ENTERS THE ARMY--THE BLACK WATCH--ASHANTI WAR--RETURN HOME--BANQUET
AT PORTOBELLO.
Young Wauchope had not long to wait for a commission. At that time
positions in the army could only be got by purchase and strong
influence, but he was fortunate in being enrolled as ensign, in
November 1865, in the 42nd Highlanders, one of the most popular and
distinguished of Scottish regiments, and familiarly known as the
'Black Watch.' He was only nineteen years of age at the time when he
joined the regiment at Stirling Castle, and is described by one of
his superiors as then 'a merry, rollicking lad, full of life and
fun.' 'Andy,' as he used to be called by the officers, and 'Red
Mick' more frequently by the men, was a general favourite; and,
notwithstanding his natural lightness of heart, he had soundness of
brain and judgment enough to know that promotion would only come to
him by diligent study and close application to his profession. His
commanding officer, Sir John M'Leod, appears, at all events, to have
been struck with the young man's energy of character and
indefatigable 'go,' for he describes him as at that time 'a
particularly energetic young lad, who thought nothing of walking from
Stirling to Niddrie to see his old father whenever he could get a few
days' leave at a week-end.' This, he explains, was not {37} at all
from motives of economy, 'but merely to walk off superfluous energy.'
Assiduous in the matter of drill, Wauchope soon became as proficient
as his instructor, for he took a thorough pleasure in the exercise.
The innate smartness and recklessness of the red-polled ensign at
once endeared him to a grave old Crimean drill-sergeant, who
forthwith charged himself with his training. Concerning this latest
accession to the commissioned strength of the Black Watch, the man of
stripes was wont to say--'That red-headed Wauchope chap will either
gang tae the deil, or he'll dee Commander-in-Chief!'
[Sidenote: The Black Watch]
Though the worthy sergeant's prediction has in neither case been
verified, young Wauchope, though at first inclined to consider his
superiors a trifle slow, soon fell into the steady sober ways of the
42nd, then as now noted for the gentlemanly conduct of its officers,
and the upright character of its rank and file. 'Step out,
shentlemens; step out. You're all shentlemens here; if you're not
shentlemens in the Black Watch, you'll not be shentlemens anywhere.'
Such was the opinion of their old Highland sergeant as he put them
through their drill. We have been told that at that time one might
be a year among the officers and never hear an oath uttered, while
smoking and drinking were scarcely known. Wauchope was thus
fortunate in being, at a critical period of his life, associated with
men who shunned what was vulgar, and whose influence over him was for
good. In military matters he early manifested the inquiring mind.
Points in drill or tactics, which he might not at first understand,
set him thinking, and he would not rest till he got an explanation of
their meaning and object. Captain Christie, then adjutant of the
Black Watch, lately governor of Edinburgh Prison, was early taken
into the young ensign's {38} confidence in difficulties of this kind.
Having been through the hard fighting and the terrible scenes of the
Indian Mutiny, the captain was made frequently to 'fight his battles
o'er again,' explaining the methods and tactics by which decisive
results were attained in the various engagements. Never what may be
called a great reader of books, Wauchope had two, however, placed in
his hand by his adjutant when in Stirling Castle, which he studied
assiduously. These two books--Macaulay's _Essays_ and Burke's
_French Revolution_--he read and re-read, borrowing them several
times, and there is little doubt that the perusal of them made a deep
and lasting impression upon his mind, going a long way towards the
formation of that strong political sagacity, administrative ability
in civil affairs, and military genius which were displayed on many
occasions in his after-life.
In 1867 Wauchope went to Hythe, where he passed in the Military
School of Instruction first-class in musketry, and in June of that
year was promoted to be lieutenant. So proficient was he found in
the matter of drill that, in spite of his youth, he was appointed to
the important position of adjutant to the regiment in 1870, though
still retaining the rank of lieutenant, a position which he held with
the utmost credit for the next three years. During this time he
served successively with the 42nd in garrison duty at Edinburgh,
Aldershot, and Devonport.
