ROSE’S VICTORIES AT CALPEE AND GWALIOR.
The fame of Sir Hugh Rose came somewhat unexpectedly upon the British
people. Although well known to persons connected with India as a gallant
officer belonging to the Bombay army, Rose’s military services were not
‘household words’ in the mother-country. Henry Havelock had made himself
the hero of the wars of the mutiny by victories won in a time when the
prospects were stern and gloomy; and it was not easy for others to
become heroes of like kind, when compared in the popular mind with such
a noble soldier. Hence it may possibly be that the relative merits of
Campbell, Havelock, Neill, Wilson, Nicholson, Outram, Hope Grant,
Inglis, Rose, Roberts, Napier, Eyre, Greathed, Jones, Smith, Lugard, and
other officers, as military leaders, will remain undecided for a long
period—until dispatches, memoirs, and journals have thrown light on the
minuter details of the operations. Be this as it may, Sir Hugh Rose won
for himself a high name by a series of military exploits skilfully
conceived and brilliantly executed.
To understand the true scope of Rose’s proceedings in the months of May
and June, it may be well to recapitulate briefly the state of matters at
the close of the preceding month.
After Sir Hugh—with the 1st brigade of his Central India Field-force
under Brigadier Stuart, and the 2d brigade under Brigadier Steuart—had
captured the important city of Jhansi, in the early part of April, his
subsequent proceedings were determined according to the manœuvres of the
rebels elsewhere. Jhansi, as the strongest and most important place in
Bundelcund, was a valuable conquest; but as the Ranee and Tanteea
Topee—the one chieftainess of Jhansi, and the other a representative of
the Mahratta influence of Nena Sahib in these parts—had escaped, with
the greater part of their rebel troops, it became necessary to continue
the attack against them wherever they might be. The safety of Jhansi,
the succour of the sick and wounded, and the reconstruction of his
field-force, detained Rose in that city until the 25th of the month; but
Majors Orr and Gall were in the interim actively employed in chasing and
defeating various bodies of rebels in the surrounding country. Orr was
sent from Jhansi across the river Betwah to Mhow, to clear that region
from insurgents, and then to join Rose on the way to Calpee; he captured
a small fort at Goorwai, near the Betwah, and kept a sharp watch on the
proceedings of the rebel Rajahs of Banpore and Shagurh. Gall, with two
squadrons of the 14th Dragoons and three 9-pounders, was commissioned to
reconnoitre the position and proceedings of the rebels on the Calpee
road; he captured the fort of Lohare, belonging to the insurgent Rajah
of Sumpter. Hearing that Tanteea Topee, Ram Rao Gobind, and other
leaders, had made Calpee a stronghold, and intended to dispute the
passage of the road from Jhansi to that place, Rose laid his plans
accordingly. Calpee, though not a large place, was important as being on
the right bank of the Jumna, and on the main road from Jhansi to
Cawnpore. During the later days of April, Sir Hugh was on the road to
Calpee with the greater part of his two brigades; the rest of his
troops, under Orr, Gall, and one or two other officers, being engaged in
detached services. At that same time, General Whitlock, after defeating
many bodies of rebels in and near the Banda district, was gradually
tending towards a junction with Rose at Calpee; while General Roberts
was at Kotah, keeping a vigilant eye on numerous turbulent bands in
Rajpootana.
When May arrived, Sir Hugh, needing the services of Majors Orr and Gall
with his main force, requested General Whitlock to watch the districts
in which those two officers had been engaged. Being joined on the 8th by
his second brigade (except the regiments and detachments left to guard
Jhansi), he resumed his march on the 9th. News reached him that Tanteea
Topee and the Ranee intended to dispute his passage towards Calpee at a
place called Koonch, with a considerable force of cavalry and infantry.
As soon as he arrived at Koonch, he engaged the enemy, drove them from
their intrenchment, entered the town, cut them up severely, pursued them
to a considerable distance, and captured several guns. The heat on this
occasion was fearful. Rose himself was three times during the day
disabled by the sun, but on each occasion rallied, and was able to
remount; he caused buckets of cold water to be dashed on him, and then
resumed the saddle, all wet as he was. Thirteen of his gallant but
overwrought soldiers were killed by sun-stroke. Nothing daunted by this
severe ordeal, he marched on to Hurdwee, Corai, Ottah, and other
villages obscure to English readers, capturing a few more guns as he
went. Guided by the information which reached him concerning the
proceedings of the rebels, Sir Hugh, when about ten miles from Calpee,
bent his line of march slightly to the west, in order to strike the
Jumna near Jaloun, a little to the northwest of Calpee. He had also
arranged that Colonel Riddell, with a column from Etawah, should move
down upon Calpee from the north; that Colonel Maxwell, with a column
from Cawnpore, should advance from the east; and that General Whitlock
should watch the country at the south. The purpose of this combination
evidently was, not only that Calpee should be taken, but that all
outlets for the escape of the rebels should as far as possible be
closed.
On the 15th, the two brigades of Rose’s force joined at a point about
six miles from Calpee. A large mass of the enemy here made a dash at the
baggage and rear-guard, but were driven off without effecting much
mischief. When he reached the Jumna, Rose determined to encamp for a
while in a well-watered spot; and was enabled, by a personal visit from
Colonel Maxwell, to concert further plans with him, to be put in force
on the arrival of Maxwell’s column. On the 16th, a strong reconnoitring
column under Major Gall proceeded along the Calpee road; it consisted of
various detachments of infantry, cavalry, and horse-artillery. On the
same day, the second brigade was attacked by the enemy in great force,
and was not relieved without a sharp skirmish. On the 17th, the enemy
made another attack, which was, however, repulsed with less difficulty.
Nena Sahib’s nephew was believed to be the leader of the rebels on these
two occasions. It was not until the 18th that Rose could begin shelling
the earthworks which they had thrown up in front of the town. Greatly to
their astonishment, the enemy found that Maxwell arrived at the opposite
bank of the Jumna on the 19th, to assist in bombarding the place; they
apparently had not expected this, and were not prepared with defences on
that side. On the 20th, they came out in great force on the hills and
nullahs around the town, attempted to turn the flank of Sir Hugh’s
position, and displayed a determination and perseverance which they had
not hitherto exhibited; but they were, as usual, driven in again. On the
21st, a portion of Maxwell’s column crossed the Jumna and joined Rose;
while his heavy artillery and mortars were got into position. On the
22d, Maxwell’s batteries opened fire across the river, and continued it
throughout the night, while Sir Hugh was making arrangements for the
assault. The rebels, uneasy at the prospect before them, and needing
nothing but artillery to reply to Maxwell’s fire, resolved to employ the
rest of their force in a vigorous attack on Rose’s camp at Gulowlie.
Accordingly, on that same day, the 22d, they issued forth from Calpee in
great force, and attacked him with determination. Rose’s right being
hard pressed by them, he brought up his reserve corps, charged with the
bayonet, and repulsed the assailants at that point. Then moving his
whole line forward, he put the enemy completely to rout. In these
assaults, the rebels had the advantage of position; the country all
round Calpee was very rugged and uneven, with steep ravines and numerous
nullahs; insomuch that Rose had much difficulty in bringing his
artillery into position. The assaults were made by numbers estimated at
not far less than fifteen thousand men. The 71st and 86th foot wrought
terrible destruction amongst the dense masses of the enemy. About noon
on the 23d, the victorious Sir Hugh marched on from Gulowlie to Calpee.
