Part 17 (2/2)
It was learned afterwards that the reason so large a force was a.s.sembled at Malageah was that it was the time for the annual gathering of the river tribes, to hear the laws read by the Alimani. This circ.u.mstance ought of course to have been known to the Acting Governor, who was well acquainted with the customs of the people. The Imperial Government held him responsible for this defeat, and, in November, 1855, he was relieved of his post, and charged ”with having, when Acting Governor, on the 21st of May, 1855, without authority, and upon insufficient grounds, sent an expedition against the Moriah chiefs in the Mellicourie River, beyond the Colony, with orders to burn or destroy the town of Malageah, planned without foresight or judgment, disastrous in its termination, and disgraceful to the British power,” and was suspended from his office of Queen's Advocate and from his seat at the Council Board.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BATTLE OF BAKKOW, AND STORMING OF SABBAJEE, 1855.[58]
The company of the 1st West India Regiment stationed at the Gambia was the next to see active service, but fortunately under circ.u.mstances less disastrous than had fallen to the lot of the company at Sierra Leone.
In June, 1855, the inhabitants of Sabbajee again began to exhibit signs of lawlessness; and, early in July, an influential Mohammedan of that town, named Fodi Osumanu, sent an armed party to the British settlement at Josswung to seize a woman, whose husband he had already placed in confinement in Sabbajee itself. In consequence of this outrage a warrant was issued for the apprehension of Fodi Osumanu, and, as a precautionary measure, the constables despatched to put the warrant in force were accompanied by a small party of the 2nd West India Regiment, under Lieutenant Armstrong, 3rd West India Regiment.
They arrived at Sabbajee on the morning of July 16th, and at first Fodi Osumanu offered no opposition to his arrest; but, on gaining the central square of the town, he endeavoured to break away from the police, and, upon this signal, the Mandingoes rushed upon the British from every street and alley. Nothing but the coolness and steadiness displayed by both officers and men, saved the whole from destruction. Forming square, they retreated steadily out of the town, repulsing the repeated attacks of the natives, and retired in good order to Josswung, and thence to the military post at Cape St. Mary's. In effecting this, two men were killed, and the Queen's Advocate, Lieutenant Davis, 2nd West India Regiment, and Lieutenant Armstrong were wounded, the latter so severely as to render amputation of the right arm necessary.
Intelligence of this occurrence being carried to Bathurst in a few hours, the Governor, Lieutenant-Colonel L. Smyth O'Connor, 1st West India Regiment, at once called out all the available force of the Colony; and, aware that every half-hour was of importance, as the inhabitants of Sabbajee were receiving reinforcements from the disaffected Mandingo towns of Jambool, Burnfut, and Cunju, and had already burned and pillaged Josswung, he marched the same day. The force consisted of 120 men of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd West India Regiments, with 120 of the Royal Gambia Militia; and, on arriving at Cape St. Mary's, on the evening of July 16th, it was joined by 26 pensioners of the West India regiments. The officers of the 1st West India Regiment present were Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor, Lieutenant E.F. Luke, and Lieutenant Henderson.
Early next morning the whole force marched towards Sabbajee, meeting with no resistance until it arrived at the wood of Bakkow. To reach Sabbajee it was necessary to pa.s.s through this wood, a jungle of dense tropical vegetation, only traversable by a single bush path some five feet in breadth, and, before entering this defile, Colonel O'Connor wisely ordered rockets to be thrown amongst the trees, with a view to ascertaining if they covered any concealed enemy.
Hardly had the first rocket fallen than the wood appeared alive with men, who, from every bush and tree, opened a destructive fire upon the British. This was promptly and steadily replied to by the detachments of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd West India Regiments, which were in the van, and the action became general. The militia were drawn up in two bodies, one acting as a support to the regulars, and the other as a reserve; and the latter, shortly after the commencement of the engagement, retreated without orders, and without firing a shot. The party of militia in support, as soon as they observed the flight of the reserve, fell back hurriedly in great confusion, nor could their officers nor the Governor himself succeed in stopping them, and both parties of militia retired upon Cape St. Mary's, abandoning their wounded.
The detachments of the West India regiments still held their ground; but at the end of half an hour, as it was manifestly impossible, with the now greatly reduced numbers, to force the pa.s.sage of the wood, and as the enemy were observed extending in large numbers round both flanks so as to threaten the line of retreat, the order was given to retire upon Cape St. Mary's. This was effected in good order, the victorious natives following the retreating force for more than two miles, and keeping up an incessant fire. The combined detachments suffered in this affair a loss of twenty-three killed and fifty-three wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor was himself severely wounded in the right arm and left shoulder.
The news of this repulse was received with the greatest consternation at Bathurst, which was entirely denuded of troops and quite at the mercy of the rebellious Mandingoes. Preparations for defence were at once undertaken, all the reliable natives, princ.i.p.ally persons in the employ of the Government or of the merchants, in all some 200 in number, were armed, and a vessel was despatched to the neighbouring French settlement of Goree to seek a.s.sistance. The Mandingoes, fortunately, made no attempt to follow up their success, and the chiefs of British Combo having volunteered their aid to the Government, a number of their men were armed, and on July 29th some sharp skirmis.h.i.+ng took place between them and the Mandingoes in the neighbourhood of Bakkow, in which the Combos lost twenty-five killed, but without reaping any success.
