and it was ascertained that he had sent a present of one hundred
thousand rupees to the government of _Chandernagore_, then in
possession of the French; and that Nuncomar, the governor of
Hoogly, had received instructions to assist the French in case they
should be attacked by the British.
Lieut.-Colonel Clive then resolved upon placing Meer Jaffier,
one of the distinguished chieftains in Bengal, on the musnud,
or government-seat, and of deposing the Nabob Surajee Dowlah,
the former having engaged, in the event of his being elevated
to the viceroyship, to aid in expelling the French from Bengal.
Accordingly, _Chandernagore_, on the Hoogly, sixteen miles above
Calcutta, was invested by Lieut.-Colonel Clive on the 14th of
March, and, after a gallant defence, the place surrendered on the
24th of that month. A part of the garrison escaped, and joined the
Nabob’s army.
Lieut.-Colonel Clive marched into Chandernagore with the King’s
troops, on the following day. Admiral Watson, in his despatch of
the 31st of March, 1757, stated that “all the officers and men
behaved with great spirit and resolution on this occasion; as did
also the _Land Forces_, who kept up a good and constant fire the
whole time from two batteries and two guns which they had raised
very near the fort.”
Meer Jaffier having signed the treaty with Admiral Watson,
Lieut.-Colonel Clive, and the other counsellors, it was determined
to commence operations. On the 12th of June, the troops which
were at Calcutta, with one hundred and fifty seamen from the
squadron, proceeded to join the army quartered at Chandernagore.
The necessary preparations having been made, the army marched from
Chandernagore on the following day, leaving a hundred seamen to
garrison the fort, so that every soldier might serve in the field.
The British army arrived and halted on the 16th of June at Patlee,
a town on the western shore of the Cossimbuzar river. Twelve miles
above Patlee was situated the Fort of Cutwah, which commanded
the passage of the river. Captain Coote was detached on the 17th
against Cutwah, which was taken two days afterwards.
The main body of the army arrived at Cutwah in the evening, and
encamped on the plain. The rainy season commenced on the following
day with such violence that the troops were compelled to strike
their tents, and shelter themselves in the houses of the town.
The co-operation of Meer Jaffier appearing doubtful at this period,
made Lieut.-Colonel Clive hesitate as to crossing into the island
of Cossimbuzar, and at all risks attack the Nabob Surajee Dowlah.
A council of war consisting of sixteen officers was summoned; and
contrary to the usual practice of taking the voice of the youngest
officer first, and ascending from this to that of the president,
Lieut.-Colonel Clive at once declared for remaining at Cutwah, and
to continue there during the rainy season. Eight other officers
were of the same opinion, and only seven voted for immediate
action. Captain Eyre Coote, of the THIRTY-NINTH, was one of the
latter, and argued, “that the soldiers were at present confident of
success, and that a stop so near the enemy would naturally quell
this ardour, which it would be difficult to restore; that the
arrival of the French troops with Mr. Law would add strength to the
Nabob’s force and vigour to his councils; that they would surround
the English army, and cut off its communication with Calcutta,
when distresses, not yet foreseen, might ruin it as effectually as
the loss of a battle. He therefore advised that they should either
advance and at once decide the contest, or immediately return to
Calcutta.”
Lieut.-Colonel Clive’s anxieties were not alleviated by the
sanction of the majority. He retired into the adjoining grove,
and remained for nearly an hour in deep meditation; the result
was that he determined to act on the opinion of Captain Coote and
the minority, by giving orders for the passage of the river of
Cossimbuzar, a branch of the Ganges.
At sunrise on the 22nd of June, the British troops commenced to
pass the river, and all were landed on the opposite shore by four
in the afternoon. After a march of fifteen miles they arrived at
one o’clock on the following morning at _Plassey_, and immediately
occupied the adjoining grove. The guards being stationed, the
remainder of the wearied soldiers were allowed a short interval
of repose, which was broke at daybreak, when the Nabob’s hosts
issued from their entrenched camp, amounting to about fifteen
thousand cavalry, thirty-five thousand infantry, and upwards of
forty pieces of cannon.[11] This was a fearful disparity of numbers
when contrasted with the small army under Lieut.-Colonel Clive,
which consisted of two thousand one hundred Sepoys, one hundred
Topasses[12], one hundred Malabar Portuguese, six hundred and
fifty European infantry, and one hundred and fifty artillerymen,
including fifty seamen, together with eight six-pounders and one
howitzer.
