on the natives of the place. Such a thing as a European regiment had never been seen in Ságar, and we certainly never expected to see Her Majesty's 14th Dragoons. These men, and the large siege-guns dragged by elephants, were a source of much curiosity and awe to the natives. You can hardly realise our feelings after eight months of anxiety and imprisonment.'
Having thus opened the roads to and from the West and North, Sir Hugh Rose set himself to clear the way towards the East. This entailed the capture of the Fort of Garhákota, about 25 miles east of Ságar, where the mutinous 51st and 52nd Bengal Regiments, with other large bodies of rebels, had established themselves, and were devastating the country around. The fort was a strong one, built by French engineers; so strong, indeed, that in 1818 a British force of 11,000 men with 28 siege-guns only gained possession of it, after a long investment, by allowing the garrison to march out with the honours of war.
Sir Hugh Rose occupied the fort on the 13th February, 1858, after a trying march through dense jungle, under a hot sun, with the enemy keeping up a running fight all the way. Within was found a large quantity of supplies and war material, pointing to the belief that the rebels had intended to make Garhákota a central rendezvous.
The General's next object, after the capture of Garhákota, was to reach Jhánsí as quickly as possible. The capture of Jhánsí was considered of so much
