Part 3
The loss of the regiment was Captain William Semple, killed in the breaching battery on the 25th of August--an excellent officer, whose fall was much regretted; also two serjeants and ten rank and file killed; Major Cuyler, Captain Richardson, Captain Maclaurin, and twenty-three rank and file wounded.
From Baroach the regiment proceeded to Baroda, from whence five hundred rank and file of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, a battalion of Sepoys, some irregular horse, and a battering train, marched to attack the fort of _Powanghur_, situated on a stupendous rock of extraordinary height and of difficult ascent. Arriving before this place on the 14th of September, and the garrison refusing to surrender, the walls were battered until the 17th, when orders were issued to prepare to attack the lower fort by storm. The garrison was intimidated by the knowledge of the fact, that if they defended the breach, their communication with the fort on the top of the mountain would be cut off, and their escape rendered impossible; they therefore surrendered. Thus a fort of great strength by nature and art fell into the hands of the British.
The district of Champaneer, the only territory remaining to Scindia, in the province of Guzerat, had thus been reduced, and annexed to the British dominions. Lieut.-Colonel Murray, of the Eighty-fourth regiment, assumed the command of the troops at Baroda, and advanced towards Scindia’s territories, in the province of Malwa, in quest of Holkar’s forces, but it was found impossible to bring the armed bands of that chieftain to action. On the 18th of October the city and fortress of Godera was taken possession of, the enemy retiring as the British approached. At this place information was received of the victory of Assaye, gained by the troops under Major-General the Hon. Arthur Wellesley, on the 23rd of September, which was followed by the submission of two of the hostile chiefs, Scindia and the Rajah of Berar, leaving Holkar, Canojee, and some minor chiefs in the field.
Leaving Godera, the troops took possession of Balinsanere in the beginning of November; and advanced towards _Lunawarrah_. On the march, the rearguard, consisting of five companies of Sepoys, and some native cavalry, was suddenly attacked, while passing through an extensive jungle, by a numerous body of the enemy in ambush.
The hostile bands did not venture to attack the Europeans of the advance-guard, nor the column, but rushed with great fury upon the native troops in the rear, occasioning the loss of many Sepoys and camp followers, with some baggage, before assistance could arrive from the column. The EIGHTY-SIXTH had several men killed and wounded on this occasion.
Lunawarrah was evacuated by the enemy, and _Dhowd_ was taken, about six weeks afterwards, with little opposition.
In this part of the country, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and other corps, with Lieut.-Colonel Murray, remained about two months[4], watching Holkar, who had power to concentrate an overwhelming force, which rendered vigilance particularly necessary.
[Sidenote: 1804]
On the death of Lieut.-General Grinfield, King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Lieut.-General Sir James Henry Craig, K.B., from the Forty-sixth Foot, by commission dated the 5th of January, 1804.
From Dhowd, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and other corps under Lieut.-Colonel Murray, retired to Godera, and from thence to Jerode, in order to obtain supplies, and protect the province of Guzerat. At this period a dreadful famine raged in the Deccan, and other parts of the country hitherto the seat of war.
After three weeks’ repose at Jerode, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, Sixty-fifth, Sepoys and native cavalry, advanced once more into the province of Malwa, under Lieut.-Colonel Murray, and arrived at Dhowd on the 12th of June, having lost many men from the excessive heat. On the march Major Stuart, of the Sixty-fifth, died and was buried, (9th June,) under the colours of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, on which day twenty-one men of the Sixty-fifth, and eleven of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, died from the effects of the hot winds.
From Dhowd, the troops advanced to Ongein, the capital of Scindia, from whence the EIGHTY-SIXTH, three battalions of Sepoys, a train of artillery, and a body of Scindia’s cavalry, were immediately pushed on to Indore, the capital of Holkar’s dominions, where they arrived on the 14th of August; the city having been evacuated on the previous evening.
From Indore, the flank companies of the regiment, and a battalion of Sepoys, advanced with scaling ladders, under Captain Richardson, twenty miles, to surprise a fort, which was reported to be full of troops and provisions; but when the soldiers scaled the walls, they found the place empty; the enemy having fled a few hours previously.
