respects to Sultan Soojah, the Em- 
 peror's son, at Eajmahal. One of the Lights of the 
 Sultan's seraglio was afflicted nigh unto death. 
 Boughton prescribed for the beauty, cured her, 
 and as a reward the Viceroy gave the English 
 permission to establish factories at Balasore and 
 Hooghly, as well as at Piply ! But the times have 
 changed, almost universally since then, to Free- 
 Trade as well as to freedom of opinion ! Who will 
 venture to say that the commercial and philanthropic 
 surgeon would have thought we suffered from either, 
 while deciding on the state of our progress at the 
 middle of the nineteenth century ? We have thus 
 been led away to the Surgeon of Surat, after having 
 exhausted the Notes of our modern Surgeon from 
 Martaban. 
 
 • Marsliman's "History of Bengal,''* p. 45. 
 
16 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 BEFORE THE ADVANCE ON PROME. 
 
 From the middle to the end of August every one 
 was busy; and Rumour, with her thousand tongues, 
 was the busiest of all. What business of this 
 month that has not been already narrated, let us 
 now endeavour to supply. 
 
 An attack was made on the night of the 14th on 
 a house in the quiet village of Puzendown, almost 
 under our very eyes. This house was occupied by 
 the Ex-Governor of Pegu ; and the attacking party 
 consisted of 50 Burmese soldiers — doubtless dacoits 
 — who had been sent from that capital. Their in- 
 tention was to carry off the chief who, hitherto, had 
 so cleverly eluded their vigilance, proving to his 
 numerous oppressors that the ancient blood of Pegu 
 still ran in his veins. On this occasion the Burmese 
 were repulsed with the loss of two or three killed. 
 The Ex- Governor, we understand, fought bravely 
 with his small band, defending himself in a manner, 
 notwithstanding a severe wound, worthy of the best 
 
MESSAGE FROM THE DALLA-WOON. 17 
 
 days of Pegu chivalry ! Several of the prisoners 
 were brought before Captain Latter. 
 
 The Burmese at Pronie were said to be employed 
 on an extensive stockade, or rather breastwork, in a 
 commanding position, beyond the fire of the steamers. 
 From 10,000 to 15,000 men were reported to be in 
 and about Prome ; 7000 at Pegu ; with some 4000 
 Cassay* horse, and outposts between Pegu and Ran- 
 goon ; 10,000 men at Shoe-Gyne ; and a large force 
 at Beling, near Martaban. Ava was said to be 
 filled with guns ; and there were the two fierce bri- 
 gades, headed by a Picton and an Uxbridge of the 
 Burmese army, styled the Invulnerables and the In- 
 vincibles, who were certainly to cut all the English 
 to pieces ! The Burmese were not going to await 
 our attack, but they determined to attack us when 
 the rains abated. 
 
 Accounts from the steamers up the river reached 
 us that Bundoola, with the various expelled Woons 
 or Ex-Governors, remained at Prome. The Dalla 
 Woon sent a communication to Commander Tarle- 
 ton proposing a conference on the subject of the 
 war. Tarleton replied ^* that he had no power to 
 entertain the subject, but that if the Dalla Woon 
 was duly authorised, he would guarantee him safe 
 conduct to Rangoon in one of the steamers. He did 
 not accede to this proposal, but wished to know 
 whether, in the event of his communicating with the 
 Commodore, we would remain below Prome till 
 
 * Munniporo. 
 
18 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 matters might be settled. This ruse was so trans- 
 parent as to indicate but an indifferent opinion of 
 our penetration. His Dalla Woonship was in- 
 formed in reply, that nothing short of a treaty of 
 peace between the two Nations would stay our pro- 
 ceedings.* The Woon would not trust himself to 
 the mercy of the British General, At Ava his 
 head would surely have gone for losing Dalla. How 
 could it possibly be safe with General Godwin ? The 
 Dalla Woon knew nothing about British attach- 
 ment to an immortal remark made by one William 
 Shakspere long ago, to the effect that " mercy sea- 
 sons justice." He wished to know what reception 
 he would meet with — what would be done with him ? 
 Another authority says, " the true object in view 
 came out then ; he conditioned that while he was in 
 treaty the steamers were to cease going up and 
 down the river ! *" The Nation that produced Lord 
 Palmerston could hardly have been defeated by the 
 diplomacy and cunning of a Burmese Woon. 
 
 It may interest some to learn that the trans- 
 ports, such as the Atalanta, of four or five hun- 
 dred tons, employed by the Government at Ran- 
 goon as store-ships, or stationed with the army 
 on the Irrawaddy, were paid at the rate of eight 
 or nine rupees per ton, per month. In China, 
 we understand, the transports received twelve 
 rupees per ton. During the last Burmese war the 
 
 * From " a valuable commuuication which we have received 
 from a friend in Burmah." — Friend of India. 
 
WRECK OF THE MAZEPPA. 19 
 
 enormous sum of twenty-five rupees was given! It 
 must be borne in mind that the expenses attending 
 a good ship are very considerable. Wages, keeping 
 the vessel in repair, and insurance, run away with a 
 large portion of the ship-ovvner\s profits. However, 
 a vessel of six hundred tons, at eight rupees, might 
 do a tolerable " business " in one year of an Indian 
 sea-port or river war — that is, in addition to the 
 amount received for the transport of troops to their 
 destination, which may be put down at say twenty 
 or twenty-five thousand rupees. During the present 
 war the Government, possessing such an admirable 
 fleet of steamers adapted for every service, has obvi- 
 ated the necessity of employing numerous transports. 
 But what has steam done that is not beneficial to 
 mankind ? 
 
 The " transport" Mazeppa, on her way from Cal- 
 cutta to Rangoon, was wrecked towards the end of 
 August. This is a matter of little general import- 
 ance; but the brig had on board a considerable quan- 
 tity of mess supplies for difierent regiments ; and 
 their loss was rather a serious business to numerous 
 military adventurers in Burmah. 
 
 The war- steamers Sphynx and Moozuffer left 
 Rangoon for Madras on the 23d instant, to bring 
 troops for the approaching campaign. The Fire 
 Queen, hitherto so useful as a despatch and letter- 
 carrier to and from Calcutta, was now raised to the 
 dignity of a war-steamer. The Commodore has got 
 her mounted with eight 12-pounders, andshe is destined 
 
20 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 to share in the glories of the war, following up the 
 recent little success at Prome — and followed in her 
 wake by the Enterprise. Captain H. P. Keighly, of 
 the 49th Madras Native Infantry, and Mr Chisholm 
 — the former from Martaban, and the latter from 
 Moulmein, are now here engaged in the preparation 
 of a flotilla of boats for the conveyance of stores 
 and baggage on the movement upwards.""* 
 
 On the 26tli of August the theatre at Eangoon pre- 
 sented a brilliant appearance. The performances were 
 Douglas Jerrold's Re^it Day., with the Farce of The 
 Happy Man ! The scenery and decorations of the 
 house were in excellent taste, and the acting was ad- 
 mirable. General Godwin was present on the occasion, 
 and a large audience of officers and men. The drama 
 throughout was listened to with profound attention. 
 Rachel Hey wood, Martin Hey wood, and the wily Bull- 
 frog, were capital in their respective parts. As an old 
 actor on the Indian boards, one may be allowed to ex- 
 presshisapprobation by asserting that after witnessing 
 the Ment Day at Eangoon he felt a pleasure, surpass- 
 ed only by that which we might feel after beholding 
 the majesty of a Macready, or the genteel humour of 
 Charles Matthews ! Little the author thought, while 
 writing his instructive play, that it would ever be 
 performed off a grand stair-case near the upper ter- 
 race of the Shoe Dagoon Pagoda ! In the Happy 
 Man the principal actor was evidently an amateur 
 
 * Correspondent of " Calcutta Morning CItronick, Sept. 3." 
 
THE THEATRE AT IIANGOON. 21 
 
 " Power ;" and we shall surely live a very long time if 
 there be aught of truth in the saying, " Every time 
 a man laughs adds a day to his life !" 
 
 The drop-scene representing the storming party 
 at the eastern entrance on the 14th April, by an 
 Artillery Officer, and a superb fancy scene, painted by 
 an Officer of Engineers, were much admired ; while 
 the music was both of a plaintive and a spirit-stirring 
 nature, as if composed to sympathise with the lights 
 and shades of a soldier's life ! 
 
 On the morning of the 28th an unsuccessful attempt 
 was made to effect a breach in a flank of the west 
 face of the great stockade with two 24-pounders, and 
 two 8-inch howitzers, at respective ranges of about 
 400 and 600 yards. The detachment employed in 
 this " experimental practice" was from the Madras 
 Artillery. That it would be perfectly useless to 
 attempt the breaching of a stockade with howitzers 
 in any reasonable time several of the officers well 
 knew, for they had carefully examined the construc- 
 tion of the dense, tough, timber wall, which, though 
 lacking the beauty of a work issued from the hand 
 of a Vauban or a Cormontaigne, nevertheless had 
 been raised on simply natural principles of surpassing 
 strength. But many were curious to see what could 
 be done ; even the General honoured the scene with 
 his presence; and it is to be regretted that a fair 
 and deliberate trial, even to achieve what seemed to 
 some an impossibility, could not have been given on 
 this occasion. In the first place, the time occupied 
 
22 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 in getting the howitzers through the deep mud to 
 the scene of action was far too long to be pleasant, 
 on account of the sun — for mere practice, to the 
 assembled spectators who of course hoped to wit- 
 ness the experiments in the cool of the morning. To 
 atone for this unavoidable delay every thing was now 
 done in a hurry. One howitzer could hardly be 
 moved from its deep position in the mud to bring it 
 in a fair line with the work ; others were pointed too 
 quickly, to admit of much precision ; in short, what 
 with Bengal materiel with Madras gunners and much 
 haste, the great end of " experimental practice" 
 was defeated altogether. Dead shells and live shells 
 were fired off, but little damage was done to the 
 stockade. There were a few good shots, most of 
 which merely served to open the palisades — if such 
 enormous massive piles can be so called — and then 
 being buried in the thick bank of earth behind, the 
 shell became powerless. With reduced charges it 
 was now thought that a shell might be thrown so as 
 to land and burst exactly between the timbers and 
 the earth, when the explosion would rend the former 
 asunder, and thereby accomplish a breach.* 
 
 Time and platforms, however, were to assist the 
 next " experiments," one of which was carried into 
 effect on the afternoon of the 6th September, under 
 
 * On the foregoing occasion a Service-charge was used, viz. — 
 for the 8-inch howitzers, 4 lbs. of powder; elevation from 
 34 to 3| degrees. 
 
ARTILLERY PRACTICE. 23 
 
 a detachment from the Bengal Artillery. Here, 
 probably, was now presented, in the opinion of some 
 of the force at Rangoon — to those unacquainted with 
 Artillery details — a favourable opportunity for judg- 
 ing of the respective scientific merits of the " strong 
 arm" at the two Presidencies. Here is to come, 
 thought a few, the " tug of war" between Theory 
 and Practice ! Madras had not been required to 
 share in the recent glories of the Punjaub ; so her 
 Artillery doing any thing remarkable on the field, or 
 away from " home," had become a mere matter of 
 history. It was enough that her practice at Saint 
 Thomas's Mount was celebrated far and wide. With 
 Olive during the most brilliant portion of his career — 
 and in the Mysore, in Egypt, at Assaye, Bourbon, 
 Java, ISlahidpore, Nagpore, Corygaum, in Ava, in 
 China — besides a vast number of minor though 
 highly important services — yet what did all signify 
 in 1852 I But let us now see how the Artillerymen 
 on the second occasion thundered against the stock- 
 ade, how the " counterfeit" and more* of the 
 " immortal Jove's dread clamours," tore asunder the 
 enormous timbers and effected an admirable breach 
 in the work ! 
 
 Such is a faint acme of imagination to which, 
 probably, some would-be scientific critics worked 
 themselves up, before the opportunity of comparison 
 arrived. On the 6th of September, for the two 8-inch 
 iron howitzers, the range was, as before, 600 yards. 
 * The Shell. 
 
24 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 For the first two rounds only half the service-charge 
 was used, or two lbs. of powder ; the elevation was 
 for the first round 7^, and for the second, 6|0 ; the 
 length of fuze was 8-tenths of an inch. The first 
 round was " over," the second hit the bottom of 
 the stockade. For the third, and remaining seven- 
 teen rounds, three lbs. of powder were used, with 
 the elevation varying from 4^ to 4p, and the fuze 
 from 7-tenths of an inch to 6-tenths. The following 
 additional details may interest the Artillerist : — In 
 the fifth round the shell grazed 12 feet short, and 
 buried itself in the earth — fuze not exploded. In 
 the eighth round the shell grazed 15 feet short, 
 rebounded from stockade — fuze not exploded. In 
 the eleventh the shell passed through top of stock- 
 ade and lodged on the rampart — fuze good. Among 
 the other rounds we have — " hit stockade 5 feet 
 from the ground, penetration 2^ feet, fuze good;"" 
 again, " grazed 50 yards short, hit stockade, pene- 
 trated about 3 feet, fuze not seen;" and again, " hit 
 stockade 3^ feet from ground, penetration 4 feet- 
 fuze good." On one occasion a hit at the bottom 
 of the stockade produced no penetration ; and in 
 another, a hit between two timbers, 4 feet from 
 the ground, produced a penetration of 64 feet — 
 fuze not seen. The timbers of the stockade are of 
 " irregular diameters, and the intervals between them 
 vary," say, from two to three inches, " hence the 
 difference of penetration," The rampart behind the 
 stockade was of clay, in which, it is supposed, the 
 
ARTILLERY PRACTICE. 25 
 
 fuze choked, as the explosion of many of them was 
 not seen. 
 
 On a subsequent occasion* the Bengal Artillery- 
 detachment, with live shells, and with the same two 
 8- inch howitzers, endeavoured to effect a breach 
 or destroy the stockade ; but very little injury was 
 done to the sturdy work. The Burmese savant who 
 made it seemed to have held our howitzers in as 
 much contempt as Nelson did the broadsides of the 
 French. The question was now solved, not that It 
 is utterly impossible to effect a breach in a stockade 
 with howitzers, by throwing shells and causing them 
 to explode in the right time or place, but that it 
 would be imprudent to attempt it before the fire 
 of an enemy. It would be time and life thrown 
 away. 
 
 On the occasion of the Madras Artillery " prac- 
 tice," the explosion of the shells damaged the earthen 
 rampart, blew up one of the wooden ties or binders 
 of the stockade, and would have rendered the place 
 untenable by an enemy, although the effect requir- 
 ed, as with the Bengal arm, was not produced. 
 
 In these days of militia, martial ardour, or 
 National defence, no excuse need be given for put- 
 ting some more gunpowder into this Chapter. 
 
 The effect produced by bags of powder on the 
 stockade was found to be very satisfactory. It is 
 written in the military books that to throw down 
 a strong palisade, from 30 to 50 lbs. of powder 
 
 * September 10th. 
 
26 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 should be used. To burst open a town gate, 
 from 60 to 70 lbs. are required; but it is unsafe 
 to depend upon less than 200 lbs. for that pur- 
 pose. Much less, of course, will do for an 
 ordinary gate ; and as the process is very simple, 
 all alarmists about French invasion had better 
 look to it. The leathern bag with the powder is 
 simply hooked upon the gate, " and fixed by 
 means of a piece of portfire passed through a hole 
 in the bottom, and well secured with twine." * Old 
 ladies and gentlemen at home in their castles 
 will observe that even they are not safe in case of 
 invasion. 
 
 Two hundred lbs. of powder on one occasion 
 made a complete breach in a very strong part of the 
 stockade. At another time the experiment was 
 tried with 100 lbs. The powder was in two bags 
 of 50 lbs. each, which were placed at the foot of 
 the timbers and covered over with sand-bags. 
 Much, but not sufficient damage for a practicable 
 breach was produced by the explosion ; so 150 lbs. 
 of powder, or say three bags of 50 lbs. each, may 
 be taken as the proper quantity for efi*ecting a 
 breach in a Burmese or any other strong stockade ; 
 yet to make assurance doubly sure, it may be 
 better in most cases to use 200 lbs. Now, the 
 question comes to be, would the enemy allow you 
 
 * In uo case does it seem desirable to suspend the charge 
 above the level of the ground. — Aide Memoire. 
 
MODES OF ASSAULT. 27 
 
 to fix your bags of powder by day or by night ? It 
 is just possible he might be asleep on such an 
 occasion. It is highly probable he would be awake ! 
 So the safest plan would appear to be, first, to render 
 the place, as much as possible, untenable by the 
 enemy, by enfilading with the most destructive 
 projectiles of Artillery, and then to send forward 
 the pioneers and infantry ; the former to clear away 
 abattis, find out some winding entrance, plant 
 ladders, or supply their place by making a breach 
 with powder-bags, sufficient to allow the troops to 
 effect a speedy and extensive occupation of the 
 work. True enough the Burmese are cunning, and 
 in this as in the last war used various ai'tifices for 
 covering themselves from the effects of shot and 
 shell. But a panic soon takes place. One chief 
 cause of our general success in the East is that 
 fertility of resources in time of need and danger 
 which adorns the European mind. Take one of the 
 most remote instances of the many that might be 
 cited in India up to the present day. See Olive at 
 Arcot,"' maintaining himself for fifty days against 
 a French and Native force ! When the enemy's 
 breaching battery brought down fifty feet of wall 
 between two towers, the garrison made a formidable 
 retrenchment behind it, and planted their three 
 field pieces so as to sweep the breach ! 
 
 A wall and the French bring us nearer to Euro- 
 pean warfare ; so, for the instruction of non-profes- 
 * October 1751. 
 
28 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 sional readers who may feel an interest in the sub- 
 ject, it may be remarked that against exposed walls 
 good iron guns can breach from a distance of 
 500 or 600 yards. You commence to fire as near 
 the bottom of the wall as possible, and at each 
 extremity of the side or front ; afterwards, the guns 
 are brought to bear gradually upwards till the 
 breach is completed. 
 
 Let us now turn again to the Narrative of events 
 at the end of August and the beginning of Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 " The boats of the H. C, steam-frigate Zenohia 
 proceeded about twenty-eight miles above Marta-^ 
 ban to reconnoitre, having received information 
 that 300 of the enemy were encamped at a village 
 named Ketturhee. The boats arrived in company 
 with the schooner Pegu, abreast of the village ; and 
 on the 1st of September the second cutter was 
 ordered to pull a-head of the other boats, and 
 endeavour to obtain the strength of their position. 
 She had not proceeded far however, before the 
 Burmese opened a sharp fire with jinjals and 
 muskets, which was speedily returned from the 
 cutter, pinnace, and schooner. The Burmese kept 
 up the contest with great spirit ; and the direction 
 of their fire was very good. They commenced with 
 a continuation of jinjal balls, followed by vollies of 
 musketry at the boats and schooner. About forty 
 minutes elapsed before the enemy slackened their 
 fire, when the Zenohia s second cutter and pinnace 
 
ACTION AT KETTURHEE. 
 
 29 
 
 pulled for the stockade, landed, and burnt the 
 village to the ground. An immense quantity of 
 ammunition was found and destroyed. The stock- 
 ade abreast of the river was about 300 yards in 
 length, about ten feet high, and about three 
 feet thick, with a trench cut inside. The work 
 might have made a resolute defence ; it was 
 held probably by more than 300 men judging 
 from the number of killed and wounded, which, 
 on account of the boats landing our men so 
 quickly, the Burmese had not tim« to drag away. 
 The spherical case shell * fired by the artillery-men 
 of the Zenobia, on board the Pegu, must have done 
 great execution, as it burst with precision among 
 crowds of men who set us at defiance. Our boats 
 were sadly riddled with musket-balls ; but fortu- 
 nately not a single man was hurt. The schooner's 
 crew had some remarkable escapes ; her gunner"'s 
 hat was shot through with a jinjal ball, and imme- 
 diately afterwards the sleeve of his coat was shot 
 away ; the schooner''8 main boom was shot through 
 in one or two places. The boats of the Zenohia and 
 the Pegu returned on Wednesday the 2d inst. to 
 the anchorage off the creek, all on board being much 
 pleased with the success of their small yet important 
 expedition. The fatigue and exposure that both 
 officers and men underwent rendered the work of 
 no ordinary nature, the men being on their oars 
 
 • Very destructive ; producing the same effect as common 
 case or canister shot, but at a much greater range. 
 
30 THE SECOND BURMESE "WAR. 
 
 nearly the whole of the time, and constantly wet 
 through. Mr Bondville was also present with three 
 boats of the river Police, and gave great assist- 
 ance. Eighteen canoes were captured in all."" * 
 The Burmese must now pretty clearly see the 
 utter uselessness of this species of " Man of 
 War." 
 
 AVith regard to the capabilities of Moulmein as a 
 building-yard for British vessels of war, the Times 
 of that quarter remarks — " Our own forests are still 
 prolific of timber, sufficient for a number of years to 
 come. The Shan forests are known to be of great 
 extent, and the timber must find its way into the 
 Moulmein market, there being no other to which it 
 can be taken with advantage to the traders ;" and 
 with regard to the building of vessels in general at 
 this port — For " material and workmanship we 
 believe they cannot be excelled anywhere, while the 
 cost is considerably less than that of either Calcutta 
 or Bombay." 
 
 The new ship Granville is described " as a splendid 
 specimen of naval architecture;" and the Tenas- 
 serim, one of our best Indian steamers, was built at 
 Moulmein. 
 
 European intelligence had arrived that the Queen 
 had prorogued Parliament in person, on the 1st of 
 July. Her Majesty was pleased to observe in the 
 Speech to the assembled Lords and Commons, with 
 
 • " We are greatly indebted to a friend for this account." — 
 Moulmein Times. The above has been slightly altered. 
 
ROYAL AND INDIAN NAVY. 31 
 
 regard to Burinah : " The refusal, on the part of 
 the King of Ava, of redress justly demanded for 
 insults and injuries offered to my subjects at Ran- 
 goon, has necessarily led to an interruption of 
 friendly relations with that Sovereign. The promp- 
 titude and vigor with which the Governor-General 
 of India has taken the measures, thus rendered 
 unavoidable, have merited my entire approbation ; 
 and I am confident that you will participate in the 
 satisfaction with which I have observed the conduct 
 of all the naval and military forces, European and 
 Indian, by whose valour and discipline the important 
 captures of Rangoon and Martaban have been 
 accomplished ; and in the hope which I entertain 
 that these signal successes may lead to an early 
 and honourable peace." 
 
 The above well-merited allusion by Her Majesty 
 to the conduct of the naval forces would naturally 
 lead any attentive observer of affairs in this war 
 to consider the relative positions of the Royal and 
 Indian Navy on a service purely Indian or Eastern, 
 touching the increase or protection of the East 
 India Company's territories. It is well known that 
 the officers of both services hold commissions from 
 the Crown. What would England and the world 
 have said, if, instead of fighting our great naval 
 battles, Lords St Vincent and Nelson had been 
 employed on coast-guard duty ? On a special ser- 
 vice, for the interests of the State, should not the 
 preference be given to seniority, combined with vast 
 
32 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 experience, skill, and knowledge ? Three very dis- 
 tinguished Indian naval officers, whose vessels* cer- 
 tainly played very conspicuous parts in the naval 
 operations against Rangoon and Dalla, and who 
 had every experience in river steam navigation, had 
 a claim superior to that of any junior officer of the 
 Royal Navy for charge of the flotilla for service 
 on the Irrawaddy, especially as it was composed 
 entirely of Indian steamers. Captain Lynch, Com- 
 modore of the Indian squadron, was for seven years 
 unceasingly employed on the navigation of that 
 most difficult river the Euphrates ; Commander 
 0. D. Campbell is an officer of Mesopotamian and 
 Scinde River experience ; Commander Hewett com- 
 manded a steamer during the Chinese War, and 
 distinguished himself there on several occasions. 
 We have a great regard for the " bulwarks "" of our 
 native land — the Royal Navy ; we think, as will be 
 seen in the former portion of this Narrative, highly 
 of Commodore Lambert and his Commander Tarle- 
 ton ; but it certainly would have looked better to 
 have seen one of these three Indian naval officers 
 commanding the steam flotilla on the Irrawaddy, 
 
 • The Feroze, the Moozuffer, and the Sesostris. 
 
THE ARMY OF AVA. 33 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ARMY OF AVA. 
 
 After the departure of the Governor-General from 
 Rangoon the most active measures were being taken 
 in Bengal and Madras for the despatch of reinforce- 
 ments necessary to form one grand whole, under the 
 title of The Army of Ava. The Burmese authorities 
 had not tendered their submission ; they had not 
 shown the slightest inclination to enter into terms 
 of peace with us ; the Governor-General had now 
 considered what steps it was his duty to take in 
 " the arduous struggle" which had been forced upon 
 him.* It was natural enough to suppose that the 
 blow struck at Rangoon and the other maritime 
 towns would produce some effect in the mind of the 
 King; and it might have done so, had not the 
 
 * " If those steps " (striking a blow against Rangoon and 
 Martaban) " should not be sufficient before the raiuy season to 
 induce the Burmese authorities to tender their submission and 
 to enter into terms of peace, then it will be for the Governor- 
 General to consider what steps it will be his duty to take in the 
 arduous struggle which will be forced on him." — Lord Derby in 
 the House of Lords on the 5th of April, 
 
 C 
 
34 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 channel for communication to the Golden Ear, even 
 of despotic Majesty, been corrupted with lies — lies 
 coined by vile satraps to avert the ignominy and 
 punishment of defeat, and enable them to carry on 
 their trade of oppression a little while longer. With 
 the exception of the tyranny of " blood and chains," 
 for which Sardanapalus was not famous, the present 
 condition of the King of Ava and his empire is apt 
 to remind one of that King of Nineveh and Assyria 
 whom Lord Byron has made immortal. Unfor- 
 tunately, in Burmah, there has been too long the 
 tyranny of " blood and chains," as well as the 
 " despotism of vice :" — • 
 
 " The despotism of vice — 
 The weakness and the wickedness of luxury — 
 The negligence — the apathy — the evils 
 Of sensual sloth — produce ten thousand tyrants, 
 Whose delegated cruelty surpasses 
 The worst acts of one energetic master. 
 However harsh and hard in his own bearing."* 
 
 Truth would not now, perhaps, be told to the 
 Golden Foot, until it was too late, regarding our 
 chosen instrument of regeneration — one combining 
 speech with action — The Army of Ava ! 
 
 This army was to comprise three brigades of 
 Bengal and three of Madras troops, or about six 
 regiments of European Foot, twelve regiments of 
 Native Infantry, and a full complement of Artillery, 
 as well as Sappers and Miners; in all some 18 
 or 20,000 men. -f 
 
 * Act I, Scene 2. + Appendix, No. II. 
 
THE ARMY OF AVA. 35 
 
 The following arrangement of the reinforcements 
 from Bengal appeared in the Gazette of the 25 th of 
 August : — 
 
 " The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council 
 is pleased to make the following appointments to the 
 force placed under the orders of Major-General God- 
 win, O.B.,* commanding the combined forces in Ava, 
 Arracan, and the Tenasserim Provinces. 
 
 " Surgeon J. Balfour, of the 67th Regiment, N. I., 
 to be Field Surgeon. 
 
 " Bengal Division. — Brigadier-General Sir John 
 Cheape, K. 0. B., to command, -j- 
 
 " \st Brigade (noio at Rangoon). — Brigadier T. S. 
 Reignolds, C. B., H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish. 
 
 " Captain George F. S. Call, Brigade-Major. 
 
 " To consist of — 
 " H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish. 
 *' 40th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 " 67th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 
 " 2d Brigade — Lieutenant-Colonel T. Dickinson, 
 of the 10th Regiment Native Infantry, to be a 
 Brigadier, and to command. 
 
 " Captain R. Hawkes, H. M.'s 80th Foot, to be 
 Brigade- Major. 
 
 • Lieutenant H. K. Bume, of the 2d (Grenadier) Regiment 
 N. I., had been appointed Military Secretary to the Major- 
 General. 
 
 t Captain Bruce, H. M.'s 18th R. I., appointed Assistant- 
 Adjutant-General. 
 
3G THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 " To consist of — 
 " Her Majesty's 80th Foot. 
 " 10th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 " 4th Regiment Sikh Local Infantry. 
 
 " 'Sd Brigade. — Lieutenant-Colonel G. Huish,C.B., 
 of the 37th Regiment N. L, to be a Brigadier, and 
 to command. 
 
 " Captain J. Bontein, of the 37th Regiment N. L, 
 to be Brigade-Major. 
 
 " To consist of — 
 " 1st European Bengal Fusiliers. 
 " 37th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 " Regiment of Loodianah. 
 
 " R. J. H. Birch, Lieut.-Colonel, 
 
 " Offg- Secy- to the Govt, of India, 
 
 " Mily- Dept." 
 
 In addition to the above, there was to be the 
 Light-Field Battery from Dum-Dum. Major May- 
 hew remained at the head of the Adjutant-General's 
 Department, assisted by Captain Hamilton. Cap- 
 tain Simpson remained at the head of the Bengal 
 Commissariat Department.* 
 
 In the Madras Gazette of the 27th inst. appeared 
 the following appointment : — " Lieutenant- Colonel 
 Henry Stilles Foord of the Artillery, to be a Brigadier 
 
 * Under Major Budd, Madras Army, Deputy Commissary- 
 General of the Army of Ava, with the force since the com- 
 mencement of the war in April. 
 
THE ARMY OF AVA. 
 
 37 
 
 of the 2d Class, and to command the Artillery of 
 the Army of Ava." 
 
 " Under the authority of Government, His Excel- 
 lency the Commander-in-Chief directs the formation 
 of the Madras Division of the Army of Ava to be 
 composed as follows : — 
 
 " MADRAS DIVISION, 
 
 " Brigadier-General S. W. Steel, C.B., Command- 
 ing. 
 
 " Capt. (Bt.-Major) J. G. S. Neill, 1st Madras 
 Fusiliers, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 " Capt. (Bt.-Major) E. H. Atkinson, 19th Regt. 
 N. I., Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General. 
 
 " Lieutenant E. A. B. Travers, 2d Regiment N. I., 
 Aide-de-Camp. 
 
 " Captain (Bt.-Major) W. H. Budd, Assistant 
 Commissary-General. 
 
 " Capt. C. Cooke, Dep. Assist. Commis.-General.* 
 
 " Capt. T. Gillilan, 5th Regt. N. I., Paymaster. 
 " Artillery. 
 
 " Brigadier H. S. Foord, Commanding. 
 
 " Lieut. (Bt.-Captain) J. D. Scott, Brigade-Major. 
 
 " Troops. 
 " C Troop, Horse Brigade, 
 " D Company, 2d Battalion, 
 " D Company, 3d do. 
 " A Company, 4th do. 
 
 - Artillery. 
 
 * Lieutenants Walter Cook and W. K . Xewlyii, Sub Assistant 
 Comraissaries-Genera]. 
 
38 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 " 8appers and Miners. 
 " Captain J. W. Eundall, Field Engineer, Com- 
 manding Sappers and Miners. 
 " Head Quarters A,B,C, and E Companies, Sappers 
 and Miners. 
 
 " First Infantry Brigade. 
 "Brigadier W. H. Elliott, K. H., H. M^s. 51st 
 
 King's Own Light Infantry, Commanding. 
 " Cap. J. Smith, 13th Regiment N.L, Brigade-Major. 
 
 " Troops. 
 " H.M's. 51st King's Own Light Infantry. 
 " 9th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 " 35th do. do. 
 
 " Second Infantry Brigade. 
 " Brigadier M. McNeill, Commanding. 
 " Captain D. G. A. Darroch, H.M's. 51st K.O.L.L, 
 Brigade Major. * 
 " Troops. 
 " 1st Madras FusiHers. 
 " 5th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 " 19th do. do." 
 
 Captain Allan, of the 3d Regiment Light Infan- 
 try, was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General 
 to the Army of Ava ; while the duties of Deputy 
 Judge Advocate-General continued to be performed 
 by Major Boulderson. Dr Davidson was eventually 
 appointed to the medical charge of General SteeFs 
 Staff. 
 
 * Cancelling the appointment of Captain Haines, 9th M. N. I., 
 who was afterwards Brigade-Major, 
 
THE ARMY OF AVA. 
 
 50 
 
 The Third Madras Infantry Brigade, not included 
 in the above orders, but directed in the Gazette of 
 the 23d July " to march to, and embark at the 
 places notified, when directed," consisted of H.M's. 
 84th Regiment from Trichinopoly to Negapatam ; 
 to embark from Negapatam. 
 
 The 30th Regiment, N. I., (at Masulipatam,) to 
 embark from Masulipatam. 
 
 The 46th Regiment, N. I., from Secunderabad to 
 Palaveram, to embark from Madras. 
 
 The B Troop, Horse Artillery, was likewise order- 
 ed from Bangalore, to embark from Madras. The 
 Madras 5th N. I., which was originally intended to 
 have shared in the early operations of the campaign, 
 it will be seen is among those sent on actual service. 
 Its place at Kyouk Phyoo was to be occupied by one 
 of the Bengal General Service Corps. Dr M'Cosh had 
 officiated as Staff-Surgeon to General Godwin since 
 the commencement ; and Superintending-Surgeon 
 Montgomerie remained at the head of the Medical 
 Department. 
 
 It may now interest the curious to glance at the 
 Bengal and Madras Divisions of 1824-26. The 
 former consisted of 
 
 The Engineer's Department. 
 
 The Governor- General's Body Guard. 
 
 Horse Artillery (Rocket Troop). 
 
 Foot Artillery. 
 
 H. M's. 13th, 38th, 47th, and 87th Foot. 
 
 Quartermaster-GeneraPs Department. 
 [ Commissariat Department. 
 
 e3 
 £00 
 
 s 
 
> 
 
 s 
 
 
 40 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 The latter of 
 
 ' Artillery, European and Native. 
 H. M's. 2d Battalion 1st or Royal Regiment. 
 H.M's. 41st (General Godwin's Corps), 45tli, 
 J and 89tli Foot. 
 
 The 1st European Regiment, or Madras 
 Fusiliers. 
 
 Native Infantry. 
 1st, 3d, 7th, 9th, 12th, 18th, 22d, 26th, 
 28th, .30th, 32d, 34th, 36th, 38th, 43d, 
 1st BattaHon of Pioneers, Provisional 
 I BattaHon, — Staff, and Bombay Artillery. 
 
 The 10th and 16th Regiments of Madras Native 
 Infantry also served in the last war. 
 
 The Queen's 45th, the 1st N.L, the 32dN.I., and 
 the 36th N. I., arrived at Rangoon at the very close 
 of the campaigns, in addition to General Godwin, 
 and Sir John Cheape (Bengal Engineers). 
 
 The officers at Rangoon during the present war, 
 who served in the last, were few. We believe them 
 to have consisted of General Steel,* Colonel Duke and 
 Major Hill (1st Madras Fusihers), Colonel Poole, 
 (5th M.N.I.), Major Roberts (9th M.N I.), and 
 Major Burgoyne, commanding the Troop, Horse 
 Artillery. The 26th N. L, at Martaban, had still 
 Colonel Johnson, Majors Halpin and Bayly, who 
 served with the " Ava Field Force " in 1824-25 
 and .26. The defence of Kemmendine has been 
 alluded to in our former work. — Of the 30th N. I., 
 
 * "Who was in the Quartermaster-General's Department. 
 
THE ARMY OF AVA. 41 
 
 ordered to prepare for service in Burmah, Major 
 M'Leod served in the last Ava campaign, and was 
 afterwards employed in various civil and political 
 duties in the Tenasserim Provinces. 
 
 Perhaps the most distinguished Madras Artillery 
 Officer in the last war was the present Colonel 
 Montgomerie, C.B., now in Europe. General Bur- 
 ton, Colonel Alcock, Major Begbie, and Major 
 Moore, of the same corps, are also associated with 
 the campaigns in Ava. 
 
 On the 5tli of April (1852), in the House of 
 Lords, the Earl of Ellenborough endeavoured to 
 shew that the present war might prove more serious 
 than we contemplated. Is it not so with nearly 
 every war engaged in by any Nation ? The follow- 
 ing is interesting, — " In the last war with Ava," 
 said his Lordship, "we employed no less than 40,000 
 men," but he doubted "whether in the end 10,000 
 were left fit for duty. The army in Arracan had 
 wasted away, and was unable to co-operate with the 
 other forces. We have undoubtedly some advantages 
 now we did not possess then." Very true. But it 
 would seem to be a general misfortune as far as all 
 our Commanders of .distant armies are concerned, 
 that at home advantages as well as disadvantages 
 ai'e sadly misunderstood: And if then there was such 
 a lamentable return of the expense of human life, 
 how sad to count the survivors now, seven or eight 
 and twenty years after, when death has been busy 
 in removing from the world so many of that once 
 
42 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 brilliant host who went forth from our Indian shores 
 with a soldiery's thirst for glory ! 
 
 In the same speech it was remarked that on the 
 departure of Native Infantry Regiments from 
 Madras for Burmah, the families of the Madras 
 soldiery would be left in misery ; also that such a 
 departure had a mutinous tendency.* The re- 
 fusal of the Bengal corps, however, was more the 
 fault of the system than of the sepoys. To these 
 prognostications an able Indian journalist well re- 
 plied after the first operations were over : — " Never 
 d^d the Madras soldiery manifest greater alacrity 
 to go on foreign service. One regiment alone in 
 Bengal, the 38th Native Infantry, refused to proceed 
 on board ship, but its place has been supplied by a 
 dozen others who have volunteered for Ava with a 
 degree of zeal and fervor which has never been 
 exceeded in our Native Army." Long may it exist, 
 say we ! it is that willingness in all ranks, and in 
 all complexions, to proceed on important active 
 duties, which has so long done honour to the Indian 
 Army. " Commencing with the Battle of Plassey in 
 the last century, and ending with Rangoon in the 
 present year, the history of the Indian Army was 
 one continued blaze of glory ! " -f- 
 
 Having included in this chapter so many names of 
 the living, let us pay a short tribute to one of the 
 
 * Appendix, No. III. 
 
 + The Chairman's Speech on the occasion of the Farewell 
 Banquet of the Honourable East India Company to Lord 
 Frederick Fitzclarence, June ID, 1852. 
 
MAJORS OAKES AND MONTGOMERY. 43 
 
 dead, — one who, on leaving Rangoon in the middle 
 of May (1852), on account of a dangerous illness, told 
 the writer of this Narrative, whose Company he 
 brought into the field, that he hoped to return and 
 join the army in November. " The loss of Major 
 Oakes was a heavy blow, and this to be followed by 
 the death of an officer of the intellectual calibre and 
 professional promise of Major Hugh Montgomery, 
 constitutes a duplicate disaster."* The careers of 
 these two officers may be said to have closed in the 
 same service ; and from their earliest days they 
 were " associated together on terms of the most 
 intimate friendship." They were both volunteers for 
 Burmah ; and they had both left situations of con- 
 siderable emolument to behold the " pomp and cir- 
 cumstance of glorious war." In personal appearance 
 there was a striking contrast. Major Montgomery 
 was of a slender wiry build, and scarcely above the 
 middle height. His countenance seemed ever to 
 wear a pleasing and intelligent expression, sicklied 
 over, one might sometimes imagine, " with the pale 
 cast of thought." In the eye and mouth were pour- 
 trayed energy and decision of character enough to 
 carry a man through many a great trial in life. In 
 some of their pursuits, especially in manly sports, 
 the two friends were similar. They both had a large 
 amount of energy; Major Montgomery had a greater 
 intellect to work it ; and certainly in his active life 
 he had many opportunities of putting it to the test. 
 * Madras Athenaeum, June 19, 1852. 
 
44 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 No one could meet him in society, or speak to him 
 alone, without being impressed with the idea of 
 having met a perfect gentleman. Major Montgo- 
 mery arrived in India on the 20th of August 182(3 ; 
 served from 1828 to 1833, first as Riding Master, 
 then as assistant in the Horse Brigade ; for a short 
 time commanded the Artillery in Fort Saint George, 
 and was Extra Aide-de-Camp to the Right Honour- 
 able the Governor. He served in the Coorg Expe- 
 dition from March to May 1834, when he com- 
 manded a Detachment of Artillery with the Eastern 
 Auxiliary Column, and was present at the affair 
 before Veerajenderpet, and passage of the Cauvery, 
 on the 3d and 4th of April 1834. His name was 
 mentioned in the despatch published in the Gazette^ 
 dated 23d April 1834, as follows : — " A gun was 
 brought up and served with the usual precision by 
 Lieutenant Montgomery, whilst a party was detached 
 from each flank to carry the breast-work and bar- 
 riers ;" also in Artillery Orders by Captain Seton, 
 Commanding Artillery, Coorg Field Force, dated 
 the 24th of April 1834. 
 
 Major Montgomery was attached to the Mysore 
 Commission from October 1835 to the 4th of June 
 1852 (the date of his decease). He was thanked in 
 General Orders by the Government of India for con- 
 duct (when in Civil employ) during the insurrection 
 in Canara in 1837. His services were placed at the 
 disposal of the Commander-in-Chief from the 25th 
 of March 1852, when he was appointed to command 
 
MAJOR MONTGOMERY. " 45 
 
 the D Company, 3d Battalion of Artillery, ordered 
 to proceed on field service in Burmah. He was pre- 
 sent with the force until the 14th of May 1852, the 
 date of his departure for Calcutta. 
 
 The Major was present at the capture of the 
 White House Stockade on the 12th of April ; after 
 which affair, on the death of Major Oakes, he was 
 appointed to command the A Company, 4th Battal- 
 ion. With this he fought at the capture of Ean- 
 goon and the Great Shoe Dagoon Pagoda, on the 
 14th. On these occasions his services were very 
 favourably noticed by General Godwin ; and with 
 the others who had an opportunity of distinguishing 
 themselves, he received the thanks of the Governor- 
 General of India. Major Back also, in his Report 
 to the Brigadier Commandant of Artillery, brought 
 to notice the able and gallant manner in which 
 " he took into action and fought the Light-Field 
 Battery."* 
 
 " After life's fitful fever he sleeps well." 
 
 The news of the Major^'s death, it was said, deeply 
 afflicted His Highness the Rajah of Mysore, who 
 had been intimately acquainted \vith the departed 
 for several years, and shed a gloom over the whole 
 Durbar. 
 
 * Jlost of the particulars of this Sketch are drawn from the 
 Madras Artillery Records. Vol. xv., No. viii. August 1852. 
 
46 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NOTES IN SEPTEMBER. 
 
 In Rangoon, at the commencement of September, 
 many were looking forward to a speedy change of 
 scene, and hoping to be employed in carrying out 
 some decisive measures, which might give a brilliant 
 termination to the war. It was to be a month of 
 action. The steamer Fire Queen and the Monarch 
 transport proceeded to the entrance of the great 
 river, in the Panlang creek, some seventy or eighty 
 miles from Rangoon, through which the transport 
 was towed into the Irrawaddy.* The authorities in 
 the Quartermaster-GeneraPs department were in- 
 defatigable in the construction of a river flotilla. 
 Boats of every size and shape were now being pro- 
 vided for the conveyance of troops, commissariat, 
 and ordnance. Many of these boats were from five 
 to ten tons each, seaworthy, and watei-proof. A 
 light field battery, to be manned by the Madras Ar- 
 
 • Or rather through the Lyne Creek, which branches off 
 northward from the Panlang River. 
 
HOSTILE PREPARATIONS. 47 
 
 tillery, was put on board a large grotesque-looking 
 boat, or old Chinese junk ; here were Hkewise stowed 
 away two 8-inch howitzers — in all, eight pieces of 
 artillery,* which, for the present, were to form the 
 complement with " the strong arm," in the first ex- 
 pedition. There was ammunition at the rate of one 
 hundred rounds per gun. On the 4th instant, the 
 Hugh Lindsay steamer arrived from Madras with a 
 portion of the 19th Madi-as Native Infantry on 
 board. 
 
 In a Journal of that Presidency appeared what 
 was intended to supply an " inadvertent omission," 
 regarding the 9th M. N. I., in General Godwin's 
 despatch, published after the capture of Bassein. 
 
 When the orders for immediate landing were 
 given, it appears that the gallant party of H. M.'s 
 51st K. 0. L. I. were followed in a boat from the 
 Moozuffer, carrying some 70 grenadier and D com- 
 pany men of the 9th Regiment. The soldiers and 
 sepoys, say 430, were formed up close to the river's 
 edge, about 80 yards from the stockades, which 
 were manned by numbers of the enemy. No sooner 
 had the '• hurrah ! " of the British soldiers, and the 
 " deen, deen ! "•}• of the Madras sepoys rent the air, 
 than the Burmese became discomfited, and " fled like 
 chafi* before the wind." The same writer does not 
 
 " Exclusive of two 54-inch mortars, which accornpanied the 
 Sappers to Prome. 
 
 t Literally, " The Faith," — used by the Mussulmen ; equiva- 
 lent to calling on AUah, (God). 
 
48 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 think Greneral Godwin a master in the art of des- 
 patch writing, but asserts that our gallant chief had 
 conducted the campaign hitherto "with a talent and 
 energy worthy of a Soult." Neither does the author 
 of this Narrative by any means think the General a 
 master in the above art. But it is apt to strike 
 one, on reading small criticisms on the despatches or 
 official correspondence of public men, how much 
 room there is for censure in almost every instance, 
 with those that way inclined. Considering how dif- 
 ficult it is to please where the interests of so many 
 may be at stake, it would seem wise to be very care- 
 ful in the indulgence of it. An English sage affirms 
 that the idler is generally censorious ; and it is not 
 difficult to imagine there are a few of this class in 
 India and elsewhere, who, possessing the germs of 
 literary talent which they have never taken the 
 trouble to mature, flatter themselves that had they 
 only had the opportunity of writing a despatch what 
 a grand affair it would have been. There would be 
 the vigour of the Marquis Wellesley and " the 
 Duke," with the rounded periods of Johnson, and 
 the grace and elegance of Addison ; and yet truth 
 would not be sacrificed to effect. There would 
 offence be given to none, and justice done to all. 
 Alas ! vain hope ! To do, is not so easy as " to 
 know what were good to do ! " There is the flush of 
 conquest still remaining to excite the mind ; the 
 very anxiety to do justice to all may be a barrier to 
 carrying the liberal sentiment into effect on paper. 
 
BASSEIN. 49 
 
 It would seem more rational then, as it is certainly 
 more noble, to treat despatch ^^Titing with as lenient 
 criticism as possible, for the author of it seldom 
 possesses those advantageous circumstances which 
 are possessed by the calm book-worm in his study. 
 
 On the return of the Enterprise steamer from 
 Bassein, whither she had been sent with stores, the 
 following information regarding the passage up to 
 that port was procured : — " The navigation is diffi- 
 cult, and the channel very uncertain for 45 miles up 
 the river : beyond that it is easy, the river getting 
 deeper, but the bends in some places are so sudden 
 as to require the very best steering to clear tho 
 bank in coming round. At Bassein itself, the river 
 is not more than 250 yards broad, and so deep that 
 a vessel might easily come alongside. The bottom 
 was found, by the soundings, to be gravelly and 
 rocky chiefly."* These few notes may be of great 
 use to future navigators in the same water at the 
 beginning of September. The same writer informs 
 us that " Captain Campbell took the Sesostris 40 
 miles above Bassein, to a place where the former 
 chief, with 3000 men, was reported to be located. 
 The enemy, however, received timely warning by the 
 smoke of the steamer, and at once withdrew his force 
 inland, out of the reach of the guns." A Burmese 
 officer of rank under the said chief of Bassein had 
 held communication with our authorities there, and 
 
 " Correspondent of the ETiglishmcm, September 18. 
 
 P 
 
50 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 intimated friendly inclinations towards the British, 
 but in favour of whom he dared not yet declare his 
 allegiance. The presence of the Sesostris at Bassein, 
 it may be remarked, was necessary to close a princi- 
 pal outlet of the Irrawaddy to all grain going up 
 country. 
 
 The country in that vicinity is described as " pe- 
 culiarly fertile." Bassein would appear to be a sort 
 of El-Dorado in its way. Silver and golden images 
 were found to be very plentiful, and the European 
 soldiers no doubt turned " the diggings" to their 
 advantage. The small figures, of thin gold, were 
 worth from 12 to 15 rupees each. Taking every- 
 thing into consideration, gilt ceilings and pillars, 
 golden bells, idols, and bits of gold here, there, and 
 everywhere, there must be a considerable quantity 
 of that precious metal somewhere in Burmah, When 
 all the smaller pagodas in this country are pulled 
 down, some Burmese master of finance may arise to 
 enhghten his countrymen on a "currency question!" 
 Unlike the superstitious and bigoted Hindu, the 
 votary of Gaudama does not view with any great 
 horror the destruction of these petty shrines ; they 
 have been erected — destiny has pulled them down — 
 he is satisfied ; in his fortunes, spiritual as well as 
 temporal, a regeneration is yet to come. Is not 
 there hope for successful working on such material 
 as this ? 
 
 A letter from the Governor-General to General 
 Godwin arrived at Eangoon, with reference to a very 
 
ACTIVE OPERATIONS RESUMED. 51 
 
 handsome bell which the General had presented to 
 his Lordship in the name of the army during his 
 visit here. In this epistle Lord Dalhousie, we be- 
 lieve, said he was very grateful for the compliment 
 paid him by the army. No doubt, in his old castle 
 in Scotland, his lordship will preserve this trophy of 
 the Second Burmese War. 
 
 On the 5th of September news reached us that 
 Bundoola was tired waiting at or near Prome; that 
 he now intended to push on to Ava, where we must 
 go if we wished to find him. The trick was not 
 badly conceived, and deserved a better cause. 
 
 We have omitted to mention that towards the end 
 of August Captain Shadwell, of H. M.'s steamer 
 Sphinx, proceeded up the river to relieve Com- 
 mander Tarleton in the command of the flotilla on 
 the Irrawaddy. He went in the Neynesis, recently 
 returned from Singapore. The same day on which 
 we were informed of Bundoola's project, H.M.'s ship 
 Hastings, of 72 guns, in tow of the Battler^ reached 
 the Hastings Shoal. " The two tiers of guns," 
 writes an observer at the time of her arrival, " look 
 well even from Rangoon, and would make the Court 
 of Ava tremble in their shoes could they see them." 
 The Hastings carried the red flag of Admiral 
 Austin. 
 
 On the 6th it was announced in General Orders 
 that active operations would be resumed on the 18th 
 instant. No more welcome intelligence could have 
 been given to the troops ; for notwithstanding some 
 
52 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 comforts now enjoyed at Kangoon, still, having come 
 here hoping for service, they sought for change of 
 scene and an active life, 
 
 " The Major-General commanding proposes to re- 
 sume active operations about the 18th instant. 
 The following regiments will be held in readiness for 
 embarkation on service on that date : — 
 
 " H. M.'s 18th R. I. >v Under the command 
 
 H. M.'s 80th Eegt. I of Brigadier Reig- 
 
 S5th Regt. Madras N. I. i nolds, C. B. 
 " These corps, with a detachment of Madras Artil- 
 lery and two 8-inch howitzers, and a detail of En- 
 gineers and Sappers, will form the 1st Division.* 
 
 " In about three weeks after the departure of the 
 1st Division, the Major-General hopes to embark a 
 second one, consisting of 
 
 " H. M/s 51st L. I. -^ 
 40th Regt. B.N.I, t ^"^^^ *^^ command of 
 9th Regt. M.N.I. J Brigadier Elhot, K. H., 
 
 " with a detachment of Bengal Artillery and a 
 light field battery." 
 
 On the 7th of the month a portion of the C Troop, 
 Madras Horse Artillery, under Major Burgoyne, 
 also the head-quarters of the 19th M. N. I., under 
 
 " Then follow instructions as to baggage, doolies, &c., and di- 
 recting weak and sickly men to be left at Rangoon under the 
 charge of aa officer, who will also look after the surplus bag- 
 gage. 
 
nORSE ARTILLERY. 53 
 
 Colonel Osborne, arrived at Rangoon,* Lieutenant 
 Jefferis and Dr Mudge accompanied the command- 
 ing officer of the C Troop. The remaining portion, 
 with Captains Foulis and Baker, also Lieutenant 
 Peach, would arrive ere a few days had elapsed. 
 During the voyage a few horses were lost, but the 
 others were said to be landed in very fair condition. 
 Of course the Flying Artillery, rivalling " lightning's 
 flash in ruin and in speed," came with the expecta- 
 tion of doing great things in Burmah ; and from 
 their well -merited celebrity this was natural enough. 
 But a few months in this country, and even a slight 
 knowledge of Burmese warfare, could not fail to con- 
 vince many that here the Horse Artillery were " out 
 of place." Horse batteries would suffice for speed, 
 and bullock batteries for standing still, in a region 
 so distinguished for jungle and stockades. The 
 Horse Artillery would be here more useful as cavalry. 
 It was stated at Rangoon that the Ceneral did not 
 wish the C Troop over until October ; but, consider- 
 ing the bad weather which is generally expected on 
 the Coromandel coast during that month, it is as well 
 they came in September. 
 
 Since the beginning of August the Engineers and 
 Sappers had been exerting themselves, with their 
 accustomed energy, in taking measures for the defence 
 of the upper and second terraces of the Great Pagoda. 
 Brigadier Foord had written for 16 or 18 9-pound- 
 ers for the second terrace ; while some handsome 
 " In the transport Royal Stevmrt, towed by the Fcroze. 
 
54 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 pieces of various calibre on the first could sweep the 
 country far and wide. In the defence of this citadel 
 Burmese and European skill were happily combined. 
 The north side, in which the steps are uncovered, 
 presented a striking example of this, and impressed 
 one with the idea of Woe be to the assailants who 
 would venture against the British fortress of Ran- 
 goon ! 
 
 On the 8th of September H. M.'s ship Hastings 
 anchored a little below the Fox frigate ;* and the 
 Mattler left for Calcutta. By this time also the 
 Sesostris had returned from Bassein, and was under 
 orders for Prome. The Nemesis had been exercis- 
 ing her " vindictive quality" up the Irrawaddy, and 
 had arrived with some captured war-boats at Ran- 
 goon. After these details, which may not be very 
 interesting to the general reader — however necessary 
 they may be to the completeness of this Narrative — 
 let us change the subject for a short time, and sup- 
 ply a page or two of varied information. Such change 
 may be beneficial to our " Notes in September.'" The 
 geology of the vicinity of Rangoon may be almost 
 summed up in the one word, Laterite ; but some of 
 the staircases have large blocks of fine granite, which 
 probably were brought from the other provinces. 
 
 For one stone you may by chance find near the 
 Great Pagoda, you will be able to procure at least 
 one hundred bricks : — not a stone " to throw at a 
 
 " Opposite the town of Rangoon. 
 
BURMESE COSTUME. 55 
 
 dog ! " After this perversion of the text of a saying 
 by one of Shakspere's sweetest heroines,* let us 
 now proceed to look at the dress of the Burmese. 
 
 COSTUME. — A BURMESE FEAST. 
 
 The long flowing robes, which give the females of 
 India such a graceful and classical appearance, we 
 look for in vain in Burmah. 
 
 The lower orders simply wear a sort of jacket, white 
 or any other colour — open in front ; at the base, or 
 near the centre of this garment, a robe, reaching 
 nearly to the feet, is fixed or tucked in round the 
 body, just covering the lower portion of the bosom. 
 This robe is composed of two pieces sewn together — 
 the upper piece being of red cotton stuff, while the 
 other is frequently of silk, or, if too poor to afford it, 
 of some fantastically coloured substitute. Small 
 shoes, or sandals, are worn by the women, and these 
 are extremely simple and primitive in construction. 
 The wealthier females adorn themselves, but not so 
 profusely as those of Hindustan, with jewellery. The 
 poorer classes have the rose and other flowers of the 
 country to adorn their jetty tresses. The men wear 
 a rude cloth round the loins, with a muslin ring of 
 turband only, displaying economy in its strictest 
 sense ; the higher classes wear the turband in full, 
 flat and ungraceful in form, with a smart jacket 
 and under toga^ in part tucked in like the dress 
 of the women ; shoes also, with a handsome dah, -f- 
 ' Rosalind. f The universal weapon of Burmah. 
 
56 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 complete the costume, which in some instances 
 is striking enough. The nob of hair, and ears bored, 
 also the pendent lobes, like Gaudama, — the ears boast- 
 ing for the sake of ornament an unfinished cheroot or 
 piece of wax candle, to ensure the safety of which 
 the holes in these valuable organs are carefully dis- 
 tended, — are held in considerable importance by the 
 men of this country ; nor do the fair sex neglect the 
 wax candle ornament, and smoking appears with 
 them to be a favourite pastime, as it is also with their 
 children. It was amusing one day to observe a fruit- 
 woman, cheroot in mouth, attempting to bargain 
 with an European soldier by means of sounds and 
 signs perfectly unintelligible to him. Finding that 
 - she made no impression, she took up her basket, 
 placed it on her head, and walked off, smoking as 
 coolly as possible ! Sterne could have moralized on 
 the picture. The Burmese children appear to be 
 smart and intelligent. On one occasion, while loung_ 
 ing down the principal street of Rangoon, we took 
 particular notice of two sharp -looking Burmese 
 chokerahs,* seated by the road-side, each with his 
 little table, and the pice counted out upon it, ready to 
 change money for the passers by. These juvenile 
 money-changers, as they sat, gave a rupee an occa- 
 sional ring, tossing it with the air of men well up to 
 their business ; they receive one pice, or three pie — 
 the fourth of an ounce, or of three halfpence — for 
 changing a rupee. 
 
 * Boys. 
 
A BURMESE FEAST. 57 
 
 We now turn to a Burmese feast when the upper 
 terrace of the Great Pagoda was crowded with Poong- 
 hees, and people chiefly from Kemmendine in every 
 variety and shadeof costume. By thebaseof thegrace- 
 ful banian curiosity — described in the former volume 
 — ^beside the old green walls of the building — sat two 
 Poonghees, as usual in the fashion of Gaudama. 
 One of them was praying fervently in a moderate 
 tone of voice, whilst the congregation, seated 
 around, repeated what he said * at the conclusion of 
 each prayer or sentence, bowing to the ground 
 three times. The greater portion of the audience 
 appeared to be women ; but several old men were 
 there — patriarchal looking fellows, with their long 
 staves. At the same time all around Gaudama"'s 
 Temple din and animation reigned to the utmost — 
 gongs sounding, people talking, laughing, and pray- 
 ing. The sun, now beginning to shine from a bright 
 blue sky, aided the fantastic beauty of the lively 
 scene, causing also the sacred silvery posts to 
 borrow beauty from its rays. Every colour for 
 dress seemed to have been brought into operation. 
 Some of the females, with Tartaric countenances 
 
 ' " In Ceylon, upon some of the festivals, one priest reads 
 from the original Pali, and another interprets in the Vernacular 
 Singhalese ; but this method is not very frequently adopted. 
 Whenever the name of Buddha is repeated by the officiating 
 priest, the people call out simultaneously Sadhu ! which gives 
 them a participation in the proceedings, and prevents them 
 from going to sleep. — Calcutta Review, No. xxxii, Art. " P^astern 
 Monachisra." 
 
58 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 not pleasant to look upon, wore elegant handker- 
 chiefs or scarfs over the shoulder. Several of the 
 small children were very fair in appearance, and 
 were dressed in fancy style ; one with a green silk 
 boddice, turband of yellow and red, and silver orna- 
 ment on the foot. At the conclusion of the Poong- 
 hee's oration, large red painted dishes were filled 
 with the boiled rice, which, as offerings, in smaller 
 plates, had been placed before him ; and a well- 
 filled dish was set aside for each cluster of appli- 
 cants, who immediately commenced their morning 
 meal in good earnest. The women rendered the 
 rice palatable by means of mango, fish, chili, prawns, 
 and other savoury ingredients, proving themselves 
 not unskilled in gastronomical science; added to 
 this, tumblers of genuine glass, like our own, 
 shewed symptoms of coming civilisation ; and that 
 with more speed than in the land of Vishnu and 
 Siva which we have held for nearly one hundred 
 years. And why is this ? simply because the people 
 here are not fettered by caste, nor are they subject, 
 as the Hindus are, to a vile priestly dominion ! 
 Were it not so, the moral precepts of Buddhism 
 could not be so much more pure and efficacious than 
 those of Brahmanism. In Burmah woman is not 
 her husband's slave but his helpmate ; you could 
 observe this even during the simple operation of an 
 occasional feast. In the Great Pagoda, say the 
 Poonghees, or gentlemen of the yellow robe, are 
 deposited the hair and teeth of Gaudama, in a large 
 
EASTERN KELICS. 59 
 
 gold vessel : these relics of sanctity, of course, form 
 a chief source of attraction to worshippers at this 
 celebrated shrine. Ceylon is made sacred by the 
 tooth of Buddlia — the grand tusk, which is now 
 under British protection. The mighty shrine of 
 Jagannath, in Orissa, is said to contain the bone of 
 Krishna ; and such is " hero-worship " in the East ! 
 The intelligent reader is well able to compare it 
 with that of the West. Without the aid of Oar- 
 lyle, he will surely find a likeness. We shall con- 
 clude our observations on the feast by remarking 
 that the Burmese and Talains of every class take 
 off their shoes before entering on the upper terrace 
 of the Shoe Dagoon Pagoda, and that the cir- 
 cumference of the base of this temple is about 
 five hundred yards. The height has been already 
 given as three hundred and twenty-one feet. With 
 this splendid edifice upon it, also the smaller 
 temples, the curious and beautiful trees, and the 
 numerous relics and emblems of religion, the upper 
 terrace cannot fail to command genuine admira- 
 tion. 
 
 On the 10th of September a company of the 
 35th M. N. I., 100 strong, with a Captain* and 
 two subalterns, proceeded in the Mahmiuddy to an 
 island (Shouk Shay Khenee,) below Prome, for the 
 purpose of protecting those friendly to us from the 
 attacks of dacoits, or the regular Burmese soldiery. 
 
 * Major Brett, 31st M.L.I., doing duty with the 35th ; also 
 Lieutenants Haines and Lodge. 
 
60 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the same day the remaining portion of the 
 Horse Artillery arrived at Rangoon. The trans- 
 port of this troop — in three transports — did not cost 
 the Government less than 60,000 rupees.* 
 
 For the next few days nothing worthy of note at 
 head -quarters occurred. News reached us that the 
 Burmese up the river were famishing for want of 
 rice. Some ventured to predict that instead of 
 meeting an enemy on our arrival at Prome, we 
 should find the to^\^l flooded with beggars, all sub- 
 mission and on their knees, from that great enemy 
 hunger ! 
 
 The King of Ava stiil determined to consider all 
 who dared to seek our protection in the light of 
 enemies : perhaps this was natural enough ; but the 
 severity he exercised to accomplish this end more 
 than proved that he was working out his own destruc- 
 tion. The number of rice-boats destroyed by our 
 steamers was reported to be very considerable. 
 Little or no rice is grown above Prome ; we believe 
 that wheat is the staple commodity in the upper 
 country ; but the people there chiefly depend on the 
 rice supplies from the Delta. Towards the middle 
 of the month the weather became hot and sultry ; 
 the sun was frequently very powerful, while the 
 musquitoes were as abundant and severe in their 
 sting as ever ; and bugs, large black beetles, with 
 
 • L. 6,000. Add to this sum the expenses attending a troop 
 before it can be embarked on foreign service ; and the whole 
 amount -niil be found very considerable. 
 
STEAM FLOTILLA ON THE IKRAWADDY. Gl 
 
 other abominations, certainly did not add to the 
 pleasures of Rangoon life. Beautiful butterflies of 
 every variety and of every hue formed the lights of 
 the picture containing these — to the majority — 
 insignificant details. 
 
 Several steamers were coming down the river to 
 be in readiness to convey the troops to Prome. 
 
 It was the opinion of some at this time that the 
 steam flotilla had been doing excellent service on the 
 Irrawaddy and at Prome. The steamers had de- 
 stroyed defences " which the Burmese had attempt- 
 ed to erect, within range of their guns." There 
 were others, however, with a different opinion as to 
 the political success of the steam flotilla's operations. 
 On this point we may touch hereafter. An influen- 
 tial journalist writes that " some of the steamers 
 got aground through ignorance of the navigation of 
 the river, and the villagers hastened down to assist 
 in putting them afloat :" And again, with a very 
 eager and just desire for annexation, revealing at 
 the conclusion of his remarks a very curious fact: — 
 " The people appear indeed to have settled it as an 
 incontrovertible fact in their own minds, that we 
 shall never again resign them to the tender mercies 
 of their oppressors, but continue to retain possession 
 of their country. According to the accounts now 
 received, they attribute it to the signal interposition 
 of a higher power in our favour, and for their deli- 
 verance, that the river has risen higher in the jj^esent 
 year than it has been known to rise /or mani/ years, in 
 
G2 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 order to enable our steamers to navigate the creeks 
 and the rivers without any obstruction."* Happy, 
 happy, may conquering England indeed be, when she 
 can find in a country possessing a strange belief, a 
 people not only willing to submit to our government, 
 but who pride themselves in bringing in the name of 
 Providence as an agent for our success, and at the 
 same time a writer like our Friend to record it ! 
 
 A document was said to have been found at Meea- 
 day, intended as a report to the King of Ava, in 
 which it was stated that more than 1,000 Eu- 
 ropeans were killed during the operations against 
 Rangoon, "and that we set more than 1,000 sen- 
 tinels all round the camp to defend ourselves!" 
 One thousand sentinels, with earnest eyes, keeping 
 watch around the Great Shoe Dagoon ! — Heaven 
 defend us ! 
 
 Near the island to which, as we have stated, a Com- 
 pany of the 35th proceeded, stood Shoay Doung; 
 we say stood, for it is now a comparative ruin, 
 about six or eight miles below Prome, on the left bank 
 of the river; this was a very populous and flourishing 
 town, at which most of the silk of the district was 
 manufactured. Before the departure of the Com- 
 pany above-mentioned, the Burmese had, in defiance 
 of our three steamers,t attacked Shoay Doung and 
 
 ' Friend qf/wcZia, September 9, 1852. — "The steam flotilla has 
 captured more than a thousand boats laden with rice, which 
 has been sent down to Rangoon and Moulmein." 
 
 t The Pliito, Medusa, and the MaMnuddy. 
 
VALUABLE INFORMATION. 63 
 
 burnt a great part of the town; " and not only so," 
 remarks an intelligent writer on this subject, " but 
 they fearlessly came down close to the steamers and 
 fired upon them with jingals and musketry, but of 
 course they did not long stand the steamers' guns ; 
 nevertheless it is sufficient to show how brave and 
 daring they sometimes are, and that it would be im- 
 prudent to despise them." We shall now give some 
 valuable information, well deserving of a more endur- 
 ing form than that of a portion of a letter to a Journal : 
 " I presume the coming Treaty will embrace a clause 
 securing to us the navigation of the Irrawaddy to 
 Bummo ; and if so, it may be occasionally necessary 
 to remind His Majesty that he is in our power, and 
 I can conceive nothing more effectual than a threat 
 to stop his rice, except the actual stoppage of it. 
 Bummo is only ten English miles from China, with 
 which it is connected by a good road. It is the 
 same distance from Ava above, as Prome is below it, 
 and in the dry season the river up to Bummo might 
 be navigated by our small river steamers with ease. I 
 have no reason to doubt this information, and if true, 
 of course in the rains there is an abundance of water 
 for vessels of much greater draught. It appears there- 
 fore that by the Irrawaddy we could have a direct 
 high road into China, which can be rendered avail- 
 able only by keeping the King of Ava in our power, 
 for the protection of our commerce ; and it seems 
 equally evident that nothing short of the possession 
 of the provinces below Prome could effect this. The 
 
64 THE SECOND BURMESE -WAR. 
 
 advantages derivable from this communication with 
 China I leave to your consideration. The Chinese 
 come in great numbers to Bummo, but no Burman 
 is permitted to cross the Chinese frontier. I can 
 see no reason why this Bummo should not ere long 
 become an emporium for British merchandize, nor 
 why this war should not result in the extension of 
 our commerce with the Chinese Empire." That the 
 Irrawaddy might be made the means of an exten- 
 sion of British commerce with China few will deny ; 
 from near Bummo, or Bhaumo — according to the 
 map — an artery of the Great Artery even penetrates 
 a portion of the Celestial Empire ; a good deal of 
 experimental navigation is necessary before arriving 
 at any definite conclusions on an enterprise, the 
 success of which might prove a useful blow to the 
 exclusive propensities of a great nation, and might 
 materially benefit mankind. Yet when we come 
 to think of the Canton and Nankin rivers, there seems 
 little chance of the Irrawaddy, in our day at least, 
 materially extending our commerce with China. 
 
 Before the middle of September some 200 boats 
 were nearly ready to assist in the transport to 
 Prome. In every department activity reigned ; and 
 it must have been no small satisfaction to our gal- 
 lant General, while these preparations for an advance 
 were being carried on, to know that the health of 
 the troops at Rangoon was highly satisfactory — 
 forming, in this instance, a remarkable contrast with 
 gloomy, deadly, destructive 1824. On the 13th, the 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE FUSILIERS. 65 
 
 Bphynx and Moozwfer-, each with a transport, arrived 
 with Brigadier-General Steel, O.B., Brigadier McNeil, 
 and the whole of the 1st Madi-as Fusiliers, under 
 Lieut.-Colonel Duke. The fame of this distinguished 
 Corps is well known to the reader of Indian military- 
 history. It was in the year 1755 that the Madras 
 Artillery and the 1st Madras European Regiment 
 were first regularly incorporated. These two Corps 
 may be said to have borne the brunt of the early 
 (which is, in one sense, the principal) portion of the 
 Conquest of our Indian Empire. In those days of 
 Lawrence and Clive it was difficult indeed to make 
 way against French intrigue and Native treachery ; 
 and when, in these particulars, vast progress had 
 been made and numerous deeds of valour had been ac- 
 complished, we at length find the two Corps present 
 in Bengal retrieving the fallen fortunes of that Presi- 
 dency.* And now, about 100 years after Clive's 
 defence of Arcot, they were serving, each for the 
 second time, in Burmah, while fortune had favoured 
 Bengal and allowed it to pride itself on nearly all 
 the recent military glory of the East ! The Fusiliers 
 arrived with nearly 1,000 bayonets, and with about 
 40 Officers present, after, on account of incessant 
 rain, an unpleasant voyage. This was unfortunate, 
 
 • " At this period (1 756) the English and French forces on the 
 Coromaudel coast were nearly equal, each consisting of about 
 2,000 Europeans and 10,000 Natives." This included H. M.'s 
 39th Regiment, " Primis in Indis." — Begbie's Services of the 
 Madras Artillery. 
 
 E 
 
66 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 as the Regiment had recently been afflicted with 
 that dreadful scourge the Cholera on its march from 
 Bellary to Madras, and cheerful weather might have 
 been beneficial to the men. However, the Corps 
 arrived in good condition, buoyed up with the hope 
 of soon distinguishing itself on the field. On the 
 14th, H. M.'s ship Winchester, Captain Loch, arrived, 
 also Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, K.C.B., in 
 the Berenice. The same day we received details of 
 gunners, gun-lascars, and drivers for the Artillery ; 
 these were marched up in due order to the upper 
 terrace. Europeans as well as natives, after leaving 
 a transport, generally present " a sorry sight." This 
 was particularly evident with the drivers and las- 
 cars. These natives, with their once white covers, 
 over their grotesque pugaries, (turbands regimental,) 
 looked bewilderment itself. They could not under- 
 stand the extent or beauty of the place which we 
 had added to our dominion in the East. Bells tink- 
 ling on the golden tees of the Pagodas, huge mon- 
 sters of various shapes, and comely sphynxes, 
 earnestly gazing on them as they passed along ; all 
 this would naturally make some impression on their 
 Hindu minds. And then there was the quick step 
 of the European soldier, as with the squad in a half- 
 regimental state he marched off to his barracks, 
 followed by his comrades who were already letting 
 him into the silver secrets of Rangoon life ! Here 
 was a picture not entirely unw^orthy of observation. 
 Wilkie alone could have painted it, and Dickens 
 
BURMESE PllECAIJTIONS. ^7 
 
 could have made an admirable sly sketch of it with 
 his pen. 
 
 The detachment of Madras Artillery under orders 
 for Prome consisted of the A Company, 4th Battalion, 
 with the greater portion of the D, 2d Battalion, The 
 former was under the command of Captain Mein ; 
 while Captain Cooke, of the latter Company, com- 
 manded the whole detachment, which was upwards 
 of 100 strong.* Brigadier Foord, with his Brigade- 
 Major, Captain Scott, were to accompany the Artil- 
 lery to Prome. Before the 15th there were the 
 Sesostris, Fire Queen, and Enterprise in the main 
 stream, awaiting troops which were to be taken up 
 to them by the light-draught steamers. The Enter- 
 prise, we believe, " stuck in the Panlang Creek 
 going up, but she got off all right." -f* 
 
 From Assam it was rumoured that the Burmese 
 were taking precautionary movements on the fron- 
 tier, and that the passes to the ruby mines had been 
 strongly fortified — " the Burmese having imagined, 
 with the instinct of barbarians, that these would be 
 the first objects of attack." The ruby mines of 
 Upper Burmah would hardly have tempted us ; but 
 perhaps it would have been politic had we made a 
 demonstration through Munnipore. Again, with 
 reference to the coming advance on Prome, it was 
 
 * With the following Subalterns : — 1st Lieutenants Hitchins 
 and Robertson; 2d Lieutenants Bridge, Blair, and Lloyd. Assist- 
 ant-Surgeon Smith was to accompany the Detachment. 
 . t River Steamers for the Irrawaddy, see Appendix No. IV, 
 
,68 * THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 remarked that " the march to Prome may be con- 
 sidered a guarantee for the annexation of Pegu." 
 But if we neglect to capture the capital (Ava) we 
 at once infuse new heart into the Burmese, and give 
 them every encouragement to keep up a continual 
 series of attacks on our new frontier, and likewise 
 to annoy us through Munnipore.* Of course such 
 a people as the higher Burmese will not allow us 
 any peace " until we have humbled them in the 
 dust, by occupying the palace of the dynasty," It 
 would be useless to argue much on this point. If 
 Ava be not reached during this war, their annoy- 
 ance eventually must produce entire conquest. 
 Destiny, it would appear, wills that we should go 
 on in an increasing arithmetical progression ; but 
 the peaceful propensities of one-sided thinkers of 
 the age demand moderation. Give it them. Let 
 us assume the virtue if we have it not. But unfor- 
 tunately for the very preservation of that peace on 
 which they pride themselves, it is too often not a 
 salutary virtue. Lord Dalhousie did all that states- 
 man could do to avoid the present war ; the Govern- 
 ment were naturally averse to it, but circumstances 
 forced it upon us ; and if, before this humble Narra- 
 tive is finished, the British flag shall wave over the 
 walls of Ava, and the dynasty of Alompra be blotted 
 out from the dynasties of the earth, we shall still 
 have practised prudent moderation. 
 
 * Friend of India, September 23. 
 
DINNER TO GENERAL GODWIN AND STAFF. 69 
 
 On the 16th the Artillery entertained General 
 Godwin and Staff at dinner. The warm politicians 
 at home, on festive occasions, never looked forward 
 with more eagerness for a declaration of what was 
 to be done in a coming political campaign from the 
 lips of a leading Minister in the House of Commons 
 than did we on this social evening, while expecting 
 some important information as to " coming events " 
 from our gallant and distinguished guest, the Chief 
 of the Army in Burmah. 
 
 Brigadier Foord proposed the health of General 
 Godwin, whom he hoped to hail, ere a few months 
 had passed away, as "Conqueror of Ava!" This 
 toast, of course, was responded to with tremendous 
 enthusiasm. The General rose. In the course of 
 his speech, if we recollect aright, he said: — With 
 regard to Ava, political as well as other reasons had 
 urged the necessity of staying in position at Ran- 
 goon till the present time ; what had been already 
 effected had been perhaps slow, but he was certain 
 that it was sure. He hoped before six months were 
 over to have the grand object of the expedition fully 
 carried out. Without going to Ava no successful 
 ultimatum could be accomplished, so as to produce 
 " a lasting peace," The speech was well received. 
 After a short time, the gallant General, in a compli- 
 mentary manner, proposed " the Artillery !" 
 
 The Admiral had hoisted his flag on board the 
 Pluto steamer, and had set off in advance, as if to 
 explore the Irrawaddy. Why the gallant veteran 
 
70 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 took this step at such a time, when every steamer 
 was necessary for the transport of troops, it was not 
 very easy to conjecture. 
 
 It was now said, and we think with some justice, 
 that the river steamers had been the means of keep- 
 ing off projected attacks from various quarters on 
 Eangoon. These were nearly all expected from the 
 vicinity of this stronghold ; it was not therefore, as 
 some affirmed, because the attention of the enemy was 
 fixed on the " distant point" of Prome that they were 
 prevented from attempting to disturb our principal 
 position. Every credit, however, was given to the 
 activity of the " steam flotilla," but little to the 
 vigilance of the troops in garrison. In the opinion 
 of not a few, an anomaly had now become the most 
 splendid feature of the expedition ; for an anomaly 
 we must style Captain Tarleton''s gallant affair of 
 Prome.* His "flotilla" was said simply to have 
 gone to survey the river, to ascertain the position 
 and proceedings of the enemy ; in short, merely to 
 " feel the way," just to see what fortifications the 
 
 * Before this anomalous feat turned the heads of sensible 
 men, the Friend of India, for instance, wrote thus : — ** Our occu- 
 pation of the Delta for four or five months will serve to con- 
 solidate the opposition which we have created among its inhabi- 
 tants to the Burmese Court." And again, that we had already 
 " deprived the Court of Ava of the resources of the maritime 
 provinces, and weakened its power in no ordinary degree." — 
 Friend of India, July 1. These cautious remarks were the 
 result of time and inquiry. But immediately the navy began. 
 Friend, Times, &c., conquered the country at once ! 
 
EMBARKATIONS. 71 
 
 Burmese were erecting on the banks of the river, 
 " to get the depth of water, and to ascertain the 
 disposition of the people towards us higher up." 
 It is useless to repeat that he did more than all 
 this ; the consequence, good or bad, may hereafter 
 appear. 
 
 On the 16th a portion of H. M.'s 80th embarked 
 in some of the small steamers to be transported to 
 the larger ones in the Irrawaddy. On the 18th 
 another detachment left Rangoon in the Proserpine. 
 A large portion of the 35 th M. N. I. had started in 
 boats. On the morning of the 19th 120 men of 
 H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish embarked on board the 
 Medusa. About the same time the Battler arrived 
 from Moulmein with a detachment of the 80th, and 
 " some convalescent officers." On the 21st another 
 portion of the 18th R. I. started in the Phlegethon. 
 The arrangements for the embarkation of the troops 
 were declared to be admirable, reflecting the highest 
 credit on the Quartermaster-Generars department ; 
 also, according to an intelligent writer,* on the 
 indefatigable Captain Tarleton, " always there, see- 
 ing that the blue-jackets did their work properly in 
 assisting the troops and their baggage on board the 
 steamers." 
 
 The following remark conveys a very general 
 opinion which was current at Rangoon while the 
 embarkation of troops was going on, and many saw 
 
 * Correspondent of the Englishman, October 2. 
 
72 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 in the "mind's eye" some great event "looming" 
 in the future : — " The word annexation has only to 
 be sounded, when the Peguers (and many Burmese 
 resident among them) throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land will rise as one man, and expel 
 the Burmese soldiery and dacoits, and give peace 
 and liberty to the oppressed ryots." 
 
 Wild flowers are numerous in Burmah in Septem- 
 ber. For the sake of botanists we may remark the 
 great beauty of the creeping fern during this month, 
 of which plant there is a great variety at Rangoon. 
 The Maidenhair^ according to Mason, a beautiful 
 fern, is seen in the crevices of old ruins and walls. 
 A very rainy day, succeeded by a dry and very warm 
 one, may give an idea of the nature of the weather, 
 which seemed highly favourable to an extraordinary 
 rapidity of vegetation. 
 
 Through the astonishing energy of Major Fraser, 
 the Grand Architect of Rangoon, and the labours of 
 his Assistants, ample shelter had been afforded to 
 the troops even while the reinforcements were gra- 
 dually pouring in ; and now, as the city emptied 
 itself of a portion of its defenders, there were almost 
 palaces for some, and houses for all, until another 
 stream of life came in to stop the gap, as it were, 
 among a social throng. On the 22d many light 
 guns were brought up from the Artillery Park, and 
 arranged round the north and west of the Great 
 Pasroda. This cautious measure was taken in case 
 of dacoits, many of whom were now prowling about, 
 
AERIVAL OF ARTILLEBY. 73 
 
 and enticing the inhabitants away from Kangoon. 
 An attack of some kind certainly was expected, and 
 it is a fact that hundreds of Burmese had left the 
 town within the last few days. Probably these 
 fugitives, knowing not yet which side to take, thought 
 it safer, in case of the eventual success of the Golden 
 Foot, not to be found under British protection. 
 These unwise ones little reckoned on the extent of 
 British power, if such thoughts really entered their 
 minds. 
 
 On the morning of the 24th the last detachment 
 of H. M.'s 80th, also the head-quarters of the 35th 
 M. N. I., with Sir John Cheape and Staff, embarked 
 in the PhlegetTion. On the same day the Havering 
 transport, with the head-quarters of the 5tli Bat- 
 talion Bengal Artillery and half of No. 3 Light 
 Field Battery, arrived at Rangoon. Upwards of 
 20 horses died during the voyage from Calcutta, 
 which we believe occupied about 20 days. These 
 casualties would probably not have occurred had a 
 steamer for towing been available ; for every one 
 knows that where heat and impure air abound time 
 is of the greatest consequence. The C Troop, 
 Madras Horse Artillery, out of a greater number of 
 horses, lost 14, and at least some of these might 
 have escaped had the transports been towed across 
 the whole way by steamers. The vessel with the 
 best ventilation, in this instance, lost the fewest 
 horses. But who does not know that on a voyage 
 ventilation is the life and soul of comfort to man 
 as well as beast l 
 
74 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 25th, the P. and O. Company's steamer Ori- 
 ental arrived with the 5th Regiment, Madras Native 
 Infantry,* from Kyouk Phyoo, The Oriental at Ran- 
 goon gave food for many notes, let us be content 
 with one. This splendid ship had, at the commence- 
 ment of its career, carried poor Warburton, of " The 
 Crescent and the Cross ; " a graphic pen like his 
 might have had an excellent field for display in the 
 dominions of the Golden Foot ! Also, the author 
 of " Eothen,"" — how his warm imagination would 
 light up the incidents of travel in the region of Gau- 
 dama, where so many forms of that wonderful type 
 of divinity appear, apparently gazing on with not 
 less "earnest eyes" than those of his favourite 
 "very SphynxP' 
 
 An attack on the village of Puzendown being 
 expected, the surveying brig Krishna was sent 
 round to the Creek. A party of marines and sea- 
 men from the Winchester formed the force — suffi- 
 cient to ensure the security of the place. The 
 object of the Burmese was to carry off the Ex- 
 Governor of Pegu. Burmese vengeance seemed 
 now to be hovering around the hated name ! Pegu 
 under British protection would certainly be a death- 
 blow to Burmese tyranny and oppression ! Pegu 
 would be rescued, adding one triumph more to the 
 many now enjoyed by our Government in the cause 
 of " the wronged and helpless ! *" 
 
 On the 25th also, General Godwin and Staff, 
 with Brigadier Foord and the Artillery, embarked on 
 " Under the Command of Colonel Poole. 
 
EMBARKATIONS. 75. 
 
 board the Proserpine. On arrival at Yunguinchain- 
 yah, at the head of the Panlang Creek, the General 
 was to go on board the Fire Queen., and proceed in 
 her to Prome. Sir Archibald Campbell, some 28 
 years before, and some months later, had left Ran- 
 goon to take the lead against " the Barbarians," 
 amidst the roar of cannon; — on the present occasion 
 no salute announced our gallant GeneraFs departure. 
 On the 26th, the Medusa left for Prome, with Major 
 Fraser and his Engineers, Captain Rundall with his 
 Sappers and Miners, also Superintending-Surgeon 
 Montgomerie. On the 27th, Brigadier Reignolds 
 and head- quarters of the Bengal Brigade pro- 
 ceeded in the Nemesis. And now the whole of the 
 First Division had gone from Rangoon, and Briga- 
 dier-General Steel was left in command. 
 
 It was General Godwin's intention simply to 
 land and occupy Prome, — he would act on the 
 defensive until the arrival of a Second Division ; 
 he would then be able to overcome every obstacle, 
 and go wherever the orders of the Governor- 
 General might carry him — to Ava, or even to 
 Pekin ! It was not in the GeneraPs power to 
 answer the annexation question — he was acting, like 
 any one of us, under orders. By the time of his 
 second visit to Prome, the question, and how much ? 
 would probably be decided on by a higher power. 
 Meanwhile there might be work to do in the south- 
 ern portion of the Delta of the Irrawaddy, The 
 General was well aware that before advancing with 
 
76 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 a force on Ava, or even being able fairly to secure 
 the province of Pe^u, it would be necessary to clear 
 the country up the Sitang river — say by taking a 
 land-column from Martaban to Sitang, thence to 
 Shoe-Gyne, thence to the reputed strong-post of 
 Tonghoo, and next, perhaps, across the country to 
 Prome. It might be politic to cause such a step 
 succeed the re-capture of Pegu, the ancient king- 
 dom's capital. 
 
THE ADVANCE ON PROME. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ADVANCE ON PROME — DOINGS AT RANGOON. 
 
 Few events in Indian military history have given 
 rise to so many remarks, grave, gay, hvely, and 
 severe, as General Godwin's advance on, and cap- 
 ture of Prome. Some of the Indian journals almost 
 exhausted their wit on the subject. That five 
 octavo pages of a Gazette should have been occupied 
 in detailing an engagement in which only one man 
 was killed and a few wounded, was, in the opinion 
 of one of them, quite dissimilar to the " Veni, Vidiy 
 Vici^'' of the great Caesar. And again, the same 
 clever writer held that Nelson's idea of having one 
 day a Gazette " all to himself," was not " associated 
 with such cheap results as the capture of Prome by 
 the Army of Burmah." It does certainly provoke a 
 smile, while reading the graphic Narratives by the 
 Commodore and General, as set forth in the 
 Despatches,* pondering over the naval and military 
 exploits, and the grand result. But we are a strange 
 • Appendix, No. V. 
 
78 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 people in this respect. Had there been in human 
 life a large bill of costs, there would have been more 
 praise and less wit bestowed on the operations ; so, 
 however brilliant the wit may be on such occasions, 
 the expression of it certainly does not say much in favour 
 of British humanity. Looking at this failing in a 
 purely professional point of view, it appears absurd 
 in the extreme ; since every one knows that it is the 
 consummate art of war to do as much as possible 
 with quickness, decision, and effect, at a small cost 
 of life among the troops employed. Writing a few 
 pages about doing the thing does not then become 
 such a great crime after all ; and no doubt the 
 General as well as the Commodore have for some 
 time been perfectly satisfied on this point. 
 
 Not having had the honour of accompanying the 
 Advance, and there being no necessity for repeating 
 the detailed information in the Despatches, it must 
 suffice to give the following brief Narrative from a 
 letter received about the middle of October from 
 one of that learned and indefatigable class of men, 
 without whom that modern Archimedes — the Press — 
 would be at a dead stand-still, " Our Own Corre- 
 spondent ! " 
 
 Prome^ Tuesday, 12th October 1852. 
 
 " I have just sufficient time to give a detail of 
 events as they occurred since leaving Kangoon. The 
 voyage was marked by a few interruptions in our 
 progress towards Prome. In the first place, the 
 Fire Queen and Enterprise steamers grounded. 
 
DEATH OF ADMIRAL AUSTIN. 79 
 
 thereby causing a detention of all the other steamers 
 for three days. Again, there was the very melan- 
 choly event of the Admiral's death, at the Island of 
 " Shouk Shay Khune." * It appears he had been 
 taken ill on the night of the 5 th ; the following day 
 he became worse ; and he died on the afternoon of 
 the 7th on board the Pluto, which left for Rangoon 
 on the morning of the 8th. From this island, which 
 is not more than ten miles from Prome, we weighed 
 and started, in all eight steamers, at daybreak on 
 the morning of the 9th. In two hours we were 
 under the hill fortifications of Prome, which have a 
 full command of the river. Fortunately only one 
 shot was fired from the hill, on the second steamer 
 sailing abreast of it. A few rounds of shell from 
 the steamers soon silenced the enemy for a time ; 
 but on our advancing a short distance higher up the 
 river, they fired on almost every steamer that 
 passed, and annoyed us very much with jingals and 
 musketry. The two steamers in advance returned 
 the firing with great precision and effect ; in short, 
 all the steamers had a share in replying to the 
 ineffectual firing of the Burmese. During the 
 greater part of the day the steamers were alter- 
 nately bombarding, for the purpose of landing the 
 troops. In the afternoon, at 5 p. m. (rather late to 
 
 * Also written " Shouk Shay Khenee." On the 23d of Sep- 
 tember the Pluto had arrived here with Admiral and Staff, and 
 a Company of the 35th M. N. I., under Captain Taylor, with 
 Ensigns Scottoe and Begbie. 
 
■a:* ! . 
 
 ' 2. 
 
 1. i 
 
 l1"l"l"l"i"l>K 
 
 L 
 
 i ^ 
 11 
 
 
DEATH OF ADMIRAL AUSTIN. 79 
 
 thereby causing a detention of all the other steamers 
 for three days. Again, there was the very melan- 
 choly event of the Admiral's death, at the Island of 
 " Shuuk Shay Khune." * It appears he had been 
 taken ill on the night of the 5 th ; the following day 
 he became worse ; and he died on the afternoon of 
 the 7th on board the Pluto, which left for Rangoon 
 on the morning of the 8th. From this island, which 
 is not more than ten miles from Prome, we weighed 
 and started, in all eight steamers, at daybreak on 
 the morning of the 9th. In two hours we were 
 under the hill fortifications of Prome, which have a 
 full command of the river. Fortunately only one 
 shot was fired from the hill, on the second steamer 
 sailing abreast of it. A few rounds of shell from 
 the steamers soon silenced the enemy for a time ; 
 but on our advancing a short distance higher up the 
 river, they fired on almost every steamer that 
 passed, and annoyed us very much with jingals and 
 musketry. The two steamers in advance returned 
 the firing with great precision and effect ; in short, 
 all the steamers had a share in replying to the 
 ineffectual firing of the Burmese. During the 
 greater part of the day the steamers were alter- 
 nately bombarding, for the purpose of landing the 
 troops. In the afternoon, at 5 p. m. (rather late to 
 
 * Also written « Shouk Shay Khenee." On the 23d of Sep- 
 tember the Pluto had ai-rived here with Admiral and Staff, and 
 a Company of the 35th M. N. I., under Captain Taylor, with 
 Ensigns Scottoe and Begbie. 
 
80 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 commence operations inland,) H. M's. 80th, the 
 Sappers and Miners, and the Artillery landed, 
 taking only two guns with us. G-etting our guns 
 ready took up a considerable time ; so that while 
 evening was closing upon us we had made but little 
 progress. At length we were all busy in securing a 
 resting position for the night. The 80tli lost but 
 one man, who was shot, and three were wounded 
 that same evening. The following morning, with 
 the 18th E.I., and the 35th M.N. I., we proceeded 
 to the Pagoda, where we expected a sharp contest ; 
 but on our arrival at the steps we found the Bur- 
 mese had fled, so we quickly ascended and took 
 possession of the citadel. It is a similar one to the 
 Shoe Dagoung, but apparently of recent finish. The 
 Artillery are located in the north steps, far superior 
 to those of Bangoon. Since our occupation of 
 Prome we have had no fighting ; but now and then 
 we hear a few stray shots between our skirmishers 
 and the Burmese. On the night of the 9th, one of 
 the 80th soldiers, whilst at his post as sentry, 
 between the hours of one and two, was attacked by 
 a few Burmese, who cut off his head and left his 
 body some distance from his post. The remains 
 were not found until the relief went round. This 
 happened actually within 150 yards of where our 
 guns were placed, at the north gate ; and two of 
 our sentries were walking about at the time. It 
 appears at this juncture, a few shots having been 
 fired on the guard from another direction, the atten- 
 
STATE OF THE COUNTRY AROUND PROME. 81 
 
 tion of the men was diverted, giving the Burmese 
 ample time to accomphsh their ends. They also 
 carried away the sentry's musket and belts. Since 
 this atrocious murder was committed double sen- 
 tries have been planted. Just as I am writing, the 
 bugle sounds for the " Assembly " of the 18th Royal 
 Irish, one of their picquets having been attacked a 
 little way out by a body of Burmese. 
 
 The country seems to have been entirely deserted 
 for some time, judging from the total absence of 
 food of any sort being found ; not even a grain of 
 rice ; and also from the overgrown state of vegeta- 
 tion. Even the roads and paths are all green and 
 covered with long grass. No accidents have occurred 
 to any of our men ; nor has there been any sickness, 
 save a few trifling cases, since leaving Rangoon. 
 The hospital, an old Poonghee house, is situated 
 within a few yards of the steps, and is very con- 
 venient. The General and Staff, I believe, return 
 to Rangoon this evening on board the Proserpine. 
 Brigadier Foord, and his Brigade-Major Captain 
 Scott, also go. We are to await the arrival of the 
 Second Division ; until then, nothing further is to 
 be done." * 
 
 Intelligence of Admiral Austen's death reached 
 Rangoon as early as the 8th of October. It is need- 
 less to say that it was received by the Naval and 
 
 * By a warrant officer serving with the Madras Artillery in 
 Burmah, who enclosed the above intelligence in a respectful 
 letter to the Senior Surgeon, then at Rangoon. 
 
