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THE BATTLES OF THE BRITISH ARMY
THE BATTLES OF THE BRITISH ARMY
The Battles OF THE British Army BEING A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL ENGAGEMENTS DURING THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS BY Robert Melvin Blackwood, m.a. AUTHOR OF “ The British Army at Home and Abroad ,” “ Some Great Commanders ,” &c. , &c. THIRD EDITION LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT AND CO. LTD....
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
All phases of life and incident relating to the building up and consolidation of our Empire, ought to be of supreme interest to those who regard themselves as Britain’s sons. Fortunately the arts of peace, and the respect for justice and individual right, have had much to do with the growth of the greatest empire in the world’s history. At the same time, unfortunate though the case may be, the ordinance of battle has had no small share in the extension of the country’s interests. In acknowledgin
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1 EFFECTIVE STRENGTH OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY.
1 EFFECTIVE STRENGTH OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY.
Guards—Major-General Ludlow. 1st, or Royals, 2nd battalions 54th and 92nd—Major-General Coote. 8th, 13th, 90th—Major-General Craddock. 2nd, or Queen’s, 50th, 79th—Major-General Lord Craven. 18th, 30th, 44th, 89th—Brigadier-General Doyle. Minorca, De Rolde’s, Dillon’s—Major-General Stuart. 40th, Flank Company, 23rd, 28th, 42nd, 58th, Corsican Rangers—Major-General Moore. Detachment 11th Dragoons, 12th Dragoons, 26th Dragoons—Brigadier-General Finch. Artillery and Prince’s—Brigadier-General Lawson
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RESERVE.
RESERVE.
On the 1st of March the Arab’s tower was in sight, and next morning the whole fleet entered Aboukir Bay. 2 On the following morning a French frigate was seen running into Alexandria, having entered the bay in company with the British fleet. 2 The men-of-war brought up exactly in the place where the Battle of the Nile was fought, the Foudroyant chafing her cables on the wreck of the French Admiral’s ship. The anchor of the L’Orient was crept for and recovered. The weather was unfavourable for att
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CHAPTER II. THE BATTLE OF ASSAYE. 1803.
CHAPTER II. THE BATTLE OF ASSAYE. 1803.
The death of Tippoo Saib, and the fall of Seringapatam, were astounding tidings for the native chiefs. Their delusory notions regarding their individual importance were ended, and a striking proof had been given of what little reliance could be placed on Indian mercenaries and places of strength, when Britain went forth in wrath and sent her armies to the field. As the fear of Britain became confirmed, so did the hatred of the native princes to everything connected with her name. A power that ha
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CHAPTER III. CAPTURE OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1806
CHAPTER III. CAPTURE OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1806
In 1805, the British Government, having ascertained that the Cape of Good Hope had only a force under two thousand regular troops for its protection, and that the militia and inhabitants were well inclined to assist a British army, in case a landing should be made, determined to attempt the reduction of that colony, by the employment of a body of troops cantoned in the neighbourhood of Cork, assisted by some regiments already on board the India ships at Falmouth. The expedition was to be a secre
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CHAPTER IV. THE BATTLE OF MAIDA. 1806.
CHAPTER IV. THE BATTLE OF MAIDA. 1806.
It has been remarked with great justice, that until the Peninsular war had been for some time in progress, the military enterprises of Great Britain invariably failed from the blind policy of those who planned them. Instead of condensing the power of the empire into one grand and sustained effort, its strength was frittered away in paltry and unprofitable expeditions. An army, imposing in its full integrity, if subdivided into corps, and employed on detached services, and in different countries,
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CHAPTER V. THE BATTLE OF ROLICA. 1808.
CHAPTER V. THE BATTLE OF ROLICA. 1808.
Spain and Portugal having been overrun by the French armies, Britain determined to make an effort in the cause of freedom, and come to the assistance of the oppressed. The force destined for the relief of Portugal was sent partly from Ireland, and partly from Gibraltar. Nine thousand men from Cork, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, landed in Mondego bay on the 6th of August, and these were joined, two days afterwards, by Spencer’s division of five thousand, making thus a total force of about fourteen
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CHAPTER VI. THE BATTLE OF VIMIERO. 1808.
CHAPTER VI. THE BATTLE OF VIMIERO. 1808.
Vimiero stands at the bottom of a valley, and at the eastern extremity of a ridge of hills extending westward towards the sea. The river Maceira flows through it, and on the opposite side, heights rise eastward, over which winds the mountain road of Lourinho. In front of the village a plateau of some extent is slightly elevated above the surrounding surface; but it, in turn, is completely overlooked by the heights on either side. The British, never anticipating an attack, had merely taken up gro
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CHAPTER VII. THE BATTLE OF CORUNNA. 1809.
