K.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh to
that of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment, on the 4th of March 1833, in
consequence of the decease of Lieut.-General Sir George Airey,
K.C.H.
Cholera broke out among the European troops at Bangalore about the
22nd of March 1833; and in the course of fire weeks the regiment
lost Captain Thomas Meyrick, four serjeants, forty-two rank and
file, two women, and eleven children. Captain Meyrick had served
twenty-two years in the THIRTY-NINTH, fourteen of which he had been
adjutant of the regiment.
In consequence of Lieut.-Colonel M^cPherson proceeding to England
on the 15th of December 1833, on two years’ leave of absence, Major
Poole became the commanding officer of the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1834.]
Early in 1834, the regiment was called upon to take part in
active field operations against the Rajah of Coorg. This prince,
a dependent ally of the British, had for some time excited the
attention of the government by a series of cruelties and oppression
towards his subjects, and had made open preparations to resist its
authority. Confiding in the natural difficulties of his country,
he presumed to defy the arm of British power, and encouraged
proclaimed rebels to take refuge in his jungles and mountains; he
finally reached the climax of misconduct, by the outrageous act of
arresting an accredited envoy from the government, who had been
sent to endeavour to re-establish amicable relations.
A field force, consisting of upwards of seven thousand men, was
formed and divided into four columns; the command of the whole
was assigned to Colonel Patrick Lindesay, C.B., who received the
temporary rank of Brigadier, and Captain John Douglas Forbes, of
the THIRTY-NINTH, was appointed deputy assistant adjutant-general
of the force.
The regiment was directed to furnish four hundred rank and file
to form the European force of the Eastern Column; and on the 17th
of March, the following detail, under the command of Major Thomas
Poole, marched from Bangalore in light service order:--
Field Offr. Captns. Subs. Staff. Serjts. Drms. Rk. & File
1 6 12 1 25 6 400
The column rendezvoused at Periapatam, within a few miles of the
hostile country, where final arrangements were made for the attack.
It having been decided that the column should move on two points,
it was divided into two divisions, and a part of the regiment
attached to each. On the 1st of April, the head-quarters,
consisting of four companies, with the part of the column under
the personal direction of the Brigadier, marched for Bedalapoor;
and Major Poole was nominated to the command of the Infantry
Brigade, while Captain Horatio Walpole succeeded to the charge
of that portion of the regiment. Captain Smyth, with the other
three companies of the regiment, remained with the division under
Lieut.-Colonel Stewart, of the East India Company’s service.
On the 2nd of April, the Cavery was crossed, and the Coorg country
entered by both divisions; the opposition made by the enemy was
trifling, and the casualties in the regiment were very few. Captain
Smyth and one serjeant were wounded.
On the following day the troops advanced, and succeeded in carrying
all the barriers and positions opposed to them; one private was
wounded at the stockade, near Harringharry.
The difficulties of the country, both natural and artificial,
became excessive, and demanded, as they received, the very utmost
exertions of the troops to bring forward the artillery. In one
day’s march of continued labour, for upwards of fourteen hours, a
distance was gained of only five miles.
On the evening of the 4th, a flag of truce arrived from the rajah,
proposing that the troops should halt until he could conclude
a negotiation, into which he proposed entering. The Brigadier
received the flag, and consented to a truce so far as regarded
actual hostilities, provided the enemy refrained from them; but he
signified his determination to advance until the rajah surrendered
himself an unconditional prisoner.
No further opposition was experienced, and the increasing strength
of the stockades and positions, rendered it evident that, if
adequately defended, they could only have been carried at an
enormous sacrifice. The head-quarter division reached Mercara, the
capital, on the 6th; and the British ensign displayed on the walls
of its fort, speedily announced the addition which the force had
made to British power. The rajah, who had retreated to a country
palace, surrendered his person on the 10th of April, and the war
was considered at an end.
The conduct of the regiment had throughout this short campaign met
with the unqualified praise and approval of the Brigadier, who
concluded one of his despatches by saying:--
“It remains, therefore, for me only to bring to the notice
of His Excellency the excellent conduct of that part of the
Eastern Column which has been acting under my orders. To Major
Poole of His Majesty’s THIRTY-NINTH regiment, whom I placed in
immediate command of the Infantry Brigade, I have been indebted
for the most zealous and able assistance; and I do but justice
in reporting that the officers and soldiers, of every rank and
degree, have under all circumstances, and in all respects,
merited my most perfect approbation.”
