THE WAIKATO WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 72, 23 March 1912, Page 17

THE WAIKATO WAR.

Cy JOHN FE.ATOIV.

1663-4.

CHAPTER XXX-^-j The Waikato tribes had no soo" « ~' captured, than their allies at " "" ° een -nd th e ir positions Colonel Greer, stationed _• - pZ & X T* j° mCnaCe the tr °° PS Und « or 400 natives nude thpi : °" A P rll 2nd - » force of 300 Lncd tire un '„ . appearance .11 front of the British outposts, and forward tr ' sc "' nes - A 12-pcundcr Armstrong was immediately run native Vei r--iTd °. thC Cntmy WUh Shell - Afler a few ">-"■£ 'he native, rel ,™_ , dlsta of aWlt lhr _. earthwork . i_ T f P v m throwing "P al a P ,a « called Pukehinahina (Gate Pa). the land at this part formed a narrow neck, having a swamp on one side and a «ver on the other. At ,h,s time the natives were not molested, but allowed to Esk ,n on C Th C ur.J^: fc TV VOr!cS ' Ger ' Cra ' Camc ' on and staff arHved in H ' M 'STh -.ml f' P J ' St ' 3nd to ° k CO, " mand ° f the forC « at Taurang-. The flying column, 300 strong (being detachments from 12th, 40th, 65th, and I4th Regimental, under Major Ryan, 70th. also arrived A tribe of friendly natives, the Arawas, residing at Maketu, a few miles So 0 .",;- L-,'_r V-T? of Tau ;r ga ' havins b - ihr — d * a neighbouring fcos.,l. L-.be (Ngatiporou). Major Colviilc. with a detachment of the 43 rd Liant Infantry and Waikato Militia, was dispatched from Tauranga to their assistance. An ambuscade having been laid by the enemy about two miles from the for on the river bank, near Waihi, Major Colville, Ensign Way of the Waies _oc w-r. ;;, vate Key ' 43rd - who were in a — •*- ■ —^l .about fif 'h aC :° SS Ule riVCr the natiVCS ° pened fire at a stance Coh.lle nn I I ■" U effeCt Quick!> " paddlin * l ° lhe bank ' Major b vell.n C ? mpan ' ons >"^ d as hore and made for the bank, followed by a ydling crowd ot Maoris, who had crossed the stream in pursuit Under .over oi the bush. Major Co.vi.le's party g.t safely bacK to camp. Major CoJill i at once returned with a party of 50 men under Captain Smith 43rd Light Infantry to attack the natives who had crossed the river, but upon anyal found that they had rccrosscd aud lined the opposite bank in force and _ cZ th°Te . C ° n K CaPtain Smhh ' S me "' Wh ° b - k - "P"*- ~e ™_£ across the river being about 400 yards. A reinforcement, consisting of 30 men under Captain Harris. 43rd, and Ensign Way. 3rd Waikatos, wit I mc T of fndlrmb^Ttl 5 T" Drum m ond Hay and Captain MacDo! c Z river whh th 7 \ ""**' Maj ° r Hay was ° rdered to eros toe mer with the Rangers and Arawas. This was done, but the Arawas refusing to advance on the enemy, the party were compelled to return It dv k the *oop. retired, Major Colvil.e leaving a strong force of Arawas to™ the Crossing-place at Waihi, and watch the „, ;lts of the J™ **« the •-oun-. 1 Th" P3n ° f the tro °P s - Ca F»in MacDonnell and four privates ►ounded The enemy's loss could not be ascertained. ' lhe following is the official report:— -ir T h_-. il- _ FORT MA KETU, April 21, 1864. - a -ve7 t w i i\ h ° nOU . tO / ePOrt t0 y ° U a " e «W-«t with the Eat Coast of he fore! a "* Maketu > in which a »°"t I io men Of the force under my command were engaged. An ambuscade was laid near the fnrr _. w,;_: „• -11 , . n al Waihi this mornine and at least er. tigh. Inlamo-), and mj , se |l, „!„„ „ m crosslnl ,„, riv „ __ ~ Jj^ from the sandhill, -nd hi on that side, and kept up a constant fire F ndinTih arOUnU ' Hh ' Ch We retl,rncd with I -o men -nder the 6 ? mUSte ;' n ? T"* ' reinforcement of' EnsTgn'way (3rd WaTkTs) W U <* ™* n_, 11 1 waikatos). Major Drtimmond Hay and Captain Mac-' friend y a"vTS. T Ranß6rS ( ' 4 * ZTt p tribe also joined. I requested Major Hay to cross the river witu his Rangers and all the native allies. ! This he did but as very few of the natives would follow him he was re- ! luctantly compelled to retire, after remaining engaged for some time ! My orders were so very stringent not to go far from the settlement of Maketu that I was compelled to content myself with lining the side of th river and firing at 400 yards and more at the rebels i them?. Ea ! t ., C ° aSt - natiVeS ' apparcnt, y 300 strong, are now concentrating hemselves at the position they occupied to-day, and I hear they arc receiving 1 farther reinforcements. I have therefore