VI. INDIA, 1774-1799…

VI. INDIA, 1774-1799

Rohilcund, 1774--Carnatic--Guzerat, 1778-1782--Sholinghur, 1781--Mangalore, 1783--Mysore--Nundy Droog, 1791--Rohilcund, 1794--Seedaseer, 1799--Seringapatam, 1799.

ROHILCUND, 1774.

This honorary distinction was awarded to the 2nd European Regiment of the Bengal army for its services in the campaign undertaken in that year to defend our ally, the King of Oude, against the incursions of the Mahrattas. It is now borne by the Royal Munster Fusiliers.

The campaign of 1774 was under the personal command of Colonel Champion, the Commander-in-Chief in Bengal. There was a good deal of hard work, of privations little to be understood by the soldier who serves in India in these days, and more than one sharp skirmish. The principal engagement was that fought at Kutra, in the near neighbourhood of Bareilly, on St. George's Day (April 23), 1774, long known in India as St. George's Battle. Colonel Champion had with him the 2nd Bengal European Regiment (now the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers) and six battalions of native infantry. Unfortunately, no representatives of these remain to bear the honour on their standards.

Our casualties amounted to 2 officers and 37 men killed, 7 officers and 93 men wounded. Immense booty was captured, and in the distribution of this, officers and men benefited largely, the respective shares being: Colonels, £1,900; Lieutenant-Colonels, £1,600; Majors, £1,300; Captains, £685; subalterns, £343; cadets, £100; sergeants, £6; privates, £4; Subadars, 131 rupees; Jemidars, 65 rupees; havildars, 40 rupees; sepoys, 35 rupees.

THE CARNATIC.

This honour has been awarded to the following regiments:

Highland Light Infantry. Royal Munster Fusiliers. Seaforth Highlanders. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 27th Light Cavalry. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 61st Pioneers. 62nd Punjabis. 63rd Light Infantry. 64th Pioneers. 66th Punjabis. 67th Punjabis. 69th Punjabis. 72nd Punjabis. 73rd Carnatic Infantry. 74th Punjabis. 75th Carnatic Infantry. 76th Punjabis. 79th Carnatic Infantry. 80th Carnatic Infantry.

It records their services in repelling the invasion of the Carnatic by Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, and covers all the operations undertaken against him up to the invasion of Mysore by the army under Lord Cornwallis in 1791.

The renewal of the war with France in 1788 found Sir Hector Munro, the victor of Buxar, Commander-in-Chief at Madras. It now became necessary to reoccupy the fortified positions which we had captured during the previous war with the expenditure of many lives, and which had been restored to France on the conclusion of peace. Although subsequent to the battle at Wandewash Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, had entered into a treaty with us, it was well known that he had a striking predilection for the French; and on the resumption of the war between France and England he openly espoused the cause of our enemies, and prepared to invade the Carnatic at the head of his troops. The Mysorean army was by no means contemptible. It was partly trained on the European model, and numbered little short of 100,000 men, of whom 25,000 were cavalry, and it included a battalion of French troops. Munro's first care was to prevent Hyder Ali receiving assistance from France, and he at once took measures to seize the sea-ports of Mahé and Pondicherry. In the defence of the former some of Hyder Ali's troops took an active part, and the place made a gallant defence before it surrendered. Sir Hector Munro undertook the reduction of Pondicherry in person, but the garrison, anticipating the arrival of a French fleet, made a most stubborn defence; and it was not until the middle of October, after a siege lasting over two months, that the British flag flew over its walls, our losses during these operations amounting to upwards of 800 of all ranks, British as well as native, killed and wounded.[6]

When Hyder Ali, in June, 1779, actually crossed the frontier, our forces were much dispersed. Braithwaite, with 1,500 men, held Pondicherry; Colonel Baillie, with 3,000, was at Guntoor, on the Kistnah River; Colonel Cosby, with 2,000 native troops, was at Trichinopoly; and Munro, with barely 5,000 men, at Madras. Braithwaite and Baillie were immediately called in to strengthen the Commander-in-Chief, whilst Colonel Cosby was ordered to threaten Hyder Ali's line of communication. Wandewash, an important strategical point on the Mysorean line of advance, was held by a gallant young subaltern, Lieutenant Flint, with 200 sepoys, aided by one single sergeant of the line. From August 11, 1780, until January 22, 1781, this little band of heroes withstood assault after assault, holding Hyder Ali's besieging force at bay until relieved by Eyre Coote. The story of that siege has yet to be written. Flint improvised his own artillery, made his own powder, infused his own cheerful daring into the breasts of his sepoys, and died unhonoured and unsung. There were, unfortunately, grievous disasters to counterbalance this gallant achievement. Hyder Ali threw himself on Baillie's force before it effected its junction with Munro, practically annihilating it, the survivors, including fifty English officers (amongst them Captain, afterwards Sir David, Baird, of the 71st), being sent as prisoners to Seringapatam.

Whenever our fortunes in India have been at their lowest ebb we have, fortunately, had men at hand to retrieve them. The "man on the spot," unhampered from "home," has rarely failed us. In 1781 Warren Hastings was Governor-General, Eyre Coote Commander-in-Chief at Calcutta. On hearing of Baillie's disaster and of Munro's indecision, Warren Hastings despatched Eyre Coote to Madras armed with full powers (suspending both Munro, the Commander-in-Chief, and Whitehill, the Governor, from their functions). Coote had at his disposal barely 8,000 men--the 71st (Highland Light Infantry), 1st Bengal, and 1st Madras European Regiments, some 1,600 men in all, with six sepoy battalions and three regiments of native cavalry. Munro, a gallant leader of men, but no General, at once put himself under Coote's orders, and was entrusted with the command of a brigade composed of the three British regiments. James Stuart, who had commanded the 90th Light Infantry at Martinique and Havana, and who had subsequently entered the Company's service, being placed in command of the sepoy battalions. On July 1, 1781, Coote inflicted his first defeat on Hyder Ali at the Battle of Porto Novo, a fortified position on the sea-coast about 100 miles south of Madras. On September 27 the two armies again met at Sholinghur, about fifty miles west of Madras, when Coote, with 11,000 men and thirty guns, signally defeated Hyder Ali's army, 70,000 strong, killing, it is said, 5,000 of the enemy.

GUZERAT, 1778-1782.

This distinction is borne by the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. There is, however, considerable doubt as to the propriety of the Munsters bearing the honour. Colonel P. R. Innes, the painstaking and accurate historian of that regiment, maintains that the old 1st Bengal European Regiment has no right to it, and if the honour was granted, as it undoubtedly was, for the operations conducted by General Goddard in Guzerat in the years 1778-1782, it is very certain that the 1st Bengal Europeans never were with Goddard. The early part of the year 1778 found the army of the Bombay Presidency hard pressed, and help was solicited from Bengal, where all for the moment was quiet. Warren Hastings at once despatched a force consisting of six battalions of sepoys (none of which are now remaining), a couple of batteries of artillery, and 500 Afghan horsemen, to Bombay. The march was an arduous undertaking--to cross India from east to west, with a possible and very probable combination of Mahratta chieftains to bar its progress. The officer originally nominated to the command was soon superseded by Brigadier-General Goddard, an officer who had received his early training in the 84th under Coote, and who, on that regiment being ordered to England, had been offered increased rank in the army of the East India Company. Goddard marched via Cawnpore and Kalpee, which he stepped aside to capture, to Hoshungabad, finally co-operating with a column sent up from Bombay, which included the 1st Bombay European Regiment, now the Royal Munster Fusiliers, as well as some battalions of native infantry. Later the Madras Presidency was also called upon to assist, and 500 men of the Madras Europeans, now the 1st Battalion of the Dublins, with a battery of artillery and a sepoy battalion, was sent round by sea to Surat, to which place Goddard had advanced. For close on two years the little army was constantly engaged. It captured Bassein on December 11, 1780, Ahmadabad in the following month, and in the space of a little more than a year after the arrival of the Madras troops Goddard had reduced the provinces of Guzerat and the Concan. The Bengal troops were now allowed to return, and once more they marched across India, reaching Cawnpore in April, 1784.

To commemorate their services the supreme Government struck a medal, which was distributed to all ranks, officers receiving gold and the sepoys silver, medals. According to Mayo, this was the first occasion in which a medal was granted to the private soldiers of our army.

I regret that I have been unable to ascertain the casualties of all the forces engaged. Stubbs, in his invaluable history of the Bengal Artillery, gives the names of the officers of his corps who were killed, but Begbie ignores the fact that Madras artillery were employed. Colonel Harcourt does not allude to the losses of the Madras European Regiment in his history of the old "Blue Caps." The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, then the 1st Bombay Regiment, lost 3 officers and 19 men killed, and 14 officers and 41 men wounded, in the course of these operations, and there is no doubt that the campaign in Guzerat was attended with considerable loss.

SHOLINGHUR, SEPTEMBER 27, 1781.

This battle honour, which commemorates the defeat of the Mysorean Army of Hyder Ali and its expulsion from the Carnatic by Sir Eyre Coote, is borne by the following regiments:

Highland Light Infantry. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Royal Munster Fusiliers. 27th Light Cavalry. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 63rd Light Infantry. 64th Pioneers. 66th Punjabis. 69th Punjabis. 72nd Punjabis. 73rd Carnatic Infantry. 74th Punjabis. 75th Carnatic Infantry. 76th Punjabis. 79th Carnatic Infantry. 80th Carnatic Infantry.

The total casualties in the action were by no means heavy. They fell principally on the British troops. Unfortunately, although Sir Eyre Coote alludes to a casualty return in his despatch announcing the battle, all trace of this has disappeared, so that the losses sustained by individual regiments must, in the case of Sholinghur, as in those of Marlborough's earlier battles, always remain unrecorded.

Early in the following year welcome reinforcements arrived from England, the 73rd (then the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd) Highlanders, the 98th and 100th Regiments disembarking on the Malabar coast, the 72nd coming to Madras to reinforce Coote. These reinforcements came none too early. Tippoo Sultan (Hyder Ali's son, his most able Lieutenant and his successor) had surprised and annihilated a British force under Colonel Braithwaite, all the officers save one being either killed or carried prisoners to Seringapatam. A few months later fresh reinforcements arrived in the 23rd Light Dragoons (now the 19th Hussars), the 101st and 102nd Regiments (long since disbanded, and not to be confused with the 101st Royal Bengal and 102nd Royal Madras Fusiliers), with two Hanoverian battalions. With these forces Stuart inflicted a severe defeat on Tippoo Sultan at Cuddalore, taking from him thirteen guns. For this fine action no battle honour was granted, though there are many names on many colours less hardly earned.

CASUALTIES AT CUDDALORE.

+----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | - | 2 | 19 | 67 | |71st H.L.I. | 2 | 6 | 84 | 112 | |101st Regiment | 4 | 6 | 42 | 55 | |Hanoverians | 4 | 12 | 62 | 144 | |64th Pioneers | - | - | 6 | 16 | |67th Punjabis | - | - | - | 8 | |72nd Seaforths | 1 | - | 23 | 47 | |Dublin Fus. | - | 2 | 8 | 29 | |72nd Punjabis | - | 3 | 6 | 39 | |18th Madras In. | - | 3 | 4 | 50 | |20th M.N.I. | 1 | 1 | 6 | 14 | |Bengal Infantry | 7 | 5 | 12 | 90 | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

On the opposite or Malabar coast Colonel McLeod, with the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd, details of the 98th, 100th, and 102nd Regiments, and the 8th Battalion of Bombay Sepoys, won a decisive victory at Paniani on November 27, 1782, the 42nd losing 3 officers and 57 men in the action; but the chief honours were reserved for the 42nd at Mangalore.

MANGALORE, 1783.

The Royal Highlanders and 101st Grenadiers alone bear this battle honour, and surely in the many names inscribed on the colours and appointments of the Black Watch, there is not one which redounds more to the glory of the regiment than this little-known achievement, one of the brightest in the military history of our own or of any other country.

A glance at the map of India will show Mangalore on the west or Malabar coast of the peninsula. During our operations against Hyder Ali, and subsequently against his son, the redoubted Tippoo Sultan, its possession was of vital importance to both ourselves and to the Mysoreans. Tippoo Sultan was in direct communication with Napoleon, and through the Malabar ports reinforcements and supplies reached him from France. When, in 1783, General Matthews, the Commander-in-Chief in Bombay, led a column to reduce the fortress of Bednore, in which Tippoo's treasure was stored, he left garrisons at Mangalore and Onore to keep open his communication with the sea. At first successful, Matthews was in the end compelled to capitulate, and he, with the bulk of his army, were done to death by the Mysoreans. Mangalore was held by a force of about 1,800 men, under Colonel Campbell, of the 42nd; Onore by an officer of the Bombay Army named Torriano, with whom at present I have nothing to do.

Early in May Colonel Campbell learned of the disaster to General Matthews, and at the same time he received a summons from Tippoo Sultan demanding the surrender of the fort and town of Mangalore in virtue of the terms of the capitulation arranged with the Commander-in-Chief. Now, it is necessary for me here to interpolate that General Matthews and the officers of the King's regiments had not been on the best of terms. He, a servant of the East India Company, refused to recognize their superior rank, and two of the Colonels of the King's regiments (McLeod, of the 42nd, and Humberston, of the 100th) had left his camp and formulated complaints against the Commander-in-Chief to the Governor-General. Campbell therefore replied to Tippoo Sultan's envoy that he refused to recognize any arrangements which might have been made by the Commander-in-Chief, and that he intended to defend the fort to the last.

On May 9 the siege commenced on the land side, and for the next six months Campbell was hemmed closely in by some 60,000 men. It is true that communication by sea was still precariously maintained. On May 23 the Indiaman Fairford appeared off the port, and threw ashore a small party of English recruits destined for the Bombay European Regiment, which had been practically annihilated with Matthews.[7] That day, May 23, Colonel Campbell made a vigorous sortie, and destroyed a portion of the enemy's siege-works and batteries; but in the retirement three companies of native troops were cut off, and three British officers with 225 sepoys fell into Tippoo Sultan's hands. On the morrow Campbell prepared for a determined resistance. The women of the 42nd were told off to the hospitals, and a stern code of orders published. The men were forbidden to fire without explicit orders, and officers were enjoined to remember that the bayonet, and the bayonet alone, was the weapon of the British soldier. "Englishmen must recollect," runs the order, "that the bayonet is the service required of them, and that they demean themselves by firing at such a dastardly foe."

A return, dated May 24, showed the garrison to consist of 70 British and 67 native officers, with 315 British and 1,394 native soldiers. Attached to and included in the total of the 42nd were a few of the then 98th and 101st Regiments (not to be confused with the present Royal Munster Fusiliers), both of which were with General Matthews at Bednore. The native troops included the headquarters of the 8th Battalion (now the 101st Grenadiers), some companies of the 15th Bombay Battalion, and details of other regiments which were with the Commander-in-Chief at Bednore. Amongst the officers was Lieutenant MacKay, of the Royal Navy, who volunteered to act as a gunner during the siege. He did right good and gallant service, and was twice wounded in the course of the operations. Another name appears prominently in the despatches--a name which has since become a household word in the British Army. Campbell's Brigade-Major was a certain Captain Wolseley, of the 98th Regiment, and much of the credit of the defence was due to the gallantry and unwearied exertions of this officer.

Between the Highlanders and the 8th Battalion of Bombay Grenadiers a strong camaraderie existed; they had fought side by side at Panianee, when Colonel Macleod had drawn attention to the dash and steady gallantry of the regiment. Campbell, in his despatches from Mangalore, bore frequent testimony to the unselfish devotion of the native officers, and the uncomplaining heroism of the men.

Into the details of the siege it is not my intention to enter. Suffice to say that from May 23 until July 27, when news arrived of peace between France and England, there was only one day in which the garrison did not suffer some casualties, and that from June 12 the men were on half-rations of flour; of meat they had from the first been deprived. Desertions amongst the sepoys were frequent, and this was not to be wondered at. Life within the walls was not a bed of roses, whereas Tippoo Sultan offered golden inducements to those who would enter his service. On August 2 an armistice was arranged, a French officer attached to Tippoo Sultan's army acting as intermediary, Campbell declining to surrender the fortress until he had received specific instructions on this head from Bombay. The Mysorean Prince promised to furnish supplies on condition that no attempts were made to strengthen the works or to communicate with the outside world, except with the consent of the Tippoo Sultan himself. On several occasions vessels came close enough for Campbell to send an officer on board (indeed, Colonel McLeod, the acting Commander-in-Chief, landed at Mangalore, and had an interview with Tippoo Sultan). Campbell's pitiable condition was well known to the authorities in Bombay;[8] but no well-sustained effort appears to have been made to relieve him, and at last, on January 30, his men reduced to skeletons with fatigue and sickness, and his garrison reduced in numbers to one-half of their original strength, he was compelled to capitulate; but he marched out with all the honours of war, and even Tippoo Sultan kept honourably to the terms of the capitulation, and gave the garrison a safe conduct to Bombay. Colonel Campbell arrived there on March 13, and ten days later he was laid to rest in the cathedral in that city. The Bombay Government, at last recognizing his work, erected a monument to commemorate his heroic defence of the little fort committed to his charge.

The actual siege of Mangalore lasted from May 23 to July 27, 1783, when hostilities ceased; but from that date until January 30, 1784, the garrison suffered from the want of food and the exposure necessitated by being ever on the alert in case of treachery.

The losses of the garrison between those dates amounted to--

+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | |Officers.| Men. | | British Troops. |-----------|-----------| | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Total of British troops| 12 | 15 | 45 | 127 | |42nd R. Highlanders | 5 | 4 | 34 | 96 | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

+-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Native Troops. |-----------|-----------+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Total of Native troops | 5 | 16 | 121 | 438 | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

On p. 74 I have given the strength of the garrison on May 24, the actual date of the commencement of the siege. The "marching-out" state on January 27, 1784, shows the true extent of the sufferings of the garrison of Mangalore:

+-----------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | | MAY 24, 1783. | JAN. 27, 1784. | | Regiments. +-----------+-------+-----------+-------+ | |Officers.| Men.|Officers.| Men.| +-----------------------------+-----------+-------+-----------+-------+ |British: | | | | | | 42nd and details | 28 | 245 | 16 | 119 | | Bombay Artillery | 4 | 15 | 3 | 9 | | Bombay Fusiliers | 6 | 55 | 4 | 19 | | Officers of Sepoy Corps | 32 | - | 23 | - | | | | | | | |Natives: | | | | | | Bombay Artillery | 4 | 133 | 3 | 83 | | 8th Grenadiers and details | 63 | 1,261 | 53 | 490 | +-----------------------------+-----------+-------+-----------+-------+

MYSORE.

This honour is now borne by the following regiments:

19th Hussars. Worcester. West Riding. Oxford Light Infantry. Middlesex. Highland Light Infantry. Seaforth Highlanders. Gordon Highlanders. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 26th Light Cavalry. 27th Light Cavalry. 28th Light Cavalry. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 61st P.W.O. Pioneers. 62nd Punjabis. 63rd Light Infantry. 64th Pioneers. 66th Punjabis. 67th Punjabis. 68th Punjabis. 73rd Carnatic Infantry. 74th Punjabis. 75th Carnatic Infantry. 76th Punjabis. 79th Carnatic Infantry. 80th Carnatic Infantry. 81st Pioneers. 82nd Punjabis. 101st Grenadiers. 103rd Light Infantry. 104th Rifles. 105th Light Infantry. 107th Pioneers. 108th Infantry. 109th Infantry.

