Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Artillery-145Royal Scots24132715th E. Yorks23272617th Leicester13113322nd Cheshire-371528th Gloucester-1122535th R. Sussex-4??40th S. Lancs-182145th Sherwood Foresters--101447th N. Lancs--93048th N'hampton1181758th N'hampton-121160th King's Royal Rifles11245778th[4]431741
The landing was stubbornly contested by the French, but, thanks to the gallantry of Major Scott, at the head of the light infantry battalion, Wolfe was enabled to effect his object with a loss of about 100 killed and wounded. Lawrence's brigade was immediately thrown ashore, and by nightfall Amherst had pitched his camp to the westward, and just out of the range of the guns of the fortress. The task of disembarking the siege material was exceedingly arduous, and Amherst, owing to the nature of the ground, was compelled to restrict the siege operations to the western face of the fortress. Wolfe, however, was detached to move round the city,and seize some works on the northern side of the harbour. This he effected with but slight loss, and was enabled by a daringcoup de mainto occupy a commanding position some 300 yards distant from the northernmost bastion. Thanks to the powerful and cordial co-operation of the fleet, Amherst carried on the bombardment with ceaseless vigour. By the end of July the walls were so battered that they could barely withstand the shock of their own guns, and on the 27th of that month the French General surrendered unconditionally, with 5,600 men.
The following regiments are authorized to bear this honour:
Oxford Light Infantry.North Lancashire.Northampton.King's Royal Rifles.East Yorkshire.Royal Sussex.Gloucester.
It commemorates that glorious eleven weeks' campaign which culminated in the capture of Quebec and established British supremacy in Canada. It is doubly memorable owing to the fact that the two opposing commanders, Wolfe and Montcalm, fell in the hour of victory, and that vanquished as well as victor are held in veneration by friend and foe alike.
The capture of Louisburg and the successes over the French in West Africa, as well as on the continent of North America, determined Pitt to carry out the scheme formulated in the preceding year for the capture of Quebec. Wolfe, who had so distinguished himself at Louisburg, was, to the surprise of the army, nominated to the command, having under him three Brigadiers—Monckton, Townsend, and Murray. The former had as a regimental commander shown himself possessed of every capacity for high command. The force, which numbered about 8,000 men, was composed of ten battalions of the line: two of grenadiers, made up from the flank companies of all regiments in North America; two of light infantry; and a corps of local troops styled "Roger'sRangers," men inured to war and of proved capacity. The distribution of the force was as under:
First Brigade—Brigadier Murray: 35th (Royal Sussex), 48th (Northampton), and 3rd Battalion King's Royal Rifles.Second Brigade—Brigadier Townsend: 28th (Gloucester), 47th (North Lancashire), and 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifles.Third Brigade—Brigadier Monckton: 15th (East Yorkshire), 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry), 58th (Northampton), and Fraser's Highlanders.
First Brigade—Brigadier Murray: 35th (Royal Sussex), 48th (Northampton), and 3rd Battalion King's Royal Rifles.
Second Brigade—Brigadier Townsend: 28th (Gloucester), 47th (North Lancashire), and 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifles.
Third Brigade—Brigadier Monckton: 15th (East Yorkshire), 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry), 58th (Northampton), and Fraser's Highlanders.
It was not until June 27 that Wolfe landed, without resistance, on the Island of Orleans, just below Quebec, and on the following day Monckton's brigade, with some heavy guns, was thrown across to the right bank of the St. Lawrence. Emboldened by the passive attitude of the French Commander, who seemed averse to adopt any offensive measures, Wolfe moved the brigades of Murray and Townsend to the left bank of the St. Lawrence, below the French entrenched camp, whilst he himself, still holding on to the Isle of Orleans, threw up batteries on the left bankbelowthe city. This dissemination of his forces constituted a grave danger, but Montcalm took no advantage of such a palpable error. On July 31 a determined attempt to assault the city was repulsed, our loss being upwards of 500 killed and wounded, and the spirits of the besiegers sank to zero. The British Admiral pointed out to Wolfe that the proper course to pursue was to transfer his main force to a position on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, above Quebec, so as to prevent Montcalm from obtaining supplies or reinforcements from Montreal. This proposition was concurred in warmly by the General, and early in September Townsend and Murray took up their new position to the west of the citadel. On September 13 Wolfe, by a most daring midnight movement, scaled the Heights of Abraham, and so encompassed the fall of what was considered an impregnable city. Shot in the wrist early in the fight, the heroic young commander still led on his men, until, just as the French were falling back, he received a second ball in the groin, and finally fell at thehead of the 28th (Gloucesters), at the moment of victory. The command now devolved on Townsend (Monckton having been disabled by a severe wound), and he pressed forward the siege with vigour. On September 18 General Ramesay, who had succeeded Montcalm in command of the French, signed the capitulation of a city which was little better than a mass of shapeless ruins. The praise for the capture of Quebec is due to Wolfe; but Quebec was but an incident in the long-drawn-out campaign which resulted in transferring Canada from the Bourbon to British rule, and the credit for this belongs to a General little remembered in these days—General the Lord Amherst.