The following is an extract from the despatch of Lieut.-Colonel
Stewart, commanding the second division of the Eastern Column:--
“The detachment of His Majesty’s THIRTY-NINTH regiment surmounted
all difficulties with the characteristic behaviour of British
soldiers.”
On the 11th of April, the three companies with Captain Smyth, who
had been latterly employed in opening the communications, rejoined,
and the regiment remained in camp at Mercara until the 11th of May,
when, in consequence of an order for the reduction of the force, it
marched for Bangalore, and arrived there on the 28th of May.
The casualties by war have already been shown to be trifling; those
by sickness, notwithstanding the fatigue and exposure, were also
singularly few. The regiment returned to Bangalore but six men
weaker than it left that place.
Upon the Forty-eighth regiment being ordered to embark for England,
thirty men of that corps volunteered to the THIRTY-NINTH, and
joined the head-quarters on the 14th of November.
[Sidenote: 1835.]
Early in the year 1835, the following general order was received
at the regiment, marking His Majesty’s extreme approbation of the
conduct of Brigadier-General Lindesay, C.B., whilst commanding the
force employed in the expedition against the Rajah of Coorg.
“_Head-Quarters_,
_Madras, 17th April 1835_.
“GENERAL ORDER.
“His Excellency Lieut.-General The Honorable Sir Robert William
O’Callaghan, commanding His Majesty’s Forces in India, has much
satisfaction in publishing the following extract of a letter from
the Right Honorable the General Commanding-in-chief, expressive
of His Majesty’s approval of the conduct of Brigadier-General
Lindesay, and the troops employed under his orders, during
the late operations in Coorg, and of His Majesty having been
graciously pleased in consequence to nominate that officer to be
a Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order.”
Extract of a letter from General the Right Honorable Lord Hill,
Commanding-in-chief, dated Horse Guards, 22nd October, 1834, to the
Right Honorable Lord William Bentinck, G.C.B., Commander-in-chief
in India.[30]
“I have had the honor to receive your Lordship’s letter on the
22nd of May, transmitting a copy of your General Order, on the
termination of the war against the Rajah of Coorg; and I beg
leave to offer to your Lordship my best congratulations on the
success of that operation.
“Having felt it my duty to lay your communication before the
King, and to solicit His Majesty’s attention to the terms in
which you speak of the conduct of Colonel Lindesay, of His
Majesty’s THIRTY-NINTH Regiment, to whom you confided the command
of the Field Force, I have the honor to acquaint you, that the
King has remarked with much satisfaction, that the ability and
judgment of Colonel Lindesay in the performance of his important
service, have been eminently conspicuous; and in testimony of His
Royal approbation His Majesty has been pleased to nominate him a
Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order, the decoration of
which will be duly transmitted to him by the Hanoverian minister
at this court.
“_By order of His Excellency Lieut.-General the Hon.
Sir_ ROBERT WILLIAM O’CALLAGHAN, _Commanding
His Majesty’s Forces in India_.
(Signed) “R. TORRENS,
“_Colonel, Adjutant-General H. M.’s Forces in India_.”
Colonel Lindesay had, previously to the receipt of this
communication, been removed from the command of the cantonment
of Bangalore, and appointed on the 3rd of January to that of the
southern division of the Madras army, with the temporary rank of
Brigadier-General. He accordingly proceeded to Trichinopoly, the
head-quarters of that division. From this place he made application
that the THIRTY-NINTH might be permitted to resume the following
distinctions, which had been borne on the regimental colour and
appointments for many years, but which had been discontinued about
the year 1807, namely the motto “_Primus in Indis_,” and the word
“PLASSEY;” also the device of the “_Castle and Key_,” in addition
to the word GIBRALTAR and the motto “_Montis Insignia Calpé_.” His
Majesty King William the Fourth was graciously pleased to approve
of these distinctions being resumed by the THIRTY-NINTH, and the
result was communicated by the Adjutant-General on the 24th of
November 1835, to Lieut.-Colonel Sir Robert William O’Callaghan,
Colonel of the regiment.
