beginning of January, 1839, and after passing the boundary of
Bhawul Khan, they entered the territory of the Khyrpore Ameer,
where the inhabitants evinced a disposition bordering on
hostility, and withheld aid of every kind. Towards the end of
January they arrived at Roree, and beheld the river Indus, which
they were about to pass, upwards of half a mile broad, with its
banks clothed with groves of date trees covering hills, which
presented a striking contrast to the plains near them, green with
corn and tamarisk bushes. After some delay, the fortress of Bakkur
was delivered up to the British, as a place of arms during the war
in Affghanistan.
The troops from Bombay having met with some interruption in their
advance through Lower Scinde, part of the Bengal force, including
the THIRTEENTH, quitted the Indus, to menace the city of Hyderabad;
but returned to Roree in the middle of February, in consequence
of the submission of the rulers of Lower Scinde. A bridge of
boats had, in the meantime, been placed across the great river
Indus, and the THIRTEENTH Light Infantry crossed this celebrated
stream, to traverse regions which a British army had never before
penetrated, but which are interesting from their association
with ancient history, being the scene of the operations, and
reverses of Alexander the Great, upwards of two thousand years
since: after a march of four days they arrived at Shikarpore, when
the difficulties of the enterprise began to assume a formidable
character.
Advancing from Shikarpore the regiment proceeded through a desert
country to Usted, and afterwards continued its route through the
arid plains of Beloochistan, occasionally suffering inconvenience
from the want of water, and from the predatory habits of the
Beloochees, and arrived in the middle of March, at Dadur, situated
a few miles from the Bolan Pass.
From Dadur the regiment continued its route; and penetrating the
Bolan Pass, marched between mountains covered with snow: in some
places the pass was not more than seventeen yards wide, with gloomy
crags rising perpendicularly in awful grandeur on each side. In
these wild regions bands of Beloochees lurked to avail themselves
of every opportunity to follow their predatory habits, and they
murdered several camp followers, and plundered some baggage.
Issuing from this gloomy defile of more than fifty miles in length,
the regiment entered the Dusht-i be-doulut, or the unhappy-desert,
and halted a short time at Quettah, situated in the centre of the
valley of Shawl, of which it is the capital. Supplies of provisions
could not be procured for the army in these sterile regions; the
issue of grain for the horses ceased, the soldiers were placed upon
half rations, the native followers upon quarter, and several men,
who were searching for forage at a distance from the camp, were
murdered by the ferocious natives, who hovered round the army to
avail themselves of every opportunity of destroying small parties.
The soldiers bore all the hardships to which they were subjected
with fortitude, and in the early part of April the army commenced
its march through the vale of Shawl; it descended the picturesque
height of Kotul full one thousand feet, into the valley of
Koochlak; forded rivers; traversed a difficult country spangled
with flowers of every hue, and passed the height of Kozak,
where the soldiers had to drag the artillery over the precipice
with ropes. The army, surmounting every obstacle with patient
perseverance, continued to press forward; the rulers of western
Affghanistan were struck with dismay at the appearance of the
formidable British host, and they fled from the capital, leaving
the country to the Sovereign whom the British were advancing to
restore. As the army continued its march, various classes of
individuals tendered their submission, and on the 27th of April
the British troops arrived at Candahar, the capital of western
Affghanistan, where the soldiers obtained provisions and repose.
The tents were pitched in the grassy meadows, among enclosures
covered with crops of grain. The watery exhalations from the low
grounds proved injurious to the health of the men, and the great
heat experienced in the tents, with a saline impregnation in the
water, augmented the number of the sick.
Breaking up from Candahar on the 27th of June, to reduce the
remainder of the Shah’s dominions to obedience to his authority,
the army advanced along a valley of dismal sterility to the Turnuk
river; then proceeding up the right bank, traversed the country of
the Western Ghilzees, and arrived in the vicinity of _Ghuznee_, a
strong fortress garrisoned by three thousand Affghans under Prince
Mahomed Hyder Khan, who were well provided with stores, and had
determined on a desperate defence: they had blocked up every gate
by masonry excepting one.