Casualties during the Operations at Quebec, 1759.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Staff15--Royal Artillery--11415th E. Yorks1111310728th Gloucesters171810035th R. Sussex310296940th S. Lancashire1712943rd Oxford L.I.-3123347th L.N. Lancashire13164948th N'hampton14134758th N'hampton181712960th King's Royal Rifles (3rd Batt.)4132217660th King's Royal Rifles (4th Batt.)-123078th Seaforth Highlanders31135138Grenadiers of Louisburg1713112Roger's Rangers222126Royal Marines--822
A battle honour borne by the
South Staffords.South Lancashire.Royal Irish Fusiliers.Rifle Brigade.
The expedition to South America redounds little to the credit of our arms, and, as is well known, ended in disaster. A few words are necessary as to its inception. Prior to the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in 1806,the Admiral, Sir Home Popham, who was in command of the naval forces in the South Atlantic, had been at some pains to impress upon Pitt, the Prime Minister, the immense advantages that would accrue to our trade by the conquest of the Spanish possessions in South America; and though it would appear that Popham was not entrusted with any mission in furtherance of his design, there is no doubt that Pitt did look with considerable favour on his proposals, and a force under General Crawford was actually despatched to make a descent on the western shore of the continent, and to occupy Chili or Peru. Popham, however, did not lose sight of his own scheme, which was the conquest of Buenos Ayres; and no sooner were we in possession of the Cape than he persuaded Sir David Baird to place General Beresford, with the 38th (South Staffords) and the 71st (Highland Light Infantry) at his disposal. With these and the St. Helena Regiment, which consisted of an infantry battalion and a company of artillery, Popham sailed across the Atlantic, and early in June appeared off the coast near Monte Video. After reconnoitring Mondanado, Popham decided that an attack on Monte Video was impracticable, and, overcoming the scruples of Beresford, proceeded to Buenos Ayres. The troops were landed a short distance from the city, and, after a short skirmish, the Spaniards, completely surprised, surrendered. The troops engaged at the first capture of Buenos Ayres were the 71st (Highland Light Infantry), a naval brigade, consisting of seamen and marines, and the St. Helena Regiment, the casualties only amounting to 4 men killed, an officer and 15 men wounded.
The Spaniards soon recovered from their surprise, and, realizing the weakness of our force, took measures for the recapture of the city. On August 12 a body of some 12,000 men appeared before Buenos Ayres, and at the end of the day, our men being entangled in the streets, and the 71st having lost 165 killed and wounded, Beresford felt himself obliged to surrender.