The Nabob commenced the attack by six o’clock, and his numerous
artillery kept up a heavy cannonade for some hours, which was
warmly responded to by the British. Lieut.-Colonel Clive sheltered
his troops in the adjacent grove; and they were ordered to sit
down, while the field-pieces alone answered the enemy’s cannon from
behind the bank. At eleven o’clock Lieut.-Colonel Clive consulted
his officers at the drumhead, when it was resolved to maintain the
cannonade during the day, and at midnight to attack the enemy. At
noon a heavy shower of rain covered the plain, and damaged the
enemy’s powder to such on extent that his fire slackened, but the
British ammunition remained serviceable.
A crisis had arrived, and Lieut.-Colonel Clive, no longer acting on
the defensive, became the assailant. Seizing the opportunity, he
advanced, and obtained possession of a tank, and two other posts
of consequence, which the enemy vainly attempted to recover. A
successful attack was then made upon the eminence and angle of the
Nabob’s camp, defended by forty French soldiers (the men who had
escaped from the garrison of Chandernagore), and their two pieces
of cannon were captured. This was followed by a general rout, and
the discomfited enemy was pursued for six miles: upwards of forty
pieces of cannon, abandoned by the fugitives, fell into the hands
of the victors.
In this astonishing victory, which laid the foundation of the
British dominion in Bengal, five hundred of the enemy were killed,
while the army under Lieut.-Colonel Clive sustained a loss of only
twenty-two killed and fifty wounded.
It appears from a manuscript journal kept by Captain Eyre Coote,
now in the library of the Honourable East India Company, that the
following officers of the THIRTY-NINTH were present in the battle
of _Plassey_: namely, Captains Archibald Grant, and Eyre Coote;
Lieutenant John Corneille; and Ensigns Joseph Adnett, and Martin
Yorke.
The motto “_Primus in Indis_,” and the word “_Plassey_,” borne
by royal authority on the regimental colour and appointments of
the THIRTY-NINTH, are proud memorials of its having been the
first King’s regiment which served in India, and of the gallantry
displayed in this battle.[13]
Lieut.-Colonel Clive, accompanied by a guard of two hundred
Europeans, and three hundred Sepoys, entered the city of
Moorshedabad on the 29th of June, and saluted Meer Jaffier as
Nabob, who received the usual homage from the people as Soubah of
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. Surajee was subsequently taken prisoner,
and fell a victim to the dagger of the son of Meer Jaffier.
Mr. Law, who was the French chief at Cossimbuzar, had collected
nearly two hundred French European troops, and was proceeding
to the assistance of the late Nabob;--when within a few hours’
march of him, he was taken prisoner, and Mr. Law, receiving that
intelligence, advanced no further. Lieut.-Colonel Clive thereupon
detached a party in pursuit under the command of Captain Coote,
of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment, consisting of two hundred Europeans
and five hundred Sepoys, who were to be joined by two thousand
of Meer Jaffier’s cavalry. After long and harassing marches, in
which the troops suffered much fatigue, Captain Coote received
orders to return, and arrived at Moorshedabad in September, when
his detachment was subsequently stationed in the factory at
Cossimbuzar. The rest of the troops, which had served at Plassey,
proceeded to Chandernagore, that station being considered more
healthy than Calcutta.
While the portion of the THIRTY-NINTH had been thus engaged in
Bengal, the remainder of the regiment left at Madras had not been
unemployed. An expedition having been determined upon against
_Nelloure_, Major Francis Forde, of the THIRTY-NINTH, was selected
to command the force selected for that service, which consisted of
one hundred Europeans, fifty-six Caffres, and three hundred Sepoys.