The army having arrived before Ghuznee without a battering train
of sufficient power to proceed by the regular method of breaching
the walls, &c., the commander of the forces, Lieut.-General Sir
John Keane, resolved to storm the place without delay. On the
21st July, a company of the THIRTEENTH under Captain Sutherland
accompanied Captain Thomson, Bengal Engineers (Chief Engineer) on
his reconnoitre, and had one man killed, and two wounded. During
the night of the 22nd of July a quantity of gunpowder was brought
secretly to the gate which was not blocked up by masonry, and which
was destroyed by an explosion before daylight on the following
morning.
To the THIRTEENTH was assigned the duty of covering the
operations, in blowing open the gate, and they paraded at two
o’clock, A.M. The regiment proceeded in advance of the storming
party to the causeway of the gate, under cover of the darkness of
the night, and the fire of the batteries of the assailants. Six
men of the leading company were told off to assist in carrying the
powder bags. On reaching the causeway, the THIRTEENTH extended in
light order, along the ditch, and by their fire distracted the
enemy’s attention from the gate. After the explosion a company
of the regiment, under Lieutenant Jennings, moved up with the
Engineer Officer to ascertain if the operation had been attended
with success; on which the light company of Her Majesty’s Second
regiment of foot, No. 9 company of the THIRTEENTH under Captain
Vigors,--the light companies of Her Majesty’s seventeenth and of
the Bengal European Regiment, which had been named to form the
advance of the storming column, immediately pressed forward under
the command of Brigadier Dennie of the THIRTEENTH, and under a
heavy fire, gallantly gained an entrance into the fort. These
were quickly followed by the main storming column under Brigadier
Sale (who was severely wounded on this occasion), of which the
THIRTEENTH formed part, having been ordered to close on the advance
of the four companies; and the whole were soon established in
possession of the fort.
The THIRTEENTH and seventeenth regiments were directed against the
citadel, which was found evacuated by the enemy. Large supplies
of grain, ammunition of all kinds, and several guns and military
weapons, with about two thousand horses, fell into the hands of
the victors. A company of the regiment under Lieutenant Arthur
Wilkinson succeeded in capturing the redoubt (or outwork), and
took two standards and about sixty prisoners.
The distinguished conduct of Brigadier Sale was highly commended by
the Commander in Chief Lieut.-General Sir John Keane; and Brigadier
Dennie, Major Tronson, and Captain Kershaw were distinguished
in the despatches. The regiment had one man killed, and three
serjeants and twenty-seven rank and file wounded.
When the Affghan horsemen, who had assembled in the neighbourhood,
learnt the fate of the fortress, they abandoned their camp equipage
and baggage, and fled towards Cabool, the capital of eastern
Affghanistan, in the direction of which city the British forces
immediately advanced.
Dost Mahomed Khan, the ruler of the country, assembled a
formidable host in position near Ughundee; but ascertaining that
his soldiers had resolved to abandon him, he fled with a body
of select cavalry, leaving his artillery in position; and the
British army, advancing by triumphant marches to the capital,
replaced Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk in the possession of the palace
of his forefathers, from which he had been an exile many years.
The conquest of a kingdom was thus achieved, by British skill and
enterprise, with trifling loss, and the army pitched its tents in a
rich valley near the capital.
The services of the THIRTEENTH Light Infantry were afterwards
rewarded with the royal authority to bear on their regimental
colour the words “AFFGHANISTAN” and “GHUZNEE.” A medal was given
by the restored monarch to the officers and soldiers present
at the storming of Ghuznee, which Her Majesty QUEEN VICTORIA
authorized them to receive and wear. An order of merit was also
instituted by the Shah, called the ORDER of the “DOORANÉE
EMPIRE,” the decorations of which were conferred on’ the general
and field officers; and Her Majesty was graciously pleased to
grant permission to Sir Robert Sale, of the THIRTEENTH, to accept
and wear the insignia of the first class, and Brevet Major James
Kershaw and Captain Hamlet Wade the insignia of the third class of
the order. Colonel Robert Henry Sale, was promoted to the rank of
Major-General in Affghanistan, and was appointed by Her Majesty
to be a Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Military Order of
the Bath; Major Edward T. Tronson was promoted to the rank of
lieut.-colonel in the army, and Captain James Kershaw to that of
major, for their services in this campaign; the promotions taking
place from the 23rd July, 1839, the date of the capture of Ghuznee.
