FROM SIMLA TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The Mutiny had come to an end, although there was still a
ground-swell of disturbance on the Oude frontier opposite Nepaul, in
Bundelcund, and in some other districts of Central India. It was not
until the end of May, 1859, that Lord Clyde could confidently state
that the last embers of rebellion had been extinguished, and that
the provinces of India which during the preceding two years had been
the scene of so much lawlessness, bloodshed, and disorder, were now
subsiding into a state of profound tranquillity.
The oldest soldier on active service of all the army in India, so
strong was Lord Clyde's constitution that from the day he first
took the field until the accident which befell him on the Nepaul
frontier a few days before the termination of the final campaign, he
had never suffered a day's illness. His vigour and energy had been
extraordinary; the heat which prostrated so many of his followers was
borne lightly by the tough and seasoned veteran, who despised all
luxury, lived in a small tent, was content with the rations of the
soldiers, and cheerfully bivouacked with them under the stars. But
now that the stress of campaigning was over, and when he had reached
Lucknow from the Nepaul frontier, the irritation of the broken rib,
which was among the injuries he received in the accident that befell
him before Burgidiah, resulted in a sharp attack of inflammation of
the lungs. For some days he was very ill, and his surgeon Mackinnon
found him the reverse of a docile patient, for he hated medicine
and could scarce be induced to remain quietly in bed. He gradually,
however, recovered; and then, urged by Lord Canning to betake himself
for rest to the hills, he left Lucknow with the headquarters on March
1st and proceeded by way of Agra and Delhi to Simla. At Delhi he
spent several days investigating with the keenest interest the scenes
of the memorable struggle there, and everything connected with the
operations before that fortress. At Umbala he reviewed the troops
quartered in that station, and reached Simla in the last week of
April. His great work accomplished, he had a right to believe that
there had now come an end to the cares which the rebellion entailed
on him. In the bracing atmosphere of the hills he looked forward to
a perfect restoration to health, and to the early realisation of his
cherished hope of spending his last years with friends at home. But
scarcely had he settled himself at Simla when tidings reached him of
a grave danger confronting the Government of India. When in November,
1858, the assumption of the Government of India by the Crown was
announced, some of the soldiers of the Company's European troops
had set up an alternative claim for a free discharge or a bounty on
re-enlistment into the service of the Crown. The law-officers of the
Crown decided that the claim was inadmissible; and therefore a not
unnatural discontent was engendered which finally culminated in the
regrettable disturbance familiarly known as the "White Mutiny." It
was well for the Government that in Lord Clyde there was available to
meet the crisis a man who understood and sympathised with the nature
and prejudices of the soldier. An actual collision was imminent, and
as Lord Clyde informed the Viceroy, "no one could tell what would be
the effect of a collision on the remainder of the local army, and on
the native mind throughout India." A proclamation of a temporising
character issued to the local European troops at Meerut produced a
good effect, as establishing what the Commander-in-Chief termed the
"tranquillity of expectation" in place of open discontent. But it was
manifest, from the reports received from the stations where troops of
the late Company's European force were serving, that the feeling of
dissatisfaction was general; and the Government, recognising how wide
was the agitation, became convinced of the necessity of granting a
discharge to every man who desired it. With a strange inconsistency
the Indian Government, notwithstanding that the law-officers of the
Crown had decided that the alternative claims of the soldiers were
alike inadmissible, granted them their discharges, but obstinately
refused to give a bounty on re-enlistment, a concession which nine
out of ten men would have accepted contentedly. The outcome was
a study in the art of "how not to do it." The Company's European
troops took their discharges and came home almost in a body,--from
the Bengal Presidency alone came seven thousand men--most of whom
had been fairly acclimatised to the Indian climate. The recruiting
sergeants in Charles Street re-enlisted them for the Queen's service
as they landed or even when the transports were coming up the Thames;
and the great majority of the men who had been John Company's
soldiers were back in India as soldiers of the Queen among the first
reliefs. The operation, involving as it did the cost of the double
voyage and the enlistment money at home, was not a brilliant sample
of economy. The simpler method would have been to give the men the
two guineas per head bounty, which was all they asked to transform
them from Company's into Queen's soldiers. The disaffection of the
local European troops made a great impression on Lord Clyde, and he
expressed himself to the Viceroy on the subject in the following
terms: "I am irresistibly led to the conclusion that henceforth it
will be dangerous to the State to maintain in India a local European
army. I believe, as a consequence of this recent experience, that it
will be unsafe to have any European forces which do not undergo the
regular process of relief, and that this consideration must be held
paramount to all others. We cannot afford to attend to any other
considerations than those of discipline and loyalty, which may be
constantly renovated by the periodical return to England of all the
regiments in every branch of the service."