Having penetrated so far beyond the boundaries of Guzerat, the troops under Lieut.-Colonel Murray found their communication with that country cut off, and Holkar threatening to enter and lay waste the province; their supplies were nearly exhausted; they were in a territory devastated by famine and disease; the rainy season was approaching, and a small force, under Lieut.-Colonel Monson, sent by General Lord Lake to effect a junction with Lieut.-Col. Murray, was pursued by Holkar’s numerous legions, and forced to make a precipitate flight, abandoning its cannon and baggage. Under these circumstances, a sudden advance was made, of two marches, to deceive the enemy, and on the third march the troops faced about and retreated. The rain set in with such violence as to destroy the tents;--the artillery and baggage oxen and camels died in great numbers;--much of the baggage was abandoned;--the soldiers had to drag the guns through the cotton-grounds waist-deep in water;--no cover or shelter for officers or soldiers;--the inhabitants dying in great numbers from famine;--the European soldiers dying also from excessive fatigue, the inclemency of the weather and privation;--the native troops and followers also perishing in great numbers: such were the distressing circumstances under which this retrograde movement was executed, but, by the perseverance of the Europeans, the guns were preserved, and the troops arrived at Ongein, where the Sixty-fifth, EIGHTY-SIXTH, and artillery, were accommodated with a building in the fort. This force had been reduced by its sufferings, from six to three thousand men.
Exertions were made to re-equip this diminished force for the field, and orders being received to advance, it was again in motion in the middle of October, advancing in the direction of Kota and Rhampoorae, and capturing, on the route, the hill fort of _Inglehur_ by escalade, also several other small forts.
The army of Holkar was routed and dispersed by the troops under General Lord Lake; but the war was protracted by the defection of the Rajah of Bhurtpore, and the EIGHTY-SIXTH were destined to transfer their services to the rajah’s dominions.
[Sidenote: 1805]
Reinforcements having arrived from Bombay, Major-General Jones assumed the command, and marched towards the city of _Bhurtpore_, the capital of the hostile rajah’s territory[5]. After a long and harassing march, the troops approached that fortress on the 10th of February, 1805, when a large body of hostile horsemen surrounded the column and impeded its movements across a level country. Half the force was employed in protecting the baggage, and the guns were repeatedly unlimbered, to keep the adverse cavalry at a distance. On the following day, Major-General Jones’s division joined the army before Bhurtpore, and was inspected by Lord Lake, who expressed his satisfaction at the bearing of the troops. The soldiers of the Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH presented a motley appearance: their worn-out uniforms were patched with various colours, or replaced by red cotton jackets; many of the men wore sandals in the place of shoes, and turbans instead of hats; but beneath this outward war-worn appearance, the innate courage of Britons still glowed.
The siege of Bhurtpore had unfortunately been undertaken without a battering train of sufficient weight, and necessary to insure the reduction of so strong a fortress; the siege was, however, persevered in. At three o’clock, on the 20th of February, two hundred and fifty men of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two companies of Sepoys, commanded by Captain Grant, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, stormed an out-work, covering one of the principal gates, with the bayonet, driving the Arabs, who fought with their usual determination, into the city, and capturing eleven brass guns; in which service Lieutenants Lanphier and D’Aguilar distinguished themselves, the former receiving a spear wound in the neck. As the Arabs fled to the gate, Captain Grant followed, in the hope of being able to enter with them, but he found it closed, and, after destroying the fugitives, who were shut out, he retired to the Pettah, to await the result of the other attacks, which did not succeed. While the soldiers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH and Sepoys were dragging the captured guns to the camp, they were attacked by a numerous body of the enemy, who issued from the fortress to retake the guns, but were repulsed by the steady valour of the soldiers. Captain Grant formed a square round the guns, and under a heavy fire from the Fort, succeeded in bringing them to camp; this was the only successful part of this attack. The enemy’s numerous cavalry also attacked the British camp, but were defeated by the troops not engaged in the trenches, or in the assault. Lord Lake commended the determined bravery of the storming party of the EIGHTY-SIXTH in orders, and directed the captured guns to be placed in front of the camp of the regiment,--a mark of distinction highly prized by the corps, and by the Bombay division of the army to which they belonged.
