ceased, and at four the TWELFTH advanced. When the morning light
appeared, the regiment found itself in the rear of a long mud
wall and fragments of a ruined village, three hundred yards from
the nullah, which was occupied by thousands of Mysoreans and
French, with large masses of infantry on both flanks. Under these
circumstances, the regiment halted, and the pioneers threw up an
embankment on both flanks, to preserve it from enfilade. This work
was scarcely completed, when day-light enabled the Mysoreans to
discover the position and insignificant numbers of the regiment,
compared with their host, and they endeavoured to destroy it by
a storm of bullets, but the soldiers were sheltered by the mud
walls, and very few cannon-balls from the fort took effect, on
account of the distance. Lieut.-General Harris, observing the
unequal contest, ordered the artillery to fire on the enemy's
ranks, the balls passing over the heads of the TWELFTH, and the
British line advanced. The commanding officer of the detachment,
Lieut.-Colonel Shaw, saw the line moving steadily forward to his
support, and having entire confidence in the valour of the TWELFTH,
he resolved to attack the opposing legions with the bayonet; he
cautioned the soldiers to prepare, and giving the word 'CHARGE,
TWELFTH,' they sprang from behind the mud wall, raised a loud
shout, and rushed forward towards the nullah. The Mysoreans were
confounded by the suddenness of the attack; they saw the sparkling
steel bayonets of the TWELFTH approach, and abandoned their post in
a panic. As the TWELFTH rushed forward, several lines of Mysoreans
fired volleys at them, but the balls struck the sand many yards
from the regiment, and in five minutes the nullah was captured. The
enemy rallied behind a high bank, and made a show of a design to
retake the post, but the TWELFTH and Sepoys ascended the bank, and
kept up a well-directed file firing, which occasioned the Mysoreans
to retreat: a party of French were also driven from a post on the
left of the regiment. The nullah being thus carried, the artillery
of Seringapatam opened a heavy fire, which obliged the soldiers to
take shelter in the bed of the river. The post thus captured, was
designated 'Shaw's Post,' in honour of the commanding officer of
the detachment, Lieut.-Colonel Shaw of the seventy-fourth foot.
When the TWELFTH rushed forward to storm the post, the army
suspended its advance, awaiting the result, and a brigade
afterwards drove a body of the enemy from a wood on the right of
Shaw's Post. A breast-work was subsequently made to cover the
troops from the guns of Seringapatam, and the TWELFTH had the
honour to break ground before that important fortress. About
seven o'clock in the evening, the regiment was relieved by the
seventy-fourth foot: its loss was Lieutenants George Nixon and T.
Falla, and ten rank and file killed; Captain Whitler, Lieutenants
R. Nixon, Percival, King, and Neville, and a considerable number of
non-commissioned officers and soldiers, wounded.
The siege of Seringapatam was prosecuted with vigour; and in the
early part of May, a practicable breach was ready, when the TWELFTH
were selected to take part in storming this important fortress. For
this service, the flank companies of the European corps left in the
camp, the TWELFTH, thirty-third, seventy-third, and seventy-fourth
regiments, three corps of grenadier Sepoys, two hundred of the
Nizam's troops, a hundred of the artillery, and the corps of
pioneers, the whole under the orders of Major-General Baird, took
post in the trenches, to make the attack during the heat of the day
on the 4th of May, when the Mysoreans were likely to be surprised.
At one o'clock the signal was given, when the forlorn hope sprang
forward; six flank companies, and the TWELFTH regiment, also
issued from the trenches at a running pace, and were followed by
the remainder of the storming party; they passed the rocky bed of
the Cavery river under a heavy fire, crossed the glacis and ditch,
ascended the breaches in the _fausse braye_ and rampart in gallant
style, and overcame all resistance, with a resolution and valour
which proved the innate bravery of the officers and soldiers. The
Mysoreans were unable to withstand the prowess of the British
troops, and they were overpowered at all points.
During the heat of the conflict, Captain Woodhall was detached with
the light company of the TWELFTH, and a few men of the battalion
companies, to reinforce the troops fighting upon the inner rampart;
this party proceeded by a narrow path, passed a deep ditch to the
inward wall, and flanked and took in reverse the enemy's traverses,
which were defended by the Sultan in person, who was forced to
retire. As Tippoo and his suite were passing the small gate on the
northern face, into the body of the town, the light infantry of the
TWELFTH arrived at the inner side of the gate, and fired upon him
and his followers with such effect, that the gateway was choked
with killed and wounded, and the body of the Sultan was afterwards
found among the slain. After the firing had ceased at all other
points, resistance continued to be made at the palace; but upon
assurance of safety to the sons of Tippoo, the enemy surrendered,
and the capture of this important city and fortress was achieved.
