FURTHER PARTICULARS FROM RANGIRIRI.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1994, 10 December 1863, Page 6

FURTHER PARTICULARS FROM RANGIRIRI.

JtWi-LN UfA-EH-IVX. The following is the Southern Cross's own coiresponclent's description of the storming of Rangiriri. Rangiriri, Sunday, Nov. 22, 1863. I will attempt a brief description of the position occupied by the rebels, in order to convey to your readeis si me idea of the place where the desperate struggle took place, on Friday last. Rangiriri is situated about 15 miles from Meremere, and the ground upou which the fortifications were made is, on account of the recent floods, formed into a kind of spit, having the Waikato on one side and a deep swamp running round from the river, leaving the only approach by land on the Meremere side. Advancing from this track the first line of entrenchments become visible, extending from the river on one side to the swamp on the other. On the summit of the high land, and nearest the swamp, are the rifle pits, .or more properly speaking a fortification of great strength, planned with an ingenuity which would reflect I credit upon a more civilised race. By the arrangement of the trenches, a small party of men could deliver a withering fire upon an attacking force without exposing themselves, and the depth of the ditches, and narrow passages of communication from pit to pit, rendered it impossible, after getting down into them, for the besiegers to pass through except in single file, which of course exposed them to certain death. Passing from these lines we some to the whares built in cuttings on the side I of the hill, and completely protected except from shells. The hill then dips a little, and again rises to about the same height, upon which there is another line of entrenchment, but not nearly so strong as the first, and apparently oulj half finished. On a rise a little to the left are more pits, but in an unfinished state and evidently intended to guard the rear, as from thence the land slopes down to the swamp. This high ground is about half a mile from the river, and between it and the river lies a large level fiat extending from where the Hue of enlreuchment meets the river round to the swamp on the right. It was on this flat that the troops landed from the steamers, and went round to the right to cut off the retreat. There is a good landing place, which was evidently not intended to be left undefended, as a number of half-finished pits are there hidden from the water side by a row of trees, and which had they been occupied would have been very troublesome. About 200 yards from the landing-place stands the church, round which a ditch had been commenced, showing what would hare been done had time been allowed for them to complete their intentions. As it is, it is the strongest position that has ever been lakoa or seen here yet, and the ouly wonder is that our losses were not greater than they are. I have no doubt many will think that our i loss is very severe considering the advantage gained. In one sense the loss is great ; but those who hay« seen the place, and witnessed the withering vollius that were poured upou the storming parties, only woniier that the casualties were not greater, and it should be borne in mind that our troops were in the open, and the euemy ensconed in comparative safety behind his entrenchments. As regards the advantage gained, I think it will be found that great results will ensue from this. I shall be able to communicate more on this subject before I close this letter. Having written this brief sketch of the place, I will go back and give as near as I can a detail of the whole afiair, as I am afraid that the hurried letter I sent yesterday will convey but a poor notion of what happened. My ouly excuse is that I had so short a time to cullect information and write in order to catch the steamer. The rain falling all the tinae I was writing the letter, and blottiug what I wrote, rendering it a difficult matter to get through what I did. According to the marching states enclosed it will be seen that the total force at the General's command (exclusive of Blue Jackets and Marines, whose numbers, on account of the absence of the Pioneer, I have not yet been able to ascertain, but hope to do so this evening) amounted to 48 officers, and 1,14;3 non-com- , missiouers officers and men, who started for the scene of action as follows: — From Meremere, I the Roy; 1 ! Aitillery with two guns, lloyal En-' gineers, 12th, 14th, and 65th, with 7o men of the 40th Regiment; the remainder of the 40th were conveyed up by the river in the gunboats Pioneer and Avon. The force by water being intended, to_cut off the retreat in rear, a movement which only partially succeeded, from unavoidable causes which will appear as I proceed. As I mentioned in nay last, the arrival of both parties was, as regards time, everything that could be desired, and at the same time that the