NAMES of the officers of the THIRTEENTH who received the Ghuznee
Medal:--
Brigadier Robert Henry Sale.
---- William Dennie.
Major Edward Tronson.
---- Tristram Squire.
_Captains._
George Fothergill.
William Sutherland.
James Kershaw.
Robert Pattisson.
John Taylor.
Horatio Vigors.
Henry Havelock.
_Lieutenants._
Arthur Wilkinson.
James Fenwick.
John Foulston.
Peter Jennings.
Philip Von Streng.
Alexander Holcombe.
George King.
Rollo Burslem.
John Wood.
Frederick Holder.
William Sinclair.
Hon. Emilius Forester.
Thomas Oxley.
David Rattray.
_Ensigns._
Edward King.
George Mein.
Richard Frere.
George Wade.
_Paymaster_ Harry Carew.--_Adjutant_ Hamlet Wade.
_Assistant Surgeons_ J. Robertson, M.D. and G. Barnes, M.D.
A complete change had been achieved in the aspect of affairs beyond
the Indus; the chiefs of Cabool and Candahar, who had entertained
hostile designs against the British interest, had been deprived
of power, and the territories they ruled had been restored to a
friendly monarch. These splendid results accomplished, part of
the army was withdrawn from the country; but the THIRTEENTH Light
Infantry were selected to remain in Affghanistan, to support the
government of the restored Shah, against the machinations of the
chiefs who had usurped his authority during his exile.
The regiment was encamped near Cabool until November, when it
marched into garrison at the Bala Hissar, or citadel of Cabool, in
which stands the palace, with the thirty-fifth native infantry,
and a detail of artillery, and remained there during the winter,
which was an unusually severe season. Brigadier Dennie commanded
the garrison, and Lieutenant Hamlet C. Wade, who had been selected
by Lieut.-General Lord Keane to serve on the general staff of the
army, was appointed major of brigade to this force.
[Sidenote: 1840]
In May, the regiment moved into camp much reduced in numbers,
having suffered very severely from disease. On the 24th September
it was again called upon to take the field, having been attached to
the force, under Sir Robert Sale, directed against Dost Mahomed in
the Kohistan of Cabool; and it marched that day.
On the 29th September, the regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Tronson
assisted in carrying the town and forts of _Tootumdurra_, at the
entrance of the Ghorebund Pass, occupied by Ali Khan, a refractory
chief of the Kohistan. The loss of the THIRTEENTH was limited to
two privates wounded; one mortally.
On the 3rd October, the regiment was again engaged with the enemy
at _Julgar_, about sixteen miles from Charekar, and although the
attack of the storming party on the fort was not successful, yet
Lieut.-Colonel Tronson, commanding the storming party, and Brevet
Major Kershaw, Lieutenant and Adjutant Wood, Lieutenants Edward
King, and George Wade (the four latter officers having at one time
attained the crest of the breach) highly distinguished themselves,
and were particularly mentioned by Major-General Sir Robert Sale in
his despatch, who also acknowledged the assistance he received from
his major of brigade, Captain Hamlet Wade. The scaling-ladders,
hastily constructed from the poles used in carrying the litters for
the sick, were of little use; no sooner did the soldiers attempt
to ascend them, than they sank into the soft débris on which they
were planted: under these circumstances the storming party retired,
leaving the Serjeant-Major of the Regiment (Airey) and fourteen
men lying dead under the walls. Serjeant Hurst, of the THIRTEENTH,
unable to move from his wounds, was carried off by Lieutenant King;
and a Sepoy was, in like manner, conveyed to the rear by private
Thomas Robinson of the regiment, under a most terrific fire.
Lieutenant and Adjutant Wood, three serjeants, two corporals, and
twelve privates were wounded.