 F 
 
82 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Military there with a feeling of sorrow. The gal- 
 lant Admiral had been "changed into clay;''' but 
 then he had died in harness, while serving his 
 country, with his flag flying ! Thus it was neatly re- 
 marked, "it is the pride of British sailors and 
 soldiers to die ; and his memory will be honourably 
 associated in history with the Second Burmese 
 War." 
 
 The Pluto, while reconnoitring off" Prome, had 
 been fired upon by " two guns well mounted on the 
 crest of a hill, a few jingals, and several hundred 
 muskets," Then, in the town itself, there were 
 supposed not to be more than 500 Burmese troops, 
 but numbers were said to be strongly posted a few 
 miles distant inland, at Euthay-Mew. Major Brett 
 had accompanied the Naval Commander-in-Chief to 
 Prome. 
 
 Just before the melancholy news of the Admiral's 
 death arrived, the Artillery mess at Rangoon had 
 the pleasure of entertaining the Purser of one of 
 Her Majesty's Men-of-War — a fine old tar of the 
 genuine old school, which is fast passing away, to 
 make room, it is to be hoped, for a better. That 
 very day he had completed 41 years in the Royal 
 Navy. The Service was now as much changed, he 
 said, from what it was on his entering it, as if it were 
 altogether a Foreign Service. He was very severe 
 on the " young gentlemen," The young gentlemen 
 were too fine now-a-days. In his time a tumbler 
 between three or four, or a tin pot, or a bottle 
 
DEPARTURE OF THE PLUTO. 83 
 
 wanting the neck, sufficed for a mess ; but now each 
 must have his cut glass, and he did not know what 
 else besides. He was a promoter of *' progress ;" 
 but, shaking his head as he pronounced the word, 
 he could not help adhering to his opinion that the 
 young gentlemen were too precocious now-a-days. 
 The Yankees were evidently no favourites with him ; 
 and he considered their expedition against Japan as 
 " sheer humbug." Altogether, there was the dry 
 humour of the true British Sailor about him which 
 it will not be easy to forget. At this time also, as 
 if by way of variety, the Moozuffer and Feroze arrived 
 from Calcutta with the greater portion of the Bengal 
 Fusiliers. On the 9th, the SpJii/nx came into port 
 with the remainder. This distinguished corps had 
 come from Meerut, and was under the command of 
 Colonel Tudor. 
 
 On the 12th of October the Pluto left for Bassein 
 with the body of the Admiral, for whom minute- 
 guns were fired the same day. * The Pluto was to 
 relieve the Rattler, which was ordered to proceed 
 
 * " His Excellency had an attack of Cholera in the month of 
 April (1852), at Rangoon ; and although on proceeding to Cal- 
 cutta he recovered from this, yet he was unable to regain suffi- 
 cient strength to render a sjieedy return to the enervating 
 climate of the Rangoou river advisable. On the belief however 
 that his duty called him there, he went again in September, in 
 
 the hope of assisting in the capture of Prome." " His kind 
 
 and affable manner, his affectionate disposition, and his urbanity 
 and affability to those under his command," endeared Charles 
 John Austen to all who knew him. He was in his 74th year. 
 
84 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 with the remains of the late Naval Commander-in- 
 Chief to Trincomallee, Her Majesty's screw steamer 
 Rattler having been despatched at such a time with 
 the remains of the Admiral to his family, afterwards 
 drew forth the wrath of the " Thunderer'''' in an 
 astonishing degree. When every steamer was of 
 importance to us no one will attempt to defend the 
 act of sending one away at such a crisis. The Times, 
 with far less justice, was also furious in the same 
 article ; because Clive had done this, and Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley or Sir Charles Napier that, or because 
 General Stuart with 3,000 men had won the battle 
 of Maida against 7,000 French, General Godwin 
 did not " venture to attack 6,000 Burmese"" until 
 he was reinforced. The General had reason to 
 believe there were many more at Euthay-Mew. As 
 to his not " venturing " to attack, attacking indis- 
 creetly has been the generally condemned fault of 
 late battles in another quarter : Why should such a 
 charge have been brought against a man of such 
 reputed personal courage as our Commander ? It 
 may be affirmed, without fear of contradiction, that 
 the General would have been in his glory while lead- 
 ing personally one favourite European Regiment 
 against the flower of the Burmese Army ; but 
 martial ardour must sometimes be restrained by 
 policy. In the present instance the policy was to 
 allow the enemy to concentrate themselves. We 
 will not argue whether this was the best policy 
 under the circumstances ; but the General, if he 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RIVER STEAMERS. 85 
 
 erred at all, erred on the side of caution ; and for 
 this came a torrent of clever abuse from the leading 
 journal of Europe, which wound up by asserting with, 
 to say the least of it, questionable taste, " how much 
 better would the Battler have been employed in 
 bearing our victorious troops to the storm of Ava, 
 than in carrying a lifeless corpse over a 1000 miles 
 of ocean ! " 
 
 This reads admirably well ; but we are tolerably 
 sure that the Battler does not come under the head 
 of " light vessels," which might with safety reach 
 Ava. Of course she should not have been sent away 
 for all that. Numerous light river steamers were 
 required. The screw revolving with terrific power 
 every now and then to force the gallant ship through 
 a shoal or some other difficulty, would not have im- 
 proved the tempers of the hungry but " victorious 
 troops" about to proceed to the " storm of Ava !" 
 Captain Lindguist, late of the Bengal Pilot Service, 
 who commanded the Diana steamer in the last Bur- 
 mese war, and who took Mr Crawford to Ava, * we 
 believe found that between two and three feet, or say 
 three feet of water, was the maximum a vessel should 
 draw proceeding on such an enterprize. 
 
 Three most useful river steamers had now arriv- 
 ed at Rangoon, the Lord William Bentinck, the 
 Nerhudda^ and Damooda. The former had been 
 sent on the 5th to Pegu, " to see what the Burmese 
 
 • III the winter season. 
 
86 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 were about up there ;" she left well provided with 
 ammunition. 
 
 On the 6th the head-quarters and a detachment 
 of Bengal Artillery, with about 40 horses and nume- 
 rous bullocks, and two light field-pieces, under 
 Major Turton, embarked on board the steamera 
 Nerbudda and Damooda for Prome, The Subaltern 
 Officers who accompanied the Light Field Battery 
 were Lieutenants Willoughby, Dobbin, Ashe, and 
 Lewes, 
 
 Some high Burman chief, who had been under 
 the zealous and indefatigable Captain Latter's safe 
 keeping, was now released, leaving, it was said, " his 
 two sons as hostages," It was likewise asserted, 
 with what degree of truth it is impossible to say, that 
 the King of Ava had promised the Peguese that if 
 they will " join in opposing and harassing us, and 
 finally succeed in expelling us from the country, they 
 shall have a Prince of their own to rule over them, 
 and be again an independent nation ! "" But these 
 people seemed rather inclined to say — " We shall 
 have the British to rule over us !" As may be well 
 imagined the Commissariat establishments had now 
 sufficient work on their hands. It was pleasant 
 enough to hear, at a time when poor Madras was 
 considered to be sadly in the back- ground, some 
 experienced Bengal Officers declaring, there can be 
 little doubt with perfect truth, that in two important 
 items we did excel the Bengallies — in the Commissariat 
 and in the Medical Subordinates. However, in the 
 
PROME. 87 
 
 former Department, Major Budd, Captain Simpson,* 
 and their Officers, were wisely too much occupied with 
 the service of the State to think of rivalry, and there 
 can be no doubt that in the face of many difficulties 
 they did their work nobly in the Second Burmese 
 War. On the 14th, a Company of Golundauze, under 
 Captain Money, was added to the Artillery . -f- On 
 the 16th of October the General, Staff, and Commo- 
 dore, reached Eangoon from Prome. Brigadier 
 Foord, Captains Scott and Robertson, and Dr 
 M'Cosh, also arrived. And now we began to glean 
 some fresh intelligence about Prome, the city which 
 had fallen with so little loss to our troops. The 
 scenery on the Irrawaddy is for the most part flat 
 and uninteresting. No palm-trees, no banyans, to be 
 seen; but plantain trees, numerous on the banks, 
 with abundance of brush- wood. It may here be 
 remarked that the plantain fruit is as commonly used 
 in Burmah as the potatoe in England. Near the 
 Panlang Creek the river is so narrow that two steam- 
 ers can hardly pass abreast. On nearing Prome the 
 scenery improves, becoming picturesque, and not un- 
 like the Rhine. At the city itself the river is more 
 than a mile broad. Yenbenzeik, a pretty village, 
 with richly- wooded hills, crested with pagodas, pre- 
 sents a beautiful distant view. Prome was described 
 to us as boasting its few artificial as well as natural 
 
 * Chief of the Bengal Commissariat. 
 
 t On Friday the 15th landed from the Berenice the 5th Com- 
 pany of the 9th Battalion Bengal Artillery. 
 
88 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 beauties, the wood-carving there especially being very- 
 fine. The Golden Pagoda likewise commanded its 
 share of admiration. As at Rangoon, the Burmese 
 had removed the old town from the beach, or rather 
 from the bank of the river. Regarding the before- 
 mentioned act of cutting off the poor European 
 sentry's head, General Godwin had written to Bun- 
 doola, through Captain Smith, the Burmese Inter- 
 preter, protesting against the barbarous murder, and 
 reminding the Chief that on a treaty being con- 
 eluded the act would be one of the first for which he 
 should be called on to give an account. Although 
 we imagine Bundoola had very little to say to the 
 business, yet we believe that the General's excellent 
 letter, which also remarked on the way in which we 
 treated our prisoners, was not without a salutary 
 effect. The four steamers* which had come down with 
 the General and Commodore made the passage in 
 forty-eight hours ; they were just thirteen days in 
 going up, including the time lost by the Fire Queen 
 having stuck in her progress through the Irrawaddy. 
 The Sesostris now acted as a sort of troop and guard- 
 ship off Prome. The once noble war- steamer had 
 of course been lightened considerably previous to her 
 voyage up the river. Portions of the Second Divi- 
 sion, including H. M.'s 51st, were now ordered to hold 
 themselves in readiness to proceed to Prome at a 
 moment's notice. Rangoon became once more a scene 
 of bustle and preparation. By the 22d of October 
 • The Proserpine, Phlegethon, Mahanuddy, and Fire Queen, 
 
SURRENDER OF BUNDOOLA. 89. 
 
 the intelligence was generally spread that the 
 King of Ava had sent down for Bundoola to come 
 into the Royal presence. He was ordered to appear 
 before the Golden Foot in the dress of a woman, 
 having disgraced himself by losing his army in July. 
 Bundoola would not go, as he feared the King, or 
 perhaps the loss of his head more. The wily chief 
 therefore thought it wise to leave his stockade at or 
 near Euthay-Mew, and come over to the English. 
 He did so — delivered himself up to Sir John Cheape, 
 and is now a prisoner on board the Sesostris. The 
 following is from the letter of an Artillery Officer at 
 Prome. — " Of course you have heard that the great 
 Bundoola"'s son has given himself up to us to save 
 his head ; he has been out of power since his failure 
 at Akouk-toung, where he lost his guns. There is 
 an army of some SOOO or 4000 men at Euthay-Mew, 
 about six miles from this, commanded, it is supposed, 
 by the late Governor of Rangoon, but they have not 
 given us a sight of them yet. An old fellow, with a 
 few men on the opposite bank of the river, amuses 
 himself by firing a few shots at us daily ; it is needless 
 to say they are harmless at such a range. But yet 
 the practice evinces a strong determination. He is 
 said to be a great man from Ava, the Governor of 
 the Palace Yard, or some such title. We hear he 
 flatters himself that he has stopped the steamers from 
 proceeding to Ava, and has written to the King to 
 that effect ! " It was now expected that an expedition 
 to Pegu would start shortly. 
 
90 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 25th the Burmese had a grand ceremony 
 on the upper terrace of the Great Eangoon Pagoda, 
 which consisted in putting up an immense orange- 
 coloured cloth round the bell end of the vast exterior 
 of Gaudama's Temple. They likewise put one up 
 round the smaller Pagoda near it. These cloths are 
 sometimes sent by people to the Poonghees from 
 distant parts, as substitutes for attending the sacred 
 feasts and meetings at Rangoon, where it is con- 
 sidered all such assemblies are of vast importance. 
 
 On the following day there was another grand 
 Gaudamaic display, that of placing the drooping 
 muslin pipe* encircled by orange-wreaths, in the foli- 
 age of the beautiful banyan tree, in which it appeared 
 to be blown about so gently as if simply intending 
 to woo the air. To others must be left the pleasant 
 task of informing the public on this ceremony, which, 
 on the present occasion, was carried on during the 
 striking of gongs and the clamour of a vast mixed 
 Burmese assembly.-f* The Pagoda at Prome, they 
 say, is dedicated to the Hare; by no means an unim- 
 portant dedication in the religion of Gaudama. A 
 few remarks were given on this wonderful belief — 
 Guadama — in the first volume; it may not interrupt 
 in any very serious manner the chain of this Narra- 
 tive if we here remark, to satisfy the curiosity of 
 
 * Some of the Burmese style this Tan-hgun. Tan-Jigwi Deing, 
 according to Chase, means " Flag-post." 
 
 + After twelve or fifteen days tlie cloths and ornaments are 
 removed from the temples, trees, and sacred posts. 
 
BUDDHIST BELIEF. 91 
 
 those interested, that Gaudama — the fourth or last 
 Buddha — is supposed to have been a hare in one of 
 his previous transmigrations. A hare in Burmese is 
 yon. Yong-meng signifies the Hare-Governor — that 
 is in a measure among the Burmese the present 
 ruler of the Universe. There are said to have been 
 28 Buddhas originally in all ; 23 have appeared in 
 different successive worlds previous to the present 
 world ; of the remaining five four have appeared, 
 the fifth, as said before, is yet to come. The infe- 
 rior Celestial regions are said to be inhabited by the 
 Nats or Fairies. At Eangoon, if we recollect right, 
 Mr Kincaid said there were about 16 hells in the 
 Buddhist religion ; but the number varied. During 
 a journey to Ava he had seen some very curious 
 infernal resemblances engraved on palm leaves. Time 
 would not permit our waiting to hear the learned 
 lecturer enter fully into his interesting subject, so 
 we merely glean the following information, — that the 
 four states of suffering or punishment in general use 
 are hell — transmigration into insects, reptiles, and 
 fish — transmigration into animals — and the abode of 
 the fallen Nats under the Mayenmo hill. Then, again, 
 the worshippers of Gaudama entertain the hope of 
 being numbered among those who by some miraculous 
 change have become " raised above the common 
 destinies, passions, and infirmities of human nature." 
 The Pali word nic-han, was alluded to in the first 
 volume, meaning annihilation, or emancipation from 
 all evil. By some it is believed to be a state of total 
 
02 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 annihilation, by others a state of perfect tranquillity 
 and abstraction, like the quiet visage and demeanour 
 of the wooden or alabaster Gaudama. And now, 
 after all this mixture of sublimity and absurdity, 
 many Burmese think that the greatest glory of the 
 present Phya (god), the fourth Gaudama, on the 
 appearance of the last or maistree (chief) Buddha 
 incarnate, will be again to breathe in and assume 
 the form of a hare ! Perhaps in these wild beliefs 
 it is not too much to trace the origin of such a 
 remark as that put by our immortal Shakspere 
 into the mouth of Ophelia : — " They say the Owl 
 was a baker's daughter, we know what we are, but, 
 know not what we may be.*" 
 
 The river steamers with any intelligence from 
 Prome were always welcome to the quid nunc &o]o\xv- 
 ners at Rangoon. At this time we learned that 
 there had been several cases of Cholera in the mo- 
 nastery at Prome, where the 80th had taken up their 
 abode. A detachment of H. M/s 51st had already 
 left ; the remainder was now in orders to proceed on 
 Wednesday the 27th. A portion of the 40th B. N. I. 
 had embarked for Prome ; and another portion of 
 Major Reid''s Horse Battery, under Lieutenants 
 Anderson and Fraser, was about to leave Rangoon 
 for that important scene of rendezvous. 
 
 On the 26th of October the 10th B. N. I., of the 
 2d Bengal Brigade, arrived. The admirable state 
 of discipline which, at the critical time of about to 
 cross the Kala Panee — literally the dark water — dis- 
 
TENTH BENGAL NATIVE INFANTRY. 93 
 
 tinguished this fine Corps, was a subject of eulogiura 
 throughout Bengal. It was said that emissaries 
 from certain malcontent Corps in that Presidency 
 had been trying to dissuade the 10th from crossing 
 the water ; but like good soldiers they were true to 
 the last to their Honourable and liberal masters ; 
 and the Regiment arrived, after roughing it a little, 
 in splendid condition at Rangoon. Colonel Dickenson, 
 who had been appointed to command the 2d Bengal 
 Brigade, might well be proud of his Corps, which 
 now fell under the command of Major Welchman. 
 No doubt the 10th"' wondered at the idea of, for 
 one moment, a soldier not going where he was 
 ordered. The chief fault, however, as before re- 
 marked in the case of the Native Corps, did not lie 
 with the Bengal sepoy but in the Bengal system. 
 We certainly have ordered these matters better in 
 Madras ; and there can be no question but that 
 the Bengal sepoys should be enlisted to go any 
 where and do any thing according to the call of duty. 
 On the 27th it was announced that a Chief recently 
 captured was the adopted son of the late Rangoon 
 Governor. He said that his father would come in ; 
 but having fired upon our flag of truce he was afraid 
 to do so. A female, described as the wife of the 
 adopted, likewise appeared as a warlike Rosalind in 
 man's clothes. Gathering information from the 
 Prome party was now not an unimportant occupa- 
 
 • Not a General Service Corps. 
 
94 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tion among the doings at Rangoon. We were not 
 surprised to hear from one or more quarters that 
 the General was annoyed at not having had a deci- 
 sive action at Prome. It was natural also that he 
 should have been irritated by the Navy during its 
 previous progress on the river, having, after procur- 
 ing wood and provisions, left the friendly villagers to 
 the mercy of the Burmese soldiery. The Naval Offi- 
 cers present on these occasions of course were not 
 to blame ; they simply obeyed orders, but they never 
 should have been there. Immediately after Captain 
 Tarleton*'s operations on the Irrawaddy, which few 
 will now look upon in their originally intended light, 
 that of a surveying expedition, the Naval force 
 under Captain Shadwell finding, as it must have 
 done, that it could only afford very inadequate pro- 
 tection to the friendly population in the important 
 towns and villages on the river's banks should have 
 been withdrawn. Its presence only held out false 
 hopes of protection to people who might have sought 
 refuge elsewhere.* Some may therefore insist on 
 the fact that the unsupported presence — there is no 
 necessity to say advance — of the steam flotilla on the 
 Irrawaddy was the cause of much misery to the 
 friendly people of the country. It doubled Burmese 
 vengeance against our allies. Had there been none 
 
 * The indefatigable exertions of Captain Shadwell, R. N., and 
 of Major Brett, in defending Shouk Shay Khenee, with Her 
 Majesty's allies, against numbers of Burmese^ are worthy of the 
 highest praise. 
 
ATTACK ON HENZADAH. 95 
 
 of this Naval meandering before the regular advance 
 of the army in the steamers, the General might have 
 found a determined and powerful enemy to resist his 
 occupying a position at Prome. A blow might then 
 have been struck at the ancient city itself which 
 might have annihilated the Burmese army, and at 
 once have forced the Golden Foot to any terms we 
 might have chosen to dictate. Numbers of course 
 will dissent from these opinions ; it is utterly impos- 
 sible to argue on such a subject with satisfaction to 
 all parties ; but there is one thing certain, that all 
 concerned were interested in serving the State faith- 
 fully and well ! 
 
 We shall reserve any further remarks on the ge- 
 neral conduct of the war for a separate and final 
 Chapter. 
 
 On the 30th of October the report of an attack 
 by the Burmese on Henzadah reached Rangoon. It 
 was simply a " brush" with the enemy at that im- 
 portant position, beside the junction of the Bassein 
 river with the Irrawaddy. Captain A. Beclier, of 
 the 40th B. N. I., with only one Company of his Re- 
 giment, highly distinguished himself on this occasion 
 by his promptitude and gallantry in repelling the 
 Burmese, for which he received the thanks of Gene- 
 ral Godwin. 
 
 By the end of the month nearly the whole of 
 H. M.'s 51st and the 40th B. N. I. had embarked for 
 Prome. On the arrival of the 9th M. N. I., either 
 there or at minor posts on the river, the whole of 
 
96 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the 2d Division would have left Rangoon. On the 
 29th H. M;s Ship Hastings had left for Madras, 
 homeward bound. 
 
 On the 1st of November a terrific explosion took 
 place, which few will forget during their lives if they 
 were at the time on the upper terrace of the Great 
 Dagoung Pagoda, — the discharge of heavy artil- 
 lery, the rattling peals of thunder, will not describe 
 it. It was like some demon inside the earth growl- 
 ing for a considerable length of time with a terrible 
 power, certainly not of this world ; the noise wound 
 up by the fury of Jupiter in full play, hurling about 
 the bolts which Vulcan is reputed to have forged for 
 Jove ! It turned out to be the explosion of a small 
 magazine near the theatre, to the southward, where 
 there were many boxes and barrels of ammunition 
 and some powder. The explosion set fire to the 
 temple of Thalia, which soon appeared in one huge 
 and dangerous blaze.* The large magazine on the 
 west was immediately occupied by men with buckets. 
 Through the exertions of the troops this important 
 building was saved ; if it had not been, few of us 
 would have been left alive to tell the tale. The 
 casualties amounted to three Burmese and two or 
 three of the native lascars killed and wounded. 
 Pieces of wood, fiery gun- wads, and musket balls, ■[* 
 
 * This pleasant place of amusement, with all its excellent 
 scenery, was entirely destroyed. 
 
 + Some of these actually came through the thatch of the 
 author's house, though some hundred yards away from, and 
 about forty feet above the magazine. 
 
CAPTURE OF DACOITS. 97 
 
 were sent into the air with terrific force ; and an 
 Artillery European Gunner, who was sentry over the 
 upper magazine at the time, was lifted some feet off 
 the ground ! A committee of three Field Officers 
 assembled at the Artillery Mess-house to enquire 
 into the cause of the explosion, and to report on the 
 extent of damage done ; and the impression at length 
 became general that it was accidental. 
 
 Akouk-toung,* it was now said, had been occupied 
 by the Burmese with two guns. On the 8th of No- 
 vember five dacoits were caught by the Thoogyee 
 (Judge) of Dalla. One of them was described to be 
 the leader of 500 men of the King''s army ; the titles 
 given him by Royalty were engraved on palm leaves; 
 these were carried by his servant. 
 
 On the 11th a Company of the 9th M. N. I., and 
 one from the Bengal Fusiliers were sent to Puzen- 
 down and Dalla, respectively, as a guard to the 
 friendly inhabitants in these near positions to Ran- 
 goon. Attacks by the Burmese had rendered such 
 measures necessary. 
 
 On the 12th the melancholy news reached us of the 
 death of Britain''s greatest warrior — Wellington ! 
 The Times was magnificent in its eulogium on 
 the departed hero who had " exhausted nature 
 AND exhausted GLORY." But indeed all the lead- 
 ing journals seemed to vie with each other in doing 
 
 • On the right bank of the river, some fifteen miles below 
 Prome. 
 
 G 
 
98 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 honour to his memory in immortal language. We 
 do not believe that on any previous occasion so 
 much graphic, elegant, and impressive writing had 
 been poured forth by the Press. 
 
 The 4th Regiment of Local Sikh Infantry arrived 
 on the 12th at Rangoon. Major Armstrong's Corps 
 was regarded as quite a curiosity in Calcutta, and 
 its appearance here was considered to be an event 
 of no ordinary importance.* The Ramghur Cavalry 
 also arrived. On the 15th news reached us from 
 Prome that a force had proceeded to Akouk-toung, 
 and had captured four guns. Another had landed 
 at the Stockade, occupied by the indefatigable Chief- 
 tain, opposite Prome. The enemy were completely 
 surprised by the tars and troops. Landing at 
 different places, the gallant sailors and marines 
 drove the Burmese into the hands of our soldiers, 
 who made quick work of a large number of them, 
 with little loss on our side. Upwards of 90 Bur- 
 mese were said to be killed. 
 
 ' The Englishman gave us the following analysis of the men 
 composing the 4th Sikh Infantry : — 
 
 "Sikhs, 500 
 
 Affghans, 150 
 
 Punjabees, 100 
 
 Goorkhas and Hindoostanis, 150 900." 
 
 The Governor-General, it was said, had paid the Sikhs the high 
 compliment of visiting them ; and the Regiment had been fur- 
 nished with percussion arms, which, at Rangoon, with the Bri- 
 tish bayonet, they seemed to carry with as mach pride as the 
 British soldier. 
 
DEATH OF CAPTAIN RUNDALL, 99 
 
 News of a sad nature from Prome informed us of 
 the death of Captain Eundall of the Madras En- 
 gineers, Commanding the Corps of Madras Sappers 
 and Miners in Burmah. This excellent Officer had 
 served with distinction in the Chinese war. His 
 gallantry on the field in Burmah was touched on in 
 the previous volume of this Nai*rative. He was a 
 zealous soldier, of high talent, and of the most exem- 
 plary character ; and he died in the prime of life 
 beloved and regretted by all. In him another had 
 been added to the list of worthy men who had fallen 
 by a stronger hand than that of the enemy.* 
 
 * In consequence of this Chapter having already exceeded the 
 intended limits, for further intelligence regarding Prome the 
 reader is referred to Extracts from Officers' Letters, Appendix, 
 No. VI. 
 
100 THE SECOND BUKMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CAPTURE AND OCCUPATION OF PEGU. 
 
 It may be recollected by the reader of the former 
 portion of this Narrative, that early in June 1852 a 
 force of between 200 and SOO men, under Major 
 Cotton of the Bengal Infantry — including 100 of 
 H. M/s 80th, under Captain Ormsby — left Ran- 
 goon to attack the City of Pegu. The troops did 
 their work in what may be called dashing style, 
 while exposed to the fierce rays of a burning sun. 
 The enemy were driven out, but did not suffer any 
 very great loss. It was then much to be regretted 
 that General Godwin could not afford troops for the 
 permanent occupation of Pegu, The real capture 
 and occupation was now to come. 
 
 By the middle of November four river steamers 
 were under orders for Pegu, to convey a force con- 
 sisting of 300 of the Bengal Fusiliers, 300 of the 
 Madras Fusiliers, 400 of the 5th M. N. I., with 
 small detachments of Artillery and Sappers, and 
 two guns. Brigadier M'Neill of the 2d Madras 
 
ADVANCE ON PEGU. 101 
 
 Brigade was appointed to command. The Bengal 
 Fusiliers were under Colonel Tudor, the Madras 
 under Major Hill, the 5th Companies under Major 
 Shubrick, and the Artillery under Captain Malloch 
 of the Bengal arm. The Sappers were under Lieuts. 
 Shortland and Harris. General Godwin was to 
 accompany the force, when it was to be expected 
 with his accustomed energy he would superintend 
 operations. The troops embarked on Friday morn- 
 ing, the 19th of November, at day-break, and anchor- 
 ed the next day at sunset, a little below Pegu. In 
 consequence of the shallowness of the river the 
 steamers were not engaged. The force landed on 
 the morning of Sunday the 21st, amidst a dense fog. 
 The fatigue endured by the troops was very great, 
 and the casualties in this gallant affair were consi- 
 derable. The Grenadiers and Eifle Companies of 
 the 5th M. N. I., under Captain Wyndhara, were on 
 board the Mahanuddy. Not having been present, 
 the following Narrative may be selected as contain- 
 ing at least a faithful account of the capture and 
 occupation of Pegu : — 
 
 " My detachment (5th M. N. I.), all ranks in- 
 cluded, was 400 strong ; 280 were with me in the 
 foremost steamer, the Bentinch^ the remainder with 
 General Godwin in the Mahanuddy. At noon, on 
 the 19th, we first sighted armed Burmese ; that 
 night we were aground about seven miles below 
 Pegu. I was requested to furnish strong picquets 
 on the eastern bank for the protection of the 
 
102 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 steamers. Captains Watts and Nicholls were sent 
 with their Companies. I visited all the sentries, 
 who were in a jungle so dense they could not be 
 seen at a distance of 20 yards one from the other. 
 On the afternoon of this day I had accompanied 
 Captains Lambert and Seymour, R.N., who attended 
 the Expedition — the former in charge of all the gun- 
 boats, the latter as an " amateur " — and Captain 
 Digny of the BentincJc, in an armed cutter up the 
 river, which we found staked, but of sufficient depth. 
 We rowed till shouting from a vast multitude, about 
 150 yards ahead of us told us we were discovered. 
 The town proved to be Pegu, and the people its in- 
 habitants. I conclude those armed among them 
 were not there, but at their respective posts await- 
 ing the arrival of our force, of which the smoke of 
 the steamers and the guns we had been compelled 
 to fire had given them notice, for we were not in- 
 terfered with. At 10 P.M. our picquets were at- 
 tacked, and a sharp fire poured upon them, which 
 was as promptly returned. 
 
 " On the 20th, at daybreak, we advanced about a 
 mile or so, the tide having fallen. I was requested 
 to furnish companies on either bank, for the clear- 
 ance of the jungle. Captain Watts and Lieutenant 
 Whitlock performed this duty, aided by all spare 
 hands from the steamer, and several men of H. M.'s 
 ship Fox, under Mr Daws, who all worked with 
 right good will. In the course of the day we ex- 
 changed many shots with the Burmese, who, before 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK. 103 
 
 and after the return of the working parties, came 
 boldly down and dehvered their fire on the steamer. 
 At 5 P.M. the remaining steamers appeared in sight; 
 we weighed and proceeded about two or three miles, 
 and dropped anchor. I was again called on for a 
 strong picquet — this time on the western bank — 
 which I accompanied and placed in person, under 
 Lieuts. Maud and Cloete. About 7 p.m. General 
 Grodwin arrived, and directed me to have my de- 
 tachment drawn up in eight divisions, on the Pegu 
 bank, at 6 a.m. the next morning. The Sappers 
 also came with the Artillery, and remained on board 
 for the night, the former under Captain Elliot, Ben- 
 gal Engineers, being engaged for a couple of hours 
 during the night scarping the bank for the easier 
 ascent of the two 24-pounder howitzers the next 
 morning. The river is very narrow where the landing 
 took place, viz. — within 20 yards of the Bentinck ; 
 but the banks are very steep. The scene on board 
 that night, so crowded as we were by the new 
 arrivals, beggars all description. 
 
 " At 4 A.M. (November 21st) the 5th got under 
 arms, and about a quarter to 5 the landing began. 
 We were soon formed up, as ordered, occupying a 
 grove of plantains. The Rifles and Grenadier Com- 
 panies shortly joined me ; * and by 6 a.m. General 
 Godwin in person came and gave me his orders ; 
 they were, in the advance on Pegu, or any other 
 
 " Captain Wyudham's Companies had a march of some two 
 or three miles to join his Regiment opposite the Bentinck. 
 
104 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 movement which might take place, to keep up with 
 the Madras Fusihers, and not lose sight of them. 
 Supposing the following to be a rough sketch of 
 Pegu, the position of the troops will be clearer to 
 you :— 
 
 P^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 Town of Pegu. 
 
 Pagoda 
 
 on 
 
 Platform. 
 
 
 
 
 
 0) 
 
 3 O 
 
 § bp 
 fig 
 
 ^ Town of Pegu. 
 Wall If miles. 
 
 'i 
 
 o 
 
 
 Ditch. 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 South. 
 
 M.F.4- 
 
 B.F.5 
 
 i 5th N.I. 
 
 — fi 
 
 M.F. 
 in line. 
 
 Jungle. 
 
 Jungle. 
 
 B.F. 
 
 in line, 
 or column 
 not known. 
 
 Jungle. 
 
 1. Gateway. 2. Gun-boats. 
 4. M.F. — Madras Fusiliers. 
 
 3. Bentinck and other steamers. 
 5. B. F. — Bengal Fusiliers. 
 
 " At a quarter past 6 A. M. the firing began from 
 the jungle, close round and about the troops. Four 
 
ATTACK ON PEGU. 105 
 
 or five casualties immediately occurred. General 
 Godwin, who was ever in the front, was recon- 
 noitring. The advance was first contemplated 
 through the jungle, between the river and the wall, 
 and the Bengal and Madras Fusiliers, feelers from 
 both, were pushing in that direction ; but the seve- 
 rity of the fire proved the Burmese were there in a 
 strong position, and a flank movement parallel with 
 the south wall, and distant about 150 yards from 
 it, was begun and continued for nearly two miles 
 through breast-high grass and a dense — most dense 
 jungle. Before the movement a working party, 
 covered by the Rifles of the 5th, was sent forward 
 to clear a track, and nobly they did their work, the 
 whole force following as they best could, scattered 
 here and there in single or double files over the 
 whole way, a heavy fire pouring upon them for four 
 hours and a half. The guns and Sappers, the for- 
 mer covered by the Grenadiers of the 5th, had been 
 hurried meanwhile to the front. Advantage was 
 taken wherever it could be had of a good bank 
 to pour in volley after volley ; but of course the 
 whole force was greatly scattered. The sun was 
 fearful, and the fatigue very great. By the time 
 General Godwin had arrived with the working party, 
 Rifles, and hindmost portion of the Bengal Fusiliers 
 opposite the gateway which was to be stormed, it 
 was discovered that most were dead beat, and that 
 some time must elapse before any thing like proper 
 columns could be formed. By dint of great exer- 
 
106 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tions the best part of the Bengal, and about half of 
 the Madras Fusiliers were at last got together, 
 allowed breathing time, — the Rifles forming a line 
 of skirmishers in their front, — then nobly harangued 
 by General Godwin, and with a British cheer let 
 loose on the gate and the crumbling wall, the ditch 
 here having little water in it. The fire while the 
 columns were being formed was very severe, and 
 opposite the gate and at the south-west portion of 
 the wall where the 5th were first formed up, was 
 the severest experienced. Captain Seymour, a 
 gallant sailor (the amateur), was first of all the 
 assailants, and conspicuous throughout the day. 
 Passing the gateway the storming parties drove the 
 Burmese, now flying to the westward, fast before 
 them, and then retracing their steps made as rapidly 
 as they could for the Pagoda, about a short mile 
 distant. Here some volleys were exchanged, and 
 Pegu was in our possession. This was about noon. 
 " All this time the 5th, that is the remaining por- 
 tion of them, with the remaining half or so of the 
 Madras Fusiliers, were returning the severe fire 
 at extended order, as they best could along the 
 south face of the wall, but collected within three- 
 fourths of a mile or so of the river, knowing nothing 
 of what was going on ahead, the firing permitting 
 no sounds of any kind to reach them. Once only 
 a Staff-officer, Captain Darroch, came down, and 
 noticing the heaviness of the fire, directed me in my 
 flank march not to lose sight of the possibility of the 
 
D 
 
 O B BB 
 
 
 & 
 
 
 -n 
 
 I « 2 ft, ^ 
 
CAPTURE OF PEGU. 107 
 
 Burmese occupying the intervening space between 
 
 the left of my line and the field hospital which had 
 
 been formed on the spot where the 5th landed. At 
 
 noon another Staff-officer came down and hurried 
 
 the Madras Fusiliers on my right, and the 5th, up to 
 
 the Pagoda. Our fire doubtless kept the Burmese 
 
 from passing along the whole length of the south 
 
 wall, as General Godwin moved in that direction, 
 
 and in fact quite disconcerted their plans, for they 
 
 were not prepared for an assault where it was made ; 
 
 and keeping up a steady and rapid fire, they were 
 
 so held in check between the two points. The 
 
 Eifle Company had one officer wounded severely, 
 
 Lieutenant Whitlock ; two privates killed and five 
 
 wounded ; the Grenadiers none. About the centre, 
 
 between the south-west angle and the place of 
 
 assault, the fire was far less severe at times^ and 
 
 in my remaining detachment I lost one officer; 
 
 Lieutenant Cloete severely wounded ; one havildar 
 
 killed ; and two privates wounded. I have wi'itten 
 
 very hurriedly, and as you will observe much that 
 
 I have stated did not occur before me, but was 
 
 gathered on the spot. I beg you to refer to others 
 
 for the steadiness of the 5th under fire, and the way 
 
 in which the Rifles and Grenadiers did their work. 
 
 I can only say the remaining portion were all I could 
 
 wish them to be. Captain NichoUs had a sun-stroke 
 
 about half-past ten o'clock P. m. I am sure you will 
 
 excuse this very hurried statement, and if any par- 
 
CAPTURE OF PEGU. 107 
 
 Burmese occupying the intervening space between 
 
 the left of my hne and the field hospital which had 
 
 been formed on the spot where the 5th landed. At 
 
 noon another Staff-officer came down and hurried 
 
 the Madras Fusiliers on my right, and the 5th, up to 
 
 the Pagoda. Our fire doubtless kept the Burmese 
 
 from passing along the whole length of the south 
 
 wall, as General Godwin moved in that direction, 
 
 and in fact quite disconcerted their plans, for they 
 
 were not prepared for an assault where it was made ; 
 
 and keeping up a steady and rapid fire, they were 
 
 so held in check between the two points. The 
 
 Rifle Company had one officer wounded severely. 
 
 Lieutenant Whitlock ; two privates killed and five 
 
 wounded ; the Grenadiers none. About the centre, 
 
 between the south-west angle and the place of 
 
 assault, the fire was far less severe at times, and 
 
 in my remaining detachment I lost one officer; 
 
 Lieutenant Cloete severely wounded ; one havildar 
 
 killed ; and two privates wounded. I have written 
 
 very hurriedly, and as you will observe much that 
 
 I have stated did not occur before me, but was 
 
 gathered on the spot, I beg you to refer to others 
 
 for the steadiness of the 5th under fire, and the way 
 
 in which the Rifles and Grenadiers did their work. 
 
 I can only say the remaining portion were all I could 
 
 wish them to be. Captain NichoUs had a sun-stroke 
 
 about half-past ten o'clock P. m. I am sure you will 
 
 excuse this very hurried statement, and if any par- 
 
108 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ticulars are incorrect, attribute them to ray want of 
 better information.'*'' * 
 
 [For some interesting details from another Officer''s 
 letter, see Appendix No. VII.] 
 
 The force left at Pegu will be noticed in the next 
 Chapter. By the 24th, the General, with the greater 
 portion of the troops, had returned to Rangoon. He 
 was on the whole pleased with the gallant affair, 
 though he had to lament the loss of several brave 
 officers and men. About to storm the Pagoda, our 
 gallant Chief certainly " nobly harangued the troops'" 
 in a practical style, seldom if ever surpassed. It 
 would have sent the poetical Frenchman recently 
 alluded to into fits — " Now,''"' he said to the FusiUers, 
 
 * The following remarks in connection with the foregoing 
 letter were kindly furnished by an officer, and the Author has 
 much pleasure in publishing them since they chiefly bear upon 
 the usefulness and conduct of a Native Infantry Regiment : — 
 "About 8 A.M. (21st) the Rifles of the 5th M.N.I, were ordered out 
 to skirmish in front of the European troops. The enemy opened 
 a very brisk fire upon them, which was immediately returned by 
 the Rifles and all the troops in line. After about two hours of 
 hard fighting the troops advanced parallel with the stockade. 
 An order then came for the ' Grenadiers of the 5th to the front.' 
 Captain Wyndham immediately went out with them, and kept 
 up a fire upon the enemy until he overtook the ladders carried 
 by the Sappers and Miners. After covering them for a short 
 distance a Staff-officer came to order him to send up half his 
 company to protect the sick and wounded, and to keep the 
 other half to protect the guns. After remaining with the guns 
 half an hour, an order came to leave the guns and bring up the 
 remainder of his men to protect the sick. The sick were placed 
 in huts on the south face of the stockade." 
 
DEATH CF CAPTAIN GARDNER. 109 
 
 " you are Bengallies, and you are Madrassies, let us 
 see who are the best men ! " A deafening cheer, a rush, 
 and all was over ! Pegu had fallen ; but we trust to 
 rise in greater beauty than ever ! Our loss was three 
 Officers wounded ; one, Lieutenant Cook, of the 
 Commissariat, mortally ; and from ^^ to 40 of the 
 men, Native and European, were killed and wounded. 
 Two or three Officers were disabled by the sun, 
 among them the worthy Brigadier, Malcolm M'Neill. * 
 They were fighting from seven A. M. till one P. M. 
 
 Let all zealous soldiers come to this country and 
 learn what fatigue is, fighting with the enemy in am- 
 bush, under a Burmese sun ! Had there been carriage, 
 it is highly probable that the General would have 
 gone on to Sitang and Beling. Brigadier Elliott, 
 Commanding the 1st Madras Brigade, with Captain 
 Manners and Lieutenant Pilmer, Staff, had now left 
 for Prome. Intelligence had arrived at Rangoon of 
 the death of Captain Gardner, -f- of the 40th B. N. I., 
 at Akouk-toung. One story went that he was out 
 patroling — the Enterprize lying off Akouk-toung, 
 high and dry the while — and going rather far into 
 
 " General Godwin bestowed his thanks on the following 
 Officers in his Despatch, which document, after the details con- 
 tained in this Chapter, it is not thought necessary to republish : 
 — Brigadier M'Neill, Commander Shadwell, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Tudor, Majors Hill and Shubrick, Majors Mayhew and Boulder- 
 son, Captains Malloch, Brown, Hamilton, Darroch, Burne, 
 Renaud, Latter, and Chads, A.D.C. The enemy was stated to 
 have amounted to upwards of 5,000 men. 
 
 t Killed on the 19th November. See Appendix, No. VI. 
 
110 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the jungle, he suddenly came upon a work of the 
 enemy ; a jingal was fired at him, and he fell shot 
 through the head ; a havildar, in trying to recover 
 the body, was shot also. He was, according to an 
 Indian Journal, " a son of the Honourable Lieuten- 
 ant-General G-ardner of the Royal Artillery." He 
 had just been appointed a Brigade- Major, on the 
 permanent establishment. He was a man of con- 
 siderable ability, and his kindly disposition could not 
 fail'to strike one immediately on coming in contact 
 with him. 
 
 Sixteen iron 9-pounders having arrived, chiefly for 
 the defence of the second terrace of the Great Pagoda, 
 
 Colonel A , with his usual practical knowledge 
 
 and zeal in all matters relating to artillery — on the 
 efficiency of which there cannot be the shadow of a 
 doubt the security, offensive as well as defensive, of 
 all Nations chiefly depends, — aUowed several Officers 
 to peruse an excellent paper he had written on the 
 expediency of having all iron 9-pounder guns reamed 
 out to 12-pounders, so as to throw a 12-pounder shot. 
 The 24-pounder was the favourite breeching gun in 
 the Peninsula — at Badajoz, and at St Sebastian. But 
 the weight of the iron 9-pounder reamed to a 12 is 
 more than half the weight of a 24-pounder gun. 
 Weight should be dispensed with on land-service as 
 much as possible. With the Navy weight is of little 
 or no consequence. Robins'' rule — " the strength of 
 iron is as the quantity of metal" — fully sanctions the 
 general introduction of all 9-pounders (iron) being 
 
HINTS FOR ARTILLERISTS. Ill 
 
 reamed out to 12"'s. Again, Colonel A proved 
 
 by experiment that a 12-pounder reamed up to an 
 18, with carronade windage, is superior to all 18- 
 pounders now in use for land-service. Those who 
 uphold the use of weighty guns on land forget the 
 vast amount of toil and trouble necessary to bring 
 them along. Reaming, such as proposed, improves 
 the windage, and diminishes the weight of our Indian 
 train. 
 
 The country about Pegu was described to be in an 
 uncultivated state ; the Peguese had on account of 
 the war and its effects neglected to till the ground. * 
 It seemed for the time as if a beautiful and fertile 
 province were on the verge of ruin. 
 
 Major Reid, with the rest of his Horse Battery 
 and two guns, embarked for Prome on the 26th of 
 November. A company of the 9th M. N. I. also left 
 for Yunguinchainyah. 
 
 On the 27th we received intelligence that the Chief 
 who had so distinguished himself at Puzendown had 
 managed to destroy some 300 or 400 of the enemy 
 who were escorting rice to various posts. This, 
 with the fact of an attack having already been made 
 on the newly captured city of Pegu, shewed very 
 plainly that there were some desperate characters 
 about. The news of this latter affair was not unex- 
 pected by many, and the receipt of it was considered 
 to be of httle importance. 
 
 • We believe it is during the months of June, July, and 
 August, that the Burmese plough, sow, and harrow the ground 
 after their own fashion. 
 
112 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 « 
 
 On the 6tli of December poor Walter Cook was 
 no more. A finer young Officer than this (of the 
 22d M. N. I.,) never stepped. The author of this 
 humble Narrative had served with him in the field 
 among the jungle regions of Orissa, (in 1848,) where 
 his ardent temperament and zeal for the public ser- 
 vice were conspicuous in a remarkable degree. At 
 Rangoon there was a chance of renewing our inter- 
 rupted acquaintance, but now a friend was lost for 
 ever. Peace be to his memory ! 
 
 Pegu had been attacked a second time by the 
 Burmese, on which occasion it was said a large 
 party of the enemy went to an old house where we 
 had formerly lodged a picquet, and fired away for 
 about two hours. The quarters had been vacated 
 some days before this act of gallantry on their part ; 
 some 2,000 people were said to have come into 
 Pegu the next day seeking Major Hill's protection. 
 
 It is now time to turn our entire attention for a 
 while to this important quarter ; but it may be well to 
 chronicle a few important events before leaving Ran- 
 goon. The head-quarters of Artillery left for Prome 
 on Thursday the 9th of December, The French 
 Officer, who had established himself as a favourite, ap- 
 peared on the morning of packing up, and^ave a few 
 suggestions as an old campaigner. He was the same 
 who in June had come over in the Emperor from Cal- 
 cutta, and was then said to have been employed by 
 the Golden Foot. He struck not a few of us as being 
 a sensible and well-spoken man. He had done every- 
 
DEATH OF BRIGADIER M'NEILL. 113 
 
 thing, and had been everywhere. He had served 
 in the Brazils, in Africa, in Spain, and in Portugal. 
 " The Burmese," said the Adventurer, " were very 
 brave behind a stockade or a breastwork, but they 
 knew nothing of regular warfare." He had a par- 
 ticular horror at Royalist- France being turned into 
 the country of a Republic. General Godwin now 
 cared little about what the French Officer did, 
 although he considered himself on parole and under 
 surveillance. But things were very different in June 
 when it was thought necessary to send the Fire Queen 
 and Berenice, on her voyage from Calcutta, to bring 
 the Emperor in sight of the Commodore, and our 
 Adventurer before the General. The evening before 
 the departure of the Prome party (8th) was sadden- 
 ed by the death of Brigadier M'Neill, already men- 
 tioned as having been disabled by the sun in the 
 operations against Pegu. He never recovered from 
 the fatigue and exposure attending the capture. He 
 was of the old school, an excellent and gallant 
 Officer, and a great favourite in the army. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 9th intelligence arrived 
 that Pegu was surrounded or besieged. Two hundred 
 Fusiliers and quantities of ammunition were ordered 
 to be shipped immediately. " To the rescue !" was 
 the thought of every Officer and soldier in Rangoon ! 
 
 H 
 
114 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE BURMESE INVESTMENT OF PEGU ; 
 
 CRITICAL POSITION OF MAJOR HILL AND HIS TROOPS. 
 
 It seemed to be General Godwin"'s policy to retain 
 Pegu as a most important military position. He 
 had won it after a rather severe conflict, but yet the 
 fact appears to have escaped him that the Burmese 
 set any great value upon it. Might there not be a 
 combination among the hostile villages of the Sitang 
 Valley to recapture it I On the 22d of November all 
 the troops, with the exception of 200 Madras Fusiliers 
 under Major Hill, 210 of the 5th M. N. I. under 
 Captain Wyndham, two guns, with a small detach- 
 ment of European Artillery, and some Madras Sap- 
 pers, were ordered to return to Rangoon. The news 
 that a small garrison was left to defend the ancient fort- 
 ress and all the inhabitants of the country who chose 
 to come under our protection, was not long in reach- 
 ing the Burmese camp. Perhaps at this time it 
 was with the enemy that they could stand a defeat, 
 but could not bear to be despised. It certainly does 
 
BURMESE ATTACKS. 115 
 
 seem strange that our Military Commander did not 
 calculate on a speedy attempt at recapture by the 
 Burmese, who knew tolerably well that on the 
 GeneraPs return to Rangoon there was every chance 
 of his proceeding as soon as possible to take the field 
 at Prome. Rangoon was now in a position to have 
 afforded a considerably greater military force at 
 Pegu than what was left there. Very different was 
 it from the month of June when the first capture 
 took place. The plans of the campaign were then, 
 it appeared, in a slow and uncertain state of develop- 
 ment, and it was probably prudent at such a time 
 not to draw away troops from our chief conquest. 
 But now, through the unceasing exertions of the 
 Engineers and Sappers, much had been done to the 
 fortifications of Rangoon, and numerous pieces of 
 ordnance had arrived to strengthen that noble fort- 
 ress. Allowing for the absence of a division of the 
 army at Prome, and troops elsewhere, some 300 or 
 400 men more, 150 of these at least Europeans, 
 could have been left with ease to garrison Pegu. 
 
 As soon as the night of the 24th of November the 
 enemy made an attack upon our gun-boats, but were 
 immediately repulsed. Late in the evening of the 
 27th they made a most daring attack on all sides of 
 the Pagoda, but as the garrison turned out in a few 
 minutes, they were at once vigorously repelled. The 
 troops remained on the alert till morning, when on 
 examiningtheground several dead Burmese were seen. 
 A most desperate attack had likewise been made 
 
IIG THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 upon the gun-boats in the river and the Commissariat 
 Guard. The latter was composed of 30 men of 
 the 1st Madras Fusiliers, with one naigue and 20 
 men of the Grenadiers of the 5th M. N. I., the 
 whole commanded by Lieutenant P. A. Brown, 
 of the 1st Madras Fusiliers. This energetic 
 officer spoke in most praiseworthy terms of the 
 conduct of the naigue's* guard. Private Clancey 
 of the Fusiliers also highly distinguished himself on 
 this occasion, defending the stores in a manner 
 worthy of a British soldier, for which he obtained 
 promotion on being recommended to General 
 Godwin. The gallant conduct of Lieutenant Brown 
 was brought to the notice of the Governor- General. 
 
 On the 3d of December the enemy again attack- 
 ed the garrison at Pegu during the night, Saturday^ 
 December 4ih. All the force turned out to erect a 
 stockade for the Peguese, who began to assemble by 
 hundreds, with their families and herds of buffaloes. 
 All Sunday the men— sepoys and soldiers — were 
 hard at work felling timber, shaping it, and build- 
 ing up walls, with numerous other occupations. 
 
 During the night of the 5th firing was heard 
 down the river ; not long after two sepoys came 
 into camp informing us that they belonged to a 
 party of one jemadar, one havildar, two naigues, 
 
 • A naigue in the Native Army is synonymous with our cor- 
 poral ; the scale of ascent is then to havildar or sergeant ; then 
 to jemadar, the Native commissioned officer ; then to subahdar, 
 of which there are classes. 
 
BURMESE ATTACKS. 117 
 
 and nineteen privates, who had left Rangoon on the 
 2d of December. Their boat had been attacked by 
 the Burmese, who had killed one sepoy and wounded 
 another ; the two narrators of the tragedy also 
 stated that they were in great want of ammunition. 
 Major Hill detained them for the remainder of that 
 night, during which heavier firing was heard from 
 the enemy, and on the morning of the 6th he sent 
 out a party of 30 Europeans under Captain 
 Nicolay of the 1st Madras Fusiliers, and 40 Rifle- 
 men of the 5th M. N. I. under Captain Brown, to 
 render every possible assistance at the river. On 
 arriving there they found that the Burmese had 
 captured everything in the boat. They had stripped 
 the sepoys of their arms and accoutrements, tied 
 them back to back, and put them in the water up 
 to their necks. Others they had taken on shore 
 and tied to trees, probably with the intention of 
 murdering them ; but fortunately the discharge of 
 musketry from our detachment frustrated their 
 design in time. At the first volley the enemy fled ; 
 and our men immediately proceeded to release the 
 the unfortunate sepoys. On examining the boat 
 the jemadar (Mooneanaidoo,) and two privates 
 were found killed, and three privates wounded ; two 
 naigues and two privates were missing. During the 
 operation of clearing the boat the Burmese return- 
 ed and fired on the detachment, who smartly return- 
 ed the fire, and beat them off" after a few volleys. 
 
118 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 About 8 ©""clock on the morning of the 6th, the 
 enemy — infantry and cavah'y — surrounded the 
 Pagoda, and attacked us in great force. They con- 
 tinued to annoy us with jingals and musketry all 
 that day and during a great part of the night, 
 and succeeded in driving off a large herd of the 
 Pegu buffaloes. 
 
 From the 7th till the 13th inclusive, the enemy, 
 according to one of the besieged, were firing jingals 
 and musketry day and night. On the 11th two 
 gun-boats arrived from Eangoon with stores and 
 ammunition ; but these were driven back after 
 losin g several men. * The gallant besieged were 
 now doing their utmost, animated during their 
 unceasing toil with the hope of a speedy reinforce- 
 ment. Major Hill had sent in three or four bold 
 
 * See Appendix No. VIII. On the 10th Captain Shadwell 
 proceeded with the war-boats to Pegu, also the Nerbudda with 
 the Fusiliers. Some 75 rounds per gun had been shipped on the 
 evening of the 9th with the greatest speed, through the energy 
 of Captains Voyle and Robertson. At 3 p. m. of December 11th, 
 we received the disastrous intelligence that the boats under 
 Captain Shadwell and the steamer had been compelled to 
 return. The enemy being in vast numbers and more determined 
 than ever, he wisely returned for reinforcements ; but not 
 without the war-boats — containing also Captain Malloch and a 
 small party of European Bengal Artillerymen —having had an 
 affair with the Burmese, in which our loss was a sergeant and 
 two men of the Artillery killed, and two or three wounded ; 
 also several marines and sailors killed, and many wounded. It 
 was a serious affair, and the whole required and received 
 immediate attention. 
 
MAJOR hill's critical POSITION. 119 
 
 messengers to Rangoon. The foe seemed deter- 
 mined to drive the small band from Pegu ; in addi- 
 tion to their rude iron and leaden balls, small brass 
 representations of Gaudama, pieces of iron, necks of 
 bottles, even stones, or round lumps of granite 
 brought hither for the purpose, were fired on our 
 troops from every quarter. Truly the position of 
 Major Hill was at this time hardly less critical than 
 that of the immortal Clive at the famous defence of 
 Arcot. The Burmese had managed to bring a gun 
 of considerable size into a commanding position, 
 which dealt several deadly missiles. According to 
 another of the besieged spent balls hit some one or 
 other very frequently ; several of our men were thus 
 wounded at night and not discovered till the morn- 
 ing. Major Hill's " Letter," well worthy of perusal, 
 will be found in the Appendix. 
 
 We now turn with pleasui'e to the Relief of Pegu. 
 
 [For some more interesting information our 
 readers are referred to a Letter dated 28th Novem- 
 ber, in the Appendix.] 
 
120 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RELIEF OF PEGU AND OTHER OPERATIONS. 
 
 The most energetic measures were now taken at Ran- 
 goon by General Godwin to answer with all possible 
 speed the needy call for relief which came from the 
 Pegu garrison. Rangoon had not been in such a 
 state of excitement since its capture by the British 
 in April. Had the tide of fortune at length turned 
 against us ? had the mine of Burmese vengeance at 
 length been sprung, to tell us that the dynasty of 
 Alompra was not yet in danger, and rouse us into 
 action ? In any way a great event had taken place. 
 The wonted energy of our chief when anything like 
 danger was to be encountered proved him to be 
 the man for this emergency. But General Godwin 
 unfortunately had much difficulty in providing trans- 
 ports for the troops for the relief of Pegu. Two 
 hundred and fifty Madras Fusiliers under Captain 
 Renaud had been obliged to return to Rangoon in 
 consequence of the disabled state of the river steamer 
 Nerhudda^ in which they had embarked. These 
 
OCCUPATION OF LOMEN SEEDEE. 121 
 
 troops were transhipped to the Mahanuddy, a vessel 
 whose boilers had seen rather too much service. It 
 was not therefore until both these steamers had 
 been repaired that the head-quarters in the Ner- 
 hudda, and the Madras Fusiliers in the MaJia- 
 iiuddy^ were enabled to leave Rangoon. At noon 
 of the 12th of December both vessels steamed on 
 until sunset, the Nerhudda leading. At daylight 
 next morning, which was very foggy, all the boats 
 conveying the other troops, under convoy of Captain 
 Tarleton, R. N., proceeded with the Nerhudda up 
 the river ; the other steamer was supposed to be 
 following not far astern. They approached the 
 village of Lomen Seedee as the mist was rising, 
 which was found, as expected, occupied by the 
 enemy, and the river staked, abreast of it. We 
 were quite prepared for the foe ; guns loaded, 
 and a party of 25 men on each paddle-box — the 
 starboard furnished by the Madras, the larboard 
 by the Bengal Fusiliers. We had evidently taken 
 the Burmese by surprise ; some of them were 
 seen about the village, also a large party with some 
 horsemen moving about on the plain. The left bank 
 near where the steamer was anchored was an open 
 plain ; higher up and out of shot, stood the village. 
 The troops were soon landed ; and it was speedily 
 determined to occupy the village, as affording shelter 
 — it having been taken for granted that the enemy 
 had retreated. The Bengal Fusiliers were therefore 
 moved up to some of the nearest houses, when about 
 
122 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 twenty shots were fired into them from the high 
 grass and jungle adjoining. One man was slightly 
 wounded ; the Burmese escaped without either being 
 seen or fired upon. The village was then occupied, the 
 Madras Fusiliers being on picquet in advance. The 
 Mahanuddy not having yet arrived with the remainder 
 of the Fusiliers, the other steamer was therefore sent 
 down to bring the men up. The day wore on, and 
 there being no appearance of the steamer arrange- 
 ments were made to pass the night in the village, and 
 picquets were thrown out; but no attempt was made 
 to drive the enemy further away, or out of the village 
 of Upper Seedee, about a mile distant. This village 
 had on several occasions — particularly the last, when 
 the boats were obliged to retire — annoyed the Navy 
 considerably ; and the occupation of it might have 
 been attended with little or no loss had its entrench- 
 ments been turned by a small party, and the enemy 
 there, about 300 or 400 men driven ofi\, and perhaps 
 intercepted. 
 
 About midnight a volley was fired into some of 
 the houses, by which one Bengal Fusilier was killed 
 and another was mortally wounded ; a sailor was 
 also mortally wounded. Irregular firing now com- 
 menced, and the sentries at other points of the line 
 also giving the alarm, some firing — which was fortu- 
 nately put a stop to in time — had nearly caused con- 
 siderable confusion, to which the increasing consterna- 
 tion of the servants and few camp-followers would have 
 materially added. Two hours after this disturbance 
 
ENGAGEMENT NEAR PEGU. 123 
 
 the bamboo flooring of one of the houses occupied 
 by the followers falling in, caused great alarm ; the 
 troops of course, without inquiring into the cause, 
 stood to their arms and behaved steadily. The 
 steamer returned during the night with Captain 
 Renaud's party, their detention having been caused 
 by the Malianuddy unfortunately grounding. The 
 troops were landed early in the morning, and by 
 7 A. M. the whole force advanced in the following 
 order : — Two ship guns dragged by sailors of the 
 Royal Navy, under Captain Shadwell, R. N. ; 250 
 Madras Fusiliers under Captain Renaud ; 150 Ben- 
 gal Fusiliers under Major Gerrard, and 300 Sikhs 
 under Major Armstrong, formed the advance of 700 
 men, — General Godwin commanding, with Brigadier 
 Dickenson. Two hundred of the 10th B. N. I. 
 under Captain Monro ; 450 Bengal Fusiliers under 
 Colonel Tudor, — 650 men — formed the reserve under 
 Brigadier-General Steel, C. B. The force moved off, 
 marching away from the river so as to avoid Seedee; 
 and on nearing a small village came upon the high 
 road leading to the S. W. gateway of the mound or 
 old wall round the ancient city of Pegu. In the out- 
 skirts of the village about 300 of the enemy were 
 posted, and on the plain about 100 Cassay horse. 
 On the approach of our advanced troops the enemy 
 cheered and came on towards us, their infantry flanked 
 by their cavalry. Our skirmishers pushed on answer- 
 ing their cheers ; firing commenced, and the Bur- 
 mese retired, the infantry into the jungle in our 
 
124 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 front, the cavalry keeping to the plain on our flank. 
 As the head of the column was entering the jungle 
 near the S. W. angle of the mound, a short halt 
 took place ; the guides had evidently been leading 
 the column in the wrong direction for that point. 
 Counsel was now taken of an excellent guide in Cap- 
 tain Renaud''s service, who having urgently repre- 
 sented that the defences at the west point were par- 
 ticularly strong — as was subsequently seen — and 
 that the proper way, which he offered to show, was 
 by the east side, he was at once directed to lead the 
 column. The force continued its march, and after 
 a very fatiguing morning's work reached the gateway 
 in the eastern bund.* Here the head of the column 
 first came in contact with the enemy. Captain 
 E.enaud"s party quickly pushed over the bund. The 
 Burmese came down through the jungle on the 
 flanks of the column, and opened fire on the reserve ; 
 their fire was speedily answered, and they were com- 
 pelled to retire. All then pushed forward and got 
 within the bund. Firing had, up to the time of the 
 column entering the bund, been heard near the 
 Pagoda. Telescopes were now in requisition, but 
 nothing could be seen of the garrison. A man was 
 at last discovered on the Pagoda, he was made out to 
 be a Burmese soldier; he was immediately afterwards 
 declared to be a Madras Lascar. General Godwin, 
 who had been in a state of intense anxiety, was at 
 
 * An artificial mound of earth. 
 
RELIEF OF THE GARRISON. 125 
 
 once relieved. The force now pushed on to the east 
 gateway of the Pagoda ; and it was not until a very 
 short distance from it that we observed the garrison, 
 and then learned that the line of bund and old Pa- 
 godas from which it was commanded, had been occu- 
 pied by the Burmese until within a few minutes of our 
 entering the fortress, that we had taken them in re- 
 verse, and that had we been aware of it, by detach- 
 ing a party to our right on entering the first bund, 
 we might have cut many, if not all off. The troops 
 were now " dead-beat ;" and quietly rising with ter- 
 rific glow, shone forth the fierce Burmese sun — than 
 which the heat is not more intense, except per- 
 haps occasionally in China. Few out of the whole 
 force were equal to more exertion during the heat of 
 that day. It had been a long and fatiguing march, 
 but not yet was there to be a rest of any duration. 
 All the troops crowded into the Pagoda and com- 
 pletely covered its area. Then commenced cordial 
 greetings of welcome; tales of adventure experienced 
 within the last few days ; and the frequent remark of 
 the soldier to his comrade on the care-worn and fag- 
 ged appearance of some of the relieved. The men 
 were lying about taking their rest when about 
 4 P. M. a fire was opened upon them from the old 
 commanding ground which the enemy had again oc- 
 cupied ; in a few minutes several men were hit, and 
 it became necessary to dislodge and drive them out 
 of the defences along the river bank, and south and 
 west faces of the bund . These services were performed 
 
126 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 in a very brilliant manner by the troops employed ; 
 and this being the first time we had an opportunity 
 of beholding the Sikhs acting by themselves, their 
 progress was attentively observed. Nothing could 
 have exceeded their enthusiasm, and their forward 
 propensities are beyond a doubt. They advanced 
 steadily and coolly across a piece of open ground fully 
 exposed to the fire of the Burmese, who, posted on 
 the mound, were completely covered by the jungle ; 
 they pushed on however without answering the fire, 
 and when sufficiently near ran in on the enemy and 
 gallantly drove them from their position. The same 
 men whose bravery had given Lords Hardinge and 
 Gough their peerages, who had proved themselves 
 to be one of the most formidable foes the British 
 ever had to encounter in India, were now nobly acting 
 on our side in defence of order and a just govern- 
 ment, 3,000 miles from the land of their birth, from 
 the land where the pride of the Khalsa army but 
 yesterday became mutinous, disorganised, and fallen ! 
 The Bengal Fusiliers had been directed to clear 
 the works to the south and west, which they soon 
 did in an effective style, destroying the stockades 
 and defences, out of which they expelled the enemy. 
 All the troops returned after dusk to the Pagoda, 
 well tired out ; they slept under what cover they 
 could get; many being without great-coats suffered 
 much during the night from the cold damp and dew, 
 which no doubt laid the foundation of much of the 
 subsequent sickness and mortality. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR FURTHER HOSTILITIES. 12/ 
 
 From what we saw of the Cassay horse, and the 
 activity of the enemy in evading us on the plain, we 
 all looked forward to the arrival of Colonel Sturfs 
 land column,* with a portion of Burgoyne's Troop of 
 Madras Horse Artillery, Sappers, Ramghur Cavalry, 
 and 67th Bengal Native Infantry; feeling assured the 
 mounted men would give a good account of the 
 cunning Burmese soldiery on the plains over which 
 they had to pass to reach Shoe-Gyne or Sitang; and 
 more particularly on the following morning when the 
 whole Burmese army of about 9000 or 10,000 men 
 were observed from the Pagoda taking up a posi- 
 tion and entrenching themselves on the plains about 
 the village of Kully, between four and five miles dis- 
 tant, on the Shoe-Gyne road. 
 
 It was now but natural to believe that General 
 Godwin would not venture an attack upon the 
 enemy in such force without aid from the ex- 
 pected land column in the shape of cavalry and ar- 
 tillery. In the first place he could have no guns 
 with him, for he had " no means of drawing them ;" 
 and in the second, without cavalry, in any fortunate 
 movement made by our infantry, he had not the 
 means of following up and cutting off the enemy. 
 But no doubt the General's presence was urgently 
 required at Prome. To him time was everything. 
 He would not be content with the glorious achieve- 
 ment of having relieved Pegu, but he was determined 
 
 • Of some 700 men, which General Godwin had dispatched to 
 co-operate with his other force. 
 
128 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 also to free that garrison from the near position of the 
 Burmese Army ! It is difficult to say whether 
 others similarly situated would not have been inclined 
 to act likewise; but we think that the majority, 
 under the circumstances, would have waited for the 
 land-column. As to time, there was Brigadier-General 
 Steel, a distinguished Company ""s Officer, who could 
 have waited to disperse the enemy with effect, while 
 the Senior General was steaming to Rangoon or to 
 Prome, ready to gain any amount of glory that might 
 be in store for him. But it was ordained otherwise. 
 
 On the 15th orders were issued for the force to 
 march on the following morning. During the day 
 this was countermanded, in consequence of the com- 
 missariat supplies not being brought up. The Bur- 
 mese were still observed entrenching themselves 
 about the village of Kully, and showed no intention 
 of retiring. 
 
 On the 16th nothing was heard from Colonel Sturfs 
 column. According to orders issued on that day the 
 force — composed of 570 Bengal FusiHers, 182 10th 
 B. N.I., 330 Sikhs, 150 Madras Fusiliers, and 30 Sap- 
 pers ; total, 1230 men — was warned to be prepared 
 to move on the following morning. The men were 
 directed to carry their great-coats, and one day's 
 cooked provisions in their haversacks. A memo- 
 randum was also required from Commandants of 
 Corps of the positive requirements of their men in 
 the way of shirts and trowsers, with a view to their 
 being procured from Rangoon; men and Officers 
 
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY. 129 
 
 having left Rangoon for this service with the least 
 possible quantity of clothing. None of the officers 
 had horses, Generals Godwin and Steel excepted ; 
 and the rations for the force were carried on in 
 carts drawn by buffaloes. 
 
 The force moved out of the Pagoda, following 
 Captain Latter's guides. We wound slowly through 
 the jungle to the north of Pegu, and emerged on 
 the plain about half-past 9 a. M. So little were the 
 enemy expecting us that the garrison of Pegu saw 
 from the Pagoda their elephants feeding in the jungle 
 near us, and had we been aware of it we might have 
 captured them all. On our column reaching the plain 
 signal guns were fired from the enemy's lines, evi- 
 dently to collect their people. On reconnoitring their 
 position, it appeared to be three lines of entrench- 
 ments, the right on the river, and extending across 
 the Shoe-Gyue road, far into the plain ; on the left 
 of the road, which was the centre of their position, 
 ran a jungly nullah, which we subsequently found 
 had been so spiked and entrenched that had we 
 advanced by that route our loss would have been 
 very considerable from a foe who outmarched us 
 and fought under cover. General Godwin deter- 
 mined to turn the left of their position, and moved 
 to the right. The Cassay horse approached and 
 kept pace with our column, moving on our right 
 flank. After the force had turned the left of the first 
 line of entrenchments it was halted, and dispositions 
 made for attacking in two columns ; one — the left — 
 
130 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 under General Steel, the other under General God- 
 win. The left column was soon in its place, im- 
 patiently waiting the signal to advance ; it was 
 not given ; the enemy were seen moving in huge 
 masses from their left, and it is the opinion of some 
 that had the left column been permitted it could have 
 cut them off. An Aide-de-Camp was sent off to 
 General Godwin to inform him of what was going 
 on in front, and returned with an order that the 
 attack of the left column was not to take place, but 
 was to stand firm and cover his flank when he 
 attacked. At this order considerable disappoint- 
 ment was felt by the left column. General Steel 
 rode back to join our Chief on the right ; and Major 
 Seaton, of the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, and his men, 
 had to remain inactive, seeing an enemy they could 
 by a rapid dash get in among and severely punish, 
 walk leisurely off. When the advance by General 
 Godwin at last took place, the enemy were in full 
 retreat ; a few only remained on our front ; and 
 although the attacking party, European and Native, 
 more particularly the Sikhs, were exceedingly for- 
 ward and energetic, our men were never able to 
 approach sufficiently near to do the execution they 
 would have done had they been permitted to attack 
 at the proper time. While the column was thus 
 halted the Cassay horse on our right were em- 
 boldened to make a charge. They rode down 
 with some spirit, but none of our infantry Field 
 Officers being mounted they had not sufficient 
 
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY. 131 
 
 command over their men, some of whom in the 
 hurry and excitement fired too soon, and were 
 followed by the rest of the hne ; a few saddles 
 only were emptied, and the Cassay horse got out of 
 shot at the quickest possible pace. The Burmese 
 retreated by the Shoe-Gyne road, and the column 
 was halted in a tope of trees which had formed 
 their head-quarters. After more than an hour^s 
 halt the men stood to their arms, and formed upon 
 a road leading nearly west. Hopes were now enter- 
 tained of again speedily beholding the enemy. Al- 
 though not a vestige or trace of any number of men 
 was observed along the road, yet on the repeated 
 assurance of the guides the march in that direction 
 unfortunately was persisted in, which ended in our 
 reaching the village of Lephandoon before sunset. 
 With the exception of a broken down buffalo cart 
 and an old woman — there are no patriots in Burmah 
 so staunch as the old women, come friend or foe — 
 the post was found abandoned. The old woman 
 stated in a lively manner that the enemy had not 
 been there that day. General Godwin, it is said, 
 expressed his extreme displeasure at the conduct of 
 the guides. Many now thought that instead of 
 halting in the tope the enemy should have been at 
 once followed up along the Shoe-Gyne road ; as the 
 men had not marched far, and their blood was up, 
 they could have kept up a hot pursuit for many 
 miles, and perhaps, although unaided by cavalry, 
 they would have captured some guns and baggage, 
 
132 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 also carts and other carriage, which we much 
 required. The guides on this occasion seemed to 
 have taken us off the proper Hne of pursuit, which 
 was the more provoking when it was considered 
 that they were under the charge of one who pos- 
 sessed a vast knowledge of the Burmese language 
 and character. 
 
 For the night the force occupied the houses on 
 the left bank of the river at Lephandoon, and after 
 sunrise on the 18th moved off in a north-easterly 
 direction. After proceeding some distance we came 
 upon the Shoe-Gyne road, about two miles north 
 of the tope where we had unfortunately halted the 
 day before, and proceeded along it. Every yard 
 showed the traces of a multitude having crowded 
 along it in great confusion. The road was narrow, 
 through thick grass and paddy, and in some places 
 tall elephant grass, all sufficiently thick to impede the 
 march of infantry except on the road. Approach- 
 ing the village of Montsanganoo there was a thick 
 belt of jungle, but it was found unoccupied. The 
 force passed through it and found shelter in huts 
 and sheds. A vast plain extended to the front and 
 our right. The guides declared that the enemy had 
 pushed on, and were at least twenty miles off. 
 Under such belief all ranks got under such cover as 
 the place afforded, and it was determined to return 
 on the following day to Pegu Lemen. About one 
 ©""clock P.M. it was reported that two of the Cassay 
 horse had appeared in front of the position occupied 
 
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY — A SURPRISE. 133 
 
 by the detachment of the Madras FusUiers. A 
 Staff and two other officers, accompanied by two 
 men, went out along the northern road to recon- 
 noitre and the Burmese being within long rifle 
 range, two shots from a Minie were fired at them, 
 the first at about 460 yards, went sufficiently close 
 to one to make him bow his head, another at 
 about double the distance also fell close. The 
 horsemen making off" at their utmost speed, the 
 party moved on to a wooden bridge, from which 
 they had retired, and where a better view of the 
 country in our front w^as expected. From this 
 nothing could at the time be seen except a village 
 and some large houses to our left, some Poonghee 
 houses on the road, about a mile in advance of the 
 bridge, and a large village some distance to the 
 right ; in many places it was thought a line of 
 newly turned up earth could be distinguished, as if 
 extending from the houses on the road, on both sides, 
 towards the villages on the right and left. Not a 
 Sowar was to be seen except the two horsemen 
 above noticed, who observing the party stationary 
 at the bridge, began to approach slowly. It was at 
 this time that Captain Travers, General SteePs Aide- 
 de-Camp, rode up on. his brave little Arab Selim, and 
 galloping past the party, the Cassay horse wheeled 
 about. The gallant Aide-de-Camp dashed on after 
 them, and had gained within 100 yards of the last, 
 when many more men suddenly rode out to meet 
 him, and numbers of the enemy showing themselves 
 
134 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 about the houses, the energetic Captain was com- 
 pelled to pull up. As he walked quietly back, the 
 Burmese horsemen following at a respectful distance, 
 the whole extent, from village to village, became 
 alive with men. A long Hne rose up from their 
 entrenchments, where they had been lying con- 
 cealed, and the houses and villages were soon filled. 
 A peremptory order at this time arrived for the 
 party to return to their lines, upon which our 
 opponents fell back on theirs. The presence of the 
 whole enemy within two miles of his head-quarters 
 thus by chance became known to General Godwin 
 from the unauthorised act of two or three officers and 
 men going out beyond the outposts to reconnoitre. 
 The position occupied by the British was better 
 adapted for affording shelter to the troops than for 
 defence ; a few huts on the right, a shady tope, and 
 some sheds on the left ; the rear close on a jungle, 
 and a nullah which turned up round our left flank 
 and extended nearly to the right centre of the 
 enemy ''s position, would have enabled him at any 
 time, day or night, to have brought his whole force 
 unperceived into our rear and left flanks, and to 
 have occupied the thick jungle within half-musket 
 shot of us. There was certainly something wrong 
 in the present state of affairs. The guides asserted 
 that it was all a mistake, there was no enemy 
 near. However, an old ruined pagoda in the jungle, 
 in rear of our head-quarters, and which had been 
 used by the Burmese as a look-out, enabled others 
 
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY. 135 
 
 to see them as they had been reported ; and a 
 body of their infantry moving down into the belt 
 of jungle in front of their right centre, an officer 
 with a small party again went towards the bridge 
 to reconnoitre, when the enemy attempted to cut 
 off their retreat. More of their troops pushed 
 forward ; but our party was brought slowly back, 
 keeping clear of the jungle which was now occupied 
 by our adversaries, and bringing down, following 
 them at a respectable distance, considerable numbers 
 of their infantry, with a few horse. The bugles 
 in camp now sounded ; the men stood to their 
 arms in a few minutes, and the force moved on 
 to meet the foe, who on seeing our troops advance 
 fell gradually back on his entrenchments, our skir- 
 mishers dislodging those who had entered the belt 
 of jungle on our left. After crossing the bridge 
 two columns of attack were formed ; the right in- 
 tended for General Godwin, the left given to Gene- 
 ral Steel. The right had some little farther dis- 
 tance to march ; General Godwin did not accom- 
 pany it, and the next senior officer lost no time 
 in getting into motion. The left column was halted 
 and held back by General Godwin's personal order. 
 Thus in the opinion of some was a chance of 
 fairly and successfully closing with the enemy lost, 
 who, as on the previous day, retreated slowly and 
 surely. There can be little doubt that a steady 
 active advance would have brought our troops into 
 action, but apparently General Godwin was not 
 
136 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 desirous of risking such a contact. The skirmishers 
 of the left cokmni only were engaged; the right 
 carried the village on the enemy's left. Night 
 closed in, and the force marched back to their 
 former ground, where they found that the sheds they 
 had protected themselves in during the day had been 
 set fire to. The following morning we left Mont- 
 sanganoo after sunrise, and reached Pegu about one 
 ©''clock P.M. 
 
 The operations on the 17th and 18th showed 
 that had Colonel Sturfs column been waited for the 
 army of the enemy would in all probability have 
 been entirely destroyed. No country could have 
 been more favourable for cavalry, and the few 
 patches of jungle their infantry might have found 
 refuge in could have been cleared by our own. But 
 between Kully and Montsanganoo there was a suffi- 
 cient space of open ground for the destruction of 
 the force. A blow might have been struck at 
 Kully on the 18th or 19th which would have para- 
 lysed them with terror, and compelled them to 
 submit to our power; and from the carriage the 
 enemy "'s camp would have supplied, a rapid move- 
 ment on Shoe-Gyne would have obtained us posses- 
 sion of that town, and the almost certain annihila- 
 tion of that boasting Burmese army. It is a humane 
 wish to be lenient with the actions of men. We 
 must narrate however that this grand opportunity 
 was lost by not waiting for a most efficient column 
 which marched from and back to Rangoon without 
 
STATE OF THE TROOPS. 137 
 
 once coming into action.* The exposure and fatigue 
 the troops underwent on the 17th and 18th caused 
 much sickness from cholera; the Bengal Fusiliers 
 in a few days lost upwards of 20 men. The natives 
 also suffered considerably. General Grodwin, as is 
 ever the case, shewed the greatest coolness under 
 fire, and an entire disregard of self; and nothing 
 could have been better than the relief of Pegu and 
 the plans of attack on the 17th and 18th. These 
 were admirably conducted until it came to the 
 moment for acting, when it appeared as if the 
 veteran Chief lacked decision, and seemed to be 
 unconscious of the enemy passing away before 
 him. Whatever may have been General Godwin's 
 motives for not attacking his enemy with vigour 
 on the 17th and 18th — and he had shown him- 
 self quite capable of vigorous and successful attacks 
 even during the Second Burmese War — whatever 
 may have been his motives for not waiting for 
 Colonel Sturfs column, or leaving General Steel to 
 follow up the enemy when the Horse Artillery 
 and Cavalry arrived — he relieved Pegu and turned 
 the enemy's position on the 17th with little or no 
 loss to his own troops. 
 
 The three days' work on the 14th, 17th, and 18th 
 of December tried the stoutest and hardiest of the 
 force. Some old campaigners declared the " Pun- 
 jaub " was a joke to it as far as fatigue went. None 
 
 * See Colonel Sturt's Despatch, dated Pegu, December 19, 
 1852, Appendix No. VIII. 
 
138 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 displayed greater endurance than General Godwin 
 himself, and several of the oldest officers who accom- 
 panied him. 
 
 The General embarked at Pegu on the 20th, and 
 arrived at Rangoon on the morning of the 22d, after 
 leaving " a reinforcement with the garrison at Pegu,* 
 and strengthening their party of Sappers as a tem- 
 porary measure, to allow of their putting themselves 
 in a perfect state of defence." The British Com- 
 mander in his Despatch bestowed no small share of 
 praise on the officers and men employed in the 
 harassing and arduous duties we have just been 
 relating ; and we are assured that never was praise 
 better deserved. But leaving the Despatch for the 
 Appendix, we shall here give the General Order 
 issued by General Godwin in honour of Major HilPs 
 gallant defence of Pegu : — " Major-General Godwin 
 is most proud to express his admiration of the noble 
 defence of the Pegu Pagoda (against a host of 
 enemies) made by Major Hill and the brave handful 
 of Officers and Soldiers under his command for so 
 many days and anxious nights, cut off as they were 
 from the succour of their comrades by the works 
 of the enemy on the river as well as by the dis- 
 tant communication with the head-quarters of the 
 army. It is a fine example to this army of what 
 
 * Amounting now to some 700 men, including 450 Europeans. 
 On the 31st inst. a detachment of the 19th M. N. I. marched up 
 to the Pegu Pagoda ; it consisted of 250 men, and was sent to 
 relieve the detachment of 5th M.N.I, oidered to Rangoon. 
 
GENERAL ORDER RELATIVE TO PEGU. 139 
 
 bravery under the direction of cool courage can do, 
 giving, as Major Hill has done, confidence to all, 
 by which alone the Pegu garrison has gained so 
 much honor."'' 
 
 [Dated Pegu, 17th December 1852.] 
 
140 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PROCLAMATION. 
 
 The Land Column under Colonel Sturt had left 
 Rangoon on the 13th of December. Attacks on the 
 great fortress had been openly spoken of; but 
 Brigadier Duke had taken every precaution. It 
 certainly was an excellent opportunity for the Bur- 
 mese to commit some daring act ; for never before 
 had Rangoon been so denuded of troops. Any 
 attempt on the citadel itself would have met with a 
 repulse rarely equalled for its terrible effects. The 
 artillery was all in capital position — a gun at every 
 vulnerable point on the terraces of the Pagoda — a 
 24-pounder howitzer ready to sweep the north steps, 
 where it was said a rush might be made to regain 
 possession of Gaudama's most famous temple. We 
 may be said to have prevented an attack by being 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE PROCLAMATION. 141 
 
 ready for it. And we trust that our native land 
 will be the same should danger ever tkreaten her, 
 not only to repel, but to repel with vigour, and 
 annihilate presumptuous power ! 
 
 About the middle of the month Captain Phayre, who 
 had been appointed Commissioner of Pegu, arrived 
 at Rangoon with the Governor-Generars Proclama- 
 tion annexing Pegu to the British territories in the 
 East. This act had been forced on the Government 
 of India. A Second Burmese War, it is useless to 
 repeat, was in the last degree repugnant to the feel- 
 ings of that Government. Lord Dalhousie did 
 everything that man could do to avoid it. He wished 
 no addition to our territories ; but the force of cir- 
 cumstances willed it, as they have done since the 
 days of Clive, and as they will do till the end of time 
 or England's glory. " AVe cannot stop here ! " said 
 Clive on the plains of Bengal. Why should we stop 
 "here*" if Providence means us to go there ? Seventy 
 years ago when they talked of schemes of conquest 
 in India, and the British Senate declared that the 
 pursuit of them was " contrary to the wish, policy, 
 and interest of the British Nation," the zealous 
 speakers little knew how the force of circumstances 
 would produce much rightful conquest, ending even 
 in the annexation of such kingdoms as the Punjaub, 
 Scinde, and Pegu. 
 
 The following is the Proclamation, so exactly 
 adapted to " the meridian of Ava, and to the compre- 
 hension of its subjects :" — 
 
142 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 NOTIFICATION. 
 
 Fort- William, Foreign Department, 
 tie 30^A Decemher 1852. 
 
 The Most Noble the Governor-Greneral in Council 
 is pleased to direct that the following Proclamation, 
 whereby the Province of Pegu has been declared to 
 be a portion of the British Territories in the East, 
 shall be published for general information. 
 
 His Lordship in Council directs that in honor of 
 this event, a Royal Salute shall be fired at every 
 principal Station of the Army in the several Pre- 
 sidencies of India. 
 
 By Order of the Most Noble the Governor-Gene- 
 ral of India in Council, 
 
 C. Allen, 
 Officiating Secretary/ to the Government of India. 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 The Court of Ava having refused to make 
 amends for the injuries and insults which British 
 subjects had suffered at the hands of its servants, 
 the Governor-General of India in Council resolved 
 to exact reparation by force of arras. 
 
 The Forts and Cities upon the coast were forth- 
 with attacked and captured ; the Burmese forces 
 have been dispersed wherever they have been met ; 
 and the Province of Pegu is now in the occupation 
 of British troops. 
 
THE PROCLAMATION. 143 
 
 The just and moderate demands of the Govern- 
 ment of India have been rejected by the King ; the 
 ample opportunity that has been afforded him for 
 repairing the injury that was done has been dis- 
 regarded ; and the timely submission which alone 
 could have been effectual to prevent the dismember- 
 ment of his kingdom, is still withheld. 
 
 Wherefore, in compensation for the past, and for 
 better security in the future, the Governor- General 
 in Council has resolved, and hereby Proclaims, that 
 the Province of Pegu is now, and shall be hence- 
 forth a portion of the British territories in the East. 
 
 Such Burman troops as may still remain within 
 the Province shall be driven out ; Civil Government 
 shall immediately be established ; and Officers shall 
 be appointed to administer the affairs of the several 
 districts. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council hereby calls on 
 the inhabitants of Pegu to submit themselves to the 
 authority, and to confide securely in the protection 
 of the British Government ; whose power they have 
 seen to be irresistible, and whose rule is marked by 
 justice and beneficence. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council having exacted 
 the reparation he deems sufficient, desires no fur- 
 ther conquest in Burmah, and is willing to consent 
 that hostilities should cease. 
 
 But if the King of Ava shall fail to renew his 
 former relations of friendship with the British 
 Government, and if he shall recklessly seek to dis- 
 
144 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAR. 
 
 pute its quiet possession of the Province it has now 
 declared to be its own, the Governor-General in Coun- 
 cil will again put forth the power he holds, and will 
 visit with full retribution aggressions which, if they 
 be persisted in, must of necessity lead to the total 
 subversion of the Burinan State, and to the ruin 
 and exile of the King and his race. 
 
 By Order of the Most Noble the Governor-Gene- 
 ral of India in Council, 
 
 C. Allen, 
 Officiating Secretary to the Government of India. 
 
 20th December 1852. 
 
 ORDERS BY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL 
 IN COUNCIL. 
 
 Foreign Department, Fort- William^ 
 the 80th December 1852. 
 
 The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council 
 is pleased to make the following appointments : — 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel A. Bogle to be Commissioner 
 of the Tenasserim and Martaban Provinces. 
 
 Captain H. T. Berdmore, Madras Artillery, to be 
 Deputy Commissioner in the Province of Martaban. 
 
 Lieutenant D. A. Chase, 64th N. I., to be Assist- 
 ant ditto. 
 
 Captain A. P. Phayre to be Commissioner of the 
 Province of Pegu. * 
 
 • Consequent on this appointment Captain Hopkinson suc- 
 ceeded to Arracan. 
 
ORDERS IN COUNCIL. 145 
 
 Deputy Commissioners. 
 
 Captain T. P. Sparks, 7th M.N.L, at Rangoon. 
 
 Lieutenant A. Fytche, 70th N.I., at Bassein. 
 
 Captain T. Latter, 67th N.I., at Prome. 
 
 Captain J. Smith, 13th M.N.I., at Sarawah. 
 
 Lieutenant R. D. Ardagh, Magistrate of the Town 
 of Rangoon. 
 
 Lieutenant E. J. Spilsbury, 67th N.I., Assistant 
 ditto. 
 
 Assistant Commissioners. 
 
 Lieutenant C. D. Grant, 11th M.N.L, at Bassein. 
 
 Lieutenant G. Dangerfield, Madras Artillery, at 
 Sarawah, 
 
 Lieutenant J. S. Baird, Madras Artillery,at Prome. 
 
 Dr J. M'Clelland to be Officiating Superintendent 
 of Forests, Pegu. 
 
 Mr R. S. Edwards, Collector of Customs, Prome. 
 
 Mr T. J. Fallon, Collector of Sea Customs, 
 Bassein. C. Allen, 
 
 Officiating Secretary to the Government of India. 
 
 At Rangoon, on the morning of the 20th, the 
 annexation of Pegu was proclaimed on board H. M's. 
 Ship Fox, amid the roaring of cannon from the 
 navy. On the 21st it was proclaimed to the army, 
 and a grand parade was ordered for the occasion. 
 The Proclamation was read to the troops in the 
 various languages in the presence of Captain Phayre, 
 a detachment of Horse Artillery on the right firing 
 a Royal Salute. Brigadier Duke then marched 
 
 K 
 
146 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the troops home, when another salute was fired from 
 the upper terrace of the Great Pagoda. Pegu had 
 become British ! 
 
 " The Proclamation,"" wrote the Friend of India 
 shortly after, " will be read at the Courts of Siam 
 and Cochin China, and even at Pekin itself."*' A blow 
 had been struck which would no doubt vibrate 
 throughout Eastern Asia ; and exclusive Nations 
 would learn henceforth that they need not think of 
 attempting to insult or oppress British subjects with 
 impunity. " In 1752, we were in possession of three 
 factories and twenty square miles of territory ; at 
 the close of 1852, we are the sovereigns of all India, 
 and not a shot is fired in it without our permission : 
 we rule over 650,000 square miles, and a population of 
 more than one hundred millions.*" A new province 
 had just been annexed, at a rough calculation 200 
 miles in length by nearly 200 in breadth, of some 
 40,000 square miles, said to contain between . four 
 and five millions of inhabitants. On this over-esti- 
 mate of the population it may be well to touch here- 
 after. It was thought that the administrative 
 talents of Captain Phayre, who had been " one of 
 the chief means of turning the swamps of Arracan 
 into the granary of the bay, and whose forte lies in 
 making a little kingdom a great one/"* * would soon 
 render Pegu a most important and valuable British 
 possession in what Malte Brun styles Chin-India., 
 
 * Friend of India, January 13. 
 
THE PROCLAMATION. 147 
 
 which title has certainly more meaning in it than 
 " India beyond the Ganges." 
 
 General Godwin had received a copy of the Pro- 
 clamation while busily employed at Pegu. The 
 General having concluded operations in that quarter, 
 and having given orders regarding an admirable 
 flank movement to be made by a Land Column 
 from Martaban to Shoe-Gyne, he left Rangoon with 
 his Staff for Prome on Wednesday the 29th of 
 December. 
 
148 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 BUEMESE NIGHT ATTACK ON PROME, 
 
 An Artillery officer, writing from Prome on the 1st 
 of December 1852, gave a detailed account of mat- 
 ters in that quarter, from which we were led to 
 imagine that a storm of some kind was gathering 
 not far off — one which should break the spell of a 
 tedious military repose. There was little or nothing 
 of any interest going on in our camp. One of the 
 Burmese outposts could be seen from a hill on 
 which were planted two 8-inch howitzers. Some 
 said that they had received orders to attack us, 
 but it was believed by many that they would not 
 have the audacity to attempt it. It was also as- 
 serted that from one-third to one-half of the people 
 at Euthay-Mew were sick — fever being the prevail- 
 ing disease among the hostile soldiery. Maong- 
 Mong, the Viceroy of Pegu — the Governor of Ran- 
 goon at the commencement of the war — was dead ; 
 his successor had either died of the general com- 
 plaint, or had been killed ; and the present Com- 
 
OTBTCH PUN 
 
 THE BUBMi 
 ARMY 
 
 (as ASC£RrAIKCD / 
 
 also the Position occupied 
 
 THE BRITISH TROOPS, 
 
 Prev'cijs to cSe occasion of t/te 
 
 NIGHTflrTACK 
 
 2 /;«- Jrfi//^-,, 
 
HEALTH OF THE TROOPS. 149 
 
 mander — the "left-handed Chief" — was deemed the 
 bravest warrior the enemy could bring into the 
 field. Some 5000 or 6000 men were at Euthay- 
 Mew ; these were at one time reported to be within 
 three miles of the British camp. The thermometer 
 was on one or more occasions as low as 65 ® , and it 
 would rise the same day to 83® — a considerable 
 variation. Some of the regiments, especially H. M.'s 
 18th and 80th, were suffering severely from sick- 
 ness ; and probably Sir John Cheape in a measure 
 attributed with some reason this falling off in the 
 health of his troops to the inactive and monotonous 
 life they so long had been compelled to lead. Just 
 eight days after the above-mentioned letter was 
 written the Burmese made a most daring night 
 attack on Prome. 
 
 Another officer who was present kindly furnished 
 us with the following intelligence of this affair ; also 
 with the accompanying plan, which is curious from 
 the fact of having been derived from native informa- 
 tion — meaning of course that portion of it regard- 
 ing the enemy and the names of their different 
 battalions — which will surely be of interest at 
 home at a period when a new Empire and the 
 rumoured augmentation of armies must render 
 Exeter Hall perfectly frantic. 
 
 With the exception of the trusty guardians of 
 our position, Prome, on the night in question, was 
 wrapped in slumber. These sentries. With wary eye, 
 paced the fronts of their respective picquets. It 
 
BURMESE 
 
 VC /NfCflM/irfONj 
 
 cupied 
 
 i2 Styopers 
 
 ia JLWJ/^TCO.Li. 
 
 U Jrrf^7a.r fforsr' 
 
HEALTH OF THE TROOPS. 149 
 
 mander — the "left-handed Chief" — was deemed the 
 bravest warrior the enemy could bring into the 
 field. Some 5000 or 6000 men were at Euthay- 
 Mew ; these were at one time reported to be within 
 three miles of the British camp. The thermometer 
 was on one or more occasions as low as 65° , and it 
 would rise the same day to 83° — a considerable 
 variation. Some of the regiments, especially H. M."'s 
 18th and 80th, were suffering severely from sick- 
 ness ; and probably Sir John Cheape in a measure 
 attributed with some reason this falling off in the 
 health of his troops to the inactive and monotonous 
 life they so long had been compelled to lead. Just 
 eight days after the above-mentioned letter was 
 \\Titten the Burmese made a most daring night 
 attack on Prome. 
 
