iled up the Rangoon river on the 11th of May,
and anchored off the town. As the place was not prepared for resistance,
the governor, after a few shots had been fired from the principal
battery, which was quickly silenced by one of the ships, directed the
inhabitants to retire into the recesses of the jungle. The city, with
its mud houses, was abandoned to the invaders, and everything that could
serve for provision was removed far beyond their reach. It had been
imagined that the capture of Rangoon, or any part of the enemy's
maritime possessions, would induce the king to accept the terms of
government. It was soon found, however, that not only the Burmese
monarch, but the people of Pegu, whose co-operation had been reckoned
upon, were preparing for decided hostilities. Distress soon prevailed
among the British troops, for there were no provisions near, and the
boatmen of the Rangoon had removed every serviceable vessel out of their
reach. To add to the distress of the army, the rainy season set in;
and it was also kept in continual alarm by the nightly irruption of the
enemy into its lines. The chief command, however, had been given to an
officer of ability and zeal; and every obstacle was finally surmounted.
On hearing of our offensive operations, the court of Ava lost no time
in making preparations for our expulsion. Every town and village within
three hundred miles of Bangoon was obliged to send its complement of
armed men, under their respective chiefs; and the Irrawaddy was covered
with fleets of warriors from all the towns on its banks, proceeding to
the general rendezvous of the army. The Burmese monarch had said that
the English should not disturb the women cooking their rice at Rangoon;
and now that they had not only been disturbed, but driven from their
homes, he resolved to be revenged on them. The first conflict took place
on the 16th of May, when Captain Birch dislodged the enemy from the
village of Kemmendine, a war-boat station three miles above Rangoon.
Nothing daunted, however, the enemy, as their numbers increased,
gradually approached the British position, and threw up stockades in the
jungle within hearing of our advanced posts. Of this work the British
commander took no notice, as it was his wish to come into close contact
with his antagonists, he being unable to attempt any distant operation.
On the 28th of May an advanced corps was stockaded within little more
than musket-shot distance from our piqu