Abercrombie, Sir R., Death of, 66.
Abu Klea, Battle of, 619.
Abyssinian Medal, 587.
„ Expedition, 588.
Afghanistan Medals, 233.
Afghan War, first, 235.
„ „ second, 258.
Afridis, Expedition against, 356, 359.
Ahmed Khel, Battle of, 272.
Abu Kru, Battle of, 622.
Albuhera, Battle of, 124.
„ Medal for, 130.
Alexandria, Battle of, 63.
„ Bombardment of, 604.
Allan, bugler, noble conduct of, 337.
Allighur, Capture of, 17.
Ali Musjid, Action of, 260.
Aliwal, Battle of, 315.
Alma, Battle of, 380.
Amoaful, Battle of, 598.
Argaum, Battle of, 31.
Arrah, Defence of, 585.
Artillery, Royal, Gallant Conduct of, 426.
Ashantee Medal, 594.
„ War, 595.
Assaye, Battle of, 22.
Australian, Contingent at Suakin, 627.
Ava, War in, 41.
Badajoz, Capture of, 138.
Balaklava, Battle of, 398.
Barrosa, Battle of, 112.
Basuto War, 21.
Battles fought on Sundays, 405.
Beresford Lord Charles, Dispatch of, 620.
Bhootan Expedition, 364.
Bhurtpore, Storming of, 50.
Bilbao Cross, 644.
“Birkenhead,” Wreck of the, 210.
Black Mountain Expedition, 375.
Booth, Sergeant, Gallant Conduct of, 227.
Bourbon Medal, 9.
Burmese War, second, 347.
„ „ third, 371.
Burmah, Annexation of, 372.
Burnaby, Col. F., death of, 621.
Busaco, Battle of, 107.
“Buffs” at Albuhera, 127.
Byrne, Corporal J., and Sergeant Murray, Anecdote of, 334.
Cabul, Actions at, 268.
Campbell, Sir C., Anecdote of, 568.
Canada, North West, Medal, 634.
Cannon Shot, rewards for picking up, 417, 549.
Canton, Capture of, 290.
Cape Medal, 200.
Carib Medals, 640.
Cashmere Gate blown in at Delhi, 552.
Cavalier Badges, 5.
Cavanagh, Private, death of, 565.
Cawnpore, Evacuated, 563.
Central India Campaign, 578.
Ceylon Medal, 8.
Charasia, Battle of, 264.
Chateauguay, Action of, 165.
Chilianwala, Battle of, 325.
China Medals, 278.
Chinese War, the first, 279.
„ „ second, 286.
Chin-Lushai Expedition, 376.
Chrystler’s Farm, Action of, 169.
Ciudad Rodrigo, Storming of, 135.
Civita Vecchia Medal, 642.
Colooncy Medal, 651.
Colours of the 78th. Regiment at Argaum, 31.
Coomassie, Capture of, 600.
Coorg Medal, The, 644.
Corunna, Battle of, 89.
„ Last Survivor of, 95.
Corygaum, Defence of, 40.
Crimean Medal, 378.
Cromwell, O., Letter of, 4.
Cross of the 88th Regiment, 650.
Darien Company’s Medal, 640.
Deccan Medal, 7.
Deig, Battle of, 24.
„ Capture of, 35.
De Lancey, Sir W., Death of, 191.
Delhi, Battle of, 20.
„ Siege of, 546.
“Die Hards” at Albuhera, 127.
Distinguished Service Order, 639.
Doab Field Force, 363.
Duke of Cumberland’s Sharpshooters’ Medal, 651.
Earle, General, Death of, 624.
East India Company’s Medals for Long Service and Good Conduct, and
Meritorious Service, 638.
Edwardes Medal, The, 322.
Egyptian Medal, 8, 58.
Egyptian Campaign (1801), 59.
Egyptian and Soudan Medals, 602.
Elliott’s Gibraltar Medal, 642.
El Teb, Battle of, 610.
Eusufzye Expeditions, 356, 360.
Fatshan Creek, Action of, 287.
„ „ Commodore Keppel’s Account of, 288.
Ferozeshuhur, Battle of, 312.
Fifty-second Regt. at Busaco, 110.
Fordyce, Col., Death of, 209.
Forlorn Hope Medal, 2.
Fort Detroit, Capture of, 144.
French War Medals and Recipients, 446.
Fuentes d’Onor, Battle of, 117.
„ „ Medal for, 122.
Galekas and Gaikas, Campaign against the, 213.
Gate Pah, Action at, 342.
Gawilghur, Storming of, 32.
Gemaizah, Battle of, 631.
German Town Medal, 648.
Ghuznee, Capture of, 237.
„ Recapture of, 256.
Ginnis, Battle of, 631.
Glover Capt., March of, 600.
Gonine, Battle of, 255.
Goojerat, Battle of, 329.
Gordon, General C., at Sebastopol, 423.
„ „ „ Entry in his Diary, 619.
„ „ „ Death of, 622.
Griquas, Campaign against the, 216.
Hackett, Major, at Kambula, 227.
Hardinge, Viscount, Letter of, 314.
Harwood’s, Corporal, Account of the Battle of Alma, 387.
Hazara Expedition, 375, 635.
Honorary Colours of the 76th. Regiment, 21.
Howell, Private, Gallantry of, 324.
Hullock, R., Anecdote of, 61.
Hunza Expedition, 635.
Hyderabad, Battle of, 302.
Indian War Medal, 54.
Indian General Service Medal, 346, 635.
Indian Mutiny Medal, 545.
Indian Order of Merit, 639.
Inkermann, Battle of, 404.
Isandhlwana, Action of, 221.
Java, Capture of, 131.
„ „ Medal for, 135.
Jellalabad, Defence of, 242.
Jones, Capt. J., Anecdote of, 110.
Jowaki Expedition, 369.
Kaffir War, the first, 201.
„ „ second, 204.
„ „ third, 206.
Kandahar, Defence of, 253.
„ March to, 274.
Kelat-I-Ghilzie, Defence of, 254.
Kendal Medal, 2.
Kirkee, Battle of, 37.
Kirbekan, Battle of, 623.
Laswarree, Battle of, 28.
Latham, Lieut., at Albuhera, 128.
Light Brigade, March of, 102.
Looshai Expedition, 366.
Lucknow, Defence of, 557.
„ Relief of, 568.
Magdala, Storming of, 593.
Maharajpore and Punniar, Battles of, and Star for, 304.
Maheidpore, Battle of, 39.
Maida, Battle of, 70.
„ „ Gold Medal for, 73.
Main, Lieutenant, Gallant conduct of, 252.
Manipur, Expedition to, 635.
Martinique and Guadaloupe, Capture of, 105.
McCabe, Sergeant, Gallantry of, 319.
Medals, mode of wearing, 104.
Medal for Distinguished Conduct, 510.
Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct, 636.
Medal for Best Shot in the Army, 644.
Meeanee, Battle of, 299.
Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteer Medals, 650.
Mohammerah, Bombardment of, 355.
Moodkee, Battle of, 310.
Mooltan, Siege of, 321.
Moore’s, Sir J., Campaign, 80.
„ „ Death of, 93.
„ „ Sword of, 93.
Mysore Medal, 7.
Naga Expedition, 370.
Nagpore, Capture of, 38.
Napier, Sir C., 94.
„ „ wounds of, 94.
Napoleon’s opinion of Medals, 5.
Nepaul Medal, 10.
„ War in, 36.
New Zealand Medal, 322.
„ „ War, the first, 333.
„ „ second, 338.
Nile Expedition, 617.
Ninety-Second Regiment at the Pass of Maya, 152.
Nivelle, Passage of, 167.
Nive, Passage of, 171.
North American Chiefs Medal, 641.
O’Connor, Col., at the Alma, 389.
Old Ninety-fourth Regiment, 14.
Orthes, Battle of, 174.
Paget, General, Anecdote of, 86.
Pearl Brigade, 570.
Peiho or Taku Forts, Capture of, 292, 293.
Peiwar Kotul, Battle of, 231.
Pekin, Occupation of, 295.
Peninsula Medal, 54.
„ „ Notes on, 59, 180.
„ Gold Cross and Clasps, 161.
Perak, Naval Brigades at, 368.
Persian War, 352.
Phillpotts, Lieutenant, R.N., Death of, 335.
Picton, Sir J., Remains of, 190.
Pyrenees, Battles of, 151.
Quatre Bras, Battle of, 181.
“Queen’s,” the losses of, 208.
Red Karens, Expedition against, 373.
Regimental Medals, 645.
Roleia and Vimiera, Battles of, 74.
„ „ „ Gold Medals for, 80.
Rorkes Drift, Defence of, 224.
Royal Irish, winners of prize, 619.
Sahagun and Benevente, Actions of, 81.
Salamanca, Battle of, 141.
„ Anecdotes of, 143.
„ Conduct of the 11th. and 61st., Regts. at, 127.
Samana Expedition, 377.
San Sebastian Medal, 643.
Sardinian War Medal and Recipients, 478.
Scinde Medals and Campaign, 298.
Sebastopol, Bombardments of, 395, 397, 425, 431, 433, 439.
Sekukuni, Operations against, 231.
Seringapatam, Capture of, 13.
Seventy-third Regt. in Ceylon, 649.
Shannon Brigade, 569.
Sikkim Expedition, 374.
Sittana Expedition, 360.
“Slashers,” The, at San Sebastian, 160.
Smith’s, General Sir. H. G., Medal, 644.
Sobraon, Battle of, 318.
Stewart, General Sir. H., Death of, 623.
Stopford, Brigadier, Noble Conduct of, 306.
St. Sebastian, Capture of, 158.
Suakin, Battle at, 626.
Sutlej and Punjaub Medals, 308.
Talavera, Battle of, 95.
„ Gold Medal for, 103.
Tamaai, Battle of, 614.
Tel-el-Kebir, Battle of, 607.
Thibetan Army defeated, 375.
Tofrek, Battle of, 628.
Toski, Battle of, 632.
Toulouse, Battle of, 176.
Tryon, Lieutenant, Death of, 418.
Turkish Medal, 70.
Turkish War Medal, 509.
Twenty-eighth Regt. in Egypt, 66.
Ulundi, Battle of, 229.
Umbeyla Campaign, 361.
Uylett, Sergeant, Noble Conduct of, 245.
Victoria Cross, 511.
„ „ Winners of, 512.
Villiers-en-Couché Medal, 642.
Vittoria, Battle of, 147.
Vittoria and Liepsic Medal, 647.
Walsh Medal, 3.
Waterloo, Battle of, 186.
„ Anecdotes of, 194.
„ Medal for, 196.
Wives of Infidels, 610.
Wood, Sir E. Speech of, 229.
Wood, Captain J. A., Anecdote of, 353.
Wyatt-Rawson, Lieutenant, R.N., Death of, 610.
Zulu War, 218.
-----
Footnote 1:
These Medals were of silver, and oval in shape, having on one side the
head of the Queen, and on the other an Ark on the Sea,
inscribed—_Sœvas tranquilla per undas_.
Footnote 2:
See Naval Medals.
Footnote 3:
Both are in the British Museum; one is in gold and the other in
silver; there is an aperture at the top for the ribbon.
Footnote 4:
It is recorded that when Napoleon surrendered himself on board the
Bellerophon, he was received by a captain’s detachment of the Royal
Marines. After acknowledging the salute, he minutely inspected the
men, and having remarked that they were very fine and well appointed,
the ex-emperor added, “are there none amongst them who have seen
service?” Upon being told that nearly the whole of them had seen much
service, he exclaimed, “What! and no marks of merit.” The officer
explained that it was not customary to confer medals, except upon
officers of the highest ranks. The conversation terminated by Napoleon
remarking, “Such is not the way to excite or cherish the military
virtues.”
Footnote 5:
See Naval Medals.
Footnote 6:
These medals were almost invariably given to the Native troops only.
Footnote 7:
As the 12th. Foot moved forward, a large body of Mysorean cavalry
formed in the shape of a wedge, having an elephant with a howdah on
his back in front, appeared advancing to charge the regiment, and the
British line halted to receive the attack. Immediately afterwards two
other very large bodies of the enemy were discovered in two topes or
woods, preparing to support the first charge. Lieutenant-General
Harris, seeing the danger which menaced the regiment, placed himself
in its rear, frequently repeating the words, ‘Steady, Twelfth!’
‘Steady, old Twelfth!’ and when the wedge approached within a hundred
yards of the line, the Mysoreans discharged their carbines and
pistols, but without doing execution. The 12th. remained steady, with
their muskets at the recover, until the enemy arrived within about
thirty yards, when a well-directed volley, followed by rapid file
firing, carried destruction into the enemy’s ranks; a rampart of
killed and wounded men and horses lying along the front of the
regiment. The rear of the wedge were embarrassed by the killed and
wounded in front, and could not continue the charge. The elephant was
severely wounded, his conductor killed, and the chiefs on his back had
fallen, when, turning round, he directed all his fury on the
Mysoreans, overturning everything in his retrograde movement, and
producing great havoc with a prodigious chain, which he swayed. A few
Mysorean horsemen broke through the regiment, but they were instantly
shot in its rear, and the British artillery arriving, and opening its
fire, the enemy’s cavalry fell back; at the same time the line
advanced, and decided the fate of the day at that part of the field; a
distant cannonade, however, indicated that the battle was raging
elsewhere.
Footnote 8:
Eight stand of colours were captured by the 12th. Foot. A forlorn hope
of each attack consisted of a sergeant and twelve Europeans, followed
by two subaltern’s parties; that of the right column, under Lieutenant
Hill, of the 74th., and that of the left column, commanded by
Lieutenant Lawrence, of the 77th., the father of sons subsequently
memorable in Indian annals, and especially during the mutiny.
