Campaign of the Indus: In a Series of Letters from an Officer of the Bombay DivisionHoldsworth, T. W. E.
History
Campaign of the Indus: In a Series of Letters from an Officer of the Bombay Division
Holdsworth, T. W. E.
Afghan Wars
_July 30th_.--Sir J. Keane, with the greater part of the army, marched
this morning for Cabool; ours (the Bombay division) march to-morrow.
Although the greater part of the town was taken in the way I have
described, still a party of about 100 men, under Dost Mahomed's
standard-bearer, (a great man, of course,) held out till the next day,
when they were all taken, and soon afterwards shot. They certainly must
have been assisted by some Europeans, as their powder was made up in a
very scientific manner, and their grape was exceedingly well put
together. Young Dost cannot imagine how the gate was blown down; he
thinks, I hear, that we shot two men inside the fort from a big gun, who
opened the door for us. He was sleeping over it at the time; the
explosion must have "astonished him a few, I guess." He says some of his
father's best soldiers have fallen there; and one man in particular, a
great chief, said to be the best swordsman between Cabool and Candahar.
I have been in the fort since, and I am glad we took it in the dark, as
it is not at all a nice looking place by daylight. The rooms in the
citadel are very fine, particularly where the women were, the ceilings
of which are inlaid with gold work. All our sick and wounded are to be
left here: we only leave one officer behind, poor Young, who was shot
through the thigh very near the groin.
Reports have been very various since the fall of Ghuzni whether Dost
himself will fight or not. It seems to be generally expected that we
shall have another shindy before we get to Cabool, though a great number
of chiefs have lately come in to the Shah, among the principal of whom
is Hadjee Khan Kauker, the governor of Bamian, a man of great influence
in the country, and a great intriguer, formerly a great friend of Dost
Mahomed's. He came in to us about three hours after the place had
fallen: he had been waiting on the top of a hill to see the result, and
was prepared to join whichever side was victorious. I must tell you,
also, that on the 21st, the day we marched upon Ghuzni, another son of
Dost was waiting outside the town to attack us with about three thousand
men; but on seeing the size of our army he thought better of it, and cut
for Cabool as fast as he could; he was deserted on the way by most of
his army, and reached Cabool with scarcely a follower: his father was
exceedingly enraged, and is said to have put him in prison.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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