The aggressive action of Tippoo Sultan, who had been recognized as ruler of Mysore on the death of Hyder Ali, and the cruelties perpetrated on the English prisoners in Seringapatam, rendered fresh hostilities with Mysore inevitable. The Home Government therefore agreed to raise four more regiments, to be paid by, and held at the disposal of the East India Company. These were numbered 74th and 75th Highlanders, and 76th and 77th of the line. All four arrived in India in the course of the year 1788. It was known that Tippoo Sultan had sent emissaries to France in the hope of securing French aid in his efforts to drive us out of India, and in 1789 he threw down the glove by invading the territory of our ally, the Maharajah of Travancore. The Commander-in-Chief at Madras, General Meadows, was a most gallant officer, who had distinguished himself in the West Indies, but who was new to the East, and, brave man that he was, was quite prepared to recognize that as yet he had not sufficient experience of Eastern life to warrant his assuming command of a large army operating under entirely novel conditions. Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General in India, therefore determined to come down from Calcutta and take command of the army destined for the subjugation of Tippoo Sultan. The task was no easy one. Circumstances arose which delayed the Governor-General, and the year 1790 was wasted in an abortive campaign under Meadows.

The year 1791 opened more auspiciously. The Commander-in-Chief at Bombay, General Robert Abercromby, who was to co-operate with the Governor-General, had by a well-executed movement seized Cannanore, and made himself master of the province of Malabar.

Tippoo was now threatened from both sea-coasts, and seems to have been utterly unprepared for the daring stroke so brilliantly carried out by Cornwallis, who, leaving Madras early in February, and passing through the famous Colar Goldfields, arrived before Bangalore on March 5, and two days later had carried the fortifications of that city by assault, and so secured a base of operations for his projected advance on Seringapatam.

In May, after an unsuccessful attempt to carry that fortress by storm, Cornwallis was compelled to fall back on Bangalore, where he passed the hot weather.

CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF BANGALORE, MARCH, 1791.

+------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |19th Hussars | - | 1 | 3 | 7 | |36th Worcester | 1 | 4 | 9 | 54 | |52nd Oxfd. L.I. | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | |71st Highl. L.I. | - | 1 | 6 | 14 | |72nd Seaforths | - | - | 5 | 18 | |74th Highl. L.I. | - | 2 | 1 | 7 | |76th W. Riding Regiment | - | 1 | 8 | 45 | |2nd Q.O. Sappers | - | 3 | 24 | 25 | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

NOTE.--The Indian regiments present at the capture of Bangalore were the 61st Pioneers, 62nd Punjabis, 63rd Palamcottah L.I., 64th Pioneers, and 80th Carnatic Infantry; their total losses were 62 killed and 123 wounded.

NUNDY DROOG, OCTOBER 19, 1791.

This honour is borne by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers alone, and records the capture of what was considered by the Mysoreans an impregnable stronghold by the force under Cornwallis prior to the capture of Seringapatam in 1792. Nundy Droog lies some thirty miles north of Bangalore, and threatened the communications between Cornwallis's army and that of our ally, the Nizam of Hyderabad. It became necessary then to possess it. It bore a great reputation, and for three years had defied the whole strength of Hyder Ali's army, and then only fell into his hands through starvation. Early in September, 1791, Cornwallis detached Major Gowdie, with the 1st Madras European Regiment (now the Dublin Fusiliers) and six battalions of sepoys, to effect its reduction. The fort is on the summit of a granite mountain, its walls being three miles in circumference, the hill itself being inaccessible except on one side. With much difficulty heavy guns were dragged up the cliffs, and the siege begun in due form. Cornwallis, chafing at the delay, moved out from Bangalore with his whole army, thinking to overawe the defenders; but on the night of October 18 he determined to carry the place by assault. This was performed in the most dashing manner, and with but slight loss, by the flank companies of the 36th (Worcester) and 71st (Highland Light Infantry), with the 1st Madras European (Dublins) in support.

Abercromby was now approaching from the Malabar coast, and Lord Cornwallis was preparing for the final advance on Tippoo Sultan's famed stronghold.

In January, 1792, Cornwallis, apprised that Abercromby, with the Bombay division, was within striking distance, commenced his advance on Seringapatam. His force consisted of the 19th Light Dragoons, two regiments of Madras cavalry, and the Governor-General's Bodyguard, which he had brought down from Calcutta, the 36th (Worcester), 52nd (Oxford Light Infantry), 72nd (Seaforths), 74th (Highland Light Infantry), 76th (West Riding), 1st Madras Europeans (Royal Dublin Fusiliers), and sixteen battalions of sepoys, with forty-six field and forty siege guns.

Abercromby's force comprised the 73rd (Royal Highlanders), 75th (Gordons), 77th (Middlesex), 1st Bombay Europeans (2nd Battalion of the Dublins), and eight battalions of sepoys, with twenty field and sixteen siege guns, giving a total of about 9,000 British and 22,000 native troops.

On February 7 Seringapatam was carried by assault, our casualties numbering about 535 of all ranks, and our trophies amounting to eighty guns. On March 19 Tippoo Sultan signed a definitive treaty of peace, ceding to England Malabar and Coorg on the west, Baramahal and Dindigul on the Carnatic frontier, besides restoring to the Nizam the territories wrested from Hyderabad by Hyder Ali.

The distribution of prize-money afforded Lord Cornwallis and General Meadows, the second in command, an opportunity of giving an example of noble generosity, these two commanders placing their shares, amounting to £47,000 and £15,000, into the common fund. The following were the shares for each rank: Colonels, £1,160; Lieutenant-Colonels, £958; Majors, £734; Captains, £308; Lieutenants, £205; Ensigns, £159; sergeants, £29; and privates, £14 10s. In the native army Subadars received 275 rupees; Jemidars, 132 rupees; havildars, 110 rupees; and sepoys, 51 rupees.

CASUALTIES AT THE SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF SERINGAPATAM, 1792.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |19th Hussars | - | - | - | - | |Royal Artillery | 1 | 9 | 9 | 20 | |36th Worcesters | 2 | 3 | 6 | 33 | |52nd Oxfd. L.I. | 1 | 5 | 9 | 25 | |71st Highl. L.I. | 2 | 1 | 25 | 54 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | 1 | 4 | 15 | 43 | |73rd R. Highlanders | - | - | - | 3 | |74th Highl. L.I. | - | 2 | 2 | 18 | |75th Gordon Highlanders | - | - | 3 | 12 | |76th W. Riding Regiment | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | |Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 2 | 32 | |61st P.W.O. Pioneers | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 | |62nd Punjabis | - | - | 1 | 3 | |66th Punjabis | - | 1 | 9 | 14 | |76th Punjabis | - | - | 3 | 12 | |79th Carnatic I. | - | 2 | 5 | 9 | |80th Carnatic I. | 1 | 2 | 6 | 25 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

ROHILCUND, 1794.

This distinction is borne only by the Royal Munster Fusiliers.

The campaign was necessitated owing to a serious rising in the independent State of Rampur, and Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General, deemed the occasion so grave that he took the field in person. The troops employed were the 2nd Regiment of Bengal Europeans (now the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers), with ten regiments of sepoys, none of which are now borne on the Army List. The force was divided into three brigades of infantry, commanded respectively by Colonel Ware, who afterwards lost his life at the Battle of Laswarree, Colonel MacGowan, and Colonel Burrington. One brigade of two regiments of native light cavalry and four batteries of artillery made up the army. The only action of importance was that of Betourah, which took place some nine miles north of Bareilly. The enemy fought with great gallantry, and charged home on our native cavalry, who do not appear to have been well led--indeed, they fell back in disorder, breaking through the ranks of the 13th Bengal Infantry. This regiment suffered very heavily, all its officers being either killed or wounded, and the Brigadier of the Third Brigade, Colonel Burrington, was cut down in endeavouring to rally the cavalry. The officer commanding that arm disappeared in the course of the action, and so escaped court-martial. It was reported that he entered the service of the French, and was given a commission by Napoleon.

Our casualties were heavy, fourteen officers falling on the field. A monument was erected by Lord Cornwallis to mark the site of their interment, and may yet be seen by the roadside near the village of Betourah. The action, though costly, was decisive as to its results. The recalcitrant leaders of the insurrection made their submission to the Governor-General, and the army was immediately demobilized.

CASUALTIES AT BETOURAH.

+----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Staff | 3 | - | - | - | |Artillery | 2 | - | - | - | |Munster Fuslrs. | 2 | - | - | - | |13th Bengal I. | 5 | 4 | - | - | |18th Bengal I. | 2 | - | - | - | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

Here again it would appear that no record of the losses of the men has been kept.

SEEDASEER, MARCH 6, 1799.

This distinction is borne on the colours of the

103rd Mahratta L.I. 105th Mahratta L.I. 107th Pioneers.

It commemorates a brilliant engagement with the army of Tippoo Sultan, in which these three regiments of Bombay sepoys held at bay for eight long hours some 18,000 of the flower of the Mysorean army.

As in 1792, so now in 1799, the armies of all three presidencies were employed in a last endeavour to crush the power of the Mysorean usurper. The Bombay column, under the command of Major-General James Stuart, moving from the coast at Cannanore, consisted of three brigades. The Centre Brigade, under Colonel Dunlop, comprised the 75th (Gordon Highlanders), 77th (Middlesex), and the 1st Bombay Europeans (now the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers); the Right Brigade, under Colonel Montresor, was made up of the 1st Battalions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Bombay Infantry (now the 103rd, 105th, and 107th Regiments of the Indian army); the Third or Left Brigade, under Colonel Wiseman, comprised the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd, 2nd Battalion of the 3rd, and 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of Bombay Infantry. For convenience of supplies, and also owing to the bad state of the roads, the army was marching in three columns, the Right Brigade, under Colonel Montresor, leading.

On March 5 the Right Brigade had reached Seedaseer, on the frontiers of Coorg, the British Brigade being about eight miles in its rear, and the Left Brigade some four miles farther off. Tippoo Sultan was well informed of all our movements, and he endeavoured to put into effect one of the great Napoleon's maxims--namely, to beat your enemy in detail. With the bulk of his army, amounting to some 20,000 men, he cut in between Montresor's brigade and the British General, never doubting of an easy victory over the three sepoy battalions. Montresor, however, had been warned of his approach, and at once commenced to strengthen his position. Stuart, too, had learnt of the near approach of the Mysoreans, and he sent forward the 1st Battalion of the 5th Bombay N.I. to support Montresor, and later in the day hurried up with the flank companies of the 75th (Gordon Highlanders) and the whole of the 77th (Middlesex). In the meantime Montresor had fought out the battle unaided. The 1st Battalion of the 5th N.I. had never been able to reach him, and the British troops only arrived in time to relieve the pressure and to follow up the defeated enemy. The result of the fight augured well for the future, and showed the Bombay sepoy that he was more than a match even for Tippoo Sultan's men.

The casualty returns prove that the name of Seedaseer was worthily earned by the three regiments which have been allowed to place that battle honour on their colours; but it may reasonably be asked why the same honour has not been conferred on the 109th Infantry, which in those days was the 1st Battalion of the 5th Bombay Regiment, and which contributed in some measure to the success of the day. The Gordon Highlanders and the Middlesex content themselves with the battle honours "Mysore" and "Seringapatam."

CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF SEEDASEER.

+------------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | 6 | 18 | |75th Gordon Highlanders | - | - | 3 | 9 | |77th Middlesex | - | - | 2 | 6 | |103rd Mahratta L.I. (British) | 1 | 3 | - | - | |Do. (Natives) | - | 2 | 11 | 25 | |105th Mahratta L.I. (British) | - | 1 | - | - | |105th Mahratta L.I. (Natives) | - | - | 4 | 33 | |107th Pioneers (British) | - | - | - | - | |Do. (Natives) | - | - | 3 | 48 | |109th Infantry (British) | - | 1 | - | - | |Do. (Natives) | - | - | 1 | 26 | +------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

SERINGAPATAM, MAY 4, 1799.

The regiments authorized to bear this battle honour are the

Suffolks. West Riding. Royal Highlanders. Middlesex. Highland Light Infantry. Gordon Highlanders. Connaught Rangers. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 26th Light Cavalry. 27th Light Cavalry. 28th Light Cavalry. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 61st Pioneers. 66th Punjabis. 73rd Carnatic Infantry. 76th Punjabis. 79th Carnatic Infantry. 80th Carnatic Infantry. 81st Pioneers. 82nd Punjabis. 83rd Light Infantry. 84th Punjabis. 103rd Light Infantry. 104th Wellesley's Rifles. 105th Light Infantry. 107th Pioneers. 109th Infantry.

The troops destined for the final capture of Seringapatam were placed under the command of General Harris, the Commander-in-Chief at Madras. All three Presidencies were represented.

The cavalry division was under Major-General Floyd (an officer well versed in Indian warfare), who had commanded the 19th Hussars in the previous capture of the fortress in 1792. It consisted of the 19th and 25th Light Dragoons and four regiments of Madras cavalry, organized in two brigades, each consisting of one British and two native regiments.

The Madras Column was distributed in three brigades, one composed entirely of British regiments--the 12th (Suffolks), 74th (Highland Light Infantry), and the Scots Brigade (now 2nd Connaught Rangers). Major-General David Baird was in command of this brigade. The six regiments of Madras sepoys were formed in two brigades, under Colonels Gowdie and Roberts, of the Company's service, the Madras Division being under Major-General Bridges, an officer of the Company's service.

The Bengal Column was commanded by Major-General Popham, a Company's officer, and consisted of three brigades. The First, under Colonel Sherbrooke, comprised the 73rd (Royal Highlanders) and a regiment of Swiss mercenaries (de Meurons); the Second Brigade was made up of three battalions of Bengal sepoys, under Colonel Gardiner; and the Third Brigade was composed of three battalions of Madras sepoys, under Colonel Scott, of the Scots Brigade.

The Bombay Column was commanded by General J. Stuart, and consisted of the 75th (Gordon Highlanders), the 77th (Middlesex), and the 1st Bombay Europeans (now the Royal Dublin Fusiliers), under Colonel Dunlop, with six battalions of Bombay sepoys in two brigades, under Colonels Montresor and Wiseman. A fourth column was under the command of Colonel Arthur Wellesley, and comprised two regiments of Bengal and four of Madras infantry, with his own regiment, the 33rd Foot (West Riding Regiment), to stiffen the whole. Wellesley also was given the supervision of the Nizam's troops, numbering some 6,000 irregular cavalry and 3,000 infantry, trained and organized by French officers. In round numbers, the force at General Harris's disposal numbered 7,000 British and 27,000 native troops, with a well-equipped siege-train of forty-seven pieces of heavy ordnance.

Early in February the Commander-in-Chief received his final orders to advance from Madras, and on April 14 he joined hands with Stuart's column in the immediate vicinity of Seringapatam. Three days afterwards the siege commenced, and on May 3 the breach was declared practicable. Baird claimed the privilege of leading the stormers (a privilege his by right). He had been a prisoner in the fortress for over four years as a young Captain, and he had been present in command of a brigade of Madras sepoys at Cornwallis's capture of the fortress seven years before. Taking into consideration the strength of the work and the immense numerical superiority of the enemy, the fortress was carried with marvellously slight loss, the killed numbering 69 English and but 12 sepoys, the wounded 248 and 32 respectively, that of the Mysoreans being estimated at 1,000 killed alone. The total casualties during the siege, however, testified to the stubborn stand made prior to the assault, as the following figures show:

CASUALTIES AT THE SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF SERINGAPATAM IN MAY, 1799.

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | British Troops. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | |---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |19th Light Dragoons | 2 | 6 | 17 | 49 | |22nd Light Dragoons | - | - | - | - | |Royal Artillery | 2 | 2 | 35 | 85 | |12th Foot (Suffolks) | - | - | 17 | 49 | |33rd W. Riding Regiment | - | - | 6 | 28 | |73rd Royal Highlanders | 1 | 4 | 21 | 99 | |74th Highland L.I. | 4 | - | 45 | 111 | |75th Gordon Highlanders | 1 | 3 | 16 | 64 | |77th Middlesex | 1 | 2 | 10 | 51 | |94th Connaught Rangers | - | - | 14 | 86 | |1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 5 | 17 | |2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers | - | 1 | 9 | 25 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | + Native Troops. +-----+-----+-----+-----| | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----| |25th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - | |27th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - | |28th Light Cavalry | - | - | - | - | |61st Pioneers | 1 | - | 3 | 14 | |66th Punjabis | - | - | 5 | 13 | |73rd Carnatic I. | 1 | 2 | 12 | 47 | |76th Punjabis | - | - | 11 | 33 | |79th Carnatic I. | - | - | 4 | 16 | |80th Carnatic I. | - | - | 4 | 10 | |81st Pioneers | - | - | 3 | 11 | |82nd Punjabis | - | - | 1 | 4 | |84th Punjabis | - | - | 4 | 7 | |83rd L.I. | 1 | 3 | 8 | 46 | |103rd L.I. | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | |104th Wellesley's Rifles | - | 2 | 2 | 10 | |105th L.I. | - | 1 | 6 | 21 | |107th Pioneers | - | - | 3 | 14 | |109th Infantry | - | 1 | 2 | 25 | |2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners| - | - | 2 | 26 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

NOTE.--The prize-money at the second capture of Seringapatam was unusually satisfactory, the share of the Commander-in-Chief being upwards of £100,000. General officers received in round figures £10,000, other ranks having as their share:

Colonels £4,320 Lieutenant-Colonels £2,590 Majors £1,720 Captains £864 Lieutenants £432 Warrant Officers £108 Sergeants £14 Privates £7

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VII. BATTLE HONOURS FOR SERVICES IN FLANDERS, 1793-1799

Lincelles--Nieuport--Villers-en-Couches--Beaumont--Willems--Tournay --Egmont-op-Zee.

These seven names record engagements between the allied forces of Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain, with the French at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1793 and 1794. Our army, which was composed of British, Hanoverians, and Hessians, was under the command of the Duke of York. His Royal Highness, who was but eight-and-twenty, had studied his profession in Berlin, and was a thorough partisan of the red-tape and pipe-clay system of the Prussian army. He possessed undeniable courage, with but little experience; and as all his movements were controlled, on the one hand, by the Cabinet at home, and on the other by the Austrian Commander-in-Chief, it is a matter for small wonder that the results of the campaign were something less than negative. At the opening of the operations the British troops at the disposal of the Duke consisted of three cavalry brigades, composed of the Blues; the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th Dragoon Guards; the Royal Scots Greys and Inniskilling Dragoons, with the 7th, 11th, 15th, and 16th Light Dragoons. His infantry was made up of three battalions of the Guards, the 14th (West Yorks), 37th (Hampshire), and 53rd (Shropshire) Regiments--the three latter brigaded under Sir Ralph Abercromby, an officer of very considerable experience.

