INDIA, 1774-1799
Rohilcund, 1774--Carnatic--Guzerat, 1778-1782--Sholinghur,
1781--Mangalore, 1783--Mysore--Nundy Droog, 1791--Rohilcund,
1794--Seedaseer, 1799--Seringapatam, 1799.
ROHILCUND, 1774.
This honorary distinction was awarded to the 2nd European Regiment
of the Bengal army for its services in the campaign undertaken
in that year to defend our ally, the King of Oude, against the
incursions of the Mahrattas. It is now borne by the Royal Munster
Fusiliers.
The campaign of 1774 was under the personal command of Colonel
Champion, the Commander-in-Chief in Bengal. There was a good
deal of hard work, of privations little to be understood by the
soldier who serves in India in these days, and more than one sharp
skirmish. The principal engagement was that fought at Kutra, in
the near neighbourhood of Bareilly, on St. George's Day (April
23), 1774, long known in India as St. George's Battle. Colonel
Champion had with him the 2nd Bengal European Regiment (now the 2nd
Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers) and six battalions of native
infantry. Unfortunately, no representatives of these remain to bear
the honour on their standards.
Our casualties amounted to 2 officers and 37 men killed, 7
officers and 93 men wounded. Immense booty was captured, and in
the distribution of this, officers and men benefited largely, the
respective shares being: Colonels, £1,900; Lieutenant-Colonels,
£1,600; Majors, £1,300; Captains, £685; subalterns, £343; cadets,
£100; sergeants, £6; privates, £4; Subadars, 131 rupees; Jemidars,
65 rupees; havildars, 40 rupees; sepoys, 35 rupees.
THE CARNATIC.
This honour has been awarded to the following regiments:
Highland Light Infantry.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Seaforth Highlanders.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
27th Light Cavalry.
2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners.
61st Pioneers.
62nd Punjabis.
63rd Light Infantry.
64th Pioneers.
66th Punjabis.
67th Punjabis.
69th Punjabis.
72nd Punjabis.
73rd Carnatic Infantry.
74th Punjabis.
75th Carnatic Infantry.
76th Punjabis.
79th Carnatic Infantry.
80th Carnatic Infantry.
It records their services in repelling the invasion of the Carnatic
by Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, and covers all the operations
undertaken against him up to the invasion of Mysore by the army
under Lord Cornwallis in 1791.
The renewal of the war with France in 1788 found Sir Hector Munro,
the victor of Buxar, Commander-in-Chief at Madras. It now became
necessary to reoccupy the fortified positions which we had captured
during the previous war with the expenditure of many lives, and
which had been restored to France on the conclusion of peace.
Although subsequent to the battle at Wandewash Hyder Ali, the
ruler of Mysore, had entered into a treaty with us, it was well
known that he had a striking predilection for the French; and on
the resumption of the war between France and England he openly
espoused the cause of our enemies, and prepared to invade the
Carnatic at the head of his troops. The Mysorean army was by no
means contemptible. It was partly trained on the European model,
and numbered little short of 100,000 men, of whom 25,000 were
cavalry, and it included a battalion of French troops. Munro's
first care was to prevent Hyder Ali receiving assistance from
France, and he at once took measures to seize the sea-ports of Mahé
and Pondicherry. In the defence of the former some of Hyder Ali's
troops took an active part, and the place made a gallant defence
before it surrendered. Sir Hector Munro undertook the reduction of
Pondicherry in person, but the garrison, anticipating the arrival
of a French fleet, made a most stubborn defence; and it was not
until the middle of October, after a siege lasting over two months,
that the British flag flew over its walls, our losses during these
operations amounting to upwards of 800 of all ranks, British as
well as native, killed and wounded.[6]
When Hyder Ali, in June, 1779, actually crossed the frontier,
our forces were much dispersed. Braithwaite, with 1,500 men,
held Pondicherry; Colonel Baillie, with 3,000, was at Guntoor,
on the Kistnah River; Colonel Cosby, with 2,000 native troops,
was at Trichinopoly; and Munro, with barely 5,000 men, at Madras.
Braithwaite and Baillie were immediately called in to strengthen
the Commander-in-Chief, whilst Colonel Cosby was ordered to
threaten Hyder Ali's line of communication. Wandewash, an important
strategical point on the Mysorean line of advance, was held by a
gallant young subaltern, Lieutenant Flint, with 200 sepoys, aided
by one single sergeant of the line. From August 11, 1780, until
January 22, 1781, this little band of heroes withstood assault
after assault, holding Hyder Ali's besieging force at bay until
relieved by Eyre Coote. The story of that siege has yet to be
written. Flint improvised his own artillery, made his own powder,
infused his own cheerful daring into the breasts of his sepoys, and
died unhonoured and unsung. There were, unfortunately, grievous
disasters to counterbalance this gallant achievement. Hyder Ali
threw himself on Baillie's force before it effected its junction
with Munro, practically annihilating it, the survivors, including
fifty English officers (amongst them Captain, afterwards Sir David,
Baird, of the 71st), being sent as prisoners to Seringapatam.
