Sale, G.C.B., commanding the advanced guard, the most zealous co-operation. The following officers have also given me every reason to be satisfied with their exertions:

Brigadier Monteath, C.B., commanding the Fourth Brigade; Brigadier Tulloch, commanding Second Brigade; and Brigadier White, commanding Cavalry Brigade; Lieutenant-Colonel Bolton, commanding Her Majesty's 31st Foot; Lieutenant-Colonel Richmond,commanding 33rd Native Infantry; and Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, K.H., commanding Her Majesty's 9th Foot; Major Skinner, Her Majesty's 31st Foot; Major Huish, commanding 26th Native Infantry; Major Delafosse, commanding Artillery; Major Crommelin, commanding 1st Light Cavalry; Major Lockwood, commanding her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons; Captain Napleton, commanding 35th 60th Native Infantry; Captain Seaton, commanding 35th Regiment Light Infantry; Captain Ferris, commanding Jezailchees; Captain Wilkinson, commanding Her Majesty's 13th Light Infantry; Captain Broadfoot, commanding Sappers; Captain Tait, commanding 3rd Irregular Cavalry; and Captain Lawrence, commanding the Sikh Contingent; Captain Abbott, Chief Engineer; CaptainAbbott, commanding Light Field Battery; Captain Alexander, commanding 3rd Troop 2nd Brigade Horse Artillery; Captain Backhouse, commanding Mountain Train; and Lieutenant Becher, commanding the Sappers and Miners. The services of Mr. Mackeson, commanding the Bildars, have always been conspicuous. Superintending-Surgeon Stiven's care in providing for the convey

ance and comfort of the wounded, has met with my approbation. From Major Thompson, at the head of the Commissariat Department, I have received every assistance; likewise from Captain Lane, Commissary of Ordnance, whose exertions have been unremitting throughout. From the following officers of my personal and the general Staff I have on this, as on every other occasion, received the most effectual aid: Captain Macgregor and Lieutenant Pollock, Aides de-Camp; Lieutenant Sir R. Shakespear, Military Secretary; Captain Ponsonby, Assistant Adjutant-General; Captain Codrington, Assistant QuarterMaster General; Captain Riddle, Paymaster; Captain Macadam, Deputy Judge-Advocate General; Lieutenant Mayne, officiating Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master General. The following officers of Division and Brigade Staff have also effectively performed their respective duties:-Captain Havelock, Deputy Assistant-Adjutant General; Brigade-Majors Havelock, Smith, Wade, Lugard, and Brevet Captain Fitzgerald, Artillery Division Staff. I must not ómit the expression of my regret for the fate of Hyder Ali, the Native Commandant of the Jezailchees, a most gallant and enterprising soldier, who was killed while attempting to seize one of the enemy's standards.

I have the honour to forward reports from Lieutenant-Colonels Richmond and Taylor, and Major Skinner, with returns of killed and wounded, and of ordnance, ammunition, and stores captured.

I have, &c.

G. POLLOCK.

Camp, Cabul, Sept. 16, 1842. Sir, I have the honour to report, for the information of his Excellency the Commander-inChief, that on the 14th instant, we marched from Khoord Cabul to Bootkhak. I took the precaution of sending parties to crown the heights of the Khoord Cabul Pass, but we met with no opposition. On the 15th I moved on to Cabul and encamped on the race course. This morning I proceeded to the Bala Hissar, with the following troops: a troop of horse artillery under Major Delafosse; a company of each regiment of infantry, un. der Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor; the 3rd Dragoons, under Major Lockwood; a troop of 1st regiment Light Cavalry; a rissallah of the 3rd Irregular Cavalry, with the whole of the General and Division Staff. The object was to plant the British colours in the Bala Hissar, on the spot most conspicuous from the city. The Prince Futteh Jung, who joined my camp at Gundamuck, expressed a wish to go with the party, to which I assented. On our arrival at the spot selected, the colours were hoisted, the band of her Majesty's 9th Foot immediately struck up the national anthem, "God save the Queen," and a royal salute was fired from

the guns of the horse artillery, the whole of the troops present giving three cheers.