The enemy, who were reported to have chosen Calpee as a last
stand-point, and to have sworn either to destroy Sir Hugh’s army or to
die in the attempt, now forgot their oath; they fled panic-stricken
after firing a few shot, and left him master of the town and fort of
Calpee. This evacuation was hastened by the effect of Maxwell’s
bombardment from the other side of the river.
Throughout the whole of the wars of the mutiny, the mutineers succeeded
in escaping after defeat; they neither surrendered as prisoners of war,
nor remained in the captured towns to be slaughtered. They were nimble
and on the watch, knew the roads and jungles well, and had generally
good intelligence of what was going on; while the British were seldom or
never in such force as to be enabled completely to surround the places
besieged: as a consequence, each siege ended in a flight. Thus it had
been in Behar, Oude, the Doab, and Rohilcund; and thus Rose and his
coadjutors found it in Bundelcund, Rajpootana, and Central India. Sir
Hugh had given his troops a few hours’ repose after the hot work of the
22d; and this respite seems to have encouraged the rebels to flee from
the beleaguered town; but they would probably have succeeded in doing
the same thing, though with greater loss, if he had advanced at once.
The British had lost about forty commissariat carts, laden with tea,
sugar, arrack, and medical comforts; but their loss in killed and
wounded throughout these operations was very inconsiderable.
Sir Hugh Rose inferred, from the evidences presented to his notice, that
the rebels had considered Calpee an arsenal and a point of great
importance. Fifteen guns were kept in the fort, of which one was an
18-pounder of the Gwalior Contingent, and two others 9-pounder mortars
made by the rebels. Twenty-four standards were found, one of which had
belonged to the Kotah Contingent, while most of the rest were the
colours of the several regiments of the Gwalior Contingent. A
subterranean magazine was found to contain ten thousand pounds of
English powder in barrels, nine thousand pounds of shot and empty
shells, a quantity of eight-inch filled shrapnell-shells, siege and ball
ammunition, intrenching tools of all kinds, tents new and old, boxes of
new flint and percussion muskets, and ordnance stores of all kinds—worth
several lacs of rupees. There were also three or four cannon foundries
in the town, with all the requisites for a wheel and gun-carriage
manufactory. In short, it was an arsenal, which the rebels hoped and
intended to hold to the last; but Sir Hugh’s victory at Gulowlie, and
his appearance at Calpee, gave them a complete panic: they thought more
of flight than of fighting.
The question speedily arose, however—Whither had the rebels gone? Their
losses were very large, but the bulk of the force had unquestionably
escaped. Some, it was found, had crossed the Jumna into the Doab, by a
bridge of boats which had eluded the search of the British; but the
rest, enough to form an army of no mean strength, finding that Rose had
not fully guarded the side of Calpee leading to Gwalior, retreated by
that road with amazing celerity. Sir Hugh thereupon organised a flying
column to pursue them, under the command of Colonel Robertson. This
column did not effect much, owing in part to the proverbial celerity of
the rebels, and in part also to difficulties of other kinds. Heavy rains
on the first two days rendered the roads almost impassable, greatly
retarding the progress of the column. The enemy attempted to make a
stand at Mahona and Indoorkee, two places on the road; but when they
heard of the approach of Robertson, they continued their retreat in the
direction of Gwalior. The column reached Irawan on the 29th; and there a
brief halt was made until commissariat supplies could be sent up from
Calpee. An officer belonging to the column adverted, in a private
letter, to certain symptoms that the villagers were becoming tired of
the anarchy into which their country had been thrown. ‘The feeling of
the country is strong against the rebels now, whatever it may have been;
and the rural population has welcomed our advent in the most
unmistakable manner. At the different villages as we go along, many of
them come out and meet us with earthen vessels full of water, knowing it
to be our greatest want in such weather; and at our camping-ground they
furnish us voluntarily with supplies of grain, grass, &c., in the most
liberal manner. They declare the rebels plundered them right and left,
and that they are delighted to have the English raj once more. It is not
only the inhabitants of the towns and villages where we encamp who are
so anxious to evince their good feeling; but the people, for miles
round, have been coming to make their salaam, bringing forage for our
camp with them, and thanking us for having delivered them from their
oppressors. They say that for a year they have had no peace; but they
have now a hope that order will be once more restored.’ Concerning this
statement it may suffice to remark, that though the villagers were
unquestionably in worse plight under the rebels than under the British,
their obsequious protestations to that effect were not always to be
depended on; their fears gave them duplicity, inducing them to curry
favour with whichever side happened at the moment to be greatest in
power.
Colonel Robertson, though he inflicted some loss on the fugitives, did
not materially check them. His column—comprising the 25th Bombay native
infantry, the 3d Bombay native cavalry, and 150 Hyderabad horse—pursued
the rebels on the Gwalior road, but did not come up with the main body.
On the 2d of June he was joined by two squadrons of the 14th dragoons, a
wing of the 86th foot, and four 9-pounders. On the next day, when at
Moharar, about midway between Calpee and Gwalior (fifty-five miles from
each) he heard news of startling import from the last-named
city—presently to be noticed. About the same time Brigadier Steuart
marched to Attakona on the Gwalior road, with H.M. 71st, a wing of the
86th, a squadron of the 14th Dragoons, and some guns, to aid in the
pursuit of the rebels.
While these events were in progress on the south of the Jumna, Colonel
Riddell was advancing from the northwest on the north side of the same
river. On the 16th of May, Riddell was at Graya, with the 3d Bengal
Europeans, Alexander’s Horse, and two guns; he had a smart skirmish with
a party of rebels, who received a very severe defeat. Some of the Etawah
troops floated down the Jumna in boats, under the charge of Mr Hume, a
magistrate, and safely joined Sir Hugh at Calpee. On their way they were
attacked by a body of insurgents much more numerous than themselves;
whereupon Lieutenant Sheriff landed with a hundred and fifty men at
Bhijulpore, brought the rebels to an engagement, defeated them, drove
them off, and captured four guns with a large store of ammunition. On
the 25th, when on the banks of the Jumna some distance above Calpee,
Colonel Riddell saw a camp of rebels on the other side, evidently
resting a while after their escape on the 23d; he sent the 2d Bengal
Europeans across, and captured much of the camp-equipage—the enemy not
waiting to contest the matter with him.
When Calpee had been securely taken, and flying columns had gone off in
pursuit of the enemy, to disperse if not to capture, Sir Hugh Rose
conceived that the arduous labours of his Central India Field-force were
for a time ended, and that his exhausted troops might take rest. He
issued to them a glowing address, adverting with commendable pride to
the unswerving gallantry which they had so long exhibited: ‘Soldiers!
you have marched more than a thousand miles, and taken more than a
hundred guns. You have forced your way through mountain-passes and
intricate jungles, and over rivers. You have captured the strongest
forts, and beaten the enemy, no matter what the odds, whenever you met
him. You have restored extensive districts to the government, and peace
and order now where before for a twelvemonth were tyranny and rebellion.
