Chapter VIII: Part 8

In the meantime the Dutch had made an energetic struggle to free themselves from the power of Napoleon, and a strong party had declared in favour of the Prince of Orange. A British force was sent to Holland under the orders of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch, and the 4th battalion of the ROYAL SCOTS was ordered from the north of Germany to join the troops in Holland. The battalion accordingly commenced its march from Lubeck on the 17th January, 1814, and encountered many difficulties, from the inclemency of the weather. While traversing the forest of _Shrieverdinghen_, 120 men were lost in a snow storm; much extreme suffering occurred during the journey; and on the 2nd of March the men went into cantonments at Rozendalh. After halting six days the battalion was ordered to join the force destined to make an attempt on the strong fortress of _Bergen-op-Zoom_; and was selected to form part of the 4th column of attack; at the same time its flank companies were detached to join another column. The attack was made about ten o'clock on the night of the 8th of March. The ROYAL SCOTS succeeded in crossing the Zoom, and forced an entrance by the water-port. Having gained possession of the ramparts round the water-port gate, the battalion was exposed to a heavy fire of grape and musketry from two howitzers, and a strong detachment of French marines, stationed near the arsenal: two companies were detached to keep the enemy in check, and were relieved every two hours by two other companies of the battalion. These companies were actively engaged in this service from eleven o'clock until daylight; when the enemy made a furious attack in strong columns, which bore down all before them. The two detached companies of the ROYAL SCOTS were attacked by a host of combatants, and driven in. A heavy fire of grape was opened upon the battalion from the guns of the arsenal; and it was forced to retire by the water-port gate, when a detached battery opened upon it. Being thus placed between two fires, with a high palisade on one side, and the Zoom filled with the tide on the other, the battalion was unfortunately obliged to surrender. The colours were first sunk in the river Zoom by Lieutenant and Adjutant Galbraith: the battalion then surrendered, on condition that the officers and men should not serve against the French until exchanged. The failure of the coup-de-main on Bergen-op-Zoom occasioned an immense sacrifice of gallant men. Of the ROYAL SCOTS, Captains M'Nicol, Edward Wetherall, and Purvis, Lieutenant Mills, 1 serjeant, and 36 rank and file, were killed; Lieutenants Robertson, Stoyte, Midgley, and Stewart, 7 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 63 rank and file, wounded.

On the following day the battalion marched out of Bergen-op-Zoom, and on the 8th of April it embarked for England: on the 21st it arrived at Hilsea barracks, where it was supplied with clothing and equipments, and on the 6th of May it embarked on board the Diomede and Leopard (two sixty-fours, armed en-flute), and sailed for Canada.

[Sidenote: 3rd Batt.]

Meanwhile the success of the arms of the allied sovereigns in various parts of Europe had been followed by the abdication of Bonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. This event occurred in April, 1814, at which time the 3rd battalion of the ROYAL SCOTS was employed in the blockade of _Bayonne_. The French commandant in this fortress, not believing the statement of Bonaparte's abdication to be true, made a sortie with the garrison on the morning of the 14th of April, and gained a temporary advantage; but was afterwards repulsed. Major-General Hay,[124] Lieut.-Colonel of the ROYAL SCOTS, was killed at the first onset; the battalion also had 5 rank and file killed; Captain Buckley, Lieutenant Macdonnell, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 32 rank and file, wounded; also a few private men missing.

This was the last action of the war; and the British troops, after vanquishing the legions of Bonaparte in various parts of the globe, stood triumphant in the interior of France, and saw the fall of that gigantic power which had shaken the throne of every sovereign on the continent of Europe, and, aiming at universal empire, had sought to rule the world with Asiatic despotism. The ROYAL SCOTS remained encamped near Bayonne until August, when they marched back to Spain, and were the last British corps which quitted the French territory after the termination of this glorious war. The battalion, having embarked at Passages for Ireland, landed at the Cove of Cork on the 13th of September, 1814.

His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased to confer upon the 3rd battalion the honour of bearing the word "PENINSULA" upon its colours, as a mark of his royal approbation of its meritorious conduct in Portugal and Spain.

[Sidenote: 4th Batt.]

The right wing of the 4th battalion, which sailed for Canada in May, arrived at Quebec on the 26th of June, and on the 1st of July sailed up the St. Lawrence to Three Rivers; but the left wing, in the Leopard, was wrecked on Anticosti, a barren island in the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, and lost all its arms and baggage. The right wing afterwards returned to Quebec, and, the left having joined it, the battalion formed part of that garrison until May of the following year.

[Sidenote: 1815]

[Sidenote: 1st Batt.]

[Sidenote: 4th Batt.]

[Sidenote: 1st and 4th Batts.]

In January, 1815, the first battalion quitted Fort Niagara, and proceeded to Queenstown. From this place it proceeded to Fort George, Kingston, Prescott, Montreal, and Three Rivers, which latter place it reached on the 25th of May, when it embarked for Quebec; and on its arrival off Cape Diamond, peace having been concluded with the United States, it was removed on board of transports. At the same time the 4th battalion was withdrawn from garrison at Quebec, and, having embarked on board the fleet, both battalions sailed for England, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 17th and 18th of July.

[Sidenote: 3rd Batt.]

