Sepoys and native cavalry, advanced once more into the province of
Malwa, under Lieut.-Colonel Murray, and arrived at Dhowd on the 12th
of June, having lost many men from the excessive heat. On the march
Major Stuart, of the Sixty-fifth, died and was buried, (9th June,)
under the colours of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, on which day twenty-one men
of the Sixty-fifth, and eleven of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, died from the
effects of the hot winds.
From Dhowd, the troops advanced to Ongein, the capital of Scindia,
from whence the EIGHTY-SIXTH, three battalions of Sepoys, a train of
artillery, and a body of Scindia’s cavalry, were immediately pushed
on to Indore, the capital of Holkar’s dominions, where they arrived
on the 14th of August; the city having been evacuated on the previous
evening.
From Indore, the flank companies of the regiment, and a battalion
of Sepoys, advanced with scaling ladders, under Captain Richardson,
twenty miles, to surprise a fort, which was reported to be full of
troops and provisions; but when the soldiers scaled the walls, they
found the place empty; the enemy having fled a few hours previously.
Having penetrated so far beyond the boundaries of Guzerat, the
troops under Lieut.-Colonel Murray found their communication with
that country cut off, and Holkar threatening to enter and lay waste
the province; their supplies were nearly exhausted; they were in
a territory devastated by famine and disease; the rainy season
was approaching, and a small force, under Lieut.-Colonel Monson,
sent by General Lord Lake to effect a junction with Lieut.-Col.
Murray, was pursued by Holkar’s numerous legions, and forced to
make a precipitate flight, abandoning its cannon and baggage. Under
these circumstances, a sudden advance was made, of two marches, to
deceive the enemy, and on the third march the troops faced about
and retreated. The rain set in with such violence as to destroy the
tents;--the artillery and baggage oxen and camels died in great
numbers;--much of the baggage was abandoned;--the soldiers had to
drag the guns through the cotton-grounds waist-deep in water;--no
cover or shelter for officers or soldiers;--the inhabitants dying in
great numbers from famine;--the European soldiers dying also from
excessive fatigue, the inclemency of the weather and privation;--the
native troops and followers also perishing in great numbers: such
were the distressing circumstances under which this retrograde
movement was executed, but, by the perseverance of the Europeans,
the guns were preserved, and the troops arrived at Ongein, where the
Sixty-fifth, EIGHTY-SIXTH, and artillery, were accommodated with a
building in the fort. This force had been reduced by its sufferings,
from six to three thousand men.
Exertions were made to re-equip this diminished force for the field,
and orders being received to advance, it was again in motion in the
middle of October, advancing in the direction of Kota and Rhampoorae,
and capturing, on the route, the hill fort of _Inglehur_ by escalade,
also several other small forts.
The army of Holkar was routed and dispersed by the troops under
General Lord Lake; but the war was protracted by the defection of the
Rajah of Bhurtpore, and the EIGHTY-SIXTH were destined to transfer
their services to the rajah’s dominions.
[Sidenote: 1805]
Reinforcements having arrived from Bombay, Major-General Jones
assumed the command, and marched towards the city of _Bhurtpore_,
the capital of the hostile rajah’s territory[5]. After a long and
harassing march, the troops approached that fortress on the 10th of
February, 1805, when a large body of hostile horsemen surrounded
the column and impeded its movements across a level country. Half
the force was employed in protecting the baggage, and the guns were
repeatedly unlimbered, to keep the adverse cavalry at a distance. On
the following day, Major-General Jones’s division joined the army
before Bhurtpore, and was inspected by Lord Lake, who expressed
his satisfaction at the bearing of the troops. The soldiers of the
Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH presented a motley appearance: their
worn-out uniforms were patched with various colours, or replaced by
red cotton jackets; many of the men wore sandals in the place of
shoes, and turbans instead of hats; but beneath this outward war-worn
appearance, the innate courage of Britons still glowed.