When the news of the disaster reached England, reinforcements were at once despatched to the coast, and Baird was ordered to send all troops he could spare from the Cape. The command of the new expedition was entrusted to Sir Samuel Auchmuty, whilst the naval forces were placed under Admiral Sterling, Popham being recalled for the purpose of undergoing trial by court-martial. On arriving at Mondanado, Auchmuty found the troops from the Cape. These were unprovided with artillery, and there was much difficulty in securing the necessary provisions. Meat there was in plenty, but for flour and other food-stuffs the troops were dependent on England. After consultation with the Admiral, it was decided to make an attack on Monte Video as a necessary preliminary to the recapture of Buenos Ayres, and the release of the troops in the hands of the Spaniards (close on 1,500 in number). On January 18, 1807, the force was successfully disembarked at Carretas, some seven miles to the eastward of Monte Video. A reconnaissance proved that the defences of the city were far more formidable than had been reported, and on the 19th the Spaniards made a sortie, in which they displayed a gallantry which our men had by no means anticipated. Heavy guns were landed from the fleet, and breaching batteries erected within 1,000 yards of the citadel. The Admiral also landed upwards of 1,400 seamen and marines to assist the troops. The General did not possess the means for a regular siege, and, risky though the experiment was, he determined to carry the place by storm so soon as a practicable breach was effected. On the night of January 24 Sir Samuel made the preparations for the assault. The storming column was composed of the Rifle Brigade, the light and grenadier companies of all the regiments of the force, with the 38th (South Staffords). The 40th (South Lancashire) and the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) were in immediate support, whilst the General held in reserve the 47th (North Lancashire), a company of the 71st (HighlandLight Infantry), 700 seamen and marines, and the details of the 17th Lancers, 20th and 21st Light Dragoons. The night was very dark, and it was found that the Spaniards had repaired the breach with timber faced with damp hides, to avoid the contingency of their being set on fire; but the Rifle Brigade and light infantry battalion forced their way over all obstacles in the face of a very determined resistance, and by daybreak we were in possession of the town. The conduct of our men during the actual assault and during the occupation called forth the warmest praise of the General.
Casualties during the Operations at Monte Video.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Navy-263217th Lancers (dismt. troop)---420th Light Dragoons--1321st Light Dragoons---4Royal Artillery-11438th S. Staffs210299840th S. Lancs45187647th Loyal N. Lancashires--31672nd Seaforths-1--83rd R. Irish Rifles-1--87th R. Irish Fusiliers33608095th Rifle Brig.131545Light Infantry Battalion166699
In the month of March the troops, under General Crawford, which had been destined for the Chilian coast arrived at Monte Video, and General Whitelock assumed command. An advance was now made on Buenos Ayres, which resulted in the capitulation of our force and the trial of the Commander-in-Chief. This disaster cast no reflections either on the gallantry of our troops or the skill of Auchmuty. At the same time, it is impossible to think of this battle honour without recalling the unfortunate circumstances connected with the two attacks on Buenos Ayres.
The war in North America in the early years of the nineteenth century gave rise to much hard fighting, and though at the close of the campaign in the Iberian Peninsula we were enabled to send a number of our seasoned regiments as reinforcements, the operations were by no means creditable to our arms.
On the institution of the Land General Service Medal in 1847 (commonly called the Peninsular Medal), a certain number of engagements which had taken place in North America were included in the list of those for which the medal was granted, and clasps were issued for the following actions:
Fort Detroit, August, 1812.Châteaugay, October 26, 1813.Christler's Farm, November 11, 1813.
But in the distribution of battle honours the two last names were not authorized to be borne on the colours of the regiments engaged. In the case of Christler's Farm an application for permission to bear this honour on behalf of the 89th Regiment (now the 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers) met with a decided refusal. On the other hand, four battle honours were granted to regiments to commemorate engagements for which the medal was not issued—namely, Queenstown, Miami, Niagara, and Bladensburg.
is borne only on the colours of the Welsh Regiment, and commemorates the services of the old 41st Regiment at the affair which took place in the vicinity of Fort Detroit, on August 16, 1812, when its casualties amounted to 1 officer and 3 men killed, 1 officer and 10 men wounded.
records the services of the Welsh Regiment and the Berkshires in the affair of October 26, 1813, in which their casualties were—
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.41st Welsh--21849th Berkshire-2830
This, again, is an honour which was granted alone to the Welsh Regiment as a recognition of its services in the affair of April 23, 1813, when the casualties were 11 men killed, 1 officer and 38 men wounded.
is borne on the colours and appointments of the
19th Hussars.Royal Scots.Royal Warwick.Welsh Regiment.King's Liverpool Regiment.Royal Canadians.Royal Irish Fusiliers.South Lancashire.