In the meantime Napoleon Bonaparte, with that perfidy which had ever marked his conduct, had quitted the island of Elba, and, attended by 600 men, made his appearance on the shores of France. The French troops joined the standard of the invader, the royal family fled, and Bonaparte reascended the throne with a rapidity which exceeded the wildest flights of poetry or romance. The peace of Europe was thus broken. The allied sovereigns resolved to wage war against the usurper; and in April, 1815, the 3rd battalion of the ROYAL SCOTS was suddenly ordered from its quarters at Fermoy to the Cove of Cork, to embark for the Netherlands, where a British force was assembling to engage in the approaching contest, under Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington--a leader under whose eye this portion of the ROYAL REGIMENT had already acquired numerous laurels in the Peninsular War.

The battalion landed at Ostend in the early part of May, and proceeded to Ghent, and from thence to Brussels, where it was stationed several weeks. It formed part of the 9th brigade, commanded by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, and was placed in the 5th division, under the command of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton.

During the night between the 15th and 16th of June, while the ROYAL SCOTS were reposing in comfortable quarters at Brussels, the men were suddenly aroused by the bugles sounding and drums beating to arms. Instantly quitting their beds, the soldiers prepared for action, and, seizing their muskets, issued in bands from every part of the city; and in a few hours the British regiments were passing through the dark forest of Soignes in the direction of Charleroi, a sharp conflict having already commenced between the corps in advance and the enemy. After a march of about twenty-two miles, the 5th division arrived at the scene of conflict soon after mid-day on the 16th of June, and, diverging from the high road, confronted the enemy on the undulating grounds near the farm-house of _Quatre Bras_.

The ROYAL SCOTS, advancing from their post in the centre of the 5th division, by a movement to their left through a field of corn which reached to the shoulders of the tallest men, encountered a column of French infantry, and by a determined charge drove it from its ground. The enemy's musketeers rallied under the protection of their formidable cavalry, and opened a galling fire, which was returned by the ROYAL SCOTS with steadiness and precision. The enemy, having the advantage of a rising ground, poured down volley after volley of grape and musketry with dreadful execution. The ROYAL SCOTS stood their ground with unflinching firmness; and, after fighting for some time in line, the battalion formed square, to resist the French cavalry, which was advancing in great force. The valour and intrinsic merit of the corps were now tested; but in vain the foaming squadrons of cuirassiers came rushing forward--in vain the daring swordsmen sought to penetrate the square; neither the superiority of their numbers, nor the fury of their charge, availed against the ROYAL SCOTS; the battalion stood firm, and resisted every attack of the enemy with an unshaken fortitude, which reflected honour on the corps.[125] After repulsing the formidable onsets of the enemy's steel-clad horsemen, the battalion deployed; again the French cuirassiers and lancers advanced, and the battalion once more formed square. The daring squadrons rushed forward in full career; the battalion sent forward a shower of balls, which emptied a hundred saddles, and the remaining horsemen wheeled round, and galloped away.[126] Thus the ROYAL SCOTS were triumphant, and they were soon afterwards moved to sustain the 28th regiment, which had suffered severely: another furious onset was made by the French cavalry, when the two corps formed one square, and repulsed their assailants with firmness. The French, dismayed by the sanguinary resistance of their adversaries, and being attacked in turn, were already giving way. Sir Thomas Picton placed himself at the head of the ROYAL SCOTS and 28th regiment, and leading them to the charge, the enemy was driven from his position with loss.

The battalion passed the following night on the field. The Prussians had been attacked on the 16th of June at Ligny, and forced to retreat to Wavre; a corresponding movement was made by the Duke of Wellington, to keep up the communication with the Prussians, and the ROYAL SCOTS, retreated on the 17th of June, with the remainder of the army, to the elevated grounds in front of the village of _Waterloo_, where the troops passed a stormy night in the open fields, drenched with rain.

On the memorable 18th of June the battalion formed part of the reserve under the gallant Sir Thomas Picton. At the commencement of the battle, when the enemy sent forward a cloud of skirmishers, and developed his massy columns of attack, the ROYAL SCOTS, commanded by Major Colin Campbell, were instantly engaged with the legions of Napoleon. "I have great pleasure," observes an officer, who was an eye-witness, "in detailing the conduct of the gallant 3rd battalion of the ROYAL SCOTS, and though I have been present with the battalion at the battles of Busaco, Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, both stormings of St. Sebastian, the passage of the Bidassoa, &c., &c., in all which they bore a most conspicuous part, and suffered severely, I can assure you they never evinced more steadiness, or more determined bravery, than at the late battle.

"About nine o'clock on the morning of the 18th June, the battalion was attacked by the enemy, and, with very little interruption, the entire day it formed a line of skirmishers in front of the brigade.

"I have often seen the battalion engaged, but, I must confess, on this trying day, it far excelled anything I had ever witnessed; and indeed, so pleased was the late General Picton with its gallantry and good conduct, that he several times expressed it himself to the battalion in the most flattering terms."