Lord Clyde had been intending to tender his resignation and return
to England about the end of February, 1860, when events occurred
which were to detain him some months longer in India. In the spring
of 1859 the English and French Ministers to China, finding that the
Chinese Government were raising obstacles to their visit to the
capital for the purpose of exchanging ratifications of the treaty of
the previous year, put themselves in the hands of the Admiral in
command of the British Squadron. The attempt to force the passage
of the Peiho and seize the Taku forts was repulsed so severely as
to necessitate the return of the expedition to Shanghai. It was
obvious that the enforcement of reparation would necessitate a joint
expedition on a large scale to be undertaken by England and France.
The troops and material of the former Power were to be supplied
mainly from India, and Lord Canning was empowered to make the
necessary arrangements acting in concert with the Commander-in-Chief.
The latter made the wise suggestion which was acted on, that Sikh
troops would be more useful in China than either Hindostanis or
Madrassis. His recommendations in regard to the clothing and
provisioning of the force proved most valuable; and his services
were so essential that Lord Canning, who depended greatly on his
counsel and recommendations, prevailed on him to delay his departure
for some months longer. In the beginning of October Lord Clyde left
Simla, and inspecting the military stations on the way joined at
Cawnpore the camp of the Viceroy who was accompanied by Lady Canning.
After a visit to Lucknow the Viceregal tour was extended through the
military stations of the North-West Provinces and the Punjaub to the
frontier at Peshawur. Lord Clyde, who had shared in most part of this
expedition, then accompanied the Viceroy to Calcutta, where on the
eve of his departure he issued the following soldierly and modest
farewell order:
"On leaving this country I take the opportunity of thanking the
officers and soldiers of the two services for their valour and
endurance, so severely tried, especially in the early part of the
insurrection. History does not furnish a finer display of heroical
resistance to many adverse conditions than was shown by the British
troops during those mutinies. The memory of their constancy and
daring will never die out in India; and the natives must feel that
while Britain possesses such sons the rule of the British Sovereign
must last undisputed. Soldiers, both British and native, I bid you
farewell; and I record as my latest word, that the bravery and
endurance of which I have spoken with admiration, could not alone
have insured success. That success was owing in a great measure to
your discipline, which is the foundation of all military virtues, and
which, I trust, will never be relaxed."
India had relapsed into a state of profound peace and security: the
Chinese expedition under the efficient command of Sir Hope Grant
had embarked; and his work accomplished, Lord Clyde gave over the
command to his successor Sir Hugh Rose and sailed from Calcutta on
June 4th after taking a final and touching farewell of Lord Canning.
Honours met him before he reached his native land. On his arrival in
Paris the Emperor Napoleon summoned him to an audience; the Duke of
Cambridge hastened to announce to him that her Majesty had graciously
conferred on him the colonelcy of the Coldstream Guards. He reached
London in time to take his seat in the House of Lords, and to speak
and vote in favour of the Bill for the amalgamation of the armies
of India. Nothing could be more flattering than his reception by
all classes of his countrymen, but with the retiring modesty which
characterised him, he shrank from all attempts to make him an object
of popularity. The freedom of the City of London had already been
conferred upon him in his absence by a vote of the Court of Common
Council; and soon after his return he and Sir James Outram were the
recipients of Swords of Honour presented by the conscript fathers of
the city, followed by a banquet at the Mansion-House. A few weeks
later, when the thanks of the House of Lords were voted to the China
force whose exertions had resulted in a satisfactory peace, Lord
Clyde declined to receive the tribute paid him for his services in
the preparation of the expedition, unless it was shared in by his
coadjutor Lord Canning.
After a visit in Paris to his old Crimean comrade General Vinoy, he
travelled on the Italian battlefields of 1859 and held some pleasant
interviews with Della Marmora and Cialdini, old soldier-friends of
the Sardinian Contingent in the Crimea. In the autumn of 1861 he was
selected to represent the British military service at the manœuvres
of the Prussian army, and on the termination of the manœuvres he
had the honour of being received by the Royal Family at Brühl. In
November of the same year he accompanied Sir John Lawrence to Windsor
on the occasion of the first Chapter of the newly established order
of the Star of India being held by Her Majesty, and was installed as
a Knight of the Order.