Whenever our fortunes in India have been at their lowest ebb we
have, fortunately, had men at hand to retrieve them. The "man on
the spot," unhampered from "home," has rarely failed us. In 1781
Warren Hastings was Governor-General, Eyre Coote Commander-in-Chief
at Calcutta. On hearing of Baillie's disaster and of Munro's
indecision, Warren Hastings despatched Eyre Coote to Madras armed
with full powers (suspending both Munro, the Commander-in-Chief,
and Whitehill, the Governor, from their functions). Coote had at
his disposal barely 8,000 men--the 71st (Highland Light Infantry),
1st Bengal, and 1st Madras European Regiments, some 1,600 men
in all, with six sepoy battalions and three regiments of native
cavalry. Munro, a gallant leader of men, but no General, at once
put himself under Coote's orders, and was entrusted with the
command of a brigade composed of the three British regiments. James
Stuart, who had commanded the 90th Light Infantry at Martinique and
Havana, and who had subsequently entered the Company's service,
being placed in command of the sepoy battalions. On July 1, 1781,
Coote inflicted his first defeat on Hyder Ali at the Battle of
Porto Novo, a fortified position on the sea-coast about 100 miles
south of Madras. On September 27 the two armies again met at
Sholinghur, about fifty miles west of Madras, when Coote, with
11,000 men and thirty guns, signally defeated Hyder Ali's army,
70,000 strong, killing, it is said, 5,000 of the enemy.
GUZERAT, 1778-1782.
This distinction is borne by the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers. There is, however, considerable doubt as
to the propriety of the Munsters bearing the honour. Colonel P. R.
Innes, the painstaking and accurate historian of that regiment,
maintains that the old 1st Bengal European Regiment has no
right to it, and if the honour was granted, as it undoubtedly
was, for the operations conducted by General Goddard in Guzerat
in the years 1778-1782, it is very certain that the 1st Bengal
Europeans never were with Goddard. The early part of the year 1778
found the army of the Bombay Presidency hard pressed, and help
was solicited from Bengal, where all for the moment was quiet.
Warren Hastings at once despatched a force consisting of six
battalions of sepoys (none of which are now remaining), a couple
of batteries of artillery, and 500 Afghan horsemen, to Bombay.
The march was an arduous undertaking--to cross India from east to
west, with a possible and very probable combination of Mahratta
chieftains to bar its progress. The officer originally nominated
to the command was soon superseded by Brigadier-General Goddard,
an officer who had received his early training in the 84th under
Coote, and who, on that regiment being ordered to England, had
been offered increased rank in the army of the East India Company.
Goddard marched via Cawnpore and Kalpee, which he stepped aside to
capture, to Hoshungabad, finally co-operating with a column sent
up from Bombay, which included the 1st Bombay European Regiment,
now the Royal Munster Fusiliers, as well as some battalions of
native infantry. Later the Madras Presidency was also called
upon to assist, and 500 men of the Madras Europeans, now the 1st
Battalion of the Dublins, with a battery of artillery and a sepoy
battalion, was sent round by sea to Surat, to which place Goddard
had advanced. For close on two years the little army was constantly
engaged. It captured Bassein on December 11, 1780, Ahmadabad in
the following month, and in the space of a little more than a
year after the arrival of the Madras troops Goddard had reduced
the provinces of Guzerat and the Concan. The Bengal troops were
now allowed to return, and once more they marched across India,
reaching Cawnpore in April, 1784.
To commemorate their services the supreme Government struck a
medal, which was distributed to all ranks, officers receiving gold
and the sepoys silver, medals. According to Mayo, this was the
first occasion in which a medal was granted to the private soldiers
of our army.
I regret that I have been unable to ascertain the casualties of
all the forces engaged. Stubbs, in his invaluable history of the
Bengal Artillery, gives the names of the officers of his corps who
were killed, but Begbie ignores the fact that Madras artillery were
employed. Colonel Harcourt does not allude to the losses of the
Madras European Regiment in his history of the old "Blue Caps."
The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, then the 1st Bombay Regiment, lost 3
officers and 19 men killed, and 14 officers and 41 men wounded,
in the course of these operations, and there is no doubt that the
campaign in Guzerat was attended with considerable loss.
SHOLINGHUR, SEPTEMBER 27, 1781.
This battle honour, which commemorates the defeat of the Mysorean
Army of Hyder Ali and its expulsion from the Carnatic by Sir Eyre
Coote, is borne by the following regiments:
Highland Light Infantry.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
27th Light Cavalry.
2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners.
63rd Light Infantry.
64th Pioneers.
66th Punjabis.
69th Punjabis.
72nd Punjabis.
73rd Carnatic Infantry.
74th Punjabis.
75th Carnatic Infantry.
76th Punjabis.
79th Carnatic Infantry.
80th Carnatic Infantry.
