1 The Second Sikh War. 207
2 Sikh wars he was superior to his opponent in
3 artillery, having at his disposal the powerful eighteen-
4 pounders which had been brought up from Bombay
5 to the siege of Multan. The action began at 7.30
6 a.m. with a vigorous cannonade on both sides. But
7 though the Sikh gunners fought with their ac-
8 customed skill and hardihood, " in quickness of fire
9 surpassing, in truth of aim very nearly equalling, the
10 world-famous artillerymen of Bengal and Bombay,"1
11 their efforts were unavailing against the more
12 numerous and heavier guns of their assailants. By
13 11.30 their fire had practically ceased, nearly all of
14 their sixty guns being either dismounted or with-
15 drawn, whilst their defences were shattered to pieces.
16 When the cannonade was finished, the British infantry,
17 supported by the horse-artillery, advanced, and by the
18 end of an hour the Sikh position had been carried at
19 the point of the bayonet. At 1 o'clock the British
20 were in undisputed possession of Sher Singh's camp,
21 his guns, his ammunition, his baggage, and his
22 stores, while the cavalry on both flanks were in
23 hot pursuit of the now utterly routed army of the
24 Khalsa. On the morning after the battle a pursuing
25 force of 1 2,000 men — horse, foot, and artillery — under
26 General Sir Walter Gilbert, continued the chase. The
27 Sikhs made no attempt to rally ; and at Rawal-
28 pindi, on March 12, Sher Singh and all that was
29 left of his broken army came in and surrendered.
30 Thirty-five chiefs laid down their swords at Gilbert's
31 feet ; and afterwards the Sikh soldiers, advancing one
32 1 History of the British Empire in India, by Lionel James
33 Trotter, vol. i. p. 195.