Leaving Edinburgh in 1869 by the transport _Orontes_, from Granton to
Portsmouth, the regiment reached Aldershot camp on the 12th November,
and was stationed there for two and a half years. After taking a
part in the Autumn Manoeuvres at Dartmoor in August 1873, they were
stationed for a few months at the Clarence Barracks, Portsmouth. His
duties during all these years were of the {39} most arduous and
trying description, but his singularly lovable and attractive nature
made him so many friends that difficulties disappeared before his
cheerful countenance. Speaking of this period in his career, Colonel
Bayly, afterwards his commanding officer, says--'It was very early in
his subaltern career that Wauchope was voted for the appointment of
adjutant, and he made one of the best that had ever been appointed.
His charm of disposition enabled him to gain the love of his men,
whilst his tact and firmness enabled him to enforce the necessary
discipline.'
[Sidenote: Ashanti war]
On the outbreak of the Ashanti war on the west coast of Africa in the
autumn of 1873, young Lieutenant Wauchope found his first
opportunity, in active foreign service, of showing the metal of which
he was made.
The king of Ashanti--Koffee Kalcallee--the head of a strong warlike
kingdom on the north of the Gold Coast, had long asserted his
authority over the neighbouring provinces of Akim, Assin, Gaman, and
Denkira, down to the very coast where the Dutch and English had
settlements. The transfer, in 1872, of the Dutch possessions
adjoining Cape Coast Castle to Great Britain for certain commercial
privileges, gave King Koffee of Ashanti the opportunity for asserting
what he considered his lawful authority over the Fantees or adjoining
coast tribe. This, however, was only a covert excuse for striking a
blow at British rule on the Gold Coast, and in January 1873 an army
of 60,000 warriors--and the Ashantis, though cruel, are brave and
warlike--was in full march upon Cape Coast Castle and Elmina. The
British force on the spot under Colonel Harley was only a thousand
men, mainly West India troops and Haussa police, with a few marines;
and though the neighbouring friendly tribes, whose interest it {40}
was to remain under the British protectorate, raised a large
contingent for their own defence, this was a force that could not be
relied on. By the month of April the Ashantis had crossed the river
Prah, the southern limit of their kingdom, and were within a few
miles of Cape Coast Castle, and matters were looking serious. With
the aid of a small reinforcement of marines, the enemy were
fortunately kept at bay until the 2nd October, when a strong force
arrived from England, which turned the tide against King Koffee, and
ultimately swept him and his warriors back upon his capital. This
expedition, under Major-General Sir Garnet Wolseley, with his staff
and a body of five hundred sailors and marines, not only held their
own, but by the end of November, after much hard preliminary work,
had forced the king to retreat to Kumasi. Wolseley, finding the
expedition a more arduous one than was at first expected, had
meantime asked for further reinforcements, and on the 4th December
the Black Watch, accompanied by a considerable number of volunteers
from the 79th, left Portsmouth, arriving on 4th January 1874 at their
destination. Sir Garnet had now at his disposal a force consisting
of the 23rd, 42nd, and 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade, detachments of
Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and Royal Marines, which, with
native levies, formed a small but effective army wherewith to advance
into the enemy's country.
This was no light task, more especially when the dangerous nature of
the climate is taken into account, and the necessity there was that
the enterprise should be accomplished, if at all, before the rainy
season, with all its concomitant malaria, set in. To pierce into the
heart of a country like Ashanti, with its marshes and matted forests,
its pathless jungles and fetid swamps, with a {41} cunning foe ever
dogging their steps, was the service imposed on this brave little
army of British. As Lord Derby remarked at the time, this was to be
'an engineers' and doctors' war.' Roads had to be made, bridges
built, telegraphs set up, and camps formed. But by the energy and
skill of General Wolseley, ably supported by such men as Captain (now
Sir) Redvers Buller, Colonel (afterwards Sir John) N'Neil,
Lieut.-Colonel (afterwards Sir Evelyn) Wood, Colonel (now Sir John)
M'Leod, and others who have since risen to distinction in the army,
the enterprise was successfully and brilliantly accomplished within a
month. The Ashantis were forced back upon their own territory in a
number of engagements, until at last their capital was seized and
burned to the ground.
