RECOLLECTIONS
OF
A MILITARY LIFE
[Illustration: HEAD QUARTERS, CRIMEA. WINTER OF 1854
_Farm House, in which Lord Raglan died_]
RECOLLECTIONS
OF
A MILITARY LIFE
BY
GENERAL SIR JOHN ADYE, G.C.B., R.A.
LONDON
SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE
1895
_All rights reserved_
INTRODUCTION
Having served for many years in the Royal Artillery, and taken part in
some of the campaigns in which the British army has been engaged during
my period of service, I am in hopes that my recollections may be of
some interest, and my views on military subjects worthy of record; and
I therefore publish them, dedicating my book to the Officers and Men of
the Regiment amongst whom I have passed my career.
1895.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. DAYS OF PEACE 1
II. COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMEAN WAR--INTERVIEW WITH
NAPOLEON III. AT PARIS 10
III. BATTLE OF ALMA 23
IV. THE FLANK MARCH 34
V. BATTLE OF BALACLAVA 44
VI. BATTLE OF INKERMAN 55
VII. THE WINTER OF 1854 66
VIII. BOMBARDMENT OF APRIL, 1855 78
IX. CAPTURE OF THE MAMELON AND QUARRIES--INTERVIEW
WITH GENERAL PÉLISSIER 87
X. BATTLE OF JUNE 18, AND DEATH OF LORD RAGLAN 96
XI. BATTLE OF CHERNAYA AND THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL 106
XII. THE INDIAN MUTINY 121
XIII. THE BATTLES AT CAWNPORE 129
XIV. CAUSES OF THE MUTINY, AND POLICY OF LORD CANNING 147
XV. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY 171
XVI. RETURN TO BENGAL--AMALGAMATION OF THE ARTILLERY
REGIMENTS 180
XVII. FRONTIER CAMPAIGN IN THE AFGHAN MOUNTAINS--ITS
ORIGIN--POLITICAL AND MILITARY DIFFICULTIES 185
XVIII. HARD FIGHTING IN THE MOUNTAINS 195
XIX. POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS--END OF THE WAR 205
XX. VISIT TO PESHAWUR--SIR HUGH ROSE RETURNS TO
ENGLAND--SIR WILLIAM MANSFIELD APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 221
XXI. THE WAR IN BOOTAN 230
XXII. FAREWELL TO INDIA--RETURN TO REGIMENTAL DUTY
AT WOOLWICH--APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF ARTILLERY--WAR
OFFICE ORGANISATION 239
XXIII. SHORT SERVICE AND RESERVE 254
XXIV. LOCALISATION AND COUNTY REGIMENTS--INTERVIEW
WITH NAPOLEON III. 265
XXV. VISIT TO THE CRIMEA WITH CHARLES GORDON, 1872--REPORT
ON THE CEMETERIES 273
XXVI. RIFLED ORDNANCE AND NAVAL AND MILITARY RESERVES--APPOINTED
GOVERNOR, ROYAL MILITARY
ACADEMY--THE BRITISH ARMY IN 1875 284
XXVII. CENTRAL ASIA AND THE AFGHAN WAR OF 1878-79 300
XXVIII. APPOINTED SURVEYOR GENERAL OF THE ORDNANCE--PRINCIPLES
OF ARMY PROMOTION--EGYPTIAN WAR
OF 1882 322
XXIX. GIBRALTAR--ITS VALUE FROM A NAVAL AND COMMERCIAL
POINT OF VIEW--ZOBEHR PASHA A STATE
PRISONER--SANITARY CONDITION OF GIBRALTAR 359
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
HEAD QUARTERS, CRIMEA, WINTER OF 1854. FARM
HOUSE IN WHICH LORD RAGLAN DIED _Frontispiece_
BATTLE OF ALMA, SEPTEMBER 20, 1854 _To face p._ 28
BALACLAVA. SCENE OF LIGHT CAVALRY CHARGE, OCTOBER
25, 1854 " 46
THE GARRISON OF LUCKNOW RETURNING TO CAWNPORE,
NOVEMBER 1857 " 143
GOING TO THE WAR. CROSSING THE INDUS AT ATTOCK,
NOVEMBER 1863 " 207
AFGHAN FRONTIER CAMPAIGN. STORMING THE CONICAL
PEAK, DECEMBER 1863 " 213
SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE TOUR IN BOOTAN, JANUARY
1866 " 234
WAR IN BOOTAN, 1866. OUTPOST IN VALLEY OF THE
CHIN-CHU " 238
RUINS OF THE TUILERIES, NOVEMBER 1872.