CHAPTER VII. THE BATTLE OF CORUNNA. 1809.
A period of inaction succeeded the victory at Vimiero. Burrard was superseded in his command by Sir Hew Dalrymple, and the convention of Cintra perfected, by which an army was restored to France, that, had Sir Arthur Wellesley’s advice been attended to, must have been eventually destroyed or driven into such extremity as should have produced an unconditional surrender. Other articles in this disgraceful treaty recognised a full exercise of rights of conquest to the French, secured to them the en
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CHAPTER VIII. THE BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 1809.
CHAPTER VIII. THE BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 1809.
The immediate consequence of the embarkation, was the surrender of Corunna on the second day from that on which the once proud army of Britain quitted the coast of Spain. Ferrol soon followed the example, and in both these places an immense supply of stores and ammunition was obtained. All effective resistance was apparently at an end, and French dominion seemed established in Gallicia more strongly than it had ever been before. In every part of Spain the cause of freedom appeared hopeless. One
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CHAPTER IX. THE BATTLE OF BUSACO. 1810.
CHAPTER IX. THE BATTLE OF BUSACO. 1810.
Soult, who had collected thirty-five thousand men, on learning the defeat of Talavera, made a flank movement to assist Joseph Buonaparte, and reached Placentia by the pass of Banos. Lord Wellington, on being apprised of the French marshal’s advance, instantly determined to march forward and engage him; while Cuesta observed the line of the Tagus, and protected the stores and hospitals at Talavera. Accordingly, on the 3rd of August, the British moved to Orapesa; but on that evening information wa
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CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE OF BAROSA. 1811.
CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE OF BAROSA. 1811.
Massena had suffered too heavily in his attempt on the British position, to think of attacking the Sierra de Busaco a second time. Early on the 28th September he commenced quietly retiring his advanced brigades, and in the evening, was reported to be marching with all his divisions on the Malhada road, after having set fire to the woods to conceal his movements, which was evidently intended to turn the British left. Orders were instantly given by Lord Wellington to abandon the Sierra; and at nig
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CHAPTER XI. THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D’ONORO. 1811.
CHAPTER XI. THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D’ONORO. 1811.
Massena having taken the field again, with the object of raising the blockade of Almeida, then closely invested by Lord Wellington, the British commander, determined that this important fortress should not be relieved, resolved, even on unfavourable ground and with an inferior force, to risk a battle. The river Côa flows past Almeida, its banks are dangerous and steep, and its points of passage few. Beside the bridge of the city, there is a second, seven miles up the stream, at Castello Bom; and
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CHAPTER XII. THE BATTLE OF ALBUERA. 1811.
CHAPTER XII. THE BATTLE OF ALBUERA. 1811.
While Marshal Beresford was endeavouring to reduce Badajoz, intelligence reached him that Soult was marching from Larena. Beresford, of course, at once abandoned the siege, removed the artillery and stores, and having united himself with Blake, Castanos, and Ballasteros, the combined armies took position behind the Albuera, where the Seville and Olivenca roads separate. On the westward of the ground where the allies determined to abide a battle, the surface undulated gently, and on the summit, a
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CHAPTER XIII. THE SIEGE OF RODRIGO. 1812.
CHAPTER XIII. THE SIEGE OF RODRIGO. 1812.
A campaign highly honourable to the British arms had ended, and the rival armies had taken up cantonments for the winter months, each covering an extensive range of country, for the better obtaining of forage and supplies. Active operations for a season were suspended, and officers whose private concerns or bad health required a temporary leave of absence, had asked and received permission to revisit Britain. The restoration of the works of Almeida, which the French had half destroyed, occupied
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CHAPTER XIV. THE SIEGE OF BADAJOZ. 1812.
CHAPTER XIV. THE SIEGE OF BADAJOZ. 1812.
The town of Badajoz contained a population of about 16,000, and, within the space of thirteen months, experienced the miseries attendant upon a state of siege three several times. The first was undertaken by Lord Beresford, towards the end of April, 1811, who was obliged to abandon operations by Soult advancing to its relief, and which led to the battle of Albuera on the 16th of May. The second siege was by Lord Wellington in person, who, after the battle of Fuentes d’Onoro, directed his steps t
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CHAPTER XV. THE BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 1812.
CHAPTER XV. THE BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 1812.
Early in June, the British divisions began to concentrate; and on the 13th the cantonments on the Agueda were broken up, and Lord Wellington crossed the frontier. The condition of the army was excellent, and the most exact discipline was preserved, while all unnecessary parades were dispensed with. The march ended, the soldier enjoyed all the comforts he could command; if foot-sore, he had rest to recruit; if untired, he had permission to amuse himself. His arms and appointments were rigidly ins
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CHAPTER XVI. THE SIEGE OF BURGOS. 1812.