The regiment had seventeen men killed, and forty-nine wounded
during the siege, and Lieutenant Shawe was shot through the leg
in the assault; the following officers died during the siege from
extraordinary fatigue and the effects of the climate; Major Allen,
Captain Buckeridge, Lieutenants Percival and Gahan, and Assistant
Surgeon Bacot.
On the following day it was stated in orders:--'The
Commander-in-Chief congratulates the gallant army he has the honor
to command on the conquest of yesterday; the effects arising from
the attainment of such an acquisition as far exceed the present
limits of detail, as the unremitting zeal, labour, and unparalleled
valour of the troops surpass the power of praise for services so
incalculable in their consequences: he must consider the troops
well entitled to the gratitude of their country.'
The Governor-General stated in a letter to Lieut.-General Harris,
'With the warmest sensation of admiration, affection, and
attachment, I offer my cordial thanks, and zealous congratulations
to you and all the officers and privates composing the gallant
army, which has achieved this glorious and decisive victory, with
a degree of energy, rapidity, and of skill, unparalleled in this
quarter of the globe, and seldom equalled in any part of the world.'
In general orders by Government, it was stated--'The Right
Honorable the Governor-General in Council, having this day received
from the Commander-in-Chief of the allied army in the field, the
official detail of the glorious and decisive victory obtained at
Seringapatam, on the 4th May, offers his cordial thanks and sincere
congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief and all the officers and
men composing the gallant army which achieved the capture of the
capital of Mysore on that memorable day.
'His Lordship views with admiration, the consummate judgment with
which the assault was planned, the unequalled rapidity, animation,
and skill, with which it was executed, and the humanity which
distinguished its success.
'Under the favour of Providence and the justice of our cause, the
established character of the army had inspired an early confidence
that the war, in which we were engaged, would be brought to a
speedy, prosperous, and honorable issue; but the events of the
4th of May, while they even surpassed the sanguine expectation
of the Governor-General in Council, have raised the reputation
of the British arms in India to a degree of splendour and glory,
unrivalled in the military history of this quarter of the globe,
and seldom approached in any part of the world.
'The lustre of the victory can be equalled only by the substantial
advantages which it promises to establish, by restoring the peace
and safety of the British possessions in India, and a durable
foundation of genuine security.
'The Governor-General in Council reflects with pride, satisfaction,
and gratitude, that in this arduous crisis, the spirit and
exertions of our Indian army have kept pace with those of our
countrymen at home; and that in India, as in Europe, Great Britain
has found in the malevolent designs of her enemies, an increasing
source of her own prosperity, fame, and power.'
[Illustration:
_Heath del._ _Madeley Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._
TWELFTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM MAY 4^{TH} 1799.
_For Cannons Military Records._]
The territory subject to the late Tippoo Sultan was divided: to
Great Britain was allotted the capital and several extensive
districts; another portion was given to the Nizam; and a third to
the Mahratta power; the remainder continued to form an independent
state under a descendant of the ancient rulers of Mysore. Thus
was the hostile combination against England confounded, British
territory extended, and its power and revenue increased. The
TWELFTH regiment was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority
to bear the word SERINGAPATAM on its colours, to commemorate its
gallant conduct during this war, and the officers received medals
from the East India Company.[20] The regiment captured eight stand
of colours from the troops of Tippoo Sultan at the storming of the
capital.
After encamping a short time near Seringapatam, and afterwards near
Yarriagoranelly, the regiment marched into garrison at the captured
fortress; but while it was stationed there, a partisan, named
Dhoondia, excited the Mysoreans to take arms in opposition to the
allied powers, which occasioned orders to be issued for the TWELFTH
foot again to take the field. This partisan assembled an irregular
force, and gained possession of several fortified places. When a
small body of troops was sent against him, he fled, and was pursued
to the frontiers of the Mysore country.
[Sidenote: 1800]
The regiment was afterwards encamped near Seringapatam, where it
was joined in December, 1800, by the seventy-seventh foot, some
battalions of Sepoys, and a proportion of native cavalry, forming
a small army under Colonel Pater, for the purpose of reducing the
warlike tribes of the _Wynaad_ country,--a mountainous district
overrun with woods, and comprising about twelve hundred square
miles, situate in the province of Malabar.