The total casualties in the action were by no means heavy. They
fell principally on the British troops. Unfortunately, although Sir
Eyre Coote alludes to a casualty return in his despatch announcing
the battle, all trace of this has disappeared, so that the losses
sustained by individual regiments must, in the case of Sholinghur,
as in those of Marlborough's earlier battles, always remain
unrecorded.
Early in the following year welcome reinforcements arrived from
England, the 73rd (then the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd) Highlanders,
the 98th and 100th Regiments disembarking on the Malabar coast,
the 72nd coming to Madras to reinforce Coote. These reinforcements
came none too early. Tippoo Sultan (Hyder Ali's son, his most
able Lieutenant and his successor) had surprised and annihilated
a British force under Colonel Braithwaite, all the officers save
one being either killed or carried prisoners to Seringapatam. A
few months later fresh reinforcements arrived in the 23rd Light
Dragoons (now the 19th Hussars), the 101st and 102nd Regiments
(long since disbanded, and not to be confused with the 101st Royal
Bengal and 102nd Royal Madras Fusiliers), with two Hanoverian
battalions. With these forces Stuart inflicted a severe defeat on
Tippoo Sultan at Cuddalore, taking from him thirteen guns. For this
fine action no battle honour was granted, though there are many
names on many colours less hardly earned.
CASUALTIES AT CUDDALORE.
+----------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Royal Artillery | - | 2 | 19 | 67 |
|71st H.L.I. | 2 | 6 | 84 | 112 |
|101st Regiment | 4 | 6 | 42 | 55 |
|Hanoverians | 4 | 12 | 62 | 144 |
|64th Pioneers | - | - | 6 | 16 |
|67th Punjabis | - | - | - | 8 |
|72nd Seaforths | 1 | - | 23 | 47 |
|Dublin Fus. | - | 2 | 8 | 29 |
|72nd Punjabis | - | 3 | 6 | 39 |
|18th Madras In. | - | 3 | 4 | 50 |
|20th M.N.I. | 1 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
|Bengal Infantry | 7 | 5 | 12 | 90 |
+----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
On the opposite or Malabar coast Colonel McLeod, with the 2nd
Battalion of the 42nd, details of the 98th, 100th, and 102nd
Regiments, and the 8th Battalion of Bombay Sepoys, won a decisive
victory at Paniani on November 27, 1782, the 42nd losing 3 officers
and 57 men in the action; but the chief honours were reserved for
the 42nd at Mangalore.
MANGALORE, 1783.
The Royal Highlanders and 101st Grenadiers alone bear this battle
honour, and surely in the many names inscribed on the colours
and appointments of the Black Watch, there is not one which
redounds more to the glory of the regiment than this little-known
achievement, one of the brightest in the military history of our
own or of any other country.
A glance at the map of India will show Mangalore on the west or
Malabar coast of the peninsula. During our operations against
Hyder Ali, and subsequently against his son, the redoubted Tippoo
Sultan, its possession was of vital importance to both ourselves
and to the Mysoreans. Tippoo Sultan was in direct communication
with Napoleon, and through the Malabar ports reinforcements and
supplies reached him from France. When, in 1783, General Matthews,
the Commander-in-Chief in Bombay, led a column to reduce the
fortress of Bednore, in which Tippoo's treasure was stored, he left
garrisons at Mangalore and Onore to keep open his communication
with the sea. At first successful, Matthews was in the end
compelled to capitulate, and he, with the bulk of his army, were
done to death by the Mysoreans. Mangalore was held by a force of
about 1,800 men, under Colonel Campbell, of the 42nd; Onore by an
officer of the Bombay Army named Torriano, with whom at present I
have nothing to do.
Early in May Colonel Campbell learned of the disaster to General
Matthews, and at the same time he received a summons from Tippoo
Sultan demanding the surrender of the fort and town of Mangalore
in virtue of the terms of the capitulation arranged with the
Commander-in-Chief. Now, it is necessary for me here to interpolate
that General Matthews and the officers of the King's regiments
had not been on the best of terms. He, a servant of the East
India Company, refused to recognize their superior rank, and two
of the Colonels of the King's regiments (McLeod, of the 42nd,
and Humberston, of the 100th) had left his camp and formulated
complaints against the Commander-in-Chief to the Governor-General.
Campbell therefore replied to Tippoo Sultan's envoy that he refused
to recognize any arrangements which might have been made by the
Commander-in-Chief, and that he intended to defend the fort to the
last.
On May 9 the siege commenced on the land side, and for the next six
months Campbell was hemmed closely in by some 60,000 men. It is
true that communication by sea was still precariously maintained.
