The attack.

na river, the enemy commenced a heavy cannonade, but with trifling effect; and the moment they discovered that it was General Wellesley's intention to attack their left, they changed the position both of their artillery and infantry, drawing them off from the line along the Kaitna, and extending them from that river across to the village of Assye, which lies upon the Juah river, and there flanked the right of the British troops. To the rear of this first line, and nearly at right angles with it, a second line was formed having its left to the village of Assye, and its rear to the Juah river, along whose bank it extended in a westerly di

rection.

The attack now commenced, and the British troops advanced rapidly under a very severe cannonade, whose execution at first was terrible. A fire had been commenced, at a distance of four hundred yards, by the British artillery; but General Wellesley seeing that it made little impression on the powerful and extensive line of the enemy's infantry and guns, and finding that it could not advance with sufficient rapidity, on account of the number of draught bullocks which had been disabled, immediately ordered the artillery to be left behind, and the whole line to move on.

This was the critical moment; and it is important to observe, that much of the success of the day depended upon the prompt and judicious order of the General, to Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell with the British cavalry, directing him to take care of the right of the infantry as the line advanced towards the enemy, who, unable to stand the charge, were soon compelled (notwithstanding their tremendous cannonade) to fall back on their second line in front of the Juah river. At this time, too, the casualties in the British line were dreadful; the picquets of the infantry, and the 74th regiment, which were on the right of the army, had severely suffered from the fire of the enemy's guns on their left near Assye;

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and

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Fall of Colonel Maxwell.

and the 74th in particular, was so thinned by the enemy's cannonade, that a body of cavalry was encouraged to charge it, at the very moment when it was most exposed to this heavy fire; but they being, in their turn, charged by the British cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, they were driven with great slaughter into the river Juah.

At length, over-awed by the gallant and steady advance of the British troops, the whole of the enemy's line gave way in every direction, and the British cavalry who had already crossed to the northward of the Juah river, now cut in among their broken infantry charging the fugitives along the bank of the river, with the greatest effect, and with great slaughter. Notwithstanding this signal defeat, yet the small number of the British had not permitted General Wellesley to secure all the advantages gained in the heat of the action; so that many of the enemy's guns, which had been left in his rear, were actually turned upon the British line by numbers who, having thrown themselves upon the ground near the artillery, had been passed by the conquerors, on a supposition that they were dead. This is an artifice often practised by the native troops in India; and they now availed themselves of it, to commence and keep up for some time a very heavy fire.

Though the enemy's line too was thus completely broken through; yet still, from its extent, some corps were able to move off the ground in very good order; and, at this critical juncture, Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell was unfortunately killed whilst charging at the head of the British cavalry a body of infantry which had retired, and was again formed in full force. The enemy's fire too in the rear became so galling, that General Wellesley himself was obliged to take the 78th regiment, and the 7th regiment of native cavalry, in order to put a stop to it Even at this moment, the fortune of the day again became doubtful: for the enemy's cavalry, which had been hovering round

Total defeat of the enemy.

the British troops, duiring the whole of the action still continued near the line; but that body of infantry which had re-formed being completely cut down by the British cavalry, notwithstanding the fall of their commanding officer, and General Wellesley, at the same moment, compelling the scattered parties of the enemy in the rear of the line to abandon the guns which they had seized and turned against the British troops, the victory was now decisive, and the enemy retreated in full flight, leaving twelve hundred men dead upon the field of battle, immense numbers of their wounded scattered over the country, ninetyeight pieces of cannon, seven standards, their camp equipage, and a large quantity of military stores and

ammunition.

