Colonel Campbell's Advance--Provisions required--Camp
Followers--Samana--The Doabs--Gooroo Govind--The Akalees, their
quoits--Sikhs attack Ahmed Shah--Maha Singh--Maharattas--General
Thomas--Runjeet Singh--Holcar--Sir Charles Metcalfe--Ochterlony's
Proclamation--The Akalees routed--Generals Allard and Ventura--Treaty
with Runjeet--Runjeet's Army--Runjeet's Death--Shere Singh
Murdered--Dhuleep Singh--Ajean Khan--Battle of Moodkee.
IN the meanwhile the force under Colonel Campbell was rapidly advancing
to the scene of action. It was as we have stated, nearly 3,000 strong,
and attended by about 10,000 or 11,000 camp followers, so that we were
in all 13,000 or 14,000 assembled in camp, besides numerous elephants,
camels, bullocks, horses, ponies, &c. I will here remark for what
purposes camp followers are allowed. Every officer, according to his
rank, will have from ten to twenty or twenty-five servants; the
Bengal officers and others have more than those of Madras and Bombay;
but the latter servants cost as much as the Bengalese. If a polki (or
palanquin) be kept, then six bearers well be required; for every horse
two servants, namely a groom and a grass-cutter;[4] for every elephant,
two; for camels, one to every three is the usual number; for every two
bullocks, one servant is allowed. Besides these there is a host of tent
pitchers, store Lascars, etc.
Let us next consider the quantity of provisions required for our
force; calculating the 9th Lancers at 800 horses (including officers'
chargers,) the consumption of gram, a kind of vetch, daily would be,
800 × 5 = 4,000 seers, or 8,000 lbs. = 71 cwt. 48 lbs. The reader may
hence form some idea of the quantity of corn required for 3,000 or
4,000 cavalry horses, or including horse artillery, waggon and private
horses, say 5,000, and there would be a consumption of about 440 or
450 cwt. of gram daily. Then each elephant consumes 30 lbs. of atta
(flour) cakes;[5] each camel public and private is allowed 6 lbs.
of gram, and a bullock 5 or 6 lbs. daily. The elephant likewise gets
forage, such as the leaves of trees; and if he can meet with the branch
of a tree he is all the happier, for with it he gracefully fans away
the flies from himself or his driver: the poor animal suffers greatly
from the mosquito bite. The Mahāwat, or elephant-keeper puts the rice
in a whisp of rice straw, making a kind of bowl for the food, which
is boiled. The camels, too, get bhoosa, or split straw, when it can
be procured, otherwise the leaves of trees: they prefer those of the
Imlee, Peepul, Babool, and Burh (fig-tree). The bullocks eat bhoosa or
karbi, the stalk of Joar or Bajra (the Holcus Sorgum and Spicatus).
If we calculate the quantity of grain consumed in an army of 10,000,
30,000, or 40,000 men, the result will be enormous, and we can only
marvel where such supplies are obtained.
The Duke of Wellington[6] when in India, often marched with 30,000, or
40,000 bullock-loads of grain, or 600,000, or 800,000 lbs. or 53,571,
or 71,428 cwt. His grace's plan was never to open these grain bags so
long as he could get supplies from the villages.
Let the reader imagine an Indian army of 20,000 men with its 60,000,
70,000, or even 80,000 camp followers, all of whom must be fed daily.
Again, the number of hackeries, or carts, with an army of 20,000 or
25,000 men, varies from 700, to 12,000 or more, (for much depends upon
whether there is a siege train), drawn by two, three, or four bullocks
each, carrying shot, shells, and stores, and moving at the rate of two
miles an hour, the whole line of march from the old to the new ground.
Allowing 10 doolies, or light palanquins, for every European troop or
company, for the conveyance of the sick or wounded men, there would be
80 required for the 9th Lancers, and as each dooly needs 6 bearers we
had 480 bearers in our corps alone. In a European infantry regiment
of 10 companies there will be 10 × 10 = 100; 100 × 6 = 600 bearers. A
native corps is allowed only one for a troop or company, but some extra
ones accompany the field hospital. Now such an army would have at least
5,000 dooly bearers, besides those which are required for luxurious
officers, who have been seen, though, I am happy to say, rarely, to
ride in palanquins.
The English waggon train establishment is said not to be good. A
veterinary surgeon has published a work on the use of a light cart,
with cross seats on springs; but before it can be generally adopted,
the roads must be improved. In the Affghan war they used Kajawahs, that
is a frame-work on each side of the camel, for two men.
