At this point, General Barnard's force was totally exhausted from the three major engagements of the day. and both he and General Reed (Provincial Commander In Chief) who had joined the force resolved to maintain their position on the ridge. It was at this time that General Barnard became ill with cholera, and Brigadier Archdale Wilson now took command of the now-called Delhi Field Force and was given a field promotion to Brigadier General, by General Reed. The new commander immediately sent dispatches back up the Grand Trunk Road requesting a Siege Train and an order to raise three companies of Pioneers. Experienced laborers were desperately needed to build siege works around the city. Lt. Home was an Engineer of some ability who was building a canal at Madhopore, with a recruited labor force of Muzbee Sikhs. Upon hearing from the Delhi Field Force Lt. Home was designated to select 240 laborers and divided them into companies of 80 men each. These men under Sergeant Robeson and later Lt. Gulliver. together with Lt. Home's scratch companies C3) of Pioneers reached Delhi from Madhopore in just two weeks. Sgt. Robeson was killed in a skirmish on the Grand Trunk Road, on the way to Delhi. Meanwhile Lt. Home raised an additional two companies and journeyed south with them to Delhi to take the place of the unfortunate Lt. Gulliver who was very ill with cholera. Lt. Home arrived in Delhi with his two companies, bringing into the British Camp a total of 5 companies of Sappers. All of the Engineer Companies had received weapons from the Phillaur Arsenal en route to Delhi. Meanwhile, I was relieved of the post of Chief Engineer of the Dehi Field Force, with the genuine thanks of Brigadier General Archdale Wilson, by the arrival of Colonel Richard Baird Smith who had been the senior instructor of the Engineering College at Roorkee. He was accompanied by Captain Alexander Taylor to whom fell most of the daily work, Col. Smith being very ill. This officer had been until very lately in command of building the Grand Trunk Road from Sutlej to Peshawar. The Ridge position was a good one for the British to hold, but to do it efficiently, batteries had to be built for the British guns. It was for this work that Lt. Home's Force and mine was so urgently needed. Brigadier General Wilson ordered Smith and Taylor to put Lt. Home in charge of his Pioneers and start building the batteries.

I was back with my company, at this time repairing several gun carriages that had been damaged by both enemy shot and the rapid rate of advance, following the Pandies as they retreated into the city of Delhi. You may imagine my surprise when Lt. Home asked me if I would consent to work under his command building the artillery batteries. Lt. Home was senior to me by six weeks. I knew him, of course, as we had met in various messes, and we had enjoyed a Chota Peg (literally small glass) together but nothing more serious. He said that Brig. Gen. Wilson had confided to him about my arrival at Delhi, and he wanted me and my company to join his in this maximum effort. He needed experienced Sappers to act as foremen for the new scratch companies, and I was to serve as his Asst. with the job of constructing heavy gun batteries close to the city walls. I was very keen on the idea, and thanking him, agreed on the spot. He looked at me oddly, at that time, and said very softly, "I hope that your fate will be kinder than mine," I felt a chill crawl over me even though it was beastly hot in my tent. We both recovered quickly, shared toast from his flask and I went out to find my havildar (sergeant).

During the last week of August the engineer officers were involved in a number of preparatory tasks to the planned assault on Delhi; cutting down trees and scrub to open up fields of fire for the guns, gathering brushwood to manufacture facines and gabions, floating logs down the Jumma River and hauling them forward to build causeways and revetments. In this work Lt. Home I s scratch companies of Muzbees ("Punjab Sappers" ) were joined by regular Indian troops of the Bengal Sappers and Miners, 129 of whom had "remained true to their salt", as well as my mapping company who for the most part served as group foremen due to their education in field engineering..

On the 14th of August General John Nicholson's column, 4,200 strong marched into camp and swelled General Wilson's Delhi Field Force to near twice it's former size. Meanwhile the siege train was moving slowly and ponderously on it's way, it's line of guns, limbers, carts, and tumbrells, extending over thirteen miles of road from the Artillery Depot at Ferozepore. On 4 September it ground it's way into the British Camp behind the Delhi Ridge. Included in this train were:

As a mere matter of pride, I report that the combined forces of the Engineering contingent of the Delhi Field Force had gathered material and constructed 10, 000 military facines, 10,000 gabions and 100,000 sand bags with a large number of platforms and scaling ladders.

