Note.—Of the many native infantry regiments above enumerated the 15th have become the 2nd Queen's Own Light Infantry, the 32nd the 3rd Brahmans, the 33rd is the 4th Rajputs, and the 63rd the 9th Gurkhas. The remainder, with the exception of the Gurkha regiments, were lost to us in 1857.
Note.—Of the many native infantry regiments above enumerated the 15th have become the 2nd Queen's Own Light Infantry, the 32nd the 3rd Brahmans, the 33rd is the 4th Rajputs, and the 63rd the 9th Gurkhas. The remainder, with the exception of the Gurkha regiments, were lost to us in 1857.
The prize-money distributed to the troops was considerable, but the enormous sums received by the Commander-in-Chief, compared with the pittance given tothe private, provoked not a little indignation. At Seringapatam in 1792 Lord Cornwallis and General Meadows handed over their share for distribution amongst the non-commissioned officers and privates—an example which was not followed either by Lord Harris at Seringapatam in 1799 or by Lord Combermere at Bhurtpore. At the request of the officers of the force, a sum of £5,000 was retained for distribution amongst the widows of their comrades who had fallen in action.
Distribution of Prize-Money.
Commander-in-Chief£59,500General Officers£5,900Lieutenant-Colonels£1,420Majors£950Captains£476Subalterns£238Sergeants£8Privates£4Native Ranks.Subadarsrupees322Jemidars"282Havildars"53Sepoys"26
This honour has been conferred on the following regiments for their gallant services in the earlier campaigns which consolidated our power in our great Indian dependency:
8th Hussars.Leicesters.Worcesters.Oxford Light Infantry.Highland Light Infantry.Seaforth Highlanders.West Riding Regiment.
8th Hussars.—In the month of March, 1825, the Royal Irish Hussars were authorized to add the harp as well as the battle honours "Laswarree" and "Hindoostan" to their colours and appointments. The 8th had been present with Lord Lake in his campaign against the Mahrattas; they had served against the Rohillas in Bundulcund, and were with Rollo Gillespie in the gallant attack on the Gurkha fort of Kalunga, where a detachment of 100 dismounted men lost half its numbers. They had done right good work at the Siege of Hattrass,and assisted in many long-forgotten but arduous campaigns, in which our troops were so constantly engaged during the earlier years of the foundation of the Indian Empire.
17th (Leicestershire Regiment).—The honour was bestowed on the old 17th Foot on June 25, 1825, in recognition of the services of the regiment between the years 1804 and 1823. The 17th had been with Wolfe at Louisburg, but had missed the hard fighting in the Peninsula. In the course of its twenty years' Indian service it did right good work in several of those little-known campaigns in which there was hard work and little glory. At the storming of the fort at Chumar, in Bundulcund, it lost 2 officers and 56 men killed and wounded. In the following year (October, 1807), at the operations in connection with the reduction of the fort of Kamounah, near Allyghur, it lost no less than 4 officers and 47 men killed, 5 officers and 95 men wounded. In the Gurkha War of 1814 its casualties amounted to 74 men killed and wounded, and in the year 1817 it again suffered heavily at the capture of Jubbulpore.
36th (Worcestershire Regiment).—This distinguished corps, which already had the battle honour "Mysore" emblazoned on its colours, was authorized in October, 1835, to add the battle honour "Hindoostan" in recognition of its services from 1790 to 1793. In those three years it had lost 4 officers and 65 men in the action of Sattimungulum; it had been present at the storming of Bangalore, Nundy Droog, Pondicherry, and Seringapatam (1792); and in the course of the latter operations it had lost 5 officers and 60 men killed and wounded.
52nd (Oxford Light Infantry).—In February, 1821, the 52nd was authorized to add this distinction to its long list of battle honours as a recognition of its gallant services in India between the years 1790 and 1793. The honour "Mysore," already granted, commemorated its connection with the army which Lord Cornwallis led against Tippoo Sultan in 1792. In the operations of thatarmy the 52nd had borne a very distinguished part, having furnished details for the storming-party at the assault of Bangalore and Nundy Droog, and had lost heavily at the first capture at Seringapatam. There had been several occasions in which the 52nd had shown an earnest of their future greatness during those three years, and for which as yet they had received no recognition. At Cannanore their casualties amounted to 67 killed and wounded, including 4 officers. At Dindigul they had lost 23 men, and they had borne their fair share of the hardships and loss at the Siege of Pondicherry, as well as at the capture of the Island of Ceylon.