But in the midst of these triumphs a twofold blow was to strike his
heart. Ever since leaving India he had maintained an affectionate
correspondence with Lady Canning. That cherished friend he was now
deprived of to his great sorrow. Her constitution impaired by the
climate and by the anxiety which she had suffered during the strain
of the Mutiny, Lady Canning fell a victim to an attack of fever.
Lord Clyde's last letter to her arrived after her death, and was
acknowledged by Lord Canning, who expressed in a few touching words,
"how cordially she whom he had lost reciprocated the regard Lord
Clyde entertained for her." A few months later Lord Canning himself,
on whose constitution, enfeebled by climate, labour, and anxiety,
disease had made rapid inroads, died on the day of his arrival in
England. Of the many who followed to their grave in Westminster Abbey
the remains of the first Viceroy of Queen Victoria's Indian Empire,
none mourned him more deeply than did his former Commander-in-Chief,
who had been his associate in the triumph of restoring British
ascendancy in the East. By the grave of their dead master and friend
Clyde and Outram stood arm in arm, both destined at no long interval
to be laid in the earth now covering the coffin of their revered
Chief.
His latest honour was the highest to which a British officer can
attain. In an _Extraordinary Gazette_ published on the 9th of
November 1862,--the twenty-first anniversary of the birth of the
Prince of Wales--it was intimated that the Duke of Cambridge, Sir
E. Blakeney, and Lords Gough and Clyde were promoted to the rank of
Field-Marshal. If Colin Campbell had served for over forty-six years
before attaining the rank of major-general, his subsequent promotion
had been exceptionally rapid, since in eight years he had run up
through the list of general officers into the highest position of the
military service.
With the exception of health, Lord Clyde had "all which should
accompany old age--honour, love, troops of friends." But he was
visibly, if gradually, breaking up. He had never spared himself when
duty called, but when the strain slackened with the extinction of
the mutiny, his constitution began to fail. His illness in Lucknow
after leaving the Nepaul frontier was the first premonition of
decay. During his stay in Simla he had begun to relax his custom of
early rising and to manifest an indisposition to take his morning
walk; while a casual cold, of which a year earlier he would have
thought nothing, resulted in a sharp attack of influenza accompanied
by fever and inflammation of the eyes. When on his subsequent tour
up-country with the Viceroy, he began to evince a disinclination
for the saddle, and preferred, contrary to his old predilection, to
be driven in a wheeled vehicle. Later, after returning to Europe,
he suffered much at times from fever and ague which he traced back
to the old Walcheren days; and in the end of 1861 he had a serious
illness which left him permanently enfeebled even after he had been
pronounced convalescent. Yet he was still able to make long journeys,
and he commanded the Volunteer Review on the Brighton Downs on the
Easter Monday of 1862, when some twenty thousand men were in the
field. He expressed his surprise at the steadiness and intelligence
of the citizen soldiery. "It was not," he wrote, "a simple affair of
marching past and saluting, but a readiness of movement and facility
of change of position not always surpassed by the oldest and most
practised troops." This was the last occasion of his appearing at the
head of troops in the field.
The end of the old warrior came at last somewhat suddenly.
Derangement of the heart had been discovered, and in May, 1863, he
had an attack of so alarming a character that his medical advisers
recommended him to put his affairs in order. Near the end of June he
went to Chatham to be with his dearest friends General and Mrs. Eyre.
There he gradually grew worse. Almost to the last his memory would
revert to the Highland soldiers who were always so eager to follow
where he led, and he would express his gratitude for their staunch
fidelity to the Chief who loved them so well. When the news of his
illness reached the Queen, her Majesty directed Sir Charles Phipps
"to say in her name everything to her old, loyal, faithful servant
that could be said of sympathy and sincere regard." "He was," added
Sir Charles, "a very great favourite of her Majesty; and if he still
can listen to such expressions, it may soothe him to hear how deep
is the Queen's feeling for him." After several rallies, it became
evident about noon of the 14th of August that Lord Clyde was sinking
fast; and half an hour later, while his sister, General and Mrs.
Eyre, and his faithful soldier-servant White knelt around him, the
veteran of many battles calmly passed to his rest.