In theLondon Gazetteof July 25, 1814, the above regiments, as well as the 103rd Regiment, were authorized to add this battle honour to their other distinctions. In November, 1815, the 104th Regiment were also awarded the honour.[5]The casualties at this engagement were—
Losses at Niagara.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.19th Hussars---2Royal Artillery---15Royal Scots13151128th King's Liverpool-3125741st Welsh Regiment--33489th R. Irish Fusiliers21127177100th Royal Canadians----103rd Regiment-1646104th Regiment--15
This honour is borne on the colours of the following regiments:
King's Own (Royal Lancaster).Royal Scots Fusiliers.Essex.Shropshire Light Infantry.
The campaign on the Canadian frontier had been waged with varying fortune: sometimes success attended our arms, at others we suffered considerable reverses. We were fighting, however, under many disadvantages. The bulk of our forces were employed in Spain, or in the abortive expedition to the Low Countries. The abdication of Napoleon, however, set free a portion of our troops, and a brigade was despatched, under the command of Major-General John Ross, from the South of France to North America. It consisted of the 4th (King's Own), the 41st (Welsh), and the 44th (Essex). On arrival at Bermuda it was met by the 21st (Royal Scots Fusiliers), and by Admiral Cochrane, commanding the naval forces on the station. The Admiral had been in the habit whilst blockading the coast of landing at the mouth of the Potomac River, and making incursions into the country, accompanied only by a few Marines. He pointed out to the General the feasibility of an attack on Washington, the young capital of the United States. On August 15 the General, accompanied by the Admiral, landed and made a lengthy reconnaissance up the Patuxent River, which runs parallel to the Potomac, and a short distance to the east. The landing presented no difficulties, and on the 20th the whole of the brigade, having arrived, were disembarked without opposition at a place called Benedict, on the right bank of the Patuxent, only fifty miles from Washington. On the following day the force moved to Nottingham in three columns. The right, under Colonel Brooke, of the 44th, consisted of the 4th (King's Own) and the 44th (Essex); the centre, commanded by Colonel Patterson, of the 21st (Royal Scots Fusiliers), comprised that corps and a strong naval brigade;whilst the left column, which was under Colonel Thornton, of the 85th (King's Light Infantry), was made up of that regiment and the light companies of the other three battalions, and was accompanied by the little artillery force, which consisted of but a couple of 3-pounders and a howitzer. On August 22 the brigade reached Marlborough, a small town sixteen miles from the capital, and here Ross learnt that a body of American troops, about 6,000 strong, was drawn up for the defence of Washington at Bladensburg, to the north of the city. Leaving some marines to guard his lines of communication at Marlborough, Ross pushed on, the left column, under his own personal command, leading, and on the morning of the 24th he found the enemy. The action was soon over, and by nightfall Ross entered Washington, having captured ten of the enemy's guns. Whether the subsequent burning of the Capitol was justified or not is a question that everyone will decide for himself. Suffice to say that public property to the extent of close on half a million sterling was destroyed, in addition to several ships on the stocks, and that we carried away 206 guns. Our losses were by no means heavy. In justice to the memory of the General, it should be put on record that a perfectly orderly entry into the city was effected, and that all firing had long since ceased when, as he and the Admiral were passing through the city, some shots were fired from a private house, and that by his orders that house was set on fire. The flames spread to neighbouring buildings, and before they could be stopped the Capitol was in flames.
The raid—for raid it was—was looked upon as a decided success, and Ross, who had succeeded in carrying off the greater part of the guns found in Washington, determined to carry out a similar raid on Baltimore. This, too, was successful, but it was achieved at the loss of the gallant General, who was one of the four officers who fell in the engagement outside Baltimore on September 12. The action of Bladensburg is commemoratednot only on the colours of the four regiments which were present, but the family of the General were authorized by royal licence to add the word "Bladensburg" to their own name of Ross.
Casualties at Bladensburg.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Artillery---6R. Engineers--2-4th King's Own17235621st R. Scots Fusiliers-221144th Essex--143585th K. Shropshire L.I.2111253Royal Marines--616th West India--1-
BATTLEFIELDS IN SOUTHERN INDIA
BATTLEFIELDS IN SOUTHERN INDIA
BATTLEFIELDS IN SOUTHERN INDIA
INDIA, 1751-1764
Arcot—Plassey—Condore—Masulipatam—Badara—Wandewash—Pondicherry—Buxar.
