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

RANEE LAKSHMI BAI
artillery began to die one after another. The Ranee and
her cavalry, then, advanced right on the guns which were
spitting deadly fire, and attacked the artillery. English
gunners left the guns; the horse artillery was routed;
the heroes of the Revolution advanced on and on, from
all sides, overjoyed at the prospect of crushing the
Feringhis who had so long escaped them; and before
them all fought Lakshmi !
Sir Hugh Rose, taken aback by this terrible onslaught,
then advanced with his reserve camels, and the English
saved their own lives, simply because of the camels. An
English writer says, "Fifteen minutes more, and the
mutineers would have cut us down! Fresh camels, one
hundred and fifty in number, changed the fortunes of the
day. Ever since that day, I have looked on the camel
with eyes of affection." By the strength of the camel-
men alone, on the 22nd of May, the Feringhis succeeded
in forcing the Peshwa's army to retire towards Kalpi.
After another complete defeat of the Peshwa's troops
and after a few skirmishes, Sir Hugh entered Kalpi on
the 24th of May. In the fort of Kalpi, the English cap-
tured a very considerable amount of military supplies
which Shri Rao Sahib Peshwa and Tatia Topé had, with
great trouble, gathered together in one year. Sixty thou-
sand pounds of gunpowder were found buried under the
ground; muskets beautifully made, brass balls of the
latest type for the guns, factories for making and repair-
ing cannon-balls, heaps of military uniforms, flags, drums,
French trumpets, Howitzer guns manufactured in
Europe, and arms of various kinds—such was the very
useful find that the English army came upon !
What they did not capture was the brave and ever-memor-
able leaders of the Revolutionaries. For, when Kalpi
fell after a week, Rao Sahib, the Nabob of Banda, Ranee
Lakshmi Bai, and other leaders had left Kalpi and gone
—nobody knew where. But now these unfortunate, help-
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