 Another officer who was present kindly furnished 
 us with the following intelligence of this affair ; also 
 with the accompanying plan, which is curious from 
 the fact of having been derived from native informa- 
 tion — meaning of course that portion of it regard- 
 ing the enemy and the names of their different 
 battalions — which will surely be of interest at 
 home at a period when a new Empire and the 
 rumoured augmentation of armies must render 
 Exeter Hall perfectly frantic. 
 
 With the exception of the trusty guardians of 
 our position, Prome, on the night in question, was 
 wrapped in slumber. These sentries, with wary eye, 
 paced the fronts of their respective picquets. It 
 
150 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 was about midnight when the sharp and heavy 
 report of three signal guns from the enemy''s ad- 
 vanced post startled the " night watch," and 
 roused their sleeping comrades. Now commenced 
 a scene of energy and activity. The General, 
 feeling assured that something like danger was at 
 hand, sprang from his couch, but waited for some 
 further indications of the presence of a foe ere he 
 roused his sleeping soldiery. But he had not long to 
 wait; for the sharp rattle of musketry and the heavier 
 report of the jingal announced that our picquets 
 were attacked. Soon the bright flash and deafening 
 roar of our own heavy ordnance told that the ad- 
 vancing columns of the enemy offered a mark for 
 their destructive fire. The attack was rapid, but 
 much more so was the reply of our troops to the 
 challenge of " the assembly." In a short space 
 of time each picquet was reinforced, and every 
 assailable point occupied. Staff officers were 
 now to be seen here and there — some mounted, 
 others on foot — rapidly conveying the orders of the 
 Chief, who, ever active, flew to each post of danger ; 
 and well pleased did he seem on surveying each 
 point open to attack, that some days before the 
 defences of the city had been completed. A detach- 
 ment of the 35th M. N. I. held Narweing, supported 
 by connecting picquets of H. M."'s 18th and 51st, 
 thus communicating with the town ; the head- quar- 
 ters of the 35th supported the main body of the 
 51st on the left ; the Madras Sappers, with double 
 
BURMESE NIGHT ATTACK. 151 
 
 picquets, supported the 40th B, N. I. and the 18th 
 Royal Irish on the heights on our extreme right. 
 The guns, with portions of the 18th and 80th, held 
 the central position. The enemy made repeated 
 assaults ; charge after charge — accompanied with 
 wild yells and cries — was attempted, but the steady 
 fire from the heights and from our left drove them 
 back again and again. A few of them reached 
 a sand on the river's bank, where some of the 
 friendly inhabitants of the town had built their 
 miserable huts ; here they wounded a few poor men 
 and women, but a demonstration from our right 
 caused these remorseless warriors to make a speedy 
 retreat, and the Irregular Horse held that point in 
 check for the remainder of the night. They pro- 
 longed their fruitless attacks till dawn of day ; but 
 the safety of our troops was complete, as the enemy 
 invariably fired too high. Their file-firing on H.M.'s 
 51st was remarked as admirable, as far as regularity 
 and being well kept up were concerned, but then it 
 had the above mentioned defect. Thus finding that 
 no point yielded, and that all their determined 
 efforts were in vain, they drew off at daylight, but 
 appeared again shortly after at some distance from 
 our camp, and on observing a body of Sappers 
 going out to work, drew up in regular order 
 across a plain, in a very good position. The 
 chiefs were distinguished by their gilt helmets, 
 riding in the advance and arranging their posts. 
 Thus thev stood a short time ; but on the appear- 
 
152 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ance of a covering party of Europeans for the Sap- 
 pers, they retired and fell back upon Euthay-Mew. 
 In the afternoon Sir John Cheape followed up the 
 attack, moving out with a small force of European 
 and Native troops, with two guns. He advanced 
 unmolested in two columns, covered by the Irregular 
 Horse, close to the advanced post of the enemy. {See 
 Plan.) The Burmese appeared behind some en- 
 trenchments, and fired a few shots ; it was too late 
 however to commence an attack ; Sir John there- 
 fore returned, but not without having achieved one 
 great object — that of a good reconnoissance of their 
 position. 
 
 And thus ended the excitement of the night 
 attack on Prome, the resistance to which through- 
 out appears to have been admirably managed, re- 
 flecting the highest credit on the troops employed, 
 and on the chief who before had gained renown at 
 Moultan and on the plains of Goojerat. 
 
 Since the above, wrote a correspondent on the 1st 
 of January, the Burmese made several threats of 
 night attacks, none of which were ever fulfilled; 
 and the larger portion of the force which sur- 
 rounded the British camp had drawn off. It was 
 said that the King of Ava required the presence of 
 his troops to protect him from the violence of his 
 foster-brother. 
 
 We cannot omit in this Chapter to bring to 
 general notice the admirable conduct and un- 
 tiring exertions of a small body of the native 
 
MADRAS SAPPERS. 153 
 
 army — men who, although they had been broken 
 down by disease, had rendered the most valuable 
 service previous to the above night attack, in the 
 construction of breastwork, battery, abattis, parapet, 
 bridge, and road. Yes, it will be read now and 
 hereafter with admiration, that the small body of 
 Madras Sappers at Prome worked as subjects of 
 the British Indian Government should work — with 
 the right spirit of soldiers ! 
 
154 THE SECOJJD BURMESE TVAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MARTABAN LAND COLUMN. TO MARTABAN. 
 
 Pegu having now become a portion of the British 
 territories in the East, the most emphatic part of 
 the Proclamation remained to be carried into effect: 
 — " Such Burman troops as may still remain 
 WITHIN THE Province shall be driven out!" 
 To clear both banks of the noble Sitang river, 
 which, after running some hundreds of miles in a 
 nearly southerly direction through Ava, falls into 
 the Gulf of Martaban ; to expel the enemy and 
 give confidence to peaceful subjects as far as Shoe- 
 Gyne, or perhaps Tonghoo ; — such was the nature 
 of the work marked out for the Martaban Land 
 Column. It was to be the pioneer of civilisation in 
 an almost unknown land — a land said to be infested 
 with desperate characters of every description — 
 men to whom oppression was a delight, and who 
 held human life as cheap as the food they lived 
 upon. But yet, with such philanthropic ends in 
 view, a few were not backward in denouncing the 
 
EMBARKATION FOR MARTABAN. 155 
 
 coming march as an " insane project ; " * they be- 
 lieved that half the army would, either from sick- 
 ness or hunger, perish in the jungle. " You will 
 have plenty of exposure and hard work" — "little 
 or no fighting, little water, and some fever ; "" such 
 were the more rational opinions entertained by the 
 majority of the military at Rangoon. But philoso- 
 phical was the idea held by those who declared that 
 no one knew anything about it. And again there 
 were some who simply maintained that the march 
 would be one of the grandest movements, if not 
 the grandest, yet made upon the chess-board of Bur- 
 mese and English strife ! 
 
 In the General Orders by Brigadier-General Steel, 
 C.B., on the 29th of December, a field force was 
 ordered to be prepared for embarkation at the 
 shortest notice to proceed to Martaban. The 
 Martaban Column was to be under the personal 
 command of the Brigadier-General commanding the 
 Madras Division of the Army of Ava. The General 
 Staff of that Division, including Dr Davidson, Staif- 
 Surgeon, were to accompany the force. The follow- 
 ing details were ordered to be furnished from Ran- 
 goon: — One European Company of Madras Artillery, 
 with a battery; one Company of Sappers and Miners; 
 450 Bengal Fusiliers, and 150 Madras Fusiliers ; 
 head-quarters and wing of the 10th Bengal Native 
 Infantry; head-quarters and wing of the 5th Madras 
 Native Infantry; a detachment of Ramghur Irregular 
 • Friend of India. 
 
15G THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Cavalry; and Lieut. Fraser of the Bengal Engineers, 
 was to accompany the force. 
 
 On the morning of Tuesday the 4th of January 
 1853, G-eneral Steel and Staff embarked in the 
 H. E, I. C's steam frigate Moozuffer, for Martaban. 
 This noble vessel — to whose Commander we have 
 before alluded — mounted five 8-inch guns and two 
 32-pounders, and measured some 1500 tons, carry- 
 ing engines of about 550 horse power. The Zenohia 
 and Berenice, with the transports Futtel RozacJc, 
 Atalanta, and Teazer, were likewise employed in the 
 conveyance of the column. H. M.'s steamer S^jhynx, 
 bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Lambert, 
 towed the General Godicin, laden with ordnance 
 and stores. The ever active Fire Queen, which had 
 been so often the messenger of good and bad news 
 to us, and the welcome " herald of a noisy world " 
 during the campaign, having just arrived with a 
 mail from Calcutta, was also about to proceed to 
 Moulmein, having on board Mr J. K. Colvin, who, 
 it was said, had been deputed by Government to in- 
 quire into the administration of the territories of 
 Arracan and Tenasserim, 
 
 By Noon of Wednesday the 5th all the troops 
 were anchored off their destination. The brief voy- 
 age, by several in the Moozuffer at least, was consi- 
 dered a very pleasant one. While the Captain en- 
 tertained the seniors at his own table his officers 
 made themselves extremely agreeable to the military 
 in the gun-room. Some very fair music from the 
 
NAVAL ADVENTURE. 157 
 
 Moozuffefs band— chiefly composed of flutes and 
 fiddles — also enlivened a long evening. After seve- 
 ral airs, " Mr Francis give us ' Love Not,'' " lustily- 
 roared out a ship'^s officer. The baton was wielded 
 with considerable skill, and perhaps as the beautiful 
 tune proceeded a few bachelors became sentimental 
 on considering the change that might come over 
 them ere they returned from a region of unknown 
 forests and jungle to try their fortune with Love in 
 earnest. We might be able to relate a " yarn " or 
 two told that same night ; but we prefer sticking 
 to our business, and giving instead, in this matter- 
 of-fact Narrative, the following naval adventure,* 
 which is well worthy of a place in " The Second 
 Burmese War " : — 
 
 A naval expedition, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Shadwell, R. N., left Rangoon on the 24th of 
 December. There were employed the cutter of 
 H. M.''s frigate Winchester, with 15 men; two paddle- 
 box boats of the Moozuffer, with two 12-pounder 
 howitzers and 40 men ; a paddle-box boat of H.M's 
 steamer Spliynx, with a 24^pounder howitzer and 
 rocket tubes ; H. M. S. Fox's barge ; two boats 
 from the Zenohia, with the same armament as the 
 Moozuffer; the Zenohia s gig, with Captain Rennie, 
 and the Sphynx''s gig, with Captain Shadwell. The 
 boats of the Moozuffer were under the charge of 
 Lieut. Mitchison, L N., and Mr Freeman, master ; 
 
 * From notes kindly furnished by Mr Freeman, Master of 
 the Moozuffer. 
 
158 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 those of the Zenohia under Lieut. Aylesbury, I. N., 
 with Mr Mason, mate. A notorious Burmese chief- 
 tain had been for sometime robbing and oppressing 
 the inhabitants of a tract of country some distance 
 to the southward of Bassien and the westward of 
 Rangoon. The people had been driven from their 
 villages into strange quarters, where it did not seem 
 to the chief at least at all probable the British would 
 yet venture to afford them protection. However 
 the fleet of boats on the 28th did arrive at a certain 
 creek : it was soon down sails, and the men had to 
 pull up with all their might. Passing a few breast- 
 works they entered a main river. Immediately the 
 Foxs barge dashed off in noble style, for there were 
 hundreds of boats or canoes in sight, but all bear- 
 ing white flags. A large village was now seen, and 
 at this position the party hoped to meet their enemy 
 — the notorious " Musheboo ! " As our boats passed 
 the canoes the women held up their children, and 
 the greater portion of them seemed more glad than 
 frightened at the Europeans'* appearance. To get 
 to this spot our boats had passed one barrier ; they 
 were soon passing a second, when one of the 
 Moozuffer's craft stuck on a sunken tree. An anchor 
 was laid out, and she was speedily got off; but her 
 crew had the mortification of finding themselves con- 
 siderably in the rear. Nothing can be more annoy- 
 ing to a sailor than this, when there is a chance of a 
 shot a-head. After the boat got off, her crew 
 pulled vigorously to catch up the other boats. Pass- 
 
AMHERST. 159 
 
 ing the village, or rather town, some of their com- 
 rades came in sight ; these had received orders to 
 go back again to the end of the town and be ready to 
 burn the houses when evacuated, or stop suspicious 
 boats. The people began to get ready for a move 
 as soon as possible ; indeed many of them had their 
 property in their canoes before the naval party 
 arrived. It seemed as if they had been hourly ex- 
 pecting succour. By noon all were ready to set 
 off. And now what a swarm of boats was to be 
 seen ! each containing an average of three women to 
 two men, with a due proportion of children. In the 
 afternoon the fleet moved down to the entrance of 
 the creek — the canoes entering it to make off to 
 their respective villages, which they did without loss 
 of time. A portion of a boafs crew was stationed 
 to count the multitudes as they passed a tree on the 
 'bank of the creek, which was not more than four or 
 five yards wide. Every one was amazed at the im- 
 mense number of boats, which amounted to 1300, 
 containing 8040 souls ! all these were thus released 
 from their oppressors by the gallant expedition 
 under Captain Shadwell. The party returned to 
 Rangoon at day-light on New-year's morning. 
 
 From Amherst to Moulmein the distance is 26 
 miles. On approaching the former you at first 
 behold a small island standing out boldly from the 
 sea ; then appears a bold picturesque coast, on 
 which is Amherst. This is still we believe a pilot 
 station ; a few fishing-boats however were all the 
 
1 60 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 craft to be seen opposite what was once intended to 
 be the capital of the Tenasserim Provinces. In- 
 tended as a sanitarium for our troops during the 
 present war, it has greatly failed in this respect, 
 our men seldom or never having recovered from 
 proceeding thither. 
 
 Moulmein from the river presents a striking scene, 
 in some respects highly picturesque and beautiful. 
 A fine range of hills to the rear, with magnificently 
 luxuriant foliage to relieve the eye, white Pagodas 
 here and there, and pleasantly situated dwelling- 
 houses strewed about — on the beach neatly construct- 
 ed wharfs, and a large handsome custom-house, while 
 the shipping in the roads from many ports gives a 
 pleasing commercial character to the whole. Hav- 
 ing just left what will probably soon be its rival — 
 Rangoon — it was impossible not to be struck with 
 the vast diffference between the grand port of the 
 Burmese Empire taken by us in the year 1852, and 
 Moulmein, which the British have held for a quarter 
 of a century. Not even the spacious and handsome 
 wharfs — one of them very properly styled after 
 General Godwin — on the superb river frontage ; not 
 even an array of shipping in the river far surpassing 
 that at Moulmein ; not even the crowds of boats and 
 the signs of busy life everywhere apparent, could 
 divest you of the idea that at Rangoon civilization 
 had only just been born ; but the life-blood of Anglo- 
 Saxon enterprise, which has done so much for the 
 world, will yet flow in full vigour there ! You face 
 
MARTABAN. 
 
 161 
 
 about from Moulmein ; the eye dwells for a moment 
 on a small island and a magnificent expanse of 
 water; and there is Martiban nearly opposite the 
 famous port — dark, and dreary, and jungly, when 
 compared with it. Nearer and nearer still, and 
 Martaban, to us, gave the idea of a wild country 
 which, save for a line of European barracks and a 
 neat little pier, seemed rather a fit abode for wild 
 beasts than for civilised men. The heights are good, 
 and capable of making an excellent defence. One 
 elevation has the Martaban Pagoda, a black and 
 white construction, inferior in beauty and architecture 
 to any of the small Temples at Rangoon, boasting as 
 usual the golden tee of tinkling bells. To the rear 
 of this is the Hill Pagoda, on a hill some 400 feet 
 high. There is likewise another Temple of note here, 
 styled the White Pagoda. A bell of considerable 
 size, said to be at least 400 or 500 years old, seemed 
 to complete the curiosities of this small region of 
 Gaudama and robbers. 
 
 The view from Martaban is beautiful in the 
 extreme. You behold the noble Salween River, and 
 the mouths of the Gryne and Alaren, while all three 
 are lending their charms to the surrounding and 
 distant beauties of mountain and forest scenery. 
 
 At noon of Thursday the 6th an alarm was raised 
 on account of one of the European Fusiliers having 
 been carried away by the Burmese. Two of them 
 having proceeded considerably beyond safe limits to 
 the northward, were employed in digging into a 
 
 L 
 
1C2 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 pagoda, with the usual hope of finding treasure. 
 The Burmese came slyly down upon the diggers, one 
 of whom they caught, while the other got off after 
 a narrow escape of his life. Immediately on his 
 arrival in camp two companies were sent out after 
 the enemy ; the men dashed away through the jungle 
 to rescue if possible their captured comrade. The 
 heat of the sun was intense, but happily no accidents 
 occurred from it. After a most diligent and fatiguing 
 search the companies had the mortification to return 
 without the unfortunate Fusilier. 
 
 Ascending a small hill to inspect the North Bat- 
 tery, we found it to consist of one 68-pounder from 
 the Zenohia, two 9-pounders, one 24-pounder howitzer, 
 one 8-inch iron mortar, and two S^-brass mortars on 
 iron beds. For the South Battery there were one 24- 
 pounder howitzer, and one 9-pounder gun. For the 
 Hill Stockade, commanding Martaban and the 
 Salween River, one 24-pounder howitzer, two 9- 
 pounders, and two 5|-inch mortars — in all, 14 pieces 
 of ordnance. Looking from the North Battery in 
 the direction where the European was carried off, all 
 is jungly, and hilly, and swampy. From the nature 
 of the country we at once got a clue to the secret of 
 the various attacks made on the place since the 
 storming of Martaban on the 5th of April 1852.* 
 The 68-pounder was laid for one of the bamboo 
 stockades on a hill, — a range of about 1,800 yards. 
 
 For a curious Burmese Document, See Appendix, No. IX. 
 
MARTABAN. 
 
 163 
 
 All the other guns commanded excellent positions, 
 reflecting great credit on the Artillery Officer in 
 charge. Since the taking of the place scarcely a 
 stick of the town had been erected. Some Karens 
 appeared on one occasion and made an attempt to 
 settle, but quickly disappeared. Desolation seemed 
 to have stamped its image here. One regiment 
 of infantry, relieved every six weeks or two months, 
 also a company of European Artillery, had been 
 the force stationed there for the last nine months. 
 The Artillery had lost 19 men, and the majority of 
 the remainder had been nearly prostrated by fever. 
 The Native Infantry like\\ase suffered considerably ; 
 but these going away more frequently the deaths 
 were not so great in proportion. This will bear out 
 what has been asserted in a former Chapter regarding 
 Martaban as a military station. On the other hand, 
 disagreeing from sentiments elsewhere given by the 
 Author of this Narrative, we heard it expressed here 
 as a decided opinion, that we should not have taken 
 and kept Martaban. With a war-steamer or two 
 stationed before it Moulmein would have been per- 
 fectly safe. The grand town of Martaban had be- 
 come a mere fable ; what was the use of attacking a 
 den of thieves ? Was it to aid what was intended to 
 be a decided and finishing blow to Burmese inso- 
 lence, tyranny, and oppression I This all sounded well 
 enough ; but then the idea seemed to be omitted 
 from the argument that it would be impolitic and 
 dangerous for many reasons to have such a notori- 
 
1C4 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 OU8 portion of territory imcaptured so near Moul- 
 mein. It is no bad rule in the world to keep only 
 your friends in sight, your enemies being well away 
 in the distance. Besides, it was clear from our being 
 here now that Martaban must have been taken 
 sometime I 
 
 We have read that it had long been considered 
 a place of some note, both in a political and 
 commercial point of view, " where the Burmese 
 armies usually assembled in their frequent wars with 
 the Siamese." Martaban means " Nose of the Rock," 
 " once the capital of a small kingdom inhabited by 
 Taliens, and an old Talien king once had his palace 
 at this place." Talien is considered to be a distinct 
 language from the Burmese. " The old inhabitants 
 of Martaban had worshipped Graudama a long time, 
 nearly 1000 years it is said, before the Burmese took 
 possession of their cities. The Pagoda was erected 
 many hundred years ago." 
 
 The wisdom of a portion of Moulmein and that of 
 the Martaban Land Column having come in contact, 
 it was amusing as well as edifying to listen to the 
 various opinions expressed regarding one of the chief 
 causes of the Second Burmese War, From Moul- 
 mein a story came as follows : — No European Regi- 
 ment* was stationed there — this alone had a decided 
 effect in strengthening the enemy's defiance of our 
 power. A Burmese authority had through some 
 
 * There was certainly an European Company of Artillery, iu 
 addition to Native Infantrv. 
 
MOULMEIN. 165 
 
 means or other got on board a pilot's boat at 
 Amherst. He asked various questions regarding 
 the number of Europeans there and at Mouhnein, 
 but on being suspected of knavery he escaped. 
 And this was at the time when Commodore 
 Lambert went down to Rangoon to make known 
 our demands. The official had then a very slight 
 idea of the extent of our steam-power ; but yet 
 from this a useful lesson may be gained — that it is 
 ever highly politic to leave no large town or position 
 of importance in India or the East, especially if near 
 a foreign kingdom or power, without a fair propor- 
 tion of European soldiery in the garrison. In addi- 
 tion to the faithful and devoted Indian Sepoys, re- 
 gard for the European soldier in a time of danger, 
 serving under the same Honourable masters, with a 
 European comrade in arms always near him will, if 
 it be at all possible, secure the basis for that increase 
 in the scale of enlightenment and civilisation which 
 it is to be hoped our Native Indian soldiery will 
 sooner or later attain. 
 
 Before leaving Martaban it was hardly possible 
 to deny ourselves the pleasure of a visit to Moul- 
 mein. Say you start at 8 a.m., in a neat canoe, 
 of good teak and well covered over, you may arrive 
 at the opposite coast about 9 o'clock. You land 
 at a spacious pier, drive down the principal 
 street in a pony carriage, and find the town of 
 Moulmein exceed your expectations. Public build- 
 ings, especially the Custom-house, where is also the 
 
16G THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 office of the Principal Assistant to the Commissioner 
 — the merchants'" houses — the numerous Chinese 
 and Parsee shops — the business-like air of the 
 place — all had a charm for those who had resided so 
 long on the upper terrace of the Great Pagoda at 
 Rangoon. Driving to the arsenal we passed the 
 Moulmein Pagoda, situated some little distance off 
 on a hill 300 or 400 feet in height. Several hand- 
 some churches of wood arrested our attention. The 
 arsenal and all the Military Officers'' houses are 
 inside the fort. The former, under Captain Showers 
 of the Madras Artillery, was well worthy of a visit ; 
 and now on the eve of departure of the Martaban 
 Land Column no small amount of business was being 
 transacted there. The excellent and energetic Con- 
 ductor, Mr Craig, was too busy while superintend- 
 ing the warlike preparations to tell you more than 
 that during the First Burmese War he had marched 
 with Sir Archibald Campbell to Yandaboo ! The 
 capital of the Provinces since the treaty of that 
 name was signed (1826) boasted of its timber trade, 
 its merchants, its missionaries, its general society. 
 At Moulmein it is probable that the traveller, espe- 
 cially if he be a lover of flowers, will behold the 
 Amherstia for the first time, in all its native grace 
 and beauty. It is described by Mason* as the finest 
 indigenous tree in Chin-India. " It is of low stature, 
 with slender pendulous branches clustered under its 
 tufted summit of lively green, and draperied with 
 * Naturcd Productions of Bv/rmdh; or Notes on the Fauna, Flora, <£r. 
 
THE " AMHERSTIA." 167 
 
 large pea-blossom shaped flowers of brilliant red and 
 yellow, which hang down from its graceful branches 
 in tassels more than a yard long. It was discovered 
 by Dr Wallich, on the Salween, near Trockla, and 
 named by him after the Governor- General's Lady, 
 " The Noble Amherstia /" 
 
 The scenery in the vicinity of Moulmein has been 
 thus described : — " On looking abroad from the 
 Pagoda hills of Moulmein an unbroken range of moun- 
 tains, 4000 or 5000 feet high, are seen on the margin 
 of the eastern horizon, sweeping around to the north- 
 west like an amphitheatre, where they are lost in the 
 misty distance. From Martaban Point another range 
 extends directly north, parallel with the west bank of 
 the Salween. In the space between these mountains, 
 bounded by the Salween on the west, and the Gyne 
 (Gyaing) on the south and east, is an immense 
 alluvial plain, resembling the prairie-lands of Illinois 
 and Missouri." Twenty miles north of Moulmein 
 there is a pile of the most picturesque mountain 
 limestone adorning the landscape, rising " abruptly 
 in the most fantastic shapes." 
 
 According to Mason the Salween River is so 
 termed from a tree of that name that grows on its 
 banks. Nothing, however trivial, appears to have 
 escaped the research of the amiable and talented 
 author of the " Fauna, Flora, and Minerals of 
 Burmah." 
 
168 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM MARTABAN TO SHOE-GYNE. 
 
 It soon became evident that the Column could not 
 leave Martaban much before the middle of the month. 
 Plenty of carriage and necessaries for a campaign, 
 when provided away from the eye of the Commander 
 of the force who is to employ them, are tolerably 
 sure of not being found so plentiful on the arrival of 
 the troops at the place of rendezvous. Notwithstand- 
 ing an admirable Commissariat and zealous local 
 authorities, there will be something or other deficient 
 at the last hour. In many cases this proceeds from 
 sufficient notice not being given. In the present in- 
 stance, allowing sufficient intimation to have been 
 given, the resources* of Moulmein and its vicinity for 
 the supply of a small army about to undertake a dan- 
 gerous and difficult march appear to have been over- 
 rated. But the able Commissioner of the Tenas- 
 
 * Of these Mr Norris of the Commissariat Department made 
 the most. His energy in procuring supplies, and preparing in 
 many ways for the expedition, deserved the highest praise. 
 
PREPARING FOR THE MARCH. 169 
 
 serim Provinces had managed to bring together a 
 noble array of elephants. The vast utility for the 
 march of these as it were powerful remnants of a 
 gigantic race of creatures which existed in the older 
 world, was beyond all question. It was resolved to 
 take one month"'8 provisions; though the General 
 would have preferred starting with two. As for 
 another month's instalment by the Naval authorities 
 it was hardly deemed expedient to risk the annoyance 
 in the Sitang river. An uncertainty too hung over the 
 navigation of the Salween. Supplies might be sent, 
 but that thsy would reach in safety could not be 
 guaranteed. In this dilemma General Steel with 
 admirable foresight gave instructions to the Assist- 
 ant Commissary-General — Major Budd, who had ac- 
 companied the Column to Martaban — to return forth- 
 with to Rangoon, get another month's provisions 
 ready, and forward them to Major Hill at Pegu. 
 
 The bustle of the Europeans in their barracks, and 
 " lending a hand" everywhere — the picturesque ap- 
 pearance of the native tents on the side of the hill 
 of Martaban — the crossing and re-crossing of boats 
 in the river — even the beautiful scenery around, had 
 become stale and unprofitable in a few days. 
 
 At length 120 elephants, 300 carts with bullocks, 
 and a few hundreds of carriage bullocks were trans- 
 ferred from Moulmein. Officers were to make their 
 own arrangements for carriage. On account of the 
 great demand this article in the market had become 
 both scarce and dear, and many a subaltern grumbled. 
 
170 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 not without reason, at having to pay double value 
 for a bad cart and inferior bullocks. Strange enough, 
 although the demand was great ponies did not rise 
 materially in price. Many of us purchased a 
 strong and respectable-looking animal for 70 or 100 
 rupees, (.flO.) The Shan merchants had evidently 
 consulted their interests in having at such a time 
 a stock of ponies at Moulmein. 
 
 There was nothing to find fault with about the 
 baggage of the Officers. Some had even been hurried 
 away from Pegu with little more than 24 pounds avoir- 
 dupois. These naturally did not expect to be station- 
 ed anywhere in the new country. To others a settle- 
 ment, for sometime at least, "loomed in the distance ; " 
 so with them the case was very different. A pair of 
 bullocks and a garie was, supposing the tents else- 
 where, just carriage sufficient for two Officers ; and 
 we doubt whether, under the circumstances, Sir 
 Charles Napier would have made us take less. 
 
 It was the opinion we believe of Colonel Williams, 
 commanding Moulmein, that there would be little 
 or no opposition until we reached Shoe-Gyne. This 
 Officer had served in that quarter during the First 
 Burmese War. From Moulmein the Column was 
 strengthened by the Rifle companies of the 1st, 26th, 
 and 49th Regiments of Madras Native Infantry under 
 Major Forster. A party of Talain Mounted Police, 
 consisting of one jemadar, one havildar, and 31 
 sowars, was added to the force by Colonel Bogle, the 
 Commissioner. The Column now consisted of about 
 
STRENGTH OF THE FORCE. 171 
 
 2,100 men, with numerous followers. In the force was 
 included the company of Madras European Artillery * 
 under Lieutenant Purvis, which had for so many 
 months been stationed at Martaban. Colonel Poole, 
 5th M. N. I., was appointed to act as a Brigadier, 
 and to command the Line of Infantry. 
 
 The Artillery under Colonel Anstruther, 0. B., con- 
 sisted of four 24-pounder howitzers, and four Sc- 
 inch moi'tars. We had also rocket-tubes for throw- 
 ing what the Burmese are pleased to style " devil- 
 sticks," a peculiarly useful missile for the sort of 
 warfare we expected to be engaged in, creating a 
 terror only inferior to that inspired by the voice and 
 effects of a large well-pointed howitzer. 
 
 The Bengal Fusiliers were under Major Gerrard ; 
 the Madras under Captain Geils. Major Welch- 
 man commanded the 10th Bengal, and Major Shu- 
 brick the 5th Madras Native Infantry. The Ram- 
 ghur Irregular Cavalry, 50 sowars, were under Lieu- 
 tenant Lambert, and the Madras Sappers, some 70 
 strong, were under Lieutenant Vincent Shortland. 
 
 A word or two on the General's Staff before we 
 march. Major Neil was Assistant Adjutant-General 
 to the Column. Captain Dallas, -f- an extra Aide-de- 
 Carap, was the Assistant Quartermaster-General, in 
 
 • A Company, 2d Battalion. The Author had charge of the 
 D Company, 3d Battalion, with which he had come from Ran- 
 goon. 
 
 + The embarkation of the Column at Rangoon, which was 
 superinteuded by this Ofi&cer, was remarkable for the facility 
 and order with which it was accomplished. 
 
172 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 which department Captains Clogstoun and Maxwell 
 were also employed. Captain Travers, Aide-de-Camp, 
 and Major Bayly, whose services as Judge Advocate- 
 General had been placed at the disposal of Brigadier- 
 General Steel, were the others of as efficient a Staff 
 as could well have been brought into the field. 
 
 On Monday the 10th we ascertained that the re- 
 mains of the poor Fusilier who had been captured by 
 the Burmese had fallen into the hands of one of our 
 grass-cutters. His head, legs, and arms, had been cut 
 off; he was brought into camp this morning and 
 buried. After this and similar acts of cruelty else- 
 where it was hopeless to expect that the enemy would 
 receive any mercy from our European soldiery. 
 
 Before leaving Martaban it was pleasant to find 
 an opportunity for a few minutes conversation with 
 Commodore Lynch of the Indian Navy. We found 
 this highly talented and experienced Officer seated in 
 a chair on the banks of the Salween, his splendid 
 Steam Frigate, the Feroze, reposing on the waters 
 opposite Moulmein. He had had frequent but un- 
 satisfactory boat expeditions against the foe, in which 
 they had invariably escaped him. But he thought 
 when we left they would come back to the old quar- 
 ters when he might be able to get at them. It was 
 the Commodore''s opinion that we would meet with 
 no resistance at the strongholds, but would receive 
 considerable annoyance from harassments in our 
 rear. The great navigator of the Euphrates seemed 
 to be in want of something to do. We believe he 
 
DEPARTURE FROM MARTABAN. 173 
 
 had finished a survey of a considerable portion of the 
 Salween. 
 
 On the 12th a reconnoitring party, headed by 
 the General, rode out a few miles to the west. 
 
 At six o'clock in the morning of Friday the 14th 
 the Column marched out of Martaban by the Baling 
 gate. Owing to the want of space for such a multitude 
 of people, carts, and cattle, the confusion was of no 
 ordinary description. Many an eye was turned to- 
 wards our Chief, as with his Staff he forced his way to 
 the front through the dense crowd. The advance was 
 composed of 75 men from each of the European Corps 
 of Fusiliers ; one Company of the 10th B. N, I. ; 
 one Company of the 5th M. N. I. ; then came two 
 24-pounder howitzers and a rocket-tube, followed by 
 the Irregular Cavalry.* The Sappers of course ac- 
 companied the advance. For the first two miles 
 the road through the jungle was good. Nearing 
 Kyouk-ye-dwing (i. e. stone-water well) the jungle 
 became denser and marching more difficult through 
 the long grass. On arriving at this place, nearly 
 four miles from Martaban, we found that a portion 
 of the enemy had stockaded themselves on the top of a 
 hill, and also in a village at the foot of another. From 
 their commanding position they opened fire upon our 
 advanced guard the instant it entered the plain, and 
 
 * The remainder of the Column was generally formed up in 
 the following order ; right or left in front- — four deep — Madras 
 and Bengal Fusiliers ; 10th B. N. I. ; Artillery; 5th B. N. I. ; the 
 Moulmein Detachment. 
 
174 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 from their jungly recess kept up a heavy cannonade, 
 followed by rapid voUies of musketry. But all this 
 noise and waste of powder on their part seemed rather 
 intended to frighten than to destroy us, as certainly 
 but few of their round shot and jingal balls were to be 
 seen or heard. The impression of opposition however 
 throughout the march became general, and was hailed 
 by the Column with intense satisfaction. At length 
 forcing their way through a difficult piece of forest, 
 two howitzers under Lieutenant Purvis emerged on 
 the plain. With these, and a rocket-tube under 
 Second Lieutenant Onslow, Colonel Anstruther com- 
 menced practice. From the howitzers, shells and 
 spherical case shot were sent with excellent effect into 
 a breastwork on the right. The rockets likewise 
 indulged their destructive propensities with preci- 
 sion, and assisted in clearing the jungly stronghold. 
 Hearing firing in front, of course the main body of 
 the Column pushed on, but the howitzers of the other 
 Artillery Company were only in time for a few rounds, 
 which assisted in covering the storming party — from 
 the Fusiliers, the 10th and the 5th M. N. I. — while 
 advancing on the enemy''s position. On reaching 
 the principal work, shortly after the party, the 
 General found it empty. Some five or six palmyra 
 guns* made from the tree of that name, and strongly 
 bound with iron, also a few jingals, were found in the 
 
 * Not unacquainted with the nature of iron and brass ord- 
 nance, here is perhaps intentionally the destroyer destroyed, 
 for these palmyra guns generally burst on the first discharge. 
 
AFFAIR AT KYOUK-YE-DWINQ. 175 
 
 hill fort. The dull heavy sound we had at first heard 
 was now accounted for. No sharp whistling sound of 
 the jingal ball came past our ears to remind us of the 
 taking of the Shoe-Dagoon Pagoda; no dropping of 
 a brave fellow on our side here and there; but there 
 might have been considerable loss had not the Gene- 
 ral shewn his wisdom in first thoroughly using the 
 Artillery. Although belonging to that arm there is 
 no vanity in asserting, as the Staff remarked, that 
 the Artillery had carried on "a most destructive and 
 admirably directed fire." So much then for the first 
 brief act of the Martaban Column, — the affair of 
 Kyouk-ye-dwing ! The village was set on fire the 
 same day, it is supposed by the camp-followers. 
 The General in next day's orders very properly con- 
 demned this piece of wanton mischief, and called 
 upon all to desist from destroying grain or other 
 property, and to assist in aiding friendly Burmese. 
 Decision and conciliation ever form the most effective 
 policy in the conquest of a country where there is a 
 peace as well as a war party. 
 
 We were encamped for some days on a spacious 
 midan (plain) facing the hill of destruction, as no 
 doubt the Burmese thought it, during which time 
 news arrived that there had been a second investment 
 of Pegu (January 6th) in which Captain Nicolay of 
 the Madras Fusiliers had been killed. This gallant 
 Ofiicer was shot while proceeding to relieve a picquet 
 in the morning. Intelligence likewise reached us of 
 the desertion of Euthay-Mew by the enemy, to the 
 
170 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 extreme annoyance of General Godwin; there was 
 also a revolution at Ava ! All this was interesting 
 enough to troops marching northward. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th we leftKyouk-ye-dwing 
 for Gongoh. Here we expected to find in some force 
 Moung-Bho, (or Moung-Beon,) the reputed daring 
 ex-Governor of Martaban. Although only seven or 
 eight miles, the march was not without its share of 
 excitement and adventure. Long grass and ruined 
 paddy and swamps — the latter occasionally render- 
 ing the country almost impassable for weak and 
 distressed cattle — formed our pathway while we 
 kept near the jungly base of a superb range of hills, 
 a spacious midan extending away to our left and 
 rear. We had only proceeded two miles when the 
 enemy from a small outpost commenced firing on our 
 advanced guard. The report of a signal gun had pre- 
 pared us for this piece of audacity on their part; but 
 after a rapid and useless discharge of musketry they 
 fled to a larger work considerably beyond, which 
 commanded our approach by the rough road. There 
 they again fired on our advance, which our soldiers 
 returned. This position was also evacuated, the 
 Burmese leaving behind them a large palmyra gun 
 well loaded, with a slow match attached. On the 
 advance passing this infernal machine it went off, 
 nearly cutting a Bengal Fusilier in two, and missing 
 by a very few inches several ofiicers and soldiers. 
 Leaving the fine young European who had met with 
 so instantaneous a death to be decently interred, we 
 
SKETCH OF AFFAIR BEF 
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DEVICES OF THE ENEMY. 177 
 
 passed on, each with his own idea of the foe we had 
 to contend against. On an examination of this 
 position by the General and Staff, it was found to 
 consist of a deep and well-dug breastwork carried 
 round the front and flanks. Abattis helped to pro- 
 tect the post, the rear of which led into dense forest 
 jungle. Bamboo spikes concealed in small pits 
 were likewise numerous in its vicinity, from which 
 one of the General's horses received a severe wound. 
 Marching on for a few miles over terrible ground 
 for guns, the advance howitzers * fell considerably 
 behind. The eager troops in front of course 
 thought the artillery would be up, and so it would 
 have been in excellent time, had only four good 
 strong horses instead of six bullocks been attached 
 to each of the 24-pounder howitzers. •[• The occa- 
 sional obstinacy of the long-horned Mysore bullock 
 — a noble animal to look upon — is perfectly inde- 
 scribable. Even the great patriarch, with all his 
 patience, had he been in the army could never 
 have stood it. Hamlet thunders forth against the 
 " periwig-pated fellow " who tears " a passion to 
 tatters," and declares that "it out-herods Herod." 
 The Artillery Officer may well say of the Mysore 
 
 • On this occasion the D Company, 3d Battalion, Madras 
 Artillery. 
 
 + In the Madras Artillery there are six Troops of Horse 
 Artillery and only two Horse Field Batteries. An increase of 
 the latter, in our humble opinion, would be highly beneficial to 
 the Service, reserving bullocks for drawing the waggons and for 
 garrison purposes. 
 
 M 
 
DEVICES OF THE ENEMY, 177 
 
 passed on, each with his own idea of the foe we had 
 to contend against. On an examination of this 
 position by the General and Staff, it was found to 
 consist of a deep and well-dug breastwork carried 
 round the front and flanks. Abattis helped to pro- 
 tect the post, the rear of which led into dense forest 
 jungle. Bamboo spikes concealed in small pits 
 were likewise numerous in its vicinity, from which 
 one of the General's horses received a severe wound. 
 Marching on for a few miles over terrible ground 
 for guns, the advance howitzers * fell considerably 
 behind. The eager troops in front of course 
 thought the artillery would be up, and so it would 
 have been in excellent time, had only four good 
 strong horses instead of six bullocks been attached 
 to each of the 24-pounder howitzers. -f- The occa- 
 sional obstinacy of the long-horned Mysore bullock 
 — a noble animal to look upon — is perfectly inde- 
 scribable. Even the great patriarch, with all his 
 patience, had he been in the army could never 
 have stood it. Hamlet thunders forth against the 
 " periwig-pated fellow " who tears " a passion to 
 tatters," and declares that " it out-herods Herod." 
 The Artillery Officer may well say of the Mysore 
 
 " On this occasion the D Company, 3d Battalion, Madras 
 Artillery. 
 
 + In the Madras Artillery there are six Troops of Horse 
 Artillery and only two Horse Field Batteries. An increase of 
 the latter, in our humble opinion, would be highly beneficial to 
 the Service, reserving bullocks for drawing the waggons and for 
 garrison purposes. 
 
 M 
 
178 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 bullock when there is an ardent wish to get quickly 
 into action — that it out-jobs Job ! 
 
 But at Gongoh, as in many other positions in life, 
 it was highly necessary that a man should keep his 
 temper. While busily engaged in pushing our teams 
 along, the not far distant but " random guns " 
 assured us that the foe " were sullenly firing." The 
 metal seemed heavy ; but the hills doubtless exag- 
 gerated the report. The enemy had commenced 
 firing round shot at the advance and the Genei-aPs 
 party ; the report came from beyond a corner of 
 the hill and jungle which stretched out on the midan. 
 This was opposite Gongoh. It was evident that 
 they had two or three good iron and brass guns 
 in their possession. An officer of the Staff said 
 that at first " two or three shot passed over head, 
 but the range was soon found, and at last it fell 
 among us, striking close to our horses, cutting up 
 the ground just in front, and ricocheting close to 
 us ;'"' one or two bounded past the Artillery as they 
 passed on to take up a position. At length two 
 howitzers and a rocket-tube were brought into 
 action at ranges of 800 and 1,000 yards. The fire 
 was kept up by us for a considerable time, spherical 
 case and shell lodging just before or beside the 
 enemy's position. The " devil-sticks " likewise 
 carried their destructive power into the jungly 
 stronghold. Here, as well as at Kyouk-ye-dwing, 
 it was evident that without the aid of artillery there 
 would have been considerable loss to the attacking 
 
POWER OF SHRAPNELL SHELLS. 179 
 
 party. After 20 or 30 rounds we could plainly see 
 the Burmese decamping with the greatest possible 
 speed. Two more howitzers came up eventually 
 and made some good practice. The Artillery gun- 
 ners worked right well ; and what was better, they 
 seemed to understand their work. 
 
 On reading the following passage lately in one 
 of our popular Magazines it struck us that the 
 WTiter was not too severe on the practice of the 
 Royal Artillery at a time when first-rate practical 
 artillerists, above all other men-of-war, are so desir- 
 able in England ; but from the number set down 
 he would hardly impress the general reader with an 
 idea of the destructive power of the shrapnell shell. 
 The passage alluded to is : — " The gunner's means 
 of defence consist in the accuracy of his fire, and if 
 twenty rifles are pointed at his gun he can return it 
 with some twenty bullets from a shrapnell shell ; and 
 there is no reason why, if a rifleman can pick him 
 off at his gun, he cannot pick off" the rifleman. Yet 
 there is one, and that is that from want of practice 
 he does not know how to calculate his distances and 
 fire his shell with precision," It may be necessary 
 to remind unmilitary readers — the Militia until they 
 are fully trained included — that the shrapnell shell, 
 the immortal invention of a Royal Artillery officer, 
 commencing with a 6-pounder brass gun, contains 27 
 musket balls; a 9-pounder 41 ; a 24-pounder howitzer 
 shrapnell shell contains 130 musket balls ; and an 
 8-inch iron, the large number of 377 .' From 12 
 
180 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 to 1500 yards the spherical case, so destructive 
 against bodies of infantry and cavalry, can be fired 
 with effect. The shell is caused to explode at the 
 required distance by means of a fuze, in the same 
 manner as a common shell, " when the small leaden 
 balls and the splinters of the shell continue their 
 flight and complete the curve in which the shell was 
 proceeding at the time of its explosion." * No 
 apology need be made for leaving G-ongoh to make 
 these few remarks at a time when foreign inven- 
 tions — doubtless ingenious to an extraordinary 
 degree — are too apt to occupy that share of public 
 attention which should be given to artillery. 
 
 The storming party, under Major Seton of the 
 Bengal Fusiliers, found the position vacated, much 
 of course to their vexation. The loss of the enemy 
 at Gongoh was declared to be from 80 to 100. 
 It was found that they had thrown a number of their 
 dead into a deep pit, while the others had been car- 
 ried away with their usual dexterity. The General 
 passed on to a position immediately on the other 
 side of the village of Gongoh. The whole force 
 under Brigadier Poole soon followed, accompanied 
 by a tremendous line of followers and elephants. 
 Passing the Burmese defences we entered the jungle, 
 and after some difficulties — soon cleared away by 
 the indefatigable Sappers — we came to a neat village 
 with comfortable but deserted houses, grain in 
 
 * Oakes's Young Artillery Officer's Assistant. 
 
GONGOH. 181 
 
 baskets lying here and there, and a few flimsy 
 pagodas ; here the water was of a pecuharly excel- 
 lent quality. We still passed on through jungle 
 and came at lenod;h to another village — Gongoh 
 proper — where a delicious rivulet of pure sweet 
 water refreshed the weary troops. It was now 
 about 3 p. M., so we had been upwards of seven 
 hours under a terrific sun. An encamping ground 
 was joyfully hailed on a spacious midan near Gon- 
 goh, with beautiful hills, covered with green jungle, 
 frowning as it were on the busy and weary throng 
 below. We discovered that the Burmese had 
 driven the Karens out of their village ; these 
 probably had gone to take refuge in the adjacent 
 mountain fastnesses. Some specimens of this 
 energetic race* were expected soon to be in camp, 
 as well as many Talains or Peguese. They would 
 all come in good time. It was said here that the 
 Karens had even plundered the Peguese to pro- 
 cure powder and shot for the destruction of their 
 hated enemies of Ava, and the truth of the assertion 
 is highly probable. 
 
 On the 21st the Column moved on to Ouchtada, 
 a distance of eight miles. For some time our route 
 lay through jungle and swamp. As our advance 
 approached a few shots were fired, and our Ir- 
 regular Cavalry pushing on a-head captured one 
 unfortunate Burmese. A slight wound he had 
 
 • For some account of the Karens, or Kareens, or Carinnes, 
 — written in these three ways — see Appendix, No. X. 
 
182 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 received was immediately attended to by the humane 
 faculty, and he was soon as well as ever. There 
 was nothing — save a Jienza on a pole — to mark the 
 site of the village of Ouchtada. At this position 
 the hills in our front rose abruptly to a height of not 
 less than 3,000 feet ; these appeared to be covered 
 with fine trees. To our rear plains extended in one 
 unbroken level of fertile land to the sea-shore. The 
 day before our march from this romantic spot some 
 Karens came in. These were received kindly by the 
 General and supplied with copies of the Governor- 
 General's Proclamation, a large supply of which in 
 the Burmese language had of course come along 
 with the Column ; they then returned satisfied to 
 their native hills and villages. 
 
 On the 22d supplies were brought into camp by 
 these very people, who were shortly followed by 900 
 men, women and children, the inhabitants of Gongoh 
 and the neighbouring villages. Their respective 
 heads repaired to the General's tent, and joyfully 
 listened to the assurance he gave them of the pro- 
 tection and friendship of the British Indian Govern- 
 ment towards them. They were told to live peace- 
 fully in their villages, and defend themselves against 
 the attacks of dacoits while we cleared the country 
 from the presence of the enemy in front. 
 
 On the 23d the force marched to Yen-gyike, a 
 short march of between four and five miles. Yet as 
 a passage for the troops had to be cut through a 
 dense jungle, which service was efficiently per- 
 
ZENGHYEN. 183 
 
 formed by the Sappers, there was work sufficient 
 for a day. The two elephants attached to the guns 
 also gave considerable assistance ; these noble 
 animals pulled down branches and removed logs and 
 huge trees as if they had been nine-pins. Arriving 
 on the plain the scenery became picturesque and 
 beautiful. We encamped opposite a superb hill 
 surmounted by a lofty white pagoda, surrounded 
 by several smaller shrines for the worship of Gau- 
 dama. An Armenian who had been a prisoner 
 among the Burmese for eight or nine months 
 came in, was examined, and gave some important 
 information. 
 
 The Column marched to Zenghyen on the 24th, 
 a distance of seven miles, where we found 12 
 palmjTa guns. Towards the end of this march 
 it was necessary to cross a creek of considerable 
 width. On approaching this difficulty a few rounds 
 were fired at us, but on coming up the large village 
 or town was found to be vacated by the enemy, 
 who it was supposed were in the surrounding 
 jungle, but on skirmishers being sent out not one 
 was to be seen. To cross the creek was a piece 
 of work for the guns and waggons. The elephants 
 assisted the guns across ; without them the bullocks 
 would have stuck for ever, as the mud, it being 
 low tide, was nearly up to the axle-trees. Gazing 
 on this powerful creature, with trunk coiled up 
 like a shell, pushing through the mud the huge 
 howitzer, carriage, bullocks, drivers and all, and 
 
184 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAR. 
 
 doing the work with such apparent goodwill, * — ob- 
 serving also its wonderful sagacity as on a slight 
 warning from the mahout he increased or diminished 
 his propelling power, it was impossible not to ad- 
 mire in an enthusiastic degree this perfection of 
 animal conduct. Through the exertions of the 
 Field Engineer, and Lieutenants Shortland and 
 Farquhar with their Sappers, a bridge of Burmese 
 canoes was constructed for the passage of our small 
 army across the creek. Bundles of straw were 
 found ready at hand ; and so a bridge was soon 
 constructed, over which a Napoleon or a Wellington 
 would have crossed with delight. Some magnificent 
 specimens of teak timber were lying about. Several 
 Talains came into our camp and stated that the 
 Governor of Martaban, and Mya-bea-Bo the chief 
 who had resisted us at Gongoh, were at Thatoung 
 with their families, and about 2,000 men. 
 
 On the 25th we arrived at Thatoung after a 
 march of 11 miles. Here the General made an 
 attempt to intercept the garrison ; and for this pur- 
 pose sent some infantry, riflemen, and a party of 
 horse to make a detour to our right and cut off 
 their escape should they take, as we thought most 
 
 " But this is not always the case ; occasionally His Hugeness 
 gets sulky or the mahout gets stupid, when the poor artillery- 
 man has a chance of beholding his gun or waggon overturned in 
 the mud or water. The elephant's trunk, in the form of a shell, 
 or say a coil of rope, is placed at the muzzle of the gun, while 
 the huge tusks act with their powerful leverage on the carriage ; 
 so much care is required. 
 
THATOUKG. 185 
 
 probable, the Beling road. But the party returned 
 without having effected this very desirable object. 
 It was afterwards affirmed that the enemy had 
 left Thatoung just before we arrived. In the 
 evening a petition was received by the General 
 from the head man in this part of the country, 
 begging to be allowed to come into camp and 
 tender his allegiance. He was a man of some rank, 
 judging from his golden umbrella ; and arrived with 
 about 40 carts filled with women and children, the 
 inhabitants of Thatoung and the surroundingvillages. 
 He immediately sent orders to all the people around, 
 who had taken refuge in the hills and forests, to 
 return to their homes. Proclamations were distri- 
 buted, and numbers came in from all quarters. 
 Thatoung struck us as being a large and important 
 Burmese town. The woodland scenery, and the 
 pagodas, and the brick walls, also the spacious 
 streets and neat houses, gave an imposing appear- 
 ance to the jungle fortress. As we approached the 
 heavy firing of guns gave us some idea of having 
 here a brush with the enemy, but as we have already 
 said nothing was done. 
 
 The force arrived at Kyike-ko on the 26th, after 
 a march of upwards of 11 miles, through a beautiful 
 piece of country. Leaving the hills for a short time 
 we came upon a magnificent midan, where appeared 
 to be everything adapted for cultivation ; — herds of 
 buffaloes were to be seen on the vast plain, also in 
 the distance the poor villagers streaming along, with 
 
186 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAR. 
 
 their families snug on the buffalo garies (carts), to 
 take possession of the villages we had cleared. This 
 was indeed a gladdening sight for the hearts of 
 Englishmen. As we passed, a number of people 
 came boldly out from the jungle, white flag in hand, 
 and sat down by the roadside gazing on the soldiers 
 of the Column. In this march an idle buffalo of 
 huge dimensions charged right through the infantry, 
 which caused considerable amusement, the soldiers 
 opening out as it advanced at full speed, when it 
 disappeared in the forest. 
 
 Our Column must have presented a very curious 
 and pleasing appearance to our Burmese allies, as 
 it no doubt did to many a careful observer in 
 the force. Much of the oriental picturesque hung 
 over the Ramghur Irregular Cavalry, — the green 
 dress and red pugarie (turband), the motley trap- 
 pings also on the charger, and the trooper himself 
 sitting like a noble and fearless fellow with spear 
 in hand or matchlock slung across his shoulders, 
 presented a very good specimen of the Eastern 
 mounted soldier. Then there were the " Moul- 
 meiners" on their ponies, some with enormous hats — 
 wearing which some of our London Magistrates 
 would have denounced as being very culpable in 
 mounted police — as if they intended to put the 
 girdle of their authority round the country ; some 
 with a spear, others with a dah, all very active and 
 zealous in the cause of their just and liberal masters 
 — the East India Company ! 
 
BELING DEPUTATION. 187 
 
 At Kyike-ko a deputation came in from Beling 
 bearing a petition signed by 20 chiefs. The peti- 
 tion, which stated that they had received the Pro- 
 clamation of the Governor-General annexing Pegu, 
 and that agreeably to its purport they submitted to 
 our Government, was received by General Steel 
 with mixed feelings of satisfaction. The petitioners 
 begged to be allowed to remain peaceably in their 
 villages. They unconditionally surrendered up Beling 
 and all that it contained, and stated further that 
 they would hoist a white flag, to be seen as the 
 force approached the stockade, and that all the 
 principal persons would come out to meet the 
 General. 
 
 On the 27th we encamped near Beling Creek. 
 This was a very fatiguing march of nearly 14 
 miles, and one which tried the metal of not a few 
 of us considerably. At first through a beautiful 
 piece of country, with superb hills on our right ; then 
 we entered a dense jungle through which we ploughed 
 our way for four or five miles, and had there been any 
 opposition here the business might have been serious ; 
 however, as affairs were well managed, the Column 
 was ready for the enemy in any numbers and 
 under any circumstances. The sun was at a deadly 
 heat ; nature seemed as if about to be burned up. 
 To some more exhausted than others it appeared 
 as if the jungle would never end. The picturesque 
 trees — their charms amidst the dense heat burst- 
 ing forth into full beauty — the orange, the guava, 
 
188 THE SECOND BUBMESE WAR. 
 
 and the lilac tree * — what were these in comparison 
 with the hope of soon beholding an encamping ground 
 and some good clear water? It came at last. 
 There was Beling creek before us — altogether a 
 piece of enchanting scenery ! There too was the white 
 flag on the tree, the sight of which dispelled our 
 hopes of having a fight ; and soon were to be seen 
 the troops, followers, bullocks, elephants and horses, 
 either refreshing themselves in, or standing beside 
 the noble water near which the Column had for the 
 day encamped. The scene at the creek would have 
 afforded an admirable subject for Landseer ! 
 
 On the 28th the force crossed over to Beling. 
 Before leaving the creek, which is some little distance 
 from the town, it may be remarked that the depth 
 where we crossed at low water is three feet, and at 
 high water four feet six inches. There are we sup- 
 pose two separate creeks, not one, as represented 
 in some maps ; one of these, the chief from the 
 Salween River, not reaching within 12 or 14 miles 
 of Beling. On our entry into the place the chiefs 
 came out and delivered themselves up as promised. 
 We encamped opposite the great stockade. It was 
 a beautiful position — forest scenery around, with 
 some fine hills in the distance. We found the 
 stockade to be of considerable extent, rectangular, 
 and extending nearly a mile on a side ; but the 
 work was very low and sadly destitute of strength, 
 
 * Not the lilac tree of England ; but like it in the flower. 
 
BELING. 
 
 189 
 
 The strong principles adopted at Rangoon seemed 
 never to have been known here ; yet had it been 
 well defended the capture of it would have cost a 
 few lives. Inside this extensive work stood the town 
 of Beling. Some straight and spacious streets, 
 picturesque houses, numerous dogs, and a few in- 
 habitants, arrested the attention immediately on our 
 entering through one of the gates of the stockade. 
 The Governor had left a week before our arrival ; 
 some of us entered his house, a wooden dwelling, as 
 usual, with bamboo floor, all well made and of good 
 material, roomy enough to have held any number of 
 members for a secret council. As we passed along 
 a few Chinese were observable in the bazaar ; some 
 of them had opened a shop already as a proof of 
 confidence in a European customer ! The Burmese, 
 who now enjoyed our protection, looked with anxious 
 eye at the new-comers and the artillery party who had 
 been sent to calculate the quantity of ordnance and 
 ammunition in the arsenal. * The old women looked 
 very suspicious about our doings — not a smile on 
 any one ancient female countenance ; while the men 
 were lazy and unwilling to assist in carrying a gun 
 
 • Found iu the work and Magazine at Beling : — 
 Iron Guns, . . .9 
 
 Jingals, ... 24 
 
 Arms, old and new, . . 500 
 
 Shots of sizes, . . 7,000 
 
 Gunpowder, lbs. . 900 
 
 besides two boxes of Sulphur, two of Saltpetre, and numerous 
 
 pigs of Lead. 
 
190 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 or two to the gate of the stockade. One more 
 willing than the others was thus busily employed 
 when an old dame — Otway's " hag"" in appearance a 
 perfect goddess to her — came out from her dwelling 
 and implored us not to take away her son ! 
 
 Beling was for many years the principal residence 
 of the Governor of Martaban. It likewise served 
 the purpose of an arsenal for the troops of Southern 
 Burmah, and was doubtless the place of congress for 
 the concerting of all desperate plans of dacoity or 
 murder. 
 
 Intelligence reached us on the 28th that Commo- 
 dore Lynch had proceeded in the Medusa steamer 
 to destroy a stockade some 10 or 12 miles up the 
 Beling Creek, but had returned to Moulmein on the 
 24th, having found that the boats of his frigate, — 
 the Feroze, — under Lieutenant Price, had antici- 
 pated him, and completed the destruction of the 
 work. In the stockade they found one 3-pounder 
 gun, 20 Burmese muskets, and numerous dahs and 
 spears. The Proserpine steamer was shortly to try 
 and make her way up the Sitang. 
 
 At the northern extremity of the Beling stockade 
 some handsome kioungs — mansions for one or more 
 Poonghees — were visible. Proceeding outside the 
 fort we discovered that they belonged to a Poonghee 
 village of considerable neatness and extent. Here 
 were the fathers of the yellow robe wandering slowly 
 and silently about, who did not in any way object 
 to our minute survey of their religious settlement. In 
 
POONGHEE OBSEQUIES. 191 
 
 one of the principal kioungs we beheld a grand show 
 of Gaudamaic finery. A noble Poonghee who had 
 come from Ava had died at Beling, where he was 
 now lying in state in all the gorgeous display of 
 " barbaric " pomp. His bier or coffin, raised on 
 high, and richly gilt, stood on an elaborately- wrought 
 pedestal, the whole surmounted by large white 
 umbrellas, and by muslin draped with considerable 
 taste. On all sides there were lines of Chinese- 
 like pictures, with all the fantastic mummeries of 
 superstition depicted thereon. The dead Poonghee, 
 who lay quietly taking his supreme rest in the best 
 of honey, was surrounded by some really good 
 paintings, the subjects of which wholly defy descrip- 
 tion. Thus had he lain for four months, and would 
 lie they said for eight more — he being a very great 
 man ! After this stately repose he would be taken 
 out with great show, amidst the firing of guns 
 and every kind of display pertaining to the Bur- 
 mese pyrotechnic art ; combustible matter would 
 then be placed beside the corpse, and from some dis- 
 tance people from many villages would fire their 
 rude rockets and endeavour to set the " saint" 
 on fire. The successful rocket is regarded as a 
 " winged messenger "" to tell the multitude that the 
 soul of the deceased has gone to heaven ! 
 
 On the SOtli the Column reached Kokado, a 
 very dusty and unpleasant march of about eight 
 miles. Burmese were to be seen in numbers on the 
 way, either with their garies in motion, or quite 
 
192 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 secure in their small villages. Nearing the banks of 
 the river the people seemed interested and curious, 
 and above all glad to have us as protectors. Kokado 
 appeared to be a village of considerable size. 
 
 Pursuing our route, we arrived on the 31st at 
 Kyikehto, a long morning''s or rather half-day's work 
 of 14 miles ; but it was on the whole a pleasant 
 march, through a highly picturesque country. 
 As the force passed along, at every small hamlet 
 bearing its white flag, the few inhabitants seemed 
 satisfied; and at the various villages where water 
 was procurable women and men had arranged 
 chatties * full for the soldiers. This was a luxury 
 on the march which they seldom got even during 
 the peaceful times in India. On reaching the skirts 
 of Kyikehto a crowd of people were to be seen on 
 a vast plain, from which one of the Burmese more 
 enthusiastic than the rest stepped forth and danced 
 about to the amusement of all. Guards were left 
 at several diminutive pagodas. The small temple 
 on a rock, with its plantain-tree, and now also with 
 its dark red-coated Sepoy sentry, was a sketch 
 worthy of the artist's attention ! 
 
 On the 1st of February the force reached Kyiek- 
 ka-tha, a distance of nearly 11 miles. Before 
 arriving at this village we came to a magnificent 
 creek or river, which we forded with some trouble. 
 Passing by small villages with flags of truce as 
 usual, we came, towards the end of this march, 
 * Neat earthen pots. 
 
SURRENDER OF THE GOVERNOR OF SITANG. 193 
 
 upon a huge solitary Gaudama seated in the jungle. 
 The enormous image, which once had a house but 
 was now roofless, seemed also, judging from its 
 highly benevolent countenance, to be of opinion 
 that peace and industry and freedom from oppres- 
 sion were the sovereign remedies for Burmali ! Here 
 a deputation came in from the Governor of Sitang. 
 Woman in this instance was "youronlypeace-maker," 
 for it was his wife who came ! The bullock carriage 
 for this occasion was of a rather superior descrip- 
 tion. Two women were seated in the rear, canopied 
 by a flag of truce, while a Burmese driver occupied 
 the usual seat in front. Perhaps no deputation ever 
 presented more assurance than this. Moung Goung, 
 who commanded at Sitang, had long been in arms 
 against us ; he would be so no more. The wife 
 departed leaving the petition from her husband. 
 
 On the 2d Moung Goung came into camp. The 
 General told him that he had his liberty. We be- 
 lieve he expressed a wish to remain eventually at 
 Sitang. At present it appeared to be his intention 
 to accompany the Column, to which there could be 
 no serious objections, since the chief might make 
 himself useful in a variety of ways. 
 
 On the 3d, after a march of seven miles, wound 
 up by crossing a most difficult creek, the force 
 arrived at Sitang. We came partly through midan, 
 partly through jungly forest, in which were some 
 noble trees. Up hill and down dale was the order 
 of this march. At length emerging from the jungle 
 
 N 
 
194 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 there lay the important town of Sitang in a valley, 
 presenting a varied and striking landscape ! 
 
 The Sitang river was quite near us — here upwards 
 of 700 yards wide. On crossing the creek a fine 
 view of the Pagoda and fortress, on an eminence, 
 arrested the eye. The tee of the temple had fallen 
 to one side, emblematic perhaps of the departing 
 glory of the place. The Column encamped on a 
 spacious midan. A communication was received 
 from Major Hill at Pegu, stating that he had one 
 month's provisions for our force ready to be des- 
 patched to meet us at a village on the right bank of 
 the Sitang river called Meekyo, this being the place 
 to which the best road from Pegu to Shoe-Gyne 
 leads. Now we had only eight days' provisions in 
 camp ; and in consequence of the unsettled state of 
 the inhabitants little was to be procured in or about 
 the villages. On the 3d also a letter was received 
 by Moung Goung from Moung Byoung, the Governor 
 of Shoe-Gyne. A boatman brought it by the river. 
 The contents of this letter were said to be to the 
 effect that Moung Goung was to use his utmost 
 exertions to delay our advance for a month or two ; 
 but that if this could not be effected he was quite 
 prepared to receive us in a hostile manner. Moung 
 Goung very wisely handed over the letter to the 
 General, with the man who brought it. 
 
 On the 4th a party of us took a ramble over 
 Sitang. Crossing the creek in a canoe we pro- 
 ceeded up the principal street, leading in a straight 
 
SITANG. 
 
 195 
 
 line to the Pagoda ; as usual with their streets a 
 brick pathway in the centre, plenty of space, and 
 houses tolerably neat in appearance. Ascending a 
 narrow flight of ruinous steps, long, uncovered, and 
 walled on each side, we reached an eminence on 
 which was some fine jungle, many " sawmy " houses, 
 also the old Pagoda of Sitang. The base of this 
 structure consisted of a sohd brick mass — a hexagon, 
 about 50 feet of a side — with two or three small 
 terraces around. From the centre of this rose the 
 Pagoda to the insignificant height of some 70 feet ; 
 in fact, except for its prominent position, this 
 temple would hardly be worthy of notice. Pro- 
 ceeding about 70 or 80 yards beyond the Pagoda we 
 arrived at the bank of the river, commanding a fine 
 view of the Sitang as it flowed in its quiet majesty 
 along. Here one might almost say the bank is a 
 vast steep, from which guns, well planted, might 
 sweep the river with terrible effect. On the other 
 side of the water no hills were to be seen, nothing 
 but rice country, varied by picturesque prairie lands. 
 We observed in one of the shrines a representation 
 of Gaudama's foot, well done in red stone. Large 
 idols as usual were seated about, some with black, 
 others with yellow robes — their attendants kneeling 
 beside them with apparent earnestness. There were 
 also numerous figures of nats (fairies). But as 
 regards the religion of Gaudama it struck us — unless 
 the priests revive it under our rule — Sitang may say 
 " The glory has departed ! " Poonghees did not 
 
196 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 seem numerous. Dacoits from time immemorial had 
 probably made the place their o\vii. During the 
 last war it made a vigorous defence, in which a 
 British force under Colonel Conry was driven back. 
 Colonel (or Brigadier) Pepper, on leaving Pegu, came 
 to Meekyo, and thence to Shoe-Gyne. The latter he 
 entered without opposition* on the 3d of January 
 1826. The Brigadier detached Colonel Conry 
 with a party to take Sitang. The result was, the 
 Colonel and several officers were killed, and the 
 expedition signally failed in its object. At length 
 another force was sent, and after some loss in officers 
 and men the place gave in. A young Subaltern of 
 the name of Clark made about the same time a 
 gallant defence of Meekyo, a most important point. 
 Moung-Kyouk-Loung, the Queens's brother-in-law, 
 — who with our friend Moung Goung had been the 
 principal instruments in besieging Pegu — it was 
 now said had gone to the " Sawmy ''"' country. It 
 was not easy for us to divine what particular country 
 this was. It might be Siam — it might be the Shan 
 States ! Among the independent people of the 
 latter the boasted General of Shoe-Gyne had per- 
 haps gone to beat up troops ! The Medusa had 
 gone up the Salween to protect commissariat-boats 
 bringing provisions to Beling. The Proserpine had 
 also set forth on her voyage of discovery up the 
 Sitang river. 
 
 * Put down in the Plans as " taken by the Madras troops 
 under Brigadier Pepper." 
 
SITANG. 197 
 
 Before leaving the important town of Sitang 
 it may be remarked that we found the popula- 
 tion of the place extremely scanty. Many had 
 not left it ; and we fear that the population of this 
 district, and that of others we had passed through, 
 has been much exaggerated. In fact it may be 
 questioned whether Pegu — larger in extent than 
 Scotland — has three millions of inhabitants. 
 
 On the 5th the Column marched to Toung-zayat, 
 not four miles distant. But yet although so brief 
 it was a very difficult business for the commissariat 
 carts and the guns. However this of course was 
 a matter of little consequence ; the reason of our 
 not proceeding further was want of water, the 
 town with this beverage in a convenient position 
 being some 15 miles beyond. In the jungle near 
 where we were encamped, close to the Sitang river, 
 were sombre jungle sheep, and in the opinion of 
 some even rhinoceros. Teal and other small game 
 were being knocked over during the day by the 
 younger sportsmen of the force. At this time boats 
 could easily proceed from Sitang to Shoe-Gyne, and 
 as we found eventually to Tonghoo. Gazing on the 
 Sitang, it was pleasing to entertain the hope of 
 seeing one day a fleet of small steamers running 
 to and fro upon it. Then would the noble Irrawaddy 
 also be covered with British steamers, and there 
 might be electric telegraphs in the country all busy 
 at work, and printing presses in the principal towns 
 of our Pegu dominions ; and there might be nume- 
 
198 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 rous weekly and daily journals, with excellent editors, 
 and other men of science and literature, who would 
 not dream only of progress, but act, and shed the 
 light of knowledge over a fertile and happy land ! 
 And if such a consummation should be eventually 
 accomplished, how amusing it will be to turn back 
 to the day when before the annexation of Pegu a 
 Noble Lord said in the British Senate that " it 
 would be the last proof of political insanity to pass 
 beyond our present territorial limits in Burmah," 
 The act, forced as it was on the Indian Govern- 
 ment, will then at least have some show of reason 
 with all this progress ! 
 
 On the 7th the force arrived at Nyoun-ky-douk 
 after a march of nearly 15 miles. Three miles south of 
 this town was Meekyo, and we were nowaboutSl miles 
 from Pegu. At the former place it was expected we 
 should find the provisions which had been forwarded 
 by Major Hill, and fortunately we were not disap- 
 pointed. A string of upwards of 180 carts had been 
 escorted to Meekyo by a detachment of Fusiliers, 
 19th M. N. I., and Sappers, under the command of 
 Captain Stephenson. Two Officers who went to 
 bring up the provisions observed a raft on the river 
 with three dead Burmese on it, supposed to have been 
 the victims of Moung-Kyouk-Loung''s vengeance on 
 his receiving intelligence of the first dispersion of 
 his army by the British from the city of Pegu. 
 Numerous boats had been procured at Nyoun-ky- 
 douk by order of Moung Goung. His was a phy- 
 
TALAIN CORPS. 199 
 
 siognomy that would have puzzled Lavater himself. 
 He had deep lines in his face, and seemed active and 
 intelligent ; but there was something restless about 
 the eye of the late Governor of Sitang, and he 
 appeared to be quite indifferent about receiving any 
 sort of consideration from the Column, as, on his 
 humble pony, and with his small band of followers 
 — some two or three men — he plodded his way along ! 
 
 By the evening half the quantity of Commissariat 
 stores were landed, the remainder came in on the 
 following day. On the 8th and 9th the force halted. 
 About 130 sick were now sent away, nearly all 
 natives. They would return with the detachment 
 which had come with provisions for Pegu. One 
 Fusilier died on the 9th ; two had been drowned ; 
 which, with one shot, were the total casualties 
 hitherto among the Europeans of the force. 
 
 The General despatched from this place by water all 
 ammunition in excess of 100 rounds per man, exclu- 
 sive of what each man carried in his pouch, being 
 more than half the total supply. He also despatched 
 three boat-loads of rice to Shoe-Gyne. At Sitang 
 he had hoped to find the navy boats but was 
 disappointed. No doubt the Bore had deterred them. 
 
 It was now asserted that Martaban was to be 
 given up as a station for British regular troops, and 
 was to be defended by a company of the old Talain 
 Corps — the only one remaining we believe of that 
 efficient body which had done good service in the 
 days of the unfortunate Impey. 
 
200 SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Before leaving Nyoun-ky-douk we visited the busy 
 scene on the Sitang where the General and a portion 
 of the troops were encamped. Taking a short ride 
 through the village, and along the side of the river, 
 it was impossible not to be struck with the beautiful 
 prospect. The clear light blue water — the rugged 
 and steep banks — the small craft floating here and 
 there — the numerous fruit-trees growing in luxuri- 
 ance in the gardens attached to the houses on the 
 river-side — plantains — sugar-cane, and even rose- 
 trees, reminding one of Old England — all had an 
 appearance of comfort and cleanliness quite in keep- 
 ing with the magnificent scene. A few women were 
 to be seen in the houses, surrounded by some chubby 
 children — the former engaged in the domestic occu- 
 pation of pounding rice, which they did with a seem- 
 ing philosophical composure ! 
 
 On the 10th the Column moved to Dounsereet, 
 a distance of nearly 11 miles. This was a beautiful 
 march ; for a considerable distance along the banks 
 of the Sitang River, a complete view of which we 
 occasionally beheld on emerging from the jungle. 
 Here were trees and flowers of every hue, as if 
 Flora had exhausted her beauties in Burmah ; 
 sometimes the foliage all around would be seen 
 covered with scarlet and amber-coloured tints, then 
 a sudden change to some other shade, equally 
 pleasing to the eye. In this route there was a 
 good deal of long grass where one might sup- 
 pose the tiger crouched occasionally. Some superb 
 
SHOE-GYNE. 201 
 
 Poonghee houses were to be met with, situated in 
 high positions. We encamped near the village, 
 and beguiled an afternoon to watch the many 
 elephants bathing in the Sitang ; the mahout caus- 
 ing his animal to disappear bodily, and then to rise 
 suddenly, like a black mountain from the water, was 
 a sight not often seen, even in India. The Proserpine 
 had failed to make her way up the Sitang, and was 
 nearly — so rumour said — swamped by the Bore. 
 
 To Shway-Gheen or Shoe-Gyne, the distance is 
 11| miles.* " This important city," writes an Officer 
 of the force, " is situated on the left bank of the 
 Sitang, in an angle formed by a small branch of the 
 river jutting out to the east. The town itself has 
 no defences ; it possesses a considerable number of 
 houses, and must have been very populous. When 
 we entered the place there were a great many people, 
 but the approach of an army of foreigners, of a race 
 unknown, and a colour hitherto unlooked upon, — of 
 whose intentions grave doubts cannot but have ex- 
 isted in the minds of multitudes unaccustomed to 
 mercy or forbearance from a triumphant foe, must 
 naturally have driven many to hide themselves for a 
 time. The fact that numbers were bold enough to 
 await our arrival, and trust not only themselves but 
 their wives and children to the power of the English 
 Chief and his army, at whose approach their own 
 
 * We arrived at this fine town on the 11th, after a most 
 difficult march through dense columns of bamboo jungle, fre- 
 quently placed like the aisles of a Cathedral. 
 
202 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tyrants had retreated in dismay, was a tribute of 
 respect for, and confidence in our character for good 
 faith and justice, such as any Enghsh soldier might 
 well be proud of. The Column crossed the stream 
 of pure water which flowed from the mountains on 
 our right. The long line of British soldiers — the 
 tall sepoys of Hindustan — the small but wiry 
 Madrassies — the picturesque Irregular Cavalry — 
 and those powerful guns whose shells had struck 
 such terror into the Burmese at Kyouk-ye-d^ingand 
 Grongoh, filed in a long line through the defenceless 
 streets, gazed upon by a trembling half-trusting 
 crowd of men and women — the inhabitants of Shoe- 
 Gyne ! Passing beyond the town to the north, and 
 a little to the east, on a hill of small elevation, but 
 in a very commanding position, is the stockade ; 
 we found it to be nearly new, very strongly built, and 
 ver^' lately evacuated by the Burmese army. It would 
 contain a garrison of 700 men with ease, and can be 
 extended on three sides, the ground being of the same, 
 or nearly the same elevation to the south, the east, 
 and the north. On the west the road to Tonghoo 
 passes, and is completely commanded. Lieutenant 
 Fraser, our able and energetic Field -Engineer, 
 commenced at once the alterations and improve- 
 ments necessary to convert the Burmese stockade 
 into a strong and well fortified post. Our camp was 
 pitched just beyond the town, on an esplanade to the 
 right of the road leading up to the Hill Pagoda and 
 stockade." As a town, even Rangoon could not be 
 
SHOE-GYNE. 203 
 
 compared with Shoe-Gyne, (the valley of gold) ; but 
 the Great Dagoon Pagoda was wanting here ! 
 
 On the 12th the General met Lieutenant Hellard 
 of the H. C. S. frigate Feroze, who had been fortu- 
 nate enough to make his way up the Sitang from 
 Martaban, and to arrive at Shway-Gween with three 
 boats from his ship, and three more laden with provi- 
 sions for the force. The only difficulty he experienced 
 in the navigation of the river was in entering it, over 
 numerous and extensive sand-banks, the channels 
 between which have never been properly surveyed. 
 The Bore appeared to him on one occasion, and the 
 only one of any importance, about six feet high ; but 
 his boats had been hauled up in a small creek 
 and were perfectly safe. After entering the river 
 Lieutenant Hellard met with no obstacle of any kind 
 to his progress ; the channel was deep, even, and 
 free from sand-banks.* 
 
 A ride through the town of Shoe-Gyne, on a tour 
 of observation, gave a favourable impression of the 
 place. The chief parts seemed to lie in five or six 
 long spacious principal streets, as usual with the 
 brick pathway in the centre ; minor streets crossed 
 these at right angles, the whole plan evidently laid 
 out with care and taste. Numerous dogs and many 
 fine cocks were to be seen in the town, the latter 
 it is well known the Burmese do not kill, but keep 
 for fighting. The day after our arrival the people 
 
 * Some interesting Notes on the Sitang Bore, kindly furnish- 
 ed by a Madras Officer, will be found in Appendix, No. XI. 
 
SHOE-QYNE. 203 
 
 compared with Shoe-Gyne, (the valley of gold) ; but 
 the Great Dagoon Pagoda was wanting here ! 
 
 On the 12th the General met Lieutenant Hellard 
 of the H. C. S. frigate Feroze, who had been fortu- 
 nate enough to make his way up the Sitang from 
 Martaban, and to arrive at Shway-Gween with three 
 boats from his ship, and three more laden with provi- 
 sions for the force. The only difficulty he experienced 
 in the navigation of the river was in entering it, over 
 numerous and extensive sand-banks, the channels 
 between which have never been properly surveyed. 
 The Bore appeared to him on one occasion, and the 
 only one of any importance, about six feet high ; but 
 his boats had been hauled up in a small creek 
 and were perfectly safe. After entering the river 
 Lieutenant Hellard met with no obstacle of any kind 
 to his progress ; the channel was deep, even, and 
 free from sand-banks.* 
 
 A ride through the town of Sho6-Gyne, on a tour 
 of observation, gave a favourable impression of the 
 place. The chief parts seemed to lie in five or six 
 long spacious principal streets, as usual with the 
 brick pathway in the centre ; minor streets crossed 
 these at right angles, the whole plan evidently laid 
 out with care and taste. Numerous dogs and many 
 fine cocks were to be seen in the town, the latter 
 it is well known the Burmese do not kill, but keep 
 for fighting. The day after our arrival the people 
 
 * Some interesting Notes on the Sitang Bore, kindly furnish- 
 ed by a Madras Officer, will be found in Appendix, No. XI. 
 
204 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 seemed less afraid of us. A brisk market was going 
 on of grain, flour, vegetables, cloth, and other 
 necessaries. The soldiers bought and the merchants 
 sold with good will. In one house a woman was to 
 be seen weaving cloth with a loom not unlike what 
 may be seen daily in Glasgow or Manchester, 
 
 On the 13th we believe that a letter was received 
 by the General from the Governors of Martaban, 
 Shway-Gheen, and Kyouk-Ghee, stating that they 
 had, under instructions from the Court of Ava, 
 ceased hostilities until the result of an application to 
 Rangoon for the settlement of the terms of a peace 
 should be known. They hoped the General would 
 not advance for the present beyond Shway-Gheen. 
 No answer was returned to this letter, but as the 
 Officers of the Commissariat reported that they 
 could provide 20 days' provisions for a force of 800 
 men, with a proportion of followers, it was resolv- 
 ed to advance at once upon Tonghoo. Captain 
 Carruthers of the 1st M. N. I., Moulmein detach- 
 ment, was despatched with his company to Meekyo 
 to escort some provisions expected there from Pegu. 
 He took with him GO boats furnished by the head man 
 at Shway-Gheen, who, during our stay, had made him- 
 self exceedingly energetic and useful. It was resolved 
 to take half of the 20 days'* provisions for the force in 
 boats up the Sitang River, escorted by the boats of 
 the Feroze^ under Lieutenant Hellard. The other half 
 would be carried by 60 elephants and 40 platform 
 carts, to each of which an extra team was furnished. 
 
STRENGTH OF THE FORCE. 205 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 FROM SHOE-GYNE TO TONGHOO. 
 
 The Light Division of the Martaban Column was 
 small, but very compact and well selected. Includ- 
 ing Officers, the force did not exceed 900 men, 400 
 of whom were Europeans.* Various accounts had 
 been circulated of the difficulties in the line of 
 march, and the distance from Shoe-Gyne to Tonghoo 
 was reckoned at from 80 to 100 miles. 
 
 * The force consisted of about 60 European Madras Artillery 
 (D Company, 3d Battalion), with native gun lascars and drivers, 
 under Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther, C. B. ; up- 
 wards of 50 Madras Sappers under Lieutenant Shortland ; the 
 Ramghur Cavalry detachment under Lieutenant Lambert ; some 
 200 Bengal Fusiliers under Major Gerrard ; about 170 Madras 
 Fusiliers under Captain Geils ; a detachment of the 5th M. N. L 
 under Major Shubrick ; the 10th B. N. I. detachment under 
 Major Welchman. Two 24-pounder howitzers and two 54-iuch 
 mortars, with rocket tube, accompanied the force. Fifty rounds 
 of spare ammunition per man were carried in boats, also a 
 quantity for the Artillery. 
 
206 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 It is recorded that in the Talavera Campaign, and 
 during the hot season in Spain, General Craufurd 
 marched with his Hght division, each man carrying a 
 very considerable weight along with him, 62 miles in 
 26 hours, and left only 17 stragglers behind ! Had 
 there been any necessity for it General Steel would 
 probably have endeavoured to emulate General 
 Craufurd, notwithstanding the difference in the two 
 climates. But 20 days was the limit of absence pro- 
 posed ; or seven to go, seven to return, and five or six 
 in which to fight, or carry on political negotiations 
 at the ancient city and fortress of Tonghoo, which 
 had not been reached in the First Burmese War ; 
 where the footsteps of the Anglo-Saxon, one might 
 say, had never yet been planted ! Major Seton was 
 left in command of Shoe-Gyne. 
 
 On Tuesday the 15th of February the force 
 marched to Yong Daing, a distance of seven miles, 
 through a dense jungle. On arrival we found the 
 village deserted and in ruins. There were marks of 
 a recent encampment, probably where a small band 
 of dacoits had debated concerning the proceeds of 
 the plunder of the village. It struck some during 
 this march that the teak and other trees were finer 
 than those we had previously seen. There was also 
 a very curious species of the Banyan tree, while 
 some blue flowers added to the beauty of the forest 
 scenery. 
 
 News arrived to-day that several Burmese families 
 had come into Martaban, also that a gallant affair 
 
CAPTURE OF NAREGHAIN HILL STOCKADE. 207 
 
 had taken place near the Aeng Pass, in which 
 the enemy's stockade had been taken by Captains 
 Nuthall and Sutherland by a night surprise.* The 
 stockade was upon the Nareghain Hill, near the 
 entrance of the Pass. At night, or rather early in 
 the morning of the 6th of January, the force sent by 
 Major Maling, under the guidance of a native chief, 
 arrived within two miles of Nareghain. " The force 
 then moved silently forward towards the stockade, 
 and Captain Nuthall having assured himself by per- 
 sonal observation that the enemy were asleep, order- 
 ed Captain Sutherland to charge the gate in force, 
 he himself meanwhile firing a volley upon the in- 
 mates of the stockade. The Burmese, just roused 
 from sleep and paralyzed by the suddenness of the 
 attack, fled, abandoning even their guns." Thus 
 was another laurel gained by the Arracan Local 
 Battalion 1 
 
 To seize a string of 120 elephants which were ex- 
 pected in Arracan in January on their way to Prome, 
 when they would most probably pass through the 
 defile, was doubtless the principal object of the Bur- 
 mese in constructing the above stockade. 
 
 The weather was now becoming frightfully hot in 
 tents ; we found it particularly so at this place, hav- 
 
 • Before this a force under Major Maling, 68th B. N. L, and 
 Captain Barry commanding the Arracan Battalion, had returned 
 from a projected attack on the Aeng Pass Stockade, on account 
 of its great strength, and from the want of artillery. This was 
 at least highly prudent. 
 
208 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ing just left a shady encampment at Shoe-Gryne. 
 However in Burmah an occasional refreshing breeze 
 springs up which counteracts the heat in a faint 
 degree rather more frequently than in India. This 
 may divest many of the notion, which there is good 
 reason to believe is a fact, that the Burmese sun is 
 more intense than the Indian one ! Several people 
 came in to the ruined village before we left. 
 
 On the 16th the force reached Bogatha, a march 
 of about 14 miles. It was a very difficult and tedious 
 one, over uneven ground and through dense jungle. 
 Guns upsetting, waggons upsetting; one splendid 
 howitzer took upwards of 30 minutes of artillery 
 tactics to extricate from a most perilous position ! 
 However it was righted all in good time ; but had 
 there been firing heard a-head on this occasion, when 
 we were so nobly aided and flanked by infantry, 
 it might have been extricated with more speed. To 
 travel as easily as possible the Artillery had taken 
 with them chiefly limbers in preference to waggons, 
 and all the best cattle had been selected for this ex- 
 pedition at Shoe-Gyne. Our Colonel had shewn his 
 usual judgment and tact in these respects. The 
 gun was provoking enough, but for the catastrophe 
 of a waggon we were indebted to a " half-reasoning 
 elephant," who, on propelling it up a vast steep 
 hurled it over with little ceremony. Major Welch- 
 man and his gallant Corps, the 10th B. N. I., were 
 of great service to us in this dilemma, as our men 
 were now much scattered on account of the difficulty 
 
KYOUK-GIIEE, — CAPTURED CHIEFS. 
 
 209 
 
 of bringing on the artillery train. But altogether, 
 as above remarked, not more than half-an-hour was 
 lost, and the force arrived at Bogatha not much 
 behind the usual time. 
 
 In this vicinity the tiger was said to abound; but 
 beyond hearing that a bullock had been killed and 
 a driver wounded by one of these animals, no acci- 
 dents were reported. 
 
 On the 17th the force arrived at Kyouk-Ghee, 
 after a march of nearly 'i5 miles. Starting at six, 
 we came in a little after 12, — fair marching, con- 
 sidering the jungle and the heat of the sun. There 
 were some difficult steeps on the way, but these 
 and other obstacles we surmounted this morning with 
 a sort of practised facility. We encamped near the 
 bank of a beautiful creek of the Sitang. On the 
 other side lay the town — one of considerable import- 
 anee^through which we rambled during the day 
 and inspected some captured Chiefs, the result of a 
 reconnoitring party of Irregular Horse which had. 
 gone out immediately after arrival, under Captain 
 Clogstoun ; Captain Travers was also a chivalrous 
 companion in arms on this occasion, for the particu- 
 lars of which the reader is referred to the General's 
 despatch in the Appendix.* Nothing could be more 
 provoking than the escape of the Governor of Mar- 
 taban. Among the trophies found was a gold chain 
 and insignia which, according to Burmese custom, 
 had been presented by the King of Ava to Moung- 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 O 
 
210 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Bho — " Moungbwa," — on his installation into 
 office. The captured Chiefs, surrounded by their 
 followers, made an excellent living picture, and 
 interested us considerably. But there was some- 
 thing ludicrous about it, so it would have required 
 the powers of Wilkie and Allan together to have 
 put it faithfully on canvass. Our friend Moung- 
 Goung was there looking quite pleased apparently 
 at the condition of his captured brethren ; these 
 " nobles'" did not seem at all to consider that they 
 had been defeated in a grand object ; if they did, it 
 showed a pliancy of mind under difficulties, a quality 
 not too common even among enlightened Europeans ! 
 The country around Kyouk-Ghee was well worthy of 
 attention. A splendid ridge of hills about 2000 feet 
 high looked down on us, while we were encamped 
 near clear water and among the varied beauties of 
 woodland scenery. We found some good houses 
 and streets in the town, also a few romantic-look- 
 ing old Pagodas. 
 
 On the 18th we proceeded on our march north- 
 ward, and having gone a distance of 12 miles, reached 
 Kyoumbea. 
 
 At first we entered a dense jungly forest with 
 trees of every hue and shape, innumerable creepers 
 round the trees, as if Love had fairly taken up his 
 abode in this retreat ; there were some fine pieces of 
 timber here and there, but chiefly of young growth. 
 At length we came to a bamboo forest, where were 
 over-hanging gothic arches of infinite grace and 
 
MOME OR MOUNQ-aOA. 211 
 
 beauty, forming a glorious canopy as we passed 
 along. In addition to the ordnance captured at 
 Kyouk-Ghee, we found at Waigee, five miles from 
 the last encamping ground, two iron guns and some 
 jingals ; these we destroyed. 
 
 On the 19th the force marched to Mome, or 
 Moung-Goa, a distance of more than 12 miles. Less 
 forest and jungle appeared during this march, and 
 the ground was harder and more level than usual. 
 The teak tree was to be seen occasionally ; but, 
 as heretofore, it was generally young. The best teak 
 is found more inland, or away from the influence of 
 the Sitang river, which we believe renders the wood 
 soft, and for many purposes unserviceable. We 
 were once more in sight of this noble river for the 
 first time since leaving Shoe-Gyne. 
 
 Several inhabitants appeared on our arrival at 
 the village. Crossing over a creek of pure water, 
 the force encamped on a picturesque plain a little 
 beyond. Here it was said that the Martaban 
 Governor had gone on, and that a large party of 
 Burmese soldiery had taken a different road from 
 that over which we were forcing our way. Captain 
 Clogstoun again went out with a small party of 
 sowars to reconnoitre. Nothing however was seen 
 or done, and the only piece of intelligence we 
 could obtain worth recording was, that accredited 
 agents had arrived at Tonghoo from Ava ; that there 
 were rival parties, and these were fighting in the 
 
212 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 streets to the no ordinary danger of the more peace- 
 ful citizens ! 
 
 On the 20th we arrived at Laylangoh, distant 
 10 miles from Mome. On the whole we found 
 this a very good road, through forest, plain, and 
 patches of long grass. The timber was of a larger 
 growth than usual. There were two or three deep 
 nullahs to cross, but these did not occasion us much 
 inconvenience. We passed by several small villages, 
 the inhabitants, including many old women and young 
 children, came boldly out to see the " Englishers'' 
 with their strange soldiers and their strange cattle. 
 They must have thought we were bound for Ava 
 or Pekin at least ! At any rate PROGRESS was 
 strongly stamped on the appearance of our force. 
 A suspension-bridge of the most curious construc- 
 tion was to be seen on this march, which shewed a 
 rude knowledge of engineering. The people were 
 very obliging. The General with his troops inspired 
 confidence, while the Proclamation he distributed 
 shewed that the Indian Government were in earnest. 
 Conciliation had not been better employed since the 
 days of the Marquess Wellesley. 
 
 For the following account of the concluding por- 
 tion of the achievements of the Martaban Column we 
 are indebted to an accomplished Officer of the force : 
 
 On the 21st of February we marched 18 miles, 
 to Thandobin, on the bank of the Sitang. There 
 was no place adapted for the encampment of more 
 
AN INTERVIEW. 
 
 213 
 
 than a very small detachment until we reached the 
 river, which runs with considerable force and has a 
 good body of water here ; the village is situated 
 on both sides of it. The ford slopes across, 
 going down the stream, from the right to the left 
 bank, and is nearly half-a-mile in length, the water 
 coming above a horse's breast. On our first appear- 
 ance at the river side we saw a Burmese Chief, 
 mounted on a large horse and accompanied by a few 
 followers, on the opposite shore. He hailed us, and 
 the Assistant Quartermaster-General with an Inter- 
 preter rode down to the water's edge to hear what 
 he had to say. He called out to know the cause of 
 our appearance on the borders of his dominions: 
 " You," he said, " are the governors of a great 
 country and we are the same ; what is your purpose 
 in coming so far?" He added that he would not fire 
 upon us if we did not fire on him. He was told 
 that if he wanted to say anything he might come 
 across the river to the Generars tent and return at 
 his pleasure ; he however declined the honour, and 
 shortly afterwards rode off" to Tonghoo, styled by the 
 people of the country Tan-hoon. It subsequently 
 appeared that on his arrival there the Governors of 
 Tonghoo, Martaban, Shway-Gheen, and all the 
 other Chiefs, including himself, set out with great 
 haste on the road to Ava. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d the whole force crossed 
 the Sitang. The majority of the men were carried 
 over on elephants, and the Column marched on 
 
214 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Tonghoo. We had not gone far before the principal 
 men of the city met us and surrendered the place. 
 Numbers of the people came out with presents of 
 fruit, and shewed in many ways their delight at the 
 approach of our army. As we advanced a great 
 number of Burmese thronged behind the General. 
 For about eight miles we passed through fertile culti- 
 vated plains, studded with numerous villages ; and 
 then the great walls of the ancient city of Tonghoo 
 broke in upon our view. We marched up from the 
 south and passed along the eastern face, outside the 
 grass-grown ditch 100 yards in width ; and the Gene- 
 ral at the head of the Column that had forced its way 
 in 34 days from the besieged citadel of Martaban, 
 through 240 miles of unknown forest, with a long and 
 heavy train of artillery — surmount ing difficulties whi ch 
 few land marches on record ever had to encounter — 
 passed in triumph under the old gateway of the 
 capital of this once great and powerful country.* 
 Although numbers of the inhabitants were collected 
 in different parts to look at us as we entered, the 
 place from its magnitude appeared partially de- 
 serted; we repaired at once to the arsenal, where we 
 found a considerable number of guns in good order, 
 as well as ammunition. Every thing shewed that the 
 appearance of our army at Tonghoo had never been 
 
 * Tonghoo, an ancient province (independent), extended we 
 believe some 80 miles beyond this capital ; it was then con- 
 quered by the Peguese, from whom it appears to have been 
 taken by the Burmese. 
 
