There was, moreover, the likelihood that on his return he might find the bridge over the Ganges destroyed, its banks strongly defended, and the force which he had left to guard Cawnpur assailed by an overwhelming foe.
On November 12th, Sir Colin reviewed the little army with which this brilliant feat of strategy was to be achieved. An onlooker has described the scene — the force, dwarfed by its surroundings to a mere handful of men, drawn up in the middle of a vast plain — the forests which bounded the horizon — the blackened and battle-worn guns and batteries from Delhi — English lancers with their blue uniforms and turbans twisted round their caps — wild frontier troopers on prancing horses, with loose fawn-coloured robes, long boots, and towering head-gear — the worn and wasted remnants of English regiments in slate-coloured uniform, standing, with wearied air, around their standards — tall Punjab Infantry with huge twisted turbans and sand-coloured tunics, and, conspicuous among the rest, the 93rd Highlanders — 'a waving sea of plumes and tartans' — as with rapturous cheers they greeted their veteran chief.
The long stubborn fight across the defences and through the streets of Lucknow, and the successful rescue of the British garrison, skilfully and gallantly effected in the course of the next few days, marked the second great step towards the rehabilitation of the British rule; but Sir Colin had to hurry back to rescue the force at his base from annihilation. Wynd-