Thus, while the thunder of 400 cannon, the roll of musketry, the occasional explosion of caissons, the hissing of balls and grape-shot, the clashing of arms, and the impetuous shouts of the combatants, produced an awful scene of carnage and confusion, the ROYAL SCOTS were seen amidst the storm of battle, boldly confronting the torrent of superior numbers, and fighting with a constancy and valour which the enemy could not overcome. Corps after corps advanced; but amidst the dense smoke which often prevented the combatants from distinguishing each other, the British colours waved triumphant, and the shout of victory rose above the din of combat. Paralyzed by the astonishing resistance of the British arms, the attacks of the enemy relaxed; the Prussians arrived on the left, to co-operate, the Anglo-Belgian army formed line, and with one impetuous charge overthrew the French host, and drove it in wild confusion from the field of battle, with the loss of its cannon and equipages. Those warlike and numerous legions, which a few hours before meditated only rapine and conquest, were mingled in utter confusion along the road, and over the fields, while the allied squadrons poured on their shattered flanks and rear, and sabred the panic-struck fugitives without mercy or intermission. Thus ended a battle, the greatest of past or present times, the importance and character of which are above the reach of sophistry or mis-statement; a battle, which may in itself be considered an era, and the story of it, serving as a monument to commemorate the national glory, will survive when the brightest historical epochs on record shall be lost amid the obscurity and confusion of ages. In the important conflicts on the 16th and 18th of June, the ROYAL SCOTS had Captain Buckley, Lieutenants Armstrong, O'Niel, and Young, Ensigns Kennedy, Robertson, and Anderson, 1 serjeant-major, 4 serjeants, and 29 rank and file, killed; Major Campbell; Brevet-Majors Arguimbeau, M'Donald, Massey, and Dudgeon; Lieutenants Rea, Ingram, Simms, Clark, Mann, G. Stewart, Alstone, Dobbs, Morrison, Miller, Lane, Black, Scott, and Adjutant Cameron; Ensigns Cooper, Stephens, and M'Kay; Quarter-Master Griffith; Volunteer Blacklin; 20 serjeants, and 275 rank and file, wounded.

The battalion advanced with the main army into France, and encamped on the 6th of July at Clichy, on the banks of the Seine, two miles from Paris, where it remained nearly four months.

[Sidenote: 1st and 4th Batts.]

In the meantime the 1st and 4th battalions had arrived at Portsmouth from Canada (as before stated), and the 4th having been completed to 1000 effective rank and file, by the transfer of men from the 1st, sailed for the Netherlands, to join the allied army under the Duke of Wellington; at the same time the remainder of the 1st battalion sailed for Scotland, and was stationed in Edinburgh Castle.

[Sidenote: 4th Batt.]

The 4th battalion having landed at Ostend, marched up the country to Paris, and pitched its tents at Clichy, where the 3rd battalion was also encamped.

[Sidenote: 3rd Batt.]

After the flight of Bonaparte, and the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France, rewards were conferred on the officers who had distinguished themselves during the war;[127] and the honour of bearing the word "WATERLOO" on its colours, was conferred on the 3rd battalion of the ROYAL SCOTS; every officer and man present at the battles on the 16th and 18th of June, 1815, also received a silver medal, to be worn on the left breast, attached by a crimson and blue riband, and the soldiers had the privilege of reckoning two years' service towards additional pay and pension on discharge.

The 3rd battalion quitted the camp at Clichy on the 29th of October to go into cantonments for the winter: it occupied successively Maule, Montmorency, and Gillecourt, and their adjacents.

[Sidenote: 4th Batt.]

[Sidenote: 1816]

During the winter the 4th battalion was ordered to return to England,[128] where it arrived in the early part of 1816. From the period of its formation the 4th battalion was considered as a depôt to the other battalions of the regiment, until it embarked for Germany, in 1813. All recruits enlisted for the regiment, volunteers from the militia, and sick and wounded men sent home from foreign service with any prospect of being again fit for military duty, joined the 4th battalion; and the recruits were completely drilled before they were sent to join the other battalions.[129] Peace having been restored, the battalion was disbanded at Dover on the 24th of March, 1816.

[Sidenote: 1st Batt.]

In February of the same year the 1st battalion marched from Edinburgh Castle to Port Patrick, where it embarked for Ireland, and remained in that country nearly ten years.

[Sidenote: 3rd Batt.]

[Sidenote: 1817]

The 3rd battalion, forming part of the army of occupation in France, marched from Gillecourt in January, 1816, and went into garrison at Valenciennes. It quitted this place in March, 1817, and proceeded to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landed at Dover on the 24th of the same month. It shortly afterwards marched to Canterbury barracks, where it was disbanded on the 24th of April, 1817.

[Sidenote: 1st and 2nd Batts.]

The regiment was thus reduced to its former establishment of TWO BATTALIONS; and the men of the 3rd battalion having been transferred to the 1st and 2nd battalions, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased to grant permission to the 1st and 2nd battalions to bear the words "BUSACO," "SALAMANCA," "VITTORIA," "ST. SEBASTIAN," "NIVE," "PENINSULA," and "WATERLOO," on their colours, in commemoration of the distinguished services of the 3rd battalion of the regiment, as before narrated.

[Sidenote: 2nd Batt.]

In the meantime the 2nd battalion had continued actively employed in the East Indies against the _Pindarees_, and these barbarous hordes being composed entirely of horsemen, the services of the corps were of an arduous and trying nature; traversing extensive districts by forced marches, passing rivers and thickets, and attempting to surprise these bands of plunderers, were duties calculated to exhaust the physical powers of Europeans when performed under an Indian sun.

While the ROYAL SCOTS were engaged in these services, several of the native princes prepared to wage war against the British. Their designs were partly discovered and disconcerted by the Marquis of Hastings. Hostilities, however, followed, and the battalion was called upon to engage in the contest. The eight battalion companies formed part of the second division under the command of Brigadier-General Doveton; and the flank companies were destined to form part of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Hislop, Baronet.