The siege of Bhurtpore had unfortunately been undertaken without a
battering train of sufficient weight, and necessary to insure the
reduction of so strong a fortress; the siege was, however, persevered
in. At three o’clock, on the 20th of February, two hundred and fifty
men of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two companies of Sepoys, commanded by
Captain Grant, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, stormed an out-work, covering
one of the principal gates, with the bayonet, driving the Arabs,
who fought with their usual determination, into the city, and
capturing eleven brass guns; in which service Lieutenants Lanphier
and D’Aguilar distinguished themselves, the former receiving a
spear wound in the neck. As the Arabs fled to the gate, Captain
Grant followed, in the hope of being able to enter with them, but
he found it closed, and, after destroying the fugitives, who were
shut out, he retired to the Pettah, to await the result of the
other attacks, which did not succeed. While the soldiers of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH and Sepoys were dragging the captured guns to the camp,
they were attacked by a numerous body of the enemy, who issued from
the fortress to retake the guns, but were repulsed by the steady
valour of the soldiers. Captain Grant formed a square round the guns,
and under a heavy fire from the Fort, succeeded in bringing them to
camp; this was the only successful part of this attack. The enemy’s
numerous cavalry also attacked the British camp, but were defeated
by the troops not engaged in the trenches, or in the assault. Lord
Lake commended the determined bravery of the storming party of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH in orders, and directed the captured guns to be placed
in front of the camp of the regiment,--a mark of distinction highly
prized by the corps, and by the Bombay division of the army to which
they belonged.
At three o’clock on the following day, the flank companies of the
Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH, supported by the Seventy-fifth and
Seventy-sixth regiments, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Monson, stormed
a large and high bastion. After passing the ditch, the forlorn hope
was destroyed in attempting to ascend the breach, which was extremely
steep, and knee-deep in mud and loose stones. Every effort was
made, the men climbing over the dead bodies of their comrades, and
struggling to gain the rampart, but in vain. Some strove to climb
by the shot holes made by the British guns, and others drove their
bayonets into the mud walls to ascend by, while the enemy above
hurled large stones, logs of timber, packs of flaming oiled cotton,
and jars filled with combustibles, upon their heads, with a terrible
destruction; the killed and wounded lay by hundreds, crushed beneath
the falling timbers, or burning under the flaming oiled cloth, when
Lieut.-Colonel Monson, seeing the impossibility of succeeding,
ordered the survivors to return to the camp.
In the two attacks, the EIGHTY-SIXTH had two serjeants and
twenty-three rank and file killed; Captain Moreton, Lieutenants
Travers, Baird, Lanphier, D’Aguilar, one serjeant, one drummer, and
seventy-three rank and file wounded. A great number of the wounded
soldiers died. Lieutenant Baird received five wounds; Lieutenant
Lanphier was wounded on each day; this officer and Lieutenant
D’Aguilar distinguished themselves on both occasions. Serjeant
George Ibertson was commended in regimental orders for his conduct
at the breach, and Corporal Crawford was rewarded with the rank of
serjeant, for his behaviour on this occasion.
The capture of Bhurtpore without additional means, being found
impracticable, the British withdrew from before that fortress, and
proceeded to Dhoolpore; negotiations for peace having been concluded,
the army was broken up in May; the Bengal troops proceeding to
Muttra, and the Bombay division to Tonk, where they remained during
the monsoon in huts.
After the rainy season, the Bombay force commenced its march,
proceeding through the territories of the Rajah of Jeypore, in
pursuit of the forces of Holkar, who was still in the field. Having
been chased to the banks of the Hyphasis river, on the borders of the
great desert, the Mahratta chieftain was forced to submit, and the
war was terminated by a treaty of peace[6].
In orders dated Riapoora Ghaut, on the left bank of the Hyphasis,
13th December, 1805, General Lord Lake returned thanks to
Major-General Jones, the officers, and soldiers, of the division of
the army from Bombay, for the important services rendered by them
during the war; and, alluding to the period they had been under his
immediate command, added, “His Lordship has been proud to witness, on
every occasion on which they have been employed, the steady conduct
and gallantry in action of all the troops composing the division.”
[Sidenote: 1806]
From the banks of the Hyphasis, near the spot where Alexander
the Great crossed that river when he invaded India, the regiment
commenced its march for Bombay, where it arrived on the 29th of
March, 1806, and embarking for Goa, landed on the rock of Aguada on
the 3rd of April, after a most active and harassing service of more
than five years, during which period it had sailed up the Red Sea,
crossed the desert twice, served a campaign in Egypt, traversed the
north and western provinces of India from Bombay to Bhurtpore, and
received the thanks of Lord Lake on the banks of the Hyphasis; having
sustained a loss of Lieut.-Colonel Robinson, Captains Maclaurin and
Macquarrie, Lieutenants Harvey, Price, and Wilson, Ensigns Massey,
Ellison, McKay, Leovick, and upwards of a thousand non-commissioned
officers and soldiers.