At three o’clock on the following day, the flank companies of the Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH, supported by the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth regiments, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Monson, stormed a large and high bastion. After passing the ditch, the forlorn hope was destroyed in attempting to ascend the breach, which was extremely steep, and knee-deep in mud and loose stones. Every effort was made, the men climbing over the dead bodies of their comrades, and struggling to gain the rampart, but in vain. Some strove to climb by the shot holes made by the British guns, and others drove their bayonets into the mud walls to ascend by, while the enemy above hurled large stones, logs of timber, packs of flaming oiled cotton, and jars filled with combustibles, upon their heads, with a terrible destruction; the killed and wounded lay by hundreds, crushed beneath the falling timbers, or burning under the flaming oiled cloth, when Lieut.-Colonel Monson, seeing the impossibility of succeeding, ordered the survivors to return to the camp.
In the two attacks, the EIGHTY-SIXTH had two serjeants and twenty-three rank and file killed; Captain Moreton, Lieutenants Travers, Baird, Lanphier, D’Aguilar, one serjeant, one drummer, and seventy-three rank and file wounded. A great number of the wounded soldiers died. Lieutenant Baird received five wounds; Lieutenant Lanphier was wounded on each day; this officer and Lieutenant D’Aguilar distinguished themselves on both occasions. Serjeant George Ibertson was commended in regimental orders for his conduct at the breach, and Corporal Crawford was rewarded with the rank of serjeant, for his behaviour on this occasion.
The capture of Bhurtpore without additional means, being found impracticable, the British withdrew from before that fortress, and proceeded to Dhoolpore; negotiations for peace having been concluded, the army was broken up in May; the Bengal troops proceeding to Muttra, and the Bombay division to Tonk, where they remained during the monsoon in huts.
After the rainy season, the Bombay force commenced its march, proceeding through the territories of the Rajah of Jeypore, in pursuit of the forces of Holkar, who was still in the field. Having been chased to the banks of the Hyphasis river, on the borders of the great desert, the Mahratta chieftain was forced to submit, and the war was terminated by a treaty of peace[6].
In orders dated Riapoora Ghaut, on the left bank of the Hyphasis, 13th December, 1805, General Lord Lake returned thanks to Major-General Jones, the officers, and soldiers, of the division of the army from Bombay, for the important services rendered by them during the war; and, alluding to the period they had been under his immediate command, added, “His Lordship has been proud to witness, on every occasion on which they have been employed, the steady conduct and gallantry in action of all the troops composing the division.”
[Sidenote: 1806]
From the banks of the Hyphasis, near the spot where Alexander the Great crossed that river when he invaded India, the regiment commenced its march for Bombay, where it arrived on the 29th of March, 1806, and embarking for Goa, landed on the rock of Aguada on the 3rd of April, after a most active and harassing service of more than five years, during which period it had sailed up the Red Sea, crossed the desert twice, served a campaign in Egypt, traversed the north and western provinces of India from Bombay to Bhurtpore, and received the thanks of Lord Lake on the banks of the Hyphasis; having sustained a loss of Lieut.-Colonel Robinson, Captains Maclaurin and Macquarrie, Lieutenants Harvey, Price, and Wilson, Ensigns Massey, Ellison, McKay, Leovick, and upwards of a thousand non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
In October of this year, Lieutenant-General Craig, K.B., was removed to the Twenty-second Foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the _Eighty-sixth_ by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Ross, Baronet, from the Eighty-fifth regiment.
At Goa, the regiment was joined by a detachment, consisting of Lieutenant Michael Creagh, Ensigns Blackall, Hillhouse, Paymaster Cope, and thirty non-commissioned officers and soldiers. This detachment was employed under Major-General Sir David Baird, at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, in January, 1806, when Lieutenant Creagh was wounded. The strength of the regiment was also augmented with two hundred and thirteen volunteers from the Seventy-seventh, on that corps embarking from England.