You have done all this, and you never had a check. I thank you with all
sincerity for your bravery, your devotion, and your discipline. When you
first marched, I told you that you, as British soldiers, had more than
enough of courage for the work which was before you, but that courage
without discipline was of no avail; and I exhorted you to let discipline
be your watchword. You have attended to my orders. In hardships, in
temptations and danger, you have obeyed your general, and you have never
left your ranks; you have fought against the strong, and you have
protected the rights of the weak and defenceless, of foes as well as of
friends. I have seen you in the ardour of the combat preserve and place
children out of harm’s way. This is the discipline of Christian
soldiers, and it is what has brought you triumphant from the shores of
Western India to the waters of the Jumna, and establishes without doubt
that you will find no place to equal the glory of your arms.’
Little did the gallant Sir Hugh suspect that the very day on which he
issued this hearty and well-merited address (the 1st of June) would be
marked by the capture of Gwalior by the defeated Calpee rebels, the
flight of Scindia to Agra, and the necessity for an immediate resumption
of active operations by his unrested Central India Field-force.
The rebels, it afterwards appeared, having out-marched Colonel
Robertson, arrived on the 30th of May at the Moorar cantonment, in the
neighbourhood of Gwalior, the old quarters of the Gwalior Contingent.
Tanteea Topee, a leader whose activity was worthy of a better cause, had
preceded them, to tamper with Scindia’s troops. The Maharajah, when he
heard news of the rebels’ approach, sent an urgent message to Agra for
aid; but before aid could reach him, matters had arrived at a crisis.
The position of the Maharajah of Gwalior had all along been a remarkable
and perilous one, calling for the exercise of an amount of sagacity and
prudence rarely exhibited by so youthful a prince. Although only
twenty-three years of age, he had been for five years Maharajah in his
own right, after shaking off a regency that had inflicted much misery on
his country; and during these five years his conduct had won the respect
of the British authorities. The mutiny placed him in an embarrassing
position. The Gwalior Contingent, kept up by him in accordance with a
treaty with the Company, consisted mainly of Hindustanis and Oudians,
strongly in sympathy with their compatriots in the Jumna and Ganges
regions. His own independent army, it is true, consisted chiefly of
Mahrattas, a Hindoo race having little in common with the Hindustanis;
but he could not feel certain how long either of the two armies would
remain faithful. After many doubtful symptoms, in July 1857, as we have
seen in former chapters, the Gwalior Contingent went over in a body to
the enemy—thus adding ten or twelve thousand disciplined and well-armed
troops to the rebel cause. Scindia contrived for two or three months to
remain on neutral terms with the Contingent—on the one hand, not
sanctioning their proceedings: on the other, not bringing down their
enmity upon himself. During the winter they were engaged in encounters
at various places, which have been duly noticed in the proper chapters.
When Sir Hugh Rose’s name had become as much known and feared in Central
India as Havelock’s had been in the Northwest Provinces many months
before, the rebels began to look to Gwalior, the strongest city in that
part of India, as a possible place of permanent refuge; and many of the
Mahratta and Rajpoot chieftains appear to have come to an agreement,
that if Scindia would not join them against the British, they would
attack him, dethrone him, and set up another Maharajah in his stead.
Meanwhile the Gwalior prince, a brave and shrewd man, as well as a
faithful ally, looked narrowly at the circumstances that surrounded him.
He had some cause to suspect his own national or regular army, but
deemed it best to conceal his suspicions. There was every cause for
apprehension, therefore, on his part, when he found a large body of
insurgent troops approaching his capital—especially as some of the
regiments of the old Gwalior Contingent were among the number.
Although aid from Agra or Calpee had not arrived, Scindia had courage
and skill enough to make a bold stand against them, if his own troops
had proved faithful; but treachery effected that which fair fighting
might not easily have done. Scindia’s body-guard remained faithful. Such
was not, however, the case with the bulk of his infantry, who had been
tampered with by Tanteea Topee, and had agreed to desert their sovereign
in his hour of greatest need. This was doubtless the motive of the rebel
leader in preceding the march of the Calpee fugitives. When the struggle
began, Scindia’s force comprised two or three thousand cavalry, six
thousand infantry, and eight guns; that of the enemy consisted of four
thousand cavalry, seven thousand infantry, and twelve guns—no
overwhelming disparity, if Scindia’s own troops had been true. The
rebels did not want for leaders; seeing that they had the Ranee of
Jhansi, the Nawab of Banda, Tanteea Topee, Rao Sahib, Ram Rao Gobind,
and Luchmun Nena. Rao Sahib, nephew of the Nena, was the nominal leader
of the Mahrattas in this motley force; but Tanteea Topee was really the
man of action and power. Certainly the most remarkable among the number
was the Ranee of Jhansi, a woman who—but for her cruelty to the English
at that station—would command something like respect. Whether she had
been unjustly treated by the Company, in relation to the ‘annexations’
in former years, was one among many questions of a similar kind on which
opinions were divided; but supposing her to be sincere in a belief that
territory had been wrongly taken from her, then did her conduct (barring
her cruelty and her unbounded licentiousness) bear something like the
stamp of heroism. At anyrate, she proved herself a very Amazon in these
warlike contests—riding like a man, bearing arms like a man, leading and
fighting like a man, and exhorting her troops to contend to the last
against the hated Feringhees.
The battle between the Maharajah and the insurgents was of brief
duration. The enemy, at about seven o’clock on the morning of the 1st of
June, made their appearance in battle-array. Scindia took up a position
about two miles eastward of the Moorar cantonment; placing his troops in
three divisions, of which the centre was commanded by him in person. The
rebels pushed on a cloud of mounted skirmishers, with zumborucks or
camel-guns; these were steadily confronted by Scindia’s centre division.
But now did the treachery appear. It is not quite clear whether the
right and left divisions of his force remained idle during the fighting
of the centre division, waited for the capture of guns as a signal for
revolt, marched over to the opposite side, and began to fire on such of
their astonished companions as still remained true to Scindia; or
whether the left division went over at the commencement of the fighting,
and was followed soon after by the right; but at anyrate the centre,
comprising the body-guard with some other troops, could not long contend
against such immense odds. The body-guard fought manfully until half
their number had fallen, and the rest fled. Scindia himself, too,
powerless against such numerous opponents, sought safety in flight, and
fortunately found it. Attended by a few faithful troops, the Maharajah
galloped off by way of the Saugor Tal, the Residency, and the Phool
Bagh, avoiding the Lashkar or permanent camp of his (late) army; he then
took to the open country, by the Dholpore road, and reached Agra two
days afterwards. The rebels sent a troop of cavalry sixteen or eighteen
miles in pursuit, but he happily kept ahead of them. Most of the members
of his family fled to Seepree, while his courtiers were scattered in all
directions.
Directly the Maharajah had thus been driven out of his capital, the
rebels entered Gwalior, and endeavoured to form a regular government.