On the 14th of December 1835, the regiment was reviewed at
Bangalore by Major-General Hawker, commanding the Mysore division
of the army, who after a minute inspection expressed to Major
Poole his perfect approbation of its appearance, movements, and
discipline.
[Sidenote: 1836.]
In February 1836, Colonel Lindesay embarked for Europe, having been
relieved in the command of the southern division of the Madras
army by Major-General Sir John Forster Fitzgerald, K.C.B., in the
preceding October.
Colonel Lindesay, on his departure, was presented by the officers
with a gold snuff-box, value nine hundred rupees, bearing the
distinctions of the regiment, in which he had served for upwards of
forty years.
[Sidenote: 1837.]
A gold snuff-box, value five hundred rupees, was also presented, in
January 1837, to Arthur Hamilton, Esq., surgeon of the regiment, on
his return to Europe.
A detachment, consisting of two captains, seven subalterns, nine
serjeants, four drummers, and two hundred rank and file, marched
from Bangalore on the 10th of April 1837, under the command of
Captain Walpole, to assist in quelling an insurrection which had
taken place in Canara and Malabar.
Directions were given to Captain Walpole to proceed with all
expedition to the French Rocks, there to place himself under the
orders of Lieut.-Colonel William Williamson, commanding the force
moving towards Bisley Ghaut. On arriving at the former place,
Captain Walpole received instructions to continue his march in
the direction of Mercara; and came up with Colonel Williamson’s
force, consisting of a brigade of horse artillery, one squadron of
native cavalry, and the Twenty-seventh Native Infantry, five miles
to the west of Seringapatam, after a march of twenty-five miles.
This force then marched to Frazerpet, and from thence (its movement
to Mercara having been countermanded) along the Cavery river to
Bisley, where it arrived on the 23rd of April, after thirteen days
of very harassing marching from Bangalore, upon an average of
nineteen miles a day, and with only one halting-day.
The Pass of the Bisley Ghaut was cleared after some slight
resistance offered by the insurgents at the barriers which they
had erected, and the force descended upon the Canara country and
encamped at Cuddal, until tranquillity was restored.
Captain Walpole’s detachment was then ordered back to Bangalore,
where it arrived on the 20th of May without any casualties, and
only sixteen sick, although the men had been exposed in small
tents in the jungle to the heat of the sun, and had performed
a succession of forced marches, besides the laborious duty of
assisting in drawing the artillery guns up the difficult ascent of
the Ghaut. Lieut.-Colonel Williamson, of the East India Company’s
army, who commanded the force, was in the following year nominated
a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
[Sidenote: 1838.]
On the 6th of January 1838, the regiment received a very handsome
piece of plate from their late Lieut.-Colonel, Major-General Sir
Patrick Lindesay, C.B. and K.C.H.
The right wing marched to Bellary on the 20th of October 1838, to
replace the Forty-first regiment, and was followed by the left wing
and head-quarters on the 16th of January 1839.
[Sidenote: 1839.]
Upon the head-quarters leaving Bangalore, the following order was
issued by Major-General Sir Hugh Gough K.C.B. (now Viscount Gough),
then commanding the Mysore division of the army:--
“DIVISION ORDERS.
“_Bangalore, 15th January 1839._
“Major-General Sir Hugh Gough on parting with Her Majesty’s
THIRTY-NINTH Regiment feels great satisfaction in being able
to record his unqualified approbation of the soldier-like,
creditable, and uniformly correct conduct of the corps during
the sixteen months it has been under his immediate command
at the head-quarters of the Mysore division; and he requests
Lieut.-Colonel Poole will, himself, accept the Major-General’s
best thanks for his judicious arrangements and unceasing
attention to the various duties attendant on his situation as
commanding-officer, and that he will also convey to the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and privates of Her Majesty’s
THIRTY-NINTH regiment his best thanks and good wishes, with
the assurance that the Major-General will consider it a most
gratifying event again to have this distinguished corps under his
orders, the more particularly should his services be required in
the field.
“The Major-General cannot avoid at the present moment noticing
the circumstance so confirmatory of the good feeling and high
state of discipline of Her Majesty’s THIRTY-NINTH regiment;
namely, that for the six years it has been quartered at
Bangalore, not one solitary instance of complaint has been
preferred against an officer, or a soldier, by an inhabitant for
insult or injury of any kind.
