Journals of the Sieges of the Madras Army in the years 1817, 1818, and 1819. With observations on the system according to which such operations have usually been conducted in India, etc

Front matter

JOURNALS OF THE SIEGES, ftc. #c. 5sc. JOURNALS OF THE SIEGES OF THE MADRAS ARMY, IN THE Years 1817, 1818, and 1819, WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYSTEM, ACCORDING TO WHICH SUCH OPERATIONS HAVE USUALLY BEEN CONDUCTED IN INDIA, AND A STATEMENT OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT APPEAR NECESSARY. BY EDWARD LAKE, LIEUTENANT OF THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY'S MADRAS ENGINEERS. WITH AN ATLAS OF EXPLANATORY PLATES. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY KINGSBURY, PARBURY, AND ALLEN, LEADENHALL STREET. 1825. Printed by To wnsfti OTM. BuTrill, Chatham. TO MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JOHN MALCOLM, G.CB. and K.L.S. AT WHOSE SUGGESTION IT WAS UNDERTAKEN, THIS WORK, INTENDED TO ASSIST IN PROMOTING THE GENERAL EFFICIENCY OF THAT ARMY, OF WHICH HE IS SO BRIGHT AN ORNAMENT, IS INSCRIBED, WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF ESTEEM, ADMIRATION, and REGARD, AS A FAINT TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE FOR NUMEROUS AND LONG-CONTINUED ACTS OF KINDNESS, BY HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, EDWARD LAKE, A. AlTCHISON, A. Lieut.-Col. Military Aud'- Gen'- Bombay Aitken, James, M.D. Assistant Surgeon Alves, Nathaniel Captain, Malwa Residency Anderson, A. ditto, Engineers 2 copies.

Arden, J. Lieutenant, 19th ditto ditto Awdry, J. D. ditto, 1st Regt. N. I. B. Babington, Wm. Captain Paymaster, Jaulnah Babington, G. K. ditto, 18th Regt. N. I. Bales, Thomas, Col. Commanding Hydd- Subr?- Force 2 copies. Bales, James, Captain Paymaster, Ceded Districts Barclay, Peter, ditto, Assistant Commissary General Bayley, James, ditto, Assistaut, Nagpoor Residency Bell, J. Lieutenant, 14th N. I. Bellasis, E. Major, Bombay Engineers Bennett, Thomas, Captain, Artillery 2 copies. Binny, William, Lieutenant, 7th N. I. 2d Bn. Pioneers Bird, C. M. ditto, 16th N. I. Bishop, C. T. G. Lieut.-Colonel Blackburne, W. Colonel, Resident at TaDJore * Officers names are inserted, according to the Regiments to which they belonged, when the MSS. of this Work was sent from India. Great changes have since taken place.

Bla^k, Charles, Captain, Horse Brigade Boldero, Charles, Lieutenant, 12th Light Infantry Bond, Thomas, Esq. Assistant Surgeon, 17th Light Infantry Bond, E. Captain, 15th N. I. Bonner, John, ditto, Horse Brigade Borthwick, Wm. ditto, Commanding Holkar's Contingent Bowler, H. I. ditto, Q. M. Brigade Northern Division Boyd, David, Esq. Assistant Surgeon, Nagpoor Horse Brady, G. Lieutenant, 17th Light Infantry Brabazon, Du Pre, Lieutenant, 13th N. I. 2d Bn. Pioneers Briggs, John, Captain, Pol. Ass'- Khandesh Brodie, James, Lieut.-Colonel, Infantry Brodie, F. W. Lieutenant, 15th N. I. Brooks, W. Lieut.-Colonel, Chief Engineer, Bombay Browne, C. A. Lieutenant, 2d Bn. 4th Regt. Brunton, W. C. ditto, 2d Light Cavalry Burn, — ditto, Russell Brigade. Bury, W. S. Lieut. 2d Regt. Light Cavalry Butler, Edward, ditto, H. M. Royal Regiment C. Caldwell, J. L. Colonel, C. B. Engineers 2 copies.