The names at the head of the chapter commemorate a number of long-forgotten Indian campaigns, waged against desperate odds and extending over many years. The Colar Goldfields, Dindigul Cigars, and the Nundy Droog Mine are names of pleasant memories to the fortunate shareholders in those concerns. Little did soldier or sepoy think that those fields on which he shed his blood in order to maintain British supremacy in India would thus become familiarized to British speculators. For us, their successors, it is humiliating to feel that the heroic forging of the link which connects them with the military history of our Empire should have been long since forgotten. A few words in retrospect are necessary.
In the year 1600 a charter was granted by Parliament to the East India Company, and within ten years factories had been established at Surat, to the north of Bombay, and Petapolam, to the north of Madras. We were not the first-comers in the field, for both Dutch and Portuguese had been for many years engaged in commerce with the East. In 1612 our first troubles arose with the Portuguese, whom we defeated at Surat, and since then no question of their supremacy has arisen. Fifty years later the French had firmly established themselves at Masulipatam and Pondicherry, on the south-east coast,as well as at Chandernagore, a few miles above Calcutta, and for the next 150 years the rivalry between France and England was the cause of much strife. The policy of the French was to stand well in with the native rulers, to organize their armies on a European model, and so, with their aid, to drive the English out of India.
At the commencement of the eighteenth century Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were our chief centres, the former with factories stretching to Patna, in the northwest. The influence of the Governor of Bombay extended from the settlement at Ahmedabad, in the north, to Calicut, on the west or Malabar coast, whilst Madras had under its rule all factories on the eastern coast from Vizagapatam to Cuddalore. The British East India Company of those days boasted of but little Government support; the French company was fast becoming a military rather than a commercial force. In 1750 the French had driven us out of Madras, and were virtually rulers of Southern India, and the bulk of our forces were besieged in Trichinopoly. Fortunately for England, even in her darkest hour a man has arisen to cope with and surmount her difficulties. Amongst the writers or clerks in the employ of the factory at Madras was one Robert Clive. He, with rare prescience, argued that, as the bulk of the French forces, aided by their ally, the ruler of the Carnatic, were employed in the reduction of Trichinopoly, therefore Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, in all probability lay unguarded. Mr. Saunders, the Governor of Madras, cordially supported the plan advocated by the young writer, which was to carry the war into the enemy's country, and to seize Arcot, the capital, by acoup de main.
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE.To face page 50.
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE.To face page 50.
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE.To face page 50.
To face page 50.
This honour is alone borne by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the lineal descendants of the gallant band of Englishmen in the service of the East India Company at Madras, whoin the year 1751, under the incomparable Clive, laid the foundation of our Indian Empire. In those days Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, was a city of about 100,000 inhabitants, dominated by a fort almost in ruins. It lies some sixty miles south-west of Madras, and Clive determined not only to effect the relief of Trichinopoly, then besieged by the French, but also to strike at French supremacy by seizing the capital of their most powerful ally, the Sovereign of the Carnatic. He left Madras on September 6, 1751, in command of a small force of 200 Englishmen and 300 sepoys, with but three field-guns. Of his officers, eight in number, four, like him, were "writers" in the Company's factory. Five days later Clive had thrown himself into the half-ruined fort of Arcot, which had been hastily evacuated by its garrison, mounted the guns, which had been abandoned, repaired the defences, and made every preparation for a siege. A month later the siege commenced in earnest, 10,000 trained troops of the Nawab, aided by 300 French, drawing a close cordon round the fort, whilst a siege-train directed by Frenchmen opened fire on its walls. Macaulay, in his brilliant essay on Lord Clive, has borne eloquent testimony to the heroism both of the leader and the led (I have not the space to dwell on the details of the siege)—how the sepoys, with starvation staring them in the face, brought their rations of rice to their English comrades, with the remark that the water in which it was boiled was sustenance enough for them; and how, after being beleaguered for fifty days, in which he had lost one-third of his force, Clive repelled a final assault, and was enabled to assume the offensive against his disheartened and discomfited foes.