On the 23rd of December, our force marched to Samana, a large old
town, now completely in ruins, in the province of Delhi. It is
in the Rajah of Pattiala's country, and is about seventeen miles
distant from Pattiala, and seventy miles from Kurnaul. It was a very
fatiguing march; the road during the last few miles being bad, rough
and sandy; this greatly impeded the elephants who dragged the guns,
and our progress was very slow; so slow indeed that at six o'clock in
the afternoon the men had not dined. In cantonments one o'clock is
the usual hour, but in marching to meet an enemy the dinner hour is
uncertain. Yesterday and to-day we were obliged to breakfast upon what
chance threw in our way.
On service with Lord Lake, it is said that frequently neither officers
nor men got any breakfast at all, but broke their fast at sunset;
similar privations no doubt often occurred in the Peninsula; but this
is very undesirable when it can be obviated, for especially in hot
countries, European soldiers require more nourishment than in colder
climates.
Samana contains a large brick-built fort; it appears at one time to
have been very strong, but is now falling to decay. There are many
of these forts, and their origin is long anterior to 1809, when the
British obtained possession of the protected Sikh states. They were
built by Runjeet Singh, when he was lord and master of the country on
the left bank of the Sutlej, governing, in fact, the whole district
between the Jumna and the Sutlej. At that time he fortified all the
towns and villages, to defend not only the inhabitants against the
attacks of their neighbours, but also to prevent the cattle sheltered
under the walls, from being carried off by marauders.
Before proceeding further on our route, we will take a brief survey of
the territory of the Sikhs, and of the history of the singular race
whom we were marching to encounter.
The Punjaub, or country of five waters, from _punj_, "five," and _āb_,
"water," forms the northern portion of the plain of the Indus. It
covers an area of 6,000 geographical miles, and extends from the lower
ranges of the Himalaya mountains to the confluence of the Chenāb with
the Indus. The four streams or arms of the Indus which rise in the
Himalayas, namely, the Jelum, the Chenāb, the Rāvee and the Sutlej,
intersect the country, and, with the Indus, divide it into four Doabs
or Provinces.
The first Doab ("country between two rivers"), lying between the Indus
and the Jelum, is 147 miles in breadth; this Doab is intersected with
defiles and mountain chains, and covered with thickets. It is the worst
cultivated, the most barren and thinly peopled of all the Doabs.
The second Doab is formed by the rivers Jelum and Chenāb. At its
narrowest breadth it is forty-six miles across; this country is flat,
except the low range of hills terminating the beds of rock salt that
run through the Jelum. It is capable of very improved cultivation.
The third Doab lies between the Chenāb and the Rāvee. This Doab might
with the greatest ease be converted into a most fertile country, were
the land irrigated by the mountain streams, which could be conveyed in
artificial canals. It is seventy-six miles in breadth at its widest
part.
The fourth Doab is considerably the smallest, being only forty-four
miles in breadth. It, however, comprises some of the most important
cities, namely, Lahore, Umritsur and Kussoor. It lies between the Rāvee
and the Sutlej.
Besides this fine country, the rule of the Sikhs at this time extended
over the rich Province of Mooltan, on the right bank of the Indus.
The territory under the sway of the Maharajah might be estimated at
8,000 geographical square miles, with a population of about 5,000,000
inhabitants, and an annual revenue of between £2,000,000 and £3,000,000
sterling.
The Sikhs, or "Disciples," were originally a religious sect, which
arose among the inhabitants of the Punjaub as late as the close of the
fifteenth century. Their leader was Nānak, who succeeded in drawing
thousands of enthusiasts after him. He was a disciple of Kahir, and
consequently a Hindoo deist; he upheld the principle of universal
toleration, calling upon his followers to worship the one invisible
God, and to lead a virtuous life. He died at the age of seventy, in
1539. His doctrines and writings tended greatly to elevate the mind,
and reform the morals of his disciples. The Sikhs believe that the soul
of Nānak has transmigrated into the body of each succeeding Gooroo, or
teacher.
The spirit of religious toleration adopted by the Sikhs, was odious in
the eyes of the bigoted Mahomedans, and Arjoon, their chief, who was
celebrated not only for his piety, but for his wisdom and skill as a
legislator, was falsely accused, and put to death, by the Mogul, in
1606. Arjoon converted the obscure hamlet of Umritsur into a city of
great importance, by making it the seat of his disciples, and the place
of the Sikhs' pilgrimage. His cruel death transformed the quiet and
peaceable Sikhs into a warlike nation; their spirit was roused, and,
led on by Hur Govind, the son of their murdered priest, they determined
to avenge themselves upon his assassins. The Mogul, however, was too
mighty for them; and they were forced to retreat into the mountain
districts beyond Lahore.
