en petite tenue, a non-official observer of what was going on, implying that he did not approve of what was going on, and would not countenance it by his presence. He did not come on the field till after the action was over. How mortified he must feel now at his want of judgment, which is now officially recorded against himself in his own handwriting! He would give his little finger, I should think, to have his letter back again. On the morning of the 1 2th August we marched our whole force out of Peh-tang; there is but one road leading out of the town, a raised causeway running for three miles through a swamp. It had been raining a good deal a day or two previously, and we were afraid that this swampy ground would be impracticable for cavalry and guns; however, as it turned out, it did very well. The ist Division, with the General and staff, went by this road to attack the enemy's works in front — the 2nd Division, with the cavalry, branched off this causeway to the right soon after leaving Peh-tang, and made a sweep round so as to place themselves on the left flank and rear of these works. They moved along a track in marshy ground, which, after three or four miles, brought them on to hard ground, where the cavalry and guns were able to deploy. The French were with the ist Division, which soon came up with the enemy's first works. We halted within 1500 yards to let the 2nd Division come up, which had a longer way to go than we had, and also to reconnoitre the enemy; we found them to be chiefly cavalry, about 5000, who began to dismount and man their works, while some rode out to their right flank to show front against us. As the 2nd Division approached Sin-ho the Tartars rushed out of that entrenchment in force to attack them, cheering lustily as they advanced. I do not quite believe they knew the kind of enemy they had in their front; they had never fought with Europeans before, and their ideas about cavalry must have been limited to that of their own country — Mongolia. As they approached, the Armstrong guns
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now for the first time opened upon them; still they advanced and rode right up to a battery of 6-pounders. The cavalry then came down upon them and sent them flying in all directions, leaving about 200 killed and wounded on the field. As soon as we saw the 2nd Division engaged, the ist commenced its attack, deploying an Armstrong battery and a 9-pounder into line, a French battery being on our left. We opened fire at about 1200 yards, gradually advancing, and after about half an hour we silenced the enemy's fire and entered their first works, through which we advanced on to their second. By this time the Tartar cavalry had been driven back by the 2nd Division, and came flying through Sin-ho along the causeway leading to Sang-koo, getting a severe pounding from our guns as they went. The day was now our own, with a loss on our side of about 2 killed and 21 wounded, and we bivouacked on the road just beyond vSin-ho to the S.W. On the 14th we advanced against Sang-koo, which is a large town and encampment about three miles and a half round, protected by a low battlemented wall and two ditches, one being about 18 feet broad. This was entirely an artillery action, the General's tactics being to fire upon these mud works until the enemy's fire is silenced thoroughly, so as to save his own men's lives as much as possible while storming. We deployed 7 batteries into line, 4 English and 3 French, opening fire at about 1000 yards and gradually advancing, firing at intervals until we got within 400 yards; such a frightful fire was then brought to bear upon the place as no enemy could stand, and a column of Rifles entered the works unopposed, followed by the French in another part of the works, exactly eighteen minutes after. The enemy must have lost that day about 400 killed and wounded; we had one man mortally wounded, and two others, severely and slightly — the French one killed and six wounded, showing the wisdom of the General's tactics. After occupying Sang-koo, where our headquarters are now established, we made preparations
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