SKETCH PLAN 
 
 TONGHOO FORTRESS 
 
 SuKHOun airi C 
 
 
 SHOAY-ZAN -DAW PAGODA 
 
 L;ei.t, Tre.or \%iUr 
 
TONQHOO. 215 
 
 contemplated by their Chiefs, No attempt had been 
 made to remove anything, and the guns had not 
 even been mounted on the walls, but w^ere collected 
 in order and placed beneath a large shed. Soon 
 after our camp had been pitched the Irregular 
 Cavalry were ordered out in pursuit of the Chiefs who 
 had fled the day previous. The energetic and indefati- 
 gable Captain Clogstoun, accompanied by Lieutenant 
 Lambert the zealous commandant of the Ramghur 
 Horse, Captains Travers, Fanshawe, and Maxwell, 
 also went as volunteers. Although only SO horse- 
 men were employed they followed the fugitives up 
 for more than 20 miles, only ceasing the pursuit on 
 finding their horses completely exhausted and on 
 learning that the Chiefs were still many miles a-head. 
 This was a gallant and daring feat on the part of 
 such a small body, and worthy of the best days of 
 our best soldiers. The summary and complete 
 expulsion of the Burmese troops from the whole 
 country, extending from Martaban on the south to 
 SO miles north of Tonghoo, was thus effected by the 
 Martaban Column under Brigadier-General Steel, 
 on the 22d of February 1853. 
 
 Now fairly inside the " hitherto unattained * 
 ancient fortress of Tonghoo," it became questionable 
 whether we would get away quite so soon as we had 
 
 • In the first war "Colonel Godwin" endeavoured to cross 
 over from Prome to Tonghoo, but could not do so for want of 
 water, &c. We regret that the Column was not allowed to try 
 and force its way across to Prome. 
 
TONQHOO. 215 
 
 contemplated by their Chiefs. No attempt had been 
 made to remove anything, and the guns had not 
 even been mounted on the vi^alls, but were collected 
 in order and placed beneath a large shed. Soon 
 after our camp had been pitched the Irregular 
 Cavalry were ordered out in pursuit of the Chiefs who 
 had fled the day previous. The energetic and indefati- 
 gable Captain Clogstoun, accompanied by Lieutenant 
 Lambert the zealous commandant of the Eamghur 
 Horse, Captains Travers, Fanshawe, and Maxwell, 
 also went as volunteers. Although only SO horse- 
 men were employed they followed the fugitives up 
 for more than 20 miles, only ceasing the pursuit on 
 finding their horses completely exhausted and on 
 learning that the Chiefs were still many miles a-head. 
 This was a gallant and daring feat on the part of 
 such a small body, and worthy of the best days of 
 our best soldiers. The summary and complete 
 expulsion of the Burmese troops from the whole 
 country, extending from Martaban on the south to 
 30 miles north of Tonghoo, was thus effected by the 
 Martaban Column under Brigadier-General Steel, 
 on the 22d of February 1853. 
 
 Now fairly inside the " hitherto unattained * 
 ancient fortress of Tonghoo," it became questionable 
 whether we would get away quite so soon as we had 
 
 • In the first war "Colonel Godwin" endeavoured to cross 
 over from Prome to Tonghoo, but could not do so for want of 
 water, &c. We regret that the Column was not allowed to try 
 and force its way across to Prome. 
 
216 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAK. 
 
 calculated on. General Steel resolved to wait an 
 answer to his communication with General Godwin ; 
 and this could not be expected before the first week 
 in March. Meanwhile the provision boats, under 
 escort of the boats of the Feroze arrived, and there 
 was every probability of our being well supplied in 
 the commissariat department. At such a critical 
 period of the war, waiting himself at Tonghoo was 
 highly creditable to the judgment of our Chief of the 
 Martaban Column : Some flank movement in con- 
 junction with the Prome force might, under certain 
 circumstances, have given a decisive and brilliant 
 termination to the war ; unfortunately however 
 these circumstances did not occur. In the maps 
 Tonghoo is further north than Prome and on a direct 
 road to Ava ! 
 
 Rice, sugar-cane, and silk, also various excel- 
 lent oils and wax, appeared to be among the chief 
 articles for sale at Tonghoo. The people seemed 
 quiet and inoffensive, affording, as before hinted, easy 
 ground for moral and intellectual improvement. The 
 walls of their ancient city are reputed to be about 
 540 years old. There is still strength, but "the 
 rents of ruin " are everywhere visible. The number 
 of bricks employed we forget, though a Burmese 
 Poonghee could tell you to the unit ! The town is 
 scattered and not imposing; and the pagoda, on the 
 only rising ground to the west, is very wretched. 
 As a station Tonghoo may be considered too low 
 and damp to be quite healthy for troops. The 
 
BRITISH HUMANITY. 217 
 
 Sitang flows within a quarter of a mile of the eastern 
 gate; and several large boats, including those of the 
 Navy, were to be seen at the Ghat. The force 
 wound up its march with an act of humanity ; Dr 
 Bond, our Artillery Medical Officer, extracted a 
 rifle ball from the leg of a Burmese soldier who had 
 received it while engaged against us at Pegu, with a 
 skill which would have been creditable to Liston or 
 Sir Astley Cooper. 
 
218 THE SECOND BURMESE TVAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NOTES ON BASSEIN.* 
 
 Bassein, styled a " City " in General Godwin's 
 Despatch, was the third important place captured 
 from the King of Ava ; and was taken by assault 
 on the 19th of May, about 5 P. M., by detach- 
 ments of H. M's. 5l8t and 9th M. N. I. The 
 city is situated about 90 miles up the river of the 
 same name, and is in latitude N. 16. 46. 35. and 
 longitude E. 90°. 45'. The river is navigable dur- 
 ing the rains by a steamer of from 700 to 900 tons 
 nearly 80 miles further up. The ground at and 
 around Bassein is generally flat ; here and there 
 fine plains surrounded with dense forest; in some 
 parts much underwood, in others very little. The 
 Stockade of Bassein City, i. e. as connected with 
 the Big Pagoda, is about 100 yards ; the river is 
 
 * By an Artillery OflScer who was stationed at Bassein from 
 July to December 1852. The Madras Fusiliers relieved 
 H.M.'s 51st at Bassein, and the 19th N.I. the 9th M.N.I, 
 stationed there. 
 
NOTES ON BASSEIN, 219 
 
 nearly 300 yards wide, with a depth of about 15 
 fathoms of water in the middle. At high tide small 
 vessels of 150 tons can lay alongside the pier and 
 discharge cargo easily. Directly opposite Bassein, 
 in a westerly direction, and about 15 miles distant, 
 are the Hills of Arracan. 
 
 Generally speaking, the soil around the old Stock- 
 ade is swampy, owing to the earth having been dug 
 out to bank up the planking. The soil appears very 
 productive, and were it not for the want of cultiva- 
 tion there would be large quantities of paddy pro- 
 duced. The Monsoon lasts from the end of May to 
 the beginning of September, with occasional showers 
 in the month. October close and hazy. The cold 
 weather commences about the 10th of November 
 and lasts till the middle of February, when the hot 
 season begins. The climate is considered good. 
 The Great Pagoda is upon a terrace about 20 feet 
 above the level of the ground, the foundation being 
 upon a bed of laterite ; its height is 120 feet, the 
 upper 70 of which are beautifully gilt ; the basement 
 is octagonal. The terrace is an oblong square about 
 120 feet each way. The inhabitants are Talines, 
 Burmese, Karens, with a dash of Mussulmans. The 
 Karens — many of whom are Christians — are by 
 far the best men, being more industrious and more 
 trustworthy ; the expression of their faces proclaim 
 them at once to be a much more sincere and honest 
 race than the others, as does the expression of the 
 half-bred Mahomedan to be by far the worst The 
 
220 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 population now at Bassein is fully 20,000. I know 
 nothing regarding the population of the district. 
 Although the people of Bassein could never be called 
 wealthy there is no doubt that many have a few 
 odd rupees hoarded up. 
 
 The Mud Fort was a stockade covered with mud, 
 the earth of which was taken from the inner fort, 
 where there was to have been a large pond. The 
 stockade on the opposite side of the river was an 
 ordinary stockade, with a regular number of gate- 
 ways for us to enter and for the Burmese to run 
 out. The water within the stockade, of which there 
 is a good supply, is procured from numerous wells ; 
 it has, when fresh drawn, a rather chalky appear- 
 ance ; but it gradually clears and has no bad taste. 
 
 Vegetables. — A wild spinach, two kinds of 
 yam (red and white), pumpkins, melons, long beans, 
 Karinne potatoes — sweet potatoes. 
 
 Fruits. — Plantains — three or four kinds, cocoa 
 nut, jack fruit, beetle nut, custard apple, mango, 
 pine apple. Tamarind, bilimbi — a kind of goose- 
 berry, ginger, and plants resembling both nutmeg 
 and coffee, but not having seen either flower or 
 fruit I cannot say for certain. Generally speak- 
 ing the fruits here are not very good. 
 
 Geology * I know nothing about ; all I know is 
 that within the old stockade there are two or three 
 beds of laterite. 
 
 * Crawford collected, and Buckland examined a series of 
 Geological specimens of every rock seen from the delta of 
 
NOTES ON BASSEIN. 
 
 221 
 
 CoNCHOLOGY. — There are of shells — cyclostoma, 
 paludina, a small (land) shell shaped like a trochus, 
 nerita, keritina, scarabaeus, and the shell slug ; also 
 the suceinea. 
 
 Botany. — Vast quantities of ferns, epiphytes, 
 and convolvulus, Passion-flowers, a few rose trees, the 
 double jasmine, wild balsams, clitoria, China creeper, 
 Rangoon creeper, and a flower like the camellia ; 
 palms, — fan palms of course are plentiful. The large 
 and dwarf bamboo abound. Prickly pears, banyans, 
 cockscombs, sensitive plants, the four o'clock, and 
 moon flower. The large beanedentada, the teak tree, 
 and the tree producing the pedowk, are in the district. 
 
 The head man of the Burmese is called Moung- 
 Shoay-Bo ; I know not whether he is Burman, 
 Taline, or Taline- Burman; my opinion tallies with 
 most officers in Bassein that he is as much to be 
 trusted as a wild American savage. The head of 
 the Karens is Moung-Shoay-Wangee, an honest, 
 upright, trustworthy man. IVIahomed Saib, the head 
 ^Mussulman, carries his character in his face, and 
 ought never to have held his situation. The head 
 Shan (I do not know his name) sometimes being 
 reduced to two followers, and never having more 
 than four, is of course a person of an infinitesimal 
 quantity of consequence. The Interpreter — Claudius, 
 
 the Irrawaddy to the mountains north of Sagaing ; from which 
 it appears that the tertiary formation rests upon the transition 
 or mountain limestone, and the intervening coal measures of 
 Europe are wanting. — Mason. 
 
222 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 I shall merely mention. And so much for the 
 principal characters of Bassein ! 
 
 Chowchangley, the next largest place up the river 
 above Bassein, contains a population of about 15,000, 
 and is governed by a Burmese thoroughly friendly to 
 the Enghsh. 
 
 The Minghee of Bassein when driven out of his 
 seat of government went to Chowchangley ; when 
 expelled from this by the steamer he stockaded a 
 place about three miles inland, put his troops into it, 
 and amused himself by sending out detachments to 
 plunder the district and behead all Burmese caught 
 who were friendly to us, at the same time giving us 
 notice once a month of his coming to take the place 
 from us and killing us all ; but knowing discretion 
 to be the better part of valour he limited his exer- 
 tions to threats. * 
 
 The following report on the defences of Bassein 
 as they stood immediately after its capture by the 
 British will be of interest to military readers. It was 
 drawn up by Lieutenant Oraster of the Bengal 
 Engineers : — The town of Bassein stands in a deep 
 re-entering angle of the river, and is surrounded by 
 an irregularly built fortification. The west or river 
 face, and a portion of the south face are protected by 
 
 * Here end the Artillery Officer's Notes, -which have been 
 left iutentionally as much as possible in their original garb. 
 Our best thanks, including those we presume of the reader, are 
 returned to their author. 
 
DEFENCES OF BASSEIN. 223 
 
 an old brick wall surrounded by a stockade, or rather 
 parapet, with an abattis in front, and the ^ates on 
 the faces are covered by large masonry traverses. 
 The north and east faces have an enceinte of simple 
 stockade, and receive additional strength from the 
 marshy ground in their front. On the river face 14 
 guns, 3 and 6-pounders, were mounted. The total 
 number in the stockade being 30 guns and 6 jingals. 
 On the salient point opposite the town, a stockade 
 mounting 12 guns and IG jingals was erected, so as 
 to bring a heavy fire on the approach to the town 
 by the river ; but the main stronghold of the enemy 
 was a mud fort judiciously placed at a narrow bend 
 of the river, and fortified with great care, three 
 sides being protected by a wet ditch 36 feet wide 
 and 6 feet deep, and the remaining side following 
 the course of the river at a distance of about ten 
 yards from high-water mark. This fort is built of 
 mud well rammed, and is furnished with a regular 
 banquette and steps to mount the parapet; traverses 
 are built on the river face to protect it from enfilade 
 fire ; these traverses are of mud rivetted with plank- 
 ing. In the centre of the fort a large tank has been 
 excavated, and the bund surrounding it cut into a 
 regular parapet, so as to form an intrenchment 
 across the fort facing towards the west. The ram- 
 parts are 18 feet high, and on them are mounted 16 
 guns and a number of jingals. This fort is remark- 
 able on account of its differing so much from the 
 ordinary fortifications of the Burmese, its section 
 
224 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 bearing a resemblance to that of an European field 
 work, and the gates being all covered by large 
 earthen traverses. The three stockades form a 
 very strong position, as they naturally afford each 
 other a strong flanking fire, and being entirely 
 isolated, require to be taken in detail. 
 
 The district of Bassein — as notable for its 
 dacoit chiefs as for its creeks — was destined to be 
 summarily cleared of the enemy about the same time 
 as the march of the Martaban Land Column. Cap- 
 tain Fytche, the Deputy Commissioner, reached 
 Bassein on the 2d of January, and on the following 
 morning the Proclamation of Annexation was read to 
 theinhabitants. Reports of the depredations of dacoit 
 chiefs about 50 miles to the south-east of the town of 
 Bassein having become frequent, it was resolved to 
 proceed in search of them. Captain Fytche started 
 on the 5th of January in the steamer Nemesis ; but 
 Captain Godwin, the Commander of that vessel, 
 finding after leaving the great river that the water 
 in the creeks was too shallow for the steamer, the 
 expedition proceeded in boats, and having, through 
 the aid of some Karens, discovered the haunts of the 
 robbers, these were quickly dispersed with con- 
 siderable loss, and immediate tranquillity and con- 
 fidence produced in the vicinity. About 75 miles 
 to the eastward of Bassein the Burmese had in- 
 trenched themselves in the Duggah creek ; on the 
 
CAPTAIN FYTCHE — BURMESE DEFEATED, 225 
 
 arrival of the Zenohia on the 20th of January, her 
 Captain (Rennie) and crew, with the Deputy- 
 Commissioner, proceeded against them in the 
 Nemesis. The Chief was brought down by a shot 
 from the hand of Captain Fytche himself; the 
 dacoits seeing their leader was no more, fled pre- 
 cipitately. The gallant Captain next determined to 
 attack a stronghold of the enemy, where it was said 
 the former Governor, or Minku, had collected about 
 3,000 men. This affair was admirably managed, 
 and reflects the highest credit on all concerned. 
 " The Burmese, together with their camp-follow- 
 ers, could not have numbered less than 10,000." 
 Although a forced march, four field pieces had 
 accompanied our detachment. The enemy fled to 
 the jungle at the first discharge. A lady, said to be 
 of princely rank, and the two adopted sons of the 
 Minku were taken prisoners. Forty-seven of the foe 
 were left on the field ; 300 stands of arms fell into 
 our hands, and the ex-Governor when last seen was 
 making his way into the jungle with only half a 
 dozen followers. * This was supposed to be the last 
 remaining stronghold of the dacoits in the Bassein 
 district ; but depend upon it unless every precau- 
 tion is taken in such a region, there is every chance 
 of — when one head is cut of, there springing up 
 another ! 
 
 * Friend of India, February 24. 
 
22C THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE DISASTER NEAR DONNABEW. 
 
 We have now to record one of the darkest events 
 in the whole course of the Second Burmese War; 
 namely, the expedition against a notorious robber 
 chieftain by name Nya-Myat-Toon, who had won 
 for himself an all-powerful name in Donnabew and 
 its vicinity. He had captured our boats in their 
 progress up and down the river, and had proved 
 himself to be a dacoit so bold and resolute that it 
 was deemed necessary for the safety of our trans- 
 ports to send a considerable force against him. 
 This consisted of 185 seamen, 62 marines, and 25 
 officers, under the command of Captain Loch, C. B., 
 R. N., of H. M's. Ship Winchester, and 300 of the 
 67th B. N. I. under Major Minchin. Two 3-poun- 
 derguns of the H. C. S. Phlegethon, also accompanied 
 the expedition. The party which left Rangoon at 
 the beginning of February advanced from Donnabew, 
 and after proceeding a long distance without observ- 
 ing any signs of an enemy, came upon the bank of a 
 
THE ATTACK — AND RETREAT. 227 
 
 small nullah. This common obstacle to the pro- 
 gress of British troops through a Burmese jungle 
 was steep on both sides and partly filled with 
 water. The road which had led the force through 
 the jungle was at this particular spot so narrow 
 that the front could only be formed of two or three 
 files ; and on account of the thick brushwood and 
 terrible bamboo spikes in the ground, it was impos- 
 sible to deploy a line of skirmishers on either flank. 
 As soon as the leading files of the column appeared 
 on the bank of this nullah they were assailed by a 
 perfect hailstorm of musket balls from a masked 
 stockade on the opposite bank, and also from marks- 
 men concealed in the branches of every tree in the 
 vicinity. " All our men in front," writes a narrator 
 of the awful scene, " were immediately struck down. 
 Commander Lambert, the Commodore"'8 son, receiv- 
 ed four balls through his jacket, fortunately without 
 even grazing his skin, but Captain Loch who was 
 standing by his side was struck by a bullet which 
 shattered his watch and passed through his body. 
 Captain Price of the 67th fell mortally wounded, 
 Lieutenant Kennedy of H. M.''s Ship Fox was 
 killed, and the men continued to drop on all sides." 
 A retreat was now resolved upon ; and this was 
 conducted in so able, cool, and gallant a manner, 
 under the most trying circumstances, as to render 
 it one of the most remarkable achievements of the 
 war. Out of 225 Europeans who advanced to the 
 attack, 6 were left dead on the field, and 53 wounded. 
 
228 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 The loss of the Bengal Regiment amounted to 5 
 men killed and 18 wounded ; in all 82 casual- 
 ties. The gallant party finding it impossible to 
 bring on the guns, immediately spiked and aban- 
 doned them. Captain Loch died of his wounds 
 on the 6th of February; and thus did Her Ma- 
 jesty's Navy lose one of its most devoted servants 
 — an ornament to a profession which, like the 
 Military, owes its chief glory to the " unhesi- 
 tating obedience to the call of duty." The re- 
 mains of the gallant officer were brought down in 
 the Phlegethon to Rangoon, where they were interred 
 with the usual honours in a grave beside poor Doran, 
 who fell on the 14th of April. We should have 
 mentioned that while the party were retreating 
 through dense jungle with their wounded, the Bur- 
 mese endeavoured to get in their front, so as to 
 cut off entirely the gallant band. But so nobly did 
 the rear guard, composed of the grenadiers and 
 No, 1 Company of the 67th behave, that the 
 enemy's various attempts were rendered quite un- 
 availing. Of course another expedition of a nature 
 more likely to ensure success against the notorious 
 dacoit of Donnabew was immediately resolved upon, 
 the operations and result of which are recorded in a 
 subsequent Chapter of this Narrative. A sort of 
 fatality seems to hang over this word "Donna- 
 bevv." Did the shade of Bundoola the Great adminis- 
 
 * Captain Price, a most excellent officer, was buried at Yan- 
 doon. 
 
OCCURRENCES AT DONNABEW. 229 
 
 ter that — to some — sweet medicine revenge to the 
 chieftain Nya-Myat-Toon ? It seemed so; for the 
 robber now had had his fill. 
 
 It is difficult for those who were not actors in the 
 above tragedy to form a decidedly just opinion as 
 to the tactics pursued on the occasion. The force 
 of circumstances, we all know, it is not in human 
 nature to foresee. The writer of a narrative, how- 
 ever, has a license to remark where he thinks fit ; 
 not perhaps because he is inflated with the idea of 
 his own scientific knowledge, but because something 
 may ooze out in a deliberate review of events which 
 may benefit those employed in similar expeditions. Let 
 us first give some more details from another source. 
 
 A short time before the disastrous occurrence 
 some of our boats had proceeded up a creek near 
 Donnabew to catch if possible the notorious Dacoit 
 Chief; these were driven back In consequence 
 of this misfortune the above ill-fated expedi- 
 tion was fitted out with all possible dispatch, and 
 placed under the command of Captain Loch. The 
 force proceeded to Donnabew, but as the creeks 
 were all found to be staked, the boats were aban- 
 doned and a march determined on. After a dis- 
 tance of 25 miles was completed they approached 
 the robber's stronghold, but apparently without that 
 due caution in the Commander which is so essential 
 to the success of all such difficult expeditions. The 
 robber chief was as much at home among his creeks 
 and forest fastnesses as the sailor is on board his 
 
230 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 favourite man-of-war. The force advanced up 
 a narrow path, with dense jungle and spikes on 
 each side. About two miles from the stockade 
 they came to a wet nullah, with a drop of some 
 30 feet — a trap evidently prepared for those who 
 would dare invade the spot where, for numbers 
 of years, skill and might had made the sovereign 
 " right ! ■" At this nullah the force came to a short 
 halt ; they could not proceed, and found it imprac- 
 ticable to turn either to the right or to the left. 
 At this period of consternation the tremendous fire 
 was opened upon them from a breastwork on the 
 other side of the nullah, from the tops of trees, and 
 from the jungle on either flank. A party of Pegu- 
 ese who accompanied the force assisted in carrying 
 off the killed and wounded. The grief of these 
 allies at our misfortune was manifested by their 
 roaring lustily, and by their throwing themselves on 
 the ground. For 25 miles the force pursued their 
 dismal retreat, harassed by the enemy, and often 
 well nigh fainting for want of water, till, with that 
 indomitable British spirit reigning in its full power 
 in some, while others looked as if they were broken- 
 hearted and dismayed, our brave men reached Don- 
 nabew. 
 
 Now, to be very brief over a sorrowful subject, 
 it must naturally strike the majority of military 
 men that the moment a march inland was resolved 
 upon the force to be employed should have been 
 entirely under a Military Commander. Let us sup- 
 
67th bengal native infantry. 231 
 
 pose the Artillery arm on this occasion to have been 
 the strongest and most serviceable. The valuable ser- 
 vices of the Navy* might have been made available 
 at such a crisis in assisting artillerymen and their 
 cattle to bring along to the stronghold nothing less in 
 physical importance, in the way of artillery, than two 
 12-pounder howitzers, with a large complement of 
 the most destructive projectiles ! There was no 
 necessity for advancing up a narrow path, even if 
 the guide insisted on it; a reconnoitring party 
 should have first reported on its practicability for 
 the passage of guns — for sending out skirmishers if 
 necessary ; in short, for meeting any difficulty which 
 might arise. It is probable that had there been a 
 Military Commander with full power, these precau- 
 tions would have been adopted. The daring energy 
 of the British sailor, while conscious of the perform- 
 ance of his duty, must occasionally lead him into 
 extremes. The energetic heroism of Sir Sidney 
 Smith with his small band at St Jean d'Acre was 
 required by an extraordinary emergency, and it 
 turned out to be a great success ; but many will in- 
 quire — Where was the emergency, where the neces- 
 sity, that compelled a Naval Commander to advance 
 so rashly against a determined enemy, 25 miles by 
 land, from the town of Donnabew ? 
 
 On the above lamentable occasion, it was said 
 that the gallant 67th when they saw so many Euro- 
 
 * And we know how valuable these were at the taking of 
 Bangoon. 
 
232 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 peans falling around them were desirous of charging 
 the enemy ""s work. Such a charge at such a time 
 would probably have been disastrous in its conse- 
 quences ; but the desire speaks volumes in favour of 
 the Bengal sepoy. He was well aware of the dislike 
 entertained by the Burmese or any other enemy at a 
 rush of cold steel on their position. This might 
 have done admirably near Donnabew had artillery 
 of an effective sort first done its duty. Such not 
 being the case the Indian sepoy here proved himself 
 to be at least equal in prudence and tactics to the 
 unfortunate European ! 
 
 Captain Granville G. Loch it appears* was born in 
 1813, entered the service as a volunteer in 1824, 
 and in 1834 obtained his Lieutenanfs commission. 
 On becoming Commander he studied with unusual 
 energy and perseverance the science and practice of 
 steam, in the great factory of Mr Napier, the cele- 
 brated steam-engine manufacturer of Glasgow. He 
 was soon appointed to command the Vesuvius in the 
 Mediterranean. Fortune smiled on him ; he was at 
 length posted ; and, as one of the youngest Post- 
 Captains in the service, appointed to the South 
 American station. On arriving at Eio de Janeiro 
 he found his ship in the Pacific. Eclipsing the 
 journey of Sir Francis Head, " he actually rode 
 across the South American Continent " to join his 
 
 * Friend of India, February 24, 1853. For an account of Cap- 
 tain Loch's encounter with a Burman, see Appendix, No. VI, 
 letter dated 30th November, 1852. 
 
CAPTAIN LOCH, 0. B. 233 
 
 vessel. He next served in China under Sir William 
 Parker and Lord Gough. In 1846, on the West 
 Indian station, he " was entrusted with the settle- 
 ment of the Musquito question," sailed up "the Lake 
 of Nicaragua, took several forts on his way, and was 
 the first to navigate a river so filled with rapids as 
 to be deemed impassable." For these services he 
 was made a 0. B., and was complimented by Sir 
 Robert Peel and Lord Palmerston in the House of 
 Commons. He was next appointed to the command 
 of H. M.''s ship Winchester ; and ended a short but 
 eventful career in the Second Burmese War. 
 
 [After this disaster General Godwin issued an 
 excellent Order, directing that in all combined mili- 
 tary and naval expeditions the senior Military Officer 
 shall have the chief command, no matter what his 
 rank may be relatively to that of the senior Naval 
 Officer present. " He justifies this arrangement by 
 reference to the fact that when troops are serving on 
 board ship the senior Naval Officer takes command 
 over all the Military Officers with the force."] 
 
234 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AT PROME AND MEEADAY. 
 
 So many acts of the great drama being now con- 
 cluded, it becomes necessary to remark a very curious 
 feature in the Second Burmese War — the sudden 
 and seemingly voluntary disappearance of the ma- 
 jority of our enemy from the scene of strife. Of 
 course the Revolution at Ava was the cause of this 
 sudden and unexpected movement. It probably 
 was with those chiefly interested a frantic rush, dic- 
 tated by a rude ambition, to secure some of the 
 valuable things attendant upon a falling or fallen 
 Monarchy. In a very few years the question re- 
 garding these Asiatic monarchies will be — Where 
 are they ? The destiny that has been forced upon 
 us will simply repeat — Where are they ? Where 
 will be the misrule of the once " princely house of 
 Oude ? " — where the puppet-like government produc- 
 tive of nothing save evil, scheming, and oppression, 
 that existed with the Nizam of the Deccan ? An in- 
 
SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF THE ENEMY. 235 
 
 vincible necessity tells us that all such bad fashions 
 must pass away ! 
 
 The news of the Revolution at Ava would natur- 
 ally produce with some such impressions as these. 
 Yet there was something strange about the sudden 
 withdrawal of the greater number of the Burmese 
 soldiery from Pegu. The force which was dispersed 
 by General Godwin in December had, as before re- 
 marked, invested Pegu a second time, but it sud- 
 denly broke up and disappeared on the 8th of 
 January ! It seems probable that this move was 
 simultaneous with that of the others to Ava. The 
 enemy left Euthay-Mew on the 28th of December, 
 and it misrht take a week for the news of the Revolu- 
 tion to reach Pegu, thereby accounting for the dif- 
 ference of dates of departure. The troops that re- 
 mained in the Province to annoy General Steel's 
 Column, or give trouble such as has been seen at 
 Donnabew, were of the most desperate and maraud- 
 ing character ! 
 
 It has been already stated that General Godwin 
 left Rangoon on the 29th of December ; the day 
 after, H. M.'s ship Spartan on her way to China, 
 paid us a visit. The Commissioner and Governor- 
 GeneraFs agent, Captain Phayre, started in the 
 Medusa for Prome on New-year's-day. General 
 Godwin with his Staff got up the river very well as far 
 as Yea-Ghain, where the Proserpine grounded ; they 
 were then obliged to transfer themselves to two 
 small river steamers which most fortunately accom- 
 
236 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 panied them, and the Chief arrived safe on the 5th 
 of January. It was at Yea-Ghain that Sir John 
 Cheape''s report of the desertion of the stockade at 
 Euthay-Mew reached the party, and all were sur- 
 prised and disappointed. But doubtless the General 
 as well as others thought, after the freshness of the 
 news had fled, that the Revolution and its con- 
 sequences would in all probability turn out very 
 favourably for the views of the Government of India. 
 An inspection of the deserted stockade showed it 
 was not worth much ; the position was good, with 
 rising ground in the rear, and in one or two places 
 it was very strong. It covered an immense space of 
 ground, and would have required a large force to have 
 defended it. We found it to be only four miles from 
 Prome. The work is now (11th February) quite 
 dismantled, the natives who have been flocking into 
 Prome in large crowds, having brought in all the 
 bamboos and other material pertaining to the tim- 
 ber wall to construct their houses. Prome was now 
 quite full of people ; it also boasted an excellent 
 bazaar. The town was being laid out into broad 
 streets, and Captain Latter was fully occupied in his 
 new post of Deputy Commissioner. 
 
 On the 23d of January General Godwin and head- 
 quarters of the Staff proceeded to Meeaday in the 
 Nerhudda, with a flat full of stores and artillery ; 
 while a Land Column under Sir John Cheape, consist- 
 ing of about 800 or 900 men, departed also. The 
 General reached Meeaday on the 25th — found it 
 
DEPUTATION FROM THE PRINCE MEMDOON. 237 
 
 evacuated — and accordingly took possession. It is 
 situated on rising ground — in fact a plateau on the 
 river's bank — and was surrounded with a splendid 
 and perfectly new stockade, almost as elaborate as 
 that at Rangoon, evidently only finished about De- 
 cember. The writer from whom we take this infor- 
 mation * says : — " It seems natural to ask the ques- 
 tion When the Burmese take the trouble to con- 
 struct such fine defences why will they not stay to 
 defend them ? We left a garrison of 500 men at 
 Meeaday under Colonel Apthorp — that is, head- 
 quarters and about 800 of the 35th M. N. I., with 
 200 of the 51st K. O. L. I., and two long 9-pounders, 
 two 24-pounder howitzers, two mortars, and a detail 
 of Artillery. We found nearly enough of cover in the 
 way of Poonghee houses alone for this force ; and 
 we left some Sappers as a temporary arrangement, to 
 make them comfortable." General Godwin returned 
 on the 29th, and the Land Column left Meeaday on 
 the 30th and reached Prome on the 3d of February. 
 On the 27th, while at Meeaday, a deputation from 
 the Prince Memdoon (or Meeahdoung) came down 
 from Ava in two State canoes, and splendid boats 
 they were — magnificently gilt, with 50 "golden" 
 oars each ! The letter from the Prince was brought 
 by two Italian priests and two Burmese. The reply 
 left on the 28th, and it was expected, if they really 
 intended to treat, that their people would be down 
 
 * In a letter from Prome. 
 
DEPUTATION FROM THE PRINCE MEMDOON. 237 
 
 evacuated — and accordingly took possession. It is 
 situated on rising ground — in fact a plateau on the 
 river's bank — and was surrounded with a splendid 
 and perfectly new stockade, almost as elaborate as 
 that at Rangoon, evidently only finished about De- 
 cember. The writer from whom we take this infor- 
 mation * says : — " It seems natural to ask the ques- 
 tion When the Burmese take the trouble to con- 
 struct such fine defences why will they not stay to 
 defend them ? We left a garrison of 500 men at 
 Meeaday under Colonel Apthorp — that is, head- 
 quarters and about 300 of the 35th M. N. I., with 
 200 of the 51st K. 0. L. I., and two long 9-pounders, 
 two 24-pounder howitzers, two mortars, and a detail 
 of Artillery. We found nearly enough of cover in the 
 way of Poonghee houses alone for this force ; and 
 we left some Sappers as a temporary arrangement, to 
 make them comfortable." General Godwin returned 
 on the 29th, and the Land Column left Meeaday on 
 the 30th and reached Prome on the 3d of February. 
 On the 27th, while at Meeaday, a deputation from 
 the Prince Memdoon (or Meeahdoung) came down 
 from Ava in two State canoes, and splendid boats 
 they were — magnificently gilt, with 50 " golden "" 
 oars each ! The letter from the Prince was brought 
 by two Italian priests and two Burmese. The reply 
 left on the 28th, and it was expected, if they really 
 intended to treat, that their people would be down 
 
 * In a letter from Pronie. 
 
238 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 during the first week in March. Captain Phayre, 
 the Commissioner, remained for a short time at 
 Meeaday. He had most fortunately accompanied 
 the Land Column, and was on the spot when the 
 deputation arrived. The ambassadors were rather 
 surprised to see the English at Meeaday, as they 
 had orders from Ava to go to Prome, or to Rangoon 
 if necessary, to meet the General. Regarding the 
 deputation another officer writes : — " The next day 
 the General gave them a reply, and told them he 
 should expect to see them back again with an answer 
 very shortly, or he should jump to Ava and fetch it ! 
 They were very much astonished to find us at Mee- 
 aday, and wanted much to know, after the Proclama- 
 tion, what on earth took us there ? " It was also 
 said that the King and four of his ministers were 
 besieged in the palace — that the cities of Ava and 
 Araerapoora were in ruins — and that the brother 
 was a great favourite, and voted for peace ! It may 
 not be uninteresting to our English readers to give 
 one of the most widely-reported " arguments " which 
 became current on the outbreak of the Revolution. 
 It reminds one a little of those effusions as they 
 stand prefixed to some of Shakspere''s plays : — The 
 brother of the King of Ava, being heir to the throne, 
 went to his elder brother and represented the state 
 of affairs to him — declaring that, having lost so 
 many of their principal cities and posts it was use- 
 less to prolong a war which must eventually termi- 
 nate in the entire absorption of the Burmese Em- 
 
CURRENT REPORTS. 239 
 
 pire ; the King would hear nothing however, so his 
 brother retired to the forests with many followers. 
 Some of the King's ministers were of the same way 
 of thinking as his brother ; they joined the Prince, 
 and the heir returned to take the throne. Mean- 
 while it had been seized and occupied by one of the 
 ministers — the Prime Minister — ^in order to depose 
 whom all the troops were called up to Ava ! Some 
 said that the old King had been murdered at the 
 gate of his palace, others that he was simply in con- 
 finement. The Burmese being a loyal people it was 
 just possible that the minister would be displaced 
 and the rightful heir seated on the throne, which 
 may terminate the war ! The above " argument," 
 and something more, is simply writing what was 
 current in January ;* and now it will be interesting 
 to see how things really did turn out ; fortunately, 
 already the time seems at hand when both the 
 drama and the actors must take farewell of 
 " action ! " 
 
 On the 10th of February the BentincJc steamer 
 left Prome for Meeaday, to bring down Captain 
 Phayre. On his leaving the place reports arrived 
 from Ava that the Prince Memdoon was still in the 
 ascendant ; that the King was still besieged in his 
 palace, but it was expected that he must give in 
 soon. People were beginning to come into Mee- 
 aday, and confidence was increasing under British 
 protection. At Prome about this time the morn- 
 • 1853. 
 
240 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ings and evenings were cool, but the sun was as 
 usual very hot during the day. It is 12 hours"' steam- 
 ing to Meeaday, exclusive of all accidents, and 6 
 hours down to Prome. The General's party came 
 down in 5^ hours. Major Fraser was busily en- 
 gaged in building barracks on the heights for the 
 European soldiers, and a large portion of Major 
 Burgoyne's troop of Madras Horse Artillery had 
 arrived under Captain Foulis. According to the 
 same writer (11th February) the elephants — in an- 
 ticipation of an advance on Ava — would not arrive 
 at Prome before the 1st of March ; they were not 
 yet at the Sandoway Pass, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Edwards, 18th R. I., had proceeded with a portion 
 of his regiment to bring them to Prome. By pro- 
 ceeding down to Sandoway they would avoid the 
 entrance of the Aeng Pass and any Burmese who 
 might feel inclined to annoy the gigantic train. The 
 Pass cleared, if we do not draw our boundary line 
 above it a sharp eye must ever be kept on this gate 
 of Arracan ! 
 
 It may here be interesting to give a few curious facts 
 and assertions about the Irrawaddy. The waters of 
 this river, said one authority, kept up to their full 
 height till a little beyond the day of the occupation of 
 Prome by our troops, after which they began to sink 
 "with a rapidity unknown even in the Hooghly," hav- 
 ing sank upwards of 20 feet below high-water mark. 
 It was also asserted that had the advance on Prome 
 been delayed a fortnight it could not have been 
 
KRISHNA AND SPY. 
 
 241 
 
 made ! By the beginning of February the H. O/s 
 vessels Krishna and SpT/ had returned from their 
 labours in surveying the entrance into the Irra- 
 waddy by the Barague river; and the favourable 
 report they brought was, that " a good channel for 
 ships up to 700 tons burthen exists at all seasons, 
 with not less than 8| fathoms." The services of the 
 Spy were thus previously recorded by another 
 writer : — " The schooner discovered on a survey a 
 fine channel into the great Irrawaddy by the Ohinna- 
 Buckeer branch, with some 15 or 20 fathoms of 
 water." 
 
 By a letter from Prome dated the 4th of March, 
 we learned that the old King was still confined in 
 his palace a prisoner ; that the new one had been 
 proclaimed in his stead, to the delight of the Nation ; 
 and peace with the British seemed certain in a very 
 short time, as the chief Italian priest had returned 
 from Ava, with orders to say that a deputation, with 
 full powers to treat, would follow shortly ; accredited 
 agentswere expected on the 16th of March. One hun- 
 dred and forty-eight elephants had arrived at Prome. 
 Sir John Cheape with about 600 men had gone after 
 the far-famed robber-chief of Donnabew; apparently 
 The Robber of the Irrawaddy will be famous in story 
 as well as " The Robber of the Rhine " ! Captain 
 Phayre had just started from Rangoon. The war 
 was considered by many people at Prome as over ! 
 
 Having now exhausted all private notes and 
 letters set aside for this Chapter, it may be well 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 to draw on other sources for some interesting infor- 
 mation. Writing also from Prome, on the 4th 
 March, a correspondent * says : — " Captain Latter 
 is out with a small detachment in search of some 
 fellow who is robbing the villagers, levying black- 
 mail, and hindering supplies from being sent into 
 our cantonment from the surrounding country. The 
 detachment consists of 100 men of H. M."'s 80th, 
 with 50 sepoys of the 40th B. N. I , the whole under 
 the command of Lieut.-Colonel Hughes of the for- 
 mer regiment. The whole party is mounted on ele- 
 phants, which has quite an imposing appearance." 
 At this time the thermometer at Prome ranged as 
 high as 100® in the wooden houses, and 107° in 
 the tents. Within the last few days the Irrawaddy 
 had risen some 8 or 10 inches ; the natives said it 
 would continue to do so slowly till it commenced its 
 " great swell " with the rainy season, -f- The 80th 
 Regiment were in their new barracks, and the in- 
 defatigable exertions of Major Fraser were fast 
 "covering the hills with buildings of various descrip- 
 tions." Notwithstanding the intense heat of the 
 weather the accounts of the health of the troops 
 generally were cheering, from which it would appear, 
 says one authority, " that the cold season is by no 
 
 * Bengal Hurkaru, March 19, 1853. 
 
 ■|- There was every iudication of the Irrawaddy commencing 
 to rise again, supposed to be from " the melting of the snows in 
 the mountains where it has its source," — Correspondent of March 
 4th. 
 
HEALTH OF THE TROOPS. 243 
 
 means the most healthy inBurmah,but the contrary." 
 The same could certainly not be said of the health of 
 our soldiers at Prome towards the end of the year 
 1852 ; the troops had been very sickly since their 
 arrival; one hundred and forty Europeans of the force 
 had died, and the officer who furnished this informa- 
 tion thought with others that Prome was not so 
 healthy a place as it was said to be. Clearing away 
 rubbish, draining, ventilating, white-washing, * and 
 above all paying particular attention to the " drink- 
 ing water," no doubt added greatly to the increased 
 salubrity of Prome at the beginning of March, and 
 these precautions will always increase the healthful- 
 ness of any ordinary position, even though they 
 may fail in making it as pleasant as the Neilgherries 
 or Darjeeling ! Amongst the Supplementary Notes 
 at the end of this Work will be found a Meteorolo- 
 gical Notice of Burmah, which may interest those 
 who have friends or relatives in this far-off, golden, 
 rainy, sunny land ! 
 
 * There may be some doubt about this having been adopted, 
 for the best of reasons. 
 
244 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 GOLD. THE DAWN OF IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 Life at Tonghoo, about the beginning of March, 
 was at least earnest enough with most of us. Every- 
 thing seemed to be uncertain, and every one was 
 zealous after his own fashion. The force had moved 
 into excellent barracks, or rather into vacated Poon- 
 ghee houses* — a magnificent cluster of which, walled 
 in on each side of a straight road, extended from 
 some distance to the Pagoda. 
 
 On the 6th Colonel Bogle, Commissioner of the 
 Tenasserim and Martaban provinces, also Captain 
 Berdmore the Deputy Commissioner arrived. Bur- 
 mese families were every day coming into Tonghoo, 
 and confidence among the people appeared to be 
 rapidly increasing. Towards the middle of the 
 month General Steel received an answer to his com- 
 munication with General Godwin, and the latter 
 * Monasteries. 
 
SHOE-GYNE '' DiaQINGS." 245 
 
 seemed to be delighted at the successful progress of 
 the Martaban Column, Looking back on this pro- 
 gress it is impossible not to think there was some 
 truth in the prophetic declaration made before we 
 left Martaban, that " the march before this small 
 army will be the greatest undertaking of the whole 
 war, and a measure calculated to tend more than 
 any other to the settlement of the country !"" It was 
 General Steel's intention to remain some time longer 
 at Tonghoo. Our corapanions-in-arms at Shoe- 
 Gyne, perhaps in despair of ever seeing us again, 
 began to make themselves tolerably comfortable in 
 their new quarters. Being in a golden region, and 
 living in a " Golden Age," the spirit of discovery be- 
 came strong even at Shoe-Gyne, — literally meaning 
 " the Valley of Gold ! " In Burmese, shuay is gold, and 
 nguay silver. An officer of the Madras army* wish- 
 ing to explore the golden regions during his stay at 
 Shoe-Gyne, proceeded with a guide and two or three 
 attendants to visit " the diggings." He arrived late 
 in the evening of the 8th of March 1853 at a small 
 village inhabited by gold diggers, where he passed 
 the night. Next morning the villagers brought him 
 some of the gold they had dug out of the bank of 
 river. He then proceeded on a bamboo raft about 
 three miles up the creek till he came to the village 
 
 of L , where he obtained more gold, and being 
 
 hard pressed for time, he returned to camp the same 
 
 evening. This was certainly the pursuit of gold 
 
 * Captain Wyndham, 5th Regiment M. N. I. 
 
246 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 under difficulties ! According to our zealous and 
 gallant friend however, nuggets of gold are found in 
 the bed of the river, and the gold of Shoe-Gyne has 
 yielded " an immense revenue" to the Burmese 
 Government. An article afterwards appeared in a 
 Calcutta paper,* stating that gold existed within 
 20 miles of the camp at Shoe-Gyne, and that Major 
 Seton of the 1st Fusiliers had actually found speci- 
 mens embedded in quartz. On this the Friend of 
 India was led to remark, " that gold exists in 
 Burmah has long been believed, but it is found also 
 in Assam, and all the efforts of the authorities seem 
 unable to obtain anything like a reliable account of 
 its extent."" It is to be feared that this will be 
 the case with Shoe-Gyne; but we imagine the dis- 
 coveries of the first " digger,"" above mentioned, to 
 be worthy of serious attention on the part of the 
 authorities. Let us see what Mason in his ex- 
 traordinary work says about gold in Burmah — " no 
 mineral, except iron, is more universally diffused over 
 the provinces (Tenasserim) ; it is found in Nilead^ 
 near their northern boundary ; it is washed from the 
 sands on the south ; and the streams that tumble 
 from the high granite mountains between Ye (Yay) 
 and Marmagon are constantly rolling down their 
 golden sands into the vallies around."" Dr Royle says 
 that platina is found in Burmah. According to Mason 
 there is likewise " lead rich in silver, copper, manga- 
 nese,"" and various minerals. The precious stones 
 * On the aiithority of a correspondent of the Englishman. 
 
RICHES OF BURMAII. 247 
 
 of Burmah are numerous ; the yellow sapphire or 
 Oriental topaz, and the red sapphire or ruby, are well 
 known. But regarding the riches of our new con- 
 quest we have read nothing that comes up to the 
 following account, written by an advocate for annexa- 
 tion ; perhaps it is a little too highly coloured, but 
 it is impossible not to agree with the writer's political 
 opinions — " with its mines of gold and silver, its 
 stratas of diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, and its 
 inexhaustible forests of teak timber ; with a hardy 
 and industrious population, free from prejudices of 
 caste and colour, and with the free navigation of 
 its noble rivers, what may not be expected in a 
 few years under a government like ours. Bassein, 
 Negrais, Prome, Rangoon" (and now may be added 
 Shoe-Gyne and Sitang), " will exhibit the same 
 appearance of life and activity which the Ganges 
 does ; the vast regions of Burmah hitherto closed to 
 us, will present a magnificent field for commercial 
 enterprize ; the European manufactures and produc- 
 tions will be thrown into them without restraint and 
 reserve, for where security has been established com- 
 merce will not fail to follow." With regard to the 
 important article of coal, which causes so much gold 
 — in connection with railways and steamers — to ex- 
 change hands at the present day in Europe and 
 America, it too is found in the Tenasserim provinces, 
 though to what extent farther examination is neces- 
 sary. There is at all events a variety of wood-coal, * 
 • " Trees turned to stone." — Mason. 
 
248 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAR. 
 
 and there will always be plenty of wood, which 
 we presume will do very well for the small river 
 steamers. 
 
 A slight retrospect is now necessary to observe 
 the dawn of local improvement in our new posses- 
 sions. By the end of January the measures for lay- 
 ing down the lines of New Rangoon, and making 
 useful arrangements in and around the Port of 
 Bassein had made considerable progress. Of course 
 Rangoon, the future Liverpool of Eastern Asia let 
 us hope, occupied the principal share of attention, 
 and mental as well as local improvement had 
 begun to dawn there in the shape of a newspaper. 
 It was not The Morning Star, neither was it the 
 Dawn of Intelligence^ but a journal with the business- 
 like title of the Rangoon Chronicle ! * No doubt 
 before long, when a useful education becomes estab- 
 lished among the people, periodicals with titles 
 similar to the two excellent papers above mentioned 
 will be published at Rangoon ; but the establishment 
 of the Chronicle, omitting any opinion as to the look 
 or conduct of the paper, was a great literary and 
 commercial fact, and it perfectly justified the Friend 
 of India'' s assertion " that there are two attendants 
 which invariably follow the path of Anglo-Saxon 
 conquest, — the press and taxation ! " What two can 
 be more necessary ? They are, when discreetly used, 
 the life-blood of the prosperity of the new as well as 
 of the old country. It is the duty of the press to be 
 * Commenced on the 5th of January 1853. 
 
RANGOON— BUILDING-PLANS, ETC. 249 
 
 highly respectful to, and assist a Government, and 
 we candidly think, on the whole, that in these 
 respects our Indian Press at the present time is 
 second to none in the world. 
 
 As early as the 24th of December it had been 
 notified from the Commissioner's Office at Rangoon 
 " that the whole of the land occupied by the town 
 of Rangoon, together with the adjoining suburbs 
 and vacant land, as also both banks of the river, 
 extending from the mouth of the Panlang Creek to 
 the mouth of the Pegu River, is owned by the 
 Government. No building now existing, or which 
 may hereafter be built without sanction from the 
 authorities, will be considered to entitle the occupant 
 to property in the soil they cover. Arrangements 
 are now making for an immediate survey of the 
 town and adjoining country, with the view to a 
 regular plan of the town being laid out." In this 
 new plan some admirable measures were adopted, 
 among the principal of which was that of preserving 
 a margin of at least 100 yards along the river-side 
 free from private building purposes. This " mono- 
 poly" of river-side space, which probably extends to 
 the Dalla side, " the Howrah of Rangoon," will 
 probably secure, in the opinion of the Friend, our 
 having a city in the East more elegant in appearance 
 than even Calcutta itself, which, however grand time 
 and wealth have made it, is built upon no principle. 
 So then Rangoon has a chance of possessing an ele- 
 gant river front ; and there cannot be a better rule, 
 
250 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 under the circumstances, than that adopted, of allow- 
 ing no one to build in the town " without official 
 sanction." We should even have a Board to test 
 the ability of the architect ! Through the ignorance 
 of some dunce the eye of a man of taste is too 
 frequently tortured for a quarter of a century ! There 
 have been few conquests in India about which our 
 countrymen have been so sanguine as to improvement 
 as Pegu ; it would become a second Bengal ; indigo 
 and cotton in due course of time would enrich many 
 merchants and ruin others ; Rangoon would become 
 the dock-yard of Asia; — so with all these events in the 
 future let us hope for the best. 
 
 The following announcement of taxation is the 
 next sign of improvement that may be brought for- 
 ward. Issuing from the Deputy Commissioner*'8 
 Office on the 26th December 1852, it notified " that 
 on and from the 18th of February 1853, duties upon 
 imports and exports at the Ports of Rangoon and 
 Bassein will be levied according to the tariff now 
 in use at Calcutta."" Provisional rules were deposit- 
 ed at the Custom-houses of Rangoon and Bassein. 
 So much, then, for the dawn of improvement ! The 
 task must be left to other writers of entering into 
 details concerning what has been set forth in this 
 brief Chapter. The Author must now proceed with 
 the " active" movement of his Narrative, which is, 
 if any trust may be put in the aspect of affairs, fast 
 drawing to a close. 
 
MYAT-TOON, 251 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SIR JOHN CHEAPE's OPERATIONS AGAINST THE CHIEF 
 MYAT-TOON. 
 
 The Robber Chieftain of Donnabew had to all 
 appearance become the Soult of the war. Like the 
 great opponent to our immortal Wellington on more 
 than one occasion in the Peninsula, he kept his 
 ground, — as a matter of course contemplated gigantic 
 enterprises, — and was certainly not to be despised. 
 Were it possible in India or the East to meet with 
 a hostile leader possessing the " firmness, activity, 
 vigour, foresight, grand conceptions, and admirable 
 arrangement " * of Soult j the Indian Army would 
 better deserve the title which has been so gracious- 
 ly bestowed upon it, that of the fighting army of 
 the world ! There certainly is no army which has 
 acted with more strictness up to the great Napoleon's 
 maxim, that " an army should always be in a con- 
 dition to fight," than ours. But not to diverge from 
 the strange comparison brought forward, Myat-Toon 
 * Napiei-'s Peninsular War, Vol. Ill, p. 322. 
 
252 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 in spite of the want of civilisation, and consequent 
 want of developement of intellectual power, really 
 seemed to possess some of the attributes of Soult. 
 He was determined to remain in his strong jungly 
 position, to force which had proved so fatal to poor 
 Loch and his companions ; and perhaps his " grand 
 conception"" was, like the chivalrous Bundoola in the 
 last war, that of eventually carrying our General 
 in chains to Ava ! Of course the news of the recent 
 disaster speedily reached the palace of the Golden 
 Foot and filled the Golden Ears with a rare delight. 
 Donnabew was the dreaded name which would at 
 length strike terror into the hearts of the English ; 
 and Myat-Toon * had been deputed by the authori- 
 ties in the Buddhistical celestial regions to drive the 
 British " barbarians " into the sea, and prop up the 
 falling Burmese Empire ! 
 
 With regard to the former proceeding, it was 
 confidently asserted that the Chief did, before the 
 conclusion of Sir John Cheape''s operations, send 
 the Commodore a letter saying that if the gallant 
 sailor did not immediately quit the river he would 
 blow him out of the water ! On the other hand, 
 our allies the Karens entertained the serious pros- 
 pect of soon being enabled to forward Myat-Toon's 
 head in salt to the Commissioner or to the General ! 
 But he had yet to be driven from his stronghold ; 
 and before relating the Brigadier-GeneraFs operations 
 
 * Meeah-Toon or Slya-Toon ; but the above mode of spelling 
 is used in the Despatch. 
 
DONNABEW, —RETROSPECTIVE NARRATIVE. 253 
 
 it may be interesting to take a slight retrospect, in 
 which will be found a few events not yet mentioned 
 in this Narrative. 
 
 At a time (May 1852,) when Captains Niblett 
 and Brooking, of the Phlegethon and Proserpine 
 steamers, were probably burning — like some of 
 Her Majesty's Navy — with the ambitious desire of 
 bringing the war to a speedy termination by what 
 has been humourously styled " doing a little of 'Lord 
 Cochrane,' " or simply shelling the Golden Emperor 
 in his palace from the river off Ava, the former 
 vessel during her trip up the river went 20 miles 
 above Donnabew. No fortifications were found at 
 the position so celebrated in the Military narratives ; 
 there was merely the town and the remains of the 
 work destroyed in the last war. * The science of 
 Burmese warfare which here, under Maha-Bundoola, 
 had been of no despicable nature, had given place 
 to the more profitable glories of dacoity. Dur- 
 ing the trips of the Phlegethon dacoits were roving 
 about, plundering and murdering, shooting men, 
 women, and children ; in short, whoever came in their 
 way. Many of the inhabitants who were friendly 
 to us and anxious to know if the country was to 
 be annexed, came down with the steamer, but 
 during their progress were fired on from the banks 
 of the river. Three women were shot. The Chief 
 
 " Surrendered to the British Army under Major- General Sir 
 A. Campbell, K. C, B., on the 2d of April 1825, after the death 
 of Maha-Bundoola. 
 
254 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 of the party, it was said, went to Captain Niblett 
 and begged he would lend him a dozen muskets or 
 so, and they would land and capture these terrible 
 marauders. The fire-arms were lent ; the allies 
 landed, killed four or five of the dacoits and cap- 
 tured the Rob Roy of the party, " whom they tied 
 to a tree and shot through the head." 
 
 Towards the end of the year it was generally 
 known that the notorious bandit chief Myat-Toon, 
 also another, by name Sh way-Ban, were but SO or 
 40 miles distant, in the vicinities of Rangoon and 
 Dalla. Myat-Toon had burned down Donnabew and 
 Zaloon, and many other villages. Two other Chiefs 
 it was believed were along with him ; and he ruled 
 over a desperate army of 7,000 men. Shway-Ban had 
 a smaller force of 2,000. For the last six months 
 these skilful Sivas had been rushing forth like fiery 
 torrents on the country, destroying everything in 
 their course, Myat-za, a Karen chieftain, came 
 into Rangoon about the middle of November and 
 asked assistance to repel Shway-Ban who hovered 
 about to the west of Dalla, but he was told very 
 properly that he must protect himself ; so collecting 
 about 700 men of his tribe, he armed them after the 
 fashion of the country, and soon captured upwards of 
 SO robbers, three of whom he executed on the spot, 
 and sent in the rest to Rangoon. It is pleasant to 
 record such energy on the part of a Karen chief! 
 It is just probable that soon after these proceedings 
 Myat-Toon retired to his village and the various 
 
DONNABEW, — MYAT-TOON. 255 
 
 fastnesses near Donnabew ; which town is situated 
 on the left in going up the Irrawaddy, and conse- 
 quently on the right bank of the river, and not on 
 its left as some maps have placed it. 
 
 We do not read of any defeat of Myat-Toon by 
 Karen chiefs or others ; he seems to have been 
 regarded as Fra Diavola of his vicinity, striking 
 terror into the hearts of innocent men and helpless 
 women. He was doubtless thus employed, in addi- 
 tion to having dethroned a governor who had been 
 elected by the people at Donnabew, when the 
 steamer PhlegetJion, with gun-boats, and a party of 
 seamen and marines arrived to attack him and 
 his band. A boat expedition was made up a creek, 
 where we met with a repulse, the particulars of which 
 may here be given. First, it may be stated however, 
 that in December 1852 Captain Hewett, I. N., of 
 the Moozuffer^ with the steam-frigate's boats and 
 those of H. M's. Ship Fox, had surprised a party of 
 3,000 Burmese at Pantanno, killing numbers, and 
 among the rest a Chief's son, or some such person of 
 distinction. For anything we know to the contrary 
 the party then defeated belonged to Myat-Toon. 
 There could be little doubt who was the directing 
 Chief on the present occasion of our repulse. 
 
 On the 16th of January an attack was made on 
 Pantanno, and the place as formerly — when Hewett 
 commanded — carried with little loss. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th the advance was made 
 up the very creek into which Captain Hewett had 
 
256 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 thought it rashness to venture. Two boats could 
 not pull abreast in it; the banks were low and covered 
 with jungle, with stakes driven into the river, and trees 
 across to " bar the passage." The boats had only 
 proceeded a few miles when from each bank came 
 a volley of musketry ; several men fell ; the fire 
 became " hotter and hotter," till at length the boats 
 were driven back with the loss of 12 killed and 
 wounded, including among the latter one officer of 
 the Moozuffer, Lieutenant Mitcheson, I.N., severely. 
 On this occasion the expedition was about 180 
 strong.* 
 
 * It may be well to give here, in the form of a Note, some 
 details — notwithstanding they differ in a few respects from 
 other accounts — regarding the Naval party under Commander 
 Rennie, I. N., of the Zenobia, who made such successful attacks 
 on the enemy to the satisfaction of the Commodore, as they 
 form " a good set-off to the Pantanno and Donnabew business." 
 The following notes are with reference to Chapter XV, page 
 225 : — " Rennie arrived at Bassein on the 19th of January. 
 On the 21st he started in the boats (about 86 strong), with 10 
 officers, towed by the Nemesis. On the 23d, at 6 a. m., he reached 
 the enemy's outposts, who pushed on to their stronghold ; he 
 there landed four small field pieces which he took with him, and 
 marched 16 mUes across country, about eight miles from the 
 back of Donnabew — how close he must have been to the scene 
 of poor Loch's subsequent disaster ! — came suddenly on the 
 Burmese about 1,200 strong ; drove them before him, killing 
 one chief and five men. The successful Commander attacked a 
 larger force a little higher up the river. At daylight on the 
 30th, he, with two field pieces, found himself directly in front of 
 some 3,000 armed Burmese who came on boldly. Captain 
 Rennie (having his men perfectly in hand) waited his time, and 
 when the enemy were within 50 yards opened a terrific fire 
 
STRENQTH OF EXPEDITION AGAINST MYAT-TOON. 257 
 
 Having thus finished an imperfect retrospect of 
 events connected with Myat-Toon previous to the 
 disaster near Donnabevk^, recorded in a previous 
 Chapter of this Narrative, let us proceed to relate 
 more decisive and satisfactory operations, yet those 
 darkened by the ever-floating shadows of disease and 
 death ! 
 
 On the 18th of February Brigadier-General Sir 
 John Cheape, K.O.B., left Prome to proceed against 
 the robber-chief Myat-Toon, near Donnabew. He 
 took with him the following detachments composed 
 of the most healthy men of the different regiments : 
 — -200 of H. M;s 18th Royal Irish under Major 
 Wigston; 200 of H. M/s 51st K. O. L. I. under 
 Captain Irby ; the Rifle Company of the 67th B. N. I. 
 under Captain Hicks ; 200 of the 4th Sikh Locals 
 under Major Armstrong ; some 70 Sappers and 
 Miners under Lieutenants Mullins and Trevor ; and 
 two guns — a 24-pounder howitzer and a 9-pounder 
 of the light field battery — under Major Reid, with 
 Lieutenants Ashe and Dobbin, all three of the Bengal 
 Artillery ; there were also some rocket-tubes, served 
 by a small party of dismounted Madras Horse Artil- 
 
 witli grape and cannister, and weut right at tliem ; the enemy 
 then turned and fled leavhig 48 killed ; 50 prisoners, numbers 
 of them wounded, were taken ; the Chief's two sons were found 
 to be severely wounded : Besides men, six iron 12-pounder 
 guns and three golden umbrellas (standards) were captured 
 by the gallant " blue-jackets." — Bravo the Indian Navy ! but 
 here Reunie had the advantage of seeing his enemy, which poor 
 Loch had not. 
 
 R 
 
STBENQTH OF EXPEDITION AGAINST MYAT-TOON. 257 
 
 Having thus finished an imperfect retrospect of 
 events connected with Myat-Toon previous to the 
 disaster near Donnabew, recorded in a previous 
 Chapter of this Narrative, let us proceed to relate 
 more decisive and satisfactory operations, yet those 
 darkened by the ever-floating shadows of disease and 
 death ! 
 
 On the 18th of February Brigadier-General Sir 
 John Cheape, K.O.B., left Prome to proceed against 
 the robber-chief JNIyat-Toon, near Donnabew. He 
 took with him the following detachments composed 
 of the most healthy men of the different regiments : 
 —200 of H. M.'s 18th Koyal Irish under Major 
 Wigston; 200 of H. M/s 51st K. O. L. I. under 
 Captain Irby ; the Rifle Company of the 67th B. N. I. 
 under Captain Hicks ; 200 of the 4th Sikh Locals 
 under Major Armstrong ; some 70 Sappers and 
 Miners under Lieutenants Mullins and Trevor ; and 
 two guns — a 24-pounder howitzer and a 9-pounder 
 of the light field battery — under Major Reid, with 
 Lieutenants Ashe and Dobbin, all three of the Bengal 
 Artillery ; there were also some rocket-tubes, served 
 by a small party of dismounted Madras Horse Artil- 
 
 with grape and cannister, and went right at tliem ; the enemy 
 then turned and fled leaving 48 killed ; 50 prisoners, numbers 
 of them wounded, were taken ; the Chief's two sons were found 
 to be severely wounded : Besides men, six iron 12-pounder 
 guns and three golden umbrellas (standards) were captured 
 by the gallant " blue-jackets."— Bravo the Indian Navy ! but 
 here Reunie had the advantage of seeing his enemy, which poor 
 Loch had not. 
 
 R 
 
258 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 lerymen, under Conductor Lesby, with Lieutenant 
 Magratli of the latter arm. 
 
 Sir John landed and collected his force at Hen- 
 zadah on the Irrawaddy, a position some 35 miles 
 north of Donnabew — determining to start against 
 Myat-Toon's stronghold from this quarter. Hen- 
 zadah is large and populous, and here a vast num- 
 ber of hackeries (carts) were procurable. From 
 information gained through the Commissioner, Sir 
 John was led to expect that he could reach Myat- 
 Toon's position in three or four days, then march 
 into Donnabew, and embark again in the steamers. 
 The force, having been joined by Captain Singleton, 
 H. M.'s 51st, and all sickly men left behind, started 
 on the evening of the 22d, taking seven or eight days'" 
 provisions with them. On the 26th the General 
 found himself, as he believed, still at a considerable 
 distance from the Chief's stronghold. Provisions 
 running short, and without any knowledge of the 
 countiy between, save a nullah reported unfordable. 
 Sir John determined to regain the river ; he accord- 
 ingly made a flank movement to Zooloom, where 
 the force arrived on the afternoon of the 28th, after 
 a very tedious and harassing march. The enemy 
 had only shown themselves twice, on one of which 
 occasions they fired from the opposite side of a 
 nullah and wounded two men of the 51st K. 0. L. I. 
 The steamers having been warned, they came up to 
 Zooloom and received the greater part of the troops 
 on board. On the morning of the 1st March the 
 
CAPTURE OF PART OF A BURMESE PICQUET. 259 
 
 force was joined by a small detachment of the Ram- 
 ghur Irregular Cavalry, under Lieutenant Graham, 
 which body had followed Sir John from Prome, but 
 did not arrive at Henzadah till after the General 
 had started. The steamers left about 11 A. M. 
 for Donnabew. The empty carts and the horses of 
 the battery were escorted down to Donnabew by 
 100 of the Royal Irish, 100 Sikhs, and the detach- 
 ment of Irregular Cavalry, the convoy being under 
 charge of Captain Armstrong, 18th R. I. It arrived 
 safely at its destination on the morning of the 3d of 
 March, 
 
 About two miles before reaching Donnabew Cap- 
 tain Smith, the Deputy Commissioner, was told by 
 a Poonghee that there was a Burmese picquet in a 
 house which he pointed out. Captain Smith in con- 
 sequence took three or four sowars and sepoys along 
 with him, surrounded the house, and succeeded in 
 capturing three men. These prisoners afterwards 
 acted as guides to the expedition. The Pagoda of 
 Donnabew stands on the river side, and with the 
 exception of three or four Poonghee houses some 
 three quarters of a mile distant, not a house, not 
 even an inhabitant of any description was to be 
 seen. The town, as has been already observed, had 
 been burned down by Myat-Toon and his destructive 
 band, who had probably determined that while the 
 English remained in the country " Stormy Donna- 
 bew," as a town or military position, should not 
 stand. Here Sir John Cheape resolved to wait 
 
260 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 for the reinforcements which were expected from 
 Rangoon. The Europeans lived in the flats and 
 steamers, and the native troops inside the Pagoda. 
 This prudent delay on the part of the General was 
 no doubt occasioned by the reflection that Myat- 
 Toon"'s position was an exceedingly strong one. He 
 was by no means to be despised ; nor was his strong- 
 hold to be assailed in an incautious and hasty 
 manner. He had the discipline and power of Mother 
 Nature on his side against the regular training of a 
 British force ! Coolness and judgment were conse- 
 quently required at this juncture against such an 
 enemy as the Chief Myat-Toon. 
 
 Upwards of forty years ago, during Massena"'s 
 invasion of Portugal, when Lord Wellington was 
 endeavouring to drive sense into the heads of the 
 Portuguese Government, he said to them " I have 
 little doubt of final success, but I have fought a 
 sufficient number of battles to know that the result 
 of any is not certain even with the best arrange- 
 ments."'"'* In like manner probably argued Sir John 
 on the present minor occasion. 
 
 On the 6th a party of recruits, 130 strong, of 
 H. M.'s 80th, under the command of Major Hol- 
 dich, 300 men of the 67th B. N. I. under Colonel 
 Sturt, two mortars under Lieutenant Percival, B. A., 
 and a large supply of commissariat stores under the 
 charge of Lieutenant Mackellar, Madras Commis- 
 sariat, arrived. 
 
 * Napier's Peninsular War. 
 
THE MARCH. 261 
 
 Everything being now ready, including two rafts 
 prepared by the Sappers — the barrels composing 
 them having been brought from Eangoon — the 
 General issued an order for the force to start at 
 two P. M. on the 7th instant. All the sick being left 
 at Donnabew, and some few men to garrison the 
 place, the party now consisted of about 500 Euro- 
 peans, 500 Natives, two guns of the light field 
 battery, three rocket-tubes, and two mortars, with 
 the detachment of Irregular Horse and 70 Sappers. 
 Being now assured that three days would bring them 
 in front of Myat-Toon's stronghold, they started, as 
 ordered, at two P. M. on the 7th, taking six or seven 
 days'" provisions with them. The right wing under 
 Major Wigston, consisting of the detachments of 
 H.M.'s 18th and 80th regiments, with the 4th Sikhs 
 in front ; then came the guns, followed by the Irre- 
 gular Cavalry, rocket-tubes, and mortars. The left 
 wing, consisting of detachments of H. M.'s 51st and 
 the 67th B.N. I., was under the command of Colonel 
 Sturt. The direction taken by the force was almost 
 due west. After proceeding three miles the advanced 
 guard surprised a small picquet, and shot two of the 
 enemy. About five P. M. the Column reached Akyo 
 and the bank of a broad nullah, at least 130 yards 
 wide. This was seven miles from Donnabew. Here 
 the enemy opened a fire of jingals and musketry, 
 but our guns came to the front and silenced them 
 for a time. The troops passed the night behind a 
 belt of jungle parallel to the nullah ; and although 
 
262 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the Burmese dropped in shots all night, occasionally 
 replied to by our rockets, only two men were slightly 
 wounded. On the Sth, about nine a. m., the rafts 
 having been put together by the Sappers, and the 
 fog clearing off, a party of the 51st and Rifles 
 were thrown across the nullah. A little firing took 
 place, but no casualties occurred. All this day was 
 occupied in crossing the guns and baggage, which 
 operation was not concluded till late at night. The 
 fogs being particularly heavy at this season in this 
 part of the country, and not clearing up till near nine 
 A. M., the force generally breakfasted before starting. 
 On the 9th they left at the above hour, when a few 
 shots were fired in front. At mid-day our troops came 
 opposite a few houses ; the Burmese were said to be 
 in them. Guns drawn up and all ready, a party 
 was sent forward to make them show themselves ; 
 but not a vestige of either friend or foe was to be 
 seen there ! It was now said to be the wrong road ; 
 the guide was flogged, sent to the rear, and another 
 one called up to take his place. The new guide 
 turned to the left, and after a most tedious round, 
 under a glaring sun, brought the wearied troops back 
 to the identical spot from which they had started ! 
 Here was provocation enough to try the temper 
 of the most forbearing. While dwelling on this 
 incident one is apt to recal to memory a story 
 related by Admiral Sir Charles Napier in his Travels 
 in Syria, of a guide who would not do his duty. 
 Seizing hold of the miscreant he declared if he did 
 
THE MARCH, — CROSSING A NULLAH. 263 
 
 not proceed on his way forthwith, " by the beard of 
 the Prophet ■" he would send a bullet through his 
 head ! after which the guide sullenly took the lead. 
 On the present occasion the first guide should have 
 been under the charge of the gallant Admiral, and 
 probably there would have been no occasion for a 
 second. To proceed — a halt was made in the village 
 for two hours ; but Major Cotton was sent on with 
 200 men to the nullah where the force intended to 
 encamp at Kyomtano. It was about a mile far- 
 ther on ; and on his arrival he succeeded in 
 surprising a party of Burmese, drove them across 
 the nullah, followed them in dashing style, and 
 killed eight of them without losing a man. On the 
 arrival of the troops in the evening, a small party of 
 Burmese showed themselves from the jungles on the 
 left ; the guns opened on them, and they soon dis- 
 appeared. These men came down next morning 
 under cover of the fog and fired into the camp. 
 The nullah here was about 50 yards wide. A 
 sort of bridge was made by connecting the rafts 
 with planks, and with the assistance of an old boat 
 found in the nullah, the greater part of the troops 
 and all the baggage passed over. The bridge was 
 then broken up, and the guns taken across on the 
 rafts ; the empty hackeries were driven into the 
 water and swam over beautifully. Every thing was 
 across and the rafts packed again by five P. m. 
 
 On the 11th the force started at the usual hour. 
 Every one now expected to reach Myat-Toon's posi- 
 
264 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tion that day. They had not proceeded two miles 
 when Lieutenant Clarke of the 67th N. I. and one 
 of the Rifles were wounded on a small patch of 
 cleared ground, and the rear-guard were attacked 
 by a strong party in the long grass. Lieutenant 
 Johnson commanding the guard, seeing that firing 
 was useless, charged into the jungle and dispersed the 
 Burmese. The rear-guard on this occasion lost one 
 sepoy killed, and one private and six sepoys wounded. 
 From the spot where Clarke was wounded the road 
 entered the thick forest ; the Burmese had only to 
 throw down a tree or two with their usual tact in 
 such matters, and a completely new road would have 
 to be cut round the obstacle. This they had done 
 in several places ; there was consequently very hard 
 work, particularly for the Sappers, and the advance 
 was very slow. Shortly after entering the forest a 
 small breastwork was taken, where one man was 
 wounded ; another breastwork was- passed, but it was 
 -undefended. About twoP.M.the Burmese disappeared 
 from the front, and the road was unobstructed. The 
 force crossed apiece of wateraboutfour P. M.,and short- 
 ly after the advance found that the road turned into 
 a footpath. Every one was now tired out, — man and 
 beast thoroughly fatigued from this wearisome pur- 
 suit of the crafty Chief; the Artillery horses were 
 staggering in their harness. Sir John determined 
 to encamp on the spot, there being water a short 
 distance a-head. The hackeries as they came up 
 were either pushed right and left into the jungle or 
 
A DILEMMA, 265 
 
 remained on the road. The troops lay down on 
 each side, and it was dark long before the whole of 
 the carriage was up. Not a fire was lighted, and 
 the night passed away quietly. Cholera made its 
 first appearance in camp this night, and one of the 
 wounded Sikhs died. Myat-Toon's place was safd to 
 be only two miles to the left, but there was no road 
 between. The guide who had committed himself on 
 the 9th, and who was now with the rear-guard, had 
 pointed out a spot shortly after passing the first 
 breastwork where he declared the road to ]\Iyat- 
 Toon's position diverged to the left. Unfortunately 
 there was no one to take advantage of this informa- 
 tion, and his statement might not have found credit, 
 though it was afterwards proved to be correct. We 
 believe the Commissioner, Captain Smith, informed 
 Sir John this same morning that he did not know 
 the road, and had no means of gaining information. 
 A feeling of despondency, a despair of success, with 
 one or more, began to arise ! But Sir John tem- 
 pered his energy to the occasion, and was determined 
 to persevere ! Myat-Toon was not the man to keep 
 back the Engineer of Moultan and the Artilleryman 
 of Goojerat ! The force retraced its steps on the 
 morning of the 12th without rations having been 
 served out, the rear of yesterday moving in front to- 
 day. On passing the spot where the road branched 
 off there were serious thoughts of still advancing on 
 Myat-Toon ; but provisions were failing again, so it 
 was thought prudent to return to Kvomtano and 
 
20*G THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 wait for a supply. Several cases of cholera occurred 
 on the road. On the 13th Colonel Sturt, with all the 
 hackeries and some 300 men, went into Donnabew 
 for provisions.* Meanwhile the troops were put on 
 half-rations. This was a sad day in camp, no less 
 than 13 deaths from cholera having taken place. 
 
 The force remained here until the 16th, when 
 Colonel Sturt returned with 10 or 12 days' provi- 
 sions. The Burmese had fired a few shots into 
 camp every night, but fortunately without hitting 
 any one. At two P. M. on the 17th, the right wing 
 under Major Wigston, 18th R. I., were sent on the 
 old road, and again captured the breastwork, which 
 had been much strengthened, with the loss of one 
 officer and five men wounded. A prisoner and 
 two brass jingals was taken on this occasion. This 
 prisoner was of some use in the further advance of 
 the force in describing and pointing out the enemy's 
 position. -f- On the 18th, at daybreak, the rest of the 
 force started, leaving the sick and surplus provi- 
 sions with a detachment under Lieutenant Dickson 
 of the 51st, in a small stockade at Kyomtano. 
 The party joined the right wing at the breastwork, 
 and the sick and wounded of Major Wigston's party 
 were sent back to Kyomtano ; the Column continued 
 their march, the left wing, under Colonel Sturt, in 
 front, till they came to another breastwork about 
 
 • The sick and wounded were sent in along with him. 
 t Sir John Cheape's Despatch, dated Donnabew, 25th March 
 1853, Appendix No. XIII. 
 
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 I£ ffx^ ^^tyos m A^ homier irtrrA: . Jpa,e^ i^Ue^l 6y ^ffe^l trees Jt Iti^Aes SAwt^^ -i^cterlctc^ 
 
 
TUE ACTION NEAR DONNABEW. 20*7 
 
 four P. M. This work was gallantly carried by H. M/s 
 51st K. O.L.I, and the G7th B.N. I., Captain Single- 
 ton of the former regiment leading the advance. 
 Ensign Boileau of the G7th fell while gallantly 
 attacking the enemy on the left bank. On this 
 occasion our loss was one officer and one sepoy of 
 the 67th killed, and one Ensign of the 51st and six 
 sepoys of the 67th wounded. At five p.m. the force 
 encamped by a piece of water about a mile further on, 
 cholera raging in camp. At seven a.m. on the 19th, 
 the General was advancing with his troops, the right 
 wing in front. Having gone a mile out, the enemy 
 were found in a breastwork on the opposite side of 
 the nullah, or at the head of the piece of water on the 
 right, along the edge of which the road lay,* Under 
 the circumstances Sir John deemed it the safest 
 plan to get at the enemy as speedily as possible. 
 
 THE ACTION OF THE 19TH. 
 
 Supported by the guns and rockets, the General 
 now resolved to carry the breastwork on the right. 
 H. M.'s 80th formed the advanced guard, followed by 
 the Sappers clearing the road. 
 
 On coming opposite the enemy's left flank the 
 firing commenced. The rockets were advanced and 
 opened fire. The Sikhs were sent on to support the 
 80th; and the 18tli Royal Irish in support of them. 
 
 The Sappers worked admirably, and the guns 
 were shortly got into position and opened a well 
 • See Despatch, Appendix No. XIII. 
 
/ 
 
 1 
 
THE ACTION NEAR DONNABEW. 267 
 
 four P. M. This work was gallantly carried by H. M.'s 
 51st K. O.L.I, and the 67th B.N. I., Captain Single- 
 ton of the former regiment leading the advance. 
 Ensign Boileau of the 67th fell while gallantly 
 attacking the enemy on the left bank. On this 
 occasion our loss was one officer and one sepoy of 
 the 67th killed, and one Ensign of the 51st and six 
 sepoys of the 67th wounded. At five p.m. the force 
 encamped by a piece of water about a mile further on, 
 cholera raging in camp. At seven A.M. on the 19th, 
 the General was advancing with his troops, the right 
 wing in front. Having gone a mile out, the enemy 
 were found in a breastwork on the opposite side of 
 the nullah, or at the head of the piece of water on the 
 right, along the edge of which the road lay.* Under 
 the circumstances Sir John deemed it the safest 
 plan to get at the enemy as speedily as possible. 
 
 THE ACTION OF THE 19TH. 
 
 Supported by the guns and rockets, the General 
 now resolved to carry the breastwork on the right. 
 H. M.'s 80th formed the advanced guard, followed by 
 the Sappers clearing the road. 
 
 On coming opposite the enemy's left flank the 
 firing commenced. The rockets were advanced and 
 opened fire. The Sikhs were sent on to support the 
 80th; and the 18th Royal Irish in support of them. 
 
 The Sappers worked admirably, and the guns 
 were shortly got into position and opened a well 
 • See Despatch, Appendix No. XIII. 
 
268 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 directed fire, which gradually became very heavy on 
 both sides, and it was reported to Sir John that 
 Major Wigston was wounded. On reaching the 
 front he found also that Major Armstrong of the 
 Sikh Corps was wounded, and many other Officers 
 and men. The fire of the enemy on the path lead- 
 ing up to the breastwork was so heavy that " the 
 advanced party had not succeeded in carrying it." 
 Lieutenant Johnson, the only remaining officer of the 
 4th Sikh Regiment, persevered most bravely, which 
 only increased the loss. H. M.'s 80th and the Sikhs 
 now hoped to get round the extreme right of the 
 enemy, but thick jungle and strong abattis pre- 
 vented the men from making their way through. 
 At this point the 18th Royal Irish came up. The 
 fire of musketry and grape was so heavy that they 
 got scattered, and sustained great loss. Lieutenant 
 Cockburn of this distinguished corps was severely 
 wounded. Major Holdich of H. M.'s 80th was 
 now in command of the right wing. Dense smoke, 
 a very heavy fire, and the deadly breastwork yet to 
 be assailed, there was some difficulty in Sir John 
 acting up to Napoleon^s advice to Massena before 
 the battle of Busaco ; " attach vigorously after having 
 observed well where to strike!'''' At length the Gene- 
 ral did ascertain what was between our men and 
 the breastwork. He discovered that there was no 
 water, and no obstacle of any importance to be 
 encountered, provided the troops could pass through 
 the enemy"'s fire, a distance of some 30 yards. Now 
 
THE ACTION NEAR DONNABEW. 269 
 
 the resolution to attack vigorously was at its full 
 height. The " assembly" brought as many of the 
 right wing together as possible. In the meantime 
 Major Reid of the Bengal Artillery gallantly brought 
 up a 24-pounder howitzer — the men of the 51st 
 assisting to drag the gun along, and opened an 
 effectual fire on the enemy at a range of not more 
 than 25 yards. Being in a much exposed position, 
 as was to be expected the gallant INIajor was almost 
 immediately wounded, after which Lieutenant Ashe 
 kept up the fire of the gun in the most spirited 
 manner. This was dangerous firing for our Artillery, 
 but the cannister from that gem of field pieces, at 
 such a range, must have been terribly effective ! 
 At this crisis, while the Burmese were doing sad 
 havoc with their musketry, and working their 
 masked battery with decided effect, it is highly 
 probable that no other means available could have 
 been nearly so instrumental in striking terror into 
 the determined hearts of the enemy as this ar- 
 tillery fire ! It came as a splendid harbinger of 
 the final charge which, in spite of all resistance, 
 was to drive the Chieftain from his stronghold ! 
 The right wing being much weakened from the loss 
 they had sustained, and on account of the number 
 of men required as skirmishers, Sir John ordered a 
 reinforcement from the left. These were joined by 
 the men of the right wing that had been collected 
 by Major Holdich, and were led by Ensign Wolsely 
 of H. M.'s 80th. To use the GeneraPs own words, 
 
270 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 " the whole advanced in a manner that nothing could 
 check.''' The fire was severe, and Lieutenant Taylor, 
 9th M. N. I., doing duty with H. M.'s 51st., fell 
 mortally wounded ; Ensign Wolsely was also struck 
 down, and many other gallant soldiers. The breast- 
 work was immediately carried; the enemy fled in 
 confusion, except those who stood to be shot or 
 bayoneted by the men. British courage had now 
 overcome in the midst of dense forest and jungle all 
 natural difficulties, as in more civilised countries it 
 had so often gloriously conquered all artificial ones, 
 and the entire defeat of the Chieftain Myat-Toon was 
 now to be ranked among the most important events 
 of the war ! Our loss was severe. Eleven bodies 
 were buried on the spot, and nine Officers and 75 
 men were wounded in this well-fought action of the 
 19th of March, which lasted about two hours. 
 " Lieutenant Trevor of the Engineers, with Corpo- 
 ral Livingstone and Private Preston, of H. M.'s 
 51st K. O. L. I., first entered the enemy's breastwork, 
 the two former each shooting down one of the enemy 
 opposing their entrance. The lead devolved on 
 them and on Sergeant Preston of H. M.'s 51st, and 
 Sergeant- Major Quin of H. M.'s 80th, when Lieu- 
 tenant Taylor, Ensign Wolsely, and Colour-Ser- 
 geant Donnahoe fell in the advance."* The two 
 guns which had been lost by the unfortunate expe- 
 dition at the beginning of February were now re- 
 captured. The Burmese had been firing with them 
 * Sir John Cheape's Despatch, Appendix, No. XIII. 
 
THE VICTORY. 271 
 
 at our troops with deadly effect. In the opinion 
 of the General and others they were well served 
 to the last. In attempting to carry off one of 
 them 12 of the enemy were killed by a discharge 
 from our 9-pounder gun. The enemy sustained 
 a heavy loss in killed and wounded ; the only draw- 
 back to Sir John's complete triumph was the escape 
 of the Chief with a few followers. It is improbable 
 that he would go to Ava after such a defeat, or out 
 of his o^\Ti vicinity be again able to collect forces to 
 resist our power. " His whole force and means," 
 writes Sir John, "were concentrated on this position, 
 and I imagine he must have had about 4,000 men 
 in these breastworks, which extended 1,200 yards 
 in length." 
 
 Let us now resume our private notes, kindly fur- 
 nished by an Officer engaged in the operations, and 
 which were abandoned on commencing to relate the 
 Action of the 1 9th, the greater part of the details of 
 which have been drawn from Sir John's despatch, and 
 to a large portion of this important document (No. 
 XIII of the Appendix) the reader is referred for 
 much interesting information. 
 
 After the action a party was sent on immediately 
 to Kyoukazeen, Myat-Toon's own village. Neither in 
 this, nor in a village passed on the road to it, was a 
 single person to be seen. Both villages, situated on 
 the Pantanno creek, might be distant three quarters 
 of a mile from each other. Colonel Sturt, with part 
 of the 67th, and all the conunissariat, remained in the 
 
272 THE SECOND BURMESE "WAR. 
 
 first village; the rest of the force, with all the wounded, 
 proceeded to Kyoukazeen. Captain Fytche, Deputy 
 Commissioner of the Bassein district, joined about 
 mid-day at the first village. 
 
 On the 20th Captain Tarleton arrived with some 
 gun-boats, having with his accustomed energy and per- 
 severance cut throuffh the obstructions thrown into 
 the creek for a distance of 15 miles. Some 900 boats, 
 crowded with people who had been kept in subjec- 
 tion by Myat-Toon, passed down the creek ! In this 
 affecting incident alone was to be found an argu- 
 ment against those who, be it just or unjust, affect 
 to shudder at the very name of war ! Some thou- 
 sands of our fellow-creatures were now relieved from 
 captivity and oppression ; and it may be doubted 
 whether all the wordy speeches of the Peace Socie- 
 ties will ever do as much ! War we all know is an 
 evil, but it is a necessary one ; and, as in the above 
 incident, out of it does come good ; Providence it 
 would seem has placed it amongst the machinery which 
 governs this wonderful world of ours, and it cannot 
 be removed altogether to suit the selfishness of a 
 party. Were our life not what Byron styles " a 
 false nature," it might be otherwise. It certainly 
 " is not in the harmony of things, this hard decree!" 
 But as long as there are opposing interests in the 
 world, as long as there are countries to bring within 
 the pale of enlightenment and civilisation, there 
 must and will be war ! Governments therefore 
 should always be prepared for it, which preparation 
 
BURNING OF KYOUKAZEEN. 273 
 
 may either promote a Nation's glory, or secure a 
 Nation''s peace. 
 
 On the 21st Lieutenant Cockbum, ISth R. I. 
 was buried, having died of his wounds the previous 
 evening. All the sick and wounded, with the guns, 
 were sent down in boats to the steamers lying in 
 the creek. Lieutenant Williams, Adjutant of the 
 67th B. N. L, who had been seized with cholera on 
 the 19th, died on board. The bad cases of this ter- 
 rible scourge were sent to Rangoon direct, the others 
 to Donnabew and Prome. On the 22d the force 
 was ordered to return. Four P. M. was the ap- 
 pointed hour to march ; but at two the village, 
 (Kyoukazeen,) extending nearly three quarters of a 
 mile on the side where the troops were encamped, 
 caught fire. Sir John, who lived on the opposite 
 side, was enabled to cross with difiiculty, and not 
 without being scorched. The fire spread with the 
 utmost rapidity, burning even the boats on the 
 nullah. Captain Garden, Assistant-Quartermaster- 
 General, and one or two others, were obliged to 
 swim across. It was most fortunate that the sick, 
 the guns and ammunition, as also the Commissar- 
 iat in the other village, had been sent away. Great 
 confusion reigned for some time, the calamity of 
 fire always producing " confusion worse confounded," 
 but eventually all were collected in Colonel Sturt's 
 camp. The force marched to Kyomtano the same 
 eveninsr. 
 
274 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 23d a nullah was crossed and into 
 Akyo, On the 24th another nullah was crossed, 
 and into Donnabew. The troops were embarked and 
 returned to Prome, leaving a detachment in the 
 pagoda of Donnabew. 
 
 In these operations against Myat-Toon upwards 
 of 140 of our troops were killed and wounded, 
 (including three Officers killed, and severely wound- 
 ed,) and upwards of 100 died of cholera, making 
 the total of casualties up to nearly 250.* This 
 was severe work every one will admit, but only 
 those who have had some experience in jungle 
 warfare can know of the sufferings frequently to be 
 endured, and the vast difficulties to be overcome ; 
 no soldier likes to be shot at without a chance of 
 immediately returning it, he raises his piece at trees 
 and jungle, and perhaps another shot tells him to 
 desist. Then may come want of provisions, want of 
 rest, and pestilence, too often not to be avoided on 
 
 * With reference to Chapter XVI, " The Disaster near 
 Donnabew," we afterwards found that the highest number given 
 of men killed and wounded amounted to 88, of whom 15 were 
 killed. It was not mentioned that Lieutenant Bushnell of the 
 Winchester, and Lieutenant Glover of the Spliynx, were severely 
 wounded, as were Messrs Hinde and Wilson, mates of the Win- 
 chester. An account since received says, scarcely had the guides 
 done speaking, when a tremendous fire was opened on the 
 party; Lieiitenant Kennedy, 1st of the Fox, was shot dead, as 
 also several men. Captain Loch then waved his sword and 
 shouted to the men to follow him ; others say he was calling on 
 bis men to " try the bayonet," when he fell mortally wounded, 
 the ball driving the case of his watch into his body. 
 
REMARKS. 275 
 
 such expeditions, — and such in jungle warfare are the 
 shadows of a soldier's life ! A glorious light of it 
 had now been shared by many in the final chai'ge 
 at the enemy in the breastwork, with the irresistible 
 British bayonet ! In the operations just related 
 two wants appear to have been predominant, — the 
 want of correct information regarding the where- 
 abouts of the enemy, and the want of a proper quan- 
 tity of provisions at the required time. Why not 
 more provisions ? Simply because, even had sufficient 
 carriage been available, it would not have been pru- 
 dent in a General to have started in an unknown 
 forest with a long line of Commissariat hackeries, 
 which, had the enemy sent thieves or skirmishers into 
 the jungle, it would have taken half his force to 
 defend. It was therefore sufficient to take a fair 
 quantity of provisions, relying, as the distances could 
 not be great, on the talents of his guides, who appear 
 to have been arrant knaves and honest men by 
 turns. Apparently there is no fault to find with the 
 conduct of this expedition against Myat-Toon ; on 
 the contrary, Sir John Cheape is to be praised for 
 the manner in which it was conducted. Throughout 
 the operations he appears to have displayed cool- 
 ness, energy, and prudence, with compassion for his 
 wounded and suffering soldiers ; and these are qua- 
 lities which must bo found in an eminent degree, 
 under all circumstances^ in him who would be a great 
 General ! 
 
276 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 NOTES AT TONGHOO, ON THE FRONTIER. 
 
 Towards the end of March a letter reached Tonghoo 
 from Prome, intimating that the accredited agents 
 from Ava were expected on the 21st; but, as long ere 
 that time the Golden authorities had no doubt heard 
 of the Donnabew disaster, and the bravery of Myat- 
 Toon, the thought was entertained that there would 
 be no peace yet ! They might possibly change their 
 minds when they heard of Sir John Oheape''s opera- 
 tions against the Chief. Our frontier life was now 
 becoming one of extreme uncertainty as to future 
 movements. Was the Martaban Column, after all 
 its labours, to stand fast and simply be ready to re- 
 pel some Burmese Attila or some Tartar Genseric, 
 who, with fierce races like the Huns and Vandals, 
 might seek to destroy the civilisation we had begun 
 to establish, while the Prome Column marched under 
 General Godwin to the very gates of Ava, a spherical 
 case shot from an 8-inch howitzer announcing his 
 
THE SHAN TRIBES. 277 
 
 arrival ? No, this would never do ! Man cannot 
 remain even for a short time inactive. But here 
 there was no help for him ; and if he could not find 
 any thing to do, it was natural to content himself 
 by observing what others were doing. A Shan camp 
 appeared not far distant from the ancient walls of 
 Tonghoo. These descendants of Magog — it is pre- 
 sumed they are such — originally from Chinese Tar- 
 tary,* or it may be, leaving the country of Japheth 
 and proceeding to the more southern possessions of 
 Shem ; — these descendants of Shem who inhabited 
 the mighty region of Thibet, from whose mountains 
 the Burmese are said eventually to have poured 
 down; — these descendants of what Patriarch you will, 
 who flourished after the flood when " the whole earth 
 was of one language and of one speech," are apt to 
 strike one as carrying a strange interest along with 
 them, retaining as they do much of that simplicity 
 in habits which was peculiar to the elder world. 
 They had some very fine bullocks, with other mer- 
 chandise, which they were about to expose for sale 
 in the Moulmein market. The import trade from 
 the Shan States — which lie along the eastern frontier 
 of Northern Burmah, into the capital of the Tenasserim 
 Provinces — not long ago consisted of cattle (cows and 
 bullocks), elephants, ponies, gold leaf, lacquered 
 
 * The Tartars to this day are a wild and wandering race, 
 living in encanjpments of moveable tents, which they carry 
 from place to place. The Shans may have been a more civi- 
 lised tribe, fond of traffic. 
 