Footnote 9:
This was the old 94th., and not the present regiment which was only
ordered to be raised in December, 1823, now known as the 2nd.
Battalion Connaught Rangers. The former was known for years, as the
Scots Brigade, before receiving its numerical title on the 25th. of
December, 1802. This corps had been formed in 1568, for service in
Holland against the oppression of Spain. Being a British corps, it was
demanded from the United Provinces by King James II, on the rebellion
of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, after the suppression of which it
returned to Holland. It again embarked for England with the Prince of
Orange, at the revolution of 1688, and remained there until the
Protestant cause had been established, when it re-embarked for
Flanders in 1691, and served in the campaigns of King William III. It
remained in the service of Holland until 1793, until it was decided by
King George III., upon the application of the British officers
remaining in it, to require the corps to return to Great Britain. It
was taken on the British establishment on the 5th. of July, 1793. It
then consisted of three battalions; in 1795 it was reduced to two
battalions, and embarked for Gibraltar. In 1796 it was formed into one
battalion, and embarked for the Cape of Good Hope; it proceeded in
1798 to the East Indies, from whence it returned to England in 1808.
It embarked for Cadiz and Lisbon, and served in the Peninsula War from
January, 1810, to July, 1814. It was disbanded at Belfast on the 24th.
of December, 1818.
Footnote 10:
For the specimen of the ribbon of the Seringapatam medal I have to
acknowledge my obligations to Albert Woods, Esq., Lancaster Herald,
and Inspector of Regimental Colours, who has furnished me with much
valuable information on this and other points. From a letter addressed
to him by the gallant General Sir James L. Caldwell, G.C.B, now in his
91st. year, in reply to a query on this subject, the following
interesting particulars have been afforded:—When the medal was issued
no ribbon accompanied it, but the recipients were given to understand
that it was to be of a deep yellow colour, and about an inch in width.
This colour was adopted in reference to the tiger, selected by the
Sultan Tippoo as his favourite insignia, the golden throne found in
the palace being constructed on the back of that animal, and his
chosen Sepoys being clothed in tiger jackets. The head of this animal
of the throne is now at Windsor Castle, having been obtained by the
Marquis of Wellesley, from the prize agents, together with the ideal
and fictitious bird termed the “Huma,” supposed to ensure perpetual
royalty to the person over whose head it is suspended, and being
regarded as a bird of Mahomedan Paradise: it is shewn to strangers
under the misnomer of the Seringapatam Peacock. The above information
was accompanied by a piece of the ribbon, the colour of which
resembles the light fur of the tiger. It may be added that the name
Tippoo signifies Tiger, and that the tiger-stripe was adopted in the
uniform of the Sultan’s infantry. In the United Service Museum,
amongst other oriental curiosities, are two of Tippoo’s pistols,
having a tiger’s head at the end, and also the dress he wore when
killed. The famous organ of Tippoo representing a tiger tearing a
prostrate British soldier is in the East Indian Museum, together with
his suit of chain armour. When the handle of the organ is turned
sounds are emitted similar to the shrieks of a human being and the
growl of the animal.
Footnote 11:
“I think that General Lake’s capture of Allighur is one of the most
extraordinary feats that I have heard of in this country. I never
attacked a fort that I did not attempt the same thing, namely, to blow
open the gates; but I never succeeded. I have always taken them by
escalade, which appears to have been impossible in this
instance.”—_Wellington Dispatches._
This practice of blowing open the gates has since, on more than one
occasion, been successfully practised in India.
Footnote 12:
The 19th. Dragoons (since disbanded), the 74th. and 78th. regiments,
had honorary colours for Assaye conferred by the Governor-General of
India. In consequence, however, of the inconvenience occasioned by
taking a third officer from his duty to carry it, the 74th. received
the orders of the Commander-in-Chief on the 31st. of August, 1830, to
discontinue the use of the third colour in the field, and to carry it
only at reviews, inspections, and on gala days.
Footnote 13:
The 19th. Light Dragoons, who had their commanding officer,
Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, killed, and the 74th. and 78th. regiments
received honorary colours as stated in note at page 22. In the latter
part of the action Major-General the Honourable Arthur Wellesley had a
horse killed under him close to the 78th. Nearly all the mounted
officers lost horses, some having two and even three killed. No part
of the Mysore or Mahratta allies were engaged; their infantry were
left with the baggage, and the cavalry not being in uniform, it was
apprehended that mistakes might have arisen had they been brought into
action.
Footnote 14:
Colonel Thomas Pakenham Vandeleur rode a celebrated race-horse, of a
jet-black colour. Long after the melancholy fate of his rider, this
horse kept his place with the regiment, and afterwards became the
property of Cornet Burrows, who took great care of him until the
regiment left India, when he was shot, that he might not fall into
unworthy hands.
Footnote 15:
The following officers were engaged in this brilliant affair:—_Madras
Artillery._—Lieutenant Chisholm, killed; Assistant-Surgeon Wylie.
_2nd. Battalion 1st. Regiment Bombay Native Infantry._—Captain
Staunton; Lieutenant and Adjutant Pattinson, died of wounds;
Lieutenant Connellan, wounded; Lieutenant Jones, 10th regiment, doing
duty with the 2nd battalion 1st. regiment; Assistant-Surgeon Wingate,
killed. _Auxiliary Horse._—Lieutenant Swanston, Madras Establishment,
wounded.
Footnote 16:
Additional troops proceeded from Madras in the autumn, and before the
close of the year His Majesty’s 47th., with the governor-general’s
body-guard, had joined the expedition, which then amounted to about
thirteen thousand men.
Footnote 17:
“All their artillery, stores, and reserve depôts, which had cost them
so much labour to get up, with a great quantity of small arms, gilt
chattahs, standards, and other trophies fell into our hands. Never was
victory more complete or decided, and never was the triumph of
discipline and valour, over the disjointed efforts of irregular
courage and infinitely superior numbers, more conspicuous. Majors
Dennie and Thornhill, of the 13th. Light Infantry, and Major Gore, of
the 89th., were distinguished by the steadiness with which they led
their men.”—_Brigadier-General Sir A. Campbell’s despatch._
Footnote 18:
In the same general orders it was announced that “Medals also, bearing
a suitable device, are to be distributed to the native troops which at
any period during the war, were employed under the command of
Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell, including the officers and men
of the gunboats serving in the Irrawaddy.” This medal, also designed
by William Wyon, Esq., contained on the obverse a quaint device—the
Asiatic elephant crouching to the British Lion. It was not conferred
on the regiments of the Crown, and therefore does not come within the
scope of this work. When the medal for services in India from 1803 to
1826 was authorized, a bar inscribed Ava was granted.
The 1st., 13th., 38th., 41st., 44th., 45th., 47th., 54th., 87th., and
89th. King’s regiments were permitted to bear the word AVA on their
colours, in commemoration of their gallantry during this service.
Footnote 19:
In consequence of the scarcity of European infantry with the infantry,
it was deemed necessary to call for volunteers from the cavalry, each
King’s regiment to furnish three officers and eighty rank and file.
This number was at once obtained. The officers’ names were Captain
Browne, Lieutenant Windus, and Comet Pearson, of the 11th. Dragoons,
and Captain Luard, and Lieutenants McConchy and Walker, of the 16th.
Lancers. Viscount Combermere had formerly served in the latter
regiment.
Footnote 20:
From the 24th. of December, 1825, to the 18th. of January, 1826, the
expenditure of shot and shells during the twenty-six days was as
follows:—Shot 42,215, shells 17,060, shrapnells 1,096, grape 693, case
404, carcasses 4; in all 61,472.
Footnote 21:
One officer wrote:—“It is very vexatious to honourable feelings, when
we go into society at home and abroad, to meet foreigners of all
nations covered with medals and orders, when we, who have had the
pleasure of licking them in every part of the world, have neither
orders nor medals.”
Footnote 22:
Long before this order was issued, the majority of these old warriors,
the survivors of a hundred fights, had fallen before the irresistible
scythe of Time, with no mark of their glorious services, except the
honourable scars which they had received on the field of battle.
Footnote 23:
As to the rarity of the Peninsula medal, it is very uncommon to meet
with any having more than eight or nine bars, and if any of the bars
should have inscribed on them the actions of “Fort Detroit.”
“Chateauguay,” or “Chrystler’s Farm;” the value of the medal is
greatly enhanced. The clasps for the cavalry actions of “Sahagun” and
“Benevente,” in the Peninsula; and the bars for “Maida,” “Martinique,”
“Guadaloupe,” and “Java,” are also of rare occurrence. The old 45th.,
Sherwood Foresters, bore more Peninsula honours on their colours than
any other regiment.
Footnote 24:
As the soldiers were burying a Highlander of the 42nd. regiment, who
was supposed to be dead, Captain David Stewart, of Garth, requested
them to take him out of the grave, and carry him to the surgeon; he
soon recovered of a swoon, his wound was cured, and he resumed his
duty shortly afterwards. It is to be hoped that this soldier did not
evince his gratitude like the private of the 31st. regiment, mentioned
in the following anecdote:—In 1799, the 31st. regiment was serving in
Holland, and at Egmont-op-Zee crossed bayonets with the French
regiment bearing the same number; a ball fired during the retreat of
the latter, passed through the jaws of a soldier of the former, named
Robert Hullock; in the course of the afternoon he was buried in the
sand-hill where he had fallen, by a soldier of his regiment named John
Carnes. During the night Hullock having been but lightly covered with
sand, crept out and crawled to a picket of his corps posted near. He
was sent to hospital, recovered, and was serving with his regiment in
Malta, in 1809. His face having been much disfigured, and his voice
scarcely intelligible, (a part of his tongue and palate having been
carried away,) he had for some years served as pioneer to his company;
a soldier of it died, and Hullock, as a part of his duty, dug the
grave, in which he was found, on the arrival of the body for
interment, still at work, though then nearly ten feet deep. On being
drawn out he was asked for his reason in making it so unusually deep,
he replied, “Why, Sir, it’s for poor John Carnes, who buried me, and I
think, Sir, if I get him that deep, it will puzzle him to creep out as
I did.” On the burial service being read, he proceeded to fill up the
grave, and actually buried the man who ten years previously had buried
him. Hullock was discharged and pensioned in 1814.
Footnote 25:
When the standard was delivered up to Major Stirling, of the 42nd., he
gave it in charge to a sergeant to remain close to the gun which that
corps had captured, but in a subsequent charge, this non-commissioned
officer was ridden over by the French Dragoons, was stunned in
consequence, and when he returned to consciousness the standard of the
“Invincible Legion” was gone. It was afterwards recaptured from the
French by Private Anthony Lutz, of the Minorca regiment in the British
service, was sent to England, and placed in the Royal Military Chapel,
Whitehall, and subsequently in Chelsea Hospital.
Footnote 26:
The Highland Society, at London, in grateful acknowledgment, and
commemoration of the valour of their countrymen, on this day,
presented the 42nd. regiment with a piece of plate, value one hundred
guineas, inscribed with an appropriate motto and designs. A silver
medal was also struck, in commemoration of the capture of Buonaparte’s
invincible standard; one to be given to each private as well as
officer in the regiment, or, if killed or dead, to their nearest
surviving relations. The cool and intrepid courage of Colonel
Stewart’s foreign corps, and of the 28th. and 42nd. regiments, on whom
the fury of the enemy principally fell, it is agreed on all hands, was
also, on this important day, particularly distinguished. In this
battle, the 28th., now the 1st. Gloucestershire regiment, gained the
privilege of wearing their badge on the back and front of their
helmets. The regiment while in line, was attacked in front by
infantry, and in the rear by cavalry, under cover of the mist. There
was no time to form in square, the rear rank went to the right about,
and thus back to back, the 28th. repulsed both attacks of the enemy.
Footnote 27:
The regiments which proceeded from India were the 10th., 80th., 86th.,
and 88th. regiments; a troop of the 8th. Light Dragoons and the 61st.
regiment embarked from the Cape of Good Hope, joined the army, under
Major-General Baird, at Cosseir, in July, 1801, and proceeded through
the desert to Kenna, on the Nile, where the troops afterwards embarked
for Cairo.
Footnote 28:
The 22nd. Light Dragoons, 20th. (two battalions,) 24th., 25th., and
26th. Regiments, the Ancient Irish Fencibles, and the foreign corps of
De Watteville and Chasseurs Britanniques, joined the Army in Egypt, in
July, 1801.
Footnote 29:
The same incident is related in the “Record of the 52nd. Light
Infantry,” edited by Captain Moorsom, late captain of that regiment,
by which it appears there were three men, one a straggler from the
artillery, another from the guards, and the third a man named Lewis,
of the 52nd. Lewis generally contrived to have an attack of rheumatism
soon after getting into action, and thus got out of sight of his
officers, for the purpose of filling his havresack. Although a sad
plunderer, he was a gallant soldier, and was afterwards killed at
Orthes, by the side of the late Duke of Richmond.
Footnote 30:
“The rear regiments of the reserve only were present when the money
was cast away, and certainly not a man of those left their ranks in
the hope of obtaining a portion. This discipline, however, did not
extend to the ‘followers,’ who, as soon as they arrived at the spot
where the dollars were rolling over the mountain side, at once began a
scramble, in which the wife of the regimental master-tailor, Malony,
(who was a merry one, and often beguiled a weary march to the men with
her tales,) was so successful that her fortune was apparently made.
