Page:The Indian Mutiny of 1857.djvu/192

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166
The Gallant Defenders.

outside the verandah, among the débris, until the fall of night should afford the required opportunity to the fatigue party. Then they were carried to the well and let down.

Prominent among the officers who distinguished themselves in the defence of the intrenchment may be mentioned Captain Moore of the 32d, a soldier of the highest class and the most undaunted courage; Captain Jenkins of the 2d L. C., one of the bravest and best of the party; Lieutenant Daniell of the same regiment, full of pluck and fire; Captain Whiting of the engineers, gifted with a clear brain and coolness unsurpassable; Major Vibart of the 2d L. C., determined, unyielding, and ever watchful at the post assigned him, one of the most exposed and difficult of the defences; Mowbray Thomson of the 56th N. I., daring even to rashness, ever longing to be where the fight was the thickest; Delafosse of the 53d N. I., cool and calm in danger, ready to sacrifice his own life if that sacrifice could benefit his comrades; Glanville of the 2d Europeans; Ashe of the artillery, as daring as devoted; Jervis of the engineers, proud of his race, and maintaining to his last gasp its glorious prestige; Sterling, whose splendid feats with his rifle were the terror of the rebels. Worthy to be classed with these and others like them, soldiers by profession, were the civilian Mackillop, one of the noblest of men, and throughout the siege a hero; Heberden the railway engineer, Moncrieff the chaplain, and others whose names have not survived their deeds. The women of the garrison, too, displayed, under all circumstances, the pride and endurance of their race. Where all behaved nobly it is difficult to distinguish. But conspicuous amongst them all was the wife of the leader of the sallying parties, Mrs Moore. Her splendid courage and fortitude endeared her to every man, woman, and child