Part 17

The Highland brigade, after the capture of Lucknow, was engaged in assisting to stamp out the rebellion in the province of Rohilcund, and to that end were employed in Brigadier Walpole's force, which marched from Lucknow with the object of advancing upon the district from one point while Brigadier John Jones advanced from Roorkee. In Walpole's advance he called upon the Rajah in possession of the jungle fort of Rhooyah to surrender the place, and on his refusal ordered four companies of the "Black Watch" to advance without protection or cover against the strongest face of the fort, from which, after gallantly remaining in an exposed position for six hours, they ultimately retired, but not before Brigadier Adrian Jones of the 93rd, Lieutenants Douglas and Bramley of the 42nd, and Lieutenant Willoughby of the Punjabis had been killed, also a sergeant and 6 privates of the 42nd, a lieutenant, 3 sergeants, and 34 privates wounded, in an affair that, but for the want of spirit on the part of the commander, might have been settled in a few minutes by a bayonet charge into the mud fort! Next day the place was found to be deserted, and after burying their dead the British marched in pursuit of the mutineers, whom they caught up and defeated at Allahgunge.

=Three V.C.'s won by 42nd.=--In this unfortunate affair Quartermaster-Sergeant Simpson of the 42nd gained the V.C. for bravely going back and rescuing an officer and a private who lay dangerously wounded. Private Davis of the 42nd was also awarded the coveted distinction for going up to the very walls of the fort and rescuing the body of Lieutenant Bramley. Lance-Corporal Alex Thompson of the 42nd also received the Cross for assisting Major-General W. M. Cafe to bear away, under a heavy fire, the body of Lieutenant Willoughby, and going to the rescue of Private Spence, who had been mortally wounded in the same effort.

=The Occupation of Bareilly.=--The advance on Bareilly was begun on April 28th, and on May 5th the army came up with the rebels on the plains to the east of the fort, where after a fight lasting four hours, the mutineers were compelled to retreat, and the city of Bareilly was occupied with little opposition. In the contest on the plains the "Black Watch" particularly distinguished itself when a body of Ghazis, Mussulman fanatics, charging down with mad fury upon the column forced the 4th Punjabis back on the 42nd. The charge of the Ghazis was described by Sir Colin Campbell as "the most determined effort he had seen during the war," but it was coolly met by the Scots, and in the hand-to-hand fight which ensued between them and the Ghazis the latter were speedily exterminated. During this bloody episode Sergeant Gardiner of the 42nd gained the V.C. by killing two fanatics with his bayonet, and saving Colonel Cameron, who was dragged from his horse by four of them, and was in danger of being killed. In this struggle the famous _Times_ correspondent, W. H. Russell, would have been killed but for the timely intervention of Sergeant Forbes-Mitchell of the 93rd, who shot the attacking rebel. The back of the mutiny being broken the Highland brigade was ordered to encamp at Bareilly, where the last serious fight had been made by the mutineers. Parties of them, however, continued to give trouble for some time, and in a sharp encounter at Maylah Ghaut, on the banks of the Sarda, where on January 15th, 1859, Captain Lawson and 37 men of the "Black Watch" kept at bay 2,000 rebels from sunrise to sunset, and still further added to the roll of honour of the 42nd by Privates W. Cook and D. Millar earning the V.C. by going to the front and directing their company when their officers had been shot down.

The mutiny was now crushed, thanks to the bravery and endurance of the European soldiers, and the staunch conduct of those Indian troops who, with their Princes, remained true to Britain. The gallant Sir Colin Campbell at last received something like due reward for his services to his country by being raised to the peerage as Lord Clyde. The Honourable East India Company ceasing to exist, the Government of India was transferred to the Crown by the India Act of 1858, and the government of the country vested in a Viceroy and Council, the last Governor-General under the old order becoming the first Viceroy of our Indian Empire.

The following British regiments took part in the war: 5th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 23rd, 32nd, 34th, 38th, 42nd, 52nd, 53rd, 60th, 61st, 64th, 71st, 72nd, 75th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 86th, 88th, 90th, 93rd, 95th, 97th, 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers (now 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers), 102nd Royal Madras (now 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers), 104th Bengal Fusiliers (now 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers), 108th Madras (now 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers); Rifle Brigade; 7th, 8th, and 14th Hussars; 9th and 12th Lancers.