In 1794 it became necessary to strengthen the army very largely, and by the month of July of that year the Duke of York had under his command some 26,000 British troops, distributed as under:

First Cavalry Brigade: 2nd and 6th Dragoon Guards, the Scots Greys, and the Inniskilling Dragoons.

Second Cavalry Brigade: The Blues, 3rd and 5th Dragoon Guards, and the Royal Dragoons.

Third Cavalry Brigade: 7th, 11th, 15th, and 16th Light Dragoons.

Fourth Cavalry Brigade: 1st Dragoon Guards, the 8th and 14th Light Dragoons.

Brigade of Guards: 1st Battalion of the Grenadiers, the Coldstream and the Scots Guards.

First Infantry Brigade: The Buffs, 63rd (Manchesters), and 88th (Connaught Rangers).

Second Infantry Brigade: 8th (King's Liverpool Regiment), 33rd (West Riding Regiment), and 44th (Essex).

Third Infantry Brigade: 12th (Suffolks), 36th (Worcesters), and 55th (Border Regiment).

Fourth Infantry Brigade: 14th (West Yorkshire), 37th (Hampshire), and 53rd (Shropshire).

Fifth Infantry Brigade: 19th (Yorkshire), 42nd (Black Watch), and 54th (Dorsetshire).

Sixth Infantry Brigade: 27th (Inniskilling Fusiliers--two battalions).

Seventh Infantry Brigade: 40th (South Lancashire), 57th (Middlesex), 67th (Hampshire), and 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers).

There is ample evidence to show that all these regiments were actually under fire during the campaign in Flanders, yet of the twenty-two infantry regiments employed, only ten bear on their colours any record of the share they took in the operations undertaken against revolutionary France. All regiments that served under Wellington in Spain and Portugal bear the word "Peninsula" on their colours and appointments; all which served under Cornwallis in India, the honour "Mysore"; all which landed in the Crimea bear the honour "Sevastopol"; whilst the distinction "South Africa" was conferred on every battalion of Volunteers which sent a company to guard Boer prisoners. Surely, then, the regiments which fought and bled under the Duke of York have a claim to some recognition of their services.

LINCELLES, AUGUST 18, 1793.

This battle honour is peculiar to the three senior regiments of the Brigade of Guards--

Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards.

--and commemorates one of the many actions fought in Flanders at the outset of the Revolutionary War with France. The Brigade, under Lord Lake, had just arrived at Menin, en route to the Siege of Dunkirk. When the sound of firing was heard, and information reached the Duke of York that the Prince of Orange had met with a sharp rebuff at the hands of the French, he immediately ordered the Brigade of Guards to march to the assistance of the Prince. Although the men had but just arrived from a long, hot, and tiring march, Lake at once marched to the sound of the guns, covering the six miles in a little over the hour; but on reaching Lincelles, which was supposed to be in possession of the Duke of Orange, he was met with a "whiff of grape-shot." The Guards, with their usual dash, at once stormed the French redoubts, which they carried at the point of the bayonet, capturing twelve guns, one stand of colours, and close on 100 prisoners. The action was one of those isolated affairs which had no bearing on the campaign, but merely serve to show the superior stamina and discipline of the Brigade of Guards. Taking into consideration the strength of the force engaged, the casualties were undoubtedly heavy.

PRESENT AT LINCELLES.

Grenadier Guards 378 of all ranks. Coldstream Guards 346 " Scots Guards 398 "

CASUALTIES AT LINCELLES, AUGUST 18, 1793.

+------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Grenadier Gds. | - | 5 | 21 | 44 | |Coldstream Gds. | 1 | 2 | 8 | 47 | |Scots Guards | - | 2 | 8 | 45 | |Royal Artillery | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

NIEUPORT, OCTOBER, 1793.

This battle honour is borne by the Shropshire Light Infantry, and commemorates the gallant defence of this town by the old 53rd Foot, when besieged for ten days by a force of 12,000 French troops, under Vandamme, who later became one of Napoleon's most famous Marshals. With the 53rd were associated some artillery, a half-company of the Black Watch, and two Hessian battalions--all told, some 1,300 men; but the honours of the defence rested with a regiment which throughout its career has ever borne the highest reputation for steady gallantry.

CASUALTIES.

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |42nd Black Watch | - | - | - | 3 | |53rd Shropshire L.I. | 1 | 1 | 12 | 32 | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

VILLERS-EN-COUCHES, APRIL 24, 1794.

This is one of the four honours which the 15th Hussars has alone the privilege of wearing. It records the gallantry of the regiment practically under the eyes of the Austrian Emperor, when two squadrons of the 15th charged side by side with the Austrian Leopold Hussars, overthrowing a vastly superior body of the French, taking three guns, and sabring, it is claimed, some 1,200 of the enemy. The eight officers of the regiment were awarded the coveted distinction of the Maria Theresa Order.

CASUALTIES AT VILLERS-EN-COUCHES.

+------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | 3rd Drag. Gds. | - | - | 38 | 2 | | 1st R. Dragoons | - | - | 1 | 2 | | 11th Hussars | - | - | 1 | - | | 15th Hussars | - | 1 | 17 | 12 | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

BEAUMONT, APRIL 26, 1794.

This honour, which was not conferred until the year 1909, is borne by the

Royal Horse Guards. 1st Royal Dragoons. 1st King's Dragoon Guards. 7th Hussars. 3rd Dragoon Guards. 11th Hussars. 5th Dragoon Guards. 16th Lancers.

There had been rumours after the fight at Villers-en-Couches that General Mansel's brigade of cavalry, consisting of the Blues, Royals, and 3rd Dragoon Guards, had not supported the 15th with sufficient promptitude in the affair on April 22.[9] It was Minden and Warburg over again. So when, on April 25, at Beaumont, General Otto, the Austrian officer in command of the allied cavalry, led his division against 20,000 unbroken French infantry, British Dragoons and Austrian Hussars cheerfully essayed what seemed a mad undertaking. The total loss of the allied cavalry amounted to 15 officers and 284 men killed and wounded, amongst the former being General Mansel, who commanded the British heavies, two of his sons figuring amongst the wounded. Forty-one guns and 750 prisoners were taken, whilst the French casualties, it is said, numbered over 7,000, 1,200 being killed by the sabre alone.

CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF BEAUMONT, APRIL 26, 1794.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |R. Horse Gds. | 1 | - | 15 | 20 | |1st King's Dragoon Guards | - | - | 6 | 13 | |3rd Drag. Gds. | 2 | 2 | 15 | 8 | |5th Drag. Gds. | - | 1 | 9 | 9 | |1st Royal Dragoons | - | 1 | 6 | 13 | |7th Hussars | - | - | 1 | 19 | |11th Hussars | - | - | - | - | |16th Lancers | - | - | 1 | 14 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

WILLEMS, MAY 10, 1794.

In the month of January, 1910, an Army Order was published authorizing the following regiments to assume this battle honour:

Royal Horse Guards. 1st Royal Dragoons. 2nd Queen's Bays. Scots Greys. 3rd Dragoon Guards. 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. 6th Carabiniers. 11th Hussars. 15th Hussars. 16th Lancers.

As at Beaumont a fortnight earlier, so here at Willems, our cavalry showed themselves able to break the French infantry formation, even when not pounded by artillery. Thirteen guns and 450 prisoners were the trophies of the day, and fully 2,000 of the enemy fell under the sabres of the British horse.

CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF WILLEMS, MAY 10, 1794.

+--------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Horse Guards | - | 1 | 2 | 8 | |2nd Drag. Gds. | - | - | 2 | 2 | |3rd Drag. Gds. | - | - | - | 3 | |6th Carabiniers | - | 1 | 7 | 19 | |1st Roy. Drag. | - | - | - | 1 | |2nd Scots Greys | - | 1 | 6 | 11 | |6th Inniskill. | - | - | 3 | 7 | |7th Hussars | - | - | - | 1 | |11th Hussars | - | - | 7 | 3 | |15th Hussars | - | - | - | 14 | |16th Lancers | - | 2 | 13 | 7 | +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

TOURNAY, MAY 22, 1794.

An honour borne by the

West Yorkshire. Hampshire. Shropshire Light Infantry.

Just four days previously to the fight, the allied army, under Field-Marshal Otto, had received a handsome beating at the hands of the French. It is true we were hopelessly outnumbered, being able to oppose but 18,000 to 64,000. Though beaten, we were not disgraced. Fox's brigade, consisting of the three regiments above, losing 520 of all ranks, whilst in the retirement the 7th and 15th Hussars showed persistent gallantry. Nevertheless, it was a defeat, for nineteen guns were left in the hands of the victors. We were soon to learn that the failure on the part of the Archduke Charles to support Otto and the Duke of York was a deliberate design to discredit the British, and was due to jealousy of the Royal Duke, who, if not a brilliant strategist, was at any rate a brave commander, and ever solicitous for the comfort of his men.

On May 19 the Allies were concentrated in the immediate neighbourhood of Tournay. The French were attempting to press home their success of the preceding day. In the early morning of the 22nd Pichegru, who had hastened to assume command, attacked in four columns. After some hours his superior numbers told, and the Allies were gradually forced back. Then, late in the day, four brigades were moved up to recapture the position of Pont-à-chin, which practically commanded the Valley of the Scheldt. Fox's brigade, having lost very heavily on the 18th, had been held in reserve, and now numbered barely 600 men. At last, even they were pushed forward into the fight, and, though entirely unsupported, these three fine regiments, nobly responding to the Brigadier's call, dashed forward, sweeping the French out of their hard-won vantage-ground and capturing seven guns. This timely action turned the fortunes of the day, and by nightfall the French had been beaten back, with a loss of 6,000 men. So ended Tournay.

CASUALTIES AT THE BATTLE OF TOURNAY, MAY 22, 1794.

+------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |14th W. Yorks. | - | 1 | 5 | 29 | |53rd Shrops. L.I. | - | 3 | 6 | 29 | |37th Hampsh. | - | 3 | 1 | 30 | |Royal Artillery | - | - | 1 | 2 | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

EGMONT-OP-ZEE, OCTOBER 2, 1799.

In 1799 a fresh attempt was made to wrest Holland from the French, and Sir Ralph Abercromby was despatched to the Low Countries at the head of a division to co-operate with the Russians. His force consisted of a Brigade of Guards (one battalion from each of the three regiments, with a composite battalion of the grenadier companies of the whole Brigade) and two brigades of infantry, under Generals Coote and John Moore. On April 17 a landing was effected at Grote Keten, in face of the determined opposition of a brigade of French troops, our total loss being 27 officers and 440 men killed and wounded. Before the end of the month Abercromby had been reinforced by seven more battalions, and by September 20 the British forces had been brought up to a total of 30,000, with H.R.H. the Duke of York once more in chief command, the whole being distributed as follows:

Cavalry Brigade: 7th, 11th, and one squadron of the 18th Light Dragoons.

First Brigade--Major-General D'Oyley: 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, and a composite battalion of the grenadier companies of the whole Brigade.

Second Brigade of Guards--Major-General Burrard: 1st Battalion Coldstreams, 1st Battalion Scots Guards.

Third Brigade--Major-General Coote: 2nd (Queen's), 27th (Inniskillings), 29th (Worcesters), and 85th (Shropshire Light Infantry).

Fourth Brigade--Major-General Sir John Moore: 1st (Royal Scots), 25th (King's Own Scottish Borderers), 49th (Berkshires), 79th (Cameron Highlanders), and the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders).

Fifth Brigade--Major-General Don: 17th (Leicesters--two battalions), 40th (South Lancashires--two battalions).

Sixth Brigade--Lord Cavan: 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers--two battalions), and the 63rd (Manchesters).

Seventh Brigade--Lord Chatham: Three battalions of the 4th (King's Own) and the 31st (East Surrey).

Eighth Brigade--H.R.H. Prince William: Two battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers and the 35th (Royal Sussex).

Ninth Brigade--Major-General Manners: Two battalions of the 9th (Norfolks) and the 56th (Essex).

Reserve Brigade--Colonel Macdonald: The Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 55th (Border Regiment).

In garrison at the Helder were a battalion of the 35th (Royal Sussex) and the 69th (Welsh).

After an indecisive action on September 19, the Duke of York attacked the French on October 2 at Egmont-op-Zee, inflicting on them a severe defeat. The brunt of the fighting fell on the Fourth and Sixth Brigades, under Sir John Moore and Lord Cavan, Sir Ralph Abercromby being present and exercising supreme command. Our losses were very heavy, amounting to no less than 1,348 of all ranks killed and wounded.

The following regiments alone have been authorized to bear the honour "Egmont-op-Zee":

15th Hussars. Royal Scots. Lancashire Fusiliers. King's Own Scottish Borderers. Berkshire. Manchester. Cameron Highlanders. Gordon Highlanders.

But the casualty rolls published in the Duke of York's despatch show that many other regiments were engaged.

+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |7th Hussars | - | - | 2 | 11 | |11th Hussars | - | - | 1 | 4 | |15th Hussars | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | 9 | 65 | |Grenadier Gds. | - | 3 | 6 | 52 | |Royal Scots | - | 7 | 7 | 65 | |The Queen's | - | - | 2 | 16 | |K.O. Lanc. Reg. | - | 1 | 3 | 9 | |Leicestershire | - | 2 | 2 | 5 | |Lancs. Fus. | - | 1 | 3 | 40 | |R. Welsh Fus. | - | 2 | 7 | 52 | |K.O. Scottish Borderers | 2 | 8 | 34 | 67 | |27th Inniskilling Fusiliers | - | 4 | 4 | 41 | |29th Worcester | - | - | 8 | 35 | |40th S. Lancs. | - | - | - | 3 | |55th Border R. | - | 1 | 2 | 18 | |49th Berkshire | 2 | 5 | 31 | 50 | |63rd Manchest. | - | 1 | 1 | 36 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | 1 | 4 | 13 | 58 | |85th King's Own Shrop. L.I. | - | 4 | 7 | 67 | |92nd Gordon Highlanders | 3 | 11 | 57 | 182 | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

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VIII. BATTLE HONOURS FOR SERVICES IN THE WEST INDIES, 1759-1810

West Indies, 1759-1810--Guadeloupe, 1759--Martinique, 1762--Havana--St. Lucia, 1778--Martinique, 1794--St. Lucia, 1796--St. Lucia, 1803--Surinam--Dominica--Martinique, 1809--Guadeloupe, 1810.

The battle honours conferred for services in the West Indies cover the half-century from the capture of Guadeloupe in 1759 to the third capture of the same island in the year 1810. The appended tables of casualties show that our losses in action were by no means contemptible, but these did not represent one-tenth of those we suffered from disease or from neglect of the most elementary precautions against the effects of the climate on our troops. In the event of our being at war with those nations which had possessions in the West Indies, the islands formed convenient bases for operations against our North American Colonies, as well as harbours of refuge for the innumerable privateers which preyed upon our commerce. When war unhappily broke out between our Colonies and the Mother-Country, it became more than ever a matter of paramount necessity that no Power but ourselves should hold possession of these islands. Unfortunately, at the end of each successive war England, as has ever been her custom, restored her conquests to their original holders, with the inevitable result that our soldiers and sailors were called upon to sacrifice their lives in the recapture of the islands in pursuance of the time-worn policy of English Cabinets. In the course of fifty years St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were thrice wrested from the French, and the two last-named islands thrice restored. Up to the year 1909 the battle honours "Martinique" and "Guadeloupe," which figured on the colours and appointments of some of our regiments, had been granted only for the capture of those islands by Sir George Beckwith in the years 1809 and 1810. Last year it was determined (and very rightly) that the previous expeditions, which dated back to 1759, were also worthy of being recorded, and an Army Order was issued in the month of November, 1909, announcing that the King had been graciously pleased to approve of the undermentioned honorary distinctions being borne on the colours and appointments of a certain number of regiments present in the following expeditions: "Havana"; "Guadeloupe, 1759"; "Guadeloupe, 1810"; "Martinique, 1762"; "Martinique, 1794 and 1809"; "St. Lucia, 1778, 1793, and 1803."

In any case where a regiment had been awarded the same distinction, but with different dates, it was to bear on its colours or appointments one distinction only, with the dates. Thus, so far as Martinique is concerned, the East Yorkshire Regiment will have on its colours "Martinique, 1762, 1794, 1809."

The services performed by our troops in the many expeditions for the reduction of the Island of Guadeloupe have been scantily recognized. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the first capture of the Island of Guadeloupe took place in the year 1702, when the Yorkshire Regiment lost 2 officers killed and 3 wounded; the 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers) 3 officers killed and 5 wounded; and the 35th (Royal Sussex), 2 killed, 3 wounded, and no less than 16 by disease.

Then came the expedition of 1759, with which I deal at length, and for which a battle honour was granted.

In the year 1794 we once more captured the island, the losses being:

+----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | 2 | - | 3 | 57 | |Roy. Engineers | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | |E. Yorkshire | - | 1 | 3 | 31 | |R. Scots Fus. | - | 4 | 6 | 97 | |35th R. Sussex | - | 4 | 9 | 47 | |39th Dorsets | - | - | 3 | 18 | |56th Essex | - | 2 | 6 | 35 | |60th K.R.R. | 2 | - | 6 | 107 | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

For this expedition no battle honour was granted.

In the year 1814 Guadeloupe was handed over to the French, but on Napoleon's escape from Elba in 1815 it declared for him, and a fresh expedition became necessary for which no distinction has yet been awarded. Possibly, in due course of time, the dates 1702, 1794, and 1815 may be added to the name "Guadeloupe" on the colours of the regiments which participated in those long-forgotten, but by no means bloodless, expeditions.

Late in the year 1758 it was determined by the Cabinet to effect the reduction of the colonial possessions of France. With the capture of the Settlements on the West Coast of Africa I have nothing to do. For their reduction no battle honour was granted. The campaigns, which resulted in the reduction of Louisburg and Quebec are narrated on pp. 37 and 38. I now propose to deal with the expeditions which led to the honour "Guadeloupe, 1759"; "Martinique, 1762"; and "Havana" being inscribed on the colours and appointments of our regiments.

GUADELOUPE, 1759.

By the Army Order of November, 1909, the above battle honour was conferred on the following regiments:

Buffs. King's Own (Lancaster). Gloucester. South Staffords. Royal Highlanders. North Staffords. Manchester. York and Lancaster.

Thus, a century and a half after the event, the services of our troops at the second capture of the Island of Guadeloupe received a tardy recognition.

In November, 1758, the Buffs, King's Own, Gloucester, North Stafford, Manchester, and York and Lancaster Regiments embarked at Spithead for Barbados, where they were joined by the South Staffords and the Royal Highlanders, Lieutenant-General Peregrine Hopson assuming the command. The force was divided into four brigades, under Colonels Robert Armiger, George Haldane, Cyrus Trapaud, and John Clavering, whilst Major-General the Hon. John Barrington joined as second in command. It was also strengthened by a detachment of 500 artillerymen, under Major S. Cleveland, R.A., and a battalion of Marines, under Colonel Rycaut, making a total of about 6,800 men. On January 13, 1759, the expeditionary force sailed for Martinique, where the French were well prepared for defence, and no landing was attempted. Three days afterwards the armament stood on to Fort Royal Bay, Martinique, and, under cover of the guns of the fleet, the troops disembarked. On the following morning a sharp skirmish took place, in which the French were driven out of some entrenched buildings, our casualties amounting to 100 killed and wounded; but it was found impossible to follow up the enemy owing to the denseness of the jungle and the absence of roads.