We cannot close this account better than in the words of the Marquis of Wellesley himself, who observed that during the whole of this severe and brilliant action, the conduct of Major-General Wellesley united a degree of ability, prudence, and dauntless spirit, seldom equalled, and never surpassed. It is, indeed, impossible to bestow any commedation superior to the skill, magnanimity, promptitude, and judgment, which he displayed on this memorable occasion: nor can any instance be adduced from the annals of our military glory, of more exemplary order, firmness, discipline, and alacrity, than was manifested by the British troops, in every stage of this arduous contest, leading to this splendid VICTORY OF ASSYE, The whole line, led by the General in person, advanced to the charge with the greatest bravery and steadiness, without its guns, against a most severe and destructive fire of round and grape, until within a very short distance of the enemy's line, when the gallant few obliged them at the point of the bayonet, notwithstanding their superior numbers, to abandon their artillery, and finally to relinquish the field of battle, after a brave resistance on the part of Scindiah's. infantry for upwards of three hours. It has also been said

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Loss of the British.

said by several officers in the British army, who had served during the preceeding campaigns on the Euro, pean continent, that it was no disparagement to the French artillery to say, that cannon were never better served than by the enemy at the battle of Assye, on the 53rd of September 1803; yet notwithstanding this powerful circumstance, and the presence of numerous bodies of hostile cavalry, who several times manifested a disposition to charge the line; still the British troops, animated by the gallant spirit of their General, and emulating the noble example of his zeal and courage, exhibited a degree of resolution, firmness, and discipline, which completely over-awed both the cavalry and infantry of the enemy, forcing them thus to retire in such a manner at length, as not to be formed again for actual service. Major-General Wellesley himself, in his dispatches, stated that the victory which was certainly complete, had nevertheless cost very dear, the loss in officers and men being very great; and that of Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell and other officers in particular, being greatly to be regretted.* He gave great praise to Lieutenant-Colonels Harness and Wallace, for the manner in which they conducted their brigades; and to all the officers of the staff for their ready and useful assist ance; and he observed, that the officers commanding brigades, nearly all those of the staff, and the mount ed officers of the infantry, had their horses shot under them.

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DE VIDVERİ

*The total number killed; were, Europeans 198, natives 428, and

325 horses; the wounded were 441 Europeans, 1131, natives, and HE

horses, and there were only 36 missing. The officers killed were Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell of the 19th dragoons, and Captain R. Boyle;' Captain H. Mackey, 4th native cavalry; Lieutenant Bonomi, 5th na tive cavalry; Captain Lieutenants Steele and Fowler: Lieutenants Lindsay and Griffiths, of the artillery; Captains D. Aytone, A. Dyce, R. Macleod, J. Maxwell; Lieutenants J. Campbell, J. M Campbell, J, Grant, R. Nielson, L. Campbell, and M. Morris of the 74th; Lieutenaut Douglas of the 74th and Lieutenants Browit, Mayor, and Berrie, of native corps.

Result of the victory.

It was not until the evening of the 24th that Colonel Stevenson was able to join General Wellesley, having been prevented by several impediments from prosecuting his march as rapidly as was expected. This shews more fully the propriety of the General's measures in hastening the attack; but at the same time reflects no blame whatever upon the gallant Colonel, whose conduct had always been marked by the greatest zeal, activity, and public spirit. He was immediately detached in pursuit of the enemy, and his success in harassing their retreat fully justified General Wellesley's reliance upon the service.

The good consequences of this victory were soon displayed; for, on the 8th of October, Major-General Wellesley received a notification from the camp of Scindiah, from a person of the name of Ballajee Khoonjur, who was one of the Scindiah's ministers, requesting that he would dispatch a British officer, together with an officer of the Soubah of the Dekan, (or Nizam,) to the confederate camp, for the purpose of negotiating terms of peace between the British and the Nizam, and the confederate Mahratta chiefs. The Major-General, however, well knew that this man had been originally dispatched by the Peishwah from Bassein to Scindiah, for the purpose of explaining to him the nature of the engagement entered into by the Peishwah and the British government, when that diplomatic personage, with all the accustomed ver satility and treachery of a Mahratta politician, had deserted his master's service, betrayed his confidence, and attached himself to the service of Scindiah. General Wellesley, however, had other sufficient reasons for declining this business at the present moment; for as there was now mention made either of the Rajah of Berar, or of Scindiah himself, in this communication he had no certainty of the application being authorized, by either of those chieftains, who might thus, when convenient, disavow any knowledge of the mat ter; and he also suspected that it might be merely a