The medal was also granted to a naval brigade from the "Pearl" and "Shannon" (see Naval Section).

=The Mutiny Medal.=--This medal (1⅖ in. in diameter) was granted by a General Order of the Indian Government to those in the service of Her Majesty, and of the H.E.I. Co., the men who composed the naval brigade, and to all persons not in the military service who were employed in the suppression of the mutiny. By a General Order, May 19th, 1859, a clasp for DELHI was granted to those employed in the operations against and at the assault of Delhi from May 30th to September 14th, 1857. A clasp for the DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW was granted to all the original garrison under Major-General Sir John Inglis (who had succeeded to the command after the death of Sir Henry Lawrence) and to those who succoured them and continued the defence under Major-Generals Havelock and Outram, until relieved by Sir Colin Campbell, from June 29th to September 25th, 1857. A clasp for the RELIEF OF LUCKNOW was awarded to those who, under Havelock, had for nine weeks striven to succour the beleaguered garrison. Outram joined him on September 16th, and on the 25th they clambered through the battered gun embrasure beside the Baillie Guard at Lucknow. The members of the force under Generals Havelock and Outram were awarded this clasp. A clasp for LUCKNOW was granted to all the troops engaged in the several operations against Lucknow under the immediate command of Sir Colin Campbell in November 1857 and March 1858. A clasp for CENTRAL INDIA was granted to the troops of the column under Major-General Sir Hugh Rose engaged in the operations against Jhansi, Kalpee, and Gwalior, and also to the troops under the command of Major-Generals Roberts and Whitlock. Subsequently, by a general order, May 3rd, 1860, the troops employed at and prior to the battle of Banda and siege of Kotah were held entitled to the clasp for Central India, but those of either of the columns commanded by Major-Generals Roberts and Whitlock, who were employed in the subsequent minor engagements, were considered to have a claim to the medal only. On August 21st, 1860, it was notified that the few officers and soldiers who may have been present in the actions in which the Malwa Force was engaged under Brigadier Stuart, but who, from the consequence of wounds received in action or other causes, were prevented from accompanying the force on its junction with Sir Hugh Rose, were entitled to receive the bar for Central India. A General Order, dated January 10th, 1860, stated "that a clasp for the Relief of Lucknow was granted to the troops engaged in the operations against that city under the immediate command of Lord Clyde in November, 1857."

It is noteworthy that the infantry did not receive more than two bars, and that it was impossible for any participant in the war to obtain more than four, and very few received as many. This is a very striking medal, a very dignified figure of Britannia being represented on the reverse holding a wreath in the outstretched right hand, and an oval shield with the Union Jack thereon on the left arm, which also holds a laurel wreath; INDIA is arranged above following the line of the medal, and ~1857-58~ in the exergue. The obverse bears the same head of Queen Victoria as the Military General Service medal. The names were impressed on the edge in capital Roman letters, and the suspender and fishtail bars are of the same kind as those used with the China medal of 1857. The ribbon, which is 1¼ in. wide, consists of scarlet and white stripes arranged alternately, three of white and two of red. This was the last medal issued by the H.E.I. Co., and it might be said almost the last of the classic medals (L. C. Wyon modelled the reverse).

=Reissues of Earlier Medals.=--On January 21st, 1859, the Government of India sanctioned the reissue of medals gratis to all officers and men who had lost their decorations through the mutiny. This is an important fact to remember when considering war medals issued prior to the mutiny, as reissues are not generally considered as valuable as originals.

SECOND CHINESE WAR

=Fatshan, 1857.=--The seizure by the Chinese of a small trading-vessel, the "Arrow," led to the second Chinese War, the first stages of which were confined to operations by seamen and marines under Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, who, attacking the Chinese fleet in Fatshan Creek with 11 gunboats and about 50 ships' boats from the fleet, defeated the enemy's fleet of 80 junks armed with 800 guns, and manned by 6,000 seamen; only 3 of the junks escaped destruction.

