Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c58.s3.2

v4.c58.s3.2

Stevenson's campaign need not be described in detail. Though General Wellesley censured him, and the historian Sir John Fortescue concurs in the censure, Colonel Stevenson had done work not without value inspite of his weaker force and poorer grain supply compared with his superior's. Up to 24th August he had kept the enemy out of the Nizām's territory, and when they did come after that date, he had kept them on the run, in accordance with Wellesley’s strategy. On 2nd September he stormed Sindhia’s fort of Jālnā after a severe fight. Thereafter he made rapid marches and beat up the camps of Sindhia’s Pindhārī horse by night-attacks on the 6th, 7th, and 9th, though an earlier attempt at surprise at the end of August had failed because his guides missed the way and he arrived at his objective after sunrise, when Gopāl Bhāu was on the alert and gave him a bloody repulse. [Kharé, xiv. 6678, 6692, 6693. Gurwood, ii. 286-288.]