The Chase is On 20-24 October

The question was very easily answered – they had in effect, fled through the gap left by Colonel Walter. Their first stop was 6 miles from Jagdispur at Bali Gawan. For some little time, the British had no idea where they had gone and even their otherwise reliable spies were clueless. The rebels had the advantage of a population that more or less stood in their favour, they knew the paths and byways of the land better than any one of Douglas’ men; they were also capable of covering large distances, unhampered by baggage of any description. Their strategy now was not to stand and fight but to out march Brigadier Douglas.
Then, late in the afternoon on 18 October, information came in that the rebels had fled south. Not wanting to miss the opportunity of cutting them off, Douglas left Colonel Dunsford to garrison Jagdispur and together with Major Lightfoot, pushed both columns towards Jitaura. Here they met Colonel Turner who Douglas directed to ride with haste to Sahar on the Son to prevent the rebels from crossing the river. However, the rebels were one step ahead of Douglas. Anticipating he would guard the river, they turned eastwards. With no time to lose, Douglas dispatched his best officer, a man who had proved himself time and again as not only a fine linguist but possessing nerves of steel and the decided ability to track the movements of the rebels – Major Sir Henry Havelock.
Since his father’s death at Lucknow, nearly one year ago, much of Havelock’s time had been in the various field forces. He had joined the Jaunpore Field Force under Brigadier Franks and had, since the fall of Lucknow been active as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General to Brigadier Douglas. Due to his experience in Franks’ force, Havelock was very aware of the perils of advancing without cavalry and had had the advantage of seeing the success met by training infantrymen to make up the deficit in mounted riflemen. It was largely due to Havelock that 40 men of HM’ 10th Regiment, who had previously received some instruction in the art of horse riding at Dinapore, were trained as mounted infantry, able to pursue the enemy on horseback and then dismounting, versed in holding the enemy in check until main force arrived. Havelock increased the force from 40 to 60 men and they would now ride with him in pursuit of the rebels. With three troops of the Military Train along with the men of the 10th, Havelock’s orders were to attempt, by forced march to interpose himself between the rebels and the Son River. Then with Colonel Turner holding Sahar, Colonel Walter was entreated to march with his column to Nansagar to complete a line along the river, which would, if done correctly would force the rebels to remain in Bihar. Douglas further sent orders to the four companies of the Madras Rifles, the on the right bank of the river to remain on alert while Douglas himself marched back to Arrah to pick up the Madras battery guns and mortars, anticipating that he might need to cross the Son should the need arise. At a little past 8 the same evening Havelock set off and reached Arrah at 1 on the morning of the 19th. He halted for some six hours and set off again, reaching the Son ahead of the rebels.

Where there had previously been little to no information, Douglas was now regaled with plenty and certainly trustworthy enough to plot his next moves. The force that had been sent in pursuit after the taking Jagdispur –

Bengal Artillery, 4 12-pounder M. S. Howitzers, horsed;
D. Troop Military Train, 1 officer, 31 men; 4th Madras Cavalry, 2 officers and 50 men;
3d Sikh Cavalry, 1 officer and 60 men;
Her Majesty’s 35th Regiment, 15 officers and 301 men;
84th Regiment, 6 officers and 134 men;
20th Punjaub Infantry, 1 officer and 172 men

had been able to inform him that the rebels had halted during the night of the 18th at Bali Gan and had moved the next day towards Garhani. Douglas quickly assembled his column and set off in pursuit on the 20th. Colonel Walter, who had been in the vicinity of Garhani for all of the 19th was ordered to follow the rebels. As Douglas approached Garhani, he quickly realised the rebels had once again pre-empted him and had turned south-east towards Sheopur – a ruse, so it turned out – and changed their path again and were once again heading south to Baruth. Douglas first marched toward Sheopur, but informed that the rebels had misled him, he gained the Piro road and marched “as so to move on the right flank of the enemy”, and halted, after a gruelling march of 33 miles, at Piro.
Havelock, meanwhile, had arrived at Nansagar at 3 in the morning only to hear that the rebels had passed the night before through Garhani and were now on their way towards him after which they intended to follow Douglas. With little time to spare, Havelock rode towards Baruth. He overtook the rebels’ rear guard close to Nonadi and “by a dismounted rifle-fire on two faces, one towards the main body, one detaining the rear-guard, in cutting them off from the main body, and hemming them into that village till the arrival of Colonel Turner’s infantry column.“
Turner who had been marching parallel to Havelock, now stormed the village.

