Page 451 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NA^T. 419
the officers in command of the Hon. Company's cruisers,
'Thetis' and 'Jessy.'" On the 13th of July Commander
Marryat dropped the ' Larne '* down as far as the Dulhi Creek,
on her way to the mouth of the river, from whence she
returned, with the sickness much decreased, on the 27th of the
same month.
On the 19th of July the Comniander-in-Cln'ef despatched a
cohnnn of troops, by land, to disperse the enemy then ,ii;aihered
at Keykloo, about twelve or fifteen miles distant from Rangoon,
and himself embarking in the ' Diana,' proceeded with six
hundred men in the flotilla, up the Puzzendoun Creek, but,
owing to the impassable state of the roads, the land column
was forced to fall back, and Sir Archibald returned after an
absence of three days. Having learned that the Governor of
Syriam, or Pegu, had constructed some works and asseujbled a
force on the banks of the river of that name, he proceeded
thither on the morning of the 4th of August, with six hundred
troops, and the Hon. Company's brig, 'Jessy,' and the
' Powerful,' sloop, employed as a mortar vessel. The soldiers
landed under the fire of these two vessels, and, having crossed a
deep nullah, which was bridged by Commander jMarryat and part
of the crew of the ' Larne,' the enemy's defences were carried
after a brief resistance. A portion of the force then capture<l
the Syriam Pagoda, and altogether, during the day, twelve
guns were captured with a loss of only eight wounded.
Considering the impossibility of immediately engaging in
operations in the direction of Ava, Sir Archibald Campbell
judged it advisable to employ a portion of the combined forces
under his command, in reducing some of the maritime provinces
of the Burmese Empire. Accortlingly, an Exjjedition was
directed against the province of Tenasserim, comprising the
districts of Tavoy and Mergui, as containing a valuable tract
of sea coast, and one likely to afford supplies of cattle and
grain. For the reduction of these places a force was despatched
under the command of Colonel Miles, C.B., consisting of his
own regiment, the 89th. and the 7th Madras Native Infantry;
also the Company's cruisers, ' Teignmoiith,' ' Mercury,' ' Prince
of Wales,' 'Thetis,' and 'Jessy,' besides tlnve gunlH)ats.
two row-boats, and six transports, the whole being inider the
: —
* On the lltli of July, Commander Marrayat wTote to the Commoctore "I
must now call your attention to tlu- conilition of H.Jl's. ship ' Lame.' whose crew
I am sorry to say have been rcntlereii ijuite inellleienf by (h.sea.-e. Siiiee \\c hare
been on this Expedition we have had one hundred and si-venty eases ofeholern and
dysentery. We have had thirteen deaths ; we liave now thirty patient'* nt tiie
hospital on shore, and twenty on the siek list on l)oard ; our eotivaleseents are an
ineU'ective as if they were in their hammocks ; they relajjse daily, and the surgeon
reports that, unless the vessel ean be sent to cruise for a month, there is little
chance of their ultimate recovery. When I sent away the Kxpedition under
Lieutenant Fraser on the 7th instant, 1 could only muster three oIlieorB and
twelve men fit for duty."
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