[Sidenote: Wauchope's black boys]
Lieutenant Wauchope's share in this expedition was highly creditable
to his bravery and military skill. Accompanying Sir Garnet Wolseley
at an early stage of the struggle, as one of the staff, he resigned
his adjutantship of the Black Watch, and was afterwards fortunate in
obtaining special employment as a commander of one of the native
regiments formed at Cape Coast Castle, namely, Russell's regiment of
Haussas, the Winnebah Company. To form such crude material into a
well-disciplined body of soldiers seemed at first a well-nigh
hopeless undertaking. Their fear made cowards of them all. The very
sight of a gun terrified them, and for long they held their arms in
such superstitious dread, that they would hang them up in the trees
and actually worship them. But Wauchope's admirable drilling
qualifications stood him in good stead. He took, we are told, a
great pride in the training of his 'black boys,' as he called them,
and infused into them much of his own daring spirit. This
appointment separated him for a time from his own regiment, but on
{42} the Black Watch arriving afterwards at the Gold Coast, he had
frequent opportunities of fighting by their side.
In the advanced guard, the 42d Regiment and Russell's Haussas, under
Colonel M'Leod, having crossed the Adansi hills, reached Prah-su on
the 30th January, and occupied a position about two miles from the
Ashanti main position at Amoaful. Surmounting innumerable
difficulties, and carrying all before them, the Highlanders by their
dash and intrepidity were a splendid example to those led by
Wauchope, who sometimes had difficulty in inspiring his men with
courage enough to face their much-dreaded enemy. In scouting and
clearing the ground his men were, however, invaluable, and if we
consider the dense undergrowth that covered the country traversed,
this was a work of great importance. By one traveller we are told
'the country hereabout (at Amoaful) is one dense mass of brush,
penetrated by a few narrow lanes, where the ground, hollowed by
rains, is so uneven and steep at the sides as to give scanty footing.
A passenger between the two walls of foliage may wander for hours
before he finds that he has mistaken the path. To cross the country
from one narrow clearing to another, axes and knives must be used at
every step. There is no looking over the hedge in this oppressive
and bewildering maze.' It was in such a position as this that the
battle of Amoaful was fought. The enemy's army was never seen in
open order, but its numbers are reported by Ashantis to have been
from fifteen to twenty thousand. After a stubborn day's fight in the
entanglement of the forest, the Ashantis were finally defeated with
great loss.