CHAPTER XVI. THE SIEGE OF BURGOS. 1812.
The occupation of Madrid was among the most brilliant epochs of Peninsular history, and, from circumstances, it was also among the briefest. The conquest of the capital was certainly a splendid exploit. It told that Wellington held a position and possessed a power that in Britain many doubted and more denied; and those, whose evil auguries had predicted a retreat upon the shipping, and finally an abandonment of the country, were astounded to find the allied leader victorious in the centre of Sev
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CHAPTER XVII. THE BATTLE OF VITORIA. 1813.
CHAPTER XVII. THE BATTLE OF VITORIA. 1813.
Winter passed away, the army recovered from its hardships, and Lord Wellington was indefatigable in perfecting the equipment of every department, to enable him to take the field efficiently when the season should come round, and active operations could be again renewed. In its minuter details, the interior economy of the regiments underwent a useful reformation. The large and cumbrous camp-kettles hitherto in use were discarded, and small ones substituted in their place; while three tents were s
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART FIRST. 1813.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART FIRST. 1813.
Wellington was now in possession of the passes of the Pyrenees; and in the short space of two months had moved his victorious army across the kingdom of Spain, and changed his cantonments from the frontier of Portugal to a position in the Pyrenees, from which he looked down upon the southern provinces of France. Napoleon received intelligence of Lord Wellington’s success with feelings of undissembled anger and surprise. To recover the line of the Ebro was his instant determination, for he knew t
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CHAPTER XIX. THE SIEGE OF SAN SEBASTIAN. 1813.
CHAPTER XIX. THE SIEGE OF SAN SEBASTIAN. 1813.
After the retreat of Soult, the British and their allies resumed the positions from which they had been dislodged by the advance of the French marshal, and re-established headquarters at Lezeca. A short period of comparative inactivity succeeded; immediate operations could not be commenced on either side—the enemy had been too severely repulsed to permit their becoming assailants again; while, on the other hand, Wellington would not be justified in crossing the frontier and entering a hostile co
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CHAPTER XX. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART SECOND. 1813.
CHAPTER XX. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART SECOND. 1813.
Winter had now set in, and a season of unusual severity commenced. The allies were sadly exposed to the weather, and an increasing difficulty was felt every day in procuring necessary supplies. Forage became so scarce, that part of the cavalry had nothing for their horses but grass; while the cattle for the soldiers’ rations, driven sometimes from the interior of Spain, perished in immense numbers by the way, or reached the camp so wretchedly reduced in condition as to be little better than carr
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CHAPTER XXI. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART THIRD. 1813.
CHAPTER XXI. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART THIRD. 1813.
Soult halted his different corps in the intrenched camp of Bayonne, and Wellington cantoned his troops two miles in front of his opponent, in lines extending from the sea to the Nivelle, his right stretching to Cambo and his left resting on the coast. This change in his cantonments was productive of serious advantages. His wearied soldiery obtained rest and many comforts which in their mountain bivouacs were unattainable; and though the enemy possessed unlimited command of a well-supplied distri
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CHAPTER XXII. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART FOURTH. 1814.
CHAPTER XXII. THE BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. PART FOURTH. 1814.
The intrenchments into which Soult, on the failure of his attempts upon the allied positions had withdrawn his troops, covered the approach to Bayonne on the side opposite to Anglet. Six weeks passed on. The weather was too inclement to allow movements to be made on either side, and the French marshal was occupied in defending his extensive lines, and the allied general in preparing secretly for passing the Adour. In February the weather changed, the cross roads became practicable, and Lord Well
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CHAPTER XXIII. THE BATTLE OF TOULOUSE. 1814.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE BATTLE OF TOULOUSE. 1814.
The celebrated conference at Chatillon terminated on the 19th of March, and the allied Sovereigns determined to march direct upon the capital, of which they obtained possession on the 31st. The intelligence of this momentous event had not reached the south of France, and Lord Wellington was busy making immense preparations to enable him to invest and reduce Bayonne. Fascines and gabions were obtained in abundance; a large supply of siege artillery, with shot and shells, was landed at Passages fr
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CHAPTER XXIV. THE BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS. 1815.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS. 1815.
A few months passed away; Europe was apparently at rest; its military attitude was gradually softening down, and all the belligerent Powers, weary of a state of warfare that, with slight intermission, had lasted for a quarter of a century, enjoyed the repose which the overthrow of Napoleon’s power had produced. But this state of quietude was delusory; it was the treacherous calm that precedes a tempest. Untamed by adversity, that ambitious spirit was gathering strength for another effort; France
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CHAPTER XXV. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 1815.