The poor woman went through all the subsequent perils and hardships of
the retreat, but on stepping from the boat to the ship’s side on
embarking at Corunna, her foot slipped, and down she went, like a
shot, and owing to the weight of dollars secured about her person she
never rose again.”—_Historical Record of the 52nd. Light Infantry._
Footnote 31:
“Our baggage animals were all left on the beach. Major Browne was
fortunate enough to get a pig in exchange for a horse. The Major was
rather unlucky with his pork; for in the hurry of embarkation, piggy
was taken on board one ship, and the Major on board another.”
—_Lieutenant-Colonel Cadell’s Narrative._
Footnote 32:
This sword is now in the possession of the Officers’ Mess of the 43rd.
Regiment (Oxford Light Infantry). It was presented to the regiment by
General Lynedoch Gardiner.
Footnote 33:
The following remarkable circumstance occurred in the 2nd.
Foot:—“Samuel Evans, a private in the Grenadier Company of the 2nd.
Foot, was carried off amongst the wounded at Corunna. He arrived in
England, and died in the military hospital at Plymouth, on the 30th.
of January, 1809. On a _post mortem_, examination being made, it was
discovered that he had been shot through the heart, and yet had
survived sixteen days.”—_Curiosities of War._
Footnote 34:
Major (afterwards Sir Charles) Napier received five terrible wounds at
Corunna, and but for the aid of a generous French drummer, would there
have been killed; he was made a prisoner, and his fate being long
unknown, he was mourned for as dead by his family. In the battle of
Busaco, a bullet struck his face, and lodged behind the ear,
splintering the articulation of the jawbone; yet with this dreadful
hurt, he made his way, under a fierce sun, to Lisbon, more than one
hundred miles! Returning from France, after the battle of Waterloo,
the ship sunk off Flushing, and he only saved himself by swimming to a
pile, on which he clung until a boat carried him off, half drowned,
for the pile was too large to climb up; he had caught it during the
recession of a wave, and was overwhelmed by each recurring surge. He
escaped Cholera, and a second shipwreck off the Indus, and
marvellously recovering from the stroke of a rocket at Kurrachee, was
again firm on horseback, and conducted a dangerous war to a glorious
termination. On the 13th. of December, 1842, whilst in Scinde, he was
observing the practice of a rocket-train, when one of the fiery
missiles burst, rocket and shell together, and tore the calf of his
right leg open to the bone; but neither the bone itself nor the great
artery were injured, and the wound was instantly stitched. His decease
did not occur until some years afterwards.
Footnote 35:
The last survivor of the victory of Corunna, Thomas Palmer, of the
32nd. Regiment, died April 20th, 1889.
Footnote 36:
These two battalions were formed on the 1st. February, 1809, and
consisted of detachments that had been left in Portugal, belonging to
the regiments composing the division of the army which had marched
into Spain under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore.
Footnote 37:
The 43rd. and 52nd. are now known as the 1st. and 2nd. Battalions of
the Oxford Light Infantry, the old 95th. being the present Rifle
Brigade.
Footnote 38:
Some of the general officers applied to Viscount Wellington to
ascertain whether, upon ordinary occasions, they might not wear the
ribbon of the medal at the button-hole, instead of round the
neck;—“This,” his lordship remarked, “would be a more convenient way
of wearing it, and they would consequently wear it more frequently,
which would be desirable.” In the reply to the general officers, dated
Cartaxo, 3rd. February, 1811, his lordship acquainted them that an
answer had been received from Lieutenant-Colonel Torrens, Military
Secretary, “stating that the General Officers should wear the ribbon
of the medal at their button-hole, the same as the Field Officers, in
undress; but when the medal is worn itself, it should be round the
neck.”
The medal for Maida was worn at the button-hole, and that mode is
alluded to in a letter from the Marquis of Wellington to Earl
Bathurst, dated Grenada, 20th. April, 1813. “To Earl Bathurst.—We must
have the orders of the Secretary of State for any alteration in the
mode of wearing the medal by the General Officers. It may do very well
for an admiral to wear his medal round his neck on his quarter-deck,
but we on horseback ought to wear it always at our button-hole. Indeed
this is the common practice in all distributions of this description,
and was the rule at first on the grant of the medal for the battle of
Maida; and I don’t know why it was altered.”
Footnote 39:
“Several prisoners were taken by the regiment, and amongst others
the French General Simon. He surrendered himself to Private James
Hopkins, of Captain Robert Campbell’s company, who received a
pension of twenty pounds per annum, as the reward of his bravery on
this occasion. Private Harris, of the 52nd., also shared in the
capture, and a pension was awarded to him in 1843, by the late
Viscount Hardinge, then the Secretary at War, on the representation
of Lieutenant-General Sir J. F. Love, who was present at the capture
of General Simon, and who delivered him as a prisoner to
Brigadier-General Craufurd.”—_Historical Record of the 52nd. Light
Infantry, by Captain Moorsom._
Captain Moorsom also relates the following _medal_ incident:—“When the
head of Simon’s column appeared in the act of deploying, and the 52nd.
advanced to charge, Captain William Jones, more commonly known in the
division by the name of “Jack Jones,” a fiery Welshman, rushed upon
the Chef de Bataillon, who was in the act of giving the word to his
men, and killed him on the spot with a blow of his sword. Jones
immediately cut off the medal with which the major was decorated, and
appropriated it to himself.”
Footnote 40:
In the midst of the engagement, Sergeant Patrick Masterson, of the
87th., seized and kept possession of the eagle of the 8th. French
regiment of light infantry, (which was the first taken in action since
the commencement of the Peninsula war,) and for this His Royal
Highness the Prince Regent promoted him to an ensigncy in the Royal
York Light Infantry Volunteers; he was subsequently removed to the
87th. regiment, now the 1st. Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Footnote 41:
An interesting anecdote has been preserved of this officer’s canine
friend:—“After the battle of Barrosa, the wounded of both nations
were, from want of means of transport, necessarily left upon the field
of action the whole night and part of the following day. General
Rousseau, a French general of division, was of the number; his dog, a
white one of the poodle kind, which had been left in quarters upon the
advance of the French force, finding that the general returned not
with those who escaped from the battle, set out in search of him;
found him at night in his dreary resting-place, and expressed his
affliction by moans, and by licking the hands and feet of his dying
master. When the fatal crisis took place, some hours after, he seemed
fully aware of the dreadful change, attached himself closely to the
body, and for three days refused the sustenance which was offered him.
Arrangements having been made for the interment of the dead, the body
of the general was, like the rest, committed to its honourable grave;
the dog lay down upon the earth which covered the beloved remains, and
evinced by silence and deep dejection his sorrow for the loss he had
sustained. The English commander, General Graham, whose fine feelings
had prompted him to superintend the last duties due to the gallant
slain, observed the friendless mourner, drew him, now no longer
resisting, from the spot, and gave him his protection, which he
continued to him until his death, many years after, at the general’s
residence in Perthshire.”—_Maxwell’s Victories of the British Army._
Footnote 42:
The following British troops were engaged at the battle of
Albuhera. Cavalry, under Major-General the Honourable Sir William
Lumley:—3rd. Dragoon Guards, 4th. Dragoons, and 13th. Light
Dragoons. Second division, Major-General the Honourable W.
Stewart:—3rd. Foot, first battalion, 31st., second battalion,
48th., second battalion, 66th., second battalion 60th., one
company fifth battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Colborne; 29th. Foot.
48th., first battalion, 57th., first battalion 60th., one company
fifth battalion, Major-General Hoghton; 28th. Foot, second
battalion, 34th., second battalion, 39th., second battalion,
60th., one company fifth battalion, Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel
Abercromby. Fourth division, Major-General the Honourable Lowry
Cole: 27th. Foot, first battalion, 40th., first battalion, 97th
Queen’s Own 60th., one company fifth battalion, Colonel Kemmis;
Fusilier Brigade,—7th. Foot, first and second battalions, 23rd.,
first battalion, Brunswick Oels, one company. First and second
light battalions German Legion, Major-General Baron Charles Alten.
Footnote 43:
No description can surpass that given by Sir William Napier:—“Such a
gallant line issuing from the midst of the smoke, and rapidly
separating itself from the confused and broken multitude, startled the
enemy’s heavy masses, which were increasing and pressing onwards as to
an assured victory; they wavered, hesitated, and then vomiting forth a
storm of fire, hastily endeavoured to enlarge their front, while a
fearful discharge of grape, from all their artillery, whistled through
the British ranks. Myers was killed, Cole, and the three colonels,
Ellis, Blakeney, and Hawkshawe fell wounded, and the Fusilier
battalions, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and staggered like
sinking ships. But suddenly and sternly recovering, they closed on
their terrible enemies, and then was seen with what a strength and
majesty the British soldier fights. In vain did Soult, by voice and
gesture, animate his Frenchmen; in vain did the hardiest veterans,
extricating themselves from the crowded columns, sacrifice their lives
to gain time for the mass to open out on such a fair field; in vain
did the mass itself bear up, and, fiercely striving, fire
indiscriminately upon friends and foes, while the horsemen, hovering
on the flanks, threatened to charge the advancing line. Nothing could
stop that astonishing infantry. No sudden burst of undisciplined
valour, no nervous enthusiasm weakened the stability of their order;
their flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns in their front;
their measured tread shook the ground; their dreadful volleys swept
away the head of every formation; their deafening shouts overpowered
the dissonant cries that broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd,
as slowly, and with a horrid carnage, it was pushed by the incessant
vigour of the attack, to the farthest edge of the height. There the
French reserve, mixing with the struggling multitude, endeavoured to
sustain the fight; but the effort only increased the irremediable
confusion; the mighty mass gave way, and like a loosened cliff, went
headlong down the steep. The rain flowed after in streams discoloured
with blood, and fifteen hundred unwounded men, the remnant of six
thousand unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal
hill.”
Footnote 44:
Mustering the living and recording the dead became afterwards our
melancholy duty. On reckoning our numbers, the 29th. regiment had only
ninety-six men, two captains, and a few subalterns remaining out of
the whole regiment; the 57th. regiment had but a few more, and were
commanded out of action by the adjutant; the first battalion of the
48th. regiment suffered in like manner; not a man of the brigade was
prisoner; not a colour was lost, although an eloquent historian most
unwarrantably stated that the 57th. had lost theirs—the 57th. lose
their colours!—never! Major-General Hoghton, commanding the brigade,
and Lieutenant-Colonel Duckworth, of the 48th. regiment, were killed;
Lieutenant-Colonel White, of the 29th. regiment, mortally wounded;
Colonel Inglis, of the 57th., and Major Way, of the 29th. regiments,
very severely. In fact, every field officer of the whole brigade was
either killed or wounded, so that at the close of the action the
brigade remained in command of a captain of the 48th. regiment, and
singular enough, that captain was a Frenchman (Cemetiere.)
Footnote 45:
“During the operations on the right, Colonel Gillespie pursued his
advantage to the left, carrying the enemy’s redoubts towards the rear,
and being joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander M‘Leod, of the 59th.,
with part of that corps, he directed him to attack the park of
artillery, which that officer carried in a most masterly manner,
putting to flight a body of the enemy’s cavalry that formed and
attempted to defend it. A sharp fire of musketry was now kept up by a
strong body of the enemy, who had taken post in the lines in front of
Fort Cornelis, but were driven from them, the fort taken, and the
enemy completely dispersed. They were pursued by Colonel Gillespie,
with the 14th. regiment, a party of Sepoys, and the seamen from the
batteries under Captain Sayer, of the Royal Navy. By this time the
cavalry and horse artillery had effected a passage through the lines,
the former commanded by Major Travers, and the latter by Captain
Noble; and, with the gallant Colonel at their head, the pursuit was
continued, till the whole of the enemy’s army was killed, taken, or
dispersed. Major Tule’s attack was equally spirited, but, after
routing the enemy’s force at Campong Maylayo, and killing many of
them, he found the bridge on fire, and was unable to penetrate
further.”—_Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty’s despatch._
Footnote 46:
After the capture of Java the 14th. regiment remained on the island
for some time. The Sultan of Mataram, who governed a portion of the
interior, trusting to his power, and the strength of his fortified
palace, at Djocjocarta, meditated the expulsion of all Europeans from
the island, and committed aggressions of which it became necessary to
stop the progress. To effect this, his palace was captured by storm on
the morning of the 20th. June, 1812; on which occasion the 14th. had
another occasion of distinguishing themselves. Lieutenant-Colonel
Watson (now General Sir James Watson, K.C.B., and Colonel of the
14th.) commanded the main attack, and the grenadiers of the regiment
headed the assault with their usual gallantry.
Footnote 47:
“Lieutenant Gurwood, (afterwards the editor of the Wellington
Dispatches,) of the 52nd., who led the forlorn hope, took the French
Governor, General Barrié, prisoner in the citadel. Lord Wellington
presented Lieutenant Gurwood with the sword of General Barrié on the
breach by which Gurwood had entered,—a fitting and proud compliment to
a young soldier of fortune!”
Footnote 48:
At its head marched the 45th. regiment, supporting the advanced
storming party, composed of the flank companies of the division and
the 83rd. regiment. Few more desperate conflicts are on record than
that which took place. After repeated assaults the escalade was
effected, and the place carried.
Lieutenant M‘Pherson, of the 45th., though wounded previous to his
ascending the ladders in the escalade, was distinguished in hauling
down the French flag from the staff of the citadel, which being
brought to Major Greenwell, who commanded the regiment, he ordered a
jacket of the 45th. to be substituted, in its place, acting upon the
well-known adage of—“exchange no robbery.” It had been a point of
emulation amongst the different regiments during the siege, which
should have the honour of striking the French flag, and spiking a
certain gun in the castle, which had been particularly offensive
during the operations; the 45th. had the good fortune to do both.