They chose Nena Sahib as ‘Peishwa,’ or head of all the Mahratta princes.
They next set up Rao Sahib, the Nena’s nephew, as chief of Gwalior.
These selections appear to have been assented to by Scindia’s traitorous
troops as well as by the other rebels. All the troops were to have a
certain number of months’ pay for their services in this achievement.
The army was nevertheless the great difficulty to be contended against
by the rebel leaders. The insurgents from Calpee, and the newly revolted
troops of Scindia, had worked together for a common object in this
instance; but there was jealousy between them; and nothing could make
them continue together without the liberal distribution of money—partly
as arrears of pay, partly as an advance. Ram Rao Gobind, who had long
before been discharged from Scindia’s service for dishonesty, became
prime-minister. The main bulk of the army, under the masculine Ranee of
Jhansi, remained encamped in a garden called the Phool Bagh, outside the
city; while pickets and guns were sent to guard all the roads of
approach. The property of the principal inhabitants was sequestered, in
real or pretended punishment for friendliness towards the Maharajah and
the British. Scindia possessed an immense treasure in his palace, which
he could not take away in his flight; this the rebels seized, by the
connivance of the truculent treasurer, Ameerchand Batya; and it was out
of this treasure they were enabled to reward the troops. They also
declared a formal confiscation of all the royal property. Four petty
Mahratta chieftains in the district of Shakerwarree—named Kunughat,
Gholab Singh, Dooghur Shah, and Bukhtawar Singh—had some time previously
declared themselves independent, and had been captured and imprisoned by
Scindia for so doing; these men were now set at liberty by the newly
constituted authorities, and received insignia and dresses of honour, on
condition of raising forces in their several localities to oppose any
British troops who might attempt to cross the Chumbul and approach
Gwalior. The leaders mustered and reviewed their troops, plundered and
burnt the civil station, and liberated such prisoners as they thought
might be useful to them. They also sent letters of invitation to the
Rajahs of Banpore, Shagurh, &c., to join them.
Thus did a body of rebels, collected from different quarters, and
actuated by different motives, expel the Maharajah Scindia from the
throne of Gwalior, and install a government avowedly and bitterly
hostile to him and to the British with whom he was in alliance.
Throughout twelve months’ events at Gwalior, the more experienced of the
Company’s officers frequently directed their attention to a certain
member of Scindia’s family, in doubt whether treachery might have been
exhibited in that quarter. This was a princess, advanced in life, whose
influence at Gwalior was known to be considerable, and whose experience
of the checkered politics of Indian princedoms had extended over a very
lengthened period. She was known as the Baeza Baee of Gwalior. Sixty
years before the mutiny began, she was the beauty of the Deccan, the
young bride of the victorious Dowlut Rao Scindia of 1797; and she lived
through all the vicissitudes of those sixty years. During thirty years
of married life she exercised great influence over her husband and the
court of Gwalior, exhibiting more energy of purpose than is wont among
eastern women. In 1827 Scindia died without a legitimate son; and the
widow, in accordance with Indian custom, adopted a kinsman of the late
Maharajah to be the new Scindia. The Baeza Baee as regent, and Moodkee
Rao as expectant rajah, had many quarrels during the next seven years:
these ended, in 1834, in the installation of the young man as rajah, and
in the retirement of the widowed princess to Dholpore. Tumults
continued; for the princess was considered the more skilful ruler of the
two, and many of the Mahrattas of Gwalior wished her to continue as
regent. Whether from justice, or from motives of cold policy, the
British government sided with Scindia against the Baeza Baee; and she
was ordered to take up her abode in some district beyond the limits of
the Gwalior territory. In 1843, when Moodkee Rao Scindia died, this
territory came more closely than before under British influence; a new
Scindia was chosen, with the consent of the governor-general, from among
the relations of the deceased Maharajah; and with this new Scindia the
aged Baeza Baee appears to have resided until the time of the mutiny.
Nothing unfavourable was known against this venerable lady; but when it
was considered that she was a woman of great energy, and that many other
native princesses of great energy—such as the Ranee of Jhansi and the
Begum of Oude—had thrown their influence in the scale against the
English, it was deemed proper to watch her movements. And this the more
especially, as she had some cause to complain of the English policy in
the Mahratta dominions in past years. Although watched, however, nothing
appeared to justify suspicion of her complicity with the rebels.
Great was the anxiety at all the British stations when the news arrived
that Gwalior, the strongest and most important city in Central India,
and the capital of a native sovereign uniformly true to the British
alliance, had fallen into the hands of the rebels. In many minds a
desponding feeling was at once manifest; while those who did not despond
freely acknowledged that the situation was a critical one, calling for
the exercise of promptness, skill, and courage. All felt that the
conqueror of Jhansi and Calpee was the fit man to undertake the
reconquest of Gwalior, both from his military fame and from the
circumstances of his position—having around him many columns and corps
which he could bring to one centre. It was in the true spirit of heroism
that Sir Hugh Rose laid aside all thoughts of self when the exigencies
of the service called for his attention. He had won a complete victory
at Calpee, and believed that in so doing he had crushed the rebels in
Bundelcund and Scindia’s territory. Then, and then only, did he think of
himself—of his exhausted frame, his mind worn by six months of
unremitting duty, his brain fevered by repeated attacks of sun-stroke in
the fearful heat of that climate. He knew that he had honestly done his
part, and that he might with the consent of every one claim an exemption
for a time from active service. He intended to go down to Bombay on
sick-certificate—after having sent off a column in pursuit of the
fleeing rebels, and made arrangements for his successor. Such were Sir
Hugh’s thoughts when June opened. The startling news from Gwalior,
however, overturned all his plans. When he found that Scindia’s capital
was in the hands of the insurgents whom he had so recently beaten at
Calpee, all thoughts concerning fatigue and heat, anxiety and sickness,
were promptly dismissed from his mind. He determined to finish the work
he had begun, by reconquering the great Mahratta city. No time was to be
lost. Every day that Gwalior remained in the hands of the rebels would
weaken the British prestige, and add strength to the audacity of the
rebels.
Sir Hugh’s first measure was to request the presence of General Whitlock
at Calpee, to hold that place safely during the operations further
westward. Whitlock was at Moudha, between Banda and Humeerpoor, when he
heard the news; he at once advanced towards Calpee by the ford of the
Betwah at Humeerpoor. Rose’s next step was to organise two brigades for
rapid march to Gwalior. Of those brigades the infantry consisted of H.M.
86th foot, a wing of the 71st Highlanders, a wing of the 3d Bombay
Europeans, the 24th and 25th Bombay native infantry, and the 5th
Hyderabad infantry; the cavalry comprised wings of the 4th and 14th
Dragoons, the 3d Hyderabad cavalry, and a portion of the 3d Bombay
native cavalry; the artillery and engineers consisted of a company of
the Royal Engineers, Bombay Sappers and Miners, Madras Sappers and
Miners, two light field-batteries, Leslie’s troop of Bombay
horse-artillery, and a siege-train consisting of two 16-pounders, three
18-pounders, eight 8-inch mortars, two 10-inch mortars, and one 8-inch
howitzer. The first of these two brigades was placed under the command
of Brigadier C. S. Stuart, of the Bombay army; the second under
Brigadier R. Napier, of the Bengal Engineers. Arrangements were made for
the co-operation of a third brigade from Seepree, under Brigadier Smith.