[Sidenote: Attack on Kumasi]
On the 1st February, the day following this important engagement,
orders were issued for an attack upon Becquah, towards which Captain
Buller and Lord Gifford {43} scouted at daybreak. The attack was
intrusted to Sir Archibald Alison, who had under his orders the Naval
Brigade, one gun and one rocket detachment, Rait's Artillery,
detachment of Royal Engineers, with labourers, 23rd Fusiliers, five
companies of 42nd Highlanders, and Russell's regiment of Haussas,
with scouts. This force was divided into an advanced guard and main
body, and Wauchope was again honoured with the post of danger, his
regiment of Haussas being in the advanced guard along with the Naval
Brigade and Rail's Artillery, all under the command of Colonel
M'Leod. After a toilsome march through the bush under a tropical
sun, the town of Becquah was reached, and a sharp but decisive
engagement took place, the main brunt of which fell upon Lord
Gifford's scouts and the Haussas. Still pressing on, the intrepid
little army, through many mazy trampings, arrived at Jarbinbah, every
inch of the ground being disputed by the enemy. Here Wauchope was
wounded in the chest by a slug fired down upon him from one of the
tall trees in the swampy ground in front of an ambuscade; but,
serious enough though it was, and causing much loss of blood, it did
not prevent him sticking to his post and looking after his 'black
boys.' After this battle King Koffee sent in a letter to Sir Garnet
Wolseley, with vague promises of an indemnity, hoping to prevent the
invading army approaching his capital; but his previous
prevarications did not admit of his tardy proposals being for a
moment entertained. The king, realising this, resolved to dispute
the passage of the river Ordah. The stream was about fifty feet
wide, and waist-deep, and the enemy, to the number of at least 10,000
men, were posted on the further side. Russell's regiment of Haussas
was, on the afternoon of the 3rd February, at once passed to the
other side of the stream as a covering party to the Engineers, who
{44} were ordered to throw over a bridge. They rapidly made
entrenchments, and cleared the ground on the north side, so that the
whole advanced guard might successfully cross. In this affair
Lieutenant Wauchope acquitted himself with much coolness and bravery,
notwithstanding his wounded state, Colonel M'Leod reporting the
regiment as 'being in front the whole day, and having behaved with
remarkable steadiness under trying circumstances, _reserving their
fire_ with remarkable self-control.' This shows a decided
improvement in the discipline of Wauchope's 'black boys' from a
former despatch, where their firing was characterised as 'wild.' By
daybreak on the morning of the 4th February the bridge over the Ordah
was completed, amid drenching rain, which had continued all night,
and the whole available force was successfully passed over in spite
of the vigorous resistance of the Ashantis, who, with drums beating
and great shouting, were endeavouring to circle round the British.
'For the first half-mile from the river the path rose tolerably
even,' says one report; 'then after a rapid descent it passed along a
narrow ridge with a ravine on each side; dipped again deeply, and
then finally rose into the village. To the south-west of the
village, extending almost to the village itself, and for a
considerable distance along the road, the enemy had made a clearing
of several acres, by cutting down a plantain-grove. Colonel M'Leod
steadily advanced along the main road under cover of a gun, after a
few rounds from which the Rifles made a corresponding advance; then
the gun was brought up again, and another advance made; and in this
manner the village was at last reached and carried.' The Ashantis
fought well, and with a vigour and pertinacity which won the praise
and admiration of the Highlanders. The soldiers were put to their
mettle, and even the Haussas, as if {45} catching the fierce courage
of the Scotsmen, laboured with vigour and energy not eclipsed by any
in the field. The dislodgment of the enemy was not effected,
however, without considerable loss, Lieutenant Eyre being killed,
while Wauchope received a second severe wound, this time on the
shoulder.
[Sidenote: Kumasi captured]
The battle virtually decided the fate of Kumasi and King Koffee. On
the news of the defeat of his army the king fled, no one knew
whither, and the victorious General Wolseley, with his troops,
entered the blood-stained capital in the evening. Attempts were made
to negotiate with the king. He preferred to keep in hiding, and
after two days' stay in his capital in order, if possible, to compel
him to come to terms, it was at length resolved to destroy the place
and at once retire to Cape Coast Castle. Kumasi was burned to the
ground on the 6th February, and the British troops having
accomplished their purpose retraced their steps, and notwithstanding
the swollen state of the rivers--for the rainy season had just set
in--their destination was reached in twelve days. No time was lost
in getting the troops out of the influence of the deadly climate, and
accordingly by the 4th March the whole expeditionary force was
embarked for home.
Wauchope's wounds, thanks to a good constitution, readily healed, and
by the time of his arrival at Portsmouth he was fairly convalescent,
though every effort made to extract the slug had been unsuccessful.
He left his favourite Haussas--his 'black boys'--with every
manifestation of regret, at Cape Coast Castle. Nor was the regret
only on his side, for we learn from one of his brother officers that
'they looked up to him as a father, and would willingly have followed
him through any danger, even to death itself.'
