BURLINGTON HEIGHTS

BATTLE OF.—Between the British and the United States’ forces—an obstinate and memorable engagement, contested with great valour on both sides. The Americans were routed, and the British carried the heights, June 6th, 1813. BUSACO OR BUZACO, BATTLE OF.—This sanguinary engagement was fought, September 27th, 1810, between the British, under Lord Wellington, and the French army, commanded by Ma ena. The latter was repulsed with great slaughter, losing one general, and 1000 men killed, two generals and about 3000 men wounded, and several hundred prisoners; the lo of the British and their allies did not exceed 1300 in the whole. The British subsequently retreated to the lines of Torres Vedras, which were too strong for Ma ena to attempt to force, and the two armies remained in sight of each other to the end of the year. C CABUL.—The following is succinct account of this expedition. “Every preparation was now completed for our march, and on the 12th of October, 1842, our force, divided into three brigades, left Cabul, the first under General Pollock, the second under General McCaskill, and the rear under General Nott. We had not proceeded more than four miles, when we heard the explosion of the mines, which left the renowned Cabul a vast region of ruins; and the Affghans to judge the spirit of the British as an avenging one. Cabul lies under the Hindoo Koosh, and is bordered on the one side by the Himalaya, and the rivers Attock and Rozee: the people are robust and healthy; their manners amount to insolence and cruelty; they are continually at war with each other; and are divided into tribes. Trade seemed to have abounded greatly, and the country is generally in a flourishing state: the cities of Cabul, Ghuznee, and Candahar, are the principal ones of Affghanistan; the Persians form a considerable portion of the inhabitants of Cabul, and the traffic with that country is somewhat extensive. The divisions made a general move at daybreak, on the 12th October, to Thag Bakh, about six miles distant from Cabul; and on the entrance to the Koord Cabul Pa , Her Majesty’s 9th and 13th Regiments, together with six Native Corps of the 1st Division, manned the hills commanding the pa , to enable those in the valley below to move on unmolested. On the morning of the 13th the troops entered the Pa which led to Tezeen, about nine miles. The mountains were high and craggy, and very dark, rendering the road extremely gloomy and sad; a torrent ran in a serpentine direction from side to side, which reminded me of the Bolun; it had to be cro ed twenty-eight times during about six miles. We had scarcely got well into the jaws of this awful scene of romantic vastne , whose hollow crags seemed to echo defiance to our intruding tread, when a number of the enemy made their appearance in the rear, but were kept in check. The very great height of the mountains, of a dark, reddish colour, struck one with awe, and silence seemed to reign over all; the mind was totally occupied in contemplating this fearful sight of hidden deeds; horror struck the feeling heart, when the eye fell on the skeletons of our departed comrades, who lay in most agonizing positions, indicative of their last struggle for life. Here a spot would be strewed with a few crouched up in a corner, where they had evidently fled to cover themselves by some detached rock, from the overpowering cruelty of their foe, and had been rivetted by death. There couples were lying who had died in each other’s arms, locked as it were in the last embrace of despair: numbers lay in every direction, devoid of every particle of clothes; some with the greater part of the flesh putrefied on their bleaching bones—others were clean from having been devoured by the vast number of carrion birds and beasts inhabiting these terrible regions. I at first attempted to count the number of frames as I went along, but found them so numerous that I could not find time, and my inclination sickened from the awfulne of the scene. The pa was no more than thirty feet wide at this part, and so numerous were the mouldering frames of these whose lives had been sacrificed during the last winter, that they literally covered the road—and, in consequence, the artillery and other wheeled carriages had to pa over them—and it was indeed horrible to hear the wheels cracking the bones of our unburied comrades. It was quite easy to discover the Europe ans by the hair on the skulls, which still remained fresh. After a tedious, and indeed a painful march, we reached Tezeen, which opens from the narrow Pa into a much wider part, sufficient to enable us to pitch our camp. Here was a sad scene of recent strife—scarce a tent could be pitched but a skeleton or two had to be removed, just kicked aside as though it were a stump of a tree, in order to leave clear the place for the interior of the tent, and there remained unnoticed. It has often been a subject of deep reflection to me, to think how utterly reckle man can be made by habit: so used were we to these sights, that it became a mere commonplace matter to see such relics of devastation and ma acre. I remember walking with a friend down the centre of the camp, and we had often to stride over skeletons, without the least observation, further than I could not help heaving a sigh, and reflecting in silence on their unfortunate end. The next day took us thirteen miles on a road of extreme barrenne ; the high, wild, rugged mountains, hemmed in the narrow defile; the skeletons of the ma acred force still strewed the road in every direction; no signs of vegetation, or aught to relieve the eye from wildne —the numerous hollow crags, as we pa ed, seemed