Arcot was a prelude to a campaign in which many gallant actions were fought—actions long since forgotten, and which are unrecorded on our colours. Trichinopoly and Covrepauk are no less worthy of emblazonment than Reshire or Koosh-ab. But, alas! no connection can now be traced between the sepoys who fought under Cliveand the regiments of our native army, whilst the identity of the First Madras Europeans has for a whole generation been hidden under the title of "Royal Dublin Fusiliers."
Little by little public interest was now being centred on India. The desperate efforts of France to gain an ascendancy in the Peninsula of Hindoostan, and the gallant endeavour of the servants of the East India Company to thwart those efforts, had at last aroused our Ministers to the value of Indian commerce, and to the necessity of affording military assistance in the shape of trained regiments to the "Honourable Company of Merchants trading to the East." In 1754 a first step was made in this direction, and in that year the 39th Regiment (now the 1st Dorsets) landed in Madras, and, in memory of their connection with our early struggles in India, have been permitted to bear on their colours the legend "Primus in Indis." The following year a truce was signed between France and England, thus putting an end to active hostilities. No steps, however, were neglected by either party in order to secure a paramount influence with native rulers. In this, however, we were less successful than our rivals.
The following regiments are entitled to bear this battle honour:
The Dorsetshire Regiment.Royal Munster Fusiliers.Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Just as in the South of India the rulers of the Carnatic and of Mysore were the bitter foes of the English settlement at Madras, so at Calcutta we had against us Surajah Dowlah, the ruler of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa—a nominal Viceroy of the Mogul Emperor—straining every nerve to wrest from us the territories on which our factories were built. The tragedy of the Black Hole of Calcutta is familiar to every schoolboy. Fortunate indeed for England was it that, when the news of thefall of Calcutta reached Fort St. George an English fleet, under Admiral Watson, was lying in Madras Roads, and that men of action sat in the Madras Council. Two hundred Europeans were at once despatched to the Hooghly, and a force of 2,500 men hastily organized, consisting of 250 men of the 39th Regiment (1st Dorsets), 700 Madras Europeans, and 1,500 sepoys, for their support. This force was under the joint command of Admiral Watson and Robert Clive. Calcutta was relieved; and as war with France had again broken out, it was determined—now that all pressure on the part of Surajah Dowlah was removed—to attack the French settlement at Chandernagore. The fleet sailed up the Hooghly, and on March 23 the British flag was flying over the French fortress. I have been unable to ascertain the losses of Clive's troops on this occasion. Those of the Royal Navy amounted to 4 officers and 46 men killed, 9 officers and 156 men wounded. In the burial-ground of St. John's Church, Calcutta, may yet be seen two monuments recording thus daring feat of arms and of superb seamanship—the one raised in memory of the Admiral, the other of a midshipman. The former reads:
Here lies interred the Body ofCHARLES WATSON, Esq.,Vice-Admiral of the White,Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty'sNaval Forces in the East Indies,Who departed this Life the 16th Day of August, 1757,In the 44th Year of his Age.Gheria taken, February 13th, 1756.Calcutta freed, January 11th, 1757.Chandernagore taken, March 23rd, 1757.Exegit monumentum ore perennius.
On the boy's tomb is inscribed:
Here lyes the Body ofWILLIAM SPEKE,Aged 16, Son of Henry Speke, Esq.,Captain of His Majesty's ShipKent.He lost his Leg and Life in that ShipAt the Capture of Fort Orleans,The 24th March, Anno 1757.
Having punished the French for their refusal to afford assistance to our beleaguered countrymen and countrywomen in Calcutta, Clive now determined to march against the Nawab Surajah Dowlah. On June 13, having received fresh reinforcements on this occasion from Bombay, he left Chandernagore at the head of 3,000 men, with ten guns. Of these about 1,000 were English—the 39th Foot, under Major Eyre Coote, some gunners of the Royal Artillery who had accompanied the 39th from England, and detachments of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay European regiments. The Englishmen were conveyed in boats up the Hooghly; the sepoys marched along the banks. On June 23 Clive found himself face to face with Surajah Dowlah's army at Plassey, a town on the River Hooghly, about 100 miles due north of Calcutta. The odds were hopelessly unequal—Clive with 3,000 men and ten light field-guns on the one side; Surajah Dowlah with 55,000 men, of whom 15,000 were cavalry, and fifty guns of all calibres on the other. Had Englishmen ever been in the habit of counting the odds, the Indian Empire would never have been ours. Neither Clive nor Coote were men to quail before difficulties. From eight until eleven our infantry lay motionless, the field-guns only maintaining an unequal duel with the more numerous artillery of the enemy, which were being served—and very badly served—by some Frenchmen in the service of the Nawab. Plassey was the foundation-stone of Britishsupremacy in Bengal, as Arcot was in Madras; yet the fight was, from the soldier's standpoint, a very hollow one. Dawn broke with the odds immeasurably in favour of the Mogul host. At sunset that host was in full retreat, and yet our total losses were but 11 English and 13 sepoys killed, the wounded being 22 and 21 respectively. Such was the price we paid for the establishment of British rule over what is known as the Province of Bengal.