After a series of sanguinary engagements, in which the Mahomedans
were successful, a powerful opponent to the infidel faith and arms,
was raised up, in the person of Gooroo Govind, grandson of Hur
Govind, in 1675. He effected a radical change in the character, laws,
and institutions of the Sikhs, by the abolition of caste, and the
introduction of religious, social and military reforms. Amidst the
surrounding spiritual darkness, Govind had comparatively enlightened
views of the Deity; he abhorred idol worship, and declared that there
was but one Lord, and that the invisible God, the Creator of heaven
and earth, could not be represented by any painted or graven image;
and that as He could be seen only by the eye of faith, He must be
worshipped in sincerity and truth. Fearful that he himself might
hereafter become an object of religious adoration, Govind denounced all
who should regard him as a divinity, alleging that it was his highest
ambition that his spirit should return to God after his death.
In the full persuasion, that the only hope of successfully opposing
the Mahomedan power was by throwing open the ranks of the army to men
of every grade and profession, he adopted the wise and politic measure
of abolishing the system of caste. This step was at first highly
offensive, especially to the Brahmins, and many quitted the community;
but the majority of the Sikhs rejoiced at the breaking down of this
barrier to all social and religious intercourse. His expectations,
however, were more than realized; vast multitudes joined his ranks, he
caused each of his followers to wear a peculiar dress, to adopt the
name of Singh, or soldier, and to suffer their beard and hair to grow;
he completely reorganized the army, divided his followers into troops
and bands, and placed them under the command of able and confidential
men.
A special corps was formed of the "Akalees," the Immortals, or Soldiers
of God, they wore a blue dress and steel bracelets, and were provided
with a quoit, which they carried either round their pointed turbans or
at their side; this quoit is a flat iron ring, from eight to fourteen
inches in diameter, the outer edge is extremely sharp; they twirl this
weapon round their finger or on a stick, and fling it to a distance
with such dexterity and precision, that the head of the destined victim
is often severed from his body.
In proportion as the Mahomedan power declined, that of the Sikhs
rose into importance. They were bound together by the strong ties
of a fervid common faith; and this gave them unity of purpose, and
consequent strength in operation.
After various struggles for independence, in which they displayed
heroism amounting even to martyrdom, they boldly attacked Ahmed Shah,
the king of Affghanistan on his first invasion of India, in 1747. They
were, however, dispersed by Mere Munroo, and expelled from Umritsur
by Timoor, the son of Ahmed Shah, who was appointed governor of the
Punjaub. Strong in the faith of Govind, and in his all-prevailing name
they rallied their forces, drove out the Affghans, and re-occupied
Lahore in 1756.
About this time they called in the aid of the Maharattas, gained
several victories, and fortified their towns. In 1762, they were again
attacked by Ahmed Shah, who completely routed them, but with their
native energy and warlike prowess, they once more gathered their
scattered forces, and in 1763 slew the Affghan governor, and defeated
his army in the plains of Sirhind, when they took undisputed possession
of the country from the Sutlej to the Jumna, and partitioned it among
their chiefs.
They successfully defeated a seventh attack made by Ahmed Shah; and
after ejecting the governor of Lahore, they took possession of the
territory from the Jelum to the Sutlej. Like the former acquisition, it
was divided among their chiefs.
During the brief period of peace which now intervened, the Sikhs
settled the boundaries of their respective districts, and more firmly
established their federal government, which, properly speaking, may be
styled a theocratic feudal confederation, inasmuch as they considered
God as the Head and Leader of their confraternity. They held stated
councils, or conclaves, which they called "gooroo-moottas," in which
they settled their civil and religious affairs. The nation was divided
into twelve confederacies or "misls," from an Arabic word signifying
"equal," each "misl" being under the control of a sirdar or chief.
Their respite from war was not, however, of long duration; for in 1767,
Ahmed Shah made an eighth and last attempt to reconquer the Punjaub.
Being, however, deserted by 12,000 of his own troops, he was compelled
to retire, and had scarcely re-crossed the Indus when he was besieged
at Rhotas, by the grandfather of Runjeet Singh; and the Sikhs took
possession of this stronghold in 1768.
Timoor, the son of the veteran Shah, had various conflicts with the
Sikhs; and in 1779 reconquered the city of Mooltan, which they had
taken seven years before. He died in 1793, leaving the Sikhs undisputed
masters of the Upper Punjaub.
Maha Singh, though originally an obscure sirdar, soon rose by his
military skill to be the most influential chief in the Punjaub. With
the view of cementing his power, he espoused his only son, Runjeet
Singh, to the daughter of Sudda Kour. Maha Singh died at the early
age of twenty-seven, leaving Runjeet Singh to succeed him in the
government. He was a boy of only eleven years of age, having been born
in 1792, at Gujeranwalla, forty-seven miles from Lahore.