General Hopson, who was suffering from a mortal disease, appears to have formulated no plan of operations for the reduction of Martinique, and on the following morning the troops re-embarked without opposition, and the fleet stood on to Guadeloupe, arriving before that island on January 22. Basse Terre, the capital of the southern island (for Guadeloupe practically consists of the two islands, Guadeloupe, or Basse Terre and Grande Terre), was bombarded by the fleet and utterly destroyed, the Governor withdrawing his troops to a well-entrenched and most formidable position some miles distant. The disembarkation of the troops was consequently unopposed, but our outposts were much worried day and night by incessant firing and desultory attacks from the French, who had taken refuge in the surrounding jungle. The General again seemed to have no definite plan of operations, and contented himself with strengthening his position on the inland side of the capital. Our troops suffered terribly from the climate. By the end of January 600 men had been invalided to Antigua, and 1,500 were on the sick-list.

The Commodore was a man of action, as also, indeed, was General Barrington; but the former was independent of General Hopson, the latter was not. About the middle of February Commodore Moore sailed round to Port Louis, on the northern island, where he found a good harbour. He at once bombarded its defences, forced the garrison to surrender, and disembarked a battalion of Marines, thus securing for Hopson a second base.

On February 16 the Commander-in-Chief died, and Barrington determined to put an end to the inaction which was demoralizing the troops. Leaving the 63rd (Manchester) Regiment to hold Basse Terre (the defences of which on the land side had been considerably strengthened), Barrington embarked the rest of his troops and occupied Port Louis, whence he despatched Colonel Crump, of the 4th (King's Own), who had succeeded to the command of Haldane's brigade, to effect the reduction of the French settlements in the northern island. Early in April Brigadier Clavering was detached with his brigade (reduced to 1,300 men) to destroy the French position at Arnouville, in Guadeloupe itself. In this attack the 4th (King's Own) and the 42nd (Royal Highlanders) particularly distinguished themselves, and in the middle of the month Clavering was able to join hands with Crump, who had been withdrawn from the Grande Terre, and to march southwards along the coast. Position after position was carried until Clavering finally drove the French from their entrenchments at Capesterre, in the south-west of the mainland, where the inhabitants compelled the French commander to sue for terms; and on May 1 the possession of Guadeloupe passed into our hands.

CASUALTIES DURING EXPEDITION TO GUADELOUPE, 1759.

+--------------------------------+----------------------+--------------+ | | Officers. | Men. | | Regiments. +------+-------+-------+------+-------+ | |Killed|Wounded|Died of|Killed|Wounded| | | | |Disease| | | +--------------------------------+------+-------+-------+------+-------+ |Royal Artillery | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |Royal Navy | 1 | 1 | - | 30 | 68 | |3rd Buffs (East Kent Regiment) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 19 | |4th King's Own (Lancaster Regt.)| 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | |38th Regt. (South Staffords) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 37 | |42nd (R. Highlanders) | 1 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 32 | |61st (2nd Gloucesters) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 | |63rd (1st Manchesters) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 | |64th (1st N. Staffords) | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |65th (1st York and Lancaster) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | +--------------------------------+------+-------+-------+------+-------+

NOTE.--I am indebted to the courtesy of the Army Council for this hitherto unpublished return of the rank and file killed and wounded at Guadeloupe.

MARTINIQUE, 1762.

This distinction was conferred on the following regiments by an Army Order in November, 1909:

East Yorkshire. Leicester. Cheshire. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Gloucester. Royal Sussex. South Stafford. South Lancashire. Welsh. Royal Highlanders. Oxford Light Infantry. Northampton. King's Royal Rifles.

The employment of our troops on the Continent of Europe and in Canada had prevented the Cabinet from carrying out the designs for the capture of the Islands of Dominica, Martinique, and St. Lucia; but the fall of Louisburg and Quebec set sufficient forces at liberty to enable Pitt in the early part of 1762 to carry out the long-deferred expedition. Its command was entrusted to General the Hon. Robert Monckton, an officer of considerable experience, who had more recently distinguished himself in command of a brigade under Wolfe at Quebec. Carlisle Bay (Barbados) was the point selected for the mobilization of the expeditionary force, and there, at Christmas, 1761, the Commander-in-Chief arrived with eleven battalions from North America. He was joined shortly by Lord Rollo with five more battalions from Canada, and by General Ruffane with four seasoned regiments fresh from the capture of Belleisle; a couple of regiments from Guadeloupe, and two from Antigua, brought the force at Monckton's disposal to some 12,000 men, distributed in five brigades, under Brigadier W. Havilland, W. Ruffane, F. Grant, Lord Rollo, and Hunt Walsh.

On January 5, 1762, escorted by a powerful fleet under Lord Rodney, the expeditionary force left Barbados, and on the 7th had arrived at St. Ann's Bay, the southernmost harbour in Martinique. Our knowledge of the island was very defective. More than one attempt at disembarkation proved ineffective, owing to the want of roads by which the troops might advance, and it was not until the 16th of the month that the entire force was landed at Case Navire, a little to the north of the capital, Port Royal. A series of works, dominated by powerful entrenchments on the hills, Morne Tortenson and Morne Grenier, had been thrown up for the defence of Port Royal. On January 24 the first-named position was carried by Brigadiers Havilland and Walsh, with a loss of 33 officers and 357 men killed and wounded, and three days later the Morne Grenier was taken, with a loss of about 100 of all ranks. On February 12, finding further resistance useless, the French commander capitulated, and Monckton, in conjunction with Lord Rodney, who was in command of the fleet, despatched detachments for the capture of St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent, which fell into our hands without offering any resistance. Our casualties during the operations in Martinique were as follows:

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |4th K.'s Own | 1 | 1 | 8 | 23 | |15th E. Yorks | - | - | 4 | 15 | |17th Leicesters | - | - | 4 | 17 | |22nd Cheshires | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |27th Inniskilling Fusiliers| - | 2 | 4 | 19 | |28th Gloucs. | - | 2 | 5 | 9 | |35th R. Sussex | - | 2 | 4 | 19 | |38th S. Staffs | - | - | 2 | 13 | |41st Welsh | - | 1 | 1 | 6 | |42nd Royal Highlanders | 2 | 11 | 12 | 76 | |43rd Oxford L.I. | - | - | - | - | |48th N'hampton | - | 2 | 9 | 15 | |60th K.R.R. | - | 3 | 12 | 42 | |65th York and Lancaster | - | - | - | 3 | |69th Welsh | - | - | 2 | 6 | |75th W. Riding Regiment | - | - | - | 3 | |77th Middlesex | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | |90th Scot. R. | - | - | 3 | 17 | |91st Argyll Highlanders | - | - | - | - | |98th N. Staffs | - | - | 2 | 5 | |100th Royal Canadians | - | 1 | 4 | 8 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

It will be seen from the above list, copied from the London Gazette (in which the 42nd are styled "Royal Hunters"!), that many regiments suffered casualties which have not been authorized to assume the honour "Martinique, 1762."

HAVANA.

The regiments authorized by the Army Order of November, 1909, to bear this battle honour are:

Royal Scots. Norfolk. East Yorkshire. Leicester. Cheshire. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Gloucester. Border. Royal Sussex. South Lancashire. Royal Highlanders. Oxford Light Infantry. Essex. Northampton. King's Royal Rifles.

A perusal of the following brief account of the campaign will show that, if the ruling holds good under which the 5th Lancers, 18th, 19th, and 20th Hussars, together with many infantry regiments, are permitted to bear the battle honours won by their predecessors, there are other regiments equally entitled to inscribe "Havana" on their colours and appointments than the fifteen above mentioned, and three at least which have more claim to the battle honour "Moro" than the Essex.

The campaign was decided on by the Ministry in the early spring of 1762, General the Earl of Albemarle being nominated to the chief command, with orders to co-operate with Admiral of the Blue, Sir George Pocock, who was at the time commanding the fleet in the West Indies. The troops were composed of 4,000 men despatched from England with the Commander-in-Chief; 8,000 were furnished by the large forces then garrisoning the West India Islands, and 4,000 were detached by Sir Jeffrey Amherst from the forces in North America. For transport service on shore, the Governor of Jamaica raised a body of 1,500 negroes. These were augmented on the arrival in Martinique of Lord Albemarle by the purchase of 500 more! A small force of cavalry was improvised by the Commander-in-Chief, and placed under the orders of Captain Suttie, of the 9th Foot. The whole force assembled at Martinique on May 5, 1762. It would appear that Lord Albemarle, following the custom of the day, formed a couple of Light Infantry Battalions from the light companies, and a couple of Grenadier battalions from the grenadier companies of the regiments under his command, the Light Infantry being placed at the disposal of Colonel Guy Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester. The entire force was brigaded as under:

First Brigade--Brigadier-General W. Havilland: Royal Scots, 56th (Essex), and the 60th (King's Royal Rifles).

Second Brigade--Brigadier-General H. Walsh: 9th (Norfolks), 27th (Inniskilling Fusiliers), and the 48th (Northamptons).

Third Brigade--Brigadier-General John Reid: 34th (Border Regiment), 35th (Royal Sussex), 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry), and the 75th (Gordon Highlanders).

Fourth Brigade--Brigadier-General F. Grant: 17th (Leicesters), 42nd (Royal Highlanders)--two battalions, two companies of the 65th (York and Lancaster), and three companies of the 4th (King's Own), and four of the 77th (Middlesex).

Fifth Brigade--Brigadier-General the Lord Rollo: 22nd (Cheshires), 40th (South Lancashires), 72nd (Seaforths), and the 90th (Scottish Rifles).

Colonel Leith: Royal Artillery, 357 men.

Of these, Brigadiers Havilland, Hunt-Walsh, and Lord Rollo had been employed in the reduction of the island of Martinique, and it will be noticed that a large proportion of the regiments had fought under Wolfe at Quebec, or Studholme Hodgson at the capture of Belleisle, or under Monckton at Martinique. Owing to the nature of the ground, considerable difficulty was experienced in constructing the siege batteries, which were armed with heavy guns from the fleet, the stores and ammunition being conveyed to the front by the corps of negroes purchased in Martinique by the General. In consequence of the scarcity and badness of the water, the troops suffered terribly. The seamen and Marines escaped the sickness which more than decimated the army, and the Admiral landed a body of 800 Marines to lighten the labours of the army.

On July 1 a heavy bombardment commenced, the fleet standing in to aid. In this the Dragon, Cambridge, and Marlborough suffered severely. For a time the fire of the defence slackened, only to be renewed with increased vigour in a couple of days. On the 21st the garrison made a gallant sortie, which was repelled with equal gallantry by the 90th Light Infantry, under Colonel Stuart. From this date the defence gradually slackened, and on July 30 the General determined to assault the Moro, which was the key of the situation. The storming-party, which was under the command of Colonel Stuart, of the 90th, was composed as follows:

1st Royal Scots 6 officers, 107 N.C.O.'s and men. 90th Light Infantry 8 " 53 " Marksmen 8 " 29 "

the 35th Regiment in support. The assault was admirably planned, and carried out with dashing gallantry.

CASUALTIES DURING THE EXPEDITION TO HAVANA, FROM DATE OF LANDING TO CAPITULATION ON AUGUST 13, 1762.

+------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+ | | Officers. | N.C.O.'s and Men. | | +-------+--------+--------+-------+--------+--------+ | Regiments. | | |Died of | | |Died of | | |Killed.|Wounded.|Disease.|Killed.|Wounded.|Disease.| +------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+--------+--------+ |Royal Artillery | 2 | - | 2 | 25 | 49 | 25 | |Engineers | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | |1st Royal Scots | 2 | 3 | - | 34 | 78 | 12 | |4th (K.O. Lancs.) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | |9th Foot (Norfolk)| 1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 31 | 28 | |15th Foot | | | | | | | | (E. Yorks) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 10 | |17th Foot (Leics.)| 1 | 2 | - | 3 | 2 | 26 | |22nd Foot | | | | | | | | (Cheshire | | | | | | | | Regiment) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 28 | |27th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Inniskilling | | | | | | | | Fusiliers) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 23 | 13 | |28th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Gloucester | | | | | | | | Regt.) | - | - | - | 11 | 17 | 7 | |34th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Border Regiment) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 70 | 85 | |35th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Roy. Sussex | | | | | | | | Regt.) | 1 | 2 | - | 19 | 26 | 17 | |40th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | South | | | | | | | | Lancashire) | - | - | 1 | 9 | 13 | 10 | |42nd (Royal | | | | | | | | Highlanders) | - | - | 9 | 3 | 8 | 73 | |43rd Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Oxford L.I.) | - | 1 | - | 10 | 15 | 13 | |46th Foot (2nd | | | | | | | | Cornwall L.I.) | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |48th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Northamptonshire)| - | - | 3 | 8 | 30 | 10 | |56th Foot | | | | | | | | (2nd Essex) | - | - | 2 | 36 | 83 | 85 | |60th Foot (King's | | | | | | | | Royal Rifles) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 63 | 13 | |65th Foot (1st | | | | | | | | York and | | | | | | | | Lancaster) | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | |72nd Foot (1st | | | | | | | | Seaforth | | | | | | | | Highlanders) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 27 | 85 | |77th Foot (2nd | | | | | | | | Middlesex) | 1 | 3 | - | 3 | 8 | 16 | |90th Foot (2nd | | | | | | | | Scottish Rifles) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 49 | |98th Foot (2nd N. | | | | | | | | Staffords) | - | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 32 | +------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+--------+--------+ | Totals. | 15 | 19 | - | 284 | 586 | - | +------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+--------+--------+

In addition to the losses in action, it will be noticed that 39 officers and 641 N.C.O.'s and men died of disease.

With the Moro in our possession, the capitulation of the island was a mere matter of time, and on August 14 the Captain-General signed the articles of surrender of the Island of Cuba to the British forces. Ninety-one officers and 29,700 of other ranks surrendered as prisoners of war, and Admiral Pocock had the satisfaction of taking possession of thirteen Spanish line-of-battle ships.

Our losses during the forty-four days' campaign had been considerable, as the table of casualties on page 107 proves.

Hitherto the old 56th Regiment (now the Essex) has been the only regiment entitled to carry the battle honour "Moro." The Royal Scots have always, but as yet unsuccessfully, advanced their claim to this distinction. The above facts show that the Scottish Rifles and the Royal Sussex have an equal claim with the Royals to the double distinction.

In conformity with our usual custom, the island was restored to the Spaniards on the conclusion of the war, to be conquered by our American cousins 130 years subsequently.

In those days the ardour of our sailors and soldiers was whetted by the prospects of prize-money, and the capture of Havana, whilst it brought wealth to the senior officers, brought consolation also to all ranks in the shape of a rich distribution of doubloons.

DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE-MONEY FOR THE CAPTURE OF HAVANA.

NAVY. £ s. d. Commander-in-Chief 122,697 0 0 Commodore 24,539 0 0 Captain 1,600 0 0 Lieutenants 234 0 0 Warrant officers 118 0 0 Petty officers 17 5 0 Seamen 3 14 9

ARMY. £ s. d. Commander-in-Chief 122,697 0 0 Lieut.-General 24,539 0 0 Major-General 6,816 0 0 Field Officers 564 0 0 Captains 184 0 0 Subalterns 116 0 0 Sergeants 8 18 8 Corporals 6 16 6 Privates and drummers 4 1 8

ST. LUCIA, 1778.

This honour was awarded in 1909 to the following regiments--

King's Own (Lancaster). Northumberland Fusiliers. East Yorkshire. Inniskilling Fusiliers. Gloucester. Cornwall Light Infantry. Border Regiment. Royal Sussex. South Lancashire. Royal Berkshire.

--for their services at the capture of the island from the French, and for its gallant defence a few days later against a vastly superior force.

On the outbreak of war between France and England in 1778 the French at once assumed the offensive in the West Indies by the capture of Dominica on September 8, that island, with a garrison of barely 500 men, being compelled to surrender to the Marquis de Bouillé, who landed some 8,000 troops, drawn from the large forces massed in Martinique and Guadeloupe, which, in pursuance of our time-honoured custom, had been restored to France at the end of the previous war in 1763. In the month of November a combined naval and military expedition under Admiral Barrington and Major-General James Grant left Barbados for the reduction of St. Lucia. It numbered some 6,000 men, composed as under:

First Brigade--Brigadier Robert Prescott: 15th (East Yorkshire), 28th (Gloucester), 46th (Cornwall Light Infantry), and 54th (Border Regiment).

Second Brigade--Brigadier Sir H. Calder: 27th (Inniskilling Fusiliers), 35th (Sussex), 40th (South Lancashire), and 49th (Royal Berkshire).

Third Brigade--Brigadier W. Meadows: 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers), Grenadier Battalion and Light Infantry Battalion, made up of the flank companies of all regiments present.

In addition, there were two companies of Royal Artillery and a troop of Dragoons. Knowing that Admiral d'Estaing, with a fleet outnumbering his own three to one, had already left Boston to oppose him, Admiral Barrington set sail from Barbados on December 10, and the following day entered in Cul de Sac Bay, on the western coast of the island. Two brigades were at once disembarked, and they, carrying the French entrenchments, made themselves masters of a strong position overlooking the main works of the enemy at Castries. On December 12 the remainder of the troops were landed, and an attack on the French entrenchments at the Morne Fortunée was successfully carried out, and by evening we were in possession of all the forts and batteries defending Castries Bay. Two days later the French fleet, carrying 9,000 troops, appeared in the offing, and d'Estaing at once attacked Barrington's squadron, which was anchored across Cul de Sac Bay. Foiled there, he stood to the northward, with the intention of turning General Grant's position at Castries, and, under cover of the guns of the fleet, several thousand French were landed. Here, however, they met with stout opposition. Meadows, at the head of the Northumberland Fusiliers and the Light Infantry Battalion, repulsing several most determined attacks, in which the French lost 400 dead left on the field, with some 1,200 wounded, our casualties in killed and wounded barely reaching 175. D'Estaing re-embarked his men on the 28th, and withdrew his fleet to Martinique, whereupon the French commandant had no option but to surrender.

CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF THE ISLAND OF ST. LUCIA IN 1778.

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | - | - | 1 | 2 | |4th King's Own | - | - | - | - | |5th North. Fus. | - | 2 | 2 | 20 | |15th E. Yorks | - | 1 | - | 1 | |27th Innis. Fus. | - | - | - | - | |28th Gloucester | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |L.I. Battalion | - | - | 6 | 48 | |35th R. Sussex | - | 1 | - | 1 | |40th S. Lancs | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | |46th Corn. L.I. | - | 1 | 3 | 9 | |49th Berks | - | - | - | - | |55th Border Regiment | - | 1 | - | 2 | |Grenadier Batt. | - | - | 3 | 76 | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

NOTE.--I am indebted to the courtesy of the Army Council for the above casualty list.

MARTINIQUE, 1794.

This distinction, awarded in 1909, is borne by the following regiments--

Royal Warwick. Norfolk. East Yorkshire. Royal Scots Fusiliers. East Surrey. North Stafford. Northampton. Dorset. York and Lancaster.

