Jones of the 64th: A Tale of the Battles of Assaye and LaswareeBrereton, F. S. (Frederick Sadleir)
General
Jones of the 64th: A Tale of the Battles of Assaye and Laswaree
Brereton, F. S. (Frederick Sadleir)
Maratha War, 1803 -- Juvenile fiction
odds--fought perhaps as they never fought before. They drove the first
line back upon the second, stationed along the south bank of the Juah,
and, heedless of the fact that their opponents were now increased,
hurled themselves upon the doubled line, smashing it, sending it in
utter rout across the river, where later our slender cavalry came upon
the fleeing troops and completed the work. It was magnificent, if
terrible. Chaos now reigned supreme in the neighbourhood of Assaye, and
on every hand were fleeing men, cavalry and foot, stampeding horses and
camels, bellowing oxen, and the thunder of guns. For the latter had
opened again. All that had been accomplished had not been achieved in
the space of a minute. Some time had passed since our men threw
themselves upon the Mahratta main body; and as they swept on and drove
the whole of the infantry force over the Juah, the gunners on the
Mahratta side, practising a favourite trick, had thrown themselves
beneath their guns as if they were slain. Once the troops had passed on,
however, they sprang to their feet, and slewing the cannon round poured
shot and shell into the victors. It was as if the contest had begun all
over again, and the sight brought consternation for a moment to the
minds of the British. Not for long, however. Wellesley, who seemed to be
everywhere, placed himself at the head of the Ross-shire Highlanders,
while Owen and his regiment galloped up to help. Then they retraced
their steps under a murderous fire, and after a great struggle captured
the guns. It was here perhaps that they met with the fiercest
opposition, for the gunners and the infantry attached as their escort
clung to their pieces manfully, while the former showed themselves to be
skilled artillerists. However, they were swept aside, and the field was
ours. The battle of Assaye was fought and won, and once again was
British pluck and endurance successful.
When the whole tale came to be unfolded, it was hard to say which arm of
our service had behaved the best. But that each had done their duty
there could be little doubt. In any case, the cavalry came out of the
conflict with added glory, for the 19th Dragoons, finding a huge force
of Mahratta cavalry about to charge down upon the second line, composed
of the 74th and Sepoys, who had suffered very severely under the fire of
the enemy, hurled themselves headlong against the mass, turned the ranks
of the horsemen, and drove the whole force into the river with frightful
slaughter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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