Footnote 49:
On the enemy’s commencing to give way, a French officer picked up a
firelock, thrown down by one of his men, and levelled it at
Major-General the Honourable Edward Pakenham; the piece missed fire,
when the intrepid officer snatched up another, and presented it, on
which Corporal Patrick Cavanagh, of the 45th., advanced out of the
ranks, shot the officer, and saved the general; but both parties were
now so near, that in the act of firing the Corporal was himself shot.
Footnote 50:
The 11th. and 61st. regiments specially distinguished themselves on
this occasion; evening was fast approaching, and the legions of
Napoleon were retreating in much disorder, when the French division,
commanded by General Maucune, made a determined stand to cover the
retreat of the broken battalions; then ensued a desperate musketry
action in the dark. The difficulty of the ascent gave the enemy’s
division, formed on the summit, a decided advantage; but at length
Maucune’s battalions were forced from the height. Of Major-General
Hulse’s brigade, (the 11th., 53rd., and 61st.,) only nine officers and
three hundred men remained, which were formed on the following day
into one battalion. A round shot (probably fired at the colours of the
11th.,) took the heads off the two sergeants, posted between the
colours, and of a black man who beat the cymbals in the band, and who
was in rear of them, without injuring either of the officers carrying
the colours; one of them (Ensign Scott) was afterwards killed. The
colour party of the 61st. regiment, being all shot down, the colours
were seized by Privates Crawford and Coulson, who carried them till
the close of the battle. Crawford was made a sergeant on the field,
and the same rank was offered to Coulson, who declined it, saying that
he was already over rewarded by the cheers and congratulations of his
comrades. The regiment went into action with 27 officers and 420 men,
and at the close of the fight had only 3 officers and 78 men left.
Footnote 51:
Southey thus describes the bâton:—“It was rather more than a foot
long, and covered with blue velvet, on which the imperial eagles were
embroidered; and it had been tipped with gold, but the first finder
had secured the gold for himself. The case was of red morocco, with
silver clasps, and with eagles on it, and at either end the Marshal’s
name imprinted in gold letters.”
Footnote 52:
In this desperate combat in the Pass of Maya, the 6th., 28th., 34th.,
50th., 71st., 82nd., and 92nd. regiments had opportunities of
distinguishing themselves. The latter having been hotly engaged for
ten successive hours, and in want of ammunition, was ordered by
Lieutenant-General the Honourable William Stewart not to charge, and
the gallant Highlanders, for the first time, disregarded orders, not
only charging, but leading the charge. Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron, of
the 92nd., who commanded the first brigade, was permitted by his
Sovereign to bear on his shield the word Maya in commemoration of this
action. The 92nd. had thirty-four men killed and two hundred and
sixty-eight men wounded; one officer was killed, and eighteen officers
were wounded, one of whom died of wounds. Sir William Napier, in his
history of the Peninsula War, has remarked that “so dreadful was the
slaughter, especially of the 92nd., that it is said the advancing
enemy was actually stopped by the heaped mass of dead and dying. The
stern valour of the 92nd., principally composed of Scotchmen, would
have graced Thermopylæ.”
Footnote 53:
“Although our wounded are numerous, I am happy to say that the cases
in general are slight, and I have great pleasure in reporting to Your
Lordship that the utmost attention has been paid to them by the
Inspector General, Dr. M‘Grigor, and by the officers of the department
under his directions.”—_Marquis of Wellington’s despatch._
Footnote 54:
Just before the assault was given, a sergeant of the 28th. regiment,
named Bull, being sent with a party to the coast from Roncesvalles, to
make purchases for the officers, placed the money entrusted to him,
2000 dollars, with a Commissary, and took a receipt. He then persuaded
his party to join the stormers, so, as he said, that the ‘Slashers’
should be represented, and took part in the assault, which he
survived, reclaimed his money, made his purchases, and rejoined his
regiment. Singularly this gallant little party did not sustain any
loss.
Footnote 55:
The illustration is copied from the Cross and Clasp conferred upon the
late General Sir George Scovell, G.C.B. Gold medals were struck to
commemorate the battles of Roleia, Vimiera, Corunna, Talavera, Busaco,
Barrosa, Fuentes d’Onor, Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees,
Nivelle, Nive, Toulouse, the capture of Java, Martinique, Guadaloupe,
etc. These were only granted to superior officers, and worn with a red
ribbon with blue edge. For example, see plate of “Talavera Gold
Medal.”
Footnote 56:
“Richoso, 1st. October, 1811.—Adverting to your Lordship’s despatch of
the 3rd. September, regarding the grant of medals to the officers of
the army, it occurs to me that an improvement might still be made in
the system; for instance, many officers, in the course of service,
become entitled to two or three or more medals. In my opinion, they
should receive but one; but for every additional action deemed worthy
of the medal, in which any officer having a medal should be present,
he should be warranted to have the name of that action engraved on his
medal, and that in that case the fresh medal for that action should be
given to the officer next in command in the regiment, who was present
and distinguished in the action.”—_The Wellington Dispatches._
“To the Earl of Liverpool.”
Footnote 57:
Some correspondence had taken place on the subject with the Marquis of
Wellington, as appears by the following:—
“Freneda, 16th. March, 1813.
“I have received your letter of the 24th. February, in regard to the
medals, and I concur entirely with you regarding all the
improvements you propose on the subject. You have provided a remedy
for a difficulty which I could never get over in a way at all
satisfactory to myself. I likewise agree with you in the propriety
of having a cross with eight bars, or a star with eight points, for
those who are entitled to more than seven distinctions. I am not
certain that it would not be best that all general officers, as well
as others, should wear the medal or cross at the button-hole, till
they should receive the last distinction. It is very awkward to ride
in round the neck.”
“To Earl Bathurst.”
_The Wellington Dispatches._
Footnote 58:
It appears that the Duke of Wellington was in favour of a more general
distribution, for in a letter dated Vera, 6th. November, 1813,
addressed to Marshal Sir William Carr Beresford, K.B., in reference to
his claim for the Ciudad Rodrigo medal, he remarked, “In regard to the
medals, I have always been of opinion, that government should have
extended the principle more than they did; and in executing their
orders, I believe it will be found that, whenever a medal could be
given to an individual under the orders of government, I have inserted
his name in the return. However, my decision on this or any other
subject is not final; and if anybody doubts, I wish he would apply to
superior authority.”—_The Wellington Dispatches._
Footnote 59:
Whilst the British were in position on the banks of the Nive, in
November, 1813, the French used to meet the English officers at a
narrow part of the river, and chat over the campaign. One of the
latter, in order to convince them of the reverses of Napoleon in
Germany, rolled a stone up in the _Star_ newspaper, and endeavoured to
throw it across the stream. The stone, unfortunately, went through it,
which made it fall into the water. The French officer thereupon
remarked, in pretty fair English, “Your good news is very soon
damped.”
Footnote 60:
“This attack, led by the 52nd. regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Colborne, and supported on their right by Major-General Brisbane’s and
Colonel Keane’s brigades of the third division, and by simultaneous
attacks on the left by Major-General Anson’s brigade of the fourth
division, and on the right by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton,
with the remainder of the third division, and the sixth division,
under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, dislodged the enemy from
the heights, and gave us the victory.”—_Wellington’s despatch._
Footnote 61:
“I walked down to the bridge with Lord Wellington yesterday (6th
March, 1814,) and found him limp a little, and he said he was in
rather more pain than usual, but it was nothing. At dinner yesterday,
he said he was laughing at General Alava having had a knock, and
telling him it was all nonsense, and that he was not hurt, when he
received this blow, and a worse one in the same place himself. Alava
said it was to punish him for laughing at him.”—_Larpent’s Journal._
In “Recollections, by Samuel Rogers,” recently published, there is a
remark of Wellington’s in allusion to the above circumstance:—“The
elastic woven corselet would answer very well over the cuirass. It
saved me, I think, at Orthes, where I was hit on the hip. I was never
struck but on that occasion, and then I was not wounded. I was on
horseback again the same day.”
Footnote 62:
The 7th. Hussars, who highly distinguished themselves in this battle
do not bear “Orthes” on their accoutrements; though Wellington in his
despatches, said, “The charge of the 7th. Hussars under Lord E.
Somerset, was highly meritorious.”
Footnote 63:
The following statement gives the number of troops employed in Spain
and the South of France, at the periods of the several actions
mentioned:—
┌──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Actions. │ Number of Troops. │
├──────────────┼─────────────────────────┬───────┬───────────┬────────┤
│ „ │Present and fit for Duty.│ Sick. │On Command.│ Total. │
├──────────────┼─────────────────────────┼───────┼───────────┼────────┤
│Roleia │ 14,871│ │ │ │
│Vimiera │ 18,903│ │ │ │
│Talavera │ 28,987│ 48,827│ 1596│ 35,410│
│Busaco │ 29,138│ 7,079│ 2526│ 38,743│
│Fuentes d’Onor│ 34,647│ 9,298│ 4912│ 48,857│
│Ciudad Rodrigo│ 37,014│ 12,392│ 4217│ 53,623│
│Badajoz │ 36,025│ 12,711│ 4433│ 53,169│
│Salamanca │ 38,531│ 13,891│ 5004│ 57,426│
│Vittoria │ 47,927│ 9,605│ 4294│ 61,826│
│Pyrenees │ 41,263│ 12,698│ 4916│ 58,877│
│Nivelle │ 45,104│ 13,658│ 4425│ 63,187│
│Nive │ 43,680│ 14,732│ 5007│ 63,419│
│Orthes │ 42,959│ 12,972│ 4690│ 60,621│
│Toulouse │ 42,807│ 12,907│ 5638│ 61,352│
└──────────────┴─────────────────────────┴───────┴───────────┴────────┘
Footnote 64:
A few notes on the Peninsula Medals may be given in addition to that
on page 59. Of the _Gold_ Medals, large and small, given only to
General Officers, four hundred and sixty-nine were issued. Of these,
one hundred and forty-three had _one_ clasp, seventy-two _two_ clasps.
Sixty-one gold Crosses were awarded; forty-six with _one_ clasp,
eighteen with _two_, seventeen with _three_, eight with _four_, seven
with _five_, three with _six_, two with _seven_, and one only with
_nine_ clasps, given to the Duke of Wellington, for thirteen general
engagements. To the cavalry which served during the war, the highest
number of bars issued with any medal was _eleven_, and only _four_
medals with this number. There were only _six_ survivors to claim the
medal with _fifteen_ bars in 1847. _Two_ medals only with _two_
bars—“Fort Detroit” and “Chrystler’s Farm”—were issued; one of these
was sold in 1887 for £25 10s. 0d. A medal with the bar “Chrystler’s
Farm” was sold in 1878 for £6 6s. 0d. A medal with _fourteen_ bars was
sold for £14. A medal with clasp for “Nive” was given as recently as
March, 1889, to an old veteran, Capt. Gammell, who as an ensign was
present at the sortie from Bayonne; but leaving the army soon
afterwards, and neglecting to forward his claim in 1847, did not
receive this recognition of his services till _seventy-five_ years had
elapsed, when nearly all his companions in arms had long been in their
graves.
Footnote 65:
“As the 42nd. regiment advanced through a field of rye, which reached
nearly to the men’s shoulders, a body of cavalry was seen approaching,
which was supposed to be either Prussians or Flemings, but which
proved to be French. The mistake was not discovered in time to
complete the proper formation to receive the charge; the regiment,
however, attempted to form square, and while in the act of so doing,
the French lancers galloped forward with great impetuosity, being
assured of victory when they saw the unprepared state of the regiment.
The regiment suffered severely; but the lancers were repulsed with
loss. When the enemy’s ardour was cooled and the attacks had become
less frequent and fierce, the regiment completed its formation. It had
sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir
Robert Macara, K.C.B., had fallen, and the command of the regiment
devolved on Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Robert Henry)
Dick.”
Footnote 66:
“The Duke, on this occasion, was very nearly overtaken by the French
cavalry; and being obliged to gallop towards the 92nd. Highlanders, he
called out to the nearest men to lie down in the ditch, when he fairly
leaped over them.”—_Captain Siborne._
Footnote 67:
“It is only recently that the remains of Sir Thomas Picton were
removed to St. Paul’s. In the _Times_ of Thursday, May 5th, 1859,
appeared a letter from W. Brewer, Esq., of 21, George Street, Hanover
Square, stating that in the vaults of the burying ground in the
Bayswater road, might be seen the thick chest or oak box, in which the
remains of this general, as they were packed up in the village of
Waterloo, and sent to England, were deposited. As these vaults were
just closed by order of the Privy Council, and the brickwork to close
in the coffins was at once to be commenced, this gentleman appealed to
the country that the body of this illustrious warrior might be
deposited in some distinguished mausoleum:—the result of this appeal
was that the remains of this gallant general were removed on the 8th.
of June, 1859, to St. Paul’s, and the following account of the
ceremony appeared in the _Morning Post_ of Thursday, June 9th., 1859:—
“Yesterday morning, according to arrangement, the remains of the late
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton were removed from the cemetery
belonging to the parish of St. George, Hanover Square, to St. Paul’s
Cathedral.
“The coffin was placed on a gun-carriage, drawn by eight horses, It
was covered with a rich silk Genoa velvet pall with richly emblazoned
armorial bearings of the late general, and with the union-jack. The
procession was under the direction of the Royal Artillery. The first
carriage contained Mr. J. Picton, the Hon. Colonel Vereker, Colonel
Bagot, and General Wood. The second contained the Rev. Henry Howarth,
rector of St. George’s, Hanover Square, Mr. Stanley, and Dr. Brewer.