{46}
[Sidenote: Home again]
For his conspicuous bravery in the various engagements in Ashanti,
Sir Garnet Wolseley's despatches brought Wauchope under the
favourable notice of the Government, and he was awarded the Ashanti
medal and clasp. On the return of the troops, they were received
with the utmost enthusiasm, commanders and men being fêted and
thanked, both at Cape Coast Castle and in England, for their
brilliant services. The expedition entered Portsmouth in March 1874,
with loud demonstrations of welcome, the Black Watch especially
coming in for a large share of popular attention.
Sir Garnet Wolseley had in London and elsewhere a repetition of the
extraordinary reception he and his followers had experienced at Cape
Coast Castle on their triumphal return from Kumasi.
A civic banquet was given in April by the Lord Mayor of London in the
Egyptian Hall, at which nearly three hundred guests sat down,
including nearly all the officers of the expedition. Among those
present were the Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur, the Duke of
Cambridge, and the Duke of Teck, besides a number of members of the
Cabinet. But although the bulk of the honours naturally fell to Sir
Garnet Wolseley and the senior officers of the expedition, and
Wauchope's name scarcely appears in these public demonstrations, his
friends in Scotland had their eye upon the young lieutenant who had
in a few short months carved out for himself a distinguished
reputation, and had added to the laurels of the house of Niddrie.
The people of Portobello specially determined to show their
appreciation of his gallant services by a public banquet, and though
at first the natural modesty of the young soldier shrank from such a
recognition of his services, after some persuasion he consented. The
{47} banquet took place on the 12th June in the Town Hall. There was
a large gathering of the principal inhabitants. Provost Wood
presided, and was supported by, among others, Sir James Gardiner
Baird, Lord Ventry, and a number of county gentry.
In proposing the toast of the evening, Provost Wood took occasion to
say:--'We are met to do honour to a soldier who volunteered to serve
on the staff of General Wolseley in the recent war. At that time it
was thought that British troops would not be required, but that the
friendly natives, commanded and disciplined by British officers,
would be able to cope with the savage Ashantis. Lieutenant Wauchope,
on his arrival at the Gold Coast, was appointed one of the officers
of the Haussas--a body of natives who proved themselves superior in
courage and endurance to any of our African allies. Commanded and
led by British officers--the chief being the gallant Lord
Gifford--these troops did much valuable service. They formed the van
of our advancing army, and were frequently engaged in the most severe
and wild fighting. Our guest, in his ardour to see active service,
had voluntarily separated himself from his own regiment. Yet he was
destined to share with them the dangers and glory of the war. The
War Office, finding that the Ashantis were more formidable than was
at first expected, and that our native allies were less to be relied
upon, resolved to send out British troops. This meeting must feel
proud, as an assemblage of Scotsmen, that the 42nd Royal Highlanders
was one of the chosen regiments, and our guest must have felt
gratified when he found he had an opportunity of fighting beside his
own regiment at Amoaful; and at that place, while leading on his
Haussas, our gallant guest was wounded. He did not, however, fall to
the rear, but continued to {48} push forward, and, along with the
glorious 42nd, he entered the now famous city of Kumasi. I need
scarcely recall the events of the campaign--how a very small British
army, with little assistance from native allies, in the course of a
few weeks beat and shattered the enormous Ashanti forces, and
compelled the hitherto unconquered Ashantis to sue for peace, and
give freedom and security to the country round. It has always been
the pride and the pleasure of the people of this country to do honour
to those who have fought and bled for their country's cause,
especially so when that cause is associated, as it was in this
instance, with the spread of civilisation and the prevention and
prohibition of slavery and cruelty. The newspaper reports showed us
that the Lothians had gallant representatives at the Ashanti war, and
the people of Portobello felt proud to see the old and honoured name
of Wauchope prominently noticed. We also felt a desire to give
expression to the sympathy and respect we entertain for the house of
Niddrie by a public demonstration in honour of a young scion of that
house, who has proved that he has within him a dauntless spirit
worthy of his ancient lineage. We desire this evening to
congratulate our guest, that a kind Providence has guarded his life,
and protected him through the imminent risks of a pestilential
climate and the dangers of a wild war; and we hope yet to see
Lieutenant Wauchope rise to that high position in the service which
his talents and abilities so eminently qualify him to fill.'
