army, made a movement towards _Nundydroog_, and in the evening
of that day the troops were told off for an assault upon the two
breaches, which had been pronounced practicable. The attacks
commenced at eleven o’clock at night, the grenadiers assaulting
the right breach, and the light companies the left. The forlorn
hope of the right attack consisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers
from the thirty-sixth and SEVENTY-FIRST, led by Lieutenant Hugh
Mackenzie of the SEVENTY-FIRST, formerly paymaster of the regiment.
The same number of light infantry, headed by Lieutenant Lewis
Moore, of the SEVENTY-FIRST, formed the left attack. The grenadier
company of the regiment, in support, was commanded by Lieutenant
James Duncan; the light company, by Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie;
the whole under Captain Robertson’s orders, as before stated.
Captain Robert Burne supported, with the thirty-sixth grenadiers,
the right attack, and Captain William Hartley, with the light
company of that regiment, the left attack; Major-General Medows, as
usual, animating the whole with his presence.
Both breaches were carried without much resistance from the enemy,
and the gateway of the inner wall being soon secured, the fort fell
into the possession of the British. Many of the enemy were killed,
and several, in attempting to escape, were dashed to pieces over
the precipices. It was an additional source of gratification, that
this important service had been achieved without the loss of a
British soldier.
In a few days subsequently to the fall of Nundydroog, the army
retraced its route to Bangalore.
On the 4th of December the troops were again put in movement,
directing their march towards _Savendroog_, a fortress situated on
the side of a mountain, environed by almost inaccessible rocks.
The fort being reconnoitred, a detachment under Lieut.-Colonel
James Stuart, of the Seventy-second regiment, was selected, and
ordered to reduce the place. On the 17th the British were enabled
to open upon the fort a battery of six eighteen-pounders and three
twelve-pounders, with considerable effect.
The flank companies of the SEVENTY-FIRST and seventy-sixth
regiments joined the detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Stuart
on the 20th of December, and on the following day the flank
companies of the fifty-second, SEVENTY-FIRST, seventy-second, and
seventy-sixth, were selected for the attack upon _Savendroog_ (in
which a practicable breach had been effected), and formed under
Lieut.-Colonel Colebrook Nesbitt, of the fifty-second regiment.
The storming party, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Nesbitt, was
directed to four different attacks. Captain James Gage, with
the grenadiers of the fifty-second and flank companies of the
seventy-sixth regiment, to gain the eastern hill to the left;
Captain the Honorable William Monson, with the light company of
the fifty-second, to scour the works towards the western hill on
the right; Captain the Honorable John Lindsay and Captain James
Robertson, with the flank companies of the SEVENTY-FIRST, to
separate, and attack the works or parties they might discover
in the chasm or hollow between the hills; the fifty-second and
seventy-second regiments were to follow the flank companies;
parties were detached under Lieut.-Colonel Baird and Major Petrie
round the mountain, to draw the attention of the enemy from the
main object, and to endeavour to prevent his escape.
At eleven o’clock in the morning of the 21st of December, on
a signal of two guns being fired from the batteries, the flank
companies, in the order described, followed by the fifty-second and
seventy-second regiments, advanced to the assault; the band of the
fifty-second playing “_Britons, strike home!_” while the grenadiers
and light infantry mounted the breach.
Immediate success followed the attempt, the fort being carried
without the loss of a man. The troops were thanked in general
orders for their gallant conduct, in which it was stated,--
“Lord Cornwallis thinks himself fortunate, almost beyond example,
in having acquired by assault a fortress of so much strength and
reputation, and of such inestimable value to the public interest,
as Savendroog,[15] without having to regret the loss of a single
soldier.”
In the course of a short time afterwards, the following places
surrendered, with trifling loss, to detachments of the British
army; namely, Outredroog, Ram Gurry, and Sheria Gurry.
The army subsequently moved towards Outredroog, a hill fort about
thirty miles west of Bangalore, where a general hospital was
established.
[Sidenote: 1792.]