[Sidenote: 1801]
Leaving the vicinity of Seringapatam on the 26th of December, five
companies of the regiment arrived at Manantoddy on the 9th of
January, 1801, and were employed until the 23rd of that month, in
stockading the small hill fort, and in making arrangements for
entering the woody districts of the Wynaad country.
From Manantoddy the TWELFTH proceeded to Peria Colgum, where they
constructed a redoubt: they afterwards marched to Lackerry Cottah,
at which village another redoubt was constructed.
The little army under Colonel Pater traversed the country in
almost every practicable direction, ascending hills, cutting roads
through almost impenetrable jungle of bamboos, skirmishing with the
warlike inhabitants, and forcing them to submit, in which service
the TWELFTH had several men killed and wounded: the climate, and
extraordinary fatigue undergone by the troops, also occasioned
the loss of many lives from disease. The Wynaad country having
been forced to submit, and the hostile rajah taken prisoner, the
companies of the TWELFTH regiment employed in this service returned
to Seringapatam.
The regiment quitted Seringapatam in the middle of October, 1801,
and proceeded to Trichinopoly, a celebrated city and fortress,
situate on a hill, or rock, three hundred and fifty feet high,
on the south bank of the river Cavery, opposite the island of
Seringam, famous for its magnificent Hindoo temples.
[Sidenote: 1802]
At Trichinopoly the regiment was joined in January, 1802, by the
remains of two companies, which had embarked on board of His
Majesty's ships, at Madras, for Batavia. These companies had
suffered severely from the climate of the island of Java; and of
the five officers and one hundred and twenty-five men who embarked
at Madras, only three officers and sixty-three soldiers returned;
Lieutenants Gordon and Neville and sixty-two men died of fevers,
and other diseases.
[Sidenote: 1803]
[Sidenote: 1804]
Three companies had been stationed under Major John Picton, at
Vellore, in the Carnatic, the residence of the family of the late
Tippoo Sultan, consisting of his brother, twelve sons, eight
daughters, and an immense number of women; and these companies were
afterwards employed against the insurgent sect called the Polygans,
in which several non-commissioned officers and soldiers were
killed and wounded; Lieutenant William Firth was also wounded, and
Lieutenant Parker died of the jungle fever. After the performance
of this service, the three companies joined the regiment at
Trichinopoly, where the TWELFTH were stationed during the years
1803 and 1804.
[Sidenote: 1805]
[Sidenote: 1806]
In August, 1805, the regiment marched to Seringapatam, where a
very fatal fever broke out in 1806, when the TWELFTH removed to an
encampment at some distance from the fortress; but they lost many
officers and soldiers in that and the following year.
[Sidenote: 1807]
In April, 1807, more than half the surviving officers and men were
suffering from disease, when an order arrived for the remainder to
march to the coast of Malabar, and occupy quarters at the port of
Cannanore, where the regiment was stationed upwards of eighteen
months.
[Sidenote: 1808]
At Cannanore the health of the men was restored, and when inspected
in 1808, by Colonel Cuppage, a district order was published, in
which the colonel expressed 'his thanks to Captain Eustace and
the officers and men of His Majesty's TWELFTH regiment, for their
handsome appearance at the review. The dress, steadiness, and
general appearance of the men, marked the great attention paid to
their discipline, and their uniform good conduct and friendly
disposition towards the natives reflect every credit on the corps.'
