Brigadier Sale’s force, on reaching Jellalabad, immediately occupied themselves in rendering its defences tenable, collecting provisions, preparing ammunition, and mounting their guns on the most advantageous positions. In availing himself of the resources of the country, and keeping up our communications, Captain MacGregor’s services were most conspicuous and successful, and perhaps to his exertions it may mainly be attributed that the “illustrious garrison” were enabled to hold out, and earn for themselves the undying honour they have gained. The exertions also of Captain Abbott, Captain Backhouse, and Lieutenant Dawes, are honourably recorded in the records of that siege, records which have been so fully published that little is left to us beyond extracting a few passages; and we shall first refer to the report of the construction of the works. “With the exception of a few of the larger bastions, all the batteries were prepared by the artillerymen themselves, both Captain Abbott’s company and Captain Backhouse’s mountain-train, under the superintendence of their own officers; besides this, a party of Captain Abbott’s artillerymen was always ready to assist in the works generally, and they were most ably superintended by Lieutenant Dawes, to whom I am indebted for aid as constant as it was valuable, and willingly given. Captain Backhouse, with his own men and detachment of the 6th infantry Shah Soojah’s force, not only prepared the parapets and embrasures for his own guns, and repaired the damages done to them by the earthquake, but he undertook and completed several of the most useful and laborious operations executed.” * * * “Captain MacGregor, political agent, gave me,” writes Brigadier Sale, “the aid of his local experience, and through his influence and measures our dâk communication with India was restored, and a great quantity of grain collected. * * * Captain Abbott made the artillery dispositions in the ablest manner, and used every exertion to add to and economize our resources, in the way of gun and musket ammunition.” “The artillery practice of No. 6 light field battery has ever been excellent, and has been equalled by that of the mountain-train. Captains Abbott and Backhouse and Lieutenant Dawes have proved themselves excellent ordnance officers.”