--and commemorates the second capture of the island from the French. Considerable care had been bestowed on the preparation of this expedition. Its command was entrusted to capable hands, Sir John Jervis--afterwards Lord St. Vincent--having charge of the naval, and General Sir Charles Grey of the military forces. These last were divided into five brigades:

First Brigade--Brigadier Sir C. Gordon: 15th (East Yorkshire), 39th (Dorset), and 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry).

Second Brigade--Brigadier Thomas Dunbar: 56th (2nd Essex), 63rd (1st Manchester), and 64th (1st North Staffords).

Third Brigade--Brigadier J. Whyte: 6th (Royal Warwick), 58th (2nd Northampton), and 70th (2nd East Surrey).

Fourth Brigade--Brigadier Campbell (subsequently replaced by H.R.H. Duke of Kent): Three battalions, composed of the grenadier companies of all regiments in Ireland and Flanders.

Fifth Brigade--Colonel Myers: Three battalions, composed of the light companies of the same regiments.

Profiting by the experience of the expedition in 1762, a number of gunboats--flat-bottomed craft, to assist in the disembarkation of the troops--had been sent out from England in sections, and a number of negroes purchased for the formation of a transport corps. On February 3 the expedition set sail from Carlisle Bay, Barbados, and two days later appeared off the island of Martinique in three divisions, the Commander-in-Chief with the Third and Grenadier Brigades, landing at Trois Rivières, in the extreme south; Dundas, with his own and the Light Infantry Brigade, near Trinité, on the east coast; and Gordon at Case Navire, a little to the north of Port Royal, the capital. By February 12 Grey and Gordon, greatly assisted by the guns of the fleet, had gradually converged on Port Royal, driving the French before them, whilst Dunbar was steadily pushing his way across the island from east to west. On February 17 St. Pierre (the commercial capital) surrendered to Dunbar, and on March 8 Grey commenced to throw up siege batteries for the reduction of the fortifications at Fort Royal; fourteen days later Fort Louis fell to a combined assault of seamen and soldiers, and on the 23rd General Rochambeau surrendered.

Leaving six battalions in the island, Grey, who had been reinforced by the Buffs and Norfolks, embarked with these two regiments, the Warwicks, 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry), 63rd (Manchester), and the Grenadier and Light Infantry Brigades, for St. Lucia, which was captured on April 2; then, proceeding to Guadeloupe, he effected the reduction of that island by the end of May, not, however, without very sharp fighting. The casualties we incurred at the capture of Guadeloupe are given on p. 99. At the capture of St. Lucia our losses were trifling; those at the capture of Martinique are given below.

No less than 122 officers of the garrison died of disease before the end of the year:

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | - | 3 | 10 | 18 | |6th R. Warwick | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | |8th King's Liverpool | 2 | - | - | - | |9th Norfolks | 1 | - | - | 1 | |12th Suffolks | 2 | - | - | - | |15th E. Yorks | 2 | - | 3 | 4 | |17th Leicesters | 1 | - | - | - | |21st Roy. Scots Fusiliers | 3 | - | - | - | |34th Border Regiment | 1 | - | - | - | |35th R. Sussex | 1 | - | - | - | |Royal Navy | 2 | 4 | 19 | 65 | |Three L.I. Battalions | - | 2 | 20 | 62 | |Roy. Engineers | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | |38th S. Stafford | - | - | - | - | |39th Dorsets | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | |40th Loyal N. Lancashires | 1 | - | - | - | |43rd Oxford L.I. | 2 | - | - | 3 | |44th Essex | - | - | - | - | |58th N'ampton | 2 | - | - | - | |60th K.R.R. | 1 | - | - | - | |64th N. Staffs | - | - | - | - | |63rd Manchesters | - | - | 2 | 11 | |70th E. Surrey | - | - | - | 2 | |Three Grenadier Battalions | 1 | 4 | 30 | 74 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

ST. LUCIA, 1794.

No battle honour was conferred for the capture of the island on this occasion.

Immediately after the capture of Martinique, on March 25, 1794, General Sir George Grey, with Admiral Sir John Jervis, sailed for St. Lucia with a force composed as under:

First Brigade--H.R.H. Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria): Comprising three battalions, made up of the grenadier companies of the whole force in Martinique.

Second Brigade--Major-General Dundas: Comprising three light infantry battalions.

Third Brigade--Colonel Sir C. Gordon: 6th (Warwick), 9th (Norfolk), and 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry) Regiments.

On April 1 the squadron arrived off the island, and the Second Brigade was at once disembarked under the guns of the Winchelsea, the operation being executed, to use Sir John Jervis's words, "with neatness and despatch, under the direction of Lord Viscount Garlies." Colonels Blundell and Coote, at the head of their battalions, advanced rapidly on the fortified position on the Morne Fortunée, which was evacuated by the enemy, when the French commander hoisted the white flag, and the island for the second time in its history passed into the possession of the English. Leaving Sir C. Gordon in command with the 6th and 9th Regiments as garrison, Sir G. Grey returned to Martinique.

Owing to the exigencies of the service, and the inability of the Ministry at home to realize the necessity of maintaining the troops in the West Indies at a proper strength, Grey from time to time was compelled to reduce the garrison, so that when, in the spring of the following year, the negroes of St. Lucia, in common with their fellows in the neighbouring islands, rose in revolt, the then Governor, Colonel Stuart, had only some 400 men to make headway against the revolt. In June the island was evacuated.

ST. LUCIA, 1796.

The only regiments authorized to bear the battle honour are the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Shropshires.

Early in the year 1796 it became necessary to re-conquer practically the whole of the French West India Islands--not, indeed, from the armies of the French Republic, but from the hordes of negroes, whose passions had been inflamed by revolutionary agents, and whose ambitions had been fired by the pernicious doctrines of "the rights of man." The command of the expeditionary force was entrusted to Sir Ralph Abercromby, with whom was associated the ever-to-be-remembered Sir John Moore. The total force numbered some 18,000 men, distributed as under, and was mobilized in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, in March, 1796:

Cavalry: 27th Light Dragoons and Royal Irish Artillery. First Brigade: 14th, 27th, 28th, and 57th Regiments. Second Brigade: 3rd, 19th, 31st, and 35th Regiments. Third Brigade: 8th, 37th, 44th, and 55th Regiments. Fourth Brigade: 38th, 48th, 53rd, and 63rd Regiments. Fifth Brigade: 2nd, 10th, 25th, 29th, and 88th Regiments. Sixth Brigade: 42nd (Highlanders), and two battalions composed of the grenadier companies of all the regiments present.

Abercromby's first care was to throw reinforcements into Grenada, which was still holding out, and on April 21 the convoy left Carlisle Bay for St. Lucia. On the 26th Moore landed with the 14th and 42nd, and on the following day he was reinforced by the 53rd, 57th, and the 2nd West India Regiment, under Brigadier Hope. By the 28th the whole of the force was ashore, but the operations dragged on until May 15, when the whole island was in our hands. On the 17th of that month there had been a sharp engagement, in which the 31st (East Surrey) lost heavily. Moore complained bitterly of the troops, writing as follows: "It is hard to say whether the officers or men are the worst." Moore was left in command at St. Lucia, whilst Abercromby undertook the reduction of Grenada and St. Vincent. Although the only regiments authorized to carry the distinction "St. Lucia, 1796" are the Inniskilling Fusiliers (27th), and Shropshire Light Infantry (53rd), reference to the casualty lists shows that this selection casts an unnecessary slur on the other corps which bore their fair share of fighting in the reconquest of the island.

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |14th W. Yorks | - | 1 | 1 | 4 | |27th Inniskillings | 1 | 6 | 22 | 65 | |28th Gloucester | - | 3 | 3 | 18 | |31st E. Surrey | 2 | 6 | 61 | 107 | |42nd H'landers | - | 1 | - | 4 | |44th Essex | - | 3 | 4 | 17 | |48th N'ampton | - | 1 | 2 | 15 | |53rd Shropshire L.I. | 3 | 13 | 46 | - | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

By the close of the year 1796, Moore had buried 1,500 of his garrison. So terrible were the losses we incurred from sickness--losses due to the neglect of the home authorities to provide for the sick--that it was with a sense of relief the army learnt the welcome news that, under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, St. Lucia was restored to the French. This retrocession, however, necessitated its recapture in 1803.

NOTE.--The battle honour "St. Lucia, 1803," has been granted to the Royal Scots and North Staffords for their services in the expedition under General Grinfield, in which the 68th Durham Light Infantry and 3rd West India Regiment also shared.

CASUALTIES.

+--------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Scots | - | 2 | 9 | 45 | |3rd W. India R. | - | 2 | 4 | 23 | |64th North Staffords| - | 4 | 6 | 33 | +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

SURINAM, 1804.

The regiments authorized to bear this distinction are the Bedfordshire and the North Staffords.

It commemorates the capture of this colony from the Dutch by a combined naval and military expedition on the resumption of hostilities with Holland after the Treaty of Amiens. The colony had been captured in 1799 by Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour and General Trigge, but had been restored to the Dutch in 1802.

Carlisle Bay (Barbados) was the rendezvous, the squadron being under the command of Commodore Samuel Hood, whilst the troops were commanded by Major-General Sir Charles Green. These consisted of the 16th (Bedfords), 64th (North Staffords), and the 6th West India Regiment. Leaving Barbados on April 6, 1804, the squadron, delayed by adverse and light winds, did not arrive off the mouth of the Surinam River until the 25th, when the Dutch commander was invited to surrender. To the summons he returned a truculent reply; and the troops, divided into two brigades, under Colonels Maitland and Hughes, were thrown ashore, reinforced by a naval brigade 600 strong. The defence was feeble, and in three days the place fell into our hands. Our loss was trifling, falling on the naval brigade and the North Staffords, neither the Bedfords nor the West India Regiment suffering any casualties.

CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF SURINAM, 1804.

+------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Naval Brigade | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |N. Staffords | - | 2 | 2 | 8 | |Naval Brigade | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |Bedfords | - | - | - | - | |6th West India Regiment | - | - | - | - | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

DOMINICA, 1805.

The only regiments authorized to bear this distinction are the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and the West India Regiment.

Our connection with the island dates back to the year 1762, when, on June 11, it was captured by a joint naval and military expedition under Colonel Lord Rollo and Commodore Sir James Douglas, R.N., with the Belliqueux, Dublin, Montague, and Sutherland. The troops concerned in this first capture were detachments of the King's Own (Lancaster Regiment), the Cheshires, and the Black Watch. The brunt of the fighting fell on the Highlanders, who lost 2 officers and 19 men killed, 10 officers and 74 men wounded. The possession of the island was confirmed to us by the Treaty of Paris in the following year. In 1778 it was taken from us by the French. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Governor, Major-General the Hon. W. Stewart, had reported the precarious position of the island. His total force amounted to 98 men of the 48th (Northamptons) and 28 gunners; of these but 41 were fit for duty. On September 7 a French force of four frigates, convoying 3,000 troops, appeared before the island, and the Governor was perforce compelled to surrender to De Bouillé. By the peace of 1783 the island was restored to us, but in 1805, mindful of their former success, the French made a fresh attempt at its capture. Five line-of-battleships, headed by the Majestueux, of 120 guns, stood into the harbour and overwhelmed the town of Roseau with their fire. The Governor, General Prevost, withdrew to a second position, and refused all summons for surrender, when the French, baffled, left him undisturbed. The garrison consisted of the 46th Foot (now the 2nd Battalion of the Cornwall Light Infantry), the 1st West India Regiment, and some local militia. The casualties of the defenders were slight, but their services were considered sufficiently meritorious for the following notification in the Gazette:

"As a distinguished mark of the good conduct and exemplary valour displayed by that regiment in the defence of the Island of Dominica against a very superior French force on February 22, 1805, the 46th Regiment is permitted to bear on its colours and appointments the name 'Dominica.'" For many long years this was the only distinction borne by that regiment.

The casualties were--

Cornwall Light Infantry: 11 men killed, 1 officer and 7 men wounded.

The West India Regiment: 9 men killed, 2 officers and 8 men wounded.

MARTINIQUE, 1809.

This distinction is borne by the

Royal Fusiliers. King's Liverpool Regiment. Somerset Light Infantry. East Yorkshires. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. King's Own Scottish Borderers. King's Own Royal Rifles. Manchesters. Scottish Rifles. West India Regiment.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, Martinique, amongst our many other conquests from France, was restored, thus necessitating its recapture on the resumption of hostilities. Had it not been for the fact that it was made a port of call and refit for all the privateers in the Western Atlantic, the island might have been left in peace; but in the interests of our commerce, as well as for military reasons, its recapture was decided on, and General Sir George Beckwith was entrusted with the command of the operations. His divisional commanders were Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost and Major-General Maitland. The Commander-in-Chief himself accompanied the First Division, which comprised the

First Brigade--Brigadier-General Hoghton: Royal Fusiliers, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and a wing of the 3rd West India Regiment.

Second Brigade--Brigadier-General Colville: 8th (King's Liverpool Regiment), 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), and a wing of the 1st West India Regiment.

Reserve Brigade: The 3rd and 4th Battalions of the King's Royal Rifles and the 4th West India Regiment.

This force disembarked on January 30 at St. Luce Bay, on the western coast of the island, and on the following day took possession of the town of Trinité without opposition.

First Brigade--Colonel Riall: 63rd (Manchesters) and the York Rangers (a colonial corps which did most excellent service in our West India campaigns).

Second Brigade--Major-General Maitland: 15th (East Yorkshire), the flank companies of the 46th (Cornwall Light Infantry), the 8th West India Regiment, and a body of local volunteers, known as the York Light Infantry.

Reserve Brigade--Colonel Macnair (90th): 90th (Scottish Rifles) and the 3rd West India Regiment.

This force disembarked on the south of the island, near the Three Rivers--a spot at which considerable fighting had taken place in our previous descents on the island--and here again Maitland encountered some resistance. But his brigades, working over the hills to the left, effected a junction with the Commander-in-Chief, and by February 4, thanks to the effective co-operation of the fleet, the French Governor surrendered.

Amongst the trophies were the colours, or rather the eagles, of the 62nd and 80th Regiments of the French line. One of these fell to the Royal Fusiliers, the other to the 90th, and the Commander-in-Chief selected Captain Wilby, of the 90th, to carry these trophies to England and depose them at the feet of the King. These were the first eagles to be received in England, and His Majesty was pleased to command that they should be escorted in state by the regiments of the Household Brigade to St. Paul's Cathedral, where they were received with all due solemnity. In the early days of the reign of Queen Victoria these eagles were removed to the chapel of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea, where they may be seen to this day.

CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, 1809.

+------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Roy. Fusiliers | 1 | 2 | 36 | 119 | |8th K. Liverp. | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | |R. Welsh Fus. | 0 | 1 | 19 | 101 | |90th Scot. Rifles | - | 2 | 8 | 31 | |W. India Regt. | - | - | 2 | 19 | |L.I. Battalion | 1 | 5 | 26 | 71 | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

In the year 1847, when the late Queen Victoria granted a medal to the survivors of the wars against France, Martinique was included in the list of campaigns for which the medal was to be conferred, and a special clasp "Martinique" was issued with both the military and naval General Service Medal.

By the Treaty of Amiens Martinique was handed over to the French, but on Napoleon's escape from Elba it declared for the Emperor, and General Leith was despatched with a strong force to recapture the island. Fortunately, the Governor, recognizing the hopelessness of resistance, surrendered without attempting a useless defence, and so for a few months Martinique again became a British possession, only to be handed back when Napoleon was safe under restraint.

GUADELOUPE, 1810.

The regiments which are authorized to bear this honour are the

East Yorkshire. Scottish Rifles. East Surrey. Manchester. West India.

The island on three previous occasions had been captured, and thrice restored to the French. Once again it became necessary to take measures for its reduction. Sir George Beckwith, who had so successfully carried out the conquest of Martinique in the previous year, was selected for the command of the expedition, with Generals Hyslop and Harcourt as Divisional Generals under him. The force was distributed as under:

First Division: Major-General Hyslop.

Third Brigade--Brigadier-General McLean: 90th Light Infantry (2nd Scottish Rifles), 8th West India Regiment, and a battalion composed of the light companies of all the regiments present in the West Indies.

Fourth Brigade--Brigadier-General Skinner: 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), 63rd (Manchesters), and the York Rangers (a colonial corps).

Second Division: Major-General Harcourt, who also commanded the Third Brigade, which consisted of the 15th (East Yorkshire), 3rd West India Regiment, and a second light infantry battalion.

Third Brigade--Brigadier-General Barrow: 25th (King's Own Scottish Borderers), 2nd West India Regiment, and a battalion composed of the grenadier companies of the regiments present.

Reserve Brigade--Brigadier-General Wale, under whom were placed a battalion composed of the grenadier companies of the regiments in the West Indies, a detachment of the York Rangers, and 300 artillerymen.

CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF GUADELOUPE, 1810.

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Staff | - | 2 | - | - | |Royal Artillery | - | - | 1 | 3 | |13th Somerset L.I. | - | 1 | 5 | - | |East Yorkshire | - | 1 | - | - | |40th Cornwall L.I. | - | - | - | 3 | |King's Roy. R. | - | 2 | 4 | 11 | |63rd M'chesters | - | - | - | 1 | |90th Scottish Rifles | - | 1 | 3 | 9 | |West India Regiments | - | 4 | 7 | 84 | |York Rangers | 4 | 5 | 28 | 102 | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

In the year 1847 the General Service Medal was granted to the survivors of this expedition, with a special clasp inscribed "Guadeloupe."

In the year 1814, on the conclusion of the war with France, Guadeloupe was once more restored; but on the escape of Napoleon from Elba it threw off its allegiance to Louis XVIII., and declared for the Emperor. Once more an expedition was organized for its reduction, and though the futility of resistance was pointed out, the garrison, by its unnecessary loyalty to a dead cause, compelled the General to resort to force. The command of the 1815 expedition was entrusted to Major-General Leith, the regiments selected being the East Yorkshires, who have participated in every expedition to the West Indies since the year 1759; the King's Own Scottish Borderers; the 63rd (Manchesters); and the local West India Regiments. The only casualties were--

+----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |63rd M'chesters | - | 2 | 3 | 20 | |W. India Regt. | - | 2 | 13 | 31 | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

Chapter IX

BATTLE HONOURS FOR SERVICES IN EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN, 1802-1898

Egypt with the Sphinx--Mandora, 1802--Marabout, 1802--Egypt, 1882--Tel-el-Kebir, 1882--The Nile, 1884-85--Abu Klea, 1885--Kirbekan, 1885--Suakin, 1885--Tofrek, 1885--Hafir, 1896--Atbara, 1898--Khartoum, 1898.

EGYPT (WITH THE SPHINX).

On July 6, 1802, this distinction was conferred by King George III. on the regiments named below, "as a distinguished mark of His Majesty's royal approbation, and as a lasting memorial of the glory acquired to His Majesty's arms by the zeal, discipline, and intrepidity of his troops in that arduous and important campaign." So ran the Gazette.