From a very early age, Runjeet Singh began to display that wisdom and
valour, combined with prompt decision and firmness of character, which
distinguished him through life. He carved out with his sword his own
colossal position in the Punjaub; and, at the age of twenty, expelled
the Sikh chiefs, Ischet Singh, Muhuc Singh and Sahib Singh, who opposed
him. On the second invasion and retreat of Shah Zeman, king of Cabool,
Runjeet Singh acquired the object of his ambition--the wealthy kingdom
of Lahore, with the royal investiture and title of Maharajah.
About this time the star of the Maharattas again rose in the Northern
Provinces, under their able leader, Madhajee Sindhia, who, in 1785,
formed an alliance with the Sikhs, and threatened the kingdom of Oude,
then under the protection of the British. Runjeet, however, soon became
jealous of his allies; and finding that they were likely to prove
troublesome, he had recourse to the strongest measures to check their
growing influence.
One of the generals of the Maharatta forces was an English adventurer,
named George Thomas. He came to India in 1781, in a British man-of-war;
he was originally a common sailor, but rose to be quarter-master, and
on his arrival in India entered the service of the native chiefs.
He was sent to oppose the combined forces of the Sikhs. Leaving a
competent force for the defence of Jeypore, which was then threatened
with an attack from another quarter, he marched to Kurnaul, where the
Sikhs lay encamped. Here four successive engagements took place, in
which the Maharattas lost 500 men, and the Sikhs about 1,000. Both
parties at last inclining to peace, a treaty was concluded, by which
the Sikhs agreed to evacuate the Province. In 1800, General Thomas
again entered the Sikh country, with a body of 5,000 men and sixty
pieces of artillery. He was now opposed by the youthful Maharajah,
Runjeet Singh; but the issue was adverse to the Sikhs. Nor was it
surprising that General Thomas with a well disciplined army of 5,000
men, and sixty guns[7] should defeat a young chief of twenty-two years
of age.
The British government was not ignorant of the warlike character and
growing power of the Sikhs. As far back as the year 1784, Warren
Hastings placed a British agent at the court of Delhi, in order to
watch the Sikhs, and deter them from making any attempt upon the
kingdom of Oude.
The Sikhs, however, finding the Maharattas too powerful for them,
applied to the British Resident, to enter with them into a defensive
alliance against their common foe, at the same time placing at the
disposal of the British a body of 30,000 men, whom they had stationed
at Delhi to watch the Maharattas.
In the year 1805, the ambitious spirit of Holcar, the enterprising
Mahomedan leader of the Maharatta forces, determined him to invade
Upper India, and to invest Delhi. He met with a powerful resistance
from Lord Lake, who drove him beyond the Sutlej, where he expected to
find support from the Sikhs. Runjeet Singh had penetrated the Doab,
between the Chenāb and the Indus. He had a meeting with Holcar at
Umritsur, but finding it more to his interest to make friends with the
English, the wily Maharajah put Holcar off, under the pretext that he
must first reduce the Pathans of Kussoor. Friendly relations were then
established with the British;[8] Runjeet Singh visited Lord Lake's camp
in disguise, and a treaty was concluded, by which the English agreed
not to encroach upon the Sikhs' territories so long as the chiefs of
the Punjaub continued to maintain friendly relations.
Runjeet Singh, speaking of this circumstance some time afterwards to
Sir John Malcolm, remarks, that he "was very glad to get rid of two
such troublesome guests," namely, Holcar and the British. It was a
curious coincidence that both Runjeet Singh and Holcar had each but one
eye, but those eyes were piercing, nor were they disliked by the fair
sex, if report speak true.
The news of the intended invasion of India by Napoleon, in 1808, spread
a panic through the country, and the British government took instant
measures to ascertain how far they could rely on the support of the
various native princes. The most powerful and important of these was
Runjeet Singh; and Sir Charles Metcalfe was accordingly despatched
to the court of Lahore as British Envoy. The Maharajah was at that
time engaged in the subjugation of some of the petty independent Sikh
princes. His continued aggressions upon the Cis-Sutlej states, several
of which he had made tributary, induced the princes of Sirhind to place
themselves under British protection, and the envoy was charged with a
remonstrance to Runjeet Singh upon this subject.
He received the envoy at Kussoor, which he had just conquered, and
seemed more intent upon the enlargement and defence of his own borders,
than alive to the dangers of a French invasion. So far from entering
into the views of the British government on the necessity of a
defensive alliance between them and the Sikhs and Affghans, in order to
oppose the ambitious designs of Napoleon, Runjeet Singh replied, that,
as the head of the whole Sikh population, and as master of Lahore, he
had an indisputable right to the enlargement of his own territories,
and scorned the attempts of the British to confine him to the right
bank of the Sutlej. He abruptly broke off the negotiation, and made
a third invasion into the Cis-Sutlej territory; the British envoy
remonstrated against these open acts of hostility, and remained on the
banks of the Sutlej until the Maharajah returned victorious from the
conquest of Fureedkot and Umballa.
