on. The battle was over, and the enemy
in full retreat in the direction of Lugliman by about seven a.m. We have
made ourselves masters of two cavalry standards; recaptured four guns
lost by the Cabul army and Gundamuck forces; and seized and destroyed a
great quantity of _materiel_ and ordnance stores, and burned the whole
of the enemy's tents. In short, the defeat of Mahomet Akbar in open
field, by the troops whom he had boasted of blockading, has been
complete and signal." After his defeat Akbar Khan retired in the
direction of Cabul, but his troops deserted from him to a man. Such was
the state of affairs when the junction between the forces of General
Sale and General Pollock took place at Jellalabad. The garrison was
suffering severely from want of provisions, but plentiful supplies
soon began to pour in from Peshawar, and the two generals subsequently
resolved upon offensive operations. At this time the monarch whom the
British power had placed on the throne at Cabul was dead: he had ordered
a general levy of troops to be made in his capital, to march upon
Jellalabad; and, while he was on his way to join these troops at Seeah
Sung, he was fired upon by fifty Juzdilchees, who were placed in ambush,
and was killed. General Pollock remained at Jellalabad upwards of four
months, during which time his troops suffered severely from sickness,
and their ranks were greatly thinned by death; and it was not until the
20th of August that he commenced his march towards Cabul. The prisoners,
male and female, which were captured by Akbar Khan were in separate
forts within the valley of Tezeen, where General Elphinstone died; and
during the period of General Pollock's stay at Jellalabad, Akbar
Khan sent two of the British officers in captivity to treat for the
liberation of the whole. He wished, however, to make our evacuation
of Affghanistan the condition of restoring the prisoners; but as this
proposal could not be entertained, all negotiations ceased, and the
prisoners were subsequently removed from Tezeen to forts between Cabul
and Bameean. Previous to his departure from Jellalabad, General Pollock
had issued a manifesto to the chiefs at Cabul, stating his intention
of marching upon the city, and promising them that if they restored the
prisoners, their property would be protected and their city spared; but
that if they allowed Akbar Khan to remove them, they must all be held
responsible for the consequences, and that every hou