July 29th.—A fine moonlight night. Enemy fired many round shot about daylight, and also musketry from the houses across the road; they also threw in many carcases, which nearly all fell in the vicinity of the Cawnpore battery. No intelligence. All were anxious for the relieving force, which we thought could not be far off. Our Cawnpore sap loaded with 200lbs. of powder, ready to explode whenever it might be thought most advisable. Colonel Halford, 71st Regiment Native Infantry, who had been long ill, died this morning.
A few convalescents joined the ranks, giving moreroom in the hospital, which was greatly overcrowded in consequence of all the patients being obliged to be kept on the ground floor, as also the state prisoners and their servants; the round shot passing so frequently through the upper story as to make it impossible to make use of it. Rumour stated that the enemy had gone out in force to meet our coming army, and had left two or three regiments of infantry, and a body of military police, to keep us in; but it was most difficult to tell what force we had opposed to us, as the enemy seldom or never showed in any number, but kept in the houses under cover, occasionally yelling, bugling, and throwing in a heavy fire, then subsiding into the usual steady fire which went on night and day.
Firing of cannon heard in the direction of Cawnpore. We hoped it was our friends. All anxious, but all conjecture. Enemy recommenced mining towards our mine in the Cawnpore battery. About 6P.M., a heavy firing was heard for about five minutes in the road from Cawnpore, and in about half an hour, several guns were heard in the direction of cantonments; this made us think it was a salute fired bythe enemy for some reason or other; probably to reassure themselves. However, all is conjecture; but it threw our garrison into a great state of excitement, and many (indeed most) stoutly maintained it was our force. About 300 or 400 sepoys were seen at the same time running across the iron bridge towards cantonments in great haste. We fired two shots at them with an 18-pounder.
The excitement gradually cooled down; the enemy keeping up their usual fire. Another mine was discovered this evening, by a portion of it falling in: it was running in the direction of Sago's house. Lieutenant Grant of the Bombay army, whose wife and child died a few days ago of cholera, died in hospital this night, from the effects of his wound: his right hand had been blown off by a hand-grenade. A fine moonlight night.