MASSACRE OF THE BRITISH BY THE AFGHANS IN 1842.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 110, 8 November 1879, Page 2

MASSACRE OF THE BRITISH BY THE AFGHANS IN 1842.

One of the most terrible episodes in the annals of tho British army occurred in the retreat from (,'abul in 1842, when out of a force of 14>0 regulars ami 12,000 caniji followers, with tho exception of 120 prisoners suljsequeutly recovered, only one man (Dr. Brydon) escaped wounded, fainting, and half dead, to tell the fearful talo. When Shah Shuja was placed upon the tbrouc on August 7tt, 1830, Sir John Keaue, supposing tins war at an end, returned to India and win made a peer, leaving iu (Juhul, besides tli.Shah's force, which was commanded by I British officers, 8000 troops under .Si: Willougbby Cotton, with Sir \V. Muennughteu and Sir A. Humes as envoy*. Meanwhile the Indian treasury commenced to feel the cost of keeping an array of 25,000 men in AtfghftniaUn, and the court of directors recommended Lor l ' Auckland to withdraw it, and leavtt Shall ■Shuja to manage his own affairs. In place of doing this, Lord Auckland commenced to reduce expenses by btoppiu;; the compensation hitherto granted to native chiefs iu place of tho plunder tc which they had been accustomed. Tin first to receive notice of this were tin Ghizaos, who thereupon plundered tin first caravan they met, and, with the a»sistnu.ee of other tribes, cut off all communication with Cabul, and speedily stirred up the whole country agaiqst tlw British. | A considerable portion of the British! troops at Cabul were at tirst quartet ed ml the Bala Hissar, a fortress which atandi upon a hill, and commands the wboh' town. It had ramparts thirty-five foct high, a ditch glacis und bostionud forb. mounting a largo number of guns ol heavy calibre, and is capable of acconiniudating five thousand niou, nud of standing a lengthened siogo. Jlud the troop' remained iu this fortress, tho terrible futo which subsequently befel tueaj mighpossibly have been avoided altogether, 0' at nil events, in all probability fta borrow might have been materially mitigatedBut in 1840, at thu request of Slia'i Shuja, who wanted it for his seraglio the fortress was evacuated, aud the troops turned into exposed cantonmenU in tl" 1 Open plains, protected only by a low parapet aud a fuw outlying forts. On November 2,1841, when Sir Willougliby Cotton had been succeeded. in command j>,V General Elphinstono, who' it represent*' as shattered in constitution; both uioutally aud bodily, tho revolt previously \* forrod to broke out and extended to C* bul, where Sir Alexander Burnes and b' brother were Murdered. The rising ** headed by Akbar Khail, the son of Ve* Mahomed, who hinisolf had previous. 1 surrendered and been scut tu-lliudoEtm-and the whole country was iu a blui'

