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 Summary

CHAPTER 2 Spatial Representations of Weather Data

2.1 The Station Model

2.2 Surface Maps

2.2.1 Isotherms and Temperature Maps
2.2.2 Temperature Fronts
2.2.3 Isobars and Pressure Maps
2.2.4 Highs, Lows, Ridges, and Troughs

2.3 Upper-Level Maps

2.4 Radar

2.5 Satellites
2.5.1 Visible Satellite Images
2.5.2 Infrared Satellite Images
2.5.3 Water Vapor Images
2.5.4 Geostationary Satellites
2.5.5 Polar-Orbiting Satellites
Summary

Appendix 2.1 Important Satellite Cloud Signatures

Appendix 2.2 Contiguous USA Reference Map

CHAPTER 3 Our Atmosphere: Origin, Composition, and Structure

3.1 Aspect

3.2 Composition

8
3.3 Origin and Evolution

3.4 Future Evolution

3.5 Vertical Structure

Summary

Appendix 3.1 Dynamic Equilibrium

CHAPTER 4 Heat and Energy Transfer

4.1 Conduction

4.2 Convection

4.3 Radiation
4.3.1 The Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
4.3.2 Temperature and Radiation

4.4 Radiative Interactions

4.4.1 Absorption
4.4.2 Reflection
4.4.3 Scattering
4.4.4 Radiative Equilibrium
4.4.5 Selective Absorbers
4.4.6 A Window to the Sky
4.4.7 The Greenhouse Effect

4.5 Radiation and Weather

4.5.1 Heat Imbalance
4.5.2 Seasonal Variations
4.5.3 Diurnal Variations

9
 4.5.4 The Influence of Clouds
4.5.5 Land–Ocean Contrasts
Summary

CHAPTER 5 Water

5.1 The Water Cycle

5.2 Saturation

5.3 Humidity

5.4 Relative Humidity

5.5 Humidity and Temperature

5.5.1 Relative vs. Absolute Humidity
5.5.2 Condensation

5.6 Dew Point Temperature

5.7 Applications of the Dew point Temperature

5.7.1 Surface Weather Maps
5.7.2 Meteograms
5.7.3 Radiosonde Profiles
5.7.4 Back to Relative Humidity
5.7.5 How to Saturate
Summary

CHAPTER 6 Cloud Formation

6.1 Adiabatic Processes

6.2 Adiabatic Processes in the Atmosphere

10
6.3 Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate

6.4 Relative Humidity

6.5 Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rate

6.6 Orographic Lifting

6.7 Lifting by Convergence

6.8 Frontal Lifting

6.9 Convection
6.9.1 Stable Air
6.9.2 Unstable Air and Thermals
6.9.3 Stable vs. Unstable
6.9.4 Fair-Weather Cumulus Clouds
6.9.5 Conditional Instability and Cumulonimbus
Summary

Appendix 6.1 A Cloud Family Album

CHAPTER 7 Precipitation

7.1 Warm vs. Cold Clouds

7.2 Collision and Coalescence

7.3 Ice-Crystal Growth

7.4 Precipitation Types

Summary

Appendix 7.1 Some Optical Phenomena

11
CHAPTER 8 Wind

8.1 Force and Acceleration

8.2 Pressure Gradient Force

8.3 Sea Breeze and Land Breeze

8.4 Coriolis Force

8.5 Geostrophic Wind

8.6 Gradient Wind

8.7 Surface Winds

8.8 Friction

8.9 Topography
8.9.1 Mountain Breeze and Valley Breeze
8.9.2 Katabatic Winds
Summary

CHAPTER 9 Global Wind Systems

9.1 The Averaged Atmosphere

9.1.1 Surface Temperature
9.1.2 Upper-Level Heights
9.1.3 Surface Pressure
9.1.4 Precipitation

9.2 The Single-Cell Model

9.3 The Three-Cell Model

12
9.4 Some Large-Scale Circulations
9.4.1 West Coast vs. East Coast
9.4.2 Antarctica
9.4.3 The Sahel
9.4.4 The Indian Monsoon
9.4.5 El Niño
Summary

CHAPTER 10 Air Masses, Fronts, and Midlatitude Cyclones

10.1 Air Masses

10.2 Fronts
10.2.1 Stationary Fronts
10.2.2 Cold Fronts
10.2.3 Warm Fronts
10.2.4 Occluded Fronts
10.2.5 Large-Scale Influences on Cyclone Structure, and the
T-bone Model

10.3 Midlatitude Cyclone Development

10.3.1 The Life Cycle of a Midlatitude Cyclone
10.3.2 Vertical Structure of Cyclones
10.3.3 The February 2014 Cyclone
10.3.4 Where do Cyclones Form?
Summary

Appendix 10.1 Southern Hemisphere Midlatitude Cyclones

Appendix 10.2 The Bergen School of Meteorology

CHAPTER 11 Thunderstorms and Tornadoes

13
11.1 Ordinary Thunderstorm

11.2 Severe Thunderstorm

11.3 Lightning and Thunder

11.4 Supercells

11.5 Tornadoes
11.5.1 Description
11.5.2 Tornado Development
11.5.3 Tornado Alley
Summary

CHAPTER 12 Tropical Cyclones

12.1 Facts and Figures

12.2 Tropical Cyclone Structure

12.3 Tropical Cyclone Development

12.3.1 Tropical Easterly Wave
12.3.2 Tropical Depression
12.3.3 Tropical Storm
12.3.4 Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane)
12.3.5 Tropical Cyclone Decay

12.4 Conditions for Tropical Cyclone Development

Summary

CHAPTER 13 Weather Forecasting

13.1 Weather Forecasts and Uncertainty

14
13.2 Prognostic Equations

13.3 Ensemble Forecasting

13.4 Chaos and Weather Prediction

13.5 From Forecast Grids to Reliable Forecast Values

13.6 Making a Forecast

13.6.1 Medium to Long-Range Forecasting
13.6.2 Seasonal Outlook
Summary

CHAPTER 14 Air Pollution

14.1 Pollutants
14.1.1 Gases and Compounds
14.1.2 Particulates
14.1.3 Photochemical Smog

14.2 Wind and Stability

14.3 Large-Scale Patterns

14.4 Topography
Summary

CHAPTER 15 Climate Change and Weather

15.1 Past and Future

15.2 Changing Composition

15.3 A Warmer World

15
15.4 An Altered Water Cycle

15.5 Changing Global Wind Systems

15.6 Midlatitude and Tropical Cyclones in a Warmer World

15.7 Beyond Weather

15.8 The Forecast

Summary

Glossary

References

Credits

Index

16
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Preface
Having taught introductory classes on weather many times, we came to see
the need for a textbook on the subject that covers the foundations of
meteorology in a concise, clear, and engaging manner. We set out to create
an informative, cost-effective text that meets the needs of students who
may not have any background in mathematics and science. The result –
Weather: A Concise Introduction – is an introductory meteorology
textbook designed from scratch to provide students with a strong
foundation in the physical, dynamical, and chemical processes taking place
in the atmosphere.
This textbook is unique in that it:

► provides a concise and practical approach to understanding the

atmosphere;
► introduces the basic physical laws early on and then ties them
together with a single case study spanning the book;
► presents weather analysis tools early in the book to allow
instructors to engage in discussions of current weather in tandem
with the basic concepts, thus attracting and retaining student
interest; and
► facilitates students’ learning and understanding of the fundamental
aspects of weather analysis and forecasting, as well as practical
skills, through a careful description of the forecasting process.
Modern methods, such as ensemble forecasting, are central to the
approach.

Features

17
 Case Study: February 2014 Cyclone
The main concepts of the book are illustrated in Chapters 2–13 by a single
case study: a midlatitude cyclone that swept through the eastern half of the
USA between February 19 and 22, 2014. This rich case study serves as a
common thread throughout the book, allowing students to study it from
multiple perspectives. Viewing the storm in the context of different topics
provides a familiar setting for mastering new subjects and for developing
an holistic understanding of midlatitude cyclones.