The Siege Train provided General Wilson the means to breach the walls of Delhi and he wasted no time in moving the heavy guns into the forward batteries that had been built for them. On the 7th of September the "ground was broken" for the siege and that night the first Siege Battery began the assault on the walls of the OdPit0l. The battery was in two divisions;

*#IA 4 24-Pdrs directed against the Cashmere Bastion (range 850 yards);
*#IB 5 18-PdrS and I 8-Inoh Howitzer against the Shah Bastion (range 200 yards);

By the morning of the 12th of September, three more batteries had been built and were in action against the city:

*#2 directed against the curtain wall of the Cashmere Bastion;
*#3 directed against the Water Bastion (range 180 yards);
*#4 directed against the curtain wall of the Water Bastion.

On the 13^th two breaches near the Water and Cashmere Bastions were reported. Lts. Home, Medley, and myself moved to within 25 yards or so from the breaches, at night, and concurred that they were suitable for assault infantry to climb.

Orders for an assault the next morning at daybreak, were issued. The Delhi Field Force was divided into 6 columns. I was attached to the 3rd column with Lts. Home, Salfeld, and Tandy. The key to this whole operation lay in the blowing up of the Cashmere Gate, by an Engineering Party, at that point the assault would begin. Lts. Horne and Salfeld were chosen by lot to do the job and Sgts. Smith and Carmichael both volunteered. Command of the engineers with the 3rd Column devolved upon me as the next senior, although I would have given 5 years of my life to accompany Home and Salfeld in the venture.

The explosion party took their places in the early morning dawn. The party was in two echelons, the first was Lt. Home and 3 other men. They were to lay 3 25 lb. bags of powder at the doors of the gate, with fuses exposed for ignition. Lt. Salfeld was to follow with the "firing party". They would have with them slow-match and "tamping bags" of sand to hold the powder charges firmly against the doors of the gate. The start line for Lts. Home and Salfeld and their parties was the ruined Ludlow castle about 1/2 mile from the Cashmere Gate. They were to be initially covered by a skirmish line provided by the 60th regiment, and upon reaching the road would sprint the last 200 yards to the gate proper. A bugler (Hawthorn) went with the party to signal the advance of the assault columns when the gate was destroyed.

I was invited that morning to watch Lt. Home's "Forlorn Hope" as they made their attack. With me on the walls of the ruined Ludlow Castle were Brigadier-General Archdale Wilson and Colonel Baird Smith. When both parties had reached the causeway over the ditch, the firing from the gate wickets became very heavy. The Carrying Party (Lt. Home) was through the outer gate which had been burst apart by cannon fire, and across the timber cause way. The mutineers had removed the timbers of the bridge, and there was not much room for the party. Home and Hawthorn the Bugler slipped into the ditch to make room for the firing party. Lt. Salfeld arrived to fire the charges, but was hit in both arm and leg by musket fire. Sergeant Smith realized that the slow-match had gone out, and he crouched, over the charge and relighted the fuses. Then he turned to slide into the ditch when the explosion of 100 lbs of black powder hurled him off the bridge and into the ditch below. As soon as the smoke cleared, Lt. Home bade the Bugler to sound the signal to start the assault.

On the morning of 14th September the assault of Delhi began, and by the 20th of September it was all over, the few surviving mutineers streamed away across the Jumma River and the capitol city was once more in British hands. General Wilson's next task was to clear his lines of communication and to assist Sir Colin Campbell's veterans from the Crimean War in the recapture of Lucknow and Cawnpore. I will not at this time outline the details of the recapture of the city of Delhi except to say that the loss of our troops amounted to 3,807 killed, wounded and missing. You may imagine that this loss did not endear the mutineers to our hearts. You may see from what I have said, that there was a great deal of hard work and risk involved in the action, and Many gallant British Officers and Soldiers gave their all to avenge the murder of the women and children at Cawnpore.