He effected a junction with the army of the Nabob of Arcot, or
of the Carnatic, at Serapely on the 25th of April 1757. Two days
afterwards the troops encamped before _Nelloure_. A practicable
breach having been made, at sunrise on the 5th of May the assault
was commenced; but in consequence of the Sepoys being seized with
a panic, the attack was not successful. The troops subsequently
returned towards Serapely, where Major Forde received express
orders to return to Madras, in order to prevent the designs of the
French on _Trichinopoly_.
In consequence of the danger to which _Trichinopoly_ was exposed,
Colonel Adlercron marched from Madras on the 26th of May with three
hundred Europeans, being the whole of the THIRTY-NINTH at that
station, together with five hundred Sepoys, thirty of the King’s
artillery, and four field-pieces. Intelligence having been received
of the relief of Trichinopoly by Captain Caillaud, who had been
selected to command the expedition against Madura[14], Colonel
Adlercron was directed to invest the fortress of _Wandewash_, and
accordingly marched towards that place on the 5th of June. On the
following day he entered the town; but before the heavy cannon
could arrive, the greater part of the French army from Trichinopoly
reached Pondicherry, and marched to the relief of Wandewash, upon
which Colonel Adlercron withdrew from the town, and encamped a
few miles off. Several marches and countermarches were afterwards
made, but no general engagement took place, and it being seen that
nothing but the certainty of advantage would bring the enemy from
his entrenched camp to action, the troops marched for Conjeveram
on the 26th of July, at which place they arrived on the 28th of
that month, where five hundred Europeans and fifteen hundred Sepoys
remained in cantonments under the command of Major Francis Forde,
of the THIRTY-NINTH, and the rest of the troops returned to the
garrisons and stations from whence they had been drawn.
Shortly afterwards orders were received from England recalling the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment, when most of the men, and certain of the
officers, entered the East India Company’s service.
[Sidenote: 1758.]
The regiment remained in India until the end of the year 1758,
when it returned to Ireland, on the western coast of which it was
wrecked.
[Sidenote: 1759.]
After remaining in Ireland some time, and being recruited to
its establishment, the regiment was greatly reduced by a large
detachment sent to Germany to join the British troops serving under
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. No record has been preserved by the
regiment of the services of this detachment, and the research made
to supply the deficiency has not been attended with success.
[Sidenote: 1763.]
The Seven Years’ War, which had commenced in 1756, while the
regiment was serving in India, was terminated by the peace
concluded at Paris in February 1763.
[Sidenote: 1766.]
Colonel Robert Boyd was appointed from the First foot guards to the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 6th of August 1766,
in succession to Lieut.-General Adlercron, deceased.
[Sidenote: 1767.]
During the years 1766, 1767, and 1768, the regiment continued to be
stationed in Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1769.]
In the year 1769 the THIRTY-NINTH again proceeded to Gibraltar; and
while serving in that garrison, events transpired which enabled the
regiment to acquire additional honor.
[Sidenote: 1779.]
The possession of this fortress by the English had been regarded
by the Spaniards with great jealousy, but every effort for its
recovery had signally failed. The contest between the colonists
in North America and Great Britain, seemed to offer the Spanish
monarch a favourable opportunity for regaining possession of
Gibraltar. The French monarch, in the previous year, had concluded
a treaty of defensive alliance with the American colonies,
which involved Great Britain in a war with France. The Court of
Versailles subsequently engaged that of Madrid to take a part in
the contest, and on the 16th of June 1779 the Spanish ambassador
presented a manifesto at St. James’s, equivalent to a declaration
of war, and immediately departed from London; and shortly
afterwards the siege of Gibraltar was commenced by the Spaniards,
the anticipated reduction of that important fortress being one of
the principal objects which induced Spain to become a party in the
contest.
Gibraltar was accordingly beset, by sea and land, by the Spanish
fleets and armies. The following return shows the strength of the
garrison at the commencement of the blockade on the 21st of June
1779:--
British. Officers. Men.
Royal Artillery 25 460
Royal Engineers 8 114[15]
12th foot 29 570
39th ” 29 557
56th ” 27 560
58th ” 28 577
72nd ” (Royal Manchester
Volunteers), disbanded in
1783 33 1013
---- ---- 4030
Hanoverian.