While the TWELFTH foot were at Cannanore, some disputes, of a
tedious and complicated character, occurred between the British
and the Rajah of _Travancore_, a province situate at the
south-west extremity of Hindoostan. In 1795, a treaty of alliance
was concluded between the British and the Rajah, who agreed to
subsidize three battalions of Sepoys for the defence of his
dominions; when the disputes with the Rajah came to a crisis, these
battalions were at the port of _Coulan_ (or _Quilon_), and they
were threatened with destruction by the natives, together with
every person in the British interest. While the execution of these
menaces was delayed, the TWELFTH regiment embarked, towards the end
of December, 1808, in potamars (small undecked vessels), to proceed
along the coast a distance of three hundred miles to Coulan, in the
Travancore country. Four of these boats, having three companies
and a half on board, arrived at their destination in a few days,
and were immediately landed, to the great joy of the Sepoys. A
severe gale of wind dispersed the boats containing the other
companies of the regiment, and several of them were wrecked on
the coast of Cochin, a small province on the north of Travancore,
but by great exertions the soldiers were saved; others gained the
port of Cochin, where they remained until the storm was over. One
potamar, containing Serjeant-Major Tilsey and thirty-three rank
and file, was driven on the coast of Travancore, near _Alleppi_,
when the natives sent off several small canoes. The soldiers,
believing they had arrived at the friendly port of Coulan, went on
board the canoes two or three at a time, but on landing they were
overpowered by the natives, their wrists broken with an iron bar,
their hands tied behind them, and they were cast into a dungeon,
where they remained several days without food. They were afterwards
conducted, when scarcely able to walk, to a high ground near the
sea, and precipitated into a watery grave. The serjeant-major was
reserved to the last, and as he witnessed his companions in arms
successively hurled headlong into the deep, he struggled to release
himself, and tore pieces of flesh from his shoulders with his
teeth, exclaiming 'Let me die like a soldier!' but the barbarians
derided him, and eventually put an end to his torments in the
same manner as the others. A negro youth, who accompanied this
portion of the regiment as cook, witnessed this tragic scene, and
was menaced with the same fate, but was spared, and he afterwards
made known the fate of the party. Another potamar, having nearly
a company on board, under Lieutenant George Blanchard Gray and
Adjutant Hayes, approached the coast a few miles from Coulan, and
were, in consequence of the shattered state of the vessel, deciding
on the propriety of landing, when a volley of musketry from the
shore announced the hostile intentions of the natives. The vessel
was bound together with some large tents, to prevent its splitting,
and it arrived safely at Cochin, but went to pieces in the harbour.
All the potamars being damaged, other vessels were procured to
continue the voyage.
The officers and men of the regiment, who arrived at Coulan on
the 29th of December, joined the Sepoys encamped near the town.
On the evening of the same day, the Travancoreans attacked the
piquet under Captain Clapham of the Sepoys; the fire of musketry
and artillery indicating a sharp conflict, Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers,
commanding the troops at that station, detached Ensign James
Keappock, and forty men of the TWELFTH, to support the Sepoys, and
the enemy was forced to retire, leaving about eighty men dead on
the scene of conflict.
The Travancoreans were excited to rage and fury against the
British, who had thus gained a footing in the heart of their
country; they assembled in immense multitudes before the camp, kept
up an incessant fire on the piquets, and heavy columns menaced
the encampment; the soldiers were thus kept constantly ready for
action, and they lay on their arms night and day.
[Sidenote: 1809]
On the 8th of January, 1809, the remainder of the regiment arrived
at Coulan, excepting one company, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas
Thompson, left with six hundred Sepoys and several guns for the
defence of Cochin. The men of the TWELFTH, with the Sepoys and
guns which had arrived, were landed as expeditiously as possible;
but the force was obliged to remain encamped on a sandy plain near
the sea, enclosed by an almost impenetrable forest of cocoa-nut
trees, from the want of means for carrying on active operations.
The Resident prohibited the felling of the trees to conciliate the
natives; but this produced no advantage, and the wood afforded
shelter to the Travancorean marksmen, who annoyed the camp with
their fire, keeping the troops in a constant state of alarm; the
outposts were also frequently attacked by parties of the enemy.
Before daylight, on the 15th of January, a tumultuous noise in
the wood proclaimed the approach of an immense number of men, and
at break of day the Travancoreans commenced an attack along the
whole front of the British line, at the same time heavy columns
were seen among the trees threatening both flanks. Thinking the
attack was a surprise, the enemy fired his artillery at the tents;
but when sufficient light enabled the Travancoreans to see the
British ranks, they immediately directed their guns on the TWELFTH
regiment, as if desirous of annihilating the Europeans first.
Thus perilously exposed to the enemy's numerous artillery, the
British instantly advanced the right wing of the TWELFTH and two
battalions of Sepoys against the enemy's left, and the left wing
of the TWELFTH, with one battalion of Sepoys, against the right
of the enemy's line. The whole force was instantly brought into
close action; but the British had only five small field-pieces
to answer the fire of the forty guns brought into action by the
enemy: the British musketry was, however, well directed, and the
incessant peals which echoed in the woods announced a vigorous
contest, which was continued for several hours, during which clouds
of barbed arrows, from the enemy's local troops, inflicted painful
wounds on the British soldiers. About mid-day, the TWELFTH were
ordered to charge with bayonets, and capture the enemy's artillery;
they rushed forward with distinguished bravery, the soldiers
shouting "Remember our murdered comrades at Alleppi!" as they
precipitated themselves upon their opponents. The Travancoreans
made a resolute defence, many of them being bayoneted at their
guns; and a discharge of grape-shot, from one field-piece, killed
eleven grenadiers of the TWELFTH regiment. During this contest
many distinguished acts of gallantry were displayed by the officers
and men, and Ensign Keappock, being attacked by two opponents,
slew them. Finally both wings of the regiment were triumphant;
heaps of Travancoreans fell beneath the bayonets of the TWELFTH,
who captured eighteen brass field-pieces. The loss of these guns
intimidated the enemy, who retired about three o'clock in the
afternoon, leaving five thousand killed and wounded on the field of
battle. The British were unable to follow up the advantage, from
the want of stores, which prevented their quitting the coast.