In accordance with Lord Clyde's desire that his funeral should be
devoid of all ostentation, preparations were made for his interment
in Kensal Green Cemetery. But the Government, rightly interpreting
the public feeling and in unison with the ecclesiastical authorities,
held it fitting that a national tribute should be paid to his
memory by according to his remains a grave in Westminster Abbey.
Thither accordingly without ostentation all that was mortal of him
who had died the foremost soldier of England was borne on August
22nd; and with every demonstration of respect from the highest and
noblest of the land and in the presence of a great company of his
friends and followers, Lord Clyde was laid to his rest among the
brother-warriors, the statesmen, and the other illustrious men who
sleep around him. On a plain stone marking his grave is inscribed the
following epitaph:--
BENEATH THIS STONE
REST THE REMAINS OF
COLIN CAMPBELL, LORD CLYDE,
WHO, BY HIS OWN DESERTS,
THROUGH FIFTY YEARS OF ARDUOUS SERVICE
FROM THE EARLIEST BATTLES IN THE PENINSULAR WAR
TO THE PACIFICATION OF INDIA IN 1858,
ROSE TO THE RANK OF FIELD-MARSHAL AND THE PEERAGE.
HE DIED LAMENTED
BY THE QUEEN, THE ARMY, AND THE PEOPLE,
14TH AUGUST 1863,
IN THE 71ST YEAR OF HIS AGE.
THE END
_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Afterwards Sir Harry Jones.
[2] Four battalions; _i.e._ the two forming the right Kazan column,
and the two forming the right Vladimir column.
[3] Now General Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., G.C.B.
[4] _Life of Sir J. Hope Grant_, edited by Colonel H. Knollys, 1894.
[5] _Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny_, by W. Forbes-Mitchell, 1894.
[6] Now Lieutenant-General Traill-Burroughs.
[7] Now Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P., G.C.B., K.C.M.G.
[8] Now General Lord Roberts, V.C., G.C.B., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
[9] Dr. Lowe's _Central India in the Rebellion of 1857-58_.
[10] _My Diary in India_, by William Howard Russell.
[11] Now Lieut.-Gen. Sir C. C. Fraser, V.C., K.C.B.
English Men of Action.
With Portraits. Crown 8vo, Cloth. 2s. 6d. each.
GENERAL GORDON. By Colonel Sir WILLIAM BUTLER.
_SPECTATOR._--"This is beyond all question the best of the narratives
of the career of General Gordon that have yet been published."
HENRY THE FIFTH. By the Rev. A. J. CHURCH.
_SCOTSMAN._--"No page lacks interest; and whether the book is
regarded as a biographical sketch or as a chapter in English military
history it is equally attractive."
LIVINGSTONE. By Mr. THOMAS HUGHES.
_SPECTATOR._--"The volume is an excellent instance of miniature
biography."
LORD LAWRENCE. By Sir RICHARD TEMPLE.
_LEEDS MERCURY._--"A lucid, temperate, and impressive summary."
WELLINGTON. By Mr. GEORGE HOOPER.
_SCOTSMAN._--"The story of the great Duke's life is admirably told by
Mr. Hooper."
DAMPIER. By Mr. W. CLARK RUSSELL.
_ATHENÆUM._--"Mr. Clark Russell's practical knowledge of the sea
enables him to discuss the seafaring life of two centuries ago with
intelligence and vigour. As a commentary on Dampier's voyages this
little book is among the best."
MONK. By Mr. JULIAN CORBETT.
_SATURDAY REVIEW._--"Mr. Corbett indeed gives you the real man."
STRAFFORD. By Mr. H. D. TRAILL.
_ATHENÆUM._--"A clear and accurate summary of Strafford's life,
especially as regards his Irish government."
WARREN HASTINGS. By Sir ALFRED LYALL.
_DAILY NEWS._--"May be pronounced without hesitation as the final and
decisive verdict of history on the conduct and career of Hastings."
PETERBOROUGH. By Mr. W. STEBBING.
_SATURDAY REVIEW._--"An excellent piece of work."
CAPTAIN COOK. By Mr. WALTER BESANT.
_SCOTTISH LEADER._--"It is simply the best and most readable account
of the great navigator yet published."
SIR HENRY HAVELOCK. By Mr. ARCHIBALD FORBES.
_SPEAKER._--"There is no lack of good writing in this book, and the
narrative is sympathetic as well as spirited."