On May 23 the Indiaman _Fairford_ appeared off the port, and threw
ashore a small party of English recruits destined for the Bombay
European Regiment, which had been practically annihilated with
Matthews.[7] That day, May 23, Colonel Campbell made a vigorous
sortie, and destroyed a portion of the enemy's siege-works and
batteries; but in the retirement three companies of native troops
were cut off, and three British officers with 225 sepoys fell
into Tippoo Sultan's hands. On the morrow Campbell prepared for
a determined resistance. The women of the 42nd were told off to
the hospitals, and a stern code of orders published. The men were
forbidden to fire without explicit orders, and officers were
enjoined to remember that the bayonet, and the bayonet alone, was
the weapon of the British soldier. "Englishmen must recollect,"
runs the order, "that the bayonet is the service required of them,
and that they demean themselves by firing at such a dastardly foe."
A return, dated May 24, showed the garrison to consist of 70
British and 67 native officers, with 315 British and 1,394 native
soldiers. Attached to and included in the total of the 42nd were
a few of the then 98th and 101st Regiments (not to be confused
with the present Royal Munster Fusiliers), both of which were
with General Matthews at Bednore. The native troops included the
headquarters of the 8th Battalion (now the 101st Grenadiers), some
companies of the 15th Bombay Battalion, and details of other
regiments which were with the Commander-in-Chief at Bednore.
Amongst the officers was Lieutenant MacKay, of the Royal Navy, who
volunteered to act as a gunner during the siege. He did right good
and gallant service, and was twice wounded in the course of the
operations. Another name appears prominently in the despatches--a
name which has since become a household word in the British Army.
Campbell's Brigade-Major was a certain Captain Wolseley, of the
98th Regiment, and much of the credit of the defence was due to the
gallantry and unwearied exertions of this officer.
Between the Highlanders and the 8th Battalion of Bombay Grenadiers
a strong _camaraderie_ existed; they had fought side by side at
Panianee, when Colonel Macleod had drawn attention to the dash and
steady gallantry of the regiment. Campbell, in his despatches from
Mangalore, bore frequent testimony to the unselfish devotion of the
native officers, and the uncomplaining heroism of the men.
Into the details of the siege it is not my intention to enter.
Suffice to say that from May 23 until July 27, when news arrived of
peace between France and England, there was only one day in which
the garrison did not suffer some casualties, and that from June 12
the men were on half-rations of flour; of meat they had from the
first been deprived. Desertions amongst the sepoys were frequent,
and this was not to be wondered at. Life within the walls was not
a bed of roses, whereas Tippoo Sultan offered golden inducements
to those who would enter his service. On August 2 an armistice was
arranged, a French officer attached to Tippoo Sultan's army acting
as intermediary, Campbell declining to surrender the fortress until
he had received specific instructions on this head from Bombay.
The Mysorean Prince promised to furnish supplies on condition that
no attempts were made to strengthen the works or to communicate
with the outside world, except with the consent of the Tippoo
Sultan himself. On several occasions vessels came close enough
for Campbell to send an officer on board (indeed, Colonel McLeod,
the acting Commander-in-Chief, landed at Mangalore, and had an
interview with Tippoo Sultan). Campbell's pitiable condition was
well known to the authorities in Bombay;[8] but no well-sustained
effort appears to have been made to relieve him, and at last, on
January 30, his men reduced to skeletons with fatigue and sickness,
and his garrison reduced in numbers to one-half of their original
strength, he was compelled to capitulate; but he marched out with
all the honours of war, and even Tippoo Sultan kept honourably to
the terms of the capitulation, and gave the garrison a safe conduct
to Bombay. Colonel Campbell arrived there on March 13, and ten days
later he was laid to rest in the cathedral in that city. The Bombay
Government, at last recognizing his work, erected a monument to
commemorate his heroic defence of the little fort committed to his
charge.
The actual siege of Mangalore lasted from May 23 to July 27, 1783,
when hostilities ceased; but from that date until January 30,
1784, the garrison suffered from the want of food and the exposure
necessitated by being ever on the alert in case of treachery.
The losses of the garrison between those dates amounted to--
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _British Troops._ |-----------|-----------|
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Total of British troops| 12 | 15 | 45 | 127 |
|42nd R. Highlanders | 5 | 4 | 34 | 96 |
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Native Troops._ |-----------|-----------+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Total of Native troops | 5 | 16 | 121 | 438 |
+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
On p. 74 I have given the strength of the garrison on May 24, the
actual date of the commencement of the siege. The "marching-out"
state on January 27, 1784, shows the true extent of the sufferings
of the garrison of Mangalore:
+-----------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| | MAY 24, 1783. | JAN. 27, 1784. |
| _Regiments._ +-----------+-------+-----------+-------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._|_Officers._| _Men._|
+-----------------------------+-----------+-------+-----------+-------+
|British: | | | | |
| 42nd and details | 28 | 245 | 16 | 119 |
| Bombay Artillery | 4 | 15 | 3 | 9 |
| Bombay Fusiliers | 6 | 55 | 4 | 19 |
| Officers of Sepoy Corps | 32 | - | 23 | - |
| | | | | |
|Natives: | | | | |
| Bombay Artillery | 4 | 133 | 3 | 83 |
| 8th Grenadiers and details | 63 | 1,261 | 53 | 490 |
+-----------------------------+-----------+-------+-----------+-------+
MYSORE.