CHAPTER XXV. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 1815.
Napoleon had reached Frasnes at nine o’clock on the morning of the 17th, and determined on attacking the allied commander. Still uncertain as to the route by which Blucher was retiring, he detached Grouchy in pursuit with the third and fourth corps, and the cavalry of Excelmans and Pajol, with directions to overtake the Prussian marshal, if possible, and in that case bring him to action. While Buonaparte delayed his attack until his reserve and the sixth corps came up, his abler antagonist was p
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CHAPTER XXVI. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO (continued). 1815.
CHAPTER XXVI. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO (continued). 1815.
Napoleon passed the night of the 17th in a farmhouse which was abandoned by the owner, named Bouquean, an old man of eighty, who had retired to Planchenoit. It is situated on the high road from Charleroi to Brussels. It is half a league from the chateau of Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, and a quarter of a league from La Belle Alliance and Planchenoit. Supper was hastily served up in part of the utensils of the farmer that remained. Buonaparte slept in the first chamber of this house; a bed with b
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CHAPTER XXVII. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO (continued). 1815.
CHAPTER XXVII. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO (continued). 1815.
But the situation of Wellington momentarily became more critical. Masses of the enemy had fallen, but thousands came on anew. With desperate attachment, the French army passed forward at Napoleon’s command, and although each advance terminated in defeat and slaughter, fresh battalions crossed the valley and mounting the ridge with cries of “Vive l’Empereur!” exhibited a devotion which never had been surpassed. Wellington’s reserves had been gradually brought into action—and the left, though but
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CHAPTER XXVIII. THE BATTLE OF KEMMENDINE. 1824.
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE BATTLE OF KEMMENDINE. 1824.
In 1824 the British were forced into a war with the kingdom of Burmah. The war, however, was not of our seeking; we were forced into it. The Burmese a few years previously had taken forcible possession of the province of Assam, which was soon followed by parties of these people committing serious devastations within British territory, burning a number of villages, plundering and murdering the inhabitants, or carrying them off as slaves. At the same time an island in the Brahmaputra, on which the
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CHAPTER XXIX. THE BATTLE OF MELLOONE. 1825.
CHAPTER XXIX. THE BATTLE OF MELLOONE. 1825.
After various successes, Sir Archibald Campbell was enabled to make his arrangements for an advance upon the Burmese capital. The distance from Prome to Ava may be estimated at three hundred miles, and although the roads and country upwards are generally more advantageous for military operations than those in the lower provinces, we had still much toil and labour to anticipate before the army could arrive in the open plains of Upper Ava. The commissariat was conducted by natives, who even volunt
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CHAPTER XXX. THE BATTLE OF PAGAHM-MEW. 1825.
CHAPTER XXX. THE BATTLE OF PAGAHM-MEW. 1825.
On the 25th of January, the British army again moved forward, the roads still worse; and on the 31st, the headquarters were at Zaynan-gheoun, or Earth-oil-Creek. The capture of Melloone, as was expected, alarmed the King of Ava, who in order to avert greater calamity, sent Dr. Price, an American missionary, and Assistant-Surgeon Sandford, of the royal regiment, who had been taken prisoner some months before, on his parole of honour to return to Ava, accompanied by four prisoners returned by the
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CHAPTER XXXI. THE AFGHANISTAN DISASTERS. 1838-39.
CHAPTER XXXI. THE AFGHANISTAN DISASTERS. 1838-39.
In 1836, the aggressive acts of Persia, influenced by Russian gold, were sufficiently alarming, but all doubt was removed when the Shah invaded Afghanistan, and laid siege to Herat. At this moment the united influence of Persia and Russia would seem to have been established in all the Afghan dominions with the single exception of Herat, and the existence of that influence in those countries, viewed in conjunction with the course which those powers had recently been pursuing, and the measures tha
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CHAPTER XXXII. THE DEFEAT OF THE BILUCHIS. 1842.
CHAPTER XXXII. THE DEFEAT OF THE BILUCHIS. 1842.
For a time, affairs in Scinde, after the Afghanistan disasters, looked peaceable; but the conditions proposed by new treaties to the Amirs, in the infringements upon their game preserves, and the abolition of transit duties, occasioned some discontent. Gradually this jealousy of the Scinde chieftains ripened into hatred; and while evasive policy was resorted to by the Amirs, a corps, under Sir Charles Napier, advanced to support the British representative, Major Outram. The agency had been attac
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CHAPTER XXXIII. THE BATTLE OF MOODKEE. 1845.
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE BATTLE OF MOODKEE. 1845.