The battalion was stationed at Jaulnah; from whence the flank companies marched on the 11th of October, 1817, under the command of Captain Hulme, with two regiments of native cavalry, and four guns, to join the head-quarters of the 1st division, and arrived at Hurda on the 22nd. The battalion companies quitted Jaulnah on the 15th of October, under the command of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, (Lieut.-Colonels N. M'Leod,[130] and Neil M'Kellar having the command of brigades,) and arrived, with the remainder of the 2nd division, its train of elephants, camels, and horses, at Meiker, on the 23rd. From this place the ROYAL SCOTS were detached, with the battering train, down the Berar Ghats, with the design of taking part in the reduction of Asseerghur, an important fortress, belonging to a native sovereign named Scindia; but the order was suddenly countermanded, and the division was directed to proceed to _Nagpore_, the capital of the Mahratta territories, an attack having been made on the British force at that place. The division proceeded for this station without delay; and the ROYAL SCOTS, following by forced marches, rejoined the head-quarters on the 7th of November, at Oomrouttee. From this place Brigadier-General Doveton pushed forward with the ROYAL SCOTS, and part of his division, and having encountered excessive fatigue, by constant marching, arrived on the 12th in the vicinity of Nagpore, where he was joined by the remainder of the division on the following day. In the meantime the British troops at this place had taken post on two strong eminences near the residency, on which attacks had been made by the Rajah's forces, and one of the eminences had been carried by a great superiority of numbers; but the other, though attacked, had been maintained.

On the arrival of Brigadier-General Doveton's division, the Rajah was inclined to come to terms, and he at length agreed to surrender his guns and disperse his troops; but the treachery he had already evinced induced the Brigadier-General to dispose his troops in order of battle when he advanced to take possession of the guns. The troops were accordingly formed in the following order:--Two regiments of native cavalry and six horse artillery six-pounders on the height; on its left Lieut.-Colonel M'Leod's brigade, composed of a wing of the ROYAL SCOTS, four regiments of native infantry, and the flank companies of another native regiment; Lieut.-Colonel M'Kellar's brigade, consisting of a division of the ROYAL SCOTS, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of horse artillery with four guns; on its left was Lieut.-Colonel Scot's brigade, of a division of the ROYAL SCOTS, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of foot artillery with sappers and miners, and two guns; a reserve of native infantry supported the line, and the principal battery of the artillery was posted in the rear of Lieut.-Colonel M'Leod's brigade. On the left of the position was an enclosed garden; beyond it the Nagah Nuddee; a small river ran from thence past the enemy's right; and three parallel ravines, terminating in the bed of the river, crossed the space between the infantry and the enemy; but in front of the cavalry, and on their right, the country was open. The enemy's position was masked by irregularities of the ground and clusters of houses and huts, and a thick plantation of trees, with ravines, and a large reservoir. On this ground the Rajah had formed an army of 21,000 men, of which 14,000 were horse, with seventy-five guns. Such was the ground on which the battle of _Nagpore_ was fought. Beyond the river lay the city, from the walls of which the movements of both armies could be perceived.

The Rajah had agreed, after much procrastination, to surrender his guns at noon on the 16th of December; and the British force was put in motion to receive them. The first battery was taken possession of without opposition; but on the troops entering the plantation, the enemy treacherously opened a sharp fire of musketry on them. The action then commenced. The columns deployed. The brigades under Lieut.-Colonels M'Leod and M'Kellar carried the enemy's right battery with great gallantry, and afterwards drove the right wing from its ground. The other batteries were also carried, and the supporting troops routed, and the enemy was driven from all his positions, and pursued a distance of five miles. The enemy's camp equipage, 40 elephants, and 75 guns were captured; and the ROYAL SCOTS added to their former honours that of standing triumphant in the interior of India, over an immense superiority of numbers of the enemy. The battalion lost on this occasion 9 rank and file killed, and 26 wounded.

After this success the siege of the city of _Nagpore_ was commenced. The troops which defended this place, consisting of about 5000 Arabs and Hindoostanees, insisted upon extraordinary terms; and these not being granted, they resolved on a desperate defence. On the 23rd of December a breach was made at the Jumma Durwazza gate, and an assault on the place was resolved on. One company of the ROYAL SCOTS, under the command of Lieutenant Bell, with five of native infantry, and a proportion of sappers and miners, were allotted for this service; and two other companies of the ROYAL SCOTS, under the command of Captain H. C. Cowell, were destined to attack the city at another gate; and the remaining five companies were kept for the protection of the batteries.

At half-past eight o'clock on the morning of the 24th of December the signal was given, when the storming party, rushing from the trenches, gained the breach, but were instantly assailed by a heavy fire of matchlocks from the adjoining buildings; at the same time the British troops were unable to injure their numerous antagonists, either by the fire of musketry or coming to close quarters. The Arabs, thus sheltered behind walls, each marked with fatal aim, and with impunity, his destined victim; and their fire under these circumstances is destructive at distances beyond that where European musketry is considered effective. Lieutenant Bell, of the ROYAL SCOTS, a most promising officer, who had served with the 3rd battalion during a great part of the war in Spain, was killed while gallantly leading his men to the attack; and the breach being found untenable, the troops were ordered to withdraw. The other storming parties succeeded in gaining the desired points; yet their positions were also untenable, and they were ordered to retire.

On the following day the Arabs renewed their offer to surrender; and their terms being acceded to, they marched out of the city on the 1st of January, 1818, and were allowed to go where they pleased, with the exception of proceeding to Asseerghur. The loss of the ROYAL SCOTS in the attack on _Nagpore_ was 1 lieutenant (Bell) and 10 rank and file killed, with 2 serjeants and 49 rank and file wounded.

Brigadier-General Doveton, in his despatch to the Commander-in-Chief in India, stated--"During the operation in the field of the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan under my command, the conduct of the 2nd battalion of His Majesty's ROYAL SCOTS, under the immediate command of Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, has been invariably such as to entitle that valuable corps to my highest approbation and applause; and more particularly in the action with the enemy's army at this place on the 16th ultimo, their gallantry, steadiness, and good conduct were most exemplary."

