At Mohamdi

At 7 in the morning, with Mohamdi only four miles off, bodies of rebel cavalry appeared in the distance and without ceremony, the brigade was ordered to advance in battle order. “At one place, the long grass and low jungle through which the troops passed was alive with hares, and the soldiers, in spite of the overpowering heat, exerted themselves to capture the animals, without, however, leaving the ranks. This excitement did them good, and many who had been inclined to lag behind now pushed forward with the leading files, in hopes of sharing in this novel description of prize.” When the 82nd had been paraded at 2 in the morning, only eight files of the original 24 remained – it was just as well that the rebels fled on the approach of the advanced guard, for the force now had so many men hors de combat, they resembled a hospital train. However, Jones would take Mohamdi as the rebels were not in the mood for a fight. Instead of defending the fort, they abandoned it and with such speed that Jones had no chance of catching them.

“The enemy were very strong on their own right, and large bodies of their cavalry outflanking us, checked the advance of Brigadier Hagart with a large portion of the cavalry, and Tombs’ troop, horse artillery, on our left. The rebel cavalry charged the Mooltanee cavalry, thirty of them riding through the regiment; five or six of Cureton’s men were wounded, but all the rebels that broke through his regiment were killed. A wagon of Major Hammond’s battery exploded while moving with the Carabiniers at the gallop, and two Europeans and one native were killed. I advanced about nine miles with great rapidity, but I could not come up with the enemy. The cavalry and light guns were pushed on a few miles further in pursuit. The guns they (the enemy) principally used were drawn by horses, and with these he covered the retreat of those drawn by bullocks, withdrawing the latter at the first round from our artillery.”

Pursuit was impossible over the wide, unbroken plain and the rebels, well acquainted with the terrain, made good use of the topes of trees which were scattered along it to hide their line of retreat. Jones let them go and entered Mohamdi. Some rebel cavalry were in position in front of the town to greet him, but they swiftly dispersed, and Jones found the town was empty. The Moulvie, had he been there, was long gone, and all Jones had to show for his efforts was a broken gun abandoned in the fort by the rebels. The main body had retreated into the jungles, leaving nothing for Jones to do but blow up the fort and return to Shajahanpore, leaving a portion of Coke’s infantry to occupy the town.
Using the rebels’ own gunpowder, several thousand pounds of which were found in the fort, the engineers blew up the bastions and the principal gates, caused breaches in the fort walls and levelled the living quarters. In the town, which had been set ablaze by the rebels on their retreat, Coke’s men ensured the destruction was completed, ensuring that no supplies or cover remained should the rebels consider returning. All smaller stores of ammunition were likewise blown up, and the two iron guns were successfully spiked, rendering them useless for any future use. There was nothing left of Mohamdi. It was said of Jones that ” he never assaulted a position that he did not take, nor attacked a gun that he did not capture.” However, this march had cost him dearly, with over 100 men dead or disabled from heat stroke alone. Regarding the Moulvie, he had once again evaded the British, but unbeknownst to him, treachery and not a British noose would be his destiny.