escape. His body was not found till the next morning, when it was extricated from the mass of ruins in a very mangled and crushed condition. This was the last British life lost in the war,* and the sadness of the accident was accentuated by the fact that he had led the storming party on September 8th with the most dashing gallantry, and had escaped unharmed.

The last military operation in which the Engineers took part was the capture of the fort of Kinburn, on the southern spit, at the confluence of the Dnieper and the Boug, the object being to establish a blockade of those rivers. Major Bent was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer, Captain Nicholson was in command of the Company of Royal Sappers and Miners, having with him Lieutenants Gordon and Scratchley. The fort was surrendered after a naval attack, the troops having little or nothing to do with it. They were, however, landed, and advanced some twenty miles towards Cherson, destroying everything and devastating the country as they proceeded. The Sappers were employed during this time in restoring the fort after the injuries it had sustained during the action, and in making it safe from attack on the land side. was then garrisoned by a considerable French force, and held until the peace.

It

This chapter must not be concluded without a brief reference to very gallant work by an Engineer officer in the defence of Kars. This fortress was the main Turkish outpost on its eastern frontier. General Williams, R.A., undertook to conduct its defence against an overwhelming force of Russians under General Mouravieff. He was aided in this work by three British officers-LieutenantColonel Lake, of the Engineers; Major Teesdale, of the Artillery; and Captain Thompson, with whom was also Dr. H. Sandwith.

The gallantry and tenacity with which, under every difficulty and every disadvantage, the place was held, roused the admiration of Europe; and, but for the fact that it was being carried on at the same time as the more important siege of Sebastopol, it would have attracted still more notice. The earthworks, against which the Russians hurled themselves in vain, and which cost them so heavily, were the design of Lake, and to him belongs the credit of the defence as surely as that of Sebastopol was attributed to Todleben. Colonel Lake always spoke most modestly of his own share in the operation, and but once does he allude to the subject when he says:

"You will not be surprised at my feeling a little pride at my works answering so well, when I tell you that every single battery and line

* It is a curious coincidence that the first and last fatal casualties during the war were both Engineers, Lieutenant Burke and Major Ranken.

that I have constructed on the height was more or less engaged, and the injury done to them is very trifling. They were so placed as to give flanking fire in every direction, and no troops could stand it As for the Mushir, his joy was unbounded. When I came

below after the affair was over, he took me by both hands, and turning to the General" (Williams) " he said, 'I was always very fond of the Meer Ali Bey'" (meaning Colonel Lake), “but I do not know what I can say to him now.'

This was after the general assault of September 29th, 1855, of which Williams wrote as follows:

"This has been a glorious day for the Turkish arms. The Russian army attacked the heights above Kars, and on the opposite side of the river at day dawn, the battle lasted seven hours and a half, when the enemy was driven off in great disorder, leaving 2,500 dead in front of our intrenchments, and about 4,000 muskets; his numerous wounded were carried off during the fight. Let no one say in future that Turks will not fight if they are properly cared for. Colonel Lake, Major Teesdale, and Captain Thompson, behaved splendidly."

On another occasion he wrote:

"Tell Sir Hew Ross what men I have to assist me, in Lake, Teesdale, and Thompson; they certainly deserve anything they may get in future, for all this working and watching."*

The siege, or rather blockade, lasted for six months, from the beginning of June to the end of November, 1855. At the expiration of that time the garrison was starved into surrender-all the attempts to force the lines in the interim having failed with heavy loss. The five brave Englishmen (including Dr. Sandwith) were sent as prisoners into the interior of Russia, from whence they were released on the conclusion of peace. For his services at Kars Lake was made a C.B. and an aide-de-camp to the Queen, he received the second class of the Medjidie, and was appointed Officer of the Legion of Honour. He was also transferred to the British army as a Lieutenant-Colonel unattached-his health having so far broken down that he was unable to continue in the service of the East India Company.

The above extracts are taken from Lake's "Kars, and our Captivity in Russia."

CHAPTER XX.

THE INDIAN MUTINY, 1857-1859.

Mutiny at Meerut-Revolt at Delhi-Force assembled to recover the CityDescription of Delhi-Arrival of Siege Train-Erection of BatteriesDetail of Assaulting Columns-Blowing in the Kashmere Gate-Progress of the First and Second Columns-Death of Nicholson-Completion of the Capture-Engineer Losses - Defence of Lucknow - Description of the Residency-Mining and Countermining-First Relief under Outram and Havelock Second portion of the Defence-Relief by Sir C. CampbellOutram holds the Alumbagh-Return of Sir Colin-Description of Lucknow-Attack by Campbell and Outram―Capture of the City-Gallantry of Innes and Prendergast-Capture of Jhansi-Journal of proceedings of 4th and 23rd Companies of Royal Engineers.