=Canton, 1857.=--Having defeated the fleet, it was considered that there was little chance of obtaining satisfaction without resort to arms, and a force of 5,000 men was dispatched to the Far East, but the mutiny breaking out they were diverted to India. The 59th Regiment, however, was on the China station, and with a body of marines took part in the bombardment and storm of Canton on December 29th, 1857, and the blockade of the fort until some semblance of satisfaction had been obtained. With the deportation of the late Imperial Commissioner Yeh to India the possibility of a satisfactory treaty was imminent, and when the treaty of Tientsin was signed, on June 26th, 1858, it was hoped that peace was assured.

=Taku Forts, 1860.=--The signature of a treaty was one thing, the ratification another; and when the British Envoy was proceeding up the Peiho River, in order to obtain the ratification, the forts at the mouth of the river opened fire upon the ships accompanying him, and they had to retire. It was therefore determined to achieve by force of arms what diplomacy had failed to do. An army of 10,000 British troops, and a force of 7,000 French, were organised to take the offensive against the Celestials. The British were under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Hope Grant, and the French under General de Montaubon, a "beau sabreur." At the end of July 1860 the British and French fleets were ready, and on August 1st the allied troops were disembarked a couple of thousand yards from the Pehtang Forts in the Gulf of Pecheli, and they marched towards Sin-ho, where a battle was fought in which the new Armstrong guns were used in warfare for the first time. In this battle the allies outnumbered the enemy by two to one, and their steadfastness in the face of the most modern artillery and seasoned troops called forth the praise of General Sir Robert Napier, who stated that the enemy "had behaved with courageous endurance." After another engagement on the following day, and the rout of the enemy, the way was clear to attack the Taku Forts. The northern forts were assailed on land and bombarded from the sea on August 21st; the assault was made difficult by an arrangement of spiked bamboo stakes that had been planted over a space 20 feet wide, and while the allies were gingerly creeping over it missiles of all kinds were hurled at them. Ultimately the walls were reached, and a daring French soldier planted the tricolour on the parapet, only to fall dead with the cry of victory on his lips. Lieutenant Rogers of the 44th and Ensign Chaplin of the 67th were more fortunate, and the Queen's colours were firmly fixed over the fort. In their retreat from the first northern fort the unfortunate Chinamen had to cross the ground they had so ingeniously staked out as an obstacle for their enemy, and were spitted on their own stakes. The fall of the first fort advised the commander of the second fort that opposition was useless, and he hoisted a white flag; later the troops took possession of it, and then the southern forts were likewise surrendered, and the capture of the Taku Forts effected with the loss to the British force of 67 rank and file killed, and 22 officers and 161 men wounded; and to the French of 30 killed, and about 100 wounded. The Chinese are said to have had at least 2,000 killed.

=Pekin, 1860.=--The Buffs were left to garrison Taku, and the 44th Shanghai, which was threatened by the Taiping rebels, while the army marched on to Tientsin, from which on September 8th the 1st Division and about half the French force set out on the advance to Pekin. At Changdia-wan there was a sharp skirmish, and the enemy abandoned their entrenchments with 74 guns, and offered to sign a convention. Mr. (afterwards Sir Harry) Parkes, Lord Elgin's secretary, together with four officers and an escort, set out to arrange preliminaries, but were treacherously taken prisoners, and all the officials, with the exception of Mr. Parkes, barbarously murdered. Sir Hope Grant then prepared to meet the Chinese attack, and in the action which was fought at Chow-ho the Chinese were put to rout, and a great number cut down in the pursuit by the Dragoons and Probyn's Horse. The allies then advanced on Pekin, and the French army occupied the Summer Palace of Yuan-ming-Yuan. At the Bridge of Palichaio a last desperate effort was made by the Chinese Imperial Guard, but the vigorous French attack drove them back with the loss of 25 guns, and gained for General Montauban the title of Comte de Paliko.