71st (Highland Light Infantry).—On January 20, 1837, the 71st and 72nd Regiments were authorized to add this battle honour to those already emblazoned on their colours. No regiment had better earned it than the old Highland Light Infantry. From the date of its landing in India in 1780, until its departure for home twenty years later, the regiment had been continually on active service. The flank companies had been present at Baillie's unfortunate defeat at the hands of the Mysoreans, when their casualties amounted to 6 officers and 181 men killed and wounded, the two companies being practically annihilated. They had shared in Eyre Coote's defeat of the same Mysorean army at the Battle of Porto Novo. At Cuddalore, on June 13, 1783, they lost 10 officers and 196 non-commissioned officers and men. The Commander-in-Chief, General Stuart, thus wrote of their services on this day: "I am also most grateful to Captain Lamont and the officers under his command, who so gallantly led the precious remnants of the 73rd Highlanders"—at that time the regimental number was 73—"through the most perilous road to glory, until exactly one-half the officers and men were either killed or wounded." The 71st furnished a detachment of stormers at the capture of Bangalore; at the fortress of Nundy Droog in 1791; and at Seringapatam, in the following year, they enabled their commander, David Baird, to take astriking revenge for the indignities and cruelties inflicted on their comrades who had fallen into Tippoo Sultan's hands when Baillie met with his defeat. At the storming of Pondicherry the 71st were, as usual, well to the fore, and they formed a portion of the force which added Ceylon to the British Empire. No regiment has a better claim to the battle honour "Hindoostan" than the Highland Light Infantry.
72nd (Seaforth Highlanders).—It was not until the year 1837 that the 72nd were authorized to add the battle honour "Hindoostan" to their other distinctions, and the honour was then granted to commemorate the gallant services of the regiment during its tour of Indian service between the years 1782 and 1793. It had already been granted the distinctions "Mysore" and "Carnatic"—scanty recognition of fifteen years' continuous war. At Cuddalore, in 1783, its losses amounted to 60 killed and wounded, including 3 officers; at Seringapatam (1792) they were rather more severe. At the Siege of Nundy Droog and of Pondicherry the Seaforths did not escape scathless, and, with the 52nd, they aided in the capture of Ceylon from the Dutch.
76th (West Riding Regiment).—This regiment from its earliest days was known as the "Hindoostan Regiment," and was the first regiment to bear the word "Hindoostan" on its colours—a distinction granted to it on the petition of Lord Lake in the year 1807. Few regiments have suffered more severely in action than did the 76th at Allyghur, Delhi, Laswarree, and Deig; whilst in Lord Lake's attempt on Bhurtpore the regiment was again cut to pieces. Throughout the earlier phase of Lord Lake's campaign it was the only British infantry in his army, and, in recognition of its valour, the Commander-in-Chief bestowed upon the 76th a third colour—a distinction which has been disallowed by the War Office.
This distinction is borne by the
Suffolks.West Yorkshire.Hampshire.Welsh.York and Lancaster.Gordon Highlanders.Royal Irish Rifles.
12th (Suffolk Regiment).—Onp. 154I have alluded to the services of the 12th Regiment at the defence of the Residency at Cochin. It was for this and other hard work performed in the early days of the last century that the 12th earned this well-merited distinction "India." During the rising in Travancore they lost heavily. A boat containing the sergeant-major and thirty-three men was wrecked on the coast below Quilon, and every man was massacred. At Quilon itself they lost 53 officers and men in an engagement with the Travancorean troops. Prior to this the 12th had served with General Harris in the war with Tippoo Sultan, and had earned the battle honour "Seringapatam."
West Yorkshire.—The old 14th Foot were actively employed on several campaigns between 1810 and 1825. They furnished the stormers at Bhurtpore when that fortress was captured by Lord Combermere, and they had previously borne a prominent part in the operations which led to the capture of Fort Hattrass in 1817.
