E—No. 3c

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO

NOMINAL RETURN of Officers and Men wounded in action at the Kahihi River, Taranaki, New Zealand, on the 11th October, 1860.

R. Caret, Lieut.-Colonel, Deputy Adjutant General.

Enclosure in No. 37. COL. MOULD, E.E., TO DEPUTY ADJUTANT GENERAL. Royal Engineer Office, New Plymouth, October 15th, 1860. Sir,— I have the honor to submit for the information of the Major-General Commanding, the following report accompanied by a sketch of the Engineer operations cairied out for the attack on the Pahs on the North (right) bank of the river Kaihihi. On the afternoon of the 10th instant after the arrival of the Field force at the selected site of the encampment, which was in two portions, one on each side of a steep gully, entrenchments were rapidly thrown up to secure the camp from annoyance by distant firing of the enemy during the night, and shortly afterwards the reconnoissances which were made right and left of the Camp towards the enemy's position enabled me to submit a general plan of attack for the approval of the Major-General, At 6 o'clock on the morning of the 11th, a working party of 250 men, with a non-commissioned officer and 8 men of the Royal Engineers left the Engineer Depot carrying tools and gabions, and preceeded by a covering party of 150 men, who advanced in extended order with the necessary supports to the ground I had selected for opening the Trenches. Having - with the assistance of Captain Pasley, R.E., who the Major-General had obligingly placed at my disposal for duty in the trenches, traced out a line of parallel, the nearest part about 200 yards from the Orongomahangai Pah, and laid out partially under cover of a light bush, and partially on the reverse slope of a slight rise in the ground, the working party commenced the trench at about 7 a.m. and worked with such spirit that in about two hour 3 they were so well covered that I considered it advisable to send to Camp for the guns. Strange to say, but fortunately for the working parties who would otherwise have suffered some loss, the enemy did not fire a single shot until £-past 10, by which time the guna had reached the ground, and preparations were making for laying the platform for the 8-inch gun. This being completed soon after 12 o'clook and the gun mounted, fire was opened from it, from 2 24-pound howitzers find one cohorn mortar, wliich at interva's threw shot and shell with great precision with the object as well of breaching the Stockade as of searching the rifle pits, the latter it is believed being well effected by the judicious use of small charges, and good elevation in the howitzers; for the fire of the enemy except at first was feeble and caused only one slight casualty on the right of the attack—the other casualties being from the fire of a body of the enemy in the bush on the left front of the parallel. A small but scarcely practicable breach, if the Pah had been energetically defended, was effected by the projectiles from the 8-inch gun. The perfecting of the parallel so as to , give complete cover, and the construction of some traverses was carried on during the remainder of the day. At 6 o'clock p.m. the day working party was relieved by 75 men, with a detail of Royal Engineers as in the morning, the whole in charge of Captain Mould, R.E., who commenced the construction of a sap from the parallel which was continued duriug the night, the mass of the working party still further raising and improving the parapets of the trenches. At 6 o'clock a.m. on the 12th, the night working party was relieved by 150 men with the detail of Engineers as before, and were employed in rapidly pushing the sap ahead and widening it into a trench, which it was proposed to carry on with defiladed to a short distance of the Pah.

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Corps. Rank and Names. Remarks. Royal Engineers Captain Charles Pasley i Severely, (acting on the Staff of the MajorGeneral) Do. Serjeant Wm. Howatt Severely 1st Bn. 12th Regiment Private Denis Manning Slightly 65th Regiment Drummer William Groves Slightly Militia Private James Batten Slightly M. S. Grace, M.D., Staff Assistant Surgeon.