Chapter I

Page Of an Introductory nature. — The progress of Fortification in Europe traced. — Its imperfect state amotvgst the Natives of India. — General Observations on the defects of the Engineer Department in the Company's Service, as far as regards the duty of Sieges 7

Chapter VI

Extraordinary strength of the Native Hill Forts, contrasted with the weakness of the other Fortresses of India. — The causes of our numerous failures, in attacking the latter, investigated. — The system of irregular Sieges, and the too frequent use of rash assaults, condemned. — Improvements, that ought to be adopted, to insure success, in the event of future Sieges in India 204

Chapter VII

The same subject continued. — Modifications in the usual system of attack, that should be adopted, in reference to the peculiar construction of Indian Fortresses. The necessity of having a Corps of Engineer Soldiers attached to each of the Company's Armies. — Remarks on the best organization of such Corps. — Conclusion of the Work

Preface

. JLN the Work now committed to the indulgence of the public, the Author does not profess to relate any thing new, regarding the events of the late Mahratta War, which are already sufficiently known, through the medium of the different histories of it, that have been published: his object has been to present, in detail, particular operations, which the nature of those histories has obliged their Authors to treat in a cursory manner, but of which, as forming a most important branch of the war, it is essential that an account should be given ; not only as a record of the past, but as it may also be made a land-mark for the future. It is with this view, that he has added to the journals of the different sieges, a few remarks upon the operations carried on, and that he has treated the whole subject at large, in his preliminary and concluding Chapters. In the former of these, the Author has hazarded some observa tions and reflections on the Native Fortresses A

PREFACE.

. of India, between which and the Fortresses of Europe, he has endeavoured to draw a com parison. In the concluding Chapter, he has considered the best method of attack, and the means at present possessed by the Engineer Department, for carrying such a system into execution, and he has done so in hopes, that whatever objections may be raised to that system, and however defective it may be, the dis cussion will be of use, in drawing more atten tion to the subject, and that it may aid in giving a more decided and energetic shape to our future siege operations. It was the Author's original intention to have included in this Work, the sieges which took place under the other Presidencies, and an application was accordingly made for the ac counts of those carried on by the Bengal army, from a quarter which he hoped would have met attention ; but in this he was disappointed: and he has therefore unwillingly been obliged to confine himself to the sieges undertaken by the Madras Divisions.

It may be observed, that an official Journal of every operation of the kind, containing each day's work, as entered at the time, was kept, wherever an Engineer Officer of the Madras Establishment was pre sent, and transmitted with the Plans, &c. to the chief Engineer's Office. The liberal access to these, which has been granted to him by the

PREFACE.

. III Madras Government, and which has afforded him every opportunity and information he could desire, demands his warmest acknowledge ments. The Journals therefore, from which the following have been taken, are all official, and he has strictly followed them, except in one or two instances, where having been present himself, and having taken memoranda on the spot, he has viewed the operations in a different light. These deviations, which however are very few, are remarked in the notes. The ac counts of the sieges, at which there was no En gineer Officer present, have been extracted from Lieut.Col. Blacker's Memoir*, to which he is also indebted for much valuable information, regarding the strength of the different Corps, and the general movements of the Divisions and Troops, although these, it may be observed, are only noticed, so far as they are connected with the object of the present work.

There are one or two instances, in which the Author has found himself obliged to dissent from the conclusions drawn by that distinguished Officer ; and this difference of opinion is only noticed, that he may at the same time mention, that it is offered with diffidence. The Plans of the Forts, at the sieges of which Engineer Officers were present, were executed by them, and the Views, which * Of the operations of the British Army in India, during the Mahratta War of 1817, 1818 and 1819. A

PREFACE.

. IV are introduced, to illustrate more fully the nature of some of the places attacked, have been copied from the drawings of different Friends and Brother Officers. The Author thinks it right to mention, that his Work has been considerably delayed, in consequence of the difficulty he experienced, in obtaining the information necessary for combining the journ als of the several sieges into a connected Nar rative. Having thus stated his authorities for the facts recorded in the following Work, none of which are brought forward as such, but what he either knows or firmly believes to be true, it only remains to say a few words on the opinions the Author has expressed, regarding the inefficiency of the Engineer Department, and of the improvements he considers necessary in con sequence. These opinions have been honestly formed, after long reflection, and he has been strengthened in them by knowing, that they are the unanimous sentiments of his Brother Offi cers, and that they all join with him, in an anxious wish, to see the Corps to which they have the honor to belong, placed on a footing of equal efficiency with the rest of the Army.