This honour is now borne by the following regiments:
19th Hussars.
Worcester.
West Riding.
Oxford Light Infantry.
Middlesex.
Highland Light Infantry.
Seaforth Highlanders.
Gordon Highlanders.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
26th Light Cavalry.
27th Light Cavalry.
28th Light Cavalry.
2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners.
61st P.W.O. Pioneers.
62nd Punjabis.
63rd Light Infantry.
64th Pioneers.
66th Punjabis.
67th Punjabis.
68th Punjabis.
73rd Carnatic Infantry.
74th Punjabis.
75th Carnatic Infantry.
76th Punjabis.
79th Carnatic Infantry.
80th Carnatic Infantry.
81st Pioneers.
82nd Punjabis.
101st Grenadiers.
103rd Light Infantry.
104th Rifles.
105th Light Infantry.
107th Pioneers.
108th Infantry.
109th Infantry.
The aggressive action of Tippoo Sultan, who had been recognized
as ruler of Mysore on the death of Hyder Ali, and the cruelties
perpetrated on the English prisoners in Seringapatam, rendered
fresh hostilities with Mysore inevitable. The Home Government
therefore agreed to raise four more regiments, to be paid by, and
held at the disposal of the East India Company. These were numbered
74th and 75th Highlanders, and 76th and 77th of the line. All four
arrived in India in the course of the year 1788. It was known that
Tippoo Sultan had sent emissaries to France in the hope of securing
French aid in his efforts to drive us out of India, and in 1789 he
threw down the glove by invading the territory of our ally, the
Maharajah of Travancore. The Commander-in-Chief at Madras, General
Meadows, was a most gallant officer, who had distinguished himself
in the West Indies, but who was new to the East, and, brave man
that he was, was quite prepared to recognize that as yet he had
not sufficient experience of Eastern life to warrant his assuming
command of a large army operating under entirely novel conditions.
Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General in India, therefore
determined to come down from Calcutta and take command of the army
destined for the subjugation of Tippoo Sultan. The task was no easy
one. Circumstances arose which delayed the Governor-General, and
the year 1790 was wasted in an abortive campaign under Meadows.
The year 1791 opened more auspiciously. The Commander-in-Chief at
Bombay, General Robert Abercromby, who was to co-operate with the
Governor-General, had by a well-executed movement seized Cannanore,
and made himself master of the province of Malabar.
Tippoo was now threatened from both sea-coasts, and seems to have
been utterly unprepared for the daring stroke so brilliantly
carried out by Cornwallis, who, leaving Madras early in February,
and passing through the famous Colar Goldfields, arrived before
Bangalore on March 5, and two days later had carried the
fortifications of that city by assault, and so secured a base of
operations for his projected advance on Seringapatam.
In May, after an unsuccessful attempt to carry that fortress by
storm, Cornwallis was compelled to fall back on Bangalore, where he
passed the hot weather.
CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF BANGALORE, MARCH, 1791.
+------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|19th Hussars | - | 1 | 3 | 7 |
|36th Worcester | 1 | 4 | 9 | 54 |
|52nd Oxfd. L.I. | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
|71st Highl. L.I. | - | 1 | 6 | 14 |
|72nd Seaforths | - | - | 5 | 18 |
|74th Highl. L.I. | - | 2 | 1 | 7 |
|76th W. Riding Regiment | - | 1 | 8 | 45 |
|2nd Q.O. Sappers | - | 3 | 24 | 25 |
+------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
NOTE.--The Indian regiments present at the capture of Bangalore
were the 61st Pioneers, 62nd Punjabis, 63rd Palamcottah L.I.,
64th Pioneers, and 80th Carnatic Infantry; their total losses
were 62 killed and 123 wounded.
NUNDY DROOG, OCTOBER 19, 1791.
This honour is borne by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers alone, and
records the capture of what was considered by the Mysoreans an
impregnable stronghold by the force under Cornwallis prior to the
capture of Seringapatam in 1792. Nundy Droog lies some thirty miles
north of Bangalore, and threatened the communications between
Cornwallis's army and that of our ally, the Nizam of Hyderabad. It
became necessary then to possess it. It bore a great reputation,
and for three years had defied the whole strength of Hyder Ali's
army, and then only fell into his hands through starvation. Early
in September, 1791, Cornwallis detached Major Gowdie, with the
1st Madras European Regiment (now the Dublin Fusiliers) and six
battalions of sepoys, to effect its reduction. The fort is on
the summit of a granite mountain, its walls being three miles in
circumference, the hill itself being inaccessible except on one
side. With much difficulty heavy guns were dragged up the cliffs,
and the siege begun in due form. Cornwallis, chafing at the delay,
moved out from Bangalore with his whole army, thinking to overawe
the defenders; but on the night of October 18 he determined to
carry the place by assault. This was performed in the most dashing
manner, and with but slight loss, by the flank companies of the
36th (Worcester) and 71st (Highland Light Infantry), with the 1st
Madras European (Dublins) in support.