The British government hereupon again remonstrated, and declared to
him, through Sir Charles Metcalfe, that they would not tolerate any
superior authority in these parts, as the whole country, from the
Jumna to the Sutlej, was under their protection. To give efficacy to
this remonstrance, they despatched a corps under Colonel Ochterlony,
and a reserve corps under Colonel St. Leger. The former advanced
to the Sutlej, and in the beginning of February, 1809, he issued
a proclamation declaring the Cis-Sutlej states to be under British
protection.[9] The proclamation ordered that the fortresses on the left
bank of the Sutlej should be razed, and the lands restored to their
ancient possessors: that all the troops which had crossed the Sutlej
should be recalled by the Maharajah to his side, and that in future
they should never advance into the countries of the chiefs situated
on the left bank of the river, who had placed themselves under the
protection of the British government. That the British government
would maintain perpetual friendship with the government of Lahore, and
have no concern with the territories and subjects of the Rajah to the
north of the Sutlej; but that in the event of any violation of these
stipulations, the treaty should be null and void.
An apparently trivial circumstance, coupled with the apprehension lest
the remaining independent states might break their allegiance with
him for that of the British, favoured the demands of the envoy, and
convinced the Maharajah that the British soldiers far surpassed his
own. Sir Charles was at this time in the Sikh camp at Umritsur, and
was attended by an escort of only two companies of native troops and
sixteen horsemen. The festival of the Muharram was being celebrated by
his Mahomedan attendants. The Akalees looked upon this as an insult,
collected a body of the Sikhs, and attacked the envoy's camp with a
round of musketry. The small escort immediately seized their arms; and,
though their assailants were ten times more numerous than themselves,
they completely routed them with considerable loss. Runjeet Singh was
attracted by the uproar, and arrived just as the little band of brave
Sepoys had gained the victory. Their valour had a great effect upon
him; he apologized to the envoy for the insult offered by his people,
expressed his high admiration of the discipline and courage of the
British troops, and declared himself ready to sign the wished for
treaty, which he accordingly did on the 5th of April, 1809.
Two years after, in 1811, when the Goorkhas threatened to invade his
dominions, and asked the British to aid them in their attempt, Runjeet
Singh obtained permission from the Governor-General, not only to
cross the Sutlej and fight the enemy in their mountain recesses, but
received the assurance, that, if the Goorkhas should descend into the
plains of Sirhind, he should receive the assistance of British troops,
in maintaining inviolate the passage of the Sutlej.
This assurance allayed his apprehensions and jealousy, of the influence
and power of the British. He continued incessantly engaged in extending
his dominions and increasing his army. Sword in hand, he conquered
Mooltan and Cashmere; while his warfare with his formidable foes,
the Affghans, was unabated, till he finally succeeded in obtaining
possession of Peshawur, through the treachery of the brother of Dost
Mahomed, whom Runjeet had bribed with the large promise of an annual
pension of two lakhs. The continued intestine disputes of the minor
states, induced the British government to issue the proclamation of
1811.[10]
It was in 1822, that Runjeet first received into his service two
foreign officers, MM. Allard and Ventura; the former being a Frenchman,
the latter an Italian. After the fall of Napoleon, these officers had
in vain sought an honourable employment in Persia, and, therefore,
turned to the warlike chief of Lahore. He gave them a most cordial
and brilliant reception, and commissioned them to organize his army on
the French system; which they did with great success. Each of these
officers had a salary of 50,000 rupees, or £5,000. sterling annually.
Four years afterwards, they were followed by Generals Court and
Avitabile. It was to these officers that the Sikh chief owed the highly
efficient state of his army, which consisted of a well disciplined body
of 50,000 men, besides 100,000 Irregulars. Lahore and Umritsur were
made the depôts of arms; and here cannon foundries, powder magazines
and arsenals were established.
At times Runjeet, and still more his chiefs, felt jealous, lest too
much authority should be given to these European officers; for which
reason he rather wished them to instruct than to command,[11] fearing
they might prove dangerous to the state.