LIBERTÉ--EGALITÉ--FRATERNITÉ " 282
EVE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR. ENCAMPMENT OF BRITISH
ARMY AT KASSASSIN LOCK " 346
GIBRALTAR FROM QUEEN OF SPAIN'S CHAIR " 361
ZOBEHR PASHA " 373
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
PAGE
DIAGRAM OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH ARMIES 20
FORMATION OF LIGHT BRIGADE UNDER THE EARL OF CARDIGAN 48
PLAN OF CAWNPORE, TO ILLUSTRATE BATTLE OF NOVEMBER 27,
1857 136
DUTCH MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION 175
SKETCH MAP OF NORTH-WEST FRONTIER 186
COPY OF SKETCH BY NAPOLEON III. 269
SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR 345
VISITING CARD OF ARABI PASHA FOUND AT TEL-EL-KEBIR 356
ARMS OF GIBRALTAR 359
MAPS
BATTLE OF ALMA _To face p._ 25
SKETCH SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE ALLIED
ARMIES BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, OCTOBER 1854 " 39
SKETCH TO ILLUSTRATE THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN " 52
RECOLLECTIONS
OF
A MILITARY LIFE
CHAPTER I
DAYS OF PEACE
'Wakening the echoes of joys long fled.'
In recording personal recollections of the varied scenes and events
in which, during a long military service, it has been my lot to take
part, it is scarcely necessary to enter into family details, and I will
therefore merely state that my grandfather, Stephen Payne Adye, entered
the Royal Artillery in 1762, and served in the war in Germany and in
America; and since that date various members of the family have served
in uninterrupted succession in the regiment down to the present day.
Of his four sons, three became officers of artillery. The eldest,
Ralph Willett Adye, was the author of the 'Pocket Gunner,' which was
a standard book of reference for many years. He died at Gibraltar in
1804, and his monument still exists there, in the so-called Trafalgar
Cemetery.
The second son, Stephen Gallwey Adye, saw much active service. He was
with Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt in 1801, and was slightly wounded
in action near Alexandria. He was also at Walcheren in 1809, at Cadiz
in 1813, and at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. He died a Major General and
Superintendent of the Laboratory, Woolwich Arsenal, in 1838.
The third son, John Miller Adye, was an officer in the Royal Navy. He
served as a Lieutenant in Lord Nelson's flagship, the 'Vanguard,' at
the battle of the Nile, and was wounded. In 1815 he was in command of
the 'Partridge' corvette cruising off the Island of Elba, and conveyed
Sir Neil Campbell (who was British Commissioner there) to Leghorn in
February. Sir Neil, having received information that Napoleon intended
to escape, returned hastily to Elba, but owing to light winds was
delayed, and only arrived on the morning of February 28th to find that
Napoleon had left on the night of the 26th. The 'Partridge' went in
pursuit towards the Antibes, but, it being uncertain to what part of
the coast he had sailed, failed to overtake him.[1]
The fourth son, James Pattison Adye (my father), was also in the
Artillery, and was present at Copenhagen in 1806, and served for
several years in the Mediterranean.
In 1834 I received a nomination to a cadetship at the Royal Military
Academy Woolwich from the Master General of the Ordnance, Sir James
Kempt, and went up for examination in February, at the age of fourteen.
There was no competition fortunately in those days, and the whole
affair, including medical examination, only lasted an hour and a half,
and I was reported as having passed very satisfactorily. My career at
the Academy was a happy one. I was treated with much kindness, and
experienced none of the bullying or ill-usage which was supposed to
exist. An amusing incident occurred soon after I joined. Each room
contained four cadets, the head of my room being the late General
William Gardner, R.A. He was at that time about twenty-one years of
age, and having quarrelled with another cadet, who was a good fighter
with his fists, a meeting was arranged in the Racket Court. Gardner,
however, said that a pugilistic encounter was very well for boys, but
as a man he claimed to fight with pistols.
This gave a more serious turn to the matter, and I, as junior of
the room, was ordered to prepare the bullets for the duel, and well
remember remaining up late at night, melting lead in the fire shovel,
and pouring it into bullet moulds. These serious preparations led to
some arrangement, and the affair never came off.
Colonel Parker was at that time Captain of the Cadets, and Wilford one
of the subalterns. Parker, a fine old soldier, had lost his leg at
Waterloo and wore a wooden one. He was nicknamed Peg Parker.
One Sunday afternoon the cadets were being marched to church across
the 'barrack field' at Woolwich, Parker as usual riding in front on a
small white pony. All at once Wilford ran up to him and said, 'Beg your
pardon, sir, but you have lost your leg!' and sure enough, on looking
down, Parker saw that his wooden one was missing. It had tumbled off.
Wilford, however, who had picked it up, screwed it on again, and the
march was resumed.
In December 1836, after nearly three years' residence, I received my
commission as a second lieutenant. I was head of the Academy, and just
seventeen. The late Sir Frederic Campbell was second, and we both
selected the Royal Artillery.
In the spring of 1837 I attended a levee of William IV., and, to my
surprise, on hearing my name he kindly spoke to me and asked what
relation I was to General Adye. The current story was that the king
asked me what relation I was to my uncle, and that in my confusion I
replied grandson; but this is apocryphal.