On the 31st of January 1792 the army under General the Earl
Cornwallis was reviewed by the Poonah and Hyderabad chiefs, and
on the following day commenced its march towards _Seringapatam_,
passing by Hooleadroog, Tajilly, and Carrycode. The troops came in
sight of Tippoo’s capital on the 5th of February, and encamped at
the French Rocks. The enemy’s horse showed itself on the 4th and
5th, but attempted nothing hostile.
The entrenched camp of Tippoo was reconnoitred on the 6th of
February, and at dark the army was formed in three columns of
attack. The right, under Major General Medows, consisting of the
thirty-sixth and seventy-sixth King’s regiments. The centre,
under the Commander-in-chief, General the Earl Cornwallis,
consisting of the fifty-second, SEVENTY-FIRST, and seventy-fourth
King’s regiments. The left, under Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell of the
seventy-fourth, was composed of the seventy-second regiment. The
native troops were divided among the three columns.
By eight o’clock in the evening of the 6th of February the three
columns were in motion. The head of the centre column, led by the
flank companies of the respective corps, after twice crossing the
Lokany river, which covered the enemy’s right wing and front, came
in contact with his first line, and immediately forced through it.
The British flankers, mixing with the fugitives, crossed the north
branch of the Cavery, at the foot of the _glacis_ of the fort of
_Seringapatam_. Captain the Honorable John Lindsay collected the
grenadiers of the SEVENTY-FIRST upon the _glacis_, and attempted
to push into the body of the place, but was prevented by the
bridge being raised a few moments before he reached it. He was
soon after joined by some of the light company of the fifty-second
and grenadiers of the seventy-sixth, with whom he forced his way
down to the famous _Llal Baugh_, or “_Garden of Pearls_,” where he
was attacked most furiously, but the enemy was repelled in a very
spirited style with the bayonet.
Captain Lindsay was afterwards joined by the seventy-fourth
grenadiers, and attempted to drive the enemy from the Pettah, but
could not succeed, from the numbers which poured on him from all
sides. This gallant officer then took post in a redoubt, where
he maintained himself until morning, and then moved to the north
bank of the river, where the firing appeared very heavy. He was
there met by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel the Honorable John Knox,
of the thirty-sixth regiment, and by Lieut.-Colonel Baird, with
the grenadiers of the fifty-second, and the light company of the
SEVENTY-FIRST, together with some of the troops that composed the
left attack.
During these occurrences the battalion companies of the
fifty-second, SEVENTY-FIRST, and seventy-second regiments forced
their way across the river to the island, overpowering all that
opposed them, when Captain Archdeacon, commanding a battalion
of Bengal Sepoys, being killed, that battalion was thrown into
confusion, falling back upon the SEVENTY-FIRST. Major Stair Park
Dalrymple, wishing to prevent the Sepoys intermingling with his
men, ordered the regiment to oblique to the left, an operation
that by chance brought him in contact with the Sultan’s redoubt,
which was instantly attacked and carried. The charge of the redoubt
was given to Captain Hugh Sibbald, of the SEVENTY-FIRST, with his
company, who on the following morning was killed, nobly defending
it against repeated and desperate attacks from the enemy. The
commander-in-chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, in compliment to
the memory of this officer, had the name of the redoubt changed to
“Sibbald.”
In the evening of the 7th of February three thousand of the enemy’s
horse attacked the British troops on the island, but were repulsed
by the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment and the first Coast Sepoys. In
the course of these operations the regiment had Captain Sibbald
and Lieutenant Daniel Bayne killed; Ensign Duncan Mackenzie was
wounded; about one hundred rank and file were killed and wounded.
The enemy’s loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000
_hors-de-combat_. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British.
On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for
the siege of _Seringapatam_, and on the 15th Major-General Robert
Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the
seventy-third, seventy-fifth, and seventy-seventh regiments,
besides native troops, making a total of about 6,000 men.
The SEVENTY-FIRST regiment, commanded by Major Dalrymple, crossed
the south branch of the Cavery at nine o’clock at night on the 18th
of February, and in two hours after attacked by surprise a camp
of the enemy’s cavalry, of whom great part were slain, and the
remainder dispersed in all directions. This movement was designed
to cover the operation of opening the trenches, which took place at
the same time, within eight hundred yards of the fort.
