By October, the rebels had established themselves at Chaugain, Brahmpur, Karisath and Belaur, with another post at Jagdispur. From these points, they were able to launch their punitive expeditions on most of the Douglas’ positions, leading to skirmishes which had, in the end, the same result – a significant amount of marching for the Bihar Field Force with little success, as the rebels continued to disappear into the surrounding countryside as soon as they had finished harassing the British. On more than one occasion, when the information received from their spies and informants was considered true, Douglas sanctioned punitive counter-expeditions against the rebels. These were successful, insofar as they halted, for a short time, the rebels’ plundering excursions, giving a little relief to the hard-pressed local population. However, as a general course of action, it was not a sustainable alternative.

The Karamnasa River Expedition

Just such an expedition took place on 6 October 1858 on the The Karamnasa River, a tributary of the Ganges which flows along the boundary between what is today known as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The objective of this expedition was the arrest of Meghar Singh Sakarwa, a zamindar of Gahmar whose
nvolvement in the rebellion had begun on 6 June 1858 with Amar Singh and 500 of his men arrived at Sakarwa’s ancestral holdings at Gahmar. Sakarwa had until then held off taking an active part in the troubles but with Singh’s arrival, this changed. The zamindar now actively sought out Amar Singh and sent him a letter proposing an alliance, something Singh was most willing to accept. As a promise of good faith, Sakarwa further offered him a gift 0r nazrana of Rs 20,000 – when Singh left Gahmar on 10 June, he had not only supplied the zamindar with arms, but had received supplies for his army. Throughout the rest of the summer, Meghar Singh Sakarwa would continue to add trained sepoys to his army while keeping the British busy along the Ganges and Karamnasa rivers from his stronghold at Gahmar and his village of Keree. Having received credible information at the beginning of October that Sakarwa was now levying contributions in and around Chausa, Lieutenant-Colonel Dunsford decided it was time to pay the wily zamindar a visit.

With the river’s water level still high from the monsoons, Dunsford believed he could sail from Buxar to effect the zamindar’s arrest with little worries. For this, he sent Mr Browne, then commanding the Benares – a river steamer that had been fitted with guns – to reconnoitre. Browne reported the river would serve admirably for the cause and he could safely take 200 men as far as Dehri (Dehari). So on the evening of 6 October, Dunsford sent off:

Military Train, 1 troop, commanded by Captain Nason;
4th Madras Cavalry, 1 troop, commanded by Captain John Sholto Douglas, and afterwards by Lieutenant Galloway;
Her Majesty’s 84th, 100 bayonets, commanded by Captain Snow;
Madras Rifles, 32 bayonets, commanded by Captain Barclay,
68th Regiment Native Infantry;
20th Regiment Punjab Infantry, 53 bayonets, under command of Lieutenant Jarrett.
The whole commanded by Major Carr, of the Madras Rifles.

The infantry would proceed by steamer while the cavalry would ride via Chausa from Buxar and meet the infantry at Dehari.

Unfortunately, not everything went to plan, and this time it was not clear who was at fault. The infantry did sail as expected but were set on land just south of Sonpa and still three miles short of Dehari. Major Carr sent word to Captain Douglas that he and the cavalry should not wait at Dehari but push on to Keree, the village where Megha Rao Singh had his residence. The problem is, Carr was not aware just how far Keree actually was. Instead of only three miles from Dehari, it was fully nine miles. Douglas pushed on with orders from Carr to surround the village and wait for the infantry to come up.
As such, Captain Douglas, thinking the infantry was no great distance behind him, proceeded towards Keree only to find, at just two miles short of the village, Singh’s men were ready for him. A complement of some 300 men, just returning from a plundering excursion, fell on the cavalry in one fell swoop. There was nothing for it but to charge. Douglas and Nason, both in front, with a great shout, led the charge over the swampy ground, and paid for it with their lives.
Nason was shot dead in the first minutes of the battle, charging the man who “stood to receive him with a loaded musket and bayonet.” The shot was fired at such a short distance; Nason fell off his horse, his clothes scorched and skin burned. Captain Douglas, without a moment’s hesitation, ran the man through with his sword, but another, hard by, shot him. Douglas, off his horse and badly injured, still managed to cut down two men before he received his final wound. He would be carried off the field by his men but died shortly after.
By the time Major Carr arrived at Keree, the rebels had disappeared, and the action was over. Pursuit was pointless. When Mr Garstin, the magistrate who had accompanied the cavalry, counted the bodies, he found 35 dead on the field where the cavalry had charged and a further 5 in the village itself. Carr advanced with the infantry on Keree, forming the detachment in regular order, dividing the cavalry into two parts on the left and right of the village, while he proceeded forward. He found the village was empty and ordered it to be burned to the ground. As many of the houses had tiled roofs, it was not the inferno he had hoped for, but by the time he was getting ready to leave, Keree, which had previously not been on any of their maps, would never be found on any in the future either. By 2 pm, with the work of destruction over, Carr marched his men the 12 miles back to the steamer, a distance that would take them 6 hours to cover. Several men of the HM’s 84th were struck down by the sun, but Assistant Surgeon Eteson, of the Punjabis, ensured none of them died. The steamer arrived at Buxar the following day at 3 am. As for the cavalry, they would arrive shortly before Carr, having covered a distance of 50 miles in a little more than 24 hours.

For Brigadier Douglas, the situation in Bihar was far from satisfactory. Without any tangible success to show for his efforts, he decided it was to time, like Eyre, Le Grand and Lugard before him, to take Jagdispur which once again, had become a rallying point for the rebels. This time, he had a much loftier plan for Douglas intended to launch his own campaign with the goal to rid Bihar of insurgents once and for all.