Thus, whether Europe, Asia, Africa, or America be the scene of conflict, the conduct of the ROYAL SCOTS appears to have been uniformly the same; and the gallantry displayed by the 2nd battalion on this occasion was rewarded by the royal permission, dated the 29th of March, 1823, to bear the word "NAGPORE" on its colours.

In the meantime the two flank companies, commanded by Captain Hulme, had been engaged in several movements with the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, and passed the Nerbuddah in flat-bottomed boats on the 30th of November. On the 8th of December the division arrived at Peepleea, and after four marches encamped in the vicinity of Oojain, a short distance from _Maheidpoor_, where the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur, one of the coalesced Mahratta powers against the British interests in India, was assembled. After various fruitless negociations, the division advanced against the enemy on the morning of the 22nd of December; and as the troops were crossing the ford of the Seeprah river they were exposed to a powerful and concentrated cannonade. About half a mile beyond the river stood the army of Holkur; and after passing the stream Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm advanced with two brigades of infantry to attack the enemy's left and a ruined village situated on an eminence near the centre. The companies of the ROYAL SCOTS formed part of this force; and in the action which followed they evinced their native valour in a signal way. The enemy's left was brought forward in anticipation of the attack, and a destructive fire of grape shot was opened on the British; yet, encouraged by the example of Sir John Malcolm and Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor Murray,[131] the ROYAL SCOTS rushed forward in the face of this tremendous fire; the enemy's infantry were driven from their position, and the village and batteries were carried at the point of the bayonet; the enemy's artillerymen were resolute, and stood their ground until they were bayoneted. While the ROYAL SCOTS were victorious at their point of attack, the enemy's right was overpowered; his centre gave way on the appearance of a brigade ascending from the river; and his troops, occupying a position where his camp stood, also fled on the advance of a British force to attack them. Thus the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur was routed; and in a general order, dated the 23rd of December, the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Deccan observed--"The undaunted heroism displayed by the flank companies of the ROYAL SCOTS in storming and carrying, at the point of the bayonet, the enemy's guns on the right of Lieut.-Colonel Scot's brigade, was worthy of the high name and reputation of that regiment. Lieutenant M'Leod fell gloriously in the charge, and the conduct of Captain Hulme, Captain M'Gregor, and of every officer and man belonging to it entitles them to his Excellency's most favourable report and warmest commendation."

The loss of the ROYAL SCOTS on this occasion was Lieutenant Donald M'Leod, 1 serjeant, and 7 rank and file, killed; Lieutenants John M'Gregor and Charles Campbell, 4 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 27 rank and file, wounded. In commemoration of the valour evinced by these two companies the battalion obtained the royal permission to bear the word "MAHEIDPOOR" on its colours.

[Sidenote: 1818]

[Sidenote: 2nd Batt.]

Arrangements having been made for the pursuit of Holkur, the troops advanced on the 28th of December, and on the 30th formed a junction with part of the Bombay army, under the command of Major-General Sir William Keir Grant, at Taul. Advancing from thence on the following day, the troops encamped in the beginning of January, 1818, at Mundesoor, and soon afterwards, Holkur's government having been brought to submission, the presence of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan being no longer necessary in this part of India, it marched southward. On the 22nd of January it crossed the Seeprah river, on the 24th it reached Oojain, where it halted until the 28th. On the 30th it was at Indoor; on the 13th of February it recrossed the Nerbuddah, and proceeding in the direction of the Taptee, encamped on the left bank of that river on the 27th, in the vicinity of _Talnere_, a town and fortress belonging to Holkur, formerly the capital of the sultans of the Adil Shahy dynasty, in the fifteenth century, which, it had been agreed, should be delivered up to the British government, but which, unexpectedly, opened a fire upon the advanced part of the division. A summons was sent to the Killedar, who commanded the garrison, warning him of the consequences of resistance; and, no answer being returned, a battery was brought to bear on the fort, which silenced the enemy's fire in a few hours, but not before several casualties had occurred from the well-directed fire of matchlocks from the walls. On a further examination of the fort, one of the outer gates was discovered to be in a ruinous state; and the flank companies of the ROYAL SCOTS and of the Madras European regiment, were placed under the orders of Major Gordon, of the ROYAL SCOTS, for the attack of the gate. The garrison offered to capitulate; and an unconditional surrender was demanded without delay; but, the evening being advanced, it was suspected the enemy would attempt to escape during the approaching darkness, and the storming party advanced up to the gate. A passage for single files between the walls and the frame of the outer gate was discovered, and no opposition being offered, the storming party and pioneers entered: they subsequently passed the second gate, and at the third were met by the Killedar and some natives. Lieut.-Colonel Conway, the Adjutant General to the army, with Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor Murray, had entered with the storming party, and they passed through the third and fourth gates; but at the fifth and last gate they were stopped, though the wicket was opened. A hurried conversation about terms of surrender now took place; and Colonel Murray, concluding that there was an urgent necessity for establishing such a footing as would secure eventual success should the enemy hold out, entered by the wicket with Major Gordon and three grenadiers of the ROYAL SCOTS, but refrained from drawing his sword, to show he had no intention of breaking off the parley. Five persons only had passed the wicket when the enemy fell upon them, and in a moment laid them all dead, excepting Colonel Murray, who fell towards the wicket covered with wounds. The enemy attempted to close the wicket, but were prevented by a grenadier, private Sweeny, of the ROYAL SCOTS, who thrust his musket into the aperture: Lieut.-Colonel M'Intosh and Captain M'Craith forced the wicket open, and it was held in this state while the captain was with one hand dragging Colonel Murray through, and with the other warding off blows with his sword. A fire was then poured in through the wicket, which cleared the gateway sufficiently for the grenadiers of the ROYAL SCOTS, under Captain M'Gregor, who formed the head of the storming party, to enter, and the fort was carried by assault, but at the expense of the captain's life. The garrison was put to the sword, and the Killedar was hanged on the same evening. The ROYAL SCOTS had Major Gordon, Captain P. M'Gregor, and 3 private men killed; Lieutenant John M'Gregor (brother to the captain),[132] and 3 rank and file, wounded. The conduct of the ROYAL SCOTS on this occasion was spoken of, in general orders, in terms of commendation; and the intrepidity and courage of Major Gordon and Captain M'Gregor were especially noticed.