In this year, His Majesty was pleased to change the designation of the corps to the “EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR LEINSTER REGIMENT OF FOOT.”
Lieut.-Colonel Hastings Fraser, having arrived in India, overland from Europe, assumed the command, and Major Cuyler embarked for England.
[Sidenote: 1808]
In February, 1808, Captain John Grant obtained permission to return to England, when it was stated in general orders,--“The Honourable the Governor in Council cannot allow Captain Grant to depart, without being accompanied by this testimonial to the credit which that meritorious officer has done to the British arms, during his service in India, at the siege of Baroda, the capture of the important fortress of Baroach and Powanghur, and particularly in the arduous and successful attack of the column which Captain Grant commanded on the 20th of February, 1805, at the siege of Bhurtpore, on which occasion, he most gallantly carried the enemy’s post, and captured the whole of their guns, being eleven in number, &c., &c., &c.”
[Sidenote: 1809]
Orders having been received for the removal of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, to form part of a field force to be assembled in the Presidency of Madras, the following declaration was issued by the Viceroy and Captain-General of the Portuguese possessions in Asia, dated Palace of Panjam, 16th August, 1809.
“On the departure of His Britannic Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment from Goa, His Excellency the Viceroy and Captain-General of the Portuguese possessions in Asia avails himself of the opportunity to express his sentiments of praise and admiration of the regular order and conduct which Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, the officers and soldiers of that corps, have so honourably observed during a period of three years, which they have been employed in the territories subject to his authority, so highly creditable to the discipline of that corps.
“His Excellency the Viceroy will never forget the invariable harmony which has always subsisted between the subjects of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal and all ranks of His Britannic Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment, whose remembrance will be always grateful to him; and he doubts not they will continue to acquire, in whatever part of the world their services may be called for, glorious claims on the rewards of their Sovereign, and the admiration of their country.”
Leaving Goa, the regiment proceeded in boats up the river to Candiaparr, from whence it ascended the ghauts. The monsoon having set in, the men suffered much from the incessant rains and inundations, and after a long march through the Mahratta territories, arrived at Bellary, on the 15th of September. The second battalion of the First or the Royals, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two battalions of Sepoys formed the first brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, to which Lieutenant Michael Creagh was appointed brigade-major. A large force assembled under Colonel Conran, of the Royals, but the native troops, against which it was prepared to act, returned to their duty; when the EIGHTY-SIXTH garrisoned Bellary and Gooty. Captain James Burke, and many non-commissioned officers and soldiers, died from the effects of the fatigues they had undergone. Soon afterwards, the regiment returned to Goa.
[Sidenote: 1810]
After a few weeks’ repose, the regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the French island of _Bourbon_; it embarked on the 5th of March, 1810, and sailed on the following day. On entering Cannonore harbour, one transport struck on a rock, and was lost. After calling at Quillon and Point de Galle, for water and provisions, the fleet sailed for Madras, where the regiment landed on the 13th of April, and encamped at St. Thomas’ Mount. From Madras, the expedition sailed under the command of Colonel Fraser, consisting of the Sixty-ninth and EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiments, Sixth and Twelfth Madras Native Infantry, &c., &c., &c., and on arrival at the Island of Roderiguez, Lieut.-Colonel Keating, of the Fifty-sixth Regiment, assumed the command, having with him a detachment of the Fifty-sixth, and some Bombay Sepoys. The land force was divided into three brigades; the first brigade was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Hastings Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with Lieutenant Michael Creagh, brigade-major; and the second brigade was under Lieut.-Colonel Drummond, of the same corps, with Lieutenant Richardson, brigade-major.