to ring with echoing despair, and afforded most formidable positions for the treacherous Affghan to use his jezail or matchlock, without fear of opposition. The enemy, finding we had now entered the Pa , hovered about, and succeeded in murdering an officer, and a few men of Pollock’s force. The divisions marched one day a-head of each other, and thus kept up a continued line of communication. I, with General Nott’s, arrived at this ground on the 14th; the road was equally extremely hara ing the next day, as indeed, ever since our entrance to the Pa . The ascents and descents are so numerous, coupled with having to cro the water so often, and there being no hold for the feet, on the loose flinty stones, made it very trying for both man and beast. Upwards of twenty times had the gushing torrent, dashing from side to side of the valley, to be waded through, and numbers of bleaching frames of the victims of Akbar’s treachery, lay exposed in the midst of the rolling stream. In one part of this day’s march we came to a place fifty yards in length, crowded with dead bodies of men, horses, and camels, which were those of a troop of irregular cavalry, who had all been cut up on this spot. About a mile from Sah Baba, our next ground, stands a round tower, the ruins of an old fort; it was now used as a bone house, and was crammed to the ceiling, with skulls, legs, arms, and shattered frames, and numbers were heaped outside the door, and round it,—placed there by the enemy, to form a glaring spectacle of their bitter revenge. A large body of Affghans were now seen covering the hills in our rear, and opened a fire into the dreary aby , on our rear guards and baggage as they pa ed. The column had moved on some few miles, but were halted, and those of our troops in po e ion of the heights commenced an attack, and succeeded in repelling them, and forcing them to retreat, and we reached camp with little lo . This place is said to be the burial place of Lamech, the father of Noah, and if we may judge from its wild, dreary, stony, barren appearance, which looked as if it had been washed up into a heap after the deluge, and so void of all chances of fertility, that one could scarcely doubt the tradition. Our next day led on to Kutta Sang, and of all the roads I had ever seen or traversed, as yet, this was the worst. The route led from hill to hill, the ascents being difficult and stony, and the descents in addition being very dangerous, as a fearful precipice presented itself should you happen to fall. These unwelcome views were many in number, and coupled with the tedious progre of the cattle and baggage, and the difficulty experienced in dragging the guns and loads up these many steep hills, and nothing but a dreary road to travel onward, made the march bad indeed. After the main body reached camp, the rear guard was attacked; a reinforcement was despatched, and a smart skirmish ensued; the Affghans seemed to delight in annoying us, and from their hidden positions most peremptorily carried their plan into effect; we lost few men compared with them, and the whole reached camp about midnight. Still the poor soldier found misery destined for him in every direction. On arriving at a new ground, two regiments had to mount duty on the summits of the hills bordering the route, which had to be ascended after the day’s hara ing march, thus forming a second, much more so. The scanty, coarse meal, being nothing more than a quantity of meat and broth made from an allowance of a scarcely lifele carca , of the hard-driven, skeletonized bullock, and this of times not prepared before the dead hour of night; and then carried up to the men cold and tastele . The bread or cake made of coarse, hand-ground flour, full of grit and small straw, half-baked and calculated to produce disease by its use; and ere this was well eaten, the rouse would sound, and the weary instrument of Britain’s safety would be wending his way through the dreary and unknown regions, ’mid almost perpendicular rocks, and perilous tracks. Such was the road of the next day’s march, to Jugdulluk Pa : this is by no means the most difficult one to explore—the sides not being near so high as those already traversed; it had some appearance of fertility, being studded with many small bushes. There were innumerable small caves, or rece es in the rocks, and it was from those dark-dens, forming cover for the enemy, that they succeeded so well in cutting off our unfortunate brethren, whose skeletons here were very numerously strewed about the path, and thus rendered the Pa more horrible than it would have been; for the light shone brighter here than we had it for some time. Nay, so stupendous were the mountains, hemming the ravines we had pa ed, that it would be often far advanced in the day before the sun would be seen by those beneath. The unfortunate 44th made a somewhat succe ful stand in the Jugdulluk Pa , and succeeded, ere they were overpowered, in slaying many of their foes. The pa was narrow, and the Affghans, who had preceded us some hours, with a view to intercept and baffle us, had formed breastworks acro the road; and, would it be believed, that these breastworks were formed of skeletons of our own men and horses? Not le than 100 frames could have been here piled up, which had to be removed before we could pa on. About 600 of the enemy made their appearance here, and in the first onset did considerable damage,—but a detachment from the main body soon dislodged them, and put them to the rout; it was common to see, lying on the road, bodies of murdered Sepoys and couriers; and in fact to attempt to enumerate the acts of treachery practised on us, would