Boxes on More Advanced Topics

Instructors have the option of including more advanced coverage through
use of boxes that provide insights on various topics. For example, in
Chapter 1, Weather Variables, boxes include an in-depth description of the
four laws of physics that are central to the study of the atmosphere. The
book contains 25 boxes, affording instructors the opportunity to tailor the
level of the material that they present to students in their course.

Appendixes for Additional Coverage

Appendixes at the ends of Chapters 2, 3, 6, 7, and 10 include additional
material on important cloud signatures found in satellite imagery, the
concept of dynamic equilibrium, the cloud classification, some optical
phenomena, southern hemisphere midlatitude cyclones, and the Bergen
School of meteorology.

Summary
18
A summary of key points has been included at the end of each chapter so
that students can, at a glance, confirm that they have understood the
significant take-away facts and ideas.

Figures, Charts, and Maps

Figures have been designed to convey the key concepts in a simple and
self-explanatory way, keeping in mind that clean representations of
information are more helpful to students than complex drawings. Graphs
and maps have been created with real data as much as possible, obtained
from NOAA, NASA, ECMWF, and similar research-quality sources
referenced in the text.

Key Terms and Glossary

The main text contains terms (in bold) that students need to understand and
become familiar with. Many of these terms are listed in the Glossary at the
back of the book. The Glossary allows the reader to look up terms easily
whenever needed and can also be used to review important topics and key
facts.

SI Units
We have consistently used SI units throughout the book, while providing
alternative units whenever possible or relevant.

Organization

19
The first two chapters provide a general overview of key variables and
weather maps used by meteorologists, which facilitates daily weather map
discussions early in the course. We have found that motivating lecture
topics with real-time examples using weather map discussions is a very
effective way to engage students in the lecture material, and it allows
instructors to introduce aspects of weather forecasting at their discretion
well in advance of discussing the material more completely in Chapter 13.
As a result, students are more invested in adding to their knowledge, which
builds systematically toward understanding and predicting weather
systems.
Chapters 3–8 provide foundational material on the composition and
structure of the atmosphere, along with the application of the laws of
classical physics to emphasize and explain the role of energy, water, and
wind in weather systems.
Chapters 9–12 apply the foundational material to understanding the
general circulation of the atmosphere (Chapter 9), midlatitude cyclones
and fronts (Chapter 10), thunderstorms (Chapter 11), and tropical cyclones
(Chapter 12).
Chapters 13–15 build further on the first twelve chapters by applying
the concepts developed to explain processes that affect how weather
forecasts are made (Chapter 13), air pollution (Chapter 14), and climate
change (Chapter 15).

Instructor Resources
A companion website at www.cambridge.org/weather contains PowerPoint
slides of the figures in the text as well as a testbank of questions.

20
 Acknowledgments
We thank: NOAA, NASA, and ECMWF for providing access to data and
images; Reto Knutti, Jan Sedlacek, and Urs Beyerle for providing access
to IPCC data; Rick Kohrs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for
providing global composite satellite imagery; and Paul Sirvatka from the
College of DuPage for providing radar imagery.
We also thank Ángel Adames, Becky Alexander, Ileana Blade, Peter
Blossey, Michael Diamond, Ralph Foster, Dargan Frierson, Qiang Fu,
Dennis Hartmann, Lynn McMurdie, Paul Markowski, Cliff Mass, Max
Menchaca, Yumin Moon, Scott Powell, Virginia Rux, David Schultz,
Justin Sharp, Brian Smoliak, Mike Warner, Steve Warren, Rachel White,
Darren Wilton, Matt Wyant, and Qi Zhong, as well as 13 anonymous
reviewers, for their help in the preparation of this book.
This project would not have come to life without the support, help,
influence, and constructive criticism from many fellow professors,
teaching assistants, and students. We cannot acknowledge them all here by
name, but we thank them nevertheless for the important role they have
played in shaping the development of this book.