On October 7th the enemy was informed that unless the prisoners were restored and one of the gates of the city given up to the allies, the city would be stormed. The Chinese agreed to this, and the Au-ting gate of the city was occupied without opposition by 200 British and French troops on October 13th. It was found, however, that twenty of Mr. Parkes' party had succumbed to the terrible treatment of their Chinese captors, and Lord Elgin having given his word to spare the city if it were surrendered, ordered the Summer Palace, where the atrocities had been committed, to be razed to the ground. The Summer Palace consisted of thirty buildings in grounds extending for about 6 miles, and although the troops set to work with a will to burn--and to plunder--it took two days to destroy the buildings by fire. Of the loot of the Summer Palace at Pekin many fabulous stories have been told, but there can be no doubt that in this wilful destruction of the palace, and the indiscriminate dispersal of its valued contents, gems of art and wonderful pieces of jewellery and goldsmith's work were annexed by men who had not the faintest notion of their exceeding value. It is said that a French officer found a string of beautiful pearls, each about the size of a small marble, and sold it for £3,000! The loot taken by the British troops, such as was given up, was sold at public auction by order of Sir Hope Grant, and it is recorded the share of each private soldier was not less than £4 sterling. The city of Pekin was then occupied by the allies, and, the Chinese having agreed to cede the island of Kowloon, opposite Hong Kong, to Britain, to make Tientsin an open port, and to pay an indemnity of £100,000 to the relatives of the murdered men, the war was concluded.

The following regiments were engaged: 1st, 2nd, 1st Batt. 3rd, 31st, 44th, 59th, 60th, 67th, 99th; Royal Artillery; Sappers and Miners, and two squadrons 1st Dragoon Guards; 11th and 19th Bengal Lancers; 20th and 23rd Bengal Cavalry.

=The China Medal, 1857-60.=--This medal was granted on February 28th, 1861, to commemorate the successes of Her Majesty's British and Indian forces, both naval and military, employed in the operations in China which terminated in the capture of Canton on December 29th, 1857, and in the operations which terminated in the capture of the city of Pekin. The bars issued with the medal were, CHINA 1842 to those who had been in the first war; CANTON 1857, TAKU FORTS 1858, TAKU FORTS 1860, PEKIN 1860, and FATSHAN 1857 to seamen and marines only. The medal, which is the same size and design as that issued for 1842, but with the date left out on the reverse, is affixed to an ornamental clasp for suspension; the ribbon is also the same, and the names of the recipients, their regiments and rank, are impressed on the edge in Roman capitals. The medals given to the navy were mostly issued unnamed, with the exception of those awarded to the Indian navy, and sometimes those to the marines. The suspender and bars of this medal are of the same pattern as those used with the "Mutiny Medal." A bar, or bars only, was granted for the second China War, 1857-60, to be affixed to the medal of those who had also served in the first China War, 1842, but such specimens are of the greatest rarity.

The medal given with the two bars TAKU FORTS 1860 and PEKIN 1860 to the 1st Dragoon Guards is rare, as only two squadrons of the regiment were present, no other British cavalry being engaged, and because of the brilliant action of the men on September 21st in riding at "a very ugly place," and scattering the Tartar cavalry. Lord Cheylesmore has in his collection the only five-bar medal issued for the war; it was awarded to a gunner in the Royal Marine Artillery, and has the bars for FATSHAN 1857, CANTON 1857, TAKU FORTS 1858, TAKU FORTS 1860, and PEKIN 1860.

NEW ZEALAND, 1860-6

War again broke out in New Zealand in 1860, and so serious did it become that at one time as many as 10,000 regulars and 15,000 colonials were under arms. At Taranaki, on June 13th, the Maoris were defeated, and again at Mahoetaki on November 6th. In order to protect New Plymouth, or the Taranaki district, a chain of redoubts was built, and from one of these, on the Waitara River, a little party of men of the 40th Regiment moved out to locate the Maories known to be in the bush. Directly they entered it a number were killed and wounded by the fire of the hidden enemy, and in a very short time hardly a man was unhurt. In this unfortunate affair, on March 18th, 1861, Sergeant Lucas gained the V.C. for his heroic conduct in assisting Lieutenant Rees, who had been wounded, into cover, and, although himself wounded, remaining at his post under a galling fire. Next day the Maoris surrendered, and for a short spell peace was restored.

