20,000 men, and their position had been chosen with great skill: their right rested on a village on the main road, where they had established a battery among the gardens; their left, on a rising ground, protected by three guns. Their line is said to have extended five miles, and Havelock saw the necessity of postponing his attack till the following day. His wearied troops returned to Oude, where they bivouacked on the wet ground, and spent the night without shelter amid a deluge of rain. But nothing could daunt their ardour. They rose on the morning of the 12th ready to follow their leader to victory. Our right wing, which consisted of the 78th Highlanders, the Fusiliers, the Sikhs, and part of the Volunteer Cavalry, began the attack, and steadily advanced, till their progress was arrested by a swamp, which in the distance presented the appearance of dry land. As soon as they were within range, the enemy unmasked their battery, which poured forth a deadly shower of round shot, shell, canister, grape, and shrapnel; but, fortunately, their guns were pointed too high, and our men were withdrawn without suffering much loss. The Highlanders moved on to the main road, while the Fusiliers, supported by four guns, diverged to the right. It was no time for manœuvring; an effort must at once be made to silence the enemy’s fire—the most severe we had yet encountered. A flanking fire was opened on the enemy’s line, which threw them into confusion, and at the same moment the Highlanders, now reduced to about a hundred, steadily advanced till they were within a short distance of the enemy’s guns, when they dashed forward with a shout, rushed upon the principal redoubt, and carried it at the point of the bayonet, without firing a shot. The honour of being the first to enter the redoubt was equally divided between two of their officers; and when the officers lead the way, the men will never refuse to follow. The enemy’s infantry broke and fled, and the Highlanders, seizing two of their guns, turned them against them, and drove them through the hamlets to an open plain beyond. Our loss amounted to thirty-two men, while the rebels lost upwards of three hundred; and the general having attained the object he had in view, slowly retraced his steps to Cawnpore, with the two guns he had captured. On reaching that town, the gallantry of the Highlanders in carrying the enemy’s redoubt was recognised in the order of the day; and the general promised to recommend for the Victoria Cross the officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier who had been the first to enter this work. The Highlanders had charged with such impetuosity, that Colonel Hamilton, their commanding officer, had some difficulty in ascertaining to whom the honour belonged: in such cases, it is best to leave the matter to the decision of the men themselves, and this was done in the present instance. It appeared that two young officers, Lieutenant