21
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but were permitted to march out unmolested. Ancona also
capitulated on the 10th, and Ferrara was occupied without resistance
by Count Thurn. In fact, the counter-revolution was successful all
over Central Italy, except in the Papal States, which now became the
centre of universal interest. The leaders of the revolutionary party,
chased from the other cities of Italy, were warmly welcomed at
Rome, and gladly entered the ranks of its defenders.
The eyes of the world were now turned upon Rome. It was not to be
expected that the Catholic Powers would allow the bark of St. Peter
to go down in the flood of revolution without an effort to save it.
Spain was the first to interpose for this purpose. Its Government
invited France, Austria, Bavaria, Sardinia, Tuscany, and Naples to
send plenipotentiaries to consult on the best means of reinstating
the Pope. Austria also protested against the new state of things,
complaining that the Austrian flag, and the arms of the empire on
the palace of its ambassador at Rome, had been insulted and torn
down. On the 8th of February a body of Austrian troops, under
General Haynau, entered Ferrara, to avenge the death of three
Austrian soldiers, and an insult offered to an Austrian consul. He
required that the latter should be indemnified, that the Papal colours
should be again displayed, that the murderers of the soldiers should
be given up, and that the city should support 10,000 Austrian
troops. This was a state of things not to be endured by the French
Republic, and its Government determined to interpose and overreach
Austria, for the purpose of re-establishing French ascendency at
Rome, even though based upon the ruins of a sister republic. The
French Republicans, it is well known, cared very little for the Pope,
but they were ready to make use of him to gratify their own national
ambition. Their attack on the Roman Republic would therefore be
fittingly described by the language which Pius IX. applied to that
republic itself, as "hypocritical felony."
It was agreed between the Catholic Powers that the Papal territory
should be invaded at the same time by Neapolitan, Austrian, and
French troops. France was determined to have the chief part, and, if
possible, all the glory of the enterprise. Odillon Barrot, President of
the Council, explained the objects of the French expedition, on the
16th of April. The Minister demanded extraordinary credit for the
expenses of the expedition. It was promptly voted without any
opposition, save some murmurs from the Left. An expedition was
immediately organised, and an army, 6,000 strong, was embarked at
Marseilles, with astounding celerity, on the 22nd of April, 1849,
under the command of General Oudinot. But the Romans had no
confidence in their professed protectors. On the contrary, they set
about making all possible preparations for the defence of the city. In
consequence of the hints he had got, however, Oudinot sent forward
a reconnoitring party, which was saluted with a fire of artillery,
certainly not meant as a feu de joie. The French general then
ordered an attack upon two gates, the Portese and San Pancrazio,
both on the right bank of the Tiber. The Romans repelled them at
both points with a discharge of grape-shot, and they were compelled
to retire with heavy loss; General Garibaldi, with his Lombard legion,
having surrounded a retreating column, and made 200 prisoners.
After this mortifying repulse, Oudinot retired to Palo, near Civita
Vecchia, to await reinforcements, in order to enable him to vindicate
the honour of the French arms, which could now be done only by
the capture of Rome; and the French Government were probably not
sorry to have this pretext for their unwarrantable course of
aggression. In the meantime reinforcements were rapidly sent from
Toulon. During this period a Neapolitan army, 16,000 strong,
commanded by the king in person, had entered the States of the
Church. Garibaldi, disregarding the orders of Roselli, went forth to
meet the invaders, fell upon them with the suddenness of a
thunderbolt, won a victory over them, and compelled them to
retreat. All negotiations having failed, the French general
commenced a regular siege. The city was cannonaded from the 11th
to the 21st of June, when Garibaldi assured the Triumvirs that the
defence was no longer possible. So Pius IX. was restored by foreign
bayonets. Shortly after, the Pope issued a decree, proprio motu,
containing a programme of "liberal institutions," so far as they were
compatible with an absolute authority, enjoyed in virtue of Divine
Right. The people were up for a brief period; they were now down,
and would be kept down, if possible. They had presumed to think
that they were the source of political power; that they could give
their representatives the right of making laws and dethroning kings;
but they must now learn that their business was to obey, and submit
to anything which their superiors might think proper, of their own
will and pleasure, to ordain.
The affairs of Italy were the subject of warm debates in the British
Parliament in the Session of 1849. Lord Palmerston was assailed by
the Conservatives for having countenanced the Sicilian insurrection,
and for having sent Lord Minto to Italy on a mission of conciliation,
which they considered an unwarrantable meddling in the affairs of
foreign countries. His assailants, he said, belonged to a school which
maintained "the right divine to govern wrong," and they therefore
stigmatised the Sicilians as rebels. But the Sicilians had had a
Constitution for centuries, and their ancient and indisputable rights
were confirmed in 1812. As to Lord Minto, he interfered at the
instance of the King of Naples himself. The Treaty of Vienna
recognised the title of the king as King of the Two Sicilies; "but the
recognition of a title was one thing, the overturning of a Constitution
another."
In the House of Lords the Earl of Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary in the
late Government, strongly censured our foreign policy with regard to
Northern Italy. He spoke with delight of the brilliant victories and
rare generosity of Radetzky, and warmly eulogised the administration
of the Austrian dominions in Italy. Lord Brougham spoke strongly on
the same side with Lord Aberdeen, indignantly condemning the
Italian policy of the Government. On the 20th of July he moved a set
of resolutions on the subject, in which he also praised Austria, as
being just and moderate, while Sardinia was aggressive and
faithless. He spoke of "the terrible tyranny established by those
firebrands of revolution, Mazzini and Garibaldi." He considered that
an eternal debt of gratitude was due to General Oudinot, for
conducting the siege in such a manner as to avoid any waste of
blood, and to preserve the treasures of art of which that city was the
repository. With reference to Southern Italy he protested against the
conduct, not only of our regular diplomatic body, but of "that
mongrel sort of monster—half nautical, half political—diplomatic
vice-admirals, speculative ship captains, observers of rebellions, and
sympathisers therewith;" the officers alluded to being Lord Napier,
Sir William Parker, and Captain Codrington. The Earl of Carlisle, in
reply to Lord Brougham, ably defended the conduct of our
diplomatists and officers throughout the Sicilian contest, and
repelled the sarcasms with which they were assailed. He vindicated
the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston, and called upon the House to
reject "the illogical and unmeaning" resolutions of Lord Brougham.
Lord Minto, also, at length defended the course he had taken. The
Marquis of Lansdowne, while willing to rest the defence of the
Government upon the able speech of Lord Carlisle, made some
remarks in answer to the charge of partiality brought by the Earl of
Aberdeen against Lord Minto, after which the House divided, when
the resolutions of Lord Brougham were rejected by a majority of 12.
In the House of Commons, on the 21st of July, Mr. Bernal Osborne
raised a discussion on the affairs of Hungary, and was followed by
Mr. Roebuck, Colonel Thompson, and Lord Claud Hamilton: the latter
denounced the conduct of Kossuth as "infamous." This debate is
memorable chiefly on account of Lord Palmerston's great speech on
the causes of the revolutions of 1848. In reply to the eulogiums
upon the Austrian Government, the noble lord stated that Austria, in
the opinion of a great part of the Continent, had been identified with
obstruction to progress, resistance to improvement, political and
social; and it was in that capacity she won the affections of the
Tories. He regarded the conduct of such men as an example of
"antiquated imbecility." He firmly believed that in the war between
Austria and Hungary there were enlisted on the side of Hungary the
hearts and souls of the whole people of that country. He took the
question then being fought for on the plains of Hungary to be this,
whether that country should maintain its separate nationality as a
distinct kingdom with a constitution of its own, or be incorporated in
the empire as an Austrian province. If Hungary succeeded, Austria
would cease to be a first-rate European power. If Hungary were
entirely crushed, Austria in that battle would have crushed her own
right arm. Every field that was laid waste was an Austrian resource
destroyed. Every Hungarian that perished upon the field was an
Austrian soldier deducted from the defensive forces of the empire.
"It is quite true," continued the noble lord, "that it may be said,
'Your opinions are but opinions; and you express them against our
opinions, who have at our command large armies to back them—
what are opinions against armies?' Sir, my answer is, opinions are
stronger than armies. I say, then, that it is our duty not to remain
passive spectators of events that in their immediate consequences
affect other countries, but in their remote and certain consequences
are sure to come back with disastrous effect upon ourselves; that so
far as the courtesies of international intercourse will permit us to do
so, it is our duty—especially when our opinion is asked, as it has
been on many occasions on which we have been blamed for giving it
—to state our opinions, founded on the experience of this country—
an experience that might be, and ought to have been, an example to
less fortunate countries. We are not entitled to interpose in any
manner that will commit this country to embark in those hostilities.
All we can justly do is to take advantage of any opportunities that
may present themselves, in which the counsels of friendship and
peace may be offered to the contending parties.... Sir, to suppose
that any Government of England can wish to excite revolutionary
movements in any part of the world—to suppose that England can
have any other wish or desire than to confirm and maintain peace
between nations, and tranquillity and harmony between
Governments and subjects—shows really a degree of ignorance and
folly which I never supposed any public man could have been guilty
of—which may do very well for a newspaper article, but which it
astonishes me to find is made the subject of a speech in
Parliament." The noble lord sat down amidst much cheering. Lord
Dudley Stuart said that he looked upon the speech which had been
delivered by Mr. Osborne, followed up as it had been by Mr. Roebuck
and Lord Palmerston, as one of the most important events of the
Session.
THE CHANDNI CHOWK, DELHI. (From a Photograph by Frith & Co.,
Reigate.)
[See larger version]
 CHAPTER XXI.
REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued).
Our Relations with Scinde—Occupation of the Country—Napier
in Scinde—Ellenborough's Instructions—A New Treaty—Capture
of Emaum-Ghur—The Treaty signed—Attack on the Residency—
Battle of Meeanee—Defeat of Shere Mahommed—Subjugation
of Scinde—Napier's Government of the Province—Position of the
Sikhs—Disorders in Gwalior—Battle of Maharajpore—Settlement
of Gwalior—Recall of Lord Ellenborough—Sir Henry Hardinge—
Power of the Sikhs—Disorders on the Death of Runjeet Singh—
The Sikhs cross the Sutlej—Battle of Moodkee—Battle of
Ferozeshah—The Victory won—Battle of Aliwal—Battle of
Sobraon—Terms of Peace—Administration of the Lawrences—
Murder of Vans Agnew and Anderson—Renewal of the War—
Battles of Chillianwallah and of Goojerat—Capture of Mooltan—
Annexation of the Punjab.