He has expressed himself with confidence, because from the anxiety which the Court of Directors have always shown, to have this branch of their Army equal to the performance PR El-' ACE. V of its duties, and the liberality with which they enable their Engineer Officers to perfect them selves in their profession, he is certain, that it is only necessary that these defects should be clearly pointed out, in order that they may be immediately remedied. He is aware, that part of the system of attack he has laid down may be opeu to objection, but he trusts that the princi ple on which it is grounded will be acknowledged to be correct, and therefore, that the whole will be indulgently received. The Author has great pleasure in publicly acknowledging the assistance he has received from all his Brother Officers, who have had it ,jn their power to forward his present object, and in particular he must express the obligations he is under to the late Captain Coventry, and to Captain Anderson, of the Engineers, who have provided him with much valuable information on different points, since the commencement of his undertaking, and of whose advice he has largely availed himself.

Whatever opinion may be formed of the present Work, the Author trusts, that the motive, which induced him to undertake it, will be considered praiseworthy. It was an ardent desire to see the Army, he feels it a pride to belong to, as distinguished in one branch of warfare as another ; as victorious, when set down before the strongest Forts of the' Natives,

PREFACE.

. VI as they have always been, when charging the most overwhelming Battery on the plain; and his anxiety is increased by a conviction, that the deficiency in the Department to which he be longs, has been the only obstacle to this de sirable object. He regrets that the subject has not fallen into hands (of which in his own Corps there are many) who would have done it more justice, but it is to be hoped, that so good a cause will not suffer from the weakness of the advocate. He has only to observe in conclu sion, that as this Work would not have been undertaken, but for the kind and flattering assurances of the distinguished Officer, under whose command he was then serving, so would it never have seen the light, but for the encou ragement received from him and other Friends, whose opinion in favour of it may, he fears, have been too much biassed by feelings of per sonal regard towards the Author. Madras, February 1 4th, 1822. CHAP 1. SIEGES OF THE MADRAS ARMY, fye. #.. 5fc.

Chapter I. Of An Introductory

NATURE— THE PROGRESS OF FORTIFICATION IN EUROPE TRACED. — ITS IMPER- FECT STATE AMONGST THE NATIVES OF INDIA.— GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE DEFECTS OF THE ENGINEER DEPARTMENT IN THE COMPANY'S SER- VICE, AS FAR AS REGARDS THE DUTY OF SIEGES. THE Author of this short work, although young in his profession, has had some experience himself, and has always been anxious to profit by that of others. A strong sense of the benefit, he would have derived, even from such a collection, as that, which he has now been able to make, first suggested to him the idea, that his leisure hours might be well employed, in endeavouring to give that advantage to others, which he had so often regretted not possessing himself. Should he succeed in adding to the Library of his military friends, a short Tract, in which they will find, in a portable form, that information, which would otherwise have remained shut up in portfolios, or in offices, and which consequently would have been unavail able at the moment of emergency, his design will be fully accomplished.

But he has said enough : his subject is fortunately one, Avhich demands conciseness, and would be injured by an attempt at fine composition, to which he is unequal. He proceeds therefore directly to his task. The variety of construction in the Fortresses of India, the character of the Garrisons, some times bold, obstinate, and enthusiastically brave, at other times timid, irresolute, aud dis heartened by trifling reverses, together with our own frequently imperfect means of attack, are circumstances, which have constantly obliged us to depart from the established rules laid down for the attack of fortified places ; and are the causes that our Siege History in this country so often exhibits results, different from what would be calculated upon, by those who are only accustomed to the regularity of this warfare, as carried on in Europe.