The fatal dénouement of the retreat from Cabul was still in vivid colouring before the British public, when tidings from the East announced that it might be considered only as the fore-runner of still more alarming demonstrations, and these from a power fully as unfriendly, and far more formidable to British interests than the Ghiljies and fanatic tribes of Afghanistan. The Punjaub for years had been internally convulsed. The musnud in turn was occupied by women whose debaucheries were disgustin
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CHAPTER XXXIV. THE BATTLE OF FEROZEPORE. 1845.
CHAPTER XXXIV. THE BATTLE OF FEROZEPORE. 1845.
On the morning of the 21st, the Anglo-Indian army again took the offensive, and marched against the intrenched position of the enemy, and the details of the succeeding events of that bloody and glorious day are thus lucidly and modestly given still by Lord Gough. “Instead of advancing to the direct attack of their formidable works, our force manœuvred to their right; the second and fourth divisions of infantry, in front, supported by the first division and cavalry in second line, continued to de
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CHAPTER XXXV. THE BATTLES OF ALIWAL AND SOBRAON. 1846.
CHAPTER XXXV. THE BATTLES OF ALIWAL AND SOBRAON. 1846.
Though the treaty which held the British and Sikh governments in amity provided that the Sikhs should send no troops across the Sutlej, they were permitted to retain certain jaghires, or feudal possessions, on the left bank, one of which comprised the town and fort of Dheerrumcote. Here the enemy had established a magazine of grain; and a small garrison, consisting of mercenaries, chiefly Rohillas and Afghans, were thrown into the place for its protection. But besides that the grain was needed i
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CHAPTER XXXVI. THE BATTLE OF MARTABAN. 1852.
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE BATTLE OF MARTABAN. 1852.
The treaty of Yundaboo concluded the Burmese war of 1824. By its terms, the safety of British commerce and British merchants in Burmah was assured, and for a long period following the termination of the war the terms of the treaty were rigidly adhered to. By degrees, however, a spirit of resentment against the British began to spring up in the only half-civilised country, and in 1851 such resentment found open expression. In the course of that year, a Mr. Sheppard, the master and owner of a trad
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CHAPTER XXXVII. THE BATTLE OF PEGU. 1852.
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE BATTLE OF PEGU. 1852.
The next event of importance in this campaign was the desperate attack made by the Burmese on Martaban, to recover the town which they had lost. On the 26th May, upwards of a thousand Burmese made a violent onslaught upon the British troops in occupation. Major Hall of the 49th Madras Light Infantry was in command, and, after some pretty severe fighting, during which three men of a reconnoitring party were killed, the artillery were brought into action with deadly effect, and the foe driven back
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CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA. 1854.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA. 1854.
Following upon their declarations of war with Russia, upon the 27th and 28th March, 1854, respectively, arrangements were at once made by the Governments of France and Britain for forwarding a sufficient number of troops to the East. Gallipoli, on the south side of the Sea of Marmora, was chosen as the rendezvous, and here in due course arrived the armies of the allies. The armies were under the respective commands of Lord Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud. The Turkish army, then actively engaged wi
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CHAPTER XXXIX. The Battle of Balaclava. 1854.
CHAPTER XXXIX. The Battle of Balaclava. 1854.
Early on the morning of the 23rd September, 1854, the allied armies left their camp on the battlefield of Alma, and marched northwards towards Sebastopol. Traces of the haste in which the Russian army had retreated were at hand on every side. Here a sword, there a pistol, a belt, or even a tunic; the broad track, strewn with such relics, showed clearly the path of the retreat. At length the valley of the Katcha was reached, and the camp pitched for the night. The advance was resumed early next m
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CHAPTER XL. The Battle of Inkerman. 1854.
CHAPTER XL. The Battle of Inkerman. 1854.
By the first week of November enormous numbers of reinforcements reached the Russian army in the Crimea, so that not only were some 120,000 troops under Prince Mentschikoff’s command, but a corresponding enthusiasm was awakened amongst all Russian ranks by this large addition to their numbers. Such warlike enthusiasm received a great impetus at this time by the arrival in camp of two young Grand Dukes, Michael and Nicholas, sons of the Czar. The allied troops, on the other hand, had by this time
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CHAPTER XLI. THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL. 1854-55.
CHAPTER XLI. THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL. 1854-55.
Experts have declared that had Sebastopol been assaulted within two days of the battle of the Alma, it would have fallen an easy prey to the allied armies of France and Britain. History has shown, however, that this was not done, and that instead, Sebastopol was attacked from the south—the side remote from the Alma; and even at this point not until many days had elapsed. The time thus granted to Russia was not wasted by those of her subjects who garrisoned the beleaguered town. Under that prince
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CHAPTER XLII. THE BATTLES OF BUSHIRE, KOOSHAB, AND MOHAMMERAH. 1856-57.
