Interview of the Author with the Admiral and Sir Charles Smith—Returns to Beyrout—Urges various enterprises upon the Admiral, which are disapproved of—Correspondence with the Emir Bechir Cassim—Surrender of the old Emir Bechir—Retrospect of the Successes of the Expedition—Speculations as to the Attack upon Acre—Visit to the Emir at Ammanah—Scenery of Lebanon—Reconnoissance of Ibrahim’s Position—Letter to the Admiral—Conduct of the Turkish Authorities—Visit to the Emir’s Palace at Ibteddin—Accident to the Young Prince—Departure of the Squadron for Acre.
The day after the action of Boharsof I had an interview with the Admiral and Sir Charles Smith on board the Princess Charlotte. I then stated my opinion, that Ibrahim should be followed up to Zachle, but this opinion was ill received, and I retired with the determination of mixing no further with the military affairs.
After being confined for two days on board the flag-ship with a slight illness, the natural consequence of the excitement I had been in for a month too rapidly subsiding, I proceeded to D’Jounie Bay, where the Powerful and Admiral Walker were still at anchor, and after embarking all the troops and stores, returned to Beyrout. The weather had been threatening for some days, and after a few heavy squalls and a slight gale, which proved to us the insecurity of the anchorage, it again became fine. The troops were now stationed at Beyrout, Sidon, and Tyre, and everything indicated a cessation of active measures for the present; but Acre was still within the reach of the British fleet, and every officer looked forward with great anxiety for an attack on that celebrated fortress.
Tripoli was also in the hands of the Egyptians, as was Latakia, and I repeatedly urged the Admiral to allow me to proceed there, which was declined; he seemed to have resigned the military authority entirely, though I never understood that the firman given by the Porte to Sir Charles Smith, which was merely an authority over the Turkish officers, in any way superseded the power of the Commander-in-Chief of the allied forces by sea and land, as he styled himself.
On the 13th October, the Grand Prince arrived at Ammanah with the mountaineers, to watch Ibrahim and Souliman Pachas, who had intrenched themselves at Zachle and El Malaka, with upwards of 6000 men and seven field pieces; they had sent the sick, amounting to 1000, to Damascus. The advanced posts of the Grand Prince had fallen in with, and made prisoners, the Emir Meshud and two of his horsemen.
On the 16th the Emir wrote to me as follows:—
“Many of the mountaineers come in for arms. I gave the chiefs of the village letters to you, and I beg you will give arms to all the people who have notes sealed by me, and I will drive them from the country. Please to send me provisions.
“Scheik Dahir Dalhook, with a few men, was coming over, but lost the road, and Ibrahim Pacha took them and put them to death.”
To this I replied:
“Princess Charlotte, Beyrout,
October 25, 1840, at 5, P.M.
“I no longer command, therefore your communications must be addressed to Sir Charles Smith, who brought a firman from Constantinople to command the troops. I long to see you, to congratulate you on all your successes. I shall be happy to hear from you, and assist you in all your demands. I am pressing the Admiral to send me to take Tripoli; this will finish all Lebanon.
“Yours truly,
“Charles Napier.”
The old Emir Bechir now considering the game up, quitted his palace at Ibteddin, and came into Sidon with a good escort. Captain Berkeley sent him to the Admiral at Beyrout. His property was guaranteed to him; and he was conducted, at his own request, to Malta, with his family. This Prince was very rich; and had managed to keep his place through all revolutions for many years; and if he lives, I have no doubt will succeed in regaining his authority.
A few days after this we received information that the Egyptian force at Tripoli, consisting of 4000 men, had evacuated the town and blown up the magazine in the castle, without, however, damaging the city. It was soon after taken possession of by the mountaineers, and the Egyptians retired by the road of Balbeck, destroying the villages in their retreat. About the same time, Latakia and the passes of Adana were abandoned, the garrisons retiring on Aleppo. Had a little more energy been used by us, the greater part of these troops must have fallen into our hands.
I believe history does not record such unexampled successes gained in so short a time by so small a force. We landed on the 10th of September, at D’Jounie, with 5300 Turks, 1500 marines, and about 100 Austrians; by the 10th of October we had managed to storm and take Sidon, defeat the Egyptians at Ornagacuan, Ibrahim Pacha at Boharsof, and what between prisoners and deserters, get possession of 10,000 men, had freed all Lebanon, and forced Ibrahim to withdraw his troops from Tripoli and Latakia, abandon the passes of the Taurus, and concentrate the whole of his army at Zachle and Damascus.
