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

BEHAR
blood on the field—such was the English army when it
came to the Shon river. But here, there was the climax
of destruction. At first, they could not find their boats.
After some time, they found that they had stuck in the
sand. Those that there were not so stuck had been set
fire to by the Pandays ! At last, a couple of boats were
saved. When the white population of Danapur came to
the bank expecting to greet a victorious army singing war-
songs, and bringing with them the rescued men of Arrah,
they did not hear a single shout of joy from the boats. No
flag, no band, not a single face uplifted! All hearts began
to beat in impatience, “ My son, my brother, my husband,
my father left only yesterday for the field in all hopes ;
and to-day—God forbid the thought ! ” Before the prayer
could reach Heaven, the unfortunate troops landed on the
Ghat at Danapur, and soon the terrible news spread like
lightning that, out of four hundred and fifteen men, only
about fifty returned alive safe from the hands of Kumar
Singh ! An Englishman writes, “ He who had heard the
heart-rending cries of those English women will not forget
it to this day ! Some began to beat their breasts, crying
piteously, some shouted hoarsely, and some began to pull
away their hair. If they had seen General Lloyd, the ori-
ginator of this destructive plan, there is not the least doubt
that they would have lynched him ! ”
But while the sky was being rent by the cries of these
women at Danapur, Major Eyre was marching towards
Arrah to revenge the defeat and their sorrow. Though
he had not yet heard of Dunbar’s defeat, he had marched
straight towards Arrah, on hearing that the English there
were besieged. While Kumar Singh’s Sepoys were return-
ing after crushing Dunbar’s army on the 29th and 30th
of July, they got the news that Eyre was advancing to-
wards Arrah. The old commander got together his troops
without losing a moment. He made the arrangements for
fighting after taking advantage of every strategic position
on the route, and gave the last desperate battle on the
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