CHAPTER XLII. THE BATTLES OF BUSHIRE, KOOSHAB, AND MOHAMMERAH. 1856-57.
It is a platitude to say that the kingdom of Afghanistan is, on its Asiatic side, the bulwark of British India. Yet upon this important, if well-known, fact depended the Persian campaign of 1856. A brief recapitulation of history will show clearly the causes which led to the British invasion. On the fall of the Mogul dynasty in India, the plains of Afghanistan were divided between Persia and Hindoostan, but as the power of their conquerors gradually declined the Afghans rose, under Ahmed Shah, a
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CHAPTER XLIII. THE BATTLES AT DELHI. 1857.
CHAPTER XLIII. THE BATTLES AT DELHI. 1857.
The Indian Mutiny had really its outbreak at Delhi, to which place the mutineers fled when they had taken the fatal step which was to bring death to so many, and which was to weld the Indian Empire closer to Britain. The imperial city of Delhi was destined to play an important part in the mutiny, and early in May, 1857, the mutineers, inflamed with preliminary successes and inspired by a religious frenzy, entered Delhi. Mr. Simon Frazer, the Commissioner, tried to stem the tide by closing the se
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CHAPTER XLIV. THE BATTLES AT DELHI (continued). 1857.
CHAPTER XLIV. THE BATTLES AT DELHI (continued). 1857.
The army of vengeance was steadily closing upon Delhi, and the plans of Sir Henry Barnard as to the junctions of his force were attended with success. Major-General Reed, who had fought at Waterloo, arrived at Alleepore, situated about one day’s march from Delhi, while Brigadier Wilson’s troops from the Meerut provinces had joined Sir Henry Barnard, so that the investing force was as complete as could be expected. As its composition is important, the different details of the force may be interes
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CHAPTER XLV. THE BATTLES AT DELHI (continued). 1857.
CHAPTER XLV. THE BATTLES AT DELHI (continued). 1857.
Brigadier Wilson was badly in want of help, and there was joy in the camp when Brigadier Nicholson marched in one day towards the middle of August at the head of 1000 Europeans and 1400 Sikhs, while he was also able to report the advance of a siege train from Ferozepore. There was now a more formidable force concentrated before Delhi, which might be set down at about 10,000 fighting men, of whom nearly 5000 were Europeans. Not long after Nicholson’s arrival, information was received in the Briti
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CHAPTER XLVI. THE BATTLES AT CAWNPORE. 1857.
CHAPTER XLVI. THE BATTLES AT CAWNPORE. 1857.
Cawnpore stands out written in letters of blood in the annals of British history, and ranks as one of the bloodiest episodes of the terrible mutiny in our Indian Empire in 1857. It is chiefly conspicuous for the inhuman massacre of innocent men and women and the butchery of little children by the orders of Nana Sahib, that fiend in human form, who was destined to become the central figure of the mutiny. He first came into prominence at the investment of Cawnpore, and his bloodthirstiness chilled
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CHAPTER XLVII. THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW. 1857.
CHAPTER XLVII. THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW. 1857.
Quickly the Indian revolt spread from garrison to garrison, and the native mind was inflamed with hatred of the British. At Lucknow the native troops waited a considerable time before taking any definite step, but, trusting to the success which had attended the mutineers at Delhi, they at last took the fatal plunge. On 31st July, 1857, large numbers of the 13th, 48th, and 71st infantry regiments left the cantonments without orders, along with two troops of the 7th light cavalry. They fled in hot
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CHAPTER XLVIII. THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW (continued). 1857.
CHAPTER XLVIII. THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW (continued). 1857.
Cooped up in the beleagured city of Lucknow, the brave Havelock received but scanty news of what was transpiring in other parts of India. He certainly felt assured that the British Government would never leave him in that hopeless position, so he settled down to make the best of his situation and keep the rebels in check. It was a trying time for Outram and Havelock, for almost daily the death-roll was increased through wounds or disease. Meanwhile Brigadier Greathed had been marching through th
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CHAPTER XLIX. THE FIGHTING AT ALLAHABAD. 1857.
CHAPTER XLIX. THE FIGHTING AT ALLAHABAD. 1857.
When the spirit of revolt in our Indian Empire first spread abroad, there can be little doubt but that the minds of the mutineers were inflamed by headmen or chiefs who had a natural antipathy to Britain and everything British. We have seen how the rebels at Delhi behaved basely and treacherously, but it was the same all over the Empire. The natives in general had one common bond of union—a growing sense of distrust, and a fixed and firm apprehension that some danger menaced the religion of the
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CHAPTER L. THE FIGHTING AT FUTTEHGHUR. 1857.
