THE AFFGHAN MASSACRE.

A handsome Tablet has been erected in Alverstoke Church, near Gosport, to the memory of the Soldiers of the 44th Regiment, who fell in the Affghan war; a Gun is placed on the Monument to represent the last gun belonging to the Regiment, a six pounder mountain gun, in the defence of which the greater part of the men fell; above it hang the colours of that ill-fated Regiment; one set only has been placed here, the other was not taken by the enemy, it was torn from the staff by a non-commissioned officer, who wrapped it around him, but who is supposed to have perished in the field or by the cold.

The following is the inscription :

Sacred to the Memory of Colonel T. Mackrell, A. D. C. to Her Majesty.

And 645 non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 44th Regiment;

who fell upon the field of battle in the disastrous Affghan War of 1841 and 1842.

They sank with arms in their hands unconquered, but overpowered by the united horrors of climate, treachery, and barbarous warfare; their colours, saved by Captain J. Souter, one of the few survivors, hang above this stone, which is erected to their memory by the officers of

the 44th Regiment, June 1844.

"And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house, then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sins of thy people Israel.”—2 Chronicles, vi. 24, 25.

To die upon the battle-field

Where neither foe will shrink or yield,
Till one, the favorite of Death,

Resigns his ling'ring, struggling breath!
This this were glory! but to be
Assail'd by triple enemy

Of climate, want, and treachery;
Oh! 'tis enough to chill a Hero's fire,
And make him coldly-cowardly expire!
But no! they did not thus-the Brave
Who sleep within a far-off grave,
In time of need left desolate,
By Man not conquer'd, but by Fate-
With sword in hand they stood-they fell!
Oh! who that dreadful hour can tell
When Life, to accident a prey,
Bids farewell ever to the Day,
And plunges in Death's dreary Night,
Without one parting blessing's light

Of mother-sister-father-friend,
Or dearer one, to kindly lend
The lamp of Hope, to dying eyes,
And bid them close their memories
For brighter visions in the skies,
Where in communion once again
For aye they'll blissfully remain !

Alas! no tender rites like these
Assuag'd their bitter destinies-
With heart-strings torn they sank to rest
But "by their country's wishes blest"
They'll live remember'd ever here:
Pity shall weep as warm a tear
Upon this empty tomb, as though
Their dust were consecrate below.

The flag that like a willow waves
Above their monumental graves,
Shall yet to unborn ages tell
How heroes fought-how heroes fell!

MONUMENT TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE 53d FOOT.

W.

A large mural Monument is placed in the vestibule of St. Chad's Church, Shropshire, in commemoration of the brave men belonging to the 53d, or Shropshire Regiment, who fell during the late war in India. The Monument stands about eight feet high, and is of white marble, set on a black ground, and decorated with Military accoutrements, most tastefully and correctly sculptured in alto relievo. It rests on two brackets, supporting a base and sub-base table, on these reposes an elegant Grecian tablet, surmounted by a service knapsack, to which, attached by strap and buckle, is a roll coat and mess can; 53 on the front, denotes the number of the Regiment. On each side of this appear the hilts of two swords, and immediately below, from a staff spear-head, the colours of the Regiment are gracefully suspended down each side of the tablet; whilst from the right corner of which, slung by the chin-stay or scales, is an officer's Military cap, with tuft on the crown; a flowing sash, and the new regulation sword, "cut and thrust" hang downwards. The corresponding side exhibits a firelock with bayonet fixed, a cartridge pouch, and a bugle, the former pendent by the belt, and the latter by a twisted cord. Below this, on a tablet, is displayed an imperial crown and a foliated wreath, emblematic of victory, having in the background two crossed firelocks, with bayonets fixed. Around the wreath is thrown a pall, the folds of which extend along the base of this portion of the design, as admonitory of the great sacrifice of human life by which the crowning victory, and enlaurelled garland were achieved. Within the wreath is inscribed, in raised gold letters

The main part of the tablet bears the following inscription in Roman characters :

Sacred to the Memory of the brave! Captain C. E. D. Warren,
Captain T. Smart,
Lieutenant R. N. Clarke,

Adjutant W. Dunning, of the 53d or Shropshire Regiment,

who were killed on the 10th February 1846, in the glorious battle of

SUBRAON.

Also to the Memory of the undermentioned non-commissioned officers and privates of the above Regt. who fell in the above triumphant action, as well as assisted in that of ALLIWAL, and the relief of Loodianah, on the Sutlej :

COLOUR SERGEANT T. Henderson.