“By Order,
(Signed) “G. C. WHITELOCK,
“_Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General,_
“_Mysore Division of the Army_.”
The head-quarters arrived at Bellary on the 5th of February, and
the regiment was stationed there at the end of March when the
cholera broke out in the regiment, and raged for some time with
considerable violence. One of the last victims to the disease
was the Senior Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Poole, who died on the 23rd
of April, and was succeeded in the command of the regiment by
Lieut.-Colonel Joseph Wakefield. Lieut.-Colonel Poole entered
the service on the 4th of September 1803, as Ensign in the
Twenty-second regiment, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
on the 20th of June 1805, and served for some time as Adjutant; he
was appointed Captain in the same regiment on the 26th of December
1811, and was advanced to the rank of Major on the 14th of February
1828; he exchanged from the Twenty-second to the THIRTY-NINTH
regiment on the 21st of February 1828, and was promoted
Lieut.-Colonel in the latter corps on the 10th of January 1837.
Major Thomas Wright was promoted to the vacant Lieut.-Colonelcy on
the 24th of April 1839.
On the 30th of August 1839, the regiment left Bellary for field
service under Major-General Wilson, C.B. The intended destination
of the force was at that time unknown to the Major-General himself.
The troops reached Adoni, which had formerly been a favourite
stronghold of one of the minor branches of the Mogul dynasty, and
the ruins of which attest its former strength and magnificence, on
the 3rd of September.
The regiment was halted there until the 21st, during the greater
part of which time it rained heavily, but the men were very
healthy. On the 27th it reached Coodamoor, where the whole force
was assembled, consisting, in addition to the THIRTY-NINTH, of two
squadrons of the Thirteenth light dragoons, the Seventh regiment of
Native cavalry, the Third, Sixteenth, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-ninth,
and Fifty-first regiments of Native infantry. The head-quarters
of the Sappers and Miners, a troop of horse and two companies of
foot artillery, with four eighteen-pounders, four twelve-pounders,
several mortars, howitzers, and a large and well equipped park. A
formidable resistance was, therefore, expected by the Government;
and subsequent inquiries proved that the intended antagonist was
supplied with most numerous and well constructed implements of
destruction, and that a part of his force consisted of brave and
determined soldiers.
At Coodamoor the regiment remained halted for many days; and on the
1st of October the cholera unfortunately broke out, and lasted with
considerable violence for about ten days, during which time Lieut.
Samuel Philips, Assistant Surgeon Robert Martin Davis, M.D., of
the THIRTY-NINTH regiment (a most valuable and excellent medical
officer), and six men died therefrom.
On the 3rd of October, an order was received from the Commissioners
for the affairs of _Kurnool_ to detach a portion of the force in
advance; two companies of the THIRTY-NINTH, under the command of
Captain Henry Clarence Scarman (who died of cholera in the Fort
of Kurnool on the 12th of the same month), with a detachment of
the artillery, and the Fifty-first Native infantry, marched on
the 4th of October. This force was led into the Fort of _Kurnool_
by the Nuwaub’s head minister, Numder Cawn, who subsequently was
proved to have been a traitor to both parties. The Nuwaub and
his party vacated the fort by an opposite gate. This apparent
surrender turned out to be a _ruse de guerre_, as the Nuwaub,
it is believed, fully expected to re-occupy the fort; for there
were no visible symptoms of preparations, all munitions of war
being buried or built up, and the whole wore a peaceful aspect;
subsequent discoveries proved that peace was not his object, but
that he contemplated lulling the Company into security, until he
was prepared for active operations. On the 9th of October, the
Commissioners applied for a reinforcement; and two companies of the
THIRTY-NINTH, the whole of the Thirty-fourth Native infantry, with
a detachment of cavalry and artillery, were despatched under the
orders of Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Edward Wright. These two companies
were encamped outside the Fort of _Kurnool_ for some days; but
on the morning of the 18th, Lieut.-Colonel Wright was privately
informed that his two companies would be required to assist in
endeavouring to force the Nuwaub to surrender, and to make his
followers, principally composed of Arabs, Rohillahs, and Patans,
lay down their arms. It is well known that Arabs particularly have
a great objection to do this, and will rather fight under very
adverse circumstances than comply; resistance was, therefore,
expected. Negotiations were soon seen to be unavailing, as some of
the Rohillah chiefs (a brave people, whose sole and only occupation
is mercenary fighting) accused their opponents of cowardice.