The conclusion of the Afghan war did not end the difficulties with
the countries bordering on India. In the treaty with the Ameers of
Scinde it was provided that Britain should have liberty to navigate
the Indus for mercantile purposes, but that she should not bring into
it any armed vessels or munitions of war, and that no British
merchant should, on any account, settle in the country. Permission,
however, was given to a British agent to reside at Kurrachee, and in
1836, when the country was threatened by Runjeet Singh, the
British Government took advantage of the occasion to secure a
footing in the country, one of the most fertile in the East. Kurrachee
was only at the mouth of the river, but in 1838 a great step in
advance was gained by getting a British agent to reside at
Hyderabad, the capital, in order that he might be at hand to
negotiate with Runjeet Singh. But the agent undertook to negotiate
without consulting the Ameers, and awarded the payment of a large
sum claimed by the Prince whom they dreaded, for which sum they
produced a full discharge. This discharge was ignored by the British
Government in India, acting in the interests of Shah Sujah, its royal
protégé in Afghanistan. This was not all. A British army of 10,000
men, under Sir John Keane, marched, without permission, through
Scinde, in order to support the same Prince against his competitors.
Bolder encroachments were now made. The British Government
determined on establishing a military force at Yatah, contrary to the
wishes of the people, and compelled the Ameers to contribute to its
support, in consideration of the advantages which it was alleged it
would confer upon them. When the draft of a treaty to this effect
was presented to the Ameers, one of them took the former treaties
out of a box, and said, "What is to become of all these? Since the
day that Scinde has been covenanted with the English there has
been always something new. Your Government is never satisfied. We
are anxious for your friendship; but we cannot be continually
persecuted. We have given you and your troops a passage through
our territories, and now you wish to remain." But remonstrance was
in vain. The treaty must be signed; and the great Christian Power,
which had its headquarters at Calcutta, insisted that the British force
might be located anywhere in the country west of the Indus, and
that the Ameers must pay for its support three lacs of rupees.
Pottinger was the first political agent at Hyderabad. He was
succeeded by Major Outram, who could detect no hostility or
treacherous purpose in the rulers of the country, though he admitted
that during the reverses in Afghanistan they had intrigued freely with
the enemy. But this favourable account did not suit the designs of
Lord Ellenborough. He had issued a proclamation as hollow as it was
high-sounding, condemning the "political system" that had led to the
Afghan war. But he immediately began to act upon that system in
Scinde, though with the evacuation of Afghanistan the solitary
reason for the occupation had disappeared. In order to accomplish
his objects more effectually, he superseded Outram, and sent Sir
Charles Napier, with full civil and military authority, to get possession
of the country any way; by fair means if possible, but if not, he was
at all events to get possession. It was to be his first "political duty"
to hear what Major Outram and the other political agents had to
allege against the Ameers of Hyderabad and Khyrpore, tending to
prove hostile designs against the British Government, or to act
hostilely against the British army. Lord Ellenborough added, "that
they may have had such hostile feelings there can be no doubt. It
would be impossible to suppose that they could entertain friendly
feelings; but we should not be justified in inflicting punishment upon
these thoughts. Should any Ameer or chief with whom we have a
treaty of friendship and alliance have evinced hostile designs against
us during the late events, which may have induced them to doubt
the continuance of our power, it is the present intention of the
Governor-General to inflict upon the treachery of such ally or friend
so signal a punishment as shall effectually deter others from similar
conduct. But the Governor-General would not proceed in this course
without the most ample and convincing evidence of the guilt of the
person accused." Certain letters were speedily produced by Sir
Charles Napier (which, no doubt, he considered authentic, though
never proved to be so, and which might very easily have been
fabricated by interested parties), showing a design among the chiefs
to unite for the defence of their country. On the pretence of danger
suggested by those documents, a new treaty was tendered to the
Ameers for signature on the 6th of December, 1842, which required
that around certain central positions the British Government should
have portions of territory assigned to it, and another portion should
be given to the Khan of Bhawlpore as a reward for his fidelity; that
the Ameers were to supply fuel for the steamers navigating the
Indus, and that failing to do so, the servants of the Company were
to fell what wood they required within a hundred yards of the river
on either side, and that the East India Company should coin money
for Scinde, with the head of the Queen of Great Britain stamped on
one side. This was a virtual assertion of sovereign rights; and if the
people had any spirit at all, any patriotism, the casus belli so much
desired was now forced upon them. The Ameers were so
circumstanced that they pretended to accept the treaty; but it
mattered little to Sir Charles Napier whether it was signed or not; for
long before it was ratified he issued a proclamation in which he said,
"The Governor-General of India has ordered me to take possession
of the districts of Ledzeel Kote and of Banghara, and to reannex the
said districts to the territory of his Highness the Nawab of
Bhawlpore, to whom they will immediately be made over." This was
done, and Sir Charles Napier forthwith marched into the country
without any declaration of war; having by this time succeeded in
blackening the character of the people, according to the custom of
invaders, in order to make the seizure and confiscation of their
country seem to be an act of righteous retribution. The following
despatch from Sir Charles Napier would be worthy of a Norman
invader of the twelfth century:—"I had discovered long ago that the
Ameers put implicit faith in their deserts, and feel confident that we
can never reach them there. Therefore, when negotiations and
delays, and lying and intrigues of all kinds fail, they can at last
declare their entire obedience, innocence, and humility, and retire
beyond our reach to their deserts, and from thence launch their wild
bands against us, so as to cut off all our communications and render
Scinde more hot than Nature has already done. So circumstanced,
and after drawing all I could from Ali Moorad, whom I saw last night
at Khyrpore, I made up my mind that, although war was not
declared, nor is it necessary to declare it, I would at once march
upon Emaum-Ghur, and prove to the whole Talpoor family, both of
Khyrpore and Hyderabad, that neither their deserts nor their
negotiations could protect them from the British troops. While they
imagine they can fly with security they never will."
The forces on which the Ameers relied numbered about 20,000 men,
who had retired to a great stronghold, eight days' journey distant, in
the dreary desert of Beloochistan. Thither, notwithstanding the
difficulties of the march, Sir Charles Napier boldly determined to
pursue them. The wells being all dry, water for the troops and their
horses had to be carried on camels' backs. With 360 men of the
Queen's Regiment, mounted on camels, and 200 irregular cavalry,
followed by ten camels bearing provisions, and eighty loaded with
water, the adventurous general directed his perilous course into the
desert, commencing his march on the 5th of January, 1843. After
three or four days' march over burning sands, the camels became
too weak to draw the howitzers. Their place was supplied, or their
failing strength aided, by the hardy and indomitable Irishmen who
formed part of the expedition. "At length, on the evening of the
14th, the square tower of Emaum-Ghur was discerned, rising on the
distant horizon in solitary grandeur, in that profound solitude." They
found the place deserted; Mahommed Khan, the governor, having
retired with his treasure the day before, leaving an immense
