'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎175] (194/622)

history of the indian navy.
175
two thousand eight hundred men of all arms, and twelve pieces
of artillery. The Belooch soldiery, twenty-two thousand
strong, against whom he pitted his small army, at odds of
nearly ten to one, were no despicable foe. They fought on this
famous field of Meanee not for their rulers, whom they hated
and despised, but for their own supremacy and pay, for their
religion, and, more than all, for the privilege of rapine. They
"opened a most determined and destructive fire upon the
British troops, and, during the |action which ensued, with the
most undaunted bravery, repeatedly rushed upon them, sword
in hand." After a resolute and desperate contest, which lasted
for upwards of three hours, the enemy was completely defeated
and put to flight, with the estimated loss of about five thousand
men, one thousand of whom were left dead on the field,
together with the whole of their artillery, ammunition, and
standards. During this memorable action, the ' Comet,' under
the immediate command of Commander Nott, was the means
of preventing a large body of the enemy assembled at the
village of Sehwan, from crossing the river to form a junction
with the main Belooch army at Meanee.
Speaking of the services of the other steamers, the ' Planet'
and 'Satellite,' on the 17th of February, Sir Charles Napier
says, in his despatch, written on the field of battle:—
"I ought to have observed in the body of this despatch that
I had, the night before the action, detached Major Outram in
the steamers, with two hundred Sepoys Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. , to set fire to the wood,
in which we understood the enemy's left flank was posted.
This was an operation of great difficulty and danger, but
would have been most important to the result of the battle.
However, the enemy had moved about eight miles to their
right during the night, and Major Outram executed his task
without difficulty at the hour appointed, viz., nine o'clock, and
from the field we observed the smoke of the burning wood
arise. I am strongly inclined to think that this circumstance
had some effect on the enemy."
The day following the battle, six of the principal Ameers
surrendered unconditionally as prisoners of war. Thus, as the
Governor-General stated in his notification, " victory placed
at the disposal of the British Government the country on both
sides the Indus, from Sukkur to the sea." One of the principal
Ameers, Ali Moorad, of Khyrpore, who had succeeded by our
means in obtaining " the turban of the Talpoors," and was the
most powerful chief in Upper Scinde, remained faithful to his
engagements. On the other hand, the Chief of Meerpore, Shere
Mahomed, who, in June, 1841, had voluntarily entered into
the same engagement as the Hyderabad Ameers, like them
receded from it.
After the action at Meanee, the British force proceeded down