Seeing no further prospect of active operations, I turned my attention, in common with my brother officers, to the propriety of an immediate attack on Acre, which I had thoroughly reconnoitred, and felt satisfied that the ships, in a very short time, would drive the Egyptians from the guns, if there was a possibility of approaching within a moderate distance of the walls. The subject was frequently raised on board the Princess Charlotte and discussed; but whether the Commander-in-Chief was restricted by orders from home, or was afraid of the lateness of the season, I am not aware, but certainly much valuable time was lost. The weather is generally, throughout the Mediterranean, good during the month of October; and after the little breeze we had, there is what is called on the coast of Syria, an autumnal summer for six weeks. On the 24th, Admiral Walker was despatched off Acre with several Turkish ships-of-war to make a demonstration, and I believe to summon the place; he was there joined by the Revenge, Thunderer, and Pique; they refused to receive the flag of truce, and Admiral Walker stood in and fired a few broadsides; but whether the Egyptians either did not think it worth while to return the fire, or had still some respect for the Sultan’s flag, they took no hostile notice whatever of this movement. Admiral Bandeira, who commanded the Austrian squadron, I believe was also anxious to attack Acre, and thinking it possible that the Egyptians might surrender to Admiral Walker, very wisely followed him with his small squadron. I had obtained leave to pay a visit to the Emir Bechir at Ammanah, and set out at daylight of the 25th, quite convinced that all hope of attacking Acre was at an end; but when I got half way up the mountain, to my utter astonishment I observed the Princess Charlotte, and all the squadron under weigh, with the exception of the Powerful. This sudden movement, I presume, was occasioned by the Austrian Admiral starting without orders; and, I suppose, the same reasons that induced Bandeira to follow Admiral Walker, induced the Commander-in-Chief to follow Bandeira; but feeling convinced that nothing serious was intended, I pursued my ride through the beautiful mountains of Lebanon to the Grand Prince’s head-quarters.
I have travelled in Switzerland and in the Tyrol, and admired the romantic scenery that you meet with in these fine countries; but still I give the preference to Mount Lebanon. The whole country is one mass of rocks heaped one on the other; and every spot of land, capable of cultivation, is supported by terraces, and irrigated by streams of water from springs, which are abundant in the mountain. On these terraces the mulberry-tree is cultivated with great care, and grows with much luxuriance. Fruit and vegetables of every description are grown in great abundance. The mountains produce only a sufficient quantity of grain for three months’ consumption; the other nine months are supplied either from the plains of the Bekaa, or by importation. The roads throughout the mountain are purposely bad, to render the passage of artillery impracticable. This assists the mountaineers in the defence of their country. The mountain passes are strong, and if bravely defended by peasants alone, no army, ever so well-disciplined, could obtain possession of them without immense loss. On approaching Ammanah, we descried armed peasantry stationed on the various heights to prevent surprise; and on our arrival at the court-yard of the chÂteauchÂteau in which the Grand Prince was lodged, some hundreds of men were lounging about in the gay attire of the mountains, armed at all points. Many horsemen were also in the court-yard, ready to be despatched to any point whence an attack might be apprehended.
On entering the chÂteau, which certainly had not much the appearance of the residence of a Prince, I was immediately ushered into his presence. The old man was sitting cross-legged smoking his pipe, but immediately rose and embraced me with much warmth, calling me his friend, his protector and master; praising, with much apparent warmth, the English, who had come to release the mountaineers from the oppression of Mehemet Ali. Pipes and coffee were then produced, and after puffing away for a few minutes, the room was cleared, and an interpreter sent for. The Prince informed me that he had with him 3500 men; that he was ill-supplied with provisions and ammunition; that he had constantly written to the Pacha, but received neither answer or supplies; that the mountains were too poor to victual his men; and that they would shortly be obliged to go to their homes, and leave the country exposed. Ibrahim Pacha, had collected 15,000 men, including 3000 cavalry, at Zachle and Malaka, the former above the plain, the latter in it, and he could again enter the mountains when he pleased. He wished to be reinforced by three Turkish battalions, and he would then answer for preventing Ibrahim coming again into Lebanon; or if he were supplied with 5000 stand of arms, he could arm the Druses, and would require no more troops.