Speaking of William IV. reminds me of a story about him which I believe
is well founded. Soon after becoming king he one day visited Woolwich,
and after inspecting the Artillery, &c., inquired who was Commanding
Officer of the Marines, and was told it was Sir John McCleverty. The
king said that Sir John was an old friend and comrade of his, and went
off at once to call on him at the Barracks. He expressed great pleasure
at seeing his old companion, and asked if he could do anything for him,
adding, 'You know I am a king now, and can do what I like.' Old Sir
John McCleverty replied: 'Yes, your Majesty, you can do something for
me. My son not long ago was a lieutenant on board a man-of-war, and in
the Channel one night in a thick fog, when he was on watch, they came
into collision with another ship, and the Admiralty have in consequence
tried him by Court Martial, cancelled his commission, and have nearly
broken my heart, for he is an excellent officer.' The king promised
that he should be restored, was as good as his word, and the son rose
afterwards to some distinction, commanding the 'Terrible' in the Black
Sea during the Crimean war.
As the earlier years of my service were passed during a period of
peace, they call for little remark. Towards the end of 1840 I embarked
at Woolwich with my company for Malta in an old sailing transport, the
'Numa Pompilius,' and, owing chiefly to bad weather in the bay, the
voyage occupied no less than two months. We sailed into Malta on the
same morning that the British fleet under Sir Robert Stopford arrived
from the capture of Acre.
In 1843, having returned home, I was appointed Adjutant of the
Artillery in Dublin, and was present when Daniel O'Connell was put into
prison in Richmond Bridewell, and made a sketch of the building, which
was published in the 'Illustrated London News.' I also witnessed the
great procession through the streets of Dublin when O'Connell and the
other prisoners were released.
In 1845 I was appointed to C Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, at Woolwich.
There were three troops there, each consisting of two guns, a waggon,
and forty horses. They were all commanded by officers who had been
present at Waterloo thirty years before--Fox Strangways, Frank Warde,
and Ingilby; but only one of them (Strangways) was even a Brevet Major,
and they were all between fifty and sixty years of age. Those were days
of slow promotion.
On one occasion Major Chalmers, R.A., had an interview with William
IV., who incidentally asked him how long he had been a Captain of
Artillery. 'Twenty-three years, your Majesty,' replied Chalmers. The
king hastily said, 'I didn't ask you how long it was since you were
born, but how long you had been a captain.' 'Well, your Majesty,' says
Chalmers, 'I am very sorry, but I have been twenty-three years in
that rank.' The king, who apparently could hardly believe it, laughed
and said, 'And a very fine position, too.' 'Oh yes,' said Chalmers,
'undoubtedly so.'
In the spring of 1848 I was in command of an artillery detachment in
the Tower of London. There was at that time much anxiety about the
Chartists, and as to the result of a meeting under Fergus O'Connor
which took place on Kennington Common on April 10. The walls of the
Tower and the top of the Bank and the Mansion House were to some extent
prepared for defence, and sandbags were placed to form loop-holes
for musketry, an attack by the mob being apprehended. The Lord Mayor
applied for some hand-grenades to be thrown from the Mansion House in
case of need, and I sent him a boxful in a cab, at the same time giving
a hint that in using them he should not hold them too long in his hand,
as they might explode prematurely. This caused a little uneasiness, and
subsequently a bombardier was ordered to give him instructions as to
throwing them.
The clerks in the Ordnance Department at the Tower were sworn in as
special constables, and were served out with batons cut out of old
mop-sticks. On the morning of April 10 Sir George Cathcart, then
Lieutenant of the Tower, sent for me. He had three large canvas frames
in his drawing-room, and on them was painted in great letters: 'The
Tower guns are loaded to the muzzle. If you attempt to enter, they
will be fired!' He said his intention was, when the expected mob came,
to hang them (the frames, not the mob) over the walls, with a bit of
string. I ventured to point out that, if loaded as stated, the guns,
which were old cast-iron carronades, would infallibly burst, but he
replied that it was only to frighten the people, who would probably run
away. We waited all day, but no crowd ever came near the Tower, and the
whole affair collapsed.
It is often said that extravagance prevails amongst the officers in
some regiments of the army, and there is probably a good deal of truth
in the remark. But at all events in the earlier days of my service
real economy prevailed in the Artillery, as is proved by the following
facsimile copy of my mess-bill in Dublin in May 1850, now in my
possession.
_May 1850_
£ _s._ _d._
Share of Mess Guest 2-1/2
To Ale 4
2 Cigars 10
Luncheon 2 0
Share of H.R.H. Prince George's Luncheon 6-1/2
3 Breakfasts 3 9
1 Cigar 5
2 Cigars 10
Luncheon and Soda Water 1 11
19 Dinners 1 18 0
--------------
2 8 10
--------------
Entertaining royalty for 6-1/2_d._ can hardly be considered
extravagant.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: _Napoleon at Elba_, Sir Neil Campbell.]