Campaign of the Indus In a Series of Letters from an Officer of the Bombay Division

A series of candid letters from a young officer in the Bombay division brings the 1840 campaign along the Indus to life. Written for his family, the correspondence reads like a diary, describing long marches across barren deserts, icy mountain passes and scorching river valleys. The prose captures the soldiers’ endurance as they cope with scarce provisions, relentless heat and sudden frost, while still finding moments of camaraderie amid the hardship.

Set against the sweeping backdrop of earlier conquests—from Alexander’s march to the same river—the letters also sketch the political landscape of the remote territories and the native rulers who intersected with the British advance. With a steady, observant voice, the officer notes both the discipline of his comrades and the unexpected encounters with hostile forces. Listeners will gain a vivid, personal glimpse of an expedition that pushed the empire into lands long untouched by European troops, all conveyed through the intimate tone of a son’s messages to home.