In the third were Mr. Cooper, Mr. Westerton, and Treherne. Then
followed the carriages of Lord Strafford, the Right Hon. Mr. Estcourt,
the Home Secretary, Lord Gough, General Sir F. Stovin, Sir John
Burgoyne, Sir Hew Ross, Sir Robert Gardiner, and Sir James Coleman.
“Amongst the others who appeared as mourners was the Rev. Dr. Macnab,
of Canada, representing his uncle, Captain Alexander Macnab, of the
30th. Regiment of Foot, who was aide-de-camp to General Picton, and
who fell at the battle of Waterloo.
“The procession moved slowly through the principal streets to St.
Paul’s Cathedral. When the body reached St. Paul’s Cathedral, some
time was taken up in removing the ponderous mass from the
gun-carriage, and bearing up the steps on the south side into the
Cathedral. It was there met by the Very Rev. the Dean Milman,
Archdeacon Hale, the Rev. W. Murray and several other prebendaries and
minor canons, who preceded the body to the crypt, where a vault had
been constructed not far from the tomb of Wellington, the illustrious
chief of the noble hero. At that moment the organ began to play the
‘Dead March in Saul.’ Followed by the old comrades of the illustrious
general, the body was conveyed, in the most solemn silence, to the
tomb, where it was received and lowered into the grave in the presence
of Colonel Vereker, Mr. J. Picton, and a large number of private
mourners.”
Footnote 68:
Lady de Lancey, a sister of Captain Basil Hall, carefully attended her
dying husband, Sir William de Lancey, in a peasant’s cottage at
Waterloo, for seven or eight days after the battle, in which he had
been severely wounded, and, in fact, was at first returned as killed.
In “Recollections, by Samuel Rogers,” the following account is given
by the Duke:—“De Lancey was with me when he was struck. We were on a
point of land that overlooked the plain, and I had just been warned by
some soldiers, (but as I saw well from it, and as two divisions were
engaging below, I had said, ‘Never mind,’) when a ball came leaping
along _en richochet_, as it is called, and striking him on the back,
sent him many yards over the head of his horse. He fell on his face,
and bounded upward and fell again. All the staff dismounted, and ran
to him; and when I came up he said, ‘Pray tell them to leave me, and
let me die in peace.’ I had him conveyed into the rear: and two days
afterwards, when, on my return from Brussels, I saw him in a barn, he
spoke with such strength that I said, (for I had reported him among
the killed,) ‘Why, De Lancey, you will have the advantage of Sir Condy
in Castle Rackrent; you will know what your friends said of you after
you were dead.’ ‘I hope I shall,’ he replied. Poor fellow! We had
known each other ever since we were boys. But I had no time to be
sorry; I went on with the army, and never saw him again.”
Footnote 69:
┌────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┐
│ │ Cav. │ Art. │ Guns. │Infantry.│
├────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤
│British │ 5843│ 2967│ 78│ 15,181│
│King’s German Legion│ 1997│ 526│ 18│ 3,301│
│Hanoverians │ 497│ 465│ 12│ 10,258│
│Brunswickers │ 866│ 510│ 16│ 4,586│
│Nassausers │ │ │ │ 2,880│
│Dutch Belgians │ 3205│ 1177│ 32│ 13,402│
├────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤
│ Total │ 12408│ 5645│ 156│ 49,608│
└────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘
Footnote 70:
The Life Guards and Blues were without cuirasses at Waterloo; and the
1st. Foot Guards received the royal authority to be styled Grenadier
Guards, to commemorate their having been victorious over the Imperial
Guard.
Footnote 71:
In an interesting paper, entitled “APSLEY HOUSE,” which appeared in
the “Quarterly Review,” for March, 1853, descriptive of a visit to the
late Duke’s residence, the writer thus alludes to this medal,—“His own
Waterloo medal, engraved ‘Arthur, Duke of Wellington,’ and much worn
by use, with the ring cobbled and mended by himself, is indeed a
relic.”
Footnote 72:
At this period the Fingo tribes placed themselves under the protection
of the British government; great care was ordered to be observed that
they should not be taken for the enemy. Their warriors were
distinguished from the Kaffirs, by carrying shields.
Footnote 73:
At this period the 27th. Foot joined. On the arrival of the regiment
at Graham’s Town, on the 8th. of September, a provisional battalion,
consisting of four hundred Hottentots, divided into four companies,
and officered by colonists, was attached to the corps. The 72nd. and
75th. regiments had similar battalions attached to them.
Footnote 74:
“The conduct of the troops has well maintained the character of
British soldiers, and the losses sustained by the 2nd. Queen’s Royal
Regiment, will stand prominent on the Regimental Records of the former
achievements of this gallant corps.”—_Cape General Orders._
Footnote 75:
“At the moment he was hit, he was giving directions to a company of
his own well-loved corps, which was skirmishing in the bush, and the
position of which he wished to alter a little. Whilst raising his arm
to indicate the ground he alluded to, a huge Hottentot stepped rapidly
from a thick clump close by, and delivered the fatal shot; observing
with characteristic cunning the irreparable mischief he had done, he
screeched out, in hellish accents, ‘_Johnny, bring stretcher_,’ and,
turning on his heel, dived into the clump again before the infuriated
74th. could wreak their vengeance upon him.
“Fordyce lived a quarter of an hour after receiving his death-wound.
The ball had passed through his abdomen; and, as he was borne away in
the consciousness of approaching death, he was just able to utter, in
faint accents, the words—‘_Take care of my poor regiment_—I AM READY,’
when he passed placidly away.”—_United Service Magazine, April, 1852._
Footnote 76:
The “Birkenhead,” an iron steam transport, sailed from Queenstown for
the Cape, with drafts of the 12th. Lancers, 2nd., 6th., 12th., 43rd.,
45th., 60th., 73rd., 74th., and 91st. Regiments; the whole under the
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Seton of the 74th. Off Simon’s Bay, on
26th. February, 1852, she struck on a sunken rock, and shortly
afterwards sank. Out of six hundred and thirty-eight souls on board,
only 184 were saved. Colonel Seton and his men exhibited an example of
the highest coolness and self-possession, and died at their post with
the courage and resolution of British soldiers. A graceful tribute has
been paid by the Queen to his memory, and that of the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and men who perished in the wreck. Her
Majesty, desirous of recording her admiration of their heroic
constancy and unbroken discipline, has caused to be placed in the
colonnade at Chelsea Hospital, a tablet in commemoration of this
event. When the ship struck, Colonel Seton called all the officers
about him, and impressed upon them the necessity of preserving order
and silence among the men, and intimated to the soldiers by his
sergeant-major, that he would be the last to quit the ship. After
placing the women, children, and sick, in the over-crowded boats, with
his men drawn up on the deck, as if standing on parade, they all went
down together with the wreck; one of the noblest examples of heroism
ever recorded. As a splendid instance of heroic constancy, the late
William I., Emperor of Germany, then King of Prussia, ordered the
glorious story to be read on parade at the head of every regiment in
his service.
Footnote 77:
The body of Sandilli was found in the bush, and was brought on a horse
into the British camp. As he lay on the ground wrapped in a piece of
old sail cloth, the Fingoes marched past, and each shook his assagai
in the face of the dead chief. He was then interred by them in the
presence of the troops.
Footnote 78:
Some time after, a Zulu chief in speaking of the battle at
Isandhlwana, said: “The red soldiers killed many of us with their
bayonets; when they found we were upon them, they turned back to back.
They all fought till they died, they were hard to kill. Not one tried
to escape.” Another said: “Ah, those red soldiers, how few they were,
and how they fought! They fell like stones, each man in his place.”
Footnote 79:
“He was last seen with his back to a rock, six Zulus lying dead at his
feet, his empty revolver in his left hand, a bloody sabre in his
right, and two assegais quivering in his body.”
Footnote 80:
One of the wounded officers was the gallant Major Hackett, V.C., of
the 90th. Perthshire Regiment, who led his men into action with a pipe
in his mouth. He was shot through the head, but recovered with the
loss of both eyes.
Footnote 81:
On the preceding evening, Sir E. Wood paraded his men, and thus
addressed them, to their great encouragement:—“This is the last of the
laagering business. The Zulus think we cannot beat them in the open,
and we are going to try. I have conversed with Oham’s men and others
who were at Isandlhwana, and they all state that the Zulus would never
have beaten those companies of the 24th., but that they got in rear of
them. Now, I want you, to-morrow, to pay attention to your officers,
as we are going to fight them in square, and I have every confidence
in you, providing you keep shoulder to shoulder, fighting back to
back. I cannot promise all will return, but that we shall be victors I
am sure.”
Footnote 82:
This Medal was struck at the Government Mint in Calcutta.
Footnote 83:
The first Jellalabad medal is also very scarce. Since 1842 it has been
the custom with medals granted for service in India to present them to
the legal representatives of deceased officers and soldiers.
Footnote 84:
A gold Maltese cross, on a larger cross of silver, supported by two
crossed swords, in the centre, a circle of pearls, worn with a red and
green ribbon.
Footnote 85:
The 44th. regiment arrived at Jellalabad in January 1841, and was
moved to Cabool in May following. On the 1st. of October of that
year, the strength of the regiment in Afghanistan was 25 officers,
35 sergeants, 14 drummers, and 635 rank and file. The number killed
at Cabool, and during the retreat, amounted to 22 officers and 543
men; three officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Shelton, and Lieutenants
Evans and Souter, and 51 men were taken prisoners. The officers
killed between the 10th. of November, 1841, and the 13th. of
January, 1842, were Lieutenant-Colonel Mackrell, Major Scott,
Captain Swayne, McCrea, Leighton, and Robinson; Lieutenants Dodgin,
Collins, White, Wade, Hogg, Cumberland, Raban, Cadett, Swinton,
Fortye, and Gray; Paymaster Bourke; Quartermaster Halahan; Surgeon
Harcourt, and Assistant-Surgeons Balfour and Primrose.
Lieutenant Souter, severely wounded, preserved the colours of the
44th. by tying them round his waist. 102 officers were killed at
Cabool, and during the retreat.
Footnote 86:
This was the place where the massacre of the British troops occurred,
and not as too frequently stated, in the _Khyber_ pass, which had they
been able to reach, being on the Indian side Jellalabad, they would
have been safe.
Footnote 87:
It is remarkable that the Sikhs, afterwards such formidable opponents
during the Sutlej and Punjab campaigns, were able supporters at this
period, and during the recent Indian Mutiny they sustained their
former character, the Sikh regiments being most valuable allies.
Footnote 88:
One of these officers, Lieutenant Mein, was thus alluded to in
reference to his conduct, while serving with the army on its retreat
from Cabool, by Sir Robert Peel, on moving the vote of thanks to the
army employed in Afghanistan:—“I have said that, in the course of this
campaign, instances of the most generous devotion, of friendly
sympathy, and of desperate fidelity, were displayed, which deserve at
least a passing notice. Lieutenant Eyre says: ‘Lieutenant Sturt
(son-in-law to Sir Robert and Lady Sale) had nearly cleared the
defile, when he received his wound, and would have been left on the
ground to be hacked to pieces by the Ghazees, who followed in the rear
to complete the work of slaughter, but for the generous intrepidity of
Lieutenant Mein, of Her Majesty’s 13th. Light Infantry, who, on
learning what had befallen him, went back to his succour, and stood by
him for several minutes, at the imminent risk of his own life, vainly
entreating aid from the passers by. He was, at length, joined by
Sergeant Deane, of the Sappers, with whose assistance he dragged his
friend, on a quilt, through the remainder of the Pass, when he
succeeded in mounting him on a miserable pony, and conducted him in
safety to the camp, where the unfortunate officer lingered till the
following morning, and was the only man of the whole force who
received Christian burial. Lieutenant Mein was himself at this very
time suffering from a dangerous wound in the head, received in the
previous October; and his heroic disregard of self, and fidelity to
his friend in the hour of danger, are well deserving of a record in
the annals of British valour and virtue; I think, Sir, it is but just
that the name of Lieutenant Mein should be mentioned with honour in
the House of Commons, and I do not regret having noticed this
circumstance, as it has called forth so generous, and general an
expression of sympathy and approval.’”
The name and sufferings of Lady Sale will be ever connected with the
disasters in Afghanistan. Her Journal is one of exciting and absorbing
interest.
Footnote 89:
A General Order of October, 1842, announced: “To every officer,
non-commissioned officer, and private present within Kelat-i-Ghilzie,
and forming part of the garrison during the late investment, will be
presented a silver medal,” &c. The garrison consisted of 600 of the
Shah’s army and three companies of the 12th. Bengal Native Infantry.
No Queen’s regiment took part in the defence, but there were present
forty European artillery and sixty Sappers and Miners, the whole being
under the command of Captain John Craigie.
Footnote 90:
On the south face of the fort was a large bastion, close to which was
an open space which had been converted into a burial ground; here the
remains of Colonel Dennie, with many other gallant soldiers were laid,
and the engineer officer in mining the bastion caused the whole mass
to be thrown by the explosion over the graves, thus leaving a lasting
and appropriate monument over them, and effectually preventing the
bodies being disturbed by the Afghans.