Until the 24th of February the approaches were carried on with
the greatest activity, when the general orders announced that the
preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence
all hostile measures immediately ceased.
On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saib, Abdel Kalek
and Mooza-ud-Deen, the former ten years of age, and the latter
eight, were brought to the British camp, as hostages for the due
performance of the preliminary articles.[16]
In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo
to the arrangement of the definitive treaty, working parties were
ordered, and the guns replaced in the batteries on the 10th March.
This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the 15th of
March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that month, the
definitive treaty being duly executed, and signed, was delivered
by the young Abdel Kalek to each of the confederates. On the 20th
the counterpart was sent off to Tippoo Saib.
[Illustration:
_Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t. Strand_
THE MARQUIS CORNWALLIS RECEIVING THE TWO SONS OF TIPPOO SULTAUN AS
HOSTAGES FROM THE VAKEEL.
“_This morning they were the sons of the Sultaun my Master; they
now look up to your Lordship as their Father._”
For Cannon’s Military Records.]
Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the
enemy seventy fortresses, eight hundred pieces of cannon, and
destroyed or dispersed at least fifty thousand men. By the articles
of the treaty, Tippoo was bound to pay a large sum of money, and to
cede one half of his dominions.
The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from
this money a sum equal to six months’ batta for all ranks, and the
Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant.
On the 26th of March, the exchange of the definitive treaty being
completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from
whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal
troops were ordered to their own presidency.
Early in May the army descended the Ghauts, arriving soon after at
Vellore, where the Commander-in-Chief arranged the cantonments of
the troops, and proceeded to Madras. The SEVENTY-FIRST received
orders to march to the southward, and in the month of June arrived
at Warriore, near Trichinopoly, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel
Baird, who during the campaign had been absent from the regiment in
command of a brigade. Eight companies were stationed at Warriore,
and two were detached with Major Dalrymple to Dindigul. In this
situation the regiment continued for the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 1793.]
In March 1793, the eight companies under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Baird proceeded from Warriore to Secundermally, in
the neighbourhood of Madura. Meanwhile the events of the French
revolution had involved England in another contest, the National
Convention of France having declared war against Great Britain
and Holland, in February 1793. The news of this event arrived in
India in May following, when the siege of the French settlement
of _Pondicherry_, on the Coromandel coast, was determined upon.
Lieut.-Colonel Baird, of the SEVENTY-FIRST, was appointed to
command a brigade on this service.
In July the flank companies of the regiment were ordered to join
the force about to besiege _Pondicherry_, and marched for that
purpose, being followed soon afterwards by the battalion companies.
The place surrendered on the 22d of August, and the SEVENTY-FIRST
returned to Secundermally and Dindigul, where the regiment
continued during the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 1794.]
An attack upon the Mauritius was in contemplation at the
commencement of the year 1794, and troops for that service were
assembled at Wallajohabad. The SEVENTY-FIRST, having received
orders to join this force, marched to Wallajohabad, where the
regiment remained only a short time, having been ordered to return
to the southward, in consequence of the projected expedition being
relinquished.
The regiment marched accordingly, and arrived at Tanjore in June,
where it was stationed for the remainder of the year, having two
companies detached, under Major Dalrymple, at Vellum.
[Sidenote: 1795.]
Holland became united to France in the early part of 1795, and was
styled the Batavian republic. Upon the arrival of this information
in India, an expedition was fitted out against the island of
_Ceylon_, where the Dutch had several settlements. Major Dalrymple,
with the flank companies, marched to the coast, and embarked at
Negapatam, for the purpose of co-operating with the troops destined
for Ceylon, under the command of Colonel James Stuart, of the
seventy-second, who was promoted to the rank of Major-General at
this period. The fleet arrived on the coast of Ceylon on the 1st of
August, and two days afterwards the troops landed four miles north
of the fort of _Trincomalee_. The siege of the fort was commenced
as soon as the artillery and stores could be landed, and removed
sufficiently near to the place. On the 26th of August a practicable
breach was effected, and the garrison surrendered. The fort of
_Batticaloe_ surrendered on the 18th of September, and the fort and
island of _Manaar_ capitulated on the 5th of October. After these
services were performed, the flank companies returned to Tanjore in
the month of October, having lost eleven men in killed and wounded.