In October of this year, Lieutenant-General Craig, K.B., was removed
to the Twenty-second Foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the
_Eighty-sixth_ by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Ross, Baronet, from the
Eighty-fifth regiment.
At Goa, the regiment was joined by a detachment, consisting of
Lieutenant Michael Creagh, Ensigns Blackall, Hillhouse, Paymaster
Cope, and thirty non-commissioned officers and soldiers. This
detachment was employed under Major-General Sir David Baird, at the
capture of the Cape of Good Hope, in January, 1806, when Lieutenant
Creagh was wounded. The strength of the regiment was also augmented
with two hundred and thirteen volunteers from the Seventy-seventh, on
that corps embarking from England.
In this year, His Majesty was pleased to change the designation of
the corps to the “EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR LEINSTER REGIMENT OF FOOT.”
Lieut.-Colonel Hastings Fraser, having arrived in India, overland
from Europe, assumed the command, and Major Cuyler embarked for
England.
[Sidenote: 1808]
In February, 1808, Captain John Grant obtained permission to return
to England, when it was stated in general orders,--“The Honourable
the Governor in Council cannot allow Captain Grant to depart, without
being accompanied by this testimonial to the credit which that
meritorious officer has done to the British arms, during his service
in India, at the siege of Baroda, the capture of the important
fortress of Baroach and Powanghur, and particularly in the arduous
and successful attack of the column which Captain Grant commanded
on the 20th of February, 1805, at the siege of Bhurtpore, on which
occasion, he most gallantly carried the enemy’s post, and captured
the whole of their guns, being eleven in number, &c., &c., &c.”
[Sidenote: 1809]
Orders having been received for the removal of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
to form part of a field force to be assembled in the Presidency of
Madras, the following declaration was issued by the Viceroy and
Captain-General of the Portuguese possessions in Asia, dated Palace
of Panjam, 16th August, 1809.
“On the departure of His Britannic Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment
from Goa, His Excellency the Viceroy and Captain-General of the
Portuguese possessions in Asia avails himself of the opportunity to
express his sentiments of praise and admiration of the regular order
and conduct which Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, the officers and soldiers
of that corps, have so honourably observed during a period of three
years, which they have been employed in the territories subject to
his authority, so highly creditable to the discipline of that corps.
“His Excellency the Viceroy will never forget the invariable
harmony which has always subsisted between the subjects of His Royal
Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal and all ranks of His Britannic
Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment, whose remembrance will be always
grateful to him; and he doubts not they will continue to acquire, in
whatever part of the world their services may be called for, glorious
claims on the rewards of their Sovereign, and the admiration of their
country.”
Leaving Goa, the regiment proceeded in boats up the river to
Candiaparr, from whence it ascended the ghauts. The monsoon
having set in, the men suffered much from the incessant rains and
inundations, and after a long march through the Mahratta territories,
arrived at Bellary, on the 15th of September. The second battalion
of the First or the Royals, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two battalions of
Sepoys formed the first brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, to
which Lieutenant Michael Creagh was appointed brigade-major. A large
force assembled under Colonel Conran, of the Royals, but the native
troops, against which it was prepared to act, returned to their duty;
when the EIGHTY-SIXTH garrisoned Bellary and Gooty. Captain James
Burke, and many non-commissioned officers and soldiers, died from
the effects of the fatigues they had undergone. Soon afterwards, the
regiment returned to Goa.
[Sidenote: 1810]
After a few weeks’ repose, the regiment was selected to form part of
an expedition against the French island of _Bourbon_; it embarked
on the 5th of March, 1810, and sailed on the following day. On
entering Cannonore harbour, one transport struck on a rock, and
was lost. After calling at Quillon and Point de Galle, for water
and provisions, the fleet sailed for Madras, where the regiment
landed on the 13th of April, and encamped at St. Thomas’ Mount.