It was subsequently determined to renew the attack, when it might
be made by a combined movement against the breach, gateway, and
wicket, with better chances of success, but the enemy, however,
notwithstanding the precautions taken to intercept them, succeeded
in escaping from the fort before seven o’clock P.M., at which hour
the British took possession of it, and measures were taken for its
destruction.
The THIRTEENTH came again in contact with the enemy on the 19th
October at _Babookooshghur_, when they were attacked in camp at
night, but experienced little loss. On the 2nd November, the
regiment was engaged with the Affghans at _Purwan_, where they had
taken up a strong position under Dost Mahomed, who however retired
from the field, and delivered himself up to the authorities at
Cabool, when the purposes for which the force commenced operations
being effected, it was directed to return to Cabool, and the
THIRTEENTH took possession of the new cantonments there on the 8th
November.
[Sidenote: 1841]
After having been nearly three years on active service, the
regiment was in expectation of commencing its march back to India,
in October 1841; but at this period the government of Shah Shoojah
became so unpopular, that the Affghans appeared determined to
effect, by violence or circumvention, the expulsion of the British,
by whose aid he had been reinstated in the sovereignty of Cabool.
A body of insurgents having possessed themselves of the _Khoord
Cabool_ pass, about ten miles from the capital, impeded the
communication with India, when the first Lieut.-Colonel of the
regiment, Major-General SIR ROBERT SALE, K.C.B., was detached with
a small force, of which the THIRTEENTH Light Infantry formed part,
to expel the rebels and re-open the communication. The regiment
left Cabool on the 11th of October; the pass was forced on the
following morning, and the troops penetrated to Khoord Cabool.[20]
The regiment had three men killed and twenty-four wounded on this
occasion:--Major-General Sir Robert Sale, Captain H. C. Wade (Major
of Brigade), Lieutenant George Mein, and Ensign Oakes were wounded.
Lieutenant Mein being dangerously wounded, was obliged to be sent
back in a litter to Cabool. Upon Sir Robert Sale being obliged to
quit the field from the severity of his wound, the command of the
troops devolved on Lieut.-Colonel Dennie, C.B. of the THIRTEENTH.
The regiment then faced about, to return through the pass according
to the plan for executing the operation, leaving the other corps
at Khoord Cabool. Possession was then taken of Bootkhak, where the
regiment was stationed from the 12th to the 18th of October. During
this delay, the corps was much harassed by incessant night-attacks
from the enemy, called by them Shub Khoon (Night Slaughter),
which caused it some loss, but by Sir Robert Sale’s precaution in
ordering the men to lie down on their alarm posts, as soon as the
enemy’s fire was opened on the camp, much loss was prevented. The
orders prohibiting any return-fire from the troops saved much, and
all the attempts of the enemy to force an entrance into camp were
successfully resisted by the bayonet alone. Meanwhile the rebellion
continued of a formidable character, and the THIRTEENTH Light
Infantry were ordered to march to _Tezeen_, where they arrived on
the 22nd of October and were engaged with a body of insurgents,
whom they drove from some heights and strong positions. The
regiment on this duty had the misfortune to lose Lieutenant Edward
King, who fell at the head of his company, while gallantly charging
the enemy. Lieutenant R. E. Frere was wounded: the other casualties
were three privates killed, and nine rank and file wounded.
In consequence of orders from Cabool, the force under Major-General
Sir Robert Sale marched for _Gundamuck_, and were continually
pressed day and night, by insurgent bands hovering on their flanks
and rear, which occasioned the fatigues and duties of the troops
to be particularly harassing; the way led along defiles and over
mountains, and when the soldiers halted, breast-works had to be
thrown up to defend the bivouac ground from sudden attacks of the
Affghan cavalry.
On the 29th of October the rebels were found in force at the
_Jugdulluck_ Pass, and for some time they checked the advance
of the column; but the skirmishers of the THIRTEENTH Light
Infantry, sprang forward with distinguished gallantry, and driving
the Affghans from almost inaccessible heights protected by
breast-works, enabled the British force to surmount every obstacle
in the defile, and to arrive at Gundamuck on the following day.