Captain William Charles Gorrie, of the grenadier company, was
desperately wounded in this expedition.
[Sidenote: 1796.]
In May 1796, the regiment marched to Wallajohabad, where it was
stationed during the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 1797.]
On the 2d of January 1797, the regiment was inspected by
Major-General Clarke, who issued the following general order:--
“Major-General Clarke has experienced infinite satisfaction, this
morning, at the review of His Majesty’s SEVENTY-FIRST regiment.
“He cannot say that on any occasion of field exercise he ever was
present at a more perfect performance.
“When a corps is so striking in appearance, and so complete
in every branch of its discipline, little can occur to the
Commander-in-chief to particularize. He cannot but notice, however,
that the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment has excited his admiration for its
expertness in those parts of its exercise which are most essential,
and most difficult to execute. He alludes to its order and
regularity when moving in line; its extreme accuracy in preserving
distances, and the neatness and promptitude that are so evident in
all its formations. So much perfection in a corps, whose services
in India will long be held in remembrance does the greatest honor
to Lieut.-Colonel Baird and all his officers, to whom, and the
corps at large, the Commander-in-chief desires to offer his best
thanks.”
The regiment remained in the cantonment of Wallajohabad until
the month of October, when orders were issued for its return to
Europe. It was accordingly drafted, giving five hundred men to
the seventy-third and seventy-fourth regiments, and then marched
from Wallajohabad, under the command of Colonel Baird, with the
non-commissioned officers, drummers, and invalids, to Madras, and
immediately embarked on board of Indiamen for Great Britain. The
fleet sailed from Madras Roads on the 17th of October, and was at
sea during the remainder of the year.[17]
[Sidenote: 1798.]
Early in January 1798, the fleet arrived at the Cape of Good Hope,
where the commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel Baird, was
detained upon the staff, having been appointed brigadier-general.
After remaining a few days in Table Bay, the fleet sailed, and
reached St. Helena in February, where it was detained three months
waiting for a convoy.
The fleet sailed on the 1st of May from St. Helena, without
a convoy, and in July, in consequence of contrary winds, was
compelled to put into Cork Harbour. It sailed from thence for the
Thames, and on the 12th of August the regiment disembarked at
Woolwich, where it remained for a few days, and then re-embarked
in smacks for Leith. After landing, the regiment proceeded to
Stirling. As a mark of indulgence, a general leave for two months
was granted to the officers and men of the SEVENTY-FIRST, to
enable them to visit their friends and families, after a long
absence from their native country. At the expiration of this
period, the whole assembled at Stirling, with the addition of
several recruits. Immediately afterwards, the whole of the officers
and non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the staff, and
a few at head-quarters, were sent out to recruit the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1799.]
During the year 1799, the head-quarters remained at Stirling, and
the recruiting went on but slowly.
[Sidenote: 1800.]
In May 1800, the strength of the regiment amounted to about two
hundred rank and file, when a route arrived changing the quarters
to Paisley, but soon after the march an order arrived for its
proceeding to Ireland. In June the regiment reached Portpatrick,
and crossed immediately to Donaghadee, from whence it marched,
under the command of Colonel Dalrymple, to Newry, and in a few days
afterwards was removed to Dundalk.
In July the regiment received six hundred volunteers from the
Scotch Fencible corps serving in Ireland, and remained at Dundalk
until the close of the year, when a route for Dublin was received.
At this period, Colonel Dalrymple was appointed brigadier-general,
and the command of the regiment devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel
John French.
On the 6th of December Major Denis Pack was promoted from the
fourth Royal Irish dragoon guards to be Lieutenant-Colonel in
the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel the
Honorable John Lindsay, who retired from the service.
[Sidenote: 1801.]