Five-and-forty years later, after much discussion and not a little opposition, the grant of the Peninsular medal was extended to the survivors of the campaign. The regiments that bear this battle honour are the

11th Hussars. 12th Lancers. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards. Royal Scots. Queen's. King's Liverpool Regiment. Lincolns. Somerset Light Infantry. Royal Irish. Lancashire Fusiliers. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. South Wales Borderers. Cameronians. Inniskilling Fusiliers. Gloucesters. East Lancashire. Dorsets. South Stafford. Royal Highlanders. South Lancashire. Northamptons. Essex. Royal West Kent. Manchesters. Cameron Highlanders Royal Irish Rifles. Gordon Highlanders. Connaught Rangers. Royal Irish Fusiliers. 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 113th Infantry.

The only regiments of the Indian Army now left which accompanied the army under Sir David Baird in that memorable march across the desert from Kosseir to the Nile are the 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers, the 113th Infantry, and the 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners, a grand offshoot of the Royal Engineers. This distinguished corps, known in olden days as the Madras Sappers and Miners, has no less than thirty-one battle honours on its appointments, all won between the Nile and the Peiho Rivers.

The object of the expedition to Egypt was to drive the French out of the country, to restore it to its rightful owners, the Turks, and to safeguard our Indian possessions, which were then threatened by attempts on the part of Bonaparte to enter into alliances with the independent Princes in Hindoostan. The command of the army was entrusted to Sir Ralph Abercromby, an officer who possessed the confidence of the army and of the country. He had recently effected the conquest of the West India Islands, and was one of the few Generals who had emerged from the late campaign in Flanders with an enhanced reputation. His army of 17,000 men was brigaded as under:

Cavalry Brigade: One troop of the 11th and the whole of the 12th and 26th Light Dragoons.

Guards' Brigade--Major-General Ludlow: 1st Coldstream and 1st Scots Guards.

First Brigade--Major-General Coote: Royal Scots, 54th (Dorsets--two battalions), and 92nd (Gordon Highlanders).

Second Brigade--Major-General Craddock: 8th (King's Liverpools), 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), 18th Royal Irish, and the 90th (Scottish Rifles).

Third Brigade--Major-General Lord Cavan: 50th (West Kent) and 79th (Cameron Highlanders).

Fourth Brigade--Major-General Doyle: 2nd (Queen's), 30th (East Lancashire), 44th (Essex), and 89th (Royal Irish Fusiliers).

Fifth Brigade--Major-General John Stuart: Minorca, De Rolles', and Dillon's Regiments.

Reserve--Major-General Sir John Moore: 23rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), 28th (Gloucesters), 42nd (Royal Highlanders), 58th (Northamptons), and a wing of the 40th (South Lancashires).

The artillery consisted of four batteries of 6-pounders, three batteries of 12 pounders, with a small siege-train. Only one battery was horsed, and although officers had been despatched many months before to purchase horses in Syria, the obstacles thrown in their way by the Turkish authorities had effectually prevented either artillery or cavalry taking the field properly equipped. When the army disembarked, the Cavalry Brigade consisted of 320 mounted men--

+-----------------------------------+-----------+----------+---------+ | | |N.C.O.'s| | | Regiments. |Officers.|and Men.|Horses.| +-----------------------------------+-----------+----------+---------+ |Troop of 11th Light Dragoons (now | | | | | 11th Hussars), C.-in-C.'s escort | 4 | 55 | 61 | |12th Light Dragoons | 23 | 527 | 128 | |26th Light Dragoons | 19 | 473 | 131 | +-----------------------------------+-----------+----------+---------+

--whilst for the artillery there were but sixty-four horses, and this despite the promises of the Turkish Government that all horses necessary for the army should be delivered in Marmorice Bay before the army left for Egypt.

The disembarkation of the army on March 8, 1802, was effected under a heavy fire, there being 31 officers and 642 of all ranks killed and wounded. It was carried out by the Reserve, under Sir John Moore, and the Brigade of Guards with a gallantry that compelled the admiration of the whole army. The point selected had been decided on by the Commander-in-Chief in conjunction with the Admiral. By nightfall the whole of the army, with the exception of the horses, was on shore, and on the morning of the 13th Abercromby commenced his advance on Alexandria. The troops moved in three columns, Moore's brigade being on the right, marching parallel to the sea. The centre division was composed of the brigades of Craddock, Coote, and the Brigade of Guards. It was led by the 90th (Scottish Rifles). The left column consisted of Lord Cavan's brigade, a battalion of Marines, and the three foreign regiments; the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) was in front. In the course of the march the French made a most determined attack, their cavalry charging down on the leading companies of the 90th. This corps and the 92nd, which bore the brunt of the fighting, behaved with the utmost steadiness, thus giving the regiments in rear time to deploy, when the French were driven back on their own position, from which they were driven with loss.

MANDORA, MARCH 13, 1802.

This battle honour is borne by the Scottish Rifles and the Gordon Highlanders, and was conferred upon these two young regiments in recognition of the gallantry with which they met and repelled the attack of a vastly superior body of French, as related above. The total loss of the army on March 13 amounted to 6 officers and 153 men killed, 66 officers and 1,936 men wounded, the heaviest casualties being those of the two regiments who bear "Mandora" on their colours. The 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), which was in the immediate rear of the 90th, at once moved up to its support, and also suffered very heavily. The 90th (Scottish Rifles) were under the command of their junior Lieutenant-Colonel, afterwards better known as General Viscount Hill, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He was badly wounded at Mandora, when the command of the regiment devolved on the next senior officer, Major Moncrieff, who a few days subsequently was given the command of the 44th (Essex), on its Colonel being killed. Thence he was moved, at Sir John Moore's request, to the 52nd, in order to train that distinguished corps as a light infantry regiment. Although the 90th at that time had not the designation of light infantry, its founder, Colonel Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch had from its earliest days trained it as a light infantry corps, impelled thereto because its predecessor, which had fought so well at the capture of Belleisle, Martinique, and Havana, was at that time (1759-1764) the only light infantry regiment in the British army, and the stout old Scotsman never rested until he had secured the same title for the new 90th.

CASUALTIES OF THE 90TH AND 92ND AT MANDORA.

+------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |90th Scottish Rifles | 1 | 7 | 29 | 242 | |92nd Gordon Highlanders | - | 11 | 19 | 110 | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

On March 21 the French made a third and final attack on Abercromby's army, now in the immediate vicinity of Alexandria. This again was repulsed, but our casualties were very heavy, amounting to 75 officers and 1,400 of all ranks killed and wounded, the heaviest loss falling on the 42nd (Royal Highlanders), a corps which in all three actions had shown the most consummate gallantry, its casualties in the three engagements being 506 killed and wounded. In the course of this action Sir Ralph Abercromby received a mortal wound, and the command of the army devolved upon General Hutchinson. Leaving a sufficient force to cover Alexandria, the new Commander-in-Chief at once commenced an advance on Cairo, and on June 13 he had the satisfaction of receiving the surrender of 13,000 French soldiers, who were massed at the capital. Of these, some 8,000 were effectives, and the task of guarding them on the return march to the sea was one that required much acumen, for the total number of British troops at this time at Cairo was barely 4,000. The army at Alexandria had, however, been reinforced by a strong brigade from the Mediterranean, made up of the 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers), 24th (South Wales Borderers), 25th (King's Own Scottish Borderers), 26th (Cameronians), and the 27th (Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers).

A further addition to the British army was now made in the shape of a division which had been despatched from India under the command of a tried and gallant officer, Sir David Baird. It comprised a squadron of the 8th Hussars, the 10th (Lincolns), 86th (Royal Irish Rifles), 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), 88th (Connaught Rangers), four battalions of sepoys, some English gunners in the Company's service, and some native sappers. The 8th Hussars and 86th (Royal Irish Rifles) had landed at Suez, and marched direct across the desert to Cairo. The other regiments were disembarked at Kosseir, whence they marched to Keneh, on the Nile, a distance of 100 miles; then, taking native boats, they dropped down stream to Cairo. As soon as the convoy of prisoners had embarked to France, General Hutchinson was enabled to turn his attention to Alexandria, in which a considerable garrison was closely besieged.

MARABOUT, AUGUST 17, 1802.

This battle honour is borne by the Dorsetshires, and commemorates the service of the 54th Regiment in the operations outside Alexandria in the summer of 1802. The old 54th had been entrusted with the task of keeping watch and ward over the French garrison in Fort Marabout, and it was their successful capture of the redoubt at the tomb of a Moslem saint which brought home to General Menou the futility of further resistance. He hoisted the white flag, when he and his army were permitted a safe conduct to France, on giving an undertaking that they would not serve against England during the continuance of the war. The Treaty of Amiens followed soon after the surrender of Alexandria, and on the renewal of hostilities in 1803 the army of Egypt was once more free to act against us.

Before quitting the subject of the Egyptian campaign of 1802, it appears pertinent to remark that there seems to exist no valid reason why the 8th Hussars should not be accorded this distinction. It may be urged that the headquarters of the regiment was not present. The 11th Hussars bear the honour, and but one troop was in Egypt, so that this contention does not hold good. Again, it may be urged that they were not engaged. This would bear with equal force against the infantry regiments which formed a portion of Sir David Baird's force. All these have been authorized to bear the distinction of "Egypt" (with the Sphinx). Why the 8th Hussars have been denied this privilege is one of the many anomalies which surround the question of battle honours.[10]

CASUALTIES IN THE THREE PRINCIPAL ENGAGEMENTS IN EGYPT.

Legend: Of. = Officers. +----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+ | | MARCH 8. | MARCH 13 | MARCH 21 | AUGUST 23 | | | | (MANDORA). |(ALEXANDRIA)| (MARABOUT).| | Regiments. +-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------| | |Of.|Men.|Of.|Men.|Of.|Men.|Of.|Men.| | +--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---| | |K.|W.|K.| W.|K.|W.|K.| W.|K.|W.|K.| W.|K.|W.|K.| W.| |----------------+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---| |11th Hussars |- | -| -| - | -| -| -| - | -| -| -| 3| -| -| -| - | |12th Hussars |- | -| -| - | -| 1| 1| - | -| -| -| 6| -| -| -| - | |Royal Artillery |- | -| -| - | -| 2| 2| 15| -| 5|14| 40| -| -| -| - | |Royal Engineers |- | -| -| - | -| -| -| - | -| -| -| -| -| -| -| - | |Coldstream | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Guards | 1| 5|17| 69| 1| 1| 2| 4| -| -| 7| 53| -| -| -| - | |Scots Guards |- | -| 5| 40| -| -| 4| 14| 1| 3|41|153| -| -| -| - | |1st Royal Scots |- | 4|12| 43| -| -| 4| 21| -| 4| 9| 69| -| -| -| - | |2nd Queen's |- | -| -| - | -| -| 1| 14| -| 1| -| 10| -| -| -| - | |8th King's | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Liverpool Regt.|- | -| -| - | -| 6|11| 65| -| -| 1| 2| -| -| -| - | |13th Somerset | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Light Infantry|- | -| -| - | 1| 9|16|100| -| -| -| 1| -| -| -| - | |18th Royal Irish|- | -| -| - | 1| 3| -| 45| -| -| -| 1| -| -| -| - | |23rd Royal Welsh| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fusiliers |- | 2| 6| 38| -| -| 2| 4| -| 1| 5| 14| -| -| -| - | |28th Gloucesters|- | -| 5| 34| 1| 1| 9| 23| -| 4|20| 50| -| -| -| - | |30th East | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Lancashire |- | -| -| - | 1| 2| 2| 6| -| 2| 4| 24| -| -| -| - | |40th South | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Lancashire |1 | 2|15| 31| -| -| -| 2| -| 1| 4| 2| -| -| -| - | |42nd Black Watch|- | 8|21|148| -| 3| 1| 12| 4| 8|48|253| -| -| -| - | |44th Essex |- | -| -| - | -| 3| 2| 22| -| 1| 1| 15| -| -| -| - | |50th West Kent |- | -| -| - | 1| -| 5| 39| -| 4| 1| 37| -| -| -| - | |54th Dorsetshire|1 | 2| 4| 17| -| 7|13| 37| 1| 2| 4| 48| -| 2| 2| 14| |58th Northampton|1 | 2|10| 45| -| -| 2| 9| 1| 2| 2| 19| -| -| -| - | |79th Cameron | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Highlanders |- | -| -| - | -| 3| 5| 58| -| 1| 1| 20| -| -| -| - | |89th Royal Irish| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fusiliers |- | -| -| - | -| -| -| 7| -| 2| 2| 10| -| -| -| - | |90th Scottish | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rifles |- | -| -| - | 1| 7|29|214| -| -| -| 1| -| -| -| - | |92nd Gordon | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Highlanders |- | -| -| - | -|11|19|110| -| 2| 3| 37| -| -| -| - | +----------------+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+

EGYPT, 1882.

The following regiments have been authorized to add the above honour to their colours and appointments:

1st Life Guards. 2nd Life Guards. Royal Horse Guards. 4th Dragoon Guards. 7th Dragoon Guards. 19th Hussars. Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards. Royal Irish. South Stafford. Cornwall Light Infantry. Royal Highlanders. Royal Sussex. Sherwood Foresters. Royal Berkshire. Royal West Kent. Shropshire Light Infantry. King's Royal Rifles. Manchesters. York and Lancaster. Highland Light Infantry. Seaforth Highlanders. Gordon Highlanders. Cameron Highlanders. Royal Irish Fusiliers. 2nd (Gardner's Horse). 6th King Edward's Own Light Cavalry. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 13th (Watson's Horse). 7th Rajputs. 20th (Brownlow's Punjabis). 129th Baluchis. Royal Malta Artillery.

In the year 1882 the chronic misgovernment in Egypt led to serious disturbances, which culminated in the assumption of power by the military party, and an organized attack on all Christians. So critical was the situation, that it was considered necessary to send the fleets of the allied Powers to Alexandria; and after an Arab mob had wreaked its vengeance on the city, the British fleet bombarded the forts and sent ashore landing parties to restore order. The British Government now determined to employ armed force to uphold the authority of the Khedive, and an Expeditionary Force, under the command of General Sir Garnet Wolseley, was organized for this purpose.

The Egyptian army, which had thrown off all allegiance to the Khedive, had taken up a strong position at Tel-el-Kebir astride of the railway, barring the advance on the capital. Sir Garnet, on landing at Alexandria, took steps to secure the safe passage of the Suez Canal, and on August 21 he was able to land the bulk of his troops at Ismailia, the halfway station between Port Said, the Mediterranean terminus, and Suez, the Red Sea terminus of the canal. After one or two minor actions at Kassassin and Tel-el-Mahuta, Sir Garnet advanced on Tel-el-Kebir.

The casualties sustained by the troops at the few engagements that took place during the operations (apart from those at Tel-el-Kebir) were insignificant:

+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |1st Life Guards | - | - | 6 | 8 | |2nd Life Guards | - | 1 | 1 | 6 | |Royal Horse Guards | - | - | 1 | 9 | |4th Drag. Gds. | - | - | - | 1 | |7th Drag. Gds. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |Royal Artillery | - | - | 3 | 12 | |Royal Marine Artillery | - | 3 | 6 | 21 | |2nd Batt. Roy. Irish | - | - | - | 2 | |46th Corn. L.I. | - | 4 | - | 14 | |R. Marine L.I. | - | - | - | 25 | |3rd Batt. 60th Royal Rifles | - | - | 2 | 28 | |84th York and Lancaster | - | - | 1 | 21 | |2nd Gardner's Horse | - | - | - | 2 | |13th Watson's Horse | - | - | 1 | 1 | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

TEL-EL-KEBIR, SEPTEMBER 12, 1882.

The regiments named below are authorized to bear this battle honour:

1st Life Guards. 2nd Life Guards. Royal Horse Guards. 4th Dragoon Guards. 7th Dragoon Guards. 19th Hussars. Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards. Royal Irish. Cornwall Light Infantry. Royal Highlanders. King's Royal Rifles. York and Lancaster. Highland Light Infantry. Seaforth Highlanders. Gordon Highlanders. Royal Irish Fusiliers. Cameron Highlanders. 13th (Watson's Horse). 2nd (Gardner's Horse). 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry. 20th (Brownlow's Punjabis). 7th Rajputs. 129th Baluchis.

This battle honour commemorates the first action in which the Household Cavalry were engaged since Waterloo. The hypercritical may claim that the composite regiment, under Brigadier Ewart, took part in the midnight charge on September 28, and this is strictly true; but Kassassin does not figure on the standards or appointments of the Household Cavalry, whereas Tel-el-Kebir does.

The Egyptian position at Tel-el-Kebir lay at right angles to the railway and the Sweet Water Canal. It was covered by a long line of trenches, flanked with powerful redoubts, and was held by some 30,000 men, with 60 guns. Sir Garnet's force barely numbered 15,000. To attempt the attack of such a formidable position in daylight would have been to court serious loss, and Sir Garnet, with a firm faith in his men, essayed the hazardous task of a long night's march, as a prelude to an attack on the entrenched position at dawn. At 11 p.m. the advance commenced, the First Division, under Lieutenant-General Willis on the right; the Second, under Lieutenant-General Hamley, on the left. Dawn was just breaking when the Highland Brigade reached the Egyptian trenches, and, with a mighty cheer, dashed over the parapet. Within a few minutes the first division attacked also, and the cavalry, sweeping round the rear, cut in on the flying enemy. An immediate pursuit was ordered, and on the evening of September 14 the citadel of Cairo was in our hands, the Cavalry Brigade having covered sixty-five miles in twenty-four hours. The promptitude with which Sir Garnet Wolseley followed up the victory of Tel-el-Kebir brought the rebellion to an end, but it was clear that the continuance of the Khedivial authority must henceforth rest on the protection that might be afforded him by the English army of occupation. For this purpose Sir Archibald Alison, who had commanded the Highland Brigade with conspicuous success during the course of the operations, was left in command of a British force, numbering some 10,000 men, whilst Major-General Sir Evelyn Wood was entrusted with the re-organization of the Egyptian army.

As will be seen from a perusal of the following list of casualties, the brunt of the fighting at Tel-el-Kebir fell on the Highland Brigade, which suffered more heavily here than it did at the historic Battle of the Alma.

CASUALTIES AT TEL-EL-KEBIR, SEPTEMBER 12, 1882.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Grenadier Gds. | - | 1 | 1 | 9 | |Coldstream Gds. | - | 1 | - | 7 | |Scots Guards | - | - | - | 4 | |2nd Batt. Royal Irish | 1 | 2 | 1 | 17 | |46th Corn. L.I. | - | 1 | - | 5 | |42nd Royal Highlanders | 1 | 6 | 7 | 37 | |3rd Batt. K. Roy. Rifles | - | - | - | 20 | |84th York and Lancaster | - | - | - | 12 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | - | - | 1 | 3 | |74th Highland L.I. | 3 | 5 | 14 | 52 | |75th Gordon Highlanders | 1 | 1 | 5 | 29 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | - | 3 | 13 | 45 | |87th Roy. Irish Fusiliers | - | - | 2 | 34 | | ---- | | | | | |2nd Gardner's Horse | - | 1 | - | 1 | |6th K.E.O. Cavalry | - | - | - | - | |13th Watson's Horse | - | - | - | 2 | |7th Rajputs | - | - | - | 1 | |20th Brownlow's Punjabis | - | - | - | - | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

Following the precedent of the Crimean War, when British officers and soldiers were authorized to receive and to wear decorations and medals bestowed by our allies, the Queen sanctioned the acceptance of a very generous bestowal of orders of the Osmanieh and Medjidieh, whilst every officer and man received a bronze star commemorative of the campaign at the hands of the Khedive.