65th (York and Lancaster).—This regiment was unfortunate enough to be deprived of the privilege of sharing in the victories gained by the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley in 1803. With the 86th they were selected to maintain order on the line of communications. A detachment was present at the engagements outside Poonah—engagements which are borne on the colours of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers under the name "Kirkee." They were present in many hard-fought actions in Guzerat, and were employed more than once in suppressing refractory Rajahs in the Bombay Presidency. Their conduct in expeditions against the Arab pirates on the Persian Gulfearned the distinction of "Arabia." These are described onp. 224.
67th (Hampshire Regiment).—The old 67th certainly lost more men in putting this battle honour on their colours than they did in the better-known but less arduous campaign in China in 1860. At the capture of the fort of Ryghur in 1817, and, two years later, at the storming of Asseerghur, they lost some 60 officers and men killed and wounded. Indeed, throughout their first tour of Indian service—from 1805 to 1826—they were almost continuously in the field.
69th (The Welsh Regiment).—In the early part of the nineteenth century the 69th was constantly employed on active service. It lost heavily in the suppression of the mutiny of the Madras troops at Vellore, and in the operations in Travancore in the year 1808 it defeated the rebels on more than one occasion, sharing with the 12th (Suffolks) the principal honours of that little-remembered campaign.
75th (Gordon Highlanders).—"Mysore" and "Seringapatam" on the colours of the old 75th testify to the work this fine regiment went through in Southern India; but those honours by no means exhaust its claims on the honour list of the army. In the year 1802 it was engaged in a series of hard fights in Western India, in the province of Cambay, where its casualties amounted to 4 officers and 161 men killed and wounded. At the capture of the fort of Jemlanabad the losses were 67 of all ranks. These were some of the affairs which led King George III. to accord the 75th permission to add the honour "India" to the colours of the old Stirlingshire Regiment, now the Gordon Highlanders.
84th (York and Lancaster Regiment).—The 84th was one of those regiments whose duty it was to do garrison duty in the disaffected districts during the campaign which put "Assaye" on the colours of more fortunate corps. Between the years 1796 and 1819 it was constantly employed in little-heard-of expeditions, whichentailed many hardships and not a little hard fighting. On one occasion, in Guzerat in 1801, it lost an officer and 19 men killed, and its total losses in those twenty-two years amounted to close on 200 killed and wounded. It is a strange coincidence that in Guzerat they should have been fighting side by side with the regiment which eighty years later became their 1st Battalion.
86th (The Royal Irish Rifles).—During the operations of the main army, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, the 86th were employed in keeping in check the turbulent tribes in Guzerat, and so they, like the 65th and 84th, missed sharing in the glories of Assaye. Their services in Guzerat, in Cambay, were sufficiently severe. At the capture of Kariah their casualties were no less than 67 of all ranks; at Baroda they lost 37 killed and wounded; at Baroach 4 officers and 39 men; and at Lord Lake's attack on Bhurtpore the losses of the 86th were 112 of all ranks.
BATTLE HONOURS FOR MINOR CAMPAIGNS IN THE EAST, 1796-1857
Amboyna—Ternate—Banda—Cochin—Arabia—Bourbon—Java—Persian Gulf—Beni Boo Alli—Aden—Persia—Bushire—Reshire—Koosh-ab.
This distinction is borne only by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, as the lineal descendants of that most distinguished corps the 1st Madras European Regiment, which certainly has the right to bear with the Dorsets the title of "Primus in Indus."
From the earliest days of our association with the East Indies there had been mutual jealousies between the English and the Dutch merchants with regard to commerce in the Moluccas. So far back as the year 1623 the summary execution by the Dutch Governor of Amboyna of the commander of an East Indiaman nearly led to war between the two nations, and would have done so had not the States General disavowed the action of their colonial official. When Holland threw in her lot with France at the outbreak of the revolutionary wars, and granted the French fleets the hospitality of her Eastern harbours, it was determined to relieve the Dutch of these possessions.