Abercromby was now approaching from the Malabar coast, and Lord
Cornwallis was preparing for the final advance on Tippoo Sultan's
famed stronghold.
In January, 1792, Cornwallis, apprised that Abercromby, with
the Bombay division, was within striking distance, commenced
his advance on Seringapatam. His force consisted of the 19th
Light Dragoons, two regiments of Madras cavalry, and the
Governor-General's Bodyguard, which he had brought down from
Calcutta, the 36th (Worcester), 52nd (Oxford Light Infantry),
72nd (Seaforths), 74th (Highland Light Infantry), 76th (West
Riding), 1st Madras Europeans (Royal Dublin Fusiliers), and sixteen
battalions of sepoys, with forty-six field and forty siege guns.
Abercromby's force comprised the 73rd (Royal Highlanders), 75th
(Gordons), 77th (Middlesex), 1st Bombay Europeans (2nd Battalion
of the Dublins), and eight battalions of sepoys, with twenty field
and sixteen siege guns, giving a total of about 9,000 British and
22,000 native troops.
On February 7 Seringapatam was carried by assault, our casualties
numbering about 535 of all ranks, and our trophies amounting
to eighty guns. On March 19 Tippoo Sultan signed a definitive
treaty of peace, ceding to England Malabar and Coorg on the west,
Baramahal and Dindigul on the Carnatic frontier, besides restoring
to the Nizam the territories wrested from Hyderabad by Hyder Ali.
The distribution of prize-money afforded Lord Cornwallis and
General Meadows, the second in command, an opportunity of giving
an example of noble generosity, these two commanders placing
their shares, amounting to £47,000 and £15,000, into the common
fund. The following were the shares for each rank: Colonels,
£1,160; Lieutenant-Colonels, £958; Majors, £734; Captains, £308;
Lieutenants, £205; Ensigns, £159; sergeants, £29; and privates, £14
10s. In the native army Subadars received 275 rupees; Jemidars, 132
rupees; havildars, 110 rupees; and sepoys, 51 rupees.
CASUALTIES AT THE SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF SERINGAPATAM, 1792.
+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|19th Hussars | - | - | - | - |
|Royal Artillery | 1 | 9 | 9 | 20 |
|36th Worcesters | 2 | 3 | 6 | 33 |
|52nd Oxfd. L.I. | 1 | 5 | 9 | 25 |
|71st Highl. L.I. | 2 | 1 | 25 | 54 |
|72nd Seaforth Highlanders | 1 | 4 | 15 | 43 |
|73rd R. Highlanders | - | - | - | 3 |
|74th Highl. L.I. | - | 2 | 2 | 18 |
|75th Gordon Highlanders | - | - | 3 | 12 |
|76th W. Riding Regiment | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
|Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 2 | 32 |
|61st P.W.O. Pioneers | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
|62nd Punjabis | - | - | 1 | 3 |
|66th Punjabis | - | 1 | 9 | 14 |
|76th Punjabis | - | - | 3 | 12 |
|79th Carnatic I. | - | 2 | 5 | 9 |
|80th Carnatic I. | 1 | 2 | 6 | 25 |
+--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
ROHILCUND, 1794.
This distinction is borne only by the Royal Munster Fusiliers.
The campaign was necessitated owing to a serious rising in
the independent State of Rampur, and Lord Cornwallis, the
Governor-General, deemed the occasion so grave that he took the
field in person. The troops employed were the 2nd Regiment of
Bengal Europeans (now the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers),
with ten regiments of sepoys, none of which are now borne on the
Army List. The force was divided into three brigades of infantry,
commanded respectively by Colonel Ware, who afterwards lost his
life at the Battle of Laswarree, Colonel MacGowan, and Colonel
Burrington. One brigade of two regiments of native light cavalry
and four batteries of artillery made up the army. The only action
of importance was that of Betourah, which took place some nine
miles north of Bareilly. The enemy fought with great gallantry,
and charged home on our native cavalry, who do not appear to have
been well led--indeed, they fell back in disorder, breaking through
the ranks of the 13th Bengal Infantry. This regiment suffered very
heavily, all its officers being either killed or wounded, and
the Brigadier of the Third Brigade, Colonel Burrington, was cut
down in endeavouring to rally the cavalry. The officer commanding
that arm disappeared in the course of the action, and so escaped
court-martial. It was reported that he entered the service of the
French, and was given a commission by Napoleon.
Our casualties were heavy, fourteen officers falling on the field.
A monument was erected by Lord Cornwallis to mark the site of their
interment, and may yet be seen by the roadside near the village
of Betourah. The action, though costly, was decisive as to its
results. The recalcitrant leaders of the insurrection made their
submission to the Governor-General, and the army was immediately
demobilized.
CASUALTIES AT BETOURAH.
+----------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Staff | 3 | - | - | - |
|Artillery | 2 | - | - | - |
|Munster Fuslrs. | 2 | - | - | - |
|13th Bengal I. | 5 | 4 | - | - |
|18th Bengal I. | 2 | - | - | - |
+----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Here again it would appear that no record of the losses of the men
has been kept.