Footnote 91:
The shots were fired by two Pathan soldiers in the 29th. to rouse
their neighbours, the Afghans, at the top of the Pass. A native
officer detected them at the time by smelling the barrels of their
rifles, but, to screen his co-religionists, kept his knowledge to
himself, and made no report to his superior of the matter. The
traitors were subsequently discovered and tried by court-martial; one
was condemned to death and hanged, and the other imprisoned for two
years with hard labour. The native lieutenant was also sentenced to
transportation for seven years.
Footnote 92:
Among the guns captured were seventeen Armstrongs, and an old brass
Dutch piece, with the date 1625. How it got to Cabul is a mystery.
Footnote 93:
The Rev. J. W. Adams, Chaplain to the Force, who had accompanied the
troopers, gained the Victoria Cross for rescuing some men of the 9th.
Lancers, who had fallen into a deep ditch, he being all the time under
a heavy fire, and up to his waist in water. Haying dismounted in order
to give more effectual assistance, he made his escape on foot, when
the Afghans were within a few yards of him.
Footnote 94:
In this charge, Major White shouted to his men: “Just one charge more
to settle the business.”
Footnote 95:
The first design for this medal showed the Chinese Plenipotentiaries
signing the treaty, and on the cloth of the table was an embroidered
pattern representing the British Lion trampling on the Chinese dragon.
So much was this part of the design approved of, that it was adopted
for the reverse, instead of the whole, with the motto as above, and
“Nankin, 1842,” underneath; but the present medal was ultimately
struck, the first being deemed offensive to the feelings of the
conquered people.
Footnote 96:
There was but one medal for the second Chinese war, _issued with five
clasps_, to a Royal Marine artilleryman. When first issued, the ribbon
of the medal was blue, yellow, red, white and green, in stripes, but
afterwards changed to crimson and yellow.
Footnote 97:
“The grenadier company of H. M. 55th. Foot, and two companies of the
6th. regiment of M. N. I., with the Sappers carrying the ladders,
under the command of Brevet-Major Maclean, 55th. Foot, advanced
against the north-east angle. The Sappers, commanded by Lieutenant
Johnstone, with the greatest steadiness and gallantry reared their
ladders against the wall, and in a few minutes the grenadiers of the
55th. had mounted, and dividing into two parties, proceeded to clear
the ramparts, one party turning to the right, under Brevet-Major
Maclean, and another to the left, under Lieutenant Cuddy,
55th.”—_Major-General Schoedde’s despatch._
Footnote 98:
The 59th. regiment, Royal Sappers and Miners, first landed, then the
French Naval Brigade, followed by that of the Royal Marines, and later
in the day by the British Naval Brigade. The numbers amounted to five
thousand six hundred and seventy-nine, namely, eight hundred troops;
Royal Marines, two thousand one hundred; Naval Brigade, one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-nine; and French Naval Brigade, nine hundred
and fifty. The _mot d’ordre_, or parole, throughout the operations was
“France and England.” Shortly after the landing, Lieutenant Hacket, of
the 59th., aide-de-camp to Colonel Graham, whilst carrying an order,
was surprised by a party of Chinese, who inhumanly beheaded him, and
then made off. Two of them were shot, and a third was afterwards
hanged.
Footnote 99:
Yeh was captured while endeavouring to escape, by a party of blue
jackets, under the command of Captain Key, who took the Commissioner
with his own hand. He was eventually sent as a prisoner to Calcutta,
where he died in the month of April following.
Footnote 100:
The loss in this brilliant affair was trifling, 21 English being
killed and wounded, and 67 on the side of the French, principally
through the explosion of a magazine in one of the forts after its
capture.
Footnote 101:
The storming party consisted of a wing of the 44th., under
Lieutenant-Colonel Mac Mahon, and one of the 67th., under
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas, supported by the other wings of those two
regiments and the Royal Marines, under Lieutenant-Colonel Gascoigne. A
detachment of the latter, under Lieutenant-Colonel Travers, carried a
pontoon bridge for crossing the wet ditches, and Major Graham, of the
Royal Engineers, conducted the assault. The whole were commanded by
Brigadier Reeves; who, although severely wounded in three places, did
not quit the field until he had conducted his men into the fort.
Footnote 102:
Mr. Parkes and all his companions, with Mr. Loch and Captain Brabazon,
were made prisoners; the whole number being twenty-six British, and
twelve French subjects. Twenty of them died from the horrible
treatment of the Chinese. The remains of Lieutenant Anderson, Messrs.
de Norman, and Bowlby were subsequently delivered up by their captors,
or rather murderers, and were publicly and solemnly interred in the
Russian cemetery, within the walls of Pekin.
Footnote 103:
The late Lord Herbert, in his first speech in the House of Lords, in
moving the vote of thanks to the Forces in China, alluded to this
service:—“The Tartar cavalry had posted themselves upon an eminence,
which had a sudden fall at the foot of it, and in the deepest part
they had made a ditch. They evidently thought our cavalry could not
pass this ditch, and that they should be able to pick off our men as
they came up with the greatest ease with their matchlocks. The spot
has been described to me by an eye-witness as what would be called, in
hunting phraseology, “a very ugly place,” one which very many would
have looked at twice, and which very few would have gone at. The
probability is that the majority of the field would have gone round,
and attained their object in some other way. The 1st. Dragoon Guards
however rode at it, and so successfully, that they cleared the place
without more than one or two of the men getting out of the ranks. This
struck dismay into the Tartars, who had no conception such a feat was
possible, and they instantly scattered themselves all over the plain.
A Chinese force afterwards attempted to clear the place, as our men
had, but they utterly failed, and fell back into the ditch. It is said
to have been singular to witness the great respect the enemy always
paid to our cavalry, whether regulars or irregulars, but the alarm
depicted in their countenances, and their sudden change of tactics
whenever our Dragoon Guards afterwards came into the field, was
something remarkable.”
Footnote 104:
As a lesson to the Emperor and his officials, and as a punishment for
their perfidy and cruelty towards these unfortunate gentlemen, the
summer residence of the Emperor, called Yuen-ming-yuen, which extended
for six or seven miles, was plundered and burnt. Some idea of its
extent may be given in the fact that it took two days to set fire to
and destroy all the buildings. The grounds were more than ten miles in
diameter, and the palace consisted of thirty distinct residences with
appendages.
Corps employed against Canton, in 1857, and the Taku Forts and Pekin,
in 1860. Those present at Canton, Taku Forts, Pekin, (as shewn by the
figure 1,) have been authorised to bear the names of these places on
their regimental colours; the 60th., being Rifles, have them on their
appointments. The Artillery, Engineers, and Marines have a general
motto, and do not receive such distinctions:—
┌────────────────────────────────┬───────┬──────┬──────┬──────────────┐
│ CORPS. │Canton.│ Taku │Pekin.│ │
│ │ │Forts.│ │ │
├────────────────────────────────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼──────────────┤
│Royal Artillery[105] │ 1│ 1│ 1│ │
│Madras Artillery │ │ 1│ │Two Companies.│
│Royal Engineers[106] │ 1│ 1│ 1│ │
│Madras Engineers │ │ 1│ │Two Companies.│
│1st. King’s Dragoon Guards │ │ 1│ 1│Two Squadrons.│
│1st. Sikh Irregular Cavalry, now│ │ 1│ 1│Head-quarters.│
│ 11th. Bengal Cavalry │ │ │ │ │
│Fane’s Horse, now 19th. Bengal │ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│ Cavalry │ │ │ │ │
│1st. Battalion Military Train │ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│1st. (Royal) Regt., 2nd. batt. │ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│2nd. (Queen’s) Regt., 1st. batt.│ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│3rd. (Buffs) Regt., 1st. batt. │ │ 1│ │ „ │
│31st. Regiment │ │ 1│ │ „ │
│44th. „ │ │ 1│ │ „ │
│59th. „ │ 1│ │ │ „ │
│60th. „ 2nd. batt. │ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│67th. „ │ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│99th. „ │ │ 1│ │ „ │
│Royal Marines[107] │ 1│ 1│ │ │
│8th. Punjaub Infantry, now 20th.│ │ 1│ 1│Head-quarters.│
│15th. „ now 22nd.│ │ 1│ 1│ „ │
│38th. Madras Native │ 1│ │ │ │
│ Infantry[108] │ │ │ │ │
└────────────────────────────────┴───────┴──────┴──────┴──────────────┘
Footnote 105:
Three batteries at Canton, nine at Taku Forts, five at Pekin.
Footnote 106:
Half a Company at Canton, two and a half companies at Taku and Pekin.
Footnote 107:
Three Battalions at Canton, one at Taku Forts.
Footnote 108:
Detachment of two officers and forty men; being so small a portion of
the corps, the word “Canton” was not authorised for the regiment.
Footnote 109:
The only Queen’s regiment at Meeanee was the 22nd., and the following
extracts from the despatch of Major-General Sir Charles Napier testify
the part borne by it in this victory:—“Lieutenant-Colonel Pennefather
was severely wounded, as, with the high courage of a soldier, he led
his regiment up the desperate bank of the Fulailee. Major Wyllie,
Captains Tucker and Conway, Lieutenants Harding and Phayre, were all
wounded while gloriously animating their men to sustain the shock of
numbers. Captains Meade, Tew, and Cookson, with Lieutenant Wood, all
fell honourably, urging on the assault with unmitigated valour. Major
Poole, of the 22nd., and Captain Jackson, of the 25th. Native
Infantry, who succeeded to the command of those regiments, proved
themselves worthy of their dangerous posts. The Acting Assistant
Quartermaster-General, Lieutenant McMurdo, of the 22nd. regiment, had
his horse killed, and, while on foot leading some soldiers in a
desperate dash down the enemy’s side of the bank, he cut down a
chieftain. He has greatly assisted me by his activity and zeal during
the whole of our operations. Innumerable are the individual acts of
intrepidity which took place between our soldiers and their opponents,
too numerous for detail in this despatch, yet well meriting a record.”
Footnote 110:
Major Poole, commanding the 22nd. regiment, in consequence of
Lieutenant-Colonel Pennefather having been severely wounded, stated in
his report, respecting the soldiers of the regiment under his command,
who had distinguished themselves in the battle of Meeanee, “that the
officers generally assert that they feel difficulty in making
selections, where the conduct of every man of their companies was so
satisfactory. In so general a field of action and persevering
exertion, I equally feel at a loss where to draw a distinction; but it
may be proper to mention the names of Private James O’Neill, of the
light company, who took a standard whilst we were actively engaged
with the enemy, and Drummer Martin Delaney; the latter shot,
bayoneted, and captured the arms of Meer Whullee Mahomed Khan, who was
mounted, and directing the enemy in the hottest part of the
engagement.”
Footnote 111:
The words “Meeanee,” “Hyderabad,” and “Scinde,” were authorised to be
borne on the colours of the 22nd. regiment.
Footnote 112:
In the pursuit of Meer Shere Mahomed, the following men of the 22nd.,
concealing their wounds received in the battle of Hyderabad, marched
with their regiment the next day, thinking another action was at
hand:—Sergeant Haney, John Durr, John Muldowney, Robert Young, Henry
Lines, Patrick Gill, James Andrews, Thomas Middleton, James Mulvey,
and Silvester Day.
Footnote 113:
Brigadier Stopford, C.B., of the 64th., who was killed on the 9th. of
December, 1856, at the attack on Reshire, in Persia, commanded the
40th. at Maharajpoor, and fell whilst leading on his regiment,
dangerously wounded, at the very muzzles of the enemy’s guns. For this
service he was made Lieutenant-Colonel and a C.B. He lay for a
considerable time wounded on the field, among the dying and the dead,
men and horses, and might have fallen a victim to his own generosity.
When his dooly or stretcher was sent for him from the rear, and he
perceived Major-General Churchill lying near him mortally wounded,
with both legs carried away by a cannon ball, like another Sidney, he
said, “Oh! General you are worse than I am, you’ll bleed to death, you
must go on this dooly.” Colonel Stopford was at last carried to the
rear, and was only in time to bid farewell to the general who died
immediately afterwards.
Footnote 114:
The total casualties, including the Native corps, exceeded a thousand
killed and wounded.
Footnote 115:
The British army consisted of 5,674 Europeans and 12,053 natives, with
sixty-five guns.
Footnote 116:
“Near the middle of it, one of their heavy guns was advanced, and
played with deadly effect upon our troops. Lieutenant-General Sir
Henry Hardinge immediately formed Her Majesty’s 80th. Foot and the
1st. European Light Infantry. They were led to the attack by their
commanding officers, and animated in their exertions by
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Blucher Wood (Aide-de-Camp to the
Lieutenant-General), who was wounded in the outset, the 80th. captured
the gun, and the enemy dismayed by this counter-check, did not venture
to press on further.”—_General Sir Hugh Gough’s Despatch._
Footnote 117:
A vivid picture of this sanguinary struggle was given by the late
Viscount Hardinge, in a letter to a member of his family, which was
quoted by Sir Robert Peel, when the vote of thanks to the army was
proposed in Parliament. “It was the most extraordinary of my life. I
bivouacked with the men, without food or covering, and our nights are
bitter cold. A burning camp in our front, our brave fellows lying down
under a heavy cannonade which continued during the whole night, mixed
with the wild cries of the Sikhs, our English hurrah, the tramp of
men, and the groans of the dying. In this state, with a handful of
men, who had carried the batteries the night before, I remained till
morning, taking very short intervals of rest by lying down with
various regiments in succession, to ascertain their temper and revive
their spirits. I found myself again with my old friends of the 29th.,
31st., 50th., and 9th., and all in good heart. My answer to all and
every man was, that we must fight it out, attack the enemy vigorously
at daybreak, beat him, or die honourably in the field. The gallant old
General, kind-hearted and heroically brave, entirely coincided with
me. During the night I occasionally called upon our brave English
soldiers to punish the Sikhs when they came too close, and were
imprudent; and when morning broke we went at it in true English style.