CORPORALS-R. Bynes, C. Astley, J. Kane, W. Claney, G. Wilson, H. Smith, W. Paton. PRIVATES-F. Grogan, J. Kilganon, J. Hendicott, G. Shingler, J. Kithcart, J. Turner, G. Moore, W. Rhoades, C. Cooke, W. Gainer, W. Davis, P. Flynn, H. Jones, J. Cross, J. Shaw, J. King, W. Hanson, J. Ireland, T. Rowan, B. Drew, R. Davis, T. Holmes, J. Lanfear, H. Magnier, W. Adams, J. Osborne, R. Beyton, W. Carl, W. Steel, P. Wheelan, G. Fox, D. Hardy, P. Hernon, P. Nugent, T. Lewis, R. Stephens, J. M'Clintock, S. Spacy, W. Green, F. Russell, R. Gullet, J. Thompson, C. Stade, J. Robertshaw, R. Jandrell, C. Adams, W. Rowlands, E. Turncliffe, J. Spake.

On the base is inscribed, in capitals:

This memorial was erected by the officers of Her Majesty's 53d or Shropshire Regiment,
who served in these actions in testimony of deep regret for their lost friends,
their brother officers, and the gallant Soldiers of the Corps.

MEMORIAL TO THE HEROES OF AFFGHANISTAN.

A handsome Monumental tablet, to the memory of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the 13th Light Infantry, or Prince Albert's Own, who fell in the late Affghan war, has been placed in Canterbury Cathedral.

It is 6 feet, 6 inches in height, and 4 feet, 6 inches broad, with an inscription tablet of white marble upon a black ground, the former flanked by 2 full-length statuettes of privates of the Regiment, with their muskets reversed and surmounted by the colours of the Regiment; and fac-similes of the medals granted for Jellalabad, Ghuznee, and Cabul. The whole design is supported upon two bold trusses, and the tablet bears the following inscription:

Whilst serving in Affghanistan, between the years 1838 and 1844,
either from the fatigue of the service, or in action with the enemy, there perished
of the 13th Prince Albert's Light Infantry,
Lieut.-Col. W. H. Dennie, C. B.
Brevet Major G. Kershaw,

Captains George Fothergin, and William Sunderland,
Lieutenants Edward King, Richard Edward Frere,
John Byrne Hobhouse, and F. P. C. Scott,
Sergeant-Major W. Airey,

12 Sergeants, 11 Corporals, 3 Buglers, and 264 Privates.
And also shortly after their return from that country,
Major J. G. D. Taylor,
Captain W. A. Sinclair,

And Assistant Surgeon W. Baines,

In memory of whom their surviving brethren in arms of the same Regiment,
have caused this tablet to be erected.

.

MAJOR GENERAL SIR ROBERT SALE,

The Hero of Jellalabad.

Sir Robert Sale was the son of Colonel Sale, one of the old fighting Colonels of the East India Company, who distinguished himself on several occasions in their service. He was, we believe, engaged in a sortie from Vellore when his gallant son was born, which event took place on the 2d September, 1782. His father was a Yorkshireman; his mother a Kentish woman, and daughter of Commodore Beynes, who was lost with his ship in the West Indies.

His first commission bears date the 24th of February, 1795, when he was gazetted as an Ensign in the 36th foot. Two years after he became a Lieutenant, and immediately proceeded to India. He then exchanged into the 12th and served creditably with Lord Harris, during the campaign which terminated in Tippoo's death. He was engaged in the battle of Mallavelly, the first general action at which the hero of a hundred fights, His grace the Duke of Wellington, was present. And at the taking of Seringapatam, which very soon followed, he was very creditably distinguished.

The years which followed were eventful in the history of India; British power was then far from established or consolidated as it afterwards became; and the native princes but sulkily submitted to what they deemed, and with colour of reason, foreign usurpation, The consequence was, intrigue and treachery; a show of peace, without the reality; a disposition to take advantage of every untoward circumstance by which the authority of the Company might be narrowed or shaken; and a readiness to associate themselves with any allies by whose aid the objects of their fear and their aversion might be rooted out of the land. Such were the feelings which engendered the Maharatta war, during the

whole of which, under General Stevenson, Sir Robert, still a subaltern, served with distinction. And had not a man of Lord Wellesley's firmness and decision held the office of Governor General, and had not the gallant army been commanded, as it was by Lord Lake, and Sir Arthur Wellesley, and had there not been amongst its subalterns many who were animated by the spirit or influenced by the example of Sir Robert Sale, it is more than probable that a campaign which added millions to the exchequer, and kingdoms to the territory of the East India Company, would have terminated in their expulsion from India. It was not until 1806, that Sir Robert, being then in his twenty-fourth year, obtained his Company.