278 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 boxes, cotton cloth, and other valuable articles of 
 traffic, amounting annually to little less than rupees 
 320,000, (L.32,000,) while about a lakh of rupees 
 worth (L.10,000) of our manufactures found their 
 way to them. There are Siamese Shans and Burmese 
 Shans, the former having no affection for the latter; 
 but both we believe to be equally hostile to the throne 
 of Ava. Independence seems to be the ruling prin- 
 ciple of all the Shans. We read, not long ago, a 
 sensible opinion, that a good understanding should 
 exist between the British Indian Government and 
 the Shan States with regard to reciprocal acts of 
 accommodation and courtesy. Zimmay had thrown 
 off its allegiance to Ava and boasted a considerable 
 army, including 250 elephants ; the writer therefore 
 thought the political connection between us and the 
 Shan States should be placed on some sure footing. 
 It must ever be recollected that the Shans under the 
 Court of Ava fought bravely against us in the last 
 war ;* and we doubt not that the Indian Govern- 
 ment and that of our new Province have already 
 given the subject of a sure understanding with them 
 their earnest attention. Siam-|- too is getting on 
 apace. Among the late acts of its gallant and en- 
 
 * For instance at Wattegaim in November 1825. The 
 Shans, forming 15,000 men of the Burmese army, were very fine 
 troops. 
 
 t Siam stretches from the 5th to the 21st degree of North lati- 
 tude, and 97° to 105° East longitude, thus giving a maximum 
 length of 560, by a breadth of 1120 miles. Population not 
 4,000,000, although this immense territory is far larger than 
 
OPENING FOR BRITISH COMMERCE. 2/9 
 
 terprising King was that of enjoining on his nobles 
 and subjects the propriety of following his example, 
 and confining themselves to one wife ! After such 
 a strange proceeding on the part of an Eastern 
 Prince — such a stride towards civilisation — we must 
 not be surprised if, from the ardent desire of learn- 
 ing more from Europeans, by becoming our neigh- 
 bours, we find Northern Burmah at some future 
 period in the possession of Siam and the Shans ! 
 
 It has been suggested by Indian journalists that 
 great advantages would arise to British commerce 
 from an uninterrupted trafiic with the interior of 
 China, through the co-operation of China and Shan 
 merchants. Captain M'Leod in 1837 found among 
 the northerly Shan States numerous Chinese mer- 
 chants settled in Kieng Lung, the frontier Shan Pro- 
 vince, said to be tributary to Pekin. These mer- 
 chants w^ere desirous of opening a trafiic with us ; 
 but they desired the presence of British merchants, 
 to whom both they and the Shan Chiefs pro- 
 mised protection from extortion, as well as every 
 security for their persons. " They dealt in silks, — 
 raw and manufactured, copper utensils, lace, tinsel, 
 and fancy articles, which they bartered for such 
 EngHsh goods as made their way upwards." In a 
 few years therefore we may find English shops in 
 
 Beng:al Proper. The Siamese, according to Malloch, are very- 
 slothful " sleeping 14 hours out of the 24, and resigning all active 
 labour to their wives" ! But we believe them to be active and 
 brave when they please. 
 
280 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the Chinese towns of the frontier. The fact would 
 appear to be quite as probable as that of the year 
 1853 beholding an " Europe Shop" in Kashmere,* 
 Moore's glowing " valley of bliss," 
 
 " With its roses the sweetest that earth ever gave ! " 
 
 or the splendid sight of 50 Parsee ladies riding in a 
 special train upon the rail from Bombay to Tannah, 
 both of which events do now adorn its annals ! Com- 
 fort, and civilisation, and science ! Oh England, 
 England, you have much to answer for ! your enter- 
 prise alone should absolve you, and does in the eyes 
 of the intelligent world, from all your follies ! 
 
 To return to the Shans, We know not if they 
 differ much from the Burmese in their general 
 manners and customs, and suppose — not having the 
 work here — that Blumenbach includes them both in 
 the Mongolian variety ; but their women differ con- 
 siderably in dress from the ladies of Burmah, — the 
 Shan wearing her head covered with a rich turband, 
 also a sort of jacket, with loose flowing silk trousers, 
 reminding one of the dress given by some painters 
 to the "amorous dame of Potiphar ! " The men 
 generally wear large straw hats. 
 
 The Karens, frequently alluded to in this Narra- 
 tive, occupy parts of the Shan and Siamese coun- 
 
 * The Lahore Chronicle notices that a Mahommedan trades- 
 man has just opened an " Europe Shop" in Kashmere. " There 
 will be an English * Millinery Depot' in Pekin before the cen- 
 tury is out." — Friend of India. 
 
BURMESE COMMISSIONERS. 281 
 
 tries. The country of the Red Karens lies consider- 
 ably to the northward of Tonghoo ; and into this 
 district it is said the line will be drawn from Meea- 
 day or above it, marking out the new British terri- 
 tory in Eastern Asia. 
 
 Commodore Lambert and Captain Phayre left 
 Rangoon on the 19th of March for Prome, which 
 they hoped to reach in good time to sign the treaty. 
 They afterwards visited Meeaday in the Indus 
 steamer, it was believed to settle the question of 
 peace — in view to which the embassy from Ava had 
 been waiting in the precincts of that place for several 
 days. They had no doubt been waiting to hear the 
 result of Sir John Cheapens operations. The Com- 
 modore and Captain Phayre however returned on 
 the 80th, without accomplishing their object ; we 
 beUeve the objection being that Meeaday did not 
 belong to the Pegu Province, which alone was to 
 be annexed, according to the Proclamation. 
 
 On the 31st the Burmese Commissioners arrived 
 at Prome in great state, accompanied by 25 war- 
 boats ; the potentates as a matter of course being 
 in the full pomp and circumstance of Burmese diplo- 
 matic craft. They were said to be accompanied by 
 upwards of 1,000 men. Be this as it may, it would 
 appear that half of their establishment was wanting 
 on the 4th of April, the day set apart for the grand 
 meeting between the Burmese and British Commis- 
 sioners. 
 
282 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 It may be interesting to note the following graphic 
 account * of this meeting, the best for curious detail 
 which has yet appeared : — " The Burmese Commis- 
 sioners were each furnished with a guard of honour 
 to escort them to the Hall of Audience — a bamboo 
 edifice erected for the occasion, — and a guard of 
 honour, composed of 200 men from all foot regi- 
 ments, was drawn up on the shore by 9;^ A. M. 
 to receive the Burmese Envoys, who were encamped 
 a quarter of a mile up on the opposite bank of the 
 river. The Sesostris fired a salute ; the (rolden boats, 
 and the Golden umbrellas opening out to view had a 
 very pretty effect. There were 12 boats, three of 
 them gilt. The Prime Minister's boat had gilt oars, 
 and each boat had about 40 oars which were paddled 
 in excellent time. An Officer from the Sesostris, in 
 a gig, led the way, and they landed at the foot of a 
 street, formed by the guard of honour, through 
 which they marched. The Prime Minister was 
 dressed in a most absurdly grotesque style, with a 
 hat of gold resembling a pagoda, with little bells, or 
 some such tinkling affairs hanging to it ; his dress 
 appeared to consist of a series of wings, with a body- 
 dress of rich green and scarlet velvet, with precious 
 stones in abundance. He walked hand-in-hand with 
 a Prince of the Blood Royal — probably the uncle of 
 the present King — and behind them came the um- 
 brella-bearers holding four or five golden umbrellas 
 
 * Dated Prome, April 6. 
 
THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 283 
 
 over them. Preceding these dignitaries of the Court 
 of Ava, were two commonly dressed Bm'mese, 
 with yellow fancy-shaped hats, bearing common 
 bamboos in their hands ; then came four or five men 
 of their body-guard, holding in their hands beautiful 
 dahs, the scabbards of which were of gold and 
 richly studded with rubies. In rear of the two 
 great men came two minor individuals, one the 
 Dalla-Woon — who was at Rangoon at the breaking 
 out of the war, and who was even then most anxious 
 to keep at peace with us. Having passed through 
 the street, a band playing the while, the guard 
 formed in their rear and followed them to the Hall 
 of Audience, where they were duly received by our 
 Commissioners, and as they shook hands the troop 
 of European Madras Horse Artillery, drawn up for 
 the occasion, fired a salute of 19 guns. They re- 
 mainedfor about two hours, and were then marshalled 
 back to the Ghat, having agreed to meet again on 
 Friday the 8th ; requiring till then to consider as to 
 whether they would sign the treaty or not. The 
 Commissioners were very humble indeed, but quiet- 
 ly asked for Bassein or any other sea-port." The 
 General, according to the same writer, appeared to 
 think they would sign the treaty, but Captain 
 Phayre thought not. 
 
 A letter received from Rangoon, dated 14th April, 
 informed us that the treaty was not yet signed ; 
 that the Burmese Commissioners were described as 
 tolerably humble, and most anxious for peace ; and 
 
284 THE SECOND BURMESi: WAR. 
 
 that they wanted Meeaday and the Bassein district, 
 particularly the latter, so as to have a communica- 
 tion with the sea. The " final answer " was expect- 
 ed about the beginning of May. " We are all 
 anxiety," ^vrites a brother ofiicer from Prome, " for 
 the result of the conference On the 4th April ; on 
 the 8th May we get our final answer." As a matter 
 of course there was a thirty days' truce until the 
 Governor- General's pleasure should be known. 
 
 Meeaday, or Myede, appears to be situated about 
 midway between Prome and Patanago. To this 
 latter point, nearly opposite Aeng, it was thought by 
 some before hearing of another reference to the 
 Governor-General, there would be an immediate 
 advance, in consequence of the non-ratification of the 
 treaty ; and then if the Burmese did not come to 
 terms this was to be followed up by an intimidating 
 advance on Ava ! But the authorities evidently 
 knew better than put themselves in the way of play- 
 ing the Yandaboo drama over again. The Gover- 
 nor-General in Council had no doubt some prudent 
 scheme for the entire preservation of our honour 
 and for the security of the extent of country finally 
 to be annexed in this new quarter of the " British 
 Possessions," — notwithstanding the same might dis- 
 appoint the zealous and natural expectations of the 
 "Army of Ava !" It had been already positively 
 asserted by some that the boundary line of Pegu 
 would include Patanago ; thus, if continued to the 
 westward, taking in both ends of the Aeng Pass. 
 
SCARCITY OF SUPPLIES. 285 
 
 During the months of March and April grain at 
 Ava was nearly at famine prices, or at three and 
 four rupees a basket. But if the Burmese suffered 
 from a want of provisions at the Capital of their 
 Kingdom, they did not stand alone. The flats and 
 steamers had been so much occupied with Myat- 
 Toon's aSair, that an extreme scarcity of mess sup- 
 plies and provisions took place at Prome. The 
 Nerludda, however, started on the 9th of April for 
 that station with supplies, towing the Soane, full 
 of Commissariat. On the whole, we may assert that 
 in no war that ever took place in the East were 
 the troops better supplied with provisions. Con- 
 sidering the difficulties of the country and the want 
 of carriage this is saying a great deal. Here, at 
 Tonghoo, some of us have been a month together 
 without a glass of beer or a glass of wine ; these, 
 with a slight want of soap, boots, and clothing, have 
 recently been the only "hardships'" experienced by the 
 Officer. Salt junk was to be had when no more 
 dainty meat could be obtained ; and the European 
 soldier has always had his arrack or rum. Were 
 our gallant old Chief to pay us a visit now, he would 
 find us in fine condition for work at this frontier 
 station ! Provisions are well enough — sickness is the 
 grand enemy to contend against at present in Bur- 
 mah, as must be expected for the first year or two 
 of occupation. During April a good deal of cholera 
 took place at Prome among Europeans and Natives. 
 Except among the Burmese, few or no cases occurred 
 
286 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 at Tonghoo ; in short, with the exception of a few 
 cases of dysentery, there has been no serious sickness 
 here of any kind. This result, in three months,* 
 speaks well as yet ! 
 
 An intelligent Hindu servant remarked to the 
 Author one day at Tonghoo that the Burmese were 
 of the " devil caste ; " this was after they had 
 been firing off muskets at night, to the great dis- 
 turbance of our quiet station, for the purpose of keep- 
 ing away devils or evil-spirits from their dwellings ! 
 From the fact of some Burmese epicures having ate 
 up a considerable portion of a dead Commissariat 
 elephant about the same time, and being well aware 
 that they were not averse to snakes and lizards as a 
 repast, it may interest the reader to give the follow- 
 ing remarks from an excellent work on the last war : 
 — " In the choice of food the Burmese are far from 
 cleanly ; on the contrary, any disgusting meat is 
 sought after with avidity, and this we often witnessed 
 at Prome. A great mortality suddenly took place 
 among the horses of the artillery and body-guard, as 
 many as four and five dying daily ; and no sooner 
 had the animals breathed their last than you would 
 see them surrounded by groups of Burmese, waiting 
 
 like harpies, to pounce upon their prey 
 
 Their religion, it is true, forbids them wilfully to 
 deprive cattle of life, but this is constantly evaded. 
 If the animal is killed by an accidental shot, nothing is 
 said on the subject, and this I fancy occurs very fre- 
 
 * To the latter end of May. 
 
AMUSING RUMOURS. 287 
 
 quently,asweused to find half devoured buffaloes near 
 the Burman picquets." * Buddha himself is said to 
 have died from the effects of eating pork ; and, on 
 the natural supposition that the head of a vast belief 
 would not have sanctioned such a licence in the 
 meaning as that displayed in the foregoing extract, 
 one becomes more assured of what has been remark- 
 ed elsewhere, that not to put to death any living 
 creature was no part of original Buddhism, f 
 
 It has been already stated in this Narrative that the 
 Burmese are unshackled by the distinctions of caste. 
 This gives us strong hope that they will entertain 
 more liberal views than our Hindu brethren when we 
 once fairly set about to enlighten and civilise them. 
 
 News arrived in a letter from Meeaday that a 
 Woonghee — a rank next to the Princes of the 
 Eoyal Family, or the head of the nobility — was 
 within 20 or 30 miles of the place, accompanied by 
 some 2,000 men ; again, it was reported that the 
 enemy had 10,000 or 15,000 men a little further 
 off. The Woonghee, some said, was on his way 
 down with a crore of rupees ! — L.1,000,000 sterling 
 — to buy us out of the country ; and if we would not 
 go he would drive us out ! This story got afloat 
 before the meeting of the Commissioners on the 4th 
 of April. The gallant force at Meeaday, however, 
 under Colonel Apthorp, although not GOO strong, 
 appear to have taken matters very coolly at this 
 
 * Trant's Two Years in Ava. — Chapter X. 
 
 f Notes on Ancient India, by Colonel Sykes, F. R. S. 
 
288 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 critical period. Instead of getting up a meeting, or 
 rather instead of holding a " Council of War"" and de- 
 bating on the best means of defending Meeaday in 
 the event of an overwhelming attack, we find them 
 wisely engaged over the aU-important " furlough 
 question," solving the more interesting point which 
 turned to Old England and home ! Very different 
 was all this fron^ August 1825, when Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, heartily tired of the war, transmitted an 
 " admonitory letter'' to the King of Ava, stating it 
 would be the last time he should address the Burmese 
 Ministry; and when Brigadier-General Cotton in the 
 same month proceeded with a small escort in the 
 little Diana steamer up the Irrawaddy to reconnoitre 
 the enemy's position at Meeaday. Then the Bur- 
 mese army was ranged in line to the extent of a mile 
 and a half down the bank of the river. When the 
 General passed up, a battery of 16 pieces of cannon 
 opened upon him, his gun-boats returned the fire, 
 when it appeared the enemy's force consisted of be- 
 tween 16,000 and 20,000 men; about 400 boats 
 were also lying under the walls of Meeaday.* 
 
 On the 11th of April the Bengal Fusihers, under 
 Major Gerrard, left Tonghoo for Rangoon. A few 
 days before a detachment of the Madras Fusiliers 
 had arrived under Captain Renaud. 
 
 On the 13th Brigadier Williams, appointed to 
 command the Second Madras Brigade of the Army 
 of Ava, arrived at Tonghoo; he was accompanied by 
 
 * Two Tears in Ava. 
 
CHANGES. 289 
 
 Captain Haines, 9th M. N. I., Brigade-Major. No 
 better Officer could have been appointed at this time 
 to the command of a frontier station. Having 
 resided in Burmah for some years, he came among 
 us possessing an intimate acquaintance mth the 
 Burmese language and character, two invaluable 
 requisites for the management of a crafty Power. 
 With this appointment the efficient duties of Colonel 
 Poole as Brigadier, as well as those of his intelli- 
 gent Brigade-Major Captain Ritherdon, of course 
 terminated. 
 
 On the 14th Brigadier-General Steel and Staff 
 left for Rangoon. Lieutenant Lambert, command 
 ing the Irregular Horse, was obliged, from ill 
 health, to accompany the party, and the command 
 of his small body of cavalry was given to Captain 
 Clogstoun, of the Quartermaster-GeneraFs Depart- 
 ment. After what has been said of him in this 
 Narrative it would be useless to repeat how well he 
 was adapted for the charge of the gallant Ramghurs, 
 who would have been of considerable use had an 
 attacking Burmese force ventured within our ancient 
 and extensive city walls — especially after we had 
 driven them out with the aid of Artillery and 
 Infantry — or in pursuing a Chief or two, and bringing 
 them in as captives to the Brigadier ! But we 
 imagine a Chief would hardly escape outside the walls 
 with his life were he rash enough to attack us. At 
 this time dacoits were said to be numerous in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 T 
 
290 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 24th Major Hill — the gallant defender of 
 the Pegu Pagoda — arrived with the Head-Quarters 
 of the Madras Fusiliers. 
 
 A week before this news had reached us of a rather 
 distressing nature, — that the small garrison left at 
 Beling had been attacked, and almost entirely cut 
 off. The principal instigator in this affair, we believe, 
 was Moung-Goung, who marched with us from Sitang 
 to Tonghoo. 
 
 The Beling garrison consisted of some 70 or 80 
 sepoys of the 1st M. N. I., under the command of 
 Captain Wright. The Chief, being for some reasons 
 displeased with us on returning to his native district, 
 was said to have bribed and threatened some old 
 Ava officials to collect a few hundred Burmese, 
 attack the garrison, seize Beling, — and thus, by force 
 of vigorous example, incite insurrection in other 
 places, which would eventually end in driving the 
 English out of the country into the sea ! But with 
 the exception of our losing a number of unfortunate 
 sepoys, the insurrection was a complete failure. The 
 Karens and another tribe,* who were staunch to 
 our cause, slew the most forward of the Burmese 
 Officers, and were highly instrumental in restor- 
 ing order. Captain Wright's detachment, on being 
 attacked, for a considerable time resisted the 
 assailants in the most gallant manner, but after- 
 wards, on leaving their position, they were followed 
 up and eventually surrounded by the enemy. Many 
 • Th| Toung-Thaus. 
 
FAILURE OF THE INSURRECTION AT BELING. 291 
 
 sepoys were killed. They fought fearlessly and well, 
 but were hardly a match on this occasion for the more 
 numerous and athletic soldiers of Burmah. Captain 
 Wright shot a Chief with his own hand, and through- 
 out displayed the greatest courage. At length, when 
 about 15 miles from Sitang, our next military posi- 
 tion, a friendly Burman pointed out the road by the 
 river ; so getting the wreck of his detachment to- 
 gether, now consisting of about 22 men, they all got 
 into a boat, which was fortunately at hand, and 
 reached Sitang. Captain Hamilton, on proceeding to 
 reconnoitre shortly after, found many dead sepoys 
 along the road, on several occasions dead Burmese 
 beside them, the evident result of a determined 
 struggle ! This insurrection was entirely unex- 
 pected, and no blame whatever can be attached to 
 any of our Authorities. We heard eventually that 
 the Commissioner had burned down a considerable 
 portion of Beling, and that Moung-Goung had gone 
 towards Kyouk-Ghee. 
 
 On the 7th of May the wily Chief was said to have 
 passed within five miles of Tonghoo, on his way to 
 Ava ! But he would be too late to instigate the war 
 party against us. 
 
 There was now some talk of giving up Tonghoo ; 
 but it would never do to give up the key of the 
 rice country and other valuable commodities, after 
 all our trouble and expense. All round here the 
 country is most fertile, and some fine teak forests 
 are said to be not far distant. 
 
292 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. * 
 
 In Garrison Orders of the 12th May appeared a 
 Division Order * by Brigadier- General Steel, C. B., 
 stating that the Martaban Column, as a separate 
 force, was broken up ; but the Brigadier-General 
 would still retain command of the Southern Garri- 
 sons, including Pegu, pending further orders from 
 General Godwin. " The exemplary conduct of the 
 troops," wrote General Steel on this occasion, " com- 
 posing the Martaban Column, has been honoured 
 by the approbation of the Most Noble the Governor- 
 General of India in Council, recorded in General 
 Orders. In taking leave of this fine force the Briga- 
 dier-General assures the Officers, and all ranks, that 
 he would feel a great pride in being again associated 
 with them in the field, and he begs to express his 
 best wishes for their future welfare and glory.*" 
 
 About the middle of May home news reached us 
 up to the 24th of February, Of course " House of 
 Lords,"" — " The War with Ava," arrested general 
 attention. On this occasion,*!* in our humble opinion, 
 the Earl of EUenborough had really gone too far. 
 If the reporters of his speech are to be credited, he 
 said, with regard to carrying on the government of 
 Ava, that there was not a single individual in the 
 service able to speak the language of the country. 
 Now some very excellent Burmese linguists from the 
 Indian Army having been appointed to the adminis- 
 tration of Pegu, it was natural enough to be startled 
 by this bold assertion. 
 
 • D. O., 27th April. + February 24th. 
 
HOME OPINIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. 293 
 
 '* With respect to the conduct of the present 
 war," said the Earl of Aberdeen, " the Government 
 could not boast of that power of mihtary criticism 
 professed by Lord Ellenborough, and therefore were 
 unfortunately unable to pass judgment on the opera- 
 tions now being carried on in Burmah ; they had, 
 however, the greatest confidence and reliance in the 
 discretion of the Governor-General, and as he had 
 expressed himself satisfied with the progress of the 
 war, and had determined to annex Pegu, after ma- 
 ture deliberation, the Government were disposed to 
 acquiesce in the opinion expressed by the late Go- 
 vernment, and in the eulogies passed by it on the 
 Governor-General." 
 
 The Earl of Derby defended the line of opera- 
 tions pursued in the war ; and he thought " that in 
 justice both to the Peguese and ourselves we were 
 bound not to stop short of the annexation of that 
 Province." 
 
 Mr Hume, in the other House, was convinced 
 that Commodore Lambert's conduct was the cause 
 of the war. Sir James Weir Hogg had no great 
 difficulty in justifying the gallant Commodore from 
 the charge of provoking it; he likewise entered upon 
 a vindication of the Marquis of Dalhousie and of 
 the military operations — no very difficult matter to 
 one really acquainted with all the circumstances. 
 Looking back on everything that has been done, 
 calmly and dispassionately, it is really difficult to 
 perceive any glaring faults in the general conduct of 
 
294 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the Second Burmese War. Errors on some occa- 
 sions, in the course of the operations, there have 
 been, as there must be in everything that " smells 
 of mortaHty,"" and these have been freely pointed 
 out in this Narrative ; — but in the general conduct 
 of the war there is much to admire. General God- 
 win on the whole has played his part carefully and 
 well, under circumstances of no ordinary difficulty, 
 — under circumstances which would have made some 
 men, more ambitious of distinction but of far less 
 prudence, commit a political error which could only 
 be remedied after some extraordinary disaster. To 
 take to pieces all the shallow criticism that has been 
 expended on this war would require a volume of itself. 
 " The greatest blunder in the conduct of the war,"" 
 writes a London Journalist, " was the selection of a 
 Commander of Fabian tactics, instead of a dashing 
 one." Now, with due deference, we mean to assert 
 that a " dashing" General, in the ordinary accepta- 
 tion of the term, would be totally unfit for the con- 
 duct of a Burmese War : Burmah is not a field for 
 the display of " dashing" capabilities in the General 
 commanding. With the Colonel of a Regiment 
 they are always in place ; and Colonel Godwin, even 
 his enemies will admit, did a few " dashing " things 
 in the last war ! 
 
 The death of Rear-Admiral Austen had of course 
 placed Commodore Lambert in the position of Act- 
 ing Naval Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. 
 He was now a Commodore of the First Class, and 
 
NAVAL PROMOTIONS. 295 
 
 as hale and energetic as ever. From the Admiralty^ 
 dated February 28th, the following cheering intelli- 
 gence found its way to the other Eoyal Naval 
 Officers serving in Burmah : — "In consideration of 
 the successful operations against Rangoon and Pegu, 
 and in the Irrawaddy river, the following Naval 
 promotions have taken place, dated 25th ultimo. To 
 be Captain — Commander C. F. A. Shadwell. Com- 
 manders — Lieutenants J. W. Dorville ; H, S. 
 Hillyar; R. Lambert, and G. W. Rice.* Lieuten- 
 ants — Mates Mr H. A. Hinde and Mr C. A. B. 
 Pocock. Master — Second Master Mr R. Sturgess. 
 Surgeons — Assistant-Surgeons Mr F. Secombe and 
 Mr H. Glade." 
 
 In December it had been reported that the com- 
 mand of the East India and China Station was to be 
 given to Rear-Admiral the Hon. Sir F. B. R. Pellew, 
 C.B., K.C.H., second son of the late Lord Exmouth. 
 The report proved to be correct. On the 9th of 
 March the Rear- Admiral left Calcutta to take the 
 Naval Command in Burmah. He left Rangoon in 
 the same month for Moulmein, Amherst, and Ma- 
 dras, we believe, in H. M's ship Winchester^ of which 
 Captain Shadwell on his promotion became Flag 
 Captain — Hillyar ,^of the same ship, being appointed 
 Commander into the Sphpix. 
 
 " This gallant OflScer had been severely wounded during the 
 operations ; he had likewise been attacked with a fever common 
 to the climate. He died on reaching his native land, on the ISth 
 of Maich, aged 25 years. — Dover Telegrajyk and Indian Neios, 
 London, April 4, 1853. 
 
296 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAR. 
 
 The monsoon set in at Tonghoo nearly at the 
 same time as at Rangoon, or about the 20th of 
 May. The rain came down in torrents on that 
 night, proving to the utmost extent the leaking 
 capacities of the buildings occupied by officers and 
 men. None of us on the above occasion suffered 
 very severely. The thatching used for the houses 
 does not, as at Rangoon, consist of palm leaves, but 
 of a large species of grass tied in a shape to resemble 
 them, which are not nearly so easy of adjustment in 
 case of leakage as the former. These artificial 
 leaves cost from one to two rupees a hundred. It 
 takes from 600 to 800 to thatch a " mansion "" of 
 very ordinary dimensions. It is the opinion of 
 Colonel Symes, in his Embassy to Ava, — written up- 
 wards of 50 years ago, — that " the houses of the 
 meanest peasants of Pegu, and throughout the Bur- 
 mese Empire, possess manifest advantages over 
 Indian dwellings, by being raised from the ground 
 either on wooden posts, or bamboos, according to 
 the size of the building. The habitations of the 
 higher ranks are usually elevated 6 or 8 feet, and 
 those of the humbler class 3 or 4 feet. There are 
 no brick buildings either in Pegu or Rangoon, ex- 
 cept such as belong to the King, or are dedicated to 
 the divinity Gaudama. Almost every house has 
 earthen pots, filled with water, on the roof; there is 
 also a particular class of people to extinguish fires, 
 and to perambulate the streets at night. At each 
 door stands a long bamboo, with an iron hook at the 
 
PEQU — CAPABILITIES OF THE SOIL. 297 
 
 end, to pull down the thatch." We believe there is 
 at present no alteration to relate in these customs, 
 so well adapted to the country. 
 
 The Province of Pegu, being a flat country, may 
 be said to be almost everywhere under water during 
 the monsoon. The roads are destroyed, and com- 
 munication by canoes is often adopted between dif- 
 ferent villages. On the march we frequently observed 
 these country boats high and dry in some fine piece 
 of land, as if waiting to be ready for work in the next 
 deluge. The soil of Pegu is remarkably well adapted 
 for the cultivation of rice. Nature here supplies the 
 place of the husbandman's skill, and seems to have a 
 pleasure in abundantly providing for humankind. 
 Many houses and villages have their private granaries. 
 A ^vriter, 26 years ago, states exactly what one finds 
 at the present day, notwithstanding the lawless 
 characters that have been prowling about and de- 
 stroying the country since the last war: — " In the 
 neighbourhood of the villages small quantities of 
 indigo, cotton, sugar-cane, tobacco, and various of the 
 fruits and vegetables are grown, and prove that if 
 properly treated much might be attempted success- 
 fully with the soil." 
 
 Pegu only requires a larger population to make it 
 in a few years a most wealthy acquisition to our 
 dominions in the East. But industry and enter- 
 prise, with the materials we have to work upon, will 
 do much. 
 
298 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Having now resided some time in this country, 
 the writer much regrets his not having been able to 
 behold that far-famed temple the Shoemadoo at 
 Pegu. It has been alluded to in the former work, 
 and is held to be a very splendid pile. Its architec- 
 tural beauty is considered by some to be superior to 
 that of the Shoe Dagoon at Eangoon, but through 
 the lapse of years and neglect the gilding has become 
 destroyed. To some minds much pleasure is afforded 
 in observing these vast monuments, hallowed as they 
 generally are by tradition, and marking out the 
 scene of former greatness. The fashion of the place 
 passes away ; streets once frequented by a busy 
 throng are now o'ergrown with rank vegetation ; 
 but the glorious temple still remains, as if deter- 
 mined to become acquainted with better days ! So 
 let us say has stood the Shoemadoo at Pegu, not a 
 century since one of the finest cities of the East. 
 Under British protection it will no longer be said, 
 " How doth the city sit solitary that was full of 
 people ! she that was great among the nations, and 
 princess among the provinces, how is she become 
 tributary ! "" It is to be hoped that the night of her 
 weeping being passed, the dawn of improvement 
 under our Grovernment may secure to the province 
 for ages to come better and happier days ! 
 
 On the 25th of May intelligence reached us that 
 the negotiations for peace had been unsuccessful. 
 As early as the 4th the Commodore, with the Gover- 
 
BREAKING UP OF NEGOTIATIONS. 299 
 
 nor-Generars answer, had been daily expected at 
 Prome.* The new King was on the throne, and 
 from all we could learn declared that he had done 
 nothing wrong ; that he could not be responsible for 
 the acts of the old King or his Governors ; and that 
 he would not cede away any portion of his territory. 
 But although to all appearance we were to have no 
 treaty signed, the Governor- General seemed anxious 
 to conclude the war by simply keeping and protect- 
 ing what we already occupied. He refused to give 
 up one place taken, and any attempt to disturb our 
 new possessions would meet with a severe retribu- 
 tion. The boundary line was now drawn, and the 
 imperial dictate had gone forward to the Majesty of 
 Ava — " Thus far shalt thou go and no fur- 
 ther !"" 
 
 The following laconic note regarding this impor- 
 tant meeting with the Burmese Commissioners was 
 sent from Eangoon to the author at Tonghoo, about 
 the end of the month ; we believe its contents to 
 be strictly correct : — " No peace ; news arrived last 
 night. The Commissioners refused to cede any por- 
 tion of their country. They might possibly give us 
 a port, — say Bassein or Martaban ; but they knew of 
 no right that we had to Rangoon ; whereupon the 
 Burmese Commissioners were informed that they had 
 twenty-four hours to accomplish their disappear- 
 
 * " The Burmese and British Commissioners meet on the 
 9th, when the all important and looked for result will be 
 known." — Letter from Prome, 1th May. 
 
300 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ance. In six hours they had vanished ! " This was 
 certainly an original mode of bringing on amicable 
 terms between — what the Burmese styled in the last 
 war — " the two great Nations." If we were great 
 then, it was our policy to show them that we were 
 greater now — a pleasant fact which very few, either 
 Asiatics or Europeans, will venture to deny ! It 
 seemed then that the Burmese were again " trying 
 on " the same game of craft they had employed be- 
 fore the storming of Melloon,* under Sir A. Camp- 
 bell. The tenor of a communication with that 
 Chief ran to the effect " that it was contrary to the 
 King's religious principles and the constitution of the 
 empire to make any cession of territory, as he was 
 bound to preserve its integrity ; that in like manner 
 he could not think of paying any money, but would 
 rather try every expedient than have recourse to 
 such a measure." And yet the King was desirous 
 of making peace on a liberal footing ! Such a 
 mode of doing business, however, is not at all under- 
 stood by us ! This ultimatum of the Golden Foot, 
 and the Governor-GeneraFs wise determination not 
 to give up one inch of ground, destroyed the hopes 
 of many who, weary of a war in which there did not 
 appear to be any more foes to fight, and slightly 
 damaged by the climate, turned a fond look towards 
 India ! The bachelors on the frontier did not take 
 the matter so much to heart. 
 
 • 19th of January 1826. 
 
RUMOURED ATTACKS. 301 
 
 At the end of May we were roused from all ideas 
 of a termination of the war by hearing that the 
 advanced force of the enemy — some 2,000 strong — 
 was within 20 miles of Tonghoo. The main body, 
 consisting of about 20,000, were to attack us in a 
 few days at our new frontier station. A much larger 
 force was to proceed about the same period to attack 
 Prome. The full moon, it was thought, would be 
 the time. It is needless to say that no attack took 
 place. With the exception of a sentry having been 
 fired on, and the occasional shots of villagers outside 
 the walls either at, or to keep off dacoits, not a shot 
 was heard ; and all idea of " turning out " on a dark 
 rainy night — as had been the case during the first 
 month at Rangoon — like the Burmese troops that 
 were to attack us, speedily melted away ! Many of 
 these soldiers of Ava we really believe did hover 
 about our vicinity. It was just possible that under 
 such a chief as Myat-Toon they might commence 
 stockading at Tantobin, and thus cut off our com- 
 munication with Shoe-Gyne by the river, when an 
 attacking force, which could not be spared from the 
 garrison of Tonghoo, would be necessary to dislodge 
 them from their position. But it is also likely that 
 the Burmese troops were sadly in want of pay and 
 food, and that even they had become convinced of 
 the utter folly of prolonging a contest with us. 
 
 At Moulmein it had been asserted that Tonghoo 
 was a populous district. Judging from what we 
 have heard and seen, it does not strike us as such. 
 
302 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 As if tired of the feudal system, many who had 
 served in the Burmese army were to be found about 
 the town and in the neighbouring villages. From 
 these a considerable number of coolies or workmen, 
 to serve under our able and zealous Assistant Field 
 Engineer,* were generally procurable, but not with- 
 out some difficulty. We believe the Burmese to be 
 much attached to the otium cum dignitate life, 
 although we have seen many hard and zealous 
 workers among them at four annas (6d.) a day. 
 
 Population. — Having touched again on the im- 
 portant subject of population — in these days of 
 emigration one may say the all-important subject — 
 it may be remarked with regard to Colonel Symes 
 in his work on Ava computing the population at 
 17,000,000,-}- that the author of Two Years in Ava 
 makes the population, at the utmost, amount to 
 6,000,000. In 1823 the Burman Empire + com- 
 prised the countries of Ava, Pegu, Munnipoor, Arra- 
 can, and Tenasserim, Of these we have already 
 given Pegu, say 3,000,000 of population. Then the 
 people of the countries which have not yet fallen 
 into our hands will probably number as follows : — 
 Ava, 3,000,000; Siam, 3,500,000; Cochin-China, 
 Cambodia, Siampa, and Tonquin, 5,000,000 ; in all 
 between 11 and 12,000,000. If Providence should 
 
 • Lieutenant Wheeler, 1st Bengal Fusiliers. 
 + The Burman Empire, including Arracan. 
 t Between the 9th and 27th degrees of north latitude, and 
 91st and 99th of east longitude. 
 
SICKNESS OF THE TROOPS. 303 
 
 decree eventually our possession of China, then there 
 will be 250,000,000 more, — a rather important 
 charge for even the best organised and the most 
 liberal Government ! 
 
 At this time, as far as sickness among the troops 
 was concerned, a sunny day at Tonghoo was accom- 
 panied by a dark night at Prome. Early in June a 
 letter arrived informing us that H, M.'s 18th, 80th, 
 and 51st Eegiments, had been obhged, from cholera, 
 to move away seven miles distant, into Poonghee 
 houses, when it was hoped that change of air would 
 abate the scourge. As many as 14 Europeans had 
 been buried in one day. Two officers had died ; 
 one of them Lieutenant Pilmer of H. M.'s 51st, a 
 most excellent officer, spoken of in the highest terms 
 by Sir John Cheape in his Donnabew Despatch. 
 Major Burgoyne's * troop of Madras Horse Artil- 
 lery was also losing men. Captain Clogstoun had 
 now been ordered to Rangoon, and Lieutenant 
 Graham, 11th B. N. L, who in October last had 
 been appointed to do duty with the " Squadron of 
 Irregular Horse attached to the Ramghur Light 
 Infantry Battalion," commanded in his place. The 
 former Officer, and Lieutenant Barrow,-f- who had 
 served us faithfully and well in that most import- 
 ant department — the Commissariat — left for Shoe- 
 Gyne and Rangoon early in the month, 
 
 " The Major had proceeded to Prome about the end of March, 
 accompanied by Dr Mudge. 
 
 t 5th M. N. I. Succeeded at Tonghoo by Lieut. Mackellar. 
 
304 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 12th of June a sad accident happened to 
 one of our European gunners, by which a fine old 
 soldier lost his left arm. During the operation of 
 bursting a Burmese gun (brass), to test the quality 
 of the metal, although apparently every caution 
 was taken, the piece went off almost immediately on 
 the match being fired, shattering the arm near the 
 shoulder, one of the pieces of metal in its sanguinary 
 progress carrying a portion of the gunner"'s jacket, 
 sticking fast, along with it. The prompt attention 
 and skill of Assistant-Surgeon Bond of the Artillery, 
 and Dr Anderson of the 1st Madras Fusiliers, soon 
 relieved the sufferer, who, after nobly bearing the 
 amputation, growled forth against the destiny which, 
 after 18 years'' service, deprived him of his arm by 
 a — Burmese gun ! 
 
 We shall close this Chapter with an anecdote of 
 the last war, which may be in place here, as, judging 
 from the appearance and quality of the Burmese 
 ordnance, a man might be inclined to pause a little 
 before firing a piece off for ordinary practice. After 
 the signing and sealing of the Treaty of Yandaboo, 
 Sir A. Campbell and Mr Robertson took the Bur- 
 man Chieftains to view some of our troops and 
 Artillery. The " rebel English strangers'" having 
 astonished them with the evolutions of our Infantry, 
 some field-pieces were then brought out, and 50 
 rounds fired to show the rapidity of our Artillery 
 movements. Finally, some shells and rockets were 
 thrown across the river. During the latter part of 
 
ANECDOTE OF THE LAST WAR, 305 
 
 the exhibition one of the rockets exploded at the 
 moment it left the tube, and scattered the shot 
 around, but fortunately without doing any injury. 
 Sir A. Campbell then drew the attention of the 
 Burmese Chiefs to the fact that we could make our 
 shells explode at any distance we pleased. After 
 the exhibition was ended, one of the mighty visitors, 
 on being asked quietly what he thought of it, 
 replied, " Oh, we can do all this much better our- 
 selves at Ava ! " * 
 
 * Two Tears in Ava. 
 
 PHYSIOLOGICAL NOTE. 
 
 Observing one day at Tonghoo some very extraordinary-looking 
 Bpecimens of the human race, it struck the Author that it would 
 be time well spent were a medical man to commence in this 
 new country a series of practical investigations regarding the 
 varieties of mankind, starting from the general conclusion that 
 all the human races 7nay have had a common origin. Then, after 
 this, would come an inquiry into the bearing of philological 
 evidence upon the question, the zealous student finishing his 
 labours by persuading live specimens to accompany him to 
 London ! Having at the commencement of this Chapter ven- 
 tured a physiological remark or two, without any book to refer 
 to on the subject, an enormous tome, " the Cyclopaedia of Ana- 
 tomy and Physiology," vol. iv, has been since lent us by a zealous 
 friend of literature and science. The following is the first, 
 among the principal groups, according to Dr Latham, into which 
 the Asiatic Nations may be arranged : — " 1. The Seriform stock, 
 distributed over China, Thibet, the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, and 
 the base of the Himalayan range of mountains; their configura- 
 
 U 
 
306 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tion is Mongolian, softened down ; their languages are aptotic, 
 or with only the rudiments of an inflexion ; and they thus pre- 
 sei-ve, more than any other race, the primitive condition of 
 human speech. In their mode of life they present the pheno- 
 menon of a civilisation which has attained a considerable degree 
 of development,remainingstationary through a very long period of 
 time, and isolating itself as jealously as possible from the general 
 current of progress. In passing from China towards India, there 
 is a gradual transition in physical and mental characters between 
 the Chinese and the Hindu ; thus the Burmese have more hair 
 and beard [this latter ornament is rarely observable], more 
 prominent features, and darker complexions than the Siamese 
 and Chinese, and the darkness in complexion increases towards 
 the confines of Bengal. There is therefore no such abrupt 
 transition as shall make it difficult to admit the Seriform origin 
 of the bulk of the Hindu population, if further investigation of 
 their language should render this connection as probable as it is 
 in the case of the inhabitants of the Dekhan and Ceylon." The 
 isolation from the general current of progress, it is to be hoped, 
 will not be a feature of the Seriform stock for ever. It seems 
 even now to be gradually vanishing, and every conquest by a 
 civilised race in these parts, will aid in its diminution. 
 
THE GOVERNOR- general's POLICY. 307 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LORDDALHOUSIE's policy in the second BURMESE WAR. 
 
 About the middle of June 18.53 the Official Docu- 
 ments containing the policy of the Governor-General 
 of India regarding Burmah, reached us at Tonghoo. 
 No feast could have been more welcome to the poor 
 Author of a Narrative than these numerous columns 
 of type at such a time. Novelty was sadly wanting 
 among us. Even those who had a taste for reading 
 and writing had exhausted books, and had nearly 
 exhausted paper. Of " news"" there was none, save 
 the old story of the treaty which was never to be 
 signed ; and of excitement, being on the frontier 
 station, there was an occasional little, caused by the 
 rumour of a Burmese attacking force being not far 
 distant, and the probability of, while writing a let- 
 ter homewards about the Treaty of Peace, your 
 being visited by a swift messenger in the shape of a 
 4-pounder shot or a jingal ball right through the 
 mat-wall of your airy picturesque cottage ! The 
 reality of soldier-life at Tonghoo had arrived at this 
 
308 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 pitch among us when the various documents of 
 correspondence between the Governor -General of 
 India and the Secret Committee, relative to hostilities 
 with Burmah, presented some new food for the mind 
 to dwell upon. The first thought that struck the 
 present writer was, how did it all tally with what he 
 had already written ? Had he been, without sufficient 
 data, rash in any of the important assertions he had 
 ventured? Conscience having brought forward no 
 very serious accusations, he determined on making a 
 few notes from, and remarks on, the important papers 
 which had now arrived, and the following are pre- 
 sented to our readers accordingly. 
 
 In the first place, few will now be bold enough to 
 deny that " hostilities with Burmah had become un- 
 avoidable," and these few probably belong to the 
 Peace Society, a great gun of which was let fly at 
 Manchester against our Burmese policy ; but what 
 signified the futile discharge, when common sense held 
 firmly to the opinion that, "of all our justifiable wars, 
 none was more obviously and thoroughly justifiable 
 than the Second Burmese War." 
 
 The Governor-General, in a Minute dated June 
 30, 1852, says — after remarking that the whole sea- 
 board of Burmah was in our possession — "but, for all 
 that, the Court of Ava has made no sign of submis- 
 sion, and a final result has not yet been obtained 
 
 I had the honour (Minute, February 12,) to declare 
 my opinion that 'the Government of India cannot, con- 
 sistently with its own safety, appear for one day in an 
 
THE Q0VERN0R-GENERAL''S POLICY. 309 
 
 attitude of inferiority, or hope to maintain peace and 
 submission among the numberless princes and people 
 embraced within the vast circuit of the Empire, if, for 
 one day, it give countenance to a doubt of the abso- 
 lute superiority of its arms, and of its continued 
 resolution to assert it/ " The wisdom of these re- 
 marks is at once apparent. " This maxim," con- 
 tinues his Lordship, " applies with especial force to 
 any matter of dispute or conflict with the Burman 
 
 Kingdom There is no Power which ventures to 
 
 assert the same pretensions to superiority in strength 
 and dignity, and none so ready to support those pre- 
 tensions by force of arms."" The Governor-General 
 is next of opinion that " after the events of the last 
 three months we ought not to concede to them terms 
 so light as General Godwin, in his instructions, was 
 
 authorised to grant If overtures should be made 
 
 before large additional charges have been incurred by 
 the Government of India, in the preparation of an 
 army to take the field in November, the Court of 
 Ava should be required to pay down, promptly, 15 
 lacs of rupees, to cede the Negrais and Diamond 
 Islands, and the district of Martaban, to a point upon 
 the Sitang River near to Shoe-Gyne." In this 
 Minute the Governor-General thus ably defends 
 himself and the Government of India against the 
 vulgar charge of " insatiable lust of territorial 
 aggrandisement. " 
 
 " In the earliest stage of the present dispute I 
 avowed my opinion that conquest in Burmah would 
 
310 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 be a calamity second only to the calamity of war ; 
 
 that opinion remains unchanged If conquest is 
 
 contemplated by me now, it is not as a positive 
 good, but solely as the least of those evils before us, 
 from which we must of necessity select one." With 
 reference to the necessity which compelled us in 
 1826 to deprive the Burmese of the Provinces of 
 Tenasserim, Arracan, and Assam, the Governor- 
 General asserts — " now, for stronger reasons and 
 with better effect, the occupation of the Province of 
 Pegu appears to me to be unavoidably demanded by 
 sound views of general policy."" In short, what 
 should have been done 26 years before was in con- 
 templation now. 
 
 On the 6th of September the Secret Committee 
 replied to the Governor-General of India in Council, 
 acknowledging, in addition to the above Minute of 
 the 30th of June, the receipt of a very important 
 despatch, dated the 2d of July. The reply of the 
 Secret Committee reveals the policy of the Home 
 Government. They seem entirely to concur with 
 the Governor-General in his opinions regarding the 
 annexation of Pegu ; but they see " material diffi- 
 culties opposed to the retaining possession of the 
 district without bringing the war to a conclusion 
 either by a treaty with the King of Ava, of which that 
 cession should be the basis (sine qua non), or by the 
 entire subjugation of that Power."" These " material 
 difficulties" appeared to the Secret Committee from 
 the Governor-General, after presenting to them five 
 
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL''s POLICY. 311 
 
 alternatives, having remarked, chiefly with reference 
 to the disposition of the inhabitants of Pegu, " that 
 it may be well worthy of consideration whether, in 
 the event of the King of Ava evading submission, 
 and of the occupation of Pegu being finally resolved 
 upon, we should not confine our military operations 
 to driving the Burmese before us out of every part 
 of that Province, and then occupying it, with the 
 declared intention of holding it permanently, without 
 proceeding onward to the capital."" The Secret 
 Committee consider that, simultaneously with Gene- 
 ral Godwin's advance on Prome, or earlier if thought 
 expedient, the King of Ava should be informed of 
 our being prepared to adopt the cession of the Pro- 
 vince of Pegu as the measure of compensation by 
 which a farther advance into his kingdom may be 
 stayed, and to conclude a Treaty of Peace with him 
 accordingly, " accompanied by the necessary stipu- 
 lations for the future maintenance of a friendly inter- 
 course between the two Nations ; but that, in the 
 event of his refusing, or delaying to accede to that 
 proposal, he must be prepared for all the conse- 
 quences which he will bring upon himself by the fur- 
 ther prosecution of the war in his dominions." With 
 regard to the additional force required by General 
 Godwin for his operations, the Committee consider 
 that this force would be required under any of the 
 contingencies contemplated by the Governor- General 
 in Council, except the very improbable one of a 
 timely submission by the Burmese ; and they doubt 
 
312 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 not " the preparations for the dispatch of it will 
 have been completed in due time to take advan- 
 tage of the favourable season for its employment." 
 The Secret Committee observe, with intense satisfac- 
 tion, the friendly disposition of the inhabitants of Pegu ; 
 and they express their admiration of the policy of the 
 Governor-General in not yielding to the desire of 
 the Peguese, or Talains, to place themselves formally 
 under our protection while an uncertainty remained 
 as to the final annexation to our territories of their 
 once independent kingdom. " Now," write the Com- 
 mittee, " that uncertainty will be removed by the 
 present despatch, which is intended to convey to you 
 our authority, under the sanction of the Queen's 
 Government, to consider the permanent occupation 
 of Pegu, and its final annexation to the East Indian 
 Dominions of Her Majesty, as the just and necessary 
 result of those military operations which you have 
 been driven to direct against the Burmese Empire. 
 You will therefore consider yourselves autho- 
 rised to proclaim the annexation of Pegu to the 
 British Empire in the East, as soon as the forces 
 under General Godwin shall be in possession of the 
 whole of it by the capture of Prome." The precise 
 limits of the cession to be insisted upon were those 
 which would secure a well-defined military line of 
 defence. It is curious to remark in the above 
 instructions by the Secret Committee, the great im- 
 portance attached to the capture and occupation of 
 the city of Prome. Perhaps, in common with many 
 
THE GOVERNOR-QENERAL's POLICY. 313 
 
 at home and in India, they thought that not a shot 
 to the southward would be fired after our securing 
 the ancient boundary between the two kingdoms. 
 
 We now turn to the Governor-GeneraFs Minute, 
 dated August 10, 1852, written after his Lord- 
 ship's return from Rangoon. He passes in review 
 the present position of our affairs in Burmah, our 
 preparations, our means, and our future prospects. 
 He is dehghted at the health of the troops, their 
 excellent state of discipline, and everything seems 
 to secure Lord Dalhousie's admiration at the great 
 commercial capital of the Burmese Empire. But 
 his hands are tied — 
 
 ** Uneasy lies the head that Wears a crown ! " 
 
 " The Government of India/' he writes to the Secret 
 Committee, " is at present incompetent to deter- 
 mine the question of policy. No reply can be ex- 
 pected to their appHcation for instructions for some 
 time to come."" 
 
 Particular attention is requested to the follow- 
 ing remarks, as bearing on what the author ven- 
 tured to put forward in a former Chapter. " The 
 absence of definite orders now, upon the ultimate 
 policy to be adopted, is so far to be regretted that 
 it necessarily hampers the Government in some 
 degree as to present measures. For, so long as it 
 continues doubtful whether the permanent occupa- 
 tion of Pegu will be permitted, I feel reluctant to 
 direct an advance of the army, even as far as Prome ; 
 
314 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 because I am most unwilling to expose the people 
 (who would be led by our advance to commit them- 
 selves still more deeply to us than they have yet 
 done) to all the horrors which would be the certain 
 consequence to them of any subsequent retirement 
 by us." The question now to be solved was — Whether 
 the ensuing Campaign should include a march upon 
 Ava, or should be restricted to an advance to Prome 
 and an occupation of Pegu ? The Governor-Greneral 
 discovered, from the best information he could obtain 
 at Rangoon, that an advance to Ava could not be 
 made wholly by water ; in his opinion a heavy land 
 column would be " unavoidable for some part of the 
 way." And with regard to the carriage resources 
 of Burmah, Lord Dalhousie truly says — " Greatly 
 as everything in that country has changed for the 
 better, compared with what it was in 1824, I appre- 
 hend that the difficulty of obtaining land-carriage 
 would be hardly less now than then." But notwith- 
 standing all these disadvantages " everything of 
 that sort is practicable if one is resolved to do it ; 
 but it could be effected only at an enormous cost, 
 which nothing but a proved indispensable necessity 
 would justify the Government in incurring." On 
 the other hand, should it be resolved to limit the 
 advance " to the ground which it is proposed to 
 occupy permanently," expense would be vastly dimi- 
 nished, life would be saved, and time would be eco- 
 nomised. Only half the amount of troops would 
 then be required by the General. The flotilla might 
 
THE governor-general's POLICY. 315 
 
 be able to convey the force for the occupation of 
 Prome. Then, says the Governor-General, " the 
 whole of the cold season will be before us, in which 
 to confirm our position and to provide against the 
 future ; and if the decision of the authorities 
 in England shall confirm the proposals of the 
 Government of India, the war may be declared at 
 an end in November, and the annexation of the 
 Province proclaimed. The treaty relations which 
 have been violated by the Burmese will not be 
 renewed. Doubts and uncertainties both in Pegu 
 and among ourselves will be removed, and thence- 
 forward we shall have only to defend our fron- 
 tier against attack.^' Lord Dalhousie is firmly of 
 opinion that the conquest of the Upper Provinces of 
 the Burmese Empire " would be for no good end 
 after all." It was now decided that the advance 
 should be limited to Prome. 
 
 We now come to a very important point, the 
 discussion of which drew down much unjust 
 abuse on General Godwin — unjust, because infor- 
 mation and impartiality were not apparent in 
 the majority of opinions — regarding the time when 
 the advance on Prome should be made. The 
 Governor- General adverts to the subject of an 
 immediate advance to Prome having been officially 
 discussed by General Godwin shortly after the con- 
 clusion of operations at Rangoon. The General 
 stated strong military objections to the movement ; 
 " he pointed out that his force was comparatively 
 
316 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 small, and that no reinforcements could be obtained 
 at that season ; he showed that we were totally 
 ignorant of the plans and movements of the enemy. 
 Hence he argued, that if he should take his force to 
 Prome it would be placed there in the heart of an 
 enemy's country, wholly without support if attacked, 
 (which was an event at least as possible then as in 
 1825,) and with his sole communication by the river 
 insecure ; and consequently, that he would be alto- 
 gether in a weak and false position." These reasons 
 appeared to the Governor-General, as they would, 
 doubtless, have appeared to all reasonable men, to be 
 unanswerable. Then, again, General Godwin was 
 strongly urged by many to advance during the rains. 
 On — on — toAva — Sesostris, Pluto, Proserpine ! throw 
 shells into the Palace of the Golden Foot, astonish 
 the inhabitants of the " City of the Immortals !" 
 " another turn-a-head," to Umeerapoora, and bring 
 the " Golden Supreme" to terms ! Steam on the 
 Irrawaddy, there is no limit to your progress ! shoals 
 are nothing ; tonnage is nothing ; rocks not laid 
 down in the ch^art are nothing; nothing whatever 
 is impossible ! General Godwin informed Lord 
 Dalhousie at Rangoon that he had declined to 
 advance during the rains. Though some of his pre- 
 vious objections were removed by the command 
 obtained over the river by the flotilla, he would 
 still, in the absence of reinforcements, have been 
 wholly without support ; and he alleged as an addi- 
 tional reason for declining to advance, that while 
 
THE GOVERNOR-OENERAL's POLICY. 317 
 
 no object of importance had been pointed out as 
 likely to be secured by the early occupation of Prome, 
 it would have been unwise and culpable to remove 
 the troops, without positive necessity, from the bar- 
 racks which had been provided for them, and where 
 they were enjoying comparatively good health, in 
 order to expose them at Prome to effects of climate 
 and the season, from which they were likely to suffer 
 severely. " I consider," says Lord Dalhousie, " that 
 these reasons of General Godwin for refusing to 
 advance hitherto, during the rains, to Prome, were 
 sound and good." Thus approved of by his Lordship 
 to the Secret Committee, nevertheless. General 
 Godwin had the rare distinction of being one of the 
 best abused Generals of the day ! Yes, it was a 
 distinction to be abused by those utterly ignorant of 
 the facts of each case — ignorant alike of local as 
 well as of military affairs — whose ignorance and pre- 
 sumption now becomes apparent in the most glaring 
 form from the papers before us. At a more advanced 
 period a letter appeared in an Indian Journal,* — 
 which Journal in India, with two others well known 
 to fame in London, formed the grand literary tri- 
 umvirate of sarcasm and abuse — in defence of the 
 GeneraFs conduct, the publication of which evinced 
 a decided liberality on the part of the Editor: — 
 " General Godwin formed one opinion, Commodore 
 Lambert another. Had Commodore Lambert's 
 
 " December 30, 1852. 
 
318 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 views been as easy of accomplishment as the Editors 
 of so many journals declare, surely Lord Dalhousie 
 would have over-ruled the General, ordered him to 
 furnish 1,000 soldiers to the Commodore, and have 
 directed the gallant sailor to advance up the Irra- 
 waddy and blow the King's Court and Capital to 
 ' immortal smash.' It is but reasonable, however, 
 to conclude that the Governor-General did not coin- 
 cide with this dashing proposal, but preferred the 
 plan of campaign submitted by the General." 
 
 Let us next turn to the all-important Minutes of 
 November 1852, forwarded by the Governor-General 
 of India in Council to the Secret Committee : — 
 
 " Fort- William, November 6, 1852. (No. 53.) In 
 reply to your despatch of the 6th of September last, 
 we have the honor to forward for your information, 
 copies of Minutes recorded by us on the affairs of 
 Burmah, from which it will be seen that we are 
 unanimous in deprecating an occupation of Burmah, 
 and that we further deprecate an advance to Ava, 
 (with the exception of Sir John Littler, who advo- 
 cates an advance, but without an occupation). We 
 have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) " Dalhousie, F. Currie. 
 
 " J. Littler, J, Lowis." 
 
 Lord Dalhousie's Minute is dated November 3, 
 1852, It contains so much valuable information 
 that one is almost led to wonder how, in the midst 
 of a Governor-GeneraFs multifarious duties, so much 
 knowledge should have been brought together in a 
 
THE aOVERNOR-GENERAL'S POLICY. 319 
 
 despatch, a large portion of which, it is presumed, 
 must have been written from memory. Here we 
 have the Governor- General's full views, and the 
 policy he urged upon the Secret Committee at home. 
 It is a reply to the despatch of the Secret Com- 
 mittee, dated the 6th of September. It is regretted 
 that the Committee does not coincide with the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council " regarding the manner 
 in which the formal termination of the war is to be 
 
 effected The orders of the Committee 
 
 are, that on the occupation of Pegu being com- 
 pleted, the King of Burmah shall be called upon to 
 conclude a Treaty of Peace, of which the cession of 
 Pegu shall be the basis; and tlu-eatened, if he refuses, 
 with all the consequences that continued war will 
 bring upon him ........ Although it now appears 
 
 that the objections felt by the Committee to the 
 larger occupation are not insuperable, I still adhere 
 to the policy originally recommended ; and still 
 strongly urge that the army should not advance 
 to Ava, excepting under a more cogent necessity than 
 that contemplated by the Committee in their pre- 
 sent despatch." Now we have a piece of statesman- 
 ship, as if its author, like a political Theophrastus, 
 had penetrated into the inmost core of the Burmese 
 character : — " The Committee," says Lord Dal- 
 housie, " regard the treaty as of great importance. 
 I regret to feel myself compelled to differ from it so 
 widely, that I regard a treaty with this Burman 
 Power as an evil to be avoided .... Eastern Nations 
 
320 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 set little store by such instruments. Their opinion 
 of any attempted violation of treaty by Burmah 
 would certainly not be calculated to deter the Court 
 of Ava from prosecuting its unfaithful projects ; and 
 the British Government would obtain neither moral 
 nor physical aid from them in enforcement of its 
 rights, either by their opinion or by their action. 
 In truth, the conclusions of such a treaty serves 
 only to impose obligations upon the British Govern- 
 ment in proportion as it confers rights. A general 
 stipulation for peace and friendship, and for the 
 mutual security of the subjects of both States, is not 
 open to so much objection; but when clauses are 
 multiplied, as in the Treaty of Yandaboo, and in the 
 consequent Commercial Treaty with Burmah, giving 
 to the British Government many rights specified in 
 detail, points of contact, and consequently of con- 
 flict, are multiplied in the same proportion. The 
 British Government is thereby reduced to the neces- 
 sity either of interfering upon every occasion on 
 which a faithless and overbearing Power disregards 
 the stipulated rights of our subjects, or of avoiding 
 the perpetual risk of quarrel by overlooking such 
 disregard of its subjects' rights, and neglecting to 
 enforce them. Such was the course pursued through 
 many years in regard to our treaties with Burmah." 
 It is then the opinion of the Governor-General that 
 this undecided policy " did unquestionably encourage 
 the Burmese in their arrogance, and presumptuous 
 violation of public rights, which led at last to the 
 
THE aOVERNOR-QENERAL'S POLICY. 321 
 
 present war, and to their refusal of any reparation 
 for the purpose of averting it." With reference to 
 the fact of our Envoys having been " actually 
 hunted out of the country," the Eev. Mr Burney — 
 son of Colonel Burney — informed the author of 
 this Narrative that while his father was resident at 
 Ava, on the eve of the ColoneFs departure from the 
 presence of the Golden Foot, the King said he 
 would allow him to remain with him as a friend, but 
 not as a Resident. Colonel Burney's knowledge of 
 the Burmese language and people even endeared him 
 to the Court of Ava. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie is convinced that treaties formed 
 on the Yandaboo model would lead either to an 
 early quarrel or to a repetition of the same process 
 as before, with a similar result ; and such are the 
 reasons for which the Governor-General regards " the 
 negotiations of a formal treaty with Burmah as pro- 
 ductive of evil." The Governor-General in Council 
 at length arrives at the conclusion " that a treaty 
 with Burmah is of no more value than the reed with 
 which it is written — that, as a barrier against hosti- 
 lity, it is as flimsy as the paper on which it is traced." 
 But, as the Committee express an opinion that a 
 treaty should be fonued, " its injunctions shall be 
 obeyed." Lord Dalhousie regards it in the last 
 degree improbable that the King will consent to sign 
 a treaty ceding Pegu. " That Province was the first 
 and best of the conquests of Burmah, and is the last 
 that it has retained. To cede it would be to cut ofi^ 
 
 X 
 
322 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 a right hand and pluck out a right eye. National 
 pride would struggle bitterly against the open humi- 
 liation of a formal surrender ;" but yet the King's 
 refusal to sign does not deter the Governor-General 
 from urging on the Secret Committee the fact that 
 the consequences of an entire subjugation of Burmah 
 would be " most injurious to the interests of the 
 British Government."''' With regard to the entire 
 subjugation of the Burman power, the Committee 
 had not before it the full information that (in the 
 Minute of the 10th of August) " must subsequently 
 have made it acquainted with the great difficulties by 
 which the execution of such an enterprise would be 
 obstructed." Lord Dalhousie then proceeds to shew 
 how, with reference to the much entertained opinion 
 of the propriety of an immediate dispatch of a force 
 upon the steam flotilla to Ava, thus striking at the 
 heart of the capital, and terminating the war at once, 
 such a movement is impossible. " The Government of 
 India has not at its disposal the means of effecting it." 
 We have already stated in this Work that a 
 fleet of very light steamers was required to proceed 
 above Prome, so it will be useless here to give any of 
 the Governor- GeneraFs details on these matters, 
 admirably set forth as they are in his " splendid 
 Despatch." In the Narrative, the Enterprise, draw- 
 ing 12 feet of water, has been seen lying high and 
 dry even between Rangoon and Prome. We are 
 not quite so sure of having mentioned the Sesostris 
 having struck upon a rock coming down the broad 
 
THE GOVERNOK-GENERAL's POLICY. 323 
 
 and deep Bassein River. However, the frigate, 
 through a miracle, came safe to port, was lightened, 
 put into the Irrawaddy while the water was yet 
 high, and accompanied the advance to Prome. " The 
 river has already fallen 15 feet since the 9th of 
 October."* There were 9 steam-vessels employed on 
 the advance to Prome, including store-boats, gun- 
 boats, and other craft. " Although 2,300 men were 
 recently brought to Prome," says the Governor- 
 General, " the voyage was comparatively short and 
 the weather was fine. Even then the men suffered 
 from the crowding and confinement. If they are 
 to be moved in the rains for some hundred miles 
 farther, the ships must be covered in, and the ships'* 
 boats could not give the same aid as of late. Unless 
 it was desired to invite the decimation of cholera, 
 the numbers embarked in each ship must be greatly 
 less than on the advance to Prome. I give a wide 
 estimate when I say that the whole steam flotilla 
 could not, in the rains, convey more than 1,500 men," 
 and this flotilla could not be increased. In the 
 Minute of the 10th of August the Governor-General 
 held that an advance to Ava could not be made wholly 
 by water. " I greatly doubt," said he, " whether 
 the steamers which during this autumn would go 
 to Prome, could in the ensuing winter mount the 
 stream to Ava." Since the date of that Minute it 
 is now asserted that no time has been lost, nor any 
 exertions spared, to collect carriage for the army. 
 
 * Minute, November 3, 1862. 
 
324 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Elephants had likewise been dispatched from Bengal, 
 all with a view to enabling the army " to move 
 against any force that might be in its neighbour- 
 hood.'" This was politic ; but Lord Dalhousie 
 thinks it in the highest degree the reverse, with the 
 Cabul disaster fresh on our memory, to conquer and 
 occupy Ava, and thus " expose a handful of men 
 isolated in the midst of enemies." 
 
 We now proceed to the financial remark put for- 
 ward by the Governor-General, that " heretofore the 
 charges of the war have been light indeed, compared 
 with the cost of the previous war." It was stated 
 in our former Work that the Campbell Expedi- 
 tion, during Lord Amhersfs administration, cost 
 nearly L. 12,000,000 sterling, or say ten crores of 
 rupees, in less than 24 months. From what has 
 been publicly set forth regarding the expense of the 
 present war, it would appear to have cost consider- 
 ably less than a million sterling in the 12 months, 
 hi the House of Lords, February 24, 1853, the 
 Earl of Ellenborough said that the war had cost 
 from the commencement not less than L.130,000 a 
 month. On the following day, in the House of Com- 
 mons, Sir James Weir Hogg exposed what he 
 termed the preposterous exaggerations respecting 
 the cost of the expedition. Taking up the Friend 
 of India * — a sort of financial Necker in his way — it 
 is there said that the war will have scarcely cost 
 more than 60 lakhs of rupees in a twelvemonth ! The 
 • January 13, 1853. 
 
THE governor-qeneral's policy. 325 
 
 Times had the cost of the expedition up to the first 
 of July 1852 reckoned at about half a million -ster- 
 ling : at a later date the " leading journal " calcu- 
 lated it at the rate of L. 250,000 a-month (25 lakhs 
 of rupees), or L.3,000,000 sterling a-year. Our 
 financial Friend, writing in November 1852, says — 
 " Lord Dalhousie began the Burmese war not merely 
 with L. 12,000,000 sterhng of cash balance in the 
 treasury, but with L. 2,000, 000 sterling in excess of 
 the sum which was in hand when the Second Pun- 
 jaub War commenced in 1848, and it is doubtless to 
 this circumstance we are to attribute the fact of his 
 having been able to meet the heavy expenses of 
 a maritime war like that w^e are now engaged in, with 
 so much ease and freedom, and to disappoint the 
 expectations of those who were looking for a new five 
 per cent. loan. Even if the war should therefore 
 cost L.2,000,000 sterling, the treasury will only be 
 reduced to the same position in which it stood on the 
 30th of April 1848." 
 
 Returning to the Governor-Generars Minute, he 
 assures the Committee that if it " requires this 
 Government to protract the war, to continue the 
 advance to Ava, and to seize a vast and unprofitable 
 region, they must be prepared to hear of exhausted 
 cash-balances and re-opened loans." Even should 
 Umeerapoora be captured, the task would be but 
 half done. The Committee are referred to the map 
 of Burmah, where it will find that " six degrees of 
 latitude must still be traversed before the subjuga- 
 
326 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 tion of the Burman power will be effected. That 
 tract of country is mountainous, jungly, and peopled 
 with wild tribes. The difficulties of subduing this tract 
 cannot be stated, because they cannot be calculated. 
 
 Territory, 800 miles in length, 
 
 from the sea to Assam, and varying in breadth from 
 Arracan to the borders of China, will have been 
 added to the British possessions in the East. Once 
 
 taken it must be held No hill people is 
 
 contemptible among its own hills." Lord Dalhousie 
 alludes to an attempt to coerce the Nagas round 
 Assam some two years ago, which was attended with 
 no very brilliant results ; the same might be the 
 case with the Shans and other hill tribes with whom 
 we would now come in contact. On every principle 
 his Lordship seems to deprecate the entire subjuga- 
 tion of the Burmese Empire ; he thinks it neither 
 worth the trouble nor the expense. The King of 
 Ava's crown is one of tinsel, and will secure its own 
 downfall. The glory of the dynasty of Alompra, 
 come what may, is on the eve of departing for ever. 
 We may some day be solicited by numerous unknown 
 tribes to go forth and spread the light of civilisation 
 among them. Such thoughts are apt to strike one 
 in the perusal of the Minute now under considera- 
 tion. The Governor-General is satisfied, from all 
 the information within his reach, " that the revenues 
 of Burmah would not be sufficient to meet the extra 
 expense which the possession of Burmah would im- 
 pose upon us."" Again, " the policy which would 
 
THE QOVERNOR-GENERAL's POLICY. 32? 
 
 fix the frontier necar to Ava would assuredly leave 
 us still without a Treaty of Peace, and with the pros- 
 pect of an indefinite continuance of hostilities be- 
 tween the two States. My own conviction remains, 
 as I have already expressed it, that the King would 
 make no overtures and no submission. On our ap- 
 proach to Ava he would retire into his highlands, 
 as was their declared policy before, and as recent 
 intelligence, received through Armenian merchants 
 at Ava, shows to be the King"'s intention now." 
 About the same time as these words were written 
 another opinion was entertained as to the proba- 
 bility of the King's flight into the jungles on the 
 capture and occupation of Ava. It was said that 
 those well informed on the subject had declared that 
 such a contingency could never arise. The King 
 could not leave his capital ; if he did, his flight 
 would be followed by immediate destruction. So 
 much for opinion, well defined by Dean Swift as 
 " light of foot and headstrong, yet giddy and per- 
 petually turning ! " And we cannot help thinking 
 that, notwithstanding the golden immortal charm 
 that is ever said to hover around the dignity of Ava, 
 his Majesty would retire on our approach at an 
 unquestionable speed to the jungle regions. Were 
 he to get among that strange and mysterious race, 
 the Shans, they might deliver him up any day to 
 us for 5,000 pieces of silver ; or, owing him a 
 grudge for past injuries received, they might seek to 
 annihilate the dynasty of Alompra in destroying him 
 
328 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 and all his followers. Siam would rejoice at the 
 annihilation ; and this, in some way or other, at no 
 very distant period must take place. We shall no 
 doubt be quite ready for the coup cTetat ! for we shall 
 have been prepared for it by the prudent policy of 
 the Governor- General of India in the Second Bur- 
 mese War. 
 
 But even if the King should forego the intention 
 of flight, there is, in the opinion of Lord Dalhousie, 
 " no hope whatever of his signing such a treaty as 
 the Committee has required." Even at Ava he 
 would not consent to " cede the fairest portion of 
 his kingdom to us, and confine himself for the future 
 to forest and barren hills." No peace therefore 
 will have been concluded ; and why, at the present 
 time, should we be " encumbered with 400 miles of 
 additional territory, with enhanced expenses and 
 disproportionate returns." With regard to what 
 was stated by the Secret Committee, that with the 
 mere annexation and occupation of Pegu the Govern- 
 ment would be under the necessity of constantly 
 maintaining a force upon a war footing in that dis- 
 trict for its defence, the Governor- General remarks, 
 " I hold a treaty of any kind with the Burmese to 
 be so valueless, that the conclusion of one would not 
 induce me to keep one regiment less in Pegu than if 
 there were no treaty. . . . Nor would the force be kept 
 on a ' war footing' if there were no treaty, any more 
 
 than if it were negotiated By long-established 
 
 practice all troops crossing the sea receive the higher 
 
THE governor-general's POLICY. 329 
 
 allowances ; wherefore, for the present at least, and 
 until a great change be made, the higher allowances 
 could not be withheld from the troops in Pegu."" 
 Lord Dalhousie brings forward the case of the 
 Ameer Dost Mahommed Khan in 1849, when he 
 entered the Punjaub in arms against the British 
 Crovernment, and occupied Peshawur. After the 
 surrender of the Sikhs, the Dost was chased out of 
 the country, and the province was occupied by the 
 British. The Governor-GeneraFs policy not to enter 
 into any treaty with him was approved of by the 
 Committee. The people of the Punjaub, or elsewhere, 
 do not consider our power one whit the less para- 
 mount because a treaty was not concluded with the 
 wily Dost. But to proceed : — " The occupation of 
 Pegu does, in my judgment,'"' writes his Lordship, 
 " afford reparation for the past, and will give effec- 
 tual security for the future. The physical and com- 
 mercial advantages that would accompany the pos- 
 session of Pegu by the British Government were set 
 forth in the Minute of the 30th of June. The en- 
 quiries which have been sedulously made since that 
 time tend, as far as they go, to confirm the safe and 
 moderate estimate which stated the revenues of 
 Pegu at 25 lakhs a year. The annexation of a ter- 
 ritory in perpetuity, producing the revenue above 
 named, and susceptible of great and various improve- 
 ment, will certainly pay for all the cost of its occupa- 
 tion and government, and fully re-imburse the State 
 for all the charges of the present war."" With respect 
 
330 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 to security for peace in the future, the loss of Pegu 
 deprives the Burmese of the sinews of war, for it 
 impoverishes the treasury of the Court of Ava, and 
 takes the means of raising many soldiers on the 
 " conscript " system out of their hands. " If the 
 Burmese should nevertheless," says the Governor- 
 General, " collect an army for attack, after the de- 
 clared annexation of Pegu, we could desire nothing 
 better. The frontier of Prome is not extensive. Its 
 central portion is filled by the Galadzet mountains, 
 covered with jungle and destitute of water, which 
 are as impassable to the Burmese army as to us. 
 The valley of Prome and the valley of Tonghoo are 
 
 the only points of attack If the Burmese 
 
 should attempt to attack with an army, its destruc- 
 tion, if it will stand, or its total dispersion if it 
 
 breaks, would be the certain consequence 
 
 Still, for some time, they may harrass the border by 
 guerilla inroads." But with the aid of a friendly 
 population this frontier skirmishing would very soon 
 cease. It would die away. The Court of Ava would 
 silently acquiesce in its loss, " though it would not 
 openly assent to a cession." 
 
 Having arrived at this point — and writing from 
 Tounghoo (or Tonghoo), — it may here be remarked, 
 that we believe the difficulty of crossing the Galad- 
 zet mountains to be greatly exaggerated, as far as a 
 British force is concerned. We think if Baron Hum- 
 boldt were asked his opinion, he would say that where 
 there were mountains and jungles there must be 
 
THE governor-general's POLICY. 331 
 
 water. The passage across, of course would take time. 
 And it is now to be regretted that when General 
 Steel arrived at this station he did not urge an 
 endeavour to reach Prorae, With 50 elephants, 
 the Irregular Cavalry, and one company of European 
 Infantry, the General, an excellent horseman, might 
 have rivalled Napoleon crossing the Alps. The 
 feat would have astonished General Godwin, who 
 would probably have resolved on walking a consider- 
 able part of the distance ; for although some seven 
 or eight years older than our Madras General, the 
 pedestrian agility of the Chief of the Army of Bur- 
 mah has often astonished far younger men ! 
 
 Asking pardon for this digression, let us now 
 attend to the Govemor-Generars assertion, that " if 
 my anticipations should not be fulfilled, — and if, 
 notwithstanding the superiority, which they cannot 
 deny, and the risk, which they cannot fail to recog- 
 nise, the Burmese should really dispute our pos- 
 session, still I earnestly contend that an onward 
 territorial movement should be avoided to the last. 
 
 Though I am strongly opposed to an advance 
 
 on Ava, followed by a retirement to Prome, I would 
 advise that even that costly military operation 
 should be undertaken before Burmah be made and 
 declared a British possession."" And now comes 
 what, in our humble opinion, is the finest passage in 
 the Despatch : — " But if, after all, peace cannot be 
 procured by any thing short of the conquest of 
 Burmah ; if the lapse of time and the course of 
 
332 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 events shall establish a real necessity for advance, 
 then let us advance, — let us fulfil the destiny 
 which there, as elsewhere, will have compelled 
 us forward in spite of our own wishes, and let 
 us reconcile ourselves to a course which will then 
 have no alternative. Having made every honest 
 exertion to stand fast, we shall go on with a 
 clear conscience — with motives unimpeached ; and 
 we may rest tranquil as to the ultimate result." The 
 Minute then proceeds to consider matter already 
 set forth in the " Proclamation " Chapter of this 
 volume. A letter should be addressed to the King 
 of Burmah, " reciting more fully the origin, the 
 object, and the results of the war." According to 
 the desire of the Committee, or with the object of 
 giving effect to their orders, the conclusion of a 
 Treaty of Peace between the States is to be pro- 
 posed to the King. " If the Court of Ava desires 
 to secure itself from further assaults by the Power 
 which it has found itself wholly unable to resist, it 
 will cause the proper officers, duly accredited on its 
 part, to repair to Prome, within one month from 
 the dispatch of the letter to the King from that 
 place, there to sign a treaty by which the Province 
 of Pegu shall be ceded to the British Government, 
 and relations of friendship shall be renewed."" The 
 probability of the letter in question not reaching 
 the King now" occurs to the mind of the Governor- 
 General. European officers would perhaps meet 
 with immediate death on its delivery. No Burman 
 
THE QOVERNOR-GENERAL's POLICY. 333 
 
 would undertake to be the bearer. The Lord of 
 the White Elephant holds heads but cheap in Ava ! 
 But through the wise measure of distributing large 
 numbers of copies of the Proclamation over the 
 country, the King will hear of annexation " though 
 the letter should never reach him." The Secret 
 Committee are then informed that the Governor- 
 General in Council has selected Captain Phayre, the 
 present Commissioner of Arracan, to be Commis- 
 sioner of Pegu ; that everything is in preparation 
 for the establishment of a Civil Government in the 
 new Province ; and that all will come into opera- 
 tion as soon as the Proclamation of Annexation 
 " shall have been publicly promulgated." 
 
 We have now endeavoured to set before the 
 reader the leading points of Lord Dalhousie's policy, 
 in as brief a space as was compatible with doing 
 justice to his Minutes and the last extraordinary 
 Despatch. This document of November 3, 1852, is 
 distinguished by three leading qualities — decision of 
 character, a desire of economy, and the wish to shew 
 that a paramount Power can afford wisely to act 
 with moderation under very difficult circumstances. 
 The difficulties for a statesman to contend with in 
 this Burmese War have been indeed great. Who 
 will deny that the pilot has weathered the storm 
 well, as he did before in other quarters in troublous 
 times? Who will deny him a place beside such 
 Governors-General as the Marquess Wellesley, Lord 
 William Bentinck, and Lord Hardinge ? 
 
334 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 On the 23d of December 1852, the Secret Com- 
 mittee repHed to the Governor-General in Council. 
 They approve of the course the Governor-General 
 proposes to pursue. " We should deplore/' say 
 they, " the necessity of further conquest, and we 
 strongly feel the very serious objections to the 
 annexation of any other portion of the Burman 
 Empire." The Committee " see with satisfaction, 
 by the Minute of Sir John Littler, whose military 
 experience entitles his opinion to great considera- 
 tion, that he does not estimate the difficulties of an 
 advance upon Ava as being of so grave a character 
 as to present a material obstacle to the adoption of 
 that course, if it should be rendered necessary by 
 the persevering hostility of the Burmese." Sir 
 John advocated an advance on Ava without an 
 occupation. It is probable that General Godwin 
 entertained the same idea in September 1852, when 
 he made his speech at the Artillery dinner. And 
 none could be more natural for a military man to 
 entertain, who, from the very nature of his profes- 
 sion, is calculated to look more at the immediate 
 eflFect and glory of a thing than at the after con- 
 sequences. Yet, for anything we know, the two 
 Generals may have well considered the future, after 
 planting the British standard on the battlements 
 of Ava ! 
 
 The Governor-Generars letter to His Majesty 
 the King of Ava is dated November 16, 1852. It 
 is simply the Proclamation in detail; but there is 
 
THE aOVERNOR-QENERAL's POLICY. 'So5 
 
 important matter regarding the Treaty by which the 
 conquered Province of Pegu was to be ceded to the 
 Government of India. Should His Majesty's ac- 
 credited officers sign, then the Government of India, 
 on its part, " will bind itself to renew relations of 
 friendship with your Majesty, and to grant liberty 
 to trade in security within the British territories to 
 your Majesty's subjects, permitting the usual trade 
 and supplies of your kingdom to pass its frontier in 
 Pegu, on the payment of such moderate duties as it 
 may fix." The following is the 
 
 DRAFT OF TREATY. 
 
 Treaty of Peace between the Honourable East 
 India Company, on the one part, and His Majesty 
 the King of Ava, on the other ; settled by His 
 Excellency Commodore G. R. Lambert, Commander- 
 in-Chief of Her Majesty's Naval Force in the East 
 Indies, Major-General Henry Godwin, C. B., com- 
 manding the British Forces in Ava, and Captain 
 Arthur Purves Phayre, Commissioner of Pegu, on 
 the part of the Honourable Company ; and by 
 
 , on the part of the King of Ava ; 
 who have each communicated to the other their full 
 powers. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 There shall be perpetual peace and friendship be- 
 tween the Honourable East India Company, on the 
 one part, and His Majesty the King of Ava, on the 
 other. 
 
336 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 His Majesty the King of Ava cedes to the 
 Honourable East India Company, in perpetual 
 sovereignty, the Province of Pegu, being the ter- 
 ritories to the southward of the boundary herein- 
 after described, namely ; — 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 The Honourable East India Company, and His 
 Majesty the King of Ava, will each permit the sub- 
 jects of the other to carry on trade within their 
 respective dominions, and they will give to such 
 traders full protection and security. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 This Treaty shall be ratified by His Majesty the 
 King of Ava, within one month ; the British Com- 
 missioner engaging that it shall be ratified by the 
 Governor-General in Council, and delivered to the 
 Burmese Commissioners, within one month, at 
 Prome. 
 
 Done at , this 
 
 day of 185 . 
 
 The late illustrious Duke of Wellington"'s opinion 
 
 on the Second Burmese War will be found in the 
 
 Appendix.* 
 
 * No. XIV. 
 
PROGRESS OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 337 
 
 Having now related the annexation of a new 
 Province to our dominions in the East, and holding 
 the opinion that it is highly politic to increase those 
 dominions when we can do so with a due regard to 
 our own interests and to those of others, we are led, 
 at a time when the government of India forms one 
 of the prominent objects of public attention, to muse 
 over the progress we have made during a wonder- 
 ful century of government. If even a Frenchman — 
 remembering too the scenes of the glory of Dupleix, 
 Labourdonnais, Lally, and Bussy — styled the govern- 
 ment of the East India Company " one of the most 
 glorious works of civilization," why should any of our 
 own countrymen, without having weighed the matter, 
 be prone to condemn, or simply to wish for change ? 
 In the little city of Pondicherry — the Niobe of 
 the French possessions in India — the traveller of 
 the present day will probably hear, as the writer has 
 heard before him, the intelligent circles of the Paris 
 of the East expressing their wonder and admiration 
 on the subject of the government of India — " the 
 result of circumstances rather than of design " — a 
 piece of machinery surpassing all that could be 
 devised by the most cunning legislator — a system 
 which could not wisely be replaced by any other. 
 It is pleasant to know that the country in which so 
 many of our destinies are cast has made con- 
 siderable progress under the East India Company, 
 This government, it has been well expressed, "is 
 
 Y 
 
338 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 extraordinary in its design, singular in its conduct ;""* 
 it is a system pursued among a strange people who 
 like not sudden innovations, millions of whom seem 
 to persist in remaining " unchangeable in the midst 
 of change ! " Who that knows aught concerning 
 India and her people will not agree with the remark -f- 
 that " Europe and South America, if not India, 
 have had quite enough of Governments by design — of 
 Governments not the results of circumstances, but 
 of theories ; and we should be sorry were India the 
 prey of constitution-makers !*" Modify and correct 
 if you will, but do not attack in order to destroy. 
 The attempt carries failure in the face of it, as sure 
 as ever failure was, or ever will be ! 
 
 It is to be hoped that even in a quarter of a cen- 
 tury hence a decided progress will be observable 
 among the inhabitants of Pegu. As has been said 
 before, there is easier and better material to work 
 upon here; and the Talains, seeing that we have 
 been the means of rescuing them from tyranny and 
 oppression, will no doubt aid us in the general cause 
 of improvement, when our system of government 
 has fairly begun to work, buoyed up with the hope 
 of seeing Pegu rise in its beauty again, and them- 
 selves, although not an independent, at least a peace- 
 ful and happy Nation ! 
 
 Upon our occupation of the Tenasserim Pro- 
 vinces after the last war, we are informed that our 
 
 * History of ike British Conquests in India, by Horace St Jolin. 
 + Economist. 
 
FISCAL SYSTEM. 339 
 
 rule commenced very properly, " by disturbing as 
 little as possible the systems of revenue, police, and 
 justice, to which the people had been accustomed 
 under their Burmese rulers." By the Burmese the 
 chief portion of the State revenue derived from land, 
 was levied in kind ; and one-fourth of the crop of 
 rice was nominally the share claimed by the Govern- 
 ment.* But on account of the distance of the 
 southern provinces from Ava, the Burmese Governors 
 and their subordinates had a large field for the exer- 
 cise of tyranny and exaction. Garden produce, 
 fruit trees, the farming of fisheries, town dues, and 
 other modes of raising money, likewise yielded 
 revenue for the State as well as for the Governors. 
 [The judicial officers appointed by our Government 
 are the Commissioner, his Assistants, the Tseekays, 
 and the Goung Gyouks.] With the exception of 
 taking revenue from the land in kind, the above fiscal 
 system was adopted by us ; from which period the 
 revenue system of the Tenasserim Provinces, appa- 
 rently for some years, went through so many fluc- 
 tuations and errors as to impress us with the idea 
 that a Colonel Read, with his assistant Munro, 
 (afterwards the great Sir Thomas) were much wanted 
 in this corner of our dominions in the East. There 
 is no saying what these lords of the Ryotwari sys- 
 tem, and masters in all relating to land revenue, 
 would have done under the circumstances ; but, 
 
 * Calcutta Review, No. xv, p. 90. That branch of revenue 
 derived from teak forests was unknown to the Burmese. 
 
340 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 doubtless, they would have done something — have 
 invented some mode of raising a just revenue which 
 should at least bring the territory nearer paying its 
 civil and military expenses than has hitherto been 
 attained.* It would now appear, notwithstanding 
 a similar drawback to these Provinces — ^that of a 
 scanty population — reasonable to expect that Pegu, 
 with all its natural advantages, will not eventually 
 disappoint the Government; there is every chance of 
 a speedy increase of population ; and even in a few 
 years, with judicious management, guided by expe- 
 rience, which qualities distinguish the head of Pegu's 
 Government, this once ancient kingdom may furnish 
 a fair and sufficient revenue for every purpose. The 
 Commissioner of the Tenasserim and Martabah 
 Provinces, whose jurisdiction now includes a portion 
 of Pegu to the eastward, as far as Shoe-Gyne, will 
 also have an admirable field for the developement of 
 his talents in the endeavour to bring his now exten- 
 sive territory into a prosperous and paying condition. 
 As regards the commercial capital of Pegu, the 
 ground-rent of Rangoon alone, it is said, will furnish 
 no inconsiderable source of income. Captain Phayre 
 
 • Major Broadfoot, the hero who fell at Moodkee, altered the 
 whole fiscal system of the Provinces, " substituting a fixed 
 money payment in lieu of the levy of one-fourth of the grain in 
 kind or commuted in money ; he abolished taxes on trees and 
 garden produce, and those on turtle-banks and fisheries ; in 
 place of the latter he established a species of poll-tax, so re- 
 gulated that a cultivator paid about one-third of what was ex- 
 acted from a non-cultivator." — Calcutta Review. 
 
INCOME AUD EXPENDITURE. 341 
 
 has already begun to lay the foundation of a healthy 
 and wealthy metropolis of Eastern Asia. And now, 
 towards the close of this Narrative, it comes as a sort 
 of duty to notice a monstrous fallacy recently put 
 forth by one of the great daily journals of England, — 
 nothing less than the assertion that " each new ac- 
 quisition had added to our debt, and has impover- 
 ished India." Is this partizan-like style of writing 
 and ignorant reasoning concerning Indian affairs 
 never to cease even among our Leviathans of Jour- 
 nalism ? In the account of the revenues and charges 
 of the Punjaub and Trans-Indies territory for 1840- 
 1850, and the succeeding year, we find a surplus 
 of upwards of 60 lakhs of rupees. If we deduct 
 from this what is styled " an extra military ex- 
 penditure" of 30 lakhs — much of which would have 
 been expended had annexation never taken place — 
 there is then a clear surplus of 30 lakhs ! The 
 last accounts of the same territory give a surplus of 
 about half a million sterling, subject to the same de- 
 ductions. Should very minute statisticians give no 
 weight to the fact that had we not annexed the Pun- 
 jaub we would have had to watch it, consequently 
 a large army to pay, without deriving any revenue 
 from that territory. Supposing that Government, 
 in the case of Pegu, had not annexed — had simply 
 been contented with striking a blow; allowing that 
 Bunnese arrogance always goes on in an increasing 
 arithmetical progression, would not Moulmein and 
 Arracan have remained constant themes of anxiety 
 
342 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 and expense? There could be nothing so effective 
 as taking away the " sinews of war" from a country 
 like Ava ! And this could only be done by annex- 
 ation ! Had the resources of Ava, by such a stroke 
 of policy, been crippled in 1826, it is highly probable 
 there would have been no Second Burmese War in 
 1853. 
 
 Again, another great London Daily Journal advis- 
 ed, shortly after we were settled at Rangoon, that 
 the army should be withdrawn from Burmah, and 
 that we should retire to Calcutta " with as little loss 
 of time as possible ;" thus we have a mighty organ 
 of the Press attempting to destroy the prestige of 
 the power of that very Empire which it so elegantly 
 styled, some years ago, " the most splendid dominion 
 under the sun !" 
 
 We are thankful to have some journaHsts in India 
 able and willing to expose such rank absurdities as 
 have just been alluded to ; and it is only to be 
 regretted that these are not more universally read in 
 England. But we are not always perfect in our 
 views of matters, even in the Eastern quarter of the 
 universe. Our esteemed Indian Quarterly* has a 
 fallacy or two which have been commented on by one 
 of the Calcutta Journals. The annexation of Pegu, 
 thinks the Reviewer, will be followed " by the rapid 
 establishment of an Eastern Empire."" This is all 
 very well — Who does not hope it may ? But after 
 giving England new possessions, in addition to Pegu, 
 * Calcutta Review, September 1852. 
 
MESSAGE FROM THE KING OF AVA. 343 
 
 such as the Shan States and the Gulf of Siam, and 
 having established his empire, he is of opinion that 
 such acquisitions would not pay. It must suffice to 
 assert that we do not see why an " Eastern Empire" 
 should speedily follow the annexation of Pegu ; but 
 if such should take place, we maintain that the said 
 " Empire" would not only pay, if properly man- 
 aged, but afford a considerable surplus to the future 
 Emperors ! 
 
 On the 20th of June a letter arrived, having been 
 brought across the Galadzet mountains from Prome 
 in six days, a distance of at least 120 miles, making 
 the runner's trip at the rate of 20 miles a-day. 
 General Godwin was about to start for Meeaday, 
 and then move southward and complete his tour of 
 inspection at the various military posts — which steps 
 seemed to augur, on our part, a decided termina- 
 tion to the war. 
 
 But all doubt on the latter point was put an end 
 to by the arrival of news at the end of June, to the 
 effect that an Ambassador had arrived at Prome 
 with a message from the King of Ava, stating that 
 although he would not sign away any of his territory 
 he would nevertheless allow us to remain in the 
 country, and would give orders to his Generals not 
 to molest us ; — and that he wished the blockade on 
 the Irrawaddy withdrawn, and a free trade to be 
 established between the two Nations ! We should 
 have been inclined to consider this a piece of con- 
 summate craft, had it not been a well-known fact 
 
344 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR, 
 
 that the unfortunate people to the northward were 
 starving — that traffic had almost ceased — that taxes 
 of course could not be paid, — and that if such a state 
 of things continued, the remnant of the glory of 
 Ava's Kingdom must soon depart, without the 
 necessity of our moving one mile from Meeaday. 
 
 We deem it necessary to make special mention in 
 this Narrative of the admirable measures adopted 
 for enabling us to defeat any attempt of the Burmese 
 to recover a position in the Aeng Pass or its vicinity. 
 Captain NuthalFs gallant surprise of the Aeng Stock- 
 ade* was followed up by a garrison there. The 
 Tonghoo Pass being also garrisoned, British com- 
 munication via Arracan, was brought to within three 
 days' journey from Prome. " From the crest of the 
 Nareghain Pass,"" writes an Officer, '* the valley and 
 course of the Irrawaddy are distinctly visible, and pre- 
 sent a very beautiful and interesting sight." Two 
 Officers have been employed to survey these Passes, 
 which must become " the main line of communication 
 between Prome, the upper part of Pegu, and Calcutta." 
 And now, in a few years, we may hope to see the 
 Governor- General of India, by means of electric 
 telegraph, in communication with Prome and Mee- 
 aday ! Truly, what may we soon expect to see the 
 wizard — Science — leave undone ? The magic wires 
 will speak, — announce a kingdom's fall, or utter forth 
 a kingdom's prosperity, — tell from Europe of an 
 
 • Narrated at p. 207 supra. On this occasion Captain Nuthall 
 and two Sepoys were wounded. 
 