quantity of ammunition behind. With this the fortress was blown up.
No fewer than twenty-four mines were run under it in different
parts. As Major Warburton, the engineer, was applying his fusee to
the last one, his assistant cried, "The other mines are going to
burst." "That may be," he replied; "but this must burst also." He
then set fire to the fusee with his own hand, and quietly walked
away. In a few minutes the stronghold of the Beloochees was blown
into fragments. They had another, of equal strength, farther on in
the desert; but to attack that with the forces now at his command
was an impossibility; and so Sir Charles Napier returned, and
rejoined his main army near Hyderabad, having sent Outram to
negotiate the details of the treaty.
On the 12th of February, 1843, Outram persuaded the Ameers, who
were in deadly fear of Napier, to sign the treaty. But the negotiator,
who continued to place implicit confidence in the pacific professions
of the Ameers—they being anxious to gain time till the hot weather
should come, and give them an advantage against their enemies—
was convinced of his mistake by a treacherous attack made on the
British residency; the Ameers boasting that "every man, woman, and
child belonging to the British army in Scinde should be collected on
the field of battle, and have their throats cut, except the general,
who should be led, chained, with a ring in his nose to the durbar."
Outram's garrison consisted only of 100 soldiers, with forty rounds of
ammunition each, with which he had to defend himself against
8,000 men with six guns. The British fired with effect from behind a
wall till their ammunition was exhausted, when they slowly retired till
they got safe on board the British steamers, protected by their guns,
which swept the flank of the enemy. The war had now come in
earnest, and so Sir Charles Napier resolved to show the Ameers
what British troops could do. The odds were greatly against him, for
he had but 8,600 men, of whom only 400 were Europeans, with
which he was to engage an army 22,000 strong, with 5,000 horse,
and fifteen guns, all well posted in a strong position at Meeanee. It
required marvellous hardihood in the veteran warrior of the
Peninsula to enter upon such an unequal contest. But it was the first
time that the ambition of his life was realised—in being placed in a
position of supreme command—and he longed to show the world
how worthily he could have filled it long ago. The officers who
fought under him in that memorable battle deserve to be mentioned.
Major Lloyd commanded the Artillery, Captain Henderson the
Sappers and Miners; next to them stood the 22nd, commanded by
Colonel Pennefather; Colonel Teesdale led the 25th Sepoys; Colonel
Read the 12th Native Infantry; Major Clibborne the Bengal
Engineers; Colonel Pattle the 9th Bengal Horse; and Captain Tait the
Poonah Horse. The plain between the two armies was about 1,000
yards in breadth. The space was rapidly passed over. Napier's men
rushed forward, and crossing the bed of a river which intervened,
they ran up the slope, while the artillery of the Beloochees fired over
their heads. Reaching the summit, they beheld, for the first time, the
camp of the enemy, which was carried by the 22nd. The Native
Infantry also behaved well, and while the little army was doing
terrible execution upon the enemy, the artillery swept their ranks
with shot and shell. Nevertheless, they fought bravely, and held their
ground for three hours in a hand to hand encounter with their
assailants. The chasms which were repeatedly made by the guns in
the living mass were quickly filled up by those behind rushing
forward to the conflict. The pressure of numbers bearing down the
hill seemed more than once on the point of overwhelming the
British, and obliterating their "thin red lines." Nearly all the officers
were killed or wounded. Everything now depended upon the cavalry,
which were commanded by Colonel Pattle, who was ordered to
charge instantly. They went at full gallop through the jungle: fifty
were thrown off their horses, but the rest pressed on, ascended the
ridge of the hill, dashed into the thick of the enemy's ranks, fiercely
cutting their way with their swords right and left, trampling down the
men under their horses' feet, never ceasing till they had traversed
the whole camp. The confusion and wavering thus occasioned gave
courage to the infantry. The Irish and the Sepoys, raising the cry of
victory, pressed on with fury, drove the enemy back down the hill,
and compelled them to retreat, abandoning their guns, their
ammunition, and their baggage, leaving their dead on the field, and
marking their course by a long train of killed and wounded. Their
loss was estimated at 5,000—1,000 bodies being found in the bed of
the river. The British loss was almost incredibly small: six officers and
fifty-four privates killed, fourteen officers and 109 men wounded.
Next day the victorious general sent a message to Hyderabad,
threatening to storm the city if it was not immediately surrendered.
The walls were very strong, and might have been defended
successfully; but the Ameers had lost heart, and six of them came
out to the British camp, and laid their swords at the feet of the
conqueror. But though the city was in his possession, conquest
seemed only to increase his difficulties. He had to keep possession
of a large hostile city, and to defend his own entrenched camp
against 20,000 Beloochees, who were still in the field under Shere
Mahommed, and to accomplish all this he had but 2,000 effective
men under his command. Reinforcements, however, were quickly
dispatched by Lord Ellenborough. They arrived safely and gave him
an army of 5,000 veteran troops. In the meantime, Shere
Mahommed had come within five miles of the British camp, and sent
Sir Charles Napier a summons to surrender; he had an army of
20,000 men in an extremely strong position. Nothing daunted, Sir
Charles Napier attacked the enemy. His plan of action was altered,
on account of an unauthorised attack made by Colonel Stark with his
cavalry, in consequence of the giving way of the centre before an
onset of the Irish regiment. The cavalry charge, the result of a
sudden inspiration, was brilliantly successful. The cavalry swept
everything before them, and carried confusion and dismay into the
rear of the enemy's centre. The British general instantly took
advantage of this success, and, changing his plan, he led on the
Irish infantry to storm the first nullah. After a fierce resistance, the
scarp was mounted, and Lieutenant Coote fell wounded while in the
act of waving the Beloochee standard in triumph on the summit. The
Sepoys were equally successful in storming the second nullah, which
was bravely defended, but ultimately carried with great loss to the
enemy, who were routed in all directions, their retreating ranks
being mowed down by the artillery, and pursued by the cavalry for a
distance of several miles. The loss of the British in this great victory
was only 270 men. Although the heat was then 110° in the shade,
Sir Charles Napier rapidly pursued the enemy, so that his cavalry
arrived at Meerpoor, a distance of forty miles, before Shere
Mahommed could reach it. It was his capital—strongly fortified, filled
with stores of all kinds—and it fell without resistance into the hands
of the British general. Shere Mahommed had retreated to the
stronghold of Omerkote, in the desert. Thither he was pursued by
Captain Whitlie, at the head of the Light Horse. The Ameer fled with
some horsemen into the desert. The garrison that remained, after a
few shots, pulled down their colours, and, on the 4th of April, the
British standard waved on the towers of Omerkote.
The remnant of the Beloochee forces were hunted for some weeks
by flying columns. At length, Captain Roberts, at the head of one of
them, captured the brother of Shere Mahommed and 1,000 of his
followers. Another column was attacked by the Ameer himself; but
his followers, after the first round of fire, dispersed. The whole
military force of the Ameers was now annihilated, and the conquest
of Scinde was complete. "I think," said Sir Charles Napier, "I may
venture to say that Scinde is now subdued. The Scindian population
everywhere express their satisfaction at the change of masters." No
doubt the change from Mohammedan to British rule was an
advantage to the poor Hindoos; and if it be allowable to do evil that
good may come, Lord Ellenborough was justified in the means he
had adopted for supplanting the Ameers.