Orders were at the same time given for bringing up Major Orr’s column
from the south, and for joining it with Smith’s brigade somewhere on the
road to Gwalior; Colonel Maxwell, with the 5th Fusiliers and the 88th
foot, was invited to advance from Cawnpore to Calpee; while Colonel
Riddell was instructed to cross the Chumbul with his Etawah column. Rose
did not know what might be the number of insurgents against whom he
would have to contend when he reached Gwalior, and on that account he
called in reinforcements from various quarters.
Pushing on his two main brigades as rapidly as possible, Sir Hugh
appeared in the vicinity of Gwalior on the ninth day after leaving
Calpee—allowing his troops no more rest by the way than was absolutely
needed. On the evening of the 15th of June he was at Sepowlie, about ten
miles from the Moorar cantonment; and by six o’clock on the following
morning he reached the cantonment itself. Sir Hugh galloped forward with
his staff to a point about midway between the cantonment and the city;
and there began to reconnoitre the position taken up by the enemy.
Gwalior is very remarkable as a military position, owing to the relation
which the city bears to a strong and lofty hill-fort. ‘The rock on which
the hill-fort is situated,’ says Mr Thornton, ‘is completely isolated;
though seven hundred yards to the north is a conical hill surmounted by
a very remarkable building of stone; and on the southeast, south, and
southwest, are similar hills, which form a sort of amphitheatre at the
distance of from one to four miles. The sandstone of the hill-fort is
arranged in horizontal strata, and its face presents so steep a fracture
as to form a perpendicular precipice. Where the rock was naturally less
precipitous, it has been so scarped as to be rendered perpendicular; and
in some places the upper part considerably overhangs the lower. The
greatest length of the rock, which is from northeast to southwest, is a
mile and a half; the greatest breadth three hundred yards. The height at
the south end, where it is greatest, is 342 feet. On the eastern face of
the rock, several colossal figures are sculptured in bold relief. A
rampart runs round the edge of the rock, conforming to the outline of
its summit; and as its height is uniform above the verge, its top has an
irregular appearance. The entrance within the enclosure of the rampart
is towards the north end of the east side; first, by means of a steep
road, and higher up by steps cut in the face of the rock, of such a size
and of so moderate a degree of acclivity that elephants easily make
their way up. This huge staircase is protected on the outer side by a
high and massive stone-wall, and is swept by several traversing guns
pointing down it: the passage up to the interior being through a
succession of seven gates. The citadel is at the northeastern extremity
of the enclosure, and has a very striking appearance. Adjoining is a
series of six lofty round towers or bastions, connected by curtains of
great height and thickness. There are within the enclosure of the
rampart several spacious tanks, capable of supplying an adequate
garrison; though fifteen thousand men would be required fully to man the
defences.’ The town of Gwalior, it may suffice to state, was situated
along the eastern base of the rock. The Lashkar, or permanent camp of
the Maharajah, stretch out from the southwest end of the rock; whereas
the Moorar, or cantonment of the old Gwalior Contingent, was on the
opposite side of the town.
Such was the place which Sir Hugh Rose found it necessary to
reconnoitre, preparatory to a siege. The hill-fort, the Lashkar, the
Moorar, the city, and the semicircular belt of hills, all needed
examination, sufficient at least to determine at what points the rebel
army was distributed, and what defences had been thrown up. He found
that only a few troops were in the city itself, the main body being
placed in groups on and near the surrounding hills and cantonments.
Rumour assigned to the rebels a force of seventeen thousand men in arms;
but the means for testing the truth of this rumour were wanting.
The examination made by Rose led him to a determination to attack the
Moorar cantonment suddenly, before the other portions of the rebels
could arrive from the more distant stations—to adopt, in fact, the
Napoleon tactics, possible only when rapid movements are made. Brigadier
Smith was operating on the hills south of the town, as we shall
presently see; but Rose carried out his own portion of the attack
independently. Orders were at once given. The cavalry and guns were
placed on each flank; while the infantry, in two divisions, prepared to
advance. The 86th headed the attack, as part of the second brigade. No
sooner did the enemy find themselves attacked, than they poured out a
well-directed fire of musketry and field-guns; but this was speedily
silenced, and the rebels forced to make a precipitate retreat. Many of
them escaped into the city over a stone-bridge, the existence of which
was not correctly known to Sir Hugh. Four pieces of ordnance were at the
same time dragged over the bridge to the Lashkar camp—somewhat to the
vexation of the British, who wished to seize them: the capture, however,
was not long delayed. The main body of rebels, after being driven
through the whole length of the cantonment, were chased over a wide
expanse of country. Some terrible fighting occurred during this chase.
At one spot a number of the enemy had been driven into a fortified
trench around a village, and here they maintained a desperate
hand-to-hand struggle, until the trench was nearly choked with dead and
wounded bodies. It was while rushing on at the head of a company of the
71st Highlanders in this contest that Lieutenant Neave fell, mortally
wounded. The rebels engaged in this struggle included several men of the
Maharajah’s 1st regiment. A strong body of the enemy’s cavalry were
drawn up about half a mile from the bridge; but they did not venture
forth; and Sir Hugh encamped for the night in the Moorar cantonment.
This, then, was the first scene in the conquest. Sir Hugh had obtained
safe possession of the cantonment of Moorar, and had conquered and
expelled such of the insurgents as had taken up a position there.
Nevertheless this was only a preliminary measure; for the city and the
rock-fort were still in the hands of the enemy. Either through want of
means or want of foresight, the rebels had done little to strengthen
this fort; or, perchance, reposing on the Indian idea that that famous
fortress was impregnable, they deemed such a precaution unnecessary.
Instead of attending to that duty, they disposed their forces so as to
guard the roads of approach from Indoorkee, Seepree, and other places;
and it was in this field-service that the mail-clad Amazon, the Ranee of
Jhansi, engaged.
We must now trace the progress of Brigadier Smith, who had taken charge
of the operations from the south, and who would need to obtain command
of the hills southward of the city before he could reach Gwalior itself.