CLIVE. By Colonel Sir CHARLES WILSON.
_TIMES._--"Sir Charles Wilson, whose literary skill is
unquestionable, does ample justice to a great and congenial theme."
SIR CHARLES NAPIER. By Colonel Sir WILLIAM BUTLER.
_DAILY NEWS._--"The 'English Men of Action' series contains no volume
more fascinating, both in matter and in style."
WARWICK, THE KING-MAKER. By Mr. C. W. OMAN.
_GLASGOW HERALD._--"One of the best and most discerning word-pictures
of the Wars of the Two Roses to be found in the whole range of
English literature."
DRAKE. By Mr. JULIAN CORBETT.
_SCOTTISH LEADER._--"Perhaps the most fascinating of all the fifteen
that have so far appeared.... Written really with excellent judgment,
in a breezy and buoyant style."
RODNEY. By Mr. DAVID G. HANNAY.
_TIMES._--"A vivid sketch of one of our great naval heroes."
_SPECTATOR._--"An admirable contribution to an admirable series."
MONTROSE. By Mr. MOWBRAY MORRIS.
_TIMES._--"A singularly vivid, and careful picture of one of the most
romantic figures in Scottish history."
MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON.
Twelve English Statesmen.
EDITED BY JOHN MORLEY.
Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. each.
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. By EDWARD A. FREEMAN, D.C.L., LL.D.
_TIMES._--"Gives with great picturesqueness ... the dramatic
incidents of a memorable career far removed from our times and our
manner of thinking."
HENRY II. By Mrs. J. R. GREEN.
_TIMES._--"It is delightfully real and readable, and in spite of
severe compression has the charm of a mediæval romance."
EDWARD I. By T. F. TOUT, M.A., Professor of History, the Owens
College, Manchester.
_SPEAKER._--"a truer or more life-like picture of the king, the
conqueror, the overlord, the duke, has never yet been drawn."
HENRY VII. By JAMES GAIRDNER.
_ATHENÆUM._--"The best account of Henry VII. that has yet appeared."
CARDINAL WOLSEY. By Bishop CREIGHTON, D.D.
_SATURDAY REVIEW._--"Is exactly what one of a series of short
biographies of English Statesmen ought to be."
ELIZABETH. By E. S. BEESLY, M.A.
_MANCHESTER GUARDIAN._--"It may be recommended as the best and
briefest and most trustworthy of the many books that in this
generation have dealt with the life and deeds of that 'bright
Occidental Star, Queen Elizabeth of happy memory.'"
OLIVER CROMWELL. By FREDERIC HARRISON.
_TIMES._--"Gives a wonderfully vivid picture of events."
WILLIAM III. By H. D. TRAILL.
_SPECTATOR._--"Mr. Traill has done his work well in the limited space
at his command. The narrative portion is clear and vivacious, and his
criticisms, although sometimes trenchant, are substantially just."
WALPOLE. By JOHN MORLEY.
_ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE._--"It deserves to be read, not only as the
work of one of the most prominent politicians of the day, but for
its intrinsic merits. It is a clever, thoughtful, and interesting
biography."
PITT. By Lord ROSEBERY.
_TIMES._--"Brilliant and fascinating.... The style is terse,
masculine, nervous, articulate, and clear; the grasp of circumstance
and character is firm, penetrating, luminous, and unprejudiced; the
judgment is broad, generous, humane, and scrupulously candid.... It
is not only a luminous estimate of Pitt's character and policy, it
is also a brilliant gallery of portraits. The portrait of Fox, for
example, is a masterpiece."
PEEL. By J. R. THURSFIELD, M.A.
_DAILY NEWS._--"A model of what such a book should be. We can give it
no higher praise than to say that it is worthy to rank with Mr. John
Morley's _Walpole_ in the same series."
CHATHAM. By JOHN MORLEY. [_In Preparation._
MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, misspelling in the
text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
For example: midday, mid-day; round-shot, round shot; up country,
up-country; disaccord; troublous; persistency.
Pg 163. 'Goorkhas' replaced by 'Ghoorkas'.
Pg 184. 'proferred' replaced by 'proffered'.
Pg 189. 'Goorariah' replaced by 'Ghorariah'.
Pg 201. 'Madho' replaced by 'Mahdo'.
Pg 203. 'clearance of of' replaced by 'clearance of'.
Pg 219. 'ascendency' replaced by 'ascendancy'.