I left the colours in the Bala Hissar, to be hoisted daily as long as we remain. The infantry also remain under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, but they will be relieved on the arrival of Major-General Nott by a native regiment from his force. I expect Major-General Nott will reach Cabul to-morrow or the next day. Since our arrival here we have not been able to obtain any certain information of Mahomed Akbar. It appears, however, that Ameenoollah has separated from him. Neither of them has ventured to return in the direction of Cabul.

The following prisoners have come into camp: Mrs. Trevor with eight children; Captain and Mrs. Anderson, with three children; Captain Troup, and Dr. Campbell. Unless some very unforseen circumstances occur, I expect to obtain possession of the remainder of the prisoners in the course of eight or ten days, with the exception of Captain Bygrave, who, I regret to find, has been taken by Mahomed Akbar, and was with him during the action of the 13th instant. I have, &c.

GEORGE POLLOCK.

Camp, Istalif, Sept. 30, 1842. Sir, I have the satisfaction to acquaint you, for the information of Major-General Pollock, C.B., that the troops under my command yesterday made themselves masters VOL. LXXXIV.

of the strong and populous town of Istalif, totally defeating the numerous levies collected for its defence, under the infamous Ameer Oollah Khan Loghuree, Kaojie Ameer Kotwal, Hazin Khan (an 2

assassin of Sir Alexander Burnes), Hazir Alee Khan, Khuleefa Ibrahim, and many other chiefs of Cabul and Kohistan.

The Major-General is aware that the force detailed in the margin was placed at my disposal for operations in these valleys, on the 25th. The two brigades formed a junction near Khowja Rawash on the 26th; moved to an encampment near Zimuree on the 27th, and pitched their tents within four miles of this place on the 28th. The same evening I reconnoitred the enemy's position. It is impossible to conceive ground naturally stronger. The town of Istalif, consisting of masses of houses and forts, is built on the slope of a mountain, in the rear of which are yet loftier eminences, shutting in a defile which leads to Toorkistan, and in no way can this place of abode of 15,000 people be approached but by surmounting ranges of hills separated by deep ravines, or traversing, by narrow roads, its gardens, vineyards, and orchards, fenced in with strong enclosure walls; the whole of them, with the mountain side and tops of the houses, were occupied by Jezailchees; and the strongest proof is afforded that the enemy, after this disposition, considered the place as unassailable, by their having retained within the town, the wives

and children not only of the inha bitants, but of thousands of refugees from Cabul.

The observations which I was enabled to make under a sharp jezail fire, and the report of Major Pottinger, induced me to determine to assault, the next morning, the right of the enemy's extensive position, as it was there that I could hope to bring the artillery most effectively into battery. Arrangements were made with this view. The troops were formed into two columns of attack and reserve; Brigadier Tulloch's brigade and the mountain train com. posed the right; Brigadier Stacy's and Captain Blood's battery, and the 18-pounders the left; these were supported by the third column, under Major Simmons, her Majesty's 41st, consisting of a wing of his regiment and the cavalry under Major Lockwood: Captain Christie's corps protected the bag gage.

The troops moved soon after daylight, and traversing the plain in perfect order, passed nearly from the left to the right of the enemy's position. Our light troops and guns repressed the occasional attacks of their jezailchees from the gardens, who were numerous and most audacious; but when the column arrived in front of the village Ismillah, I resolved to make a combined attack on this point; Brigadier Tulloch's brigade assailed its left, and Brigadier Stacy, making a long detour, attacked the right.

I cannot express in adequate terms my admiration of the style in which the former column, covered by skirmishers, rushed upon the gardens, filled with bold and skilful marksmen. Her Majesty's 9th Foot, the 26th Native Infantry,

and Captain Broadfoot's Sappers, vied with each other in steady courage; and their rapid unhesitating advance soon left the enemy no resource but flight. Very shortly after this assault, the three light companies of her Majesty's 41st, the 42nd and 43rd Native Infantry, covering their own column, got into action, and, on their side, stormed the village and vineyards with distinguished gallantry. The combination was steadily persevered in, and though I had few opportunities of using the artillery with effect, I had soon the gratification of seeing the enclosures, forts, heights, suburbs and town successively won by the two columns. The enemy were driven from them, and pursued with a rapidity which left no time to rally, and a singular spectacle was then presented in the escape up the mountain side of the women and children from the place, to which no interruption was offered; but, as detached parties of the beaten Affghans still occupied some very lofty heights, the mountain train ascended them by a dizzy pathway, and dispersed the fugitives by its effective fire. Our reserve was now established on the lower heights, and the whole of the place, filled with property of every description, much of it plundered from our army in 1841, was in the hands of our force; two guns, brass field pieces, were also taken, and one of them was seized with such promptitude, that its captor, Lieutenant Elmhirst, her Majesty's 9th Foot, turned its fire upon the fugitives with some effect. I directed the town to be set on fire in several places, after taking out various supplies which might be useful to our troops, and the work of demolition is still proceeding

