IOR/F/4/2672/179326

This item consists of copies of correspondence, resolutions, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, Secret Letters from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 17 and 31 December 1856, and 2 and 16 January 1857. The enclosures are dated 1 November 1856-16 January 1857.

The item contains records relating to the Anglo-Persian War of 1856-57. They cover the following subjects:

The organisation and sending of the Persian Expeditionary Force from Bombay [Mumbai] to the Gulf, including:

• A summary, prepared by Colonel Peter Melvill Melvill, Secretary in the Military and Marine Departments, of correspondence relating to this subject
• Returns of personnel (ff 393-394), transports (f 395), and stores (ff 398-424)
• Instructions and General Orders issued by the Governments of Bombay and India.

The occupation of the island of Karrack [Jazireh-ye Khark] on 4 December 1856 and the surrender of Bushire [Bushehr] on 10 December 1856, including:

• Copy of the Bombay Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated 27 December 1856, announcing the capture of Bushire (ff 434-438)
• Copy of a supplement to the Bombay Government Gazette, dated 30 December 1856, publishing a return of the killed and wounded, and of ordnance captured (ff 440-441)
• Reports, by Major General Foster Stalker, Commanding Expeditionary Field Force, and other officers, of the operations leading to the capture of Bushire
• Returns of casualties (ff 447-448) and of ordnance captured (f 449 and f 501), and a roll of officers and men who distinguished themselves in action (ff 468-469)
• Correspondence from Commander Felix Jones, Political Agent, Persian Expeditionary Force, and Resident, Persian Gulf, regarding the capture of Karrack
• Correspondence from Rear Admiral Sir Henry John Leeke, Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy and Commander in Chief of the Naval Force, Persian Gulf Expedition, regarding events following the occupation of Bushire
• Details of three high-ranking Persian prisoners of war who have been sent to Bombay.

Arrangements for the sending of reinforcements to Persia, including:

• Summaries by Colonel Melvill of the measures taken to raise a Second Division of the Expeditionary Force for service in Persia
• A return showing the probable strength of the Second Division of the Expeditionary Force (f 504)
• General Orders for the assembly of the Second Division of the Expeditionary Force, including a list of the staff appointments (ff 508-509).

The item contains a table of contents (ff 364-365), and the title page (f 363) contains the following references: ‘PC [Previous Communication] 370’, ‘Draft 405’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’.