THE mutiny of the Sepoy army of India, in 1857, led to a war in which for the first time the officers and men of the Royal Engineers fought side by side with their confrères in the East India Company's service. As the result of this war was the extinction of that great Company, and the absorption of its forces, including its Engineers, into the Imperial army, it is necessary to trace its course in this work, although the earlier portion, which in many respects is the most interesting and picturesque, took place before the Royal Engineers had time to reach India.

The siege of Delhi, and the defence of the Lucknow Residency, were both carried on by Engineers on the Indian establishment. To them alone belongs the distinction gained by those eventful operations, and it is with a feeling of legitimate and fraternal pride, that their comrades of the Royal Engineers contemplate the great deeds done by them, before they were absorbed into the Imperial corps.

The mutiny first broke out at Meerut, on Sunday, May 10th, 1857, when the Sepoys at that station, after murdering as many of their officers as they could seize, left for Delhi, which they reached on the following day. Here their arrival was the signal for the revolt of the entire native force then stationed in and near the city. Those of the European residents who could escape fled to different places of safety, but a large number were ruthlessly massacred; and here, as at Meerut, the officers of the mutinous regiments were mostly slain in the vain endeavour to quell the outbreak.

The puppet sovereign of Delhi at that time was Bahadour Shah. He had been supported by the British Government in his visionary kingdom, though beyond the walls of the city he was an Emperor only in name. Now, however, the time seemed to have arrived when he could once more assert the claims of his forefathers; and he placed himself at the head of the movement which was intended to sweep away the British from the peninsula and revive the native rule.

Delhi, in consequence, became a focus of the insurrection. It was, therefore, imperatively necessary at any cost, and as promptly as possible, to crush it at its fountain head, otherwise India would unquestionably be lost, and the entire European population doomed to slaughter.

General the Hon. G. Anson was at the time Commander-inChief, and he lost no time in assembling as powerful a force as could be got together, with which he marched against the city. Whilst on the road he was seized with cholera and died; the command then devolved on Major-General Sir H. W. Barnard. The Meerut European force left that station on May 27th, and after some skirmishing on the road, joined the main body at Aleepore on June 7th. General Barnard moved forward on the following day. His troops consisted of the 9th Lancers, and two squadrons of the 6th Dragoon Guards, the 60th, 75th, and 87th Regiments, with the 1st and 2nd European Bengal Fusiliers, a small force of Artillery and some Sappers.

The mutineers had intrenched themselves outside Delhi; it was therefore necessary to dislodge them. This was successfully accomplished, and before nightfall Barnard's army was encamped on the high ground, about two miles to the north of the city. At this time it was in no position to undertake a siege; indeed, it seemed almost an impossibility for it to maintain itself on the spot selected for camp, which had been the site of the cantonments of the force stationed at Delhi. Still it was most important that at least a semblance of besieging the mutineeers within their chosen stronghold should be maintained, and this General Barnard was able to effect whilst awaiting reinforcements.

The following description of Delhi is taken from the official report of Lieutenant-Colonel Baird Smith, the Chief Engineer:—

"The eastern face of the city rests on the Jumna, and, during the season of the year when our operations were carried on, the stream may be described as washing the base of the walls. All access to a besieger on the river front is therefore impracticable. The defences here consist of an irregular wall with occasional bastions and towers, and about one half the length of the river face is occupied by the palace of the King of Delhi, and its outwork, the old Mogul fort of Selinghur. The river

may be described as the chord of an arc, formed by the remaining defences of the place. These consist of a succession of bastion fronts, the connecting curtain being very long, and the outworks limited to one crownwork at the Ajmeer Gate and a Martello tower mounting a single gun at such points as require some additional flanking fire to that given by the bastions themselves. The bastions are small, mounting generally three guns in each face, two in each flank, and one in embrasure at the salient. They are provided with masonry parapets about 12 feet in

thickness, and a relief of about 16 feet above the plane of site. The curtain consists of a simple masonry wall or rampart 16 feet in height, 11 feet thick at top, and 14 or 15 feet at bottom. This main wall carries a parapet loophole for musketry, 8 feet in height and 3 feet in thickness. The whole of the land part is covered by a berm of a variable width, ranging from 16 to 30 feet, and having a scarp wall 8 feet high; exterior to this is a dry ditch, of about 25 feet in width