The Science of Fortification is here almost in its infancy. With the exception of those built by ourselves, or by other European Powers, who have at different times obtained a footinoin India, and of a few, belonging to Native Princes, which have been constructed, or im proved, by European Engineers in their service, INTRODUCTORY

CHAPTER. 9

the Forts in India, are nearly what places of CHAP. defence were in Europe, four centuries ago ; k^P^, and, therefore, a brief review of the rise and progress of the art of Fortification, in the latter quarter of the Globe, may serve 'to illustrate the comparison I wish to make, between Indian and European Fortresses, so far as regards their relative strength at the present moment. In periods of remote antiquity, when the means of attack were as rude as the defences which they were meant to destroy, a town sur rounded by high walls, gave its inhabitants ample security against an enemy ; but when some degree of science was introduced in the attack, these defences were of little avail, and an improvement was found necessary. The first step towards it was the addition of round or square towers, to the angles and other parts of the walls ; but these towers, though they commanded the enemy's approaches while at a certain distance, ceased to be of use when he reached the ground at their base, which they left undefended, except by the uncertain fire of small arms through loop-holes.

They therefore gave place, after the introduction of artillery, first to Redans, and afterwards to Bastions, which by establishing a flanking fire remedied this defect ; but which were at first made very small, and generally at a great dis tance from each other, and were therefore unable long to resist with success the rapidly improv ing science of attack. Indeed, neither the size, nor relative position of these works were regu lated by any established rules, but frequently depended on the caprice of the individual, by whom they were erected, until in process of time, the different Continental nations adopted peculiar systems of their own, all differing from each other, and all more or less defective. Such was the state of Fortification in Europe, in the middle of the seventeenth century, when Pagan undertook, in a Treatise published in 1645, to reduce to order these various and opposite theories, and to free them from the errors and intricacies with which they abound ed ; and it was not until this period, when he laid down on sound principles, certain rules for the dimensions and relative position of the different parts of a Fortress, that Fortification could be said to have become a science.

Since that period, such great and rapid improvements have taken place in this art, that it may now be allowed to have reached a very high de gree of excellence, although no method has yet been discovered of rendering a fortress im pregnable. The natives of India have made but little pro gress towards this perfection. They do not seem to be aware of the importance of that maxim, which is the ground-work of European It CHAP. I. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Fortification, namely, " that every work of a Fortress should be defended or flanked by some other." Their system, if such it can be called, is that of a simple inclosure, consisting of a continued wall, with round towers at in tervals, the defects of which have already been noticed. There appear to be no determined rules for the profiles of these works, nor for the distances to be preserved between the seve ral towers ; which particulars vary so much, in almost every Fort, that it would be impossible to attempt to fix a standard for either.

Such are the works, by which almost every village in India is protected, but to some of their more important places, they have added one and sometimes two ditches, together with outworks, which render regular approaches necessary. The great depth of these ditches might consti tute an obstacle, not to be overcome without some difficulty, were not this advantage in a great measure neutralized, from the circumstance of the bottom generally containing dead ground close to the scarp, to which the besiegers, after having made their descent into the ditch, may therefore attach their miners with perfect safety. But defective as the Forts of India are in their construction, and inferior as they are to those of Europe, it is far from my intention to represent them as contemptible. Experience, which we have bought at some places by defeat, and at others by the loss of many gallant soldiers, has too fully proved, that they are not to be despised ; but 1 wish to show, that they have been formidable only from our own inefficiency.