On the afternoon of July 30th, the French brig-of-war _Entreprenant_, Captain Villeneuve, arrived, bringing with her eighty men, which was all the disposable force the French Governor of Goree had at his command; and all preparations being completed by the night of August 3rd, the combined British and French force marched from Cape St. Mary's next morning at daybreak. The French had brought with them three twelve-pounder field-guns, which, with a 4-2/5-inch howitzer, and three rocket-troughs in the possession of the British, were formed into a battery under the command of Lieutenant Morel, of the French marine artillery. The force was further increased by an irregular contingent of some 600 loyal natives.
As on the former occasion, no opposition was encountered until arriving at the wood of Bakkow, where the enemy showed in great force, and opened a heavy fire from the shelter of the forest. The irregular contingent, supported by the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, replied to the enemy's fire in a most effective manner; but so determined was the resistance, that the Mandingoes, when silenced in our front, taking advantage of the cover afforded by the high gra.s.s and clumps of monkey-bread trees, made repeated attacks on the flanks, and even at one time threatened the rear. Sh.e.l.l and rockets were thrown into the wood, and the village of Bakkow, which was occupied by the enemy, was burned; but it was not until after two hours' obstinate fighting, in the course of which the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiment had four times to repulse flank attacks with the bayonet, that the pa.s.sage could be forced.
The wood being traversed, the force debouched upon the plain of Sabbajee, a sandy level, covered with a scanty growth of Guinea gra.s.s and dotted with clumps of dwarf palm. The guns were at once placed in position for breaching the stockade, and fire was opened with wonderful precision. A few rounds only had been expended, when a large body of natives from the disaffected and neighbouring town of Burnfut made a sudden and determined onslaught on our flank, charging furiously forward with brandished scimetars. This was met by a party of French marines and the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, who, after firing a volley at a very close range, charged gallantly with the bayonet and speedily routed the enemy, who took refuge in a neighbouring copse. Being ordered to dislodge them from this cover, the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments advanced in skirmis.h.i.+ng order, and after a short but sharp conflict, drove them out on the further side.
After a bombardment of an hour and a half, seeing that the enemy extinguished the thatched roofs of their houses as fast as they were ignited, and that the ammunition was becoming exhausted, Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor determined to carry the stockade by storm.
The detachments of the West India regiments formed up in the centre, a division of French marines being on either flank, and the whole dashed forward to the a.s.sault in the face of a tremendous fire of musketry that was opened throughout the entire length of the loop-holed stockade. In a few seconds the troops were under the stockade, which was composed of the stout trunks of trees, standing some eighteen feet high, and braced on the inner side by cross-beams. A temporary check was here experienced (the men having no ladders for escalading), during which the Mandingoes kept up a close fire from their upper tier of loop-holes, while others crouching in the ditch in rear hewed and cut at the feet and legs of the troops through the apertures in the stockade on a level with the ground.
The check was, however, of short duration, for the British opened fire on the enemy through their own loop-holes, and drove them back, while others, clambering over the rough defences, effected an entrance.
After this, the Mandingoes offered but a feeble resistance, and soon fled into the open from the further side of the town. Here they were pursued and shot down by the irregular contingent, who had been sent to cut off their retreat as soon as it was seen that the stockade was carried. The enemy's loss during the a.s.sault was exceedingly heavy, the ditch in rear of the stockade, and in which they were princ.i.p.ally sheltered, being full of dead. The loss of the combined force, exclusive of irregulars, was seventeen killed and thirty-one wounded.
Inside the stockade the 1st West India Regiment captured two kettledrums, of which one was a war-drum, and the other a death-drum, that is to say, a drum that is only beaten when an execution is taking place. These drums, consisting of polished hemispherical calabashes, of a diameter of about thirty inches at the drum-head, are now in the possession of the regiment.
The following letter, referring to these operations, which terminated with the capture of Sabbajee, was published in general orders at the Gambia, on the 26th of October, 1855:
”HORSE GUARDS, ”_Sept. 6th, 1855._
”SIR,
”The General Commanding-in-Chief having had before him the despatches which were addressed to the Adjutant-General on July 30th and 6th ultimo, giving an account of the proceedings, from the 16th July to the 4th August last, of the force under your command against the Mohammedan rebel town of Sabbajee, which was eventually taken by a.s.sault at the point of the bayonet, I am directed to a.s.sure you of Lord Hardinge's satisfaction at the perusal of those despatches, and that he considers the gallantry and steadiness displayed by the troops on this occasion, and the judgment with which they were directed by you, to be deserving of high praise.
”His Lords.h.i.+p further desired that the expression of his sentiments might be communicated accordingly to yourself and to all the troops concerned.
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