From Madras, the expedition sailed under the command of Colonel
Fraser, consisting of the Sixty-ninth and EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiments,
Sixth and Twelfth Madras Native Infantry, &c., &c., &c., and on
arrival at the Island of Roderiguez, Lieut.-Colonel Keating, of
the Fifty-sixth Regiment, assumed the command, having with him a
detachment of the Fifty-sixth, and some Bombay Sepoys. The land force
was divided into three brigades; the first brigade was commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Hastings Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with
Lieutenant Michael Creagh, brigade-major; and the second brigade was
under Lieut.-Colonel Drummond, of the same corps, with Lieutenant
Richardson, brigade-major.
The van of the expedition, consisting of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment,
one hundred and eighty rank and file of the Sixth Madras Native
Infantry, a small detachment of artillery, and fifty pioneers, under
Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with difficulty effected
a landing at Grand Chaloupe, about one o’clock on the 7th of July.
On gaining the shore, the light company of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, under
Lieutenant Archibald McLean, supported by the grenadiers under
Captain Lanphier, dashed forward to drive back parties of the enemy’s
riflemen, who kept up a harassing fire, and to secure possession of
the heights; which service was performed with great gallantry. The
other part of the regiment having landed, pressed forward to the
heights above _St. Denis_, and, as the sun was setting, approached
to within range of the enemy’s batteries. The violence of the surf
had become so great that the other divisions could not land, and the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, in consequence, fell back to the heights, where they
were joined during the night, by the Sepoys, pioneers, and artillery,
with one 4½ inch howitzer.
At four o’clock on the morning of the 8th of July, the EIGHTY-SIXTH
commenced descending the mountain, leaving the Sepoys on the summit
to defend the rear; their advance-guard was soon discovered by the
enemy’s post, and at day-light the regiment was assailed by a heavy
fire of cannon, mortars, and musketry; at the same time some of the
enemy’s riflemen attempted to gain the road on its right. The light
company, supported by the grenadiers, and followed by the regiment,
descended the mountain at a running pace. Two columns of the enemy,
having each a field-piece, and being supported by the heavy guns
of the redoubt, opened a sharp fire of grape and musketry; but,
as the EIGHTY-SIXTH arrived on the plain, they closed on their
adversaries with the bayonet. This spirited conduct decided the
contest; the opposing ranks, unable to withstand the shock of steel,
faced about and fled. Their commandant, M. de St. Luzanne, escaped
with difficulty, and their second in command was wounded and taken
prisoner by Captain Lanphier.
The enemy attempted to re-form behind the parapet of the redoubt, but
they were pressed so closely by the grenadiers, that they abandoned
it, leaving a brass six-pounder behind, which was immediately turned
against themselves. The haulyards of the flag-staff in the redoubt
were shot away, but Corporal William Hall, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
climbed the staff under an incessant fire of round-shot and musketry,
and fixed the King’s colour of the regiment to it. The French
soldiers viewed this daring feat with admiration, and as he descended
the staff unhurt, they raised a loud shout; at the same time, the
seamen of the fleet off the shore, who had witnessed the gallant
charge, hailed the well-known flag of the regiment which waved on
the redoubt by a loud huzza, which ran from ship to ship as they
passed; at the same time the grenadiers of the regiment stormed two
batteries, capturing nine twenty-four-pounders, a twelve-inch mortar,
and a furnace of red-hot shot.
The position seized was held by the regiment, the guns of the
captured redoubt answering the incessant fire of the enemy, until
the arrival of additional troops. At four o’clock the enemy
attempted to retake the redoubt, but were repulsed with the loss of
their commanding officer, who was taken prisoner. About this time
Lieut.-Colonel Drummond’s brigade arrived, and the enemy sent out a
flag of truce; Lieut.-Colonel Keating having joined, the surrender of
the island of Bourbon to the British arms was concluded by him.
Colonel Fraser stated in his despatch, “I cannot conclude without
requesting permission to offer my humble tribute of praise to the
noble spirit which animated every individual of my detachment; from
Major Edwards,[7] who commanded the regiment, I received the greatest
assistance; Captain Lanphier, Lieutenant Archibald McLean, and
every officer and soldier of the corps, displayed the most ardent
valour, which must have been conspicuous to the whole force off
the coast, who witnessed their conduct.” “To Lieutenant Creagh, my
brigade-major, I was highly indebted for his unremitted exertions and
attention to the duties of his station, from the beginning of the
service I was sent on, to the moment when he was struck by a cannon
ball, while he was in the act of encouraging our artillerymen in the
redoubt, which, I fear, will deprive his Sovereign and his country of
the services of a most promising officer.”