Hardenberg’s regiment 29 423
Reden’s ” 27 417
De La Motte’s ” 33 423
---- ---- 1352
Total ---- 5382
The THIRTY-NINTH regiment was commanded by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel
William Kellett, major of the corps, and the garrison, mustering
five thousand three hundred and eighty-two men, was under the
orders of General the Right Hon. George Augustus Eliott, afterwards
Lord Heathfield. Being thus blockaded by sea and besieged by
land, the troops at Gibraltar became cut off from communication
with other countries, and the garrison appeared a little world
within itself.[16] The arrangements for the defence were devised
with judgment, and executed with skill. The soldiers cheerfully
conformed to the strict rules which their circumstances rendered
necessary, and severe exercise and short diet became habitual to
them; at the same time the great importance of the place, and the
determined character of General Eliott and his garrison, occasioned
this siege to be regarded with universal interest by the several
nations of Europe.
The following officers of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment were
appointed to the staff at Gibraltar: Captain James Horsburgh,
from town-major, to be adjutant-general; Captain William Wilson
and Lieutenant Richard Henry Buckeridge, to be aides-de-camp to
Lieut.-General Robert Boyd, Colonel of the THIRTY-NINTH, and
Lieut.-Governor of Gibraltar.
On the 20th of August the marksmen of the garrison were embodied
into a company of two non-commissioned officers and sixty-four men,
and the command was given to Lieutenant Charles Burleigh of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment.
As the enemy’s works progressed, the pavement of the streets was
taken up, the towers of conspicuous buildings were pulled down, the
guard-houses unroofed, the stone sentry-boxes removed, traverses
raised, a covered way commenced, and every measure adopted to
lessen the effects of a bombardment.
In Colonel Drinkwater’s Work on the siege of Gibraltar, from which
the particulars relating to the THIRTY-NINTH, in connection with
that event, have been chiefly collected, is given the following
account of an experiment recommended by Captain John Mercier of
the regiment; “namely, to fire out of guns 5½ inch shells, with
short fuses, which were tried on the 25th of September, and found
to answer extremely well. These small shells, according to Captain
Mercier’s method, were thrown with such precision, and the fuses
cut by calculation with such exactness, that the shell often
burst over their heads, and wounded them before they could get
under cover. This mode of annoyance was eligible on several other
accounts: less powder was used, and the enemy were more seriously
molested. The former was an advantage of no small consequence,
since it enabled the Governor to reserve, at this period, what
might be probably expended to the greater benefit of the service
on a future occasion. It will also account for the extraordinary
number of shells which were discharged from the garrison.”
[Sidenote: 1780.]
Early in 1780 provisions became short, and the soldiers willingly
submitted to privation; but soon afterwards the garrison was
relieved by a fleet from England: the wants of the troops were,
however, not supplied in many important articles.
[Sidenote: 1781.]
The Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and sent nine fire-ships
into the harbour, but failed in their attempt to destroy the
shipping. Provisions again became deficient: vegetables were
cultivated on the rock with partial success: a precarious supply of
several articles was obtained from the Moors, and in April 1781 the
garrison was again relieved.
The siege was continued, and a severe bombardment reduced a great
portion of the town to a heap of ruins.
The efforts of the enemy were deliberately watched by the Governor,
General Eliott, who kept his garrison close within the fortress
until a favourable opportunity occurred for a sally, and on the
evening of the 26th of November the following garrison order was
issued:--
“COUNTERSIGN, STEADY.--All the grenadiers and light infantry in
the garrison, and all the men of the Twelfth and Hardenberg’s
regiments, with the officers and non-commissioned officers on
duty, to be immediately relieved and join their regiments; to
form a detachment, consisting of the Twelfth and Hardenberg’s
regiments complete; the grenadiers and light infantry of all
the other regiments[17]; one captain, three lieutenants, ten
non-commissioned officers, and a hundred artillery; three
engineers, seven officers, ten non-commissioned officers,
overseers, with a hundred and sixty workmen from the line,
and forty workmen from the artificer corps; each man to have
thirty-six rounds of ammunition, with a good flint in his
piece, and another in his pocket; the whole to be commanded by
Brigadier-General Ross, and to assemble on the red sands, at
twelve o’clock this night, to make a _sortie_ upon the enemy’s
batteries. The THIRTY-NINTH and Fifty-eighth regiments to parade
at the same hour, on the Grand Parade, under the command of
Brigadier-General Picton, to sustain the _sortie_, if necessary.”