THE CHARGE OF THE CAVALRY AT MEEANEE. (See p. 592.)

[See larger version]
The British public, thrilled by the news of his heroic achievements,
fully sympathised with the victorious general. The thanks of both
Houses of Parliament were voted to him and the army, and the Duke
of Wellington expressed in the House of Lords the highest
admiration of his generalship. Sir Charles Napier became the civil
governor of the province which his sword had won for his Sovereign;
and he showed by the excellence of his administration that his
capacity as a statesman was equal to his genius as a general. He
encouraged trade; he carried on extensive public works; he erected
a pier at Kurrachee, extending two miles into the water, and forming
a secure harbour; he organised a most efficient police; he raised a
revenue sufficient to pay the whole expenses of the administration,
giving a surplus of £90,000, which, added to the prize-money,
brought half a million sterling into the Company's treasury in one
year. The cultivators of the soil were protected in the enjoyment of
the fruits of their industry; artisans, no longer liable to be mutilated
for demanding their wages, came back from the countries to which
they had fled; beautiful girls were no longer torn from their families
to fill the zenanas of Mohammedan lords, or to be sold into slavery.
The Hindoo merchant and the Parsee trader pursued their business
with confidence, and commerce added to the wealth of the new
province. The effect of these reforms was conspicuous in the loyalty
of the Scindians during the revolt of 1857.
No sooner was the conquest of Scinde completed than the Governor-
General began to discern another cloud looming in the distance. In
the Punjab, Runjeet Singh had organised a regular and well-
disciplined army of 73,000 men. He died in 1839. His heir died the
next year, it was supposed of poison. The next heir was killed a few
days afterwards by accident. The third, who succeeded, was an
effeminate prince, who left the government in the hands of his
Minister, a wicked man, who, conspiring with others, caused to be
murdered several members of the Royal Family. They were, in their
turn, punished by having their heads cut off, and the only surviving
son of Runjeet Singh, a boy only ten years of age, was proclaimed
Maharajah. This was the work of the Sikh army, now virtually
masters of the country. Lord Ellenborough and his Council suspected
that this army, still 40,000 strong, and very brave, was unfriendly to
the British, and might some day give trouble to the Indian
Government—possibly invade its territories and cut off its
communications. In order to guard against such contingencies, it
was necessary, they thought, to take possession of Gwalior, a
powerful Mahratta State in Central India. This country lay on the
flank of our line of communications with Allahabad, Benares, and
Calcutta. In this country also there were, fortunately for the British,
a disputed succession, royal murders, civil dissensions, and military
disorganisation. A boy, adopted by the queen, was proclaimed
Sovereign by the chiefs, with a regency, over which the British
Government extended its protecting wing. The young Sovereign died
in 1843, leaving no child; but his widow, then thirteen years of age,
adopted a boy of eight, who became king under another regency.
The regent Nana Sahib was deposed, notwithstanding the support of
the British Government. This was an offence which Lord
Ellenborough would not allow to go unpunished; and besides, the
disorganised army of Gwalior was said to be committing
depredations along the British frontier. Here, then, in the estimation
of the Governor-General, was a clear case for military intervention,
to put down disorder, and secure a good position for future defence
against the possible aggressions of the warlike Sikhs of the Punjab.
Lord Ellenborough explained his policy to the Company, stating that
the Indian Government could not descend from its high position as
the paramount authority in India.
His arguments seemed to satisfy the Home Government, and a large
force was sent from Agra to Gwalior, under Sir Hugh Gough, then
Commander-in-Chief of India, as successor of Sir Jasper Nicholls. So
much interest did Lord Ellenborough feel in this invading expedition
that it was accompanied by him in person. The Mahrattas of course
prepared to defend themselves. They were met at Maharajpore.
After a severe struggle, in which the enemy were bayoneted at their
guns, and a series of bloody conflicts had taken place in the streets,
the British were victorious, and got possession of twenty-eight guns,
with the key of the enemy's position. The battle, however, was not
over when this vantage ground was gained; for though the enemy
had fallen back, they were prepared for a desperate resistance in
other less favourable positions. A general attack was then ordered.
Brigadier Scott, at the head of the 10th Light Horse, and Captain
Grant, with his Horse Artillery, had scattered their cavalry which
covered the extreme right. General Vaillant then led on the 40th
Queen's, and successively gained three strong positions, which the
enemy defended with the utmost firmness and courage, not quitting
their guns till they were cut down by their fierce assailants. In this
attack they lost six regimental standards. The 2nd Native Infantry
also acted bravely on this occasion. The 39th Queen's also made an
impetuous attack, and the result was that the enemy were driven
from all their entrenchments in utter confusion, with the loss of nine
standards and sixty-four guns. Seven of our officers were killed on
the spot or wounded mortally. Our total loss was 106 killed, and 684
wounded. The Commander-in-Chief wrote in his despatch:—"I regret
to say that our loss has been very severe—infinitely beyond what I
calculated upon. Indeed, I did not do justice to the gallantry of my
opponents." It was a loss certainly almost unprecedented in Indian
warfare, and it is remarkable that this misfortune repeatedly
occurred while Lord Gough was Commander-in-Chief. Lord
Ellenborough, with his suite, was rash enough to be under fire
during part of the engagement. The loss of the enemy was
estimated at 3,000. Major-General Gray, with only 2,000 men, on the
same day won a victory over 12,000 of the Mahrattas, in the fortified
village of Mangor, about twelve miles from Gwalior. Here, too, the
loss of the victors was very heavy, more than a tenth of the little
army having fallen.
After these victories an armistice was agreed upon, as a preliminary
to negotiations. The result was submission on the part of the
Mahrattas, and the occupation of Gwalior by British troops. The
Governor-General then imposed the terms of peace, which did not
include the seizure of any territory, but consisted solely in the
usurpation of sovereignty. The Mahrattas were compelled to disband
their army and abolish their government. The supreme authority was
lodged in a Council of men devoted to the East India Company,
whose President was to receive his instructions from the British
Resident. A new army was organised as a contingent, which was to
be at the service of the Indian Government when required. Until the
majority of the reigning Prince, the administrators of the
Government were to act on the British Resident's advice, not only
generally or in important points, but in all matters wherein such
advice should be offered.
The career of Lord Ellenborough as Governor-General of India was
one of the most remarkable in its annals. He went out for the
purpose of inaugurating a policy of peace, conciliation, and non-
intervention. His course from that day was one of constant
aggression and war. The conquests of Scinde and Gwalior were
planned and prepared for deliberately and in good time; and when
the Governments to be subdued were goaded into hostilities, he was
ready to pounce upon them with overwhelming force. His friends
defended this policy on the ground that, though it was aggressive it
was self-defensive; to guard against a possible, but very remote
contingency—an invasion of the Sikhs to drive the British out of
India. The Governor-General, however, had become entirely too
warlike; and since he had smelt powder and tasted blood at Gwalior,
the Board of Control, who had already formally censured his Scinde
policy, became so alarmed at his martial propensities that they
determined on his immediate recall, and sent out Sir Henry Hardinge
to rule in his stead.
Sir Henry Hardinge, the new Governor-General of India, whom Sir
Robert Peel recommended to the Board of Control, had been in the
army since he was thirteen years of age. He had followed Wellington
through all the battles of the Peninsular war, and had won all the
military glory that could be desired, so that he was not likely to
follow the example of Lord Ellenborough in opening fresh fields for
the gathering of laurels in India. The Chairman of the East India
Company, giving him instructions on his departure, cautioned him
against following the example of Lord Ellenborough in appointing
military officers as administrators in preference to the civil servants
of the Crown. He reminded him that the members of the Civil
Service were educated with a special view to the important duties of
civil administration, upon the upright and intelligent performance of
which so much of the happiness of the people depended. He
expressed a hope that he would appreciate justly the eminent
qualities of the civil servants of India; and that he would act towards
the Sepoys with every degree of consideration and indulgence,
compatible with the maintenance of order and obedience. He urged
that his policy should be essentially pacific, and should tend to the
development of the internal resources of the country, while
endeavouring to improve the condition of the finances.
 THACKWELL AT SOBRAON. (See p. 599.)
[See larger version]
Sir Henry arrived at Calcutta in September, 1844. He found that
tranquillity prevailed throughout the empire, and applied his energies
to the formation of railways. But he had soon to encounter the
exigencies of war. Notwithstanding the stringent injunctions he had
received to cultivate the most amicable spirit with the Sikhs, he was
obliged to tax the resources of the empire in maintaining with them