In 1863 war again broke out. The Maoris in the North Island had elected a young, characterless man as King, and established a capital at Ngaruawahia, near the junction of the Waikoto and Waipa Rivers. British law was defied, and when the supporters of the weak and pliant "King" had interfered in a dispute affecting Europeans and Maoris, it became necessary to take strong measures. Lieutenant-General Sir Duncan A. Cameron, learning that the Waikoto tribe had planned to invade Auckland, advanced into the wild country north of the Waikoto River, where at Kohera, above the Mangatawari Creek, the rebels had taken up a strongly fortified position. Attacking them on July 12th, 1863, Cameron drove them out and into the swamps, but owing to difficulties in transport was unable to follow up his success. An instance of the chivalry which characterised the brave Maori warriors throughout the war may here be mentioned; the Maoris at Meri-Meri, hearing a rumour that Cameron and his men were short of food, sent a little fleet of canoes under a flag of truce with potatoes and milch goats for their enemy. When he was able to move, Cameron set out to attack Meri-Meri, but on his arrival he discovered that the Maoris had retired southwards across country, whither, owing to the condition of the land caused by the heavy rains, they could not be followed. Cameron pushed on up the river, and at Rangireri attacked the strongly fortified Pah on November 20th; but owing to the assault being made before the artillery had completed its work, the troops, after their repeated assaults, were only partially successful, and during which 6 officers were killed and 9 wounded, and 120 men killed and wounded. At night a number of the enemy escaped from the Pah, and the remnant of 183 surrendered at daybreak.

=Four V.C.'s in 1863.=--In this fight about 50 artillerymen, armed with swords and revolvers, led by Colonel Mercer, made a brave effort to enter the Pah, but the Colonel was mortally wounded and the gunners had to retire: brave efforts were made by some of his men to rescue him, and Surgeon Temple of the artillery well earned his V.C. for dressing the dying man's wound while the bullets showered around him. Prior to this, Sergeant McKenna of the 65th had gained the V.C. for his coolness and excellent handling of a small detachment of men after the officers had been mortally wounded near Cameron Town on September 8th, and Ensign Donn and Drummer Stagpoole of the 57th had won theirs by a very gallant action in bringing in a wounded man under a heavy fire at Pontoko, on October 2nd. On December 9th General Cameron occupied Ngaruawahia and the Maori "King" surrendered.

=The "Gate Pah."=--On February 21st, 1864, Rangiawahia was taken, and on March 31st Orakau was invested by a force under Major-General Carey, and captured on April 2nd. Sixteen officers and men were killed and 52 wounded in this engagement. The Maoris then fortified Tauranga, which, on April 29th, after the artillery had played on the place for several hours, a party of the 43rd and about 150 seamen and marines stormed, and thinking the enemy had deserted the Pah, took little precautions for their own safety. The Maoris, however, breaking from the inner entrenchments, mortally wounded the officers, and the storming party, which had entered the "Gate Pah" with ringing cheers, poured out again in confusion. The Pah was evacuated during the night. The "Fighting 43rd" lost 7 officers killed and mortally wounded, and 97 men killed or wounded, the naval brigade losing its Commander, also 4 officers and 40 seamen and marines killed or wounded. In the assault on the Gate Pah Samuel Mitchell, Captain of the Foretop of H.M.S. "Harrier," gained the Victoria Cross for refusing to leave Commander Hay when ordered by him to do so, and, under a shower of bullets, carrying him in his arms out of the Pah. Surgeon Mauley of the R.A. also earned the V.C. for his gallantry in succouring the dying Commander and the wounded generally under the most dangerous circumstances.

On June 21st the 43rd and a detachment of the 68th marched against the Maoris at a Pah they had started to fortify at Te Ranga. After a short but stubborn fight the enemy was worsted and routed, among the killed being the chief, Rawhiwi, who had led the Maoris at the Gate Pah. In this affair Sergeant J. Murray of the 68th gained the V.C. for his bravery in charging one of the enemy's rifle pits and, singlehanded, killing or wounding the eight or ten men who occupied it.