was evident that in personally guiding and commanding the soldiers
in these two successful attacks under difficult circumstances, I had
gained the complete confidence and liking of the corps, and that with
it I could undertake with perfect certainty of success anything that
could be accomplished by men."
While Campbell was leading the earlier charge on the two first Sikh
guns, one of the enemy's artillerymen who had already fired at him
from under a gun apparently without result, rushed forward sword in
hand and cut at the General, inflicting a deep sword-cut on his right
arm. Not until the following morning was it discovered that the Sikh
gunner's bullet had found its billet, fortunately an innocuous one.
It had smashed to atoms the ivory handle of a small pistol which
Campbell carried in a pocket of his waistcoat, and had also broken
the bow of his watch. The Sikh's aim was true, and but for the pistol
and the watch Colin Campbell would never have seen another battle.
His charger was found to be wounded by a musket-shot which had
passed through both sides of the mouth and finally had lodged and
flattened in the curb-chain.
The journal thus continues:--"After the capture of the second two
guns, and the dispersion of the enemy, we proceeded rolling up his
line, continuing along the line of the hostile position until we had
taken thirteen guns, all of them by the Sixty-First at the point
of the bayonet. We finally met Mountain's brigade coming from the
opposite direction. During our progress we were on several occasions
threatened by the enemy's cavalry on our flank and rear. The guns
were all spiked, but having no means with the force to remove them
and it being too small to admit of any portion being withdrawn for
their protection, they were, with the exception of the last three
that were taken, unavoidably left on the field."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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