war. The officer appointed by Sir James Brisbane, to succeed Captain Chads in the command of the Arachne, was Lieutenant John Francis Dawson, first of the Boadicea.
On the 15th November, the Burmese having pushed forward a division of troops to the village of Watty-goon, distant from Prome about 18 miles in a N.E. direction, and it appearing desirable that the columns of the British army should not be harassed and delayed at the very commencement of their march, Sir Archibald Campbell directed Lieutenant-Colonel Robert M‘Dowall, of the Madras establishment, to move forward with four regiments of native infantry, and dislodge the enemy from their posts. The result of this attempt was disastrous, owing to the very superior force of the Burmese, and the strength of their, positions. Lieutenant-Colonel M‘Dowall and 53 men were slain; Major R. Lacy Evans, four captains, eight subalterns, and 110 men wounded; and 42 rank and file missing. Lieutenant John C. Ranken, of the 43d regiment, subsequently died of his wounds.
The ultimate consequences of this disaster were not unfavorable, as it encouraged the Burman chiefs in the high opinion they were still inclined to entertain of their own power, and induced them to adopt a system of confident warfare, which brought them within the reach of the British commanders. Relying on the manifestation of their purpose to attack him in the position he then occupied. Sir Archibald Campbell determined to await their advance, and Prome was soon surrounded by upwards of 50,000 warriors. As their numbers enabled them to spread over a considerable tract of country, they detached parties past both flanks of the British position, by which the communication with Rangoon was threatened, and the districts below Prome, on both banks of the river, exposed to the depredation of irregular and marauding bands. About this period, H.M. sloop Champion arrived at Rangoon, and her commander, John Fitz-Gerald Studdert, was entrusted with the charge of keeping the navigation open between that place and Prome.