CHAPTER L. THE FIGHTING AT FUTTEHGHUR. 1857.
The 10th Native Infantry, while the foregoing events were occurring, were stationed at Futtehghur, a town on the west bank of the Ganges. This regiment was every whit as famous in Indian warfare as the 6th, who had run amok at Allahabad, bearing on their colours the battles of Buxar and Korah. In June, 1857, the whole regiment broke out into open mutiny, forced the gaol and released all the prisoners. This was surprising in the extreme, as only a few days previous the men of the 10th had informe
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CHAPTER LI. THE SIEGE OF KOTAH. 1858.
CHAPTER LI. THE SIEGE OF KOTAH. 1858.
We have now to deal with perhaps the most sanguinary conflict which marked the closing days of the campaign, when British arms were employed in stamping out the mutiny in all directions. Sir Hugh Rose was entirely successful in Central India, General Whitlock cleared the whole district of Jubbulpore, while General Roberts, sweeping through Rajpootana, bore down upon Kotah, the inhabitants of which had cruelly massacred the Resident, Major Burton, and his two sons. Kotah is in the province of Ajm
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CHAPTER LII. THE FIGHTING AT JHANSI, ROOHEA, AND BAREILLY. 1857-58.
CHAPTER LII. THE FIGHTING AT JHANSI, ROOHEA, AND BAREILLY. 1857-58.
One of the many black deeds of the mutiny was the inhuman atrocities at Jhansi, in the province of Allahabad, and about a hundred miles eastward of Serinje. In June, 1857, the 12th Native Infantry, which had served with distinction at Ferozeshah, and the 14th Irregular Cavalry had their headquarters at Nowgong, but the left wing of each regiment was quartered at Jhansi, which had therefore a considerable force to repel any attack, besides having the advantage of two forts for defensive purposes.
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CHAPTER LIII. THE CAPTURE OF CANTON. 1857.
CHAPTER LIII. THE CAPTURE OF CANTON. 1857.
On the 8th October, 1856, a party of Chinese, in charge of an officer, boarded the lorcha or junk Arrow, in the Canton river, tore down the flag, and carried away the Chinese crew. Now, the Arrow had not long before been registered as a British vessel, and, moreover, the outrage was carried out in defiance, not only of the master of the ship, but also of the British consul, to whom appeal was first made. In either case, the reply was the same—that the vessel was not British, but Chinese. The fac
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CHAPTER LIV. THE BATTLES AT THE TAKU FORTS. 1860.
CHAPTER LIV. THE BATTLES AT THE TAKU FORTS. 1860.
It is one thing to make a treaty with the wily Celestial, but quite another to see that that treaty is enforced. The causes which led to the Chinese war of 1860 are soon told. Together with France, her old ally of 1858, Britain had determined to strictly enforce the stipulations of the treaty of Tientsin, which followed on the fall of Canton, but when a British envoy was entering the Peiho river for the purpose of obtaining the formal ratification of the treaty, fire was opened upon the squadron
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CHAPTER LV. THE BATTLE OF AROGEE. 1868.
CHAPTER LV. THE BATTLE OF AROGEE. 1868.
The man who stands out most prominently in Abyssinian history is Theodore, the king of kings of Ethiopia. He was a remarkable personage, perhaps the most remarkable who has appeared in Africa for some centuries. Having led the life of a lawless soldier, accustomed from childhood to witness the perpetration of the most barbarous acts of cruelty and oppression, there is only one standard by which to measure his career, and that an Abyssinian one. The British Consul, Mr. Plowden, heard of his acces
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CHAPTER LVI. THE STORMING OF MAGDALA. 1868.
CHAPTER LVI. THE STORMING OF MAGDALA. 1868.
After the day of slaughter at Arogee, Sir Robert Napier hesitated. The safety of the captives was ever in his mind. Upon his forbearance depended their lives, and the signal success of the campaign. A perceptible movement upon Magdala might have deprived the desperate Theodore of every ray of hope, and have caused him to order the immediate slaughter of the captives. And so Sir Robert Napier decided to ask Theodore to surrender. His messengers were actually on their way to the Emperor with a per
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CHAPTER LVII. THE BATTLES OF AMOAFUL AND ORDASHU. 1874.
CHAPTER LVII. THE BATTLES OF AMOAFUL AND ORDASHU. 1874.
For years the Ashantees had been a source of trouble and annoyance to the British settlers on the Gold Coast, and the campaign of 1873-74 was by no means entered upon without considerable provocation from this barbarous and fanatical people. With the march of time, Britain extended and strengthened her hold upon the settlement, and ultimately, pursuing this policy, brought out the Danes, and made exchanges with the Dutch there. These proceedings culminated in Britain becoming possessors of the w
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CHAPTER LVIII. THE BATTLES WITH THE ZULUS. 1879.
