CHAPTER XIII.
1857 The first victory--Enthusiasm amongst the troops -- Barnard's success at Badli-ki-Serai--The Flagstaff Tower -- Position on the Ridge--Quintin Battye--The gallant little Gurkhas -- Proposed assault--The besiegers besieged--Hard fighting -- The centenary of Plassy Before entering on the narrative of what came under my own observation during the three months I was at Delhi, I will relate what took place after Sir Henry Barnard succeeded General Anson in command on the 26th May, and how the little British force maintained itself against almost overwhelming odds during the first three weeks of that memorable siege.
Barnard had served as Chief of the Staff in the Crimea, and had held various staff appointments in England; but he was an utter stranger to India, having only arrived in the country a few weeks before.

He fully realized the difficulties of the position to which he had so unexpectedly succeeded, for he was aware how unjustly Anson was being judged by those who, knowing nothing of war, imagined he could have started to attack Delhi with scarcely more preparation than would have been necessary for a morning's parade.

The officers of the column were complete strangers to him, and he to them, and he was ignorant of the characteristics and capabilities of the Native portion of his troops.
It must, therefore, have been with an anxious heart that he took over the command.
One of Barnard's first acts was to get rid of the unreliable element which Anson had brought away from Umballa.

The Infantry he sent to Rohtuk, where it shortly afterwards mutinied, and the Cavalry to Meerut.

That these troops should have been allowed to retain their weapons is one of the mysteries of the Mutiny.