The army only had four days in which to take stock of the city. Lt. Horne and myself with a small band of Bengal Sappers and Miners were designated to review the weapons found in the city. We were to destroy unstable weaponry so it would not fall into the hands of the Pandies, and provide the remainder to the column for their use. Under our protection was a team of young officers, who were to go about with us and collect any valuables to be Placed in the hands of a group of prize agents that were elected by the officers of the command and approved by General Wilson. This group's task was fairly simple on the face of it, but in the case of Delhi, because of the high feeling against the "Pandies" it was worth any Indian's life to refuse or even object to this search. The reader must understand, that this "loot" was a part of the war, and when it was totaled, it was then allotted to the soldiers according to a long established menu. The Commanding General got one third, the Officers within his command shared another third, and the remaining third was divided among the soldiery with varying amounts going to NCOs and Private Men. It was called "Prize Money" as in the Royal Navy, and was allotted out in the same fashion. I believe later that "head money" was offered for killed mutineers, but little was paid out, as few if any records had been kept of the "death" of the "Pandies." I will admit that there was a lot of wholesale butchery that went on, and we shall probably never know how many were killed. It was said by those in the British Forces that took Delhi, "The Pandies were well aware of the atrocities that they had accomplished, and they never looked for nor received the slightest mercy."

The valuables that were left to be found by our forces in Delhi were not fabulous as we had been led to expect. Much of it had been taken by the "Pandies" who had fled the city, and we were about to leave this place to look

for them. The story of the intrepid duo, one by the name of Pintle, has a hollow ring in spots, for the entire column moved out of the city of Delhi on the 24th of September, llg I ad to l eave behind the stinking streets still

littered with bodies and the debris of battle." To my knowledge no-one was left in the city, because of it's condition. The city streets with their burden of dead would have brought sickness to the most steadfast European soldier. I received my share of the booty (Prize Money) some months later, and I made sure to check with several of my Indian jawans (soldiers) and my havildar (sergeant) to insure they had received their share as well, which they had.

One of the greatest hauls of loot, however, did not come from Delhi proper, but rather an old Fort at Malagarth about five miles from the city of Delhi. It was found to be packed with loot stolen by the mutineers from British homes and convoys. More importantly, the fort had been used as an arsenal, as well as, a manufacturing base for weapons and explosives. Lacking professional supervision, and having abandoned it in a hurry, they had left large quantities of munitions scattered all over the place. The whole fort was a powder keg and d danger to anyone entering it, Lt. Horne and I together with Lt. Stevenson of the 23rd were given the job of dealing with these materials and blowing up the fortifications so that it could not be reoccupied by hostile forces after the British moved on. It took all of three days to catalog what was Found, separate the stable munitions from the unstable, destroy the one and send the remainder to the columns The loot was also catalogued and turned over to the prize court. It was my understanding that the looted material together with the munitions, guns, carriages found at the Malagarth Fort was fully half of the total worth of the loot from the Delhi action.

The last thing that we had to do was to blow up the fort's principle bastion. Lt. Home had buried munitions under each strong point, and the mines were large, given the excess of munitions that were found. He had already blown five of the mines and when he cleared the field and stepped forward to light the fuse, instantaneously the mine sprang. The force of the explosion hurled Lt. Home's body a good fifteen yards, broke both legs and nearly tore off his arm. He must have died instantaneously, and so passed one of the most impressive men that I would ever meet in my service in India. It was my sad duty to complete the destruction of the fort, and take the body of my friend back to the Column

In this case this column was commanded by Col. Greathed of the 8^th Regiment of Foot. The Delhi Field Force had been organized into new columns and sent them out to clear the surrounding area. Col. Greathed's column was given the task of clearing the Gangetic Doab (area between the rivers Jumma and Ganges). Lt. Duncan Home had been assigned to this column as the Chief Field Engineer. I arrived back at the column with the engineer company and Duncan's Body. Col. Greathed was greatly disturbed by Duncan's death as was I. His body was taken to Bolandshahr for burial, and he rests there still to my knowledge. Col. Greathed indicated that I should take over Duncan's duties, which I did, but not without many sorrowful feelings.

As I have said Duncan was a very special person in my eyes and in other's as well. He was a favorite with all in camp, brave, active, so very good-natured and always laughing. I am sure everyone will mourn his loss, as I do, most deeply. Poor fellow! Fancy escaping untouched from the blowing in of the Cashmere Gate where he and Salfeld earned the Victoria Cross, to meet his end in exploding mines before a deserted fort!

The Following is a list of the roll of honor of the officers and men who succeeded in reaching the bridge leading to the Cashmere Gate:

Four of these men (Horne, Salfeld, Smith, and Hawthorne) were awarded the highest form of recognition for valor which a British monarch may bestow --T he Victoria Cross.