LIBERATED PRISONERS — MR QUINN. 345 
 
 Emperors ambitious views, or herald forth an 
 approaching revolution ; all these things are likely 
 enough to be telegraphed in Eastern Asia ! How 
 different from the time when Sir A. Campbell shewed 
 his foresight by ordering a body of men to Aeng 
 under Captain Eoss, to pioneer the way for any future 
 force, as the Aeng road over the Arracan mountains 
 had not been explored by any Officer of General 
 Morrison's unfortunate army ! However, we should 
 even be grateful to that army, for through it the 
 Burmese lost Arracan on the 1st of April 1825. 
 Mr Quinn, the Conductor, it should have been re- 
 marked, had returned to Prome, and we understand 
 that he declared there was not a single stockade to 
 be seen all the way from Meeaday to Ava ! 
 
 Among the Christian prisoners who had been 
 liberated by Prince Memdoon in his struggle for 
 the Throne of the Golden Foot^ were two Catholic 
 Priests ; a Mr Speirs, formerly Captain of a vessel 
 at Rangoon ; and the above named Mr Conductor 
 Quinn, attached to the Bengal Ordnance Department. 
 The last extraordinary man figured in a letter given 
 elsewhere. There is always something to create a 
 vast interest in the mind about the circumstance 
 of a prisoner of war. Here was a man who strayed 
 beyond the safe boundary at Prome, probably 
 " whistling as he went for want of thought," who 
 believed the presence of an enemy to be a fable. 
 Behold him coolly ascending a tree, then employed 
 in getting a spy-glass to the proper focus, then sur- 
 
346 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 veying the surrounding country in the most consum- 
 mate self-confidence ! The Burmese observe him — 
 he is surrounded — becomes a prisoner of war — and 
 is led off in triumph to Ava. He refuses food — even 
 kicks away the proffered meal — he is but a poor 
 prisoner — his heart is sick — he is about to die. He 
 reaches Ava. As a stroke of conciliation with the 
 British, the successful Prince releases the Conductor, 
 and once more the hitherto unfortunate man is a 
 child of the glorious goddess Liberty ! Who would 
 not be a prisoner of war for such a brilliant 
 consummation ? 
 
 Having thus remarked concerning prisoners of 
 war, one is led to think of a concluding event of 
 the former campaigns, just before the Treaty of 
 Yandaboo was signed and sealed. The reader will 
 probably recollect the arrival of a deputation and 
 treasure from Ava, also of Dr Price, with the 
 Judsons and other prisoners. The British camp at 
 Yandaboo boasted one tent containing Mr and Mrs 
 Judson. While Mr Judson"'s life was in the power 
 of a cruel and sanguinary Court, the amiable wife 
 was debarred from seeing her husband. While he 
 remained in prison she supplied him with food, " occa- 
 sionally contriving to communicate with him by hiding 
 a slip of paper in the spout of a teapot ; and at one 
 period, the prisoners having been moved to a 
 place of confinement several miles from Ava, she 
 followed, and took up her abode in a miserable hut, 
 where, to escape insult, she assumed the Burman 
 
QENEKALS CAMPBELL AND GODWIN. 347 
 
 attire."* We have no " romance" like this to write 
 about in the Second War, and perhaps it is as well. 
 
 As Sir Archibald Campbell and General Godwin 
 are the only two British Generals to whose lot it 
 has yet fallen to conduct a war in these regions, it 
 may not be deemed uninteresting, in conclusion, to 
 note a few circumstances regarding each, with respect 
 to their high command. 
 
 Sir A. Campbell, having distinguished himself 
 in the Peninsula, where he commanded a division 
 of the Portuguese army, was appointed to the 
 Army of Ava some 12 or 14 years after he had 
 won his European laurels. General Godwin, who, 
 as Lieutenant-Colonel of a Queens's regiment, had 
 served under him in the East, having distin- 
 guished himself in the Ava campaigns, was ap- 
 pointed to a similar command about 26 years after 
 that war which has been so vividly narrated by 
 Trant and Havelock, and so correctly by Professor 
 Wilson.t With Sir A. Campbell there was European 
 military experience to guide the war, which could 
 not possibly include a practical knowledge of how to 
 work Europeans and Sepoys together ; the latter not 
 having been supported by European infantry and a 
 well-directed fire of artillery was the cause, every one 
 knows, of such decided and bloody repulses as our 
 troops met with at Kykloo and Wattegaum. With 
 
 * Two Years in Ava. 
 
 + Captain Doveton's'lSeminiscenccs of the Burmese War in 
 1824-5-6, is another work of interest. 
 
348 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 his European regiments there was much to admire 
 in Sir A. Campbell as a soldier, but he knew nothing 
 of Native Infantry. And putting the qualifications 
 of the Sepoy out of the question — even as a political 
 stroke of wisdom never to give our Native troops in 
 the East a chance of being shown off to disadvan- 
 tage — this want of knowledge was of serious con- 
 sequence. General Godwin, although a Queen's 
 Officer, throughout the operations of the Second 
 War has proved himself well aware of the advan- 
 tages to be derived from using the Sepoy. In no 
 instance did he allow the Natives to advance ineffec- 
 tively supported by Europeans ; and thus supported, 
 they really did admirably at Rangoon, Bassein, and 
 Pegu, to say nothing of Donnabew and several 
 minor affairs. Even in his greatest error — that of 
 leaving Pegu ^\^th too small a garrison after its 
 capture — more than half of that small but gallant 
 band was composed of Europeans. The Sepoy could 
 not have been better supported ; and no doubt he 
 would have aided in slaying the Burmese whole- 
 sale, by the side of the European, had an oppor- 
 tunity offered, even against the thousands of infuri- 
 ated warriors who surrounded the Pagoda. 
 
 Before Sir A. Campbell's army was sent to Ran- 
 goon a supposition was entertained that should an 
 advance on Ava be necessary it might be accom- 
 plished by embarking the troops in Burmese boats, 
 which would reach the city of Ava* in three or four 
 * A distance of about 600 miles. 
 
IDEAS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE CAMPAIGNS. 349 
 
 months. It never occurred to those who dictated 
 this line of operations that the Burmese might have 
 the means of withholding from us the resources of 
 the country, on which it would be necessary in such 
 a movement to place great dependence. Having 
 selected Rangoon as the chief point of attack, it 
 was also thought that the Burmese would submit 
 on hearing of the fall of the famous city built by 
 Alompra. 
 
 Twenty-eight years after, on General Godwin''s 
 arrival with a splendid array of steamers and com- 
 paratively few transports, subsequent to the " bril- 
 liant feat of arms "" which placed Rangoon in our 
 possession, a speedy advance on the capital was 
 declared by many to be the only mode of bringing 
 matters to a conclusion. Again, little thought was 
 given to the probability of the Burmese cutting off 
 our supplies, or withholding the resources of the 
 country, or to the fact that but very few of the 
 steamers were suitable for such an advance. In the 
 case of both Generals public expectation was filled 
 with the idea of a brilliant and speedy termination to 
 the war. The distinguished Peninsula Officer was 
 expected to bring about all this in the first war, 
 and all-powerful steam was to do every thing that 
 was needful in the second. We say all-powerful 
 steam, for it was believed by many, from no know- 
 ledge of the Commander, but from sheer assump- 
 tion on the score of years, that General Godwin, in 
 spite of his Burmese experience, would be fit for 
 
350 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 nothing — that he would be " simply in the way." 
 Age is a personal business with which the public 
 have nothing whatever to do. For no other crime 
 than that of having lived a little longer than most 
 men through the changing scenes of life, vollies of 
 abuse were discharged in England against our gallant 
 General, and that too before he was put to the test. 
 Even the philanthropic spirit of " a noble and learned 
 lord" opposed to the war, was roused to give utter- 
 ance to the liberal sentiment that the GeneraFs ap- 
 pointment to command the expedition was a very pro- 
 per one. He was acquainted practically and per- 
 sonally with Burmah, he had already obtained dis- 
 tinction there, and it was therefore likely that he would 
 carry on the war with greater advantage than any 
 other Officer. Who among us would object to a 
 command, should he have the good fortune to enjoy 
 what Dryden styles " a green old age " — a youth 
 renewed like the eagle's 1 We do not advocate the 
 employment of old Generals as a safe rule in the 
 army ; they do not always boast that matured 
 judgment for which they get credit ; but when 
 strong recommendations in their favour appear, it 
 is very hard and unfair that, without having been 
 weighed in the balance, they should be declaimed as 
 wanting ! Sir A. Campbell had the good fortune 
 to steer clear of all such calumny at the period of 
 his appointment. Then public feeling in England 
 against war was not so violent as it is at present. 
 The National advantages obtained by Waterloo 
 
CHANGE IN PUBLIC FEELING. 351 
 
 were being reaped in abundance. In India the 
 Mahratta Power had only a few years before been 
 subdued ; and in the case of a Burmese war it 
 was merely turning the course from the west to 
 the extreme east. On one occasion the Burmese 
 authorities had actually written to the Marquis 
 of Hastings asserting their right to the Pro- 
 vince of Bengal. Then we had no Punjaub — no 
 Scinde — under our government. Altogether, the 
 times were more favourable to the First Burmese 
 War than the Second, Far less shackled, if 
 shackled at all, than General Godwin, and with a 
 new and determined enemy. Sir A. Campbell had 
 also frequent opportunities of displaying that perse- 
 vering enterprise which the British always admire, 
 and than which, when discreetly used, nothing can 
 be more worthy of admiration. General Godwin 
 had not so many opportunities. The efficiency of 
 steam aided in rendering the opening campaign of 
 the Second Burmese War truly brilliant. It would 
 seem therefore that no satisfactory comparison can 
 be instituted between the two Commanders, under 
 the circumstances. The health of the troops, in 
 comparison with the former campaigns, shows to 
 great advantage. We behold no army perishing in 
 the swamps of Arracan from the want of the Com- 
 mander's experience of the climate. As far as 
 hardships and the want of supplies are concerned, 
 we are not too proud to yield the palm to the 
 former Army of Ava. The First War was a far 
 
352 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 longer and more tedious one than the Second ; and 
 it was declared to end " in a manner highly hon- 
 ourable to the British Government." As regards 
 the expenditure of life and treasure, " look on 
 this picture and on this ! " As regards energy 
 and military capacity it is pleasant to turn to 
 pictures of the two Chiefs, — to the one with the 
 eye of the past, when we behold him busy at work 
 preparing to retrieve what we had lost by the 
 repulse at Donnabew,* and again at the final action 
 of Pagahm Mew, a city of former splendour, where 
 he directed the column in person against the Infernal 
 King : -f* To the other with the eye of the present, 
 when we behold him in his General's cap and plume, 
 while so many were suffering from the terrific heat 
 of the sun, as active as the younger men on the 
 field on the 12th of April, while fighting our way 
 towards the Great Pagoda, — in all his prompt energy 
 during the bustle and preparation for the relief of 
 Pegu, — and again, when directing the assault against 
 that capital's noble temple. In both cases we have 
 true soldiers anxious to serve their country faithfully 
 and well. The result of the Second Burmese War 
 is infinitely more satisfactory than that of the First. 
 
 * The news of this was forwarded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Godwin, H. M.'s 41st, in a quill, to Head-Quarters. 
 
 + "The King of Hell," as he was styled, the Golden Foot's 
 last resoui'ce as a Commander. The battle of Pagahm Mew 
 was fought on the 9th of February 1826. It was nearly blood- 
 less on our side, and 55 pieces of artillery were captured. This 
 was the last action of the First Burmese "War. 
 
A CONSUMMATION. 353 
 
 Great Britain, for the first time, has secured a firm 
 footing in Eastern Asia. The hnk between our 
 possessions on the Ganges and the vast Hindu- 
 Chinese regions has been rendered complete. A 
 mighty work is done — a great political triumph has 
 been accomplished ! Should Destiny impel us for- 
 ward still, a few years in Pegu will make us quite 
 ready for the service. Before that time arrives it 
 is probable the King of Ava will be in every sense a 
 strenuous advocate for Free Trade. Some enter- 
 prising members of the British Senate may travel 
 this way, and expound some new and unheard of 
 principles of Political Economy to His Majesty of 
 the Golden Foot and the Golden Ear ! 
 
354 THE SECOND BURMESE WAB. 
 
 NOTIFICATION. 
 
 Fort- William, Foreign Department, 
 the 80tk June 1853. 
 In the Proclamation by which the Province of Pegu was 
 annexed to the British dominions in the East, the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council declared that he desired no fur- 
 ther conquest in Burmah, and was willing to consent that 
 hostilities should cease. Thereafter the Burman troops 
 were everywhere withdrawn. The King was dethroned 
 by his brother, the Mengdoon Prince, and an Envoy was 
 sent from Ava to sue for peace. The Burman Envoy — 
 confessing their inability to resist the power of the British 
 Government, and submissively soliciting its forbearance — 
 announced his willingness to sign a Treaty in accordance 
 with the Proclamation, objecting only to the frontier being 
 placed at Meeaday. The Government of India, while it 
 maintained its undoubted right to fix the frontier where it 
 had been placed, at the same time gave signal proof of 
 the sincerity of its desire for the renewal of friendly rela- 
 tions between the States ; for, in the hope of at once con- 
 cluding a Treaty of Peace, the Governor-General in Coun- 
 cil consented to withdraw the frontier from Meeaday, and 
 to place it, in strict conformity to the most literal word- 
 ing of the Proclamation, immediately to the northward of 
 Prome and Tonghoo, — cities which have been described at 
 all times as within the northern limits of Pegu, in the 
 official records of transactions between the two States. 
 
NOTIFICATION. 355 
 
 But when this concession was offered, the Burman 
 Envoy, wholly receding from his previous declarations, 
 refused to assent to any Treaty by which a cession of 
 territory should be made. Hereupon the negotiations 
 were at once broken off. The frontier of the British terri- 
 tories was finally fixed to the northward of Meeaday and 
 Tonghoo, and the Envoy was directed to quit the camp. 
 
 The Envoy proceeded to the capital, whence he has now 
 conveyed to the Government of India the sentiments and 
 proposals of the Court of Ava. 
 
 The King expresses his desire for the cessation of war. 
 The King announces that " orders have been issued to the 
 Governors of districts not to allow the Burmese troops to 
 attack the territories of Meeaday and Tonghoo, in which 
 the British Government has placed its garrisons." Further- 
 more, the King has set at liberty the British subjects who 
 had been carried prisoners to Ava; and he has expressed 
 his wish that " the merchants and people of both countries 
 should be allowed, in accordance with former friendship, 
 to pass up and down the river for the purpose of trading. " 
 Mindful of the assurance he gave that hostilities would 
 not be resumed so long as the Court of Ava refrained from 
 disputing our quiet possession of the Province of Pegu, 
 the Governor-General in Council is willing to accept these 
 pacific declarations and acts of the King as a substantial 
 proof of his acquiescence in the proposed conditions of 
 peace, although a formal Treaty has not been concluded : 
 Wherefore the Governor-General in Council permits the 
 raising of the river blockade, consenting to the renewal of 
 former intercourse with Ava, and now proclaims the restora- 
 tion of Peace. The Army of Ava will no longer be main- 
 tained on a war establishment. At the same time, a force 
 will be permanently retained in Pegu amply adequate for 
 
356 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 its defence and fully prepared for the event of war. The 
 Governor-General in Council, while he announced the 
 successive events of the war, has gladly seized each fitting 
 occasion for bestowing promptly on the several officers 
 whose services were mentioned with distinction, the 
 cordial thanks and approbation of the Government of 
 India. His Lordship in Council deems it unnecessary 
 now to repeat in detail acknowledgments of individual 
 merit that are still so recent ; but he cannot close the 
 record of this war without again conveying to the Services 
 generally an assurance of the admiration with which he 
 has viewed the combined exertions, whereby, under God's 
 good providence, the supremacy of our power in the East 
 has once more been asserted and upheld. [Then follow 
 thanks, naming the higher officers.] 
 
 In testimony of the sense that is entertained of the 
 services and conduct of the combined Force, the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council is pleased to direct that a donation 
 of six months' batta shall be issued to all the officers, non- 
 commissioned officers, and men of the several Naval and 
 Military Forces that have been employed during the pro- 
 gress of the war with Burmah. And it shall be the fur- 
 ther care of the Governor- General in Council to bring 
 their services and conduct under the special notice, and to 
 commend them to the most favourable consideration, of 
 Her Majesty's Government and of the Honourable Court 
 of Directors. 
 
 By Order of the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 in Council, 
 
 (Signed) J. P. Grant, 
 
 Offs. Secy, to the Gov^. of India. 
 
MILITARY STATIONS AND OUTPOSTS. 357 
 
 At the termination of hostilities the troops were quartered 
 at the following Stations and Outposts : — 
 
 Rangoon. Shoe-Gyne. Shoe-Douno. 
 
 Yandoox. Tonghoo. Padoitng-Mew. 
 
 Bassein. JMoulmein. Tomboo. 
 
 Pegu. Prome. Henzadah. 
 
 Sitano. Mbeaday. Donnabew. 
 
 Grand total actually present, — 346 European officers ; 177 
 Native officers ; 4,334 European non-commissioned officers and 
 men ; 8,242 Native non-commissioned officers and men, — in 
 all 13,099. 
 
 The Army was divided into two Divisional Commands, held by 
 Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape at Prome, and by Brigadier- 
 General Steel at Rangoon. The Staff of each Division was to 
 remain — a highly prudent arrangement — until the new territory 
 became perfectly secure on the frontier. The Army being now 
 distributed over Pegu, recalls the memorable words of the 
 Governor-General in his Despatch of 3d November : — " By the 
 annexation of Pegu we hold in the easy grasp of our hand 
 the kernel of the Burman Empire. Why should we, by the 
 occupation of Ava, encumber ourselves with an armful of 
 worthless rind ? But if, after all, peace cannot be procured by 
 anything short of the conquest of Burmah ; if the lapse of 
 time and the course of events shall establish a real neces- 
 sity for advance, then let us advance." Meanwhile let us 
 hope that our new possession — extending beyond the 19th 
 parallel of latitude — a fertile country more than twice the size 
 of Holland, with a friendly and unwarlike people — may rise 
 to a high state of prosperity, without " encumbering ourselves 
 with an armful of worthless rind ! " 
 
358 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 TO THE PEGU CHAPTERS. 
 
 PEGU TRANSACTIONS IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 1852, 
 AND JANUARY 1853. 
 
 Pegu, forming as interesting a subject in the present 
 volume, the author would fain believe, as did Ran- 
 goon in a former one, an opportunity is gladly 
 embraced for giving some additional information 
 concerning transactions which, from want of au- 
 thentic intelligence, we were unable to bring for- 
 ward in their proper course. They are drawn 
 from the manuscript of a distinguished Officer pre- 
 sent throughout the arduous service ; and so now 
 any sins of omission on our part previously com- 
 mitted, may be fully atoned for by this Supplement 
 to the Pegu Chapters. A few other remarks may 
 also be incorporated with the succeeding details. 
 
 Mention has been made in the Narrative of Moung- 
 Kyouk-Loung. His entire force consisted of 11,000 
 men, disposed as follows : — 2,000 men at Shoe-Gyne, 
 97 miles north of Pegu; 1,000 men at Sitang, 32 
 
STRENGTH OP THE PEQU GARRISON. 359 
 
 miles east of Pegu; and 8,000 at Pegu,* which latter 
 force opposed the British troops on the 21st of 
 November 1852. In addition to the small body left 
 to garrison the Pagoda, — which post was under the 
 command of Major W. Hill of the 1st Madras Fusi- 
 liers, — to keep the river clear of the enemy^s boats 
 passing by, two gun-boats were also left at Pegu 
 under the command of Lieutenant Mason, R.N., of 
 H. M. S. Fox. Each boat carried a 12-pounder 
 howitzer and 12-pounder rockets. The boats were 
 completely hidden from the Pagoda by thick belts 
 of bamboo jungle, which grew up to within 100 
 yards of the Great Temple. 
 
 General Godwin had left the once famous capi- 
 tal of an independent kingdom, assured that no 
 force would again assemble in that part of the Pro- 
 vince. So little did he think of the enemy daring 
 to attack the garrison of Pegu, that he left a 
 Peguese Chief, by name Moung-Loung, with about 
 50 followers, to induce the families of the inhabitants 
 to come in, settle themselves quietly in their houses, 
 and re-people the then almost ruined and deserted 
 city. But this glorious consummation was not in 
 the order of things ; and, as has been seen, was not 
 destined to be accomplished. It was too much, 
 after losing the Shoe-Dagoon — the stronghold of 
 Gaudama — to lose also the Shoemadoo Praw, which 
 for so many centuries had towered in sublime magnifi- 
 
 * Under Moung-Gyee, the Commander -iu- Chief's brother- 
 in-law. 
 
360 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 cence to the skies.* Some idea of what the troops 
 had to defend may be gained from the following 
 particulars : — The Pagoda stands upon three ter- 
 races ; the upper one contained the troops of the 
 garrison and the commissariat stores ; the upper 
 platform was nearly a square, each side of which 
 measured from 210 to 220 yards.-f- A low brick 
 wall, three feet high, had formerly enclosed the 
 upper platform. The dilapidation of the walls was 
 on every side apparent, and on the north-east and 
 west sides scarcely any wall remained, but high 
 reedy grass had sprung up — vegetation, as usual, 
 rapid amid the scene of neglect and ruin. A range 
 of low buildings ran along each face in a line 
 with the walls, which no troops occupied. There 
 was a Poonghee house on each side, and adjoining 
 the base of the Pagoda itself. In these sanctuaries 
 the Officers were quartered, one only being reserved 
 for a magazine. There were four large entrances 
 on the top platform, open, and about 30 feet wide : 
 to join these entrances from below there were be- 
 tween 30 to 40 flights of steps. The second terrace 
 was 12 feet below the upper, and extended about 
 40 feet on all sides from the wall. There was then 
 another descent of 6 feet, when a third terrace also 
 ran about 40 feet. The second and third terraces 
 
 * Height varying from 330 feet to 360 ; in the former 9 feet 
 higher than the Great Dagoon Pagoda. 
 
 t The terrace on which the Shoe Dagooa at Rangoon stands 
 is 900 feet long and 685 broad. 
 
DIFFICULTIES OF THE GARRISON, 8G1 
 
 respectively, were 320 and 450 yards in length on 
 each side of the Pagoda. * The admirable view of 
 this famous Temple, drawn by Lieutenant Grant of 
 the Madras FusiHers, f will doubtless commend 
 itself to every lover of the picturesque. The high 
 grass which had grown up all round prevented our 
 posted sentries in many places from seeing each 
 other. " Those who are acquainted with Burmese 
 warfare will readily understand how very much 
 exposed our troops were to a sudden surprise, when 
 Burmese are so skilful in preserving silence when 
 creeping through grass to cut down sentries." 
 There were a great many small Pagodas on the 
 east and west sides, a little way beyond the lower 
 terrace. These were so close to each other that 
 on the east face, about 120 yards off, they formed 
 a complete wall 40 yards in length, behind which 
 the enemy were in perfect safety. Numerous other 
 Pagodas were dotted about at distances from 100 
 to 600 yards, and these became formidable barri- 
 cades when jingals and matchlocks were fired from 
 behind them. The remaining very important ad- 
 vantage on the side of the enemy was, that the 
 north and east sides of the country being higher 
 than the platform, caused every man to be observed 
 passing to and fro. The gallant defenders, it will 
 
 * Each side of the base of the Temple measures 162 feet. 
 The shape is octagonal at the base. See Narrative of Operations 
 at Ranrjoon, Appendix ix, p. 276. 
 
 t From the original by Lieutenant Williams, of the same corps. 
 
362 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 now be fully seen, were thus placed in a very criti- 
 cal position, with only 435 men to defend what re- 
 quired at least 1,200 to maintain, without harassing 
 the soldiery. 
 
 But, not at all strange in this contrary world of 
 ours, the very fact of a small band being left to gar- 
 rison Pegu, this military blunder on the part of the 
 General was the means of achieving a decided poli- 
 tical success. The prowess of the British arms was 
 here displayed to its full extent, which must have 
 struck terror into the hearts of the Burmese assail- 
 ants, whose tale would run rapidly through the 
 neighbouring hostile soldiery — all tending to bring 
 about the conclusion of the war. 
 
 Major Hill commenced his work of defence by bar- 
 ricading the upper platform. Three of the four large 
 entrances to the Pagoda were the first places to be 
 looked to. The enemy were in the neighbourhood, 
 and WORK became the order of the day. Parties 
 from the Europeans and Natives were ordered out. 
 The Peguese were employed in cutting down the 
 high grass with their dhas, — their expertness in the 
 use of which we have before noticed. All seemed 
 determined to render the citadel as strong as pos- 
 sible. Two brass 4-pounders, and a 3-pounder, 
 captured on the 21st of November, were placed in 
 position at the gateways, which were built up the 
 whole breadth of the entrance with timbers, about 
 12 feet high, leaving just a sufficient opening for the 
 
 s:un. 
 
ATTACK ON THE RIVER-PICQUET AND BOATS. 363 
 
 The following is a detailed account of the attack 
 on the river-picquet and boats on the night of the 
 27th of November. These did not escape the atten- 
 tion of the enemy ; for though we heard but a few 
 shots in that direction whilst the Pagoda was attack- 
 ed, yet as soon as they drew off from us they made 
 a desperate assault in that quarter, and we could tell 
 from the firing increasing at intervals more than at 
 others, that the attacks were- being resumed ; but 
 the blue jackets, with their Marine Artillery, made 
 such excellent use of their 12-pounder howitzers and 
 rockets, that, with the support of the picquet on 
 shore, they proved too strong for the Burmese. This 
 was a very unequal contest. There were houses 
 within 30 yards of where the picquet was posted, 
 besides having brushwood all round, which enabled 
 the enemy to conceal themselves, whilst our men 
 were exposed on the bank of the river. Lieu- 
 tenant P. A. Brown of the Fusiliers commanded 
 on this occasion. Having commissariat stores to 
 protect, that Officer with his men had taken the 
 precaution before dark to pile up the bags of rice, 
 tobacco, barrels, and other articles which were lying 
 about, so as to have everything as compact as pos- 
 sible, and then make his post secure in case of an 
 attack. Some of the bags caught fire during the 
 night from the rockets, which encouraged the enemy 
 to approach nearer, when some of our men dashed 
 forward, charged them, and compelled them to re- 
 tire. After continued assaults had been made upon 
 
364 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 this little post, British blood, as it always does, 
 proved too much for them, and they withdrew leav- 
 ing the picquet quiet for the rest of the night. On 
 this, as on several other occasions during the war, 
 the rocket practice of the boats'* crews of Her Ma- 
 jesty's Navy was very good ; and the effect of such 
 practice, added to the untiring efforts of the gallant 
 Infantry, plainly shewed what a small body of men 
 can do against a large number. It is on such out- 
 post affairs generally that the sharpest firing is seen. 
 General Grod^-in complimented Major Hill and his 
 force for their steady gallantry in this dashing busi- 
 ness, and he trusted that the severe lesson which 
 had been given the enemy would teach the Burmese 
 respect for our new position and the vigilance of its 
 garrison, so as to prevent any future molestation ! 
 Reference has already been made in this Narrative * 
 to the conduct of Lieutenant P. A. Brown and of 
 Private Clancey, in charging with the men when the 
 provisions were on fire. For his gallantry Clancey 
 was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. The loss 
 sustained in the boats was four seamen and one 
 marine artilleryman wounded. Three men of the 
 Fusiliers were wounded. Lieutenant Mason, R. N., 
 narrowly escaped with his life, a shot having cut 
 through his neck-tie. It was singular that our loss 
 on the 27th was not greater, as the enemy attacked 
 also from the other side of the river, which is about 
 100 yards wide where the boats were in position. 
 * Chapter VIII, page 116. 
 
DISPOSITIONS FOR DEFENCE. 365 
 
 In consequence of the Burmese having attempted 
 to escalade on three sides of the Pagoda on the night 
 of the 27th, Major Hill found it necessary to ap- 
 point a Captain to command each face of the 
 Pagoda, with instructions that if any one face was 
 pressed by the enemy, the Captain on the side at- 
 tacked was to concentrate his men at the given point 
 of attack until support was given. This admirable 
 arrangement gave a responsibility to the Officer com- 
 manding each face, and enabled him to act on a 
 sudden without waiting for orders. The Command- 
 ants of faces appointed were Captains Stephenson 
 and Nicolay of the Fusiliers, to the north and east 
 faces respectively; and Captains Brown and Wynd- 
 ham of the 5th N. L, to the west and south. This 
 plan allowed Major Hill to have a general supervi- 
 sion over the whole of the operations, and enabled 
 him to move about and give directions where his 
 presence was most required. 
 
 It was soon learned from the manner of this 
 night attack by the Burmese, that they had regularly 
 trained troops opposed to us. Chosen crafty ones 
 had doubtless found their way from the " city of 
 the immortals" to assist Moung-Kyouk-Loung ! 
 Now our men might be seen climbing up the splendid 
 Pagoda to take a coup cTceil of the surrounding 
 country, and then would appear a cluster of Officers 
 talking earnestly over the number of troops and the 
 defences. Uncertainty hovered in the atmosphere. 
 Butthis,with the British character, only tendsto make 
 
366 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the nerves firmer, and to raise expectation the higher. 
 It is difficult to say what were the feelings of the 
 detachment of the Native Infantry. The clever lady 
 from the New World, who is gaining a world-wide 
 celebrity for her tale which excites such deep sym- 
 pathy for a complexion differing from our own, 
 would have observed in their faces at least no signs 
 of misery or dejection. They were free as any 
 Briton, and ready at a moment's warning to fight 
 or die by the side of British soldiers ! 
 
 On the 29th, parties of the enemy were seen mov- 
 ing in various directions to the north of the Pagoda ; 
 Cassay horsemen were among them. Next were 
 seen elephants moving about, bearing Officers of rank, 
 all apparently determined on another plan of attack. 
 All this of course tended to increase the vigilance 
 of the garrison. Major Hill very prudently with- 
 drew the picquet of 50 men on the open bank of the 
 river, a mile away from the Pagoda ; and Lieutenant 
 Mason, with his boats, was desired to repair to Ean- 
 goon. Upwards of 40 men of the force were now 
 sick in hospital, and the withdrawal of the river 
 picquet brought additional aid for the defence. It 
 was signally providential that the Burmese did not 
 come on, for Moung-Loung, the Pegu Chief, reported 
 to Major Hill during the forenoon of the 1st of 
 December, that a very large train of carts with 
 Talain families were then making their way to the 
 southward, and that some of their Goungs (Chiefs) 
 had come in advance to know whether they might 
 
PROTECTION FOR THE NATIVES. 367 
 
 claim protection from the garrison. At about 5 
 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day 216 carts, 
 laden with the goods and chattels of 2,000 persons, 
 chiefly women and children, came in for protection. 
 These poor creatm*es had taken refuge in the jun- 
 gles, wandered about from place to place, with of 
 course no settled residence while the Royal troops 
 remained in the Province. " Pity and protect the 
 slave ! " was never uttered by the swarthy African 
 with more intense feeling than now marked the 
 desires of those Asiatics — whose ancestors had had a 
 king of their own to rule over them — as their eyes 
 were directed to the British for protection ! The 
 ground covered by their carts occupied several acres, 
 for it must be recollected the Pegu carts and buffa- 
 loes are of a prodigious size. It was now a matter 
 of anxiety to afford protection to the families as well 
 as to their property, whilst they lay scattered about, 
 and the enemy were nigh at hand. The infirm, as 
 well as all the women and children, were allowed to 
 remain on the upper platform of the Pagoda during 
 the night, while the others remained below to look 
 after the cattle and goods. Reader, just picture to 
 yourself the upper platform of the Pegu Pagoda ! It 
 is night, and the troops are wearied after the prepa- 
 ration and arrangements of the day. Sleep is just 
 beginning to " knit up the ravelled sleeve of care !" 
 Suddenly bursts forth the clamorous noise of chil- 
 dren ; the sentries cannot hear beyond the walls. 
 There are sick children, and others wanting food; and 
 
368 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 behold ! Several Officers up a great portion of the 
 night feeding the weary and destitute with biscuit, 
 to quiet the Peguese vociferation ! The helpless now 
 feel assured that Gaudama, through the influence of 
 the fairies dwelling in the golden tee above, has sent 
 guardian angels to protect them ! As this arrangement 
 inconvenienced the troops, it only lasted three nights. 
 Major Hill determined on destroying all the houses 
 in the street below, as they could only give cover to 
 the enemy ; and orders were thereupon issued to 
 stockade in the Peguese under the walls of the 
 Pagoda, This severe work was performed in a 
 manner truly admirable, — Officers and men, every 
 one assisting to fortify the oppressed, after their 
 own national fashion ! There is the European 
 working with almost gigantic strength, felling down 
 many a noble tree, working with a right good-will ; 
 there the skilful and active Sapper ; and there the 
 Sepoy, having stopped work for a time, grinning 
 with a benevolent countenance ! The husbands of 
 those we had to protect only a few miles off, and 
 forced to fight against us, were little dreaming of 
 British humanity being exercised towards their 
 kindred under the walls of Pegu. The stockade, 
 covering about two acres of ground, was soon done. 
 The carts and buffaloes were all systematically 
 arranged, and took up their position in line and 
 column in a manner quite worthy of the " Artillery 
 Exercise."" All were stockaded in by night-fall. 
 The women and children were placed in the carts 
 nearest to the walls, so as to shelter them as much 
 
MOVEMENTS AND ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY. 369 
 
 as possible from the shot. The men were stationed 
 in front, with their spears, matchlocks, and sharp 
 dhas, to fight for their families — which they did 
 fearlessly and well. Dr Beautfleur, the zealous 
 Surgeon in charge of the stockaded allies, had 
 several severe cases brought to him for treatment. 
 Spies had been loitering about, and on the morn- 
 ing of the 4th we could discover from the elevations 
 of the Pagoda that the movements of the enemy 
 were more extensive than usual, and that they muster- 
 ed in greater force. The Cassay horsemen did not 
 now conceal their numbers from our view, and were 
 seen galloping about in larger bodies. Towards the 
 evening of that day faint sounds of firing were 
 heard at intervals, as if from a long distance down 
 the river. Night had set in, when a shot was fired 
 from the jungle, which was immediately returned by 
 the sentry who was fired at. Shortly before this it 
 had been reported to Major Hill that a low sound 
 of voices was heard, as of troops moving about in 
 the jungle. Firing soon became the order of the 
 night, and a discharge of cannister from a 24- 
 pounder howitzer, in the direction of the voices, 
 roused every one into action. Before 9 o'clock 
 Major Hill was called away from the defences to 
 two Sepoys of the 5th M. N. I., who had hailed the 
 picquet from the jungle — the south picquet — the 
 sergeant of which had brought them in. Fortu- 
 nately for these men the firing, which was com- 
 menced at the Pagoda just before they arrived, was 
 
 a2 
 
370 THE SECOND BURMESE AVAR. 
 
 on the east face, whereas they came from the south.* 
 Their object was to report the position of the jema- 
 dar and his men, whose fate was related at page 116 
 of this Work, and regarding whom the following 
 additional details may be deemed acceptable : — The 
 party sent at daylight next morning to their suc- 
 cour was, as previously stated, under the command 
 of Captain Nicolay, and a 12 and 24-pounder 
 howitzer were brought to bear upon the direction 
 in which they had to go. The country boat, which 
 was conveying slaughter -cattle and commissariat 
 supplies to Pegu, was evidently deemed a valu- 
 able prize by the Burmese. Eight out of twenty- 
 one bullocks were found to be shot, and nearly 
 every remaining bullock was wounded. The un- 
 fortunate men must have been exposed to a con- 
 siderable fire for a length of time. " It has been 
 observed during this war that the Burmese are 
 excellent skirmishers, and thoroughly understand 
 how to take advantage of good positions. In the 
 old outwork, 300 yards from the landing-place, 
 there was a narrow gorge which the party had to 
 pass through on their way back to the Pagoda. 
 Captain Nicolay was aware that it would be a seri- 
 ous obstacle to his getting back should the enemy 
 get possession of this ; he therefore very judiciously 
 strengthened and extended his skirmishers to pre- 
 vent their outflanking him, by which means this im- 
 
 * Firing was kept up round the Pagoda, and did not cease 
 until after midnight, when the moon rose. 
 
AN ENQAQEMENT. 371 
 
 portant passage was held by his men.''"' A very difficult 
 duty had now been accomplished, and without the 
 loss of a man. The Officers were sitting quietly at 
 breakfast, discussing the deeds of night and morn- 
 ing, when the well-known cry of "Turn out!" 
 raised a stir among all hands ; at the sametime 
 the Burmese shout of attack was heard at the 
 south-west angle of the Pagoda. This was the 
 force which had followed in Captain Nicolay's rear, 
 and had now determined to try the effect of a 
 surprise. While the firing at the south-west angle 
 summoned the men to the walls, a very singular and 
 guerilla-like scene was exhibited. In an instant 
 heights, mounds, and Pagodas, were crowned with 
 men, who opened a sharp but ill-directed fire against 
 our troops. The little curling smoke was now to be 
 seen issuing from the place where was perched each 
 wily matchlock-man ; the sky was beautifully clear ; 
 every object came to view ; and the whole had the 
 effect of a gorgeous panorama. It was soon dis- 
 covered — from the Burmese balls coming among us 
 from such elevated positions — that our enemies were 
 likely to have the best of it. It was however 
 highly ludicrous in the midst of danger to hear the 
 men joking with each other as they brought down a 
 man or so from his high pinnacle, on which the 
 Burmese had so proudly perched themselves. The 
 surprise having failed, the enemy were no doubt 
 astonished to find that the Peguese were sheltered 
 in a well-made stockade ; there was the reality 
 
372 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 bristling up before their eyes ! It was now evident 
 from the enemy taking possession of the elevations, 
 that they did not intend going away; and so decided 
 an advantage did the heights give them of sweeping 
 the platform with their shot, that nearly 50 rounds 
 of ammunition per man were expended that day in 
 keeping down their fire. To save life it was now requi- 
 site to barricade the Pagoda as strongly as possible. 
 Lieutenant Campbell, the officer of Engineers,* had 
 had no sand-bags supplied him to make a temporary 
 defence ; it was therefore necessary to apply to the 
 Commissariat for all the empty bags and barrels 
 he could give, and these being found inadequate, 
 bags of rice, and barrels of pork and biscuit were 
 also called for. As soon as it became dark the 
 Sappers were set to work. At night gongs were 
 heard in various parts of the jungle, as if the Bur- 
 mese were assembling their troops. The firing was 
 not so heavy during the night as it had been that 
 day, still there was little cessation of it, while the 
 working parties were heard about the walls. It was 
 of importance 1(5 get the Peguese into military order 
 in the event of an attack. Some 290 men had en- 
 rolled themselves as fighting men, but out of that 
 number only 50 had muskets — our old flint-locks — 
 while the remainder were armed with spears and 
 swords. Major Hill visited the stockade, and with 
 the assistance of a Burmese interpreter pointed out 
 
 * To whom the Author is indebted for the Plan of the 
 Fort and Pagoda of Pegu, inserted in this volume. 
 
SHARP FIRING. 3/3 
 
 to Moung-Loung the way in which he wished his 
 men to be disposed of should an assault take place. 
 The men with fire-arms were placed at short distances 
 between the spearmen, so as to give a greater 
 appearance of strength in that particular arm ; a 
 certain number were told off as sentinels on duty, to 
 be regularly relieved. The Goungs were placed so 
 as to give orders, and to overlook their own men. 
 Major Hill visited the stockade of the allies every 
 night, to give them confidence and to see that they 
 were all on the alert. To shew how much our troops 
 were exposed on the platform notwithstanding all 
 that had been done, the Officers' servants were 
 obliged to erect some kind of protection for the 
 beds of their masters and themselves when they 
 lay down to rest. Several days and nights were 
 passed without any cessation of firing. With all 
 the fatigue of mind and body was excessive, par- 
 ticularly so with the indefatigable Commander of 
 the garrison. The chance of being able to eat one"'s 
 dinner without being shot at seemed remote indeed. 
 An Officer of the Fusiliers received a severe contu- 
 sion while seated at the mess- table; several servants 
 were wounded, and one was killed while waiting 
 upon his master. A Peguer also received a mortal 
 wound while at work inside the mess-house. On the 
 8th the men began to feel the incessant work. Every 
 man was daily on duty 10 hours out of the 24. The 
 exposure and fatigue increasing. Major Hill at 
 length deemed it absolutely necessary to inform 
 
374 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 General Godwin of the determined nature of the 
 enemy. All ammunition expended, we would then 
 be compelled to evacuate the Pagoda, and force a 
 way back to Rangoon at the point of the bayonet. 
 Four goodly men and true, for 50 rupees a-head, 
 came forth from Moung-Loung''s Detachment and 
 volunteered to carry a letter to General Godwin. 
 Three copies were sent with the original, so that 
 each man had his letter. The Major did not ask 
 for any more men, but added, " all I want is ammu- 
 nition." As soon as it was dark the messengers 
 started on their hazardous enterprise. There was a 
 Burmese force on all sides of the Pagoda of at least 
 6,000 men, and had the carriers fallen into their 
 hands they would probably have been decapitated 
 or crucified, according to Burmese custom. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th the joyful sound of 
 firing from British gun-boats ran like an electric 
 shock through the weary garrison. But despair soon 
 followed, our forebodings were indeed verified , — the 
 naval party had failed in their attempt to communi- 
 cate with us. From the crowded state of the stock- 
 ade, together with the cold damp nights and the 
 scanty supply of food they had, cholera broke 
 out among our Peguese allies. Fortunately the 
 scourge did not extend to the troops. The sudden 
 withdrawal of the gun-boats, with relief so near at 
 hand, quickly became the all-absorbing topic. But 
 the assurance that General Godwin was now aware of 
 our difficulties, served to rouse us to increased effort. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RELIEF FORCE. 375 
 
 After this event the enemy's fire gradually ceased. 
 Those only who have watched night after night can 
 form an idea of how much a temporary calm is ap- 
 preciated. But yet it is difficult to reconcile one's 
 self to the change. On the present occasion the 
 whistling of the bullets — the rattling of the boards — 
 the speedy movement — the sound from a cluster of 
 voices, — the want of all this seemed to create a 
 vacancy in the state of affairs quite unintelligible ! 
 The reply of " All right, Sir ! " to the Officers on duty 
 passing along their beat, could not disturb well- 
 earned repose. But in the morning, yelling from the 
 Burmese — the firing of cannister from our howitzers 
 — and clearing the platform for action, soon destroy- 
 ed the peaceful delusion. The Burmese having made 
 a determined attempt to force their way into the 
 Peguese stockade, came to a hand-to-hand contest 
 with the allies, who received some severe wounds from 
 spears and matchlocks ; and it was not until they 
 tasted the cold steel from some of our Rifle Sepoys that 
 they drew off.* Another night had closed upon us, 
 when again the welcome sound of a British gun was 
 heard down the river. The Artillery Officer reported 
 his hearing guns ; he had also observed a rocket 
 fired perpendicularly. Wellington's remark at Water- 
 
 * The loss of the Burmese must have been very great, as they 
 had not before ventured to cross a piece of clear ground. One 
 man of immense stature was found dead, supposed to be a 
 Chief. The Peguese hung him up to a tree in triumph, but 
 his body was cut down at sunset, and thrown into a dry well. 
 
376 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 loo, "There goes old Blucher at last!" could scarcely 
 have been uttered with more heartfelt pleasure than 
 " There's the force at last !" by the garrison of Pegu. 
 
 At 1] o'clock on the morning of the 14th, the 
 first firing of General Godwin's relieving force was 
 heard. As the troops were seen nearing the Pagoda, 
 cheering became general throughout the garrison, 
 and continued until Lieutenant Elliott, who com- 
 manded the advanced guard, entered the small aper- 
 ture — made as an embrasure for one of our small 
 guns — on the eastern entrance of the Pagoda. 
 
 On the 4th of January, although no troops had 
 been observed moving about, a sudden discharge of 
 musketry issued from the opening of the jungle 
 which had been cut down. A 12-pounder howitzer, 
 loaded with cannister, was ready pointed in the 
 direction, to the north, where it was supposed the 
 enemy might appear, and it was discharged with 
 the happiest effect. Firing now commenced, and at 
 sunset the picquet was increased to 100 Europeans 
 and 50 Sepoys. By that time several men had been 
 wounded. 
 
 On the 5th, 6th, and 7th, the working parties 
 were increased, and uprights were fixed in the 
 ground, about 10 feet from each other, and planks 
 were nailed upon them, as being the most expeditious 
 way of keeping the men out of sight of the enemy. 
 Their attacks were now directed against the north 
 face ; and notwithstanding our men had been for 
 some time worried and fired on — in spite of shot 
 
HAZARDOUS WORK, — SKIRMISHES. 377 
 
 flying about — the Europeans were quite observable 
 outside, coolly nailing on the planks, while others sat 
 on the top of the beams assisting in the work, under 
 a heavy fire all day. The Burmese must have set 
 them down as at least possessing a charmed life ; 
 but it was nothing more than British courage and 
 working with a hearty good-will — qualities which 
 have for nearly a century distinguished the Madras 
 Fusiliers. The picquet was obliged to act as a cover- 
 ing party to keep down the fire, otherwise we might 
 have lost many men. The enemy had now taken 
 up a position on the opposite bank of the river 
 with the number of their force increased, and 
 where an irregular brick building was turned into 
 a battery by them. It has not been recorded that 
 on the departure of General Godwin a stockade 
 had been erected, according to his orders, at the 
 landing-place on the bank of the river. The 
 enemy's battery was about 120 yards from this 
 stockade, and was a great annoyance to it. The 
 gun-boats, under Captain Tarleton, R. N., having 
 been withdrawn, we could not cross the river to dis- 
 lodge the enemy from the strong position they had 
 taken up, who finding that we had no boats, at 
 length rendered the stockade, from its unfinished 
 condition, almost untenable. Up to the 7th, one 
 Captain was mortally wounded (Captain Nicolay of 
 the Fusiliers), one artilleryman was killed, and 13 
 men were wounded. On the morning of the 8th — 
 for some strange reason difficult to understand, and 
 
378 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 which has been already alluded to — the enemy were 
 seen from the heights of the Pagoda marching in 
 two confused columns, in full retreat. They went 
 northward, and never again appeared to oppose 
 us. And thus ended the protracted transactions 
 at Pegu ! 
 
 In consequence of the " very gallant and distin- 
 guished conduct" of Major Hill throughout these 
 stirring events, the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 of India in Council bestowed upon him a special 
 mark of favour. Previous to this the thanks of the 
 Supreme Government of India were sent him by 
 General Godwin, as well as to the Garrison under 
 his orders, for the gallant defence of Pegu : — 
 
 Fort- William, Aih January 1853. 
 
 Mh. The Governor-General in Council requests 
 that you will convey to Major Hill of the Madras 
 Fusiliers, and to the Officers and men under his 
 command, the marked acknowledgments of the 
 Government of India, for the bravery and steadiness 
 with which they met and repulsed the continuous 
 and harassing attacks of a large body of the enemy 
 for many days, before reinforcements arrived at 
 Pegu. 
 
 On the 3d of August our gallant Chief left Ran- 
 goon for Calcutta. At a dinner given him the night 
 before his departure the enthusiasm was tremendous. 
 
DEPARTURE OF GENERAL GODWIN. 379 
 
 A correspondent writes us that he made an excellent 
 speech, in which he remarked that whatever the 
 newspapers and the public chose to say regarding 
 him, he had only done — what every soldier in Burmah 
 had done — His duty ; and neither more nor less ! 
 He had always acted up to his orders, and under in- 
 structions ; and it was not his fault if these did not 
 please the public. 
 
 Throughout his service in Burmah the writer has 
 never had a word of conversation with General 
 Godwin, nor was he ever — from the nature of his 
 duties — able to wait upon him even as a matter of 
 courtesy. This is simply remarked in refutation of 
 the assertion made by some that the Author was 
 prejudiced in favour of the General — but which pre- 
 judice amounted to nothing more than not passing 
 severe judgment on men in high places before the 
 conduct of affairs was fully explained. 
 
380 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE 
 
 MONTH OF FEBRUARY 1854. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 With the Government Notification, dated the 30th 
 of June 1853, which is given at page 354, the 
 duty of a narrative-writer of the Second Burmese 
 War may be said to terminate. As greater delay 
 however than was anticipated has occurred in the 
 production of this concluding volume, the writer 
 trusts that — notwithstanding the darkened state of 
 the political horizon in Europe, and the absorbing 
 interest attached to the dispute between the Sultan 
 and the Czar — a succinct continuation of the Narra- 
 tive of Affairs in the Pegu Province until a con- 
 siderably later period, will not be looked upon as 
 wholly uninteresting. When we last wrote there 
 was some difficulty in banishing the idea that the 
 "snake" was but "scotched, not killed." Since 
 then — as was to be expected after such a conquest 
 
PEGU, — PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE. 381 
 
 — a few skirmishes have taken place, and lives have 
 been lost on both sides. But these petty conflicts, 
 brought on by a comparatively small number of des- 
 perate, dissatisfied characters in the Province, may 
 be regarded simply as " the candle's flare before its 
 final close." 
 
 As far as the Province of Pegu is concerned, after 
 one year's experience on the frontier we pronounce, 
 without hesitation, all that has been done to have 
 been highly successful. The most sanguine Gover- 
 nor-General could not have expected more. There 
 has been famine, and it has vanished. The intrigues 
 of the war party we believe are growing weaker and 
 weaker. Dacoity even is beginning to fly before 
 British perseverance and valour. Captain Phayre's 
 government has restored confidence to a long op- 
 pressed but once independent people. And we may 
 hope ere the lapse of no great length of time to 
 behold Pegu a plentiful and a happy land. The 
 difficulties to be surmounted are great ; but the 
 instruments chosen will surmount them all, and 
 teach even the peace-mongers — the wise of our gene- 
 ration — that their theory is rotten at the core ; 
 that if we would go on with the work of civilisation 
 which Providence has assigned to us, there must 
 be war ; that soldiers and sailors must pioneer the 
 way for the grand work of the Prince of Peace ! 
 Never, in the annals of Nations, was greater folly 
 uttered and written than on the subject of the 
 
382 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Second Burmese War. Let us be charitable and 
 forget all individual assailants. 
 
 Looking into the sepulchre of that remarkable 
 year 1853, we find that in the month of October 
 a brilliant throng had assembled in the Music Hall 
 at Edinburgh, to thunder forth against war as an 
 unpardonable iniquity, — to " advocate arbitration in 
 lieu of fighting among all the Nations in the World." 
 The modern peace-makers — or rather, to reverse the 
 title, the Sivas * of Peace — would overlook the force 
 of circumstances in the government of Nations ; and 
 taking the complexion of the social system of the 
 world from the narrow sphere of their own quiet, 
 plausible, and enlightened selves, they would bring 
 about the fulfilment of prophecy before the appoint- 
 ed time ! They would wish the day of salvation to 
 be immediately seized on by all Nations, without 
 affording some of them the very means of gaining it ; 
 and regarding others, they suppose that the billows 
 of human passion have for ever subsided, — that 
 envy and hatred peacefully slumber, — that at length 
 the Prince of Peace, assuming his mighty incarnation, 
 and surrounded by millions of followers, has taken 
 up his abode on earth! Who would not rejoice 
 to see the grand exhortation : — " Be kindly affec- 
 tioned one towards another ! " universally followed ? 
 Had they let the Burmese war alone at the above 
 meeting, we should probably not have been led in 
 * Siva, the destroyer of the Hindu Mythology. 
 
PEACE CONGRESS CROTCHETS. 383 
 
 such strong terms to denounce the Peace Congress 
 as founded on a selfish fallacy, turning politics 
 into a comedy, as if there were another Touchstone 
 for the chief player, — one "good at everything 
 and yet a fool," — continually exclaiming " your If'm 
 the only peace-maker ; much virtue in If! " How 
 long will the infatuation remain ? When will the 
 Peace Society learn — what many of the members 
 really know already — that the abolition of war, " as 
 human affairs are constituted," is an utter impossibi- 
 lity ? Having thus, perhaps unwarrantably, gone 
 out of our province to throw a shell into a harmless 
 Society, we fall again into our place and progress 
 with our very brief Narrative; and as we proceed, a 
 faint hope may be entertained that what we write 
 may have some effect in dispelling that prejudice 
 against a war which, through misrepresentation, has 
 not met with that popularity which its successful 
 issue and masterly conduct by the Indian Govern- 
 ment so eminently deserved. 
 
 After the cessation of war, in the strict sense, or 
 what has been aptly styled the cessation of war 
 *' after the organized fashion," on the Governor- 
 GeneraFs accepting the King's letter allowing the 
 British to hold Pegu without regard to treaty, con- 
 jecture was at its height as to the future fate of the 
 Province. We at Tonghoo were of course con- 
 tinually expecting a mighty change somewhere. The 
 monsoon — in all its glory during July, August, and 
 September, even had there been a chance of renewed 
 
384 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 warfare — prevented our going forth in any force to 
 meet the Burmese in their jungle fastnesses. At 
 Meeaday however it had been confidently reported 
 that a fleet of steamers, war-boats, and gun-boats, 
 would assemble immediately, it was thought for Ava 
 purposes. This was before the King's intentions 
 were finally known ; so that in case of treachery the 
 monsoon would be highly favourable to such an 
 enterprise. But the Golden Foot was " not so bad as 
 he seemed." There was still apparently some wisdom 
 left with the humiliated descendant of Alompra. 
 Why should he attack the Province when he knew 
 he could not wrest it from us ? Doubtless this 
 thought passed through the Golden Brain of the 
 Buddhist King. The Poonghees or Priests saw 
 visions in their dreams of the decline and fall of the 
 " spiritual pantheism." It had commenced in China, 
 it would commence ere long in Burmah ! The 
 beginning of the end, regarding ecclesiastical affairs, 
 in more countries than one, was nigh ! We shall 
 not endeavour to take any minute retrospect of 
 affairs in Pegu during the latter portion of 1853, 
 but shall merely record those of general interest. 
 Although the scarcity of provisions had been sorely 
 felt throughout the Province, the same want does 
 not appear to have extended to Ava Proper, or say 
 the country above Meeaday. Salt and salt-fish were 
 in consequence of the blockade chiefly in demand in 
 that quarter. Quantities of grain, on the blockade 
 being raised, were brought down for exchange in 
 
DACOITS, — DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FYTCHE. 385 
 
 boats. Arracan, the granary of Eastern Asia, had 
 been largely called on to supply Europe, till at 
 length arose there, as in Pegu, an undoubted 
 scarcity, the demand for rice being in excess of the 
 supply by many lakhs of maunds. The cheapness 
 of rice in Pegu was doubtless attributable to the 
 prudent measure of opening the river, and we believe 
 in some degree to " the enterprise of the Calcutta 
 speculators." A large quantity of rice was purchased 
 by the Indian Government for Rangoon. Govern- 
 ment had done its best for the new Province. Ter- 
 rible vengeance was being taken against the dacoits, 
 and very properly no mercy was shown to those 
 scourges of the land. The little Nerhudda steamed 
 up a creek, a principal rendezvous of the robbers, 
 between Henzadah and Rangoon, and committed 
 great slaughter. 
 
 In the course of our Narrative allusion has been 
 made to the energetic doings of that able adminis- 
 trative Officer, Captain Fytche, of the Bassein Dis- 
 trict. We are now enabled to give a summary of 
 his exploits, which may be considered partly as an 
 amplification of, and supplement to, what has been 
 already extracted on this subject from The Friend 
 of India, at the close of Chapter XV, and may tend 
 to convince our countrymen in Europe that the glory 
 of the English character is shining in the East with 
 as bright a lustre as ever. When the Deputy Com- 
 missioner came over from his old district of Sando- 
 way, on the other side of the hills, he brought with 
 
 B 2 
 
380 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 him his war boats' crew of 60 men, and some 50 tried 
 men besides. This force formed the nucleus of his 
 little army. On his arrival at Bassein on the 18th 
 January 1853, he found the garrison confined to 
 their stockade, and the country in complete posses- 
 sion of the Burmese troops and surrounding bands. 
 The garrison had most stringent orders not to allow 
 a single man to go out of the stockade on any pre- 
 tence whatever. Captain Fytche was therefore com- 
 pletely thrown upon his own resources. He saw 
 that no good could result from sitting down quietly 
 and doing nothing ; so on the third day after his 
 arrival he moved out, threw himself among the 
 people of the country, and soon collected around 
 him a number of the well-disposed, who, together 
 with the gallant crews of the Zenobia and Nemesis, 
 carried every thing before them. During the three 
 months of the Deputy Commissioners absence in the 
 interior, he visited every portion of his District, and 
 probably there were few individuals within it who had 
 not seen his face. At one time he had upwards of 
 10,000 men in the field. The reader may conse- 
 quently imagine what a task he had to keep them in 
 anything like discipline. However, by the time the 
 gallant force was broken up they all understood the 
 most useful of the bugle calls, could skirmish very 
 well, and march in line, file, and column. While 
 on service there had been some sharp work occa- 
 sionally ; one day 28 men were shot down around 
 their English Chief; the latter was hit in two 
 
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FYTOHE. 
 
 387 
 
 places. The plunder of the Minku's camp, with 
 that of the other Burmese Chief and marauders, 
 was found to be very extensive. Captain Fytche 
 sold it all off, and with the proceeds paid his men, 
 carriage, and every thing else, without the* cost of a 
 single rupee to the State, With such a force, the blue- 
 jackets, and 4 field pieces, we think that a successful 
 march might have been made even on Ameerapoora 
 — " the City of the Immortals "—itself ! 
 
 Considering the character of the people and the 
 difficulties which had to be encountered, we know 
 of nothing more successful in Indian history than 
 the organization and use of the Bassein temporary 
 local corps, raised and brought into action under 
 the sole superintendence of the Deputy Commis- 
 sioner. The conduct of it was worthy of a soldier 
 of the Empire which Clive had conquered, and 
 Warren Hastings had consolidated ! 
 
 Whilst the Deputy Commissioner was engaged in 
 completing a survey for the site of a new city at the 
 mouth of the Bassein river, an emeute occurred at 
 the further extremity of his District, the leaders sup- 
 posing that he had proceeded to Rangoon. Imme- 
 diately however on the news reaching him he started 
 for Bassein, from whence he set out to meet the 
 enemy with 50 Sepoys, 30 Europeans, and about 
 400 Burmese allies, who had hitherto fought nobly 
 under his command. The rebels, confident in their 
 superior numbers, fought three successive engage- 
 ments in the open plain, each of which was boldly 
 
388 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 and obstinately, but unsuccessfully contested ; num- 
 bers of the foe, amongst whom were seven Chiefs, 
 being killed, and five taken prisoners. So close was 
 the struggle, and so determined was the enemy, 
 that the gallant Deputy Commissioner himself was 
 engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with one of the 
 Chiefs, whom he cut down. 
 
 In the month of August the same functionary was 
 on the frontier of his District, to the northward, 
 where he received a message from Ghoung-gyee, 
 a Burmese Chief, who had been the cause of some 
 anxiety to another able political officer. Captain 
 Smith, of the Sarawah district. The message was 
 to the effect that he had always respected the Bas- 
 sein frontier, and had never injured a single person 
 in the Bassein territory in any way. This was per- 
 fectly true. A sense of fear had been established 
 not only in Ghoung-gyee but amongst his accom- 
 plices also, and it did not seem probable that the 
 Bassein Political would be disturbed with any of their 
 pranks, which they might with greater facility 
 carry on elsewhere. The notorious district of 
 Sarawah — to use a not very pleasant but appro- 
 priate simile — acted like a poultice, and drew off all 
 the evil matter from Bassein ! At the beginning of 
 October Captain Fytche had finished his assessment 
 for the first half-year of 1853-4, and, exclusive of 
 all Custom duties, there seemed every probability of 
 getting in some five lakhs of rupees for the whole 
 year. The people had settled down quietly to their 
 
MR MASON AT TONGHOO. 
 
 .'389 
 
 cultivation, fisheries, and other employments, and a 
 great number began to flock in from the neighbour- 
 ing districts. 
 
 By an order of Government, dated Fort- William, 
 16th September, the Pegu force was to constitute 
 one division under the command of Sir John 
 Cheape, K.C.B. A brigade was to be stationed at 
 or near Meeaday ; and every precaution was being 
 taken for the military defence of the new Province. 
 At Tonghoo — in September and October — we were 
 troubled with occasionally petty cases of dacoity 
 inside and outside the fort walls. Towards the 
 end of the latter month some of these robbers were 
 caught and brought in to receive justice from the 
 Assistant- Commissioner. The willingness of the 
 Burmese to assist in the capture of these marauders 
 augured well for the future security of the district. 
 About the same time Mr Mason of the American 
 Baptist Mission, and author of the Fauna, Flora^ 
 and Minerals of Burmah, visited Tonghoo. He 
 purposed leaving for America shortly, when per- 
 haps he would return and take up his abode at this 
 station. He said that the Karens still expected 
 another struggle for power among the great northern 
 Chiefs of Ava. He thought well of the annexation 
 of the country; and for some time, aided by his accom- 
 plished wife, he laboured zealously and successfully in 
 his vocation in the vicinity. Even numbers of 
 Karens came from a long distance to hear the 
 simple Missionary speak to them as never man had 
 
390 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 spoken to them before ! Will the Peace Society 
 at their next great meeting put the question, to be 
 answered by anyone of its ablest members — Could Mr 
 Mason have thus laboured had it not been for the 
 " inevitable necessity" of war ? Dealing with an 
 arrogant and cruel people — for such the war party 
 of Ava may be considered — how could the birth of 
 civilisation have taken place in the land without the 
 charge of the British bayonet, and the political, 
 persuasive thunder of artillery ? 
 
 Not the least important event at Tonghoo in 
 October, was the arrival of some 12 9-pounder 
 guns — the clumsy long iron nines, with metal 
 sufficient for twelves at least — for the defence of 
 the fort. Similar ordnance, in a smaller propor- 
 tion, had been likewise conveyed to Sitang and 
 Shoe-Gyne. Every precaution was taken on this 
 side of the Sitang to have a sufficient artillery force; 
 and we venture to say that the arrival of two addi- 
 tional 24-pounder howitzers and the heavy nines, 
 did more to convince the people of this part of the 
 country that we were determined to hold Pegu than 
 a dozen manifestos to that effect by the political 
 authorities. Thus may peace and safety be said to 
 sleep under the stern shadow of brass and iron ! 
 Some of the prisoners (Europeans) who had been 
 released by the Golden Foot, described the feelings 
 and actions of the present King of Burmah as most 
 friendly towards the British. To each of them on 
 parting, it was said, he gave a small gold box, ring, 
 
TOPOGRAPHY. 391 
 
 or ruby — the latter forming the aristocratic present 
 of Bumiah. But yet the opinion of the press was — 
 and not without reason — that the aspect of affairs 
 was decidedly warlike, and that troubles would never 
 cease until the Court of Ava was no more. We 
 should have noted that during the latter part of the 
 monsoon the Indus steamer attempted the passage 
 from the Pegu river into the Sitang, but found the 
 creek too narrow, and having come half-way had to 
 return. During the rainy season Shoe-Gyne may 
 be called a flooded town. Prome, according to Dr 
 Mackay,* who has written a valuable paper on the 
 " Topography of Burmah, " likewise presents a 
 watery scene at this period of the year. Inside the 
 wall of that town the ground is raised, flat and dry ; 
 outside there is an old ditch, very wet and over- 
 grown with weeds : " beyond this the ground is 
 low, marshy, and the greater part of it during the 
 months of August and September, when the river is 
 at its greatest height, is covered with water. To- 
 wards the end of September the Irrawaddy begins to 
 fall."" Heights were cleared and occupied at Prome 
 on the south and east side of the swamp, to improve 
 the health of the troops, by removing them from 
 the damp ground below. During the monsoon of 
 1853 the fall of rain at Tonghoo did not appear ta 
 us excessive, nor was there any inundation of the 
 river. According to Dr Mackay, to the north of 
 Meeaday the ground is comparatively high, and not 
 * Madras Sappers and Miners. 
 
392 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 subject to inundation, and the soil is more sandy 
 than that at Prome. 
 
 The most momentous news of November was 
 that on the 20th of December the fighting Prince 
 was to leave Ava for a descent on our new conquest. 
 Meanwhile the country was parcelled out into prin- 
 cipalities, and one favoured Chief had received the 
 order of the Nine Golden Umbrellas ! Strange it is 
 that so many Nations, civilised or otherwise, descend 
 to the ridiculous in the appellations of their orders 
 of merit. The above distinction conferred at Ava 
 does not suffer to any great extent however beside 
 such as the Golden Fleece^ the Lion and Sun, or even 
 with our own National orders — the Garter and the 
 Bath! Our troops having been fully employed against 
 the dacoits on the Irrawaddy, we are assured they 
 would have rejoiced to have left that harassing and 
 inglorious warfare to have met on the fair field the 
 chosen men of Ava ! But it is needless to say that 
 this will never be brought about, for it is opposed to 
 the general system of war in this country. Among 
 the many conflicting accounts of the King and his 
 intentions, not the least important was that of his 
 Jesuit counsellor, M. Abona, who had declared that 
 although the Golden Foot would not invade Pegu, 
 he was nevertheless ready for a defensive war ! This 
 same Jesuit had been dispatched from Ava, it was 
 said on a special mission, to request that the usual 
 royal procession should be allowed to pass down 
 from the northward to Rangoon, for the purpose of 
 
DEATH OF CAPTAIN LATTER. 
 
 393 
 
 celebrating the praises of Gaudama at his greatest 
 shrine. This application to the Commissioner of 
 course met with the treatment it deserved. Under 
 the circumstances, the appearance of such a proces- 
 sion might have injured " the prestige of our power 
 in Pegu." Not long after this evident design of the 
 Jesuit an event occurred which was calculated to 
 create some alarm among the authorities, nothing 
 less than a sort of conspiracy at Rangoon. The 
 night of the 23d November was that on which some 
 unusual exertions on the part of numerous dissatis- 
 fied Burmese — " discarded officials'" — were to be 
 made for gaining possession of the great Dagoon 
 Pagoda, and turning the guns of the British fort 
 upon the town. But all had been nipped in the 
 bud by the vigilance of those in power, and the 
 miserable attempt soon gained the oblivion it de- 
 served.* There can be no better policy than to 
 meet occasions like these, however trivial in them- 
 selves, with prompt energy, until in our new Pro- 
 vince nearly all are satisfied ! 
 
 We regret thatwehave nowto record a dark shadow 
 in the picture of our Narrative — nothing less than 
 the murder of one who has figured in these pages on 
 several occasions — than whom a braver soldier never 
 stepped — Captain Thomas Latter ! He was found 
 dead in his bed on the morning of the 8th of Decem- 
 ber ; and on examination, one fatal and two severe 
 
 " In this business the timely and active exertions of Captain 
 Sparks, the Deputy Commissioner, were much praised. 
 
394 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 wounds were discovered. This assassination, we 
 think correctly, was not attributable to political 
 motives ; that is to say, we do not believe it 
 to have been instigated by the parties at Ava. 
 It is impossible to narrate without a deep feeling 
 of sorrow this untimely end of the Deputy Com- 
 missioner of Prome. Able as a linguist and as 
 an administrator, distinguished as a soldier, he 
 was not the man that could be easily spared from 
 the government of such a Province as Pegu. For 
 many years he had done good service in Eastern 
 Asia; and in addition to his civil and political duties 
 had mastered the Burmese and Talain languages, on 
 which he published two or three volumes. Colonel 
 Mackeson's fate fresh on our minds, Colonel Sleeman's 
 life attempted, it did seem at first as if portentous 
 clouds were gathering respectively over Peshawar, 
 Oude, and Burmali ! In the same month a force 
 under Major Seaton,* Commandant of Shoe-Gyne, 
 amounting to some six or eight hundred men, with 
 guns, marched to capture if possible the Chief 
 whose stronghold was between Pegu and Shoe- 
 Gyne, but the crafty marauder prudently retreated to 
 the hills. 
 
 On the 14th of December the Governor- General 
 of India made his second visit to Rangoon. Since 
 his former one death had indeed done its work 
 among the principal actors in the Second Burmese 
 
 * Bengal Fusiliers, assisted by Captain Ward, Madras Fusi- 
 liers, and by Lieutenant Taylor, Madras Artillery. 
 
SECOND VISIT OF aOV.-GEN. TO RANGOON. 395 
 
 War. The Admiral, the General, a Deputy Com- 
 missioner, and numerous others, had passed away ! 
 But if Providence had thus ordered it, there was a 
 satisfaction to be enjoyed by the head of the Indian 
 Government in the knowledge of the fact that a fair 
 Province had been rescued from tyranny and oppres- 
 sion, and that she had been set on the right track to 
 gain happiness and prosperity. There was every 
 prospect of a large harvest ; the country seemed 
 almost cleared of dacoits ; commerce, especially at 
 Rangoon, had commenced in earnest; and according 
 to one authority the aggregate value of the exports 
 and imports into Rangoon " of articles paying duty 
 during November and December, amounted to about 
 11 lakhs of rupees," (L.110,000). Such was the 
 dawn of prosperity on Lord Dalhousie^s arrival at 
 the capital of the new Province. And strange enough, 
 while the chosen leader of the " merchants of Tar- 
 shish, with all the young lions thereof" was at Ran- 
 goon, determined to uphold the glory of the Anglo- 
 Saxon race in Eastern Asia, the news reached India 
 that Turkey had fairly commenced, aided by the 
 Great Western Powers, to curb the ambition of 
 Russia, and preserve its dominions from the grasp 
 of the despotic and all-absorbing Czar ! 
 
396 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 OMER Pacha had crossed the Danube on a mission 
 of war ; Lord Dalhousie was now about to steam 
 up the Irrawaddy on a mission of peace. Peter 
 the Great, we know, extended the commercial rela- 
 tions of Russia on all sides, even to China. Great 
 Britain had now taken up a strong position in the 
 direction of the flowery land about the same time 
 as the extermination of the Mantchou race seemed 
 nigh. Thus does it appear for the present that the 
 balance of power in the world must be kept up by 
 the spirit of national and physical antagonism. 
 
 So long as we are prepared on all sides for war 
 there need not be the slightest apprehension about 
 the power and resources of Russia or of any other 
 Nation. Such preparation in these days is absolutely 
 necessary. The Indian army, according to modern 
 seers, has a fair share of work marked out for it — 
 to defend India — to drive the invader out of Egypt, 
 and meet him face to face on the sacred soil of 
 Palestine! The light of British civilisation is to usher 
 in " the millennial day." Entertaining such bright 
 hopes then, and impelled as we are by the force of 
 
THE GOV.-GENERAL''s VISIT TO PROME. 397 
 
 circumstances to increase our territories as well as 
 
 to protect those already gained, what need we care 
 
 about the 
 
 " Eighth sharer of the inhabitable sphere, 
 Whom Persia bows to, China ill confines. 
 And India's homage waits when Albion's star declines." * 
 
 To form a consistent theory of general causes, it 
 appears to us, is a human impossibility. Neverthe- 
 less the attempt may be left with master-minds like 
 those of Montesquieu and Gibbon. Should there be 
 any such among the Peace Society, have we not a 
 right to expect a "Philosophic History of Mankind?" 
 To look at the rise, grandeur, and fall of empires, 
 it is well for ordinary men to be content with the 
 general causes and effects themselves, without run- 
 ning into theories which are generally apt to mis- 
 lead or bewilder. So we wrote seven years ago ; "f 
 and as the world has been taking its own way since 
 then, we return to the undeniable fact that, after war, 
 the Governor-General is about to proceed peacefully 
 to Prome ! His Lordship left Rangoon for that sta- 
 tion on the 17th of December ; and during his resi- 
 dence there, as at the chief part of the Province, all 
 his attention was given to the present and future 
 welfare of Pegu. The three grand military reports 
 which now became current were, that two horse 
 batteries were to be furnished by Madras for Burmah 
 — that the order for a medal granted by Her Most 
 Gracious Majesty had been promulgated by the 
 
 * Campbell. t "Political Speculations." — Orissa, p. 24.5. 
 
398 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Governor-General — and that Prome was no longer 
 to be a Cantonment ! By all accounts the climate at 
 that station was particularly healthy at the close of 
 1853, forming a strong contrast with the commence- 
 ment and the close of the previous year. On the 26th 
 of December Lord Dalhousie proceeded to Meeaday. 
 On the same day a party of 700 men, with two howit- 
 zers from the Troop, Madras Horse Artillery,* 
 marched for Pounyday, about 38 miles in a S. E. 
 direction from Prome ; there they were to be met 
 by Captain Smith, the Deputy Commissioner, and a 
 portion of the Arracan battalion, when a razzia 
 was to be made against the dacoit Chief, Moung- 
 Ghoung-gyee. He, and the other dacoit Chiefs who 
 had recently been giving us trouble, were probably 
 acting under the orders of the younger brother of 
 the King of Ava — described as "an ambitious fool," 
 — while the King shewed his wisdom in desiring to 
 preserve peace and promote commercial intercourse. 
 Nevertheless from such opposite elements it is evident 
 that caution and strong measures are requisite in 
 dealing with such a Court, And this appeared to be 
 well understood by the authorities. The difficulty 
 was one of a distressing kind; for these firebrands 
 the dacoits did not direct their attacks against 
 the British, but against the unfortunate peasants 
 who had come under our protection, whom they 
 hoped to drive by force into the Burmese territory. 
 
 ■ Under Lieutenant Jefferis, accompanied by Second Lieu- 
 tenant Peach. 
 
BOUNDARY OF THE PROVINCE. 399 
 
 The most vigorous measures had therefore been 
 adopted and enforced. 
 
 While at Meeaday the Governor-General resolved 
 to be a principal actor in the settlement of the 
 boundary of the new Province. Proceeding six 
 miles northward, a point was taken ; three steamers 
 thundered forth each a salute of 21 guns. A pillar 
 of demarcation now became the chief object of atten- 
 tion, and to it the troops presented arms. The 
 Governor-General made a short but pithy speech, 
 and we believe concluded with the decisive announce- 
 ment that the pillar was to be a mark of the British 
 possessions for ever and ever ! Three hearty British 
 cheers were given, and all marched back to Meeaday ! * 
 At present there is no military post north of that 
 station, and the line west of the boundary extends 
 to the Arracan range, where it joins our own 
 territory. Before departure his Lordship presented 
 the old head-man of Meeaday with an appropriate 
 gift for laudable conduct ; and we may safely pre- 
 dict that when that gold chain encircles the neck of 
 the Burman of a future generation, British rule will 
 be thought of with a respect infinitelysurpassing that 
 ever bestowed on the government, or rather mis- 
 government of all the descendants of Alompra ! 
 
 The Governor-General arrived at Rangoon from 
 Prome on the 5 th of January, and left for Bassein 
 on the 9th, whence he proceeded to Calcutta. 
 
 * Theyetmew — formerly a nest for dacoits — was held by a 
 small force from Meeaday. It is situated about six miles south. 
 
400 THE SECOND BURMESE .WAR. 
 
 We should have mentioned the anxiety expressed 
 by Lord Dalhousie during his visit to Pegu for the 
 comfort of the British soldier ; and vv^ith him there 
 was no standing upon the order of doing, but the 
 thing proposed to be done was done at once. Probably 
 his last Official Despatch in Pegu was that dated on 
 board the Zenobia, the 13th of January, off Cape 
 Negrais. The ardent lovers of peace will be curious 
 to know what was the subject. It was simply on 
 the best means of establishing Cantonment Gardens 
 in Pegu, which would supply the European soldiery 
 with vegetables, and afford a pleasant and tasteful 
 place of recreation for all classes of society at the 
 station. Is not this literally beating swords into 
 plough-shares ? A Province larger than Belgium is 
 conquered — its inhabitants rescued from tyranny 
 and oppression — and the master mind who has guided 
 the conquest leaves it a garden ! The circumstance 
 reminds us of Warren Hastings's letter to Dr Johnson 
 shortly after the death of Nuncomar, when the con- 
 queror in the deadly grapple sat down " with charac- 
 teristic self-possession to write about the Tour to 
 the Hebrides, Jones''s Persian Grammar, and the 
 history, tradition, arts, and natural productions of 
 India."* 
 
 And truly, considering the aspect of affairs in 
 
 Europe and Persia, to say nothing of Affghanistan 
 
 or elsewhere, one may imagine — for the Indian 
 
 statesman at least — the period to be equally critical 
 
 * Macaulay. 
 
DEPARTUllES FOR ENGLAND. 401 
 
 with that of troubled and distracted Bengal in the 
 last century, when the magical wisdom and decision 
 of Warren Hastings taught us how to consolidate 
 an Empire ! 
 
 We resume our Narrative by recording some of 
 the remarks of Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, 
 K. C. B., on the approaching departure of H. M.''s 
 5l8t K. O. L, I. for England, dated Promo, 20th 
 December 1853; and we doubt not that this gal 
 lant corj)s will long remember what it has suffered 
 and achieved here. " The annals of the regiment 
 may tell of fields of greater note, but of none in 
 which the sterling worth of the regiment has been 
 more fully tried and shewn than in its service in 
 Burmah. On many occasions the greatest gallantry 
 has been displayed, and in particular by a detachment 
 imder the command of Captain Irby, in storming the 
 enemy's position in almost the last action fought in 
 this war." The writer of these pages was with them 
 at the first — and he is happy in being able to record 
 the blaze of glory which shone so brilliantly to the 
 last! H. M.'s 18th and 80th Regiments had pro- 
 ceeded on their way to Calcutta and England, after 
 much distinguished service in this country. Our 
 highly respected chaplain, Mr Burney, had left the 
 latter corps at Shway-Doung, near Prome. Event- 
 ually the Ofiicers and men of that regiment pre- 
 sented him with a substantial mark of their esteem, 
 and appreciation of the efficient manner in which he 
 had discharged his arduous duties amidst all the 
 
 c 2 
 
402 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 horrors incident to a protracted war, — and few men 
 have ever deserved it better than the Rev. H. B. 
 Burney. 
 
 We now return to Tonghoo, and no small degree 
 of excitement was caused in that quiet station when, 
 on the morning of the 21st of January 1854, Major 
 Allan, Deputy Quartermaster-General, arrived from 
 Prome with the powers of a Special Commissioner, 
 accompanied by a detachment of Sikhs under Lieu- 
 tenant Williams. Not having taken the direct route 
 they were 16 days in accomplishing the march — 
 a distance of 140 miles.* This was not bad work, 
 considering that the road — if a wild path can be so 
 called — had in some degree to be reconnoitred and 
 measured. A small party of Madras Sappers accom- 
 panied the detachment. The road on the whole 
 was passable, and the Sappers, as they went along, 
 vastly improved it. Water was plentiful, and there 
 was no appearance of an enemy, but the Karenee 
 villagers informed the small force that numerous 
 deceits hovered around them. During the march 
 Major Cotton was understood to be out against 
 the redoubtable Ghoung-gyee. The last we heard 
 of this notorious Chief was, that he laboured 
 under a wretched state of health, and should he 
 escape the casualty of war he was likely to succumb 
 to the stroke of disease. Our old enemy Myat-Toon 
 was at Ava, of course prompting the younger brother 
 
 * A direct route would probably give a distance under 100 
 miles. • 
 
ENCOUNTER WITH DACOITS. 403 
 
 of the Golden Foot to turn us out of the country. 
 He was held to be in disgrace by the King, or elder 
 brother ! But the dacoits, or in reality the dissatis- 
 fied portion of the dispersed Burmese army, were not 
 yet utterly annihilated. The detachment which had 
 just arrived brought the intelligence that Captain 
 Barry, commanding the Arracan Local Battalion, 
 had been slain near Prome in an encounter with these 
 desperate sons of Burmah. The British detachment 
 consisted of a Company of the 10th B. N. I., and a 
 number of Mugs (Arracanese), under Captain Barry. 
 Coming to a jungly road the dacoits allowed the 
 10th to pass, as far as we could learn, without moles- 
 tation. This was contrary to their usual custom. 
 The Mugs, however, were met by a vigorous fire. 
 Captain Barry immediately opened out his men 
 into skirmishing order, but unfortunately the gallant 
 Officer was at that time mortally wounded. Lieu- 
 tenant Thompson was also hit, and some 25 
 men on this disastrous occasion were numbered 
 among the killed and wounded. 
 
 Now may be said to have commenced the flare 
 of the lamp of dissatisfaction, before its final close, 
 which we trust will not shew its light farther than 
 in the few incidents which now remain to be re- 
 corded. If it does to any great extent Ava must 
 fall, and the dynasty of Alompra must be ex- 
 terminated. This has been threatened by Lord 
 Dalhousie to secure good behaviour ; and as yet 
 
404 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 the threat appears to be acting as a strong check 
 on the Court of Ava. We can see at present 
 no cause of alarm. In this some of the most able 
 English Journals are too prone to indulge. The 
 extension of " the garden" to Ava, or beyond, would 
 be an enterprize of little difficulty. It would not be 
 profitable, it is true ; but in the grand human march 
 of civilisation the instruments cannot always expect 
 to carry profit along with them, Pegu is as much 
 as we want, and it is evidently the intention of the 
 Indian Government not to go beyond, if the step 
 can possibly be avoided. After all, we are not quite 
 sure that, were it possible to open a brisk trade with 
 the adjacent portion of China and the northern Shan 
 States, we would find an extension of the territory 
 utterly unprofitable. 
 
 In consequence of the arrival of Major Allan, and 
 his intention to proceed northward and fix the 
 boundary, a force was immediately held in readiness 
 to accompany him. This consisted of one Company 
 of Madras European Fusiliers under Captain Geils, 
 with Lieutenant Grant ; a detachment of the 5th 
 M.N.I. ; another of Madras Sappers and Miners; and 
 a few Ramgbur Irregular Horse. The Sikhs remained 
 behind at Tonghoo. The garrison could ill afford 
 to spare even so small a force as that now about to 
 proceed under the command of Captain Geils. For 
 some time past we had heard of various preparations 
 being made to oppose our progress northward ; the 
 
ENQAGEMENTS, — FIXING THE BOUNDARY. 405 
 
 Burmese were said to be in great force at Yamu- 
 thayn, or Ramuthayn ; * about half-way thither is 
 Nangain — nearly 80 miles from Tonghoo — both on 
 the direct road to Ava. The capital is some 80 or 
 90 miles almost due north from Yamuthayn. Mr 
 O'Riley, the Assistant Commissioner, had hither- 
 to confined his tours in the district chiefly to the 
 south and west, but had eventually proceeded some 
 distance to the northward, when it was found neces- 
 sary to remove several obstacles evidently placed in 
 our way. This indefatigable Officer of course accom- 
 panied Major Allan. On the morning of the 24th 
 of January the small force marched out of Tonghoo. 
 The first intelligence of it was received on the mor- 
 ning of the 26th ; there had been a skirmish at 
 Kaleen, 17 miles distant, in which two Europeans, a 
 Ramghur Irregular, and two Natives were wounded. 
 It was now quite natural to suppose that we should 
 have to fight every inch of our way to the boundary, 
 which was to be in a straight line with the point 
 chosen six miles north of Meeaday. Immediately 
 on receipt of the news from Kaleen the Brigadier 
 dispatched Dr Beautfleur and 20 Sikhs, with a few 
 Europeans, to aid the small force in case of more 
 opposition. On the same day of excitement two how- 
 itzers were also ordered to be kept in readiness to pro- 
 ceed northward at a moment's notice. Had a Third 
 Burmese War really commenced? Could the Bur- 
 
 * See Sketch Map at commencement of Narrative of the Opera- 
 tlom at Rangoon in 1852. Nangain is there inadvertently omitted. 
 
406 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 mese be such arrant fools ? With a direct land move- 
 ment on Ava in our power on one side, and with a 
 water movement by means of the light craft on the 
 Irrawaddy on the other, were they not aware that 
 we could circumvent the Empire in spite of every 
 difficulty, if they provoked us to do so ? We believe 
 that this was perfectly well understood beyond Nan- 
 gain — from which place, it was fully believed, men 
 had been detached to oppose our progress to the 
 northward. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th intelligence arrived of 
 another skirmish on coming into Tewah, nine miles 
 beyond Kaleen. On this occasion the enemy were 
 in some force in the jungles, and Lieutenant Grant 
 of the Fusiliers received a wound in the arm. Some 
 two or three natives, including a Burmese guide, 
 were also shot down. Lieutenant P. A. Brown 
 was now ordered out to supply the place of Lieu- 
 tenant Grant. He started with three Fusiliers, and 
 eventually reached the camp in perfect safety. On 
 the termination of this last affair Major Allan 
 received a communication from the Goung of Nan- 
 gain, asking what right he had to come northward. 
 He replied that he had come merely to mark the 
 boundary line; that he would proceed to the point 
 required ; and he cautioned the Goung therefore 
 against any further opposition. The 29th passed 
 away without any fresh news from the camp, when 
 Brigadier Williams, naturally anxious about the 
 small force, wisely resolved — should no letter pre- 
 
TONaHOO, DESPATCH OF DETACHMENTS. 407 
 
 viously arrive from Major Allan — to send out on 
 the morrow a strong detachment with two how- 
 itzers, to reinforce or furnish a garrison, as might 
 be required, for any position chosen. 
 
 As " tight " a little force as ever went forth 
 ardent for martial adventure, left Tonghoo accord- 
 ingly, at three p. M. on the 30th instant, under the 
 command of Lieutenant-Colonel Poole, 5th M.N. I., 
 and consisted of a strong detachment of Sikhs under 
 Lieutenant Williams ; one of Madras Fusiliers 
 under Lieutenant Seton ; one of Madras Sappers 
 under Lieutenant Shortland ; and a detachment of 
 Madras Artillery (European), with two 24-pounder 
 howitzers and a rocket tube. 
 
 It was quite dark when we arrived at Yagay, a 
 distance of eight or nine miles, where we remained all 
 night — some on this occasion sleeping under a tree, 
 others under a bullock-garie ; but the majority had 
 their faces sheltered only by the heavens, and fortu- 
 nately none suffered from the dew, although another 
 night of such repose would have shown many on the 
 sick report. The order was to travel as lightly as 
 possible, so where there were no houses no other 
 alternative presented itself than that of sleeping in the 
 open air. This a soldier often rather likes than other- 
 wise, but it is a dangerous experiment in Burmah ! 
 
 Before starting for Kaleen,* on the morning of 
 the 31st, a messenger arrived from Major Allan 
 
 * Near Kaleen there is a remarkable bridge, about 1,400 yards 
 long. 
 
408 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 with a packet for the Brigadier commanding Tong- 
 hoo. Colonel Poole having opened what seemed the 
 principal communication, found it to be dated from 
 Myo-khla, about 42 miles in a northerly direction 
 from Tonghoo. Captain Geils's force had met with 
 strong opposition while proceeding to Myo-khla. 
 Breastworks, scarps after the Burmese fashion, and 
 every variety of rude fortification had been brought 
 into play to oppose our progress. We regretted to 
 learn that the gallant Captain had been severely 
 wounded while leading on his men, who, with the 
 Sikhs, dashed fearlessly into the jungle, doing great 
 execution among the astonished enemy. At the 
 assault on Nat-toon, or the Spirit Hill — a spacious 
 eminence about four miles from Myo-khla — the 
 affair became a serious one. The Burmese had 
 to be repelled at the point of the bayonet. In 
 addition to Captain Geils, six or eight Fusiliers 
 and two or three Natives, including a Sikh, were 
 wounded. The 5th M. N. I. and the Madras 
 Sappers, highly distinguished themselves by the 
 efficient performance of the various duties entrusted 
 to them. Lieutenant P. A. Brown succeeded Cap- 
 tain Geils in the command of the force at Myo-khla. 
 We afterwards learned that this Officer accompanied 
 Major Allan to the boundary point immediately 
 opposite Mahaw, about six miles beyond Myo-khla, 
 having crossed and recrossed the Sitang river, which 
 here wends its way northward, broad and deep, with 
 some fine hills in the distance. There was opposi- 
 
SURVEY OF THE SITANG TO TONGHOO. 409 
 
 tion to the last ; but the object had been achieved, 
 and the boundary line had been marked 48 miles 
 from Tonghoo, as near as possible in a line with 
 six miles north of Meeaday ! The Government 
 had not given any final orders regarding the ex- 
 treme point of boundary to the east. Before this 
 can be done the country must be surveyed, or at 
 least reconnoitred. Such progress will lead us 
 among the tribes of Karens, of whose productions, 
 manners, and customs, we have little information ; 
 the splendid hills running north and south beyond 
 the Sitang river, at a distance of eight or ten miles 
 from Tonghoo, * are likewise peopled by some 
 of these tribes, and in a few years more we may 
 expect to find Red Karens wheeling with right good- 
 will into the ranks of civilisation ! Before then 
 numerous roads will have been made, drains will 
 have been cut, jungle will have been cleared away, 
 and we shall see new cantonments peopled and 
 garrisoned, all through the energy of the ubiquitous 
 Anglo-Saxon race ! We understand that the Gover- 
 nor-General has determined to have the road between 
 Chittagong and Prome completed before the next 
 monsoon. 
 
 In the month of February Lieutenant Ward, I.N., 
 arrived at Tonghoo, having surveyed the Sitang river 
 to this station, for the purpose of furnishing us with 
 
 * Latitude 18" 56' ; longitude bad not been taken. Accord- 
 ing to Dr Mackay, latitude of Prome is ]8f\ and tbe longi- 
 tude 95J". 
 
410 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 that most useful achievement of modern civilisation, 
 — a steamer ! Major Allan, had there been boats, 
 would probably have returned from Myo-khla by 
 water, or he might have sent back the sick and 
 wounded by the river. By the letter which had 
 arrived in camp at Yagay, the Special Commission- 
 er was about to proceed to the boundary above 
 alluded to. He believed that the force under Cap- 
 tain Geils had driven the enemy to the northward, 
 and did not dream of the strong detachment now 
 proceeding to join him. He had not yet secured a 
 post where he could leave troops ; but it would be 
 necessary to have one if that part of the country 
 was to be held. 
 
 On the 2d of February Colonel Poole's field- 
 force arrived at Myo-khla, not a vestige of an 
 enemy having been seen all the way. The road was 
 better than we expected ; but hilly and swampy in 
 several places, and consequently difficult for guns. 
 In the swampy ground we put the elephants in 
 shaft ; there they were of great service ; but they 
 would be liable to overturn a gun in the Burmese 
 jungle. Few pictures of the combination of animal 
 and scientific power can equal that of an elephant 
 moving along with a large howitzer ! The bullocks, 
 although they worked well, were found as usual to 
 be inefficient for artillery service on the line of 
 march, and in consequence the two Madras horse- 
 batteries about to be formed in Pegu will, for speedy 
 movement, be invaluable. 
 
PEACEFUL RETURN TO TONGHOO. 411 
 
 Not finding Major Allan at Myo-khla, Colonel 
 Poole took immediate steps for the discovery of the 
 adventurous detachment. But all doubt was at an 
 end on the morning of the following day, intelli- 
 gence having arrived from Lieutenant Maud, 5th 
 M. N. I. — who was only one march distant (at 
 Thagarah,) with 30 Sikhs and four days'" provisions 
 for our force — that the detachment escorting the 
 Commissioner was returning to Tonghoo ; he like- 
 wise sent instructions from that authority that we 
 were also to return. The same day Lieutenant Maud 
 arrived in camp with loaded elephants, and the hearty 
 brave-looking Sikhs. Had Moung-Bhwa, with his 
 5,000 men paid us a visit at this time, we think our 
 gallant Colonel would have given him an admirable 
 specimen of our prowess, although the proportion of 
 fighting men would have been greatly in favour of 
 the Burmese, or about twenty to one ! but it was 
 evident they feared us, — in every part of the world 
 the best security for peace, — so we marched back to 
 Tonghoo in a manner worthy of the most peaceful 
 members of the immaculate Peace Society, for we 
 did not fire a shot ! 
 
 We arrived on the morning of the 7th February, 
 and found that no definite orders were yet to be 
 given about the post near the frontier. On the 10th 
 Major Allan, with the Sikhs and a rocket tube,* left 
 
 * With a small party of the D Company, 3d Battalion Artillery, 
 under Corporal Taylor. The writer was now, and had been for a 
 considerable time, in sole command of the Artillery at Tonghoo, 
 
412 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 for Prome. On the same day a detacliment of 
 European Fusiliers and Native Infantry, with two 
 howitzers and a portion of the D Company, 3d Bat- 
 taUon, the whole under the command of Captain 
 Tulloch of the former corps, left for Yagay, to pro- 
 tect the surrounding country. Through the exer- 
 tions of Lieutenant Moberly of the Madras Engi- 
 neers a temporary military post was soon formed at 
 Yagay. The last incident we shall record is the 
 arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Apthorp at Tonghoo 
 on the 21st, to command the 1st Madras Fusi- 
 liers, Major Hill having been appointed — a high 
 compliment to the Madras Army — to that of the 
 Gwalior Contingent ! 
 
 Thus ends our eventful Narrative. Should any 
 one be dissatisfied, perhaps they will give us the 
 credit of at least having done our best to render the 
 History as full and complete as could well be accom- 
 plished under the very harassing circumstances in 
 which we were often placed during the Campaign. 
 And if the Indian Government be eventually called 
 on to fulfil the destiny which so often impels us 
 forward " in spite of our own wishes," the future 
 historian may in this Work find a few materials to 
 assist him in an account of The Third Burmese 
 War. 
 
 Tonghoo, 22c? Fehruary 1854, 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 413 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY 
 
 PAPEES AND NOTES. 
 
 GENERAL GODWIN S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE 
 ARMY OF BURMAH. * 
 
 The Major-General is about to resign the command of 
 the army, — an army that for one year and four months has 
 not given the Major-General one hour of trouble or 
 anxiety. Whether in the field or in quarters its admirable 
 conduct has held an even course. It is a singular fact 
 that with troops of three distinct Services, of which this 
 Force has been composed, not one collision of interests has 
 come to the knowledge of the Major-General — all has 
 been harmony ; and the good of the service on which the 
 Force has been employed has been the prevailing and first 
 consideration of the combined whole. 
 