with a view to the extermination of tho hated Feriugboe. Sir. Robert Sale was at this time on the road to Jellalabad with 800 sick and refused to obey a message from General Elphinstone recalling' him to Cabul on account o! the intense rigour of the winter, and because he was short of provisions and ninunition. On the 23rd of December, Sir William Macnaugliton, who went to a conference with Akbar "Khan, was shot dead by Akbar's own hand, with a pistol presented by Sir William to him on the previous .day, and his mutilated corpse was carried in triumph through Cabul, the officers accompanying Sir William being made prisoners. On the 26th a treaty was ratified with Akbar Shan, by which the English agreed to give up all their guns with the exception of six, -and nil treasure in their possession, to leave four officers as hostages, and pay 40,000 rupees in bills drawn upon India,' but negotiated by Indian bankers on the spot. In Khan agreod to conduet the army in safety to General Sale at Jellalabad, which is 90 miles distant from Cabul, but at tho same time he hod resolved upon its entiro destruction, ami had..token an "oath upon the Koran to tnst*eflfec.t'. : He knew that he had thoni in his'power! that the rigorous winter had 3et,in • that the snow was deep in the passes; that they were without outfit and supplies, and that'they had before them a march of 200 miles to reach Pesliawiir. ■ ' On .the Cth Jauuary, 1842, the ill.fated army left its cantonments, amidst the jeers and insults of the Affghans. On the Bth Major Pottiugej; and Captains Lawrence and Mackenzie were given over as hostages for the surrender of . Jellalabad by General Sale, and the com- . plete evacuation of Affghan territory by ; the British, and on that the army entered fhe Koore Cabul pass, a narrow defile with precipitous rocks several hundred feet high on either side ; but before entering the pass they had b'len fired ou by their treacherous foes. The weather • was frosty, with a foot deep of snow upon the ground; men, women and children dropped, and, with the wounded, were left to die upon tho load by the cold and the vengeful knives of the Afghans. There was general confusion, each tried to save himself, all discipline was lost; the Gliilzacs attacked the rearguard, and murdered" all they qould lay hands on, and carried off young girls into captivity. A leaden hail rained down upon them from every height, ami, to make matters, if possible, woi'se, some of the artillerymen desperate with cold and privation, seized upon the stores of brandy, and met their death in a state of furious iutoxition.; and had it hot been that Major Thain, with.a company of the 37th Infantry, heat back tho enemy for a time, it is probable that at this spot all would have been massacred. Lady Sale, to whom we are indebted fur the best description of this horrible tragedy, on this day received a bullet through her arm, and during the day 500 regulars and 2500 camp-followers fell. During the niglit numbers perished from cold and half of thoso still living are said, owing to wounds and frost-bites, to have been almost incapable of proceeding. Hundreds of poor wretches were left to dia from the knives of their pursuers, and all that could seized upon any animal upon which thoy could lay hands— the weaker, of course, going to the wall. Ou tho Otli, only threo camel-loads of ammunition were left, and most of tho soldiers, who were all armed with the useless aud antiquated musket, had not a single cartridge iu their pouches. It was on this day that tho married officers with their wives and children, including Ijady Sale were handed over to Akbar Khan, and itieso subsequently escaped. Tho fighting men, accompanied by such camp followers as were capable of proceeding, still passed on, a confused and terrorstricken crowd, regardless of all orders or discipline. The Sepoys were especially singled out by tho Atfghans, and every native infantryman perished. On arriving at the 'iitighee Tareekeo, or the Dark Pass, tho Affghans, growing bolder with success, rushed down in force, and massacred indiscriminately, so that by night only a total of 4000 survived of tho 14,500 which hod left Cabul three days previously. Meanwhile, the treacherous Akbar arrived ou the scene, and pleaded his inability to restrain the Ghilzaes with his small force, but offered to protect tho officers remaining if they x would givo up their weapons and surrender. This offer they declined, and determined if possible, by a forced march during the uight, to get through the Jug- ■ dulluk Pass, 24 miles distant, before the enemy would anticipate their approaoh. This pass is two miles long, and very narrow, with preoptions rocks commanding it on either side. They hoped that if they oould onco get through it thoy might bo able to reach Jellalabad. For a while they were less harrassed, but before long Akbar Khan with his horsemen came up with thorn ; they had been thirty hours without food, and the enemy, with devilish cunning, planted themselves at every running stream, knowing that the pangs of thirst would thus be added to. their other miseries. At . Jugdulluk only 450 men of the 44th, 10 dismounted artillerymen, 25 of the . sth Cavalry, and oomo camp-followers survived. . On the 12th a furious attack was made on all sides, with a viaw nf completing .the work of destruction; but tho m r vi vors, suffering an. they, were from cold, hunger and tbiwt, ftUL fmtgbt herioeally for their livss, and bent off their assailants. During this idrujrglc, Captain Sou tor, of the 44th, uij'l 1/tculcnwjl Cumber*

land, tore the colours from under their pelissess. This act subsequently led to tho preservation of the life of Captain Souter. as he was on this account supposed by the Affghans to be some great chief, for whom a lmndsone ransom would be paid. General Elphinstone and Bregadier Shelten here fell into i the hands of enemy. The march was I then resumed, tho wounded and sick, | notwithstanding their pietous appeals, I being unavoidably left to have thoir sufferings ended by the- Afghan'steel..' At a gorge two miles from Jugdulluk. where the snow was very deep any precipices on either sido, thev found two barriers thrown across tne road, and the enemy awaiting their approaoh in groat foroo. The confusion here was worse than ever. The few remaining cavalry, in their desperation, galloped over the infantry, in hopes of gaining Jellalabad. and the infantry furious at being ridden over, fired at them. Brigadier Anquetil and 20 other officers fell here, and the carnage was immense. . On the 13th, as day dawned it was seen that tho enemy's numbers were much increased, the force being now reduced to about 70 regulars and 300 camp-followers. They were obliged to leave the road and take refuge upon a- hill near Oundamuk, and hostilities wore suspended for an hour, wihle Captain Kaye endeavoured to make terms for the reinaut to be allowed to proceed to Jellalabad. Howerer, tile Affghans suddenly recommenced hostilities by attempting to snatch the arms from the men's hands; they were, however, repulsed several times, until the last of the ammunition was expended and the fighting men reduced to thirty, when the enemy rushed on, knife in hand, and slaughtered every man, with the exception of Captain Souter, and seven or eight men of the 44th, who were taken prisoners, and Dr. Brydon, who, wounded and bleeding somehow escaped notice, and, ultimately, made his way to Jellalabad, the sole survivor, with the exception of about 120 prisoners, of the 14,500 men who had left Cabul under promise of safe conduct 10 days previously. To avenge these disasters, and recover the prisoners, a force under General Pollock was despatched; but it was not until April 15, 1842, that he could relievo Jellalabad. On September 15 he occupied Cabul, whero ho was joined by General Nott, who had retaken and dismantled Glninzi. The prisoners were recovered, the Tala Hissar and tho Central Bazaar of Cabul wore destroyed, ami Afghanistan finally evacuated during the year 1842. ijhah Shuja had been assassinated immediately after the dedjparturo of the ill-fated garrison; Dost Mohamed was released, and again occupied the throne until his death, in--1873; Akbar Khan was mauo Vozir, but died iu 1848. —Sydney Telegraph.