In the meantime, the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan, with which the eight battalion companies of the ROYAL SCOTS were serving, had been withdrawn from Nagpore, and proceeded (22nd January) towards Ellichpoor. In the early part of February, detachments from the division captured the two strong hill-forts of _Gawelghur_ and _Narnullah_. The division was afterwards encamped at Ootran; in March it proceeded to Copergaum, and on the 17th of that month encamped on the left bank of that noble river the Godavery, near Fooltaumba; at the same time the 1st division was encamped on the opposite bank of the river. Here the 2nd division resumed its former designation of the Hyderabad division. Two flank and three battalion companies of the ROYAL SCOTS were directed to proceed to Hyderabad; and the remaining five companies continued in the field with the force under Brigadier-General Doveton. These companies were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, and on his appointment to the command of a brigade, by Captain Joseph Wetherall,[133] the next officer in seniority.

The division was engaged in operations against Peishwah Bajee Rao (one of the Mahratta confederacy), who, with an army of cavalry said to amount to 20,000 men, studiously avoided a conflict with the British field force, and sought to accomplish his object by sudden marches and surprises. Information having been received of an intended attack of this chief on the cantonments of Jaulnah, the Hyderabad division, with which were three companies of the ROYAL SCOTS, commanded by Captain Wetherall (the other two companies remaining at Fooltaumba), proceeded seventy-two miles in two forced marches, and before the remaining thirty miles were accomplished, the Peishwah had proceeded in another direction. After a short halt, the division continued the pursuit of the flying enemy, encountering many difficulties while traversing parts of the country which had never before witnessed the presence of a British army, and using the most indefatigable exertions, it frequently occurring that the troops occupied the ground which Bajee Rao had left on the preceding day. After a circuitous route, having performed forty-one marches in forty days, at the hottest period of the year, during which time the division had only two halts, the troops returned for supplies to Jaulnah, where they encamped on the 11th of May. In this difficult service the European soldiers had not evinced any want of physical power; they had performed their marches cheerfully, and their only complaint was not being able to overtake the flying enemy. After a halt of two days, the division again resumed the chase of its flying foe, and continued the pursuit until the Peishwah surrendered himself to the British government, when it returned to Jaulnah.

Meanwhile the two companies of the ROYAL SCOTS left at Fooltaumba, under the command of Lieutenant Bland, had marched with a body of troops, under Lieut.-Colonel M'Dowall, of the East India Company's service, into the Candeish country, and had captured the fort of _Unkye_, situated on the summit of the Candeish Ghats, also the forts of _Rajdeir_ and _Inderye_, in which service the two companies had a few private men wounded. They were next engaged in the reduction of the strong hill-fort of _Trimbuck_, situated near the source of the river Godavery, which surrendered on the 25th of April; their loss on this occasion was 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 8 private men, wounded. The conduct of the ROYAL SCOTS in this service was spoken of in terms of commendation in detachment orders. The capture of Trimbuck was followed by the surrender of seventeen other forts.

After this service the detachment proceeded to the strong fort of _Malleygaum_, situated on the river Moassum, and defended by a party of the Arabs, who surrendered to Brigadier-General Doveton at Nagpore. This place was defended by two lines of works, with very high walls, the inner one of superior masonry and surrounded by a ditch 25 feet deep and 16 feet wide. On the 18th of May a sortie of the garrison was repulsed; and on the 19th two batteries opened their fire. A breach having been effected, an attempt was made to carry the fort by storm: 2 officers and 50 rank and file of the ROYAL SCOTS, commanded by Lieutenant Bland, formed part of the principal storming party against the breach, and Lieutenant Orrock and 25 rank and file part of a column destined to make an attack on another point; but success was found impracticable, and the storming party was withdrawn. Another point of attack was afterwards selected, and new batteries raised. Two of the enemy's magazines having been blown up, the garrison surrendered, and the British flag was hoisted on the walls of _Malleygaum_, on the morning of the 13th of June. The ROYAL SCOTS lost in this siege 5 rank and file killed; Ensign Thomas, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 11 rank and file, wounded.