“About one hundred, up desperately breaking out, were ” ringed ” in an adjoining field by Havelock’s mounted riflemen, who shot them down till their numbers were so reduced that the supporting cavalry, bursting in on them, sword in hand, sabred almost every man. Only three or four, amongst whom was Ammar Singh himself, disguised, found safety in a neighbouring cane-crop.”

All told, the day’s carnage cost the rebels some 400 men in dead and wounded. One hundred rebels, cut off from the main body, attempted to cross the Son but were thwarted, forcing them to retrace their steps. They were then “ridden down and sabred almost to a man” by Havelock’s cavalry near Pooruhura.

Colonel Walter had in the meantime redeemed himself after spoiling Douglas’ campaign by diligently following the main body of rebels on their flight due south. They bivouacked for the night just south of Nonadi (likely Nonar) near Sukreta, within earshot of not only Havelock but Turner. This being hardly what could be called decent company, on 21 October, the rebels packed up early in the morning and made for Sahejani, only to find they now had Brigadier Douglas to contend with.
Douglas had received news of their intentions and, at 5 in the morning, marched off Piro to meet them – again, not interested in scuffling with Douglas, the rebels turned west and started off towards Koath Kas, with Douglas on their heels. Following on behind was Havelock. As soon as he caught up with Douglas, Havelock was ordered to take up the chase, and he finally caught up with the rebels at 4.30pm. They were completely caught off guard, and many of them were cooking their dinners when Havelock stormed through their camp. Those who managed to evade his sabres rushed off through the town and made off in an easterly direction. Havelock now drove them towards Douglas, who was waiting for them.
However, there is only so fast a force can march, and by the time Douglas arrived, the rebels had succeeded in barricading themselves in a walled village surrounded by a deep moat. They had chosen the position well, for behind the walls to their left was a series of enclosed gardens and to their right a mass of dense groves. They sent a small party of their cavalry forward, and these were drawn up to Douglas’ right front, showing every intention to attack his baggage train. Douglas immediately closed up and prepared for action.

” A strong body of about 400 rebels, occupying a tope of trees on my left, evincing a resolute determination to hold their position, I ordered up Captain Simeon’s guns, covered by a company of the 84th, under Major Lightfoot. A smart fire was poured upon the guns. The artillery practice was excellent, and several shells, bursting in the very midst of the rebels, threw them into confusion, and the company of the 84th rushing forward at this opportune moment, speedily cleared the enclosure, and drove the rebels headlong before them. In the meantime the 35th Regiment, in skirmishing order, advanced rapidly on the main body, who were retiring by our right, still pressed closely by the cavalry. I continued following the rebels for some little distance, when the darkness of the night, and the heavy nature of the ground, rendering further pursuit useless, I halted and bivouacked in front of the village of Mujhowlee. In this affair the enemy’s precipitate flight and the lateness of the day saved them from severe loss, but they left some thirty sepoys dead on the field.”