This active officer had to make a long march before he could reach the
scene of conflict. His column—comprising a wing of the 8th Hussars, a
wing of the Bombay Lancers, H.M. 95th foot, the 10th Native Bombay
infantry, and a troop of Bombay horse-artillery—started from Seepree,
and was joined, on the 15th of June, at Antree, by Major Orr with his
men of the Hyderabad Contingent. Setting out from that place, the
brigadier, thus reinforced, arrived on the 17th at Kotah-ke-serai, a
place about eight miles from Gwalior, on the little river Oomrah. Here
was a small square fort, and also a native travellers’ bungalow (implied
by the words _ke-serai_). As he approached this place, the brigadier
could see masses of the enemy’s cavalry and infantry in motion at the
base of some neighbouring hills—some of those already adverted to as
forming a semicircular belt around the southern half of Gwalior. These
hills it was necessary for him to cross to get to the Lashkar
camping-ground. Two companies of infantry, belonging to the 10th and
95th regiments, were thrown across the river as skirmishers, with a
squadron of Hussars as videttes; while the rest of his column remained
south of the river, to guard the ford and the fort. After a little
skirmishing, some of his cavalry crossed the river, and came under the
fire of a battery until then unperceived. Much sharp fighting ensued:
the enemy having been permitted to retain their hold of the hills on one
side of the river, in consequence of a movement made by Smith under
false information. The road from Jhansi to Gwalior crosses the hills
that lie southward of the Lashkar; and, before debouching from these
hills, it runs for several hundred yards through a defile along which a
canal had been excavated; the eastern embankment of this canal, twenty
or twenty-five feet in height, supplied an excellent cover for Smith’s
troops during their advance. It was while his column was thus marching
through the defile, defended by three or four guns on a neighbouring
hill, that the principal part of the day’s fighting took place. When
night came, Smith had secured the defile, the road, and the adjoining
hills; while the enemy occupied the hills on the other side of the
canal. The most distinguished person who fell in this day’s fighting was
the Ranee of Jhansi—an Amazon to the last. The account given of her
death is simply as follows: ‘The Ranee, in trying to escape over the
canal which separated the camp from the Phool Bagh parade, fell with her
horse, and was cut down by a Hussar; she still endeavoured to get over,
when a bullet struck her in the breast, and she fell to rise no more.’
The natives are said to have hastily burned her dead body, to save it
from apprehended desecration by the Feringhees. During the night between
the 17th and 18th, the enemy constructed a battery on one of their
hills, from which they poured forth a well-directed fire, lessened in
serious results by the greatness of the distance. It was not without
much difficulty and constant firing that the brigadier, during the 18th,
became master of the hills, and drove away the enemy, who were led with
much energy by Tanteea Topee.
[Illustration:
GWALIOR.
]
While Brigadier Smith was thus closely engaged on the southern hills,
Sir Hugh Rose contented himself with maintaining his won position at the
Moorar cantonment; he could not safely advance into the city until Smith
had achieved his portion of the work. On the 18th, when the brigadier
had surmounted some of the southern hills, Sir Hugh, seeing that the
enemy’s strong positions were on that side of the city, joined him by a
flank-movement of twelve miles—leaving only a sufficient number of
troops to guard his camp at the Moorar. Rose bivouacked for the night in
rear of Smith’s position, thus enabling both to act together on the
morrow. The enemy still occupied some of the heights nearest to the
city; and from these heights, as well as from the rock-fort, on the
19th, they poured out a fire of shot, shell, and shrapnell. Rose, after
narrowly examining the chief of the heights occupied by the enemy,
resolve to capture it by storm. Two of the choice infantry regiments
sent on in advance, ascended this height—the 71st on the right, the 86th
on the left; other regiments supported them; while the artillery was
plied wherever the most effective result could be produced. The scheme
required that some of the guns should be taken across the canal, in
order to form a battery on one of the hills; and the sappers executed
this difficult work under a hot fire. The struggle was not a long one;
the infantry ran intrepidly up to the enemy’s guns, and captured them.
The height was now gained; and large masses of the enemy came full in
view in the plain below. The rebels, losing heart at their failures,
became panic-stricken when the height was taken; they began to flee in
all directions. Then was the time for Rose’s cavalry to render useful
service; the troopers scoured the plain in all directions, cutting off
the wretched fugitives in large numbers. By four o’clock in the day,
Rose was master of Gwalior, to the inexpressible astonishment of the
enemy. There was scarcely any fighting in the city itself, or in the
Lashkar camp; nor was there much firing from the rock-fort; when the
heights were gained, the rebels gave way on all sides. While Brigadier
Smith advanced with cavalry and artillery to occupy the plain of the
Phool Bagh, Sir Hugh pushed on to the palace. Very little opposition was
encountered; few of the enemy being met with either there or at the
Lashkar. After providing for the safety of the palace, by posting
Europeans and Bombay infantry at the entrances, Sir Hugh made
arrangements for the security of the city. This he found comparatively
easy; for the regular inhabitants of the place had good reason to wish
for the suppression of the rebels, and gladly aided the conquerors in
restoring order.
[Illustration:
THE RANEE OF JHANSI.
]
Thus, on the night of the 19th, Sir Hugh Rose was virtually conqueror,
though not thoroughly. The seizure of palace, city, and cantonments did
not necessarily imply the seizure of the rock-fort, the bold fortress
which for ages has rendered Gwalior so famous in India. In point of
fact, the conquest of this fort was deferred until the 20th; Sir Hugh
looked upon it as an easy achievement, because it became known that only
a few natives remained within the place. The conquest was not effected
without causing the death of a gallant officer—Lieutenant Arthur Rose,
of the 25th Bombay native infantry. As soon as the city had fallen into
the hands of the besiegers, the lieutenant was sent by the
commanding-officer of his regiment to guard the Kotwallee or
police-station. A shot or two being unexpectedly fired from the fort,
Rose proposed to a brother-officer, Lieutenant Waller, the daring
project of capturing it with the handful of men at their joint
disposal—urging that, though the risk would be great, the honour would
be proportionally great if the attempt succeeded. Off they started,
taking with them a blacksmith. This man, with his lusty arm and his
heavy hammer, broke in the outermost or lowermost of the many gates that
guarded the ascent of the rock on which the fort was situated; then
another, and another, until all the six gates were broken into, and
entered by the little band of assailants. It is hardly to be expected,
that if the gates were really strong and securely fastened, they could
have been burst open in this way; but the confusion resulting from the
fighting had probably caused some of the defensive arrangements to be
neglected. At various points on the ascent the assailants were fired at
by the few rebels in the place; and near the top a desperate
hand-to-hand conflict took place, during which the numbers were thinned
on both sides. While Rose was encouraging his men in their hot work, a
musket was fired at him from behind a wall; and the bullet, striking him
on the right of the spine, passed through his body. The man who had
fired the fatal shot, a Bareilly mutineer, then rushed out, and cut him
across the knee and the wrist with a sword. Waller came up, and
despatched this fellow, but too late to save the life of his poor friend
Rose.[176]
Several days before the conquest of Gwalior was finally completed,
arrangements were made for reinstating Scindia upon the throne from
which he had been so suddenly and unexpectedly hurled. Irrespective of
the justice of Scindia’s cause, Sir Robert Hamilton and Sir Hugh Rose
wished him to return at once from Agra to Gwalior for another reason—to
enable the British to judge who among the townsmen deserved punishment,
and who were worthy of forgiveness. It was also very important to shew
that the government meant promptly and firmly to support so faithful a
man, as an encouragement to other native princes to maintain faith with
the British. Even before Rose had reached Gwalior, and when the result
of the approaching battle could not in any degree be foreseen, Hamilton,
as political resident at the court of Gwalior, sent a dispatch to
Scindia at Agra, requesting him to move down at once to the Chumbul,
that he might be in readiness to present himself at Gwalior whenever the
proper time should arrive. Accordingly the temporarily dethroned
Maharajah set out from Agra on the 13th of June with all his retinue,
escorted by a party of Meade’s Horse, and by some of his own troopers
who still remained faithful. He reached Dholpore on the 15th, where he
joined Colonel Riddell’s column. On the next he faintly heard the roar
of cannon at his capital, thirty-seven miles distant; and in the evening
an express arrived from Sir Robert Hamilton, announcing the capture of
the cantonment—the first stage towards the capture of Gwalior itself.
