1 The battle of
2 Saddasim, July Ist,
3 1818.
4 Victory of the
5 British.
6 Losses.
7 Rejoicings conse-
8 quent on the victory.
9 Sher Singh, Attari-
10 wala, marches towards
11 Multan,
12 He is followed by
13 General Whish.
14 The siege of Multan.
15 562 HISTORY OF TIME PANJAB.
16 a
17 No sooner were the British officers informed of the approach of the
18 enemy, than they ordered the men to fall in and forma line. The army then
19 advanced in the following order:—The Bahawalpur force on the right, com-
20 manded by Lieutenant Lake; Sheikh Imdm-ud-din’s troops on the left;
21 Subhdn Khan’s Musalmdn regiment and the Suraj Mukhis, with the guns,
22 in the centre, commanded by General Cortlandt, the Pathan infantry levies
23 on the left centre, flanked by Pathéin cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant
24 Edwardes. The enemy had in the field a force of 11,000 men and 10 guns,
25 while the British officers had under them a force of not less than 18,600, with
26 22 suns. The enemy selected his ground at the village of Saddasdm.
27 Lieutenant Lake occupied a high mound with his Déudputras, and from this
28 commanding position poured a heavy fire on the enemy’s left, which was as
29 promptly returned. The centre and left of the English columns then
30 advanced and silenced the enemy’s fire, whereon the fight became general.
31 The Sikhs stood their ground with much obstinacy, and fought with great
32 courage, but found it impossible to sustain the superior fire of the English
33 artillery, and were compelled to retreat in irretrievable disorder. Mal Raj,
34 who commanded in person, was thrown from his elephant, owing to a shot
35 striking the howdah, and, mountiug his hoyrse, fled precipitately in the direc-
36 tion of the city.
37 The total number of killed and wounded on the side of the English was 281.
38 Among the killed were some Pathans of note—Rahim Khan, Khudakka, a
39 relation of the Nawab of Dera, Hussan Khan, Musazie, and Fatteh Khan,
40 of Khyssore. Captain Macpherson, in the service of the Naw4b of Rahdwal-
41 pur, also fell at the head of his regiment. Several of the Pathan chiefs
42 distinguished themselves in this battle by their reckless bravery, among
43 them being Ghulém Sarwar Khan, Khakwani, of Multdn, a skilful swordsman
44 and an intrepid soldier, styled by Lieutenant Edwardes the “ pride of the
45 border,” who killed several Sikhs with his own hand, and Faujddr Khan,
46 Alizai, the Adjutant-General, who were both wounded. The enemy suffered
47 very heavy loss. The battle of Saddasdm had the result of shutting Mul Raj
48 up in the city and fortress of Multan, whence he was unable to emerge
49 except to resist the siege by the British force.
50 On receipt of the news of the victory of Saddasém at Ldhore, the Darbar
51 caused a royal salute to be fired from the fort, and similar salutes were
52 fired from the forts of Govindgarh, Attak and the cantonments of Hazdra,
53 Peshawar, Bannti and Dera Ismail Khan.
54 Meanwhile, Mal Rd4j was not idle. With the assistance of the zealous
55 citizens of Multdn, he constructed an enormous rampart of mud outside the
56 ditch which surrounded the city, and he recruited his army with disaffected
57 Sikhs from Lébhore, At this period Rajé Sher Singh, son of Sardar Chattar
58 Singh, Attariwdlé, the Sikh governor of Hazdrd, advanced towards Multén
59 with an army of 5,000 men, ten horse artillery guas and two mortars, In
60 command of this army the Rdjdé had two colleagues, Sardar Sham Singh,
61 Sindhianwaél4, and Sardar Attar Singh, Kalewald, who had charge of the
62 cavalry, while the R4jé had special charge of the infantry anda troop of horse
63 artillery. Various intrigues were set on foot by Mul Raj to induce the army
64 of the Rajé to join his standard, but they proved unavailing. The armies
65 under Lieutenants Edwardes and Lake were at this time encamped at Tibbi,
66 two kos from Multdn, while the division of Sher Singh was in theirrear, In
67 this position the armies remained till the arrival, on the 18th of August, of
68 General Whish, with a battering train and an army of 8,000 men of all arms.
69 General Whish, reached Multdén on the 4th of September and found it
70 Sri Satgere fSgiCSinGR TB y Et ardes with FOO EARS GRGIAOA? cavely