Douglas would continue to relentlessly follow the rebels.
The next day he received information that they had now fled south towards Huldhea; Douglas was ready to march at 7 in the morning in pursuit. Upon arriving at said place, he found Havelock was already there. After a halt of only two hours, Douglas sent him onwards to Looloonee (Lilwach); however, it would turn out the rebels were once again quick to the mark. With unsurpassed knowledge of the country they were moving in, on the night of the 21st they had eluded Douglas by doubling back, this time due west, making for Dinara and Kochas, with another party marching through Bhanpur, something Douglas would not find out until hours later, as he was still under the impression they were heading south. When he was finally told of their actual movements, Douglas made for the direct Sasseram road and marched to Bikramganj. At the same time, Colonel Walter was ordered to move parallel to Douglas’ column, three miles distant to Douglas’ right flank. In the mean time, Havelock had reached Lilwach, nearly due west of Bhanpur and then onto Dinara, all the while sending back information to Colonel Walter, who now marched to Havelock’s support.
After allowing his men a mere four hours ‘ rest at Dinara, Havelock was back on the road and pressed on towards Kochas. From here, he once again turned southwards. On the morning of the 23rd, Douglas marched from Bikramganj to Khurudee (Kharauj Khurd), arriving at 8 that evening. Colonel Walter halted that night four miles south of Kochas.

“The final skirmish between the rebel force and the cavalry had now taken place near the village of Gourie, thirteen miles north of the Grand Trunk Road, with only partial success, and without having turned them off their line of for the hills. After this their flight was continued due south to the Grand Trunk Road, but they were so closely pursued by the cavalry that they had no time to do the slightest damage. Colonel Turner, now at Jehanabad on the Grand Trunk Road, was warned too late of their approach. He made an attempt to cut them off but his guns and cavalry coming unexpectedly on an impassable nullah, he was compelled to abandon the pursuit. The column under my command arrived at Jehanabad on the morning of the 24th about twelve hours after the cavalry, and was followed that same evening by Colonel Walter; both columns halted. Colonel Turner had already despatched the cavalry under Sir H. Havelock towards the hills, to which point he was himself about to follow ; they returned next morning, not having been able to overtake the rebels. I then directed Colonel Turner to take his column along the left bank of the Soane to watch the passes in the Kymore hills, and to prevent the enemy crossing into Palamon. I also detached three posts from my own column to watch the passes on the Shahabad side of the hills.”

With that the chase in the plains was now over but would continue, shortly after in the Kaimur Hills.

Douglas settled down now to write his report, in which he admitted,

“I have no hesitation in saying that this pursuit would have been still more destructive to the enemy had they not been artfully screened by the inhabitants, every individual of whom, throughout the length and breadth of the district, systematically attempted to mislead and deceive us, and it was only by the most rigid and searching inquiry that we were enabled to keep on the trail of the fugitives. In the various encounters that took place throughout my operations, between 700 and 800 of the enemy hare fallen, besides numbers wounded ; and those who, by their wonderful endurance, succeeded in eluding my pursuing columns, only escaped with their bare lives, an utterly broken, disheartened, and demoralized rabble.”

If it was a feat of marching, then certainly the columns and Havelock had surpassed themselves. Between the 19th and the 23rd of October, the columns had averaged a distance of 26 miles a day, while Havelock and his men seldom less than 40. Together they had covered just over 200 miles in five days with surprisingly few losses – three men killed and eighteen wounded, but 43 horses had sadly died of exhaustion. The end result was the complete expulsion of 4500 rebels from the province. To prevent them entertaining any ideas of retaking Jagdispur, the jungle surrounding the place was completely cut down and the plan of building roads was finally taken on in earnest. While the main body of the rebels had for once been well and truly routed in Bihar, pockets of men, who had broken off during the pursuit, would continue to be driven from place to place and their hiding places taken over by the British. For the neighbouring district of Chota Nagpur things would for a time now take a turn for the worse as various bands of rebels, driven out by Douglas, would join hands with the civilian rebellion in that district, taking up positions in the hills and in the dense jungles. There would continue to be skirmishes and actions into 1859, affecting, in the process, Palamau, Singhbuhm-Seraikella and Kharaswan. In reality, while some sense of peace did finally descend on Bihar, the rebellion itself in the surrounding district was not over. It had simply crossed the border to become someone else’s problem.