THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION 
183 
Adjutant- General 3 s Office, 
Head Quarters, Camp Talanta Plain, 
20th April, 1868. 
Soldiers and Sailors of the Army of Abyssinia. 
The Queen and the people of England entrusted to you a very arduous and 
difficult expedition; to release our countrymen from a long and painful captivity, 
and to vindicate the honor of our country, which had been outraged by Theodore, 
King of Abyssinia. 
I congratulate you, with all my heart, on the noble way in which you have 
fulfilled the commands of our Sovereign. 
You have traversed, often under a tropical sun, or amidst storms of rain and 
sleet, four hundred miles of mountainous and rugged country. 
You have crossed ranges of mountains, many steep and precipitous, more than 
ten thousand feet in altitude, where your supplies could not keep pace with you. 
In four days you passed the formidable chasm of the Beshilo, and, when within 
reach of your enemy, though with scanty food, and some of you even for many 
hours without either food or water, you defeated the army of Theodore, which 
poured down upon you from its lofty fortress in full confidence of victory. 
A host of many thousands have laid down their arms at your feet. 
You have captured and destroyed upwards of thirty pieces of artillery, many of 
great weight and efficiency, with ample stores of ammunition. 
You have stormed the almost inaccessible Fortress of Magdala, defended by 
Theodore and a desperate remnant of his chiefs and followers. 
After you forced the entrance to his- fortress, Theodore, who himself never showed 
mercy, distrusted the offer of it held out to him by me, and died by his own hand. 
You have released not only the British captives, but those of other friendly 
nations. 
You have unloosed the chains of more than ninety of the principal chiefs of 
Abyssinia. 
Magdala, on which so many victims have been slaughtered, has been committed 
to the flames, and now remains only a scorched rock. 
Our complete and rapid success is due, firstly, to the mercy of God, whose hand, 
I feel assured, has been over us in a just cause; secondly, to the high spirit with 
which you have been inspired. 
Indian soldiers have forgotten the prejudices of race and creed to keep pace with 
their European comrades. 
Never did an army enter on a war with more honorable feelings than yours. 
This it is that has carried you through so many fatigues and difficulties; your sole 
anxiety has been for the moment to arrive when you could close with your enemy. 
The remembrance of your privations will pass away quickly; your gallant 
exploit will live in history. 
The Queen and the people of England will appreciate and acknowledge your 
services; on my part, as your Commander, I thank you for your devotion to your 
duty, and the good discipline you have maintained throughout. 
Not a single complaint has been made against a soldier, of fields injured, or 
villagers wilfully molested, either in person or property. 
We must not, however, forget what we owe to our comrades who have been 
labouring for us in the sultry climate of Zulla, the Pass of Koomaylo, or in the 
monotony of the posts which maintained our communications. One and all would 
have given everything they possessed to be with us; they deserve our gratitude. 