At midnight the soldiers assembled for this enterprise; the moon
at first shining brightly on the sands, but between two and three
o’clock darkness overspread the place, and the troops silently
issued from the fortress. They were challenged and fired upon by
the enemy’s sentries, but the British soldiers rushed forward,
overpowered the Spanish guards, and captured the batteries in
gallant style: the defenders of the works fled in dismay, and
communicated the panic to the troops in their rear. The wooden
batteries were soon prepared for ignition; the flames spread
with astonishing rapidity, and a column of fire and smoke arose
from the works, illuminating the surrounding objects and casting
a lurid glare upon this unparalleled scene, of which words fail
to give an adequate description. In an hour the object of the
_sortie_ was effected: the Spaniards, being dismayed, did not
venture to interrupt the work; trains were laid to the enemy’s
magazines, and the soldiers withdrew. As they entered the fortress,
tremendous explosions shook the ground, and rising columns of
smoke, flame, and burning timber, proclaimed the destruction of
the enemy’s immense stores of gunpowder to be completed. General
Eliott declared in orders:--“The bearing and conduct of the whole
detachment--officers, seamen, and soldiers--on this glorious
occasion, surpass my utmost acknowledgments.”
For some days the Spaniards appeared confounded at their disgrace:
the smoke of the burning batteries continued to rise, and no
attempt was made to extinguish the flames; but several executions
took place in their camp, probably of persons who fled so
precipitately from the batteries. In the beginning of December
they began to arouse themselves, and a thousand workmen commenced
labouring to restore the batteries, in which they were retarded by
the fire of the garrison. The gallant defenders of the fortress
were equally indefatigable: every serjeant, drummer, musician,
officer’s servant, and private soldier was required to use the
musket, shovel, and pickaxe, as his services became necessary.
The Spaniards, by their heavy fire on the fortress, had already
spoiled three sets of guns; but the Court of Madrid appeared
determined to obtain possession of Gibraltar. An immense collection
of ordnance of larger calibre was provided, several batteries
were prepared, and the Duke of Crillon assumed the command of the
besieging army. He was assisted by a celebrated French engineer,
Monsieur d’Arcon, and by Admiral Moreno: a French army likewise
arrived to take part in the siege. At the same time stupendous
preparations were made on a new principle, and floating batteries
were constructed with great art and labour, which were reckoned the
most perfect contrivance of the kind ever seen.
[Sidenote: 1782.]
A crisis was evidently approaching, and in the spring and summer
of 1782, the garrison of Gibraltar made preparations with calm
determination for the hour of trial: both officers and men were
fully impressed with the importance of the fortress confided to
their care, and their successful resistance against the efforts
of the Spanish army and navy for upwards of two years, inspired
them, if possible, to greater exertions. All the damaged works were
carefully repaired, new ones were constructed, vast subterraneous
works were made, and forges for heating red-hot shot were
prepared.[18] The effect of the red-hot shot was proved on some
of the enemy’s wooden batteries on the sands, which were speedily
destroyed.
Princes of the royal blood of France, the Spanish nobility, and
other celebrated characters of Europe, visited the camp of the
Duke of Crillon, who naturally anticipated the most signal success
from his extensive preparations. The new batteries on shore were
unmasked, and fired a volley of sixty shells, which was succeeded
by the thunder of one hundred and seventy guns of large calibre.
Gibraltar was thus assailed by a storm of iron, which threatened to
reduce the place to a heap of ruins; and this was only a prelude to
the tremendous fire which was afterwards opened upon the garrison.