There are no traces of the Indians having ever constructed Fortifications different from those of the present day, and as they are in all things the slaves of custom, it would perhaps be no easy matter to induce them to alter a method, sanctioned by the practice of their forefathers : but the successful, or at least, pro longed defences, which their Forts have almost always made against native attacks, and some times even when assailed by Europeans, possessed of superior science and equipments, afford a better and more probable reason for their reluctance to change ; and these would almost warrant the fallacious conclusion, that they need no improvement, were it not, that we have sometimes called forth all our energies, and by the speedy capture of the most esteem ed native Fortresses in India, have proved how unequal they are to their object.* It is to be - These energies, however, it must be observed, have generally been displayed, not in the scientific, but in the overwhelming character of our attacks, and we seem in these very instances to have acknowledged the superior con struction of the Native Forts, and to have admitted our inability to take them in the usual method, by bringing 1:1 CHAP I. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. regretted, that instances of this kind are com paratively rare, and while we can dwell with proud satisfaction on the sieges of Seringapatain, Hatrass, and Asseerghur, there are on the other side of the picture but too many places, from the strongest Forts to the rudest Village Ghurries,* in the attack of which, whether from a contempt of our enemies, or from an ill-timed spirit of economy, we have neglected to employ the proper means of effecting our object ; and have in consequence experienced repulses, or purchased our success with an unnecessary against them an enormous train of artillery, much beyond what is deemed necessary for the attack of the strongest European Fortress, as if the only way to reduce them were by making the place too hot for the Garrison to live in.

This remark is more particularly applicable to Hatrass, of which the reduc tion was literally effected in this way ; but it would be impossible (putting aside all considerations of the expense attending such a method of attack) to bring a train, such as was dis played there, against every other fort which was disposed to resist us ; and the Natives of India have fair ground to sup pose, that without the aid of such a train, we are unable to reduce them. There cannot be a doubt, but that this idea prevails to a certain extent, and it is a general opinion, that, however superior w« are to them on the plain, we are only on an equality when we have walls to attack ; and our repulses at Bhurtpoor, are to this day brought forward, as a proof of our inferiority in this branch of war. It is the object of the present work to shew that it remains with ourselves to destroy this opinion. * Keeps or small citadels. sacrifice of lives ; but it would be painful to pursue this subject, nor is it necessary for me at present to enlarge further upon the system we have generally followed in the attack of Indian Forts, as it will be fully exemplified in the sieges about to be recorded.

The Native method of carrying on such operations, if briefly stated, may, however, be interesting, as it will show how completely in this, as in other countries, the arts of attack and defence have kept pace with each other, in their general efficiency. The Natives appear to be utterly ignorant of the advantage to be derived from attacking a salient angle, and of the art of conducting approaches by Sap ; and, generally speaking, they are also unacquainted with Mining. When one of their armies sits down before a place, the ob ject appears rather to be to harrass the besieged, and weary them out by a strict blockade, than to effect an entrance by breaching the walls : for although guns are used, they are placed at such a distance from the town, out of musket shot, and not always in battery, that their effect is uncertain, and even this desultory fire is only kept up at intervals during the day; for at night, to guard against the consequences of a sally, the guns are always withdrawn to the camp; and this ridiculous process is continued till the besieged are tired out, and a compromise INTRODUCTORY

CHAPTER. 15 CHAP

I. is entered into.* The Natives of Hindostan, however, of a particular cast, are said to be * An amusing account of the siege of Doonee, a small fort, garrisoned by two or three hundred Rajpoots, which resisted successfully for upwards of a month, the ut most efforts of Dowlut Row Sindiah, backed by a numerous artillery, and an overwhelming force, is given in " Broughton's Letters from a Mahratta Camp." At the commencement of the siege, the operations were under the direction of Baptiste, who commenced a mine, and as there was no gun in the place, established posts round it within musket shot : but Baptiste being ordered away on some other duty, the mine was abandoned. After this the garrison made several sallies, in one of which they succeeded in carrying off into the fort two guns : after which, to avoid a similar accident, the be siegers withdrew their guns every night from their batteries.

When the shot at length began to tell on the walls, and to destroy more than the garrison could build up at night, they commenced a ditch on that side, and carried it on in the face of, and in despite of the besiegers. This creditable defence was at last brought to a close, in the usual way, by a composi tion being entered into with the besiegers. The siege of Darwar, in 1797, is too well known to require recapitulation, and the following account of the siege of Beescondah, a town surrounded by a wretched mud wall, situated in the Nizam's dominions, and attacked by a part of the Prince's force, and related in the words in which it was given to the author, by a friend who happened to be an eye-witness of the commence ment, will well complete this picture of Native attacks. " The " besieging army consisted principally of horse, and about " four guns, and arrived before the place the same day on " which we were passing it, in January, 1815.