 Such creditable bearing must increase the painful feel- 
 ings of the Major-General to know he is leaving so 
 excellent a Force, which he has never been absent from 
 one day — sharing as he has done in its triumphs in the 
 field and living with it in its quarters,— so that he does 
 
 * Dated Prome, 27th July 1853. 
 
414 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 not conisider the subject he is now addressing to them so 
 much in the light of a Farewell Address as a testimony of 
 the warmest feelings towards his brother soldiers. [The 
 General, after acknowledging the services of the Staff, 
 individually and collectivel}'", proceeds.] The Major- 
 General begs to offer his warmest thanks to Brigadier- 
 General Sir J. Cheape, K. C. B., and to Brigadier- General 
 S. W. Steel, C. B. ; to the Brigadiers of the several 
 Brigades, and to the Officers commanding Regiments, for 
 their constant, valuable, and cheerful support, by which 
 alone he has been able to sustain the honourable trust 
 reposed in him by Government. [In the Address very 
 flattering mention is made of Majors Mayliew, Allen, 
 Boulderson, Budd, and Fraser,* — a galaxy of energy and 
 talent that would do honour to any army. The " brave 
 and ever ready Sappers" are likewise highly commended. 
 Liberal thanks are also bestowed on Brigadier Foord and 
 the Artillery of both Presidencies ; on Superintending 
 Surgeon Montgomerie, and the Medical Officers of Regi- 
 ments ; and on our excellent Chaplains the Reverend H. 
 B. Burney and the Reverend J. W. Bull. The General 
 evidently does his best to wish a kind farewell to all.] 
 
 * The indefatigable Bengal Engineer, at whose bidding 
 towns rose as if by magic, where all before was desolation and 
 ruin. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 415 
 
 MORTALITY AMONG THE TROOPS IN BURMAH 
 DURING THE AVAR. 
 
 Frequent allusion has been made in the Narrative to the 
 health of the troops employed in the operations. This 
 being a subject of vast importance, especially as concern- 
 ing the probability of our being in time to come urged on 
 to farther conquest in Eastern Asia, the writer, with a 
 view of rendering his Work as useful as possible for a 
 reference now and hereafter, begs to submit the following 
 matter to his readers. At page 15 of the Narrative of 
 Operations at Rangoon in 1852, it is stated from an 
 Official Return that in the First Burmese War, 'Muring the 
 first year 3^ per cent of the troops were killed in action, 
 while 45 per cent perished from disease. In the ensuing 
 year the mortality decreased one-half j but the total loss 
 during the war amounted to 72| per cent of the troops 
 engaged." We were surprised to see a statement in June 
 purporting to be from the Annual Returns, that in 
 the Second Burmese War^ " during the past year, 54 
 European Officers, 1,353 European soldiers, and probably 
 above 2,000 Sepoys have perished in Burmah ;" includ- 
 ing all who have from time to time gone away on medical 
 certificate, the facilities for which have been very great 
 during the recent Campaigns. These figures may be cor- 
 rect, but in our opinion they can scarcely be so. With 
 an army more than double the size of ours in the First 
 War, which lasted nearly two years, the grand total 
 
416 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES, 
 
 of European Officers killed and deceased amounted to 65 ; 
 native commissioned, non-commissioned rank and file, 
 1,429; non-commissioned rank and file Europeans, 3,134; 
 and extra killed, deceased, and missing, 450. As has 
 been observed elsewhere, the privations and sufferings of 
 the troops during the First War were infinitely greater 
 than what have been endured by us. Mortality through- 
 out the recent Campaigns has been extremely variable in 
 its character; the Angel of Death continually shifting his 
 (quarters, and often abiding in those places where he was 
 least expected. On one or two occasions — as will have been 
 seen in the course of the Narrative — he made a steady 
 residence at Prome. Since recording the deaths of Lieu- 
 tenants Pilmer and Montgomery of H. M.'s 51st and 80th 
 Kegiments, we have now to add to the list the names of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Coote, H. M.'s 1 8th R. I., and Lieutenant 
 Chisholm, 40th B.N.L The former gallant Ofiicer, it will 
 be remembered, conmianded the storming party at the 
 attack on the Great Shoe-Dagoon Pagoda. The Queen's 
 Regiments have certainly shared considerably in the mor- 
 tality of the war. The Company's Regiments have been 
 more fortunate. Of the former we have no exact statistics ; 
 but a tolerably accurate idea will have been gained from 
 what is written in the foregoing Chapters. The Madras 
 troops, on the whole, may be said to have suflered less 
 than the Bengal. By the end of May last, out of 160 
 European Bengal Artillerymen who came to Burmah at 
 the commencement of the war, upwards of 40 had died. 
 Out of say 230 European Madras Artillerymen, up to the 
 same time, not more than the above number had died. 
 The Bengal European Fusiliers* have been more severely 
 
 * Captain Byng died en route from Tonghoo to Shoe-Gyne. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 417 
 
 visited than the Madras. From the convenience of a fre- 
 quent communication between Rangoon and Calcutta, the 
 Bengal Sepoys have been enabled when sick and unfit for 
 duty to visit their country in considerable numbers, not- 
 withstanding this advantage we are not sure if their bill 
 of mortality is less than the Madras. In the 5th M.N. I., 
 which came to Rangoon from Kyouk Phyoo, iu Arracan, 
 — a climate not particularly healthy — from June 1852 to 
 June 1853 the deaths have been 88 men. From June 
 to August, at Tonghoo, they have lost 25 — total 113, 
 Considering — as has been well remarked — that " all 
 Eastern countries are at first unfavourable to the health of 
 Europeans;"* and it may be added, to that of Native Sepoys 
 also, there is nothing very alarming in the aspect of the 
 mortality among the troops in Burmah. Before drawing 
 attention to some interesting Tables kindly furnished us by 
 the Ofiicer commanding the 1st Madras European Regiment 
 of Fusiliers, it may be remarked that the first is to. shew the 
 few casualties in the Fusiliers since the day of landing at 
 Rangoon till the end of August 1853, as compared with 
 other European regiments in Burmah. The second Table 
 is to shew the salubrity of Tonghoo from the few casualties 
 in that corps — six in five months. The third Table will 
 interest those who make investigations into probable causes 
 in producing certain effects, as it shews the quantity of 
 arrack drank by 431 men in five months at Tonghoo. 
 
 It was the opinion of Dr Robertson of H. M's. 13th 
 Regiment — reputed as one of the best informed practi- 
 tioners for Indian maladies — that during the siege of Jel- 
 lalabad he had no sickness, and attributed it entirely to the 
 
 * On the 22d of April the Service lost a very fine young 
 Officer, Lieutenant Harris, 19th M.N.I., of the Sappers, who died 
 at Sitang. 
 
 D 2 
 
418 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 impossibility of obtaining liquor. From this, by casting 
 the eye over the Table now presented, perhaps an inference 
 may be drawn from the few casualties at Tonghoo, — 
 amounting only to five men, (one of whom, the Quarter- 
 master-Sergeant, died from apoplexy the day after arrival) 
 — that as the liquor drank for five months at this station 
 does not give on an average above half a dram to each man, 
 the predisposition to infectious diseases, which always ren- 
 ders them more fatal where strong drinks are indulged in, 
 has not been seen here. The Government allowance of 
 liquor — two drams a-day when porter is not issued — is 
 ample for the men ; and it would appear to be neces- 
 sary to health in such a climate as Burmah. Often have 
 we heard the highly respectable Sergeant say — " I could 
 not get on Sir without my dram !" In the heavy mon- 
 soon the sentry is relieved from his duty in. the morning ; 
 he is wet, cold, and aching — a dram to him then is worth 
 an ocean of physic. The sobriety of the men of the Fusi- 
 liers — there is much to like in that word sobriety, it im- 
 plies SELF-DENIAL, whereas Total Abstinence has no human 
 grandeur about it. The sobriety of the Madras Fusiliers 
 we say, at Tonghoo, has been the leading cause of so 
 few casualties having occurred among them ; and the 
 same may be said of the Company of Madras European 
 Artillery under the charge of the writer of this Narrative. 
 As regards the soldier-like appearance and general beha- 
 viour of the Company's European troops, they will not 
 suff'er by comparison with the best European troops in 
 the world, in spite of some miserable calumnies, founded 
 as usual on ignorance, brought at home against them. 
 
 Since writing the above, a most interesting document 
 has appeared, professing to be a List of Officers who 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 419 
 
 have either been killed, died, or wounded, or who have 
 been compelled to leave Burraah since the commence- 
 ment of the war, up to the 12th of June 1853: Thus, — 
 
 Royal Navy, 
 
 Indian Navy and Bengal Marine, 
 
 H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish, 
 
 11. M.'s 5Ist K. O. L. I., 
 
 H. M.'s 80th Regiment, 
 
 StafF, 
 
 Madras Artillery, 
 
 Bengal Artillery, ., 
 
 Bengal Engineers, 
 
 Madras Engineers, 
 
 Bengal Fusiliers, 
 
 Irregular Cavalry, 
 
 5th Madras Native Infantry, 
 9th Madras Native Infantry, ... 
 19th Madras Native Infantry, ... 
 1st Madras Native Infantry, 
 35th Madras Native Infantry, ... 
 
 4th Sikhs, 
 
 40tli Bengal Native Infantry, ... 
 67th Bengal Native Infantry, ... 
 49th Madras Native Infantry, ... 
 
 Killed 
 
 
 
 and 
 
 Wounded. 
 
 s. c.» 
 
 Dead. 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 "i 
 
 2 
 
 "i 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 ... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 "i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 "i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 58 
 
 45 
 
 89 
 
 The Madras Fusiliers, of which corps a perfect statement 
 is given in the subjoined Table, contains in this list 4 s, c. 
 This is a i-ather more numerous bill of mortality than we at 
 first supposed, although the list is drawn out to the utmost 
 statistical length, some being set down who did not die in 
 Burniah. It will be seen from the above that the two 
 most unfortunate regiments in point of Officers, have 
 been the 51st K. 0. L, I. and the 35th M. N. I. 
 
 On Sick Certificate. 
 
420 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 I. — Madras Fusiliers. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 rfi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 H 
 
 
 S* 
 
 on 
 
 ?. 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 6 
 13 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 n 
 '3 
 
 ft, 
 
 6 
 
 C3 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 ;3 
 
 ■3 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 1? 
 
 3 
 CO 
 
 3 
 
 05 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 a 
 E 
 
 i 
 
 Q 
 
 "3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 0^ 
 "3 
 
 > 
 
 strength of Regiment on 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 landing at Rangoon, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13th September 1852, 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 10 
 
 X 
 
 3 
 
 48 
 
 20 
 
 47 
 
 84ij 
 
 Casualties by death up to 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25th August 1833, 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 ij 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 b 
 
 5/ 
 
 II.— Martaban Column. 
 
 
 "3 
 1 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 ft. 
 
 03 
 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 -S 
 
 3 
 
 .2 
 >3 
 
 0) 
 
 3 
 
 EC 
 
 3 
 
 s 
 
 so 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 C3 
 
 
 Ef 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 a 
 a 
 3 
 hi 
 
 « 
 
 2 
 4 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 D. 
 
 
 
 5 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 
 S 
 
 136 
 
 158 
 
 56 
 28 
 
 Detachment under Cap- 
 tain Geils, arrived at 
 Tonghoo, 22d February 
 1833 
 
 Detachment under Cap- 
 tain Renaud, arrived at 
 Tonghoo, Cth March 
 1853 
 
 Head - Quarters under 
 Major Hill, arrived at 
 Tonghoo 24th April 
 1853, .... 
 
 Brigadier Williams's Es- 
 cort arrived 12th March 
 1853, .... 
 
 Total, . 
 
 Casualties by death at 
 Head-Quarters, up to 
 25th August 1853, 
 
 Total, . 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 22 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 378 
 4 
 
 
 1219 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 20 374 1 
 
 1 1 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES, 
 
 421 
 
 III.— QUANTITY of ARRACK issued at Head-Quarters 
 during the Months specified below. 
 
 Months. 
 
 Arrack. 
 
 to 
 
 s 
 
 Average Consumption. 
 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 April, 1853. 
 May, ,, 
 June, ,, 
 July, 
 Aug. 25, ,, 
 
 410 
 237 
 224 
 264 
 201 
 
 21 431 
 11 430 
 27 429 
 
 428 
 24 427 
 
 Nearly IJth drams per man daily. 
 
 7-lOths „ 
 Less than 7-lOths ,, ,, 
 K early 4-5ths ,, ,, ,, 
 
 3-4th9 „ 
 
 Total, . 
 
 1338 i 3 1 2145 
 
 General average,5-6ths dram p. man daily. 
 
422 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN IN BDRMAH, 1853. 
 
 At Tonghoo, towards the end of September, a new Indian 
 Periodical* fell into our hands, evidently most ably con- 
 ducted, and to which we wish every success. The July 
 number contained a paper with the above title, from which 
 a few useful notes may be culled, supplementary to what 
 has already appeared in the Narrative. 
 
 In the beginning of January 1853, the British force 
 in Burmah under the command of General Godwin gave 
 a body composed of — 
 
 1 Troop of Horse Artillery. 
 
 1 Light Field Battery. 
 
 5 Companies of Foot Artillery. 
 
 4 Companies of Sappers. 
 
 2 Troops of Cavalry. 
 
 5 Regiments of British Infantry. 
 8 Regiments of Native Infantry. 
 
 The above might, on the 1st of January 1853, be fairly 
 reckoned as 10,000 men of all arms, who were scattered 
 over the face of Pegu, from Prome to the sea. 
 
 During the Autumn of 1852 the wunt of carriage being 
 much felt by the army, and it being necessary to provide 
 
 * East India Army Magazine and Military Review, 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 423 
 
 against the necessity of an advance by land upon the 
 capital, the Governor-General decided on dispatching 200 
 elephants by way of Assam and the borders of Arracan, 
 which, entering the valley of the Irrawaddy through the 
 Tonghoo Pass, should proceed immediately to Prome and 
 join the head-quarters of the army under General Godwin. 
 With a small escort of Sepoys under the command of 
 Captain Baugh of the 26th Bengal Light Infantry, this 
 enormous living column commenced its march. The 
 frontier line in the immediate vicinity of Arracan was 
 held by the 68th B. N. I. and the Arracan Battalion, 
 under the command of Major Maling and Captain Barry, 
 and a strong detachment of H. M.'s 18th R. I. and 4th 
 Sikhs, under command of Major Edwards, marched from 
 Prome to receive charge of the elephants and reinforce their 
 escort whilst proceeding through the Tonghoo Pass into 
 Pegu, [Then follows a detailed account of Captain 
 Nuthall's successful capture of the strong stockade of 
 Nareghain, or as a London critic expressively styles the 
 feat, " the brilliant taking of the Aeng Pass." Captain 
 Sutherland being left in command of the stockade he had 
 so gallantly captured, all fears regarding the safety of 
 the elephants or their escort were at an end.] 
 
 About 75 miles to the eastward of Bassein the Burmese 
 had strongly intrenched themselves in a stockade which 
 they had erected on the left bank of the Duggah Creek, 
 and had not only planted some small guns within their 
 entrenchments, but had staked the creek from bank to 
 bank, with a view of preventing the possibility of an 
 attack or approach l>y water. From this stockade bands 
 
424 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 of armed men would issue, eager for plunder and rapine, 
 keeping the surrounding districts in a state of uneasiness 
 and alarm, and ready to fall upon any detached parties of 
 the British forces which might be escorting baggage or 
 stores on the great lines of communication, and Captain 
 Fytche saw the necessity of dispersing and destroying 
 them before he could hope to restore the confidence of the 
 inhabitants or settle the district. On the 21st January, 
 then, accompanied by Captain Eennie, at the head of 80 
 armed sailors, and four small guns under the charge of 
 Lieutenant Manderson of the Bengal Artillery, Captain 
 Fyiche sailed in the Nemesis to meet the boats of the 
 Zendbia, towing which the little steamer made its way 
 up the Duggah Creek. [The adventures of this gallant 
 body till the end of the month were of the most brilliant 
 description.] On the termination of the gallant affair 
 against the Minku, the British sailors immediately return- 
 ed to Laminah, worn out with fatigue, but full of rejoicing 
 at their success, which all parties united in mainly attri- 
 buting to the gallantry and untiring energy of Captain 
 Fytche. 
 
 Regarding the Donnabew disaster, the Review says — It 
 would appear that Captain Loch, a truly gallant sailor, 
 assumed improperly the command of the united force ; an 
 assumption which Major Minchin appears to have succumb- 
 ed to, overlooking, or being ignorant of the rule, which 
 assigns the command of a united force on land to the Senior 
 Military OflScer, just as rigidly as it does to the Naval 
 Officer at sea. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 425 
 
 [We have briefly narrated the insurrection at Beling in 
 the Narrative, and the doings of the gallant detachment of 
 the 1st M. N, I, under Captain Wright and Ensign 
 Newdick of that Regiment.] It was then at once deter- 
 mined to re-capture Beling. The Governor-General dis- 
 patched four Companies of the 2d Bengal Europeans to 
 occupy Moulmein, while a column advanced against Moung- 
 Goung. Through the indefatigable exertions of the troops 
 — men of the 49th and 1st M. N, I., a company of Bengal 
 Fusiliers from Sitang, and a small detail of Madras 
 Artillery — and the marked zeal of Colonel Bogle, Captain 
 Berdmore, Majors Hall and Gottreux, and others, Beling 
 was re-captured,* and Captain Berdmore offered a reward 
 of 1,000 rupees for Moung-Goung. 
 
 ♦ 19th April. 
 
42G SUrPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 Note 1, page 230. 
 
 A General Order afterwards appeared, containing the 
 Governor-General's opinion upon the conduct of the troops 
 engaged. " The Governor-General in Council sincerely 
 laments the fall of so many gallant men, with Captain Loch 
 of H. M. ship Winchester, and Captain Price of the 6?th 
 B. N. I,, and the further loss of the services of a large pro- 
 portion of wounded men. His Lordship in Council con- 
 curs with you* and Brigadier Dickenson in thinking that 
 no blame attaches to Major Minchin, excepting that which 
 may belong to his having too easily joined in an operation 
 which req^uired the utmost caution. The conduct of the 
 Officers and men under the command of Major Minchin is 
 entitled to the highest praise." "Nothing," his Lordship in 
 Council observes, " could have been better and braver than 
 their bearing throughout the whole affair, and great credit 
 is due, especially to Lieutenant Maiseyand Ensign Boileau." 
 
 Alas ! that we should have had to record the death of 
 the latter fine young Officer in the successful operations 
 against Myat-Toon. 
 
 Note 2, page 243. 
 
 METEOKOLOGICAL NOTICE OF BURMAH. 
 
 April. — This is the hottest month in the year. The 
 thermometer ranges during the day from 90° to 9!^°, and 
 
 * General Godwin, who, in a letter to the Brigadier, said that 
 the fault committed by the Major consisted in his not insisting 
 on the entire direction of the force the moment it landed. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 427 
 
 the heat is very oppressive, especially during the latter 
 part of the month, relieved however by a breeze from the 
 south and south-west, which springs up about 10 o'clock 
 in the forenoon. Kain rarely falls in this month, although 
 sometimes it does in small quantities, [At Tonghoo, 
 during this month, the thermometer in houses stood at 
 105°.] 
 
 May. — During this month the monsoon changes, which 
 usually takes place from the 15th to the end. The weather, 
 till this happens, is similar to that experienced last month. 
 Occasional showers and north-westers are frequent during 
 the latter part, at times attended with the most vivid 
 lightning and loud thunder. Average fall of rain during 
 the month about 15 inches. 
 
 June. — This may be called the first month of the south- 
 west monsoon. The heavy rains which fall now cool the 
 air and encourage vegetation. Violent gusts of wind and 
 heavy squalls, generally from the south, are frequent, com- 
 monly about the middle of the month. Average fall of 
 rain 40 inches. 
 
 July. — This month is attended with very heavy rains 
 and much wind ; the weather is gloomy, stormy, and cool, 
 whilst at intervals it is fair and mild, particularly from 
 4 to 7 in the afternoon ; with so much regularity does 
 this occur, that during this and next month we can almost 
 depend on 23 days to enjoy a fair afternoon. Average 
 fall of rain from 50 to 60 inches, though 70 have been 
 known to fall during the month. 
 
 August. — The heaviest rains usually fall in this month. 
 The weather is cool and pleasant but for the dampness, 
 which is very destructive to clothes, books, &c; The 
 
428 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 wind blows strong and steady from tlie south-west quarter 
 during the whole of the month, with few deviations from 
 that point. Average fall of rain 55 inches, 
 
 September. — The rains subside considerably towards 
 the middle of the month ; and from that to the first or 
 second week of October the change of the monsoon usually 
 takes place, with its accompaniments of north-westers, 
 lightning, and thunder. Towards the end the winds are 
 generally light and variable, and the weather is cool. 
 Average fall of rain 30 inches. 
 
 October. — Showers fall occasionally to the middle of 
 the month. Winds light and variable, blowing from the 
 north-east to the south ; lightning and thunder are fre- 
 quent during the evenings and nights, and the weather is 
 cool. During the latter part of the month the wind blows 
 light from the north-east in the day, veering to the south 
 in the evening. Average fall of rain 5 inches. 
 
 November. — This is the first month of what is called the 
 cold season. The days are hot, with scarcely any wind, 
 but the nights are cool and agreeable. Towards the end 
 a delightful breeze from the north springs up about 9 or 
 10 o'clock, changing to the south-east during the night. 
 Rain seldom, and then trifling in quantity. 
 
 December. — This is the most pleasant month in the year, 
 A refreshing breeze from the north springs up about 10 
 o'clock, veering by the east to the south in the evening; 
 mornings and evenings cold; fogs frequent from 7 to 9 
 o'clock in the mornings, and towards the end of the month 
 dense. No rain. 
 
 Copied from the " Notice" in the Madras Artillery 
 Hospital at Rangoon. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 429 
 
 Addendum. — With the exception of increased heat, 
 what is said above of December is nearly applicable to 
 January and February. The month of March {ta-goo 
 la in Burmese, la meaning month,) for the most part very 
 hot and sultry, with an occasional breeze for a short period, 
 day and night. During this month and the next the 
 Burmese hold a water feast, to hail a beneficial monsoon 
 for their crops; also another water feast in September, 
 towards the end of the monsoon.* 
 
 Note 3, page 268. 
 Having in the Chapter relating to Pegu, page 126, remark- 
 ed on the courage displayed by our new soldiers — the Sikhs 
 — in action, it will have been seen also how well they fought 
 during Sir John Cheape's operations near Donnabew. They 
 seemed to possess by instinct the knowledge of how to 
 use the British bayonet. Two of their Officers, including 
 their Commandant, disabled by wounds, and with but 
 one European Officer to lead them, their courage remained 
 conspicuous to the last ; vieing with that of the Europeans, 
 notwithstanding all natural obstacles, in the gallant endea- 
 vour to annihilate the redoubtable Chieftain and all his 
 
 followers! 
 
 Note 4, page 275. 
 
 When the manuscript of this Chapter had been dis- 
 patched to Europe for publication, the Author received 
 
 * According to Lieutenant Chase {Burmese Hand-Book), the 
 true epoch of Burman time is the annihilation of Gaudama, 
 540 years before Christ. Time is measured by lunar months, 
 12 of which make a common year, and every third year admits 
 an intercalar month of 30 days. A month is distinguislied into 
 two parts, the waxing and the wane. The full moon falls on the 
 15th of tlie waxing, the cliange on tlie 14th or 15th of the wane. 
 
430 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 another account of Sir John Cheape's operations against 
 Myat-Toon from an Officer engaged. This being the se- 
 cond authentic description from the scene of action, in 
 addition to the Despatch, the writer hoped to gather some- 
 thing more of interest for his readers. That he was not 
 disappointed the following anecdotes of bravery will 
 show : — 
 
 An Affghan havildar of the 4th Sikhs, named Jezut 
 Khan, behaved splendidly on the 17th. On the 11th 
 some of his caste were killed and wounded when the enemy 
 attacked our rear-guard. He then took an oath on his 
 sword that he would kill a Burman with it or die j accord- 
 ingly on the 17th he advanced a-head of every one 
 else, determined to be revenged. When he got about 
 1.5 yards from the breastwork he received one shot in 
 the hip and another in the arm, but this did not deter 
 him in the least, and he still continued to push on. When 
 he got almost within reach for the sacred sword to begin 
 its work, he was shot right through the body ; and thus 
 the brave Affghan fell ! 
 
 On the 19th Sergeant-Major Fury of the 4th Sikhs 
 behaved very gallantly. When we got within 80 yards 
 of the deadly breastwork, and some men did not move 
 forward with that alacrity he thought desirable, he 
 became almost frantic with rage. To use the graphic 
 language of the narrator, " he began kicking and striking 
 Europeans and Natives right and left, to make them go 
 on ; and whilst thus engaged he was killed dead, with 
 three bullets through him." 
 
 Whatever people may say to the contrary, incidents 
 such as these are always found in the realities of war ; 
 and there is no satisfactory way of accounting for them. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 431 
 
 In the same writer's opinion, the Artillery were of little 
 service in the operations against Myat-Toon. While the 
 road was being made for the guns the Infantry were 
 exposed to the fire of the breastworks ; and when the 
 guns did come up, they did not do sufficient damage. On 
 two occasions only were they of any service. The rockets 
 he considered worse than useless. The first rocket fired 
 by us was the signal for the enemy to rush to their arms 
 and open a fire on us. From our proximity to the breast- 
 work, and the tremendous fire kept up by the enemy, it is 
 wonderful that many more were not killed. And such is 
 War! 
 
 Note 5, page 325. 
 
 Next to the expenditure of human life in a war, ranks 
 the expenditure of treasure. This latter, in an age filled 
 with rash " economists and calculators," has apparently 
 been much overrated. Even L. 2,000,000 sterling was 
 not too great a price to pay for the advantages gained by 
 the annexation of Pegu. But L.920,000 only is said to be 
 a " close approximation" to the cost of the war for 17 
 months. Among the items, of course the Commissariat 
 charges are the principal, or L. 250,000. In round num- 
 bers the expense of the war therefore has been L. 650,000 
 a-year. 
 
 Note 6, page 399. 
 Meeaday, signifying in the Burmese language " very 
 rich," was nearly deserted on our occupation of it, there 
 being scarcely a house in the whole place in a fit condition 
 for quartering troops. There are but few inhabitants, and 
 a very inferior bazaar. The space occupied by the vil- 
 lagers is outside tl-.e south gate, extending 100 yards in 
 
432 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS AND NOTES. 
 
 length and breadth ; all beyond this is inundated during the 
 monsoon, and cultivated in the dry season. Our frontier 
 station is about 15 feet above the highest rise of the river, 
 surrounded by a stockade, forming an island in the height 
 of the monsoou. Our present position extends from the, 
 south gate to the breastwork marked C on the " Plan 
 of the Stockade of Meeaday, " but will be extended on 
 the arrival of more troops. This has proved to be one 
 of our healthiest stations, only six deaths having occur- 
 red from the end of January to the end of June, out of a 
 force of nearly 500 men. The heat is excessive during 
 the months of March, April, and May, the thermometer 
 averaging from 104° to 111° in the houses. — Re'port by 
 Lieutenants Bridge & Lloyd, Madras Artillery. 
 
 Note 7, page 405. 
 By a Government Notification of the 5th May, Mr E. 
 O'Riley was appointed Assistant Commissioner at Tong- 
 hoo, under the Commissioner of Pegu. 
 

 3- .^ /*( 
 
 
 -«••• ■■ : ■ ^rr-}^^ !;!;„-■ r'%r.,(' e'^j^ ti ills 
 
 ! i%^ -3-"^ 
 
 111 3 Mil ^ ^^^vl 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 MEMORANDA REGARDING THE ATTACKS ON MARTABAN ON 
 THE 16th APRIL, AND 26TH AND 28TII MAY 1852. 
 
 [From the Madras Artillery Records, Vol. xvi, No. viii, 
 August 1852.] 
 
 On the morning of the 1 .5th of April, about half- past twelve, 
 the Burmese appeared in force on the plateau marked 1; 
 at the same time parties of the enemy attacked our picquets 
 2, 3, placed on the right and left of the camp. ( Vide Flan.) 
 
 The Light Field Battery, as per margin,* was drawn 
 up in position on the ground where the Artillery gun 
 shed now stands ; and as soon as the guns opened fire the 
 Burmese retired to the party which was attacking the 
 picquet on the right. No. 2 ; the enemy kept up a con- 
 tinued fire from jingals and muskets until half-past three. 
 When the Burmese were driven from our front, one 9- 
 pounder gun and one 24-pounder howitzer were thrown 
 forward to the right, so as to bear upon the party attack- 
 ing the right picquet, and one 9-pounder gun was moved 
 to the left to assist the left picquet. 
 
 The ground would not admit of placing more guns in 
 these positions. 
 
 * T\vo 24-pounder howitzers ; four 9-poiinder guns. 
 
 £ 2 
 
o 
 
 Vi 
 
 
 
 
 
 (^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 MEMORANDA REGARDING THE ATTACKS ON MARTABAN ON 
 THE 16th APRIL, AND 26tH AND 28tII MAY 1852. 
 
 [From the Madras Artillery Records, Vol. xvi, No. viii, 
 August 1852.] 
 
 On the morning of the 1 5th of April, about half-past twelve, 
 the Burmese appeared in force on the plateau marked 1; 
 at the same time parties of the enemy attacked our picquets 
 2, 3, placed on the right and left of the camp. ( Vide Plan.) 
 
 The Light Field Battery, as per margin,* was drawn 
 up in position on the ground where the Artillery gun 
 shed now stands; and as soon as the guns opened fire the 
 Burmese retired to the party which was attacking the 
 picquet on the right. No. 2 ; the enemy kept up a con- 
 tinued fire from jingals and muskets until half-past three. 
 When the Burmese were driven from our front, one 9- 
 pounder gun and one 24-pounder howitzer were thrown 
 forward to the right, so as to bear upon the party attack- 
 ing the right picquet, and one 9-pounder gun was moved 
 to the left to assist the left picquet. 
 
 The ground would not admit of placing more guns in 
 these positions. 
 
 • Two 24-pounder howitzers ; four 9-pounder guns. 
 
 e2 
 
434 APPENDIX. 
 
 When this attack was made there had been no time to 
 stockade the place. 
 
 The stockade round the camp (which includes the pla- 
 teau 1,) was completed towards the end of April, and it 
 having been resolved not to occupy the Pagoda Hill, the 
 following pieces of ordnance* were placed in position so 
 as to command all the approaches to the place. 
 
 The jungle round the camp and stockade was cleared 
 to the distance of about 500 yards. 
 
 On the morning of the 26th May the enemy advanced 
 along the ridge of the hill from 4 to 5, another party 
 came along the road and jungle from the North, firing 
 upon the Coolies, and took cover in a Poonghee house close 
 to the small pagoda 1, and distant 200 yards from the 
 North Battery ; a few rounds of cannister drove them from 
 their cover, and in a very short time the Burmese were 
 compelled to seek shelter in the dense jungle. A third 
 party of the enemy skirmished from the Hill Pagoda to 6, 
 but were dispersed shortly after the guns of the South 
 Battery opened fire. 
 
 As the Burmese continued to keep up an irregular fire 
 from the jungle, a party of the 49th Regiment N. I., 
 was sent out by the Hill Pagoda to clear the jungle, but 
 coming across a breastwork of the enemy near to pagoda 4, 
 and from which a heavy fire was kept up, they were 
 obliged to return to camp with a loss as per margin, t 
 
 * Two 9-pounder brass guns at A.j ^^ ^^^^^ Battery. 
 
 One 24- „ „ howitzer at C. I 
 
 Two 9- „ „ guns 1 ^g;| 
 
 One 24- „ „ howitzer/ 1 ^^^^^^^ 
 
 One 9- „ „ guu at 2. ( -^ 
 
 with two 54 inch mortars in reserve, 
 t 1 killed ; 13 wounded ; 3 since dead. 
 
APPENDIX. 435 
 
 The gun-boats from the Feroze, with a Company of 
 H. M's 51st, arrived about 11 o'clock. The Company of 
 the 51st, with a party of the 49th, were then sent out, 
 covered by the fire from the guns of the North Battery, 
 whilst the boats of the Feroze proceeded up the Salweeu 
 Kiver and kept up a fire upon the enemy as they were 
 retreating. The party and boats returned about two 
 o'clock. The number of the enemy was estimated at 
 at least 1,400. 
 
 During the day we received one 8-inch and two S^-inch 
 mortars from Moulmein, and placed them in position on 
 the flanks of the North Battery. 
 
 On the night of the 28th May the enemy were observed 
 at a Pagoda about one mile distant from the North Battery, 
 and consequently too far off to insert in the Plan. The 
 Burmese fired a few rounds upon, it is supposed, some 
 boats in the river. We fired five rounds from the 8-inch 
 mortar, and the accounts received were that the enemy 
 were so taken by surprise, and one of their head men 
 being wounded, that they would not advance further. The 
 5^-inch mortar fired a few rounds. 
 
 The Pagoda on the hill was stockaded early in June, 
 and one 24-pounder howitzer taken from the South Bat- 
 tery, and one 9-pounder gun from the Picquet-House 2, 
 were placed in position as marked A B. 
 
 All the guns in position are under sheds, and are placed 
 on wooden platforms. The ammunition-boxes have been 
 taken ofi" the limbers and waggons, and placed in rear of 
 their respective guns. 
 
 The distances of the various pagodas, hills, &c., being 
 known, a certain number of shells and spherical case shot 
 are fixed and ready for immediate use. 
 
436 APPENDIX. 
 
 General Godwin, after inspecting the various works, &c. 
 on the 9th July, expressed himself in a General Order to 
 the effect that he considered the place to be in a state of 
 complete security. 
 
 (Signed) J. S. Baird, 2d Lieut. 
 
 A. Compy- 2d Batt"- Artillery. 
 Martaban, I2tk July 1852. 
 
 [In Chapter XII, page 1 72, of ^ Narrative of the Opera- 
 tions at Rangoon, in that portion relating to the Burmese 
 attack on Martaban on the 26th of May, it is stated on the 
 authority of a writer in the Mouhnein Times, that the 
 Feroze hit and destroyed the beauty of the White Pagoda 
 at a distance of 3^ miles. Now, with due deference to 
 such authority, whoever he may be, such effective firing, 
 with such a range, seems hardly possible. Two miles and 
 a half, say equal to about 4,500 yards, was probably the 
 maximum of distance. This would be a fair shot even for 
 a 68-pounder gun,] 
 
APPENDIX. 437 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 THE ARMY OF AVA. 
 
 If any mau had ventured to predict twelve months ago 
 that in the middle of the present year India would be re- 
 sounding with the din of preparation for another war, — that 
 the Bay of Bengal would be covered with steamers and 
 transports, and that a large army would be organized to 
 plant the British standard on the walls of Ameerapoora, 
 and quench the glory of Alompra's dynasty, he would have 
 been considered as the wildest and the most reckless of 
 projihets. Yet such is the positive fact. No sooner have 
 we begun to congratulate ourselves on the establishment of 
 peace, and the enjoyment of some little leisure for internal 
 improvements, and the recruiting of our finances, than we 
 are summoned again into the field by the insolence and 
 restlessness of our neighbours, who have completely for- 
 gotten the lesson we taught them, and the territorial 
 penalty we inflicted on them in the last war. The demon- 
 stration of our military power made in April, and the 
 decisive blow struck at Rangoon and the maritime towns 
 having failed to produce the desired eflfect, we have been 
 left without any alternative but to assemble a large army, 
 and inflict on these barbarians the chastisement which 
 their insolence has merited. It may be all very well for 
 
438 APPENDIX. 
 
 the journals in England, in order to exhibit a sanctimoni- 
 ous love of the virtue of peace, as well as to indulge in the 
 luxury of a little censure, to denounce Lord Dalhousie and 
 the Burmese war, but we challenge them one and all to go 
 over every successive step in the progress of events, from 
 the first demand of reparation to the assemblage of the 
 Army of Ava, and say whether any Minister of England, 
 who might have been treated in the same manner by any 
 European Power, would not have been constrained by the 
 voice of public opinion, embodied in the public journals, to 
 have adopted precisely the same course. Lord Dalhousie's 
 demands of indemnity for the past and security for the 
 future were moderate in themselves, and very temperately 
 made ; they were met with a shew of compliance from the 
 Court, but the truculent Governor sent down to succeed 
 his obnoxious predecessor proved far more insolent and 
 overbearing. The Court was evidently prepared for war, 
 and determined to plunge into it at all hazards. The 
 Governor treated our Officers with a degree of contempt 
 which could not have been overlooked, and which he never 
 would have ventured to practise if he had not known 
 that those at the head of affairs were fully prepared to 
 back him with the whole power of the kingdom. Every 
 opportunity which has been given to the Burmese of 
 opening negotiations and averting hostilities has been 
 neglected, and instead of applying for peace they have 
 made every preparation for resistance. The war has been 
 brought on by the wanton provocation of a barbarous 
 power, and we trust it will issue in carrying the blessings 
 of civilisation through a vast and hitherto unapproachable 
 region. — Friend of India, July 29, 1852. 
 
APPENDIX. 439 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 THE MADRAS ARMY. 
 
 The statement recently made in the House of Lords re- 
 specting the Madras Army has called forth an elaborate 
 rejoinder in a letter to the Times from Colonel Alexander, 
 late Adjutant General of that force. Speaking of the 
 operations of the last war in Ava, Lord Ellenborough 
 stated that the army by which it was conducted was 
 chiefly drawn from the Presidency by the great personal 
 influence of Sir Thomas Munro ; he further observed that 
 the soldiers of the Madras Army being accustomed to take 
 their wives and children with them into camp, are thrown 
 into a state of disaflection, almost amounting to mutiny, 
 when they are ordered beyond sea and compelled to leave 
 their families behind them without the means of support. 
 His Lordship asserted that when he arrived at Madras he 
 found two regiments in this condition, in consequence of 
 the misery and distress of the wives and children of the 
 men who had already sailed for China. 
 
 " I beg then most respectfully to state that his Lord- 
 ship has been entirely misinformed regarding the feelings 
 of the Madras Army. When the troops were required 
 for the Burmese War in 1824, so far from there being the 
 least unwillingness to enter upon that service, not only 
 
44© APPENDIX. 
 
 were there abundance of volunteers, but every Native 
 Officer and Sepoy having had the option given him 
 whether he would go or not, of the 24,000 who were 
 required there was but one Sepoy who availed himself of 
 the choice to stay, and he remained with the permission 
 of the Commander-in-Chief and the contempt of his com- 
 rades. 
 
 " That Sir Thomas Munro was well known to, and 
 beloved and confided in by the Sepoys, not only as a 
 Governor, but as one of their own Officers, is undoubtedly 
 true ; his personal influence however was never required, 
 and had literally nothing to do with inducing them to 
 embark ; they followed their colours and officers on this, 
 as they have done on every occasion that they have been 
 required for the service of the State." 
 
 Colonel Alexander then goes on to state that the Civil 
 Governor in India has no more personal intercourse with 
 the Native Army than the Secretary at War in England 
 has with the garrisons at Portsmouth or Woolwich ; and 
 asserts that the efforts of Sir Thomas Munro were directed 
 not to stimulate the zeal of the Madras Army, which he 
 well knew he could rely upon, but to prevent the Supreme 
 Government from retiring from a conflict entered upon 
 without forethought or due preparation. Respecting the 
 domestic arrangement of the Sepoys, he thus corrects the 
 statement of Lord Ellenborough : — 
 
 " His Lordship has again been most completely misled 
 regarding Madras Sepoys on field or foreign service ; and 
 I believe he will find that during a Parliamentary speech 
 his memory for the moment failed him regarding the 
 domestic circumstances of the Sepoys of Bengal, whose 
 families, as a general rule, never leave their native vil- 
 
APPENDIX. 44l 
 
 lages to live even in cantonments or garrisons. The 
 Madras Sepoy marries when he is young, and his family 
 accompanies him wherever he may be stationed in India 
 in time of peace ; the moment however he is required for 
 embarkation or active service, be it where it may, his 
 family is left behind ; and I never knew nor heard of even 
 a wish being expressed by Madras Sepoys that their fami- 
 lies should follow them across the sea, or accompany them 
 to the field." 
 
 The uneasiness of the soldiery alluded to by Lord 
 Ellenborough at the time of his arrival is ascribed by 
 Colonel Alexander to the injudicious reductions which had 
 been made in the pensions formerly granted for wounds, 
 and which Lord Hardinge afterwards found it necessary to 
 countermand. He also states that the dissatisfied troops 
 subsequently went most enthusiastically ; and he distinctly 
 denies that the families of the troops that went to China 
 were left in misery and distress. 
 
 " The regulations of the Madras Government are in this 
 respect admirable, and when a regiment is ordered on 
 foreign service the Native Ofiicers and men are called upon 
 to name the villages at which they wish their families to 
 reside ; they are permitted to grant what are called ' family 
 certificates,' by which they allot to them any portion of 
 their pay they think proper, and this is disbursed every 
 month with the same regularity as is the pay to the troops. 
 A steady Native Officer, with some old non-commissioned 
 Officers and Sepoys, the least fitfor hard service, andin whom 
 the Sepoys have confidence, is left in charge of the families, 
 and these men are aware that every representation they 
 may make, even to the miscarriage of a letter, will be care- 
 fully attended to. There are also European Officers at 
 
442 APPENDIX. 
 
 all the principal places where the families dwell, charged 
 with the duty of paying their monthly stipends, and 
 attending to their wants." 
 
 Colonel Alexander then shows that the existing regula- 
 tions require no alteration, and that they are well calcu- 
 lated to confer those benefits which his Lordship's whole 
 career in India testified his anxiety to secure for the Native 
 Army. — Home Neivs, April 24, 1852. 
 
APPENDIX. 443 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 RIVER STEAMERS FOR THE IRRAWADDY. 
 
 After the monsoon it is to be hoped we shall avail our- 
 selves of the opportunity to take possession of Lower Pegu, 
 and thus connect Arracan with our Tenasserini Provinces. 
 The Irrawaddy has a depth of 40 feet of water off Eangoon, 
 and the river is navigable for vessels of 200 tons as high 
 up as Ava, thus offering every facility for the employment 
 of a steam flotilla, which might be assembled after the 
 rains, and the following river steamers of the Indian Navy 
 are of a size suitable for the service : — 
 
 Horse Power. Guns. 
 
 Assyria 40 2 
 
 Comet 40 2 
 
 Conqueror 50 2 
 
 Meanee 40 2 
 
 Meteor 24 1 and 6 wall pieces. 
 
 Nimrod 40 5 
 
 Nitocris 40 5 
 
 Snake 10 4 
 
 Other steamers of suitable draught of water might also 
 be taken up at Bombay and Calcutta, exclusive of the 
 vessels of Government of size appropriate for tlie service.— 
 February/ 29, 1852. 
 
444 APPENDIX. 
 
 Although none of the above-named vessels were em- 
 ployed on the Irrawaddy, still it was announced at the 
 end of August that the Honourable Company's inland 
 steamers Damoodah, Indus, and Nerhudda, were to be 
 fitted with two howitzers and " long nines " each, and 
 proceed shortly to Rangoon. These would form 3, most 
 valuable addition to the steam flotilla. 
 
 As every one knows, steam navigation in India is not 
 only of the highest commercial, but of the highest political 
 importance. 
 
 The first steps in this invaluable enterprize were taken 
 as early as 1817 by Captain Davidson of the Bengal En- 
 gineers. His engine was of 8 -horse power, designed for a 
 river boat. In 1822 Davidson's engine was attached to a 
 dredging-boat which, on the invasion of Burmah, was 
 converted into a floating battery and sent to Arracan. 
 " Although its utmost speed was only four knots, much 
 benefit was derived from it in the passage of troops over 
 the rivers and estuaries of that coast." " In 1821 Mr 
 Robarts carried out machinery for a vessel to be employed 
 at Canton in the China trade. Circumstances having 
 prevented this destination, it was taken to Calcutta and 
 offered to the Marquess of Hastings's Government, who 
 after some hesitation declined to purchase it. The mer- 
 chants then bought it for 65,000 rupees, and for about an 
 equal sura attached to it a teak-built ship named the 
 Diana, which was launched on the 12th July 1823. She 
 plied for hire on the River Hoogley, and proved to be 
 extremely useful as a passage-vessel for the Port of Cal- 
 cutta ; not being adapted however for a tug, the receipts 
 did not cover her expenses, hence the shareholders be- 
 came willing to sell, and the Government, upon declaring 
 
APPENDIX. 445 
 
 war against the Burmese, bought her in April 1824 for 
 80,000 rupees, on the strong recommendation of Captain 
 Marryat, who conducted the expedition to Rangoon. The 
 Diana there proved so very serviceable, that during the 
 whole of the war she never was allowed to leave the river 
 Irrawaddy ; she reconnoitred the stockaded positions, chased 
 and captured war-boats, greatly facilitated the advance of 
 the army to Prome, and carried Mr Crawford as far as 
 Ameerapoora, 500 miles up the stream. The novelty of 
 this structure produced a powerful effect on the minds of 
 the Natives, who of course could not know the limits of 
 its power, and if we had been able to avail ourselves of a 
 flotilla of steamers the campaign would have proved much 
 shorter and more decisive, as well as less expensive and 
 bloody." — Bi-itish India, Chap. xvr. 
 
 In July 1852, on our steamers reaching Prome, it was 
 reported that a steamer belonging to the King of Ava had 
 left for Ava the day previous to their arrival. The Golden 
 Foot then possessed a steamer in addition to the one taken 
 and burnt by the Tenasserivi in April ! The King of Siam, 
 going a step further, had commenced the construction of a 
 great war-steamer, — all exhibiting the germs of a scientific 
 revolution in Eastern Asia. 
 
446 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 [From the Fort St George Gazette Extraordinary, 
 Noveimber 4, 1852,] 
 
 Fort St George, 4th Novemher 1852. 
 The Right Honourable the Gorernor in Council directs 
 the re-publication at this Presidency of the following 
 General Orders by the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 of India in Council : — 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS BY THE MOST NOBLE THE GOVERNOR- 
 GENERAL OF INDIA IN COUNCIL. 
 
 Fort William, Foreign Department, 
 the 23d Oct. 1852. 
 
 The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council has 
 much satisfaction in publishing, for general information, 
 Despatches received from Commodore Lambert and from 
 Major-General Godwin, which report the capture and 
 occupation of the City of Prome, after some resistance, 
 and with comparatively trifling loss. 
 
 The steam squadron and the boats of Her Majesty's 
 ships conveying the troops upon the Irrawaddy anchored 
 off Prome on the 9th of October. A fire from the shore 
 was silenced by the fire of the steamers and of the boats. 
 
APPENDIX. 447 
 
 The troops having been landed, drove the enemy — some 
 3,000 or 4,000 strong — from the suburbs ; and on subse- 
 quently advancing to the great Pagoda and to the heights 
 beyond, they found the position wholly abandoned by the 
 Burman force. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council desires to express in 
 the strongest terms his obligations to Commodore Lam- 
 bert, for the care, the energy, and unwearied zeal which 
 he has shown in directing the Naval preparations for 
 advance, and which have conduced so largely to the early 
 and successful renewal of operations in the field. 
 
 His Lordship in Council begs to offer his thanks to 
 Captain Loch and to Commander Shadwell, for their con- 
 duct of the Service on the river ; and to Commander Rice, 
 for his direction of the body of seamen upon shore. 
 
 His thanks are also due to Commander Campbell of 
 the Indian Navy, whose merit has been acknowledged 
 by the Commodore. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council has viewed with 
 high approbation the services of the officers and men 
 who, upon this occasion and for several months past, have 
 been employed in boats upon the river, subjected to 
 severe exposure, and engaged in harassing duties, which 
 they have performed with the utmost alacrity and cheer- 
 fulness, and with conspicuous advantage to the public 
 service. 
 
 To the Ofiicers, seamen, and marines of Her Majesty's 
 ships of the Indian Navy and of the Bengal Marine who 
 have been serving upon the Irrawaddy, and to Com- 
 mander Tarleton who long commanded them, the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council is desirous of offering his hearty 
 thanks. 
 
448 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council has in like manner 
 to assure Major-General Godwin of the satisfaction 
 with which he has viewed the skill and judgment by 
 which the Major-General enabled the troops to obtain 
 possession of an important post without delay and with 
 but little loss. 
 
 To Major Mayhew, Deputy Adjutant-General ; to 
 Major Allan, Deputy Quartermaster-General; to Captain 
 Smith, Interpreter, to Captain Burne, Military Secretary, 
 and Captain Chads, A. D. C, the Governor- General in 
 Council tenders his thanks. 
 
 Especially to Captain Christie and to Captain Welsh 
 of Her Majesty's 80th Regiment, for the gallant manner 
 in which they led their men to the attack, and to all the 
 Officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the force, 
 the Governor-General in Council desires to give assurance 
 of his cordial approbation. 
 
 While thus congratulating the Naval and Military 
 Forces on the first result of their advance, the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council feels it to be due to the memory 
 of an old and gallant sailor that he should add a 
 public expression of the deep regret with which he has 
 received intimation of the death of His Excellency 
 the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's Ships in the 
 Indian Seas. 
 
 Although Admiral Austen did not survive to witness 
 the successful conclusion of the operations in which he 
 had shared, the Governor-General in Council desires to 
 record his admiration of the staunch high spirit which, 
 notwithstanding his age and previous sufiering, had led 
 the Rear- Admiral to take his part in the trying service 
 which has closed his career. 
 
APPENDIX. 449 
 
 His Excellency Rear- Admiral Austen has afforded to the 
 Government of India at all times a cordial and constant 
 aid. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council has been grateful for 
 his services, and laments his death. 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Offs. Secy, to the 
 Gov*, of India. 
 
 Copies. 
 
 To Charles Allen, Esquire, Secretary to the Government 
 of India, Calcutta. 
 
 Her Majesty's ship Fox's boat, on hoard the Fire 
 Queen, at Prome, the Wth October 1852. 
 Sir, — I request you may be pleased to inform the Most 
 Noble the Governor-General in Council that having em- 
 barked on board the Honourable Company's steam-vessels 
 under my orders H. M.'s 18th and 80th Eegiments, the 
 35th Regiment Madras Native Infantry, a detachment of 
 Sappers and Miners, and of the Bengal Artillery* with their 
 field guns, I despatched them as they were ready to ren- 
 dezvous off Yangernsiah, a town situated at the upper end 
 of the Panlang Creek, which joins the Irrawaddy to the 
 Rangoon River. 
 
 2. The Commissariat, Ordnance, and Engineers' stores, 
 and about 1,000 followers attached to the regiments, were 
 conveyed in the steamers, large Burmese cargo-boats, five 
 small schooners, and a barque. 
 
 The cargo-boats, manned by Burmese crews, advanced 
 in three divisions uuder convoy of the barges and pinnaces 
 
 * Should be Madras Artillery. 
 
 F 2 
 
APPENDIX. 449 
 
 His Excellency Rear- Admiral Austen has afforded to the 
 Government of India at all times a cordial and constant 
 aid. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council has been grateful for 
 his services, and laments his death. 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Offs. Secy, to the 
 Gov*, of India. 
 
 Copies, 
 
 To Charles Allen^ Esquire, Secretary to the Government 
 of India, Calcutta. 
 
 Her Majesty's ship Fox's boat, on hoard the Fire 
 Queen, at Prome, the Wth October 1852. 
 Sir, — I request you may be pleased to inform the Most 
 Noble the Governor-General in Council that having em- 
 barked on board the Honourable Company's steam-vessels 
 under my orders H. M.'s 18th and 80th Regiments, the 
 35th Regiment Madras Native Infantry, a detachment of 
 Sappers and Miners, and of the Bengal Artillery* with their 
 field guns, I despatched them as they were ready to ren- 
 dezvous off Yangernsiah, a town situated at the upper end 
 of the Panlang Creek, which joins the Irrawaddy to the 
 Rangoon River. 
 
 2. The Commissariat, Ordnance, and Engineers' stores, 
 and about 1,000 followers attached to the regiments, were 
 conveyed in the steamers, large Burmese cargo-boats, five 
 small schooners, and a barque. 
 
 The cargo-boats, manned by Burmese crews, advanced 
 in three divisions under convoy of the barges and pinnaces 
 
 * Should be Madras Artillery. 
 
 V 2 
 
450 APPENDIX. 
 
 of Her Majesty's ships Fox, Winchester, and Hastings; 
 tte barque and schooners were towed by the steamers. 
 
 3. These arrangements being completed, I left Rangoon 
 on the 24th ultimo, and Major-General Godwin joined me 
 on the following day at Yangernsiah. 
 
 4. Having hoisted my broad pendant on board the Fire 
 Queen, the steamer in which the Major-General embarked, 
 I weighed from Yangernsiah on September 27th with the 
 steam squadron specified in Enclosure No. 1, and pro- 
 ceeded up the Irrawaddy to Prome, calling at Henzadah 
 on my way. 
 
 5. On the morning of the 9th of October Prome was in 
 sight, and on the squadron nearing the city the enemy 
 opened fire with a couple of guns and musketry, which 
 was returned by the steamers as we proceeded into the 
 bay, where I anchored in a convenient position, abreast of 
 tlie town, for landing the troojis. 
 
 6. The enemy continuing to keep up a fire after we 
 had anchored, I sent the boats of the squadron under the 
 command of Captain Loch, C. B., of Her Majesty's ship 
 Winchester, to throw in a few shells and cannister shot 
 amongst them, which had the effect of silencing it for a 
 time, although they kept up a very spirited fire on the 
 boats, which wounded two seamen. 
 
 7. They then brought a gun down abreast of the Fire 
 Qtieen, but had only time to give us one shot before it 
 was dismounted by the fire from the steamers, which 
 effectually cleared a landing-place. 
 
 8. Major-General Godwin now expressed his wish to 
 laud the 80th Regiment and a party of Artillery with two 
 
APPENDIX. 451 
 
 guus, at half-past four, which was effected without any 
 opposition, and the lower town cleared of the enemy. 
 
 9. At daylight next morning the remainder of the 
 troops were landed, and a Brigade of 50 seamen being 
 formed under Commander Rice, at the Major-General's 
 request, to assist in working the guns, the pagoda and 
 other parts of the city were taken possession of, the Bur- 
 mese flying as the forces advanced. 
 
 10. Thus the important city of Prome was occupied by 
 British troops with the trifling loss of one killed and three 
 wounded on the part of the Army, while in the Squadron 
 only four were wounded, who are named in Enclosure 
 No. 2. 
 
 11. My thanks are due to Captain Loch, C. B., for the 
 assistance he rendered me throughout these operations, 
 also to Commanders Shadwell and Rice of Her Majesty's 
 ships Sphinx and Hastings, the former for his unremitting 
 attentions to the instructions I had sent him previously to 
 my entering the Irrawaddy, and to the latter Oflicer for 
 the part he took when on shore with the Brigade of sea- 
 men. Nor can I speak too highly of Commander Camp- 
 bell, the Ofiicers and men of the Indian Navy and Bengal 
 Marine, 
 
 The skill and perseverance displayed by the Officers 
 and men belonging to the boats appointed to convoy the 
 cargo-boats from Rangoon to Prome, a distance of more 
 than 200 miles, against a rapid stream, exposed occa- 
 sionally to a fire from the enemy, is deserving of my 
 highest praise. I have the honour to be, kc. 
 
 (Signed) George R. Lambert, 
 
 Commodore 1st Class, Commander-in-Chief, 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 Enclosure No. 1, in Commodore Lambert's Letter, dated 
 nth October 1852. 
 
 A List of the Naval Force employed at the occupation of 
 the City of Prome, under the command of Commodore 
 Lambert, on the 9th and 10th of October 1852. 
 
 Fire Queen — Bengal Marine, (broad pendant of the Com- 
 modore,) 8 guns, S. G. Boon, Commander. On board — Com- 
 modore George R. Lambert, commanding the East India 
 and China Station ; J. L. South ey, Esquire, Secretary ; 
 Lieutenant George Rice, R. N., Flag Lieutenant ; Mr 
 Cottam, Midshipman, and the gig's crew of H. M.'s ship 
 Fox. 
 
 Enterprise — Bengal Marine, 6 guns, G.T. Neblett, Com- 
 mander. On board — Captain G. G. Loch, C. B. ; the 
 Honourable Mr Lascelles, Midshipman, and the gig's crew 
 of H. M.'s ship Winchester. 
 
 Mahamiddy — Bengal Marine, 4 guns, J. Simson, Com- 
 mander, On board — Commander C. F. A. Shadwell ; His 
 Serene Highness Prince Ernest of Leiningen, Midshipman, 
 and the gig's crew of H. M.'s ship Sphinx. 
 
 Sesostris — Indian Navy, 5 guns. Commander C. D. Camp- 
 bell, I. N. Steam Frigate, with two 8-inch guns. 
 
 Medusa — Indian Navy, 6 guns. Lieutenant Eraser, I. N. 
 
 Nemesis — Bengal Marine, 6 guns, R. Goodwin, Com- 
 mander. 
 
 Proserpine — Bengal Marine, 6 guns, A. Brooking, Com- 
 mander. 
 
 Phlegethon — Bengal Marine, 6 guns, A. Fryer, Com- 
 mander. 
 
 Boats of the Squadron conveying cargo -boats laden with 
 stores and provisions : — H. M.'s ship Fo.r, barge andpinnace. 
 
APPENDIX. 4.53 
 
 2 guns; H. M.'s ship Winchester, barge and pinnace, 2 guns ; 
 H. M.'s ship Hastings, launch and gig, 1 gun ; and H. M.'s 
 ship Sphinx, pinnace, 1 gun, under the command of Com- 
 mander E. B. Rice, of H. M.'s ship Hastings. 
 
 Officers employed in these boats : — Mr Copland, Mate ; 
 Mr Lucas, Midshipman, Mr Hudson, Midshipman, H. IM.'s 
 ship Fox, under the superintendence of Lieutenant Rice. 
 
 Lieutenants H. S. Hillyar and R. B. Pearse; Messrs 
 Round and Wilson, and the Baron Van Otter, Mates; 
 and Mr Slade, Assistant-Surgeon, H. M.'s ship Winchester. 
 
 Mr Nott, Acting Mate, and Lieutenant Holland, Royal 
 Marines, H. M.'s ship Hastings. 
 
 Mr Smith, Midshipman, H. M.'s ship Sphinx. 
 
 N.B. — The launch, 2d pinnace, and cutter, of H. M.'s 
 ship Fox, under Lieutenants Kennedy and Mason, and the 
 launch of H. M.'s ship Winchester, assisted in convoying as 
 far as Henzadah ; and the barge and pinnace of H. M.'s ship 
 Hastings, with Mr Davidson, Acting Mate, and Mr Lut- 
 trell. Midshipman, and Dr Woods, M.A., M.D., Assistant- 
 Surgeon on board, under the superintendence of Lieuten- 
 ant Edye, from Henzadah to Prome. 
 
 (Signed) George Lambert, Commodore. 
 
 Enclosure No. 2, in Commodore Lambert's Letter, dated 
 
 ll^A October 1852. 
 List of Wounded in the Flotilla under the command of 
 Commodore Lambert, at Prome, 9th October 1852. 
 H. M.'s ship Fox's barge — David Reid, A. B. 
 H. M.'s ship Winchester s pinnace — David Evens, A.B. ; 
 — and 
 
 H. C.'s steam- vessel J/«A«nM(/(/y — Two Natives of India. 
 (Signed) George Lambert, Commodore. 
 
454 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 Prome, 12th October 1852. 
 To Charles Allen, Esquire, Secretary to the Government 
 of India, Foreign Department. 
 
 Sir, — The Governor-General in Council was aware of 
 my intention, at the proper season, when the monsoon here 
 had in some measure subsided, to break up the Army at 
 Rangoon, and remove its head-quarters to Prome. 
 
 I have now the honour to inform you that the 1st Divi- 
 sion of this Force is in possession of that city. 
 
 After some weeks of preparation the embarkation com- 
 menced on the 16th of September, and the 1st Division, 
 amounting to 2,300 men, and consisting of one Company 
 of the Madras Foot Artillery, with two 24-pounder howit- 
 zers and four 9-pounder guns, H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish, 
 H. M.'s 80th Regiment, the 35th Regiment of Madras N. I., 
 and 119 Sappers, were all on board by the 25th idem. 
 
 The flotilla arrived ofi" Prome on the morning of the 
 9th of October ; each ship was cannonaded from a pro- 
 jecting point on the hills, as it rounded to the city, with 
 very little effect. This fire was returned with much spirit 
 by the steamers. 
 
 The weather here is so intensely hot that I disembarked 
 the Artillery under Brigadier Foord, H. M.'s 80th Regi- 
 ment under Lieutenant-Colonel Hutchinson, with the 
 Sappers under Lieutenant Allen, on the evening of the 
 same day; and by sunrise the next morning the 18th 
 Royal Irish under Lieutenant-Colonel Coote, and the 35th 
 Madras N. I. under Lieutenant-Colonel Apthorp. 
 
 The enemy, consisting of 3,000 or 4,000 men, occupied 
 a very fine position on a range of hills about 1,000 yards 
 
APPENDIX. 455 
 
 east from the point where tliey first opened fire, command- 
 ing the town and the large pagoda — which they also 
 occupied. 
 
 The troops were landed in the evening in a suburb to 
 the north of, and beyond the town. I then ordered them 
 to advance towards the position I had selected for the 
 night, when upon the head of the column approaching a 
 dry nullah dividing the suburb from the town, a very 
 smart fire of musketry and jingals was simultaneously 
 opened from some jungle and houses on our left, and a 
 small pagoda in our front. 
 
 The Grenadiers of H. M.'s 80th Regiment under Cap- 
 tain Christie immediately advanced at the double towards 
 the pagoda, and a party consisting of two companies of 
 the same regiment under Captain Welsh, and accom- 
 panied by Brigadier Reignolds, were detached to the left, 
 and in a very short time most gallantly drove the enemy 
 out of their position, with the loss of only one man killed 
 and a few wounded. Captain Welsh's party bringing in a 
 jingal. 
 
 The Grenadiers of the 80th Regiment kept possession 
 of the pagoda, which I made the right of my position, and 
 the troops had excellent cover during the night, which 
 was passed in perfect quietude. 
 
 The following morning, when the remainder of the 
 troops were landed, I advanced through the town in a 
 direction I had determined upon the day before, from 
 plans of the place in my possession, covered by the 
 flank Companies of the 18th Royal Irish and H. M.'s 
 80th Regiments, and two 24-pounder howitzers, which 
 were drawn by a party of sailors under Commander Rice 
 of H.M.'s ship Hastings, Upon our advanced guard reach- 
 
456 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing the pagoda it found that the enemy had abandoned 
 that position, as well as the heights beyond it, leaving in 
 our possession an entirely eracuated town, overrun with 
 thick and rank vegetation, and I regret to add abounding 
 in swamps. 
 
 It is evident that the enemy expected our force to 
 land, and advance up the direct road to the pagoda, along 
 which they had erected two or three small breastworks, 
 as well as removed the planking of several wooden 
 bridges leading to the pagoda and the heights beyond 
 it ; but landing at the point we did, not only gave us 
 an excellent road but at the same time completely 
 turned their position, rendering it impossible for them to 
 hold it. 
 
 I have been for a long time aware of the assemblage 
 of a large force about ten miles east of Pronie, and 
 at which place they also had a very formidable force in 
 the last war, which took Sir Archibald Campbell several 
 days to disperse. I have ascertained from very good 
 authority that they have now about 18,000 men well 
 posted in two or more stockades. 
 
 It is not my intention to disturb them at present in 
 any way, as by their concentration at that place the fine 
 force now assembling here will have an opportunity of 
 striking a blow which may put an end to much future oppo- 
 sition. It was on this Burmese Army that the enemy 
 retreated from Prome upon our entering it. The bravery 
 and alacrity of the troops on this occasion was as conspi- 
 cuous as it ever is. 
 
 His Lordship's thanks are deserved by Captain Christie 
 of H. M.'s 80th Regiment, for the gallant manner in 
 which he led his Company to the attack and capture of 
 
APPENDIX. 457 
 
 the small pagoda in our front, and to Captain Welsh who 
 with two Companies of his regiment drove the enemy out 
 of their position on our left. 
 
 The General Staff — Major IVIayhew, Deputy Adjutant- 
 General ; Major Allan, Deputy Quartermaster-General ; 
 Captain Smith, Interpreter to the Force ; as also my 
 personal Staff — Captain Burne, Military Secretary, and 
 Lieutenant Chads, Aide-de- Camp, were active in render- 
 ing me every assistance. 
 
 Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, commanding the 
 Bengal Division, came up to Prome with the portion of 
 his Division embarked, and was present throughout the 
 whole of these operations ; and I have great satisfaction in 
 being enabled to leave him in command upon my return to 
 Rangoon, where I am required, and tor which place I shall 
 leave this to-morrow. 
 
 I leave Major Fraser of the Engineers, and Major Allan, 
 Deputy Quartermaster-General, at Prome, to carry out the 
 necessary arrangements for the reception of the regiments 
 which will herea{"ter arrive. 
 
 To Commodore Lambert your Lordship is deeply indebt- 
 ed for the unremitting exertions — calling forth all possible 
 resources and anxious solicitude — which have accomplished 
 the conveyance of the force to its destination up this noble 
 but most difficult to be navigated river. To Commander 
 Rice, for the exertions of himself and men under his com- 
 mand, I feel greatly indebted. 
 
 I have the honour to enclose a return of the casualties 
 which have occurred during our operations before Prome, 
 and to remain. Sir, your most obedient Servant, 
 
 (Signed) H. Godwin, Major-General. 
 
 Prome, the l'2lh October 1852. 
 
458 APPENDIX. 
 
 Return of the Killed and Wounded at the Attack and 
 Capture of Prome on the 9th October 1852. 
 
 Head-Quarters, Prome, I2th October 1852. 
 A rtillery. — None. 
 
 Engineers. — 1 rank and file wounded severely. 
 Sappers and Miners. — None. 
 H. M.'s 18th R. I.— None. 
 
 H. M.'s 80th Foot. — 1 rank and file killed, and 6 
 wounded,' — 1 severely, and 5 slightly. 
 
 35th Madras N. I. — 1 rank and file wounded slightly. 
 Total. — 1 killed and 8 wounded. 
 
 (Signed) H. Godwin, Major-General, 
 
 Commanding Army of Burmah. 
 
 (Signed) W. Mayhew, Major, 
 Deputy Adjutant-General, Army of Burmah. 
 
 (True copies.) 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Ofl^^. Secy, to the 
 Gov*, of India. 
 
 By Order of the Right Honourable the Governor in 
 Council. 
 
 (Signed) H. C. Montgomery, 
 
 Chief Secretary. 
 
APPENDIX. 459 
 
 APPENDIX VI. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM OFFICERS' LETTERS. 
 PROME. 
 
 Prome, 4th November 1852. 
 The Sappers have lost several of their men from cholera. 
 
 Prome may become more healthy in time. R- has been 
 
 very unwell ever since his arrival; he was picking up, 
 when a few days ago he over-exerted himself by walk- 
 ing too far, and he is again laid up with a bad attack 
 of liver ; he was very unwell indeed yesterday, but the 
 Doctors report more favourably of him to-day ; — he is 
 
 staying up in the pagoda with M . We still have 
 
 some of the enemy lurking about the camp, and hardly a 
 night passes that a shot or two from the (our) sentries 
 is not heard ; but they may not see Burmans. On the 
 night of the 1st the enemy attacked the wing of the 35th 
 M. N. I., under Major Brett, at the creek, about a mile 
 and a half from this. It can hardly be called an attack, 
 however, as they only made a rush at the sentries, and 
 first wounded, and then cut off the head of one man, and 
 wounded the other, who fell back on his picquet ; the 
 latter turned out, and must have left their tent for a few 
 minutes unprotected (whilst driving off the enemy), for on 
 
460 APPENDIX. 
 
 their return to it they found their bedding gone ! ! They 
 played the same trick to a guard in the last war. On the 
 2d the General took a Company of the 18th in the Medusa 
 to reconnoitre down the river, (a few miles below this,) 
 where we had seen for some time past a sort of breast- 
 work round a small pagoda ; they landed, and the enemy 
 fled a short distance, turning into the jungle, and fired at 
 our people from behind trees ; our party followed them 
 up about a mile and a half, and came in sight of rather a 
 strong-looking stockade, which the General did not attack, 
 not having sufficient men. The Burmese followed our 
 men back to the river's banks, firing there at them, and 
 calling on them to come on ! They only hit one of the 
 Medusas Artillerymen. One or two of the 18th had 
 a co^lp de soleil. Before leaving we burnt the breast- 
 work, &c. at the pagoda. The next day some Sappers 
 and a Company of the 80th went there again, brought 
 away some timber, and burnt some more of the defences; 
 they were again fired on — none hit. Jungle rapidly dis- 
 appearing round Prome. We have now two guns on the 
 heights, and two more placed last night on a bit of rising 
 ground some 500 yards in advance of the pagoda, to- 
 wards Euthay-Mew. The Sappers are to throw up a 
 breastwork round it to strengthen the position. 
 
 We wish General Godwin to come, or give Sir John 
 leave to thrash the fellows, that we may get supplies, kc; 
 but we do manage to get fresh beef nearly every day, and 
 a few vegetables ! ! Bread and milk at last ! 
 
 The water of Prome destroys the hair ! — the same efiect 
 
 on it as salt water. [On hearing this Colonel A 
 
 replied in his usual way that a pair of scissors was the 
 best recipe for beautifying the hair, to croj) close, and there 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 4(51 
 
 is no fear of it !] A party reported to be going by land 
 to join us here (Prome) via Tonghoo 1 — is it settled 1 
 A cut-throat circle of society tbis ! I really think we 
 shall be lucky if all here get through the next three or 
 four months with a head on our shoulders ; — the Burmese 
 appear to relish head-hunting quite as much as the Dyaks 
 
 in Borneo. 
 
 9 th November. 
 
 On the night of the 5th the 35th had another attack. 
 There is an old fellow in a stockade on the opposite bank 
 of the river who has amused himself firing blank cartridges 
 at us most days since our arrival, called by the men 
 Smolcy Jack ! His days are numbered, as I believe he is 
 to be burned out by the Navy in a day or two — I have 
 heard to-morrow, (10th). Some steamers have just come 
 in, — so off ! 
 
 Projxe, Qth November 1852. 
 The horses arrived safe and sound on the 31st of last 
 month, — men also were all well, with the exception of a 
 
 gunner who had an attack of cholera. Major F ia 
 
 looking well, and all the Officers are as well as can be 
 expected when living on salt junk and a stray fowl now 
 and then. Musquitoes plentiful first day on board ; there 
 are none here, at least where we live. The steps up 
 the pagoda are a great deal worse to ascend than the 
 Rangoon stairs, and when you do get up, you see a nasty 
 ugly little pagoda ! Two sailors died of cholera on the 
 way thither. The water here is filthy, and the weather very 
 hot, however it is getting cooler now. The Burmese 
 attack us every night ! Their object seems rather to kill 
 and decapitate sentries than to drive in picquets. When 
 
462 APPENDIX. 
 
 I say they attack us every night, I mean at one particular 
 point, viz, — a picquet of the 35th M. N. I., under the 
 command of Major Brett. A guard of Artillery go there 
 every day to take care of a rocket-tube and a 3-poun- 
 der. This said 3-pounder has no elevating screw, so 
 when they are going to fire it they place a bamboo under 
 the breech, and having given the requisite elevation hold it 
 till the gun is fired. Last night the Burmese attacked this 
 post, and the Artillery guard were requested to volunteer as 
 skirmishers, and lead on the gallant 35th. All volunteered, 
 so one man was left, with a conductor, to take care of the 
 rockets ; and off the others went. The corporal in charge 
 of our guard said the Burmese did not fire on them ; a 
 havildar and private of the 35th however were returned 
 as wounded. There is a great deal of cholera here, and we 
 
 have lost several drivers. Captain R has been very 
 
 ill of diarrhoea. A great numljer of the 80th got cholera 
 at a place they were then quartered at ; and some days 
 after two bodies floated in a well they had been drinking 
 from. The place was called the "King's Monastery;" now 
 it is destroyed, the Burmese having set fire to it. The 
 Medusa returned from a place about 20 miles down from 
 this (Akouk-toung) yesterday. This place is a high hill 
 or rock,* rising almost perpendicularly from the river. 
 On the top of this they captured four 18-pounders and 
 two long 9-pounders in position, with plenty of shot. This 
 battery would have sunk any steamer coming up the river. 
 A Chief of some village led the party so as to take the Bur- 
 mese in flank ; 9 of our men were killed. A grass-cutter has 
 just been taken by the Burmese ; he was cutting close by a 
 dense jungle, when two men rushed out and forced him o&. 
 
 * About 400 feet high. 
 
APPENDIX. 463 
 
 [The destruction of the Royal Monastery, mentioned in 
 the foregoing extract, " is much to be deplored; it was one 
 of the most magnificent to be seen out of Ava, and was 
 built of the very finest teak, in the most substantial man- 
 ner, and most elaborately carved. It was 500 feet long, 
 200 broad, and 150 in height." — Friend of India. We 
 heard this beautiful building much praised by all who had 
 seen it. Many of the religious buildings in Burmah might 
 easily stand comparison, in point of beauty and comfort, 
 with some of the best in Europe.] 
 
 Prome, 30</t November 1852. 
 Well here we are, with November all but over, and 
 the General not yet up, nor has he allowed us to do the 
 work for him. We have had a little excitement lately in 
 the shape of a skirmish near and at Akouk-toung ; of 
 course ere this you have heard all about it, and of the 
 death of poor Gardner at the latter jjlace. He was more 
 in advance of his men than he ought to have been, to say 
 nothing of the road he took. It now appears there was a 
 regular ambush laid for this party, and large stones placed, 
 overhanging the path, ready to be thrown down on them; 
 besides this a jingal pointed down it, which took so fatal 
 an effect on poor Gardner and the havildar. On the 
 
 25th instant the Burmese carried off from here Mr Q 
 
 one of R 's conductors. It appears he had been in 
 
 the habit of walking out by himself, glass in hand, some 
 distance from the camp, and that he had been heard to 
 express his belief that the Burmese were not near this ; 
 probably by this time he has changed his opinion. The 
 day he was taken he was nearly two miles on the Euthay- 
 Mew road, and had got up a tree to look about him when 
 
464 APPENDIX. 
 
 be was surrounded by some of tbe enemy; tbey tbrew 
 stones at bim, and be came down, and it is said foolisbly 
 kicked one fellow, wbo immediately gave him a stroke over 
 tbe eye witb a dab, and tben tbey carried bim off ! We 
 bave beard of bim since, and from bis conduct I tbink be 
 must be an eccentric character ; for a day or two ago when 
 tbey offered him some rice to eat be kicked it, and tbe 
 chatty or platter containing it, to a place that is not fit for 
 ears polite, — at least that is the interpretation put upon 
 tbe spy's information regarding him. I suppose he is now 
 on his way to Ava. One of the 18th R. I., sent with tbe 
 party to Akouk-toung under Colonel Handscomb * and 
 Captain Loch, R. N., wandered from tbe camp at night, 
 and has not been found since; he is said to be moon-blind, 
 so tbe poor fellow was doubtless easily taken by tbe enemy. 
 Tbey had a pretty sharp affair at Padoung-Mew, and killed 
 a number of the enemy; our loss was two of tbe 18th badly, 
 and one slightly wounded. An apothecary of tbe 18tb 
 
 lost his arm, and C of tbe Engineers got an ugly blow 
 
 in the back from a splinter of a jingal which be was trying 
 to burst. Captain Loch bad a narrow escape as be rushed at 
 a Burraan about to mount a pony, and tbey bad a struggle ; 
 the Burman got bold of Loch's jacket which he slipped 
 out of, and pulled out as be thought bis revolver, which 
 snapped three or four times ; finding it would not go oft' 
 be looked at it and found be had left the chambers, or 
 some part of the pistol in bis belt, (so much for revol- 
 vers,) and in a moment more the Burman would have 
 killed him had not a man of the 18tb put his bayonet 
 into bim at that moment. We have not had so much 
 firing at night lately, owing to tbe moon being well up. 
 * 40th B. N. I. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 465 
 
 Yesterday (29th,) a party of Burmans fired at M of 
 
 the Sappers, whilst he was out road-making, but luckily 
 missed him ; the ball struck a dah close to him, and then 
 grazed a coolie's leg. He picked up the ball and found it 
 "rifled" so I expect we shall hear soon they have a 
 supply of Colt's pistols! Minie's! and Prussian Needle- 
 guns ! 
 
 We are all pretty well here, i. e. the Ofiicers ; but a 
 good many of our men are sick. We have 32 off duty, 
 which is a large proportion for our Artillery Detachment. 
 The 18th and 80th are losing a good number of men, and 
 have a great number in hospital ; fever and dysentery are 
 the principal diseases. A few days after my last to you 
 
 poor Captain R died, which you have doubtless long 
 
 ere this heard. D , who I believe goes on sick-certifi- 
 cate, has had cholera ; he is much reduced and the sooner 
 he gets out of Burmah the better ; several Ofiicers go on 
 sick leave by this or an early opportunity, which shews 
 that Prome is not quite as healthy as some have said, 
 although I think it a better climate than that of Rangoon. 
 
 1st December. 
 The Commodore came in last night on board the 
 Damooda, but has brought no letters from any one at 
 Rangoon; but I hear R is close, and may be expect- 
 ed to-day or to-morrow, and I dare say he has all our 
 letters ; at least I hope so. I hear that we may expect 
 to see the General in ten days. The Friend of India 
 is very severe on the last Despatch, and justly so I think. 
 
 g2 
 
466 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX VII. 
 
 PEGU. 
 
 Pegu, ( Wednesday) 24th November 1852. 
 The old wall here is about a mile and a-half long and 
 50 feet high, all ruins, and covered witli jungle. The 
 moat is swampy, about 150 yards wide. The river is only 
 100 yards wide and can be walked across at low water. 
 The Mahanuddy stuck on Saturday (20th), so about 
 8 P. M. we were taken in boats to the BentincTc, and 
 slept there ; next morning landed and had the guns 
 put together before 7. Mine was just ready, and a 
 gunner was clearing the vent when the wire broke short 
 off. At this the General was annoyed, and I started for 
 another howitzer from the Damooda. By this time the 
 troops were advancing, and some Burmese were up in 
 the trees firing at us in the boat. Much to my disgust, 
 just as I was getting the howitzer a message came to 
 say that the vent was clear, so I pulled back and ran 
 after it, and found them by what seemed a swamp, in 
 front of high jungle, but this in reality was the old wall 
 of Pegu with a wide moat. The bullets were coming 
 thick out of this, but we could only hear them, and now 
 * From an Artillery Officer present. 
 
APPENDIX. 467 
 
 and then see a puff, but no Burmana. I fired two rounds 
 of grape, one flanking the wall and the other right 
 into it, as we thought it was only jungle. Their firing 
 did not appear to be at us but at the Fusiliers on our 
 left, — there was a great gap between us and the advanced 
 column, — of course they got fired at heavily from the top 
 of the wall, which the Burmese had cleared, and made little 
 breastworks for jingals and guns in different places. The 
 advance consisted of 150 Madras Fusiliers, 100 Bengal, and 
 the Rifles of the 5th. One of these was wounded and left 
 behind, and by the time we came up his head was gone. 
 A wounded Officer saw four Burmese cut it off, and they 
 were just coming to him when some Europeans came 
 through the long grass and they vanished. We got along 
 very well, as the bullocks were in good condition. The 
 road was just along the edge of the moat, and appeared to 
 have been pxicha* but in many places was quite destroyed, 
 and the whole was covered with long grass four or five 
 feet high, and so was the large plain on our right. The 
 advance crossed the moat and charged through a narrow 
 gap in the wall into a stockade, where they had two guns, 
 the Burmese of course making off, except one fellow who 
 was shot through the nose. We halted under the shade 
 of some bamboos, as guns could not get through this gap, 
 and then the troops marched along the top of the old wall 
 to the old gateway, which was carefully blocked up with 
 bamboos and thorns. They burnt some houses and came 
 back. This was about one o'clock, and after a little they 
 again advanced to the pagoda. Only one volley was fired 
 as they were at the bottom of the steps, and by the time 
 they were at the top the place was clear, and the Burmese 
 
 • i.e. Of good material. 
 
468 APPENDIX. 
 
 melted away through the north and east gates, and are 
 supposed to be off to Sitang. There were about 150 horse, 
 or rather pony-men, one of whom was shot turning a 
 corner; but the men were too much out of breath to be 
 able to take good shots. Well, it was all over by 3 
 o'clock P.M., and we were ordered to march back to the 
 landing-place, where we left the guns, and slept on board 
 the Bentinck again. On Monday, at one o'clock p. M., we 
 landed, and started with the guns along the west face of 
 the old wall and got up to the pagoda. They evidently 
 expected us to attack this face, as there were little breast- 
 works everywhere, and along the road were gates, and 
 parapets by the sides. The pagoda is not so large as the 
 Rangoon one; it looks very old and dirty ; it is surrounded 
 at the base by two terraces of little pagodas. The space 
 enclosed by the old wall is all jungle, and in the morning 
 the mist makes it look like a great tank. The terraces 
 are very low. We hear there are 1,500 men about six 
 miles from this, who prevent villagers from coming in ; the 
 others are off to Sitang and Beling. I am living in the 
 south temple, corresponding to my temple at Rangoon. 
 There are no covered gateways, but long houses, with 
 about 30 images on each side of the stairs, which make 
 capital barracks. We mess in the east temple on rations, 
 sardines, &c. ; a bottle of beer a day as yet. I have lost 
 nearly all my kit, and have no money. We have only 
 seven rounds of grape, and can't get any for some time. 
 Well I must finish now. 
 
APPENDIX. 469 
 
 APPENDIX VIII. 
 
 PEGU DESPATCHES, ETC. 
 
 Major-General H. Godwin, C.B., Commauding the Forces 
 in Ava, Arracan, and Tenasserim Provinces, to C. Allen, 
 Esq., Secretary to the Government of India. 
 
 Pegu, December 15, 1852. 
 Sir, — In continuation of my Despatch of the 11th instant 
 from Rangoon, I have the satisfaction to state for the in- 
 formation of the Governor-General in Council, that the 
 garrison I left at this place was relieved from its invest- 
 ment by the Burmese on my arrival here yesterday at one 
 o'clock. The strength of the enemy, added to their for- 
 midable position, the very small garrison, and its falling 
 short of ammunition, though strongly posted and with a 
 large supply of provisions, caused me very great anxiety. 
 
 At 9 o'clock on the night of the 11th instant 1,200 
 men were embarked at Rangoon in two steamers and a 
 number of boats, and were disembarked about six miles 
 below the Ghaut, at Pegu, on the morning of the 14th 
 instant, and the whole ready to move off their ground by 
 sunrise. 
 
 I had resolved to march and enter the pagoda by the 
 eastern gate. The last time I was here I did so by the 
 Bouthern gate, at its capture, because the enemy from 
 
470 APPENDIX. 
 
 Shoe-Gyne had marched from the east and established 
 their batteries on that face of the pagoda. This turned 
 all their defences, and their works on and from the banks 
 of the river and round the pagoda, and this move brought 
 me directly on their rear, only having to drive in numbers 
 of well-conducted skirmishers, and a force of about 200 
 men on ponies, which hung on the right flank of the 
 column during its march ; against whom however I hardly 
 returned a shot. 
 
 Three miles from the pagoda I passed a gun-carriage 
 burning, which told me what I apprehended was the case, 
 that finding themselves between two fires — the pagoda and 
 my own — and their defences useless, I should find they had 
 retired; and on coming close to the rear of their defences, 
 and pushing on the advance, we met only a large body of 
 skirmishers, who were gallantly repulsed by some of the 
 Bengal and Madras Fusiliers and the Sikhs. 
 
 The march through such a close country, without a road, 
 was well got over. I had with me two guns from the 
 Navy boats, drawn by a party of sailors under Commander 
 Shadwell, whose excessive labours were most cheerfully 
 borne. 
 
 Our loss has been three killed and nine wounded, as they 
 had no chance of injuring us seriously. The Burmese will 
 fight if you take your people up to the muzzle of their 
 guns, but wisely retire when they find they are morally 
 beaten, as they have been in this war. 
 
 They have hidden their guns ; two only have been 
 found as yet; but in the thick grass jungle a gun is easily 
 hidden. 
 
 I have had the aid of Brigadier-General Steel, who 
 particulai'ly requested to accompany me. 
 
APPENDIX. 471 
 
 It was a hard day's work for all, but well accomplished j 
 and I know few moments that have been more gratifying 
 to me than when I met that excellent and brave Officer 
 Major Hill of the Madras Fusiliers in the pagoda. 
 
 His report cannot be prepared to-day, for there are 
 details respecting the admirable conduct of the Peguers 
 whose families came under his protection, and he has 
 wonderfully managed to save them. 
 
 I have come the second time to Pegu with the full 
 intention of going onwards, as ten miles from this, at a 
 place called Lephangoon, on the road to Shoe-Gyne, there 
 are the Pegu families in bond at a Burman station there, 
 held for the fidelity of their husbands in the Burmese 
 ranks, which I hope to release to-morrow ; at all events 
 to follow the force that has been troubling this country, 
 and break it up; but I cannot state how far I can go, as 
 the progress of all soldiers depends upon feeding them, 
 which can never be left to accident. 
 
 I have found more carriage than I expected here, which 
 will assist us very much. 
 
 I have ordered a land column, under the command of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Sturt of the 67th Bengal N. I., to 
 march on the right bank of the river — where I have been 
 informed there is a good hackery road to Pegu — consist- 
 ing of half the Madras Horse Artillery, 50 of the Ram- 
 ghur Horse, and 400 of the 67th Bengal N. I., but with 
 instructions if he should meet with any serious difficulty 
 to return ; and I hope to have them up at Lephangoon. 
 
 I expect soon to furnish the Government with a detailed 
 account of the proceedings of this army. 
 
 Commodore Lambert has a steamer ready to convey this 
 Despatch on its arrival at Rangoon. I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) H. Godwin, Major-Geneiul. 
 
472 APPENDIX. 
 
 His Excellency G. R. Lambert, R. N ., Commodore First 
 Class, Commander-in-Chief, to C. Allen, Esq. 
 
 Rangoon, December 18, 1852. 
 Sir, — I have the honor to request you may be pleased 
 to inform the Governor-General of India in Council that 
 shortly after my return from Prome on the 6th instant I 
 learned that a large flat, which the Military authorities had 
 sent up to Pegu, laden with commissariat stores and 
 bullocks, under charge of 24 Sepoys, had been attacked 
 and burnt by the Burmese. A havildar and three of the 
 men being killed, the remainder had by some means 
 reached Pegu with the loss of their arms and accoutre- 
 ments. 
 
 2. Considering it desirable to keep open a communica- 
 tion with the garrison at Pegu, and being anxious to ascer- 
 tain the true state of things, I sent Commander Shadwell, 
 of Her Majesty's ship Sphinx, with the boats of the 
 squadron specified in Enclosure A, on the 8th instant, on 
 that service. 
 
 3. The day after his departure a letter was brought to 
 Rangoon by a friendly Burman, who found the greatest 
 difficulty in escaping from Pegu. Major Hill stated he 
 was surrounded on all sides, and hardly pressed, and that 
 his ammunition was getting very short. On receipt of 
 this intelligence Major-General Godwin decided to send 
 200 European troops to Pegu, and they embarked in the 
 Nerhudda, and left the same evening in company with a 
 force of armed boats from the squadron, under command of 
 Commander Rowley Lambert. 
 
 4. On the 11th Commander Shadwell returned from 
 Pegu, having failed to communicate with the garrison. 
 
APPENDIX. 473 
 
 On reaching the usual landing-place he was received by 
 the enemy with a heavy fire, and on landing he found the 
 Burmese too numerous to contend with. He therefore 
 deemed it prudent to retreat, having in a very short time 
 had four men killed and 28 wounded, amongst the latter 
 two Officers severely, and his coxswain was shot dead by 
 his side. A return of the casualties on this occasion is 
 enclosed, marked B. 
 
 5. On his return he met the Nerhudda, but being quite 
 uncertain as to the extent of the force he would be exposed 
 to, he determined to bring them back. 
 
 6. I immediately consulted with Major-General Godwin, 
 who determined to go himself to Pegu with a considerable 
 force, and I appropriated for this service the Mahanuddy 
 and Nerhudda steamers, and a number of native cargo- 
 boats, the long-boats of the transports, and the boats of the 
 squadron. 
 
 7. Before 10 o'clock that night Captain Tarleton had 
 embarked 1,050 men, composing the land force, in the 
 boats, and left Rangoon for Pegu. The armed force under 
 his command, belonging to the squadron, is detailed in 
 Enclosure C. 
 
 8. The steam-vessels Mahanuddy and NerhvAda had 
 both been disabled, but through the activity and ability of 
 Mr Berry, the superintending Engineer, they were tempo- 
 rarily repaired ; and Major-General Godwin having em*- 
 barked with 400 more Europeans in these vessels, started 
 next morning. 
 
 9. A land force, under Colonel Sturt of the 67th Regi- 
 ment B. N. I., also marched for Pegu, leaving Rangoon on 
 the morning of the 13th. 
 
474 APPENDIX. 
 
 ] 0. I will now refer his Lordship in Council to Captain 
 Tarleton's letter of the 16th instant, for details of the Naval 
 operations at Pegu. 
 
 11. I fully coincide with the encomiums expressed by 
 Captain Tarleton respecting the Officers and seamen of 
 this squadron serving under his orders, who on this occa- 
 sion have been actuated by the same gallant and cheerful 
 spirit to fulfil their duty that they have displayed through- 
 out the war. I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) George E. Lambert. 
 
 Memoranditm shewing the Force of the Expedition to Pegu, 
 
 H. M. S. Sphinx. 
 
 Boat. — Commander Shadwell, — four men. 
 
 Starboard Paddle-box Boat. — One 24-pounder howitzer; 
 Mr Edgar Cookson, Midshipman, — 15 men, 6 marines. 
 
 Port Paddle-box Boat. — One 24-pounder howitzer; Mr 
 Arthur Morphy, Master's Assistant ; Mr John F. Johnson, 
 Assistant Surgeon, — 15 men. 
 
 H. M. S. Fox. 
 
 Pinnace. — One 1 2-pounder howitzer ; Lieutenant Mason ; 
 Mr Hudson, Midshipman, — 15 men, 6 marines. 
 
 Barge. — One 1 2-pounder howitzer; Mr Pocock, mate; 
 Lieutenant Nightingale, R. M., — 13 men, 6 marines. 
 
 E. I. C. S. Moozuffer. 
 
 Paddle-box Boat. No. 1, — One 12-pounder howitzer; 
 Lieutenant Robinson, L N. ; the Boatswain, — 21 men. 
 
 Paddle-box Boat, Wo. 2. — One 1 2-pounder howitzer ; Mr 
 Templar, Midshipman ; an Apothecary, — 20 men. 
 
APPENDIX. 475 
 
 Total. — 133 Officers and men, accompanied by Captain 
 Mallock, Bengal Artillery, and 12 Artillerymen in two 
 cargo boats. 
 
 (Signed) Charles F. A. Shadwell, Commander. 
 
 B. 
 List of Killed and Wounded at Pegu, IQth December 
 1852. 
 //. M. S. Fox. 
 Mr C. A. B. Pocock, mate, wounded, severely. 
 James Tilman, A. B., wounded, severely. 
 John Jones, A. B., wounded, severely. 
 Michael M'Avoy, ordinary, wounded, dangerously. 
 Thomas Christian, marine, wounded, dangerously, since 
 dead. 
 
 William Tucker, marine, wounded, dangerously, since 
 dead. 
 
 Henry Budd, marine, wounded, severely. 
 Walter Bell, marine, wounded, slightly. 
 Charles Smith, marine, wounded, slightly. 
 
 H. M. S. Sphinx. 
 MrW.E.Cookson, Midshipman, wounded, very severely. 
 Thomas Davis, gunner's mate, killed. 
 William Mitchell, Captain foretop, wounded, slightly. 
 James Blanch, Captain maintop, wounded, slightly. 
 Stephen Collison, stoker, killed. 
 John Stephens, gunner, R.M. Artillery, wounded, severely. 
 
 U. I. a S. Moozuffer. 
 John Willis, A.B., wounded, very severely, since dead. 
 John Asboin, gunner, B. Artillery, wounded, severely. 
 Thomas MacKissick, A.B., wounded, severely. 
 William Robinson, A.B,, wounded, severely. 
 
476 APPENDIX. 
 
 James Pearson, gunner's mate, wounded, severely. 
 Daniel Watson, A.B., wounded, slightly. 
 Joseph Fraser, A.B., wounded, slightly. 
 John Barnsley, gunner, B. Artillery, wounded, slightly. 
 John Bence, A.B., wounded, slightly. 
 William Brown, A.B., wounded, slightly. 
 A Burmese boatman very severely, in the convoy. 
 (Signed) John F. Johnson, R.N., 
 
 Assistant-Surgeon, H. M, S. Sphinx. 
 
 In addition to the above, the detachment of Artillery 
 serving with the Naval force sustained the following 
 loss : — 
 
 1 sergeant, 1 gunner, killed ; 1 bugler, 1 gunner, 
 severely wounded ; 2 gunners slightly wounded. 
 Total 32. — Of these, killed in action, 4 ; wound- 
 ed in action, 28; since dead, 3. 
 
 (Signed) J. F. Johnson. 
 
 C. 
 
 Memorandum of the Naval Force employed at Pegu. 
 Boats of H. M. S. Fox, manned and armed. 
 Captain Tarleton, in command. 
 Commander R. Lambert. 
 Lieutenant W. B. Mason. 
 Mr R. Sturgess, second master. 
 Mr T. Seccombe, assistant-surgeon. 
 Mr Villiers, midshipman. 
 Mr Rason, midshipman. 
 
