Sir Charles Napier was despatched to Hyderabad to compel respect to the treaty. The Amirs retaliated by attacking the Residency. Fortunately, a small vessel belonging to the Indian Marine was lying in the Indus, some few miles from the Residency, and Major (afterwards General) Sir James Outram was enabled to beat off his assailants, and to reach the steamer in safety. Napier was a man of action. Knowing that the Amirs were within a few miles of the city, he at once marched to attack them. He calculated their numbers at between 30,000 and 40,000 men, well armed with matchlock and sabres. His own force was just 2,600 men, with twelve guns. This included but one British battalion--the 22nd (Cheshires)--barely 600 men, all armed with the old flintlock Brown Bess--a weapon which, though a more rapid loader than the matchlock, was its inferior in range. The Amirs had taken up a strong position in a large wooded game-preserve, surrounded with a low mud wall. The one entrance Napier closed with a company of the 22nd, and then he assaulted the place, after he had thoroughly shaken the defenders with a searching fire from his twelve guns. The Baluchis fought well, but this happened to be one of the sepoys' fighting days, and, after three hours' hard firing, the Baluchis were driven off in confusion. Estimates vary as to their losses. Napier himself put it at 5,000 killed; others put it as low as 500. If the General's estimate was a correct one, then we must put aside the old saying that it took a ton of lead to kill a man with Brown Bess. When we consider the strength of the position held by the Baluchis and their enormous superiority in numbers, the losses incurred in gaining such a decisive victory were by no means excessive. CASUALTIES AT MEEANEE. +----------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |_Officers._| _Men._ | | _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |22nd Cheshires | 1 | 5 | 23 | 52 | |Royal Artillery | - | - | 1 | 4 | |34th Poona H. | - | - | - | - | |35th Scinde H. | - | - | - | - | |36th Jacob's H. | - | - | - | - | |3rd Q.O. Sappers | - | - | - | 3 | |9th Bengal Cavalry | 1 | 5 | 3 | 29 | |101st Grenadiers | - | - | 1 | 4 | |112th Infantry | 3 | 2 | 12 | 45 | |125th Outram's Rifles | 1 | 2 | 16 | 27 | +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ NOTE.--The 101st Grenadiers were present at Meeanee, were mentioned in Sir C. Napier's despatch and captured a Baluch standard, but they have not as yet been awarded the battle honour.