[Sidenote: 1819]

The whole of the hill-forts in the Candeish being reduced, the two companies of the ROYAL SCOTS proceeded to Jaulnah, and joined the other three companies of the battalion, with the Hyderabad division at that place. Here the troops expected to take up their monsoon quarters; but, when all who were obliged to live under canvass were busily engaged in making arrangements to mitigate the severity of the approaching rains, the division was ordered to proceed with all possible expedition to Nagpore. Quitting Jaulnah on the 7th of August, the troops commenced the march, and the dreaded rains immediately set in; the roads became almost impassable; the baggage was unable to keep up with the troops, and the tents were consequently in the rear, so that the men were frequently exposed for twenty-four hours to incessant rain; no shelter could be procured in the villages, and every comfort was wanting. Exposed to these calamities, the troops arrived at Ellichpoor on the 3rd of September in such a state as to be totally unfit to proceed any further. Here they halted until the 21st of December, when they were again put in motion, and halted at Walkeira on the 30th, where the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS were, in consequence of their long service in the field, relieved by a division of His Majesty's 30th regiment from Hyderabad. The five companies then returned to Jaulnah, expecting to continue their march to the Deccan, but were ordered to proceed to Boorhaunpoor in charge of a battering train which lay at Jaulnah. On the 1st of March, 1819, they rejoined the Hyderabad division, encamped near the city of Boorhaunpoor, and marched to engage in the siege of the celebrated fortress of _Asseerghur_, which, on account of its strength, was termed "the Gibraltar of the East." This fortress is situated on a detached hill, not commanded by any other in its neighbourhood. It consists of an upper and lower fort; the upper one, of an irregular form, about 1100 yards from east to west, and about 600 from north to south; it crowns the top of the hill, which is about 750 feet in height; and all round it, with the exception of one place which is strongly fortified, there is a perpendicular precipice from 80 to 120 feet, surmounted with a low wall full of loop-holes. Below this are two lines of works, the outer one forming the lower fort, which rises directly above the pettah, and the entrance to which is protected by strong gateways and flanking works; and immense labour and great skill had been employed in rendering this naturally strong post almost impregnable. Such was the formidable fortress against which the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS were about to be employed.

The Hyderabad division was encamped at Neembolah, about seven miles from this celebrated fortress, belonging to his Highness Doulat Rao Scindia, and, negotiations having failed, about twelve o'clock on the night of the 17th of March, five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS,[134] commanded by Captain J. Wetherall, with the flank companies of the 30th, 67th, and Madras European regiments, five companies of native infantry, and a detachment of sappers and miners, the whole commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of the ROYAL SCOTS, and a reserve, commanded by Major Dalrymple, of the 30th, assembled at the camp for the attack of the pettah of Asseer; another party was also directed to co-operate in this service from Sir J. Malcolm's division.

Between one and two o'clock the column commenced its march; advancing up the bed of a deep nullah, or small river, nearly dry at the time, the assaulting party arrived unobserved within 500 yards of the pettah, then rushed upon the gate with the greatest ardour and steadiness, the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS leading the way. The enemy was surprised, and, after discharging a few rounds of grape, retired without making further opposition. The head of the attacking column forced the gate, and, proceeding up the main street, encountered an advanced piquet of the enemy, which retired to the lower fort, firing occasionally at the head of the column. Major Charles M'Leod, of the East India Company's service, Deputy Quartermaster-General, acted as guide on the occasion, and by his direction the leading files of the ROYAL SCOTS pursued the enemy close under the walls of the fortress, from whence an incessant fire of artillery and matchlocks was kept up, and a few ill-directed rockets were also discharged. The leading sections of the ROYAL SCOTS, which had pursued the enemy up the hill, were joined by one or two files of the 30th and 67th regiments, the whole amounting to about 25 or 30 men; and as soon as the enemy saw the small force before which they had so precipitately fled, they immediately rallied, and came shouting down the hill with augmented numbers to attack this small party, but were repulsed by a spirited charge with the bayonet, which, with a few rounds of musketry, obliged them to retreat within the works, some of which were within 50 or 60 yards of this handful of men, leaving their chief, who was shot by a soldier of the ROYAL SCOTS, and several men, on the ground. Major M'Leod, being wounded, proceeded to the rear; and the enemy having established a cross fire from the walls of the lower fort and from two cavaliers, Captain Wetherall ordered the advanced party to retire a short distance to a post established by Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, where there was some cover for the men. The loss of the leading sections in this affair was 1 private soldier killed; Major M'Leod, Lieutenant Bland, and 11 rank and file, wounded. The remainder of the column did not sustain any loss, the men being protected from the enemy's fire by the houses in which they had established themselves.[135]

The assaulting party maintained its post until night, when it was relieved by fresh troops, and the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS returned to their tents, which had been left standing at Neembolah; but Lieut.-Colonel Fraser remained in command of the troops at the pettah. At day-break on the 19th a heavy gun battery opened against the fort. At dusk in the evening a party of the enemy issued from the lower fort, crept unperceived down a deep ravine to the rear of the pettah, and gained the main street, where they encountered the British troops, and were repulsed and forced to abandon their enterprise. Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of the ROYAL SCOTS, while in the act of gallantly encouraging the soldiers, and directing them to withhold their fire and give the enemy the bayonet, was shot in the head and fell dead on the spot: his body was afterwards conveyed to the camp at Neembolah and interred with military honours.[136]

On the 21st of March the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS took their turn of duty in the pettah, where they arrived a little before day-break. As soon as it was light a heavy gun battery opened on the forts with great effect, but it had only fired about a dozen rounds when, from some accident which could not be explained, the magazine in the rear of it, containing 130 barrels of gunpowder, exploded, killing a conductor of ordnance, a native officer, and 34 non-commissioned officers and rank and file, and wounding another native officer and 65 non-commissioned officers and rank and file. Such was the violence of the explosion that about six inches of the top of a bayonet was blown nearly six hundred yards from the battery. From this period until the 29th new batteries of heavy guns and mortars were erected, and, a breach having been effected in the wall of the lower fort, the enemy abandoned it and retired to the upper one: the lower fort was taken possession of on the morning of the 30th by part of Sir John Malcolm's division.