In February, 1796, Admiral Rainier, commanding the fleet in the East Indies, sailed to Amboyna with a squadron consisting of theSuffolk(74),Centurion(50),Resistance(44),Orpheus(32), andSwift(16). The Dutch, recognizing the futility of resistance, surrendered, andAmboyna passed into our possession. The small body of troops employed on this occasion, as well as the navy, reaped a rich harvest in the shape of prize-money, the share of the Commander-in-Chief amounting to £90,000, and that of the Captains of the Royal Navy to £13,000 each. A detachment of the Madras European Regiment, under Major Vigors, was embarked on Admiral Rainier's squadron, and participated beneficially in the booty, the shares that fell to the lot of the soldiers being:
£s.d.Major in command13,58300Captains1,31400Subalterns63600Sergeants22900Privates4400
At the Peace of Amiens, Amboyna and the neighbouring islands were restored to the Dutch. In the year 1810 it was found necessary to reoccupy them, and Captain Edward Tucker, R.N., with theDoris,Cornwallis, andSamarang, embarked a detachment of 130 men of the 1st Madras European Regiment (Royal Dublin Fusiliers), with 50 men of the Royal Artillery, as well as some sepoys. Slight opposition was encountered, our losses being 3 men killed, 1 officer and 9 non-commissioned officers and men wounded. We maintained a garrison in the island until the year 1814, when by the Treaty of Paris it was once more restored to the Dutch, and the British Empire deprived of one of the richest islands in Eastern waters.
Details of Force Landed.Casualties.Force Engaged.Officers.Men.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Naval Brigade8235-114Royal Artillery146-1-1Royal Dublin Fusiliers5130--24
This honour is borne only by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. It commemorates one of the many little oversea expeditions which we were compelled to undertake in the course of our wars with France between the years 1793 and 1815. Ternate is one of the Molucca Islands, and then, as now, belonged to the Dutch. Its harbours, however, were open to the French fleets, and gave refuge to vessels of war and to privateers, which preyed upon our China commerce. It became necessary, therefore, to reduce the island, and in the year 1801 a combined naval and military expedition was despatched for its subjugation. The Madras troops were under the command of Colonel Burr, and they encountered a stubborn resistance. It was not until after a siege of fifty-two days that the Dutch Governor surrendered. As was our custom, on the conclusion of peace in the following year Ternate was restored to its original owners.
In the year 1810 it again became necessary to take possession of the island, and, after the capture of Amboyna, Captain Tucker, with a small detachment of artillery and of the 1st Madras European Regiment, the latter under Captain Forbes, set sail for the island. There was but slight opposition, and on August 31 Ternate once more passed into our hands, only to be restored to the Dutch under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1814.
Details of Force Landed.Casualties.Force Engaged.Officers.Men.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Naval Brigade8200--17Royal Artillery136----Royal Dublin Fusiliers374-119
The troops received a small solatium in the shape of prize-money, the share of a Captain being £270, a Subaltern £120, a sergeant £32, and a private £13.
This distinction was granted by the Governor of Madras to the 1st Madras European Regiment, and is now borne only by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. It commemorates the two occupations of the Island of Banda, in the Eastern Archipelago, by a detachment of the old Madras European Regiment, the first taking place in 1796, the second in 1810. No medal was issued to the land forces engaged, but on the institution of the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 the naval commanders of theCaroline,Piedmontaise, andBarracoutawere awarded the naval gold medal for the capture of the island in 1810, and distinctive bronze arm-badges, in lieu of medals, were bestowed by the Governor of Madras on the sepoys. The detachment of the 1st Madras European Regiment (now the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers) was under the command of Captain Nixon. Their services were cordially acknowledged by Captain Coles, of H.M.S.Caroline, but the regiment does not appear to have suffered any casualties.
This distinction was granted to the York and Lancaster Regiment by a notification in theLondon Gazettein the month of March, 1823, in recognition of the gallant services of the regiment during the operations on the coast of Arabia in the years 1809 and 1821. The old 65th Regiment, as it then was, had not been fortunate enough to have been present at any of the well-known campaigns during its tour of Indian service. Nevertheless, it had been engaged in several arduous and by no means bloodless minor expeditions, in which the soldier-like qualities of a regiment are as severely tested as in campaigns which bring in their train greater honours andrewards. Such were the two expeditions for the punishment of piratical tribes on the Arabian coast.