In 1809, he married the distinguished lady who is now his sorrowful survivor. Lady Sale is the grand-daughter of Alexander Wynch, a Yorkshireman, who was Governor of Madras; her father George Wynch, was a Civilian in the Company's Service. We need not say what an object of interest she became to the whole of Europe during her severe and perilous captivity under Akbar Khan; nor with what eagerness her journal of her trials and sufferings was devoured by the reading public, after her so unexpected deliverance. Suffice it to say, she proved herself in all respects worthy of the heroic individual with whom her lot in life was united. Three months after his marriage, Sir Robert was engaged under Colonel Chalmers, in storming the lines of Travancore and he was present at the capture of the Mauritius, when that beautiful Island, the Paradise of the East, was taken from the French by General Abercrombie.

Had Sir Robert Sale possessed powerful friends, his promotion no doubt would have been more rapid. He had now seen much and varied service, during more than three campaigns, in all of which he was actively engaged; and frequently, by his gallantry, attracted the marked approbation of his superiors. And yet he had not risen higher than the rank of Captain; nor was it until the year 1813, after a period of eighteen years almost unremitting service that he reached the rank of field officer.

In 1818, he was placed upon half pay, the second battalion of the 12th, to which he belonged, having been reduced. And "the piping time of peace" but ill-assorting with the disposition of one who had been bred amongst battles; in 1821 by "paying the difference," he effected an exchange into the 13th Light Infantry, and proceeded in 1823, to India. This was decidedly the busiest period of Sir Robert's active life. The Burmese War, was then raging; and an officer of his intelligence and intrepidity was a great acquisition to our Army, contending as it was, with active, daring and skilful enemies. He was present at the capture of Rangoon on the 2d of May, where his conduct was such as to attract the marked approbation of all his superiors. In the month following he stormed the stockades near Kemmendine, for which he received the thanks of the Commanding officer in the field of battle; nor did the notice of that affair end there. The gallantry and skill which he then displayed were honorably mentioned in a general order issued to the army in the following July. This was in 1824. In the December of that year, he stormed the enemy's lines; and four days afterwards, having been placed at the head of 1,600 men, he led them with such determined gallantry that the Burmese warriors, though skilfully posted, and far outnumbering his own troops, were every where routed from their position. For this service he was highly extolled. It was followed rapidly by a signal victory obtained by him over the enemy near the great Pagoda of Rangoon. And on the 15th of December he received a severe wound in the head, while storming an entrenchment, Koskein, "making altogether four victories in the course of one month,-every one of them hard-fought battles."

Sir Robert Sale was now universally regarded not merely as a gallant Soldier but an able Commander. His name again appears in the general orders, as one who had entitled himself to the respect of the Army; and having been appointed to the command of the Brigade sent to reduce Bassein, he justified the selection by the complete success of all the operations undertaken by that portion of the Army with whose conduct and direction he was entrusted.

On the 2d of June 1825, he obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel; towards the close of that year we find him again engaged with the Shawms and the Burmese at Prome, as usual, with honor to himself, having succeeded both in defeating the attack of the enemy, and in his attack upon their lines and heights on the following day.

On the 13th of January, 1826, he received a severe wound when storming Mellown. On this occasion his signal gallantry was noticed in the handsomest manner by the Commander-in-Chief, who presented him with the badge and ribband of a Companion of the Bath.

We now approach the period of the disastrous expedition to Affghanistan. His brevet rank as Colonel bears date the 28th of June, 1831; and in 1838, he commanded the first Bengal Brigade of the Army of the Indus, to whom the advance into the country of Dost Mumammed, was confided. The events of that melancholy enterprise are too fresh in public memory to need any detail of them here. The advances through that difficult country, the expedition to Girishk, the storming and capture of Ghuznee, were all services in which he was honorably distinguished, and for which he received the local rank of Major-General, and the star of a Knight Commander of the Bath; while the new Sovereign, Shah Soojah, dignified him with the order of the Douranee Empire. The forces sent to the Kohistan country for the purpose of subduing and capturing Dost Mohammed, were placed under his command, and Tootum Durrah, Thoolghur, Borhoo Kush Ghur, Kar Durrah, soon felt the power of his arms, and yielded successively to the active and vigorous proceedings by which all his operations were characterized. On the 2d of November 1840, "he expelled the enemy under the command of Dost Mohammed, from the forts and town of Perwan." and when the surrender of that chieftain, into the hands of Sir William MacNaughten, apparently put an end to the war, he was raised by Shah Soojah, to the highest class of the above mentioned order of Knighthood, by which that short-lived Sovereign marked his sense of the merits and services of those to whom he was chiefly indebted for the establishment of his authority.

Hitherto we have seen the hero in success. Up to the date last mentioned, a prosperous issue attended all the warlike efforts of the British army. Now came disasters by which their constancy was sorely tried; and it is not too much to affirm, that to the heroic gallantry and endurance of this