THE SECOND SIKH WAR. 97 



Chinab near Wazirabad in hopes of intercepting 

 Gougii's reinforcements, and even, it was said, of 

 making a dash at Lahore. By this time Hodson 

 found himself acting in close companionship with 

 the army of the Punjab. " I am at present with my 

 men," he writes on February 19 from Wazirabad, 

 " attached to a brigade encamped on this (the left) 

 bank of the Chinab to prevent the enemy crossing 

 until Lord Gough is ready to attack them on the 

 right bank, where he is now encamped with his 

 whole force minus our brigade." 



Baffled by swollen fords and British vig;ilance in 

 their attempts to cross the Chinab, the Sikh leaders 

 jDrepared to make their last stand round the walled 

 city of Gujarat, on the right bank of the Chinab, 

 some miles north of Wazirabad. In front of this 

 place some 50,000 horse and foot, including 1500 

 Afghans, with an armament of 60 guns, awaited 

 Lord Gough's advance at the head of 23,000 men 

 and 90 guns. 



On February 21, 1849, the British general fought 

 and won " his last battle and his best," as he himself 

 put it in his letter to the chairman of the Lidia 

 Board. At 8.30 of that morning the battle of the 

 guns began, and raged more or less fiercely for 

 about three hours. By that time the two villages on 

 our right front had been stormed, and about noon 

 the long British line moved forward to certain 

 victory. The retreat of the enemy was soon turned 

 by our guns and cavalry into a murderous rout. 

 That day the whole of their standing camp, their 

 baggage, ordnance stores, and fifty- three of their 

 2;uns fell into the victor's hands. Gouojh's whole loss 

 in killed and wounded amounted only to 806 men. 



G 



