No. II.
Account of the Explosion at the Seikh Square on 18th of August.
Yesterday morning, between the hours of 5 and 6, the enemy sprung a mine at the Seikh Square, blowing down the corner house, on the top of which Lieutenant Mecham and Captain Orr, with two sentries, were on the look out from the loopholes, Lieutenant Soppitt being below at the time.
A few minutes before the explosion not a single individual was to be seen in the quarter occupied by the enemy. Suddenly, however, one man was discovered by a sentry, and Lieutenant Mecham fired at him, but missed; and immediately after the mine exploded, sending four of us, viz., Lieutenant Mecham, Band-sergeant Curtain, of the 41st Native Infantry, Drummer Ford, of the 13th Native Infantry, and Captain Orr up in the air, and burying underneath the ruins of the battery six drummers and one sepoy, i. e., Wiltshire, Williams, 13th Native Infantry, E. Curtain, A. Nugent, Rowlan, 41st Native Infantry, Fife-major Shipley, 4th Oude Irregular Force, and sepoy Heerah Sing, 48th Regiment Native Infantry. Of the former, I regret to state that Band-sergeant Curtain was thrown on the enemy's side and killed; Lieutenant Mecham and Drummer Ford were almost unhurt, and Captain Orr escaped with a few bruises.
Every precaution had been taken by Lieutenants Mecham, Soppitt, and Captain Orr to guard against all contingencies, Lieutenant Mecham remaining at night with the sentries, Lieutenant Soppitt and Captain Orr being below with the guard, and occasionally visiting the sentries. Since on duty at the Seikh Battery we had already discovered two mines, one of which we countermined, and the other we found to be an abortive attempt at one. The above discoveries had the effect of making us doubly vigilant on this point.
The new mine, which occasioned the calamity of yesterday, must have been worked by the enemy with sharp and noiseless tools; as—though a shaft was already sunk beneath the battery, over which a sentry was posted, and into which, during our respective tour of duty, we each occasionally descended for the purpose of listening whether mining was carried on by the enemy—not the slightest sound which in any way led us to suppose the same was the case, ever reached us.
There was never perfect silence in the square, owing to the Seikhs' horses being picketed therein, the tramping of whose feet on the ground had more than once previously deceived us.
The smoke and dust thrown up enveloping us for some moments in complete darkness, and the sudden shock of the explosion, prevented my personally knowing what subsequently happened.