one of the most desperate conflicts recorded in Indian history. The
Sikhs were a warlike race, distinguished not less by fanaticism than
bravery. They were bound together and inspired by the most
powerful religious convictions—a tall, muscular, and athletic race of
men, full of patriotic ardour, elevated by an ancient faith. They were
confederated in various provinces, to the number of about
7,000,000. They were accustomed to ride upon fleet horses, and had
organised an effective cavalry, while their infantry had been
disciplined by French and Italian officers. They could, if necessary,
bring into the field 260,000 fighting men; but their regular army now
consisted of 73,000 men with 200 pieces of artillery. Settled chiefly
in the Punjab, a country of extraordinary fertility, they also abounded
in Mooltan, Afghanistan, and Cashmere, celebrated from the most
ancient times as the favoured abode of manufacturing industry,
social order, wealth, and happiness. This warlike race had been
governed by Runjeet Singh, a chief of extraordinary ability, energy,
and determination. He had but one eye; he was deeply marked with
the small-pox; his aspect was repulsive, and his manner rude; yet
was he looked up to by this great people with respectful homage,
and obeyed with implicit trust. While he lived he maintained an
alliance with the British Government; but after his death the Sikhs
were divided into two factions—one headed by Gholab Singh, and
professing to be favourable to the British; the other by the Ranee,
who yielded to the clamours of the unpaid soldiers to be led against
the English. Accordingly the military forces of the Sikhs were ordered
to march down to the Sutlej. But their intended attack was
prevented by the astrologers, who declared that the auspicious day
for marching had not yet arrived. Sir Henry Hardinge, however, in
common with the most experienced officers of the Indian
Government, did not think the Sikh army would cross the Sutlej with
its infantry and artillery, or that they would have recourse to
offensive operations on a large scale. Up to this period it had
committed no act of aggression. In 1843 and 1844 it had moved
down the river from Lahore, and after remaining there encamped a
few weeks, had returned to the capital. These reasons, and, above
all, his extreme anxiety to avoid hostilities, induced him not to make
any hasty movement with his army, which, when the two armies
came into each other's presence, might bring about a collision. This
moderation, however, was misconstrued by the Sikhs. They
supposed that the British were afraid to encounter them.
Accordingly, on the night of the 9th of December, 1845, a portion of
the Sikh army appeared within three miles of the Sutlej; and
information was received by our garrison at Ferozepore that
preparations were making on a large scale for the movement of
infantry, artillery, and stores from the Sikh capital, Lahore. On the
12th of December the Sikh army crossed the Sutlej, and
concentrated in great force on the British side of the river. The
British reserves, meanwhile, were advancing to meet this formidable
enemy; but they were still far off, and Ferozepore had but a garrison
of 9,500 men to withstand an army of 60,000 with 100 guns! Sir
Charles Napier wrote in his "Memoirs" that he did not think history
would let off Sir Henry Hardinge for allowing such an army to cross
the river unmolested, and entrench itself on the other side. It is
quite certain that Sir Charles would not have given them such an
advantage. But their generals did not know how to use it. Sir Henry
Hardinge had hastened in person to assist General Gough in
conducting the operations against the enemy, and both putting
themselves at the head of the advanced guard, they were followed
by the reserves, marching at the rate of twenty-six miles a day, full
of excitement at the prospect of more fighting.
At length the Sikhs moved on to meet the British on the 18th of
December. When they came in sight, the British bugles sounded, and
the wearied soldiers, who had been lying on the ground, started up
and stood to their arms. The Governor-General and the Commander-
in-Chief rode from regiment to regiment, cheering the spirits of their
men, and rousing them to the needful pitch of valour by encouraging
exhortations. About two miles from Moodkee, Gough, at the head of
the advanced guard, found the enemy encamped behind sandy
hillocks and jungle, 20,000 strong, with forty guns, which
immediately opened fire as he approached. The battlefield was a
sandy plain, on which the view was obstructed by small hills, which
prevented the belligerents from seeing one another till they were
quite near. For some time the contest was maintained on both sides
by the artillery. Then General Gough ordered the advance of a
column of cavalry—the 3rd Light Dragoons, the 5th Light Cavalry,
and the 4th Lancers. The column was launched like an immense
thunderbolt against a mass of Sikh cavalry, and proved so irresistible
in its terrific onset that it broke them up into fragments, scattered
them about, and swept along the whole line of the enemy, cutting
down the gunners, and suspending for a time the roar of their
artillery. Soon afterwards the infantry came into action, led on by Sir
Harry Smith, General Gilbert, and Sir John M'Caskill. The Sikhs
fought bravely and obstinately at every point; but when the steady
incessant fire of the artillery had done its work, a general charge
was made, with loud, exultant cheers, and the enemy were driven
from their ground with tremendous loss. The day had closed upon
the battlefield, but the routed enemy were pursued for a mile and a
half by the light of the stars.
The British losses in the battle of Moodkee were very heavy—215
killed; among whom were Sir Robert Sale, Sir John M'Caskill, and a
number of young officers who had greatly distinguished themselves.
The wounded amounted to 657. Meanwhile, the enemy, having left
seventeen guns upon the field, retired in tolerably good order, within
their entrenched camp, which they had formed at Ferozeshah, on
the banks of the Sutlej, near Ferozepore. For two days both armies
remained inactive, but ready to renew the conflict. The losses of the
British had been made up by the arrival of the 29th Queen's and the
1st Bengal Light Infantry. A memorable event in the history of British
warfare in India, was that Sir Henry Hardinge, the veteran
commander, the hero of so many battles, the Governor-General of
India, offered his services to Sir Hugh Gough as second in command.
The offer was accepted, and the army marched forth to attack the
enemy's camp. They started at daybreak on the 21st, and about
midday a junction was effected with General Littler's division, which
had marched out from Ferozepore, according to orders sent the
night before. The British army was now raised to 19,000 effective
men. The enemy were double that number, strongly entrenched,
well provisioned, and fresh after two days' rest; while our troops
were ill provided with food, and had marched ten miles that
morning. To attack the Sikhs without waiting for some expected
reinforcements was hazardous; to postpone the attack for another
day seemed still more so—as there was a second Sikh army of equal
force, which would then have reached the scene of action. An
immediate attack was therefore determined upon—Gough leading
the right wing, and Hardinge the left. The Sikh artillery was heavier
than the British. The guns were protected behind embrasures, the
gunners were sure in their aim; and so terrible was the effect that
the 62nd Regiment, which led on the attack, was nearly cut away,
and several Sepoy regiments broke and fled. The whole of the left
wing, though led on gallantly by the Governor-General, were driven
back, after carrying part of the works. The right wing, under General
Gough, succeeded better, and held possession of several of the
ramparts. But the Sikhs were still in possession of the fortified village
of Ferozeshah, and remained so till night closed upon the scene;
when the smoke and dust subsided, and the silence was broken only
by an occasional shot from the guns, responded to in the darkness—
the gunners seeing no enemy, but aiming at the flash of light.
The weary night at length passed. The dull sun of a December day
(the 22nd) rose upon the ghastly scenes of that gory battlefield. The
soldiers, many of whom were without food from the morning of the
previous day, were again marshalled in order of battle. The artillery
commenced the work, but with little effect. "But why waste time and
ammunition thus?" said Gough. "We must try the bayonet once
more." Then was made a tremendous charge for life. At first, part of
the line reeled under the storm from the enemy's guns; but still the
whole army pressed on with desperate shouts, the two wings closing
in upon the village, driving everything before them, and still pressing
onward till they captured the whole of the enemy's guns on the
works. The two generals, waving the captured banners, rode in
triumph before the victorious army, and were hailed with
enthusiastic applause. The whole of the enemy's military stores and
camp furniture, with seventy-three guns and seventeen standards,
remained in possession of the British. One Sikh army was now
defeated; but there was another to come on, 30,000 strong, most of
whom were perfectly fresh. The spirit of the Commander-in-Chief
seemed now to fail him, and he so despaired of the issue that he
confessed in a letter to his friend, that for a moment he felt regret
as each passing shot left him still on horseback. Most of our cavalry
were hardly able to move from the exhaustion of the horses; our
ammunition was nearly spent, while the fire from the enemy's guns
was rapid. At this critical moment, owing to a misconception of
orders, our cavalry and artillery moved off from the flanks, which
they protected, taking the road towards Ferozepore. It was a
blunder that seemed ordered by Providence to save our army from
annihilation; for the Sikhs—not knowing our weakness, and
conceiving that the design was to take possession of the fords, and
prevent their crossing the river—immediately began to retreat. Our
infantry pursued; and such was the consternation and confusion of
the enemy, that they never stopped running till they got to the other