As I was anxious to see Ibrahim’s position, the Prince supplied me with fresh horses and an escort, some of whom had just come over from the enemy; and we proceeded over the mountain, which was well guarded by men, both on horseback and foot, perched in different positions, to give notice of Ibrahim’s movements. An hour brought us in sight of Zachle, which is on the edge of the hill. There appeared a few intrenchments thrown up, but I did not think it prudent to descend, not being provided with the best horses, and having reason to believe that Ibrahim’s cavalry would have no difficulty in cutting us off, should we approach too near his den; besides, I was not sure of my escort, who could very easily have delivered me up to Ibrahim, and as many of them had only been a few days in the service of the Prince, I did not feel myself particularly comfortable. After a pleasant ride of a couple of hours we returned to the Emir’s quarters, where there was a very tolerable repast prepared for us; we found a good appetite, far preferable to the best sauces supplied by Gunter in London, or the gourmand at Paris. We retired at an early hour, but neither to sleep nor rest; our bedfellows were troublesome, and seemed to think they had a good right to a share of the dinner furnished us by the Prince.
At daylight we started on our return, and taking the road of Corneille, passed the coal-mines at which Mehemet Ali obliged the poor Syrians to work, almost without pay, and proceeded to Salima, a town situated in a rich valley, the capital of the province of Mitten; we then ascended the mountain to Brumanah, and got back to Beyrout before sunset.
I was still anxious about the movements of the Commander-in-Chief, and I desired the Medea to get her steam up, and wrote to him the following letter:—
“Powerful, Beyrout,
October 26, 1840.
“As I was going over the hill yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I saw you and the Edinburgh under weigh; I, however, continued my route to the Prince, at whose quarters I arrived at two o’clock, at Ammanah, a small town on this side of the highest mountain of Lebanon. He has with him 3500 mountaineers, who guard all the passes. He says Ibrahim Pacha has collected 15,000 men, including 3000 cavalry, at Zachle and Malaka, the one a little above the plain of the Bekaa, the other in it.
“I got fresh horses, crossed the mountain pass, from whence I saw Malaka, Zachle, and Balbeck. The Bekaa is a plain separating Lebanon from Anti-Lebanon; it could not be entered without cavalry, unless our force was far superior to the enemy. Ibrahim’s intention is evidently to cover Damascus, but if it is true what a chief has written to the Prince, who had reconnoitred from the Haouran to the gates of Damascus, Ibrahim cannot stay where he is, and we ought to be ready to harass his retreat; if this is not true, the Prince has not a sufficient force to prevent his penetrating into the mountains, and doing much mischief. If the Prince had 5000 muskets to arm the Druses, who are all with him, he would not require troops, but it is absolutely necessary, till arms arrive, that he should be reinforced by three battalions and four guns. He is about a day’s march from Beyrout, and it could be done with great ease in a day and a half. There are many other things which he has spoken to me about, which I will not trouble you with now, but I have taken notes, and shall try to get all he wants done either with the Pacha, or Sir Charles Smith. On my return I found the Benbow, Carysfort, and Zebra; they have filled up their provisions, and I have desired them to water. Stewart has sent by this conveyance an account of the stores on various parts of the coast; it seems important to place them in a state of security. I feel very uncomfortable at being left behind without a line from you; my inclinations lead me to follow you this moment, as I hope you will find Powerful in her place at Acre, but as I see you are not far off, I send the Medea with letters that have arrived, and to acquaint you with the arrival of Benbow, Carysfort, and Zebra, and of my anxious desire to be with you if anything is to be done at Acre. If I stay here it will absolutely appear as if you were displeased with my proceedings, taking every ship with you but Powerful.
“I shall anxiously look out for the return of Medea, and probably shall be under weigh, ready to join you.
“The Austrian steamer Marianne found 265 Turks at Rhodes, landed from a vessel making water, and very properly embarked them; he has provisions on board for the Admiral, and wishes to know whether he is to stay here or go to him.
“Believe me, &c.,
“Chas. Napier.
“P.S.—Two hundred and fifty irregular cavalry have come to-day from the Haouran; active measures would finish everything in one month.
“Admiral Sir Robert Stopford,
&c., &c., &c.”
The Admiral only proceeded as far as Sidon, where he fell in with Admiral Walker and the Austrian squadron. The former went back to Acre for a day or two, and the two admirals returned to Beyrout.
The Turks had already began their old practices, of treating the mountaineers with the most perfect contempt; and they were beginning to doubt very much whether their condition would be changed for the better. Old Izzet Pacha did not conceal his desire to get rid of the Grand Prince, and place himself in his palace at Ibteddeen.
As active operations seemed now entirely at an end, notwithstanding the reinforcements which were constantly arriving, some of whom were sent to Sidon and Tyre, but none to the mountains, I obtained leave from the Admiral to pay a visit to the Grand Prince’s palace, and was accompanied by his nephew, a fine young man of about twenty-two, and next heir to the government of Lebanon. After a long ride of eight hours, through a most beautiful mountainous country, we arrived at Deir el Kammar, the capital of Lebanon, a tolerably well-built small town; as the plague was said to exist there, we passed on without entering it, and on rounding a projecting cliff the palace of the Prince opened to our view; it is situated half way up the mountain, and has a very grand appearance; above it stands another palace, smaller than the first, and the houses of two of the Emir’s sons,—they were all in an unfinished state; the large palace had been, originally constructed in wood, but the late Emir had been many years employed in converting it into a more solid shape. The entrance into the courtyard is very strong, and capable of resisting anything but artillery, which could not easily be brought against it; the court-yard is large, and surrounded by a high wall, and in the time of the late prince several hundred armed men were constantly kept in the barracks adjoining, and a body of horse, richly caparisoned in the Eastern style, were always ready in the yard. Some of the rooms are handsome, particularly those of the harem, but mostly unfurnished, the Emir having removed everything he could to Sidon, and from thence to Malta. The stables were large and capable of containing five hundred horses, the greater part of which were gone; the Emir’s stud had been magnificent, and although the whole of his property was guaranteed to him, many of the best horses fell into the hands of the Turks. We were well received by some of the family who remained, and tolerably well entertained, but even in the palace of the Grand Prince of Lebanon our slumbers were much disturbed by the occupants he had left behind. After dinner we visited the small palaces, which were also in an unfinished state, though built in a tasteful style. On looking at these palaces it was easy to account for the fidelity of the Emir Bechir to Mehemet Ali; the fact is, the old man plundered the inhabitants in the most atrocious manner, confiscated the estates, and put out the eyes of the Emirs he did not like; Mehemet Ali knew well the importance of keeping him faithful, and allowed him to do as he pleased in the mountain, and was content with a very small tribute, not exceeding 30,000 dollars a year.
After breakfast we took leave of our friends and proceeded to Beyrout, but a sad accident clouded our otherwise pleasant journey. The mountaineers are good horsemen, and fond of showing off whenever a little flat ground allows them to exhibit their dexterity in firing off their muskets and pistols and throwing the d’jerred at full gallop, reloading in an incredible short time. The young Prince and several of his attendants, seeing an opportunity for a display, set off at full gallop; one of his men, close behind him, amused himself by throwing his musket in the air, to show his dexterity in catching it; it unexpectedly went off, and shot out both the Prince’s eyes. The poor lad fell instantly from his horse, and when we came up he was, indeed, in a most pitiable condition: his eyes hanging out of their sockets, and streaming with blood; he himself, unconscious of what had happened, was pulling them out with his fingers, and it was with the greatest difficulty I could persuade him to desist, and allow them to be bandaged. What an awful visitation was this! a few minutes before, this youth was full of life and spirits, the heir to the ruling Prince, in one moment plunged into eternal darkness; it was a cruel sight. His poor attendant, who had accidentally done the deed, hung over him more dead than alive; the poor fellow seemed to suffer more than the Prince himself, who was nearly unconscious. We were three leagues from the first village, and with great difficulty succeeded in getting him there, carried in one of our cloaks. I rode on to Beyrout, and despatched an English surgeon to his assistance. His sight, as I expected, proved to be gone for ever; but youth, and the strength of his constitution, in a few months healed his wounds, and otherwise restored him to perfect health.
On my arrival at Beyrout, to my great astonishment, I found a steamer had arrived from England with orders to attack Acre. This was, indeed, a change for the better; there was now no further room for indecision. Orders were sent to Sidon to march 2000 Turks to the pass of the White Mountain, about eleven miles from Acre. Want of cavalry limited the operation of the land force to that movement, as it would not have been prudent to have exposed the Turkish troops to the Egyptian cavalry in a country where they could act. 3000 Turks, under Selim Pacha, small detachments of artillery, of sappers and miners, under Major Higgins and Lieutenant Aldrich, were embarked in the squadron. On the 30th the steamer started, and in the night, a breeze springing up, the squadron followed.
