The Romance of Modern Sieges: Describing the personal adventures, resource and daring of besiegers and beseiged in all parts of the worldGilliat, Edward
History
The Romance of Modern Sieges: Describing the personal adventures, resource and daring of besiegers and beseiged in all parts of the world
Gilliat, Edward
Adventure and adventurers; Battles; Sieges; War
Amongst the force defending the Shâh Nujeef there was a large body of
archers on the walls armed with bows and arrows, which they discharged
with great force and precision, and on Sergeant White raising his head
above the wall an arrow was shot right into his feather bonnet. Inside
the wire cage of his bonnet he had placed his forage-cap, folded up,
and instead of passing right through, the arrow stuck in the folds of
his cap. White, drawing out the arrow, cried: “My conscience! Bows and
arrows! Have we got Robin Hood and Little John back again? Well, well,
Jack Pandy, since bows and arrows are the word, here’s at you!” and
with that he raised his bonnet on the point of his bayonet above the
top of the wall, and at once another arrow pierced it through, while a
dozen more whizzed past a little wide of the mark.
[Illustration: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF WAR AT LUCKNOW
A body of archers were amongst the defenders of the Shâh Nujeef. A
Highland sergeant put his bonnet on his bayonet and held it up, and it
was at once pierced by an arrow.]
Just then Penny, of No. 2 Company, looking over the wall, got an arrow
right through his brain, the shaft projecting more than a foot at the
back of his head.
Then they all loaded and capped, and, pushing up their bonnets again,
a whole shower of arrows went past or through them. Up they sprang and
returned a well-aimed volley from their rifles at point-blank distance,
and more than half a dozen of the rebels went down. But Montgomery
exposed himself a little too long to watch the effects of the volley,
and before he could get down into shelter an arrow was sent through his
heart, passing clean through his body, and falling on the ground a few
yards behind him. He leaped about 6 feet straight up in the air and
fell stone dead.
But as yet we had made little impression on the solid masonry walls,
and one of our ammunition waggons exploded, killing several men, and
our storming party was repulsed. Just then Sergeant Paton came running
up out of breath to say he had found a wide breach on the other side.
It seems our shot and shell had gone over the first wall and had blown
out the wall on the other side. Paton had climbed up easily and seen
right inside the place. So Captain Dawson and his company were sent
with Paton, and when the enemy saw them come in behind them they fled
like sheep.
Thus ended the terrible 16th of November, 1857.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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