Crossing the Chumbul, and mounting his horse, Scindia galloped off, and
rode all night, reaching Gwalior on the 17th. During the next three
days, the presence and advice of the Maharajah were very valuable to the
British authorities, contributing much towards the final conquest. On
the 20th, when all the fighting was well-nigh over, Scindia was restored
to his throne with as much oriental pomp as could be commanded in the
limited time: Rose, Hamilton, and all the chief military and civil
officers, accompanying him in procession from the camp to the palace. It
was a good augury that the townsmen, who lined all the streets, seemed
right glad to have him back again amongst them.
When Gwalior was fairly cleared of rebels, and Scindia reinstated as
Maharajah, two official congratulatory documents were issued, one by Sir
Colin Campbell, and the other by Viscount Canning—somewhat differing in
character, but tending to the same end. Sir Colin congratulated Sir Hugh
Rose on the successful result of his rapid advance upon Gwalior, and the
restoration of Scindia. He adverted to these as a happy termination of
Rose’s brilliant campaign in Central India—a campaign illustrated by
many engagements in the open field; by the relief of Saugor; by the
capture of Ratgurh, Shagurh, and Chendaree; by the memorable siege of
Jhansi; by the fall of Calpee; and lastly, by the re-occupation of
Gwalior. While thanking Rose and his troops heartily for their glorious
deeds, Sir Colin did not fail to notice two other generals who had
shared in the hot work of those regions. ‘It must not be forgotten that
the advance of the Central India Field-force formed part of a large
combination, and was rendered possible by the movement of Major-general
Roberts, of the Bombay army, into Rajpootana, on the one side; and of
Major-general Whitlock, of the Madras army, on the other; and by the
support they respectively gave to Major-general Sir Hugh Rose as he
moved onwards in obedience to his instructions.’ Viscount Canning’s
proclamation was more formal, and was intended to meet the eye of
Scindia quite as much as those of the gallant troops who had just
reinstated him; it had a political object, to encourage native princes
in a course of fidelity, by shewing that the British government would
aid in maintaining them on their thrones, just in proportion to their
good faith.[177]
The British had reconquered every part of the city and neighbourhood of
Gwalior, reinstated Scindia on his throne, wrought terrible execution on
the insurgents, and compelled the main body to seek safety in flight.
But the questions then arose, in this as in all previous instances—to
what quarter had the fugitives retreated, and what amount of mischief
might they produce during and in consequence of their retreat? It was
soon ascertained that, while others had chosen a different route, the
main body had taken the road to Kurowlee. Hence it became an object with
Sir Hugh to send off a force in pursuit, in the hope of so completely
cutting up the fugitives as to prevent them from reassembling as an
organised army at any other spot. He invited the co-operation of
Brigadier Showers from another quarter, but depended chiefly on the
exertions of a flying column hastily made up, and placed under the
command of Brigadier Napier. On the 20th, within a few hours after the
capture of Gwalior, Napier set forth; and the next few days were marked
by deeds of gallantry worthy of the name he bore. The column consisted
of a troop of horse-artillery, a troop of the 14th Dragoons, a wing of
the Hyderabad Contingent cavalry, and three troops of Meade’s
Horse—altogether about six hundred men, with six guns. Starting from the
Moorar cantonment, and passing from the Residency into the open country,
Napier reached Sunnowlie, twenty-four miles from Gwalior, by three
o’clock the next morning. On approaching Jowra Alipore, a few hours
afterwards, he descried the enemy in great force, with nearly thirty
guns. Not waiting to consider how small his numbers were compared with
those opposed to him, Napier resolved to grapple with the enemy. He
moved his column to the cover of a rising-ground which afforded partial
concealment; and finding the rebels disposed to move off, he at once
attacked them, with a chivalrous daring worthy of all praise. The column
galloped off to the right, towards the enemy’s guns, of which nine were
grouped in and around a small tope of trees. Captain Lightfoot’s
horse-artillery galloped up to the front, poured in two rounds of shot
at a distance of five hundred yards, limbered up, and dashed off to the
enemy’s guns, even outstripping the supporting cavalry; these guns,
being found deserted by the enemy, were at once captured. Of fighting,
there was really little in amount. The enemy, supposed to be at least
ten times as numerous as Napier’s troops, and supplied with formidable
artillery, scarcely made a stand at any point; the necessity for flight
from Gwalior had produced a sort of panic, and they made but little
resistance to Napier. They ran off in various directions, but chiefly
towards the south. Their haste was too great, and the pursuit too
prompt, to enable them to save any of their guns; Napier seized them
all, twenty-five in number, together with numerous stands of arms. Great
as was this achievement, however, considering the relative forces of the
belligerents, the result was hardly satisfactory in a political point of
view. The hope was not merely to recover Gwalior, but to crush the rebel
forces. Gwalior, it is true, was taken, and artillery in much strength
was captured; still the main body of the rebels escaped from Rose at
Gwalior on the 19th, and the same main body escaped from Napier at Jowra
Alipore on the 21st. Although they had few or no guns, they fled as an
army and not as a rabble; they retained that sort of military
organisation which might enable them to work mischief elsewhere. Napier,
wishing to prevent this as far as possible, pursued them some distance;
but as the rebels were wonderfully quick in their movements, they
gradually increased the distance between them and their pursuer, until
at length Napier was thirty miles behind. He then gave up a pursuit
which was likely to be fruitless, and returned to Gwalior with the guns
he had captured. It was afterwards made a subject for question whether
Rose should not have placed a greater force of light cavalry at Napier’s
disposal; but there appears much probability that, when once in flight,
the rebels would have succeeded in escaping, in this as in all similar
instances. They had attained great mastery in the art of fleeing.
Who was the leader of the body of rebels adverted to in the preceding
paragraph was not clearly known; perhaps there was no recognised leader
in the hasty flight. Another body, however, estimated at five or six
thousand in number, followed the orders of the indefatigable Tanteea
Topee; he led them across the Chumbul, past Shree Muttra and Hindoun,
and made towards Jeypoor—the chief city of the principal among the
Rajpoot states. So far as could be ascertained, he hoped to obtain the
assistance of insurgent chieftains in that region. He carried with him
the crown-jewels, and an immense amount of treasure, that had belonged
to Scindia. There was a possibility that Tanteea Topee, by bending a
little to the north, would advance to Bhurtpore instead of Jeypoor. The
population of Bhurtpore was warlike, and Tanteea Topee could not enter
within the earthen walls if opposed; but it was impossible at that time
to rely on any body of Rajpoot troops; and hence the British authorities
watched with some anxiety the progress of the rebel leader.