CHAPTER LVIII. THE BATTLES WITH THE ZULUS. 1879.
Says a writer in “Blackwood’s Magazine,” in March, 1879:—“To break the military power of the Zulu nation, to save our colonies from apprehensions which have been paralysing all efforts at advancement, and to transform the Zulus from the slaves of a despot who has shown himself both tyrannical and cruel, and as reckless of the lives as of the rights of his subjects ... is the task which has devolved upon us in South Africa, and to perform which our troops have crossed the Tugela.” Such causes enu
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CHAPTER LIX. THE BATTLE OF MAZRA. 1880.
CHAPTER LIX. THE BATTLE OF MAZRA. 1880.
The battle of Mazra, one of the stiffest of the many battles between Britain and Afghanistan, was the deciding blow in a campaign with a curious history. About 1878, hostilities were very pronounced in Afghanistan against Britain, and, as a result of these, the Ameer, who appeared unnerved at the troubles, abdicated the throne. This action after a time was consented to, General Roberts temporarily taking over the supreme control. While Britain was casting about for someone qualified to fill the
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CHAPTER LX. THE BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR. 1882.
CHAPTER LX. THE BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR. 1882.
The battle of Tel-el-Kebir stands out pre-eminently as one of the most glorious achievements in the history of that gallant old regiment, the 79th Highlanders. The circumstances leading up to the battle were of a somewhat peculiar nature, and, briefly, are as follows. On the 26th June, 1879, the Khedive Ishmail, who had caused Britain much trouble, was ordered by the Sultan of Turkey to resign, and his son Tewfik was appointed as successor. A short period after this, Britain and France re-establ
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CHAPTER LXI. THE BATTLE OF MINHLA. 1885.
CHAPTER LXI. THE BATTLE OF MINHLA. 1885.
A period of comparative quiet prevailed in Burmah for some years following the conclusion of the war of ’52. Gradually, however, this was broken, and on the accession of King Theebaw to the Burmese throne, in ’78, relations between the Burmese and the Government of India became seriously strained. On his accession King Theebaw in the most cold-blooded manner massacred most of his nearest male relatives, and with these and other outrages it soon became undesirable to maintain a British convoy at
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CHAPTER LXII. THE BATTLE OF THE ATBARA. 1898.
CHAPTER LXII. THE BATTLE OF THE ATBARA. 1898.
The struggle for supremacy in Egypt was far from being finally settled at Tel-el-Kebir. With the voice of discontent, bursting now and again into open revolt, with that potent influence, fanaticism, always at work, small wonder that the Soudan was the scene of perpetual conflict, and at length matters reached a crisis at the end of 1897. The voice of rumour, growing louder and ever nearer, at length brought warning to Sir Herbert Kitchener, the Sirdar of the Anglo-Egyptian army, of threatening m
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CHAPTER LXIII. THE BATTLE OF OMDURMAN. 1898.
CHAPTER LXIII. THE BATTLE OF OMDURMAN. 1898.
Though the snake of Mahdism had been severely scotched at the Atbara, it was far from being killed, and from the termination of that battle preparations were steadily pushed forward for the final overthrow of the Khalifa. The magnitude of these preparations was upon a scale never before seen in the Soudan, and the army, assembled at Wad Hamed by the end of August, the largest that had ever taken the field in that disordered region. Regiment by regiment the troops poured into the town of Wad Hame
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CHAPTER LXIV. THE ADVANCE OF ROBERTS. 1900.
CHAPTER LXIV. THE ADVANCE OF ROBERTS. 1900.
The war of 1899-1901 in South Africa is of too recent date to call for a very minute exposition of the causes which led up to it. The first appearance of the Dutch in South Africa took place in 1652. On the invitation of the Netherlands Government, Britain seized Cape Colony in 1795, holding it for a period of seven years, when it was restored to the Netherlands. Five years later Britain again seized it, and it was finally ceded to them upon a payment of £6,000,000. From this time forward strife
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CHAPTER LXV. THE BATTLE OF JIDBALLI. 1904.
CHAPTER LXV. THE BATTLE OF JIDBALLI. 1904.
To say that the story of Somaliland lies before it, is, at first sight, to make a self-evident and apparently obvious assertion. But undoubtedly the future of the country will constitute by far the most important part of its history. The “Unknown Horn of Africa” was but recently, and is indeed still, a barbarous land whose tale is yet to be told. Day by day, however, the story is being added to, and this out-of-the-way district of Africa is at the present receiving an amount of attention from Eu
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THE END.
THE END.
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original....
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