In the summer of 1831, his late Majesty King William IV. despatched
Sir Alexander Burnes to Lahore, to take charge of a splendid present
of horses from His Britannic Majesty to the Maharajah. Runjeet Singh
was then at the height of his power; respected by his friends, and
dreaded by his foes. The veteran hero was flattered by receiving this
distinguished honour from the monarch of a nation which he highly
venerated, and whose superiority in every respect he acknowledged. He
gave Sir Alexander Burnes a brilliant reception; and the esteem which
he thus manifested for the English, led to several interviews between
himself and the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, at Rooper, in
October, 1831.
The result of these interviews was a treaty of commerce and navigation,
to which a supplementary treaty was afterwards added, between Runjeet
Singh and the British, by which it was agreed, that the merchants
and traders should pay a certain fixed duty, in lieu of the former
arbitrary exactions.[12]
The meeting at Rooper, in October, 1831, between the Governor-General
and Runjeet Singh, caused a great display of British and Sikh troops.
An officer who was present on this occasion, told me that the movements
of the Sikh battalions were very slow, and to the beat of drum: the
cavalry, mostly wearing bright cuirasses, looked glittering and showy;
whilst many of the gun carriages seemed as if a long march over a rough
road would break them down. The word of command was always given in
French.
In March, 1837, the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Henry Fane, G.C.B.,
visited Lahore, on the occasion of the marriage of Runjeet's grandson,
Nou Nehal Singh. The entertainment was on a magnificent scale, and
cost between ten and eleven lakhs of rupees, or between £100,000 and
£110,000 sterling. Here there was again a grand military display,
and feats of arms. On this occasion, Runjeet Singh established an
order of Knighthood, called "the Star of the Punjaub." He bestowed
the Order upon Colonels Torrens, Churchill, Lumley, and Dunlop; the
Adjutants-General, and Quartermasters-General, of the Queen's and
Company's armies respectively. The investiture, with the Order, took
place afterwards at Simla, at the head-quarters of Sir Henry Fane.
All these individuals, donor and receivers, are now dead. It was the
_setting star_ of Runjeet Singh, for he died about two years after, in
June, 1839.
The appearance and discipline of Runjeet's army, was the admiration of
all military beholders. In December, 1838, before the Bengal column
marched from Ferozepore to Cabool, _viâ_ Scinde and Candahar, there
was a review of the British troops under the Commander-in-Chief, Sir
Henry Fane. Several Sikh soldiers who were present, were heard to make
very insolent remarks, and twisted their moustachoes, a gross affront
to any one, especially to an officer. They asserted that their troops
could manoeuvre much better, etc. A day or two afterwards the Sikhs
gave a review, and actually copied all the British evolutions, with the
greatest accuracy and precision. The infantry movements were also more
rapid than at Rooper, in 1831.
Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India, in the same month, visited
Runjeet Singh, at Lahore, when another display of English and Sikh
troops took place. It was on the occasion of the review of our troops,
that his Lordship, who was a bad rider, had a serious fall from his
horse. His death would have been a great blow.
Lord Auckland, at that time, asked permission of the Maharajah to allow
the British troops a free passage through his territory, on their march
to Cabool, and to join his forces with those of the British, in this
expedition into Affghanistan. This Runjeet Singh acceded to rather as
a matter of necessity than of choice. Though only 59 years of age, his
mind and body had become so enfeebled by his irregular course of life,
that during his interview with Lord Auckland, his speech was already
affected. He sank rapidly, from dropsy, and was finally carried off by
paralysis.
When the death of their great chief was approaching, the army was drawn
up in a line, and the dying monarch was carried in a litter through the
ranks. As the procession moved slowly along, his favourite minister,
Dhean Singh, appeared, to receive orders from his expiring sovereign,
and informed the army, that Runjeet Singh declared, that his son,
Khurruk Singh, should succeed him, and that Dhean Singh should be the
chief minister of the kingdom. The soldiers received this intimation
in perfect silence. According to the custom of the Sikhs, the body of
the Maharajah was burnt the next day, before the gates of his palace,
in the presence of all the great persons of the kingdom, and of the
assembled troops. Four of his wives, two of whom were only sixteen
years of age, and endowed with great personal beauty, together with
seven of his concubines, committed themselves to the flames with his
body. Dhean Singh also made a semblance of profound grief, and appeared
to be in the act of throwing himself upon the funeral pile, but was
forcibly withheld by the family of the Maharajah.
The death of Runjeet Singh occasioned considerable difficulty in the
management of the auxiliary Sikhs under Colonel Wade, the British agent
at Lahore who was now with the British army, and had the command of the
column that was to force the Khyber pass. This glorious achievement he
accomplished from the 22nd to the 27th of June, when he made himself
master of Ali Musjid. He was nobly sustained in this campaign by the
troops of Runjeet Singh; and on the 6th of August, the army of the
Indus entered Cabool and forced Dost Mahomed to fly to Bokhara.