Gough was on the right. I placed myself, and dear little Arthur by my
side, in the centre, about thirty yards in front of the men, to
prevent their firing, and we drove the enemy without a halt from one
extremity of their camp to the other, capturing thirty or forty guns
as we went along, which fired at twenty paces from us, and were served
obstinately. The brave men drew up in an excellent line, and cheered
Gough and myself as we rode up the line, the regimental colours
lowering to me as on parade. The mournful part is the heavy loss I
have sustained in my officers. I have had ten aides-de-camp _hors de
combat_, five killed and five wounded. The fire of grape was very
heavy from 100 pieces of cannon. The Sikh army was drilled by French
officers, and the men the most warlike in India.”
Footnote 118:
“The Governor-General’s thanks are due to all the infantry regiments
of Her Majesty, and to the 1st. European Light Infantry of the East
India Company’s service, all of which regiments distinguished
themselves by the most devoted courage in braving the destructive fire
of the enemy’s batteries, and valiantly capturing their guns. The
Governor-General offers his thanks more especially to Her Majesty’s
3rd. Dragoons, who on all these occasions, sought opportunities of
useful conflict with the enemy, and fought with that superiority over
their opponents which skill and discipline impart to brave and
determined men.”—_General Orders by the Right Honourable the
Governor-General._
Footnote 119:
Shortly after the storming of the village of Aliwal, an European
officer in the Sikh service was given in charge to the 31st. regiment,
having surrendered himself as a prisoner to an officer of one of the
cavalry regiments in the Company’s service. He said his servant had
galloped off with his charger, and, being rather stout, preferred
giving himself up to the chance of running away; his name was John
Potter, a native of Maidstone, in Kent; he had deserted from the
Company’s artillery twenty years before, and was now a Colonel of
artillery in the Sikh service, having a native wife and family at
Lahore. The Governor-General afterwards permitted him to hold an
appointment in the Sikh service.
Footnote 120:
A most gallant act was performed by Sergeant Bernard McCabe, of the
31st. Foot. Lieutenant Tritton, bearing the Queen’s colour, was shot
through the head, and Ensign Jones, who carried the regimental one,
was nearly at the same time mortally wounded. The regimental colour
falling to the ground, was seized by Sergeant McCabe, who rushing
forward, crossed the ditch, and planted it on the highest point of the
enemy’s fortifications, maintaining his position under a most
tremendous fire, the colour being completely riddled with shot. The
men, cheering, scrambled into the works as best they could, and drove
the enemy into the river, Lieutenant Noel bearing the Queen’s colour,
the staff of which shivered in his hand. Sergeant McCabe was appointed
to an ensigncy in the 18th. Royal Irish Regiment, on the
recommendation of the late General Sir Harry Smith, who pronounced
this deed to be one of the most daring he ever witnessed, and which he
considered tended much to shorten the struggle. Captain McCabe, of the
32nd., to which regiment he was afterwards promoted, died of wounds,
received while leading his fourth sortie, at Lucknow, on the 1st. of
October, 1857.
Footnote 121:
Guns mounted upon camels, and carrying shot about one pound in weight.
Footnote 122:
“Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell has established a claim on this
day to the rare commendation of having achieved much with a cavalry
force, where the duty to be done consisted entirely of an attack on
field works, usually supposed to be the particular province of
infantry and artillery. His vigilance and activity throughout our
operations, and the superior manner in which our outposts duties have
been carried on under his superintendence demand my warmest
acknowledgements.”—_General Sir Hugh Gough’s despatch._
Footnote 123:
A superb gold medal, designed by William Wyon, Esq., was presented to
this officer by the Honourable East India Company. The obverse bears
the head of the Queen, superscribed VICTORIA REGINA, and on the
reverse are Victory and Valour crowning the arms of Major Edwardes;
these figures are resting on the lotus flower, and beneath is the
infant Hercules strangling the serpents, in allusion to the youth of
the hero; within the border thus formed is the following
inscription:—FROM THE EAST INDIA COMPANY TO LIEUTT. AND BREVT.-MAJOR
H. B. EDWARDES, C.B., FOR HIS SERVICES IN THE PUNJAB, A.D.
MDCCCXLVIII.
Footnote 124:
Brevet-Major Edwardes, C.B., in his despatch to Major-General Whish
giving such details of the action of the 7th. of November as concerned
the Irregular Auxiliary Force under his command, and Lieutenant Lake,
stated:—“I regret to say that the head of the British line reached the
east side of the nullah as our Irregulars arrived at the passage in
the canal, which connected the entrenchments on the east and west, and
a party of Sheikh Emamoodeen’s Rohillas, disregarding the heat of the
action the orders they had received to keep on their own side of the
nullah, crossed over and had captured a gun on the eastern bank, when
they were mistaken by the Sepoys for Moolraj’s troops, and two were
shot down before the error could be explained.
“I deem it my duty to bring to your notice the noble conduct of a
private of Her Majesty’s 32nd. Foot, who at this juncture, perceiving
what was going on, leaped down the canal, and putting himself in front
of my Pathans, faced the British troops, and waved his shako on the
end of his bayonet as the signal to cease firing. Thus many friendly
lives were saved. The name of this brave man is Howell.”
Footnote 125:
During this siege, the first Naval Brigade was organised. It consisted
of about one hundred men from Captain Powell’s steamers of the Indus
flotilla, who worked a battery of eighteen-pounders, in the most
effective manner.
Footnote 126:
The Sikhs “were magnificently placed, on a low hill surrounded by a
thick jungle, equalling the British in number of guns, and more than
doubling them in troops.”—_Letter from Officer engaged in the battle._
Footnote 127:
When Brigadier Pennycuick fell mortally wounded, a Sikh was mangling
the body; on seeing which his son rushed forward, dealt an avenging
blow, and across his father’s corpse endeavoured to protect the
remains; but it was in vain, and the heroic youth fell overpowered by
numbers.
Another father and son met a like fate in this campaign. Colonel
Cureton was killed at Ramnuggur, and his son, Lieutenant A. J.
Cureton, of the 14th. Light Dragoons, fell at Chilianwala.
Footnote 128:
The loss of the 24th., which advanced on the Sikh guns with unloaded
muskets, and blown by the run, was fearful; it was the central
regiment of the fifth brigade, under Brigadier Pennycuick, which
formed the right brigade of the third division, under
Brigadier-General Colin Campbell. Lieutenants-Colonels Brookes and
Pennycuick, C.B., Major Harris, Captains Lee, Travers, Harris, and
Shore, Lieutenants George Phillips, Payne, Woodgate, and Ensigns
William Phillips, Collis, and Pennycuick were killed; Major Paynter,
Captains Brown and Bazalgette, Lieutenants Williams, Croker, Berry,
Thelwall, and Hartshorn (Adjutant), Macpherson, and Archer (96th.
Foot,) were wounded. Of the men the casualties were returned as four
hundred and ninety-seven killed or wounded; two hundred and
twenty-seven of these were killed in action, and nine subsequently
died of their wounds.
Footnote 129:
“This division nobly maintained the character of the Indian Army,
taking and spiking the whole of the enemy’s guns in their front, and
dispersing the Sikhs wherever they were seen.”—_Lord Gough’s
despatch._
Footnote 130:
Forty guns, twelve of which were brought into the British camp.
Footnote 131:
Thirty-eight officers and five hundred and sixty-four men killed,
ninety-four officers and one thousand five hundred and fifty-seven men
wounded, and one hundred and four missing.
Footnote 132:
Lieutenant Philpotts having been some time on the station was well
known and respected by Heke and the natives. At the head of his men,
while endeavouring to hew down the palisades with an axe, the
defenders called to him by name, and told him to go away, or they
should shoot him. This he disregarded and fell. His body being left in
possession of the Maories, was by them cooked and partly eaten.
Footnote 133:
The loss would have been greater but for the noble conduct of Allen,
the bugler of the detachment, a mere lad: who when struck on the right
arm by a tomahawk in the act of sounding the alarm, seized the bugle
with his left, and gave a blast which effectually roused his sleeping
comrades, when another stroke laid him dead on the ground.
Footnote 134:
The soldiers blamed the sailors for the miscarriage of this affair,
who retaliated by making a similar charge against the military. The
day was closing when the assault took place, and it appears that when
the party led by Commander Hay got into the interior of the “pa,”
nothing could at first be seen but a few wounded Maories lying about,
and concluding the place to be abandoned, some of the men began
straggling in search of plunder. The enemy, who had lain concealed and
secure from the bombardment, in holes dug out of the earth covered
with turf and brushwood, suddenly rose up on all sides, and poured in
such close and withering volleys that the stormers seeing their
officers all shot down, were seized with a panic, and discipline was
at an end.
Footnote 135:
General Cameron wrote in his despatch “The 43rd Regiment: the Service
have sustained a serious loss in the death of Lieut.-Colonel Booth,
which took place on the night after the attack. I have already
mentioned the brilliant example shown by the officers in the assault;
and when I met him on the following morning as he was being carried
out of the work, his first words were an expression of regret that he
had found it impossible to carry out my orders.”
Footnote 136:
Corporal J. Byrne, V.C., of the 68th., when the order to charge was
given, was the first man of his company into the rifle-pits; a Maori,
whom he ran through with his bayonet, seized his rifle with one hand,
and holding it firm, with the bayonet through his body, tried to cut
down the corporal with his tomahawk, but his life was saved by
Sergeant Murray, who for his distinguished bravery on the occasion was
awarded the Victoria Cross. Sergeant Murray charged a rifle-pit
containing from eight to ten of the enemy, and, single-handed, killed
or wounded every one of them.
Footnote 137:
So numerous were these expeditions, that no less than _fifteen_
occurred between the years 1849 and 1855 inclusive.
Footnote 138:
18th., eight hundred and fifty men; 51st., nine hundred; 80th., four
hundred and sixty; Artillery, five companies, five hundred and
seventeen; Native Infantry, three regiments, two thousand eight
hundred; Gun Lascars, seventy; Sappers and Miners, one hundred and
seventy; in all five thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven men.
Footnote 139:
Captain John Augustus Wood, of the 20th. Bombay Native Infantry,
gained the Victoria Cross for his gallantry on the 9th. of December.
On that day he led the grenadier company, which formed the head of the
assaulting column. He was the first man on the parapet of the fort,
where he was instantly attacked by a large number of the garrison, who
suddenly sprang on him from a trench cut in the parapet itself. These
men fired a volley at Captain Wood and the head of the storming party,
when only a yard or two distant; although struck by no less than seven
musket-balls, he at once threw himself upon the enemy, passed his
sword through the body of their leader, and, being closely followed by
the men of his company, speedily overcame all opposition, and
established himself in the place. His wounds compelled him to leave
the force for a time; but with the true spirit of a good soldier, he
rejoined his regiment, and returned to his duty at Bushire before the
wounds were properly healed.
Footnote 140:
Lieutenants Arthur Thomas Moore (Adjutant), and John Grant Malcolmson,
of the 3rd. Bombay Light Cavalry, here gained the Victoria Cross. On
the occasion of an attack on the enemy on the 8th. of February, 1857,
led by Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes, C.B., Lieutenant Moore, the Adjutant
of the Regiment, was, perhaps, the first of all by a horse’s length.
His horse leaped into the square, and instantly fell dead, crushing
down his rider, and breaking his sword as he fell among the broken
ranks of the enemy. Lieutenant Moore speedily extricated himself, and
attempted with his broken sword to force his way through the press;
but he would have assuredly lost his life had not Lieutenant
Malcolmson, observing his peril, fought his way to his dismounted
comrade through a crowd of enemies, and, giving him his stirrup,
safely carried him through everything out of the throng.
Footnote 141:
“To Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, and to his brave companions
in arms, the Governor-General in Council desires to offer an early
assurance of the warm approbation and thanks which they have so well
merited. These are especially due to Major-General Stalker, C.B., and
to Colonel Lugard, C.B., chief of the staff, who are described by Sir
James Outram as having guided the troops to victory in the time—most
happily not of long continuance—during which he was disabled by a
severe fall from his horse.”—_Fort William, March 12th, 1857._
Major-General Stalker and Commodore Ethersey both destroyed themselves
at Bushire, while labouring under mental aberration; the former on the
14th. of March, 1857, and the latter three days afterwards.
Footnote 142:
Sir Charles Napier, in a General Order of February 16th., 1850, thus
speaks of these operations. “The fighting and labour fell on those who
had to scale precipices to secure the camp, and when marching to
protect the front, flank, and rear of the column while passing through
a dangerous defile, thirteen miles in length, under a constant fire of
matchlock men. It is said that in making this march Runject Singh lost
1,000 men. The Commander-in-Chief does not know whether this story is
correct or not, but Brigadier Sir Colin Campbell has not lost twenty,
nor was there one bit of baggage taken by our enemies, though they are
renowned for being the most daring and dexterous plunderers in the
world.”
Footnote 143:
The Afridis are divided into eight principal Khails, or tribes, which
are nearly always at war with each other. Each tribe has a debtor and
credit account with its neighbour, life for life, and consider revenge
the strongest of all obligations, but among them hospitality is the
first of virtues.
Footnote 144:
In 1858, a force under Sir Sidney Cotton was despatched to Sittana, on
the Eusufyze border, against a body of Hindostanee Wahabee fanatics,
who had committed depredations on British villages. The 81st. and
98th. Regiments were the only British troops employed in this
expedition, which was successful.
