THE GWALIOR CAMPAIGN
Expedition to Gwalior—In command of the regiment—Brigadier Black—His
accident—I am appointed to the command of the brigade—Battle of
Punniar—In General Gray’s absence I order a charge on the enemy’s
guns—Severely wounded
SHORTLY after this we had more pleasant and exciting hopes and
prospects. War—war! Rumours of war were now heard everywhere, and I soon
received orders to hold the regiment in readiness for immediate service.
Most of our officers were young, and, with the exception of myself, I
believe not one of them had ever seen a shot fired in earnest. All our
men were equally strangers to a campaign, but all were full of ardour
and zeal, and most anxious to meet an enemy. As I knew them to be well
in hand and in the most perfect state of discipline, I was not less
proud of my command and of the prospect of showing (should the
opportunity offer) that we were all equal to our duty. In a few days the
General Orders detailed the particulars of an expedition against the
revolted troops of the Maharajah and government of Gwalior. Our forces
were divided into two distinct bodies. The larger, consisting of many of
her Majesty’s regiments of infantry and cavalry and European artillery,
and a number of regiments of Bengal native infantry and cavalry and
artillery, with commissariat and medical departments, was concentrated
from the different up-country stations, and ordered to rendezvous at a
given place under the immediate command of the Commander-in-Chief, then
Sir Hugh Gough, attended by the Governor-General, Lord Ellenborough, all
the headquarters staff, and several general officers in command of
divisions and brigades, and all these marched upon Gwalior by a given
route. The second column of the army, under Major-General Gray,
consisted of the 3rd Buffs, the 50th Regiment, and the 9th Lancers. Also
five regiments of Bengal native infantry, two regiments of Bengal native
cavalry, and several batteries of European artillery, commissariat, and
medical departments marched from Cawnpore and Allahabad and other
stations in November, and were concentrated for the first time in
brigades on a very extensive plain about half-way between Gwalior and
Cawnpore. There we halted, encamped, and remained for nearly three
weeks.
Our brigade was composed of the 50th Regiment and the 50th and 58th
Regiments of Native Infantry, and under the command of Brigadier Black,
of the Bengal army. That officer had for many years held a civil
appointment, and candidly confessed that he knew nothing of the duties
of a military command and much less of manœuvring a body of men. At this
time General Gray had us out daily at brigade field-days, allowing each
brigadier to select his own manœuvres. I was the second in command of
our brigade, and our zealous brigadier used to come daily to my tent,
and, with all simplicity and candour, confess that he really could not
attempt to manœuvre his men unless I assisted him by giving him a
regular lesson of what he was to do each day. I, of course, consented to
do so, and wrote him out five or six simple manœuvres for each day, and
explained them over and over again until he appeared to understand them
perfectly. He used then to leave me and to study his lesson for the rest
of the evening, and so well that, when he appeared on parade next day,
from memory he put his brigade through the required movements with
perfect confidence and without once making a mistake, and he continued
this daily, while we remained in that encampment.
During the whole of this time we knew that the main body of our army
under Sir Hugh Gough was halted and encamped within twenty miles of us,
on a different road to our right, and employed daily like ourselves in
field-days. Native troopers, with dispatches, passed between both
divisions almost daily. I never knew the reason of this delay; but it
was by many believed to be caused by awaiting the result of pending
negotiations. At last we again got _en route_, our division still
keeping the main road from Cawnpore to Gwalior through the Antre Pass,
with orders to examine that formidable position before we attempted to
enter it. While halted and encamped on the evening of the 25th December
our brigadier had a serious accident. He was examining his pistols, when
one of them suddenly went off and wounded him severely in the head. This
obliged him to be sent at once to the rear to the nearest military
station, and I was on the same day appointed by General Gray to the
command of the brigade, with the rank of brigadier. Such is the fate and
chance of war, and I was delighted with my promotion and prospects, for
we were now more than ever certain of meeting our enemy, the Mahrattas,
in battle.
But before I go further I must mention that on leaving Cawnpore I wrote
to my agent, John Allan, at Calcutta, requesting him to insure my life
in favour of my dear wife for £6,000, and while delayed in camp Mr.
Allan sent me the necessary papers for me and our surgeon to fill up and
sign, to enable him to complete the insurance. This was duly done and
the papers returned to him, and by return of post I had another letter
from Mr. Allan, saying all was right, that I might make myself perfectly
easy. But on the very evening of my promotion as brigadier I received
another letter from Mr. Allan, informing me that the insurance office
(being now confident of our going into action) had declined the
insurance on my life without an additional high premium, and begging to
know what he was to do. I instantly wrote to him declining, and saying
that I would take my chance, as I had often done before.
On the morning of the fourth day after this, namely, on the 29th of
December, we came in sight of the Antre Pass, and General Gray, with a
strong escort of cavalry, having been sent on to reconnoitre, soon
returned at full speed to inform the Commander-in-Chief that the pass
was strongly occupied by the enemy, with many guns in battery. A halt
was then ordered, and after half an hour’s consultation with his staff,
General Gray ordered us to stand again to our arms, and put the column
in motion at a right angle to our left, thus intending to turn the
enemy’s position, and so march upon Gwalior. Some of us felt this a
disappointment, but we soon heard that the general’s orders were not to
attack the enemy unless he attacked us.
We commenced our flank march. There was a ridge of hills running for
miles directly parallel to our route, and not many hundred yards from
us. We, quite unconscious of any danger, never thought of reconnoitring
that ground, which our general decidedly should have done, and continued
our flank march with only the usual precautions of our advance and rear
guards, and from one end to the other (with our column and baggage,
commissariat, and bazaar) we must have occupied a line of road of at
least ten miles. Still nothing happened, nothing was expected, until
about three o’clock in the evening, when the column was halted for the
day and began to prepare to receive our tents and camp equipage. Then we
were suddenly roused by bang, bang of artillery in our rear, and soon
after by cavalry videttes from the rear guard (still many miles from us)
galloping into our lines in great confusion, and frantically shouting
that our rear guard was attacked and being cut to pieces.
It was now ascertained that from the time we changed our line of march
to the left, so as to turn the Antre Pass, the enemy left that position
also, and moved all day parallel to our position and column, keeping the
ridge of hills between us until they came over and attacked our rear
guard. The “Assembly” was immediately sounded, and we stood to our arms,
and reinforcements of native infantry and cavalry were instantly
dispatched to assist the rear guard, and at the same time the 3rd
Regiment of Buffs, under Lieut.-Colonel Cluney, was sent to the left
front over a spur of the ridge of hills already mentioned, my brigade
and Brigadier Wheeler’s remaining stationary with the general and staff,
all ready for orders. Meantime the attack and defence of the rear guard
became louder and nearer, and we could hear not only constant discharges
of artillery, but regular volleys of musketry and independent file
firing, and with these we could distinctly hear a heavy cannonade at a
considerable distance. This we supposed at the time to be from Gwalior;
but it afterwards proved to be our troops under the command of our
Commander-in-Chief, Sir Hugh Gough, engaged in battle with the enemy at
Maharajpore.
In a very short time a staff officer came galloping back from Colonel
Cluney and reported that the enemy was in great force in his front; on
which General Gray ordered me to advance with my brigade to the support,
with all speed. We moved off in open columns of companies at the double,
and soon found ourselves under the range of the enemy’s guns, fired from
the other side of the ridge of hills, and the shot now passing over us.
