The army continued its march to Cabul without opposition. Deserted by his followers, Dost Mahomed fled, leaving his guns at Maidan a spoil to the invaders; and himself narrowly escaping from a band of officers, among whom was Lieutenant Backhouse, of the artillery, who, under Major Outram, followed him closely, but were misled by the arch traitor Haji Khan Kokur. But while the main army was thus employed, a small column, chiefly of irregulars, with Colonel Wade, escorted the Shah-Zada by the Khyber pass to his father’s capital. With this column were two howitzers, manned by a detachment of the 4th company 2nd brigade, and commanded by Lieutenant Barr: Lieutenant Maule, of the artillery, was attached to the prince’s suite. This column met with no opposition, except on first entering the Khyber pass, where they were engaged with the Afreedis at Koulsir, and again at Alee Musjid. The names of Lieutenants Barr and Maule are both mentioned in Lieutenant-Colonel Wade’s despatches on the occasion. The main army reached Cabul on the 6th August, and Colonel Wade’s column on the 3rd September. The Bombay column returned in October, and, picking up four of the Shah’s horse artillery guns, under Lieutenant Cooper, proceeded against Khelat. Reaching it on the 13th November, the troops advanced to the assault under cover of the fire from the guns, which drove the enemy from the neighbouring heights; the guns were now directed against the gates, and, these being forced, the place was soon won. In his despatch, General Wiltshire says, “To Lieutenants Forster and Cooper I feel greatly indebted for the scientific and steady manner in which the service of dislodging the enemy from the heights and afterwards effecting an entrance into the fort was performed.” The main army left Cabul for Hindustan in October, 1839; the 2nd company 6th battalion with No. 6 battery alone remained. The camel draught had proved so useless for such a country, that horses were now directed to be substituted, and so promptly was this order carried out by Captain Abbott, that within fifteen days after receiving it, half the battery was equipped, and marched against the Ghilzies, under Lieutenant Dawes, moving upwards of 400 miles ere it returned. The other half of the battery was employed in the following January in the Koh-i-daman under Captain Abbott. Pushoot held out, and the 9–pounders being placed in battery at daylight, a breach was formed on both sides of the outer gate, but an inner one existing, against which the guns could not be brought to bear, bags of powder were tried without avail, and the troops were forced to withdraw; but the enemy fled during the night. “To Captain Abbott,” Colonel Orchard wrote, “the highest praise is due, for the manner in which he has conducted the arduous duties devolving on him, as well as the great service rendered by him yesterday.”