side of the Sutlej. In these terrible battles the British lost, in killed
and wounded, 2,415 men, being a sixth of the whole number
engaged. Among the killed were Major Broadfoot, political agent in
the North-West Provinces, Colonel Wallace, and Major Somerset.
It was apprehended that the enemy would return next day in greater
force to renew the contest; but as they did not, the Commander-in-
Chief seized the opportunity to summon the troops to join him in
public thanksgiving to God for the victory. The year 1846 dawned
upon the still undecided contest. The British gained most by the
delay. The Governor-General had ordered up fresh troops from
Meerut, Cawnpore, Delhi, and Agra. By the end of January Sir Hugh
Gough had under his command 30,000 men of all arms. On every
road leading to the scene of action, from Britain's Indian
possessions, convoys were seen bearing provisions and stores of all
sorts to the army; while reinforcements were pressing onward
rapidly that they might share the glory by confronting the greatest
danger. That danger was still grave. The Sikhs also were bringing up
reinforcements, and strengthening their entrenched camp at the
British side of the Sutlej, having constructed a bridge of boats for
the conveyance of their troops and stores across the river. The
enemy had established a considerable magazine at a fortified village
some miles from the camp, and Sir Harry Smith proceeded at the
head of a detachment to attack it. But Sirdar Runjeet Singh
intercepted him, cut off and captured all his baggage; but being
reinforced, he met the enemy again at a place on the Sutlej, called
Aliwal. The Sikh army, which seemed in the best possible order and
discipline, were drawn up in imposing array, 20,000 strong with 70
guns, while the British were 9,000 with 32. After a series of splendid
charges the enemy were driven successively from every position,
and fled in confusion across the river. Several of the British
horsemen followed the guns into the river, and spiked them there.
The loss of the Sikhs is said to have been 3,000, while that of the
British was only 673 killed and wounded. The moral effect of this
victory over such unequal forces was of the utmost advantage to the
rest of the army (January 28th, 1846).
On the 8th of February was fought the great and decisive battle of
Sobraon, the name of the tête du pont, at the entrenched camp of
the Sikhs, where all the forces of the enemy were now concentrated.
The camps extended along both sides of the river, and were
defended by 130 pieces of artillery, of which nearly half were of
heavy calibre, and which were all served by excellent gunners. The
British troops formed a vast semicircle, each end of which touched
the river, the village of Sobraon being in the centre, where the
enemy were defended by a triple line of works, one within another,
flanked by the most formidable redoubts. The battle commenced by
the discharge of artillery on both sides, which played with terrific
force for three hours. After this the British guns went up at a gallop
till they came within 300 yards of the works, where it was intended
the assault should be delivered. Halting there, they poured a
concentrated fire upon the position for some time. After this the
assault was made by the infantry, running. The regiment which led
the way was the 10th, supported by the 53rd Queen's and the 43rd
and 59th Native Infantry. They were repulsed with dreadful
slaughter. The post of honour and of danger was now taken by the
Ghoorkas. A desperate struggle with the bayonet ensued; the Sikhs
were overpowered by the brigades of Stacey and Wilkinson; but, as
the fire of the enemy was now concentrated upon this point, the
brave assailants were in danger of being overwhelmed and
destroyed. The British Commander-in-Chief seeing this, sent forward
the brigades of Ashburnham, as well as Smith's division, against the
right of the enemy, while his artillery played furiously upon their
whole line. The Sikhs fought with no less valour and determination
than the British. Not one of their gunners flinched till he was struck
down at his post. Into every gap opened by the artillery they rushed
with desperate resolution, repelling the assaulting columns of the
British. At length the cavalry, which has so often decided the fate of
the day in great battles, were instrumental in achieving the victory.
The Sappers and Miners having succeeded in opening a passage
through which the horses could enter in single file, the 3rd Queen's
Dragoons, under Sir Joseph Thackwell, got inside the works, quickly
formed, and galloping along in the rear of the batteries, cut down
the gunners as they passed. General Gough promptly followed up
this advantage by ordering forward the whole three divisions of the
centre and the right. It was then that the fighting may be said to
have commenced in earnest. The struggle was long, bloody, and
relentless. No quarter was given or asked; the Sikhs fighting like
men for whom death had no terrors, and for whom death in battle
was the happiest as well as the most glorious exit from life. But they
encountered men with hearts as stout and stronger muscle, and
they were at length gradually forced back upon the river by the
irresistible British bayonet. The bridge at length gave way under the
enormous weight, and thousands were precipitated into the water
and drowned. But even in the midst of this catastrophe the drowning
fanatics would accept no mercy from the Feringhees. Our losses
amounted to 320 killed and 2,063 wounded. Of the European
officers, thirteen were killed and 101 wounded. The loss of the Sikhs
in the battle of Sobraon was estimated at from 10,000 to 13,000
men, the greater number being shot down or drowned in the
attempt to cross the bridge. They left in the hands of the victors
sixty-seven guns, 200 camel swivels, nineteen standards, and a
great quantity of ammunition.
The whole army now crossed the river at leisure, and marched
towards Lahore. Lord Hardinge issued a proclamation, in which he
stated that the war was the result of the wanton and unprovoked
incursion of the Sikhs; that the British Government wanted no
acquisition of territory, but only security for the future, indemnity for
the expenses of the war, and the establishment of a government at
Lahore, which should afford a guarantee against such aggressions in
the time to come. The Ranee and her durbar, or council, now saw
the necessity of prompt submission, which was tendered by
plenipotentiaries sent to the British camp, who threw the whole
blame of the war on the uncontrollable troops. They were well
received by the Governor-General, and a treaty was without difficulty
concluded on the 15th of February at a place called Kussoor. By the
terms of the treaty, all the territory lying between the river Beas and
the Sutlej was ceded to the British Government. The sum of one
million sterling was to be paid for the expenses of the war; but the
sum was found too heavy, and instead Gholab Singh was rewarded
for his fidelity to the British by the grant of a large tract of territory
between the Beas and the Indus. Peace having been thus concluded,
the young Maharajah, Dhuleep Singh, was received by the Governor-
General at his camp with Oriental pomp; and on the 22nd of
February Sir Henry Hardinge entered Lahore at the head of his
victorious army, taking possession of the gates, the citadel, and the
Royal palace.
These great victories, so hardly won with such heavy sacrifices of
human life, and accompanied by such heroic achievements, excited
the admiration of the British public. The principal actors were
munificently rewarded. The Governor-General was created Viscount
Hardinge of Lahore, the title being accompanied by a shower of
honours from his Sovereign, and a large pension from the East India
Company. Sir Hugh Gough was also raised to the peerage, and
received from the Company an annual pension of £2,000, with the
same amount from Parliament, for three lives. Many of the officers
engaged in the Sikh war received promotion and military orders, and
a gratuity of twelve months' pay was given to all the soldiers without
exception engaged in the campaign.
But the conquered Sikhs did not very easily acquiesce in the terms
proposed by the conquerors, in spite of the wise administration of
the great brothers John and Henry Lawrence, who organised a
thoroughly efficient government in the new territories. Gholab Singh
was chased from the territory the British had given him, and it
became necessary that British arms should reinstate him, and that a
British force should permanently garrison Lahore, at a cost to the
Sikh Government of £220,000 a year. The intriguing and restless
Ranee was sent off from the capital to Sharpoora, where she was
kept under surveillance. Sir Charles Napier was obliged to resign his
government in Scinde from ill-health, and he returned home in 1847.
The Governor-General, after making a progress through various
parts of the empire, in order to inaugurate and encourage works of
social improvement, was also obliged to retire from his post, in
consequence of the failure of his health owing to the fatigues and
hardships he had endured in the campaign, and Henry Lawrence
accompanied him. On his return home Hardinge was made Master-
General of the Ordnance and Commander-in-Chief, being succeeded
in India by Lord Dalhousie, who arrived there on the 10th of
January, 1848. He, too, found disturbances to be quelled and
treachery to be punished among our allies and tributaries. Troubles
occurred at Lahore, where the hostility of the inhabitants to the
British broke out with terrible effect. Mr. Vans Agnew, the British
Resident, and Lieutenant Anderson were treacherously murdered at
Mooltan, apparently by the orders of Moolraj, who had been ordered
to pay a large sum as succession duty to the Sikh Government. Their
death was avenged by Lieutenant Edwardes and General Courtland,
who, at the head of a small force, attacked and defeated the
revolted Sikhs, 3,000 strong. At length 26,000 troops under General
Whish invested the place. But his troops went over to the enemy,
and he was compelled to raise the siege and retire. At the same time
an insurrection broke out in the Punjab, headed by the governor of
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