The expedition in 1809 was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Lionel Smith, of the 65th Regiment. It was accompanied by the frigatesChiffon(Captain Wainwright) andCaroline. The military force comprised the 65th (York and Lancaster), the flank companies of the 47th (North Lancashire), and the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry, now the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry, with a company of artillery. Nominally the pirates owned allegiance to the Sultan of Turkey, but his sovereignty was very shadowy, and as they had embraced Wahabiism they were looked upon more in the light of rebels than subjects. For years they had interfered with our commerce in the Persian Gulf, and had treated their prisoners with the refinement of cruelty. It therefore became necessary to root them out of their lair.
The little force left Bombay in the month of September, 1809, and proceeded to the pirate stronghold of Ras el Khima, on the Arabian coast. The Arabs fought bravely, but our superior armament and discipline soon told, and the fort, which had originally been built by the Portuguese more than two centuries previously, was dismantled. On December 27 the flotilla arrived at Linga, another piratical haunt, and this, too, after making a show of resistance, was destroyed. Hostages were brought to Bombay as security for the good behaviour of the tribes, and the force then returned to India, its total casualties having been:
Casualties at Beni Boo Alli, 1809.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Navy--21665th York and Lancs Regt.-12747th N. Lancs1-310103rd Mahratta Light Inf.--231
Note.—For this expedition the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry was granted the battle honour "Beni Boo Alli."
Note.—For this expedition the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry was granted the battle honour "Beni Boo Alli."
This distinction has been granted to the
Welsh Regiment.Royal Irish Rifles.66th Punjabis.84th Punjabis.104th Wellesley's Rifles.
A medal was struck, by order of the Governor-General of India, for distribution to the officers and men of the Company's forces present during the expedition.
In theLondon Gazetteof July 17, 1826, the 69th Foot (now the 2nd Welsh Regiment) was authorized to bear on its colours and appointments the word "Bourbon," in commemoration of the distinguished conduct of the regiment at the attack and capture of that island. Subsequently the same privilege was conferred on the 86th (2nd Battalion Irish Rifles).
Bourbon, now better known as Reunion, was a thorn in the side of the East India Company during our many wars with France. With Mauritius, then known as the Isle of France, it was a harbour of refuge for the many privateers which preyed upon our commerce, and a base of operations for the French fleet in Eastern waters. Its reduction became a necessity, but was from time to time deferred, until at last, in the month of September, 1809, the Governor-General, Lord Minto, despatched a force, under Colonel Keatinge, of the 56th Regiment (now the Essex), to report on the feasibility of the capture of both islands. With Keatinge was associated Commodore Josias Rowley, at the head of a squadron comprising theRaisonnable,Sirius,Boadicea,Nereide, andOtter, with the Honourable Company's cruiserWasp. Keatinge's force consisted of his own regiment, the 56th (Essex), and the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry (now the 104th Wellesley's Rifles). A descent was made on the island, the forts at the principal port destroyed, and some French men-of-war and armed Indiamen brought away; but theforce was altogether too small for Keatinge to retain possession.
In the following July, having received reinforcements, Keatinge and Rowley made a second descent. In the meantime they had occupied the Island of Rodriguez, which served as a valuable base of operations. In addition to the Essex and the Bombay Regiment, Keatinge now had the 69th (2nd Welsh), the 86th (2nd Irish Rifles), and the 6th and 12th Regiments of Madras Infantry (now the 66th and 84th Punjabis); and this force was strengthened by a naval brigade of seamen and Marines from the ships, the total numbering about 3,600 men. The French garrison made some show of resistance, but after a sharp engagement the Governor, seeing himself cut off from all hope of aid, surrendered, and until the conclusion of peace in 1814 Bourbon remained in our possession, Colonel Keatinge being installed as Governor, and a regiment being raised from the Creole inhabitants, which was borne on the rolls of our army as the Bourbon Regiment.
Casualties at the Capture of the Island of Bourbon, 1810.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.12th Suffolk-22556th Essex--1369th Welsh--2-86th R. Irish R.161051
Casualties at the Attack on the Island in 1809.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Marines-271756th Essex--627104th Wellesley's Rifles-1211
The Essex Regiment, by its participation in both descents on the island, seem to have some claim to this distinction.