The enemy appears to have been very confident of success on this
occasion, and to have been intent on the annihilation of the
Europeans; several Travancoreans of their Carnatic brigade were
taken prisoners, and ropes being found in their possession, they
were questioned on the subject, when they confessed that the cords
were brought for the purpose of hanging the British soldiers, and
that the British officers were to have been trampled to death by
elephants.
The regiment had fifty men killed and wounded; no officers were
killed, but the following were wounded--Captain Richard Bayley,
Lieutenant M. J. Molloy, and Surgeon Robert Erskine.
On the succeeding day, the following statement was published in
orders,--'It is with the greatest satisfaction that Lieut.-Colonel
Chalmers congratulates the troops he has the honour to command, on
the glorious success obtained yesterday, against the attack of an
enemy whose force did not amount to less than thirty thousand men.
He begs leave to offer his most particular thanks to Lieut.-Colonel
PICTON, who commanded the right wing of this little force, with a
wing of the TWELFTH regiment, and to the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and privates, whose gallantry and high discipline have,
on all occasions, appeared conspicuous. Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers has
to offer his thanks to Major HAMILTON, who commanded on the left,
with a wing of His Majesty's TWELFTH regiment, and to the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and privates, whose gallant conduct
needs no further comment, than that they belonged to His Majesty's
TWELFTH.' The Political Resident, Colonel C. Macauly, stated in a
letter to Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers, 'I have received the details of
the victory over the united force of the Divan--an achievement that
reflects signal honour on the discipline and animated valour of the
troops under your command, and sheds fresh lustre on the British
arms.'
A numerous army of opponents continued to hover near the British
force at Coulan, and it was deemed advisable to cut down many of
the trees, to throw up a breast-work in front of the encampment,
and to construct a redoubt, which was armed with the guns taken
from the enemy.
In the mean time, the company of the TWELFTH under Lieutenant
Thompson, with the battalion of Sepoys, commanded by Major Hewett,
left for the defence of the port of _Cochin_, had been attacked
by the troops of the Rajah of the province of Cochin. During the
action, the Sepoys gave way, and the company of the TWELFTH had to
maintain a desperate struggle with very superior numbers. The enemy
was repulsed, and the inhabitants of Cochin were preserved from
a general massacre, with which they had been menaced for being
favourable to the British interests; they openly attributed their
preservation to the distinguished heroism of the company of the
TWELFTH, which had half its non-commissioned officers and private
soldiers killed and wounded; Lieutenant Thompson was severely
wounded, and died a short time afterwards.
The TWELFTH regiment and Sepoys continued to resist the armed
population of Travancore and the numerous forces of the Rajah;
but being constantly harassed by the approach of bodies of the
enemy, the physical powers of the soldiers became diminished, and
their numbers decreased by disease; but the innate valour of the
troops remained unabated. Before daylight on the 31st of January,
the Travancoreans made another effort to surprise the camp; but
a rocket announced their approach, and the British were under
arms, as they usually were, at three o'clock in the morning: many
of the cocoa-nut trees had been cut down to enlarge the plain,
and as the enemy's heavy columns emerged from the wood, a sharp
cannonade was opened upon them; but they formed line under fire
and advanced, when the guns of the redoubt rent chasms in their
ranks. Undismayed by the storm of grape and bullets which smote
their ranks, the Travancoreans pressed forward, and endeavoured to
establish several guns on a rising ground; but the artillery of the
redoubt dismounted their ordnance. After keeping up an irregular
fire of musketry for some time, they withdrew from the front, and
concentrating on the right, renewed the attack with greater vigour,
when the left wing of the TWELFTH regiment was detached under
Captain William Henry Forssteen, to aid the Sepoys on that flank.
On the arrival of the TWELFTH on the right, a charge with bayonets
was executed with great vigour and the Travancoreans fled from the
field, leaving one brass six-pounder behind them; several other
guns were preserved by the swiftness of the elephants.
On the following day, the troops were thanked in orders 'for the
steady and cool manner in which they met and repulsed the attack of
the enemy.'