The ROYAL SCOTS, with the remainder of the Hyderabad division, had in the meantime removed from their ground at Neembolah and occupied a position three miles north-east of the fortress. During the progress of constructing the new batteries on elevated and commanding situations, the dragging of ordnance into many of them was performed by the European soldiers, who literally worked like horses; and during the whole of the time they were annoyed by a constant fire of matchlocks from the walls of the upper fort, but which was too distant to prevent the execution of this herculean labour, which was performed with that ardour and cheerfulness so characteristic of British soldiers, when necessity demands any extraordinary exertions from them.

On the 31st of March part of the Bengal army, consisting of 2,200 native troops, with 22 pieces of heavy ordnance, commanded by Brigadier-General Watson, joined the besieging force; and these guns were soon placed in battery, and opened on the fort. The storm of war now raged round _Asseerghur_ with awful fury; the shot and shells from the numerous British batteries flew in showers, a dozen shells sometimes exploding within the area of the upper fort at the same moment, and a breach was soon effected in the outer retaining wall at the only assailable part of the fort; at the same time two batteries of 18 and 24-pounders were directed against the inner wall. This unremitting fire was continued until the 6th of April, when the garrison, apprehending the consequences of having to sustain an attack on the works by storm, forced the Killedar to sue for terms, namely, "liberty to preserve their arms and to depart with their personal property." These conditions being refused, hostilities recommenced; the Killedar, however, accepted the terms offered on the 8th, and agreed on his part to surrender the fort on the morning of the 9th, and the firing ceased; but, as he said he could not answer for the garrison, the control of which he had lost, preparations were made for renewing operations in case of refusal. The garrison, however, submitted; a British guard took possession of the gates at the appointed hour; and a union flag was sent, with an escort of 100 Europeans and the like number of native infantry, to the upper fort, and hoisted under a royal salute from all the batteries. The garrison, amounting to 1200 men, marched out at noon and grounded their arms. Their loss was inconsiderable, from having such good cover from the fire of the British batteries, being only 43 killed, and 95 wounded; and this was chiefly occasioned by the bursting of shells. The loss of the besieging army was 11 European and 4 native officers, and 95 European and 213 native soldiers killed and wounded, including the loss at the explosion of the magazine on the 21st of March. Of this number the ROYAL SCOTS had only 7 rank and file killed and wounded in addition to the loss on the 18th of March. The force employed against Asseerghur amounted to about 20,000 men; the ordnance of all calibre to 61 guns and 40 mortars and howitzers: the enemy had 119 guns and mortars mounted on the works, and some of the guns were of immense calibre--one a 384-pounder.[137]

In a general order, dated Madras, 28th April, 1819, the conduct of the five companies of the regiment was spoken of in the following terms:--

"The conduct of the detachment of His Majesty's ROYAL SCOTS under the command of Captain Wetherall, and of His Majesty's 30th Foot, under Major Dalrymple, during the siege of Asseer, has been most exemplary, and such as to reflect the most distinguished credit on their several commanding officers, as well as on the whole of the officers and men composing those detachments."

After the capture of this fortress the services of the five companies of the ROYAL SCOTS being no longer required with the Hyderabad division, on the morning of the 11th of April they commenced their march for the Deccan, for the purpose of joining the head-quarters and the other five companies, which had quitted Hyderabad in December, 1818, and had proceeded to Wallajahbad, forty-seven miles from Madras: and on the 24th of July the several companies of the battalion were united at that station.

The battalion remained at Wallajahbad until the 21st of December, when it marched for Trichinopoly, where it arrived on the 11th of January, 1820.

[Sidenote: 1820]

[Sidenote: Regiment.]

On the 23rd of January, 1820, the much-lamented event, the decease of His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, occurred, which occasioned great grief to the corps, His Royal Highness having always evinced a constancy of attention to, and interest in, the welfare and credit of the regiment, which endeared his name in the grateful remembrance of the officers and men.

The Colonelcy of the regiment was conferred, on the 29th of January, on Lieut.-General George Marquis of Huntly, only surviving son of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, from the 42nd Highlanders.

[Sidenote: 1821]

In August of the following year His Majesty King George IV. was pleased to approve of the regiment resuming its designation of the "FIRST, OR THE ROYAL, REGIMENT OF FOOT," instead of the "FIRST, OR ROYAL SCOTS, REGIMENT OF FOOT."

[Sidenote: 1824]

[Sidenote: 2nd Batt.]

The 2nd battalion remained stationary at Trichinopoly until June, 1824, when it marched to Madras, where it halted until September. In the meantime hostilities had commenced between the British and the Burmese empire; and in September the battalion embarked from Madras and sailed for Calcutta, where it arrived on the 10th of October. Towards the end of the year it marched to Barrackpore for the purpose of suppressing a mutiny amongst the Company's native troops at that place; and after the performance of this painful duty it returned to Calcutta.

[Sidenote: 1825]

In the middle of January, 1825, it received orders to proceed to Rangoon, a city and principal port of the Burmese empire, situated on the north bank of the river Irawaddy, thirty miles from the sea, to reinforce the troops under Brigadier-General Sir Archibald Campbell,[138] employed against the Burmese army. It accordingly embarked from Calcutta under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Armstrong,[139] on the 15th of that month; and on its arrival at Rangoon, the enemy having been driven from his position in its vicinity, the flank companies advanced with the army upon Prome, a city situated about 150 miles up the river Irawaddy, while the battalion companies formed part of the reserve.