The van of the expedition, consisting of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, one hundred and eighty rank and file of the Sixth Madras Native Infantry, a small detachment of artillery, and fifty pioneers, under Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with difficulty effected a landing at Grand Chaloupe, about one o’clock on the 7th of July. On gaining the shore, the light company of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, under Lieutenant Archibald McLean, supported by the grenadiers under Captain Lanphier, dashed forward to drive back parties of the enemy’s riflemen, who kept up a harassing fire, and to secure possession of the heights; which service was performed with great gallantry. The other part of the regiment having landed, pressed forward to the heights above _St. Denis_, and, as the sun was setting, approached to within range of the enemy’s batteries. The violence of the surf had become so great that the other divisions could not land, and the EIGHTY-SIXTH, in consequence, fell back to the heights, where they were joined during the night, by the Sepoys, pioneers, and artillery, with one 4½ inch howitzer.
At four o’clock on the morning of the 8th of July, the EIGHTY-SIXTH commenced descending the mountain, leaving the Sepoys on the summit to defend the rear; their advance-guard was soon discovered by the enemy’s post, and at day-light the regiment was assailed by a heavy fire of cannon, mortars, and musketry; at the same time some of the enemy’s riflemen attempted to gain the road on its right. The light company, supported by the grenadiers, and followed by the regiment, descended the mountain at a running pace. Two columns of the enemy, having each a field-piece, and being supported by the heavy guns of the redoubt, opened a sharp fire of grape and musketry; but, as the EIGHTY-SIXTH arrived on the plain, they closed on their adversaries with the bayonet. This spirited conduct decided the contest; the opposing ranks, unable to withstand the shock of steel, faced about and fled. Their commandant, M. de St. Luzanne, escaped with difficulty, and their second in command was wounded and taken prisoner by Captain Lanphier.
The enemy attempted to re-form behind the parapet of the redoubt, but they were pressed so closely by the grenadiers, that they abandoned it, leaving a brass six-pounder behind, which was immediately turned against themselves. The haulyards of the flag-staff in the redoubt were shot away, but Corporal William Hall, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, climbed the staff under an incessant fire of round-shot and musketry, and fixed the King’s colour of the regiment to it. The French soldiers viewed this daring feat with admiration, and as he descended the staff unhurt, they raised a loud shout; at the same time, the seamen of the fleet off the shore, who had witnessed the gallant charge, hailed the well-known flag of the regiment which waved on the redoubt by a loud huzza, which ran from ship to ship as they passed; at the same time the grenadiers of the regiment stormed two batteries, capturing nine twenty-four-pounders, a twelve-inch mortar, and a furnace of red-hot shot.
The position seized was held by the regiment, the guns of the captured redoubt answering the incessant fire of the enemy, until the arrival of additional troops. At four o’clock the enemy attempted to retake the redoubt, but were repulsed with the loss of their commanding officer, who was taken prisoner. About this time Lieut.-Colonel Drummond’s brigade arrived, and the enemy sent out a flag of truce; Lieut.-Colonel Keating having joined, the surrender of the island of Bourbon to the British arms was concluded by him.
Colonel Fraser stated in his despatch, “I cannot conclude without requesting permission to offer my humble tribute of praise to the noble spirit which animated every individual of my detachment; from Major Edwards,[7] who commanded the regiment, I received the greatest assistance; Captain Lanphier, Lieutenant Archibald McLean, and every officer and soldier of the corps, displayed the most ardent valour, which must have been conspicuous to the whole force off the coast, who witnessed their conduct.” “To Lieutenant Creagh, my brigade-major, I was highly indebted for his unremitted exertions and attention to the duties of his station, from the beginning of the service I was sent on, to the moment when he was struck by a cannon ball, while he was in the act of encouraging our artillerymen in the redoubt, which, I fear, will deprive his Sovereign and his country of the services of a most promising officer.”
The loss of the regiment on this occasion was Lieutenant John Graham Munro[8], of the grenadier company, killed during the charge; Major Edwards, (commanding the regiment,) Captain Lanphier, Lieutenants Michael Creagh, (brigade-major,) Archibald McLean, Blackhall, Webb, and White, wounded; also three serjeants, two drummers, and seventy-five rank and file killed and wounded.