Runjeet Singh was succeeded by his son Khurruk Singh, then thirty-seven
years of age. He was a weak and luxurious prince, and was totally
incompetent to the affairs of government. Soon after his accession he
was seized with a severe illness, of which he died, in November, 1840.
His son, Nou Nehal Singh, and the chief minister, Dhean were supposed
to have been not altogether innocent of his death.
Nou Nehal Singh, who was nineteen years of age, inherited his
grandfather's ambitious spirit, and could scarcely conceal his joy,
even at his father's funeral pyre, on finding himself sovereign of
Lahore. He hated the English, and dreaded the effect of their policy
in procuring a clear passage for their troops through the Punjaub,
and thus, by a chain of consecutive alliances, effecting a union
between the southern provinces of India and the West of Europe. He was
determined to give proof of this on the first favourable opportunity
that might present itself; but the royal sceptre which had so long
fired his youthful breast soon passed to another, for the same day
that elevated him to the throne, saw him a corpse! On leaving the pile
he thought to wash away his sins in the Rāvee, and as he was riding
through the outer gateway of the palace, a large portion of the archway
fell upon him, killed the friend who was riding at his side, and so
severely wounded the young prince in the head, that he expired in
three hours. For several days his death was kept a secret; by some, in
order to give his mother time to come up, and by others, to secure the
succession to Shere Singh, the reputed, and afterwards adopted, son
of Runjeet Singh. After a fierce contest between the queen mother and
Shere Singh, the latter ascended the throne.
Shere Singh, though he had compelled the troops to recognise him as
king, was incapable of commanding them. They soon became insubordinate
and committed the most violent excesses; and their lawless conduct gave
rise to apprehensions of a general insurrection.
This so intimidated the merchants and wealthy inhabitants on both sides
of the Sutlej, that they appealed to the English for protection. The
Maharajah was fully sensible of the critical state of his position,
and though he deprecated the interference of the British power,
he considered it best to yield to the necessities of the case and
listen to the advice of the British. For though educated at the
most magnificent and warlike court in India, amid events which were
calculated to call forth a chivalrous spirit, Shere Singh never
manifested either valour or firmness of character, but was carried
along by the tide of events, and swayed by the dominant minds of the
age. He felt his own incapacity as a ruler, and for a long time was
completely under the control of Dhean Singh.
During the disastrous campaign of Cabool in 1842, Shere Singh rendered
great services to the English in the relief of the distressed garrison
of Jellalabad, and provided more than the stipulated corps of 5,000 men
on payment of the sum of two lakhs of rupees.
The Governor-General, in consequence of the state of Affghanistan,
determined to place an army of reserve at Ferozepore, and took this
occasion for proposing an interview with Shere Singh. The Maharajah,
however, apprehensive of the result of such an interview, declined the
proposed honour. Lord Ellenborough took offence at this, and Shere
Singh despatched Dhean Singh and his own son, Perthaub Singh, to make
an apology in person, which was accepted; and his Lordship returned the
visit of the young prince.
The military Sikh escort which accompanied, them crossed the Sutlej,
which was much swollen at the time by the late heavy rains, with a
rapidity and skill that excited the admiration of the British officers.
The prince was permitted to review the British forces, soon after which
the Governor-General broke up the encampment, and Shere Singh was
relieved from his dreaded foe.
Shere Singh was addicted to drunkenness and vice, and succumbed to the
influence of unworthy favourites. He had become suspicious of Dhean
Singh, and, at their instigation, was induced to sign a royal warrant
for his execution. This order was shewn to Dhean Singh by the very
men who had procured it. Incensed at the treachery and ingratitude of
the man whom he had raised to the royal power, Dhean Singh, as prime
minister, immediately signed an order for the assassination of Shere
Singh himself, and placed it in the hands of Ajeet Singh, the favourite
who had supplanted him, and who had before threatened to kill Shere
Singh.
Both Shere Singh and his hopeful son, Perthaub Singh were treacherously
murdered on the next day, September the 15th, 1843, by Ajeet and Lena
Singh; and the wily minister, Dhean Singh, who had joined with them
in the conspiracy, met with the same fate, at their hands, before the
close of that very day.
Heera Singh, the son of Dhean Singh, called upon the army to avenge his
father's murder. Ajeet and Lena Singh were surrounded the same night,
and both met with their well-merited fate before the morning's dawn.
Dhuleep Singh, the reputed son of Runjeet Singh, who was only a few
months old at the time of his father's death, and, consequently, now
only four years of age, was proclaimed Maharajah. His mother, Chunda,
appointed her brother, Jowahir Singh, prime minister; but he was
disliked by the army, and cruelly murdered by them. The military were
now masters of the state, and sought to make Goolab Singh, the oldest
of Runjeet's favourites, vizier. Goolab being fully aware that his
great wealth was the bait, kept them in a state of uncertainty as to
his resolve; but, in the meantime, instigated them to march upon the
British territories, with the intent of invasion.