They had no " defences for their guns in the shape of battery, or trenches. " which were drawn out in the open plain, at the dister If) CHAP I. SIEGES OF THE MADRAS ARMY. expert Miners, and the Artillery attached to Scindiah's regular brigades being well organized, more science may have been displayed where these have been employed ; but the picture I have drawn is certainly not an exagge rated one, as far as regards the system usually pursued by other Native Powers, who have not had these advantages. Hyder and Tippoo had French Engineers in their service, by whom their sieges were generally conducted, but when this was not the case, the same ridiculous and impotent mode' of proceeding, that has been described, was followed by them. But to return to the subject : It is evident " about 50 yards asunder.

The besiegers' camp was placed " in low ground some distance in rear. They had a Portu " guese, who levelled each gun himself, and appeared to " have the direction of the attack. They fired about once in " a quarter of an hour, and if by chance a shot struck any " part of the wall, so as to raise a dust, the air resounded " with acclamations in praise of the old Portuguese, who " seemed in no small degree flattered thereby. After about " three days, the inhabitants of the town, by a masterly " manœuvre, broke down the bund of a tank, and swamped " the camp of the besiegers, who were obliged to move their " ground. The siege was brought to a conclusion in a curious " way. A small party of Europeans were pitched near the " place about three weeks after, and five or six of them stole " out of camp at night, to assist the besiegers, and fired the " guns so fast, that the town was found evacuated next " morning.

Two of the Europeans were wounded in this " frolic." INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. CHAP 1. that without proper means, science in the ' attack of places can be of no avail, and when it is considered how utterly unprovided with these the siege department of the three Presi dencies has, until very lately, been ; it will be found less extraordinary that reverses have hap pened, than that we should have ever been successful. These means were formerly as much neglected in England, as they have been in our Eastern possessions, so that whenever we came in collision with the Continental Powers, our inferiority in this branch was severely felt. During the Peninsular campaigns, the inefficiency of a body of officers, when un assisted by men trained to siege duties, was more fully displayed ; and in consequence of the representations of the Duke of Wellington, a Corps was raised, and an Establishment formed for their instruction, under the super intendance of one of the ablest and most distin guished officers in the Royal Engineers.

By the excellent system pursued at this Institution at Chatham, every man is made practically acquainted with the nature of his duties, before he is sent abroad, and the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners now certainly yields to none of the older established ones, of the same nature, in other services, either in science, or in any other requisite for soldiers of this descrip tion. B The Directors of the East India Company are not ignorant of the advantages that would be derived, from having this branch of their army on a more efficient footing, than it has hitherto been ; for of late years all their Officers of Engineers, before leaving England, have been placed under the orders of the Officer above alluded to, in order that they may be more fully instructed in that part of their duty, which relates to the attack of places ; and re cently a few recruits, trained at Chatham, have been sent out to Bengal, where a permanent Corps of Sappers and Miners has been raised, and a large increase made to the Engineer Corps.

The sister Presidencies have not, as yet, shared in these benefits, although the principle has been established, and the necessity of improvement (in time of war at least) acknowledged ; for, during the last campaign in the Deckan, Lieutenant Davies, the Senior En gineer of the Madras Establishment, with Sir Thomas Hislop's army, was allowed (as a temporary measure) to recruit 30 Europeans, and 50 Pioneers, for this Service, who were deno minated Sappers and Miners. These men, it must be observed, who only volunteered from the inducement of increased pay, were, when they joined that Officer, wholly ignorant of the duty they were to be employed on, and the European part of them were so far from feelino- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. CHAP I. that Esprit de Corps, which should be the main spring of a soldier's actions, that they at first seemed to look on their duty as a degrading one ; but, notwithstanding all these disadvan tages, and numerous others, attendant on every Corps, professedly raised only for a temporary object, they were brought to a state of con siderable efficiency, by the exertions of their Commanding Officer; and limited as was their number, it may be fairly said, that the service derived from them the greatest advantage, and the favourable testimony of all the officers, un der whom they were employed in the field, as to their utility, shows how much more might be expected from a regular Establishment of En gineer Soldiers.