When we got close under the rising ground I halted my brigade in close
columns of regiments, and the general rode up and inquired angrily why I
had halted. I said to load, as I thought it was now high time to do so,
for the enemy’s shots were still passing rapidly over us. As soon as we
had loaded, I advanced the whole brigade as we then stood, in close
column of companies by regiments, and as soon as we reached the summit
of the hill we came at once in sight of a large portion of the Mahratta
army in order of battle, and were instantly under a heavy fire from
their artillery and infantry. I rode in front of my column, and deployed
them on the grenadiers of the 50th Regiment, the 50th Native Infantry
taking our right and the 58th Native Infantry our left. All this was
done in double quick and without the slightest confusion, and all as
steady as rocks. I then took my station in rear of the centre, and
ordered my bugler to sound “Commence firing.” Up to that time, so
admirably steady were the men that not a shot was fired until the order
was given. But then they opened in earnest, and kept it up with the most
steady regularity. Meantime, two batteries of our artillery were brought
to our right, followed by our first infantry brigade, and these got at
once into action, and about half a mile to our left we saw Colonel
Cluney and his regiment and a battery of our artillery warmly engaged,
and sending shots occasionally into the enemy’s columns and batteries in
our front.
By this time a number of our men fell killed and wounded, and it was now
getting late and the sun about setting. A deep rough and rocky valley
separated us from the enemy. My men were falling fast, and I saw no
chance of driving our foes before us without crossing the valley and
giving them the bayonet. I looked round everywhere for General Gray and
his staff, but could nowhere see them. I asked my brigade-major if he
knew where the general was, but he did not; so rather than lose a
chance, and my men, without doing any good, I instantly made up my mind
to advance and at them. I ordered my bugler to sound the “Advance.” It
was at once passed along the line, and off we went at a rapid, steady
pace down the valley, keeping up a brisk independent firing all the
while, and receiving the enemy’s shot and shell and musketry in rapid
succession. The ground was so rough, with loose rocks and stones, that I
and all the mounted officers were obliged to dismount; but with the loss
of some men killed and wounded we managed to reach a clear space at the
bottom of the valley. It was then all but dark, when, after hurriedly
reforming our ranks, I gave the order to charge the enemy’s guns, and at
this instant I positively saw one of the Mahratta artillerymen put his
match to his gun (not many hundred yards from us), the contents of which
(grape-shot) knocked me and Captain Cobbam and about a dozen men of my
brave 50th over. Captain Hough and two or three men came instantly to
assist me, and offered to take me to the rear, where the medical
officers were sure to be found; but I said, “No; never mind me: take
those guns!” and with many hearty cheers they were all taken in a few
minutes, the brave Mahrattas standing by their guns to the last, and
refusing to quit them or to run, when positively ordered and pushed
aside by our men’s bayonets. Move they would not, until they were
slaughtered on the spot.
When I was hit I was knocked clean over, and thought it was from a round
shot, and that I was, of course, done for. My only care and regret was
that my dear wife would lose the intended insurance on my life, and so
be left, with our children, worse off than I intended. These thoughts
occupied my mind until I was soon after assisted off the field by
Sergeant Quick and two soldiers to where the medical officers were
attending to the wounded. I had not got far when, by the light of the
new moon, just rising, I saw an officer sitting under a tree, bleeding
profusely, and resting his head on one arm, and with two or three
soldiers supporting him. I inquired who it was, and was told Captain
Cobbam, wounded severely in five different places, but still alive. I
told them who I was, and that I was then on my way to the doctors, and
begged the men to take him there also. A few yards farther on I met the
surgeon of the 9th Lancers. He then examined my wound, putting one of
his fingers in where the ball entered, and another where it passed out
of my body, and then said, “Never fear; you are all right.” This was
indeed cheering, and enough to make me forget my fears about the loss to
my dear wife of the insurance on my life. He then ordered my escort to
take me a little way farther over the hill, where they would find all
the medical officers and wounded. We reached them in safety, but faint
from much loss of blood. I was again examined, dressed, and well
bandaged, and again reassured and told not to be alarmed, as my wound,
though severe, was not dangerous. They then put me in a doolie with four
bearers and my escort, and ordered them to carry me direct to our camp.
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