When, a few weeks earlier, Sir Hugh Rose had thanked his gallant troops
after the capture of Calpee, he hoped to be able to retire to Bombay, to
recruit his shattered health after so much active service in hot
weather. This hope was founded on what appeared to be rational grounds.
The last stronghold of the enemy had fallen into his hands, with its
guns, ammunition, and stores. Detached posts, it is true, might require
to be carefully guarded; isolated bodies of rebels might need pursuit
and punishment; but there did not appear to be any enterprise of such
magnitude and importance as to demand the combined services of the
different regiments in the Central India Field-force. Therefore it was
that, almost immediately after the fall of Calpee, Sir Hugh issued the
glowing address to his troops, already adverted to. His hope of
retirement, however, was for a time frustrated by the defeat of Scindia
by the rebels; but when he had retaken Gwalior, and reinstated the
Maharajah upon the throne, Sir Hugh found himself enabled to fulfil his
wish. Towards the close of June he issued another address to his troops,
in which he said: ‘The major-general commanding being on the point of
resigning the command of the Poonah division of the Bombay army,[178] on
account of ill health, bids farewell to the Central India Field-force;
and at the same time expresses the pleasure he feels that he commanded
them when they gained one more laurel at Gwalior. The major-general
witnessed with satisfaction how the troops and their gallant comrades in
arms—the Rajpootana brigade, under General Smith—stormed height after
height, and gun after gun, under the fire of a numerous field and siege
artillery, taking finally by assault two 18-pounders at Gwalior. Not a
man in these forces enjoyed his natural strength or health; and an
Indian sun, and months of marching and broken rest, had told on the
strongest; but the moment they were told to take Gwalior for their Queen
and country, they thought of nothing but victory. They gained it,
restoring England’s true and brave ally to his throne; putting to
complete rout the rebel army; killing numbers of them; and taking from
them in the field, exclusive of those in the fort, fifty-two pieces of
artillery, all their stores and ammunition, and capturing the city and
fort of Gwalior, reckoned the strongest in India. The major-general
thanks sincerely Brigadier-general Napier, C.B., Brigadier Stuart,
C.B.,[179] and Brigadier Smith, commanding brigades in the field, for
the very efficient and able assistance which they gave him, and to which
he attributes the success of the day. He bids them and their brave
soldiers once more a kind farewell. He cannot do so under better aspects
than those of the victory of Gwalior.’
Every one admitted that Sir Hugh Rose had well earned a season of
repose, after his five months of marching, fighting, besieging, and
conquering. It was on the 12th of January 1858 that he took command of
his Central India Field-force at Sehore. On the 23d he captured the town
of Ratgurh; on the 28th, defeated the enemy in the field; and on the
30th, captured the fort of Ratgurh. February came, and with it, the
relief of Saugor and the capture of the fort of Garra Kotah. In March he
forced the pass of Mudenpore; captured a series of strongholds which
gave him command of Bundelcund; took and burned Churkaree; and occupied
Tal Behut. In April he defeated the rebel army of Tanteea Topee, near
Jhansi; captured that city; and afterwards stormed and captured the fort
belonging to it. In May he took the fort of Koonch; then fought a severe
battle near Calpee; and eventually captured the fort at that place.
Lastly, in June, as we have just seen, he thoroughly defeated the
Gwalior mutineers, captured that important Mahratta city and fort, and
replaced Scindia on the throne of his ancestors. Second to Havelock—and
it may be doubted whether even this exception should be made—there was
no general engaged in the wars arising out of the mutiny, whose
operations were so numerous and so uniformly successful as those of Sir
Hugh Rose. It must at the same time be admitted that Havelock, from
first to last, had far smaller forces at his command.
The Central India Field-force underwent a total break up after the
capture of Gwalior. The 95th regiment remained for a time within the
rock-fort. Two of the Queen’s regiments of infantry, and one of the
Bombay regiments, with detachments of cavalry and artillery, occupied
the Moorar cantonment, until further directions could be received. At
Jhansi were stationed the 3d Bombay Europeans, the 24th Bombay native
infantry, with cavalry and artillery. Brigadier Smith’s Rajpootana
brigade, which had rendered such good service at the siege of Gwalior,
was distributed into three portions—one remaining at Gwalior, and the
others going to Seepree and Goonah. All these troops absolutely needed
rest. Whatever exertions were necessary to check the career of the
fugitive rebels, were intrusted to troops from other quarters,
especially to General Roberts, who held command of all the available
troops in Rajpootana. Nothing but dire necessity kept British soldiers
in the field under a midsummer sun in the plains of India. As to Sir
Hugh Rose, a triumphant reception awaited him at Bombay; all ranks
strove to render him honour, as one who had brought great renown to the
Bombay army.
-----
Footnote 176:
Brigadier Stuart, when he heard of the fatal termination of this bold
and daring achievement, issued the following general order: ‘Brigadier
Stuart has received with the deepest regret a report of the death of
Lieutenant Rose, 25th Bombay N. I., who was mortally wounded
yesterday, on entering the fort of Gwalior, on duty with his men. The
brigadier feels assured that the whole brigade unite with him in
deploring the early death of this gallant officer, whose many sterling
qualities none who knew him could fail to appreciate.’
Footnote 177:
‘_Allahabad, June 24, 1858._—The Right Honourable the Governor-general
has the highest gratification in announcing that the town and fort of
Gwalior were conquered by Major-general Sir Hugh Rose on the 19th
instant, after a general action in which the rebels, who had usurped
the authority of Maharajah Scindia, were totally defeated. On the 20th
of June, the Maharajah Scindia, attended by the governor-general’s
agent for Central India, and Sir Hugh Rose, and escorted by British
troops, was restored to the palace of his ancestors, and was welcomed
by his subjects with every mark of loyalty and attachment. It was on
the 1st of June that the rebels, aided by the treachery of some of
Maharajah Scindia’s troops, seized the capital of his highness’s
kingdom, and hoped to establish a new government under a pretender in
his highness’s territory. Eighteen days had not elapsed before they
were compelled to evacuate the town and fort of Gwalior, and to
relinquish the authority which they had endeavoured to usurp. The
promptitude and success with which the strength of the British
government has been put forth to the restoration of its faithful ally
to the capital of his territory, and the continued presence of British
troops at Gwalior to support his highness in the re-establishment of
his administration, offer to all a convincing proof that the British
government has the will and the power to befriend those who, like
Maharajah Scindia, do not shrink from their obligation or hesitate to
avow their loyalty. The Right Honourable the Governor-general, in
order to mark his appreciation of the Maharajah Scindia’s friendship,
and his gratification at the re-establishment of his highness’s
authority in his ancestral dominions, is pleased to direct that a
royal salute shall be fired at every principal station in India.’
Footnote 178:
The Central India Field-force was a kind of offshoot from the Poonah
division of the Bombay army.
Footnote 179:
Brigadier Steuart, who had been with Sir Hugh Rose in the earlier
scenes of the campaign, retired through ill health before the
operations at Gwalior began. His brigade passed to the command of
Napier.
[Illustration:
DARJEELING—Hill Sanatorium in Sikkim.
]