Casualties at Plassey.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Navy-1-2Royal Artillery1261039th Dorset1-14Royal Munster Fusiliers-1121st R. Dublin Fusiliers--132nd R. Dublins---1Bengal sepoys--911Madras sepoys--410
Royal Munster Fusiliers.Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
In the course of this year there was incessant fighting between our troops in Madras and the French and their allies; but the value of India was now becoming more thoroughly appreciated by the Cabinet, and a second regiment, then numbered the 79th, was sent out to Madras, under Colonel William Draper. The French, on their part, were not behindhand. The Count Lally and Admiral d'Ache arrived, with close on 3,000 French troops, and the British forts at Cuddalore and St. David were captured. Matters were looking serious indeed in Southern India, when Clive, still in Calcutta, determined to make a diversion. Eyre Coote, the Major of the 39th, who had shown such gallantry at Plassey, was in England busily employed in raising a regiment for service in India,and so was not available; but Clive detached Major Forde, of the 39th, with detachments of his own regiment and of the 1st Bengal Europeans (now the Munster Fusiliers), barely numbering 600 men, and some 2,000 sepoys, down the coast to Vizagapatam, which was being threatened by a French force, under Conflans. Despite the odds against him—for the French army outnumbered his by at least three to one—Forde pushed on, finally meeting Conflans near the mouth of the Godavery River.
Casualties at Condore.
Regiments.Officers.Men.K.W.K.W.Royal Munster Fusiliers (1st Bengal Europeans)141529
There has been a long-standing dispute as to whether this honour can be rightly claimed by the Dublin Fusiliers as the representatives of the Madras and Bombay regiments which were sent to assist Clive in 1757. It appears certain that the men from Madras and Bombay were incorporated with the Bengal European Regiment in April, 1758, and that none but Bengal troops accompanied Forde to Vizagapatam. The India Office has therefore given its decision in favour of the Munsters for both Condore and Masulipatam.
This honour is borne by the Royal Munster Fusiliers alone. In spite of many obstacles thrown in his way after the action of Condore by our native allies, Forde determined to follow up Conflans. It was not until March 6 that he arrived before Masulipatam, behind the fortifications of which the French were awaiting him. A fortnight was taken up in landing siege-guns from the fleet, which had followed the army down the coast, and a smallnumber of bluejackets were disembarked to aid in the siege. On April 6 Forde learnt that a force of 40,000 natives, under Salabad Jung, was advancing to the relief of Conflans, and he determined on storming at once. His position was full of difficulty: in front a formidable work, with a garrison exceeding his own force in number, his land communications threatened by a Franco-native army 40,000 strong, and an empty treasure-chest. A weaker man would have taken advantage of the presence of the fleet, contented himself with his own marvellous success at Condore, and embarked his little army for Bengal. Not of such stuff was Forde, and fortunate for him and for England that he had with him men of like metal to himself. On April 8 Forde ordered the assault, and by nightfall Conflans, with 3,000 men, had unconditionally surrendered. Salabad Jung, the Viceroy of the Circars Province, now realizing that all power did not belong to the French, entered into a treaty with Forde, by which he ceded to the English eighty miles of coast-line, and entered into an agreement, not merely to dismiss all the French then in his service, but also never again to employ French troops or instructors. Forde was now free to return to Bengal, where his services were soon to be urgently needed.
Casualties incurred during the Operations at Masulipatam, ending with the Action of April 8, 1759.