under the direction of Major Sanders, of the Engineers. Our loss has been trifling, for the advance of our officers and men was too rapid and decisive to allow of the sharp fire of the enemy telling much upon them; and, deceived by the direction of the reconnoissance of the 28th, the Affghans had expected the attack on their left, and posted their guns and the élite of their force in that quarter.

I have now the pleasing task of expressing the amount of my obligation for their exertions in the field, to Brigadiers Tulloch and Stacy, commanding brigades and columns; to Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, K.H., her Majesty's 9th Foot; Major Huish, of the 26th Native Infantry; and Capt. Broadfoot, of the Sappers, commanding corps on the right; which bore the brunt of the action; to Major Simmons, her Majesty's 41st Foot, commanding the reserve; to Capt. Backhouse, commanding the mountain train, and Capt. Blood, commanding the battery of 9-pounders; this last was ably aided by Lieutenant Terry. I have received valuable assistance throughout our operations from Major Pottinger, C.B., and Major Sanders, Engineers; and yesterday from Capt. Mackenzie and Lieutenant Airey, her Majesty's 3rd Buffs, and Lieutenant Webb, 30th Regiment Madras Native Infantry, temporarily attached to me; and, since we marched from Cabul, as on former occasions, from my own staff, departmental and personal, viz. Capt. Havelock, Deputy-Assistant Adjutant General; Lieut. Mayne, Deputy-Assistant QuartermasterGeneral; Lieut. Pollock, Artillery, Aide-de-Camp to the Major-General, who volunteered his services with me: and Lieut. Bethune, her

Majesty's 9th Foot, my own Aidede-Camp. Regarding the lastmentioned officer, I take the opportunity of rectifying an oversight on my part; I ought specially to have reported to Major-General Pollock, Lieut. Bethune's valuable services in the recent affair at the Huft Kotul, in which I was intrusted with the command of the

main column. Brigadier Tulloch reports, in very strong terms, the good conduct on the present occasion, of Captain Smith, her Majesty's 9th Foot, his Brigade-Major. I inclose a return of the killed and wounded, and of the two guns captured.

I have, &c.

JOHN MCCASKILL

(Extract.)

Camp, Khoord, Cabul,
October 13, 1842.

I have the honor to report, for the information of his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, my arrival at Khoord Cabul, in progress to Hindostan. I left Cabul, yesterday morning, with the 1st and 2nd divisions, and the troops under Major-General Nott, for Bootkakh, having detached Major-General Sir R. Sale, with the 1st and 2nd brigades, the mountain train, 1st Light Cavalry, 3rd Irregular Cavalry, and Christie's Horse, over the Gospund Durrah Pass, for the purpose of turning that of the Khoord Cabul; in consequence of which movement we marched through the principal defile without a shot being fired. Previous to my departure from Cabul, I destroyed with gunpowder the grand bazaar of that city, called the Chahar Chuttah, built in the

reign of Arungzebe, by the cele brated Ali Murdan Khan, and which may be considered to have been the most frequented part of Cabul, and known as the grand emporium of this part of Central Asia. The remains of the late Envoy and Minister had been exposed to public insult in this bazaar, and my motive in effecting its destruction, has been to impress upon the Affghans, that their atrocious conduct towards a British functionary, has not been suffered to pass with impunity. A mosque also at one end of the bazaar, and another near the cantonment, filled with venetians, otherwise ornamented with European materials, and designated as the Feringhee Mosque, to commemorate the events of last year, has likewise been destroyed.

I have, &c.,3 G. POLLOCK.

Simla, October 4, 1842. The Governor-General, earnestly desirous of evincing the gratitude of the Government of

India towards the general offi cers, officers, and non-commissioned officers and privates engaged in the operations of the