requested Major Hay to attack then. across the river in the morning if he can induce the native allies to follow him At dusk I withdrew my men and returned to the fort, leaving a strong party of natives to protect the village of Waihi. and give the alarm in the event 01 any rebels coming on. My best thanks are due to Captains Smith and Honourable A. E Harris ' 43rd Light Infantry, for the able manner they led their companies into action' i Also to Ensign Way, commanding the detachment of 3rd Waikatos j I have the honor to announce the list of wounded (four privates), which I am glad to say is but small, considering we were under fire for between six or seven hours. Besides the enclosed, Captain MacDonnell, of the Forest Rangers, was slightly wounded in the hand. I consider I am strong enough to hold the settlement provided more ammunition is sent mc as soon as possible, as I expect to be engaged again to-morrow. From the nature of the country, and from our being unable to cross the : ', river, it is impossible to estimate the loss of the enemy. They were, however, seen carrying off killed or wounded men on several occasions during the day — I ; I have, &c... J. M. COLVILLE, I ■ Major 43rd L.1., commanding at Maketu.' 1 The next day, according to instructions from Major Colville, Major Hay ' sdvanced towards the enemy's position with Captain MacDonnell's Forest 1 Rangers and a force of friendly natives. The enemy were found in consider- ' able force, and after a few hours' desultory firing, Major Hay retired. That night the enemy crossed the river. The friendly native picket posted to give ' the alarm failed to do so, and the next morning some 600 natives were en- I 1 trenching themselves in front of Fort Colville, the British post at Maketu, j snd commenced sapping towards the redoubt. ! On the morning of the 26th H.M.S. Falcon, accompanied by the gunboat Sandfly, Captain Marks, having on board Captain Jenkins, of H.M.S. Miranda, ', arrived off Maketu to relieve the beleaguered troops in Fort Colville. The i Eaicon anchored on the western side of Maketu, about 1200 yards from the enemy's position, and, swinging broadside on, commenced shelling the native ' earthworks, driving the enemy out on to the beach. Major Colville immediately left the redoubt and seized the works. The natives, unable to retire • inland owing to the formation of the country, were compelled to retreat along 1 lhe beach, and as they ran along the shore were followed by the gunboai ' Sandfly, which kept dropping every now and then a shell amongst them from 1 the two Armstrong guns which she had on board. After retreating some , "nles the natives took up a position in an old pah, but the Falcon coming up, i Commenced firing into them, one shell bursting in the middle of about 30 natives, making sad havoc, and driving them away inland. The Falcon and ' sandfly having cleared the coast, returned to Tauranga. The same evening Jhe seamen belonging to H.M.Ss. Miranda, Esk, and Harrier were landed at \ ie Papa, to take part in the operations against the enemy's position at Gate ah. i CHAPTER XXXVIII. ' General Cameron having completed his dispositions for attacking the [ Maori position at Gate Pah, the 29th of April. 1G64, was the day fixed upon , or the assault which erded so disastrously to the British troops. On the j night of the 28th, Colonel Greer, with the 68th Regiment—who carried one ' a ys cooked rations and a greatcoat—marched from the headquarter camp, • ulch was situated 1200 yards in front of the enemy's works, round to the ar of the enemy, so as to prevent escape. Mr Purvis acted as guide, and , Oder cover of a feigned attack on the front of the pah, the movement was cessfully performed, the 68th being in their assigned position by 2 o'clock ' the morning of the 29th. At the time it was dark and rainin". .--"' -be . tres could be plainly heard shouting in their works—evidently v - t tin* 68th were posed in the rear. Before daylight Colonel Gn. 1 , Detachment of the Naval Brigade under Lieutenant Hotham. jonic. .he 1 . ". leaving the detachment as a reinforcement for Colonel Greer. Colonel ' le returned alone in safety to the headquarters camp. , Shortly after daylight the artillery posted in front of the enemy's position _ ""Consisting of one no-pounder Armstrong, two 40-pounder Armstrongs, two ( t