TURKISH DECORATIONS BESTOWED FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1882.

+-------------------------------+-----------+------------+ | Regiments. |Osmanieh.|Medjidieh.| +-------------------------------+-----------+------------+ |General officers | 4 | 6 | |Staff officers | 51 | 94 | |1st Life Guards (one squadron) | 1 | - | |2nd Life Guards (one squadron) | 1 | 1 | |Roy. Horse Gds. (one squadron) | - | 1 | |4th Drag. Gds. | - | 3 | |7th Drag. Gds. | 2 | 1 | |19th Hussars | 2 | 1 | |Royal Artillery | 3 | 18 | |Roy. Engineers | 1 | 4 | |Grenadier Gds. | 2 | 2 | |Coldstream Gds. | 3 | 1 | |Scots Guards | 3 | 1 | |Royal Irish | 3 | 1 | |38th South Staffords | 2 | 2 | |42nd Roy. Highlanders | 3 | 1 | |46th Cornwall L.I. | 3 | 1 | |50th West Kent | 3 | 1 | |60th King's Royal Rifles | 3 | 1 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | 3 | 1 | |74th High. L.I. | 2 | 2 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | 3 | 1 | |84th York and Lancaster | 3 | 1 | |87th Roy. Irish Fusiliers | 3 | 1 | | ---- | | | |2nd Gardner's Horse | 1 | 2 | |6th K.E.O. Cavalry | 1 | 2 | |13th Watson's Horse | 1 | 1 | |2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners | 1 | 1 | |7th Rajputs | 1 | 2 | |20th Brownlow's Punjabis | 1 | 2 | |129th Baluchis | 1 | 2 | +-------------------------------+-----------+------------+

NILE, 1884-85.

This distinction was conferred on the regiments which, under Generals Earle and Sir Herbert Stewart, essayed to save General C. Gordon, R.E., then hemmed in by fanatical Moslems at Khartoum. The regiments entitled to bear the honour are the

19th Hussars. Royal Irish. Cornwall Light Infantry. Royal Sussex. South Staffordshire. Royal Highlanders. Essex. Royal West Kent. Gordon Highlanders. Cameron Highlanders.

Looking back after the event, it is clear that the British Government did not appreciate the responsibilities they had assumed when they left Sir Archibald Alison in command of the army of occupation after the victory of Tel-el-Kebir. Not only was the authority of the Khedive gone in Egypt proper, but it had vanished in the far-off regions of the Soudan, which were now in the hands of a fanatical Moslem false prophet, who styled himself the Mahdi. At one time, in the days of the Khedive Ismail, the Soudan had been administered by General Charles Gordon, of the Royal Engineers. One of the most remarkable men of his generation, General Gordon was the type of the earlier Christian martyrs, and as a Christian martyr he died. At the request of the Khedive, and with the consent of the British Government, General Gordon assumed the Governorship of the Soudan, and set out for his post early in 1884. Into the history of Gordon's gallant defence of Khartoum it is no part of my province to enter. Towards the end of the year he was hard pressed, and, though ordered to abandon the Soudan, he declined to do so. It became necessary to organize a force, not merely to effect his rescue, but also to restore the authority of the Khedive in the Soudan and the Equatorial provinces of Egypt, where only the writ of the Mahdi was allowed to run.

Once more Sir Garnet Wolseley was selected for the chief command, and two expeditionary forces were organized, the one operating by the River Nile, the other from the Red Sea port of Suakin. The Commander-in-Chief accompanied the river column, which numbered some 5,500 men. On reaching Korti, about the end of November, Sir Herbert Stewart, with the camel corps, was detached to push across the desert and occupy the Jakdul Wells. This was successfully accomplished, and on December 8 he commenced another stage on the march to Khartoum; but on nearing the wells of Abu Klea, these were found to be in possession of the enemy, when was fought the action which is inscribed on the colours and appointments of but two regiments in the British army.

ABU KLEA, JANUARY 28, 1885.

This battle honour was conferred on the 19th Hussars and the Royal Sussex Regiment for their services in the sharp action of January 28, 1885, when the commander of the force, Major-General Sir Herbert Stewart, received a mortal wound, dying a few days after the fight. Although the distinction was only granted to the two regiments above mentioned, the brigade under General Stewart's command comprised a naval brigade, under Captain Lord Charles Beresford, and a camel corps, made up of regiments of heavy and of light cavalry of the Household Cavalry and of the Brigade of Guards, and a force of Mounted Infantry: no less than twenty-two regiments were represented in the camel corps which fought so well at Abu Klea.

CASUALTIES AT ABU KLEA.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |19th Hussars | - | - | 2 | 4 | |Naval Brigade | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | |Royal Artillery | - | 2 | - | 2 | |Heavy Cavalry Camel Corps | 6 | - | 48 | 28 | |35th R. Sussex | - | - | 5 | 25 | |Light Cavalry Camel Corps | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | |Mounted Infantry | - | 1 | 5 | 35 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

KIRBEKAN, FEBRUARY 10, 1885.

This battle honour, which is borne by the South Staffordshires and the Royal Highlanders, commemorates the only action fought by what was known as the River Column in the advance up the Nile for the relief of General Gordon in the Soudan Campaign of 1885.

Whilst Sir Herbert Stewart with the camel corps was endeavouring to force his way to Khartoum by the desert route, Major-General Earle, a guardsman at the head of the River Column, was slowly moving south from Korti. On February 10 an indecisive action was fought with a small body of the enemy. Our losses were numerically insignificant, but they included the General in command, Major-General W. Earle, late of the Grenadier Guards, and the commanding officers of the two line regiments present.

The news of the death of General Gordon and the occupation of Khartoum by the Mahdi caused the Home Government to order the withdrawal of the British troops from the Nile, and the task of conducting the retirement was entrusted to Major-General Sir Redvers Buller.

CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF KIRBEKAN.

+-----------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K | W. | K. | W. | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |General Staff | 1 | - | - | - | |38th S. Staffs | 1 | 2 | 5 | 22 | |42nd Royal Highlanders | 1 | 2 | 4 | 21 | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

SUAKIN, 1885.[11]

This honour, which commemorates a short campaign in the Eastern Soudan, is borne by the

5th Lancers. 20th Hussars. Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards. Royal Berkshires. Shropshire Light Infantry. 9th Hodson's Horse. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 15th Ludhiana Sikhs. 17th (Loyal Regiment). 128th Pioneers.

Whilst the Mahdi himself was conducting his successful campaign against General Gordon at Khartoum, one of his Lieutenants, Osman Digna, a slave merchant of Suakin, was pursuing a no less successful career at Suakin, on the coast of the Red Sea. On two occasions Egyptian armies had been worsted by him, and in the month of December, 1883, a British officer, Colonel Valentine Baker, was routed by an inferior body of tribesmen in an endeavour to relieve the Egyptian fort at Tokar. Of his force of 3,700 men, no less than 2,375 were killed, including 11 British officers. In the spring of 1884 Major-General Sir Gerald Graham was despatched to Suakin to teach Osman Digna a much-needed lesson, and in the month of February Sir Gerald inflicted two severe defeats on the tribesmen at El-Teb and Tamai. A medal and clasp were granted for these services, but they have not been recorded on the list of battle honours of the army.

When the withdrawal from the Nile was decided on, instructions were despatched to Sir Gerald Graham at Suakin to prepare for an advance on Berber from Suakin. His force was brought up to a strength of 13,000 men, including a contingent from New South Wales and a brigade from India. This force was distributed as under:

Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Graham, V.C., K.C.B.

Cavalry Brigade--Major-General Sir Henry Ewart, K.C.B.: The 5th Lancers, 20th Hussars, and 9th (Hodson's Horse).

Brigade of Guards--Major-General Lyon Fremantle: A battalion of each of the three regiments--the Grenadiers, the Coldstream and the Scots Guards--and the Australian contingent.

Second Brigade--Major-General Sir John MacNeill, V.C., K.C.B.: The 49th (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 53rd (Shropshire Light Infantry), and a battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry.

Indian Brigade--Brigadier-General J. Hudson, C.B.: The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, 17th (Loyal Regiment), and the 128th Pioneers.

To these must be added a battery of horse and two of field artillery, with a well-horsed, but only partially trained, battery of Australians. Sir Gerald's orders were to press on the construction of the railway to Berber, a feat which did not receive much encouragement on the spot, as it was felt that the nature of the country and the want of water on the route selected somewhat militated against success. The troops were much harassed by continuous night attacks, whilst the superior mobility of the enemy, who invariably shirked attack, prevented the General from inflicting any serious damage to the causes of the Mahdi. One action in this expedition has been rescued from oblivion, but it is open to question whether at the time it was considered a victory.

TOFREK, MARCH 22, 1885.

This battle honour records the services of the under-mentioned regiments in a sharp little fight outside the town of Suakin, on the Red Sea, in the campaign of the Eastern Soudan, in 1885. It is borne on the colours of the

Royal Berkshire. Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 17th (Loyal Regiment). 15th Ludhiana Sikhs. 128th Pioneers.

In the early morn of March 22 Sir John MacNeill, a gallant and experienced soldier, was sent out from Suakin with orders to form a halfway camp on the route to Tamai. The road lay through a dense thorn-bush, and the reconnoitring was unfortunately confided to the 5th Lancers, a young regiment with no experience of Eastern warfare. They were all unused to the glare of the Egyptian desert, and gave no timely warning of the proximity of the enemy. The brigade was attacked when half the men were busy cutting the jungle to form a breastwork, but there was no confusion until the camels, terrified by the onrush of the Soudanese, who commenced ham-stringing the animals, broke the line of the rear face of the hastily-formed square. The commanding officer of the regiment fell in rallying his men. In twenty minutes the rush of the tribesmen was repulsed, and though our losses were severe, those of the enemy were enormous. Over 2,000 were buried by our men. Such a lesson was taught them that from that day until the withdrawal of Sir Gerald Graham's force no further attacks were made on his camp.

CASUALTIES AT THE ACTION OF TOFREK.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Naval Brigade | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | |5th Lancers | 1 | - | - | 5 | |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | - | 4 | |Roy. Engineers | 2 | 1 | 13 | 3 | |49th Berkshires | 1 | - | 22 | 30 | |Royal Marines | - | - | 7 | 16 | |Madras Sappers and Miners | 2 | 1 | 12 | 20 | |15th Sikhs | - | - | 9 | 11 | |17th Loyal Regiment | 1 | 1 | 20 | 33 | |128th Pioneers | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

HAFIR.

This battle honour is borne only by the Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire) Regiment, and was awarded to them in recognition of their conduct during the operation leading to the action of Hafir, in the month of September, 1896.

Eleven years had elapsed since the engagements on the Nile and at Tofrek, and during those eleven years the process of reorganizing the Egyptian army had been ceaselessly carried on under the direction of the British officers lent to the Khedive. Sir Evelyn Wood had been succeeded by General Grenfell, and Grenfell by General Kitchener. Our Consul-General at Cairo occupied a unique position, for he was the virtual ruler of Egypt. A soldier by profession, and one of the earliest of the Staff College graduates, Sir Evelyn Baring had profited by his experience in many appointments, in all of which he had acquired ripe stores of priceless knowledge. Soldier, financier, diplomatist, he was facile princeps in all; and though Sir Herbert Kitchener was the General who broke the back of Mahdiism, the brain which devised and the hand which guided the machinery were those of Sir Evelyn Baring. During those eleven years the Egyptian army had on more than one occasion been pitted against the Mahdi's troops. The men had learnt self-reliance, and possessed the most boundless faith in their British officers. Step by step the army was converted into a battle machine. The battalions of fellaheen were stiffened with battalions of blacks from the Soudan. No better fighting material exists in Africa. And as it improved in value, so were the necessary measures taken to break the power of the Mahdi. The railway was pushed farther south up the Nile, a strong brigade of native troops was despatched from India to Suakin, and the Egyptian army, stiffened with but one British regiment, taught that it was now able to face the Mahdi's men. At Firket, in May, 1896, the first of these combats took place, and in September, at Hafir, a decisive success was gained, which opened the road to Dongola. The 64th (North Staffordshire) Regiment--the only corps which bears the honour on its colours--was not actually engaged, and suffered no casualties at the hands of the enemy; but it lost heavily by disease in the operation leading up to the action, and so has been authorized to assume the battle honour.

In the meantime the Khalifa was not idle. He recalled Osman Digna from Suakin, and personally superintended the organization of his troops at Omdurman, opposite Khartoum. Kitchener's force was gradually strengthened. No less than thirteen gunboats had been brought up the Nile in sections, and, being of shallow draft, were able to co-operate with the troops on the banks. The time had now come for the final attempt to reconquer the Soudan. In January, 1898, Kitchener's force was further reinforced by a brigade of British troops under Major-General Gatacre, an officer who had shown himself possessed of the highest attributes of a soldier in our Indian frontier wars. The army that now faced the Khalifa on the Atbara River comprised Gatacre's brigade (the Warwicks, Lincolns, Seaforth, and Cameron Highlanders), three brigades of Egyptian troops, with a brigade of Egyptian cavalry and the camel corps. On April 5 the Sirdar made a careful reconnaissance of the Khalifa's position, and on the early morning of the 8th commenced a severe bombardment of the entrenchments behind which the Khalifa's forces lay.

ATBARA, APRIL 8, 1898.

This battle honour is borne by the

Royal Warwicks. Lincolns. Seaforth Highlanders. Cameron Highlanders.

It commemorates the action fought by the army under Sir Herbert Kitchener, prior to the capture of Khartoum and the overthrow of Mahdiism. In our earlier dealings with the forces of Mahdiism, even when they were opposed to British troops, we had always found the enemy ready to meet us. At El Teb and Abu Klea, at Tamai and Tofrek, they had never hesitated to charge our squares. Now a different system of tactics was inaugurated, showing that they had learnt a bitter lesson. The fact that the Mahdists awaited them behind entrenchments, instead of charging down sword or spear in hand, naturally infused courage into our own black troops, and when, after an hour's bombardment, Kitchener stormed the enemy's position, Egyptian fellaheen vied with kilted Highlander as to who should lead the way to the front. Our success was complete: over 3,000 of the enemy were killed, our losses totalling 88 killed and 472 wounded, in both British and Egyptian forces.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |1st Batt. 6th R. Warwicks | - | 1 | 2 | 11 | |1st Batt. 10th Lincolns | - | 3 | 1 | 13 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | 2 | 4 | 5 | 22 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | 3 | 1 | 13 | 44 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

KHARTOUM, 1898.

This battle honour, which records the services of the army commanded by Sir Herbert Kitchener at the capture of the stronghold of Mahdiism, is borne by the

21st Lancers. Grenadier Guards. Northumberland Fusiliers. Royal Warwicks. Lincolnshire. Lancashire Fusiliers. Seaforth Highlanders. Cameron Highlanders.

The decisive success achieved at the Atbara on April 8, 1898, opened the road to Khartoum. The railway was now pushed on to the Atbara River, and fresh reinforcements sent out from home, bringing up Sir Herbert Kitchener's force to nearly 26,000 men, thus distributed:

British Division: Major-General Gatacre.

First Brigade--Brigadier-General A. Wauchope: 1st Warwicks, 1st Lincolns, 72nd (Seaforth Highlanders), and the 79th (Cameron Highlanders).

Second Brigade--Brigadier-General Hon. N. Lyttleton: 1st Grenadier Guards, 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, and the 1st Rifle Brigade.

Egyptian Division--Major-General Hunter: Consisted of four strong brigades.

In addition, there were 2 batteries of Royal Artillery, 5 Egyptian batteries, 20 machine guns, a flotilla of 10 gunboats, under Commander Keppel, R.N., the 21st Lancers, with a brigade of Egyptian cavalry and the camel corps, making a total force of 8,200 British and 17,600 Egyptian troops, with 44 field, 12 mountain, and 22 machine guns. The flotilla of armoured gunboats mounted 36 guns in addition, and these in the final action contributed not a little to the success of the day.

Late in August the whole force was concentrated at Metemneh, the site of one of the actions between the little force under Sir Herbert Stewart and the Mahdi's troops in January, 1885. On the left bank of the river lay the British force, on the opposite bank a large levy of friendly tribes eager to throw off the despotism and tyranny of the Khalifa. On September 4 the British force encamped four miles from Khartoum, and Sir Herbert Kitchener, who was not the man to leave anything to chance, threw up a strong breastwork, and bivouacked for the night. On the morrow the gunboats bombarded the fort of Omdurman. The Khalifa, stung into action, delivered a fierce attack on the zareba, but was repulsed with heavy loss. Kitchener then left its shelter, and advanced towards Omdurman; but the spirit of the Mahdiists was by no means broken. Twice did they attack the British troops, but all was of no avail. The training of the British officer now bore good fruit. Under its incomparable leader, Brigadier Hector Macdonald, his brigade of black troops manœuvred with all the coolness of veterans, and the 21st Lancers, seizing their chance, charged into the struggling mass of the enemy, who met them with the utmost gallantry. The day was well won, and ere nightfall the British flag was flying over the walls of the Khalifa's capital. His black flag was amongst our trophies, and 10,000 of his misguided followers lay dead on the sand-hills outside the accursed city. The results of the battle, in which we lost some 500 of all ranks, killed and wounded, were the destruction of the Khalifa's army, and the restoration to the Khedivial Government of those provinces which had thrown off his rule in the great upheaval of 1884.

CASUALTIES AT THE BATTLE OF KHARTOUM.

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |21st Lancers | 1 | 4 | 20 | 46 | |1st Batt. Grenadier Guards | - | 1 | - | 4 | |1st Batt. 5th Northum. F. | - | - | - | 2 | |1st Batt. 6th R. Warwicks | 1 | 1 | - | 6 | |1st Batt. 10th Lincolns | - | 1 | - | 17 | |2nd Batt. 20th Lancs Fus. | - | - | - | 6 | |72nd Seaforth Highlanders | - | 1 | - | 17 | |79th Cameron Highlanders | - | 2 | 2 | 27 | |2nd Batt. Rifle Brigade | - | - | - | 8 | |Egyptian Army | 2 | 8 | 18 | 273 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

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X. BATTLE HONOURS FOR SERVICES IN INDIA, 1803-1809

Ally-Ghur, 1803--Delhi, 1803-04--Assaye, 1803--Laswarree, 1803--Deig, 1803-04--Cochin, 1809.

FIRST MAHRATTA WAR, 1803-04.

In the London Gazette of February 28, 1851, appeared a notification that Her Majesty the Queen had been graciously pleased to sanction the bestowal of a medal on the survivors of the First Mahratta War of 1803-04. The following clasps were issued with this medal, now generally known as the First Indian General Service Medal. It was also bestowed on the survivors--few, indeed, in numbers--of (1) the siege and capture of Seringapatam, by the force under Lord Harris; (2) the Second Mahratta War, 1817-18; (3) the campaign in Nepaul; (4) and that in Burmah, as well as on (5) the troops who took Bhurtpore, under Lord Combermere, in 1826.