This battle honour is borne on the colours of the
West Yorkshire.East Lancashire.Welsh.Seaforth Highlanders.Royal Irish Fusiliers.Governor-General's Bodyguard.2nd Queen's Own Sappers and Miners.
The expedition was under the command of General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, but the Governor-General of India, Lord Minto, himself accompanied the troops, in order to arrange for the civil administration of the Dutch islands, several of which, as I have shown, had already fallen into our hands.
The troops selected comprised two Madras and one Bengal division, and were brigaded as follows:
First Madras Division—Major-General R. R. Gillespie: 25th Light Dragoons (260), Horse Artillery (152), the 14th (West Yorkshire), a wing of the 59th (East Lancashire), the 89th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), and four companies of European Sappers.Second Madras Division—Colonel Gibbs, of the 59th (East Lancashire): 22nd Light Dragoons (154), Royal Artillery (98), a wing of the 59th (East Lancashire), the 69th (Welsh), and the 78th (Seaforth Highlanders).
First Madras Division—Major-General R. R. Gillespie: 25th Light Dragoons (260), Horse Artillery (152), the 14th (West Yorkshire), a wing of the 59th (East Lancashire), the 89th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), and four companies of European Sappers.
Second Madras Division—Colonel Gibbs, of the 59th (East Lancashire): 22nd Light Dragoons (154), Royal Artillery (98), a wing of the 59th (East Lancashire), the 69th (Welsh), and the 78th (Seaforth Highlanders).
The Bengal division was under the command of Major-General J. S. Wood, and consisted of the Governor-General's Bodyguard, the 1st Battalion of the Bengal Native Infantry, and five battalions of sepoys, who had volunteered from the whole of the regiments of the Bengal army, and who were designated as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Regiments of Bengal Volunteers. On the force being broken up, these men returned to their own regiments, receiving the medal which the Governor-General caused to be struck for the expedition, and so it comes about that, with the exception of the Bodyguard and the Madras Sappers, no native corps bears the distinction "Java" on its colours.
A powerful fleet, under the command of Admiral the Hon. R. Stopford, convoyed the transports. It comprised the following vessels:
Commander-in-Chief: Rear-Admiral the Hon. R. Stopford.Commodore: W. R. Broughton.
GUNSGUNSGUNSScipio74Illustrious74Minden74Lion64Akbar44Nisus38Présidente38Hussar38Phæton38Leda38Caroline36Modeste36Phœbe36Bucephalus36Doris36Cornelia32Psyche32Drake32Procris18Barracouta18Hesper18Harpy18Hecate18Dasher18Samarang12
Honourable East India Company's Cruisers.
Malabar.Aurora.Mornington.Nautilus.Vestal.Ariel.Thetis.Psyche.
and fifty-seven transports carrying troops.
The total strength of the expeditionary force amounted to 5,344 British and 5,770 native troops. On August 4 the troops disembarked at a place called Chillingcherry, some ten miles east of the capital, meeting with no opposition; but on the 10th the advanced brigade, under Gillespie, a most dashing officer, who had distinguished himself greatly in the West Indies, had a sharp encounter with the French, who were driven back, our casualties amounting to 90 killed and wounded. On the 20th the siege of Fort Cornelis was commenced, the Admiral landing a naval brigade and some heavy guns to aid in the operations. On the 26th the fort was carried by assault, Gillespie again distinguishing himself, pursuing the beaten enemy with the 22nd Light Dragoons for a distance of thirty-five miles, capturing 2 general, 30 field, and 214 other officers; 280 guns and 6,000 prisoners fell into our hands as a consequence of this bold attack, and the operations were brought to a conclusion by the unconditional surrender of the island. Gillespie, who was left in command on the departure of the Governor-General,experienced some difficulty in inducing the natives to learn submission, and a number of expeditions were necessary ere peace was fully restored. On the institution of the Land General Service Medal in 1847, the survivors of the expedition received that medal with a clasp inscribed "Java." The Governor-General, on his own initiative, at the conclusion of the operations, bestowed gold medals on field officers and silver medals on all other ranks; but the privilege of wearing these was confined to officers and men in the service of the East India Company.