The loss of the regiment on this occasion was Lieutenant John Graham
Munro[8], of the grenadier company, killed during the charge; Major
Edwards, (commanding the regiment,) Captain Lanphier, Lieutenants
Michael Creagh, (brigade-major,) Archibald McLean, Blackhall,
Webb, and White, wounded; also three serjeants, two drummers, and
seventy-five rank and file killed and wounded.
The following statement appeared in regimental orders on the 9th of
July:--“It affords Major Edwards great pleasure, in having received
Lieut.-Colonel Fraser’s directions, to confirm the appointment of
Captain Lanphier[9] to the grenadier company, a distinction to which
that officer is well entitled for the gallant manner in which he led
the brave grenadiers to the assault of the redoubt and batteries.
“The conduct of the light infantry under Lieutenant Archibald McLean,
has on all occasions been equally distinguished, and Major Edwards
sincerely laments the severe wound that gallant officer has received,
but trusts he will soon be restored to the service.
“Major Edwards has great pleasure in confirming Lieutenant
Blackhall’s appointment to the grenadiers; he regrets the wound
received by that officer, but hopes it will not prevent his joining
that company which he animated by his zeal and example.
“The conduct of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, is above all praise; they have fought
the enemy with every species of disadvantage and deprivation; they
have borne the latter without a murmur, and their determined valour
has achieved victory. In spite of every obstacle, they have nobly
sustained the character of their country, and it will be gratifying
to their feelings to know that their gallant exertions have been
witnessed and applauded by the whole of the British force off the
shore.
“Major Edwards cannot conclude without expressing his regret for
the loss of Lieutenant Munro, of the grenadiers, and the brave men
who have fallen on this occasion; their memory, however, will long
survive, and be held dear in the recollection of the regiment. Most
sincerely does he regret the severe wound received by Lieutenant
Michael Creagh; but which, he hopes, will not deprive the service of
that valuable and gallant officer; and he trusts the wounds received
by Lieutenant White, will not long prevent him joining the corps.
“Corporal William Hall, who hoisted the King’s colour on the redoubt,
is appointed serjeant for his gallant conduct, in the room of
Serjeant Millan, killed.
“Private John Moore, of the light infantry, is appointed corporal,
for his gallant behaviour on the 8th instant.”
The conduct of the regiment was highly commended in detachment orders
by Lieut.-Colonel Keating.
On the morning of the 9th of July, the flank companies of the
regiment marched into St. Denis, and entering the principal battery,
struck the tricoloured flag of France, and hoisted the King’s colour
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH; they were followed by the regiment, when the
French garrison grounded their arms and embarked for the Cape of Good
Hope.
Representation having been made of the gallant behaviour of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH at the reduction of this island, the royal authority
was given for their bearing the word “BOURBON” on their colours and
appointments, as a mark of their Sovereign’s approbation, and to
commemorate their gallantry on this occasion.
Bourbon and the Isle of France had been blockaded some time; the
capture of the former emboldening the British navy, a small fleet
ventured within the Isle de Passe, on the south-west side of the
Isle of France, where one British ship was burnt and sunk, and
several disabled, which gave the enemy a superiority at sea, when
their frigates menaced the batteries of Bourbon. The “Africaine”
frigate arriving from England short of hands, Lieutenant W. Home,
a serjeant, and twenty-five men of the EIGHTY-SIXTH went on board,
and this frigate, and the “Boadicea,” having put to sea under
Commodore Rowley, came up with, and engaged, two French frigates.
The “Boadicea” was becalmed astern, the “Africaine” fought the two
French ships until Captain Corbett and one hundred and sixty of
his crew were killed and wounded, when the frigate being a complete
wreck, she struck her colours, but Commodore Rowley coming up with
the “Boadicea,” the enemy made sail, and the shattered frigate was
towed into St. Paul’s. Only three of the soldiers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH
escaped; six having been killed, and Lieutenant Home and seventeen
wounded.