SEEDASEER, MARCH 6, 1799.
This distinction is borne on the colours of the
103rd Mahratta L.I.
105th Mahratta L.I.
107th Pioneers.
It commemorates a brilliant engagement with the army of Tippoo
Sultan, in which these three regiments of Bombay sepoys held at bay
for eight long hours some 18,000 of the flower of the Mysorean army.
As in 1792, so now in 1799, the armies of all three presidencies
were employed in a last endeavour to crush the power of the
Mysorean usurper. The Bombay column, under the command of
Major-General James Stuart, moving from the coast at Cannanore,
consisted of three brigades. The Centre Brigade, under Colonel
Dunlop, comprised the 75th (Gordon Highlanders), 77th (Middlesex),
and the 1st Bombay Europeans (now the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers); the
Right Brigade, under Colonel Montresor, was made up of the 1st
Battalions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Bombay Infantry (now the 103rd,
105th, and 107th Regiments of the Indian army); the Third or Left
Brigade, under Colonel Wiseman, comprised the 2nd Battalion of
the 2nd, 2nd Battalion of the 3rd, and 1st Battalion of the 5th
Regiment of Bombay Infantry. For convenience of supplies, and also
owing to the bad state of the roads, the army was marching in three
columns, the Right Brigade, under Colonel Montresor, leading.
On March 5 the Right Brigade had reached Seedaseer, on the
frontiers of Coorg, the British Brigade being about eight miles in
its rear, and the Left Brigade some four miles farther off. Tippoo
Sultan was well informed of all our movements, and he endeavoured
to put into effect one of the great Napoleon's maxims--namely, to
beat your enemy in detail. With the bulk of his army, amounting
to some 20,000 men, he cut in between Montresor's brigade and
the British General, never doubting of an easy victory over the
three sepoy battalions. Montresor, however, had been warned of
his approach, and at once commenced to strengthen his position.
Stuart, too, had learnt of the near approach of the Mysoreans, and
he sent forward the 1st Battalion of the 5th Bombay N.I. to support
Montresor, and later in the day hurried up with the flank companies
of the 75th (Gordon Highlanders) and the whole of the 77th
(Middlesex). In the meantime Montresor had fought out the battle
unaided. The 1st Battalion of the 5th N.I. had never been able to
reach him, and the British troops only arrived in time to relieve
the pressure and to follow up the defeated enemy. The result of the
fight augured well for the future, and showed the Bombay sepoy that
he was more than a match even for Tippoo Sultan's men.
The casualty returns prove that the name of Seedaseer was worthily
earned by the three regiments which have been allowed to place that
battle honour on their colours; but it may reasonably be asked why
the same honour has not been conferred on the 109th Infantry, which
in those days was the 1st Battalion of the 5th Bombay Regiment, and
which contributed in some measure to the success of the day. The
Gordon Highlanders and the Middlesex content themselves with the
battle honours "Mysore" and "Seringapatam."
CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF SEEDASEER.
+------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Royal Artillery | - | 1 | 6 | 18 |
|75th Gordon Highlanders | - | - | 3 | 9 |
|77th Middlesex | - | - | 2 | 6 |
|103rd Mahratta L.I. (British) | 1 | 3 | - | - |
|Do. (Natives) | - | 2 | 11 | 25 |
|105th Mahratta L.I. (British) | - | 1 | - | - |
|105th Mahratta L.I. (Natives) | - | - | 4 | 33 |
|107th Pioneers (British) | - | - | - | - |
|Do. (Natives) | - | - | 3 | 48 |
|109th Infantry (British) | - | 1 | - | - |
|Do. (Natives) | - | - | 1 | 26 |
+------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
SERINGAPATAM, MAY 4, 1799.
The regiments authorized to bear this battle honour are the
Suffolks.
West Riding.
Royal Highlanders.
Middlesex.
Highland Light Infantry.
Gordon Highlanders.
Connaught Rangers.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
26th Light Cavalry.
27th Light Cavalry.
28th Light Cavalry.
2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners.
61st Pioneers.
66th Punjabis.
73rd Carnatic Infantry.
76th Punjabis.
79th Carnatic Infantry.
80th Carnatic Infantry.
81st Pioneers.
82nd Punjabis.
83rd Light Infantry.
84th Punjabis.
103rd Light Infantry.
104th Wellesley's Rifles.
105th Light Infantry.
107th Pioneers.
109th Infantry.
The troops destined for the final capture of Seringapatam were
placed under the command of General Harris, the Commander-in-Chief
at Madras. All three Presidencies were represented.
The cavalry division was under Major-General Floyd (an officer well
versed in Indian warfare), who had commanded the 19th Hussars in
the previous capture of the fortress in 1792. It consisted of the
19th and 25th Light Dragoons and four regiments of Madras cavalry,
organized in two brigades, each consisting of one British and two
native regiments.