funs on shorn opened fire, the steamers were ust opposite.tbe landing place: but after the Pioneer had c:«st off the small gun-boats, which had materially assisted to sieer her on the passage up, it became a matter of great diffi ctilty to get beralongside the bank.ason account of her great length, the effect of wind and current was so great as to render her almost u«uianugetible. During all this time, the gunboats and Captain Mercer's battery werejkeeping up a heavy fire of shell upon the enemy's position, to which they replied by firing" their pieces, sometimes singly and again in volleys, doing no damage, our men being far out of range. Seeing from the position of the steamer that it did not appear likely that she would soon be able to effect a landing of the troops, and the afternoon being very ranch advanced, the General ordered an advance. The 65th, being told off for the storming party, advanced in the following order*. — No. 1 company, under Lieutenaut Toker, in the centre. No. 2on the light, under Captain Gresson ; and No. 10 under Lieutenant Talbot, on the left, No. 9 made up to 900 strong, under Lieutenant Pennefatlm, formed a support about 100 yards in rear. From the deck of the steamer the advance I was plainly visible, but the natuve of the ground prevented the most impregnable part of the position, which was over the brow of the hill, from being seen. Ou the bugle for theau'vance sounding, the men rushed fonvaul, led by their officers, covering the distance which lay between them and the object of attack at a rapid pace, considering that a thick ti-tree scrub covered the whole ground, and under a heavy fire from the enemy gained the first line of pits, over which numbers of them sprang and engaged the enemy. In tiiis advance Captain Giesson received his wound, when the command of the of the company devolved on Ensign Spiller. The remainder of the land force came up shortly afterwards, and the enemy were driven from the outer works and took refuge in the heart of the position, which was of such strength that it was found impossible to dislodge them, without an immense sacrifice of life ; but I am a little advanced in my tale. On the advance of our men a number of the enemy retreated from the first line of pits to the rear position, and as the attacking force increased, those whe had a way open for escape made off to the rear, towards the swamp. To cut these off, a party of men of the Gsil>, under Lieut. Pennefather, was detached, and, after skirmishing through the ti tree after the flying enemy, they poured in a fire amongst the bush just on the edge of the swamp, where they were seen ti enter in great numbers. The effect was U drive them into the water, into which thej plunged, and to the number of more thau a hundred commenced swimming and wading tc the other side, a distance of a mile. At this time the steamer had succeeded in getting alongside, and the troops were quickly ashore a party taking a couise round the right by the swamp; these came upon the swimming wretches, and a shower of bullets was kept up numbers of the rebels being seen to sink, it rise no more alire. Only a comparative few escaped, by finding shelter in the differeul patches of scrub that were scattered ahot-it here nnd there. The scattered portions of the enemy being disposed of, the whole of the troops were disposed around the entrenchments, which I mentioned in my description of the position as being situated ou the first line, and just over the brow of the hill on the swamp side. In this position a number of the enemy were posted, and several attempts were made tc take it by storm, but, from its peculiar formation, they Jailed, every officer who led being either killed or dangerously wounded. The only means of access was by a narrow opening through which only one could enter at a time, thereby rendering] it impossible for those in rear to follow up quickly in support. It was in these attempts that the greater part of our loss was incurred. Captain Mercer received his wound here. Midshipman Watkins, of the Curacou, (who, I should have mentioned, was with Lieutenant Alexander, of the same ship, (also wounded) had charge of a six-pounder Armstrong, and marched from Meiemere with the land force,) met his death in leading on his men. Commander Mayne, in leading on the blue jackets was also wounded, and several other officers were wounded in like manner. The Maoris evidently knew the importance of this inlet, and defended it with great resolution. The hour was now getting late, and theGener.tl finding that the attempts to take the place by storm were only attended with loss to the troops without any advantage being gained, gave orders for the parapets to be undermined and blown up, and the attack to be deferred until daylight in the morning. Accordingly, the whole force was disposed round the position, occupying the trenches immediately around. The digging was commenced, but from the nature of the soil, a loose sand, it svas fouud impossible to drive in any distance as the earth fell in before making much progress. However, it had the effect of reducing considerably the parapets on the side operated upon, and would have afforded a better road of ingress for tne storming party which was told off to attack in the morning. During the whole night out troops lay around, the enemy keeping up a fire and shouting and yelling in a frightful nrtnner But notwithstanding all this they evidently were aware of the trap into which they had fallen, and that their success was only a temporary 1 one, and that the rnnvniug would see the attack renewed, for soon after daybreak the head chief bearing a white flag, stood up upon the' parapet and called for some pukeha, who could speak MaoriMr Gundry, interpreter to tha forces, advanced, bat in the me&n while our men had crept up and the whole of the party were surrounded before they were hardly aware of it, so thai whatever terras they might havp been disposed to surrender upon were rendered useless, an unconditional one bum* their only resource. There lives were