 Boats of Sphinx, manned and armed. 
 Mr Augustus H. Webb, midshipman. 
 Mr Arthur Morphy, master's assistant. 
 
APPENDIX. 477 
 
 Boats of Moozuffer, manned and armed. 
 Mr Freeman, master. 
 Mr Templar, midshipman . 
 
 Boats of Berenice, manned and armed. 
 Mr Mannerly, master. 
 
 E. I. C. iS. V. Fire Queen's paddle-box boats. 
 
 Gun Party. 
 Commander Charles F. A. Shad well, R.N., Sphinx. 
 Lieutenant Robinson, I.N., Moozuffer. 
 Mr J. S. Hudson, midshipman. Fox. 
 Mr A. A. Smith, midshipman. Sphinx. 
 Mr Dawkins, midshipman, Moozuffer. 
 
 (Signed) J. W. Tarleton, Captain. 
 
 Captain J. W. Tarleton, to His Excellency Commodore 
 G. R. Lambert. 
 H. M.'s ski]} Fox's Gig, in the Pegu River, 
 December 16, 1852. 
 Sir, — I have the honor to inform your Excellency 
 that in pursuance of your instructions at 2 p. m. of the 
 1 1th, that 1,400 men, under the command of Major-General 
 Godwin, C.B., should be embarked with the greatest de- 
 spatch for Pegu, and placing Commanders Shadwell and 
 Lambert under my orders, I put myself in communication 
 with the Quartermaster-General's Department, and after 
 ascertaining the number of native boats that could be 
 supplied for the conveyance of troops, stores, and provi- 
 sions, with Commander Lambert's assistance I embarked 
 1,050 men in the boats, and left Rangoon at 11 p.m., 
 leaving Commander Shadwell to follow in the steamer with 
 Major-General Godwin and the remainder of the troops. 
 
478 APPENDIX. 
 
 I proceeded with the boats up the Pegu river, and about 
 2 P.M. on the 12th, when about two-thirds of the distance, 
 I had the satisfaction of communicating with the Major- 
 General on board the Nerbudda, and to obserye the Maha- 
 nuddy following ; the former vessel preceded us up the 
 river. At the end of the flood-tide, at 8 p.m., the boats 
 were anchored within hail of the steamer, 12 miles below 
 Pegu. On the morning of the 13th, the Nerhudda leading, 
 I proceeded with the boats, and happily arrived so as to 
 be able to effect a simultaneous landing of the troops about 
 five miles below Pegu, and half a mile from the first stockade, 
 at 7 A.M. The Mahanuddy not appearing, and the Gene- 
 ral having expressed his intention to me of waiting the 
 arrival of the troops on board her before he advanced, I 
 proceeded in the Nerhudda to bring them up. I found 
 the Mahanuddy where we had anchored on the previous 
 evening, she having been detained by her broken rudder- 
 head. I immediately transferred the troops to the Ner- 
 hudda, but by this time the water had fallen so much that 
 she was compelled to wait for the flood-tide to proceed, 
 and did not reach the place of disembarkation till 9 p.m. 
 The troops were landed from her at 4 a.m. on the 14th, 
 and at 7 the army advanced. 
 
 I appointed Commander Shadwell to take command of 
 two of the boats' guns fitted as field-pieces, with 75 men 
 to drag them, to accompany the force. Commander Lam- 
 bert assisted me in the protection of the steamer and 
 boats. 
 
 At noon some of the camp-followers, having straggled a 
 short distance from the bank, were fired at from a Poonghee- 
 house in our vicinity ; two were taken, and the others pur- 
 sued by the enemy, who evinced an intention of coming 
 
APPENDIX. 479 
 
 down to attack us. I immediately landed all the dispos- 
 able men, leaving only sufficient to work the guns in the 
 boats. This demonstration, and the fire of a few shells and 
 rockets, served to check their advance. At this time the 
 Nerhudda, on the falling tide, had unfortunately grounded 
 on a stake, and her two foremost compartments filled with 
 water. It became necessary to put her on shore to repair 
 the damage. To move from our position was therefore 
 impossible, and I proceeded to strengthen it by landing 
 some rockets, felling trees, and throwing up intrench- 
 ments. The march of the army to the eastn^ard of the 
 pagoda had left the enemy in possession of the lower 
 defences on the river's bank, and I was sensible that he 
 had it in his power greatly to annoy us. He reconnoitred 
 our position with a few horse in the evening, but did not 
 further molest us. At 2 p.m. I had the satisfaction of 
 observing the preconcerted signal that the army had forced 
 its way into the pagoda, which intelligence was confirmed 
 to me by Commander Shad well on the morning of the loth. 
 
 In the evening this Officer returned with his party of 
 seamen and a guard. He informed me of the river bank 
 being cleared of the enemy ; and it is therefore my inten- 
 tion to move up with the boats with the morning flood- 
 tide. I reconnoitred the river defences now evacuated, 
 and am only surprised that Commander Shadwell should 
 have been able to pass and repass them in his late attempt 
 to communicate with the garrison at Pegu. They are, for 
 the purpose, of the most formidable description, and com- 
 pletely command the passage of the river for a distance of 
 nearly five miles. 
 
 Your Excellency, knowing the nature of the service 
 that has been performed, will appreciate the zeal of both 
 
480 APPENDIX. 
 
 Officers and men who have carried it out; but I feel I 
 shall fail in my duty to them if I did not bring to your 
 notice the exertions made by Commander Shadwell and 
 the men under him, in taking the guns a distance of eight or 
 nine miles through a difficult country, under an ardent sun; 
 by Commander Lambert and Lieutenant Mason, R. N., 
 and Robinson, I. N., and Mr Freeman, Master, I. N., in 
 their constant attention and watchfulness in bringing up 
 so large a convoy in the boats. Lieutenant Robinson was 
 afterwards attached to the gun party, and Mr Freeman 
 was most useful to me in directing our rocket battery and 
 in the construction of our intrenchments. I exceedingly 
 admire the skilful manner in which Captain Porter brought 
 the Nerhudda up this difficult river ; and the energy that 
 his Officers and crew displayed in making her again effec- 
 tive was most praiseworthy. 
 
 I am happy to say that only one casualty has occurred 
 on the part of the Naval force, — Thomas Saunders, A.B., 
 of Her Majesty's steam-sloop Sphinx, who died of a wound 
 he received while encamped with the army on the evening 
 of the 13th instant. I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. W. Tarleton, Captain. 
 
 NOTIFICATION. 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 Fort- William, Foreign Department, 
 the 4th January 1853. 
 The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council is 
 pleased to direct that the following Extracts from De- 
 
APPENDIX. 481 
 
 spatches relative to recent operations in the neighbourhood 
 of Pegu shall be published for general information. 
 
 The Governor- General in Council has to express his 
 approbation of the alacrity and spirit with which this 
 harassing duty has been performed, and his sense of the 
 services of the Major-General commanding, and of the 
 Officers whose names he has specially brought to the 
 notice of his Lordship in Council in the Despatch of the 
 24th ultimo. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council particularly desires 
 to record his high approbation of the gallant conduct of 
 Major Hill of the Madras Fusiliers, and of the Officers 
 and men under his command, in their defence of the posi- 
 tion they held at Pegu. 
 
 By order of the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 of India in Council, 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Off?. Secretary to the 
 Gov*, of India. 
 
 No. 22. 
 
 Extract from a Despatch from Major-General Godwin, 
 C. B., commanding Troops in Ava, Arracan, and Tenas- 
 serim Provinces, dated 24<A December 1 852. 
 
 In my last Despatch from Pegu, dated the 15th instant, 
 after having relieved it from the enemy, I had the honour 
 of informing you, for the information of the Governor- 
 General in Council, that it was my intention to advance 
 into the country, and free that garrison from the near 
 position of the Burmese army. 
 
 At that time I had been informed they were at Lephan- 
 goon, but from subsequent information I found them en- 
 
 h2 
 
482 APPENDIX. 
 
 trenched and entrenching themselves in great numbers on 
 a plain about four miles north of the pagoda, at a place 
 called Kaleetat, It took till the 17th instant to procure 
 what little carriage was available for the Commissariat 
 stores, when 18 buffaL hackeries were prepared to contain 
 six days' provisions. 
 
 The troops left the pagoda about 7 o'clock a.m. on that 
 date, to the amount of about 1,200 men, consisting of 
 about 600 of the Bengal Fusiliers under Lieutenant - 
 Colonel Tudor; 150 of the Madras Fusiliers under Cap- 
 tain Renaud; 300 Sikhs under Major Armstrong; and 
 160 of the 10th Bengal Native Infantry under Captain 
 Munro. I had no guns, for I had no means of drawing 
 them. We had to pass through a very thick jungle for 
 about two miles, when we debouched on a noble plain, 
 miles in extent, covered with ripe paddy. We then had a 
 good view of the position of the enemy, and their probable 
 numbers. They were admirably posted behind an entrench- 
 ment, with abattie ; large spars formed their breastwork, 
 and it appeared to be about a mile long, filled with masses 
 of men, a few hundreds of the Cassay horse, some elephants, 
 and a few guns. 
 
 It was from this post that the men were furnished to 
 invest our garrison at Pegu. From my force I had to 
 give a baggage-guard of 200 men ; with the remainder I 
 quietly advanced on their position, inclining to my own 
 right to threaten their left, which was open, — their right 
 being supported by a large tope of trees, and flanked by a 
 thick jungle. They fired a gun occasionally as we ad- 
 vanced, and from their quiet and determined attitude 
 behind their strong defences, with at least ten men for 
 one of mine, I had great expectation that they would 
 
APPENDIX. 483 
 
 stand our assault. These men were from the garrisons 
 of Shoe-Gyne, Sitang, and Beling, — ^had been very active 
 in giving constant alarms to Martaban and Moulmein,— 
 and had the character too of being men who would fight, 
 some of their companions having been killed on the walls 
 in the assaults on Pegu. 
 
 When I was within about 400 yards of their position I 
 detached 200 men of the Bengal Fusiliers, under Major 
 Seaton, to drive in two outposts in front of the right of 
 their position, for I changed my mind and determined to 
 attack them upon their right, in the hope of our meeting. 
 Major Seaton very soon performed this service, the enemy 
 retiring upon their main entrenchments, exchanging 
 musketry. 
 
 I now formed the columns of attack. Major Seaton's 
 party of the Bengal Fusiliers, and Major Armstrong with 
 his Sikhs to attack the tope, with two companies of the 
 Bengal Fusiliers under Lieutenant Lambert, but attached 
 to Major Armstrong's column. 
 
 I stopped Major Seaton's attack, seeing that they had 
 loaded the jungle, which his left flank would have had to 
 pass in gaining the tope, with hundreds of men . 
 
 I had strong reserves close up and ready to assist in the 
 assault. It was a very interesting sight to see our little 
 columns moving up to the attack of this host of people so 
 strongly posted, and in a plain where every object was 
 visible. I was so confident we should get in amongst 
 them that when the smoke cleared away after the im- 
 petuosity of the attack, it was like magic their escaping 
 us. The Sikhs at the tope were like lightning at them, 
 and Lieutenant Lambert, who had thrown his column in 
 the very flank of the long entrenchment, close to the tope, 
 
484 APPENDIX. 
 
 would have prevented their firing except on each other ; 
 and I believe the rapidity with which the advance closed 
 upon them threw them off all guard, and they considered 
 flight their only safety. 
 
 After the action the troops rested in the shade of the 
 tope for an hour ; we then proceeded on to Lephangoon, 
 a distance of 10 miles, which we reached at half-past 4 p.m., 
 marching altogether about 1 4 miles. This is the largest 
 and finest village I have seen in the country, with a great 
 many excellent farm-houses in it ; it stands on both sides 
 of the river, which is here fordable, and is surrounded by 
 fine plains covered with grain. 
 
 We were aware that the enemy had retreated on this 
 village, but they left it on our apprbach, and the force 
 found good quarters for the night. 
 
 The village was totally abandoned ; not a soul was 
 seen, nor grain to be found in it, which I had trusted to 
 for the followers ; so they fell back on the Commissariat, 
 which I could with difficulty spare them, and this, added 
 to the breaking down of one of our carts with beef and 
 biscuit, crippled me much. 
 
 The next day, the 18th instant, we marched to Mont- 
 sanganoo, 10 miles, where we arrived about 12 o'clock 
 noon; there the enemy had passed the night. It is an 
 inconsiderable village, and we were in bivouac. 
 
 About 3 o'clock p.m. I was informed that some of 
 the enemy were hovering about, who I believed were only 
 observing us, but shortly they came down in large masses, 
 and formed in a line about two miles in our front. 
 
 Our men were soon under arms, and I marched towards 
 them in two separate columns, of an equal division of the 
 force under my command. Brigadier-General Steel took 
 
APPENDIX. 485 
 
 charge of the left column, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tudor 
 the right. Skirmishers were thrown out on both sides, 
 but as we advanced they retired for about two miles fur- 
 ther, when they took up an alignment close to a long 
 range of barracks which they had evidently occupied on 
 different occasions. The two columns threw out advanced 
 parties for attack, but as we neared them they again 
 retired, leaving the barracks in our possession. It was 
 now nearly dark, and as they appeared to be going away 
 altogether we burnt their barracks and retired to our 
 bivouac, three miles, where our baggage and followers had 
 remained under a strong guard. 
 
 The next day, the 19th instant, on inquiry into the 
 state of the Commissariat, I found I had not quite three 
 days' provisions left, and very deficient in some articles, 
 and it became imperative on me to return to Pegu, which 
 I did that day. Had I had the means of carrying with 
 me 12 days' provisions I would have pursued them over 
 the Sitang River, but I am sadly crippled everywhere for 
 want of carriage, except at Rangoon, where I do not 
 require it. 
 
 I propose to detach Brigadier-General Steel with a force 
 to Moulmein — where he will find every description of car- 
 riage in abundance for tents and materiel of all kinds — to 
 proceed to Beling, Shoe-Gyne, and Sitang, and crossing 
 that river to return by Pegu to Rangoon, as he may deem 
 practicable, which may force this army north towards 
 Prome, which it must I think, as it cannot go to Pegu, 
 and which will be the best course for us it can take. 
 
 I embarked at Pegu on the 20th, and arrived on the 
 morning of the 22d, leaving a reinforcement with the 
 
486 APPENDIX. 
 
 garrison at Pegu, and strengthening their party of Sappers 
 as a temporary measure, to allow of their putting them- 
 selves in a perfect state of defence. 
 
 Now, Sir, I have to ask the estimation of the Governor- 
 General in Council for a service that has been most harass- 
 ing and arduous, and for which no force ever took the 
 field so little prepared, but which was borne with a cheer- 
 fulness and alacrity — where the least chance of a contest 
 with the enemy presented itself — that was enthusiastic, 
 and which confers the highest honour on the whole force. 
 
 To Brigadier-General Steel I am most obliged for the 
 warmest co-operation throughout this service. 
 
 To Brigadier Dickenson, who was ever ready and 
 anxious to render me his able assistance. 
 
 To Lieutenant- Colonel Tudor, who was very often called 
 upon with his regiment, the Bengal Fusiliers, to give 
 parties for assaults ; and on the day of my relieving the 
 garrison of Pegu I detached the Lieutenant-Colonel to 
 clear the road communicating with the landing-place on 
 the river. The Lieutenant-Colonel performed this duty 
 most efi'ectually under a heavy fire. 
 
 To Captain Latter, my Interpreter, who had the guides 
 always under his charge, and who was present everywhere 
 with his usual gallantry. 
 
 To Major Armstrong, with his Sikhs, conspicuous where- 
 ever they were called upon. 
 
 To Majors Gerrard and Seaton of the Bengal Fusiliers ; 
 Captain Renaud, commanding a detachment of the Madras 
 Fusiliers ; Captain Munro, commanding a detachment of 
 the 10th Bengal N. L ; Captain Hawkes, Brigade Major ; 
 Lieutenant Lambert of the Bengal Fusiliers j Lieutenant 
 
APPENDIX. 487 
 
 Elliott of the Madras Fusiliers, and Lieutenant Harris of 
 the Sappers, who rendered important assistance, I am 
 much indebted. 
 
 The General Staff, — Major Mayhew, Deputy Adjutant- 
 General, and Captain Hamilton, Assistant Adjutant-Gene- 
 ral, Captain Burne, Military Secretary, and Captain Chads, 
 Aide-de-Camp, I warmly thank ; as also Major Neill, 
 Assi.«tant Adjutant-General, and Major Atkinson, Assist- 
 ant Quartermaster-General, Madras Division, and Cap- 
 tains Dallas and Travers, Aides-de-Camp on the Staff of 
 Brigadier-General Steel, for their uncommon exertions 
 during this service. 
 
 To Surgeons M'Cosh and Balfour, and the Medical 
 Department, the Service is much indebted. 
 
 The short interval between the time I received the 
 intelligence of the investment of Pegu from Captains 
 Tarleton and Shadwell, and the embarkation of the troops 
 the same evening, when by 9 o'clock p. m. 1,400 men, 
 with their materiel, were sent on board, under the eye of 
 that valuable Officer Captain Tarleton of the Royal Navy, 
 till its disembarkation near Pegu, and its re-embarkation 
 on return here, was marked by wonderful exertion and 
 arrangement; and that, with the aid and assistance I 
 received from him with the men-of-war's boats, calls for 
 every acknowledgment. 
 
 To Captain Shadwell I also feel greatly indebted for 
 bis assistance and exertions on this occasion. 
 
 I forward to the Governor-General in Council the de- 
 tailed account of the investment of Pegu by the Burmese 
 Army, and the noble defence made by Major Hill and his 
 brave garrison, for the Government to select what, in its 
 wisdom, it may think proper to publish. 
 
488 APPENDIX. 
 
 I have this morning received the gratifying information 
 from Major Hill that some thousand families are coming 
 in, and which I hope in a future Despatch to confirm 
 positively. It is my intention to proceed to Prome in 
 three days, and to take the field immediately. I am happy 
 to say that the general health of the troops here, as well 
 as their conduct, is very satisfactory. 
 
 Extract from a Letter from Major Hill to Major Mayhew, 
 dated 18^^ December 1852. 
 
 A termination to unremitting assaults from the enemy 
 from the 5th to the 14th instant having been brought 
 about by the arrival of a reinforcement of troops under 
 the personal command of Major-General Godwin, Com- 
 manding the Forces, I am now enabled to place before the 
 Major-General a detailed report of the operations during 
 that period. 
 
 I do myself the honour to report, for the Major-General's 
 information, that for some days previous to the enemy 
 appearing in our vicinity several of their advanced posts 
 were seen within two miles of us, in a northerly direction. 
 Elephants and gold umbrellas plainly indicated that their 
 main army was not far ofi" ; and as I had been informed that 
 Moung-Kyouk-Loung commanded 10,000 men at Shoe- 
 Gyne, I felt it necessary to keep the garrison alert, in case 
 that portion of his force, which was then so near us, might 
 make a sudden descent upon the garrison. 
 
 Shortly after 8 o'clock on the night of the 5th instant, 
 a few shots were fired by our sentries, which were answered 
 by the enemy, and soon the firing became general. After 
 1 1 o'clock, as the moon rose, the fire slackened and gradu- 
 
APPENDIX. 489 
 
 ally ceased. Large bodies of infantry were seen the next 
 morning from the elevated post of the pagoda moving in 
 diflferent directions, and from 150 to 200 Cassay horsemen, 
 and by half-past 9 o'clock a. m. a very heavy fire was 
 opened upon the south-west angle of the pagoda, imme- 
 diately adjoining which I had stockaded in about 2,000 
 Peguers with their families. 
 
 On the 3d instant I was informed that for some dis- 
 tance to the southward and eastward a very large num- 
 ber of carts were approaching the pagoda, and by sunset 
 216, fiUed mostly with women and children, besides a 
 great many men, arrived and claimed British protection : 
 I felt this to be a greater charge than defending the gar- 
 rison, having perfect confidence in the troops ; I resolved 
 therefore on the following morning to draw the whole 
 of the Peguers into a compact body under the walls of the 
 pagoda. Working parties from all the European and 
 Native troops in the garrison, with the Ofiicers, besides 
 every disposable public follower, were ready by 6 o'clock 
 the following morning to clear away a tope of large trees 
 for their accommodation. Every one worked with such 
 hearty good- will that by mid-day every tree was felled, 
 and the Sappers were in readiness, with the assistance of 
 the Peguers, to make a stockade. By night-fall two sides 
 of the stockades were completed, and the greater portion 
 of the bandies brought within it, thus enabling the fami- 
 lies to have both food and shelter in their carts. 
 
 The enemy having taken up their position round us, 
 never left it until the day on which General Godwin 
 relieved the garrison. I believe I am speaking within 
 bounds when I say there must have been fully 6,000 men 
 regularly employed in investing the pagoda, from the space 
 
490 APPENDIX. 
 
 they covered ; and so near did they find safe cover from 
 our fire, that it became the more necessary to preserve the 
 greatest vigilance to prevent surprise at any time they 
 wished to attempt it; their attacks were chiefly directed 
 against the Peguers, and on the night of the 8th a very 
 spirited and well kept up assault was made upon them for 
 about two hours. 
 
 Night after night gonga were sounding in different parts 
 of the jungle, which, and their shouting, informed us where 
 they were collecting their troops. Several other deter- 
 mined assaults were made on various sides of the pagoda, 
 which were repelled by our guns and heavy file-firing, 
 which drove them back. The last attack was made the 
 day before the arrival of the troops On the morning in 
 question (the 13th), at 20 minutes past 5 o'clock, under 
 cover of a dense fog which hung over the ground below 
 the pagoda, a shout was suddenly heard, and a large 
 body of men rushed across an open piece of ground on the 
 south-east angle of the stockade, which was the weakest 
 point of the Peguers' position. A picquet, which was 
 always kept in readiness at the head of the steps, imme- 
 diately ran to their assistance, the men ranging themselves 
 among the Peguers ; and so determined was the attack, 
 that our Peguers and the enemy had a hand-to-hand con- 
 test with their spears, and several were dangerously 
 wounded ; the picquet also using the bayonet at the same 
 time. There must have been great loss on the part of the 
 enemy, as the ground was open both to our battery and 
 the musketry from our walls, but as the fog hung over the 
 low lands for some time after, they were able to convey 
 away their dead, and only three or four were found killed 
 close to the stockade. 
 
APPENDIX. 491 
 
 In conclusion, I beg to say a few words in reference to 
 the Officers and men composing this garrison. 
 
 Little that I can say with respect to the practical know- 
 ledge of Lieutenant Campbell, of the Bengal Engineers, 
 which he has already gained on field service, could add to 
 his reputation as a good service Officer, but his unremit- 
 ting zeal in planning and carrying out his suggestions has 
 mainly contributed to the small loss sustained by the 
 troops. 
 
 Lieutenant James, of the Bengal Artillery, who was the 
 only Artillery Officer I had to give directions for the 
 working of the guns on the four angles of the pagoda, has 
 performed his arduous duties much to my satisfaction. 
 
 Lieutenant Harris, of the Madras Sappers, who has but 
 recently joined that distinguished corps, has proved him- 
 seK to be a most efficient Sapper Officer, from the short 
 time he took to finish the stockade for the Peguers, and 
 the manner in which he executed a plan for a covered 
 gallery to enable the water-carriers to supply the troops 
 with water with safety to themselves. 
 
 Lieutenant Dangerfield, of the 1st Madras Fusiliers, 
 my Stafi" Officer, is an intelligent, enterprising, and most 
 promising Officer, and I found I could entrust duties to 
 him which required coolness and judgment, with perfect 
 confidence. 
 
 The Officers and men, both European and Native, com- 
 posing the garrison, have performed their duties in a most 
 admirable and satisfactory manner. The harassing duties 
 all were exposed to for eight days and nights, without 
 intermission, requires no further comment than by my 
 adding that their constant vigilance and steadiness were 
 conspicuous throughout the whole of the operations. 
 
492 APPENDIX. 
 
 A Return of Killed and Wounded of the troops, as well 
 as of all other classes, accompanies this report. 
 
 Return shewing the number of Killed and Wounded in 
 the Garrison of Pegu from 5th to 14th December 1852. 
 
 Wounded. 
 Madras Sappers and Miners, — 1 non-commissioned 
 Officer ; 1 rank and file. Total 2. 
 
 1 st Madras Fusiliers, — 1 European commissioned Officer, 
 Lieutenant P. A. Brown, severe contusion; 4 rank and 
 file, 1 since dead, 6 followers. Total 11. 
 
 5th Madras N. I., — 1 European commissioned Officer, 
 Ensign Chadwick, severe contusion ; 1 Native ditto ; 1 
 non-commissioned Officer; 11 rank and file, 3 followers. 
 Total 17. 
 
 Peguers,— 10. Total 10. 
 
 Killed. 
 5th Madras N. I., — 1 rank and file, 1 follower. Total 2. 
 Peguers,— 3. Total 3. 
 , Grand total of Killed and Wounded. — 45. 
 
 (Signed) W. Hill, Major, Commanding Pegu. 
 PegUftke ISth December 1852. 
 
 Extract from a Letterfrom Lieut.-ColonelSiuRT, Command- 
 ing the Land Column, dated Fegu, December 19, 1852. 
 Leaving Rangoon on the morning of the 1 3th of December, 
 yesterday afternoon my detachment came in sight of Pegu, 
 and I moved ray camp only a short distance this morning 
 towards the river, for the purpose of facilitating its cross- 
 ing when necessary. 
 
 Aware of the value of Light Artillery and Cavalry in 
 support of a movement against foes so difficult to be 
 
APPENDIX. 493 
 
 approached as the Burmese, it was my most earnest desire 
 to have placed the services of these two Arms, composing 
 a part of the column under my command, at Major-Gene- 
 ral Godwin's disposal at the earliest possible period, and 
 it was not therefure without a feeling of great regret I 
 found my best exertions ineffectual to secure the above 
 object, the General commanding the Forces having left 
 Pegu two days previous to my arrival. 
 
 The extent of country traversed by my column, though 
 not exceeding perhaps 72 miles, presented considerable 
 obstacles to the rapid advance of artillery, and a long 
 train of carriages with supplies for the troops. 
 
 Three bridges were obliged to be constructed over tidal 
 nullahs, marshy tracks to be rendered firm, roads to be 
 cut, and their course even to be marked out by the friendly 
 Karens. 
 
 These people, to the number of upwards of 100, made 
 themselves very useful on the road, and the bridges were 
 all constructed by them with a degree of good-will and 
 promptness much to the credit of the poor people. I beg 
 to bring specially to the notice of the Major- General the 
 great assistance received from a Karen, of much influence 
 with his tribe, named Kyouk-khe, who accompanied the 
 column the whole way from Rangoon. 
 
 After leaving Rangoon to our rear about seven miles, 
 the country began to disclose its plains, belted at distances 
 by jungle. The course of the column often lay closely 
 skirting the jungles for miles, and frequently directly 
 through them, — glades suddenly opening out, and again 
 giving place to jungle. 
 
 Between Thoung-too-Loo, distant about 15 miles from 
 Rangoon, and Theda-mu-thaee, 19 miles from Pegu, no- 
 
494 APPENDIX. 
 
 thing could exceed the richness of the soil, — in some parts 
 dark alluvial, in others sandy loam; the herbage was of 
 the finest description, and where rice crops were seen their 
 luxuriance and height were remarkable; the cattle, invari- 
 ably in the finest condition, were of a very superior hardy 
 breed, with large carcasses. 
 
 The space between Theda-mu-thaee to within three or 
 four miles of Pegu was found to be of a dense jungly 
 description ; forest trees, with low brushwood and bamboos, 
 clumps upon clumps, forming the most formidable natural 
 barriers and breastworks. Artillery and baggage-carts 
 once having entered these narrow tracks, skirted on either 
 side by such cover, without the possibility of counter- 
 marching if required, could not possibly escape early 
 destruction at the hands of a small body of resolute deter- 
 mined men, who would themselves be perfectly secure 
 from pursuit. Where occasionally an opening occurred 
 in this wild portion of the march, it presented a clear 
 grass plain of some five, ten, fifteen, or more acres, sur- 
 rounded by the densest jungle. My column was obliged 
 to halt fifteen times during this march, which occupied the 
 troops ten hours and a half, and my baggage was not up 
 till night. 
 
 Not an enemy was seen throughout our whole course, 
 though evidences of their having lately vacated these wilds 
 were frequently observed. 
 
 (True extracts.) 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Officiating Sec^ to the 
 Gov* of India. 
 
APPENDIX. 495 
 
 LETTER REFERRED TO AT PAGE 119 OF THE NARRATIVE. 
 
 Pegu, 28«A November 1852. 
 On the 24th the gun-boats, which lie off the Commis- 
 sariat wharf, one and a half miles from the pagoda, were 
 attacked from the west bank, but we soon drove off the 
 Burmans. We wrought hard the following days, repairing 
 the wall of the upper terrace by stockading, and cleared 
 away a good deal of the jungle. Last night, at 9 o'clock, 
 I was woke up by firing on the east face, and before I 
 could get to our howitzer on the north-east corner a ser- 
 geant had fired a round of grape into the middle of a crowd 
 of Burmese who were making a tremendous noise at the 
 foot of the steps. I then fired another, — and we dis- 
 covered that the pagoda was attacked all round, and the 
 gun-boats and wharf, where a picquet of 30 Europeans 
 and 30 Sepoys were placed, began firing at the sametime, 
 so there must have been about 5,000 men altogether. 
 They kept up a heavy fire at the steps for some time, and 
 from a mound about 100 yards in front, where I sent two 
 shells, which burst beautifully. The other howitzer at 
 the west gate was fired once with grape at a crowd of 
 men who rushed out from the left of the steps, and tried to 
 escape over the plain. The firing continued sharp till 
 about 12 o'clock. They had a jingal pointed at the north 
 gate, but all their shots were too high. We could hear 
 them plainly shouting to one another, and horses neighing, 
 but saw very few, as the jungle was so thick. They got 
 up into the trees and sniped at us, but were soon driven 
 out of their perches. ]\Iy want of ammunition prevented 
 me from firing as I ought. I hope some notice has been 
 
496 APPENDIX. 
 
 taken of Major Hill's letter applying for more ; cannister 
 is principally wanted, as they can get within 50 yards 
 of the wall without being seen. We cannot get coolies to 
 clear the jungles, and our own men are worn out with 
 fatigue parties ; there were only just enough to line the 
 walls of the upper terrace, without any reserve. Luckily 
 two more gun-boats arrived yesterday, or the picquet 
 and one gun-boat would have been cut off, as they were 
 attacked from both sides of the river. The picquet had 
 formed a small defence of barrels, &c., but the Burmans set 
 fire to the houses to windward, and they only just saved 
 the provisions, and managed to turn off the fire. About 
 12 they sent up a signal rocket, and then gave three cheers, 
 but the firing did not cease down there or up here till 
 3 A.M., when all was quiet; and about 5 a.m., just as the 
 moon set, we heard them calling off the stragglers. In the 
 morning we found at the south-west corner three dead 
 bodies, and a lot of scaling ladders of different lengths, 
 capitally made; on the east gateway we found two dead 
 bodies, and sundry dahs, spears, knives, and latties. The 
 enemy seem to have come through a hole in the mound 
 opposite the gate, and deployed in the jungle right and left, 
 but how they got so close without being heard is a mystery 
 
 to me. Young C of the 5th was nearly caught ; 
 
 thinking all was over about 2 a. m., he was sitting smoking 
 on the wall when he saw the gleam of a musket in the 
 moonlight, and immediately fired a pistol at the bearer, who 
 ran, but was shot directly. The men are quite knocked up, 
 as they have been obliged to go to the beach for the last 
 four days to bring up provisions. Luckily they are all 
 up now, and four more boats have come and brought 
 some bullocks for fresh beef. I think this would be a 
 
APPENDIX. 497 
 
 beautiful place to live in if it were not so isolated; the 
 climate is delicious, but the dew is very heavy at night, and 
 my gunners feel the want of their bedding as they are obliged 
 to sleep in the open air on account of mosquitoes, which 
 are positively awful here, — curtains are scarcely of any use. 
 I hope the bedding will soon be sent, also the Lascars' 
 bundles, and cooking things. Has any arrangement been 
 made about withdrawing our Apothecary? The poor chap 
 has not even a change of clothes, and only a mat to sleep on. 
 We have only one man (Murray) in hospital from dysen- 
 tery. We have no wounded beyond two or three of the 
 picquet slightly in the hands and arms last night. Excuse 
 this scrambling letter, as the boat goes early to-morrow, 
 and I must send this directly. My principal wants are 
 ammunition, the mens' bedding, the Lascars' small traps, 
 and some money. I hope this will reach you before you 
 
 start if you are destined for Prome. Tell L about 
 
 the attack, I suppose we shall soon have another. 
 
 I 2 
 
498 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX IX. 
 
 A CURIOUS BURMESE DOCUMENT.* 
 
 [Translation of a Burmese Document found in the Tsee- 
 kay's House on the storming of Martaban on the 5th 
 April 1852 ; date unknown, but under the same envelope 
 with documents from Lieutenant Hopkinson, P. A, C, to 
 the Governor of Martaban, dated January 28, 1852.] 
 
 List of the Men, Guns, Jingals, Muskets, Bullets, 
 Powder, and Paddy in Martaban. 
 
 
 Fighting Men. 
 
 
 Fonner 
 
 Reinforce- 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 force. 
 
 ments. 
 
 
 Men. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Beling, - _ - 
 
 291 
 
 278 
 
 569 
 
 Yea-Oung, 
 
 31 
 
 34 
 
 65 
 
 Tiek-Kalah, (or Kiektoh) 
 
 325 
 
 75 
 
 400 
 
 Martaban Village, 
 
 82 
 
 
 82 
 
 Binlaeng, - - - 
 
 22 
 
 
 22 
 
 Koh-Goon, - - - 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 
 
 Yenyeeng, 
 
 20 
 
 
 20 
 
 Goh, - - - . 
 
 11 
 
 
 11 
 
 Artillerymen, 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 Total, - 
 
 798 
 
 400 
 
 1198 
 
 Presented to the Author by Mr Hannay, Moulmein. 
 
APPL'NDIX. 
 
 499 
 
 Ammunition, &c. 
 
 Copper Guns, 
 
 Iron Guns, 
 
 Jingals, - _ - 
 
 Saltpetre, 
 
 Powder, prepared. 
 
 Sulphur, 
 
 Lead, . _ _ 
 
 Flints, - 
 
 Cannon and Jingal Balls, 
 
 Leaden Bullets, 
 
 15 
 45 
 
 ticals.' 
 50 
 
 VISS. 
 
 84 
 
 883 
 
 457 
 
 600 
 1745 in Number. 
 1855 „ 
 1100 
 
 Paddy in the Granary, received from the \ , . , ^^q i i -i 
 former Governor Kouk-Kyoung-Boh, ) ' ' ^ 
 
 Paddy of the year 1210, 
 Ditto, 1211, 
 
 Ditto, 1212, 
 
 3,415 
 2,745 
 2,915 
 
 Consumed by the Forces, 
 
 23,184| baskets. 
 7,642 
 
 15,542i 
 
 * For the sake of English readers it may be stated that a 
 viss weighs 3 lb. -65, and a tical y^th part of this. A basket of 
 paddy weighs from 56 to 58 lbs. 
 
500 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX X. 
 
 KARENS. 
 
 Regarding this curious race it may be interesting to 
 present the following information from the Ethnological 
 portion of the recent work on Burmah by the Rev. F. 
 Mason. They will be so much mixed up with the future 
 civilisation and enlightenment of our new territory that 
 aught concerning the Karens from an author of such 
 talent and research as Mr Mason is indeed valuable : — 
 
 " When I first came to this coast the Karens were 
 regarded as the aborigines of the country, but they were 
 probably in reality the last people to enter it among the 
 various tribes that the British found here when they took 
 possession of the Provinces. 
 
 " They regard themselves as wanderers from the north, 
 and one of their traditions states that a party of them 
 came across ' the river of running sand ' on an exploring 
 tour, before the Shans were established at Zimmay, and 
 returned again. The crossing of the river of running 
 sand is regarded as having been an arduous work. They 
 understand by these waters, or river of running sand (the 
 words admit of either rendering), an immense quicksand, 
 with the sands in motion like the waters of a river. The 
 tradition was quite unintelligible to me until the Journal 
 
APPENDIX. 501 
 
 of Fa. Hian, the Chinese pilgrim who visited India about 
 the fifth century, threw a sun-beam on the expression. 
 He constantly designates the great desert north of Burraah, 
 and between China and Thibet, as 'the river of sand;' 
 and in the Chinese map of India a branch of this desert 
 is seen to stretch down south, for several degrees of lati- 
 tude, and then turn and run westward for a long distance. 
 This desert is marked ' quicksands.' There can there- 
 fore scarcely be a rational doubt but that this is ' the 
 river of running sand ' which their ancestors crossed at a 
 remote period before Zimmay was founded. Tradition 
 further states that when the Karen Nation immigrated to 
 this country they found the Shans, contrary to their 
 expectation, dwelling in the region of Zimmay. Serica 
 and Sera, and the river Serus, are represented by Ptolemy 
 as in the region north of Burmah; and from incidental 
 notices in the old poetry of the Karens it appears that 
 there was a country north of these Provinces known to 
 them in ancient times by the name of Sairai. One stanza 
 runs thus : — 
 
 * The waters of Sai-rai, of Sai-rai, 
 The country of Sai-rai, of Sai-rai ; 
 It is famous for the frogs that are there. 
 It is famous for the fish that are there.' 
 
 " Malte Brun, on the authority of Marco Polo, says — 
 * The country of Caride is the southest point of Thibet, and 
 perhaps the country of the Nation of the Canaines, which 
 is spread over Ava ; ' and Teen — a word signifying heaven, 
 but used by some of the Chinese to signify God — occurs in 
 Karen poetry as the name of the God of a people with 
 whom they were formerly connected. The Karen language 
 
502 APPENDIX. 
 
 also indicates a connection with tribes on the borders of 
 Thibet. 
 
 " Besides the Khakyeens north of Ava, there are known 
 to be two distinct tribes of Karens. One tribe call them- 
 selves Shos^ but are called by the Sgaus ' Pwos,' and by the 
 Burmese 'Meetkhyeens' or * Talaing Karens.' The other 
 tribe call themselves Sgaus, but by the Burmese are 
 designated 'Meethos' or 'Burnian Karens.' 
 
 " To these some add the Karenees, or Red Karen, but 
 they are more usually regarded as a Shan tribe. Their 
 language, from Karen testimony, and from the examina- 
 tion of a few words, appears not to be so nearly related 
 to either Pwo or Sgau as the latter are to each other; but 
 there are manifestly many roots common to all three, as 
 in Karen and Toungthu. The Burmans call them Red 
 Karens from a portion of their dress being red ; and the 
 Karens call them Mannepglia, or kidnappers, from their 
 practice of kidnapping their neighbours and selling them 
 into slavery. None of them live within the boundaries 
 of the British territories, or Burmah Proper, nor have 
 they ever been visited by missionaries, but Dr Richardson 
 travelled through their country in 1837. They appear to 
 occupy a strip of land in the valley of the Salween, between 
 Burmah and the Shan States. Dr Richardson wrote that 
 they were in the lowest state of civilisation, and appeared 
 few in number, — perhaps as numerous as the Toungthus. 
 
 " The Pwos and Sgaus are scattered all over the 
 Tenasserim Provinces, the southern parts of Burmah, and 
 Arracan. Their languages, though dialects of a common 
 language, and both easily acquired when "one has been 
 mastered, are sufficiently distinct to make a Pwo unintel- 
 ligible to a Sgau, and a Sgau to a Pwo, unless both idioms 
 
APPENDIX, 503 
 
 have been studied. The Sgaus are remarkable for the 
 Scriptural traditions that exist among them. They have 
 traditions of the creation, the temptation, the fall, and the 
 dispersion of nations, in prose and verse, nearly as accurate 
 as they are found in the Bible. The following is a single 
 specimen : — 
 
 * Anciently, God commanded, but Satan appeared bringing 
 
 destruction : 
 Formerly God commanded, but Satan appeared deceiving 
 
 unto death. 
 The woman E-u and the man Tha-nai pleased not the eye of 
 
 the dragon, 
 The persons of E-u and Tha-nai pleased not the mind of the 
 
 dragon, 
 The dragon looked on them, — the dragon beguiled the woman 
 
 and Tha-nai. 
 
 ' How is this said to have happened ? 
 The great dragon succeeded in deceiving — deceiving unto 
 death. 
 
 ' How do they say it was done ? 
 
 A yellow fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the chil- 
 dren of God. 
 
 A white fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the daughter 
 and son of God. 
 
 ' They transgressed the commands of God, and God turned 
 
 his face from them. 
 They transgressed the commands of God, and God tm-ned 
 
 away from them. 
 They kept not all the words of God — were deceived, deceived 
 
 unto sickness ; 
 They kept not all the law of God — were deceived, deceived 
 
 unto death.' 
 
504 APPENDIX. 
 
 " The languages of both tribes have been reduced to 
 writing, and various works prepared in the two idioms. 
 In the Sgau a dictionary and grammar have been printed; 
 the whole Bible has been translated; two editions of the 
 New Testament; one of Genesis, Exodus, and Psalms, 
 printed; and between 30 and 40 other books. In the 
 Pwo, a grammar, a small vocabulary, and about half 
 the New Testament, have been printed, and less than a 
 dozen other works. Newspapers are also printed in both 
 dialects, and in Burmese. In the Tenasserim Provinces 
 alone more than 50 different villages and hamlets have 
 been occupied for a longer or shorter period by native 
 assistants, un<ler the direction of the missionaries, most of 
 whom have had charge of schools." 
 
APPENDIX, 505 
 
 APPENDIX XI. 
 
 NOTES FURNISHED BY A MADRAS OFFICER ON THE 
 SITANG BORE. 
 
 The bore in the Sitang river is stated to be at the mouth, 
 and for some miles up, thrice as high as the surf at Madras, 
 (from 25 to 30 feet !) Commodore Lynch, I. N,, told me 
 that the best information he had been able to procure 
 at Moulmein and elsewhere on the coast, confirmed this 
 account of it. He had, I believe, consulted a merchant- 
 captain named Miller, residing at Moulmein, who had 
 been in the Sitang and witnessed the ebb and flow. The 
 Commodore explained to me why the bore should be of so 
 much greater magnitude in the Sitang than in almost any 
 other river, arising from its disemboguing in almost the 
 extreme east corner of the Bay of Martaban, where the 
 pressure of the flood at spring-tides, and with a current 
 setting up the bay, must be very great, with little or no 
 lateral escape. Speaking of his intention of sending Lieu- 
 tenant Ward to survey its mouth, the Commodore said 
 his plan of taking light steamers and boats up the river, if 
 necessitated, would be as follows : — After having shoals, 
 rocks, sand-banks, «fec., marked off" with buoys, he should 
 await the flood outside — push in, and follow it as fast as 
 possible — get on as far as he could before the ebb, and 
 
506 APPENDIX. 
 
 take the boats up some convenient creek in readiness for 
 the succeeding flood, where, " da capo!"" I heard Briga- 
 dier W say that he had himself seen the bore in the 
 
 Sitang (as I think) upwards of 20 miles above its mouth, 
 and that it was above 20 feet high, — a wall of water that 
 no boat could have lived in. On the other hand the inha- 
 bitants of Sitang spoke of the effects of the bore there 
 slightly, saying, that unless in spring-tides, at particular 
 seasons, it never exceeded 3^ to 4^ feet in height, and 
 was not dangerous. The tide, they say, is felt as high as 
 Shoe-Gyne, the river rising and falling about 3 feet. The 
 last particulars are from the Sitang Chief, Moung-Goung ! 
 
APPENDIX. 5U7 
 
 APPENDIX XII. 
 
 TONGHOO DESPATCHES MARTABAN COLUMN. 
 
 NOTIFICATION. 
 
 Fort- William,, Foreign Department, 
 the I9th March 1853. 
 
 The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council has 
 much satisfaction in publishing, for general information, 
 Extracts of a Despatch from Brigadier-General Steel, C.B., 
 dated 23d February, in which he reports the occupation 
 of Tonghoo by the force under his command, and the ex- 
 pulsion of the Burmese troops from the eastern side of the 
 Province. 
 
 Although the invariable retreat of the enemy before the 
 force has afforded it little opportunity of proving its supe- 
 riority in the field, yet its steady discipline, its forbear- 
 ance from all excesses, and its alacrity in the performance 
 of every duty, have well deserved the applause of the 
 Governor-General in Council, and command his confidence. 
 
 His Lordship in Council desires to convey to Brigadier- 
 General Steel his best thanks for the manner in which he 
 has conducted the expedition to its successful issue ; as 
 
508 APPENDIX. 
 
 well as to the several Officers whom the Brigadier-Gene- 
 ral has specially named in his Despatch. 
 
 And to all Officers, non-commissioned Officers, and 
 Soldiers, the Governor-General in Council has to offer the 
 assurance of his approbation. 
 
 By Order of the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 in Council, 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Officiating Secretary to 
 the Government of India. 
 
 Extract of a Despatch from Brigadier-General S. W. Steel, 
 C. B., Commanding the Martaban Column, dated Camp, 
 Tonghoo, Fehruary 23, 1853, to C. Allen, Esquire. 
 My last Despatch, No. 18, dated the 15th instant, re- 
 ported my having marched that day from Shway-Gheen. 
 Between that place and Kyouk-Ghee the villages were 
 entirely deserted from fear of the Burraan forces ; a few of 
 the inhabitants stole in from the jungle to communicate 
 with us ; they were supplied with copies of the Proclama- 
 tion, and encouraged to return to their homes. 
 
 The force arrived at Kyouk-Ghee on the 17th instant, 
 apparently before it was expected. No one had come out 
 to meet us, and the few people outside of the stockade 
 looked in silent tvonder on our approach across the fine 
 running stream which nearly surrounds the place. The 
 highest authority left within the town was an Officer of 
 inferior rank, called a " Goung, " who opened the gates 
 and accompanied us around the enclosure, pointing out the 
 guns and other arms, of which a return is enclosed. The 
 stockade is on the same simple plan, and about the same 
 size as Beling, but more dilapidated. Safeguards were 
 posted to protect the place ; and a fine bazaar was opened. 
 
APPENDIX. 509 
 
 to which the troops and followers were admitted. Captain 
 Clogstoun, an Officer of the Quartermaster - General's 
 Department, had proceeded with an escort of Irregular 
 Horse to reconnoitre the road in advance, when it was 
 discovered that some of the Chiefs who had left Kyouk- 
 Ghee during the previous night were but a short distance 
 in front. The remainder of the Horse were immediately 
 sent on under their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant 
 Lambert, to join the escort in advance. They fell in 
 with the party, and a number of carts loaded with families 
 (women, children, and baggage,) about five miles from 
 camp. There were with this party about 100 or more 
 men, armed with muskets, — two guns, and some jingals; 
 and in the first encounter, before it was discovered that 
 they did not intend to fire, two or three of their men were 
 hurt. 
 
 Two of the chief Officers belonging to Kyouk-Ghee, 
 with two " Tseekays," or assistants to Moungbwa, Ex- 
 Governor of Martaban, were brought in. They had no 
 desire to escape, but asserted that they had been forced by 
 Moungbwa to accompany him. I permitted them all, 
 according to their own desire, to return and reside in the 
 town of Kyouk-Ghee. Moungbwa, riding in a cart and 
 commonly dressed, was not recognised, and escaped in the 
 crowd. A Company of the 5th Madras Native Infantry, 
 under Captain James, was sent out to escort the families 
 to the town, which was safely effected by the evening. 
 Five elephants and twenty-five ponies were captured on 
 this occasion. 
 
 The force marched again the following morning, the 
 18thj and on the 21st instant, by a march of 18^ miles, 
 was able to reach the Sitang river, at Thandobin. On 
 
510 APPENDIX. 
 
 the opposite bank of the river, attended by a party of 
 30 men armed with muskets, a mounted Officer was 
 seen, who hailed the first of our advance who entered 
 the bed of the river, asking what we wanted; saying 
 we were both great Nations and ought not to be at 
 war ! He was informed, in reply, that if he had any 
 communication to make he might come across the river. 
 He declined this proposal very peremptorily, and shortly 
 afterwards the whole party disappeared. I have since 
 learned that he is named Mounglay, an Officer of some 
 rank, and that he returned direct to this city. The 
 river, about four feet deep at the ford, with a rapid cur- 
 rent, was passed yesterday, commencing at daylight. The 
 guns were all over, the troops crossing on the elephants, 
 and the line of march formed on the right bank in 
 order for the advance, by 7 o'clock A. m. "We were met 
 not far from the river by two of the chief Officers of this 
 city, attended by a great number of the inhabitants, 
 with ofierings of fruits, and expressing in many ways, 
 besides the open avowal in words, their extreme joy at 
 our arrival. Thus accompanied, the troops at 10 a.m. 
 entered this extraordinary city. It is a large square 
 enclosure, surrounded by a high brick wall, with solid 
 rampart, and outside by a broad wet ditch. Each face is 
 considerably upwards of a mile in length. The town 
 occupies but a small portion of this enclosure; temples, 
 kyooms or monasteries, groves of lofty trees, and exten- 
 sive fruit gardens, are interspersed among large open 
 spaces, in one of which the force is now encamped. There 
 is also a large natural tank. In the arsenal the guns and 
 ammunition were found, of which a return is enclosed. 
 The wall is of very ancient date, and the place is unten- 
 
APPENDIX. 511 
 
 able as a fortification, independently of its vast size, from 
 the extensive dilapidation of the wall in many places, and 
 the weak points offered by the exposed position of all the 
 ■wooden gates. The latter have been newly put up within 
 the last three months, and attempts recently made to repair 
 the fallen wall. 
 
 The information given on my arrival here was, that 
 Moungbwa and other Chiefs were probably still within 
 reach of a forced march, as they had only commenced their 
 retreat by the high road to Ava on the report brought 
 by Mounglay, at noon the previous day, of our being then 
 within 9 miles of them. I was therefore induced to permit 
 the Detachment of Ramghur Irregular Cavalry, under Lieu- 
 tenant Lambert, to proceed on their track, accompanied as 
 volunteers by Captain Fanshawe, Deputy Assistant Adju- 
 tant-General, Captain Clogstoun, and Lieutenant Maxwell, 
 Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General, and by my Aide- 
 de-Camp, Captain Travers. A very energetic pursuit was 
 undertaken and continued for more than 20 miles. It 
 was given up on finding that the flying Chiefs were then 
 nearly 10 miles in advance, and the horses unfit for fur- 
 ther rapid movement. They returned to camp at 10 p.m. 
 I may therefore venture to state that that part of the 
 Proclamation promulgated on the 20th of December last, 
 which asserted that " such Burman troops as still may 
 remain within the Province shall be driven out," had been 
 executed to the very letter by the 22d instant, as on that 
 day the last of the broken forces of the Burman army 
 was driven beyond the utmost limit contemplated. The 
 establishment of Civil Government will immediately fol- 
 low, — the Commissioner appointed to these Provinces hav- 
 ing been expected at Shoe-Gyne by the 20th instant. 
 
512 APPENDIX. 
 
 The instructions which I received on being honoured 
 with the command of the force, to advance from Martaban, 
 having been fully carried out, I trust I may be permitted 
 to bring to the favourable notice of the Most Noble the 
 Governor-General of India in Council the exemplary con- 
 duct of the troops employed on that service. Passing 
 through a country never before traversed by a disciplined 
 array, by a difficult route imperfectly known, and obliged 
 in all difficulties to depend upon their own resources, I 
 hope that the successful occupation of the country thus 
 far will be considered creditable to the Army of the East 
 India Company. 
 
 The enemy, by uniformly retreating before the force, 
 has given it no opportunity of gaining those honours 
 which are only won by brilliant deeds of arms, and every 
 soldier so ardently covets ; but the perfect state of discip- 
 line evinced by the whole of the troops, their kind treat- 
 ment of the people, which inspired perfect confidence 
 wherever they advanced, their forbearance from all 
 excesses, and their high military bearing on all occasions, 
 may well be taken as proof that the opportunity alone 
 was wanting to add to the fame of their former fields. 
 The victory which they have achieved is that difficult one 
 of self-control, and to them is due the success of the 
 campaign. 
 
 The Officers in command and on the Staff have, by their 
 zealous co-operation, rendered my share of the service 
 performed comparatively easy ; the efficiency of the small 
 park of Madras Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Anstruther, C . B ,, has always been conspicuous. 
 Lieutenant A. Fraser of the Bengal Engineers, Assistant 
 Field Engineer, has been indefatigable in his exertions 
 
APPENDIX. 513 
 
 both in the higher professional duties of an Engineer 
 and at the head of the Company of Madras Sappers and 
 Miners, who have maintained their well-earned name in 
 overcoming the many difficulties of the route of march. 
 To Lieutenant-Colonel Poole, 5th Regiment of Madras 
 Native Infantry, commanding the line of Infantry; Major 
 Gerrard, commanding the 1st Bengal Fusiliers; Captain 
 Geils, commanding the detachment 1st Madras Fusiliers; 
 Major Shubrick, commanding the 5th Madras Native 
 Infantry ; Major Welchman, commanding the 10th Bengal 
 Native Infantry; Major Forster, commanding the details 
 from Martaban; and to Lieutenant Lambert, commanding 
 the detachment of Ramghur Irregular Cavalry; to each and 
 all of them I am indebted for their ready and untiring aid 
 on all emergencies. Of the European troops it is impos- 
 sible to speak too highly. 
 
 The Sepoys of all the regiments of Infantry have cheer- 
 fully turned out, whenever required to assist in working- 
 parties, on all occasions of difficulty, each vieing with the 
 other to forward the service. In the departments of the 
 Assistant Adjutant-General under Major Neill, and of the 
 Assistant Quartermaster-General under Captain Dallas, 
 the duties have always been zealously and efficiently per- 
 formed ; Major Bayly, Deputy Judge Advocate-General, 
 from the general good conduct of the force, has happily had 
 but little to do in his own department, and I am indebted 
 to him for willing assistance on all occasions. From my 
 personal Staff, — Captain Travers, Aide-de-Camp, I have 
 ever received the most active service ; Captain Dallas, as 
 extra Aide-de-Camp, has given to me all the time not 
 taken up by his own department ; Captain Hamilton, 
 Deputy Baggage- Master, has performed the laborious 
 
 K 2 
 
514 APPENDIX. 
 
 duties of that office with exemplary zeal and patience. 
 StafF-Surgeon Davidson has given unremitting attention to 
 the care and comfort of those requiring the assistance of 
 the Medical Department. To the most efficient arrange- 
 ments of the Commissariat Department, made under the 
 orders of Major Budd, Deputy Commissary-General at 
 Rangoon, and at Moulmein by Acting Head-Overseer 
 Norris, the force is entirely indebted for having been 
 enabled to continue its progress unchecked by Tvant of 
 supplies. I am very grateful to ]\Iajor Hill, commanding 
 at Pegu, for his ready assistance in passing on the convoys 
 from Rangoon. Lieutenant Brander, Sub-Assistant Com- 
 missary-General in the Bengal Commissariat, and Lieu- 
 tenant Chapman of the Madras Commissariat, have exerted 
 themselves in every way during the march of the Column, 
 and the result has been that the troops have been as 
 well provisioned as if in garrison. I would apologise 
 for this long detail, but I feel that when the State has 
 been served so ably it becomes the duty of him who has 
 to report the result to bring prominently forward the 
 names of those who had the good fortune to be employed 
 during the service. 
 
 Memorandum of Guns and Jingals taken at and 
 near Kyouk-Ghee. 
 
 Description of Guns, Jingals, &c. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Bemabks. 
 
 3|-Pounder Iron Guns, ... 
 
 Brass Jingals, 
 
 Iron Jingals, 
 
 9 
 2 
 9 
 
 
 (Signed) P. Anstruther, Cap*, and B'. Lt.-Colonel, 
 Commanding Artillery. 
 Camp, Kyouk-Ghee, 17th February 1853. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 515 
 
 Memorandum of Ordnance, Ammunition, &c., taken 
 at the City of Tonghoo. 
 
 Description of Ordnance, 
 Ammunition, &c. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 6-Pounder Brass Guns, ... 
 5-Ditto ditto, 
 4i-Ditto ditto, 
 4-Ditto ditto, 
 2-Ditto ditto. 
 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 
 4 
 2 
 
 or 8,040 lbs. 
 or 600 lbs. 
 500 Flints. 
 
 Total, 
 
 11 
 
 6-Pounder Iron Guns, ... 
 
 4-Ditto ditto, 
 S^Ditto ditto, 
 
 3-Ditto ditto, 
 
 2-Ditto ditto, 
 1^-Ditto ditto, 
 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 Total, 
 
 13 
 
 Brass Jingals, 
 
 Iron Jingals, 
 
 2 
 119 
 
 Total, 
 
 121 
 
 Flint Muskets, 
 
 Baskets of Gunpowder, ... 
 
 Chatties of Bullets, 
 
 Baskets of Flints, 
 
 Baskets of Brimstone, 
 Large quantity of Iron Balls. 
 
 300 
 
 201 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 (Signed) P. Anstruther, Cap*, and B*. Lt.-Colonel, 
 Commanding Artillery. 
 
 J. G. Neill, Major, Ass*. Adjt. Geni., 
 Martaban Column. 
 
 S. W. Steel, Brigadier General, 
 
 Corns. Martaban Column. 
 
 Tonghoo Camp^ 22d February 1853. 
 
 A true Extract and Copy. 
 
 (Signed) C. Allex, 
 
 Ofifg. Secy, to the Govt, of India. 
 
olG APrENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX XIII. 
 
 THE DONNABEW DESPATCHES. 
 
 NOTIFICATION. 
 
 Fort- William, Foreign Department, 
 the 22d April 1853. 
 The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council has 
 much satisfaction in publishing, for general information, 
 Extracts from Despatches reporting the operations of 
 Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, K. C. B., against the 
 force under Myat-Toon, who had established himself near 
 to Donnabew. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council regards with the 
 highest admiration the gallantry, perseverance, and cheer- 
 ful endurance displayed by the force under the Brigadier- 
 General's command, throughout a service which was ren- 
 dered peculiarly severe not more by the formidable resist- 
 ance that was oflPered, than by the sufferings incident to 
 prolonged exposure in pestilent jungle, and at such a 
 time. 
 
 His Lordship in Council, regretting the loss that has 
 been incurred, fully appreciates the service that has been 
 done, and he requests the Major-General commanding 
 the troops in Ava to convey to Brigadier-General Sir 
 
APPENDIX. 517 
 
 John CLeape, to the Officers and Soldiers whom he has 
 specially named, and to all who were under his com- 
 mand, the approbation and cordial thanks of the Supreme 
 Government. 
 
 By Order of the Most Noble the Governor-Genei-al 
 of India in Council, 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Off?- Sec^- to the 
 Gov*' of India. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Major-General H. Godwin, C.B,, 
 Commanding the Forces in Ava, Arracan, and Tenas- 
 serim Provinces, to C. Allen, Esquire, Secretary to the 
 Government of India, Foreign Department, dated the 
 1st April 1853, No. 37. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honor to forward, for the information 
 of the Governor-General in Council, reports from Sir J. 
 Cheape, dated the 13th and 25th ultimo, detailing the pro- 
 ceedings of his force since his report of the 3d ultimo, 
 forwarded in my Despatch, No. 36, of the 15th instant. 
 
 The Governor-General in Council will see and appre- 
 ciate this most arduous service, protracted as it has been 
 from time to time by the difficult nature of the country, 
 added to which unwilling, if not false guides, leading him 
 in wrong directions. 
 
 The Brigadier-General so forcibly represents his various 
 attacks, and the gallantry of the troops on every occasion, 
 that I can add nothing more than my high sense and 
 appreciation of their admirable conduct. 
 
518 APPENDIX. 
 
 Extract of a Despatch from Brigadier-General Sir John 
 Cheape, K. C. B., Commanding Bengal Division, to the 
 Deputy Adjutant-General of the Army of Ava, Prome. 
 Dated Donnabeiv, March 25, 1853. 
 
 While at Kyomtano I ascertained the jungle to the 
 westward to be quite impenetrable, and that there were 
 only two routes to Kyoukazeen, one to the southward 
 via Gyet-thoun-zeen, and the other to the northward by 
 Ngyoung-youn ; the distance by these routes was said to 
 be about equal, and the same opposition and obstacles 
 were to be expected by either. I resolved to follow the 
 latter route. 
 
 It was desirable to give the enemy as little time as 
 possible for preparation, and on the evening of the 17th 
 instant, at 2 p. M., I sent on the right wing under Major 
 Wigston, 18th R. I., consisting of H. M.'s 18th R. I. Regi- 
 ment, H. M.'s 80th Regiment, and the 4th Sikh Local Regi- 
 ment, with a detail of Sappers, and some rockets, to take 
 post at a breastwork about three miles in advance, in the 
 middle of the forest, and on the verge of a large lake. 
 It was of importance to clear the road so far, to enable the 
 force to march early next morning without waiting for the 
 fog to clear off. 
 
 Major Wigston found the road clear to within about a 
 mile of the breastwork ; he had then to cut his way 
 through many obstructions, and to open the road round 
 felled trees, and to clear away abattis. On reaching the 
 breastwork he found it occupied, and it was most gallantly 
 carried by the 18th R. I. who were leading, and by the 
 4th Sikh Local Regiment in support. Sevei"al jingals and 
 arms of different sorts were captured. Major Armstrong, 
 
APPENDIX. 519 
 
 4tli Sikh Local Regiment, on this occasion personally dis- 
 tinguished himself; and I beg to send a copy of Major 
 Wigston's letter, of date the 20th instant, reporting most 
 favourably of the conduct of the troops. A prisoner was 
 taken upon this occasion, who was of some use in our 
 furtlier advance in describing and pointing out the enemy's 
 position. 
 
 Major Wigston bivouacked here for the night, and was 
 undisturbed; and early the next morning, the 18th instant, 
 I moved on with the force from Kyomtano, carrying seven 
 days' provisions. We passed Major Wigston's party, 
 and moved with our left wing, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Sturt, consisting of H. M.'s 51st K. 0. L. I. and the 67th 
 B. N. L in front, followed by the guns and Irregular 
 Cavalry, and leaving the right wing to bring up the rear, 
 and to furnish the rear-guard. 
 
 As the road was greatly obstructed, and the progress 
 slow, I took the opportunity to send back to Kyomtano, 
 with some Irregulars, the sick and wounded of Major 
 Wigston's party; the escort rejoined us again with the 
 empty doolies. 
 
 After going about two miles through forest, and passing 
 breastworks, from which only an occasional shot was 
 fired, our guides instead of going further by the road we 
 had traversed on the 11th instant, turned sharp oft" to the 
 left; along this path the obstructions and felled trees con- 
 tinued for about a mile, and the road was so rough that 
 one of the ammunition waggons was overturned and the 
 pole broken ; it was necessary to leave it, and the ammu- 
 nition boxes were packed on spare hackeries. 
 
 We arrived at noon at a piece of water on our right, 
 where I halted for an hour to refresh the men, and at one 
 
520 APPENDIX, 
 
 P.M. we moved on; the obstructions were very great, and 
 it occupied about two hours getting a mile further; there 
 was some firing also, and the enemy were reported to be 
 in a position close at hand. 
 
 We at last had a very sharp fire opened on us from the 
 left. A fire had been lighted in that quarter to obscure 
 the vision, and the whole place was obstructed and en- 
 tangled with abattis in front and along the left; part ot 
 the 67th N. I., with the Rifles, engaged the enemy to the 
 left, and we managed to clear the path to the front so as 
 to advance the 51st K. 0. L. I., and to bring the guns and 
 rockets to bear upon the enemy, whose position however 
 was so covered and hidden that we could only judge of it 
 from the direction of the fire on our troops. 
 
 The road or path was at length sufficiently cleared, and 
 the charge was ordered ; the breastwork was most gallantly 
 carried by H. M.'s 51st K. 0. L. I. and the 67th N.I.,— 
 Captain Singleton, 51st Regiment, leading the advance. 
 Ensign Boileau, of the 67th N. I., was I regret to say killed 
 while gallantly attacking the enemy on our left flank. 
 
 The enemy's loss I was unable to ascertain, but his force 
 here consisted of 1,000 men, with one gun, which was 
 carried off", and Myat-Toon was present in person. This I 
 learned from a prisoner who was taken. 
 
 We lost no time in following up the enemy, but after 
 proceeding along an open road for about a mile, I thought 
 it advisable, it being nearly 5 p.m., to halt at a piece of 
 water, Ngyoung-Kymug, said to be distant about three 
 miles from Kyomtano, but with a heavy jungle intervening, 
 in which the enemy were reported to be in force. 
 
 At 8 P.M. I fired, at the request of Captain Smith, 
 Deputy Commissioner, three signal rockets, for the infer- 
 
APPENDIX. 521 
 
 inatiou of Captain Fytche, who had promised to co-operate 
 to the westward and northward of Kyoukazeeu ; they were 
 replied to by guns, and during the night, on the report 
 that the enemy were felling trees close in our front, a few 
 shot and shells were fired at them, with good effect I be- 
 lieve. 
 
 On the morning of the 19th instant, at 7 a.m., we moved 
 on, the right wing leading, and the left wing in rear of 
 the Artillery. H. M.'s 80th Regiment formed the advance 
 guard, and was followed by the Sappers clearing the road; 
 the enemy's position was described as being at Ngyoung- 
 Goun-lya, the head of the piece of water on our right, 
 and along the edge of which, or very near it, the road lay. 
 I expected to find the enemy posted on the opposite bank, 
 and that we should have to come under a flanking fire be- 
 fore being able to reach his right and turn the position 
 where the nullah is dry; it did not seem reasonable to 
 expect that his left flank would be found unprotected, and 
 I therefore did not think it worth while to pass a party 
 across the water to try that flank; it would have been 
 useless, as I afterwards found that an extensive and im- 
 passable marsh, though invisible from our side, covered his 
 left flank; the forest was so dense on our left that to cut 
 a new road direct from the nullah, entirely round the 
 enemy's right, would have been very laborious, and would 
 have occupied a very long time, and the sickness amongst 
 our troops had become so alarming that great danger 
 would have accrued from the delay. I was withal un- 
 willing to diverge from the path our guides led us, there 
 had been already so much uncertainty and difficulty about 
 finding the road that it seemed the safest plan to get at 
 the enemy as speedily as we could, and I trusted to a rapid 
 
522 APPENDIX. 
 
 advance, supported by our guns and rockets, and relied on 
 carrying the enemy's breastwork on the right, the moment 
 we should reach it 
 
 The Chief I am sorry to say escaped, but I lost no time 
 in sending on Major Cotton of the 67th N.I., with 100 men 
 of his own regiment, and 100 of the 51st K. 0. L. I. under 
 Captain Irby, to Kyomtano, about two miles distant. Here 
 they found Captain Fytche on the opposite bank of the 
 nullah. 
 
 Myat-Toon's force being broken up and dispersed, it 
 remained for Captain Fytche and Captain Smith, the 
 Deputy Commissioners, to take measures for his pursuit 
 and apprehension. Parties of Captain Fytche's Karens 
 were immediately detached for the purpose; the report 
 brought in stated that he was moving about with merely 
 a few followers, in different quarters, — and a number of his 
 principal followers surrendered themselves. 
 
 The inhabitants, of whom there was a very large number, 
 probably from 10,000 to 20,000, had concealed themselves 
 in the jungle, but began to come in on the 20th, and, under 
 directions from Captain Fytche, commenced to move off 
 with such property as they had, in boats, of which there 
 were an immense number in the creek or nullah. 
 
 He had given them notice of his intention to burn the 
 place down immediately on our leaving it. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th Captain Tarleton, R. N., 
 to whom I had forwarded intimation on the previous day 
 of our having forced Myat-Toon's position, arrived at 
 Kyoukazeen with several boats. He had been long 
 lying at the mouth of the creek with steamers aud 
 gun-boats to cut off Myat-Toon's retreat in that direc- 
 tion. 
 
APPENDIX. 523 
 
 His co-operation was now most valuable, and the 
 exertions of his Officers and men must have been very 
 great in cutting through felled trees thrown across a 
 narrow nullah, and in removing stakes and obstructions 
 of every description, impeding the passage along a distance 
 of 15 miles. 
 
 Ditficulties and impediments seemed to vanish before 
 him and his boats' crews, and by one p.m. of the 21st, we 
 had a sufficient number of the boats found in the nullah 
 prepared for the conveyance of our sick and wounded 
 men and of our Artillery. The whole started off, — were 
 shipped on board the steamer on the following morning, — 
 and carried up to Donnabew the same day; every bad 
 case of the sick and wounded being transhipped to the 
 Phlegethon on passing Yandoon, which vessel was dis- 
 patched to Rangoon. Such dispatch, under no ordinary 
 difficulties^ seems to me well worthy of being recorded. 
 
 We reached Kyomtano on the night of the 22d, and 
 Akyo on the following day, and on the evening of the 
 24th the whole force, with baggage and stores, had 
 arrived at Donnabew. 
 
 I grieve to say the sickness was very great from 
 cholera, in particular at Kyomtano. A return is appended 
 of the loss we have sustained from sickness, as well as in 
 engagements with the enemy. 
 
 A return of the captured ordnance is also forwarded. 
 The guns and rocket-tube belonging to the steamers have 
 been made over to Captain Tarleton. 
 
 I propose to embark immediately with the whole of 
 the troops, and return to Prome. Such of the men as 
 cannot be conveyed in the steamers will proceed in 
 country boats. 
 
524 APPENDIX. 
 
 I trust the manner in which the service has been per- 
 formed will be approved of by the Maj or- General ; — 
 Mjat-Toon's force has been dispersed and scattered; his 
 guns taken, and his stronghold and villages containing 
 his supplies and resources burnt down, and the popu- 
 lation removed ; he himself is a fugitive and an outlaw ; 
 and although he will probably be joined by some of 
 the worst and most desperate characters amongst his 
 former followers, he will never be able to regain his 
 former importance and power, and will no doubt ere 
 long be captured by the exertions and vigilance of the 
 civil authorities. 
 
 On the conclusion of this service it is my duty to bring 
 to the notice of the Major-General the excellent conduct 
 of the troops. 
 
 Major Reid, and the Officers and men of the Artillery, 
 have rendered the most efficient service during the whole 
 of the operations, and the brave and gallant manner in 
 which the guns were brought forward and worked on 
 the 19th instant will I trust receive the especial notice 
 of the Major-General. 
 
 To Lieutenant Magrath, who was slightly wounded, 
 and Lieutenants Ashe and Dobbin, my acknowledg- 
 ments are due for their gallant conduct, and also to Mr 
 Conductor Lesby, who was always in advance with the 
 rockets, which he fired on every occasion with such pre- 
 cision and effect as to be of essential service to us ; he 
 was I am grieved to say very severely wounded after 
 firing almost his last rocket on the 19th instant; he 
 may I trust recover, and I would recommend him most 
 strongly to the Major-General's notice and the favour of 
 Government. 
 
APPENDIX. 525 
 
 To Lieutenant Mullins, and the detachment of Madras 
 Sappers and Miners, the greatest praise is due ; the work 
 executed by the men was most laborious, and the zeal 
 and talent with which their energies were directed by 
 Lieutenant Mullins, are most creditable to him. He was 
 ably seconded by Lieutenant Trevor, and I am mainly 
 indebted to these Officers and the men under them, for 
 enabling the troops to react the enemy's position. 
 
 To Lieutenant - Colonel Sturt, Commanding the left 
 wing of the force, and to Major Wigston, Commanding 
 the right wing, my best acknowledgments are due, for the 
 aid I have received from them, and for the gallant manner 
 in which they brought their troops into action. 
 
 I beg to bring to the Major-General's notice Major 
 Holdieh, H. M's 80th Regiment, Major Cotton, 67th N.J., 
 Major Armstrong, 5th Sikh Local Regiment ; Captain 
 Irby, H. M's. 51st K. 0. L. I., and Captain Armstrong of 
 of H. M's. 18th R. I. Regiment, and the Officers and men 
 of the detachments under their respective Commands; 
 the whole of them behaved with great gallantry, and are 
 entitled to my best acknowledgments. 
 
 My best thanks are due to Captain Bruce, Deputy 
 Assistant Adjutant-General, for the able manner in which 
 he has performed his duties, and for the assistance he has 
 afforded me on every occasion. 
 
 To Captain Garden, Deputy Assistant Quartermaster- 
 General, I have to tender my best acknowledgments for 
 the very efficient aid I have received from him in his 
 department, the duties of which have been very arduous. 
 
 I would bring to the notice of the Major-General 
 Lieutenant Pilmer, H. M's. 51st K. 0. L. I., Brigade 
 Quartermaster, 1st Madras Brigade, who, by permission, 
 
.526 APPENDIX. 
 
 accompanied this expeditiou. He has rendered the most 
 essential service to the force in carrying orders and in 
 seeing them executed in many cases of emergency, and 
 has undergone great fatigue and shown much zeal fon the 
 Service. He is a most able Staff-Officer, and I would 
 recommend him strongly to the Major-General's notice. 
 
 Lieutenant Thompson, my Aide-de-Camp, has been of 
 the greatest service to me, and has shown great intelli- 
 gence as well as displayed great gallantry, and I would 
 recommend him strongly to the notice and favour of the 
 Major-General. 
 
 To Surgeon Andrews, 67th N. I., and the Medical 
 Department, I have to return my best thanks for the per- 
 formance of their very arduous duties in the care of the 
 sick and wounded ; and to Assistant-Surgeon Murphy, 
 Staff-Surgeon to the Division, in particular my special 
 thanks are due ; he was the senior Medical Officer until the 
 arrival of the reinforcements from Kangoon, and all the 
 arrangements made by him have been most perfect. On 
 the 19th instant the wounded men were attended to by 
 him under a very heavy fire, and though wounded (I am 
 happy to say very slightly), it did not deter him a moment 
 from the zealous discharge of his duties ; he has per- 
 formed them throughout in the most unwearied and able 
 manner, accompanying the men in the boats to the 
 steamers, and seeing them carefully attended to and dis- 
 posed of. I consider the force fortunate indeed in having 
 a Medical Officer of his talent and character in such try- 
 ing circumstances, and I feel assured the Major-General 
 will accord his approbation of the services of this Officer. 
 
 The deficiency in the Commissariat Department was 
 supplied from Kangoon, Lieutenant Mackellar being sent 
 
APPENDIX. 527 
 
 from thence. The duties have been most ably and 
 creditably performed by this Officer ; and the force, ever 
 since his arrival, has been most regularly and amply 
 supplied with provisions, although under circumstances of 
 great difficulty from want of transport. His very efficient 
 subordinate, Mr Conductor Horton, I am grieved to say, 
 died on the march from Kyomtano on the 8th instant, of 
 cholera, brought on I fear by over exertion and fatigue in 
 the discharge of his duties. He was a most energetic 
 Officer, and is a loss to the Service. 
 
 Captain Smith, the Deputy Commissioner, has accom- 
 panied the force throughout this service, and has been 
 most zealous in obtaining for us every aid the country 
 could supply. 
 
 The co-operation of the Naval force has been most 
 effective, and has conduced greatly to the success of the 
 expedition; and I feel deeply indebted to Commodore 
 Lambert, and to Captain Tarleton and his Officers and 
 men, for the aid and assistance they have so promptly 
 given us on every opportunity or occasion of difficulty. 
 
 Return of Killed and Wounded of the Expeditionary 
 Force, from 27th February to 19th March 1853. 
 
 Killed. 
 
 Bengal Artillery. — 1 lascar and 1 horse. 
 
 H. M.'s 18 th Royal Irish.— 9 rank and file. 
 
 H. M.'s 51st Light Infantry. — 1 European Officer and 
 1 sergeant. 
 
 H. M.'s 80th Regiment of Foot.— 1 rank and file. 
 
 67th Regiment N.I. — 1 European Officer and 1 rank 
 and file. 
 
o28 APPENDIX. 
 
 4th Regiment Sikh Infantry — 1 Native Officer, 2 ser- 
 geants, and 4 rank and file. 
 
 Wounded. 
 Bengal Artillery. — 2 European Officers, 1 Warrant 
 Officer, 3 rank and file, 2 lascars, and 2 horses. 
 
 Madras Sappers and Miners. — 1 European Officer and 
 1 rank and file. 
 
 H. M.'s 18th Royal Irish. — 3 European Officers, 1 ser- 
 geant, and 31 rank and file. 
 
 H. M.'s .51st Light Infantry. — 15 rank and file. 
 H. M.'s 80th Regiment of Foot. — 3 European Officers, 
 4 sergeants, and 9 rank and file. 
 
 67 th Regiment N. I. — 1 European Officer and 8 rank 
 and file. 
 
 4th Regiment Sikh Infantry. — 2 European Officers, 
 1 Native Officer, 2 sergeants, 1 trumpeter, and 17 rank 
 and file. 
 
 Total Killed. 
 2 European Officers; 1 Native Officer; 18 Warrant and 
 Non-commissioned Officers, rank and file; 1 lascar, 
 and 1 horse. — 22. 
 
 Total Wounded. 
 12 European Officers; 1 Native Officer; 93 Warrant and 
 Non-commissioned Officers, rank and file; 2 lascars, 
 and 2 horses. — 108. 
 
 Grand Total of killed and wounded. — 130. 
 
 (Signed) J. Cheape, Brigadier-General, 
 
 Commanding Bengal Division, Army of Burmah. 
 (Signed) M. Bruce, Captain, 
 Deputy Assist. Adjutant-General, Bengal Division, 
 
 Army of Burmah. 
 
APPENDIX. 529 
 
 Names of Officers Killed and Wounded. 
 
 Killed. 
 9th M. N. L— Lieutenant Taylor. 
 67th B. N, I. — Ensign Boileau. 
 
 Wounded. 
 
 Bengal Artillery. — Major Keid, severely. 
 
 Madras Artillery. — Lieutenant Magrath, slightly. 
 
 Bengal Engineers. — Lieutenant Trevor, slightly. 
 
 H, M.'s 18th R. I. — Major Wigston, severely; Lieu- 
 tenant Cockburn, mortally ; Lieutenant Woodwright, 
 slightly. 
 
 H. M.'s 80th Foot. — Lieutenant Wilkinson, severely; 
 Ensign Wolsely, severely; Assistant-Surgeon Murphy, 
 slightly. 
 
 67th B. N. I. — Lieutenant Clarke, severely. 
 
 4th Sikhs. — Major Armstrong, severely; Lieutenant 
 Rawlins, severely. 
 
 (True extracts.) 
 
 (Signed) C. Allen, Oflfe. Secy, to the 
 Gov*, of India. 
 
 L 2 
 
530 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX XIV. 
 
 THE LATE DUKE OF WELLINGTON ON THE SECOND 
 BURMESE WAR. 
 
 Everything from the pen of the late illustrious Duke of 
 Wellington is of interest to the British Nation. The 
 indefatigable Earl of Ellenborough had asked the Govern- 
 ment for the production of a Despatch written twenty- 
 eight years ago, which embodied the Duke's opinion 
 regarding the First Burmese War. His Lordship, it is 
 ■well known, had evinced a decided hostility to the cause 
 and prosecution of the present war. The result of his 
 demand was an answer from Lord Aberdeen, and a justifi- 
 cation from Lord Derby. The latter was supported by 
 the opinion of the Duke on the present war, which, " as 
 one of the last public productions of His Grace, is worthy 
 of perusal and record," — and which, notwithstanding the 
 length of this Appendix, the Author feels the necessity of 
 inserting as a concluding ornament to his Narrative. 
 
 Earl Derby said — " I am sure your Lordships will not 
 think I am trespassing on your patience if I read to the 
 House this memorandum by the noble and gallant Duke, 
 and which only his death has prevented us receiving from 
 his own mouth : — 
 
APPENDIX. 531 
 
 " ' It appears to me,' he says, ' that the war could not be 
 averted; that the operations fixed upon were judicious; 
 have been ably carried into execution, and with great 
 gallantry, by the Officers and troops; and that a com- 
 mencement has been made to require from, and enable 
 the Government to consider of the means to be adopted 
 for the restoration of peace, and the terms on which peace 
 should be restored. I concur with the Governor-General 
 in thinking it will be absolutely necessary to retain pos- 
 session of all that has fallen into the hands of the British 
 troops — that is, Rangoon, Martaban, and even Bassein, 
 Pegu, and the whole Province so-called. My opinion is 
 that it will be necessary to continue the preparations for 
 carrying on the operations of the war till the Sovereign of 
 Ava shall be convinced of the necessity of signing a treaty, 
 by the provisions of which all these dominions will be 
 ceded to the British Government, or till the State of Ava 
 shall be destroyed. A mere Military possession of these 
 districts would be but an inglorious and little secure 
 result of these successful operations. I confess that I am 
 inclined to expect that the means adopted to cut ofi" from 
 Ava the supplies of corn usually received by imports 
 from sea, will have the effect of producing efforts to ob- 
 tain peace by negotiation ; but if not, the British Govern- 
 ment ought to be in a state of Military preparation to 
 advance upon Ava, — to enforce the abandonment of the 
 capital, and even of Ameerapoora. It may be relied upon 
 that the natives of the East are not better prepared than 
 we are to abandon their dwellings in the winter, and to 
 live in the jungles and mountains. The Government 
 suspected of intending to take such a course would be 
 abandoned by all its followers. At all events, the Mill- 
 
532 APPENDIX. 
 
 tary possession and tenure of provinces and possessions 
 upon the sea coast would be considered in a very diflfer- 
 ent light, the Government of Ava being there seated in 
 strength, as under existing circumstances ; or being 
 driven out and weakened towards Ameerapoora, or farther 
 on in the mountains, as is supposed in the printed papers. 
 I conceive therefore that it will be necessary to assemble 
 the large force proposed, even though it should be deter- 
 mined to insist upon the cession of aU the maritime pos- 
 sessions of the State of Ava. These must be ceded by 
 the stipulations of a Treaty of Peace, or the State must be 
 destroyed. If, after all, the Sovereign should treat for 
 peace in order to save his State, he must be made to 
 pay the expenses of the war. The necessity for pro- 
 viding specially for the security of the people of Pegu, 
 discussed in the Minutes of the Members of the Council, 
 appears to me to be disposed of; but it may be relied 
 upon that the point will have much effect in both Houses 
 of Parliament. It appears to me that the people of Pegu 
 have already, by their conduct, acquired the right to 
 claim protection by stipulation of treaty, if the Province 
 should be restored to the Government of Ava, however 
 objectionable all such provisions of treaties, as leading to, 
 and rendering necessary, interference in the internal affairs 
 of a Foreign Nation. The demand of the cession would 
 certainly be preferable to restoration, with a stipulation of 
 amnesty to the people of Pegu, of which it would be 
 necessary for the British Government to enforce the exe- 
 cution.' " — March 5, 1853. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 533 
 
 POSTSCEIPT. 
 
 THE AUTHOR S TRIBUTE TO THE DEPARTED GENERAL. 
 
 Tonghoo, Pegu Pi'ovince, 
 December 5, 1853. 
 
 There are few, if any, members of the British Army 
 in Burmah who will not receive with deep regret 
 the intelligence that General Godwin is dead ! * It 
 seems dilBicult even to believe the melancholy fact 
 that our late gallant Commander is no more ; that 
 the energetic spirit — so popular among the European 
 and Native soldiery — so courteous to all who knew 
 him — so cool in the presence of danger — the man 
 who stuck fast by the path of obedience and duty 
 amidst the severest storm of calumny that ever fell 
 upon the head of a General — yes, it is difficult to 
 believe that Godwin has passed away ! At the 
 Kangoon dinner, on the eve of his departure from 
 
 * He died at Simlah on the 26th of October. The Com- 
 mander-in-Chief deplored his loss in an excellent General Order 
 to the Army, — the loss of an ardent promoter of its interests. 
 
534 THE author's tribute 
 
 this country, he alluded to his " duty in obeying 
 orders and acting up to his instructions ; " also, 
 with reference to the decorations which he proud- 
 ly wore, he said, " Gentlemen, these honours mark 
 my slight services to my Country." About to re- 
 ceive from his Sovereign, after his hard work was 
 done, new marks of favour for highly successful 
 though not popular services in Eastern Asia — alas ! 
 the blow is struck — the silver cord is severed — the 
 soldier's hope on earth exists no more ! All is quiet 
 and unadorned in the grave ! It was natural to 
 picture the veteran in his native land — notwith- 
 standing all that had been said and written against 
 him — enjoying the honours which success with a 
 generous Nation ever commands, and living com- 
 paratively retired in the enjoyment of a lengthy 
 green old age, which, from his energy and activity, 
 many believed he would enjoy. But no, Providence 
 willed it otherwise. About to resume his military 
 duties, he is suddenly taken away amid the splendid 
 mountain scenery of Simlah, where the sun shines 
 peacefully over his grave, away from the land 
 which he had rescued from tyranny and oppression. 
 Little did we think that in the list of casualties 
 during the Second Burmese War we should have 
 had to enrol the name of the General, although his 
 constitution must nevertheless have been impaired 
 by unceasing fatigue and anxiety in the performance 
 of his duties. Striking events in the history of this 
 war: — The Admiral dies in harness in the middle of 
 
TO THE DEPARTED GENERAL. 535 
 
 it, — the General expires at the end, as if modestly to 
 shun any addition to " the boast of heraldry, the 
 pomp of power ! "" Doubtless greater Captains have 
 recently passed away in another quarter of the 
 world, but we venture to say that none of these 
 mighty heroes of old England possessed the fine 
 spirit of a soldier in a higher degree than the late 
 Chief of the Army in Burmah. Peace be to his 
 memory ! 
 
 A Meeting was held in the Artillery Mess House, 
 Tonghoo, on the 6th December 1853, by permission 
 of Brigadier Williams, — Lieutenant- Colonel Poole, 
 5th M. N. I., in the Chair, when it was unanimously 
 resolved that a monument be erected at Rangoon to 
 the memory of the late gallant Commander of the 
 Army of Ava. Major (now Lieutenant-Colonel) 
 Hill, 1st Madras Fusiliers, and on whom the com- 
 mand of the Gwalior Contingent has recently been 
 bestowed by the Governor-General for his eminent 
 services at Pegu; Lieutenant -Colonel Anstruther, 
 C.B., of the Artillery ; and several other Officers of 
 the Garrison were present, all of whom took an 
 active part in the proceedings — an example which 
 we trust will be followed by every station in the 
 Pegu Province. 
 
EDINBURGH : PRINTED BY JAMES WILKIE. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 THE SECOND BUEMESE WAK: 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF THE OPERATIONS AT 
 RANGOON IN 1852, 
 
 With Illmtrations, — Price 1 Os. Qd., Cloth. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 1. Introductory Sketch. 
 
 2. The Burmese provoke a Second 
 
 War. 
 
 3. Sa3rings and Doings at Madras. 
 
 4. The Voyage to Rangoon. 
 
 5. Naval Operations before Ran- 
 
 goon and Dalla. 
 
 6. The Landing and Advance — 
 
 The White House Stockade. 
 
 7. The Grand Advance on the 
 
 Shoe-Dagoou Pagoda. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 8. Forward— Among the Temples ! 
 
 9. Lights and Shadows. 
 
 10. Gaudama. 
 
 11. Small and Great Events. 
 
 12. Capture of Bassein — Burmese 
 
 Attack on Martahan. 
 
 13. Pegu — Prome — The Grand 
 
 Question. 
 
 Supplementary Notes. 
 Appendix. 
 
 Heavy Howitzer Battery on the 
 14th April. 
 
 Sketch Map of Burmah and Adja- 
 cent Countries. 
 
 Easter Sunday on the Rangoon 
 River. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Sketch Plan of Rangoon. 
 
 Sections of the Stockade and 
 Defences round the Great 
 
 Sketch Plan of Bassein. 
 
 London : Messrs Smith, Elder, & Co., Q5, Cornhill. 
 
 N.B. — Copies in India (for Non-Subscribers) may be procured 
 on application to Messrs Bainbridge & Co., Madras; Thacker, 
 Spink, & Co., Calcutta; and Smith, Taylor, & Co., Bombay. 
 Price, Es. 6 8 As. 
 
 The Subscription for " Pegu " (the present Volume) Co.'s Rs. 8, 
 to be paid, on the delivery of the Work in India or in England, to 
 the above Agents in India. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS REGARDING 
 A NABEATIVE OF THE OPERATIONS AT RANGOON IN 1852." 
 
 " A rapid Narrative, in soldierly style, of the warlike opera- 
 tions at Rangoon." — Athenceum. 
 
 "An interesting account of the recent operations in Burmah ; 
 the details of which the Maps and Plans in the Book enable us 
 fully to understand." — New Quarterly Review. 
 
 " The Work before us is a Military Narrative, told in the 
 cheerful tone of an Officer who is proud of his profession and 
 anxious to do justice to his comrades, — there is nothing about 
 himself. It is illustrated by Plans, Views, and Sections, and is 
 calculated to remove many erroneous impressions which have 
 been produced respecting the character of the operations of the 
 Second Burmese War," — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " This Volume exhibits War in its details as seen by the 
 Subaltern, and in its larger aspects as picked up by the same 
 personage from the gossip and criticism of the Camp. . . . As 
 Mr Laurie has also a turn for History and Theology, he varies 
 actual warfare by the antiquities of the country in which he 
 serves, as well as by a description of the temples and tenets of 
 Gaudama — a variety of Buddhism, — that extraordinary faith 
 ■whose genuine doctrines exhibit a purity and tenderness of 
 morals akin to Christianity." — Spectator (London). 
 
 " The events of the current campaign are here condensed and 
 illustrated by Plans of each important scene of action. A con- 
 cise account of the Burmese Empire is furnished by the 
 author." — Globe. 
 
 " The pains which Lieutenant Laurie has taken to acquaint 
 himself with matters pertaining to Indian Mythology and Anti- 
 quities is highly creditable, and adds considerablv to the inte- 
 rest of the Work."— Atlas. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 6 
 
 " The care -with which the details of the several operations 
 are given, and the defences of the enemy are described and 
 planned, render ^Ir Laurie's book as valuable to military 
 
 readers as its incidents make it interesting to the public 
 
 When the War is happily closed we may expect from the 
 Author of Orissa the best account of the Second Burmese 
 War." — Britannia. 
 
 " The Author of this book, an Officer of the Madras Artillery, 
 is already favourably known to the public by his account of the 
 Temple of Jagannath, and we gladly welcome his re-appearajice 
 as the Historian of the Burmese War. The events are detailed 
 in a most interesting manner ; and he canvasses with judgment 
 the great interests of our Eastern Possessions in connection with 
 this conquest." — Court Journal. 
 
 " The operations of the War are detailed in a clear and con- 
 cise Narrative, rendered still more intelligible by the addition of 
 several Plans and Drawings ; and as the capture of the principal 
 Pagodas formed a prominent feature in these proceedings, the 
 Author has taken occasion to enter into a brief history of the 
 National superstitions of the Peguese, which greatly adds to the 
 interest of the Work. On behalf of the public we beg to thank 
 Lieutenant Laurie for this valuable addition to our Indian litera- 
 ture, and to express our hope that the prospect which he holds 
 out of a Second Volume, in continuation of the present, may be 
 realized." — John Bull. 
 
 " Lieutenant Laurie, before entering on his graphic Narrative 
 of the actual military operations in Burmah, sketches the course 
 of our relations with that coimtry, and explains what actually 
 were the causes of the present War. . . . Some of the pictures 
 of his Narrative are very animating — the ' story,' considered in a 
 military light, being very interesting as the materials of future 
 history. Of course the book will be read with intense interest 
 by all who have relations or friends engaged in the operations, 
 as well as by that portion of the public — the most intelligent 
 and the most educated — which watches with curiosity the de- 
 velopement of British power in India." — Sunday Times. 
 
 " We have been kindly favoured with a copy of the above 
 Work, and have derived much pleasure and instruction from its 
 perusal. The Author promises, should the volume now before 
 us be favourably received, to add another to the contribution he 
 has already made to our libraryof the Burmese Wars — the former 
 contest being very appositely noticed in the present publication 
 wherever an opportunity occurs of throwing a light upon the 
 present by a reference to the past. We hope to see a continu- 
 ation of the Work, extending at least to the Annexation of the 
 
4 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Province of Pegu by the Proclamation of the Governor-General 
 of India ; or, which would be better, to the Military pacification 
 of the newly acquired territory by the defeat of the famous 
 Burmese Chieftain, Meeah-Toon." — The East India Army Maga- 
 zine and Military Review (Calcutta.) 
 
 " After giving us a brief but comprehensive sketch of Burmah 
 and the last War — quite as much as any one cares to know 
 about the matter — Lieutenant Laurie starts on the second expe- 
 dition We scarcely know which to admire most, so 
 
 graphic are all his descriptions. The Author appears to have 
 published his book by subscription, the name of the Governor- 
 General figuring at the head of the list, but the intrinsic merits 
 of the Work are sufficient to command a sale amongst those 
 interested in the subject. For the remainder, Lieutenant Laurie 
 has promised another similar book, which we shall be very glad 
 to see." — Indian Neivs. 
 
 " ' One of his j^rincipal objects, ' his Preface tells us, * is to 
 give the reader as much information regarding Burmah, and 
 take from him as little time as possible,' and this he has accom- 
 plished. Lieutenant Laurie's pages furnish a clear and succinct 
 account of the origin and progress of the War down to a certain 
 point, and we are glad to see that he contemplates completing 
 
 his Narrative in a Second Volume The Work has some 
 
 excellent illustrations by Scientific Officers of the Force." — The 
 Spectator (Madras.) 
 
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 By Dr. J. FORBES ROYLE. 8vo. {Nearly ready.) 
 
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