Casualties in the Expedition to Java, 1811.
Regiments.Officers.N.C.O.'s and Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Navy-51555Royal Artillery1219Bengal Artillery11312Madras Artillery-126Bengal Engineers-1--Madras Engineers-1--22nd Light Dragoons1111914th West York15119059th East Lancastrian5101812869th Welsh38146078th Seaforth Highlanders173313789th R.I. Fusiliers-81165Governor-General's Bodyguard-115Madras Pioneers11143rd Bengal Native Vols.---34th Bengal Native Vols.-211285th Bengal Native Vols.-12226th Bengal Native Vols.-3422
This distinction is borne only by the 121st Pioneers, formerly the Bombay Marine Battalion, and was awarded to that regiment by the order of the Governor of Bombayin Council as a recognition of its services when employed under Sir W. Grant Keir in the destruction of the piratical strongholds in the Persian Gulf in the year 1819. A previous expedition had been undertaken against the same tribes in the year 1809, when Sir Lionel Smith, with the 65th (York and Lancasters), the 47th (North Lancashire), and the 2nd Bombay Infantry had taught the pirates that they could not attack vessels flying the English flag with impunity. For some years the hot bloods of the Arabian coast abstained from exercising their predatory habits, but in the year 1817 they plundered several vessels, massacring their crews. The vessels of the East India Squadron had more than one sharp tussle with the pirates, but these were always able to escape to their lairs, where the seamen were unable to follow them. It was determined in 1819 to despatch a second expedition against the Joassma, the offending tribe. The command was entrusted to Major-General Sir W. Grant Keir, an officer who had conducted more than one successful campaign in Cutch and against other recalcitrant petty potentates. The troops selected were the 65th (York and Lancaster Regiment), and the flank companies of the 47th (Loyal North Lancashires). These two corps had been associated in the previous expedition in the year 1809. In addition to the British contingent, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry (now the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry), the 11th Marine Battalion (now the 121st Pioneers), and the flank companies of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Bombay Infantry (now the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry), also accompanied the force, which was convoyed by H.M.S.Liverpooland several of the Honourable East India Company's cruisers.
The whole force assembled at the Island of Larrack, in the Persian Gulf, on November 24, and the General at once proceeded in theLiverpoolto Ras-el-Khima, the pirates' stronghold, where he made a careful reconnaissance. Attempts were made through the Imaum ofMuscat to open negotiations with the chief of the Joassma tribe, but to these he returned a defiant reply. The General thereupon sent for the transports, and on December 3 the whole force disembarked unopposed. It was evident that the fort had been considerably strengthened since 1809, and the General borrowed some 24-pounders from theLiverpoolin order to construct and arm his shore batteries. Whilst the siege operations were in progress, the Arabs made more than one determined sortie; but when the bombardment commenced in earnest, they made but a feeble reply. This is scarcely to be wondered at. Their guns were all of small calibre, and theLiverpoolclaimed that she had thrown upwards of 1,200 32 and 24 pound shot into the place in twenty-four hours.
On the evening of December 9 the breach was declared practicable, but when the storming-parties approached the place at dawn on the 10th it was found deserted. Information was received through the Imaum of Muscat that the Arabs had retreated to another stronghold farther inland. The General then re-embarked a portion of his force, and proceeded up the coast to Rhams, which also was found to be abandoned; but here it was ascertained that the tribes were still defiant, and were massed in a hill fort of Zaya, some miles inland. The two British corps, with the artillery, were at once despatched to destroy this work, and on the 18th of the month Sir Grant Keir was able to report to Government the destruction of all the piratical strongholds and the submission of their chiefs.
The expedition had been attended with some loss, but the official report of the casualties in theBombay Gazettetends to show that these fell on the British, and not on the native, corps engaged. The York and Lancaster Regiment have been accorded the distinction "Arabia" as a recognition of their services; but the 47th (Loyal North Lancashires), although they were twice employed with the 56th on the by no means pleasing duty of chastisingArab pirates, have not as yet been permitted to add the word "Arabia" to the other battle honours which are embroidered on their colours.
Casualties during the Expedition to the Persian Gulf in 1819.