[Sidenote: Banquet at Portobello]
Lieutenant Wauchope's reply was characteristic of the man. He was
not quite so much at his ease, or felt he was in his proper place, as
if he had been at the head of his Haussas. 'He thanked the Provost
for the too flattering words in which he had referred to his
services. He had {49} not deserved such great honour at their hands.
His services as rendered to the State were poor and
insignificant--very much so indeed. But he felt himself standing on
firmer ground when he remembered that he was an officer in the 42nd
Royal Highlanders. He recognised in the entertainment a desire to
mark their appreciation of the conduct of the regiment to which he
had the honour to belong. He had no hesitation in saying that the
42nd deserved well of its country, and he thought that it had added
honour to its history.
'They were all well aware that the Ashantis had invaded our allies'
country, and had perpetrated many horrible cruelties. Our
representative on the coast sent remonstrances and threats, but these
were all in vain until backed by picked battalions. Two hundred
marines were first sent out. They landed at a most unhealthy season,
and most of them died. Sir Garnet Wolseley then arrived on the
scene, accompanied by British officers, and the result was that the
Ashantis were driven back beyond the river Prah, and within fifteen
miles of Kumasi. On the 4th February, King Koffee gave instructions
to his bodyguard that any man who ran away would have his head cut
off. But even King Koffee himself had to run before the British
bullets. He did not think that the lives that were lost, or the
money that was spent, were given in vain, because it would show those
barbarous nations that the glory of old England was not to be
trampled upon with impunity--that if people would invade our
territory and commit murders and crime, the retribution would be
terrible. The British lion took a long time to rise. He was a grand
old animal in his way; but when he did rise, the vengeance would be
speedy. He believed that the King of Ashanti bitterly regretted the
{50} day that he first invaded the British Protectorate.' He thanked
the company for the high honour they had done him, and concluded with
a few jocular remarks as to his connection with the town and
district. He could assure them, he said, that if fortune should
smile on him, and if on a future occasion he should return from some
campaign as a successful soldier, he should be disappointed if he was
not entertained by them in a similar manner. He was proud of the
district--of the county which gave him birth. He had often said to
himself that he would spend the latter days of his life in
Portobello. It might be that yet he would take the position of a
town councillor of the Burgh. He had no doubt he would make a most
excellent civil magistrate, and be a terror to evil-doers! In
afterwards replying to the toast of the House of Niddrie, Lieutenant
Wauchope referred to the long connection it had with the district,
and 'expressed the hope that as it had never brought dishonour upon
its name, it would never do so in the future. So far as in him lay,
he would always try to sustain its honour.'
It is perhaps not wise to attach too much importance to after-dinner
speeches, but there is a ring of sincerity of purpose in these last
words, which in the light of after events gives them an importance
they might not otherwise have. Wauchope lived up to his ideal
standard of a chivalrous knight, and nobly upheld the honour of his
name. What Chaucer five hundred years ago wrote of his imaginary
knight, we to-day may say of our real one:
'He nevere yit no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, unto no maner wight,
He was a verray perfight gentil knight.'
{51}
[Sidenote: Father and son]
Wauchope's father was unfortunately unable to be present on so
auspicious an occasion on account of the state of his health, but he
was much gratified by this public recognition of his son's services.
The latter, still in indifferent health, with the slug-wounds in his
chest giving him no little trouble, had, however, a long period of
rest, and was much of the time at Niddrie. His attention to his
father was very marked while at home--father and son being frequently
seen arm in arm walking through the grounds.
{52}