A fire of artillery and musketry of twenty minutes’ duration was
opened upon, and returned by the Nuwaub’s party, when an order was
given to the THIRTY-NINTH to charge, which they did, and after
a well contested struggle obtained possession of the person of
the Nuwaub, and made prisoners a great number of his followers.
Several escaped, and were pursued by a party of the Thirteenth
light dragoons, which guarded the ford of the river; about three
hundred are supposed to have fallen on the side of the enemy. The
two companies of the THIRTY-NINTH were about eighty strong in
rank and file. Lieut. Thomas White, one colour-serjeant, and one
private were killed; and Lieut.-Colonel Wright was most dangerously
wounded. Four privates were dangerously wounded, two of whom died,
and one had his arm amputated; five privates were slightly wounded.
The conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Wright, and that of the officers and
men of his detachment, was highly commended in the public despatch
on the occasion. Captain William Wood, Lieut. Edward Croker, and
Ensign Owen Wynne Gray, were the officers present, together with
Lieut. Thomas White, who was killed.
In the despatch of Lieut.-Colonel Dyce, commanding the detachment
of the Kurnool field force, giving an account of the affair at
_Zorapore_, near Kurnool, on the 18th of October, it was stated
“that the conduct of the detachment of the THIRTY-NINTH was such
as always characterises British soldiers;” and he added,
“I beg particularly to bring to the notice of superior authority
the conspicuously gallant conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Wright, of
Her Majesty’s THIRTY-NINTH regiment, who has been dangerously
wounded.”
The loss of the enemy was severe; several chiefs were among the
slain, and a number of elephants, horses, and treasure were
captured.
The Governor of Madras in Council stated in general orders, dated
Fort George, 25th October 1839, in publishing Lieut.-Colonel Dyce’s
despatch, that “while he laments the humane efforts of that officer
to prevent bloodshed have been defeated by the infatuation of the
Nuwaub of Kurnool’s followers, he cannot refrain from expressing
the high sense he entertains of the gallantry and soldier-like
conduct displayed by Lieut.-Colonel Dyce, and the officers and men
of the detachment in the attack upon the durgah at Zorapore.”
The regiment returned to Bellary on the 8th of November 1839,
leaving two companies to garrison the Fort at Kurnool. Shortly
afterwards intimation was received that it was to march for
Kamptee, and accordingly on the 24th of December the regiment
quitted Bellary.
[Sidenote: 1840.]
The two companies which had been left at Kurnool, rejoined the
head-quarters at Nagumpilly, near Secunderabad, on the 12th of
January 1840, and the regiment arrived at Kamptee by the route of
Secunderabad and Hingolee, a distance of six hundred and forty
miles, without a single casualty. Previously to quitting Bellary
the regiment received from Major-General Francis W. Wilson,
C.B., in orders, the expression of his entire approbation of its
“excellent discipline, efficiency, and exemplary behaviour both in
garrison and the field.”
Lieut.-Colonel Wakefield died of fever on the 17th of May 1840, and
Lieut.-Colonel Wright assumed the command of the regiment. Major
Horatio Walpole was promoted to the vacant Lieut.-Colonelcy.
Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B., was removed
from the colonelcy of the Fifty-ninth to that of the THIRTY-NINTH
regiment on the 15th of June 1840, in succession to Lieut.-General
the Honorable Sir Robert William O’Callaghan, G.C.B., deceased.
[Sidenote: 1841.]
From the unsettled state of India, rumours were constantly stirring
that the regiment would be ordered to march in the direction of
Bombay; it remained quiet, however, until November 1841, when two
companies were ordered at a few hours’ notice to join a small force
under Lieut.-Colonel Dowker, of the Madras army, for the purpose
of pursuing and chastising a pretender to the name and person of
Appa Sahib, who had been deposed from the Nagpore throne in 1818,
and had made his escape from the escort of British troops, and,
although frequently heard of, had never been seen by the British
authorities.