Deceived by the promised support of Goolab, and buoyed up by exalted
notions of their own military prowess and discipline, as well as
animated by the desire of pillage, the Sikhs made sure of success.
Though they had never seen the British troops in battle, the Khalsa
soldiers considered themselves fully equal to contend against them.
There is no doubt, and it is necessary to make the remark in order
to account for the presumptuous conduct of the Sikhs, that our sad
reverses at Cabool in 1841, and our retreat in 1842, had greatly
affected the _prestige_ of the British military character. Just as
the failure of Lord Lake before Bhurtpore, in 1805, even after his
victories in 1803 and 1804, had left the impression on the minds of the
native princes, that we could not take forts.
Now the Sikhs under Runjeet Singh had defeated the Affghans under
Ajean Khan, the elder brother of Dost Mahomed Khan, at Noushera (half
way between Attock and Peshawur), in 1823. They imagined themselves
superior, as soldiers, to the Affghans, and knew that the latter had
defeated the British. They did not, however, bear in mind that our
troops were destroyed in the retreat by the frost and snow. Lady Sale
says, the first snow fell on the 26th of November. They, therefore,
argued thus:--They had beaten the Affghans, and the Affghans had
beaten the British; therefore the British were not invincible, and
might be overcome by Sikh troops.
The disturbed state of the Lahore government during the latter part of
the reign of Runjeet Singh, up to the present moment, had compelled the
British government to introduce various precautionary measures for the
protection of the British frontier, on a scale which was opposed to the
terms of the treaty of 1809. It is true that the British government
had recognised their boy-king, Dhuleep Singh, who had been proclaimed
by the army, but being of a naturally suspicious character, the Sikhs
considered themselves in danger of invasion, and resolved to anticipate
the British, and wage war, by crossing the Sutlej. They appointed
Lall Singh, prime minister, or vizier, and Tej Singh, an officer of
considerable talent and experience, commander-in-chief of the Sikh
forces.
The British government demanded an explanation of this movement, but
none being given, the Governor-General issued a proclamation,[13]
declaring all the possessions and territories of the Maharajah Dhuleep
Singh on the left bank of the Sutlej to be confiscated and annexed to
the British dominions; calling upon the inhabitants and their rulers
to second the British government, he assured all who were peaceably
disposed, of the protection of that government.
Thus the war was begun. The Sikhs, as we have seen, crossed the Sutlej
with their heavy artillery on the 13th, on the 14th, marched to
Ferozeshah, and, on the 18th, met the British forces, under the command
of Sir Hugh Gough.
The battle of Moodkee, on the 18th of December, was their first battle
with the English. This engagement they themselves allowed to be a
defeat; but in that of Ferozeshah, three or four days later, they
claimed the victory. Indeed many British officers have told me that
it was a very desperate affair, and that it was fortunate the Sikhs
were ignorant of their own power and resources. If this fact be held
in recollection, when the reader comes to the battle of Sobraon, seven
weeks later, he will see the necessity for a grand effort on their
part; for another defeat or retreat would have been ruin to the Sikh
cause.
Colonel Campbell's force was, as we have stated, nearly 3,000 strong,
but the loss of the English in the battles of Moodkee and Ferozeshah,
amounted to 3,291 men killed and wounded, and 804 horses; so that the
arrival of this force would not replace the numbers lost. It was,
therefore, necessary to draw troops from other quarters also, and
concentrate them at the place of action.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 4: In the Dragoons, one groom is allowed by Government for
every two horses, the other being paid by the soldiers themselves.]
[Footnote 5: In Bengal Proper, rice. These cakes are made just like
those eaten by the men, but thicker and of coarser flour. No bad food
on a pinch.]
[Footnote 6: Vide Despatches.]
[Footnote 7: See Appendix III.]
[Footnote 8: See Appendix IV.]
[Footnote 9: See Appendix V.]
[Footnote 10: See Appendix VI.]
[Footnote 11: In 1845, Allard was dead; Ventura, Court and Avitabile
were in Europe; Cortland, son of Lieut.-Colonel Cortland, late of H.M.
31st Foot, who had entered the service of the Sikh leader, came over
to the British. Colonel Hurbon, a Spanish officer, erected the works
at Sobraon; still he was not a regular officer in the pay of the Sikh
government, but was employed for the occasion by the troops.]
[Footnote 12: See Appendix VII.]
[Footnote 13: See Appendix VIII.]