Footnote 145:
“An officer seeing a stir upon the hill side amongst the European
troops sent out to the scene of an action fought two days before, and
a large group assembled about some object on the ground, ascended a
rock above them to learn the cause. A curious sight presented itself.
In the centre lay the mutilated body of a slain comrade, and at its
head stood a non-commissioned officer with a Testament in his hand.
Man after man came up, and to each was administered a solemn oath that
from that day they would neither save nor spare, but pay that debt to
the uttermost. That oath was afterwards well kept.”—_Fosbery’s Umbeyla
Campaign._
Footnote 146:
The Umbeyla expedition was scarcely ended, when the Mohmund tribe made
a raid into British territory at Shubkuddur, and killed an officer of
the Irregular Cavalry who opposed them. To punish the tribe, the Doab
Field Force was formed under Colonel Macdonnel, who encountered and
severely defeated the Mohmunds near Shubkuddur, January 2nd., 1864.
The European troops engaged in this affair were three troops of the
7th. Hussars, and 3rd. Battalion Rifle Brigade; who, twelve years
afterwards, were given the Indian Medal, with the “North West
Frontier” clasp.
Footnote 147:
Two guns and a number of wounded were abandoned during the retreat,
the men of the 43rd. Bengal Infantry refusing to carry them; but to
the honour of the Bhootan General, Tongso Punlow, he treated all the
wounded very kindly, fed them, and sent them to the British camp, each
man with a small present.
Footnote 148:
In one of their raids the Looshais carried off an English girl from a
plantation, which was one cause of the expedition being organised
against them. At the end of war the girl was given up by the Looshai
chiefs.
Footnote 149:
The following is a portion of the farewell order issued by General
Bourchier, on the breaking up of the force:—“From the beginning of
November to the present time, every man has been employed in hard
work, cheerfully performed, often under the most trying circumstances
of heat and frost—always bivouacking on the mountain side, in rude
huts of grass or leaves; officers and men sharing the same
accommodation, marching day by day over precipitous mountains,—and
having made a road fit for elephants from Luckipur to Chipoune, a
distance of 103 miles. The spirits of the troops never flagged; and
when they met the enemy, they drove them from their stockades and
strongholds, until they were glad to sue for mercy.”
Footnote 150:
Three Naval Brigades were employed in these expeditions. One, under
Captains Butler and Singleton, co-operated with General Colborne on
the Perak river; another, under Commander Garforth, comprising
officers and men of the “Philomel,” “Modeste,” and “Ringdove,”
co-operated with the column under Brigadier-General Ross; and a third,
under Commander Stirling, was engaged on the Perak and Lakut rivers.
The brigade under Captain Butler, was for one month without vegetables
or bread, and lived on tinned meats, varied occasionally by the flesh
of a wild buffalo. During the ten days advance to Kinta, the men
frequently marched through stagnant water waist-deep, under torrents
of rain, and slept in the open-air without cover of any kind. The
officers and crews of H.M.S. “Egeria,” “Charybdis,” and “Hart” also
took part in the operations.
Footnote 151:
A Naval Brigade, under Captain Clutterbuck, captured a Burmese
position at Mayangyan on November 23rd.
Footnote 152:
By a General Order issued January 3rd., 1888, the Indian Medal of
1854, with a clasp inscribed “Burma, 1885–87” was granted “to the
troops engaged in the operations between November 14th., 1885, and
April 30th., 1887.” A bronze medal and clasp, of a similar pattern was
given to all recognised Government followers who accompanied the
troops so engaged. Another Order of December 3rd., 1889, notifies—“the
Queen’s command, that the grant of the Indian Medal of 1854, with a
clasp inscribed “Burma, 1887–89,” shall be extended to all troops
engaged in the military operations in Upper Burma, and to those
actually engaged in Lower Burma, between the 1st. of May, 1887, and
the 31st. of March, 1889. A medal and clasp of similar pattern, but in
bronze, is to be issued to all authorised Government followers, who
accompanied the troops. Officers and men who already possess the
Indian medal, including those wearing the clasp “Burma, 1885–87,” will
receive the clasp only.” The medal was struck in England, but the
clasp was made in Calcutta. The names of the recipients and their
regiments are engraved on the edge of the medal.
Footnote 153:
The European regiments engaged in this expedition were the 1st.
Battalions of the 6th. and 19th. Foot, who received the Indian Medal,
with the “North West Frontier” clasp.
Footnote 154:
A parallel circumstance is found in the campaigns in Spain, during the
reign of Queen Anne. The day before the battle of Saragossa, which was
fought on the 20th. August, 1710, several men who were so pressed with
hunger and thirst as to venture to gather grapes in a vineyard
situated between the two armies, were shot by the enemy’s outposts.
Footnote 155:
As an instance of this, the following circumstance has been narrated
to the author by an officer, who, on following the second division up
the heights after the battle, found a poor fellow that had escaped
untouched by the enemy’s fire, dying of cholera. He offered the man a
drop of brandy, who refused it, saying, “It’s too late, sir, there is
no use wasting it on me.”
Footnote 156:
This officer also behaved with great gallantry at the assault on the
Redan, 8th. September, 1855, where he was shot through both thighs.
Footnote 157:
For this and other interesting information the author is indebted to
Colonel Lysons, C.B., who served throughout the Crimean Campaign, and
is now employed as Assistant Adjutant-General upon the Staff of
Lieutenant-General Sir James Frederick Love, K.C.B., Inspector General
of Infantry.
Footnote 158:
It cannot be too generally known that there is an excellent model of
the Siege of Sebastopol deposited in the Museum of the United Service
Institution, Whitehall Yard, which forms a worthy companion to that of
the Battle of Waterloo, by Captain Siborne, also to be seen there. The
Sebastopol model owes its origin to the following circumstances:—While
the war in the Crimea was still being carried on, His Royal Highness
the Prince Consort, as a mark of the continued interest he has always
taken in the above Institution, presented to its Museum, in November,
1855, a model of the Siege of Sebastopol, based upon the best
information that could at that time be procured in England. His Royal
Highness, on presenting it, made a stipulation that the council would
take steps to mark (in colour or otherwise), the exact position of the
attacks of the allies, and of the Russian defences at the time of the
capture of the place.
The council lost no time in inviting some officers who had lately
returned from the Crimea, to undertake the completion of the model,
according to His Royal Highness’s wishes; difficulties, however,
presented themselves in endeavouring to carry this out in a
satisfactory manner, which it was found impossible to overcome. In the
meantime, at the expiration of the war in 1856, the officers of the
Royal Engineers and of the Quartermaster-General’s department had
completed their official surveys of the country, and, with His Royal
Highness’s concurrence, it was resolved to construct a new model,
based upon the latest and most accurate information. Colonel F. W.
Hamilton, C.B., of the Grenadier Guards, who was wounded at the Battle
of Inkermann, undertook the execution, the officers of the Army and
Navy being invited to subscribe to a fund for defraying the necessary
expenses, the Prince Consort heading the list with a donation of £50.
The model is constructed to a horizontal scale of eleven inches to one
mile, or one inch to four hundred and eighty feet. A succinct but
valuable description of the model by Colonel Hamilton has been
printed, from which the above particulars have been extracted.
Footnote 159:
All inventions and resources were pressed into service during the war:
photography lent its aid; a telegraph and a railroad were ultimately
constructed; and Soyer made his culinary campaign; but from the first
the leading public journals had their representatives in the field.
The letters of Mr. W. H. Russell, the special correspondent of “The
Times,” were eagerly read by all, and the above has been extracted
from that gentleman’s work, “The British Expedition to the Crimea.”
Footnote 160:
“The English cavalry, commanded by Lord Cardigan, had attacked our
brigade of hussars (6th. Cavalry Division), with extraordinary
impetuosity, but being themselves assailed in flank by four squadrons
of our combined regiment of Lancers, they were thrown back, while the
artillery of the 12th. and 16th. divisions fired after them with
canister, and the Lancers with their carbines.”
“The English cavalry, while charging our hussars, succeeded in
penetrating to the battery of Don Cossacks, No. 3, and cut down some
of its gunners.”—_Extract from Prince Menschikoff’s despatch, dated
25th. October, 1854._
“The enemy’s attack was most pertinacious; he charged our cavalry in
spite of the grape fired with great precision from six guns of the
light battery, No. 7, in spite of the fire of the skirmishers of the
regiment “Odessa,” and of a company of the fourth battalion of
“Tirailleurs,” that stood on the right wing, and even unheeding the
artillery of General Yabokritski.”—_General Liprandi’s report to
Prince Menschikoff, 26th. October, 1854._
Footnote 161:
In the “Curiosities of War,” are shown the numerous battles which have
been fought on Sundays, especially on Palm, Easter, and Whit Sundays.
From the Wars of the Roses to the time of Wellington, Sunday has been
memorable in English military annals. It is a stern necessity, that
offers so strong a contrast to the prayer which then is ascending from
ivied village church or stately city fane, to preserve us “from battle
and murder, and from sudden death.” The Peninsular War was fruitful in
Sunday fighting, and the following instances in that and more recent
campaigns are here inserted, as being intimately connected with the
“Medals of the British Army.”—The second battle in Portugal, that of
Vimiera, was fought on Sunday, 21st. August, 1808. The battle of
Fuentes d’Onor was gained on Sunday, the 5th. of May, 1811. On Sunday
evening, 10th. January, 1812, Lord Wellington issued the brief and
determined order, that “Ciudad Rodrigo must be carried by assault this
evening, at seven o’clock.” The battle of Orthes was fought on Sunday,
the 27th. of February, 1814, and that of Toulouse—the last general
action of the Peninsular War—occurred on Easter Sunday, the 10th. of
April following. The Battle of Waterloo was also decided on Sunday,
the 18th. of June, 1815. The second Burmese War afforded two
examples:—Easter Sunday the 11th. April, 1852, the attack on the lines
of defence at Rangoon; and the attack and capture of Pegu, on Sunday,
the 21st. of November, 1852. The victory of Inkermann, as above
narrated, was achieved on Sunday, the 5th. of November, 1854. And it
was on Sunday, the 10th. of May, 1857, that the terrible Indian Mutiny
broke out at Meerut.
Footnote 162:
“Every bush hid a dead man, and in some places small groups lay
heaped. In a spot which might have been covered by a common bell-tent,
I saw lying four Englishmen and seven Russians. All the field was
strewn; but the space in front of the two-gun battery, where the
Guards fought, bore terrible pre-eminence in slaughter. The sides of
the hill, up to and around the battery, were literally heaped with
bodies. It was painful to see the noble Guardsmen, with their large
forms and fine faces, lying amidst the dogged, low-browed Russians.
One Guardsman lay, in advance of the battery, on his back, with his
arms raised in the very act of thrusting with the bayonet; he had been
killed by a bullet entering through his right eye. His coat was open,
and I read his name on the Guernsey frock underneath—an odd
name—‘Mustow.’ While I was wondering why his arms had not obeyed the
laws of gravity, and fallen by his side when he fell dead, a Guardsman
came up and told me he had seen Mustow rush out of the battery and
charge with the bayonet, with which he was thrusting at two or three
of the enemy, when he was shot. In their last charges the Russians
must have trodden at every step on the bodies of their
comrades.”—_“The Story of the Campaign of Sebastopol,” by
Lieutenant-Colonel E. Bruce Hamley, Royal Artillery._
Footnote 163:
The first notice of the advance of the Russians was given by Sir
Thomas Troubridge, who commanded the outposts of the first brigade of
the Light Division. After relieving the advanced sentries, he went
down before daybreak towards the Mamelon, and, sweeping the ground
with a field-glass, descried the enemy on the opposite side of the
ravine.
Footnote 164:
Some misapprehension having arisen regarding the numbers then actually
belonging to the army in the Crimea, in consequence of the above
statement in Lord Raglan’s despatch, the following return of the
strength on the 4th. of November, 1854, is inserted:—
Cavalry. Artillery and Infantry.
Sappers & Miners.
Under arms 1,417 3,154 17,436
Detached on command, Bâtmen, and 449 260 4,353
otherwise employed
Sick { Present 149 50 1,131
Sick { Absent 512 130 5,104
————— ————— ——————
2,527 3,594 28,024
Officers 107 147 708
Total officers and men, 4th. November, 1854 35,107.
The brigade of Highlanders, upwards of 2,000 men, was at Balaklava;
the third division of 3,400 men occupied the heights in rear of the
trenches, a sortie from the town being expected: and about 3,600 were
in the trenches; these, deducted from 17,436, the “Infantry under
arms,” leave 8,436, nearly agreeing with the number given in the
despatch.
Footnote 165:
“At one time, while the Duke was rallying his men, a body of Russians
began to single him out, and to take shots at him in the most
deliberate manner. A surgeon, Mr. Wilson, 7th. Hussars, who was
attached to the brigade, perceived the danger of his Royal Highness,
and with the greatest gallantry and coolness, assembled a few men of
the Guards, led them to the charge, and utterly routed and dispersed
the Russians. The Duke’s horse was killed in the course of the fight.
At the close of the day he called Mr. Wilson in front of the regiment
and publicly thanked him for having in all probability saved his
life.”—_“Expedition to the Crimea,” by W. H. Russell, L.L.D._
Footnote 166:
The incident is thus alluded to in a letter written on the day
following the escape of the French garrison of Almeida, by the Duke of
Wellington to Viscount Beresford:—“Villa Formosa, 11th. May, 1811. You
will hardly believe that we were obliged to pick up the French shot in
our camp to make up ammunition for Arentschild’s guns, his reserve
having been left behind at Saragossa.”
Footnote 167: