STUBBS DIARY. 
577 
60th Rifles, and wings of the 93rd Highlanders and G-urkhas. Re ru¬ 
ining ton being ill, Mercer went in command of the Troop. 
November 18th-19th. —Surveying vicinity of fort towards Maholi 
with my prismatic compass. 
November 20th. —As I was sitting over my plan in the afternoon, who 
should ride into camp but Austen, looking for his guns, and very 
indignant that Price (who had been ordered to relieve Wake, transferred 
to Horse Artillery) should have left without reporting himself. He 
tells me there are two or three down for Horse Artillery before me, 
and as his 2nd Captain (Timbrell) is not likely to join, I am to apply 
for exchange into his battery. 
November 21st. —Austen returned to Shahjahanpur. 
November 25th. —The rebels who fled after their defeat at Mehndi are 
now at, or near, Khairabad. Barker 1 2 is coming up in that direction. 
A letter from Aliganj says the rebels could not be followed up as it 
was dark. On the 18th, Brind was detached by Troup, with Mercer 
and the 3rd Troop, a squadron Carabiniers under Bott, squadron Mul- 
tanies under Dixon, and 4th Irregular Cavalry under Captain Hall, and 
36 riflemen carried on the limbers and wagon-bodies. They came on 
the tracks of the rebels and followed them in several turnings for 25 
miles to Mehndi. Mercer with the right-half troop took them in flank, 
which they did not like, and the left-half, limbering up as they bolted, 
went to the front and prevented the guns being carried off. The 
cavalry worked admirably, and it was altogether a very creditable 
affair. Two sowars charged through the left-half troop, touching no 
one, but went at the Irregulars in rear and were killed. They were 
driven into the river Chauka, where numbers were drowned. A Cara- 
binier and troop horse were killed, one horse wounded by some men 
under the river bank. Ten guns were captured. 
November 27th. —Marched at day-break for Hargaon to join Troup, 
but were taken off the road through the thickest part of the jungle, 
breaking four poles of the heavy pieces and some yokes. The baggage, 
which had re-joined us, was ordered to march on the reverse flank, but, 
being a little out of control, got in front and on both flanks. Never 
made a march like this before. Encamped at Haidarpur on the Sarain 
river. 
November 28th.— To Hargaon, five miles. 
November 29th. —To Talgaon. 
December 1st .—After marching 10 or 12 miles, we sighted the rebels 
in topes at Baswan. 3 They separated right and left, avoiding the 
direct attack. Remmington with two guns and 2nd Sikhs advanced to 
left front. Mercer with two more to the front and right. Further on 
that flank Cure ton, with two squadrons, was charged by about 800 
sowars, supported by guns and infantry. Unequal as the odds were, 
he formed to the right, counter-charged, and drove them back into the 
1 Brigadier G. R. Barker, C.B., R.A., commanding one of the columns. 
2 We call it Biswah, after the old spelling. Modern maps say Bisw^in, 