The Madras Column was distributed in three brigades, one composed
entirely of British regiments--the 12th (Suffolks), 74th (Highland
Light Infantry), and the Scots Brigade (now 2nd Connaught Rangers).
Major-General David Baird was in command of this brigade. The six
regiments of Madras sepoys were formed in two brigades, under
Colonels Gowdie and Roberts, of the Company's service, the Madras
Division being under Major-General Bridges, an officer of the
Company's service.
The Bengal Column was commanded by Major-General Popham, a
Company's officer, and consisted of three brigades. The First,
under Colonel Sherbrooke, comprised the 73rd (Royal Highlanders)
and a regiment of Swiss mercenaries (de Meurons); the Second
Brigade was made up of three battalions of Bengal sepoys, under
Colonel Gardiner; and the Third Brigade was composed of three
battalions of Madras sepoys, under Colonel Scott, of the Scots
Brigade.
The Bombay Column was commanded by General J. Stuart, and consisted
of the 75th (Gordon Highlanders), the 77th (Middlesex), and the 1st
Bombay Europeans (now the Royal Dublin Fusiliers), under Colonel
Dunlop, with six battalions of Bombay sepoys in two brigades, under
Colonels Montresor and Wiseman. A fourth column was under the
command of Colonel Arthur Wellesley, and comprised two regiments of
Bengal and four of Madras infantry, with his own regiment, the 33rd
Foot (West Riding Regiment), to stiffen the whole. Wellesley also
was given the supervision of the Nizam's troops, numbering some
6,000 irregular cavalry and 3,000 infantry, trained and organized
by French officers. In round numbers, the force at General Harris's
disposal numbered 7,000 British and 27,000 native troops, with a
well-equipped siege-train of forty-seven pieces of heavy ordnance.
Early in February the Commander-in-Chief received his final
orders to advance from Madras, and on April 14 he joined hands
with Stuart's column in the immediate vicinity of Seringapatam.
Three days afterwards the siege commenced, and on May 3 the breach
was declared practicable. Baird claimed the privilege of leading
the stormers (a privilege his by right). He had been a prisoner
in the fortress for over four years as a young Captain, and he
had been present in command of a brigade of Madras sepoys at
Cornwallis's capture of the fortress seven years before. Taking
into consideration the strength of the work and the immense
numerical superiority of the enemy, the fortress was carried
with marvellously slight loss, the killed numbering 69 English
and but 12 sepoys, the wounded 248 and 32 respectively, that of
the Mysoreans being estimated at 1,000 killed alone. The total
casualties during the siege, however, testified to the stubborn
stand made prior to the assault, as the following figures show:
CASUALTIES AT THE SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF SERINGAPATAM IN MAY, 1799.
+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
| _British Troops._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
|---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|19th Light Dragoons | 2 | 6 | 17 | 49 |
|22nd Light Dragoons | - | - | - | - |
|Royal Artillery | 2 | 2 | 35 | 85 |
|12th Foot (Suffolks) | - | - | 17 | 49 |
|33rd W. Riding Regiment | - | - | 6 | 28 |
|73rd Royal Highlanders | 1 | 4 | 21 | 99 |
|74th Highland L.I. | 4 | - | 45 | 111 |
|75th Gordon Highlanders | 1 | 3 | 16 | 64 |
|77th Middlesex | 1 | 2 | 10 | 51 |
|94th Connaught Rangers | - | - | 14 | 86 |
|1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 5 | 17 |
|2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 9 | 25 |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| |_Officers._| _Men._ |
+ _Native Troops._ +-----+-----+-----+-----|
| | K. | W. | K. | W. |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----|
|25th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - |
|27th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - |
|28th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - |
|61st Pioneers | 1 | - | 3 | 14 |
|66th Punjabis | - | - | 5 | 13 |
|73rd Carnatic I. | 1 | 2 | 12 | 47 |
|76th Punjabis | - | - | 11 | 33 |
|79th Carnatic I. | - | - | 4 | 16 |
|80th Carnatic I. | - | - | 4 | 10 |
|81st Pioneers | - | - | 3 | 11 |
|82nd Punjabis | - | - | 1 | 4 |
|84th Punjabis | - | - | 4 | 7 |
|83rd L.I. | 1 | 3 | 8 | 46 |
|103rd L.I. | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
|104th Wellesley's Rifles | - | 2 | 2 | 10 |
|105th L.I. | - | 1 | 6 | 21 |
|107th Pioneers | - | - | 3 | 14 |
|109th Infantry | - | 1 | 2 | 25 |
|2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners| - | - | 2 | 26 |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
NOTE.--The prize-money at the second capture of Seringapatam was
unusually satisfactory, the share of the Commander-in-Chief being
upwards of £100,000. General officers received in round figures
£10,000, other ranks having as their share:
Colonels £4,320
Lieutenant-Colonels £2,590
Majors £1,720
Captains £864
Lieutenants £432
Warrant Officers £108
Sergeants £14
Privates £7