The following clasps were issued with the medal in connection with the First Mahratta War:

1. Ally-Ghur. 2. Delhi.[12] 3. Assaye. 4. Asseerghur. 5. Laswarree. 6. Argaum. 7. Gawilghur. 8. Deig.[13]

The growing power of the Mahrattas and the insolence of the Mahrajah Scindia rendered it necessary for us to strengthen and rectify our frontiers in the North-West of India. Delhi, which for centuries had been the capital of the Mogul Empire, had fallen into the hands of the Mahrattas, and the aged King had been treated with barbarous cruelty. Our own territory, as well as that of our allies, had been invaded. At last Lord Lake, the brilliant leader at Lincelles, who had become Commander-in-Chief in India, determined on action. Scindia was a formidable foe, and it was a matter of doubt as to which of the other Ruling Chiefs would follow him in the field; his troops had been organized and drilled by Frenchmen, many of whom he entrusted with high command, and it was computed that his army numbered 100,000 men, the greater part cavalry. India was a country in which we could take no risks; we were always fighting, as it were, with our backs to the wall, for there was no Suez Canal, nor were there fast steamships to pour reinforcements into the country when necessary. Lord Lake therefore assembled practically the whole of his available army, and advanced simultaneously from the north, south, east, and west.

I. The main army, under his own command in the north, was the most powerful in point of numbers, but it contained only one regiment of British infantry (the 76th, long known as the Hindoostan Regiment). It was composed as under:

CAVALRY DIVISION: COLONEL VANDELEUR, AND ALSO COMMANDING THE FIRST BRIGADE.

First Brigade: 8th Light Dragoons, 1st and 3rd Bengal Cavalry.

Second Brigade--Colonel St. Leger: 27th Light Dragoons, 2nd and 6th Bengal Cavalry.

Third Brigade--Colonel Macan: 29th Light Dragoons, and the 4th Bengal Cavalry.

FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION: MAJOR-GENERAL WARE.

First Brigade--Colonel the Hon. G. Monson: 76th Foot, 4th (two battalions) and 17th Bengal Infantry.

Third Brigade--Colonel Macdonald: 1st Batt. 12th and 15th Bengal Infantry.

SECOND DIVISION: MAJOR-GENERAL ST. JOHN.

Second Brigade--Colonel Clarke: 8th, 9th, 1st Batt. 12th, and 16th Bengal Infantry.

Fourth Brigade--Colonel Powell: 2nd and 14th Bengal Infantry.

Artillery--Colonel Horsford: One horse and three field batteries.

It must be borne in mind that at this time each regiment of cavalry and battalion of infantry had two galloper guns. There was also a powerful siege-train attached to the army. This army was to advance westward on Agra and Delhi.

II. The division under Sir A. Wellesley:

Sir Arthur Wellesley was entrusted with the army of the south, and had under his orders, not only his own division, but also the one in Guzerat and the Hyderabad subsidiary force, commanded respectively by Colonels Stevenson and Murray. A fourth army was assembled in Cuttack, on the coast of Bengal, under Colonel Harcourt. These forces were composed as follows:

19th Light Dragoons, 4th, 5th, and 7th Regiments of Madras Cavalry; the 74th and 78th (Highlanders); and eight regiments of Madras sepoys, of which only three now survive. This force amounted to 3,000 British and 5,000 native troops, and it was subsequently strengthened by 2,500 Mysorean horse and a considerable body of cavalry sent by the Peishwa.

The Hyderabad subsidiary force, also under Wellesley's orders, comprised 120 English gunners, the Scots Brigade (now the 2nd Connaught Rangers), 900 native cavalry, and 6,000 native infantry. It was commanded by Colonel Murray.

III. The division in Guzerat, which was to insure the safety of Cambay, and then to operate from the west, was under Colonel Stevenson, and comprised the 65th (York and Lancasters), 75th (Gordon Highlanders), the 86th (Royal Irish Rifles), and detachments of the 61st (Gloucesters), 84th (York and Lancasters), and 88th (Connaught Rangers), with 200 English artillerymen.

The most difficult task was that assigned to Wellesley, for he had to arrange for the security of an enormous tract of country, ruled over by chiefs whose friendship was more than doubtful. After providing for the defence of Guzerat, he left 2,000 men, including the 86th (Irish Rifles), near Baroda, a force of similar strength with the 65th (York and Lancaster) on the Taptee, and retained the rest for active operations under himself and Stevenson.

IV. Harcourt had with him for the advance through Cuttack the 80th Foot, two companies of the 22nd, and the 25th Light Dragoons, two regiments of Bengal cavalry, including a squadron of the Governor-General's Bodyguard, and four regiments of Bengal infantry.

The campaign opened with a simultaneous advance of all four armies, Lake moving on Ally-Ghur, Wellesley on Ahmadnagar, Stevenson on Broach, and Harcourt on Balasore.

On September 3 Lake stormed and carried the fortress of Ally-Ghur.

ALLY-GHUR, SEPTEMBER 3, 1803.

This battle honour is borne on the colours of the West Riding Regiment alone; no other corps which shared in that decisive victory being now existent; the two native regiments which bore such a gallant part in the storming of the fortress having been swept away during the Mutiny of 1857.

On the issue of the India General Service Medal in 1851 the survivors of this action were granted that medal, with a clasp inscribed "Ally-Ghur."

Ally-Ghur was held by a powerful force under the command of the Frenchman Perron, and it made a gallant defence. The troops selected for the assault were the 76th Foot, the 1st Battalion of the 4th and the 17th Native Infantry, under Colonel the Hon. G. Monson, the casualties being:

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |27th Lt. Drag. | - | - | - | 6 | |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | 2 | 7 | |76th West Ridings | 6 | 4 | 19 | 62 | |4th Bengal Infantry | 1 | 4 | 20 | 84 | |17th Bengal Infantry | - | 2 | 8 | 36 | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

In the fortress were 280 guns, which, with a large number of prisoners, fell into our hands; Scindia's French Commander-in-Chief, Monsieur Perron, a man of unusual ability, also threw himself on the generosity of Lord Lake.

Leaving a garrison in Ally-Ghur, the Governor-General now pushed on to Delhi, where a large force had been assembled, under Monsieur Bourquieu. On the 11th of the same month (September) was fought the first action in which British troops were ever engaged on this historic spot.

DELHI, SEPTEMBER 11, 1803.

This distinction is borne only by the West Riding Regiment and the 2nd Queen's Own Rajput Light Infantry, the latter one of the most distinguished regiments in the Bengal army. The India General Service Medal of 1851 was issued to the few survivors, with a clasp inscribed "Delhi." Our total losses in this action amounted to 463 killed and wounded.

+------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |27th Light Dragoons | 1 | 1 | 11 | 18 | |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | 4 | 27 | |76th W. Riding Regiment | - | 1 | 33 | 97 | |2nd Bengal Cav. | - | 2 | - | 15 | |3rd Bengal Cav. | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11 | |2nd Bengal Inf. | - | 3 | 9 | 34 | |4th Bengal Inf. | - | 3 | 12 | 76 | |12th Bengal Inf. | 2 | 1 | 16 | 36 | |14th Bengal Inf. | - | - | - | 13 | |15th Bengal Inf. | 1 | 3 | 10 | 34 | +------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

The last regiment in the above return, the 15th Bengal Infantry, now being the 2nd Queen's Own Rajput Light Infantry, is the only regiment of the Bengal army still existing; the others, alas! disappeared in the rebellion of 1857.

ASSAYE, SEPTEMBER 23, 1803.

This battle honour, the first won by Wellington as an independent commander, is borne by the

19th Hussars. Highland Light Infantry. Seaforth Highlanders. 2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners. 62nd Punjabis. 64th Pioneers. 84th Punjabis.

On the issue of the India Medal of 1851 the survivors were awarded the medal, with clasp "Assaye."

Wellington's force did not amount to more than 4,500 men, of whom only 1,300 were British, and he was further handicapped, as, owing to the nature of the ground, he was compelled to leave his heavy field-guns in the rear. Opposed to him were some of Scindia's finest troops, including two brigades commanded by the Frenchmen Pohlman and Dupont, with a well-equipped brigade belonging to the Begum Somroo. In all, the enemy were estimated at 30,000, with 100 guns. That they were well handled during the fight was self-evident, for when Wellesley's turning movement was discovered, the Mahrattas changed position with all the accuracy of veterans. The fight was one of the most stubbornly contested of any that we have fought even in India. Our casualties amounted to 23 officers and 381 men killed, 30 officers and 1,035 men wounded. Those of the enemy were estimated at upwards of 6,000 whilst of the 100 guns with which they commenced the action, no less than 98 remained in our hands. The losses suffered by the regiments at Assaye which still figure in the Army List were as follows:

+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |19th Light Dragoons | 2 | 4 | 15 | 36 | |Royal Artillery | 4 | 4 | 22 | 31 | |74th Highld. L.I. | 11 | 6 | 113 | 231 | |78th Seaforth H. | 1 | 4 | 23 | 71 | |2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners | 1 | 5 | 19 | 46 | |62nd Punjabis | 1 | - | 20 | 22 | |64th Pioneers | 2 | 2 | 26 | 89 | |84th Punjabis | 1 | 12 | 43 | 178 | +----------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

On November 28 Sir Arthur Wellesley captured Argaum, where we lost 346 officers and men killed and wounded. No battle honour was awarded for this action, but on the issue of the India Medal the survivors received the medal, with clasp "Argaum."

On December 14 the hill-fortress of Gawilghur was carried by assault, the Scots Brigade, now the 2nd Connaught Rangers, being the stormers. Here we lost 126 killed and wounded. No battle honour was granted for Gawilghur, but it was included in the list of actions for which the India Medal was granted, and a special clasp, with the word "Gawilghur," was added to the decoration.

LASWARREE, NOVEMBER 1, 1803.

This battle honour has been awarded to the

8th Hussars. West Riding Regiment. 1st Brahmins. 2nd Queen's Own Light Infantry. 4th Rajputs.

On the issue of the India General Service Medal in 1851, it, with a clasp inscribed "Laswarree," was issued to the survivors.

This was the hardest-fought action in Lord Lake's campaign, our total casualties amounting to 267 killed and 682 wounded, amongst the former being General Ware, commanding the First Division of the army, and Brigadier-General Vandeleur, commanding the Cavalry Division. The Commander-in-Chief was, as usual, in the thick of the fight, having no less than three horses killed under him, three of his staff being killed. The victory, however, was complete. It is noticeable for the fact that our infantry came into action after a forced march of sixty-five miles in forty-eight hours, a feat which rivals that so extolled by Napier at Talavera. Unfortunately, the Indian army had no historian to paint with stirring language the deeds of the giants who lived in those days.

CASUALTIES AT LASWARREE AMONGST REGIMENTS STILL BORNE ON THE ARMY LIST, NOVEMBER 1, 1803.

+--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |8th Light Drag. | 2 | 2 | 16 | 34 | |Bengal Artillery | - | - | 7 | 6 | |76th West Riding Regiment | 2 | 4 | 41 | 165 | |1st Brahmins | - | - | 4 | 12 | |2nd Q.O. Light Infantry | 1 | 1 | 11 | 26 | |4th Rajputs | - | 1 | 17 | 69 | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

In the meantime Agra had fallen into our hands, despite a very gallant defence by the Mahrattas under their French commanders, our losses amounting to the respectable total of 228 killed and wounded, amongst them being 5 British officers.

The other columns had not been idle. Colonel Harcourt, advancing through Cuttack, had added that province to our fast-increasing Indian possessions, and at the capture of the fort of Barabuttee had given the 22nd Foot (the Cheshires) an opportunity of distinguishing themselves. He then pushed on to the westward, to co-operate with the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley.

Sir Arthur, moving from the west, had carried the fortress of Ahmadnagar by storm, with a loss of but 141 killed and wounded, the 74th (Highland Light Infantry) and the 78th (Seaforths) being the principal sufferers. On September 22 he came across the main army of the Mahrattas, some 30,000 strong, under their French leaders, and as we have seen on p. 249, defeated them at Assaye.

DEIG, NOVEMBER 13 TO DECEMBER 23, 1804.

The battle honour "Deig" is borne by the

West Riding Regiment. Royal Munster Fusiliers. 2nd Queen's Own Light Infantry.

It recognizes the services of those regiments at the battle with Holkar's troops on November 13, and the subsequent siege operations, which ended with the capture of that city by assault on December 23 following. The attitude of Holkar during Lord Lake's campaign in the year 1803 had given us good cause to doubt his loyalty. Why he did not throw in his lot with Scindia in 1803 can only be ascribed to the immemorial jealousy between the two Princes. No sooner was a truce patched up between Scindia and ourselves than Holkar embarked on a series of operations which were evidently intended to provoke hostilities. Lord Lake spent the hot weather of 1803 on the frontier, and in September he took up the challenge. Lord Lake's army was massed in the vicinity of Agra, and consisted of an infantry division of three brigades, commanded by Major-General Fraser, a cavalry division under Brigadier Macan, and a reserve infantry division of two brigades under Brigadier Don. The infantry division included the 76th (West Riding Regiment), the 1st Bengal European Regiment (now the 1st Munster Fusiliers), and six regiments of Bengal infantry, of which only the 2nd Queen's Own Rajput Light Infantry now remains. The cavalry division included the 8th and 27th regiments of Light Dragoons, and four regiments of native cavalry. Brigadier-General Don's brigade consisted of four battalions of Bengal infantry. On October 14, 1803, Holkar, throwing off the mask, made a sudden attack upon Delhi, which was held by a garrison of Bengal troops under Colonel Ochterlony. He was beaten off, with heavy loss, and on learning that Lord Lake was moving on Delhi, Holkar precipitately retreated. His infantry retired on Deig, he himself towards Furracakabad. Lake ordered Fraser, with his division, to march at once to Deig, whilst he, with the cavalry and Don's brigade, followed up the Mahratta Prince. On November 13 Fraser found the Mahratta army drawn up outside the fortress of Deig. They held a very strong position, with one flank resting on a morass and the other on a large tank. After a sharp fight, in which our little force lost 148 killed and 479 wounded, the Mahrattas broke, and took refuge behind the walls of the fortress. In the engagement General Fraser lost his leg from a round shot, and he sank beneath the effects of the wound. Lake, following up the Maharajah, overtook him, and cut up his army, with a loss to the 8th Hussars of but 2 killed and 13 wounded, those of the enemy being estimated at 2,000. Lake now made his way to Deig, ordering up the siege-train from Agra, and he also called up reinforcements in the shape of a column from Bombay, and the flank companies of the 22nd (Cheshires) from Cuttack. On the morning of December 23 the breach was declared practicable, and the orders for the assault given. Three columns were told off, under Colonel Macrae, of the West Riding Regiment. The centre or main column was led by Macrae in person. It consisted of two companies of the 76th (West Riding), two of the 22nd (Cheshires), and two of the 1st Bengal European Regiment.[14] The right and left columns were each composed of two companies of the Bengal European Regiment, and five of the 12th Bengal Infantry, a regiment no longer with us. Considerable opposition was experienced, especially from a body of Afghan mercenaries in Holkar's pay; but Christmas morning found the British flag flying over the walls of Holkar's stronghold, our total loss amounting to no more than 43 killed and 184 wounded.

The Regimental History of the 22nd (Cheshires) gives the casualties of the regiment as 2 men killed and 4 wounded; but as Lord Lake's despatch gives the names of four officers of that regiment as among the wounded, I conclude the History is wrong. I have compared the names of the wounded officers with the official Army List for the year in question, and as these stand in the official records it would appear that the Gazette is right, and the Regimental History wrong. Three out of the four officers were again wounded in the attacks on Bhurtpore in the following month, when Sergeant Shipp of the 22nd covered himself with glory, and obtained a commission in the 65th for repeated acts of gallantry.

+----------------------------------------+ | CASUALTIES AT THE BATTLE OF DEIG. | +----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |76th W. Ridings | 1 | 3 | 31 | 120 | |2nd Batt. N.I. | 1 | 1 | 25 | 66 | |4th Batt. N.I. | 2 | 2 | 22 | 28 | |Royal Dublins | - | 5 | 12 | 52 | |8th Batt. N.I. | - | - | 4 | 2 | |2nd Q.O. Light | | | | | | Infantry | 1 | 6 | 19 | 143 | |Royal Artillery | - | - | 16 | 47 | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

+----------------------------------------+ |CASUALTIES AT THE SIEGE AND ASSAULT. | +----------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----| | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |8th Hussars | - | - | 2 | 12 | |Royal Artillery | - | 1 | - | - | |22nd Cheshires | - | 4 | 2 | 13 | |76th W. Ridings | - | 2 | 5 | 17 | |Royal Dublins | - | 1 | ? | ? | |8th Bom. N.I. | 1 | 4 | ? | ? | |12th Bom. N.I. | 1 | - | ? | ? | |Pioneers | - | 2 | ? | ? | +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

COCHIN, 1809.

On September 30, 1840, the Governor of Madras in Council conferred the above distinction on the 17th Madras Infantry (the predecessors of the 93rd Burmah Infantry), for their gallant conduct at the defence of the Residency of Cochin during the rebellion in Travancore in the year 1809.

Under the terms of various treaties the Maharajah of Travancore was bound to maintain a Subsidiary Force of native troops, officered by Englishmen of our own army, such force to be at the disposal of the East India Company, under certain conditions. Differences arose with the Maharajah, and an attempt to murder the British Resident unmasked a plot for the expulsion of the British garrisons in Southern India. The General commanding the Malabar coast, on learning of the threatening condition of affairs, at once ordered the 12th (Suffolks) and the 17th Madras Infantry to reinforce the troops of the subsidiary force at Cochin, these were permeated with discontent, having been seduced from their allegiance by the Prime Minister of the State. A very determined attack on the Residency at Cochin was repulsed by the small garrison, which consisted of a detachment of the Suffolks and a wing of the 17th Madras Infantry. Further operations became necessary, and a general movement of troops from all the stations in Southern India was ordered. The 19th (Yorkshires), 59th (East Lancashires), 69th (Welsh), and 80th (North Staffords), with a certain number of regiments of Madras sepoys, advanced on Travancore. At Palamcottah the 69th (Welsh) and the 3rd Regiment of Madras Infantry had a sharp brush with the Travancoreans, in which the Madras regiment showed considerable dash, and earned for itself the title, which its successor now bears, of Palamcottah Light Infantry. The 12th (Suffolks) and the 17th Madras Infantry were on another occasion compelled to submit to an attack on the part of the misguided Travancoreans, but the advent of such a large force had a sobering influence on the Maharajah: the obnoxious Prime Minister was removed and disgraced, the arrears of subsidy paid, and the independence of the Maharajah became a mere figment. The distinction "India" on their colours serves to remind the Suffolks that in their long tour of service in the early years of the last century they had some sharp fighting, irrespective of the campaign in Mysore. The casualties in Cochin show that it was not a mere summer picnic.

+---------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |Officers.| Men. | | Regiments. +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Suffolks | 0 | 4 | 9 | 67 | |93rd Burmah Infantry | - | 1 | 10 | 45 | +---------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+

NOTE.--On the renumbering of the regiments of the Indian Army in 1903, the 93rd Infantry renounced their claim to these battle honours, to which, as the direct representation of the old 17th Madras Infantry, they are legitimately entitled.

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