be next to impo ible. We at length reached Soorkab. At this ground was a cluster of fine tall trees, which relieved the eye, and led us to hope we were approaching a land of the living; the camp was bordered by the celebrated Red River, a most beautiful crystal stream, rolling most musically over a stony bottom, and under the ridge of an immense mountain; the continued buzz kept up by the murmuring torrent echoing from the fearful crags, lulled the weary travellers in camp to sleep. Acro this river is a most splendid bridge of one gigantic arch, which led by a declivitous route from this Pa to another; on the right of this bridge, which was erected by Alexander, i ued a cataract roaring and dashing from the hills, which fed the stream, and formed a most beautiful picture. It was on this bridge that a number of the 44th—from the extreme inclemency of the weather, and the bitterne of the frost—were so benumbed with cold that they were unable to use their arms when attacked on their retreat. Oh! when reflection is but called up, and the miserable condition of these poor, oppre ed creatures, considered, it cannot but call forth a sigh of deep regret,—bereft of every chance of escape, or wherewithal to exist,—as they were. When we consider that some of our nearest and dearest relatives or friends were amongst the number—surely, if there is one spark of sympathy left, it will be kindled for those whose last struggle was for their country’s cause. Our next route led acro the bridge through the defile already described, and on the road were lying the bodies of two murdered Sepoys. The ascents and descents were as usual; and from the summit of these intersecting hills, the eye would carry itself upon range after range of never ending cliffs and walls of mountains; the dark aspect of the distant horizon carried with it a volume of thoughts, wondering when the back would be once more turned on such drearine . The moving ma below would be seen winding its serpentine length along the Pa , which from its narrowne , being obstructed by huge ma es of detached rock having fallen from the heights, and impa able by other than taking a circuitous route, were truly hara ing to the men and cattle. I may as well here mention the great trials and difficulties experienced in dragging along the heavy portions of the baggage, more particularly the celebrated Somnauth gates, which it will doubtle be remembered, were taken by direction of the Governor General, from the tomb of Sultan Mahomed at Ghuznee. These gates, it will doubtle also be remembered, were the idolatrous trophy of the Hindoos in the Guzerat Peninsula. The General directed a guard of not le than the wing of a regiment to mount over these gates, which were placed upon two platform carts, and drawn by six bullocks each. The other castes of the native Sepoys would not go near them, and the Hindoos were comparatively few, and insufficient to perform the duty, and as these gates were to be taken to the provinces for the purpose of being restored to that race, so great was the care taken of them that they were placed next to the main body of the army on the march, and nothing was permitted to go before them. The consequence was, that oftentimes, owing to the bullocks growing stubborn, the whole in the rear have been delayed; and the gates have had to be dragged by fatigue parties of the Europe ans—night has set in—the enemy have taken advantage of our position, and have succeeded in cutting off numbers who otherwise would have been safe in camp. The badne of the roads and darkne of the night, together with the ince ant fatigue and consequent lo occasioned by the protection of these idolatrous baubles, have caused much well-grounded controversy, and involved much discredit on the authorities. Many are the lives which have been lost by this—and for what? to restore to a tribe of idolaters, an idol, that they might worship with the greater vehemence, as it had been recaptured for them; and all this, too, by the representative of a Christian people. I need say nothing farther, except that, owing to the great question raised relative to their restoration, in our Parliament in 1843 and 1844, and since the recall of Lord Ellen borough, they remain like so much lumber stored in one of the stations in Bengal. But to proceed to the march. A short distance from our camp, which was Gundamuck, stands a small hill, where the remnant of the 44th Regiment, about 300, made their last stand, and fought most desperately whilst their ammunition lasted, and were at length annihilated: their skeletons strewed the hill sides and summit; about 250 soldiers, and upwards of 30 officers, I believe, fell on this hill, and a deplorable sight it presented. We soon reached the camp, where Generals Pollock and McCaskill had halted; this place had been formed into a dépôt for grain and forage (only chopped straw), on Pollock’s advance on Cabul; the Pa es from Peshawur, as he pa ed through, had been kept by our troops; thus in a great measure securing our route. We now refreshed ourselves with a day’s rest, and our cattle with a feast of forage, such as it was; and also in comparative confidence, as we were now but a couple of day’s stage from Jellalabad. The mails from Europe for the army were despatched from Calcutta and met us at this place, so that all in all it was quite a day of pleasure, receiving news from that dear place Home, “which never was so sweetly felt as in such times as these,”—conjunction of the Divisions, and recognition of old comrades who had escaped the perils of the few past days, and such like,—made the whole feel refreshed, and filled us with the utmost cheerfulne .”