१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE ERUPTION
hands of God, you are to do your duty towards achieving
the end !
And not to lose the chance of that auspicious day, the
23rd of June saw the whole of Nana Sahib’s camp in a
terrible commotion. All the divisions, if not every man
of the army, had got ready to direct an assault as had
never been directed before. The artillery, the cavalry,
and the infantry—all, inspired by the memory of that
historical day, came down into the battle-field. The
bravest of them assembled together and took oaths—the
Hindus with Ganges water and the Mahomedans on the
Koran—that, on that day, they would either acquire free-
dom or die fighting ! The cavalry rushed forward and
came up to the walls without heeding the enemy’s artillery.
The infantry, under cover of big bags of cotton which
they pushed along, showered bullets on the fort, from the
other sides. People from the neighbouring villages had also
come to join the Revolutionaries. From within the fort,
the English also kept up an incessant fire. Though they
could not check the forward movement of the Revolu-
tionists, they prevented them from breaking into the fort
that day.
Nevertheless this last attack at Cawnpore did not go in
vain. After that day’s fight the English lost all hope.
They were full of despair and saw clearly that it was
thenceforth impossible to hold the fort against Nana
Sahib. Though not on the 23rd, yet on the 25th of June,
they hoisted on their wall the flag of truce ! On seeing
this flag, Nana Sahib ordered the fighting to stop⁶ and
sent to General Wheeler a letter by the hand of a captive
English woman. The note ran : “To the subjects of
Queen Victoria. Those who have had no connection with
Dalhousie’s policy and those who are ready to lay down
6. Tatia Tope, in his statement, says :—“ The English general
raised the flag of peace and the fighting ceased.”
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