therefore spared upon the condition, and they were complimented by the General upon the brave stand they had marie. The party ou beiug brought out was found to number 185, including one or two women, with 175 stand of arms. A guard was put upon them, and, strange as it appears, but in war ii is ahvays so, the men who half-an-hour before were plotting each other's destruction, were now chatting and laughing together — the Maoris appearing quite happy and contented, and sensible that their lives were perfectly safe in our bands. Amongst the prisoners are some chiefs of note, the names of whom I will endeavor to ascertain, 12 of the party were wounded but not severely. Soon after the surrender a party of natives to the number of about 30 were seen advancing over the hills from the direction of the King's peace : they carried a white flag, and halted occasionally, as if undecided in their movements. Mr Edwards, the interpreter, went out to meet them, aud found that it was a party of 400 men, who with William Thompson at their head, were coming to the rescue ; but seeing the white flag and our flag firing on the parapet, concluded that the garrison had surrendered an d that peace has been made. ,

The messenger sent by Thompson to meet Mr Edwards enquired the conditions upon which we were disposed to accept, and was of course told that of unconditional burrender, and laying down their arms, on which terms I understand that Thompson was willing to come in himself, but some amongst the party would not agree. However, Thompson sent his whalebone raeri in to the General, which I believe signifies submission, and then the whole party turned back on the road they came. What will by the re- , suit of this remains to be seen. Before going any further I will state, as far as I have been able to ascertain, what the public are no deubt very anxious to hear, and that is the probable loss that the rebels hare suffered in this engagement. The number of bodies found id the trenches after the place was taken amounted to 24, one of them being that of a white man, who was recognised as a deserter, who had been in the Artillery, the 65th and 12th Regiments. He had met the fate he so richly deserred ; another is reported to hare heen amonjjst them, but had effected his escape, it is to be hoped that vengeance may yet over- 1 take him. ' While on the subject of escape, I may mention, that notwithstanding that the place was so surrounded. William Thompson, who was in the trenches during the whole day, managed, with a small party, to effect his escape during the night, and swam the swamp, his object being evidently to fetch a reinforcement, which, however, arrived too late. To return to the subject of the enemy's loss, In addition to the t'venty-four bodies in the trenches, others 1 were fouud in the scrub, and some wounded. Since then parties hare been digging in the trenches, and seien more bodies i were exhumod to-day, besides these, several , bodies have been recovered from the swamp, i among them some women, which swell the i actual known amount of casualties to 41, this is s far below the actual number ; but when the i swamp dries up, or the bodies begin to float , then a much better estimate can be arrived at i But then the wounded are not included, and it ; is but natural to suppose that all that escaped I did not do so scatheless. , It is not for me toinvidualize any particular ) act of bravery that was performed during the i day, and it is scarcely necessary for me to say i that the dauntless courage which belongs pecu- ■ liarlj to the British soldier, did not fail him f here ; and the officers led their men to the as- / saultas brave men only can, confident in the i knowledge that they were backed by men who ) had made the name of Englishmen famonsin ) every quarter of the globe. That the service r which has been performed by the whole force » will be duly recognised by General Cameron in ) his dispatches, I have not the slightest doubt, s and therefore leave this subject as one on which ? I have no right to touch. During the engagement the Pioneer layalong--3 side the bank, and the wounded were conveyed ; on board as fast as they could be brought down , from the scene of action. There they were at ) tended by the medical officers, and disposed of i the cabin below, every attention being paid to t their comfort. The numbers being so great it j v was found necessary to convey some on board i the Avon, and the cabins of both vessels were ; well filled. The church was set apart solely for , those who had fallen, and on the morning i following, the bodies ware disposed around the I flooring being covered with ti-tree. I visited > the church and viewed the bodies as they lay in ' tlie last attitude of violent death, but the sight of > one's own countrymen lying cold and stiff, who , but a few short hours before had heen filled r with life, is bat a sorry sight and I made but a r short stay. The only consoling thought I had ;• was that all had fallen in that caiiss which every , Englishman considers his own, that of upholdi ing the causa of his country, even at the expense » of his life. I have now only half an hour to finish this, I as the Genera! lias kindly consented to allow ■ my letter to be sent by the steamer, if ready by i that time, and so I shall therefore defer writing , further, but reserve addilioual particulars until • my next. The two steamers came up this avening, after ; taking down the wouuded and 9 a portion of the : prisoners.