Lieutenants P. R. Jennings, A. E. F. Holcombe, and David Rattray
were severely wounded on this service; four privates were killed,
and forty-two wounded. Lieut.-Colonel Dennie, Captains Wilkinson,
Havelock, Wade, (Brigade-Major) and Fenwick, were specially
mentioned by Major-General Sir Robert Sale in his despatch.
The troops under Major-General Sir Robert Sale remained at
Gundamuck until the 5th November, when they proceeded and captured
the fort of _Mamoo Khail_ in the neighbourhood, and returned on the
6th to Gundamuck; there intelligence was received of the breaking
out of a violent insurrection at Cabool, on the 2nd of November,
and of the probability that the rebellion would become general.
Under these circumstances, two forced marches on Jellalabad were
made, with a numerous enemy pressing on the flanks and rear; a
body of insurgents were beaten at _Futtehabad_ by the rear-guard
under Lieut-Colonel Dennie; and _Jellalabad_, the chief town in
the valley of Ningrahar, was seized by the British troops on
the 12th November, to establish a post upon which the corps at
Cabool might retire, if necessary, and to restore a link in the
chain of communication with India. The Affghan irregulars, left
at Gundamuck, revolted, and a general rising took place among the
tribes.
Major-General Sir Robert Sale, on taking possession of Jellalabad,
found the fortress in a very dilapidated state, and the inhabitants
disaffected to the government of the Shah. The Affghans collected
to about ten thousand, and the walls of the fort being without
parapets, and the garrison having only one day and a half supplies,
on half rations, a sally was made on the 14th November, which
routed the enemy, and enabled the troops to collect provisions, and
erect works for the defence of the fortress. On this latter duty,
the THIRTEENTH Light Infantry were conspicuous for the alacrity
and indefatigable perseverance they evinced under circumstances
of the most disheartening and trying character. The demolition
of ruinous forts and old walls, filling up ravines, destroying
gardens, cutting down groves, raising the parapets to six or seven
feet high, repairing and widening the ramparts, extending the
bastions, retrenching three of the gates, covering the fourth with
an outwork, and excavating a ditch ten feet in depth and twelve in
width round the whole of the walls, were works of great labour,
which called forth the efforts of every individual. While thus
employed another array of many thousands of Affghans on the 27th of
November again invested the place, but they were completely routed
and dispersed by a sally of the garrison on the 1st December.
[Sidenote: 1842]
On the 9th of January, 1842, the garrison was summoned to give up
the fortress, by the leader of the Affghan rebellion, in fulfilment
of a convention entered into at Cabool; but Major-General
Sir Robert Sale, being fully assured of the bad faith of the
insurgents, refused; the annihilation of the troops from the
capital, in the Ghilzie defiles, by the severity of the climate,
and the basest treachery on the part of those in whose promises
they had confided, proved the correctness of the major-general’s
estimation of the Affghan character.
By the indefatigable exertions of the troops, under the
direction of Captain Broadfoot, garrison engineer, and Captain
Abbott, commissary of ordnance, the works were brought into a
state of defence against any Asiatic enemy not provided with
siege-artillery; but the place was kept in a continual state of
alarm by the occurrence of one hundred shocks of an earthquake in
the course of a month, and on the 19th of February a tremendous
shock occasioned the parapets to fall, injured the bastions, made
a breach in the rampart, destroyed the guard-houses, reduced other
portions of the works to ruins, and demolished one-third part
of the town. With that unconquerable spirit of perseverance for
which the troops had already been distinguished, they instantly
turned to the repair of the works. Sirdar Mahomed Akbar Khan,
Barukzye, the assassin of the late Envoy, and the treacherous
destroyer of the Cabool force, flushed with success, approached
with a numerous body of troops to overwhelm the little garrison of
Jellalabad: he attacked the foraging parties on the 21st and 22nd
of February; but was astonished at finding the works in a state
of defence, and he established a rigorous blockade. From that
time to the 7th of April, the reduced garrison was engaged in a
succession of skirmishes, in which the THIRTEENTH Light Infantry
had opportunities of distinguishing themselves; particularly
detachments under Captains Pattisson and Fenwick, Lieutenants
George Wade and W. Cox.