"Fighting a series of well-constructed rearguard actions and crossing the Ganges with a brilliant deception plan, spreading the disinformation that, for want of boats, he would wade across with relays of elephants" (Heathcote). Despite being wounded (and reportedly cutting off his own hand and throwing it into the Ganges as an offering), Kunwar Singh conducted a fighting withdrawal to his ruined home at Jagdishpur. "Captain Arthur Le Grand of the 35" Foot advanced against him from Ara [Arrah] with 300 men, made up of two weak companies of his own regiment, six gunners with two 12-pdr howitzers, a naval brigade composed of seventy-five merchant seamen from ships at Calcutta, and 100 Silh infantry. On 23 April they were astonished to find themselves facing an army of sepoys, some still wearing red coats, formed up in regular columns. Lieutenant Richard Parsons of the 35" charged forward with his skirmishers and drove the enemy back into the surrounding jungle, but then came under heavy musketry fire. Looking back for artillery support, he saw that the rest of Le Grand's column had fallen into an ambush. Most of the gunners had been shot down and the infantry were falling back, losing men to unseen marksmen as they went. Parsons recalled his men and followed, manhandling one of the abandoned howitzers until it snagged against a tree stump. By this time British cohesion had collapsed. The 35" th ', still in the serge uniforms in which they had arrived from Europe, and with no breakfast after a r9-mile night march, were no longer in a state to fight. The dhoolie bearers abandoned their load and joined the flight… Those killed in the 35 th included the assistant surgeon, the colour-sergeants of both companies and ninety-eight others out of the r5o men involved. The Sikhs, unaffected by the heat, kept on firing as they retreated and suffered many fewer casualties. The British lost their two guns, three officers and 130 men, though Parsons insisted that if Le Grand had handled his command properly they could have won in spite of it all. Kunwar Singh's last victory echoed that gained by his troops over [Captain Charles] Dunbar and the Io h Foot in much the same area the previous July. Kunwar Singh died of his wounds the next day" (ibid). Parsons concludes his account with a list of dead of the 35th - "killed by the enemy, by the sun, and from exhaustion" - in the attack on Jagdishpur and the retreat to Arrah, a journey of some r9 miles. Parsons joined the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment as an ensign on 9 May 1856, promoted lieutenant (15 May r857), with which rank he served during the crisis of the Rebellion; according to Hart's Army List for r889, "Lt. Colonel Parsons [promoted r9 December 1886] was present with two companies of the 35" regiment at the attack on Jugdespore (Jagdishpur] and retreat into Arrah on 23' '"''April r858, also at various affairs in the Shahabad district including the dispersion of the rebels from Jugdespore on 18" Oct., their pursuit into the Kymoor (Kaimur) Hills and night attack at Sulya Dehar (Medal)".