6-pounder Armstrongs, two 24-pounder howitzers, two Binch mortars, and six cohorn mortars: total, 15 pieces of ordnance—opened fire on the left of the enemy's works. The guns were manned by detachments of the Naval Brigade and Royal Artillery. At 12 o'clock—the fire on the works having been kept up since it commenced—a breach was made in the left angle of the stockading which was erected in front of the enemy's rifle-pits. At this time the natives made an attempt to escape, but were driven back by the 68th, who were extended across the rear of the pah. The fire of the artillery was at times rather wild, many of the shells passing far over the er.emy's works and endangering the men of the 68th, several of whom were slightly wounded from fragments of the bursting shells. The two 24-pounder howitzers (in charge of Captain Smith, R.A.) were well served, and contributed largely in making the breach in the enemy's works. The shells directed at the Maori flagstaff did no damage, owing to the fact of the staff being erected in rear of the pah instead of in the centre, as was at first supposed. At 4 o'clock, the breach being large enough, a rocket was sent up as a signal for the assault- The storming party—consisting of the Naval Brigade and 43rd Regiment; in all about 300 mcn —were led by Commander Hay, of H.M.S. Harrier, and Colonel Booth. 43rd Regiment. The storming party (four abreast—two soldiers and two sailors), upon the signal for the assault, at once, with hurrahs and cheers, rushed at the double into the breach, under a heavy fire from the natives. At the same time the 68th Regiment, answering the cheers of the storming party, moved up closer to the rear of th pah, and at once opened fire. In a few minutes, the storming party, gallantly led by their officers, were in the centre of the pah, the natives falling back before their advance, and attempting to escape by the rear, were driven back by the tremendous fire that the 68th opened on them. The rifle-pits in the pah were mostly covered over with ti-tree and earth, and formed a network of concealed passages, the roof being raised a few inches above the parapet, so as to enable the natives to fire out on their assailants. In entering the breach the storming party lost most of their officers, who were shot down whilst cheering on their men. When the defenders of the pah were driven back by the 6Sth—the fire of which must no doubt have struck both friend and foe — the storming party, soldiers and sailors, without leaders and owing to the formation in which they entered the breach, mixed together, appeared at a loss to know what to do. At this critical moment, instead of occupying the trenches which the natives abandoned, the stormers wavered. As the natives swarmed back into their works, some one, it is said, shouted out, "Retire! Retire!" but whether such.was the case or not, the stormers at once, in a confused crowd, retreated. The natives having regained their pits, at once opened a murderous fire on the men pouring out of the pah. The reserves under Captain Hamilton arriving, endeavoured to rally and stem the retreating party. Captain Hamilton, R.N., rushing forward, had no sooner reached the second trench than he fell dead; and the whole force—storming perty and reserves—hurriedly fell back to the nearest cover they could find outside the pah. Having rallied his men, General Cameron before dark took up a position about 100 yards from the pah and th~w tip a breastwork. Captain Jenkins, of H.M.S. Miranda, who led the supports—an officer of small stature—had a miraculous escape, he being at one time actually in one of the enemy's rifle-pits by himself, not being aware that his men had retired. - (To bo continued next Saturday.)