The regiment, early in the year 1801, marched from Dundalk to
Dublin, and occupied the barracks in the Palatine Square. On the
24th of April, Lieut.-Colonel Pack joined, and assumed the command
of the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1802.]
In March 1802, in which month the Peace of Amiens was concluded,
the regiment proceeded from Dublin, and was cantoned in the
county of Wicklow. The corps was so divided, that at Arklow, the
head-quarters, there were only two companies. In this situation it
continued for the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 1803.]
The regiment proceeded, in March 1803, in three divisions, to
Ballinasloe, where it remained for a few days, and afterwards
marched to Loughrea.
Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.B., was appointed colonel
of the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment on the 6th of August 1803, in
succession to General the Honorable William Gordon, who was removed
to the twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers.
The regiment continued at Loughrea, but the light company was
detached to Limerick, to join a light battalion which was being
formed at that place.
[Sidenote: 1804.]
In May the regiment proceeded from Loughrea to the county of
Limerick, the head-quarters being stationed at Rathkeale; one
detachment at Newcastle, another at Tarbert, and a third at
Askeaton.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war had recommenced
with France, and Bonaparte having made preparations for invading
Great Britain, additional measures of defence to those of the
former year were adopted by the Government;[18] and under the
“_Additional Force Act_,” passed on the 10th of July 1804, a
second battalion was added to the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment, which
was to consist of men to be raised for limited service in certain
counties of North Britain. The second battalion was formed at
Dumbarton in October, to the command of which Lieut.-Colonel Lord
George Beresford was appointed. Its establishment was fixed at 23
serjeants, 22 drummers, 20 corporals, and 380 privates.
[Sidenote: 1805.]
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
In March 1805 the first battalion, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Pack, proceeded to Bandon in the county of Cork,
and was stationed at that place until July, when it marched to
Cork, and immediately afterwards to Monkstown, where it embarked
in transports, having been selected to form part of a secret
expedition under its former commander, Major-General Sir David
Baird.
In the beginning of August the embarkation was completed, and on
the 5th of that month the fleet sailed, convoyed by three 64-gun
ships, two frigates and gun-brigs, under the orders of Commodore
Sir Home Popham; and on the 28th of September the fleet, after a
very boisterous passage, arrived at Madeira.
On the 3d of October the fleet left Madeira, and on the 12th
of November arrived at St. Salvador, in the Brazils, where an
opportunity was afforded of refreshing the men, landing the sick,
and procuring some horses for the cavalry.
The fleet again put to sea on the 28th of November, and directed
its course towards the Dutch colony of the _Cape of Good Hope_,
then in possession of the Batavian Government, which was united
with France in hostility to Great Britain.
[Sidenote: 1806.]
The fleet arrived at the high table-land of the Cape of Good
Hope on the 4th of January 1806, and shortly afterwards came to
anchor. The whole of the following day the surf upon the shore
of the bay was too violent to admit of any attempt to land.
Brigadier-General William Carr, afterwards General Viscount,
Beresford, was detached, with such of the cavalry as had horses,
and the thirty-eighth regiment, to Saldanha Bay.[19]
In the morning of the 6th of January a landing was effected by
the Highland brigade, under the command of Brigadier-General
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson, in the performance of which service
Lieut.-Colonel Pack, the commanding officer of the SEVENTY-FIRST
regiment, was wounded. The following day was devoted to landing the
supplies and the remainder of the army.
Early in the morning of the 8th of January Major-General Sir David
Baird formed his troops in two columns, and moved up to the heights
of _Bleuberg_ (Blue Mountain), from whence the enemy was seen,
drawn up in order of battle, in two lines, with twenty-three pieces
of cannon, his numbers being calculated at 5,000, of which a large
proportion was cavalry.
The British lines were formed with promptitude and correctness, and
the enemy was attacked with the utmost spirit. He maintained his
ground with some firmness, until a charge of the Highland brigade
dislodged and completely routed him, with the loss of three guns
and 700 men.
In this affair the SEVENTY-FIRST had Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Robert
Campbell wounded. Five men were killed, and two serjeants and
sixty-four rank and file were wounded.